American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-07-06
The Fugitive slave Law.

The Fugitive Slave Law.
The Senate ON Thursday passed the act
repeating the Fugitive Slave laws of 1893
and 1850, by vote of p to II. We
give here the Yeas and Nays:
YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chand-
ler, Clark, Conness, Dixon, Foot, Grimes,
Hale, Harlan, Harris, Hicks, Howard,
Howe, Lane (Ind.) }, Lane (Kansas), Nor
gan, Morrill,, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman,
Spraguc, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull,
Wade and Wilson.
NAYs-Messrs. Buckalep, Carlile,
Couan, Davis, Hendricks, johnson, NJ
Dougal Powell, Riddle, Salisbury, Van
Winkle and Wiley.
1t sounds oddly in the year 1864 to
read the names of two Pennsylvania Sen
ators in the list of twelve nays on the
question of repeating the Fugitive Slave
law; but such is the humiliation of our
great Commonwealth to-day, and such has
almost ever been her fate. Pennsylvania
has furnished nearly two hundred thous-
and men to defend our sacred Nationality
against the assaults of Treason and Slavery,
and full twenty-five thousandof that num-
berf fill untimely and often nameless graves,
heroic sacrifices to the browning crime
of human bondage and its endless train
of evils; add when an enlightened prog
ress, dictated alike by humanity and Ma
tional necessity, seeks to blot from our
statue books the blistering evidence of our
National abasement to Slavery. Pennsyl-
vania records solid vote against it in the
first legislative tribunal of the land.
Fortunately the bill has passed and is now
law, despite the shame of our State.
With Senator Buckalew we have moth
ing to do. He has disappointed no one
has sacrificed no convictions violated nc
pledges; falsifed no record. He was cho.
sed by legislature in sympathy with his
views, and he has simply been consistent
in error. But Senator Cowan has been
faithless to the sentiment that called him
to responsible trust and shameiully vio-
lated his own voluntary record In 1860
when the writer hereof was Chairman Of
the State Committee, he was compelled tc
recall several appointments made for this
same Edgar Cowan because of the radicaI
abolition principles he advocated. His
only theme seemed to be the destruction
of Slavery, and the blotting out Of the
last vestage of its power. In short he was
radically in advance of the timcs-ther
holding and advocating views so violent
that, in the absence of rebellion, they
could not be justified either in law o.
comfy Before his election the forma
secession of several States was a matte
of history, and Slavery vas about to re
sort causelessly and wickcdly to the terri
bic arbitrament.o of the sword. In such
crisis, the supposed fidelity of Mr.. Cow
an to the government and his known hos
tility to the fruitful parent Of our Nation
al discord, made him acceptable to th
faithful men of the legislature, and h
was clothed with the highest Legislative
trust. Others might falter before the sc
ductions of power or the disappointment
of small minds, but no one doubted tha
there would ever be one faithful man il
the Senatc-Edgar Cowan, of Pennsylva
MIA.
Such were his antecodents-such hi
pledges-such the circumstances of hi
election. How faithlcss he has been, le
his record tell With Salisbury ant
Powell and Davis, and every open, insc
lent sympashiser with treason, he vote
habitually from day to day and shame
his loyal friends and degradcs his grea
State by his perGdy. When will Penn
sylvania learn to value and cherish States
men, rather than political adventurers?-
Franklin Rep0SlknLu