Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-03-24
SLAVERY IN ILLINOIS.

MR.. lRUMBCLL. Sir, there is another statement
that cannot permit to 90 unchallenged and which
am astonshed to hear made in this bldy 1t
relates to the State Of Illinois had seen the
statement before in some OF the newspapers but
believe was never present when such n state
ment was made until to-day. My colleague says
we tried slavery in llliuo;s when it was Terri
tory : and have seen it stated somewhere. in
conne'ion with this remark, that, as soon us the
people OF Illinois were permitted to manage their
own affairs, they excluded slavery. Now, sir, /
state to the Senate aud to the country that slavery
never existed III illinois. by virtuO Of any law,
either before or after SHE eas a state. Men may
be seized and imprisoned in defiance Of law.
There was an attempt to indenture servants in the
State OF Illinois under the old Territorial laws.
and when we formed a State Constitutca-and |
wish my colleague to hear it-so far from the state
ment being true that the State OF Illinois had
slavery while Territory and abolished it when
she formed a State constitution, she gave by
her State Constitution the only validity to
these indentureships that they ever had
The Supeme Court Of the State of Illinois, the
very first time this question Of the freedom Of the
negroes in that State was brought before it-n the
case cf Ph~te VS. Jay, decided by Judge Lock
woCd-decIded expressly that, under the ordinance
Of l7S1, all attempts to hold negroes in slavery or
TO hUld them as iudenturcd servants were illegal
1t was never slaves that they were attempted
to he held it was by species of indentureS4ip,
the negroes going voluntarily before come clerk or
court and there entering into articles Of agree
ment with scme party to serve him for period Of
years, oitenumeS extending beyond the ordinary
period OF human life; but when the question came
before the courts, after the State constitution was
adopted the Supreme Court Of the State decided
that those indeHtures were void under the ordi-
nance Vt 1877 ard could not be sustained but
that the people Of Illinois, in forming their State
constitution, having said that persons who had
been fairly indentured under the Territorial laws
should be held to the periods Of their in
dentures, the court held that, by virtue of this
constitutional provision, the indeDtuFes originally
VOID Were made valid. That was the condition Of
the negro population Of Illinois.
While Illinois was Territory some of its inhah-
itaus petitioned repeatedly to Congress for permits
sion to establish slavery and Congress as repeat
edly refused their petitions. There will he found
now among the American State Papers the re-
petition OF the people Uf Illinois to establish slav.
cry in that Territory. Then, sir, say that slar.
cry, such, mover did exist in thar State; and
the ground upon which these indentures were sus-
tained either that they were entered into
freely, as one freeman would enter into "a con-
tract with another, or else that they had been
confirmed by the adoption Of the constitution.
MR. noUGLls. | have but a few words to say
in reply tn my colleague; aud FIRST on the estion,
whether Illinois was slave Territ, ry not and
whether we ever had slavery in the State. l dis
like technical deuials. conveying idea contrary
to the fact. My colleague well knows, and do
/, that practically we lad slaves there while Il
Territory, aud after We became a State. | havo
seen him dance to the music of negro slave in IL
inois many a time. and have danced to the same
music myself. Laughter We have 10th had the
same negro servants to black our boots aud wait
upon US, aud they were held as slaves. We know
therefore, that slavery did exist in the
State ia fact, and slavery did exist in the Terrific
ry in fact and his denial relates exclusively to
the question whether slavery was legal, Whether
legal not it existed in fact. The master exercis-
ed his dominion the slave, ard those negroes
ed the constitution. There are gentlemen
around me here who know the fac-geutlemeh
who were nursed 10y slaves in Illinois. No man
familiar with the history OF illino ?, will deny
the fact. The quibLle is, that the Territorial
laws authorizing The intro !uotion Of slaves were
void bee ,use che ordinance Of 1857 said slavery
was prohibited.
Notwithstanding that ordinance, the old French
inhabitants, who had slaves before the ordinance,
paid no attention to 1t, and held slaves still.
Slaves weIe held there all the time that Illinois
was Territory and after it became State they
we're held til they all died out, ana their children
became smancpated under the constitution. 1t is
u fact We all know it. That gentleman has seen
many Of those old French slaves, who were held
in defiance of the ordinance. whether they
were lawfully held OF not the Territorial author
tiles sustained the rights Of the master. Not only
were slaves held by the Frerch hef1re the ordi-
nance but the Territorial Legislature passed
law in substauce 10 this effect any citizen might.
20 to Kentucky, or any other State OF Territory
where slaves we're held and bring slaves into the
Territory of Illinois, take them to q county court,
aud in open court enter into an iudenIure by
him Tor ninety nine years. and in the event that the
slave refused to enter into the indeuture, the
ter should have q certain time 10 take him uut and
sell him. The Senator now says that law was not
valid Valid OF not it was executed slaves we're
introduced, and they we're held ; thoy we're
used they were workedi and they died slaves
That is the fact. have handed to me a book
showing the number OF slaves in Illinois at the
laking of the various censuses which it appears
that when the census OF 1870 taken, there were
in Illinois lGS slaves in 1920. 9l7 in $780, TAI,
and in 1870. 3Sl. Ia 1850 there we're none, for
the reason that, in l847. we adopted new con
sdtutiou that prohibited slavery en- tirely,
and by that time they had nearly all
died out The census shows that al oOe time