Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-09-13
The Position
oREkIEY ON THE FUGITIVE LAW.

1
"The Fugitive Slave Law, we hear, cannot
be repealed Perhaps NOT Bot il may be por-
trnyed. aud shall be. Il Is the most internal
libel on the name Of Law which any Legis-
lature has e6acted within lifetime. II is
an act from which Chrisfendom recoiis with
abhorrence-ibe shame nnd grief of Repub-
licans, the exultation and glory Of Aristo-
Gratis, throughout the civilized world. The
champions freedom and Progress through
out Europe, hide their faces when i s nnni-
ed happy those who are able to disbelieve
| lis existence! IL is an act which would seem
to have been framed expressly to defy the
axiom that law is the divinely appointed
shield of the weak from the violence Of the
strong, of the frugal laborer from the rapnci-.
u. of the luxurious iller, Of the simple and.
timorous against the swoop Of the cunning
and daring. To pretend that any Just man
would take pleasure in it's enforcement, we
must believe that an audience feels disap-
pointed and 'wronged by the spectacle Of
Antonio escaping the whetted knife of Shy
lock. II this law cannot presently be repeal
ed, there is so much the greater need ofren-
dering il detested and infamous, 80 that no
one can be found base enough TO enforce il,
who would no, be hangman of his brother
for dollar-so that ffeemeD shall loathe il
uuo ctuNtuJiucIo " doudtiftu VI us
CHARLES SUMNER on the FigitiUe Ldp:
"But il rests with you, my fellow citizens,
by youi words and your examples, by your
calm determination, and your devoted lives,
TO this work. From a humane, just aud reli-
gious people shall spring public opinion,
| TO keep perpetual guard over the liberties of
all within our borders. Nay, more, like the
flaming sword of the Cherubim at the gates
of Paradise, turning on every side, il shall
prevent nv SLAVE HUNTER from setting foot
in this commonwealth. Elsewhere, he may
pursue his human prey; he may employ his
congenial bloodhounds, and exult ia his sue
cesefhl game. But into Massachusetts he
must not come. And yet again say, I
counsel no violence. ! would not touch his
person. Not with whips and thongs would
scourge him from the land. The contempt,
the indignation, the adherence of the com
munity shall be our weapons of offence
Wherever he moves, he shall find no house
TO receive him-no table spread to nourish
him--no welcome to cheer him. The dis
NAL lot Of the Roman exile shall be his. lie
shall be wanderer, without roof fire or
irater Men shall point at him in the streets
and on the highways;
Sleep shall neither night or day,
Hang upon his penthouse lid,
He shall live man forbid.
Weary seven nights, nine times nine,
Shall he dwindlc peak and pine.
The villages, towns and cities, shall refuse
10 receive the nonster; they shall vomit him
forth, never again to disturb the repose of
our community.
The feelings with which we regard the
Slave Hunter will soon be extended also to
nll the mercenary agents and heariless min
ions, who, without any positive obligation Of
law, become part of this pack. They are
volunteers, and, as such, share the ignominy
of the chief Hunter"
Messrs. Greeley and Summer speak logically
and eloqucntly. They denounce justly and in
dignantly. The slave hunter shall be loaded
with execration. He shall become an exile in
Massachusetts,, 4" ,oithom roof fire or watsr."--
And yet Mr.. Sumner will go to Washington,
and sit under the same roof in governmental un-
ion with kidnapper Tooms, who after having
been successful in his slave hunt, seeks revenge,
| by attempting to incarcerate William L. Chap
| lin. for q life time. We must ask our political
anti slavery friends, what they can reasonably
expect to effect by their truthful and eloquent
appeals--while accompanied by efforts which
SO manifcstly ncutralize their power.
These brethren are vexed and worried with
US, because we expose their support of slavery,
In supporting the American Union. But while
they occupy that position, we cannot desist.--
Many of them have evinced too much sincerity
and earnestness in their opposition to slavery,
to be permitted to remain unmolested in po-
sition SO false to themselves and the slave. We
should be equally false to them--to tho slave,
and to ourselves, were We to remain silent.
The thing looks to us, so plain that we can
but wonder they should fail to sec, that Mr..
Grceley's and Summers attempts, to create an
indgnent public sentiment. must go for COM
paratively nothing, while they sustain a party
or government in fraternsl relations with
slavery.
The Free Sellers do indeed see and denounee
it in Mr.. Greely's case. Some of them do not
hesitate to soy that after all his exposure and
denunciation of slavery, he is in fact, one of the
most e6ectual supporters of the systsm. His
frequently uttered impulses for freedom. inveig-
ling many who follow bis lead, into support
of slavery, by continuance in the Whig party.
Fidelity to.which, is cardinal principle of Mr..
Greeleys faith. But while they clearly see
this in the Tribune, they arc unable to see
what is equally as clear to us, that their own
position is exactly similar. Our attempts to
develope this fact, are often construed into at
tacks upon their And-slavery integrity.
Let us look little further at this NATTER
The argument in Mr.. Greeley case is this: The
Wing party has ever been the ally of slavery
Recently. it has made the compromise and
stands by it, cutraging all rights of citizens and
men. Mr.. Greeley declaims against slavery and
the fugitive law /; but with equal zeal, supports
Fillmore and the Wings. He might as well hold