New-York daily tribune., 1855-08-24

Ere edom mast maintain q more defensive poe1oon
while Slsyery is constantly aggressive. Slavery aims
a, he conanest OF Free Territory under an sssur
arce that .he fails in her attempt she shall lose none
Of Der former conquess. Tne friends Of Freedom are
beginning have grave doubts about the prontaoe-
ness of such contests.
ore result Of ,hese questions is wan. Of that har
moby Of opinion and action among the opponents OF
Slavery upon which Slavery may safer rest her chan
Of perpeiuity than IL her own elements OF strength
Ard vet az tie hszHrs, perhaps, oil introducing en-
other question for disagreement, but with some hope
that II may afford all honest opponents OF slavery an
opportunity Of agreeing upon one point, which 70 me
appears Of practical Importance asS ware ~ is<
C0nstuti0R By rs letter, By us sorf, or ereH oy re
intention Of its founders NJ re must % 70 mail Is ne
autkorit, tor the States 70 prpstE0te Siarery rtAiH
tksir hmitsl
Regard Slavery as in existence legally or without
law al the adoption OF the Constitution; grant that tue
migration clause confers The right To bring slaves ato
the country until ls0e, and that some kind oi guaran-
tee s implied. ltaIcy Whist You pieaseli grant that
the repre- sentsion clause means that slaves SHAH De
counted; grant that the reception clause rlates 70
slaves sill rereat the question in anO,her form:
What power is there under the Constitution 10 pre-
vent Slavery from becoming extinct, when all who
were slaves at the time of adopting the CONSTITUTION,
who shoud be forced IN previous 10 IsOe should nee
or die
To coDsrue these clauses by any proper rule Of con-
strucuon in favor OF Slavery, slaves existing az the
time or slaves TO be import d, must be regarded as
the subject Of The provisions. IL was then the slaves
i
be permitted by the immigration clause - lich these
provisions atiached not to slavery in the imitsoe
future, for the existence of which no provision was
made. The most unscTupulous STAKEHOLDER OF lnelli-
eence even the most impressibe doughfdce must
admit the correctness of this construction.
Ii n huuiliating TO make even the hypothetical ad-
missions must for the purposes OF this argument, and
vet when r, feet upOn the immense influences that
have been exerted 20 make the people feel II will not
Say beieve that their supreme law guarantees or &C.
the existence of Slavery forever and that there
L.sl lnfna faslIIn nzf1-
fed IN urging that even if the Constitution Is thing
of links and feers that they bind no limbs but
those Of the aged, and that IT has no extra maDaees
for the recruits that necessary swell the columns
Of Slavery 10 hl up the vac cancies that death aud
fight are constantly making.
would like here to leave the subject for a time,
that every reader would make an examination OF the
Constitution and answer, or try 70 answer the ques-
ton have propou1 ded. | wish that each would do
so before reading what follows
do not apprehend that il will be answered by say
ing that the States reserved the power of unlimilei
control over the inhabitants of the Staee for this
would efe tualy nulIfy some of the most important
declared powers Of the General Government. The
only answer that has been given BY the action Of the
States az hst can be given s ty the attempt OF the
States 10 make Slavery hereditary; and the only pre-
tense OF claim that any STAKEHOLDER has TO the person
or services Of his slave born since the Constitution
that bis ancestor slave, and recognized as such
BY that instrument at the time OF It's adoption 1913
the COLONY of Virginia enacted That all persons who
have been or shall be imported into this Colony, by
land, and were not Christians ID their native
"cOuItTy except Turks and Moors IN amity with his
Majesty and such who can prove their being tree IN
EDs land or any other Christian country before tney
"were shipped for transportation hither shall be ac-
"counted slaves and such be here bought aud sod
Notwithstanding q conversion 10 Christianity after
" their importadon;" and further That all ehudren
"shsll be bond free according to the condion of
"her mothers, and the particular directions OF THE
"act."
slavery at that time in Virginia seems not 10 have
been a negro question or affected by coorl
The Colony of South Carolina in l740 enacted that
all negroes indians free indians in amity with tnls
Government and negroes, muattoes and mestizoes
"wbo are now free excepted mulastoes and mesti-
zoes who shall hereafter be IN this Prov
ince and all their ssue aud offspring born or TO be
"born shall be- and they are hereby declared to be
"and remain forever hereafter absolute slaves and
" shall follOo the condition Of the mother
il will be seen by the careful exam nation OF the
constitutions aud statutes OF the Slave States that the
only atfempt made TO perpetuate Slavery by cOnsttu
onal le al enactmenis s by statutes like the above
colonial ones declaring that children shall be bond
or free oeeOrds.1 A~ condition 81 tAs "sothe~
Ifft must for a moment be conceded that any legs-
lature can by any possbi ity have natural right to
enact such a statute, declaring the child IA rentra sa
more before il is born, while il is fRus, slave
for life it may be worth while examine the works
of our fGthon WHO engaged in the WORK OF providing
new GUARDS for the security of life, liberty and happ
pess, and zee If they provided no guard agSios' such
monsirous abuse OF legislative power.
In the bloody codes of lag-giyers OF ancient aud
modern times nothing s more repulsive 10 an lntel-
gent mind than the ctuelues authorized upon offspring
for the ofiensss Of their parents. The Common and
Statute Law of England w4s not free from reProach
for this kind OF cruelty. Yet says Blacksione Re
prieyes may aso be cr Hecessitatis iegi as where
woman who is capitaly convicted and plea1s her
preer ancy; though this cause TO stay the udg-
ment yet i is 10 stay the execution TIL she be dev-
" ered.' This is a mercy dictated by the law OF ma
tme, IN farorer roiis, lin favor of her progeny aud
therefore no part of the bloody proceedings IN the
NJ, 18th la. la Ia a
than the cruelty tha, exercised in the Island OF
Guernsey, of burning woman big with chhdi and
When through the violence OF the names, the infant
sprane forth At the stake and was preserved by the
b, s,anders afer some deibeation OF the pu.st who
assisted at lie .acrce, they east it again into the fire
as a yourg hereiic-a baToarty which they never
leaned from the laws Of ancient Rome, which direct
with the same humanity as our own, "qNOd preyHaa-
" rs nulferis dimRc,G PGNA DIFTERArUR QUOD PA
"RIAT." Blsckstone's Com. vol. 4, p. 315.
Ihave given the enecos OF statutes thar grass The IN
fant In reHtrG mere, aud cast II from the w0no
into tie FIRE Slavery, the benefit Of one precedent and
lenye il TO casuis 70 say when the biaveT act the
casting tie child of the hereto mother into fire where
lis misery was soon ended the casting tue child OF
the slave mother into that fire that permits his oi
eroIv ard insurcs like torture 10 the re nOest
progeny. 1t is the ogy close-hItng precedent ean
md The hereto child was burned because It's mother
believed az she could not help believing the slave
mothers child is burned because the mother could not
help telng slave.
The next lea est parallel can find 20 these arocious
enacmenis are the laws of verOus nations that pro-
yided for the punishment of the offspring aud relations
OF criminals and State offenders.
In ancient Rome the relations Of State offenders
were punished wei a. the offender BY the conhsca-
ton Of the criminal estate.
For the reason that such punishment, whereby his
"uos.e,v must suffer as well himself, will help re.
strain man, not only by the sense oi ms uaty aed
dread of peIscr punishment but also by us passions
aud natural affections and will interest every depeni-
ant srd re alton he has 10 keep him from Offending