The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1862-03-11
From the New York Independent.
TIE CONSTITUTION AND SLAVERY.

is so little understood, and so utterly msrep
resented, as the Constitution of the United
States. A man with toerable gift at read
ing, and who only has to stop and spell out
tn" hardest words, could 60 through with il
in about the time he daily bes,ows upon q
morning newspaper; and if he has brains
enough to COM rehcnd tho proceedings of a
town meeting, he can, after single perusal
attain to a fair understanding of its meaning
/ Yet there seems TO be popular impression
that nothing less than II thorough legal edu-
cation qualities anybody to pronounce a posi-
tive opinion upon any of its purposes, and
that only once in generation is man born
great enough to bc It's complete expounder.--
I g quantity of nonsense that is continually
talked in newspapers and legislative halls, on
the presumption Of this popular fallacy, is fear
ful. 1t is especially shown in the discussion
of the sul ect of Slavery, and under such
teaching muiitudcs have been led to believe
that the chief end of the framers of the Con
stitution was to uphold and protect that sys-
tenn.
The Conslituti N, with its amendments, has
20 articles or chapters; Of these the longer
are divided into 2 sections and they treat
altogether of nearly hundred topics, defining
the powers which, it was agreed should be.
long to that instrument. Slavery is referred
TO four times.
By one of its clauses Congress is restricted
from prohibiting the Foreign Slave Trade for
90 years. When the 20 years had expired,
to engage in that trade was made capital
crime, and for the violation of that law, Il
man was descrvedly hanged in this city
week ago. There are now, therefore, and
have been for about half century, OILY three
provisions of the Constitution that bear in
any way upon the system of slavery. One of
these refers incidentally TO slavery; another
operates upon it positively, and a third mega
tvelv
The fist Of these thrce-we put them in
this order for our own convenience, and not
as they occur in the onSttutiou-proyidcs
for the suppression of Instructions. 1t does
not refer, however, exclusively TO those of
slaves but to all instructions, would be a nee
"s.ary power of the Constitution, though
slavery should be abolished to.monow, and
would have been an essential prcrogaiye OF
Government though slavery had never exist
od, and even if there bad been no written
Constitution at ali.
The second provides that Whenever iii
rect tax shall bc levied upon the people by
Congress, ,hree.fi ilS oF Tie slaves shall be
counted, inasmuch as Congressional represcn.
ta'ou is based upon thai rule The practic.
al result Of this provision has been that the
shareholders lave always had in Congress
from twenty to twenty five mcmbe's who rep.
resented, not free citizen., but property in
slaves. They AMI their fellows have taken care
that once or twice only have their slaves been
for dhect nxa,.n. Tia, g,cat slave.
holder oi the Southland there is mote than
one sGcli-wEo owns a thousand slaves, has n
'"ugr, s,onal 'cpr",oution c4uH! t. that OF u
village Of New England Of COO
Inhabitants.
by the third provision it i, agreed that
'No person held to service or labor in one
) ate under tho laws thereof, escaping ulo
another, sha.l, in couscGuoncc Of any law or
regulation therein, be 1t ,chag-l from such
service or labor, but Shall be del vcreI up
'laim Of the party to whom such service or Ia.
,or may be due" The provision applies to
al States alk", whether slave or free, aud i,
ust rs applicable To bound apprentices or ser.
rants as to slaves. y somewhat similar rule
S provided for the ca.o Of peisoGs charged
with Grim" under State laws.
And til, /, the whole Of i. The worl
slavery or slave i, not mentioned in the Con
,i,uuun, for it. trainers were ashamed Of both, .
lal as little 40 say--they thought-as they
possibly could about them, and then 10y a cir.
'um,ocutio9. They hoped of slavery as they
lid Of the foreign slave trade. TO see It's speedy
extinction, aud they 80 framed the Cousiilu.
ton that it should altogether ignore its exist.
snce, except in tho specified instances where
L might touch the interests Of, or become a
subject Of municipal regulation in, the free
States. They agrced-auI we, their dcScen-
Iauts, continue the agreement till we see fit
10 rcsciUd 1t by amending the Constitution
only that the saveholucr might have his fu
gItivc slaves wherever he might iind them,
hy direct laws giving the slave
BIZ freedom; that in direct taxation and Con
yrcs,jonal representation the slave population
should be reckoncd according to a certain
uIc; that slave Instructions, like other do.
nestle disturbances, should be suppte,sed.-
The widest latitude Of Interpretation can find
no other provisions Of the Constitution that
Jear in any way upon this institution peculiar
% the Southern States Slavery, rs n sys
@rn, the founders Of the Government simply
ct alone; they neither proposed to abolish It,
guarantee it, nor maintain it; nor did they,
n providing for an amendment of the Consti
ution, bind themselves or US to abolish it,
guarantee it, maintain it, or NEEDLE with it in
my way Whatever They only made certain
lciinito regulations in regard to certain def
,ite cases, to hold god Till the legislatures Of
hree .fourlhs of the States, or conventions in
hree- fourths thereof should see fit to change
hem. And there they left it, to live or per-
sh to flourish or fade away, as to the future
hould seem good.
The Constitution provides for its own amend.
ncut. Two thirds Of both Houses Of Con-
,rcss may tomorrow propose to change ii, or
he legislatures Of two thirds OF IT, States
nay do so by aboli,hing the three-fflhs rule,
,y striking out the clause relating TO the rcn.
lition of lugitvcs, and 10y prohibiting the Fed.
'ral Government from interfering in any cf-
ort the slaves may make to regain their free
lom; and these amcndmon's shall be part .
# the Constitution il ratified by three fourths
If the legislatures, or three fourths Of conven
ions Of the people Of tho States. Slavery