The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-21

lcoNrrNrEn PROM FIRST rAGRl


legislation hy Congress; and the Supreme Court of
the United States have virtually decided that the
whole subject is within the province of Congress
and exclusive Of State authority. Nay they have
decided that slaves are 10 be regarded merely as
persons TO be claimed, but as property and Chatols
10 be seized without any legal authority or claim
whatever. The compact is thus subverted by the
procurement of the slave States With what reason
then can they expect the States er eydtid 10 reas-
sumo the obligations from which they caused those
States 10 be discharged | say, then, TO the slave
States, YOU entitled 10 no more stringent laws
and that such laws would be useless The of the
iueficiencv OF the present statute is not at all the
lenency of its provisions Ii is law that deprives
the alleged rcfuree from legal obligation not assu-
med by him, but imposed upon him by laws enacted
before he born, OF the writ Of hIbedS corpus and
Of any certain judicial process OF examination Of the
claim set up y his pursuer and finally degrades
him into chattel which may be seized and carried
away peaceably wherever found, even although
clsng the rights and responsibilities of free citizen
of the Commonwealth in which he resides and of
the United Siates-a law which denies to the cit-
all the safeguards of personal liberty, TO render
less frequent the escape of the bondman And
since complaints so freely made against the one
side, shall not hesitate 10 declare that there have
been even greater faults on the other side Relying
on the peryersion of the Constitution which makes
slaves mere chattes the slave States have applied
10 them the principles OF the criminal law, and have
held that he who aided tho escape of his fellow man
from bondage guilty OF a larceny in stealing
him. | speak Of what | know. Two instances
NltIllu nv own knONleuge, IN WHICH Govern
ors OF slave States under the provision OF the Con
sttuton relating TO iugives from justice, demanded
from the Governor OF a free State the surrender OF
persons as thieves whose alleged offences consisted
in constructive larceny Of the rags that covered
The persons of female slaves, whose attempt at es
cape they permitted or assisted.
We deem the principle Of the law for the recaptur'
OF tugitves, therefore, unjust, unconstitutional aDC
immoral; and thus while patriotism wi hholds IL
appreciation, the conscences of ur~people con
denim it,
You win say that these convictions Of ours ar
disloyal. Grant il for the sake of argument. The!
are, nevertheless honest and the law is TO be exc
cuted among US not among you not by us but b.
the Federal authority. Has any Government eve
succeeded in changing the moral convictions o
ITS subjects by force But these convictions imp
no disoyalty. We reverence the Constitution, al
though we perceive this defect Just as we acknowl
sdge the splendor and the power Of the sum- although
its surface is furnished with here and there al
opaque spot
Your Constitution and laws convert hospitality l.
the refugee from the most degrading oppression Oh
earth into crime, but all mankind except you es
TEEN that hospitality virtue. The right OF extra
diion of fugitive from justice Is not admitted b
ME law of nature and Of nations but rests in volun
taTy cOmpacts. / know Of only two compact
found in diplomatic history that admitted EXTRADI
TloN OF SLAVES. Here ia one OF them. II IL ioun'
in treaty Of peace made between Alexander Com
Denns and I.eontine, Greek Emperors at Constantl
nopie, and Olee, Kn,a 81 Russia, in the year 9U|
and is in these words
"Ifa Russian slave take flight or II he is carried
away by any one under pretence OF having been bought
his master shall have the right and power 10 pursue him
and hunt Tor and capture him wherever he shall be found
ton Of this right shall be deemed guilty OF violating hi
treaty, and be punished accordingly"
This was in the year of Grace 902 in the perio
called the Dark Ages" and the contracting Pow
ers were despotsms. And here is the other:
mo person held to service labor in State, unde
the laws thereof escaping into another SHALL in const
quence of any law or regulation therein he discharge
he delivered %
claim Of the party Ia whom such service labor is due
This is from the Constitution of the United State
in l7S7, and the parties were the republican States
this Union. The law of nations disavOws such com
pacts; the law Of nature written on the hearts anC
consciences of freemen, repudates them. Arme.
