The freeman. (Fremont [Ohio]) 1849-1850, 1850-06-01
MIR, Winthrop ON the Constitution.

Mr. winthrop Oh INC ~OOnStltutlOn'
We commend to every reader the following,
which we believe will find a cordial response
in thousands of patriotic hearts:
"For myself, acknowledge my allegiance
to the whole constitution of the United States,
and am willing to unite in fulfilling and en-
forcing, in all reasonable and proper modes,
every one of its provisions. l recognize, in
deed, power above all human w-rnakers,
and code above all earthly constitutional
And whenever perceive plain conflict of
jurisdiction and authority between the con-
! stitution of my country and the laws of my
God, my course is clear. I shall resign my
Office, whatever it may be, and renounce all
connection with public service of any sort
Never, never, sir, will l put myself under the
necessity of calling upon God to witness my
promise to support constitution, any part OF
which consider to be inconsistent with His
commands.
"But it is libel upon the constitution of
the United States-and, what is worse, sir, it
is a libel upon the great and good men who
framed, adopted and ratified it; it is libel
upon Washington and Franklin, and Hamilton
and Madison, upon John Adams and John
Jay and Rufus King; it is a libel upon them
all, and upon the whole American people of
1889 who sustained them in their noble work,
and upon all who, from that time to this,
generation, after generation, in any ca
pacity, national, municipal or state, have
| lifted theiS hands TO Heaven, in attestation of
their allegiance to the government of their
country; it is gross libel upon every one of
them to assert or insinuate that there is any
such inconsistency! Let lis not do any such
dishonor to the fathers of the Republic the
trainers of the constitution 1t is a favorite
policy, know of some of the ultraists in my
own part of the country to stgmatize the con-
stitution of the United States as a pro-slaUery
compact. I deny it sir. I hold, on the other
hand, that it is pro-H6erty compact-the
most effective pro-liberty compact the world
has ever seen, Magma Charta net excepted
and one which every friend of liberty, human
liberty, or political liberty, ought steadfastly
| to maintain and support, 'to secure the bless
| ings to ourselves and our posterity.' This was
the grand climax in that enumeration of its
objects which constitutes its well-remembered
preamble This was the object for which it
was ayowedly, and for which it was really
framed; and this is the object which it has. in
| fact, beyond all other instruments, advanced
and promoted"
Just and forcible, too, are the following re-
marks, presenting view of the matter un-
der controversy which deserves to be well con-
sidered:
"Sir, the constitution is to be considered and
judged of as whole The provisions which
relate to the same subiect-matter certainly
are to be examined together, and compared
with each other, in order to obtain a Just in
depreciation of its real character and intent
Let this clause then be taken in connection
with that which has authorized and effected
the annihilation of the African slave trade, as
a lawful trade from any part of this vast Amer
ican Union. Let the few cases in which ind-
yidual fugitives may be remanded to their
captivity in conformity with one of these pro-
visions, be compared with the counties instan-
ces in which whole ship loads offreemen would
have been torn from their native soil and
ported into slavery but for the other, and then
tell me what's the just designation Of the COM
pact which contains them both Suppose, sir,
for moment, that the trainers of the const-
tuition had resolved to ignore the existence OF
slavery altogether; suppose that the idea,
which have sometimes heard suggested as a
desirable one, had been adopted by them at
the outset, and that all the pre-existing rights
of the states in regard to slavery, and all its
1 incidents had been left unrestricted and unal-
tered, would that have better subserved the
] great cause of human Eberty9 We should
have had, indeed, no fugitive slave clause
But for every slave who made his escape we
should have had a hundred slaves, freshly
brought over from Africa, Brazil or the West
/ t. TI fco &C
which they could be pro6tably employed; and
every one of them must have been counted,
not as three,ftths, but as whole man, to swell
the basis of that representation, by which the
i slave interest would have been rendered
predominant forever in our land.
Undoubtedly, Mr. Chairman, there are pro-
visions in the constitution which involve US in
painful obligations, and from which some of
us would rejoice 10 be relieved, and this is one
of them But there is none, in my judgment,
which involves any conscientious or religious
difficulty. know no reservation equivocation
or evasion in the oath which have so often
taken to support that constitution; and, wheh-
ever any measure is propoaed to me for full
filling or enforcing any one of its clear obliga-
tions or express stpulations, l shall give to 1t
every degree of attention, consideration and
support which the justice, the wisdom, the pro-
priety and the practicablity of its peculiar
provisions may demand or warrant. In leg
islating, however, for the restoration of south
ern slaves, shall not forget the security of
northern freemen. Nor, in testifying my ale
glance to what has been termed the extradi-
ton clause of the constitution, shall 1 over
look those great fundamental principles of
free governments-th habeas corpus and
the trial by jury