Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1850-11-14

rant shall issue, but upon probable cause. sup.
ported by oath or affirmation, particularly de.
scrbing tho places to be searched and the thing
to be sezgd."
Again, "No person shall be deprived of life,
liberty or property without due process of aw.J
The distinction between law, and the process
Of law, should be kept in mind A writ an ex.
ecutlon, warrant, are names for the process of
law. These derive their power from valid law
regulating them The ACT in question names a
provision for the claimant IN procure warrant
&c. II also says expressly, that he may seize
and arrest him without warrant, and take him
before magistrate. But, suppose, instead of
carrying him before magistrate he carries him
into hopeless bondage what remedy has the
poor victim of this oppressionf None at all
He il equally without remedy, if the certificate
for his removal into slave State, is procured
by imposition, upon the Judge or commissioners.
IF the slave holder or claimant should offer TO
give the Commissioner five dollars for deciding
in his favor, more than he would be entitled TO
| if he decided otherwise, the man making this of.
fer would be punishable criniinally for the crime
of bribery. Congress, in and by this act, have,
in express terms, made this offer Of five dollars
in each case, that can come before such commits.
soner.
Again. By article Sd of the constitution, the
Judicial power of the United States IS vested
in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts
as the Congress should from time to time estab-
fish. The judges to hold their Office during
good behavior. The Judges are to be appointed,
not by Congress, but by the President, with the
advice and consent of the Senate What is the
establishing court Not giving the Judicial
power to man; but creating an Office to be fill
ed by the President, with the adrice of the Sem
ate' In the ACT IN question, Congreso have over
leaped every boundary; and created no court.
but cloted swarm OF people with Judicial pow
er. This is exatly the same in principle as was
done by Congress giving Judicial powers to
State courts for the collection Of internal duties.
That was universally condemned and abandon
ed. The objection was not that State court
was incapable of receiving extra Judicial DOW
ers but that Congress had no power to confer
them, otherwise than by establishing courts as
prescribed in the constitution. Congress has
no more right to appoint Judges than they have
to appoint President or Vice President or for
eign ambassadors. In this statute they have at
tempted to appoint, by description of office,
multitude of Judges, to act in cases of partic-
ular description. To show more fully the alb
surdity and unconstitutionnlity of this provision,
in this statute, lei us suppose that Congress had
passed law, providing that person of some
description in each State, say, the Oldest man, or
the whitest man, or the blacklist man, or one of
any other description in each State, should have
concurrent Jurisdiction with the curcuit court
for the trial of any class of causes, or of all
causes, civil and criminal, in such State, no one
would pretend that such a law was of anv bind
ing force to confer the power it undertook to
confer Yet, that is, in principle, exactly what
Congress have attempted to do in and by the
statute in question.
These views are submitted TO the consdera-
ton OF a candid public,-and, if they are cor
rect views, the evident result is, that said Fugi-
tive Slave act is wholly unconstitutional and
void. In it, Congress, having no power but
what they derive from the constitution, have as
sumed and exercised powers not given by the
constitution. and attempted to authorize acts ex-
pressIy forbidden by that instrument. And TO
crown the whole, after an arrest, without war
rant, issued by powerless commissioner, upon
affidavit of tear of rescue. land there viii be
danger of rescue, if these scenes are transacted
among free people who ever heard of Ethan
Allen,) then the Marshal takes posse large g.
nongh to guard aga INST a rescue, at all tents,
and carries him into some slave State, and then
delivers him to the claimant There is the end
Of the poor mans liberty in this world. And
the Marshal and his attendants receive pay for
all this from the Treasury of the United States.
It is hoped, the slavhoders will not find many in
free Vermont whom they will wish to arrest in
this way.
TITUS HUTCHINSON.