Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-02-28

| qette took under its especial patronage; and
all the while that it, in afiliation With the
/ Democrats, was forcing the negro upon the
/ LEGISLATURE the Gazette allowed IS Colum-
bus correspondent to use it TO instigate the
! Conservatives, and to assail the majority and
State journal, which was opposing this very
course, which the Gazette now says has
thrown a responsibility upon the Republican
majority, for which "the people will bring in
! q verdict next Fall which will be anything
I but ae1eeable.ps
Probably the meanest piece of legislation
that any deliberative body ever passed-the
visible-admixture amalgamation bill-a bill
which, in principle, is virtually legal
license of white fornicatiou; and which, in
the yisibe-admixture matrimonial penalty,
exposes every marriage to the scandal of ma
licious crones, and makes legal offense of
that which is utterly indefinite in its char
acter, and which, if it exists, is the sin of pa
rents, if sin at all-this piece of legislation
for the exclusive benefit of scandal mongers,
was advocated by the Gazettes conservative
pIotepes in the Legislature, while the Ga
zette was nstigating them, and attacking the
State Jouraal and the Radicals for opposing
such legislation.
Another negro measure, advocated by the
Gosettes faction, was to request the Federal
Government to legislate for the delivery of
iugitives from Justice in the States. This-
sss, TO repair some falsely-alleged delinquen-
cies Of Ohio in that respect; and the legisla-
tion requested was, that the law Of the State
from which the fugitive escaped, should be
the only question to govern his delivery.
If an Ohio man of color sets foot in Ken
tucky, he becomes liable 10 the Penitentiary.
Should be set foot there and return, he might
he demanded of Ohio rs a fugitive from
Justice ard if this conservative measure
we're carried out, Ohio would have to de-
liver him up.
So also, in regard 70 those States in which
negroes who enter them are condemned to
slavery. Besides, it would give the slave
States an opportunity to vent their spite
upon cur citizens in a thousand ways, by
malignant legislation which we would be
compelled to carry out. This proposition
was too much even for the Democratic stom-
ach, and that defeated it.
So in regard to the personal liberty laws,
conservative Senator whom the Gazette
has especially been used to back, distin-
guisIed himself by discovering PERSONAL
liberty clause which violated our obligations
TO the South, where no Democrat had
! negro scent keen enough to perceive it.
| AS it has been the fashion for Ohio Demo-
cratic orators, here and at Washington, to
help on the Secession rebellion, by charging
their own State with having nuli6ed the
Constitution by its personal---very. laws,
weinvite the attention of the people of Gin
cinnati to this the only vestige of a nulli-
fying law which could be found, after dill
gent search, even by one who had nose
keen enough to scent this out. The Senate
judiciary Committee, on motion, we thiuk
Of Senator Harrison, one of the Committee,
was Instructed TO search the statutes, so see
if there were any that conficted with our
constitutional obligations.
The Democrats of the committee could
not find any but Mr.. Harrison, Conserva-
tive, found clause in law to prevent kid.
noppiBg, which required that the claim to
fugitive slaves should be established before
the Commissioners, according to the Fugi-
tive-slave Law. Certainly, our readers will
say, that law is summary enough it only
requires an affidavit, made in another Safe,
which thief can make as well as au honest
man. But Mr.. Harrison said that it COZ
fiicted with the decision in the Prigg case,
which gave the owner a right TO seize his
property wherever found be found it.
We do not care to discuss this decision now
Ifany Of our readers have not sense enough
to know that it can not be law in cases where
the property is the man, the original owner,
and who always has the primd tacie right to
himself, we shall despair for their intelli-
gence. But this Mr.. Harrison wished to leg
islate into law in Ohio, so that a man had
only to say, when with superior force he
clapped his hand on the throat of any man
in Ohio "this is my property" to deprive
him and his neighbors of any right to resist
CT TO test the claim except in a slave State.
A bill introduced for this purpose, is now
pending.
Even admitting it to be decision of the
| Supreme Court, it is no more sacred than
the Dred Scott decision. Why should Ohio
legislate one decision into her statutes, more
than the other? Who would propose to
legislate the Dred Scott decision into the Ohio
statutes? We expect that Mr.. Harrison and
the Gazette'S Conservatives would but the
Democratic Party refused to put it into q
thing of such easy virtue as their platform /;
and split the Charleston Convention thereby.
Another negro measure, now pending,
which could not acquire force enough to
BE agitated but for the Gdzettes faction, is
to make the immigration into Ohio of men
with "visible admixture" in their compo-
sition, penal offense. Another, supported
by the same elements is to imprison any
man who furnishes any relief to a fugitive
slave. And still these measures are comiug.
There is nothing in the legislation of the
slave States that exceeds these measures in
atrocityi and nothing that equals two Of
! them in meanness.
! We ask the Gazette to refer to its own col
' umns, and read the support and encourage,
9 ment which it has given to the Republican
! detection which has originated these Negro
= measures and given them force enough Il
! aeitate, and the attacks it has made on tn
II Republican majority and the State Journal