Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1864-06-29
Repeal Of IT, Fugitive slave
v.aw.

The bill repeating the fugitive Save Id" Vi
l,a3, pas, ed six years after the framing OF
the fedora, constitution, and signed by
George Washington, together with suisse
ouent amendments, has been repealed by
vote or both houses Of Congress the sen
afe concurriuy Oh friday after standing on
the statute books sevcnty-onc years, ana
now awaits the signature Of Abraham LIN
coin, dubbed by his admirers the second
Washington, = 70 give it effect. Will Abra-
ham Lincoln sign that bills His support
crs for ss-clcction demand that he shall do
so. and the uniformity with which he has
bclicd all the pledges uttered in his lnau
gural on taking Office, angurs that hc will
comply with the demand. But in doing So
out Of his own month he will Justify rcvo-
luton in every State affected by the act
in Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri,
and all the now slavc-holding territory, and
confirm it in the insurgcnt districts. Read
the inaugural address Of Abraham Lincoln
Iel'on Citirns Of he United States: -
In compliance with custom as old as the
Government itself, appear before you to
address you brie6y, and to take in your
presence the oathsprcscribed by the Consti-
tuition Of the United States TO be taken by
the President. before lac enters on the exc
cution Of his Office.
do not consider it necessary, Mt present
for Inc to dicusS those matters of admins
tratiou about which there is no special anX
iety OF excitement. Apprehension seems to
exist among the people of the Southern
States that, by the accession of Rcpubli
can administration, their property and their
peace and personal security are to be endan-
gcrcd There has never been any reasona-
Die cause Tor such apprehension. Indeed,
the most ample evidence to the contrary has
all the while existed, and been open to their
inspections. 1t is found in nearly all the
published speeches Of him who now address
es you. | do but quote from one of those
speeches when | declare that ~ have no
purpose, directly or indirsct3y. to interfere
with the institution of slavery in the States
where it exists" believe IAare no latcfiu
giqht to do 70, and have no inclination to do
so. Those who nominated and elected me,
did 20 with the full knowledge that had
ll30e IutS 0tlu utttdl hliouS.
and had never recanted them. And more
than this, they placed in the platform, for
my acceptance. and As a law to themselves
and TO me, the clear and emphatic resolution
which now read
Rssolred, That the maintenance inv;olate
Of the rights Of States. and especially the
night Of each State to order and control its
own domestic institutions according to its
own Judgment exclusively, is essential to
that balance of power on which the perfcc-
ton and endurance Of our political fabric
depend and we den0unce the lawless irva-
SION by armed force of the soil Of any State
or Territory. no matter under what pretext,
as among the gravcst Of crimes.
now reiteratc these sentiments, and in
doing SO | only press upon the public at
tention the most conclusive evidence Of
which the case is susceptible, that the prop
erty, peace and security Of no section are to
be in anywise endangered by the now in
coming administration.
] add, too, that all the protection which,
consistently with the Constitution and the
laws, can be given, will be checrfully given
to all the States when lawfully demanded,
for whatever cause, as checrfully to one
section as to another.
There is much controversy about the de-
livering up Of flgtives from service or labor
The clause ! now read is as plainly written
in the Constitution as any other of its pro-
visions:
NO person held to service or labor in
one State, under the laws thereof escaping
into another, shall, in consequence Of any
law or regulation therein, be discharged
from such service or labor, but shall be de-
lvercd up OH claim Of the party to whom
such scrv .cc or labor may be due.'
1t is scarcely questioned that this provis-
ion was intended by those who made it for
the retaining of what we call the fugitive
slaves; and the intention of the law giver
is the law. All members ofCongress swear
their support to the whole Constitution-to
this provision as we'll as any other. To the
proposition, then, that slaves, whose cases
come within the terms Of this clause, s'shall
be delivered up," their oaths are unanimous.
Now, if they would make the effort in good
temper, could they not, with nearly equal
unanimty, frame and pass a law BY means
Of which to keep good that unanimous oath
take the Official oath to-day, with no
mental reservations, and with no purpose to
censtrue the Constitution or laws by any n.y.
percritical rules
lis il true, then, that any right, plainly
written in the constitution has been denieds
! think not. Happily the human mindi is SO
constituted that no pdrty can reach the au-
dacity Of doing this. Think, if you can. Of
= single instance in which plainly written
provision Of the Constitution has been de-
MED. TT BY the mere force Of numbers
majority should dsprice the minority or
any clearly ,critten Constitutional right. 1t
might, IN a moral point Of riesc, JUSTIFY
kEvQtgTION-certaiaiy arould II such
stgh VsjSN vial ne. al
The Republican party of this day has
reached the ''aqdacity," by therepeal of the
fugitive slave law, Of denying to the people
OF the slave holding states not only right,
but "vitar' right affecting alike the prop
erty and their political existance--a ssvitap'
right recognized by the founders OF our
governpent and re-reeoenized by their de-
csndents in the Congress and the elections
Of 1850. We submit the declaration of Mr..
Lincoln in his Managerial and the resolution
q the platform upon which he was chosen.
- conclusive on this point, and ask the read.
SO ~ them aside for comparison with ex-
Gu{3ye action on the repeal bin now await
n signature II that bin becomes Z ,,.v
n III, accotdihe \ ~ President hims,lf
sS0nfvNaJua(niun. Il -