Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1854-06-23
Jf!isrrIlanrnug.
For the Vermont Waterman.
The Compromises of the Con-
stitution.

" Y Nv At iAlh1il ub1uA itlO 1Vitllflt-
misses Of the constitution. What
dre they! They seem to be regard
ed as mutual concessions between
the free States and slave States, al
feeling the interests of freedom on
one hand and oi slavery on the other.
10 any such concessions exist in the
Constitution This instrument aims
at union, justice, tranquility, defense,
the general welfare, and the bles-
sings of liberty. Does it occasional
ly turn aside from these declared
ends To take care OF an interest in
mortal conflict with them all
Ia that part of the Constitution
winch apporlions representatives, a
class OF persons IS recognised as DIS
llnct from free persons, aud from
those bound TO service for term
of years" The effect OF recognz-
ing this distinct class is 10 reduce
the representation of the slave States.
II then We consider this class to be
what the Constitution calls them.
persons, aud not property, the pro-
vision Is a concession of the slave
States to the free States. but il we
regard them as property is a strange
concession OF The free States to the
slave States
know OF but one thing more
which claims regard as a compromise
la your paper OF May II, You say
We dckHoWiedge and respect the
/ prohibition Of the Constitution upon
The states as to fugifices " Ii by
lugIliyes' you mean slaves escap-
lug from bondage, you express the
view that seems To- be gener lly taken
OF that clause OF the Constitution
which reads thus No person held
to service or labor in one state. un-
T der the laws thereof, escaping INTO
another, shall, IN consequence Of any
Jaw or regulation ihereiu, be dlschar-
ged from such service or labor, but
shall be delivered up on clam of the
party to whom such service or labor
may he due" Here Is the great
compromlse that holds the Union
together. BY this compromise, II
We may trust interpretations, the
people Of the free States bind them
selves, whenever a slave seeks pro-
lection 10y escaping To them and is
claimed, TO deliver hun up. We
conccde his right TO freedom, and he
only Rms away from a bondage,
which we would draw the sword To
escape. Perhaps he is driven from
"A slave stale by lnlolerable lnhlciion
and viii suffer Increased risor. If de
llyercd Up 10 his ezra cd master
But all tins Is no concern of ours.-
Like men of honor we have only 10
do as we agreed Now, does the
Constitution really contain a provis-
ion So abomtna5le or did tie PEG
pie of the tree States, when they
adopted II, dream that they were
binding themselves tobc slave catch
cfs : | boldly deny, and do It with
a desire to provoke reiuiation IT
err, that either history or the Ian.
guage OF The Constitution warrants
the affirmative. The words OF the
fugitive clause neither name nor de-
scribe slave, and you might read
similar language IA hundred times IN
any other instrument without think
ing oi a slave. The description APP
. Plies only 10 another class, prevlously
named in the Constitution, as bound
not to serviiude or slavery, but IL
service. Besides, before YOU deliver
up the slave, il is your duty TO fad a
man to whom hIs service or labor is
IN some reasonable sense due, and
! who may clam 1t as a right which
the slave is IA duty bound to satisfy
1t is not enough that he has always
been compelled To labor for a master
without law or right, he must Oio,
service under the laws.
Except in some general assertions
from the bench, look in vain lol
any history showing that our father:
were cruel enough TO intend a pro
vision for delivering up. On the
contrary, some extracts from Mr.
Madlson's papers show that, whlI
the Constitution was IN the course o
formation, Mr.. Butler and the two
Pinckneys, all of south Carolina, en-
deayored TO have provision insert
ed for this odious purpose, but i
was promptly rejected. They thei
proposed, what was readily adopted
the existing provision relative TO ia
glIives, And il is believed that lhel
intended TO have il so construed a
to mean slaves. BY having slave
COMPOUNDED with another class
bound TO service, the slratagem ia
worked TO perfection. Judg
Mclean says: " In proceedings IN
der the Fugitive Slave Law, the in
quiry is not strictly whether the Uell
i've be a slave or a freeman, 6u
whether he oloe service to the claim
ant" Thus, by The monstrous Ju
diciai notion that slaves owe serylc
10 unpaying masters, provision ha
been thrust into the Constitution
which the trainers rejected and til
people never intended. No wonde
the people resist its execution.
am fortunate in being able
sustain myself by an extract, acc
dentally before me, from Mr.. Wei
slers' speech of March I, 1850.