Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-11-01
THE AUTHORITY OF THE LAW ASSERTED

On Monday week. after q hearing through several
days, Judge CoNKLING delivered his opinion in the
case of number of the persons held in custody
on charge of assisting in the escape of fugitive
slave at Syracuse short time ago. The decision
of the Judge was, that the accused should give
bonds for their appearance for trial at the next
session Of the Court, and. in default of sufficient
bail, be committed to prison to await their trial.
Five of the accused (white men) were held to bail
in $4,000 each, and two others (colored) in $500
each. The Hon. WIN. H. SEWARD and others
signed the bonds Of each of the defendants. The
sentiments advanced by the Judge in his opinion
are in accordance with sound and comprehensive
patriotism, as well as with an honest and enlight-
ened exposition Of his official responsibility and
duty. We are unable to-day to give the opinion at
and few judicous remarks which we find in the
New York Commercial Advertiser. 1
:" We regard this decision (says that journal) as
prompt vindica.ion of the law, and expect that it
will serve saluary restraint upon the abolition
lists of that locality. Judge Conkling has done
himself high credit by the language and temper of
his decision. The charge against the defendants
was laid under section seven of the present fugitive
slave law, which section provides that any person
obstructing the officers in arresting fugitive slave,
.. ~ho shall rescue him when arrested, or aid and
abet others In their attempts rescue him, shall
be liable to penalty not exceeding one thousand
| dollars, and an imprisonment not exceeding six
months and in addition shall forfeit and pay, by
| $ way of civil damages, the sum of one thousand
dollars for each fugitive slave so lost to be re-
covered by action for debt &c. We apprehend
that the vioators of the law at Syracuse will deem
the penalty sufficiently heavy but it is not severe
when the expense and trouble are considered to
which the owner is put who seeks to recover pro-
perty, his right in which, apart from moral con-
siderations, is explicitly guaranteed 10 him by the
terms of the Constitution.
|" The Judge having read the section in full said
that the accusation against the defendants was that
they had aided, abetted, and assisted the fugitive
10 escape from the custody Of Mr.. Allen, the deputy
marshal. The prina facie evidence Of guilt was
all that ne had to inquire into, and he had not the
slightest doubt that his duty was to commit the
parties for trial on that ground, the proceedings on
the part Of the United States commissioner and the
deputy marshal having also been entirely regular
The interference of the defendants and their nu-
merous coadjutors not yet arrested, he said, was
direct, palpable, and unequivocal; my duty toward
the defendants is therefore plain and imperative
Having disposed of the case, the Judge in
dulged in some remarks which, coming from him,
will most likely have beneficial effect in that To-
cality. He earnestly deprecated repetition of the
dIsgraceful scenes of lawess violence and outrage
described by the witnesses in these cases. the
fruits either Of gross deluson or wanton contempt
OF law and social order adding
For the purpose Of eectng the liberation OF person from
custody under issued and executed in with
express and well known provisions Of the constitution and
laws OF the United States, building in the midst of popu
ous city partially demolished and deadly weapons were
Of hun,a
to the grievous injury Of several persons The
nensbe motive by which the aggessos be supposed
have been animated is the belief their part that slavery
IS UNJUST and immoral and that the laws by which ii up
held may therefore be rghtfully resisted by force.
1t must be the hope of all good that the time may
come when justice and oppression in every FORM including
hu slavery ii such be its character will have been ban-
shed from the earth. But these wrongs exist and are
likely to endure IN other forms besides that of slavery and
we have nothing better than lawess violence rely upon
or their removal they will nev 1t is to advancing
civilization alone that look for their gradual extinction
Bgots and fanatics blind this impatient
to heed it and in their hcadong zeal to redress particular
wrongs real anced regardless of all consequences they
commit other wrongs aggravated and inolerable Such
Is ne grave error into which these defendants have aen
Regardless Of their civil and social dues they have broken
the public peace set the law at open deaEce and with dead
weapons assaulted and wounded its officers while executing
its mandates In thus insulting the majesty Of the law did
they expect to escape punishment II So their folly was
equaed only by their crminaly. What is the law in this
country but the declared will of the majority which, when
all pound fundamental principle
the government to submit and which all its ministers
sworn to enforce
often happens that laws enacted contrary to the udg
ments and sometimes to the moral sense thousands OF
citizens and this must unavoaby continue to be the case
But no sane magnes that he is therefore absoved from
the obligation to obey them, still less tha, he has right
orciby prevent others from doing he cannot sub
init to them consistently with the dictates of his conscience
he may seek residence in other country he can find
one where be thinks he would suffer less from misrue but
SO long be continues to be nhabiant of the United
States he must submit to the laws pay the penalty Of bis
dlsobedence. When this be true when every man
may transgress law with pPuny because he dskes il,
our Government will have become mockery worth pre-
serving, for it will have ceased afford protection to the
right either Of property or Of lfe." 4e
the Judge who uttered such noble, conserva-
tive, patriotic sentiments these, in the very heart
of an abolition district, is the same man who was
bitterly assailed by presses in this city and else
where, because, with an equal independence and
conscientiousness, he had interpreted clause in
the fugitive slave law differently from the meaning
which others had given to it. For that he was de-
nounced as of the higher law school, with more
to the same purport; and insnuations were freely
thrown out that his anti-slavery sentiments had
vitiated his judicial integrity. We refer to this
matter only that we may throw out trite sugges-
tion, which, if properly needed, would be Of service
: all round,' viz. that it may be well to cultivate
charity among ourselves, and not be so prone to
impugn the motives assail the integrity of those
who differ from us even on very vital and impor.
tant matters. The Judge continued