Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-01-26
The fugstive slave Law.


~ith request that publish i. As il is pub
lie pforerts se suppose We have right to com
ply With The request; and. a. &c sas delivered be
fore the var broke out. j. may DE supposed 20
present the question. as il then stood. between
the North and the South. this point. with
reasonable sccuracy:
LECTURE BIZ JUDGE PERKINS II rnE LAW CLASS OF
ruE NoRrHwEsTKRS oHEIsrIkv rSIvEEslrT. on
THE FusIrIvE SLAVE LAW. MARCH 1860
IL Is my settled practice to avoid Introducing
ihto my lectures, as far as possible. topics having
a political bearing. This should be the course
pursued ~ al our public educators ~ well a BY
our public religious teachers The truth OF this
proposition j. easily demon~trated-it may be
said 10 be almost. ii not quite self evident I
Hence, I have abstsine5 thus far in course.
from remarkiug upon the fugitive slave law but 4
ia 30 dong ! am satisfied upon reflection, that I
have failed 20 discharge my duty 20 yon for the I
question arising upon that law Is a Constitutional,
not n political question ! have acted upon an
erroneous ASSUMPTION Of fact
A question asked by one OF you "A day or two
ago led me TO uudeceive myself on this point. /
The question was whether the fugitive slave
law had ever been decided 10 be constitutional. !,
IL would have been lasting FeprOach to me tn
have permitted you graduate At this law
inquiry And | avail myself Of this the last
meeting of the class before your commencement
examination, 10 set yon right on this disturbing
and much mvsufei subject yet one. the RICH;
understanding OF which j. of vital necessity TO
the proper discharge OF your duties as citizens OF
this great republic.
Mr. Gardner in his Institutes, observes that
lit j. a ,tIe remarkable that the African repub
lie OF Liberia has introduced into It's Constitution
the same principle which belongs 20 the Constu
ton oi the United States. only IN reverse form
Our Constitution rests tic doctrine that u
was made BY free white men for themselves ana
their posterity and that ghe Caucasian race OF
Americans are tle governing power. That OF
the African republic vests Llberan citizenship in
the African race exclusively and disqualities any
but LbeTian African republicans from holding
real estate IN the African commonwealth The
wisdom of each Constitution Is apparent" Gard
! Inst p i1o.
That YOU NAV not be mis!ed by this extract
Z from Mr. Gardner IL l. proper for To observe
that our Federal Constitution does not contain an
express provision excluding negroes from citizen
! slip he proposition asserted by Mr.. Gardner
( mainly rests upon two facts. VIZ; that the only
1 clause. in the Constitution which point directly
TO the African race treat II rs composed OF
persons who NAV be enslaved and the
historical deduction that the Constitution was
! formed bv, and create government belonging
TO, the white race; that the negroes. not being
! regarded ~ citizens when II formed. we're
intended never Ia be mlde such. The privileges
and immunitIes OF citizenship NOT, AT It's
4 form ton and intended never 10 be con-
3 ferfed ON them The exclusion Of the negro.
therefore from equality OF rights and the psO-
miscuous holding Oi offices with the whites. IN
our Government. depends upon the people keep
inc the Government ia the hands of who
will adhere to It's intent and spirit, historically
deiucei, rather than upon any expression con
tanned in the Constitution.
But Notwithstanding Government is based
upon the Just principle of the separation of lncou
gruous races. and formed TO be participated
in by the white exclusively still, before. and
at its formation, there were, IN the territory over
which its jurisdiction To extend, large
number of individuals of the black or African
race. most OF whom were owned as property aud
held slaves by the whites.
Ttis slave population had, mostly sectional
location IL was mainly found in the Southern
Colonies. A rican slavery may properly be
called their peculiar institution.
But it was an institution however repugnant
TO the moral sense OF the North IL might be
which they had "A political right against all
other governments. To- maintain aud perpetuate,
on becoming sovereign States rs they did upon
the acknowledgement OF their and our indie
pendeuce bv Great Brit,in. whose cp MES all
had been This Is established doctrine O
international law Even the trade III Africans
as slaves. il recognized as legal by that law
Says Chancellor Kent Comm vol. /, p 1897
''lt THE \ ircan slave trade Is therefore, not
criminal traih ia the law OF nations; aud ever,
nation, independent OF treaty. retained ega
right 10 carry il on No one nation had a rigll
TO force the way the liberation OF Africa. b,
trampling on the independence OF other States
or u procure eminent good by means that wer,
unlawful: or t. press forward 10 great principle
bv breaking through other great principles tina
81. - nfaF ln-f ffsaN hall
in the case OF the Antelope 10 Wheat 66.
After the colonies had, by voluntary cOAcert %
action during the Revolutionary war ACHE, e,
their several Independence. thew became sew
orally independent. sovereign nations each viii
9 its own peculiar Institutions, and night have -
remained independent nations 10 this day, had il
been their Choice 10 10 81. See the FedcraliSt
. Ed j. Is But wise men among them pro
posed thsj those nations should torn | nian 90
S4ch terms a. they should be able agree upoi
for their common defense and their genera
; welfare: ami a meeting. "a convention Vas hei,
= Tor the purpose; and then came ~ the question
. what shall be the terms OF our Union compact
We have ssverall,. they said, different institu
tons now. and are sovereign States. anC
have severally the power to protect peculia
! institutions which wish - maintain; wha
security shall We have that they will not be de
stroy Ell or inieriered with If we relingulsh par
of our sovereign power by entering into the pro
: posed mon. he States having large slave
v population asked this question. The answer
q given in the provisions OF the Constitution
that framed Ii agreed untnimousl,
by all the States, that IT the Union should b,
e formed. each State should be secured in its un
n disturbed possession aud eujovment of its pecu
liar institutions by articles inserted into the com
pact of Union. and il was done.
One OF the articles n>e tel in the compact fo
the projection Of the slave holding States bein.
the last clause Of the second section of thu
fourth article this:
No person held 10 service or labor in on,
B, State. under the laws thereof, escaping int,
e another, shall, ~ consequence of any law o
regulation therein. be discharged from such ser
vice or labor but shall be delivered us on CLAIM
: of the pirty 10 whom such service or labor na'
be due "
. To satisfy YOU that am mistaken a. I,
;. the object OF this section. quote from the opin
ions ot judges Story and Mclean in the grea
l. case OF Prsg Penns lvania. 10 Peter. Sa
il preme Court. Rep $50. case that ought TO b.
= published IN uamphle'. and nlaeei in the hand
Of every ri;izen OF The United States Judg
y Mclean said: AT e'rls period OF our his
4 tory. slavery existed ia all the COLONIES am
i. fugltises from labor were claimed aud Jelivege,
up under a spirit ot comfy CT conventional liv