New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-03-20
- !. me-. o. n.o...,r Of prur.slns a. .asaa.ls

Nor would success attend sny Of The deals q - No.r
Concerning fasivss IRON service labor Ine Soss,
ton contains only compact bee fse 49, $50 i
ducsd legislation by Congress and tse 1S
tbs United stse. have virtually decided thA. 20 n
@ wa,s,n ,ns -y S.vs eessd NAT .sve' sTs to
bs REGARDED 10, merely ss pe,.on. , % sn Iess Al.
| thorfy or claim Whsisvef -, g., ...,,s,,a,, of
~ s.,ss. r;h vbsi reason hen, they expect
80 Sec. ~ o,aet1 70 the obligations ron Wncn
they caused nose sIsie, 70 os m W noe
ana such one woud be useless The cause o. nc n-s1
so u The preseu, 10 not a. al he enency Of re
provisions II l. law ns deprve' ne sleg-o felos.s
rom legal Obligation Dot assumed By hiin oui imposed
az Gbeas cor ps and Of sDy cesia judicial process q
animation q The claim set Up by BIS purs1er and hay O.
grades him into cha;ie which may be seized and carried
srsv pesceably wherever found even although exercising
he ngh;s responsibilities Of free citizen Of the Com
onw 10 which be resides and Of the United states
law which denies the citizen oil The safeguards Of
sOns liberty 10 render less possible he escape Of The bond
1--WE deem i,s principle therefore unjust uneonsan.
uons and immoral and nus, while patriotism whhoio'
Yon will thai these convictions Of ours are dlso
Grant IT, for Arguments SAKE they are Deveriheess non
YOU Dot By u.s. bat by the Federal authority Has any
Government soccceeced IN changing nf moral coz
imply no dsoysty We the Constitution, although
perceive ts oeec just aeknow 90 &c me spisn
dor and power Of the Sun, athsugh s surface sr
uished With here and there an opaque spot
your Constitution and Law converts hospitsnIy % ne
The mOst -egrbonR CpplcssiOu
80. Bu, M mankind except you esteem thai hoe
vitsily The Right OF E1usdinon; o. even vRl-
lives from Justice "a not admitted by the Law OF nature
and Of Nations, but rests On voluntary compact
"7'he Law ~ Naions disavo~s such cOmpacIs-he
Law Of EatcIs, "ri.,en % ne sI' sno ,SS ~ en-
force them because mere 10 public conscience 10 susfar
iben. know Lat uere ere laws o. various SORE IA
regulate he conduct ~ meh ipsfs ~ t3 go, a..
aons End ssuies, laws mercantile eUt codes civil bul
when egating for States especially when we ,re
founding OIL hese must be bronghito he si.c
ard Of he laws Of God and must be tined by that 'nd4rl
@To couclude on his point VIZ ARE NOT sLAvEHoLG-
Frs; cannot 10 our judgment be eher true Christians
real Frsemen, If we impose on another chain mat we
deny all human power to asien upon ourselves log pc
eve and think Otherwise and doubtless with equal sn-
cery We iodge you not and He alone who ordsned ne
conscience Of and its laws of action Judge us DO
then in this conflict demand Of you an Unreasonable
thing in asking that since you will have properly that can
ard will exercise human power 10 effect s escape yon
shs be your police and In acting among as as such
you shall conform to principles Indispensable TO the security
VI the admitted rights ofheemen =
Here are two sides Of the question our read
ers will weigh them and render judgment We
propose TO add few observations Illustrating the
Intrinsic difficulties Of the case:
The Constitutional provision requiring tie sur
render OF fugitives from labor is in the following
words
"Ho person he'd to service shor 70 one State under
TIE ia"s thereof, escaping into another shall IN conse
q1euce Of sny regulation therein, ~ discharged
rom such service or labo but shz be delivered mp
CHIN Of the party 10 whom such service or labor Il due
l. 1t IL very common assumption that tins was
one Of the compromises Of the Constitution con
ceded b. the North TO the South Offset to
some concession 10y the South TO the North yet
we are couGden, this is not true. For tie States
that framed the Constitution were nearly all Slave
holding-New-York and New Jersey az clearly as
South Carolina and Georgia There were fewer
Slaves this way, but they were no less Slaves
than those Of the South where Cotton and Cane
growing were then unknown. This stipulation,
then, not strictly concession OF one section
to understanding paid ior something done
but an arrangement substantially for the supposed
benefit or convenience OF all the parties to It,
{. I, was very generally understood and con.
coded at the time the Constitution was framed
iSce Dobates) that Slavery was an evil which mast
very soon, in the natural course OF things die out
or be eradicaied. So far, then, from being per-
petual engagement by Free States, for a consider.
alton 70 arrest and return the runaway Slaves OF
Slave States, 1t was in fact an arrangement under
stood to be temporary, for the mutual advantage
OF the parties generally during the period that the
necessity for it should exist
There existed at the time a very general
yicon of the evils of Slavery, but no profound and
painful sense of the wrong done TO the Slave.
Slavery in Il mlder form than that given to il
by the subsequent perpetual craving and lib
eral offers OF the Cotton and Sugar plantations for
young likely, able bodied negroes, was almost
universal, and the moral perceptions OF the supe
rior race were blunted by familiarity with its
features, so that & slave hunt in this the ads-
TO-
bear hunt now doca. Now all is changed. Relac
ten, discussion, experience. religion have con
WINGED the better portion Of the Northern People
,hst man unexpected of crime has right 10 hls
own limbs and faculties which no Constitution gave
and none can rightly take away. They believe they
would be doing wrong were they to join in the
pursuit Of trembling, fleeing negro, accused Of
no crime, but dislike to work for nothing and be
logged and sold at another mans caprice. Here
is the difficulty How shall it be overcome
Let us think little of what Mr.. Clay says Of the
requirements of " good neighborhood and Kind and
friendly feeling in the premises A Southern
planter or merchant chooses to travel through
| Free States with one or moro of his slaves.
| To this there is 40 objection no impeachment
So long as the slaves choose to go with him al Is
smooth and easy. Bat some oticous person sees
fit to sue out Hahess Corpus and have the slaves
broOgb, bet1re Justice This IS rare proceed
ins, not engaged in nor countenanced by many aid
scarcely at all BY white persons. But il is some
times Sono--to what end Simply to ascertain
whether she slaves do Or do not choose To proceed
with their master. II they do, all is right he
parties are discharged instantly and the busy.
bodies must pay the costs But II the slaves,
whether upon or in the absence OF such srraigu
ment, choose 10 so different way from their mas
ter 1t requires the existence Of positive, peremP-
tory law to overbesr their nclinatons by the fore
Of the community. and We have 10 such law. We
cannot have without reestsblshing Slavery
Slaves thus brought into Free States are not fHgi-
tires hon lsbor-that has been abundantly settled.
We cannot remand them into slavery without
nj Aking ourselves voluntary, deliberate upholders
Of system which We have outgrown, reprobated
and discarded If we We're weak enough TO at
tesnpt it, the only effect would be a general and
vas, stimulation and growth OF the Ann Slavery
/ spirit among Us The pro-S.svery men would