The Ohio star. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1830-1854, 1852-10-04
THE 1NrERD1cr AND THE CONTEST.

OF
the virus with which it poisons all our
free insttutions-iis exclusion of independent commu
mites from the brotherhood of the Union Its hardening
the nations heart against all people struggling for
liberty its atheist making its attempt transfer the
Whoie false English code of high treason into our law
and all Its debasemen of the republican sentiment OF
ms country notwithstanding all this the Baltimore
decree the subject of slavery shall be
agltateo among US forever. &
LOOK at the comprehensireness of this interdct. 1t
embraces all subjects. 1t forbds the political econo-
mist from discussing the relative productveness of free
soil and slave labor 1t forbids the educationist from
demonstrating that slayeholdng people must always
from the necessity of the case, be ignorant peope
people divided not only into castles of wealth. also
of intelligence 1t forbds genius from pre-
senting Truth the glowing smiltudes of fiction; and
that divine hearted woman, the authoress of Uncle
Toms Cabin" is under the Baltimore ban. 1t forbids
the poet whose lips from oden days have been touched
with live Goals from off the heavenly altar-fom
again kndling the hearts of mankind with divine
husasm for liberty 1t strikes all the leading chap
tiers from the book of the moralist 1t puts its seal
upon the lips of the minister of Christ, when he would
declare the whole counsel of God and fobds him
again to preach from the text Whatsoever ye would
that men should do unto do ye even unto them
Alworldly prosperity, education genius, morality,
lgion truh-are struck of these Baltimore
tions in their maniacal partizanship.
The noblest men whom God has sent into the
world-patriots, reormers, philanthropsts, apostles
and Jesus Christ HIMSELF are the side of freedom
yrants, usurpers traitors steaers the wholesale
murderers and robbers of nations, the side of
slavery. The Baltimore Convention ensts under the
banners of the latter They affiliate with the House of
Naples and with the "Prince-President of France.
One might almost have supposed that they had playa
rized their resolves from the Paris Monte where that
ape who mimics the imperial grandeur he cannot
prehend. records hstyrannca DEGREES against freedom
Of speech.-Lous Napoleon decreed free discussion
out of existence in France. Six hundred men Bal
timore decreed the thing for this country. The
ape succeeded hey fell.
And how these resolves be construed provided
questions respecting slavery arise, questions
already started precipitated upon US Should
attempt to Cuba order still further to aggran
dize the slave power, be made-and if General Pierce
should be elected such attempts doubtless will be made
or should State, with slave constitution from
California, apply for admission should Mexico be
again dsmembered to form slave territory and
slave States the of these events of
either of them, how these Baltimore resolutions
be then construed? We know perfectly well what
claim will be set up twill be said that the events
come within the terms of the prohibtion-the
faederis-and bind the nation to silence. II will be
claimed that the resolutions only all Subjects
but all time; and enslaVe children well
selves.
WHY THE OLD PARTIES 1NrERD1cr DISCUSSION
have exposed the character and extent of those
| resolutions. Let me now expose their motive
| charge upon those Conventions the base motive
of attempting to silence discussion by force-as in
this House and in the Senate the same spirit once
| rejected petitions, and would now silence debate
because they conscious they cannot meet it by
argument The fugitive slave law, for instance, is
assaled by the urist because is unconstitutional
by the patriot because it disgraces the country in
the eyes of the civilized world; by the religious
man, because it is unchristian, and by every one
| who has the sentiment of humanity in his bosom
| for it is unheard-of cruelty The upholders o
that law can answer no one of these arraignments.
Their only resource, therefore, is the dasardy de-
nial of discussion and free speech. Like Louis
Napoleon, who, having possibility of reply to the
| accusation of treachery perjury, and usurpation,
| forbids the accusation to be made Among all
our constitutional judges, and among all those mock
judges called commissioners there is not one who
has met the arguments against the unconstitution-
aity of this law. They entrench themselves behind
feeble rampant fprecedents their only defence.
