Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-08-29

foes a, the Nonhs Then We arc forced 10 au"'.
,ha. we have enemies in our midst Thousand
to,d rno,e dangerous than those who are abroad.
Mr.. STEPHENS says:
"Tbc CONSTITUTION no more carries The ioca'
Law nj .layeiy OF any Stale INTO Stae or ieI-
ri,ory where by law II is prohibited, IMAM u co.
les any ohel local law; no more IMAM u "a" IS IL
The law 81 interest upon money, the Saul osnal
mira,inns. The laws OF distribution, oi 'i''
laws OF : SAFE
Gencrai Zachary Taylor! this little "eo's, :,
Barnbrrncr tells yoa toa yen have no .'o'e ,' !
u cary your slave into those territories -"
have been won by your valor rfoa he''s III -.
nave been dfenchea by The biood and beacnea "
The bones OF those brave hoops, whom you s,aod
10 victory. than you have 10 g" there snu pa LA
,,;.;,,, sra,u,c of limitations! fou no'o
yoar p,oper,y by the mere 'eaufe u -. ;nt
no. . II which can lake ii away isou wv ~
- :: .an repeal, alter or modify The statutes o.
.u or If descenls aud distribulions-a mere
creature of legislative will, dependent i0' 10 '''
tpuance upon legislative mercy u;h
In what noble, in what striking contrast WI"
hi, opinion of This Georgia WING Coheressu'"" :
sand The doctrines OF the iustf'ous saesha" -
M;cb;san on The subject OF slavery. VINO ho''s
~, ~. nover IL institute or abolish that ias''u
lion is sope,cign power, which can and oue'
only 10 be exercised by The people In 'Se' 'o,'
reign capacily-"a despo'@ power ua'o".'"''eu
nv The Constitution, which can annihi'a'e 'ne 'e-
la,ion of husband and wife, parent anu emu "
nm, ,tb>, ,.lof,n which our institutions ana me
habns OF on, society recon q" Ihe h'chm,na
Wing and The Richmoui Times publish Mf, ia
niel's leuer and Mr. Stephens speech, as CON
,.;ninp ,rue Southern doctrines. and re' they and
The vikings Of The cu house aud the Wing par
~ generally ridicule h Nicholson e'tef AMI
Southern Democrats for being soana on Tue
slavery quesion-for not coming up 10 the Hae
Southern standard
AS we desire, in our argument, 10 lake ho'h'Os
for granted we proceed 10 prore the pIoPoS'Ho"
with whi~h we sci out, viz that slaves are proper
70 in The territories one Which has been So bitter
!, denied al The North, and which We had sup
no.ed was assented 10 by every man a. The Son'h
The arguments by which Dani' Wetser, JUS
100 Mel Jan. and other Northern men seek &C
overthrow this proposition, are the following: y
hold land this is precisely the doctrine OF Nj
Daniel and Mr.. S!epheDs) that The Wilmot Fro
viso,
"Does not proven, the people of the slave States
from going into the territories with what is IN &C.
neral law called property. These States have, by
lnejr local laws, created a property IN persons
and they cannot carry these local laws with them
Slavery 10 created and exists by local law,
which is limited 10 certain section and II Is ask
ea rha, Congress shall establish local law in
other territories lhus making the territories stand
in The same relation 10 the General Government
as the States; one grea, lalacy in their argumen'
10 enable Southern people TO carry their parlcu
lar law with them. No man can be held as
slave. except The local law shall accompany him
The slave is held 10 be tree, until evidence shall
b. presented TO prove that ne is slave"
Again:
"Slavery is no civil or political question, excep
SO far as laws make il The property OF one man II
The service OF another. There must be loca
law 10 give this service, or II never could exist
No such law exists in The new territories, and al
State laws never exteni beyond The limits OF
Stale, no Stale law could make or unmake pro
perry out Of its limits. Mr.. Calhoun says tha
the U. States Constitution recognize slaves a
property, and hence he argues mat Il IS proper.
in The territories. He begs The qdes ION. n
Constitution recognizes thai as properly wnIch IN
laws OF a Stale make properly, 10 the extent
those laws That is al. Hence the question u
a territory Of claim TO The services q man
whether slave or apprentice, is ques'ion u ~
cal law creating property; and u lnere IS no locd
law, The Supreme Court could iad 10 hold upc:
the service"
Nothing is easier than to refute this reasoning
Call slavery a ''mere local law" State law
municipal regulation" or by what other nam'
you will, it differs from other nero local ant
State laws and municipal regulations, such a
thestatute Of Limitations, or of dcscents and dis
trbutions, in variety Of ways.
l. The Constitution takes especial notice o
this estate Law" aud municipal regulation,
in three different sections Of that instrument
while it does not notice the act of Limitations o
any other local law or municipal regulation o
any State 1t is untrue that it recognized slavery
as property only in those States where it eIlste'
at the time Of lis formation for while, first,
authorized slave, To be tared a, property, II also
secondly. allowed the 'mportJtion of slaves liz
other articles OF commerce, into any of tn
States then existing, which should :..nk proper
pri,r 10 1908 ard sanctioned the npn0;'iHn Of
duty upon such importation, ST icii, of course
oould have gone into the feieral Treasury; and
third =, ii furnished complete and perfect pro
lection to The property of the Shareholder in an
par. ejtie o. S, by providing for his recaptsre il
case he should escape from his master into an
Stale whatsoever. All will admit that the Con
stitu,ion in express terms, sanctions slavery j
the slave States where il already exists that j
equally express terms, it regards slaves as pep
erty in these States and furnishes what was dc
signed as perfect protection Of that propert,
These principles were settled in the case c
Prigg Is The Commonwealth Of Penns. Ivan
10th volume Peters Supreme Court Reports
It follows that, under the Constitution, a slav,
is as much property in Virginia, as the horse o
the Massachusetts man, in Massachu, etts.
D. Slavery differs from tie eel Of Limitation
and all other .o:sl laws ald sp.cia statutes il
his, that the governing power III the lcrIio
OF the Unned States VILE her Congress dice J
or territorial governments established ty &c:
gress 10 supply The loci vans Of legislation "
the people Of the territories. ma: ma fnr r.p'c
such special statutes at pleasure and no ob
will contend, if slavery be III already in exis,
ence in The territories or If slaves be mol carret
into Them from the SAFES. that such governin!
power can enact slavery, eau create the iDsiu
iiou. Southern men, too, generally hold III,
slavery cannot be abolished hy mere legislativ,
act; but surely territorial Legislature can rcpca
the act OF Limitations or any ST n,lar special sta
lutte.
3. Slavery, or the relation Of master and slave
like that OF husband and wife and parent ant
child, to which Gen. Cass compares il. unlik,
any mere special statute or local Law, is great
tact IN the structure and organ cation of Scuh
elm society. The legislature may make lar;
special statutes, regulating" This institution, bu