Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-05-13

pcItAuthb W tne case. 4 nuNe aub hhu NtThl II
before Jury Of my peers The common laws
Of Englsnd-and you will excuse me for refer
ring TO that, since am but private citizen--
was that every man should be tried before "A
jury Of men occupying the same position in the
social scale with himself That lords should
be tried before a Jury OF lords; that peers Of ]
the realm should be tried before peers Of the
realm; vassas before yassals, and aliens before /
aliens and they must not come IRON the district |
where the crime was committed, let the pre- |
iudices Of either personal friends or foes should |
affect the accused The Constitution Of the |
United States guarantees mot merely to its
ctizeus, but to al persons a trial before an i'm.
partial jury. ] have had no such trial
The colored man is oppressed by certain uni
versal aud deeply fixed prsjudiees. Those jurors
are well known TO have shared largely in these
prejudiees. and therefore consider that they
were neither impartial, nor were they jury Of
my peers. Aud the prejudices which white
! people have against coiored men grow out OF
the facts, that we have as people eORseRted for
two hundred yeats 20 be slaves Of the whites.
| We have been scOurged, crushed and cruelty
oppressed, and have submitted TO II ali tamely,
meekly, peaeeably; 1 mean as a people, aud
with rare individual exceptions, and TO day
| you see US thus, meekly submitting to the pen
4 aties of an Infamous law. Now the Americans
| have this feeling and il is an honorable one,
that they will repect those who will rebel at OPP
preston, but despise those who tamey submit
to outrage and wrong and while our people
as a people submit, they will as people be
despised Why, they will hardly meet on
terms Of equality with us in whiskey shop,
in a car, at table, or even at the altar Of God.
| SO thorough and hearty a contempt have they
for those who will meekly We sttA under the heel
of the uppressor The Jury came into the box
| ,tg,th that laalip.r VhaU EnAuu tNay had that
feeling, and so the Court knows now, and knew
then The gentlemen who prosecuted me, the
Court itself, and even the counsel who defended
me, have that feeling
was tried by jury who were preudiced :
before a Court that was prejudced prosecuted
by an officer who was prejudioed, ami defend
ed, though ably, by counsel that were preiu-
diced. And therefore it is, your Honor, that
urge by all that is good and gleat in manhood,
that | should not be subjected to the pains and
penalties of this oppressive law, when | have
not been tried, either by jury of my peers, or
by a Jury that were impartial.
One nore word, sir, and have done | went
TO Wellington, knowing that colored men have
} no rights in the United States WHICH white
men are bound TO respect that the Courts hau
so decided that Congress had so enacted that
the people had SO decreed.
! There is not a pot in this wide country, not
: even by the altaTs of God, nor in the shadow Of
; the shafts that tell the imperishable fame and
! glory ui the heroes of the Revolution ne, nor
in the old Phi adelpha Hall, where any colored
2 man may dare TO ask mercy of a white man
Let me stand in that Hall and tell United
States Marshal that my father was a Revolu
tionary soldier; that he served under Lafayette,
and fought through the whole war, and that he
] fought Tor mV freedom as much as for his own;
/, and he would sneeI at me- aud clutch me with
= his bloody fingers, and say he has n right tC
o make me a slave And when appeal to Con
= gress, they say no has 2 right to make me q
slave when appeal TO the people, they say
l. he has o right 10 make me a slave, aud when up
| peal to Your Honor, your Honor says he has
Ia right to make me a slave, ami ii any man, white o
black seeks an investigation Ofthatoaim, they max
II themselves nmenabe To the pains and penalties
n the Fugitive Slave Act, for BLACK MEN HAVE NJ
I, RIGHTS WHICH WHITE MEN ARE HOUND TO RI
. spEGF. i0re4t Applqqse( !, going 20 Wellingto
~ with the full knowledge Of oil tllis, knew that
Or that man was taken TO Columbus ha waA hopeless
10 ly gone, no matter whether he had eyet been
d. slavery before or not. knew that ! was 10 N
! same titnatign myself apd that by The deoIspn
u your Honor II any man whatever were to claim NJ
49, as his slave and seize me, aud my brother, beng
lawyer, should seek to get out writ OF hdbed
gOrpHs TO eYp0se the ialsity Of the claim, he weul
~ be thrust into prison under one provision OF tl
Fugitive Slave Law, for interfering with the ma
~ claiming to bo in pursuit OF fugitive, and l, b
y the perjury Of solitary wretch would by anothi
Of its provisions be helplossy doomed to life lou
90 bondage, wi hout the possibility OF escape.
