New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-15

point Judge Kane goes the whole figure lie
does not pretend-ss, indeed, how could he7-that
the Federal Constitution gives any such right OF
transit as be sets up He does not base il upon
the constitution but upon natural justice. OF
course, If any such basis exists, il our learned
;udee who quotes yattel and Pufendorf so gbly,
il correct, the same Law of transit is equally app-
cable TO anada as to Pennsylvania, and the slave
holders have natural and indefeasible right if
,bey find II convenient to convert the railroads Of
Canada into thoroughfarss for the domestic slave.
trade Nay more, our Southern nabob' may
travel all over Europe, Great Britain included, at
tended by their negro slaves in spite Of Manshelds
famous decision in the Somerset case so glow
ipcly paraphrased in the oft quoted lines Of
Cowper
So far as relates to Europe, we shall turn over
Judge Kane to the jurists Of France, England and
Germany. So far as relates to Pennsylvania and
the other Free States, We shall let him answer
himself In a subsequent part of his opinion we
lind the following passage:
"Tbe righ Of the master 10 arrest his fugitive slave
is not a solitary case in the law 1t mT be exercised
toward fugitive apprentice or redemp1oner TO TIE
same extent ard is done daily without producing any
eIei.ement An apprentice is a serrant Stare is no
more though his servi.ude is for life the nature OF 1t
Is tie same appre nticeshp or by redemption winch,
though terminated by time, is, during its continuance
q, a. we're seIviude as that for life. OF the same ma
tue il the right of parsLt TO the services OF his mi
o. children which gives the custody OF their persons
Here we have the whole matter in nutshell
| Judge Kane himself answers all his elaborate
sophistries in single line. An apprentice is a
servant slave is no more. Precisely so. And
| hat Virpnia m ster
who voluntarily brings his Virginia apprentice
into PENNSYLVANIA can undertake to hold him there
under his Virginia indentures VIII Judge Kane
tell us. for instance, that French father who
Voluntarily brings his children over twenty one,
but under twenty five years OF age to this country,
or whose children of that age run away from him
and come bther, can pretend to retain control Of
| them here, on the ground that by the law of
France the age of majority commences at twenty
| five
However much Judge Kane may struggle to
enshroud bis blunders in fog Of legal learning if
he has quarter part Of the erudition Of which be
| seeks to make show, and but single grain of
logic in his composition, he cannot fail to perceive
| that though slaves are conyersationaly spoken of
as property they are not, even in Virginia, property
in the same sense with horses and other domestic
animals. They are servants, apprentices for lite'
and nothing more. So we sometimes speak Of
horses as servants, but this is figuratve aud
inexact use of the word, from which it by no
means follows that all that Blackstone and other
LAWYERS have written Of the relative duties aud
rights of masters and servants is applicable to the
| case of horses
So much for Judge Kane on the right of transit.
1t ia clear that his doctrine e1plodes itself but it
would be equally easy to show that, even admitting
this pretended right of transit, he has totally failed
to justify any interference in the case of fugitive
slaves by the process of habeas corpus, an act OF
Congress having expressly provided for such cases
another and different method OF procedure.