Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-10-20

trlOt, and the christian but the continuance
! of this ineffabe curse in the District of Co
) lumbia, and in the Territories, should excit,
J our warmest indignation. There, thousand
of human beings are in perpetual bondage
! and slave-market is openly held at the sea
Of the freest government upon earth Th
is spectacle fit only for tyrants to behold
: and to make this state of things not onll
permanent, but as if also to sasten the awfu
responsibility of it upon the citizens of The
free states, there have not been wanting rep
resentatives in the Federal Government
from those states, (happily none from ouI
own, who have refused, where Congress ha:
clearly the right TO ac', to let the oppressed
20 free, aud to abolish traffic, which. by
the spirit Of the laws even Of that govern
ment, is ranked with piracy itself Nay,
more: they have silenced remonstrances OF
sovereign States against these grievous
wrongs, and excluded the petitions Of the
people.
A state may not infringe the compact as
it exists on the subject of slavery, any more
than other parts Of the Constitution. We
have all sworn to support that instrument ;
aud to attempt to evade or repeal the oath,
I by casuistical sophistry as to its binding
force, would be neither Just nor wise. But
whatever legislative powers the states do
possess, should be exercised as occasions
arise, so as not to give one scruple more OF
living flesh than the bond requires.
An unhappy decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States, made in Janua-
nv, 1912, in the case of Prigg rs. the State
of Pennsylvania il is believed will occasion
some danger to free colored people who may
be found in this State. In that case it is
understood to have been decided that the
Federal Government have an exclusive right
to regulate the mode in which the claim Of
a master of his fugitive slave shall! be made ;
that Congress has already exercised that
right, in perfectly constitutional manner,
through the law of 1893 that all legisla-
ton on the part of the several States, which
directly or indirectly limits or Restraints the
right of recovery Of fugitive slaves, is entire
ly null and void that no State can pass
law in any way interfering with the power
of summary removal from its territory of
an individual claimed as fugitive slave,-
provided that this power be exercised under
the sanction of the United States Courts
but it is not obligatory upon any State to
suffer its own magistrates TO exercise the
same power
The law Of Congress of 1893 confers the
same power upon the State magistrates as
that given to judges Of the United States
Courts, and upon that statute the Court
says, that their magistrates may, If they
choose, exercise the authority thus confer
red, "unless prohibited by State legislation
This decision is at present the law Of the
land, and the danger is, that among our
great number of magistrates, some may be
found who are not well informed as TO their
duty, and may act unadvisedly, and thus,
upon false claim, consign some unfortu-
nate being forever to hopeless slavery,
from the decision Of the magistrate there is
no appeal.
therefore recommend TO the legislature
to pass a law prohibiting all magistrates,
acting under the authority Of this State,
from taking coguizance of, or acting under,
the act of Congress passed of similar i'm
port. This would seem from the aforesaid
decision to be perfectly constitutional aud
proper, and indeed almost invited by the
court, by the language before quoted. By
such an act, the evil consequences of the
decision may in some degree be mitigated
also recommend law prohibiting all
executive officers of the State from arrest
ing, or OBTAINING in Jail, any person who is
as fugitive slave believing this TO
be proper mode Of exhibiting the determi-
nation of this State TO do no act, which she
may constitutlonally omit TO do, TO counte-
nance the institution of slavery. The CON-
al II l.. Il
passed such law, and the example is be-
lieved to be worthy of imitation. Ii the
passing Of the statute proposed shall Incl
dentally tend to prevent the recapture of To-
gitve slaves, may we not well exclam in its
defence, in the language of the sage of Mon
ticello-"shall distressed humanity find no
asylum %
There are strong reasons for anticipating
that an attempt will very soon be made to
annex the Republic of Texas to the United
States, as well for the purpose of creating
a perpetual market for slaves, as, from that
large territory, TO carve out slave States
TO the slave power IL such an attempt
shall succeed then woe betides our unhap-
ply country. Who then can hope that the
wrath of Heaven can be longer restrained A?
have spoken perhaps too freely upon this
subject; but at the capitol of Vermont, un-
like that at Washington, there is liberty of
speech upon all public topics.
In our expenditures the utmost economy
that is consistent with the maintaining and
promotion of the public interests, should be
constantly practsed. The Just medium be-
tween parsimony and extravaganza, in pub
lie transactions, it is not always easy to dis
cover, and it is to be found only by the good
sense Of those who make the laws and this
was one reason why our Constitution de.
clares that the House of Representatives,