, 1859-06-08
THE ROCK ISLAND BRIDGE,

the warfare which is now going on. 1t is for
their interest," as well as for the interest Of the
two railroads Immediately concerned, that the
contest in behalf Of the bridge is main
tained. St. Louis, not because the struc-
ture is any serious impediment to her
boats, but because she fears diversion Of her
Upper Missouri trade to this point, is making
extraordinary e1ertions to keep inviolate the
old common law rule, and tear down those
piers over which great wealth will flow into
Chicago il they be suffered to stand Ne
submit that our Board Of Trade aud our indi-
vidual citizens should put their shoulders to
the wheel and, in this emergency, give such
aid as they may to that party that represents
the new idea and the welfare of Chicago.
ANOTHER DRIED SCOTT DECISION.
Chief Justice Taney has been ventilating tie
Constitution with another decision on the
status Of negro slaves, and their relations to
white men as persons and property. The case
was that Of The United States rs Tile slare-girl
Amy, charged with robbing the mail Il was
brought on writ Of error before the United
States Circuit Court for the Eastern District Of
Virginia, Judge Taney presiding,) at Rich
mond. The counsel forthe defense-employed
Of course, By the girls master-made 4 very
strong argument from the premises Of tic
Dred Scott decision, holding:
L That slaves are not legal persons, because,
l, they cannot be fined or deprived Of their
liberty; being incapable Of holding property,
and having no liberty to be deprived Of, the
proposition shows an absurdity Mt once; and
2, they cannot be tried by jury Of their
peers, as required by the Constitution in the
criminal prosecution Of persons; their peers be-
ing slaves like themselves, we fall straightway
into another absurdity.
II. That the Court had no jurisdiction (r;de
Dred Scott case, 1'p ~ because !. if a negro
cannot sue or be sued civilly, neither can he
be tried in cause where conviction would
impose fine and deprivation Of liberty; and 2.
because il the negro has no personal rights he
cannot hc saddled with any personal RESPONSE
bilities.
III. That the girl Amy being simply prop
erty her Imprisonment would involve m in-
fraction Of that clause in tile Constitution
which declares that private property shall not
be taken for public Uses without just com-
pensation.
". Tint the relations Of slaves to the COM
munity were questions exclusively Of Stase
Jurisdiction
Frequent citations were made to the Dred
Scott decision in support Of these views
The learned Judge seems 10 haye compre-
hended that If this sort Of logic were to pre-
vail, the mails Of the United States were at
the mercy Of every thief who had the wit to
employ negro to do the robbing. If the girl
Amy was not sufficiently i person to he amen
able to the Law, and the United States wcro
not the proper administrators Of tic law, tue
boy Cuf1ec and the boz Sambo might be cu-
ployed By their masters to waylay the mail
bags and carry oG their contents with impun-
ity. Therefore le holds that though the
slave Amy is not d person in tie degree Of
having any legal rights, she is still sufficiently
person to bo legally punished But in nn-
swcring tile point made by the dofense tint
the law provided fine and imprisonment for
certain degrees Of crimina1ity in robbing the
mails, and that inasmuch as slave could hold
noproperty and pay no fine, the Inv could not
lave contemplated her as an amonable party,
the Chief Justice gets snarled up in hopeless
manner He admits that Congress could not
have intended to embrace slares as among the
persons liable to pay fine, and says that to
lmprison the slave to compel the master to pay
the fine, would be Furnishing an innocent man
FOR tho crime Of another. But the grade Of Of.
fence, which the girl Amy had been guilty
Of, happened to be punishable with imprison-
ment only. Therefore, says Judge T., "wo
*:must not be understood as expressing decid-
"ed opinion upon this question" Tho naked
statement Of this eubterfuge Is that, though
one branch Of the act Of Congress did not con-
template the slave Amy as capable Of
committing the crime, and being punished
therefor, yet the punishment is admissible un-
der certain construction Of smother branch
and verify she shall be punishcdl Hcre sure
Il, is Dosborry, 'comprehending all vagrom
men"
But the most important part Of
this decision remains to be noticed.
Judge Taney reafirms in several plnces
and with much energy, that the Constitution
recognizes slaves as prppersy. And as pro-
"perty," be continues, "he rights Of The otoner
"art entitled 10 tue protection Of Ae la,o" In
another branch Of his argument he says: "It
:" is true that slave is the property Of his
"master, aud his right Of property is secured
"by the Constitution and laws Of the United
*'states," These paragraphs, and particularly
tho former, are seized upon by the Richmond
Enquirer, as settlement OF the question which
has somewhat Vexed tie Democratic party,
whether Congress ought to pass slave code
Tor the Territories. Says the Enquirer:
"Thua. the question which has threatened to
divide ~ BY sectional issue, is n last directly
decided b the highest Judicial authority in the
Union. Even those Of our fellow citizens who
have hitherto be~n disposed to withhold Con
grexnonl protection from slave persons md
alave property, will, doubtless, yield the same
aequiesence to the decision il tie case Of 1he
slave Amy, which they hare already. Is good
etizeas, accorded to the decision in the case Of
Dred Scott"
So here, according to Our Virginia contem-
pormy, Is the end Of Squatter Sovereignty.
The reply Of the Douglaaites will doubtless be,
that though the opinion comes from the Chief
Justice Of the United States, it was pronounced
in the Circuit and not in the Supreme Court,
and is therefore not binding outside Of the
States Of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia,
which comprise the Circuit Here is room
lot lively controversy, but the decision can
not fsl to hare = marked effect on the Charles
ton Contention, and to operate disastrously
to Douglas and au the believers in the efficacy
Of ,mdiend1y 1sgls]ation."