Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-02-06

7 w
to the security of this species of uroart 81 an the
Hlayeholding States, and indeed was so vital IN the
preservation of their domestic institutions tbat Il
not be doubted that it constituted fundamental
| formed"
1T is manifest that if the Constitution had NOT
tanned this clause, every State in the Union zoIa
have been at liberty to have declared every
ssve coming within its limits free, and given them
entire protection against their owners: A coursa
! which would have engendered perpetual aninosites
and strife. The clause was therefore OF the last.
Importance to the safety and security of the slave
holding States and could not have been surrendered
without endangering their whole property in slaves
/ The clause was accordingly adopted by unanimous
consent, proof of its Inherent and practical neces-
sty. They therefore say that the right to seize a
fugitive slave, and the duty to deliver him up in
whatever State he may be found, IS an absolute,
positive right aHd duty, pervading the whole Union
with equal and supreme force which no State law
or regulation can in any way qualify, regulate or
restrain and that any State law or regulation
| which interrupts. limits, delays or postpones
! the right Of the master to the immediate COM
nland Of the labor or service of his slave is in
/ violation of the Constitution, and void. In 1856
Judge fancy, in the case of bred Scott Sanford
said one of these clauses reserves to each of the
thirteen States the rghs to importslav till 1908; by
the other provision the States pledge themselves to
each other maintain the right Of property of the
master by delivering up to the master any slave who
| may have escaped from his service and be found
within their respective territories. BY the first
mentioned clause, therefore, the right to purchase
and hold this property is directly authorized and
sanctioned by those people who formed the Consti-
tution and by the second they pledge themselves 10
maintain and uphold the right of the master long
| as the Government should endure"
Notwithstanding this provision in the Constitu-
ton is so plain person can misunderstood it. and
its meaninginten and legal effect hayebeen fixed 10
the public mind since the foundation of the govern
ment, If Is now deliberately abrogated in more that
half OF the Northern States by legislative executive
! and judicial action, or nullifed and defeated by
public opinion. 1t is provision upon which in the
very nature of things strong executive power can
be brought to bear only in few exceptional cases.
The fugitive, aided by public opinion, will elude the
| authorities sympathizing with the fugitive and
public opinion 1t is idle to talk about the execu-
| ton of such a law by Government force when q
united public opinion is against it. There are now
| probably dozen Governors who will not deliver
negro sealeP background that slave cannot be the
subject of larceny or other frivolous pretext and
| who would deem it virtue of the highest order to
rescue fugitive slave 1t has been ESTIMATED that
slaves of the value Of two millions of dollars annu-
| ally make their escape 10 nearly equal numbers
from the different States. For the exact accuracy
| Of this statement cannot vouch, but presume it
| approximates the truth
| Great Britain has twice paid for fugitves as
! property under treaty stipulatons, and Lord
Brougham, for the last half a century the head of
the antislavery party in Europe. has declared in
the last few months that the decisions of the Eng
lsh judges in the of the American slave SomeF
set, weuld not have been made if Jamaica had laid
| along the side Of Great Britain. That the public
authorities of adjoining States must recognise
property that which made property by the laws
Of the respective States, and that such were the
opinions of the antislavery party in Europe" If
had the power to make reprisals or levy duties on
Northern property when they failed to respect the
rights of property the Southern States could force
an adjustment. Now are powerless and multi
tudes OF peaceful citizens of the South would as
soon go into the territories of Camancbe Indians to
recover a stolen horse, to 90 unarmed and alone
into many parts of the Northern States in search of
| a fugitive slave.
The founders of the Government having pro-
| vided for the restoration of fugitive slaves,
| having secured 20 the STAKEHOLDER a protect
ing power in the Halls of the National Legislature
| having provided for the introduction of African
slave labor for twenty years, now ask into what
States and Territories were they permitted to 60
They intended to be admitted into all the
original thirteen States only few of which at thar
time had prohibited the introduction of them, and
none of which had supply of labor commensurate
with their vast territories They intended 90
into the territories not by force of any statutory e
gisaton enacted by any of the States but by force of
common law-by force of the usages established by
all the countries which had planted colonies as was
declared by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts,
more than a quarter of century ago. | venture
the assertion that the statute books OF no State
in this Union the records of any colonial as
sembly can there be found any law directly
authorizing ana establishing the existence of Afri
can slavery.
