Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-05-09

eCtlOus anu III stuelI CACCullOu 1855 ycll
he slave has sufficient protection in the
interest and humanity of his master.
Interest and humanity What pro-
lection to be talked of for human rights,
10 land whose glory it is that the laos
are. supreme; and that to them-not to
interest or Observation-Disclosures humblest
and the highest-the richest and the poor
est, may look for protection. Interest and
Who of US are willing to
place our rights under such guardian !
ship2 We want for ourselves, our wives |
and our children, the protection of lao;
and of law that Can be made to reach
and punish the violators of our rights
And shall we. can we, withhold this pro-
lection from the slave, and yet talk OF
respect for the constitution which bears
upon Its front the noble inscription, ITO
ESTABLISH JUSTICE" Can we do. It,
and make pretensions of regard for that
great law'of Christian love, which enjoins
THE DOING TO OTHERS AS WE WOULD
THAT THEY SHOULD DO UNTO UsR
But Mr.. Speaker, l place this question
on higher ground than the want of legal
protection from outrage. Let the slave
be ever so well treated; let his rights to
immunity from violence and cruelty be
ever so much respected, yet THE GREAT
RIGHT-his RIGHT TO HIMSELF, is tram
pied in the dust. The wrong thus infict-
ed, no kindness of treatment can make
right. Wrong-fagrant wrong-deepiy
and indelibly stains the whole. The
| "SPOT' is there, and oceans waters
cannot wash it out.
Another strong feature in the slave
system which have thus glanced at, is
the liability of the slave to be disposed of
under legal process. 1t is one of the
most odious features in the whole system,
because there are, in such cases. none OF
the restraints upon the cruel separation Of
husbands and wives, and parents and
children, which masters may sometimes
feel in disposing of their slaves. This
feature of the system is justly stigmatized
by Edwards, in his history of The West
Indies, as "a grievance remorseless and
tyranical in its principles and dreadful in
its effects"
If, in any respect, the slave laws of the
United States are less odious than those
Of some of the States, they are, in this
1 respect, decidedly more so than those O
Louisiana. There, slaves are made par
i of the real estate of their masters; anc
their sale is, of course, subjected to al
the restraints upon alienation 10 which
that kind of estate is subjected. Here
there is no such restraint; and under the
laws of the United States, the disgracefu
| spectacle is frequently exhibited Of the
exposure of slaves upon the auction staRc
in this city, for sale TO the highest bidder
either at the instance Of the owner, Of
upon process Of execution, or under al
order of the court having charge of thu
settlement of estates.
While the laws of the United State
are thus more odious than those of tn
slave States, and, may add, more so thai
another, (Maryland) which has repeaie'
: her law subiecting free black to be ap
! pretended and imprisoned as a runawa
slave, and sold into slavery to pay hi
jail fees, while here it remains in tuI
force while our laws are thus distin
guished for cruelty and oppression, it
;, bat Justice to say that there is one respect
Z E in which they are distinguished for a
least negative humanity. They do nc
actually prohibit the instruction of tn
slaves in reading. If they can find an
one who will be willing to instruct then
+. and If their owners will allow them to b
:. instructed, there is no law which wi
: either fine or imprison the instructor
!. And If they can build school houses, an
y hire instructors, and contrive TO coilet
: themselves together for instruction, at tn
, same time that they are toiIing in tn
service of their owners, there is no la'
. in force here, which will authorize a
officer to enter the school-house, and dl
} Perse them as an "unlawful assembly.
= In these respects, the government OF tn
:. United States may boast that its slave
" laws are superior to those of most OF tn
y slave States!
The reference have made to the ma
y = ter of instruction, suggests another te
~ - ture in the slave=laws which deserve
: :, special notice While the instruction
= slaves is prohibited by law, as in most
'e the slave States, or prevented or neglecte
by most o. the slave owners, as in tn
:, :, district they are, nevertheless, subjecte
:, = to punishment for crimes, far severer tha
y those inflicted on the we'll instructed at
10 ~ the free. Judge Stroud, in his "sketch'
of the laws relating to slavery" enume
ne ates nineteen classes OF. offences (some
= y them embracing several distinct offence
al in Virginia, for which the white man
D. only punishable by Imprisonment; Will
ce for the same offences, the slave is punis
g. able with death. He makes similar sp
he ci6cations with regard to several 9th
a States. Irefer particularly to Vigini
are beeause her, laws have been adopted
81, Congress for part of this district. The