Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-01-08
c0lT1grNIC4TTONs
E.sul.lon d rsss Nsgras..

Tennessee requiring the removal Of the free coiorad
population, one Of vital interest to our State, and
one in which every citizen shoeld feel deep /
concern. It is a movement long desired and long
needed IL is IN fact, one Of those rsiisf measures
for which, at some time or ether in the histories Of
oh nations and States there arises by force Of cir
cumstances. an imperative necessity. look upon
the proposition as one Of no ordinary importance,
not only to our own State, but also to the whole
South. speak Of my own county, (Blount,) when
/ say no measure, within my recollection, has met
with such decided and almost universal favor Al
though there may be exceptional cases calculated
to arouse our pity and enlist our sympathies, we
must not permit those to blind our Judgment or i'm
pair our sensibiity to the public necessity. That
the times the present numbers and prospective
increase Of the free negro population habits
Of ideness and dishonesty--their pernieious infu-
ence on the slaves, call for action and immediate
ton, none viii deny We must either get rid Of this
noisome population or give up the idea Of holding
slaves. There is an irrepressible conflict be-
tween toleratng the one and making the other prof
liable. It seems a paradox to keep one portion Of
the race in slavery and permit another portion to
roam at large, Sc wing the seeds Of discomfort and
insubordnation in tho minds Of the former and al
fording safe and easy medium through which Alb
clifton incendiaries may incite rebellion and insLr
recton in the small village in which resioe there
are no less than eight free negro quarters-harbOrs
for slaves and mean white people-the repositories
of the proceeds of theft and plumber which free ne
groes induce slaves to commit. l doubt not every
village has its quota of this fungus population. They
are scattered all through the country, internarrying
.orI.,,.r t1,or, dfeoafie6 fed with rhpir.
condition. and raising up a progeny half bond and
half free part white and part black. Now, thatour
surrounding sister States, both North and South
passing laws similar in effect to the one before our
Legislature, if we decline protecting ourselves in
like manner we will ere long become general rem
devious for all the free negroes in the States around
1t will not do to depend upon the law already our
Statute Book inhibiting such immigration. As long
as we retain such a population among US, they
will form a nucleus around which refugees and mi
gratory free negroes will gather and be more or less
provided for and protected.
But objection is made to the present bill 1t is
said by high officials and legal gentlemen to be IN
constitutional It's little singular that those who
interpose constitutional difficulties should also, with
out exception entertain conscientious seruples to
the policy of the measure. have carefully exam
ned the bill, and have also read the opinions Of gen
tlemen who have either by request or of their own
accord given them upon the constitutionaly of the
bill aud must confess am as yet unable to any
thing in either to satisfy me of the unconstitutional
/ ity of the measure
Judge CATRoN says the free negroes have yes ted
right to freedom by the Judgment and DEGREES Of the
courts But be does not tell that it is consttu-
fonal right and he refers to no provision in the
constitution granting or recognizing it. He only re-
fers to the exploded constitution of 1885, giving free
colored men the right to vote, which of course has
no application to the subject. Mr.. EwNG did not
satisfy US any more than Judge C. that the bill is
unconstitutional He too, says they have vested
right to freedom and 10 H0s sOas,ehere. His latter
proposition, presume, will not be conrovcrted.
But he does not inform US under what section ar
ticle of nstitution either of Tennessee or OF
the United States, they obtained the former right
| Suppose, however for the sake of argument, that
their right to freedom is Usstd does that give them
an uncomfortable right to fix themselves, for all time
to come upon our soil and in the heart of our slave
population. IT, by being emanepated, they are
made freemen, in the sense of the constitution or
citizens either Of our own State or of the United
1 cLdlces Llcl lAty udNG a IAsiL 70 ISilldu tSiNf
and they have a right to go into any Of the
States Of this Union, and entitled under the ID
section Of the 4sh article of the constitution Of the
United States to al the privileges and mmunites Of
citizens in the several States And all the State laws
prohibiting them from removing into the States are
unconstitutional. But the Supreme Courts not
only Of Tennessee, but Of other States and of
the United States have said they neither free
men nor citizens So if they neither freemen nor
citizens it is not unconstitutional either to prevent
them from removing into any Of the states to re-
side there as is done by the Of many of the
States, our act of 1881 among the number, or to
cause them to ont Of the States to reside else
where as is proposed by the bill under considera-
ton They may, if their own characters and habits
and the public good of those constituting the gov
eminent, require be expelled as savage and PERM
cious tribes are expelled from the borders Of civil
zatOn. Only a constitutional freeman and citizen
can claim the privilege of citizenship in any of the
States, and the correlatve immunity against expa-
| triation. Ths free negro, being neither freeman
nor citizen can claim and Is entitled Of the
privileges or immunties of the favored class. If
the Legislature have the constitutional power to
quire the removal ofthe free blacks certainly has
law in case of refusal 1t can, if it deem proper.
make the violation a felony, as was the case under
the act of 1884, chap IO2, for a free person Of color
| to remove into the State; and confinement in the
county Jail in the pententiary the State at hard
labor, for a limited or indefinite period may be an
nexed as the penalty The power Of the Legislature
to declare certain violations of law, even on the
part Of white citizens crime, and to de-
prive them for that offence of their liberties, either
for life or for years is denied. If the free white
man or the free black can, in this manner, be
deprived of his freedom. why cannot the latter be
deprived of it in any other similar manner? Why
may not the Legislature annex as the penalty, not
confinement in the State county prison, but bond
| age and servitude to humane master:
But maintain that there is no constitutional pro
vision to prevent the Legislature doing directly and
| by positive enactment what it would according to
the bill under consideration. under certaia circum
stances be doing indirectly and by way of penalty.
In other words the free negro can be, at once and
directly, deprived of his so-called freedom and re-
duced again to a state of slavery. if the Legislature
see proper to do so. He has no vested indefeasibe
right to freedom. lie could have none, unless he
derives it under or it be recognized by the consttu
JOa. On the contrary na Ootdlls al ne HAS ulllcF
the statute law which is the creature of the Legis
lature. Can the Legislature, then. revoke that
grant, 1t can unless such an act would come with
in the prohibitions of the Sth 2Oth or 2lst sections
of the Ist article of the constitution The Sth
that no freeman shall be taken imprisoned or
disseized of his freehold, liberties orprvieges
outlawed or exiled, in any manner destroyed, or
deprived of his life liberty property, but by the
Judgment Of his peers the law ofthe land" This
section it is hardly necessary to state, the Supreme
Court have many years ago. in the case Of the State
VS. CLAIBORNE, Jieigs r.. 33I declared not applicable
to the free negro, the opinion Of Ex-Goy. NEIL s.
BRowN to the contrary Notwithstanding. The 2lst
section Is that no mans services shall be demand
ed or property taken applied to public with
out the consent of his representatives without
lust conversation" This section is susceptible Of
the same and no other construction Its meaning
and application are derived from the very face and
language OF the section without the consent Of his
Representatives" The free negro has no represen-
tative So neither of these provisions was intende9
for his benefit
Rut yyould such an act impair the obligation Of