Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-04-06

' -, a., ~ - M, \ crime by the laws OF y
York Suppose a citizen OF New oih a'.a ~
| in Virginia and ahsconds and seis n',i' =. ~
Ie,ns ar Texas and returns to New oth win VIC nv
| - !, Ia. ,ocket-woud the las, MUNICIPAL or moral,
r The state of New York, say there was no CRIME IN
,,cL , case aud the citizen oi New YORK sh"u" loi-
ov eni,y The money thus dishonesty ob'a'nec: let,
,o what crime could the fugitive be demanded Il not
ior stealing the sare, because to sell slave not IN
Virginia {e Stale having jurisdiction o the crime
crne, If the person selling be the owner OF hs'e
right 10 sell, and OF necessity therefore the demand
must rest upon the original crime OF stealing thau9h
selling might be added to the description VI Tue case
a, evidence of the INTENT "ihe aEtmus urand III the
first takinrs Were the ethics or constitutional DOC
trines of the Governor of New York TO prevail the
citizens of New York nigh, obtain, without ,uch Ia.
hor, an "honest livelihood BY stealing the slaves OF
The South, provided they sold them amer they sloe
them and took refuge III New York
| By this system of reasoning the Governor OF New
York would be brought thus strange conclusion, VIZ:
To steal one who cannot By The laws OF 1ou ana c'-
yilzed nations he made the subject OF property not
crime in New York; to sell INTO slavery one mus 81
tu,.d is not crime in the Southern States, II The ven-
der has lawful right authority to sell according to
The lave Of those States therefore, TO steal one who
ought not TO he a slave thereby violating the State
law and sell him into slarcry, thereby violating the
laws OF God Is not CRIME oul dh act iof WHICH lhe'c
| is NJ punishment
| Acs,n-The Southern people have been hnrrasscd
and injured by the Abuitonlsts to an extent which
none but themselves know. Suppose Southern
State were to put the "Caput Lppinnm upon every
Aboltionis and by law to declare that 1t should not be
regarded rs crime of It's citizens to kill them
I-Snpposc that citizen OF Southern State, meet
inc with all Aboli,ionlst in New York should XII
| him and flee to his home, and be demanded by lhe
Governor Of New York and to the demand the ans
should be-"By our laws II IS not crime TO XII an
Abo,iois and therefore the fugitive will not be sur
rendered" Would Nav York approve the answer
and vet would not the argument urged against Frg'-
MIA sustain it, as tho law of the State upon which the
dea nd is made lin the supposed does MOI iecoa
nize the crime, and IL not more mnum ~ SC 70 h'i
slave than to steal him. and not more TO Kill any oef
man than hum ~,
| But We forbcar farther argument or comment Inc
wrong done to the constitutional rights ni virginia
the Governor of New York, IS gross and sarnE, ana
not tn be submitted to- This wrong has not beeh zone
by New York, however, but by one OF hef iu"e'o" :.
RES and we will not believe, until they announce u
n us that the people of New ok would have inflicted
such wrong, or Will now approve u. we owe u !"
their intelligence and loyalty 10 the Union 10 believe
th,y will not and II TO our own Loyalty not 20
oc, anon any other conclusion until fair, candid ana
,ec,inl appeal has been made them and rejected
yrrnia should take step in this controversy but
with the determination never 10 rrlracc II. hasH .'
fanc- and as;y legislation are not consistent WIN hef
own dignity or her obligations to the Chon-onnes
tons which Virginia has ever held sacred, ana WIN
never renounce but the necessary defence OF rights
which cannot be abandoned, and her liberty and she
is not vet prepared TO admit that the period ever can
arrive when the Just rights Of the Stale and 'he oer
~ of the citizen viii be incompatible with those ooil'
cations.
be appointed to repair forthwith 10 the CITY OF Albany,
and submit 10 the Legislature OF New YORK 'he re-
spectful request of Virginia, that 1t VIII pass such laws
as are necessary to the surrender OF refer 'oh.
son. Edward Smith and Isaac Gansey, and all other
fur,ires from Virginia, who have been charged here
| IA Il, or
be surrendered when demanded by the Executive au-
thority of this State.
