Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1853-08-25

Lei US W W HiStfyt tnVoBu thO tutcS w
constitutional Interpretation sanctioned by
the Supreme Court of the United States
forbid il. in cases where the language is
plain of itself 1t must be rich history
which could make language so perfectly in
nocent impose the horrible obligation to
commit crime. Let US see what compact
sealed in blood, what awful sacramenta fet-
tiers for the soul of the nation, history hangs
outside oil this harmless stipulation that
people shall not be debarred by State legls-
laton from recovering service or labor
which may be due to them. The story is
dong, and might easily be made tedious, but
we shall light on its salient points and get
its bearings by triangulation
In the early colonial times, there was
not only slavery such as now exists, but
species of involuntary servitude which
does not now exist ilildrelh. in his very
valuable history Of the United States vol |,
page 504, under date of 1860, says:
"Indented service existed, indeed. in all the
American colonies; but The cultivation of To-
bacco created q social demand for it in Virginia
and Maryland A regular trade was early es-
tabllshed in the transport Of persons, who. for
the sake Of a passage 1 TO America, suffered
themselves TO be sold to the master of the ves-
se to serve a term of years after their arrival
Bat the embarkation of these ndented servants
was not always voluntary. Sometimes they
were entrapped by infamous arts, sometimes ev
en- kidnapped, and sometimes sentenced to trans
portation for political and other ofenses."
Again, in vol 2, page 1923. under date Of
i75O, he says:
"The importation of indented white persons
called servants or sometimes 'redemptioners,
in distinction from the negroes. who we're known
as slaves, was s'il'pxtonsiveIy carried on, espec-
tally in the middle colonies. The colonial en-
actments for keeping these servants in order,and
especially from running away, were often very
harsh and severe"
The earliest of these enactments which
we find on record is that contained in au
Agreement Confederation" between sew
eral of the New England colonies, dated
MAY 10, l643, (See Hazards State Papers
vol. 2, p. S, as follows:
sit is also agreed, that if any servant run
away from his master into any other of these
contedeIated Jurisdictions that in snch case up
on the certificate of one Magistrate in the juris
dlctlon out Of which servant fed. or upon 9TH
er due prnofc, the said servant shall be delivered
either to his master or any Other that pursues
and brings such certificate or pr OFF,
The servants concerned in this agree
ment could not have been negro slaves. be.
Cause at that time very few if any had been
introduced into any nf the New England
co!ouies save Massachusetts, and tina, colo.
nv had passed a law jus, three years before
(See Is Pickering, Case Of Med) thai ne
groes should not be held as slaves. 1t was
very natural that such class of servants
should give the colonies trouble by their FL.
CATION from one jurisdiction to ano,he! and
they did so uptn the time of The Revolution,
soon after which the class by having been
absorbed into the army and no longer re-
plenished by importatnns from Europe. died
out. 1t has almost persisted from the mem.
DRY OF the present race of statesmen, but it
occupied very important place in the
thoughts Of those who achieved the Revolu.
luton and founded the Constitution. as any
one will see by perusing the Life and Writ
ings Of Washington. -. aTs
Here, then. is one salient point--at the
date of the Constitution there were two
distinct classes. Of persons who might flee
from seryitude aud be recovered; and that
which was most likely to require some pro-
vision f3r recapture was the class that could
and did owe service, though its servitude
was popularity termed Involuntary" Ne
groes had not than reached the point of
general stampede; their fngacity gave very
little trouble; but the bound servants were
in the very act of general escape. They
were utterly restless. The muliitudes that
resorted to the army, and for whose servi-
ces the masters aflerward demanded pay,
both in the Revolutionary War, and the
French and Indian War which preceded it,
gave Washington world of trouble, as ap-
pears abundan,ly by his letters. No.with'
standing the first part OF that experience
however, just before the revolution, Wash
ington prepared to import 200 of them to
cultivate his Western lands, which shows
,hal the. class was not then extinct. The
enslaved negro class. on the contrary. gave
so little trouble by disposition to- run away
befnre, during the revolution and afterwart
that we find no trace of il in the history o
the times. IL this historical point canno
be disputed, then remember it.
Again, the class of ''inyolnntary serv
ants" as distinguished from Slaves, hat
been mentioned and provided for, or rattle
provided against, in a very important doc
ument which was completed before the "iu
gilive clause" in question had its birth il
the Convention which framed this Consti
tuition. In 1854 Mr. Jefferson drew up
Elan OF Temporary Government Tor thu
great Western Territory, theu Just cede'
To the United States by Virginia, contain
ing no provision for the restoration of fugl
tive of either of the classes above refelre'
to, but this memorable clause
"That after the year 1900 of the Cnrs'ia
Era, there shall be neirher Slavery nor lnvoun
,ary serstude 10 any Of the said States. other
wise than in the punishment Of crimes whereo
the party shall have been convicted to hav
bseu guilty."
s,s.A majority of the States thus Represented
in Congress and majority Of the delegate
were in favor Of The plan. this clause inclu
died On motion to strike It out, six State
voted to have It stand, and it was only 10.
because New Jersey lost her vote by bavn
hut one delegate present The language c
this clause is quite remarkable. 1t prohibi,
two disiinc, species Of serviiude 1t say.
"neifhrr slavery nor involuntary serviiude
If involuntary serv,ude had bee
used for a mere synonym Of slavery, or e'
plana,ory phrase. 'he connection wouI
have been-No slavery or involuntary serv
tude. The emphatic distinc,ves which ar
used, make !, absolutely necessary that W
should understand by Involuntary servi