Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-04-16
WHOLE NO. 26S7.

D
o9la decide Aher getting the plaintiff out Of court,
ana saying he has no standing here, after numbering
him. the court 60 to declare principles most fatal 70
The liberties and rights Of many Of Inc American peope
The like never done before in any court No court
in This Union has been heretofore chary Of giving
decisions that not called for by the case than the
supreme Court of the United States They have always
repudated ~ They would never go further than the
hecessues OF the case required them to CO. Was not
the decision of the question of jurisdiction end Of this
case majority n the judges decided that bred Scott
had no right TO be in the They dismissed him from
theif consideration What further there TO dol The
senator from Louisiana in his argument did not pretend
decision but he uttered what seemed TO me very much
like sophisty. lie read from the opinion Of the court
claiming that they had right go further. | do not
care what they claimed. Any that ever went
through lawyers office knows that when they decided
that the plaintiff had standing in court the
az an end and any opinion they should give after that
was obiier dicitn, entitled more respect
than though had been delivered here in streets
Mr. President there Is another thing 10 be considered
IN reference TO that case Here to be sure was poor
negro having no friends. consideration, nobody TO
look to his interests. He member Of a degraded
class with whom me court might deal with perfect I'M
punity fear that the court swayed by political rea-
sons, forgot the rights Of Drcd Scott and plunged into
ihs political Whirlpool in order to control is currents
Is IL not remarkable that America the first nation in the
world, should decide that may he 50 low that he
cannot seek his rights ia the courts Of the country =
Was there anything like t in any community be-
fore, whether civilized barharous The court tells
we have men among us so low that they can have
rights that they nero merchandise But will not
travel into that field which has been ably discussed by
/ the senator from New Hampshire, (Nlr Halel They
grounded their decision upon history, not the Constitu
ton They travelled Of the Constitution Of the Unit
ed States and sought to found their decision upon what
that history entirely and utterly perverted
proved by the Senator from New Hampshire papably
that gentleman the other side has yet risen to
challenge its aceuracy and they cannot do 1t have
law OF Virginia here in my drawer, which was passed at
about the period Of which the supreme Court speak when
they say that negroes were considered as chates "hon
any might seize and convert TO his own use. At
that very instant in old Virginia, he was citizen made
by statute, he was fee and do not know but that
he had all the rights OF white man. At all events he
was declared there to be citizen lie was then et
zen in az least eight Of the States Of this Union
Mr. MAsoN. Win tho Senator advert TO that Statute
and give its ttc' l will not interrupt him now,
MI WADE will show it to the gentleman.
! Mr. MASON. viii not interrupt the gentleman now
| Mr. WADE. have Il here, though may not be able
to put my hands The exact place at this moment In
and 1 do not know but that he was entitled to all the
rights Of white man; for at that period YOU will find, If
YOU search the history Of the country, that distinction
between black and white taken Il was between
slave and free That the question. Up to the time
allowed by the Chief Justice, find nothing that dis
eliminates between the color Of men, The only question
[ was whether man was freeman. II he was he was
entitled 20 all the rights Of freeman he was not he
WAS slave But the Chief Justice says that all ofthem
were so held Good heavens! Had he not heard OF the
scathng anathema Of Thomas Jefferson Of Judge Tuck
cr and Of other lights and worthless of the Old Dominion
about the same PERIOD in language more pointed than
any other men could use : When was 1t That Thomas
Jefferson said that he rcmhed for his country when he
reflected that God just and that his vengeance would
not sleep forever Yet the Chief Justice says was not
by anybody Sir il coutroveted by every
man Of the Revolution They, seeking their own rights
at the cannons mouth, claiming for themselves the ut
freedom and invoking the aid Of God to help them
to worit out, had not the mpudence to look to Heaven
and as blessing their eXertons in favor of liberty
which they denied their fellow No such rcproach
Judge Taney be brought the heads Of the great
worthless Of the Revolution.
The honorable Senator from Louisiana, with that
plausible and beautiful style uf which hc is complete
" MASTER tried to escape from the rugged iuconsisen-
cies of this nefarious decison by passing eulogy
the old Chief Justice 1t is beautiful is relieved from
tint nf tlqrn
Why sir, he far send the old man to lleav
before he died do not think that decision will help
him his road He cooy joins the current of popular
opinion, away from the poor who has sought
the administration Of law in his behalf and says to him,
''you negro and you cannot sue in court; II you
have rights cannot investigate them you mere
chattel Sir If that helps to heaven, God forbid
| that should act upon such principles
CONGRESS MARRIED our.