If any such statute existed it was exceptional.
Slaves were introduced, as Mr.. Benjaman nsiStz by
common law into all the States and into eli the Ter
ritories.
1t mus be conceded now that she founders of the
government inteded to confer and did confer. the
right TO acquire Territories; and that they looked
forwarl - tae establishment and admission of new
States under the section of the 4th article Of the
Constitution. This must be admitted established
By the decision of the Supreme Court and the 2rac
tce of the government acquiesced in from the acou
sition OF Louisiana in 1901 down to This date The
trainers of the Constitution booked forward to the
acquisition of Florida and louisiana This is a |
historical fGGs These colonies then had slaves in
them vii, now notice the Territories which the |
States then held.
All the original colonies were settlements founded
ON grants from European crowned heads, with pre-
scribed boundaries as the grant to Penn. to Lord /
Baltimore, to Qgcthorpe and others. They were |
separate. independent Of each other, having no |
connection with each other except occasional a.
iances for purposes of defence. When they met to
frame articles of confederation they met as Con-
gress of ambassadors to negotiate league. When
they met in convention to frame common govern
ment they met as States, voted as equals. and the
work of the convention ratified by separate
State action, each State having the acknowledged |
right to ratfy or reject the Constitution, Each of
the States claimed the Territories within their re-
spectVe grants after the formation of the Const- |
tuition After the war was over debts remained !
unpaid, and it was finally agreed that the several
States should make cessons of their Territories to
the Federal government for sale, settlement, pay
ment of war debts and organization of new Statss |
Virginia made deed of gift of her Torritory North
and West of the Ohio. delegate from Virginia |
brought forward a propoSitiol to exclude slavery |
therefrom in 4qSs4, when the cessien was made |
Hamilton thought the Congress of the ConfeJara |
ton had no such power Mr.. Madison declared
there was not the shadow of constitutional auhor-
Ity Tor IT. And Judge Curtis, IN the bred Scott
case says: sit IS clear that it was admitted and uu-
derstood not to be within the power of thetConfede
racy to pass this ordnance" It was passed in 1857
It was placed on the face of the ordinance as n I
compact or agreement between Virginia and tbe
other States. 1t submitted to Virginia and rati
ned by that State as compact. It was the work of
Virginia and the other States before the Constitution
was framed, and forms no precedent for the exclu-
sion of the STAKEHOLDER by act Of Congress from the
common Territories of all the States; on the con-
trFY, al the coemPorary action of Congress in re-
gard to slavery goes TO establish the fact that no
such power was regarded as existing at that date
and that was not done with any intention or desire
to place slavery in course of ultimate extinction
as the anti slavery President contends; hut it was
done by Virginia because it was then believed that
slave labor would nos be profitable there as thew
had seen that an open slave trade of century and
C. laf duration had not been able to place and re-
tain more than some ten or fifteen thousand slaves
in States of the same latitude. This view is corrobo
rated by the fact that some ten years afterwardz
pense with the prohibition to the introduction of
slave labor. John Randolph chairman Of the Com
mittee on Territories reported against the petition
on the ground, amongst others, that Indiana coulS
make no productions which would Justify the use of
slave labor. The great fertility of the SOIL and the
in the early settlement of the country
might have introduced slave labor in the Southern
range Of those States. This does not change the
views of those who passed the ordinance But
what puts this matter forever at rest is the
fact, that after the passage of the ordinance ]
the trainers of the Constitution provided for the
of fugitive slaves give the STAKEHOLDER
protection in Congress, and kept open the alsve- |
trade for twenty years. They know well that
slaves had been, and were then admitted, By ,ree
of common usage, common law on the Contif eat of
South Amer;eas tie West Indies, and on the CONT
nent Of North America. They knew this. and de-
oared that it should not be stopped by Congress
for twenty years They knew that thepe was a
camor for more slave labor, IN all the Southern
States and in the "baek country" as it was then !
called that is the Territories west. The founders