The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1860-12-14

rights Of property III slaves wcdld dvpehd, no,
upon the guarantees OF the Constitution, bnt.
upon the shifting mJoiities Of an ifresponst
bio territorial Legislature. Suoh q doctrine
from " intrinsic unsoundness. cannot long In.
duenct any portion OF our people, much less
can II ifford y good reason for y dissolution of
the Unon.- The must palpa ie violations of
constitutional duty which have yet been con-.
mittod, consist In the acts Of different state
Lcgislf ures to defeat the execution OF the Flu
gitivo Slave Law. II ought to be remembered.
however, that fcr these acts neither Congress
nor any President osn be justly held responsi-
BILE: having been passed In violation Of the
federal Constitution, thoy are therefore null
and void.
An tie Courts, both state and national, be-
fore whom the question has arisen, have, from
the beginning, declared the Fugitive Slave law
TO be constitutional. The single exception Ia
that OF v state Court In Wisconsin. and this
has not only been reversed by the proper ap
pellate tribunal, but has met with such uni.
versai reprObation that there can be no dan.
ger from II as a prec cedent. The validity Of
this law has been established over and over
again by the Supreme Court of the United
States with perfect unaniinity. II is founded
upon an express provision of the Consultation.
requiring that fugitive slaves who escape from
service in ono state TO another, shall be do
vcrs9 ~ - 10 incf Wen mests esnM nsoaen 2S inis
fist ~ Constitution itself could never have
D,'en adopted hy the Convention. III one iurin
-s,r another under the acts uf 1898 or 1850 both
being substantially the same. the Fugitive
Slave law has been tho law Of the land from
the days Of Washington until the present mo.
ment Here, then, n clear case Is presented In
which II will be the duty of the next President,
Ms II has been my own, to act with vigor In cx.
ocutng this supreme law against the conflict.
ing enactmentS Of state Legislatures. Should
h fail In the performance Of this high duty, he
will then have manifested disregard Of the
Constitution I'D laws to the great injury of
the people Of nearly ono half Of the states OF
the Union. But are we to presume in advance
that he will thus violate his duty! This would
be at gar with every principle of justice OF
CHI istian charity. Let us wait tor tho overt
act.
The Fugitive Slave law has been carried In.
90 execution In every contested case since the
commencement of the present administration,
though often. II is to be regretted, with great
'luss and Inconvenience 10 the master and con.
siderable expense to the government. Lot us
trust that tho state Legislatures will repeal
their unconstitutional and obnoxious enact.
nents. Unless this shall be done without un.
necessary delay 1t II impossible for any human
puR Rcr To save the Union. The Southern states,
standing on the basis OF the Consi tuition, have
Il right to demand this act of justice from tho
states of the North. Should II be refused
them, the Cunstit ution, to which all tho states
are parties, win have heen wilfully violated
by one portion of them, In u provision essen.
tial To the domestic security and happiness of
tho remainder. III that event. the injured
s,,tn, ,f,cr having 1rst useJ ali n.,c.f,,i !, nj
C'n.,i,utinn,,i means IN nb,nin re,lr,s 90 wouIJ
no Justified in rev cyolu,Iunary resistance to Tho
government ofthe Union.
| h.vo purpnscly confined my remarks to re.
voutionary resistance, because 1t has been
claimed within the last few ye.r.. that any
state whenever il shall he her sovereign viii
aud ,,lonsurc. may secode from tho Union n,
nrr,rI ,uce with the Constitution. and without
any constitutional rights of the other members
of Tho copfcderacy, that as eAci, became mar.
Ties 10 the Union 6y the y,te uf lis own penple
assembled i'm convention. So any one of them
may re,irc from the jTulon i'm :, similar manner
hy Tho vote of surh convention. In order 10
~ secessi,u ,s "A Institutional rcme,iy A
mns, be ON tbc nriuciule that the federal yoy.
ornncnt il "A mere voluntary uss,oiation of
s,,,cs In he dissulycJ M nIctsure bv nne oi
lilo ,.,ntr,ctiur uuriics II Tins he 81. Tho c,,n.
red.rncv ,s |, r5ne of sand. and tn bo ncnc.
trntnd and dissolved by the first adverse wayo
of nuhlic ulininu In any of tLs states. In This
manner our thirty three states may rcsoIve
into. Ma many pettv iarrino and
hrs,iIe rcnuhjios. each one retiring f,oIn thc
Irn,"S. .HTuut ses,.p,s,i, ".I ,e':.I
suite" s~'i,e",cn, ihkn, Inp1, 'no'p W SUI ~.