Judge Noggins decides it to be constitutional, be-
cause Judge Scroggns had decided it to be so And
when we look back to Judge Scroggns for light
We find he decided it to be constitutional, because
Judge Sprggins had held it to be So Chief Justice
Shaw, of Massachusetts, whom regard as one of
the ablest judges who ever administered the COM
mon law, any where, virtually admitted, in the
Sims that if the question of the constitution
ality of this law one, the affirmative
could not be sustained. repeat, then, it is das-
tardy order to keep silence, because they cannot
meet discussion. Necessity is their only defence,
"-and what necessity
The tyrant's plea excuse their devilish deed.
UNcoNsTITUTIoNAL1TY.
Let me state in few simple propositions the
unconstitutionaiy of the fugitive slave law, which
has been much elaborated elsewhere -
} Excepting the Army and Navy, the Constitution
of the United States declares that sno person shall
be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law. 1t also declares that
, Gin suits at common law, where the value in con-
troversy shall exceed $20 the right of trial byiury
shall be preserved"
Now, every case of claim for an alleged slave ne
cessariy involves both the question of liberty, and
the question of property.
By the constitution of every free State in this
Union, every person within it is presumed to be
free man. or, in other words, there is never any
pr'G tacle presumption that any man within it is
a slave. Every man is presumptively free until pro-
we'd to be otherwise If the civil condition or statu,
of slavery is to be fastene ID upon any one it mus
be done by the decision of a tribunal having juris
diction over liberty and property-that is, by cour
and jury The pria facie evidence that is free
entities him to the tribunal and the trial of free
man. But under this fugitive slave law, man.
prima tacie right to the tribunal and the trial of
free man is taken away, not by court and jury, bu
:, by complaint and warrant. A claimant demands
n human being presumptively free as his slave anc
n n that mere demand is made to cancel the presum
r. tion offreedom and sef-ownership, to take hin
i away from freeman's tribunal of court and iurv
l. and to carry him for trial before slave tribunal
n that is, commissioner 1t is replied that the de
e cision of the commissioner that he is slave anG
l. not free man, proves that he had no right to tn,
IS tribunal and the trial of free man; retort, tha
n before an unbought, unbribed, freeman's tribunal
- there might have been contrary decision; but yor
prejudged him to be slave by carrying him befor,
st slave tribunal, and you robbed him of the frs
p right OF free man, by deprlVlpg him OF freeman
tribunal and trial For him, and tor his case, yo,
abolish the trial by jury And if by virtue of sucl
81 complaint and warrant you deprive any person
in any free State, of trial by jury, you by tn
n rule deprive allthe men in all the free State
lg of this tralthat s you abolish that trial 70
a. all this class cases. and then by equivalent leg
islaton you can abolish it in all cases whatever
Where then, is that ght to trial by jury whcl
the constitution declares 'sshal be preservedl''
al The law, then palpably is unconstitutional, be
"a r1rac trrlrf valv fran
in right to be tried as freeman; and it is because
/ the Baltimore Conventions cannot answer this ar
I'd gument, that they forbid its PRONUNCIATION.
Id And besides this the proofs which the law pro
Ii vides for and declares conclusive abhorrent t.
IL reason to common sense, and to the common law
ef 1t provides that evidence taken in Southern State
"a a at any time or place which claimant may select
H. without any notice, any possibility of fknowledg
r on the part ofthe person to be robbed and cnsave
,r- by it, may be candestiney carried sent to an
place where is to be used, and there spring upo
ng its victim as wild beast springs from its jungl
upon the passer-by; and it provides that this evi
dcnce thus surreptiously taken and used, shall b
conclusive proof of the fact of slavery and of escap
e- from slavery. 1t does not submit the suficiency
the evidence to the judgement of the tribunal bu
- it arbitrarily makes it Conclusive whether sufcier
~ or not tt abolishes the common law distinct;o