Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1851-07-17

! doubted as To this. or the mutual Tor
I bear ance and concessions on this deli
/ cate subject Indispensable 10 secure cor
dial co operation.
n Slavery existed then anAong most @i
1 the thirtr, n Provinces altLnugh the
II extent oi il WAS much less ~ TIE North
4 than ~ the Souih YET, regardless oi
i su ID Differences. all united, heart. head
aud hand, in opposing ihe common enc
my and nittR tae saISc of The Rtyulu-
ton, nj. again Huilrd III the same way
10 guarantee their common rights 10y II
common Coustiuiionand nutual COM
\ promise OF opinions as to the ronilun-
ance Oi this institution by each. tils each
! in lis own independent and sovereign
capacity. might deem il s,ie 10 abolish
\ il. The foreign slave tradH could lie
provided tor without peril or encronch-
ment, lis abolition being within the con-
troll of the Gencr i Government as an
/ aha- Of foreign commerce. IL was,
therefore, regulated and virtually abol-
ished, prospectvrly, IN the Constitution
/ itself. But the institution Of slavery in
each State could be regulated only by
itself, " 1 lout making each a slave TO
the rest. and could not at once and ov-
t. the whole Union, be voluntarily
abandoned without imminen, danger TO
/ llc, liberty aud property Of the white
population, 10y letting loose all the terri.
fic furies OF ioA itlcism, combined with
extreme ignorance aud bad passions.
II happened ia this way, that the
| Northern States earliest commenced the
extingushment of slavery, the number
il, bondage there being fewer. and the
measure therefor easier and less expos
ca TO disorder.
And the process Of emancipation, un-
der the inevitable operation of tree
principles. steadily and quietly advan-
ced South ; and, by means of coloniza-
tim, riIl more rapidly and safely for
ALI concerned, was on its beneHcent
march, and was returning TO benlghted
Africa arts and christianity, instead OF
brutal ignorance, barbarisin and idola-
try-when arrested almost entirely by
olficious external interference, tending
through scryile insurrectlon thus excit-
ed to cover with carnage and coni!a-
grafton all the iair fields Of the South.
'Ghe increased seventies, necessary
to, prevent ,his and the more seductive
appliances intcrposcd TO cause escapes,
compiled with an unexpected judicial de-
csion against the action Of State mag
lstrates on this subject, so augmented
the iugitivcs from labor as 10 require
closer attention TO the guarantees, which
had been provided IN the constitution
nseIi-ior the security of this kind of
property and the consequent amicablc
perpctuiiy OF the Union as connected
with II.
Among ether things, the constitution
hal declared-Article 4lh, Section Sd -
ia these words that ''no person, held TO
service or labor in one State, under the
laws thereof, escaping into another,
shall in consequence Of any law or reg
ulation therein be discharged from such
service or labor. but shall be delivered
up on claim Of u e party TO whom such
service or labor may be due In the
opinion OF some, this may not in that
great exigency have been the wisest
compromise, 10 ensure the adoption of
the constitution and perpetuate the Un-
ion. But our Fathers thought other
wise and inserted this clause by unani-
UNFAIRLY taken and retained to this mom-
ent the constitution, with IN clause in
it and, Till duly altered, We can neilh-
er impair or repudiate it, even by legis-
lallon and much less by force, without
infidclty to our duties and our oaths.
Even earlier than this provision and
in the ordinance Of 1887, which is SO
celebrated ior abol.shing slavery with
in its limits, like provision was intro
duced to restore fugitivcs from labor to
other portions Of the Union.
II deserves special notice, that the
principle Involved in this restoration
now so severely censur d, seems then
To have originated with Nathan Dane,
the repuied author of that ordinance
New England man, and Toe to sla-
very. In 1882 too, by the provision as
TO lis in the Constitution, our fathers
did not establish Involuntary servitude.
As we have Just seen, il had Tor sew
eral generations been established here
by others. Nor did tley undertake 10
regulate the internal institutions OF each
other, by interference, founded on their
own abs ract not ions OF what was equal
U. right, but left TO each State, III its
due sovereignty as they should and
must-the regulation of lis own domcs-
tic concerns, without settling nj all the
grounds for OF against the original legal
ny OF such property in men OF any color
or condition. They merely allowed 1t
TO be returned whence il came; and as
the Ordinance OF 1877 had done before,
gave assurance TO deliver il up FIR that
purpose. 1t is to carry out the plain
Constitutional duiy, this provision, which
We and our fIlhcrs accrded TO, and have
sworn 10 fulfil, that the two acts OF Con-
grcss were since passed, which arc as
sailed Of late by such severe crnsure,
and which some of the community IN
this Circuit most unio tuI ately have
been invoked. and even induced 10 re-
sist with unwarrantable violence. But
how little ground exists for harsh or
intiammatory opinions as to the origin
ol these laws. and much less for or
position, by force aud riotous assaults
on the mini ters OF the law, while exc
cutting them, is very manll, ST from the
whole history Of the past, To which we
/ have just advcrtcd
Without entering INTO the question
of abstract rights, but recognizing the
pr, perry claimed by others elsewhere,
il this class of persons as is done
through various parts Of the Consii.
tuition, and solennly engaging ms we
/ have to aid its Restoration when es-
caping-wc did only what the iratcr.
/ nal feelings of all lead them TO do
without constitutional engagements and
oaihs. as 10 other prop,riy, that is, to