The true Democrat., 1856-05-27

into articles of confederation, one clause o1 which stipulated "that if any servant run away from his master into any of the confederate jurisdictions, in such case (upon certificate from one magistrate in the jurisdiction out of which the sad servant ted or upon other due proof) the said servant shall be either delivered to his master, or any other that pursues and brings such certifcares and proof" No otrial by jury no hobeas corpus here. The very next clause to this declares "that upon the escape of any fugitive for any criminal cause, etc, upon the certificate of taUo magistrates of the jursdic- ton out of which the escape is made, he shall be delivered into the hands of the officer, or other person who pursueth him." A runatoay se,vant was then delivered up on the certificate of one magistrate; a tugitiue, even for murder, could be deiveret mp only upon the certificate of taoo magistrates. New England then had a robust morality, and high sense of her duty to her neighbors. Massachusetts, even at a later day, was above "negro- worshipping" Dr.. Belknap in his answer to Judge Fuckers queries respecting slavery, says of her in 1763: "Negro children were reckoned an incumbrance in a family, and, when weaned, a0ere given aauay Ike puppies. They have been publicly alver- tised in the newspapers to be given avay" Pu- ritan thrift was not then staiued with saintlv hypocrisy.
 do not seek all occasion, Mr. Chairman, to make crmlnary remarks, or to array rival svs- tens of society; but the course of debate here induces me to submit remark or two upon a few points. First. Under the old articles of confederation fugitive slaves were delivered up more readily and surely than under the present federal government Thus said Judges Wash ingon, Story and Fancy, under the sanctions of judicial responsibility. International conaity at that time was more potent that constitutional obligations now are. Secondly The slave trade had been suspended under the articles of confederation Conflicting commercial regula- tons between Virginia and Maryland, as to the waters of the Chesa cake, induced the call for the convention which framed the present fede- ral constitution. In that convention were John Rutledge, the dictator of South Carolina throughout the revolution, and worthy to have been a dictator of Rome in Rome's proudest day, md George Mason, one of the noblest and wisest ol Virginia's statesmen around whose monumental urn you may cluster gar lands and jewels without obscurng its lustre or imparing its strength--in that convention these two men had influence enough to ingraft upon the constitution provision giving the control of commerce and navigation to two-thirds of the federal (not national, as is now represented to be) Congress. Against this the New England States struggled, because they knew that their hard climate and rough soil invited only the thrift of commercial enterprise. They wished to control commerce and navigation through a mere majority The two southern States viz: South Carolina and Georga-were anxious te reopen the slave trade. The northern States p opposed to them to strike bargain" The bargain was to give the opening of the slave trade to the south till 1908, and the control oi commerce and navigation to the north through the vote of mere majority. The proof IS in the debates of the conventon and the follow ing memoranda of Mr. Jefferson, furnished to me by my friend from Virginia MT. Mason, ] in the other wing of the Capitol, the distil.- gulshed descendant of an illustrous ancestor:
 "Glnston Ha1, Sept 30 1792
 "Ec-relattone c MASON: The constitution, as agreed to, till fortnight before the convention rose, was such an one as he would have set his hand and heart to. l. The President was 10 be elected for seven years, then inc igiblc for seven years more. 2 Rotation in the Senate. 3. A vote oi twO-thlrdS ln in the legislation on particular subjects, and express ' on that of navigation The three New England States were constantly with Us in all questions-( Rho le Island not there and New York seldom) So that 1t was these three States, with the five southern ones, against Pennsylvania, ersey, and Delaware With re- spect to the importation of slaves 1t was left tc Congress. This disturbed the two southernmost States who knew that Congress would !mme- dlately suppress the importation ofSlaveS. The two States, therefore, struck up bargain with the three \ CIV England States; if they would joln to admit slaves for some years, the two southerumost States would join in changing the clause which required two-thlrds of the legs lature in any vote. It was done. These arti- ces were changed accordingly, and from that moment the two southern States and the three northern ones joined Pennsyivania, erscy and Delaware, and made the majority to 3 against uS instead of to for us, 1t had been throu 5h the whole convention. Under this coalition the great principles of the constitution wer, changed ill the last days of the conventon.''
 The bargain was struck; and what was done under it? The citizens of the slaveholdng States imported only three thousond slaves ou of the thirty nine thousand imported into the city of Charleston during the four years of that period, for which 1 have the statistics. The verdict of history will be that to the north be- longs the sin eff sin there be) of the capture and transportation of the African, and tp the south the virtue of civilizng him.
 Thirdly. Would the north account with the south for moneys received for slaves captured and sold to her? Would she pay $l ,2OOO GOO out of her own pocket in the cause of negro philanthropy? Will she clamor about negro slavery, while in her pockets clings the gold which she got through the sale of negroes?- Sir, in this abolition clamor there is the morali- |, l, l,, in thy purse' The colonization society calls upon her for bare pittance to send to Liberia those whom southern masters have voluntarily freed, and it calls in vain. Yes, the north cap tured the negro, brought him to the south and sold him, and now, with the gains in her hands she is ready to move on through blood ard mas sacre, over burning homes and hutchered fami lies, to perform her hellish drama of emac patton and ruin.
 Fourthly. Is the north superior to the soutl in virtue, intelligence, or patriotism?
 do not wish to arragn northern society," bu the assaults of members here require me to sene an arrow back You show us the magnifcen dorama, but not the machinery with which il is worked. Look to crime and paupersm, tt disease and misfortune, around you, and if yor are "good Samartans'' you will find sufficient Vlctms ana outCaSCs OH your way Slde to occupy all your time and charity. The south neither needs or asks for your vagabond philanthropy Free society points Us to its civilization in tho splendid aggregate; to its arts and commerce to its cities and it's material monuments; but i does not show us its long array of starving ope ratives; its crowded jals and fetid hospitals; it breadless boards, and the vast reservoir of hu- man life, poisoned in its well springs, and pour ed out like water. No; over these it throws the mantle, if not of charity, at least of contu melous oblivion. To the north we say, if yor prefer your society, keep it; we prefer ours, ane we mean to keep it. Let there be equal rights to each. Has the north, under the influence o the free-labor system, given proof of greate virtue, intelligence, or patriotism, than the south Read you thus our common annals? Whost pen wrote the declaration of independence?- Whose voice first kindled resistance in tht American heart? And whose genius led you armies to victory throughout your revolutiona ry struggle? Those of men of the southern and slaveholding and unequal States. Did no the south, in that tremendous seven-year