The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1862-10-29
Northwestern Lights.

The Toledo Biadc, which heartily supports the
Presidents emancipation proclamation although
with admirable consistency Il opposed all who ad.
voc itcd that policy spreads out the following
comforting prospect Of the working of emancipa'
ton. II Is calculated 20 b. hatteriug junction to
the radical soul
"Now, when the rebellion is suppressed, the
same Constitution will bc operative as before, un-
less il is changed according to its terms. Mr..
Ashley will not deny that. Then, of course, the
same rights will exist under IT, that existed before
the war and among these will bc the right Of every
State to have slavery. Does the Commercial deny
that?
Although every slave in the South be enamel
patcd the "instiution." in itS legal sense would
not be DESTROYED. The slaves, if they remained
in the States could all be rc-cnslived as soon as
the army that liberated them was removed
| This the public up there is informed, is accord.
! ing TO the Constitution as it is. As the boy ne
marked when he got 10 the end ot the alphabet,
whether il is worth while going through so much
for SO little, is question. II seems by the Wodc
that war-cmancipation IS a fast aud loose thing.
We repeat, to convince the iucrcdulous, the Blade
heartily supports the emancipation proclamation.
| This is no insidious stab, but honest support.
! vii! these cmancipated negroes be ifce2 Can
the majority in State plake slaves of free men
! If so where does the right stopf This is no qurs-
ton of color. The Constitution says nothing about
the color ct persons held 60 service.
Let us look at the logical result of this. The
majority enslaves the minority. The right is by
no means exhausted ut that point. The governing
class splits and the larger part again institutes
the slavery Of another minority And 50 On, until
but two free persons are LEFT. Then trial OF mus
Gle aud skill decides who shall govern, by that
time our republican institutions have Travelled the
circuit, and come back to the first principle, the
divine right of the strongest man. The right oi
the majority to make slave ct u freeman has no
stopping place short of this.
In the Constitution "as il was" thcrC is priu-
ciplc that person shall be deprived ot life. lib.
crtv, or property, except by due process of law.
lit is evident that in dealing with this case II is
necessary to be very rudimen,ary, We will mention
that educ process Of iaw," is the Judgment ot a
court, not legislation. This principle Of the sa-
crcdneSs of personal liberty u as old as the Anglo
Saxon race. Magma Oharta only rc-athrmed it.
Ii would be a remarkable acrubatic feat il this
Democratic Republic. where English liberty Is sup
posed to have reached an unheard of development
should have eliminated in the right of the mn jorty
to institute the minority, or any man, into slavery
The North western District, which used TO b,
called benighted, is informed that although every
slave in the South be emancipated, the institution
in its legal sense, would not be destroyed"
What IL an institution IN this sense il is
thing instituted or dainod by law Is slavery au
institution? Who ever instituted it, Ii anybody
can institute free people into slavery, we are al
uOt depend on complexion. 4 DutCh ship hrough
a few hundred Africans 10 James River, and sol,
them to the first families ot Virginia, The appe
tite grew on its feed. The commerce Increased
and the blacks, aided hy the patrarchal ways u
the first families, increased and multiplied. Law,
have grown up to punish trcSpass on this as ol
other property but slavery was never Instituted
any more than the owning of horses waS instituted
II no more reIuirra local law to make il u lcga
right, than the ownership ot horse needs an cn
abing act. Ii all slave legislation IN the Scutl
were repealed, any reht of slave property whcl
now exists, wuuld not bo impaired, Su here W,
arrive at tie curious fact that the institution
may be abolished, without abolishnS slavery
and, according to the Blade, Slavery may bt
abolished without abOlishing the institution"
Institution AS applied 10 slavery, is term in
vented by Douglas to muddle the brains of th
simple. II is the trick that slavery may ho voted
up" and e voted down" " AID, logically, that Tia
majority may vote the minority into slavery |
is a part of the shallow reasoning that makes th
right to create slavery corollary to the right Il
prohibit it (; that is the right to CnSlavc men
follows the right to protect men in their nat
ural liberty. Slavery is no institution; no
can institutes make slaves of free men. An,
law to deprive men of liberty except in the cXecu
ton Of legal penalties for crime by due course O
law, Is In conflict with the Constitution of the Uni
ted States.
II is curious to see in an anti-slavcry paper th
doctrine that the right to enslave freencn is Con
sttutional right and that the Constitution vii
not be " as il is if this right is taken away. Ant
to hear from an ardent supportcrof the President
emancipation proclamation, that the Constitution
will protect their tormer mnstcrs in sciSing tn
emancpated negroes and reducing them to Slav
cry again. with such discipline rs they may deem
necessary to eradicate the loose notions acquired il
their freedom makes the Presidents emancipatio
promise quite an African millennium.
If such is the meat the Bldde has carved for th
radical stomach of the North western District, i
support Of Mr., Waite, It is not 70 Lc wondered Il
that he escaped IN election.