Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-12-29

rights governments are Instituted among men"*--ii
involves a direct contradiction to say that govern.
ments can legalize the cnslavemert of ono man hy
another. M
2. That those rights Which God and nature
have established, and which arc therefore called
natural rights, such as life and liberty, need not
the aid of human laws to be more effectually vested
in every man than they are. neither do they receive
any additional strength when declared 10y :hc mu-
ncipal laws to be inviolaLle. On the contrary, nc
human legislation has power to abridgo or destroy
them, unless the owner himself shall commit some
act Tint amounts to a forfeiture. n
3. Thnt-aside from the preceding considerations
while it has been the doctrine of the Southern
Courts that Slavery is condemned by reason and
the Jaws of naiure'-that ait exists and can only
exist through municipal regulations" u it is evident
even upon their principle that slavery canno,
be lcgalized, unless it be authorized by the funda.
mental or Constitutional law.
A. That the colonial charters were the constitu.
tional law of the land up to 1916 and that the
provisions in those charters, requiring,i in substance
that the legislation Of the colonies be ''consonant to
reason, and conformable, as nearly rs circumstan-
ces would allow, to the laws, statutes, and rights of
the realm of England" prohibited and invalidated
all the statutory Legislation of the colonies, which
purforted to legalize slavery and consequently
that there was no legal slavery in the country up
to the time of the Revolution.
5. That with the exception Of a covert and in.
%cfectual one in the Constitution of South Carroll
ma, there were no provisions in any of the State
Constitutions, that were in existence in 1880
when the U S. Constitution was adopted,) that
authorized, recognized, or in any way sanctioned,
the slavery then existing in any of the States and
that, consequently, all such slavery was then il
legal.
6. That there having been no legal slavery in
the country at the adoption Of the Constitution Of
the United States, all 'the people Of the United
States" without discrimination, were made citizens
OF the United States by that Constitution and
being citizens of the United States, by virtue sol
the supreme law of the land, " they could not be
deprived Of that citizenship. or reduced to to servi
tude, ny any subordinate government, and conse
quently that all those clauses that have since beer
introduced into several of the State constitutions
for the purpose of legalizing slavery, arc void.
I. Thatthc technical meaning Of the word free, .
10 uotu III NV ShSiioh INV vi u u uStu
in MI the colonial charters, and rs used in 1880, in
the then existing State constitutions of Georgia
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania
was not to describe u free person, as distinguished
from n slave, but to describe native and naturalized
citizens, and persons possessed Of political fran
chises, as distinguished from aliens, and persons
not possessed Of political franchises and that
this latter was the meaning, which legal rules Of
Interpretation required that Congress and the
Courts should give the word free, Tin that clause
OF the Constitution of the United States which pro
vides for the apportionment of representatives and
direct taxes.
8. That the word importation, +" when applied
to persons brought into this country, legally APP
Plies to those brought in rs passengers and free
men, and is therefore wholly insufficient, on lega
principles Of interpretation. to authorize the impli
cation that any persons could be brought into thu
country as slaves.
0. That the writ of habeas corpus ncccesssril,
denies the right Of property in man that other
wise this writ might always be defeated, by plead
ing property, and giving possession in proof; ant
that. therefore, that clause of the Constitution o
the United States, which provides, without an,
disc limitation of persons, that the privileges U
this writ shall not be suspended except in cases O
rebellion and INVASION, is equivalent to an entir
prohibition of slavery in any of the States compc
sing this Union.
10. That the words "perscns held to service O
labor in one State, under the laws thereof" bein
legally descriptive Of indcnted apprentices, and q
those bound to service for II term of years." twin
are specially required, ly Art. l, Sec. ., Clause 3
of the Constitution, to be included in the humble
! of free persons are Of themselves, no legal de,
5 cription Of IL slave, and cannot. consistently wit
5 legal principles of Interpretation, be made to.aI
ply to slaves nor can they be held to sanc;io
any State laws which may attempt to legaliz
slavery, unless we concede that the State govern
ments have the right to make slaves of their Who'll
population indisc,iminately, and that consequent
e ly, the United States Constitution can do nothin
to secure the personal liberty of any of its ow
citizens, on whom it relies for its support.
And your Tetitioncrs pray that Con gress will il
quire into all the facts and principles herein SUI
7 gested, and also that they will examine and censiC
CT all the ADDITIONAL evidence and arguments tina
may be offered by your petitioners, or any othe
persons, touching this s%nlject and if Congress
shall be of the opinion that the slavery now cxit
: ting in this country is inconsistent with the Cor
! stitution of the United States. then your petition
! cs further pray that Congress will forthwith enac
: laws providing for the establishment of all sue
> courts, and the appointment Of all such agent
and attorneys. as may lie necessary fer securin
the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus to ever
person in the United States. who is restraine
e of his liberty under pretence of his being pro-
erty.
> And, fnally,y your petitioners pray that Congret
{ will, in any event, report fully their opinions upc
the subjects herein set forth, for the information
the people, to the end that no doubt may rest u
on the public mind in regard to matters of SO gre
, moment, involving, as they do, the authority of Il
II Constitution. the justice of the nation, and Il
" liberties Of so large numbers of our fellow men.