Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-06-06

Congress should not close its session
already made honorable BY the triumphant
passage Of the Homestead bill, fhe abolition
of slavery in the District of Columbia, the
prohibition of returning slaves by the ar
my the passage Of PPciis Railroad bill bill
passage by the HouseOf the Confscation bill
without treoonstracting, OF better still, re-
psaling the Fugitive Slave Law, That law
has been a compromise to slavery ever
since its first inception. The clause in the
Constitution upon which all rendition Of
Fugitives is based, was inserted to eoncili-
ate the South. That it was inserted for
this purpose, and not from conviction of
its inherent right, we have numerous wit
nesses. Chief Justice Tilghman, of Penn
sylYania, said that the men Of the South
would not be parties to the Constitution
without some such guarantee. Alexander
HsmiltOn, in June, l7Ss, said that " it was
necessary Gn the General Convention at
Philadelphia,) {" to compromise, or the Con-
yention would have dissolved without do
ing anything" Justice Story, in his com
mentaries, says that g this clause was in
serted into the Constitution solely for the
benefit of the slavehOlding States"
The act Of February 18th, 1888 wds
merely to specify the manner in which
this provision of the Constitution should
Tfbe carried out. Butt that was another COM
promise and concession, for it provided
that a slave should be given up without for
NAL trial, but merely upon the opinion Of
any Judge of Circuit or District Courts, or
any magistrate, that he was really slave.
Not even the protection afforded to petty
criminal, of proving his innocence before
jury, was allowed him. The excuse for
such summary proceedings was that as the
set Of delivering up is made a national
obligation, the mode by which it should be
done should not be left to the local Judiciary
Of the States in which the arrest was made.
This was the law of the land until 1850.
Then came the Infamous Fugitive Slave
Law as 1t now stands upon the statute
books. This was another disgraceful con-
oession to the Overbearing and aggressive
slave power. It was one Of the Internal
atCompromise Measures of 1850, and was
offered to the rro-sla7ery gods to appease
their wrath Al the decision of California to
be free State They had urged the leav-
ing Of the whole slavery question to be
settled BY the people Of California them
selves, believing that that course would en-
sure another slave State. Disappointed at
this, they demanded and received this ad-
ditional concession Of the free North to the
slave South. It was bargain. and sale,
in which the whole North was sold by
Northern doughfaees to Southern sehemers.
The features of this bill are familiar to
our readers. The increased penalties for
disobedience or resistance the absolute
power it puts into the hands Of the Commits
sioners; the rejection Of the testimony of the
fugitves; the direct bribery offered to the
Commissioner, by allowing him a fee Of
ten dollars if the fugitive is delivered up,
and only five dollars, if he or she is dis
charged; the saying out of the public
treasury for the services Of however large
a posse Of assistants the Marshal NAV
choose to muster, Che United States Gov
eramsnt paid some $40, 600 for. the e1pen-7
ses Of delivsrins up Anthony Burns in
Reston, eight years ago and the expenses
Of the rendition Of the girl Lucy from this
city, two years ago, amounted 70 thou
saads,) and other Odious provisions of the
bill, are but 50 many humiliatiOns Of the
North in favor Of the siaveholding South.
The day is past fer such concessions Z
the country iE Edsiuged with the war which
slavery has pFecipitated upon it, snd our