New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-05-30

OF importing slaves INTO her West India colonies :
hat was not repugnant then TO public sentiment
but Il Is | allude to It TO show that the intro
ducion Of Slavery INTO the Southern States not 90
ic visited upon the generation tal ah eyed the ine
Icncercc Of this country. On the cOatrarr all the
eminent men OF that Gay regretted l.. And Won my
Young friends Of Albany II you viii take the plin, ~
90 back 70 the debates Of the peroi from the oapn
Of the first Congress, N l77i-I mean TIE Congress
OF The ConfedeTatCn-t0 the adoption Of thc PIE
sent Constitution and the enactment OF the first law
under ne existing tOnStutlOn-anybO' y who Will
make mat necessary research. Will find ina, southern
men and Southern States, represented III Congress
lamentcd the existence OF Slavery in fr nor. earnest
and emphatic terms than the Northern for, though
u DID exist IN the Northern States II was feeble
iapoT, Just gong out-,ocn 10 end-ant nothing
"dS feared from Il while leading men OF the
Soulh-Of Virginia, and the Carona>-fet and
acknow edged that II moral ana political
evil. that II retarded the arm Of the free man.
and Kept back the progress and success Of free
labor, ana said with truth-and all history ver-
fes the observation" that, II the shores Of the
Chesapeake could have been made free -
nee labor As the shores Of tie North River New
York might have been great, but Virginia would
have been great also" That was the sentiment
Now, under this state Of things. gentlemen,
"hcn the Constitution was framed, is trainers,
ana me people VINO adopted IT. came 20 q clear,
press, unquestlOnable stipulation and compact
there had tecn al ancient practice for many years
ior century, for aught know-accoriing 10 which
fugltives from service, whether apprentice Al the
North CT slaves AZ The SOuth-that fugltycs should
he restored. Massachusetts had restored fugitive
slaves 20 Virginia long before the adoption Of the
constitution and II Is well known that ~ the states
hcrein-thc center where Slavery cXlstcd-thcy were
restored And It was held that any man could puT-
sue his slave and tdhe hun wherever he could hnd
him. Under this state Of things, It was expressly
stipulated, N the p1'rcst language ana thcrc Il
stands sOphstry cannot gloss lit cannot be erased
nom the page OF NE t"hN'tutl"n-there IL StthlS'
that persons held 10 service or labor IN one STATE,
under the laws thereof, escaping INTO another shall
not, IN consequence Of any law or reg@auon
q orcin, BE DIS, haItod from such service or la
Ice ~
tie party to wECm surh service or labor shall
Dc cuc Adopted without dissent-no~hcrc
ob6clCd 10. north or South-consderrd as
matter Of absolute nelt and justice TO the southern
Sta'cs-concuucc IN everywhere, by every state that
aiCTtCd The Constitution and We look lu VAIN Tor
ANY opposition, from Massachusetts 10 Georgia
j Ten, his beng the ct>c-thlS being the provision
OF nc Constitution. sOOl after Congress had organ
I2ct. in General Wa>iLgton's tine, it was found
necessary TO pass iaw o carry that provision of the
tcn'ulutcn INTO elect such law was prepared
and passed. IL was prepared by gentleman from a
NOlihOn state. II is sad it was drawn by VT. Ca
bot Of Massachusetts II was supported by him and
by Mr.. GOOdhuc and MIR Sedgwick, of NasSachu-
sets. and generally By all the free States. There
was Lot tenth vote AGAINST It, went INTO
operation, and, for time, IT satisfied the Just
rights and expectations OF everybody Inat law pro-
yldCd that It's prov islOns should be carried into
effect mainly by state magistrates, justices oil
Tie peace judges of Slate courts, sherlh> OF
STATE counties, and other organs OF state authority
SO things went on without loud complaints from any
quarter, until some fifteen years ago, when some
Of the States-the free States-lhought 1t proper
iOr them 10 pass laws prohibiting their own maglS-
tIatCs md officer, from executing tins law OF Con
lresS under heavy penalties, and refusing To the
nted States authorities the use OF their prisons Tor
the detention OF persons arrested as fugitive saves
that is 10 saw far the States could 20. Those
II thcmtO which reier-nOt all, but Seyerdl-nulll-
fed the law of 1913 entirely. They sad, not execute
Il. No runaway slave shall be restored Thus the
law became a dead lciicr-an entire dead letter But
