The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-09-29


THAT slave taken the State of Illinois, whose oonsti
tuition ofbds slavery and involuntary servude and resides
there Tor time, with the express implied consent and
Nhowieage Oh her master IA his family she was under no
obligation TO serve him in that State but became alb soutey
Free and being once free could not be again made slave
| by removing her To n slave State"
Slavery exists" says Judge Mclean, in the of
Jones Us Vanzandt q Mcean's Reports, $500 only by
virtue OF the laws OF the States where 1t is sanctioned and
If slave escape from such State free State, he is free
according 10 the principles OF the common law and recap
ton IN Tree State Is authorized by the constitution and
act of Congress There general principle in the law
oil nations which requires such surrender"
$50 damages says the judge, :" for harboring and
ceang slave IN Tree State not recoverable at com
mon law"
Slavery Mr. President, if The authorities to which have
referred are entitled 10 respect must be regarded State
institution, existing only through municipal regulations
The GIT OF the master is not derived from the common
law, the law of nations of nature but from the positive
law of the State in which he resides. Upon what princ-
pe them slaves be introduced into the territories of the
United States, where slavery tolerated, and held
bondage This question, sir, southern senators have
tempted to answer. They maintain that slaves taxed
and recognised property by the constitution, and that
whatever the constitution makes property must be regard
ed as property in all the territories belonging to the United
States, They further insist that territories
qured either by purchase of the funds of all the
States, the south well the north, by and
mutual sacrifice of and moneys and that to exclude
slavery from the territories would deprive the south of
equal benefit with the north in the property Of the
whole Union Now, sir, the constitution, maintain does
not regard slaves as property They go INTO the census
and represented persons They spoken of
held TO service labor under the laws of the States in
which they reside and persons hey taxed but they
nowhere called chaes The amers of the constitution
careful exclude the idea that there could be property
in brief reference to the debates in the convention
will show
On the Gath of August 1887 Governor Livingston from
the committee TO whom referred certain clauses in the
reported constitution, delivered The following report
Strike out much OF the fourth section referred
to the committee and insert, The migration or importa
ton of such persons the several States existing
shall think proper TO admit shall not be prohibited by the
saurc the 1900 but tax or duty may be
ceeding the average of the duties laid our imports
edgmg men 10 be property by taxing them as snch unuer
the character of slaves.
''M GoRHAM thought that Mr. SHERMAN shonld consider
the duty, implying that slaves property but as
disconrag sment to the importation OF them ..,.,
Mr MADISON thought wrong to admit in the constitu
ton the idea that there could be property in men"
1t finally agreed make the clause read "But tax
duty may be imposed such Importation not exceeding
dollars for each person." So you see that the idea
of property carefully excluded from the cons
The federal convention left slavery precisely where
found it, under the control of the States where existed
They regarded great moral and political evil, and
would introduce the word slare into the cons
tuition The slave States claimed and in fact had by their
local laws interest the services of their slaves and to
that interest," the third section of the fourth article of
the constitution declares that
"No person held to labor ia State, under
the laws thereof escaping into another, sia in conse
quence OF any law regulation therein be discharged
from such service or labor but shall be delivered up on
claim OF the party to whom such service or labor may De
due"
This section, Mr. President contains the only guarantee
given to slavery by the constitution.
If the slave escape from the jurisdiction snbectng him to
bondage, his may pursue and reclaim him in any
other State in the Union If this provision had not been In
roduced into the constitution, the master could not have
pursued and reclaimed his slave in State where slavery
not tolerated There is manifest distinction, Mr. Pre-
sden between what called slave property and what is re-
garded property by the laws and usages Of civilized ma
TONS If the South Caronan to to the city OF New
York with his horses and coach and his slave, his title
his horses and coach would be good there in South
Carolina But how would it be with the save Could his
| ms sell him md make i'm ia
chaser' No, slr he could do no such thing; and Tor
this obvious the laws of New York DO not tolerate
slavery and the slave laws of South Carolina have no force
beyond the jurisdiction Of the State consequently the per-
who chaiiel in South Carolina became man the
moment he reached New York
But Mr.. President it conended by southern senators
that though is slave taken free State cannot be
held there property still they insist he be held in
the Territories of the United Sates in spite of the legisla-
ton Of Congress Of the Territorial legislatures To this
prMcipe sir, yield my assent. If slavery cannot
exist State but by the force of positive law, it cannot
exist in the Territories of the United States without such
law. is, as have before said, State not United States
institution. How, then, can it exist in New Mexico and
California without positive law to sustain il Does our flag
carry slavery along with it into every conquered country
every that bazes upon it, and let the stripes alone
stand remind of humiliation and our shame 1.-THE
soil we conquer be free the moment banner
triumph over it, let poet again sing of our flag
"Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breatles the foe but falls before us,
With freedoms soil beneath our feet, go
And freedoms banner waving DER us ~
No sir our glory will have departed and the richest offer
ngs of poetic genius flag from dshonor.
But Mr. President, must pass to my second PROPOSE
ton viz that both justice and expedicncy demand that
slavery should be excluded from free territories At the
time Of the adoption of the constitution of the thr
teen States Free and six slave States and moth
ing ranspred the convention show that increase Of
the slave States anticipated desired The balance of
political power in the hands of the free States and
statesman Of that day. North South, as far as know,
desired pass into other hands. No change could
have been anticipated for under the constitution, power
given the federal government to acquire foreign terri
tory Such it is certain, the opinion of Mr.. Jefferson
and many other of great emnence But what
does the history of little than half century show
Why sir in 1903 we qlired Louisiana by purchase,
and the people of oil the States paid fifteen millions of dol
lars for Mr. Jefferson when he made the purchase, ad-
med that he had constitutional power to do III but
the importance of the navigation of the river Mssis-
s pi the of the United States induced him to
make the purchase, and trust amendment of the con-
sution to egaze the act WE'LL sir, what has been done
with this territory thus purchased of France Why sir
ana Missouri and Arkansas, represented this floor
by senator's and the floor of the House by ten rep
resenaves In 1919 acquired Florida by purchase, and
five millions of dollars paid for it out of the common
fund of all the States and that ALSO has been erected into
slave State, with this foor and repre-
sentative the floor of the other branch of Congress Blu
this is not all, sir In S45 acquired Texas, at cost
hundred millions of dollars and the loss of more
than twenty thousand lives And what has been done with
this third acquisition of foreign erritory' Why sir, it has
been formed into slave State, with in this
chamber and two representatives the floor of the othe
House Surely have dealt literally with the south in Thu
Five slave States have been added to the Union
Of territory acquired since the peace of 783 and they
now represented this floor by senator's, and thu