New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-06-20

cation or fepedl 81 Tie Dle'O Tau mus ~"
would endanger the Union ; If so, why
not say it like a man, instead OF lodging
about in this way
The doctrine OF the President and hls Cabinet are
contained IN MS annual Message and goes no further
fber that as a settlement Of difficult ana dangerous
ouesOns the best that could be obtained under the
circumstances the adjustment measures are 20 Or &C
oniesced In and adhered to, uu time ana experience
I'll for,onstrate the necessity of amendment 70
rraypnt evasion OF abuse THIS. too, Is the doctrine
II the friends and supporters OF the Administration
By way of commentary on the above take
the following from the same article
Willitnot be enough then. to adopt such amend
r,onfs TO this law as time and experience shall de-
monstrate to be necessary TO prevent EVASION and
abuse i II necessary to go farther than that-can
we DO II with safety to the Union Is II ceriah thal
The South viii consent to have insult added TO
practical notification Of provision OF the consiltu-
iional compact because she has yielded and lost 50
much as the Tribune says she has
This is it then; the law shall only be
amended to prevent evasion or abuse
Does this mean that it shall be made more
stringent, more truly a slavsh law? Prob
ably. We presume there Is no evasion
and abuse" when free man Is condemned
and carried off to slavery; but if one or two
blacks accused of not being their own mas
ters get away, then proclamations must be
put forth and the Army and Navy of the
United States held in readiness to march to
the cOuntry's rescue.
But we tell The Register and all its clan
that time and experience have already de-
monstrated that this law is desperately in
need of amendment. The demonstration Is
no new-hnged thing, engendered by Adolf
ton and produced by Radicalism. 1t dates
far back in the history of English law. 1t
was first heard of when it was established
that no free man should be deprived of his
liberty but by the verdict of jury. Then
this slayc-grabbings process was irretrieva-
blv condemned and branded as wicked and
intOlerable
The Register quotes Il paragraph from
The Tribune, to the effect that the law Is
worthless to the South, and proceeds
If will not be considered impertinent and OF Of
place here may we be permitted Just TO inquire
where is the necessity or propneyo OF strng up such
an agitation, and talking so loudly and necessarily
about the repeal of law so utterly worthless and
useless Surely duty OF $4,000 per head IS suh-
cient protection against the return OF runaway ne
gr0es 10 their masters. They Will take very few OF
them back at that price. The cost Is better guar
antee for freedom than trial by jury so We suppose
we are to understand hereafter, when IHe ITtbhne
andi adjunctS rail out against the Fugitive Save
Law, that they are making much ado about nothing
What YOU will understand we are glad
not to be responsible for. But You are
nightly mistaken when you talk to us about
agitation. Who has lately been making
speeches all over the State on this subject
Who took advantage of a great public testl-
val. again and again, and without any special
reason, to exhort the people of New ork
to fidelity to the Compromise. that Is 10 say.
~ perpetual adherence 10 the Fugitive ,iuVo
law, as the condition of preserving our
glorious Union! Who addressed the cltl-
zens of Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany! Or to
90 back little further, who strained every
nerve to defeat Hamilton Fish, because he
would not swear that this law should be
eternal1 Not we. The agitation has had
another origin For our part, we have done
nothing more than follow our leaders and
set one or two things right which they had
left awry.
But why ask for the amendment of a
worthless law Listen, and you shall hear
This law is worthless for the purpose of
the South 1t gives the Slave States no real,
tangible, valuable advantage. It's not'atall
what they were after in the Slavery strug-
gle, and were it repealed or essentially mod
flied, they would lose nothing worth crying
for At any rate, having forborne to dis
solve the Union for real causes, they would
not do it for a fictitious and fanciful one
They are not such fools as The Register
would insinuate.
On the other hand the North has other IN
terests. With the South it is a question of
property; with the North 1t is a question OF
principle If The Register cannot under
stand this distinction we know no way OF
helping it. To us the law Is not worthless ;
it is bad-improper, as Mr. Webster would
express it, To the South a negro escaped
Is but an animal lost, not to be regretted be-
vond its market value to us the enslaying
of freeman is an outrage on humanity, and
dissertation Of the most sacred rights
Does The Register apprehend
Rome.
\ few generations ago Rome for a second