New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-11-28
THE SOUTHERN GRIEVANCE.

Whoever wadeg through the columns of South
ern diatribes against the North which we daily
publish, and the still denser columns thereof
furnished by some of our contemporaries, must
perceive that the master grievance therein heaped
upon us is our deficient alacrity in catching and
returning runaway slaves OF course, the
especial target Of maledictiOn is Northern lcgis-
latiOn against kidnapping; but that is merely
casual exhibition, under the spur of the Fugitive
Slave act and of the Nebraska bill, of the ilNin-
chile Northern repugnance to playing the part Of
bloodhound on the track Of frightened and
flying woman, who, having had three or four of
her children torn from her and sold to Mississippi
or Texas is flying to save the last of her brood
from fate more abhorred than death. We
repeat that the grdram6n of the Offense is North
ern repugnance to slave-catcbng, the particular
manifestation given TO that repugnance being
accidental and incOnsequent. The vital, honest,
naked truth is, that the mass of the people of
the Free States never did heartily cooperate in
negro-catchng, and never viii. Had they been
inclined to do so, the original Fugitive law of
1898 would have answered every propose; since
they were not and are not, the act Of 1850,
savage as it Is amounts practically to very little.
Of the fugitive slaves who manage TO cross Mason
and DixOns line nine-tenths get safely 10 Can
ada if they really try as they always did and al
ways viii. All the State anti-kidnapping laws
have not added dozen to the number who have
thus made good their fight; and if they were all
repealed tomorrow, the South would not be
profited one silver. If fugitive chooses to hang
about our cities from month to month, his mas
ter, if he earnestly tries, can often hear Of him
and recover him; but if he makes . straight pull
for Canada he is almost certain to get away;
because nearly OF quite all OF us are anxious
that he should Now and then some poor tool
of Rynders or De Angels viii embark heartily
in the work of sayc-catching for the sake of the
money to be made by it, but there is no man
reared in a Free State and gaining his livelihood
by any form Of honest industry, who does not
feel an intense Oathing of the whole business Of
ave-catching, and say of it, with Hazael, SIS
" thy servant dog that he should do this thing ?"
The very dry goods jObber who declaims against
Personal Liberty acts would loathe himself if he
were to join in hunting fugitive, and would
feel sense Of relief and gladness if that fugitive
were to get safely of to Canada.
Southern politicians do not comprehend this
at least they persist in talking as though they
did not. They recognize 40 difference between
hunting q fugacious negro and hunting a strayed
or stolen horse, and fancy that all repugnance to
slaye-catchiBg is impelled by hatred or envy of
the South, or some moral Obliquity, when in fact
il springs directly from reverence to that Divine
law. alike of Nature aud of Revelation which
says, Remember those in bonds as bound with
"thcm;" (St. Paul. "Break every yoke, and
''let the oppressed 90 free;" (Isaiah.) ''Thou
" shalt not deliver unto his master the servant
"wLo has escaped from his master unto thee;
che shall dwell with thee; even among yOu, in
"that place which he shall choose in one of thy
"eates. where it likcth him best; thou shalt
"not Cypress him;" (Deut. xXi 10, 49,
Hence we say to those intent on daubing the
cracks in the Union with the untempercd mortar
of a new Compromise, You must not ignore HUI
nan Nature. You must pay some respect to The
law of grayitaiion, moral as well a. physical.
All the Personal Liberty acts may be repealed
fortLwitb--that is % small mattcr-and you may
make ever 50 solemn new bargain for the cap
lure and restoration Of fugitive slaves but the
up-sbOt will be- that not one III ten VIII De
caught, and after a few years, not one m n hum
dred. Hence will result reprcaches aud crlm-
nations, charges Of broken compacts and bad
ahenated because OF the bargain Of Northern