The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-05-12

! common ana equal Denent OF all tae
/ people, and the " common use" Of all the
/ Territories. These pretty phrases badly
suit the actual picture | have drawn far
worse suit the end designed, AS the Ter
rtories are the c'mmon property Of all,
the people Of all the States can enter there2
He who takes ancon,n,on property, takes
more than is his common right. He who
takes property that others canHo' take or
hold, makes more than common USE"
What, then, 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 consciences Of their peo-
pie forbid it. They hold, and their States
bold, that property in slaves exists by no
right at all--no common, general law.
God gave to man dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowls of the air,
and over every living thing that cyeepeth~
npon the earth"--not over man Gene
ais l., 2S.) There may be, and there is,
( hcgai dominion but only by force Of ar
bitrary power, expressed in governmental
line. Property in slaves i, therefore spec
al--limited to a moety Of the States, and
] W sOtut lOuT buOusSuQ mou Jul
| of the millions of this land This is the
great and undisputed fact. Give us then,
the equal, just, and common rights Of
/ squal oUHe7S IN tie common SOIL The
/ humblest freeman of Vermont demands an
/ equal right with any southern man. in all
your broad domain. He never did, and
never will, concede to any other man one
l,o,.S, l,ao ltb hauo,1 Eo,ol r;,hts,s
no patent of nobility-no special privilege
Of property-no privilege Of caste; on
these he stands, and will forever stand.
Equal you may go-equal you shall stand
and the brave Green Mountain boy will
be your brother and your friend. On any
other ground, in ballot-box or feld-by
Aliens blood, by Aliens pride, by Aliens
scorn of danger or of wrong-you meet a
foeman worthy of your steel.
Such was the law such we're tho COM
mon rights of all the citizens of all the
States How is it now ? Sir, have tried
to understand the position and the opinien
of the court, and think I have not mis-
taken it. 1t had task to perform, not
necessarily included in the case Of Drsd
| CCOlt. IL sSClllo W iiC IL q thok w
perform, set by the politicians. 1t was to
construct bridge from the slave States to
free Territories, by means of which to car
ry the slaves of the one to cover the acres
of the other. The process of construction
l think | understand.
The right of property in slave is
distinctly and expressly affirmed in the
Constitution" said Judge Ia ney. Now
am not sure of the full force intended by
this rule tut, taking it in the most linn
tied and least exceptianable sense, it means
that the Constitution recognizes" Ia word
once used by the COURT the right of slave
property in the Stare States, There then
is one abutment of the bridge-in The
Stare States Now for the other:
"The territory was acquired by the General
Government, as the representative and trustee o'
the people Of he United States and II must there
fore be held in that character for their common
and equal bensft.""
So said Judge Taney. There, then. is
the other abutment-in The Terrific, u
Now for the connecting beams
"Tbe Territory being par; Of the United
States, the Government and the citizens both en-.
ter il under the authority Of the Constitution, will
their respective rights defined and marked OUT
These are the words of Jadge Taney
Sir, the venerable Chief Justice speaks o.
the constitutional rights Of citizens and
Government as being defined" rights il
the Constitution that will take slavery into
free territory 1 find no statesmen or juris
in all the noble line from the Revolution
to our day. who has ever found such righ
defined" Mr.. Calhoun inferred it, il
1e47, and to him belongs the merit
merit it be - of that almig ghty inference
find no beams defined" Must we imsg
inc them2 Does the stated fact, that tn
States" bridge the unfathomable gulf
Then what bridge the bridge Of man
bridges-reachng from all the slave to a.
, the free Territories and States Nolonge
sovereign States; no longer free and il
dependent States" The free States ar
parts" Of the United State. In land:
in forts aud srsenals, in navy-yards an
, warehouses; there is not one which has nc
|, within itself, some common public proper
ty. We cannot so make slavery nations
, so blot out every free State | charg
the court with no such crime. We mu,
: find better beams than these, and long an
/ strong, 10 bear the weight Of wrong an
4 woe, involved in that word /" slave" TIL
=, President has supplied them in "equaiit
. and justice :" and the court has supple
them in the " common and equal BEN
Hftp There are the beams-the ret
|. beams. They are full strong enough ft
the real design; but weak as shadows ft
the false. These beams will bear the COZ
=, MON PROPERTY OF ALL THE STATES, AND Al
= THE PEOPLE and that is all they bea
a That only is for " the common and equ
> benefit !" that, and that alone, is " equa
:. ity and Justice" Add but one ounce
= special property, o." a peculiar sOecies
= property, OVER AND ABOVE THE SPECIES
=" Moveth," in the common version crsePeI
l. in the Hebrew.
:. = II is now claimed that citizens Of slave Stat
e are entitled to take their slaves 20 Federal ter
N tory, and hold them there, by virtue Of the col
n mon interest or common property OF the Stat
saws the President, or of hs people, says the cou
le in tho Territory: yet the fact Is, that Congress
le the constitutional power TO admit new, States, "
N purposely authorized 10 ignore utterly, he pr
~ erfy or the interest Of Me States or the people