Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1851-06-12
BURLINGTON HAWK-EYE.

which made her sovereign power. have al
ready stated to you what I had anticipated from
Lle movement, that she would ask to come into
the Union as slave State, We admitted her il
ls45, and we admitted her as a slave State VIZ
admitted her in as, and admitted her with hel
! own boundaries remember that, she claimed by
conquest all that territory which was commonly
called New Mexico, east Of the RIO Grande.-
She claimed also, by these limits, what her con-
stltution had declared and established as the pro.
per limits of Texas. This was her claim and
when she was admitted into the United States, the
| United States did not define her territory. They
| admitted her as she was We took her as she de-
| fined her own limits, and with the power of ma
| king three additional slave States. say "we,s'
but did not always remember that. Now. in
this state of things, let US 90 back to 1885, What
was the state Of things in 1850? There was
| war.
Texas claiming all that, or a great part Of that
which the United States had acquired from Mex
| leo, as New Mexico. Sac stated that it belonged
to her by conquest and by her admission into the
u States, and she was ready to enforce her claims
| by the force of arms. Recollect that is not ALL
a man must be ignorant of the history Of the
| country who does not know, that at the COM
mencement of 1850, there was a great agitation
| throughout the whole South. Who does not
! know that six or seven Of the largest States of
the South had already taken measures for separa-
| toa-were preparing for disunion in some way
! They concurred with Texas, for Texas was pre-
pared or preparing to enforce her rights by force
! of arms. Troops were enlisted, and don't yoa
remember gentlemen, that at this state of things
| how many thousand persons in the South were
| disatfected towards the Union. or were DESTROYS
| for breaking it up, Or were ready to join Texas
| to join her ranks, and see what they could make
| IN war to establish the rights OF Texas 10 New
Mexico? The pablo nina was disturbed
! Tnere were thousands and thousands ready TO
| JOIN Texas. Now, all the extreme South at this
| time was dlsaiiected towards the Union. These
/ very men were in a condition to fall into any
course of things that should be violent and de-
siructlvc. Well then, gentlemen, what was to
be done again, as far as Texas was concerned :?
| Allow me to say, gentlemen, there are two sorts
of foresight. There is military foresight, which
! sees what viii be the result Of due appeal to
arms ana there IS also statcSlnan-ll1e foresight.
which looks not at the result of battles and car
/ mage, but through the results of political disturb
ances, the yeeacc of faction carried into militia
! ~ operations and the horrors attendant Oh civil
! never had doubt gentlemen that If the aG-
minisration o. General TAYLOR had gone to war.
/ and had sent troops into New Mexico, that he
! would have whipped them in week. The pow
er one side was far superior to all the other
/ But what then2 What il Texan troops, assisted
by thousands of volunteers from the dsatlected
States, hal gone to New Mexico, and had been
defeated and turned back, would that have settled
| the boundary question? Now. gentlemen. wish
! ! had ten Thousand vojces-I wish could draw
! around me the whole people of the United States
/ and wish could make them all hear what
now declare IN my own conscience. before the
! Power who sits on high, and who will Judge Won
and me- hereafter. my solemn belief that if this
I Texas controversy had not been settled b. Con-
gress in the manner called the adjustment meas
ures, civil war would have ems Ied-J I'D ,Amer;-
can blood would have been shed and who can
I'll. IL L.
! Gentlemen, III an honorable war It a foreign foe
invade us--.f our rights were threatened-if il
were necessary 10 defend them by arms-I am not
/ AFRAID OF blood. And If | am too old myself. |
! no pc iterc are those connected with me who are
Young and who are willing 10 defend their country
! to the last drop Of their blood (Scnsation u
But cannot express the horror feel Ut the she'd
! ding of blood in controversy between one OF
! these States and tie government of the United
States, because see il L., III the slght OF Heaven
disruption OF all those ties tina. make us great
! and happy people.
/ Gentlemen that was the great question, the
! leading question OF the year 1880. Then there
was the Other and that was the matter of The Eu-
! gitive Slave Lawj let me say word about mat.
Under the PROVISIONS of the Constitution. in GEN.
/ erai Washington's administration. in the year
1899, there was passed a law for The restoration
| of fugitive slaves, by general consent. No one
opposed it at that pariod--it was thought to be
necessary to carry the Constitution into effect
! The great men Of New England and New York
! all concurrcd IN II. Ii passed and answered all
the purpose expected from it, till about the year
lS4l or 1912, when the States interfered to make
/ enactments IT, opposition TO it. The law of Con-
gress said that State Magistrates might execute
the duties of the law, some of The States passed
penal enactments, involving penalty on any who
exercised such authority under the law, others of
them denied the use of their Jails carry the law
into e:fec; and gener ally ga he commencement of
the year 1880, ii was abSolute VI say it was alb
soutely-indispensa that Congress should pass
some law for the execution Of this provision Of
the Constitution, or else give up that institution
entirely. That was the question.
| was in Congress when the law was proposed.
| was for proper law; had indeed proposed a
! different law. 1 was OF opinion that summary
! trial by jury might be had which would satisfy
the pleud;ces of the people bat left the Senate
aud wen. to another station before the law was
passed The law Of 1850 passed. Now, l I'M
| dertake az lawyer, and on my professional char
acter. to say TO yo, and to all, that the law of
1850 is dec dedly MOI favorable to the fugitive
than General Washiog.on's law of 1893; and l
tell YOU why. In the irst place, the present law
places the power in much higher hands--of indie
pendent Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts
| and District Courts. and Com .nlssloners who are
| appo ned to office for their law earning. Every
| fugitive is b-ouyht before tribunal of high
character, of eminent ability, of respectable STA
ton. Well, then, in the first place, When claim
| ant comes from Virginia to New York, to say
| that one A. one B. has run away, or is fug.-
tive from service or labor, he brings with him
| record of the county from which he comes,
| and that record must be sworn to before magis-
trate and certified by the county clerk as to its
correctness. The aifid ivit must state that A or
!, B Gas the case may be,) had departed under such
| and such circumstances, and had come here; and
that record under seal, is by the Constitution Of
the United States, entitled to full credit in every
other State. Well, the claimant or his agent
here. and he presents to you the seal OF the
| Courts of Virginia that A or B had escaped from
service. He must prove that he was here. He
| brings witness and asks if this is the man, and
he proves Il; or in ten cases out Of eleven the an
swer would be, ''Yes, massa, am your slave; |
id escape from your service"
| Such is the present law: and so much opposed
! and maligned as it is. is more favorable law to
the fugitive than the law Of Washingtons of 1893,
| which created no disturbance at the time it was
| passed, and which was sanctioned by the North
as well as by the South. But this opposition is
| a sentiment of modern times. From whom does
| this caInor come? Why look at the proceedings
Of the Anti-siaverv Conventions--look at their
resolutions. Do you find among all those persons
who oppose this Fugitive Slave law any admission
whatever that any law ought to be passed to car
ry into effect the solemn stipu!aticns Of the Con-
stitution? Tell me any such case! Tell me if
any such resolution was passed by The convention
at Syracuse favoriny the carry NJ oIt of the Co..