The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1861-02-21
NUMBER Al.

A case determined by the Supreme
Court of Michigan will illustrate this
rule. We have statute in which it lie
provided (sec. 2, l9l of complied laws),
in substance, that every chattel mort
gage not accompanied by delivery and
actual and continued possession of the
goods mortgaged shall be absolutely
void as against creditors and subse-
quent purchasers and mortgages in
good faith, unless it, or copy, shall
be filed in the Office of the Township
or City Clerk. Congress has power
under the constitution "to regulate
commerce" "and, exercising that power.
IN the year 1850, enacted that "No
mortgage of any vessel of the United
States shall be valid against any person
other than the mortgagor, his heirs
and devisees, and persons having actu.
al notice thereof unless such mortgage
is recorded in the office of Collector Of
Castoms where such vessels is regis
teredor enrolled" A case arose where
a schooner enrolled at the port of De-
troit, mortgaged to secure a sum of
money, and the mortgage duly record.
ed in the custom-house, but not 6led in
the City Clerks Office, was levied upon
and seized in execution, at the i'm.
stance of a judgment creditor, by the
United States Deputy Marshal, where
upon the mortgagor, after demand and
refusal, replevied the vessel in the
Wayne Circuit Court, and, upon re-
served questions submitted to tbs Su-
preme Court, it was decided (" that the
act of Congress in reference to the re-
cording of mortgages upon enrolled
and licensed vessels, supersedes so
mush Of the State statute as refers to
the recording of similar mortgages in
the Township or City Clerks office"
Robinson cs. Rice q Moore, Gibbs
r., 235. This decision was upon the
ground that Congress had exclusive
Jurisdiction over the matter regulated
by the laws of 1850, and hence that
State Legislation could impose no ad-
ditional requirement to the validity of
the chattel mortgage. Yet, in q gen.
eral sense. our statute is aconstitution|
al enactment; its repeal is not agitated,
and, by reason Of the application to it
of the rules legal construction, there
is no necessity for amendment. 1t is
already as though it read: Every mort
gage of goods and chattels, except
mortgages of enrolled or licensed ves-
seks of the United States shall be abso-
lutely void." &c. So of the statute
now in question. 1t was, the day it
was approved, by necessary legal con-
struction, as though it tread: " All per-
sons arrested and claimed as fugitive
slaves. in schoSe behalf can and shall
be made the retition specified IN section
III of c/xfpter 134 Of the ReUssed Stat
sttes Of SAG, shall he entitled to all the
benefits of the writ Of hdbeds corpus,"
&c. Even were it established (as it is
not) that-at sonic point this act comes
in direct conflict with the superior law
of Congress, yet it would not thereby
be determined to be unconstitutional
in a general sense, so long as there
were eases to which it might be legally
applied. In this view, the simple. con-
sideration that there are several thou
sand free colored people within the
State entitled to protection from our
la W cs anu tdCD VI ti1tIIl fldUlc u Uc H.
legally seized and carried into hopeless
slavery, seems sufficient to justify at
once the constitutionality and the pro-
priety of this enactment.
The policy Of this law needs no la
bored defense. The consideration just
stated, the alarm which would seize
upon the negro population were the
law now repealed, the scandal and
shame which is TO he brought upon
Michigan If, under the influence of
threats, her representatives abandon
what is demonstrably her right, are snf-
ficient, in the opinion of majority Of
the committee, to justify their recon-
mendation that the bill do not pass.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
EUGENE PRINGLE-
w. 7. HOWELL. e-f -
GILBERT E. PRATT