The southern press., 1851-04-11

= esosc Cs~b0 AZ VIC very btCeoe80 OF tD4 400f1.
nent- Asthird abolished public slaye ,innvt IN
the city OF Washington witho NJ bs tn sEkSr ~
extent or the duration Of slavery In tie H1sf,;rt
of Columbia fourth obtained peace on humil
isting tssms from one Of theyouneest and lksblesA
members Of the confedes1cy, IN an atsifuda ~
seditlon. While fifth only reluctantly admit.
ted California as ffee State, when she ha1 20.
fused TO contamnate herself with slavery
Whlch one OF these measures has superAnou.
merit, to be- received la extenuation Of iha Fng;-
tive slave law! But we are told. that h.6 ..
these mesares were, they were the hast th,t
could be obtained. On the contrary thr,s ~ -
always votes enough for the admission ~ C.i-
fornia The Thi.ty-irst Congress might ~.
admitted her. and left the other qu4stione - -.
other Congress, which instructed by tbe ascnis
might have done better and certainly conil ii pot
have done worse. ~sNs -
Nor do find the Fugitive slave law rrex,nu
IN my favor on the ground Of the already alsf.
hed promise OF all end OF the agitation Of slavery
in the Republic, an agitation which. wksth:y.
beneficent or otherwise, is as inseparahls Tc,,
our political organizationas the winds and clonds
are from the atmosphere that encircIes the earth
have weighed, moreover the argument that
some portion of the people in some Of the Ststes
have made the perpetuity of the Fugitive slaye
law condition OF new declarations of LOYALTY
TO The Union. That loyalty is duty resulting
from the Constitution. and is equally d.,e
whether the measures Of administration are a.t.
lsfactory or unsatisfactory. regret that anv.
thing should have happened to encouraoe IL
lief that loyalty could be accepted On condi.
lions, and especially on the condition az for.
bearing to repeal repealabe statute. But since
II Is so' can only say that we, on whom the ~
cent action OF the government bears, az Il seems
20 US, 80 un!ustly, are in the Union for richer.
'o' Pcorel' TOT Detter, for worse, whether In a
najo,y o' ~ minority, whether in power or
powerless, without condition. reservntrn o,..i;
nc ltlon, or Limitation, for ever and ave that vo
are IN the Union not because we are sat;sfa5
with administration, but whether satisfied or not.
mol an by means of compromises or undax,
standings, but by virtue of the Constitution.
ana that all other parties are in the Union on
the same terms, for the same tenure and hv
virtue OF the same obligation, and 80 thew viii
md their case to be when thew offer n nlaod
violations of extra constitutional conditions -
justify secession. Whatever is irrepealabIe n
any OF the acts of the late Congress-. no one
VIII De mad enough to attempt to repeal What.
ever Is repealable in those acts, and whatevar
shall be repealabie in future acts of Conoress
whether 1t shall favor freedom or slavery. NO
ihat'er under what circumstances. nor with what
auspices nor with what solemnities it may have
been adopted, must abide the trial of exner;anco
Of reason, and Of truth It is only in this w.v
that the Constitution can be maintained. and tha
Union can be saved. Its security consi sts in tho
adaptation to the physical and moral necessities
OF the broad and ever extending empire which
IL protects and defends, and in the facility with
"hch, without violence sudden change. error.
OF administration can be corrected, and new cyl
gehcles can be met; SO that the State. free or
slavehodng, which may at any time ba least
favored, will be at all times safer under this gov-
ernment when worst administered, than it wo,A1
be under any other, however wisely admins.
tered or favorably conducted.
thlnk, my dear Sir, that all this is virtually
confessed now by those who, while they see that
thelr complicated schemes, that suppression of
Tree debate, which they thought essential to the
sa'ety OF tne Onion have ed,nevertheless admit
that the Union IS no longer in danger, and there
fore, think that we may at last conpratnlate
ourselves on the discovery; that not ONLY are
extra constitutional compromises unnecessary
but that the Union has strength and stability
enough to endure, notwithstanding that such
compromises under the influence Of an un;sise
legislative district, are sometimes unnecessarilv
and unavailingly made.
am, Sir, with great respect,
Your humble servant,
VIM H. SEWARD
JOHN A. ANDREW, esq, Secretary of the Com.
mittee, &c. &c,
hhson burlingame. esq, was called for. and
addressed the convention against the law, and in
favor OF continued agitation. He took occasion.
IN tne course ofhls remarks, to strongly condemn.
'he ihiroducuon OF such sentiments as had been
uttered oy Mr.. iianscomb-the result, should
they prevail, would be the bathing of the streat.
Of in bur
also made by Rev. John Pierpont and Charles
l.. Remond (colored) The convention then nd.
Journed to 3, p NJ
Ihe convention met according to adjournment.
at O'clock P. NJ, and was addressed by Hon.
John Z. Park. Hon. Stephen c. Phillips, chair
man OF the committee on resolutions, reported
the following and in favor of their adoption.
Resolved That the people Of the United States
are entitled to all the "rights and liberties"
which by Magma Charta the habeas corpus act, the
Declaration Of Rights and the Common Lam of
England, belonged before the revolution to the
free subjects Of the British crown; hat it was not
designed IN effectng the political Independence of
the colonies to subvert or endanger, but. on the
contrary, to mantsin, secure, and perpetuate the
rights ana liberties of the people; that all statutes
the effect Of which may be to change free mn r,
INTO slave, without the "rerdict Of his peers
and without Judicial proceedings according to "the
law of the land, are in violation Of those rights
Of EngIishmen, which the war Of the revolution
was fought, not to part with, but to retain; which
the Constitution was formed to protect and not to
destroy, and which we can never disown, desert.
betray nor compromise, long as we remain
worthy TO be known as citizens of New England.
Resolved, That the existing enactments Of Con-
gress, upon the recapture Of persons Ilamed To-
have escaped from service, alarming usur-
patton OF power. not granted by the people, nor
the States are subversive of the ancient rrhta
and duties of freemen, or the express provis1ons
and reservations of the Americana Constitution and
OF the fundamental maxims Of free government.
Resolved, That no person in any State Of this
Union can constltuiionaly be deprived of his lih-
erty, without "due process Of law" which pro-
cess IN the case or an alleged fugitive from service
is suit at common law, in which the person
claimed is entitled to trial Of all the facts involv-
ed IN the issue between him and his claimant. be-
fore court of competent jurisdiction, by a iurv
of the vicinity where he is found; to 6e heard.
fully, IN his defence, to be confronted, and to
cross examine the witnesses against him; and to-
have ihe benefit Of the rules Of evidence as they
are accustomed to be administered in the courts P