The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1862-02-26
Secretary stanton !, ssps~ slavery ana

SecreGaEy stanton apOsa slavery ana
The New York Tribune published on
Wednesday The following extract, repre-
senting it as taken from speech made by
Secretary Stanton at a recent private Cabi-
net meeting. 1t purports to be the opinion
of the Secretary of War upon the relations
between slavery and rebellion;
First and foremost believe slavery to
be the cGSus belH. To treat the cdsus beEli
above and beyond all other considerations
hold to be the duty of the true commander
in-chief-as the surgeon disregards secon-
Diary symptoms, and probes the wound. I
would treat this casuS 6slE as the constitu-
ton allows us to Treat it. Not one hairs
breadth from the grand old safeguard would
step. Under the constitution / believe
slavery to be purely local institution. In
Louisiana and Texas slave is an immoya-
BILE by statute, and is annexed to the
realty as hop poles are in the law of New
York. In Alabama and Mississippi the
slave is a chattel In the first named
States he passes by deed of national act and
registration; in the other, by simple re-
ceips or delivery. Thus even among slave
States, there is no uniform system respect
ing the slave property. To the Northern
States the slave is a person in his ballot re-
/ IatiOn to Conversational Gss-~s0 "nu constit-
ueuCy, and also an apprentice to labor, to
| be delivered up on demand. The slave
escaping from Maryland to Pennsylvania
is not to be delivered up, nor cared about,
nor thought about, until he is demanded.
Liberty is the law of nature.
Every man is presumed free in choice,
and not even to be trammeled by appren-
| ticeship, until the contrary is made clearly
4 to appear. One man may be New York
discharged convict, for instance-an unpar-
doned convict. He emigrates southwark !;
| he obtains property, according to local law,
in a slave. The slave escapes to New York.
The ceavict-unpardoned enters
the tribunal there on his demand. Qnoth
the escaped apprentice, producing the rec
ord of his conviction, /" Mr. Claimant, you
have no standing in court. Your civil
rights are suspended in this State until you
are pardoned. Yon are not paFdoned
| therefore, I will not answer aye or no to
your claim, until yon are legitimately in
court, and recognized by the judges
take it that plea would avail. And If the
crier wanted to employ person to sweep
the courtroom the next moment, he could
employ the defendant to do it. There is not
a man in the rebel States (whom we public
/ ly know OF who has a standing under the
constitution regarding this slavery question.
BY his own argument, he lives in foreign
country by his own argument, he is not
Teet4s an caYgo Were / an invading gener-
al, and wanted horses, would decoy them
from the rebels with hay and stable entiee-
ments. If | wanted trench diggers, camp
solutions, OF artillerists, or pilots, or oars
men, or guides, and, being that general, saw
negroes about me, should press them into
my service. Time enough to talk abon
the rights of some one to possess the negroes
by better claim of title to service when tina
somebody, with the constitution in one hanC
and stipulation of allegiance in the other
demands legal pos session. =
/ believe that the acknowledged fact, th'
necessary fact, that wherever our army ad
vances emancipation practically ensuss, viii
carry more terror to the slave owner thai
any other warlike incident. But wouii
have them understand that this result is no
our design, but necessity of their rebel
lion.