1 Some may say that there is no danger of fro
- persons being seized and carried off as sayeg
NJ Que need lappF under spqh q deusiop. Sir, tOi
IT, Of the eight persons who were first carried baC
lH under the act of 1850, were afterwards prove
ag TO be free m9l, They were tree ppreans, bl
~ wholly Vt the merry 6f tho oath OF one ma
NY And but last Sabbath afternoon a letter came
,ih me from gentleman In st. Louis, iniormiT
ho me that young lady who was formerly und
la' my instructions at Columbus; free person.
no now lying in the jail at that place, claimed
re- the slave of some wretch who never saw h
an before, and waiting for testimony from relative
Oh at columbus TO establish her freedom ! oou
c' stand here by tho hour and relate such instance
elr In the very nature of the case they must
ey constantly occurring. A letter was not lor
III since found upon the person of a cOunteTleit
ry when arrested, addressed to him by some SOGt
IA eTu gentleman in which the writer says;
of Nqo among the nlggera; find out their mari
ey and scars; make good descriptions and send
'e' me, aud I'll find masters for EN-"
se That is the way men are carried "back"
en- slavery
"a But in view of all the facts, say, that if ey
again man Is seized near me, and Is about 10
by carred southwark as a slave before any legal invj
lEhA4pH Nus bEtL nat esett hoih ~ W ua my
TO As held il that day, TO secure for him II possible
Icb legal inquiry into the character Of the claim
- which he is held And 20 further; say that
- II Is adjudged illegal 10 prnpure even Fuoh Rn
tey vestigatiOn, then we are thrown back upon the
Aat last delenCes of our rights which cannot be tax
up from u.s. and which God gave us that we need 1
~ be slaves | ask your Honor, while say this,
Of place yourself 10 my situation, and you will
hat with me, that If your brother, II your friend
ice your wife, il your child had been seized by nj
who claimed them as iugtyes aud the law OF
land forbade YOU TO ask any investigation, and d
on cuded the possibility Of any legal protection or
sly then yOu will say with me, that you wOl
CO. not ouy demand the protection Of the law, but y
ND would call IN your ReghbOrs aud your friends a
ou would ask them TO say with you, that these yC
MD friends could not be takeu into slavery
90 Aud now thank you for this lsnienoy this
a dulgence, Ia giving iHan uplustly condemned,
yge o tribunal before which he Is declaredto have
y. rights, the privilege OF speaking in bis own behi
., know that il viii do nothing toward mitgati
the your sentence, but is privilege 10 be allowed
lfst speak aud thank you for L. / shall submit
tn the penalty, be it what II may. But / stand
ans here TO say, that II for doing what did do ON Il
ith day 1t Wellington, am to 90 In jail six mont
,rc aud pay fine Of a Thousand dollars, according
m tho Fugitive Slave Law aud such is the protect
"a the laws OF this country atoTd me, must take
~ on myself the responsibility Of self projections wi
nat | come TO be claimed by some peflured wretch
IS his slave shall never DO taken Into slavery A
4 as in that trying hour | would have others do
wd me, as / would call upon my friends to help me
.rse / would call upon you, your Honor 10 help me-
iii | would call upon you, TO the District AttOrnl
80 20 help me: and upon you, To Judge Blissl
l, upon yop, 10 bis counsel 40 hcLP nc COP! lstl
'ate here 10 say that | will do all i can, for any
ed thus seized aud held, though the inevitable pens
J 10 OF six months imprisonment aud one thous,