The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1859-09-21
How they Respect their C0nsti-
IutIOnal Obligations.

otate convention, IN the same Resolution
that it demands "the repeal of the Fugitivt
Slave Act Of 1850, as subversive of both thu
rights Of the States and liberties of the peo
pie, and as contrary to the plsinest duties o
humanity and justice, and as abhOrrent t.
to the moral sense of the civilized world"
The Republican party processes to have
the greatest respect for the "Constitutiona
obligations imposed upon the States by tht
Federal Compact" Fortunately, we are
not left to grope in the dark as to the man
ner in which its members would treat these
obligations, were they placed in power. A
few facts will suffice to show that their pro.
fessions are hypOcritical in the highest de.
gree.
In 1856, the Republican party had con.
trolling majority in the Ohio Legislature
In April of that year, the Republicans, by a
strict party vote, passed a joint resolution,
instructing our Senators aud requesting our
Representatives in Congress "to use their
; best exertions to procure the repeal Of the
Fugitive Slave Act" Mr.. Smith, Demo.
cratic Representative from franklin county,
Immediately after the adoption OF this joint
resolution by the House, offered the follow
ing resolution:
RESOLVED, That when the Fugitive Slave
Law is repealed By Congress, it will become
the Immediate duty of The Legislature to pass
an Efficient act for the rendition of fugiliyes
from labor.
If the existing law OF Congress, providing
for the return OF fugitive slaves is oppressive
or unjust, and if the Republicans were will.
ling to comply with their constitutional
obligations" on this subject, certainly they
would have voted for Mr.. Smiths resolu-
tion. Conservative men will suy-sensible
and honest men will concur in saying-that
if they had the least disposition to live up to
their Constitutional obligations" they
would promptly have voted for this resou-
tion; but every man Of them in the House
-seUeny t,co Republican members-voted
against it. That was in 1856; and if the
Opposition OF that day wtre Abolitionized
to such an extent that their members in the
Senate and in the House OF Representatives
wonld thus boldly declare themselves op-
posed to any kind of Fugitive Slave Law,
what can we expect of them in 1859!
The Republicans did not stop with the
adoption of their joiDt resolution insisting
upon the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law.
They enacted, by strict party vote, Gan
amendment to an act entitled an act secur-
ing the benefits of the writ OF habeas corpus,"
the intention and design of which was to re.
lease from the custody of any officer uny
person or persons arrested as q fugitive
slave or as fugitive slaves.
Is this action to be received as evidence
that the Republican party in 1856 was de
termined "rigidIy to respect the Consttu.
tional obligations imposed upon the States
by the Federal Compact" In 1857, the
same body Of men convened again in a leg.
islative capacity. In the meantime, how.
ever, the Fugitive Sltve Law was not re-
pealed What did the Republicans do who
are now loud in their declaration of deter
mination rigtdly to respect the Constitution.
al obligations imposed upon the States by
the Federal Compact! They enacted
law, which bears date April Is, 1857, max
ing it "unlawful to confne in prison, or de.
tain in the penitentiary of this State, or in q
he jails OF any county in this State, or in J
;alaboose, lookup, guard house, or station,
in this State, any person or persons charged
with simE y being fugitive from slavery"
The last Democratic legislature repealed [
this law, os well as the Republican amend. v
nent to the habeos corpus act.
Our atehtion is next attracted to the do. l
ngs OF Plumb, Peck and others at Oberlin,
asst spring. They interpts sed, and, in def
lnce and in violation of law, released from u
he custody OF United States officer fugi.
i've slave. For doing this, they were ar.
ested, tried and convicted in the United II
States District Court for Northern Ohio. n
With impudence and with force they viola II
ed tie law. Under date Of May 4,b, Joshua RI
Z. Giddings wrote to one OF the prisoners, "
nd in his letter said, thot" sin digeqardinq II
has IaU The PristnsrS did right. Their error P
in sparing the lives of the slave "
'atchers. Those pirates should have been u
delivered over to the colored men and con. m
gned to the doom of pirates, which should II
ave been speedily executed" W
1t may, doubtless, be suggested that Gid IN
iines is fanatic, bDd that little Difference tf
paid him by the Republican party. For tt
he sake of the argument, say that this is p'
rue, although the fact that the Republican tn
State Convention honored him with the DO re
ltlon OF Committeeman at large is an au. &C
horltative Endorsement of his sanity and his =,
tepublicanism, in what light IRE we TO re- X
'ard Mr. Dennison, the Republican candi-
ate for Governor! Has he 90 Conducted
imself as to justify the belief that he is
overned by determination "rigidly to re. p'
pect the Constitutional obligations imposed 90
pom the States by the Federal Compact!" Vt
We do not propose here to take into consid. c'
ration the declaration he mode in Butler III
ounty, that if elected Governor of Ohio, he u
'ould not let any fugitive be returned to "
kentucky or to any other slave State, and o'
hat if he could not prevent it in any other p'
ray, as Commander in. chief of the Military al al
{ the State he uonld enn nlou tho haua,a. | "