The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-14

of land TO be staid back from becoming slave ter
ritory, am ready to assert the principle OF the
exclusion of slavery. am pledged 10 II from the
! year 1887; have been pledged 10 II again ana
again and | will perform those pledges but
Will not do n thing unnecessary, that wounds the
feelings of others or that does disgrace to my
own understanding.
Mr. President in the excited times IN which
We live there ia found to exist state OF crlmins-
ton and recrimination between the Nortn anu
South. There are lists Of grievances Prooucea
by each; and those grievances, real or suPPoseu'
ALLEVIATE the minds of one portion OF tue COUNTY
from the other exasperate the feehngs, suooue
the sense of fraternal connection anu Pa'ri.ou,o
love and mutual regard. shall oes'o" n'V,o
attention, sir, upon these various grie'""
duced ON the one side and on the other oegin
~ ,k O ,,nI.;rts Of the South will not an
swer further than have, the general statements
Of The honorable Senator from South Carohna,
that the North has grown upon the South In con-
saouence of the manner Of administering TINS
Government in the collecting of its revenues, and
40 forth They are disputed topics, and ! have
no inclination TO enter into them But VIII
state these complaints, especially one complaint
of the South which has in my opinion just iouhu-
alton and that is, that there has been louuu a'
the North, among individuals ana among inc ie-
u;s,ators Of the North Discrimination to perform
fully their constitutional duties in regard to the
return of persons bound to service who have es-
IN ned ;nto the free States la that respect, 1t Is
INV Judgment that the South is right, and the
Nortb Is wrong Every member Of every n ORTIZ
ern legislature is bound by oath to support the
Constitution Of the United States and this arti-
Gle OF the Constitution which says to these
States they shall deliver up fugitives from SER
vice is as binding in honor and conscience as any
other article No man fulfls his duty in any
Il "a f,xl
sions escapes, from this constitutional duty.
have always thought that the Constitution adj
dressed itself TO the Legislatures of the States
themselves or to the States themselves. IL says
that those persons escaping to other States shall
be delivered up, and confess have always been
of the opinion that it was an injunction upon the
States themselves When it is said that person
escaping into another State and becoming there
fore within the jurisdiction of that State shall be
delivered up, it seems to me the import of the
passage is, that the State itself, in obedience to
the Constitution, shall cause him to be delivered
up. That is my judgment. | have always enter
tanned it, and entertain it now. But when the
subject, some years ago, was before the Supreme
Court of the United States, the majority Of the
Judges held that the power to cause fugtives
from service to be delivered up was power to be
exercised under the authority Of this Govern
ment. do not know, on the whole that it may
not have been fortunate decision. My habit is
to respect the result of judicial deliberations and
the solemnity bi judicial decisions But, as il
now stands, the business of seeing that these fu-
gitives are delivered up resides in the power Of
Congress and the National Judicature, and my
friend at the head of the Judiciary Committee
has bill on the subject now before the Senate
with some amendments to it, which propose to
support, with all its provisions, to the fullest ex
tent. And desire to call the attention of all
sober-mnded men, Of all conscientious men in the
North, Of all men who are not carried away by
any fanatical idea or by any false idea whatever
to their constitutional obligations. put it to all
the sober and sound minds at the North as q
question of morals and a question of conscience
What right have they, in their legislative capa
city or any other, to endeavor to get round this
Constitution, to embarrass the free exercise Of
the rights secured by the Constitution to the per-
sons whose slaves escape from them2 None al
all none at ALL Neither in the forum of con
science nor before the face of the Constitution
are they justified in my opinion. OF course it il
matter for their consideration. They probably
in the turmoil of the times, have not stopped t.
consider of this they have followed what seems
to be the current of thought and Of motives fol
the OCCASION and they neglect to investigate fully
the cal question, and to consider their constitu
tional obligations; as AN sure, if they did con
sider they would fulfil them with alacrity
| Therefore, repeat sir, that here is a GROUND o
complaint against the North well founded, which
ought to be removed, which it is now in the pow Ell
of the different departments of this Government
! to remove; which calls for the enactment of pro-
per laws authorizing the judicature of this Gov
eminent, in the several States, to do all that IL
necessary for Che recapture Of fugitive slaves, anC
| for the restoration of them to those who CLAIM
them. Wherever go, and whenever speak oil
the subject--and when speak here | desire t.
speak to the whole NORTH say that the Soutl
has been injured in this respect, and has RICH
TO complain and the North has been too careless
of what | think the Constitution peremptoril
and emphaticaily enjoins upon il as duty.
Complaint has been made against certain resC
lutions that emanate from Legislatures at tn
| North, and are sent here to US, not only on tn
subject Of slavery in this District, but sometime
recommending Congress to consider the means
abolshing slavery in the States | should b
sorry to be called upon to present any resolution
here which could not be referable to any commi,
tee or any power in Congress, and therefore
should be unwilling to receive from the Legisls
ture of Massachusetts any instructions to presen
resolutions expressive of any opinion whatever o
the subject Of slavery, for two reasons becsus
first | do not consider that the Legislature
Massachusetts, has anything to do with it an
next, do not consider that l. as her Represents
tive here have anything to do with it. Sir, it ha
become. in my opinion, quite too common and,
the Legislatures of the States do not like it, the
have great deal more power to put it down tina
have to uphold it. Ii has become, in my opinion
quite too common practice for the State Legis
latures to present resolutions here on all subjects
and to instruct Us here on all subjects There
no public man that requires instruction more tina
| do, or who requires information more tha
DO, or desires it more heartily but | do not lik
to have it come in quite too imperative a shape.
took notice, with pleasure, of some remarks upo
this subject made the other day in the Senate O
Massachusetts,, by young man of talent an
character, from whom the best hopes may be en-
tertained | mean Mr. Hilliard. lie told tn
Senate of Massachusetts, that he would vote for n
instructions whatever to be forwarded TO member
OF Congress nor for any resolutions to be offered
expressive of the sense Of Massachusetts, as {
what their members of Congress ought to do. III
said that he saw no propriety in one set of publ
servants giving instructions and reading lecture
to another set of public servants To their ow
master all Of them must stand or fall and tina
master is their constituents. wish these sent
men's could become more common-a great dea
more common have never entered into tn
question, and never shall, about the binding fore
ofinstruclions will, however, simply say this
if there be any matter Of interest pending in thi
body, while am member of it, in which Masss
chusetts has an interest Of her own'not adverse {
tho general interest Of the country, shall pursu
her instructions with gladness of heart, and wit
all the efficiency which | can bring here. But
the question be which affects her interest, an
ut the game time affects the interests of all othe
States, shall no more regard her political wishc
or instructions than would regard the wishes G
a man who might appoint me an arbitrator 0
referee to decide some question of important pr
vate right IL ever there was Government upo
earth it is this Government if ever there was
body upon earth it is this body, which shout
consider itself as composed by agreement of al
appointed by some, but organized by the genert