Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-01-25

legislative form was not by the great South Caro-
lnian himself, in the Senate only three years be-
fore his death.* s..t t1@
The North, on the other hand is greatly excited
at the provision of the bill respecting fugitives from
labor, passed at the last session of Congress.
When that bill is well understood, the opposition
to it will be less than it now is. Under the Con-
stitution the People of the South are entitled to
law which shall carry out fairly and fully the pro-
vision for the reclamation of such fugitives If
the free States unwilling to stand by the Con-
stituton in this respect, how can the South be- ex.
pected to obey it? We believe there is good sense
and patriotism enough in the free States to perform
their duty under the law, unpopular as it may be.
At some future session, should any modification of
the law be deemed necessary which shall remove
objections to 1t ioifhoM inpairing its efficiency,
it may then be made. |.#
| Many of the objections urged against the act
are, we know, without foundation. The first and
strongest objection is, that it suspends or denies
the writ of habeas corpus. The shortest and most
efectual answer to this objection is, that Congress
has not po,cer to suspend this writ. unless when.
in cases ofrebelion or INVASION the public safety
may require it." AS neither of these con,in-
gencies existed when the law was passed-it is
immaterial what may have been the motive of Con-
gress in passing it-they had not the power to
suspend the writ Another objection to the law is,
that the Commissioner of the United States re-
ceives fee of larger amount for remanding the
fugitive to the custody of the claimant than he re-
ceiyes if he be discharged. And the difference
between the amount of these fees five dollars, all
told) is said to be given as bride to the Commis-
sioner to decide in favor Of the master. Now,
should the Commissioner find the claim of the mas
ter supported by satisfactory evidence. it becomes
his duty make out statement of the facts proved
describing the fugitive, and his judgment upon the
whole case, which shall authorize the master or his
agent to take the fugitive to the place whence
he escaped. For this service the FIVE dollars in ad-
dition are given; and, we suppose, if the law had
SO specified, there could have been no objection to
the compensation. Another objection urged is,
that the evidence made matter of record by the
master is to be held conclusive against the fugitive
But Congress could not have intended, if they had
the power, by this provision to change the condi-
ton Of free man into that of slave. The absur-
dity of such supposton refutes the argument.
Upon the whole, think the objections to the act
are greatly magnifed, and that no citizen can be
made liable under it, except he be convicted Of res
cuing or secreting the fugitive.
To resume, however, our review Of !" the past"
from which we have for an instant been led away
by a matter Of present moment: From 1888, let
US pass on to the year 1895, the year of our
Lord in which Mr.. CALHOUN, in his last speech in
the Senate, considered the "agitaton" to have
begun, but which actually began, as we have shown,
two years earlier, and was sedulously cultivated by
persons Of his political party. Though he may
not have had, and we dare say had not personally
any hand in the beginning Of it in 1888, it was yet
vsibly connected, in the minds of those engaged in
it, with belief that by uniting the tohole South,
with some aid from the North and West, rally
might yet be made, with fair prospect of success,
for the elevation of their dolized statesman to the
Presidency on the expiration of the second term of
President JACKSON. After that prospect faded
away before the ascendency of the star of Mr..
VAN buren,, the disappointment and the irritation
of the adherents of Mr.. CALHOUN, if kept within
bounds, were but ill-conceale6. Though dismayed,
sti Hot ulsIearteHeu, tne same party look courage
and again, in 1887, as though in defiance of fate,
ran up its standard in favor of Mr.. CALHoUN's
election to the Presidency upon the expiration of
Mr.. VAN BuREN's term. In the press of this city
so long devoted to him, which had by that time been
transferred to Baltimore, with the accession of an
Editor wholly and enthusiastically devoted to the
great Senator, there appeared las we had oc-
casion last year to show number of success
sive articles, proving very clearly that all hope
was not yet lost in the view of the jealous con-
ductors of that Journal of the advancement of their
candidate Of twenty years standing for the Pre-
sidency. The ground then taken was, that the
selection of a Southern candidate for the Presi-
dency, in opposition to Mr. Van Buren's reelection,
would restore harmony and good feeling between
the North and the South: it would strengthen
the bonds of the Union: 1t soould giye QUIET
and security to the Slaveholding interest"
1t was about this time, though apparently before
the triumph Of the party Of Mr.. VAN buren,, that
was composed, by one Of the persons most closely
allied with the politicians of Mr.. CALHouN's school,
work, in the shape of novel, which then attract
ed no great attention, though it has now become
an important point in political history.
Of the character Of The Partisan Leader (the
title Of the book referred to,) by means of which,