Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-05-07
PriaiedIOr III Publishing Coss@ihte ~
G. N. HArGoOD.

new Constitution. nnd thene Ia nothlng IN
them fepuEnan, 10 slavery. Mr.. Spooner, on
his supposiiion that the old Charters did not
warrant slavery, says there were no poAd hpsOs
in South Carolina and Maryland to be con-
iinued. We have before disposed Of This az
pumeni, and shown that those laws were va
lid and consistent with The Chartefsl conse-
q~uently they were continued indeed, wheib-
er so consistent or not, having always been
considered 4" RdiVS." up 10 that time. and az
hiGs being continued, II seems to us any
court would hold, and common sense would
ratify the decision. that those were tie iaps
which the sovEREloN rEoPIE, the makers Of
The Constitution. and not hound ev by Char
ters. intended and lad The po,rer TO rp-enact
and ron,inuc. All laws mot repupnant 10
the Constitution" were continued. II matter
ed net, then, how repugnant they might have
been 10 the old Charter.
The use uf the word free" also, In those
CONSTITUTIONS shows the same thing. We
have sufficiently exposed Mr.. Spooner's rash
and unGoundpd assertions as 10 This term In
n former number; we shall not repeat what
we there said. Neither shall we 20 over oil
the slave State Constitutions. II would re-
quire too much space. We simply s,ate that
The word free" had been sometimes used
technically and still was so, but not usually
in the slave States-ihere the primary mean
ing WdS pTeSeTNtu 10 ulSlinRHiSU tHe CIubS NOS
enslaved. We shall eoufne ourselves TO one
State; one is enough to sustsin our argument
and our space fcthids us 10 enlarge. We
choose South Carolina.
South Carolina. Chen including North Cars
olina.) early recognized slavery. Her cele-
DRAFTED Constitution, drafted by JcHN LocEE,
and which went into operation in 1863, and
continued ill 1893, provides that ''evey free
man Of Carolina shall have absolute powef
and authority over his negro slaves, Of what
opinion or religion s~oever."
The sanction thus early given was con,in-
ued by successive legislation down to the
Revolution. The Constitution, adopted On
March sc, 1876, provides, by reference to n
former statute, that o. free white men, having
In their own right FIVE hundred acres, and et
least twenty slaves" shall be eligible to Of.
fee. Here again, was q distinct recognition
e slavery. In October, 1916, the number Of
slaves necessary was reduced to Ten. This
Constitution continued till 1878, when tho
one from which Mr.. Spooner quotes was
adopted, which remained in force till 1876.
In this, all direct mention Of slaves was drop
ped. In the Constitution Ct 1890, the State
returned TO her old policy, and made the hold
t ing Of Z" ten nesroes' one Of the qualifications
for a seat in her Legislature. Sull, the Con.
= ~stitu,ion Of 1878, from which MIR. S. quotes,
speaks of every free white man." &c. Mr..
S. says this word "free'' has no reference to
: qIavery. Let us see. The clause is copied
, from the Constitution Of 1875, and chat from
laws which had been in force for half a cen-
fury. In all those, the '.Jrse white man."
is the holder Of 'iicenfy sIare:," ''ftn slaves"
&c. &c. In that connection there could be no
doubt what was the meaning of the word
free" II meant the class that held slaves,
and was used TO distinguish them from their
slaves. The reader will remember LORD Mans
fields rule, the universal rule, that ambiRu-
ous words are TO be taken to mean what they
have clearly meant in other similar laws
This consideration fixes beyond a doubt, the
true Specification of the word in this place.
Mr.. Spooner says free" in this connec-
ton, G. free ,eAits man,") cannot be the oppo-
site Of slave, because it would imply that
some irhiie men might be slaves. This objec-
ton would never have been brought by an
Aboli,Ionist. Such know too well by South.
ern ad v~ertisements, Southern law cases, ave,
by the recent action of the Carolina Legisla-
ture. how often ''Pure sehiif" men are found
in chains.
Finally, suppose any Of the slave States
were deficient in valid slave Legislation in
1879; they have made up for it since. Their
CONSTITUTIONS now are full Of sla' cry. But,
says Mr.. S., they cannot enslave people once
free. Who will prove this! We assert, and
challenge a contradiction, that Pennsylvania
may, in perfect consistency toih The United
STATES Constitution, recreate slavery to-day.
No clause in that instrument forbids any Of
the old thirteen States FROM setting up slave
~, il any one is mad enough 70 wish it; and
once established, it could claim the benefit Of
all the pro-slavery clauses as fully as tho
more ancient wickedness Of the Old Domin.
d. ion or of Carolina. 1t is idle therefore, to
3 waste time in ferrtting ont the precise condi-
: ton of the Constitutions Of 1889. That is a
very immateIial point. Indeed, The whols
! discussion is a waste of time. The Consti-
= tuition Of he United States deals with slaves
~ as a fact, and gives ii, as seeh certain
r rights. Such is the general rule as To nnfe@
constitutional matters. (See Story, |. 206.J
s The Constitution no II"re undertook to decide
n whether slavery was legally placed here, than
s it did TO determine whether The Indians had
t the best original title TO this soil five hundred
years ago-brfote il gave Congress the right
e 10 regulate with them, &c. Sup
Q pose it should turn nut, that those tribes had
d no legal right here, il would not alter the force
or meaning of tho constitutions provisions
% respecting them.
d We close here our pfotracted review Of
n this essay. The only apology we can Offer
n. to the readers Of the Standard for occupying
s. 30 many OF their columns, is moi the ingenu.
ID ity Of the argument--though that we are VILE
ling to confess, in Mr.. SpooneT's favor. de-
is serves soRe crrdi,-but We were told that
n the book, hoisted into undue notice by the
ID loud vaunts of minimizing friends. was mis-
leading worthy men, whose want OF time OF
sr scan,y acquaintance with the subject. or too
Is high opinion Of its critics, prevented them
: from fully sesihg the unsoundness Of the pre-
q tended argument In general, We think the
+ American Society may well take the Conssi.
y tuition 10 be what the Courts and Nation al
b low that Il is, and leave the haiI-splitters and
!. cob-W%b ~spinners 10 amuse themselves az
9 .heR leisure, sutaSiens for "a Is our arPrr