Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1860-01-05
WASHINGTON, Dec. 80.

HoUsE.-Mr. Stanton in reply to Mr..
Boyce, said, as he understood the position
of the Republican party on the fugitive
slave law, there were differences ofopinion
among them as to what fugitive slave
law should be, and whether the provisions
of the Constitution make obligations on a
State to provide remedy, or whether it
belongs to Congress. For himself, if it
were an original question, he should hold
that the power was vested in the State,
but as it is, he held TO the cotemporaneous
construction of the Constitution which had
been acted on by all departments of the
Government and which have been aequies-
ced in by the people, and ought to be re-
cognized and so conceded to by the consti-
tutional power of Congress to pass a fugi-
tive slave law. So far as the law of 1850
was concerned, he did not believe it was
constitutional in its details as to the mode
provided for making proofs. He wanted
a law which would be available, but not TO
encourage kidnapping under the color of
law and capture persons not slaves.
The judicial power of the United States
is vested by the Constitution in Judges,
appointed by the President and confirmed
by the Senate. And he held further, that
when the fugitive slave law authorizes a
Commissioner appointed by the Judges
and not by the President and confirmed by
the Senate, to sit In judgment as to wheth-
er the person arrested is fugitive or not,
it is vesting constitutional power where the
constitution does not authorize it. He
held the law to be unconstitutional in this
it deprives the party of the right of ha-
beas corpus to test the question as to the
process under which fugitives are claimed
and whether it is eonfoimable to the law,
and whether or not there is a pretext to
put into slavery free man. He knew in
point of fact that that law is grossly abus-
ed in the free States. He knew men were
constantly kidnapped under color of its
provisions. He know person in Ohio
who had received letter asking him to
give a description of some free negroes,
the writer saying he would find masters for
them. Hence those difficulties arise.
Mr.. Cox, in the course of his remarks,
referring to Mr.. Stanton, said he was not
the exponent of the dominant party. He
was amahogany whig, slightly vanished
over with Republicanism. The Repubh-
can party is all sectionalism when you go
to Ohio, but here it attempted to make the
country believe it was national to give it
the odor of nationality.
Mr.. Stanton claimed to understand as
well what the Republican party is as his
colleague. He was quite as much of an
exponent of its principles as his colleague
was, He was member of that party in
good standing. His colleague mistook
when he said the Republican party of Ohio
is sectional. The Republicans of Ohio go
for the Constitution as it was framed, aud
constituted for sixty years after it was
framed, and they will make it their plat
form, and for its support will quote the
opinions OF the fathers of the Republic.
Mr.. Kellinger, of Pa, said that he had
heard Republicans define their position,
which he as one of the peoples representa-
tiyes did not at all times endorse. He
thought it time to say that he and those
elected with him on that ticket came from