There another consideration connected with this de-
cision. have not time and have not made It point,
to go into all its enormes There are only one or two
points in it that wish bring before the Senate. SO
far as have heard them those who yield to the decision
Of the Supreme Court seem to suppose that II obgato
~ everybody, and that the Senate Of the United
States like poor Dred Scott barred and thrown out
Of court that the President Of the United States, and
the Of Representatives, and every department Of
the Government ignored and no better OIL than poor
bred Scott. | deny the doctrine-the dangerous
that could be admitted in a free country-that these
Judges holding their office for life, reposing with total
Immunity have any right to decide the law Of the land
for every department Of this Government Sir, you
would have the most concentrated irresponsible despo-
tism Gods earth il you give such an Interpretation
each department must act for itself stand here cloth
ed with the power proclaim what is the Const
as that Of any other follow my own inerpreta
ton Of the Constitution | am bound to do it, have
sworn that would and beg of the Senate to yield
TO this arbitrary doctrine that the supreme court can
bind the other departments Of the Governments that we
must yield the decisions that they make No, sir
never They may decide the poor mans rights, who
is so unfortunate fall within their grasp They have
decided that Dred Scott could not sue n the court
Right or wrong constitutional unconstitutional, that
stands. 1t is the highest court it has decided in the
last resort Dred Seotts rights have been determined,
and determined forever but no other department OF the
/ Government no other right, touched. Talk about
the highest tribunals in the land deciding that Slavery is
in your Territories that every inch Of ground outside Of
the free States slave territory pity the weakness Of
the man who yields to any such ideas as that That
court has no such transccndcnt power. 1t could bind
body but the suitors in the court II would be unortu
know viii what avidity your facie President sezed
upon the idea and stuthed himself by saying that it
it was mystery to him that any man should ever doubt
H. The Senator from Michigan (Mr. Chander) yester-
day disposed OF him in that particular. He disposed OF
him forever and showed hypocrisy, compelled to
say disgraceful TO even in private station He
souri, Compromise he who had sought and
again. in the rpeness Of his Judgment after full debera-
ton, procure its extension and recognition by Con-
gress, turns coldy around and tells us Is mye-
" that any should have doubeditl Well sir.
il Mr.. buchanan is mystery even to HIMSELF he no
HEAR THE SLAVE POWER.
There is other consideration that wish to bring
before the Senate. Why is it. and how is it, that the
Southern States, with onetird less than one-th third
Of the free population Of this nation have been able for
sixty wears rule the destinos Of this country IL has
done in the first place, land that is the why
should contest every inch ofground) because in close
olgarchy YOU have power that democracy OF the
numbers can have politically. The power Of the Govern
be in inverse ratio TO tho number ofpeope
that participate in the government. And this is obvious
enough. You have a class Of not more than three hun
rcd aud fifty thousand Shareholders in the United States
They have governed this Union $50 says the Senator from
South Carolina and he says tTuly) for sixty long years
not the people Of the South, mind you he says the
shareholders have ruled the nation That First
Of ALL they placed their feet the nceks Of all those who
do hold slaves. The poor men of the South he utter
y ignores having any political power, and suppose
they have They have votes doubt but those
given In accordance with the will OF this aris-
tlcracy who apoweru; for It has been observed,
and truly observed that he who has the power over the
subsistence Of another has the power over his will
YOU the wealthy Shareholders Of the South, Weld ahso-
lutte dominion your poorer white neghhors there
fore was that the Senator from South Carolina said the
slayeoiders have ruled the nation You three hundred
and ffv thousand shareholders have ruled your six mil
lion whites II go according to the census Of lo50 you
have not only ruled your six Millions but you have also
ruled the fourteen million free people OF the North
How have YOU done IL You have done it because
Won had general bond Of interest uniting you, tying
iogether as animated by soul What the in
teres, 10 me- was the interest Of another You all
forced on the platform, all acting to end You
fnnd the Democracy Of the North divided In various
pursuits ahorng in their various avocatons, with
little time study the problems OF politics; and you
nave always able seduee enough Of US to you
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