Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1856-02-02

S.u'O VHl lVTnl 10 term until the Eald state o.
massachusetts, shall wholly remove the iuse com.
planned of in the preamble to this bill and if the
plaintiff shall fail at each term to pay all costs due
the cause shall stand dismissed at the next Term
Of the Court
SEC 3. And be it further enacted, that when
massachusetts shall wholly remove the ofcnse com.
palhel ol herein, the Governor Of this State shall
issue his proclamation, stating the fact, aud then
thus BILL as to that State, shall be void.
"SEc H. And be it further enacted, that when
any other State shall pass II law against the consti.
tutlonal right Of the Southern States to retake in
their borders persons bound to service, the Gov.
efbor OF this State shall issue his proclamation
announcing the fact and then this bill shall to all
intcnts and purposes be in full force against said
State and its citizens"
Over the top of the copy received by us is writ
ten Mr.. Cochran's Bill, with respects of tho
author 1t is, therefore, we suppose, to the cour-
tesy OF Mr.. Cochran that we are indebted for one
OF loo copies Of this bill ordered to be printed by
the Alabama Legislature, AMI we are doubtless
consulting his wishes no less than our own iudg-
ment IN giving to it the additional publicity of
columns.
The first section OF this proposed bill is little
muddy, especially the concluding part; but take
Its intent to be this: that any person indicted for
murder highway robbery arson, rape, burglary
pooket-picking Or any other crime, may plead in
Justification that the person upon whom the crime
was committed was citizen of Massachusetts, or
mat as agent or attorney, he had instituted in
Court OF Alabama some suit prosecution IN favor
OF some citizen of Massachusetts that he had
aided and ahetted in the extradtion of some Of
lender against the laws Of the State of Massa-
chusetts
-ihe second section provides that all civil suits
IN law and equity, upon suggestion to the Court
that the plaintiff belongs to either of the above
named three classes, shall upon payment by the
plaintiff Of all costs accruod-upun future of which
ia tn hp a1 lo ,ol
Term to Term, until the said State of Massachu-
setts shall wholly remove the cause complained
OF IN the preamble of this bill.7 Here arises
slight difficulty. The bill has no preamble; and
the cause complained Of which Massachusetts is to
remove before the suit can go on nowhere appears
ms, however, would, we apprehend, prove by no
means II fatal defect with the Alabama Courts.
Ihey would construe the act tn the same spirit in
which they interpret the Constitution of the United
States, and would easily supply by construction"
anything not distinctly expressed. Suppose "the
cause complained of is nowhere in the bill set
out IN terms. If not expressed it is understood.
Everybody knows it must be the Massachusetts
Personal Liberty Act. What else can it DO?
The same observations will apply to the third
section, by which the whole act is to become void
when the Governor of Alabama announces by proc
anlation that Massachusetts has wholly removed
the ofense complained of by the bill, which nowhere
docs complain of any particular ofense.
What effect this bill of Mr.. Cochran's may have
+ ~ the weak and still weaker minds of
Governor GardDers Know-Nothing Legislature,
we are not entirely prepared to say. Very possi-
bly, it may aid that Anti Slavery Governor, placed
in office by the old Liberty party,in Tightening his
dark lantern brethren into the repeal of the Per-
son1l Liberty law. But whatever may be its effect
on the Know-NothiDg Legislature, apprehend-
1t Is not OF character to inspire much dread in
those citizens of Massachusetts, who in the hab
OF visiting Alabama,or who at all quainted
with the existing state of society there.
In the first place, no Massachusetts man or wo-
man ever thinks Of visiting Alabama for pleasure,
iOr instruction, for anything in the world except
for money; and let US tell Mr.. Cochran, if he does
not know it already, that Massachusetts man in
pursuit of money is not to be frightened stopped
short by the Old Harry himself, much less by him
and his bill. No Massachusetts man who has re
sided IN Alabama long enough to know how things
wag there, is simple enough to rely on the law of
Alabama to protect his person and life In what
State are hOmicdes more frequentP Yet who ever
hears of convictions for murder either thsre or in
any other slave State? Even in Kentucky, so
much nearer to the borders OF civilization, the most
culd-blooded murderers habitually let of under
the plea of selfdefenso. The safeguard which a
Massachusetts, man. or indeed any other man has
IN Alabama against beng asssssinated is, we take
it, no. the law, but his capacity Of defending him
SELF and the danger that if he be murdered his
relations and friends will follow up the murderer
and revenge his death. In this respect society
stands now pretty much on the same footing in
that State when it Was Inhabited by the Creeks
and Choctaws No Massachusetts man, we appre.
hend, is likely to be much frightened at the threat
Of being deprived of a protection which he never
yet enjoyed. There are few communities any " here
to be found on the face of the globe so savage
and ier0cious that one or two Massachusetts men
are not to lie found there with sssortments OF
notions for sale. Those who for the sake of gain
nut themselves in the power of the nlaneating
inhabitants of the Fejee Islands, are not likely TO
be frightened ut any degree of barbsrism which
the good people Of Alabama may think proper to
exhibit.
1t is the same with the collection of debts. Is
there any law in the Feiee Islands compelling
debtor to pay? And yet the men Of Massachusetts
underst md how to get their money in the Feiee
Islands or elsewhere How much, in nine case.
out of ten-we ight ask in ninety-nins cases out
of hundred-does Mr.. Cochran suppose that an
execution against an Alabama cctt0n-I lantcr is
worth? If he wishes for information on this sub
lect, let him inquire Of our 0nce-wealthy New
York merchants, ruined by their share of the
Southern trade. We can assure him that ell intel
lgent Northern traders some time since came TO
the conclusion that attempts to collect Southern
debts by legal process futile, and that the en-
tire proceeds will not suffice to pay the law ex-
penses.
Should Mr.. Cochrans bill pass into a law and
should it have the effect to diminish the still un-
reasonable amount of credit given by Northern
merchants to Southern traders so far its operation
would be highly beneficial to both sides; and the
Boston merchants could we'll afford to present Mr..
Cochran with silver pitcher, in acknowledgement
of their thare Of the beneft-N. J. Tribune.