Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-06-27
Tbe Anti 5Iauerp Buele.
From the Liberator.
A CONDENSED REPORT OF THE UMPIRE
CEDENTED CASE OF
Dred SEQ" In the Supreme Court Of The
e,n5 United States Of America.

Judge Taney cometh into court with great dig.
nifty. He driveth five negroes. He carrieth
whips, and chains, and manuscripts. lie placeth
large negro in front. He puteth gives on his
nncles' He fasteneth hand-cutfs on his wrists
He prostrateth another negro with his face down
ward behind the negro aforesaid. He compeleth
the third negro to stand all fours, between the
two oiI,1r 1rementoned negroes. He placeth the two
remoin;no ne -roes, at one end, and the other
at the other end o. the negro who standeth on all
fours, Six of the other Judges appear in Court,
dressed in long, black silk roSes; mounted on the
shoulders of negroes. Three OF these JUDGES take
position on the right, and three of them on tne
left hand of Chief Justice Taney. Judge TaEeY
then placeth one foot on the back of the prosrate
negro. He puteth hand on the shoulder of either
negro who standeth in position before him. lie
placeth his other foot the back of the quadruped
negro, and he vaulteth bimself on to the shoulders
of the manacled negro, with such Judicial dignity
as persuadeth all persons that he is in truth and
fact Just Jugde, who will impartially administer
the law. lie puteth paddock on the lips Of the
negro. He directeth the marshal to open court
lie inviteth DR.. Prime to pray. He untoldeth a
manuscript. and readeth as follows:
Dyed Scott ! This is an important case. 1t
rS. has been twice argued at length,
) Sanford. but for obvious reasons the de-
cison has been deferred until after the Presidential
election. We feel that it would not be inappropri-
ate in this place to indulge, for moment In COM
mandatory graduation on the happy practical work
of orr free government the most glorious the world
ever beheld. Here alone in all the earth freedom
has taken up her abode and here she has estab-
lished the patriarchn institution of slavery the
chief cornerstone Of her temple. Respect for the
constitution and the laws, is the motto inscribed
over her altars while the polar star OF our courts,
in their Interpretation and administration of the
laws, are truth and justice. Progress and I'M
proven ent mark the path Of our destiny, and a
perfect liberty will soon be ours Within the last
half century, the most dangerous opinions to lib
erty, and to republican form OF government,
have pervaded the whole land. 1t will not be
amiss to enumerate a few of them, as they can
thereby the more readily see how great has been
our progress. 1t has been held-that slavery was
wrong,-that could not hold property in man,
that it the policy of the country to eradicate
and not to foster slavery,-that slave, taken or
sent into free State, thereby became free,-that
that voluntary return to bondage did not cothe
bis former master with his original rght,-that a
slave owner could not even sojourn In free State
with his slave, without losing him, if the slave
should claim his freedom,-that Shareholders had
no right to hold slaves in the territory of the Unit
O. cd States,-that black men from the free States
had the right of ngress and egress to and from the
slave States,-that vessels from the free States
had right to navigate the public waters Of the
slave States free from the right search-that the
slave States had right to close the United States
Courts against sutors from the free States, to
imprison men for speaking and writing against sav-
ery,-that the mails might carry Abolition news
papers into the slave Staesthat resistance to the
Fugitive Slave Law was not treason,-and that 1t
was the duty of the Courts to protect the rights of
all persons without regard to their condition. By
tho happy and benign working OF our free instltu
tions, all these heIeses have been corrected. But
the last grand step. taken in the true direction of
freedom is that which was taken in the passage OF
the Kansas Nebraska Act. This act asserts and
maintains the true position of unshackled and un-
fetered liberty-that the people are supreme; that
they have right to establish such institutions as
pleases them whether Of the highest virtue, or OF
the deepest wickednes; anG so absolutely is this
right Of selfgovernment asserted that it is claimed
to be above the laws of God, and subject only to
the laws of the United States This we think is
the true ground. and the only one free people
can assent to. But to return from this depression.
The plaintiff alleges, that being slave, he was
voluntarily taken into free State, by his master,
whereby he became ipso facto free; and he comes
into court, and claims his freedom. The court is
not inclined to consider the law, the justice nor
the reasons urged in his behalf To do would
be useless supererogation. The plaintiff has no
right to sue. He is not legally in court. He is
not citizen of the United State, and can sustain
no suit in this court. We have no jurisdiction Of
his case. But we prefer to place our decision on
other and broader grounds ON a principle so
broad that it will exclude all the most troublesome
cases that have vexed this court. The opini-
of the court then is, That the black man has no
rights that the white man is bound to respect.'-
This covers the whole ground If the plaintiff
was free, when taken to free State, he could at
any time be again reduced to bondage, being ne
gro; because black man has no rights that the
white man is bound to respect lie has been sc
reduced to bondage, by his own showing, and 'hav-
ing rights that the white man is bound to re-
spect,' he is held in lawful slavery. 1t may be
urged that decision is too verbose, and that il
would better suit the terseness of legal lore say
that the black man has no legal rights We dc
not think So We understand too well the force oi
language. Even a horse has rights, which the court
will protect when he is beaten with unfeeling cruel
ty. The court do not hesitate to declare that they
will go farther to protect the rights of the black
man, than they will to protect those of the horse,
The black man has rights He has the right to
life, to liberty, and to property. If he raises a
horse, he has right to that horse and nobody but
white man can legally divest him of it without
his conseet. But if the white man takes the horse
without bis consent, or without paying therefor,
he may we'll do 80 for the black man has no rights
that the white man is bound to respect.' Should
the white man elect to reduce the black man to
slavery, and wife and children aso-to sell one to
one man and another to another person, he may do
so because the black man has no rights that the
white man is bound to respect 1t will be readily
seen that though the black man has no rights that
the white man is bound to respect the rule does
not apply to case where both parties are black
In the case now before the court, if it should ap
pear the face Of the peadings that both parties
are black,a very different rule would govern. We
do not decide that one black man may not hold an.
other his slave but we do decide that the black
man is bound to respect the rights of his brother
black man. He is bound in law and in Justice, to
respect the rights of both black and white men,
There is nothing in the peadings DOR in other pro.
ceedings in this case, to show whether Sanford is
black or white, but standing as he does in the
relation of slave master, the legal presumption is
that he is white, and hence he is not bound to
spect the rights of the black man. The court de-
eide that the plaintiff is not citizen of the United
States and that being black man, he has no rights
tuat the white man is bound to respect.'-