Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1855-01-04

AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.
Emierant Mr.. -, have heard and read !
much about American liberty, and have come
from Europe with o view to make choice of some
location in this country for my future residence.
find, as anticipated, slavery INDUCED and
practiced in many States OF the Union, and |
have no desire to locate among slaves. Will
thank you, sir, to loan me the Consultation OF
the United States Tor examination, before take
stand anywhere.
American. 1t is at your service, sir. Here Is
the original Constitutions, and amendments al
forwards adopted us part Of the Constitution.
Enngrdnt. | thank you, sir will examine
and return it.
He goes out.
Afterwards, and on another day, he returns
with the book.
E,aigrant Mr.. -, | am not able to dis
cover where any of your people obtain author
ity to hold men in bondage. | have carefully
examined the Constitution and amendments you
were so kind as to loan me, and find nothing
that appears to have any bearing favorable to
slavery but, on the contrary, everything seems
made to protect liberty.
American. But, sir, when this Constitution
was adopted by the States, they were independ-
ent each OF the other with regard to their in
ternal police, and most of them INDUCED slave
ry and the Constitution was agreed upon BY
the several States, to unite their strength TO
defend, regulate, and control, those matters and
those phases of interest common to all the States.
and n It to other matters.
Emigrant. But was not liberty-personal
liberty-common to the inhabitants OF all the
States 1t seems the people thought 80 when
they adopted the Constitution ; for they took
care to insert the provision that "no person
should be deprived OF his liberty, but by due
process of law" and your people must have
invented new kind OF slavery, if their slavery
is by due process of law, or by any law what
ever. In ordinary slavery, there is no process
of law about it, but the strong arm and the use
of the lash.
American. There is one paragraph Of the
Consttu ton that has been construed in support
Of slavery.
Emagrdnt. What paragraph, pray, sir!
American That which treats OF persons held
to service or labor in one State, escaping to
arc her. Under that,an act was . sed IN 1850,
called the Fugitive Slave Act, providing for the
compulsive return of such fugives into slavery
by the United States Marshal.
| Enugrdnt. And has any court ever been
found to treat that law MS OF any force!
American. Single commissioners, certain
class Of homemade judges, and SON real judges,
have SO decided, aud sent the victims into inter
minable bondage.
Euigrant. | should not have expected that
men sworn to support that Constitution would
have passed such u law, or, when enacted, treat
cd it as Of any validity. carefully examined
that paragraph, and discovered no power CIV
en- to Congress to legislate upon that subject at
all. 1t appears to be an undertaking On the
part of each State, what they will do in case
Of such fugitiyes But is has no connection
with any clause clothing Congress with power.
1t appears TO be judicous provision for the
reception of apprentices bound to service, and
convicts condemned to labor for given period,
who escape. They are held to labor by the
laws But there is nothing in that paragraph
of the Constitution that describes any part of
the character of slave 10 call him person,
appears an odd use of language for that force,
Whatever it be, shat makes him slave, makes
him dumb chattel. Nothing is or can be due
from him. He can owe nothing. He, and all
he seems to have, belong to his owner. To con-
strue sentance which clearly describes II ler-
son, ii senticnt being. capable Of contracting
dobs, in legal sense owing service or labor
to consrlo this to mean dumb chattel, must
b. strangl perv1rsion OF the English language
Amr,tan. H,w" o., the supreme Court Of
thu United States, the dcrnor resort in all ht-
gated questions I'm Ter the Constitution and laws
Of the United States, have decided that slaves
are comprised in that paragraph OF the Consti-
tuition
Emigrant Was that decision or anything
Suggesting power in the court to making sucn
decision, in the Constitution when the people
+ voted to adopt it
American. do not know as there was but
it is said that the trainers of the Contitution--
that is, the members OF the Convention that
sent forth the Constitution to be voted upon.
and adopted or rejected, by the people-undcr-
stood that the paragraph in question would he
construed to mean slaves.
Emigrant. Do you mean, sir, that the peo-
pie were SO duped, as, whcn voting to adopt a
written Constitution, in plain, unequivocal Ian
guage, they were voting for an unwritten one
. and, when voting for the most thorough guard
to liberty, they were voting one-sxth of the in
habitants out from the panoply Of this liberty
And can it be supposed that those who made
the draft and sent it out to tho people, intended
to use terms thus to dupe the people!
American. | would not suppose any such
bad intention Many Of the members were pat
c riots of the observation-disclosures men. Undoubt-
eddy the majority of them intended what was
written, according to tho natural Specification
8 of the terms used.
. Emgrant. How do you suppose the people
understood it, when they voted to adopt it
American. suppose they understood what
was written for them to vote upon, in its plain,
natural sense.
Enugrant. What would be the effect of q
decision of the Supreme Court, that the para
graph above referred to includes saves-woud
G such decision be considered binding, as if ii
was SO written in the Constitution
American. | cannot say as to that Such
: however, would be urged, as its necessary effect
: Surely, the judges who should make such
: u decision would be apt to treat it az settling
the question.
d Emigram If those judges are candid, homes,
men, would not their eyes and cares be open te
i see and hear the TRUTH though that truth
u should show them to have erred
American They are all honest men, to be
sure; but circumstances frequently create a
v strong prejudice We hardly deem it dishon
est for man to lean towardss what he calls hil
own interest-we term it prejudice.
: Emigrant. What circumstance would lead
| to suspicion of any such leaning or prejudice
American. Nothing, perhaps, worth naming
though majority Of the judges of the Supreme
Court belong to slave States, and generally have
3 done, and are chiefly Shareholders That might
lead to suspicion that they might feel a pref
udice favorable to the institution.
Engrant. Would not this bea method OIL
amending or altering the Constitution, without
6 the action of the People upon it, as provided
in the Constitution itself. | see not why, il
the Supreme Court, by their decision, can make
: persons. in the above-cited paragra ph, mean
SLAVES, they may mot, by another decision, make
: the word liberty in the preamble mean siarery
n ana thereby wholly change the object of the
whole ''>
J. American. | do not know what nretex,
e would appear plausible enough to induce tn,
Court To maka anch a dnnsinu nhn,4 Al.