Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-02-25

rents, without contract or ndenture until thirty
years of age IL males and twenty eight years If females
But this is not the only act upon the subject BY
ference TO the same volume Of laws you will find page
3i0 " an act concerning servants" The first section
provides that negroes and servants coming into the Terri
tory under contract of service shall be compelled to per-
form such contract specifically during the time thereof
In this act also there limit to the time Of the service
but am informed that il usual to fix the period be-
| yond the ordinary term Of human life.
The I'd section made the duty of the master TO pro-
vide the servant with food, clothing, Sc.
The Sd section pointed out the mode in which the
master might sell his servant by an assignment Of the
| indenture.
The 4th section provided the mode of correcting the
servant by stripes" when lazy, dsorderly or guilty. Of
| misbehayior to his master.
The 9th section provides for redressin the grievances
of the servant when ill-used by his master
The 9Th section imposes penalties upon the master
for putting away any lame sick servant under
preteuce of freedom" &c.
The 9Th section is as follows: No negro, ntuao,
Indian shall at any time purchase any servant OTHER than
Of their complexion and if any Of the persons afore
said shall nevertheless presume TO purchase toh SER
want such servant shall Immediately become free and
shall be so held, deemed, and taken"
The 10th section imposes penalties upon any person
who shall trade with servant without the consent of
/ his master owner"
The II til section is as follows !" In all ofpenal
laws where persons are punishable by fine servants
shall punished 6y WHIPPING, AFTER THE RATE OF TWENTY
DOLLARS that no servant shall
receive than forty lashes at any one time unless
such offender procure some person to pay the ne
The 18th section is follows: If any slave servant
shall be found the distance Of ten miles from the ene
ment of his her MASTER the person with whom he
she lives without pass letter token where
by may appear that he she is proceeding by autho
rity from his her MASTER employer overseer shall
and may be lawful for to apprehend and carry
him or her before justice of the peace, to be by his
der punished with stripes, not exceeding thrtyye at
Section 4th follows: Ifany servant shall
presume to come and be upon the plantation at the
dweng-house Of any person whatsoever without leave
from his her oion being sent upon lawful bust
ness it shall be lawful for the of such plantation
dwelling house to give order such Stare
ten ashes on his or her bare back"
The 10th section provides that any stare sapes
want servants who shall be guilty of unlawful
sembiies sedous speeches." Sc. shall be punished
with stripes, at the discretion of justice of the peace
not exceeding thirty nine" ~"
The 10th section imposes penalty of one hundred dol
lars for harborng any servant SLAVE Of color and
fine Of FIVE hundred dollars for assisting any
SLAVE to abscond from his or her master"
Now, sir, if it not the object and meaning of these
laws to introduce, protect and regulate slavery in the
Territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, will you
have the kindness to inform the public what object the
Legislature had in view in passing them? Although
these enacments appear on the statutebook having
been passed and approved the 18th of September,
1907 yet may be proper to remark that most of the
provisions had been in force for many years previous and
coated arranged, and reenacted Of that date
Such the condition Of the laws in respect to slavery
in all that district of country which embraces the present
States of Indiana Illinois, and Wisconsin. When the In
diana Territory divided and the Territory of Illinois
established in $780, these laws continued in force
in the Illinois Territory with perhaps variations not
important to the matters controversy during the
entire period of her Territorial condition and until her
admission into the Union State The Legislature at
its first session after the admission of Illinois into the
Union proceeded to revise all the laws then in force and
to make such changes had been rendered by
the transition from Territorial to State Government
Among these revised laws will be found, at page 1884,
ACT RESPECTING FREE NEGROES, MULATToEs, SERVANTS
SLAVES" approved March 80, 1919. This act con-
ssts of twenty sections less than fifteen of which
copied almost word for word from those Territorial
acts to which have directed your attention By COM
pairing the provisions of this with those of the Terri
tora laws it will be observed that all the enactmens in
the Territorial statutes which intended protect and
maintain The rights Of the master TO his sarss preserved
and continued force whether such slaves held by
the under and ndentures otherwise
On the other hand it will be remembered by the same
comparison that those provisions in the Territorial
which authorized the INTRODUCTION SLAVES from the
slavehoding States aud Territories are omitted This
omission not accidental it not the result of
mere oversight but it made advisedy with the view
of having the law conform to the first section Of the sixth
article of the constitution Of the State which is in the
following words: ......s
Neher slavery involuntary servtude shall AFTER
be into the State otherwise than for the punish
nent Of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly con-
vicd shall any male person. arrived age Of TWEEN
yone years. female arrived Of eighteen
be held to servant uader ndenture
made unless such shall enter into such in
denture while in state of perfect Freedom and condition
of bona e consideration received be received this
service Nor shall any indenture of any negro muatto
HEREAFTER made and executed out of this State if made
in this State where the service one year. be Of
the least validity, except those given in Of apprentice
ship"
The Legislature having conformed to the letter and
spirit of the constitution, by emitting all those provisions
of the Territorial laws which authorized the introduction
of slaves into the Territory that there should be
gal authority Tor the Introduction of any slaves
the State proceeded to protect by legal enactment the
rights of the to all the slaves in the State when
the constitution adopted in obedience to what was
conceived to be clearly implied obligation in the section
of the constitution which have quoted.
In regard to the indenured slaves however there
express stipulation in the constitution protecting the
rights of the master in the following words
Each and every person who has been bound service
contract indenture vtuc Of the kaos the Illinois Ter
rtor ersn and in conformity the provisions
of the same, without fraud collision, shall be held pc-
cc performance Of their and such
and muattoes have been registered conformity
with the aforesaid laws shall the appointed Ly
such latus."
Thus it appears that these Territorial laws to which
have directed your attention. and under the authority Of
which slaves and slavery introduced into the Terri
tory and maintained and protected there and even made
of their parents for twenty thirty years.
according to their sex-these very laws and the slavery
introduced and established by them the
sary to protect TIE rights Of the to oil slaves in
the Territory were sanctioned and affirmed by the Con-
stitution, in defiance Of the ordinance of 1857.
But must return to the aforesaid of 1872 and call
your attention to Of its provisions nasmuch ii
Of the laws which you deemed 1t SO great an
honor to carry into faithful execution in obedience the