The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-03-05

J gether as the Constitution keeps together, the
: two subjects Of fugitive criminals and fugitive
} slaves. It undertakes to order the States what
4 they shall do with respect to. the recovery Of
fugitive criminals and provides by its own legis
. laion for the recovery of fugitive slaves. See,
: sir, how 1t commands the governors Of States ::
at shall be duty Of the executive authority of
, the State or territory to which such person
J "a fugitive criminaD shall have fled to cause
him or her to be arrested and secured, and notice
Of the arrest to be given to the executive author
ity making such demand, or the agent Of such
I authority appointed to receive the fugitive, and
to cause the fugitive 10 be delivered TO such
agent when he shall appear"
: This is the mandate AS to fugitive criminals
Congress, the mere legislative agent Of the
States, for certain limited specified purposes
without one word in the Constitution to justify
the arrogant assumption, not only undertakes to
legislatc for the States, but to dictate to their
governors what they shall or shall not do to car
/ ry out compact made between them. But il
goes still further than this with respect to fugi-
tive slaves, although vast assumption of au-
thority, it would have dealt equally with both
classes of fugitiyes, under the words of the Con-
stilution ordanng like remedy for the re-
covery of both. But it deals differently with
fugitive slaves. II does not make the States
act through their governors, but provides that
the claimant shall take his slave before the Judges
of the United States courts, or the judges and
magistrates Of the State courts The States,
finding that the Supreme Court Of the United
States have asserted and maintained the exclu-
sve right of Congress to legislate for the re-
covery of fugitive slaves by the authority of the
general government, have refused to allow their
! magistrates and other officers to act They
| lad tho Iox do t> aid
in the recapture of fugitive slaves And, in
Decd sir, II it be true that the recovery of fugi-
tive slaves is exclusively an affair of the gem
eral government, what else could the free States
do? Were not such laws unconstitutional?
And would they not be set aside by the courts
of the United States? The doctrine of this
court not only permitted, but virtually COM
handed, the States, as sovereigns and the people
of the States as individuals, to stand aloof, and
: to leave the STAKEHOLDER to the fundamentally
8 of the government Of the United States, and to
this alone, to recover his fugitive slave. Sir,
|, protest against this doctrine. protest against
: this usurpaton on the part of Congress-. 1t is
fatal TO the rights of the South. | maintain
] that, by the Constitution, we have the faith of
the States as sovereigns to compact with us;
and that by that compact the government Of
every free State, every man in every free State,
is bound, morally and constitutionally, to aid in
/, the recovery and restoration of our fugitive
slaves.
j But Congress has determined otherwise, and
! the Supreme Court has determined otherwise
have great respect. personally, for the Judges
of that court believe them to be able and up
right; but they are men-very fallible men and
| cannot but remember that, in all times, the u.
dietary of country has always been on the side
of the government. 1t has ever been 80 in Eng
aBd in all the struggles for liberty. It has ever
been so in this country. Not usurpation of
Congress on the powers of the Constitution has
taken place but has been sanctioned by the SUI
F preme Court of the United States from the alien
and sedition laws to the late bankrupt law Let
us, however briefly weigh their reasons for &C.
cording to Congress omnpotence over the sub
ject of the recovery of fugitive slaves
; hold in my hand a compendium of their de-
csious on this subject and their reasons sustain
, ing them / will not name the Judges deliver
! ing the decisions but quote simply the decisions
., themselves
at cannot be doubted" says the court, "that
the Constitution requires the delivery of the flu
! gitive son claim" of the master and the natural
inference certainly is, that the national govern
ment is clothed with appropriate authority and
functions to enforce it." This is very cool. 1t
4 claims power by nature for the general govern
ment--a new source of authority, certainly.
: should say that, as the Constitution does not
; even mention Congress, much less the national
: government, the national government had moth
. ing to do with it. The decision goes on: "The
/ fundamental principle applicable to all cases OF
this sort would seem to be, that where the end
= is required the means given" Certainly no
! one will dispute this position. But the ques.
ton is has any power over the end (the recovery
of fugitive-slaves in State) been given to Con-
= gress by the Constitution! "The clause re-
: lating to fugitive slaves is found in the national
IL Constitution, and not in that Of any State
= Here is reason as original as it is profound
= Where should any of the terms Of agreement
. between the States be found but in their const
, tutonal compact Did the Constitution of any
= nation ever contain its compacts with other ma
= lions? How absurd then, to attempt to argue
= that because the States did not, because they
could not insert into their separate constitutions
, their compact concerning fugitive slaves, that
= therefore Congress has exclusive jurisdiction
{ over it
at might we'll be deemed an unconstitutional
exercise of the power of Interpretation to insist
that the States are bound to provide means to
carry into effect the duties of the national gov
eminent, nowhere delegated or intrusted to them
/. by the Constitution. On the contrary, the nat
ural, if not the necessary, conclusion is, that the
! national government in The absence of all posi-
the provisions 10 The contrary is bound, through
its own proper departments, legislative execu-
tive, or judicial, as the may require, to carry
! into effect all the rights and duties imposed upon
y it by the Constitution"
Here again the whole question is begged 1t
g is taken for granted that it is the duty of the
8 general government to enforce the recovery of
$ fugitive slaves. The learned Judge declares the
: powers of the national government" not from
S any specified grants in the Constitution, but ain
s the absence of all provisions to the contrary
a He proceeds
: eff this be so, it would seem, upon just prin-
7 cpes of construction, that the legislation of
7 Congress, if constitutional, must suppressed. all
State Legislation upon tbs subject and, by neces-
> sary implication prohibit IL. For II Congress
have constitutional power to regulate parti-
cuar subject, and they actually regulate II in a
> given manner, and in a certain FORM it cannot