The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-12-26

gry TO clothe the naked TO visit the sick and TO
relieve the oppressed and no interference Of this
fugitive law will prevent this compliance with the
dictates Of our religion with that law which came
from God himself and which no enactment Of
Shareholders and doughfaces can repeal or nullify.
| speak for no one but myself and constituents
others will choose whether 10 obey God or the
oppressors Of mankind but as for us, we will obey
that higher law Of kindness, benevolence, and
humanity, which was implanted in the breast Of
every human being, and written upon the hearts
and consciences of mankind, by the finger Of our
Creator.
Mr.. Chairman, the doctrine Of "Non-Inter-
ference with Slavery laid down by the Pres-
dent, is at war with every provision Of this fug-
tive law If we maintain that doctrine, this law
must remain dead letter upon our statute book.
| Ike who sustains this doctrine must disobey the
law, for the Constitution and this law antago-
nisms--at war with each other. II we adhere to
one, we must discard the other. My constituents
will maintain the Constitution, while they will
hold this law In contempt. Sir, from the adoption
Of the Constitution until ls4l never this doc
1 trino OF non-interference between master and
slave" denied by the Executive. AT that time, the
present Secretary Of State, in correspondence
with our Minister at London, substantially
ayowed il to be the duty of this Government to
! protect Southern slave-dealers while pursuing
! their vocation, This doctrine, coming from
! Massachusetts, man, inspired his successor mir.
! Upshur) to maintain the same principles, while
advocating the annexation of Texas in 1913 Up
to lS4I, repeat that noa-interference between
master and saveD was the doctrine Of the North
and Of the South, of Wings and of Democrats
Ii is true that our slaveholding Presidents at
times lent their powers silently to uphold slavery ;
but no officer Of Government ever droEsd il the
duty Of Congress or the Executive, thus to in
terftre, until the present Secretary Of State put
forth that construction in 1871. | repeat that,
from the day Of adopting the Constitution until
A. ID 1871, the doctrine Of non-interference
~i'N [~sc-y ir'Ss STspa wa5 3p1S asGSse, ~
my knowledge, by any public man O. this nation
and no member of this body ever attempted to
.tts5 ~. 81 STgsza - I'D ----.A
of Congress To the gentleman from Georgia,
Mr. TooMBs not now in his seat belongs the
honor of being the member Of this House who
boldly and publicly demanded that the powers
and energies Of this Government should be pros
tituted to the support Of slavery. The President
aud his Cabinet may adopt this new theory-but
the People Of the North will repudiate it.
The Message further says: The Ian IS The only
SIRE protection of The wedk and the only Efficient
araim upon The arOngn This, sir, is said with d-
rect reference to this fugitive slave law to induce
the People to execute it, Ii would seem that the
President intended to see how far he could impose
upon the intelligence of the public Sir, what
protection does this law lend to the poor, weak,
| oppressed, degraded slave, whose flesh has often
| quivered under the lash of his inhuman owner,
whose youth has been spent in labor for another,
whose intellect has been nearly blotted out :
When he seeks an asylum in a land Of freedom,
this worse than barbarous law sends the officers
of Government to chase him down--to carry him
back to chains and suffering. The People are
constrained to become his pursuers. furnishing
and fainting, he drags his weary limbs forward,
while the whole power of the Government under
the Presidents command, the army and navy, and
all the freemen of the land, are on his track, to
drag him back TO bondage, under this law. And
this law the President tells US, is the only sure
protection to that miserable slave Does the Presi
dent intend to insult our intelligence Or did
he mean to insert in this grave document satire
upon this barbarous law?
Sir, there is not man in this body, there is
not an intelligent man in the free States, but
| knows If he delivers a fugitive into the custody
of his pursuers, that he will be carried back and
sold to the far South and, ordinarily, his life
will be eacrfced in five years IL employed on the
sugar plantations, and in seven years on the cot
ton plantations The men of the North look up
on this as murder, and would AS soon turn out
and cut the throat of the defenceless negro as Il
send him back to be scourged to death. As soor
violates every principle of humanity and consign.
the fugitive to lingering death by a slow tortur,
of five or seven years. The common law holds
him who aids in murder as guilty as he who
strikes the knife to the heart Of the victim. I'm.
der our law, a man is hanged If he fails to pre-
vent murder when it is plainly within his power
to do SO. Such a man is held guilty of the act,
and he is hanged accordingly.
And will any one suppose that he who assists
4 o.. al 20 nr
ture and death, will be less guilty than he under
whose lash the victim expires2
Sir, have compared this capture of fugitive
to a common murder In doing that do injustice
! 10 the common murderer. To capture a slave and
| send him TO the South TO die under torture OF
five years is far more criminal than ordinary MUIR
der inasmuch as il adds the guilt Of torture to
| the crime Of murder.
Sir, we will not commit this crime. Let me say
| to the President, no power Of Government can
compel us TO involve ourselves in such guilt. No!
The freemen Of Ohio will never turn out to chase
the painting fugitive--they will never be meta
morphosed into bloodhounds, to track him to his
hiding place, and seize and drag him out and de-
liver him to his tormentors They may be shot
down the cannon and bayonet and sword may
do their work upon them they may drown the
fugitives in the blood of freemen but never will
freemen stoop to the degradation Of catching
slaves.
Let no man tell me there Is not higher law
than this fugitive bill. We feel there Is q law of
right, n law Of Justice, OF freedom, implanted in
the breast Of every intelligent human being, that
bids him look with scorn upon this miscalled law.
Sir, | was about to make some comparisons, but
perhaps they may be regarded as indicate. |,
however, shall not hesitate to speak truth. Dur
ing last summer, two distinguished gentlemen of
the same name occupied much Of the public atten-
ton. One was said TO have committed murder,
and the other to have procured the passage Of this
law. One was hanged for his crime; the other,
for his efforts taken TO the Executive Cabinet.
One destroyed the life Of an individual, the other
contributed his influence for the passage Of this
law, which, il executed, must consign hundreds,
perhaps thousands, to premature graves. ], sir,
cannot speak for others; but for myself, would
rather meet my final Judge with the guilt Of him
who has gone TO his last account resting upon my
soul, than that of him who sits 10 yonder Cabinet
Sir, do yon, does any one. conceive that II Is
less criminal to take the life Of Of those fugi
tives than II would Se 10 say any other individual
IL not he who gives his voice and influence from
yonder Cabinet, for the murder Of those people, ms
guilty as he would be to lend his voice and inhu-
ence for the murder Of others Shall men In
high stations, from ambitious, from corrupt mo-
tives lend themselves to the degradation, the de.
struction, Of hundreds, nay, thousands, Of human
beings, and yet be shielded from animadversion by
their political position Has IL come to this, that
place and power are to be regarded rs exempting
their occupants from moral guilt, from RESPONSE
bility both here and hereafter3
An idea appears to exist in some minds, that
obedience to an act of Congress, however criminal
that act may be, cannot involve the person who
thus obeys the law In any moral guilt In other
words, they appear to think that If under this
Fugitive Law they drive the famishng slave from
their doors to perish with cold and hunger, or II
they seize him, place the letters upon bis limbs,
and drag him TO bondage TO be massacred under
the lash, to be murdered by slow torture, they
will, when called to their final account plead his