Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-05-07
WHOLE no. y.

~NN' 'i7'iluh'Shf " nhOll1 StltiII
abunt II.
This is Mr.. Soooner's last point. Tine
Articles Of Confed ration speak Of free in.
habltdnts," and 'free cili ssns.' Tho uo,t,.
raj and curious meaning Of this Language ia
lnhabiianis and cit zens not pnslaved. This
we have shown, and In fact MIR. Spooner al.
lows 1t. He tries to afix n technical mean.
ing 10 tue word free" 1t IL true the word
has a technical meaning, as we have before
stated, when used alone, or with '.men." as
in ''ffee men ~ but never. we believe. when
Joined with ''lnhabita MIS-" or "citizens.''-
However, the question whether the Articles
Of Confederation did, or did not, speak Of
slaves, is Of no consequence. We shall lea We
H. merely rem rking that any plain reader of
them will al once say that they do and that
"a the best evidence that tie fact Is so.
We have relcled, then. the State Consti.
tuition Of 1889. Al that time Slavery existed
In the midst Of the nation was tolerated by
The acquiescrnce OF the who'e people, and
known to all as a greet fret, a prominent
part OF their social arrangements; recognized
by the sovereign power of Parliament; es-
tablished. regulated, and defined by repeated
Statuips of the Colonial Assemblies.
Suppose that Mr.. Spooner's assertion be
true, and that in such a state Of things, these
Constitutions did not allude in any way to
Slavery: what, thenl Does that prove that
the system could not exist after such Consti-
tutions are adopted Not at all. These
Constitutions, many Of them, al least, If not
all, make no a%llnsion. whatever. TO property
In land-,o the rights of marriage-to the
right Of a father 10 lis infant sons earnings
10 n mans property being answ cradle tor his
d~ebts--some. that Of Virginia for instance,
make no provision for raising taxes or even
furnishing crine-are all these things, there
fore, unconstitutional? Certainty not. Po-
lygamy is not forbidden in any one of them.
IL pnlygarny therefore legal No, these
Constitutions do not attempt, TO regulate, de.
scribe, or even notice the organic skeleton Of
social lifr,-the granite ribs of the social
globe. They take that for granted, and pro-
coed TO erect upon il (suffeG US TO change the
fgure) ne upon a recognized and well.known
foundation tho more changeable framework
Of a Government. That the union Of one
man and one woman make marriage-thai
land may be owned and sold-that creditors
may sue and debtors must pay-these things
and others, tie customs and usuges If The race,
a for 1ohich The Constitution is Intended, are to.
ken for granted. 1t is not sper lally provi.
/ ded that Court proceedings shall he in En-.
glish, or that laws shall be printed in tha'
language. All these things are presumed, a
according 10 the well-known rule of law
Statutes are TO be interpreted according t
the subject matter, so Constitutions are unin
:, ielligble unless we know first the race, usa
q ges, time, country, and general Institutions
a for which they were intended.
Now, suppose that our Constitutions had
taken Slavery, one great American l%nstitu,
. ton, for granted, as they did the other 'sgreol
facts" of social life, there would have been
nothing wonderful in such an occurrence.-
IIrlacc tpa fnppH car,a rn.n. .Lali,ioA ~
=, the system, or some clause equivalent 10 it,
it would have continued as before. 1t was
the first line in the Massachus et,s and New
Hampshire Constitutions, "all men are born
, free" that abolished Slavery in those States
Blot that out and the omission elsewhere &c
, mention Slavery would have been no bar to its
existence. The abolition Of SO gigantic and
deep-rooted a system is never 'dOne in a cor.
ner," by stealth. 1t is preceded by an ngi.
tation sufficient 10 shake a continent, by long
and angry discussion, by convulsion and
fierce resistance; and when The long-dreadpd
and long-wished moment comes. "the hold.
est holds his breath for a time" Where
were all these characteristics Of such an
. event in l7GG, or 1889 7 when, as Mr.. Spoon.
er thinks, one fine morning, folks walked up
and were sgreeably surprised TO find the sys-
TEN gone, although they all designed and eT-
v pecfed lis GbOhiiOn!
> Again; Mr.. Spooner says that the Consii-
tuition Of Virginia commences with the dec
:, ~laration "ihai all men are by nature equally
y frre,"-and this would abolish all the slave
= laws of that State. True. it onght TO do so.
Suppose it had he has only, by this means,
got rid Of me Stare State. There are plenty
more to which the pro-slavery clauses of III.
Constitution can apply. The presence Of one
-, slave State in the Union is, morally, as bat
! as the presence cf a dozen. But the CUES
ton now is. not what ue think ought 10 bt
the result Of certain provisions in the Virgi
q MAN Constitution but whai is the interpIe
- tation given TO it by that Court, which, anC
WHICH ALONE. is authorized TO consirue il
90 the Supreme Court of Virginia.
The reader will rtcolIect that Mr.. Spoone
lie is attempting 10 show that the United Stale
Supreme Courts have, Gecnrdisg 10 tie rule
Of iano, authority TO declare all the slaves ii
ID this nation free. Ont reason why he think
O. no is, that the slave avs oil Virginia conflic
d. with her Constitution, and are, the efore
d. void. Now II happens that the Suprem
IT, Court of that State do not think so, And IN
" Supreme Court Of the United States hOl
n that they have no right to reverse or conirC
ne the decisions Of State Courts in relation
Is such a question, - to declare State laws vol
!, although they may be rerngn1nt to the Coz
y s%titution of the State" (Spe Story l, Conn
IT. 3. TOLL Especially Is this the case in que
a. tions affecting property. Is. Peters 29l, al
II note 6. Peters c.. n. p. 1891
n However, this question as to Virginia
n unimponant. If we grant Mr.. Spooner a
d. he asks, il only rids us of one staOs &Gte, ar
On there were 1--WE mora in 1889.
But lastly, tho State Constitutions do ref
IS to and recognize Slavery. Virginia speak
70 Of " our negroes" 60, az we have above que
g. ted. Interpreted, as that must b., by tn
BIT usage Of that day. il refers to slaves. So {
Pennsylvania, and her mention Of " slaves,
o, quoted by Spooner. Maryland and Sout
as ourolina specially provided for the copanu
4 snce IL fJrce Of a.! lava rot TernGnant 10 ta