The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-03-20

law Of this kind, which, unless il is sustained nv
public opinion, will practically nnll3y T. SseJesy
and despatch are absolutely necessary; and vet
what law can secure them, without the aid of
public opinion. Even those at the North who
are the special advocates of the law look upon il
as requiring "diSaereeabie dayD and thus Car it
has been found a very difficult task TO conquer
prejudicesn The public officers and other citi
gems will therefore do all they can to avoid being
called upon, and, when they cannot do that. they
wall not generally engage In IL with that zeal ne
cessary TO insure success. How easy for an Off
Ger, who fears the odium Of his friends and neigh
bors more than the ill-wll of distant sl,yehold-
er, to quietly notify an Abolitionist of the pro-
ceedings or be suddenly seized with illness, which
will prevent his performing his duties, or, as in
one case, proceed to execute o writ with oficious
haste, by telling everybody he meets what he is
after and thus the fugitive has notice and es-
| capes There are thousand ways in which this
can be done, without being liable to the penalties
of the law, and as done an Numerous Instances
There is no use in getting angry over this state
of affairs, because il will not help the matter
The only way to remedy it is 10 ysform public
! opinion at the North, which can only be done by
sending able lecturers to convince the people Of
the iuestimable blessings Of slavery.
The cases Of those who are successful In
SLAVE Hunt" in the free States as one in a
| anu Nucu tucy 10 buCCecu, tut money
| actually expended is generally greater than the
value of the slaves recovered Thousands upon
thousand Of dollars have been lost forever by the
| South in unsuccessful expenditures of this kind
and it will continue 10 be until they learn the
plain truth Hundreds leave their homes under
the firm belief that they will find the great mass
of Northern Wings and Democrats ready and
willing 10 assist them, and that all they will have
| to contend against will be few crazy Abolition
lists; but they soon discover their mistake, and
return home with empty pockets, cursing those
who have deceived them
In the present state Of the public mind every
attempt to enforce this law is Immediately herald
ed through the papers from one end of the ooun-
try to the other, and all the facts tending to
cite sympathy for the fugitive are carefully COL
lected and sent upon the wings Of the wind
Thus IL is that the excitement is kept up, and the
pIttere& opPosInon TO The raw iostsred and ex-
tended Thousands are led by this means 10 in
vestigate the whole subject Of slavery, and their
relation to 1t, and, q result antislavery senti-
ment is spreading with great rapidty. Il has
aroused the Aboitionists; they are renewing
their organizations all over the country. For
years they have not been as active as since the
passage Of this law But this is not all-so odious
are many of its features, and go pertinsciausly
does the South insist upon maintaining il pre-
csely as it is, threatening to dissolve the Union
il even an attempt is made to amend or repeal it,
that hundreds of quiet, peace-loviug citizens are
seriously beginning to contemplate peaceable
separation Of the States, as preferable to thiscon
tinusl strife The South must not be surprised
if they are taken at their word some day. One
thing is certain-if the North should seriously
contemplate a dissolution of the Union, they
will not tak long about it, but Il mill be done
The opinion of Daniel Webster, that "tbe Con-
stituton addresses itself to the States themselves
on this subject, and not to the Federal Govern
ment is fast becoming the opinion Of the mass Of
the people, and, when this opinion becomes fully
ripe for action, will sweep this law from the stat
ute book without moments hesitation. IL the
South has any real regard for their own interests,
they will hasten to repeal it as speedily posi-
BILE That it will be repealed, with or without
their consent is just as certain that the odious
Twenty-frst Rule was repealed. Bya timely re-
treat, they may save themselves the modification
of eating their own threats of disunion which they
will most certainly be compelled to do, if they
persist. BRYANT.
For the National Era.
nrrinInNS nnn nEB Ply, nnn"nN"n"~s
Proper Mode of ESTABLISHING Justice among them
BY JOHN b.. BEACH.