power could not enforce them, because there is NJ
public conscience e. sustain them. ! know tha
there are laws of various sorts which regulate tht
conduct of men There are constitutions and stat
utes codes mercantile and codes civil but when WI
are legislating for States especially when arr
founding States, all these laws must be brought Il
the standard of the laws ofGod and must he tried by
that standard, and must stand fall by IT, This prin
cple was happily explained by one Of the most dis
tingnsheh political philosophers OF England in thes
emphatic words
" There s but one law for all, namely that law whc
governs all law the law Of Creator the law of human
ity, justice. equity, the law of nature and Of nations
lar as any laws fory this prmeya law aud give II NOR
precision more energy more effect by their declarations
such laws enter into the sanctuary and participate in h
sacredness OF its character; but the man who quotes
presidents the abuses of yrants aud robbers poutcs III
very fountains of Justice, destroys the foundations Of a
h" ana therefore removes the only safeguard against e
men, whether governors or governed; the guard whc
prevents from becoming rants, and the gON
ened rom becoming rebels"
There deep philosophy In the confession of n
eminent English Judge. When he had condemned
young woman TO death, under the late sanguinar
code Of his country, for her first petty theft, she fe
down doadat his feet =" seem To myself, said HI
TO have been pronouncing sentence not against III
prisoner but against the law itself"
To conclude on this point. We arc not slavoholC
ers. We cannot, in our judgment, be either tru
Christians or real irecmen If we impose on another
chain That we defy all human power TO asten on oul
selves You believe and think otherwise, and doubt
lessIy with equal sincerity. We Judge You not an
He alone who ordained the conscience of man an
its laws Of action can Judge us. Do We then i
this conflict, demand of You unreasonable thin
in asking that since you will have property that ca
and will exercise human powers TO effect its escape
you shall be your own police, and in acting anon
us as such you shall conform to principles ind,spen
able TO the security of admitted rights of frcemen
If you will have this law executed, you must all,
Vate not increase, its rigors.
Another feature in most of these plans of cOmprr
mise is bill OF peace for slavery in the District Of CC
lnmbia and this bill of peace we cannot grant. We
the Tree States are, equally with yon OF the slay
States responsible for the existence of slavery in hi
District, the field exclusively Of our common lcgislf
ton regret that yet, see little reason TO hor
that majority in favor of emancipation exists her
The Legislature of New York, from whom, wit
great Difference dissent willing to accept
the extinction of the slave trade, and waive emanc
patton. But we shall assume the whole responsibility
if we stipulae not to exercise the power hereaftt
when majority shall be obtained. Nor will the pie
with which YOU would furnish us be of any avail
could understand so mysterious paradox mysel
| never should be able Ia explain Ia the apprehensio
OF the people whom represent how il was that a
absolute AMI express power 10 legisate in all case
over the District Of Columbia embarrassed an
defeated by an implied condition not 10 legisate lo
the ahoOn OF slavery in this District Sir, l. shall
vote for that measure and am willing 10 appropriate
any means necessary 10 carry II into execution
And If | shall be asked what did to embclsh tn
capital of my country win point to her freedmen
and say, these are the monuments of my munifi
cence
If | was willing to advance a that deem
sacred by disngenuous means, would advise vol
10 adopt those means of compromise which hav
thus examined. Tho echo is not quicker in its re
Spouse than would be that loud and universal or
of repeal that would not die away until the habea
corpus secured to The alleged fugitive from bond
age and the symmetry of the free institutions of III
capital was perfected.
| apply the same observations TO the proposition
for a waiver Of the Proviso OF Freedom in Teritoha
charters. Thus far You have only direct popular &C
ton in favor of that Ordinance and there seems cve
10 be partial disposition To await the action OF III
people Of the new Territories, we have compul
sorY waited for il in California But | must tel
you nevertheless in candor and in planness tina
the spirit of the people of the free States Is upor
spring that rises with the pressure put upon il
That sprinG, If pressed too hard will give recoi
that will not leave here one servant who knew hi
masters will and did il not.
You will say that this implies violence. Not a
ALL Ii implies only peaceful, lawful constitutional
customary action. ! cannot too strongly express M
surprise that those who insist that the people of th
slave States cannot be held back from remedies out
side of the Constitution should so far misunderstan,
us of the free States as to suppose we would moi eX
ercise our constitutional rights TO sustain The policy
which we deem just and bensfcent