,",r,I W '',, ',Ss u".on ", ,n,sm, "e
enn,r,'y u,"Nen '''., ~ w "w s.en
VIII "hI'n o"s' w, 'in'''"e.s "i'! so"s y, .'n'
Pr'' 't'"l a'u o',"" u'es''"''sn. ouonA pI'n
VIZ" ~ WIZ, , AZ. 80 - 10 'S'o, W'''.y
as VIC" ~, ,"o o".' 49,, W w ~. ',o,,
Iuu,"' hNcI was ''nnou '''. wiz, ,' '"u s.e''es'
ucl' w "'vn 'hu c'i1, ~ ""s s'"o'",'"too o"h,
Nehll"hs 'l INC PC l',c Vi VI" Stvef.' STATES 'or
rallhrat"n; ils Pf,N's' us were uiscusseu Nv
iche'h W hcso pou'eS, composed oI 'he Hrs'
men ol VIC c"nhrE, us ul'p'neh.S c"utenu
eu 'l"' " '' rrc P'"ef uio' .hc icuc, |"
governments "hhseIo"s W 'hc r,sn.s !" ,,ie
slaieH' "hiSt US 'uN"o'Nco niN'ne"''c" t"a'
ulu'f l'Ir cnhs'ruc'oh W ,'c ihafuuch''
thcrd WAS ~ l'unua.loll lor sucn "pPtchsh'
si"h'' ~ 'n'' h'sl'y S'Iuss'e oclwo.n 'ho 70
hrSi lheHer's" 'hlS "1 any otne, c"uh'r!, !.
never "ocurrru W my ,nu, o''.t. o,."er ~.
among hs "PPn"hn", ", "u' 'r''''', W "ns1' " W
even W ihilfnHe tllaI 'hcIr enor,s were h.l VAIN
labor; because ,he in' men. una, any s."to ieit
mcrNeH "ESsr 'cu' s"v n'sn' seueue n"', A., ,'ic
o""h, Nh,' rrus',hs a'xu'hoi,. % M,nu' .s th's
nave proved hGaln', th"Se w",' ureaicu Una,
lhc tien's :" lhe H'n''n ""u'u W. cnaa"scIco
by the constitution Inc lru,h ", tia' u WAS
M uhil MIN! !cWs aNcI .he o'kh :" t"e
iedcru government ,hA, SUN pIop"sl',"i
was htst InN"hceu. W"s 'ioh r'e' anu 10
iueu ny 'he conclusive arguments oi "sner"
n JuHS T I.a1 ,r,n.,',,Hs Inc " nt,i1,i"v III or !"
Jh""aI!' tHS', u'nsnlN,hs ''e NUM-! 'hE VI
% %u,',,t @ @I";m i",oa ] W o""s''SS' u"
P'"! l"o ! h,ow '.,S ''nsuaSe;
nc .,tn. M " .no io"pio ~ i,, s,"s,o s."o ~ "
"'N Ne .neuhs,nes" ~, W." s., anu ".n'u , .'o ~, %
SUN VI tno u'no' SUES, n"" .no,' n,'n' ~,
al
un"n' happiheSs W n,',''uls conpo,'nR tI'I
oh"h ca'inot pc ackhoWlcnseo. nuch author
ny Is noiieSea '" oe n',IrN ,Gpunnan., % oo,, .,
@ w w." y, ~ w. ~ 'i''os "p'. 'o ,i 49,,
% hi' !, ,,', ~ nros.iv G,rmcd =" ao '' !;
moi pretended that any clause in tho Cons,i
tuition gives cnuntcna,ice To- such n theory. /
Is altogether founded upon inference, noi fr'u
ANY language contained In the instrument Il
sell, bnt from ,hc snyelelsn character 81 IN
iNora Sa,es , 10y WnSn , was ,'s Insai 1nt
nal Ia Yield n norton. Of iis snvc,eirn rivbt
tm sec,ire the remainde,l In The Language O
Mr.. Madison. who has been called the Fathe
OF t'e Constitution, il was formed by th
sta,es.-'lat is. by me people IN each :" tn
s'a'os, cnng W ,nc,r n,gncs, sovere,gh rap
na rh iur""J ,En "tat ~ }r"s,i,",io,, ,o I ~,
NOR Is ,her y,r ,ment of tho United state Gre
ntcd by tie Consultation, less government
in tho striciest sense OF the term, within III
sphere of its powers, than the government
created by tue CONSIDERATIONS oi lhe states Ar
'n,i tei, s'Io, Spe ,ecns,yo NS oaa s,e \,