The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-05-03
Another Screw EnOsn i'm the
UniOM.--NOre Food for North
err Democratic SyIaDaahy!

In the latter part of 1852, one Mrs. Lem
mon, a resident of Norfolk, Virginia, landed
in New York city with eight slaves which
she claimed as her property. 1t afterwards
appeared that she was on her way from Vir-
ginia to the State of Texas and that she
came to New York city, waiting for favor
able opportunity to take passage from that
point. While stopping in New York city
writ of habeas corpus was issued and her
eight chattels personal were taken from her
The Judge before whom the writ was return
able, decided that, under the Laws of New
York, the slaves were entitled to their free
dom. A subscription was Immediately start
ed, and in a short time a sum sufficient to
indemnify Mrs. Lennon for her loss, was
raised. Virginia was not satisfied A ques-
ton involving an important principal was ct
stake.
The case was pushed from one court II
another, until it finally reached the court n
Appeals court presided over by some of
the ablest Jurists Of our country. In tits,
asS ii WV oIiiNi Soult, pSIOIC NlIlCil yttlS
case came, the claim of Virginia to the rib
to bring slaves into the State was Denied
The opinion Of Judge DEMO is worthy of pc
rusal. He sums the matter up in sentence
in saying, that when Mrs Lennon brought
her slaves into the city of New York, she did
not also bring the Laws of Virginia along
with her-hence they are free.
The claim to hold them was made on the
ground that, as citizen of the United States,
Mrs. Lennon was entitled, under the Con-
stitution, to all the privileges here that she
had in Virginia. Judge DEMO exposes the
fallacy Of this claim, and shows that the
"privileges and immunities to which a
Virginian is entitled here, are hot. those of
citizen Of Virginia, but those of citizen Of
New York; and the right to hold slaves is
not one of the privileges and inmunties of
q citizen of New York
Going back to the history Of the Consti-
tuition, he shows that it was framed Just
after the famous Somerset case established
that slaves taken from a slave community
to a free one, could not be held, and that the
trainers oft, evidently expecting the speedy
abolition of slavery in many States of the
Union, believed that the legal effect of
slaves entering free State, was that he be-
came free. They, therefore, inserted re-
striction, providing that this should not be
the case with fugitives But they inserted no
other. The fact, that they did not, shows
they 5rStenaed the restriction to apply to H.
gitiDes only.
BY thus specifying the single exception in
which slavery was to continue they recog-
Missed the general rule that in all other cases
it does not continue The distinction is well
put, and will be as acceptable to the bred
Scott Democracy as the distinction between
the clear title to the pound of flesh and his
lack of title to drop Of blood, was to Shy
lock!
Virginia still anticipates success. She has
now appealed the case to the Supreme Court
of the United States, hoping and expecting
that there her Lennon (s) won't get
squeezed" One thing is certain, the politics
of the case will be passed upon if the Law
is not.