The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1861-12-19
A Dialogue with the Dead. I.

Doefc'-al"ilo. EvuuC "Cukcy yOu Tc
a crack lawyer. How do you 60 to work
to prove man chose, chattle, property,
auctionable, etc. ?
Ve.lye.-Why, what is the case, far.
mer Beetle?
B-The case comes by telegraph
The wires say that " all negroes coming
into General Hunters camp will be re-
tanned, and such Of them US are proved
to be the property of Uuion men will be
appraised aud receiptcd for, to be paid
for when aud how cuneress may sec 6t,'
There are several things would like to
know. Aud FIRST, the nature of the
proof required? Taking for granted, Of
course, that General Hunter is q perfect.
y proper aud constitutional court to try
| such question.
W-You prove it just as You would in
case Of runaway horse. Swear that
the negro is your slave, or has been -
Show bill OF sale, if necessary. The pro.
cess is simple and summary. In fact
there is never much 70 mality about it.
B-So l should think, or the General
would be too busy to attend to it. But
where do you get any United States law
for depr'ving negro Of his liberty any
how? l don't see how the particular
government Of Ur Gle Sam can regard any
body as a cha,t,e, or allow the question
of property in man to go to jury at all,
much less to General.
W-The Fugitive Slave law, you
B-Yes, I have reason to know that;
for it fined Inc once to the tune of 81 900
for exercising nv inalienable right not
to be brute. But these negroes do not
! escape ont of Missouri. OF course they
are not the persons to whom that neat lit.
tie constitutional arrangement about Ia.
bor.and service debtors escaping out Of
one State into another, which the Fugi.
tive Slave law makes such pretty mess
enforcing. | want to know from you.
Lawyer Wedge, if there Is such word
as "negro,' or "Africsn," or "s'avc," or
"human chattel,' or "colored," or any
other word, phrase or sentence in the
Blessed Constitution Of the United States
which Heaven preserve from some Of
its profcssed friends-wh,ch indicates
that any sort Of man ever was, or ever
might, could. would or should be the pro.
p.rtv Of another man?
| W-The constitution, sir. after speak.
ing "f 'frcc Persous." speaks also Of
"othcr persons
B-That is all, is it?
W-Every syllable, but enough
B--:So think. But how do you know,
! Squire. tie ''othcr persons" are not
ttose deprived Of liberty by due process
Of law?
/ VI know they were negro slaves.
! B-Do sou know it FROM the Consti-
tuition?
| W-Of course not. 1t is historical
| fact to which the words or the Constu
,ion were made applicable.
B-Thc Constitution, of itself, then
does not prove that the "other persons
were slaves?
JF-Of course not.
B-If it did not prove them slaves,
would it prove the slaves negroes? Or
would i, recognize them as slaves without
dis.in ion of color-white as much as
black?
IV-Thc Constitution, sir, does not
recognize slavery at all. 1t recognizes
slavery as a fact under the style Of per
sons other than flee. We are indebted
altogether to history for the knowlrd ge
Of the fact that slaves were colored, or
negroes.
B-Just as VIC are indebted to history
for the information that tie 10th per
sons" were cha,tle property, and not
such persons as the constitution provides
for being deprived Of liberty BY due pro
cess of law?
W-Yes, precisely.
B-Then do not see but the blessed
constitution itself is perfectly innocen,
Of the abominable crime Of taking away
the liberty of any man, black or white,
without due process Of law.
1V-Slnvcry exists by State laws, Mr.
Beetle, with which the Federal Govern
ment cannot interfere.
B-I am happy to hear you say So
Then it has nothing to do with enforcing
them, suppose, more especially if they
should be such as Congress would
have been forbidden by the Consti
ru,ion of the United States to pass
But to be plain with you, Squire Wedge,
| think making men property is wick
cd thing for State to do, and If the
men are poor and weak hearted, it is u
particularly mean thing, so that cannot
see how constitution which, within its
own sphere ordains that no such thing
can be done, can allow any such counte.
nance of its being done by State, as is
implied in General Hunters taking proof
of property aud promising tha. Congress
will pay somehow, aud somewhere.
W-O, you belong, Beetle, to vision.
ary and impractieuble set. We must
conciliste the border States to restore the
! Union.
B. BY showing them that We can Sc
cure to them their slave property better
than jeff. Davis can? Is it to bo a war
of rivalry, to see which can give the
greatest market value to negroes?
W-Not at all. We go strictly by and
for the Constitution
B-Shouldn't you say by the compro.
misses that have been made about giving
the constitution meaning which is not
at Ill contained in that blessed and hon
orable document
W-Well, suppose l say compromises?
B-Then | want to ask you, Squire,
how long compromise is to last after
one side of it is broken all to smash
| has To hA nO