St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-02-21


ancc of its provisions should he obcyed
In 1893, Congress enacted law t,
carry into effect this provision of thu
Constitution, which required the CO
operation of the several States. Thi
remained the law of the land until tn,
latter provisions were declared vol,
by the Supreme Court of the Unite,
States in the celebrated Prigg case
This adjudication resulted in the re
peal of State laws by the Legislature.
of the several States, originally de
signed to aid the Federal Govcrnmen
in securing the rendition of fugitive'
from service. The Supreme Court o
the United States having declared
them void, they were formally re
pcaled. And Congress enacted tn,
fugitive slave law of 1850, authoriz
ing the Federal judicial tribunals an,
commissioners to issue summary pro
cess for the arrest of such fugitives
and authorizing the marshals to exc
cute these mandates with force-tt
employ the power of the country, OF
the armies of the Republic, for thi:
purpose and declaring all who rcsis
their execution guilty of high of
fence against the United States, pun
ishable by fine and Imprisonment. 1
is true, sir, that some of the provis
ions of this law arc offensive to the
instincts and impulses of a free peo
pie. l shall delay, now, to mention
but one or two of them
1t is painful to a freeman, unaccus
toned to the local institutions that
have been alluded to to-day, to bt
compelled to aid in running down ,
a human being who is flying from the
hand of the task-mastcr. lie coulc
agree to stand neutral to allow the
claimant to run down his own slave
but all his honorable impulses rcbe
against being compelled, with his owl
hands, to aid actively in rc-rivcting
shacklcs and chains on the limbs of /;
human being who had thrown then
off, and is flying from the pursuer. ii,
cannot avoid feeling, and perhaps say
ing, Had | been in his condition,
would, at the risk of life and all els,
dear to me on earth, have done as thai
poor slave is doing And, sir, fine
these impulses are not peculiar to the
people of the free States. What hon
orablc man in the South has not du
plicatc copy of these impulses in his
own heart? Where is the honorabl,
man, anywhere, whose instincts ant
impulses take sides with the strong
against the weak with the oppressoi
against the oppressed? Such mar
would be an anomaly in Gods crca
tion. And when hc sinks the common
impulses of humanity, ignores the hu
man origin of the fugitive, and re
CARDS him merely as runQrdy beast
and reflects on the subject, he can sec
no reason for making himself a crimi
nal for refusing to run down another
mans animal. AS an act of good
neighborhood or friendship, he nigh,
chcerfully aid even stranger in re.
capturing his runaway horse or mule
but what right has the owner to make
him a ielon for declining? Where is
the reciprocity In aiding to arrcs,
fclon there is reciprocity his OWL
safety requires it. But taxing time
and courage to arrest anothcr's prop
erty is without reciprocity Since
civilization commenced, show me al
example of such law. Nor is there
justification in the averment that this
demand is not made on the quiet dwell
Ter in the free States to leave his daily
avOcation to pursue the alleged fugi
tive, until the pursued resists the pur
suer. If lac were a horse, vicious ant
dangerous to the pursuer, you wouit
never dream OF coercing your neighbol
on that account, or of making him {
ielon for declining. Nor is there 6
Legislature under the sun that woulc
justify such demand. If the recap
ture requires risk of life or limb, til,
risk is the owners, not his neighbours
let him take his property at his peril
if he can do so without breach o
the peace.
But, if the alleged fugitive may b,
,o,e; Jn,,J N, =, No., N, =, 90 .,o,,,-,., 81, .
aJnnt tho ,ap%rann 90 ,ho p,1oon, rou, :, - :,
t;nn ~ wom % nrn,an,,. W T IT,. n'I..u ,ba 'a..
or = St,to he ~ has ny ;r1asnaa;l ~ .He 'nI' W
r;cLt ;n a,orv S,ato ~ ,hn Tn;an ~ ~
aSSar, e h;s m.nLa"a 80 " nn tne on'oh, n y
,ho n,a;m of tho nmrs,on ~ - " n,':o.ai uIn. :.
ano. "o ill.," 10 ~ ,,' p S". " J.n v" e' :n'l
oIano or Is sI,rn % ,ha. ,."i J., nG 20 a.
slave of Tho cla;mant Tbis ,ma''i Wv
ra;so an ;Ssn. Of c,nt .,d ao..'n1;.> >
to our notions Of Ihsan ~ CIor,a 0"s ans
conS,;tnt;onaI Ehartr oror', s" ;s"," va, ~
eao, ;a;nnd IN amu $780,, '9S"e y
be tried by a iury of frcemen m,
naked claim of the pursucr oprbt no
to be conclusive against him Who do
nies its truth he ought not be con
cluded by af1idayits by nprelv or mar,
testimony he has tbe ricbt 70 ha CON
fronted with the witnesses who ,es,;
fv AGAINST him, TO cross-exam;ne ,hsn
and to introduce rebuttinr testimony