Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1857-05-05
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The Legislature ON Citizenship and

Freedom
The action Of the Legislative committee on fed
eral relations, on the bred Scott decision, looms
M into more odious light, as the provisions OF
the bill reported by them are investigated. Inc
first section declares that protection IN personal
freedom and citizenship shall be secured to the
following class of persons
First every person born within the limits OF
this Commonwealth; second, persons porn WIN
ont the limits OF the Commonwealth, chhoteh VI
Darents who are temporarily absent thererom
FL o,bs, persons being in, or coming into and
locating within, the Commonwealth, with intent
n remain and reside permanently as citizens, en-
cent aliens, paupers, fugitives from justice, ana
fngitives from service
Here we find another distinct recognition OF
the validity of the infamous, unconstitutional
Fugitive Slave Act. What business has that
committee to exclude honest and industrious res
idents of the Commonwealth from citizenship
and personal freedom, because claim" for SER
vice, or any other civil claim, may be made
against them by any otherparty? Let the claim
ant prove his demand to be I" DUE" to the salts
faction of jury of twelve good and true men OF
the yicinage he wishes to test the validtyof any
obligation our colored citizens may be under, to
render any further unpaid service to their South
ern task-masters. Surely, till the PROOF OF
any such claim" for " service due is evidenced
by verdict for the plaintiff, in the usual form oil
civil process, the defendant should be entitled to
all the immunities and privileges of citizenship
and exemption from obligation to Others
Besides how careful this committee are, in
their protested antipathy to "Know Nothing
ISM" 10 have aliens, &C., exempted from the
privileges conferred. There appeared to be no
cause for making allusion to aliens, as the proyis-
ions of the State Constitution itself settles that
point, in combining voters to citizens native
or naturalized according to the existing natural
ization laws Of the United States. Is it the idea
of the committee to exclude large class of per-
sons, whether black or white, coming among us
from other sections of the Union or the world,
from +" protection in their freedom, on the plea
of being :" aliens" or "paupers }"
Let the committee revise their whole bill, and
essentially modify it, to adapt it to the case, and
make its provisions comfortable TO the enlighten-
ed sentiment Of the Commonwealth, and of the
age, by erasing from the bill all support Of ini-
quitous fugitive slave enactments, and all pro-
visions under which any class of persons may be
debarred from protection freemen, merely on
suspicion of being aliens" or their not intend
ing to !" reside permanently in the Common
wealth.
The other (the second) resolution of the com
mittee, we give, sample of the milk and-wa-
terish nature of the whole, as follows;
Sec. 2. Slavery is forbidden, and cannot exist
within this Commonwealth, under the Constitu'
tion and laws thereof.
What does this amount to? just nothing at
III 4l,o MIR Hun
Democrat, ever pretend that slavery could exist
here, under the Constitution and laws of our
State By no means. The difficulty exists not
there, 1t exists in the pretension that Unite
States latos however unconstitutional, should
Override the laws and Constitution Of Massachu-
sets, and establish slavery against her viii, on
her own soil The act we would recommend the
Legislature to pass on this subject should be
modelled after that which failed Of passage in
New York, owing to the hunkerish composition
OF the Senate, as follows:
By declaring the freedom of every person
convicted OF crime, who treads the soil of Mas
sachusetts, and sentencing to the peniten-
tiary any person who shall hold or attempt
to hold another slave, for however short
time, under any circumstances, within her limits
REBELLION IN New YoRK,-A law has been
enacted, and has just gone into effect, in New
York. for recognising the police of the city, by
which. if we understand it correctly, the patron
age in that department, which has hitherto resid-
ed in the Mayor and City Council, is transferred
to a new body Of poliee commissioners, of which
Simeon Draper, formerly of Brookfeld, in this
county, is the head. Mayor Wood and the city
government resist the law, The Common Coun-
Gil appropriated $4,000 to contest the matter in
the law, whereupon the other party procured an
injunction from the court forbidding the applica-
tion Of the money for such purpose, The New
York Epsning Post of Saturday says:
" There are rumors that Mayor Wood intends
to employ armed resistance against the new law
For the last day or two there has been considera-
bic excitement in the 18th Ward, from the fact
that Capt. Toomey, of that district has received
a hundred muskets, which are now in his station
house, and that rumor las whispered that they
were placed there by the order of the Mayor. 1t
was rumored, that should the new Commissioners
appoint another set of policemen, bloody col
lision would be inevitable.
The alarm created by these rumors was also
strengthened by the recent proceedings of the
Common Council, which has met about every
denouncing the new laws and nhaming the pas
sions of the people; and more especially by the
last series of incendiary resolutions offered by
Alderman Wilson of the LIST Ward, now under
indictment for riot"
The DALTON DIVORCE CAsE.--Judge Merrick
I came in IN not,rf on Mondav nth annaranflv re-