here was the constitutional compact-here was the
stipulation, as solemn as words could form H. and
which every member Of Congress, every officer OF
the General Government, every officer Ol the Stdtc
Governments, from Governors down to Constabies,
had sworn 10 support. Wen, under TINS state oil
things, III 1850 OF opinion that common justice
and good faith called upon us to make law-iair,
reasonable equitable just-that should be calculated
10 carry tins Constitutional provision INTO effect ana
give the Southern States what they were entitled to,
and what II was intended originally they should re-
CelyC-ihat Is, fair night TO recover their ugtlVes
from service from the States into which they had ned
was of opinion that II was the bounden duty OF
Congress TO pass such law. The South insisted
that they had right to IT, and thought they insisted
justly. 1t was no cOnceSSlon-yeldlng nothing
gives up nothing. When called upon To lultll COM
pact the question IS VIII you fulfil And, for one,
/ was ready | will fulfil It by any fair and reaSOna-
bic act of legislation Now, the law of 1850 had two
f3s9S both OF Mch Were ageoPESee r9f me
fugitive than the Law OF 1893 II did 50, because Il
called for record, under SEAL from court IN inc
State from which the fugitive might De SAID 10 nave
come, proving and aScerialnlng that ne was l9gl'
tive that nothing should be left when pursued IN
10 a free State, but TO produce the PROOF Oh MS ueH
THY. Next, II secured higher tribunal IL Pi6Oeu
th; power in more responsible hands. Inc judges
of the Supreme and District Courts OF the Onleu
States, and learned persons appointed Dy lheH dS
commissioners, were TO see TO the execution Oh the
law Therefore il was more favorable Jaw III an
respects TO the fugitive, than the law paSSeu
under General WaShington's administration IN
1893 Now let say mat lhlS ld" HiS
been discussed considered, and adJudged IN
Great many of the tribunals OF the country II mas
been the subject of discussion before Judges oil lhc
Al. toto Fl g Htl IL ID
discus SION before Courts The most respectaDe IN 'le
States EyerywhCTe-on all occasions ana Oy al
Judges II has been holden TO be, and pronounced 10
he, Constitutional law SO say Judges Neisohi
Woodbury. and all the rest of the Judges, as laI aS
know SO saws the unanimous opinion OF MaSsa-
chuseitS herself, expressed by as good court Is
ever sat in MassaChusetts-lts present supreme
Court unanimously and without htslld'ioi-
so SAWS everybody, eminent Tor learning anu
Constitutional law, and good judgment "lthou'
obstruction, without opposition, WllilouL uleiiA
iurc of dissent of JUDICIAL opinion anywhere Ana
hone NAV be INDUCED on this occasion, gentlemen
partly on account of high personal regard ana part
IN of the excellence and aonty oil me pIoouiIIlIi' W
refer YOU all to recent very snort opinion oi Nj VI
ice the District Judge of Vermont. tAppausel rue
the case before him did not turn SO much on the
Question Of the constltutonalty of this law, as the
unconS,itutionaty and llegaiy and ut'er lnauIllS-
stability OF private men and political bodies SettilS up
their notions above IT, on the idea oil the hlgheI Ia"
that exists somewhere between US ana we tlil1
heavens | never knew exactly Mhere. lOIles OI
Good " and laughtcr) All judicial opinions are IN
favor of this law You can't ind man IN the pro-
lesson IN New-Nork, whose income reaches tmIly
pounds year, who viii stake his proieSslonaI rePu
ts,on on an opinion against IT, If ne does, his repu
,ationi not worth the thirty pounds ,Rene"edlaugh
tcrl And yet this law Is 0pposcd-ylolenlLy oppos,
Cc-not by bringing this question mo our lAeS0
overs of human lberty-ihCSe friends OF the Save
The fugitive slayes-dont put their hands IN ihen
rockets and draw funds to conduct law SuilS anu Wy
The question they are not IN that naoll nlu Il;
u aushter1 That is not the way they show their de-
voton 10 liberty Of any kind But they meet ana pass
rcsolutons-they resolve that the law Is Oppressive
unjust. and should not be executed AZ any ratV ,
a,T any circumstances II has been said m the states
OF New-Nork. Massachusetts and ONO, over ana
over again. that the law shall not be executed Ihat
was the LANGUAGE Of ConyentSn IN worcester IN
Mass IN Syracuse, New ork, and elsewhere. Ana
~ ih,s they nledgcd .hclr lives Their fortunes, ana