Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1859-06-24
a1uIitieuI.
A NEW U. S. SUPREME COURT DE-
CISION.


A NEW U. S. SUPREME COURT DE-
CISION.
A slave woman, Amy. was tried before the
U, S. Circuit Court in Virginia, for stealing
a letter from the U. s. Postoffice, and found
guilty. The verdict would consign her to
the Penitentary in the District Of Columbia,
for a term of not less than two nor more
than ten years. A motion was made TO set
the verdict aside because she was a slaUs.--
/ 1t was alleged that the act of Congress, pri-
/ ma facie, referred only to "persons" known
to the law as having legal rights and responsi-
/ bHties, that by the Dred Scott decision a
slave had neither; a slave could not be fined
because a slave could not hare property
| slave could not be deprived Of liberty, because
| he had no liberty to lose. Moreover, the Con-
stituton provides that "the trial of all
crimes, except in case Of impeachment,
shall be by jury" which means jury Of ones
peers, which means his equals those, as
Judge Story says. "being Of the like condition
and equality in the State" IT, then. slave
could be tried for criminal offence, the jury
should be slaves. and not free men. The
reasoning in the bred Scott case states ex-
pressly that the Constitution has only two
provisos which point to African negroes and
their defendants, and these "treat them as
property. and make it the duty of the Gov
ernment to protect it, any act of Congress
which should seek to subject slave to any
civil or legal responsibilities of the citizen,
or attempts to treat or punish him as a free
man, would be unconstitutional aud void, SO
far as he is concerned, and plain interior
ence with the rights and powers of his owner.
The State only could regulate the relations of
to- ala IL. II.
away from his owner. even if it hangs him,
it pays him for him. If Amy was taken off
to prison, the owner would lose her services,
and she might die in prison, and no provision
was made for her owners remuneration.-
When her time was out, she would be let
loose, and might run away, &C., &c.
Such were some of the points made for the
motion. OF course they were all treated as
Of no weight by Judge fancy in his opinion,
delivered May 81 the drift of which amounts
. to this-that slaves are only property in
their relations to their masters, and therefore
have no rights which they can enforce against
their masters lin U. S. Courts at least any
more than horses have, yet, when they do
what if done by freemen would be ,rimes,
they can be punished persons because the
good of the community requires it,
So there is no difficulty, it seems, in slave
being deprived of his liberty by U. s. Court ;
but as for his getting it in that way, if wrong
fully deprived of it, it is not to be thought
Of The U. S. Court in such case has no
jurisdiction
Touching the damage to the owner from
taking his slave away and shutting her up in
prison without compensation, Judge Taney
says that cannot be helped the law is. 1t
is not for the Court to say whether the Gov
ernment is or is not bound in justice to COM
pensate the master for the loss of service
during the time the slave shall be imprisoned.
'As the matter now stands, it is question
for the decision of the political department
Of the government, and not for the judicial" I"
We will warrant that hint will not be lost on
the pro-savery politicians of the day. We
shall soon see an attempt to provide for pay
ing the master, out of the National chest, for
all damages which he may have suffered, or
may claim to have suffered, from the loss of
his slaves services when imprisoned by U.
S. Court father may lose the services of
a son for years, or a wife and children that of
husband and father for their support. when
he is confined for a crime against the public,
and it is all right enough. A claim for pay
would be hooted at, but claim of slave
holder for the services Of a sidve is another
affair altogether; and ''the political depart
ment of the government" will have to pro-
vide for it speedily to keep the shareholders
from going out of the Union B,rlinqtea
Free Press.