If however the measure proposed in the resolution
with which that paper concluded, had been unaccepta-
BILE 10 the majority of the Senate, we were prepared 10
vote for a resolution or law which should make il The.
duty of the proper officer organ TO apPyto Congress
to pass the necessary law to secure the apprehension
and surrender in another State Of all fuaIves from
Justice in this State; but as we have shewn, the time
necessary prepare such law or any other substitute
for the bill aforesaid denied TO US and no aerna-
tive left US but against the bill, and IN this form
10 express our objections to IL and place ourselves IN
our proper position before the country.
We respectfully, but firmly protest, therefore, against
the passage of the act aforesaid, because we believe
that it clearly violates the Constitution OF the United
States.
By the third paragraph of the Sh section Of the lst
article of the Constitution Of the Y. States, Congress
IS vested with the power "to regulate commerce WIN
foreign nations and among the several States ana the
Indian tribes and that power no longer remains with
the States, because equal and inconsistent powers
IL pom The same subject cannot abide at the same time
and under the same Constitution IN the different TO-
vernments and whenever existing tor the want OF a
uniform rule a Constitution they have been always
made homogeneous and harmonious among friendly
nations BY treaty stpulatons IL IS also expressly de-
clared BY the 10th article OF the amendments 10 the
Constitution, that "he powers not delegated to The U
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by II 10 .ie
States, are reserved TO the States. Powers which
are Geleqated therefore, not reserved, and among
these is the power TO regulate commerce "among the
several States; and Nv the Supreme Court OF the ma
on with the Chief Justice of the United States at ITS
head 1t has been express decided that the power1o re-
puiae commerce. included the power to regulate navi-
CATION 10 pass navigation laws-so important, indeed,
10 the comfort and prosperity of the States was IT. that
there should be power to control and regulate COM
merce and navigation that TO establish II, was one OF the
prominent causes Of the union Of the States and Is re-
ferred 10 by Gen Washington in his letter ransmittn.
the Constitution to Congress, one Of those great and
delicate interests the adjustment Of which should recon
Gle the people to defects unavoidable IN other parts oil
the instrument BY the first section OF the bill aore-
said and by every other section as aiding IT, TINS prov-
sion of the Constitution is directly invaded, and the
power of Congress "to regulate commerce IS annui-
led bv an enactment that the citizens OF New ork shall
hold so commerce with Virginia, but upon such terms
Virginia prescribe, because TO declare That ves
sells which have arrived in Virginia shall not be permit
ted to depart, the most effective mode oil declaring
they shall not within limts-and If the Legs
latu.e Of Virginia may impose term Of regulation up
navigation not required by selt.dcence and preserra
ton, it may another, and many as II pcases, and
thus make commerce with the State depend upon the
laws Of the State and the laws of Congress made in
pursuance Of the Constitution
The said first section of the bill violates also the
cond section Of the 4th ar,Ire of the Constitution
which provides "that the citizens Of each State shall
be entitled TO all privileges and nlmuntes of citizens
of the several States BY the said first section this
provision of the Constitution IS directly violated, BE-
cause the citizens Of New York and all otl"r States
are denied the privileges Of navigation within tire IL
mi,s Of Virginia which are allowed to the people OF
Virginia, without any crime or offence on their part
but simply because they not citizens of Virginia.
for however innocen, they may be, they come equally
with the guilty, under the penalties Of this law.
The second section Of the said bill also violates the
4th article of the amendments 10 the Constitution, be-
cause il authorizes search Of mans vessel, which
nr the time is his house castle, without ga warrant
'swthout probable cause to suspect that ne or any
.a =, .aeso boe committed crime. and without