Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1854-07-17
Review Of Judge MiIEers Charge,

Some eccentric person in the Madison
Journal reviews MILLER's one sided charge
to the Grand Jury in the BoorH case, in
rough, able, eloquent and learned man
ner; the following is sample:
Judge Miller rendered the service of the
United States Courts to parents whose
children had run off to our State
to masters Of apprentices. If the
fugitive slave act had been in force in oul
Sayiour's time, Judge Miller would have
restored the prodigal son to his father long
before harlots had demoralized him. The
fugitive slave act has too much humanity
to allow traunt boy to feed with swine.
On, shame to reason-to man! WHY, the
fugitive slave law itself glowed with fiery
rage at such simple recommendation Of
its virtues; it wept fiery tears like cath
Ole image at Naples; the look twiched
with nerv business, and the accused Leaf
'curled up with contempt. If we
have no liberty in Wisconsin,
have we no common sense to
scorn such an apology? Do we not know
that the laws even Of barbarians acknow-
ledge the natural right Of the parent to the
custody of his minor offspring. The A
mercan parent could recover his truant
boy in Cuba, in St. Domingo, in Hayti.-
Is the fugitive slave law in force IN those is
lands at present? And does not Judge
Miller know that if he delivers up child
apprentice they are in no sense deprived"
Of their liberty? They are as free after, as
before rendition. The foundation of the
guardians and parents right to the tempo
rary control Of q minor is to fit and prepare
the latter for freedom. And does notJudge
Miller know that late decision in New
York denies that runaway minors can be
delivered up under this act? But under
it, Judge Miller could deliverup an abscon-
ded wife to her bereaved husband. She
owes him service and labor" | wonder
if a certain Cornus in the Dunciad ever
heard of the fugitive slave process
''Poor Cornus saw lis frantic wife elope,
And curses wit, and poetry, and Pope.''
Love is said to be stronger than death:
but the fugitive slave law is stronger than
love, and when the silken thongs of love
are sundered, the iron letters of Marshal
Cotton shall bind the welded pair togeth-
er in metallic felicity. The silkcn cord
spun in loves gossamer loom is nothing to
the log-chain links with whic h Judge Nil
Ter offers to bind together the social state.
What a pity that old Menelaus never
heard Of the act of 1850, by which Mar
shall Cotton could have thrown his 'siudi-
cial arm" round the beautiful Helen, and
led her back from Troy. All Greece arms,
'joinedwith auxiliar Gods" a posse Of them,
Jupiter on Mount Ida, Neptune on the
fleet, Mars above the city Of Troy, in a
ses-cloud as long as a Milwaukee freight
train, with horses, and men, and dogs, ito
match" could not accomplish in ten years
what Judge Miller can do in fifteen min
utes. What labor saving process, ye
runaway brides, does the law Of 1850 pro-
vide for restoring you to your Service and
labor" The Oldest beam of light that ev-
er spread It's wings to make the tour of III
finite space has not to this hour measured
distance which would express tie advance
Of the present age, and show us how far
we have left the ancients behind us. An
drew Jackson Davis waken up old Homer
there-why is he snoozing ON that amber
cloud? Tell him to give us song on the
wife-catching powers of the fugitive slave
law" Judge Miller has only limited at it
in prose.