Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1860-04-07

trial. Our people look upon that as n different
thing. They did indeed provide, as the gentleman
from Georgia charges, and desire to turn atten-
ton to that He complains, in the appendix to his
speech, that
vermont pledges the whole power Of the State to
maintain the claim of the slaves to freedom"
No such thing. 1t does provide
MIR Mason. If the Senator will allow me to in
terrupt himI will not unless it is agreeable to him
i wish this thing right far as the law for the
reclamation of fugitive slaves is concerned; and |
do not see that there should be any difference be-
tween the honorable Senator and myself The
honorable Senator says now thetA r,son upon the
law as if it was law made to reclaim fugitive
slaves, but that do not reason upon it as if it
might possibly be extended to one who was not n
slave. Now, sir, the Constitution says nothing
about slaves, nor does the law.
Mr. Collamer. l used the shortest term
Mr. Mason. Very well. The law follows the
Constitution. The Constitution says that
mo person held to service labor in one State
der the laws thereof escaping into another SHALL in
consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis
charged from such service or labor, but shall be dev
cred up on claim of the party to whom such service
| or labor may be due"
| The law follows the Constitution. Its provisions
are these, very briefly: upon the proofs to be adj
duced by the claimant if it shall appear to the ju-
dica officer in the State where the fugitive is
rested that he held to service or labor in the
|
vice or labor due to the claimant, he shall be
delivered up on the faith of the Ccnstituton-no
inquiry whether that service labor was rghtful-
| ly or wrongfully due.
Now, the honorable Senator says that that is
final; that ii is not, as in the case Of fugitive
from justice, preliminary only as to the guilt but
it is final. Final, howl Docs that honorable Sem
ator mean to intimate that there is State of this
Union where African bondage is recognized-and
to one of those States this fugitive slave must be
re-conyeyed--where the most ample plcnary, sed-
ulous provision is not made to give every negro
who is claimed as a slave the amplest opportunity,
without fee or reward, TO have the question tried
there whether he is n slave or not If that be
true, the proceedings of the commissioner may be
final or not, as the case may be. If the person is
really slave, when he is surrendered to his mas
ter, it is final. If he is not n slave, let him he
taken wherever the sun shines upon n slave State,
to make a complaint anywhere, in any village, at
any cross-road, or on any highway, to the neigh
bors, that he is freeman, and will tell that hon
orable Senator, if he does not know it, that there
would not be voice III that whole community that
would not insist upon his being RENTED to all the
privileges and securities which the law gives him
to trial which is provided for at the public ex
pense-to decide whether he be a slave or not
Those are the facts.
Mr. Collamcr. / choose to make no issue with
gentlemen from the slavehoding States in relation
TO the generosity, libcraty or anything of that
kind, of their people. Indeed, | am free TO ac-
knowledge that think they are generally quite ms
frank and liberal people as any, and think they
are great deal better than their institutions. Their
institutions regret the goodness Of the people
do not. | said that the commissioners decision
was final to all practical purposes. l know it is
said the courts are open to him and DIR. johnson
said, so is the city coffee house free to furnish
man with n good dinner, if he has the money"
said this step was not preliminary to any suit l
say so now ! can be easily understood in that, if
you desire to understand mo When YOU enter a
regular complaint against n for Il crime, and
you send TO another State to bring him. it is to
bring him into court TO answer to that offcnsc
charged against him in proceeding already inst-
tuted and pending in court. Then | say the or
der to return such man, for such purpose is pre-
liminnrv but when YOU come to n fugitive from
labor service is the action of the commissioner
step preliminary TO anything of that kind |
do not say there could not be n suit brought after
wards by the man who is carried away slave to
Texas
Mr.. Mason. will not interrupt the Senator
hereafter. If he will fasten that quarrel upon the
Constitution l will not defend the Constitution !;
but insist upon the quarrel being fastened upon
the Constitution, and not upon the law
Mr.. Collamcr. We'll, l do not choose to make
that point l am not like the man who when the
sermon did not please him, found fault with the
text. ] shall not find fault with the text any way
lLaughitcrl Certain it is, then, that I am well
founded in my distinction. that this is not n prcl
minary proceeding. 1t may be that the man can
bring an action after he is carried away to Texas
l mention Texas simply because it is one of our
most distant States. He is carried away to Texas
an entire stranger, and in utter poverty and dcstu
i ton. Perhaps he could assert his rights there
but he would be much like the man getting his din
ner at the city coce-house, if he had no money to
buy it. The cour. being open does not assist him
! any. Besides lac is not in a condition to 90 there
| rc n ur Ma phu sgtt
where he was born.
The whole Of these arguments 20 on the ground
that gentlemen from the South really supnosc they
have it at all times their minds, that nobody else
will be arrested but fugitive We are not safe
that way, and our people have made some laws
with view to the security Of their citizens that
account They were not satisfied with leaving the
question entirely to these commissioners, who, the
Senator says, are judicial powers in them who are
not subject TO impeachment trial They were
not satisfied with that condition Of things. They
did not like the law hut that was not all.
Another crisis came. Some time afterwards il
was regularly decided by the Supreme Court that
the descendants Of an African negro was not en-
titled to any rights which white men were bound to
respect ut all Suppose man comes after Il tug-
tive slave, as You choose TO call him-perhaps one
Of your slave stcacrs in the southern States NAV
come North, and steal easier there-hc gets n de-
scription of the man, and gets gffdavits in due
form. comes into the New England States, or New
ork, and seizes man answering that description ;
takes him TO commissioner a stranger and adj
duces his proof. How can we be safe How can
our people be against this especially, saw,
when it was holden, MS have stated, that he had
no rights Then it comes 10 this if YOU come
and get fugitive slave, all very well if YOU get
a man that never Il fugitive slave at ALL il is
just well, because he has 10 rights that YOU are
bound to respect
So we saw, rom step TO step, that there was no
security for our colored population whatever, ex.
cept what the State, in its almost utter imlccty
might give. Now can say that whatever statutes
have been passed, SO far as my State is concerned
| believe were passed with no intention 10 avoid
and break down this provision of the Constitution
They may run counter to it; they may look, upon
their face, as if they intended to defeat it Int
our people always expect their laws to he subject
10 the Constitution They expect that their own
courts and the Supreme Court of the Uuitcd States
will set aside as void any law they make that con-
traycnes any provision of the Constitution. They
expect that, though they do not put in the words.
Subject to the Constitution of the United States y
(Laughter,) | may say further to gentlemen, that
if there be any such statutes in Vermont as do con
trav enc that provision, they will he as readily de-
cided to be unconstitutional, l venture to declare,
by the supreme court of that State as they would