Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-05-06

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Il. takes more than is his common right. He
sho takes property that Others cannot take or
hold, makes more than I" common use" What
chen, is the fact /? Slaves are not the common
property of all the citizens of all the States
a majority of the States forbid it, and the con-
sciences OF their people forbid it. They hold.
and their States hold, that property in slaves
exists by no right at all-no common. general
law God gave to man dominion over the
hsh OF the sea, and over the fowls of the air.
and over every living thing that creepeth* upon
.i earth not over man. Genesis 2S.)
lhere may be and there is legal dominion but
only by force OF arbitrary power, expressed in
governmental law having no sort of force be-
yond the governmental line. Property in slaves
~ therefore Special-limited to moity of the
States, and to some four thousand men. out of
inc million OF the more land. This is a great
and uudisputed fact. Give us, then, the equal
JQsf' ana common rights Of equal owners in the
common soil. The humblest freeman of Yer
mont demands an equal right with any south
e ,.i man, in all your broad domain. He never
u0' and never will, concede to any other man
one hairs breadth beyond. Equal rights u
no patent of nobility-no special privilege of
pfoperty-no privilege of caste; on these he
stands, and will forever stand. Equal you may
go-equal you shall Standard the brave
ufeen Mountain boy will be your friend On
any other ground, in ballot-box or feld-by
Aliens blood, by Aliens pride, by Aliens
scorfsof danger or of wrong-you meet foe
manlEortfy of your steel
is2ch acas the law; such were the common
ri e ! AZ the citizens of all the States How
sN 6ir | have tried to understand the
peslsEs and the opinion of the court, and
think have not mistaken it, 1t had task to
perf2ral, not necessarily in the case of bred
Sc0fy 1t seems to me it had task to perform
set by the politicians. 1t was to construct u
bride1from the slave States to the Territories, by
means of which to carry the slaves of the one
to coIer the acres of the other. The process
of cbnstnetson think understand
'.The right of property in slave is distinct
y and expressly affirmed in the Constitution,
said Judge fancy. Now am not sure of the
full force intended by this rule; but, taking it
in the most limited and least exceptionable
sense, it meant that the Constitution " recog-
right of slave property in The Slaue State. Now
for the other:
"The territory acquired by the representative
and trustee of the people of the United Sates and ii
must therefore be held in that character for their
and equal benefit"
So said Judge fancy There, then, is The
other abutment-in the Territory. Now for the
connecting beams.
"The Territory being part of the United States, tn
Government and the citizens both enter it under the au
thorty Of the CONSTITUTIONS with their respective rights
defined and marked out."@
nhacn +hn re T,1,rn S;,
the venerable Chief Justice speaks Of the con
stitutional rights of citizens and Government a
being IS defined and marked" find no 6 def
ned'' rights in the Constitution that will tax
slavery into free territory; find no Statesman
Or jurist, in all the noble line from the Revolu
ton to our day, who has ever foundsuch RICH
" defined. "Mr. Calhoun inferred it, in 1917
and to him belongs the merritt merit it be-
of that almighty inference. find no beam
6 defined" Must we imagine them Doe
the stated fact that the Territories g are a par
of the United States,' bridge the unfathoma
BILE gulf? Then, what bridge! the bridge Q
many bridges-reaching from all the slave t
all the free Territories and States No longe
sovereign States no longer g free and indeper
dent States" The free States are "parts" {
the United States In lands, in forts and arse
nails in navy-yards and warehouses, there is nc
one which has not within itself, some comma
public property. We cannot SO make SLAYER
NATIONALIST blot out every free State chare
the court with no such crime. We must fin
better beams than these, and long and stron
to bear The weight of wrong and woe, involve
in tha;MoILLE' g slave" The President has SUI
piled ssi sx ~ equality and JUSTICE" and til
court E ~ pplied them in the g common an
equal beheftf' These are the beams-the re-
beams. ThdSy are full strong enough for I'll
real design ibut weak as shadows for the falls
These beams nciH bear the COMMON PROPERTY {
ALL THE sH-ssas, AND ALL THE PEOPLE; and this
is all they bear. That only is for 90 the commo
and equal benefit" that and that alone,
equality and Justice" Add but one ounce
special property, of "a peculiar species Of pr
perty, OVER AND ABOVE THE SPECIES OF PRoPERT
COMMON TO ALL THE STATES" IL say, add BIT
one ounce of this peculiar property, add one sill
gle slave, and the beams of a " common an
equal benefit" of ' equality and justice wi
break beneath the unlawful weight Nov
sir, if am right if have justly appreciate
this piece of judicial and executive mechanism
| submit it as good law, that the slave-owner
the slave-driver, who puts his load through tt
bottom of that bridge, cannot require any Gov
ernment-Federal, territorial, or State-to +,
spond in damages.
Mr.. Chairman, it is time, and it is but fail
to turn to the declarations of the court II
President charges all to the court. Three time
has hespoken in the name of the court. civ
you, now, the declarations of the majority
the court, declared by the Chief Justice, barrel
remarking that they are, substantially, copit
from Mr. Calhouns resolution, of 1S47.
AS to territory, Judge fancy says;
"It acquired by the General Government, as tt
representative and trustee of the people of the Unite
States and it must, therefore, be held in that charact
for their common and equal benefit; for it was the Peep
of the several States acting through their agent and
resentatiye the Federal Government, who u fact acqu
red the territory IL question, and the Government holds
for their common until it shall be associated with Il
other States as member of the Union '-Dred Scott
cfsion pamphlets page o.
As to shareholders, he said
"The Territory being part of the United States, t
Government and the citizens both enter it under the
thorty Of the Constitution, with their respective rig
fdefined and marked out.'-Same, page 55.
As to slave property, Judge fancy said tn
the Constitution L" makes no distinction betwe,
that description of property and other prope
:, ty !" that' the right of property in slave
| distinctly md expressly affirmed in the Constt
ton J" that -" no word can be found in t
Constitution which gives Congress great
power over slave property, or which entitl
: property Of that kind to less protection thu
property of any other description. The on
9 power conferred is the power coupled with t
! duty of guarding and protecting the owner
his rights" (Same, pages 81, 5S.) AS a co
0 clusion, the judge said
upon these considerations, it is the opinion of
that the of Congress- which prohibited citi7
no lding and owning property, Of this kind, in the
n tory of the United States. &c., is not warranted By
Constitution and is therefore id."-Sdme, page IS.
: The burden of the Court is, that slaves &
E? property, and that the title to the Territor
= is held by the Federal Government as mt
n trustee, leaving The use to the States and tn,
.Aan.,lo e,,a .uL.rd &C ILL tLiS ir Co.,