Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1860-04-26

/ he owes service shall bc asceTtancd.
aud the Constitution of the United
States does not mean that any freeman
of State shall be given up as fugi-
tive. Now, | appeal to the candor Of
the Senator from Georgia. lie has
read with great care the proceedings
of the Federal Constitutional Cenven-
ton. He knows the jealousy con
corning State rights that PervaGed
that body. Does he believe that its
members would have ever consented
to provision which would have de-
prived the States of the power to pro-
tect and defend their own citizens?-
No. sir. never.
lou arc continually repeating the
assertion that this fugitive slave law
provision. was deemed an important
one by the fathers, and that the Union
could not have been effected without
il. On the contrary, sir. it was
mere after-thought. The Constitu-
tion was complete in all Its important
provisions. before any man thought Of
this thing. 1t was put into the Con-
stitution with very little deliberation,
and those who put it there had no
idea that, in doing so, they were tax
Ing awry from the States the most i'm
portant element of sovereignty: name
ly, the power to protect their own cit
izcns against unlawful seizures and
searches and extradition. The rights
of the States, the only protection
made against overpowering and con
centrated despotism, were the one cs-
pecial object of preservation. The
States battled inch by inch against the
surrender of any State power. ]
Judge. therefore. that they never in
tended to confer upon Congress. or
upon any one State, or anybody, a
right to enter another sovereign State,
and take away, in a summary and ar
bitrary manner. whomsoever he should
choose to claim as fugitive from an
other State.
But the Senator said that the free
States, and Ohio among the rest, have
committed kind of perjury in disre-
garding your fugitive slave law, by
passing personal liberty bills. SO far
as the law of Ohio is concerned, we
shall see how plain a tale will put
down his argument. Her law con-
sists of three sections. The saving
clause of the last section prevents any
such construction as the Senator him
self put upon the statute. 1t is enti-
tied, "a law to prevent slaveholding
and Kidnapping in Ohio" The last
section declares:
Nothing in the preceding sections
Of this act shall apply to any act done
by any person under the authority of
the Constitution of the United States.
or of any law of the United States
made in pursuance thereof
Now. ask the Senator from Geor-
gia. if he was upon thc bepch. and a
fugitive from labor or service in an
other State was brought before him,
under the provisions of this law,
would he find any difficulty in surren-
dering him into the hands of the per-
sons who had made out his claim to
his service? Would he say that the
preceding section of this law over
ruled this explanatory clause, and that
he was bound. at all events, to tram
pie the Constitution under foot? No,
sir, he would give it no such construc-
ton as that.
Mr.. President, / say in all sincerity |
and earnestness, TO every man who
holds to the conservation of State /
rights, that you endanger the rights OF
your own State, you endanger the
liberties of this whole nation. when
you contend against the power of the
States to pass laws protecting their
own citizens from unlawful seizures
and Kidnapping. At all hazards,
neither asperity of language, nor a
frowning brow, nor violent denun-
citation, will ever induce the State of
Ohio to forget what belongs to her
sovereignty, what is due to her hon
or, and the protection of her own cit
izens. She takes no prouder position
on this subject than, hope in God,
every other State in the Union does.
Then the Senator was wrong, he was
uncandid, to stand forth aud say that
our constituents are perjured, that
they are traitors, that they have vio-
lated the law of the land, when they
had taken every precaution to award
to the citizens of other States, hold |
ing a species Of property that we Ut
terly repudiate, all their rights.
The State of Ohio sends no Sena-
tors here to denounce the sovereign /
ties or people of other States; but
when her rights are disputed or her
honor assailed in this high council,
the ambassadors here would be un-
faithful to their trust If they did not
hurl back some unjust imputations.
The third count in the Senator's
indictment is, that we intend to pro-
hibit Slavery in the vast Territories
Of this Union. That charge. / confess
is true. We DO 30 intend. If | un-
derstand the objects and purposes Of
the Republican party, if understand
the emergencies of the case that
brought that great party into exis-
tence. it was this very subject The
General Government, acting in Con-
gress iaithlessly to all that it had
covenanted heretofore, had broken
down every barrier. and violated every |
pledge it had given of freedom in any |
of our Territories. These covenants
being overthrown, the Republican
party arose to rescue freedom. Had
there been no violation of the Mis-
souri, Compromise. it is very proba-
bic there would have been no Repub-
lican party here. We did embody |