The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1850-11-09

4
onal standing taken in connection with his laho
rious preparation for the occasion, as apparen
To- all from bis lengthy written brief before hin
while speaking, inspired implicit confidence IN .h'
correctness Of his position.
Ny answer to the objection will be found il
the CONSTITUTION ITSELF which | will read
The President shall nominate, and by and viii
the consent Of the Senate, shall appoint anlbassa
doris other public ministers aud consuls, judge
Of the Supreme Court and all other officers q
the United States, where appointments are moi
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall IL
established by law
Now, il will be seen that the words inferior
courts are not mentioned IN the Constitution
The gentleman in his zeal against the law, and
his frenzy to resist it, mterpuated these words
and then made plausible argument upan them
| trust this was all unln;en.ional, or was d'nc
with the view Of fulfilling the Higher Law. -
But there i another sentence IN this same clause
Of the Constitution which have not yet read II
is as follows:
But the Congress may BY law vest the up,
poiu,ment Of such iateri0r officers AZ they think
proper in the President alone, u. The Courts Of
Lar, or in the heads of Departments"
What ia meant by "nftrior Officers" whose M
pointmrn,s NAV be vested in the courts Of i,1c
the Constitution where the powers Of Congress
are enumerated, aud among them Is the follow
ing: To constitute tribunals tsfsrior 10 The So
pre,Re Court" Is the tribunal which is to carry
this nc, into effect inferior to the Supreme Court
" the United States That is the ouly'que>ton,
and leave those who preach resistance to the
law to answer it, will remark however, that
these Commissioners are not appointed under the
new law, but under an act Of Congress which has
stood ON the Statute Book for many years. II
tlu>e who denounced and misrcpresen, tins law
had ever read it before they attempted 60 enligll'
ten the people upon it, they would have saved
themselves the modification Of exposure, as |
will show By reading the FIRST section
Sec / BE il enacted &c, That persons who
NAV have been, or may hereafter be- appointed
Commissioners IN virtue Of any act of Congress,
by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and
who in consequence Of such appointments arc au,
,horizei 70 exercise the powers tia, Justice Of
the peace or other magistrate of any of the Uni
ted States may exercise IN respect to Offenders
Tor any crime or offence against the United States
by arreS,iug n,prisoning, OF baing the same M
der AMI hy virtue of the thirty thru section Of
the act al the cath Of September, seventeen hun.
drcd and pightynnc. entitl, An act to establish
Judicial Courts Of the Ustrd States, shall be
and are hereby authorized and required to exer
else and discharge all the powers and duties con
icrrcd by this act"
Thu. it will be- seen that these Commissioners
have been in Office for wears, with their duties
prescribed by law, nearly all Of which were Of a
iudicia character, and that this new law only I'M
poses additional duties upon them and authorizes
the increase Of the number Why has not this
grave Constitution question been discovered be
fore, and the people informed how then rights
have been outraged in violation of the supreme
law Of the land /, Truly, the passage Of the fugi
tive bill las thrown flood of light upon CUnsti-
tuional principles.
A gentleman rose and said that he would like
TO ask another question, which was this # the
new law was so similar to the old one, what was
the necessity OF passing any at all since the old
one was still in FORGET
Mr. Douglas, in reply, said. that Is the very
question was anxious some ore should pro-
pound, because was DESTROYS Of al opportunity
IT answering it. The old law answered all the
purposes for which it was enacted tu'eraby well,
until the decision by the Supreme Court II the
Tilted States, in the case Of Priggs vs. the State
of Pennsy wanna, eight or nine years ago. That
decision rendered the law comparatively inoper-
ative. for the reason that there was scarcely any
".
that the act Of 9S imposed the duty Of carrying
it into effcc, upon the magistrates and other Off
GERS under the State governments. These officers
performed their duties under that law, with tlde-
ty, for about fifty years, until the Supreme Court
in the case alluded 20, decided that they were ur
der no legal obligation 10 do So, and that Con
gress had M constitutional power to impose the
duty upon them. From that time many of the
Va, upt nj lp
Legislature of Massachusetts, and many other
States passed laws making it criminal for their
officers 10 perform these duties Hence the old
law. although efficient in its provisions and SIM.
lar in most respects, and especially in those now
objected to, almost identical with the new law,
became comparatively dead letter for the want
of officers 10 carry it INTO effect. The circuit and
district jndges of the United States. were the on
" officers left who were empowered tocIecuta it.
In this state. for instance, Judge Drummcnd was
the only officer authorized TO try fugitive case
and resided in the extreme north yves: corner Of
the state, within six miles Of Wisconsin and three
Of Iowa, and in the direction where fugl.vcs from
labor were least likely togo II fugitive was
arrested at Shawneetown, or Alton, three or four
hundred miles from the residence Of the Judge,
the master would attempt to take him across the
river to his home in Kentucky or Missouri, with
ont first establishing his right to do 50. Thlswas
calculated to excite uneasness and doubts in the
minds of our citizens, as TO the proprety of per
hitting the negro to be carried out Of the state
without the fact Of his owing service and having
escaped, being first proved, lestit might turn out
tina, the negro was n freeman and the claimant a
sidnapper. And YET, according to the express
terms Of the old law, the master was au,horzedto
scizc his slave wherever he found him, and to car
~ him back without process, or Trial, or proof OF
any kind whatsoever. Hence it was necessary
to pass a new law, in order to carry into effect
in peaceable and orderly manner, the proyis
ions Of the law and the Constitution on the one
hand and to protect the free coorct man from be-
ing kidnapped, and sold into slavery by unprinci
Piled men on the other hand. The purpose Il the
new law is to accomplish these two objects 10
appoint officers to carry the law into effect, in the
place Of the magistrates relieved from that duty
by the decision Of the Supreme Court, and to
guard agains: harrsssing aud kidnapping the free
blacks, by preventing the claimant from carrying
the negro on. Of the state until he established his
legal ri.hi 10 do 50 The new law, therefore, is n
grotimpsovenen' III this respect upon the old one,
and il moge favorable 70 Justice and freedom, and
better guarded against abgse.
A person present asked leave 10 PROFOUND ano,h-
er question vi Mr. Douglas. which was this II the
new law is more favorable to irerdC!n Than the Old
4sN... ..l.. vote