The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-05-11
Section nrovides that when tn.


claimant or his agent apprehend rescue,
: the officer making the arrest is to remove
the fugitive to the State from whence he
: fed, and to employ as many persons in
doing SO as he may consider necessary
all the expenses to be paid by the United
States.
/ Now, sir, having quoted as much of this
act as consider necessary to my purpose
let us see how easily it can be adapted to
the present condition of affairs, and meet
the requirements of the loyal men of the
South, simply by so altering the text as
to make its provisions apply to the pre-
vention of outrages against life and prop.
erty instead of to the catching ami rem
dering up of fugitive slaves.
! Under it's provisions, the United States
circuit court could appoint as many COM
missioners as they pleased to appoint In
every county in their respective districts,
| and these commissioners could in turn
commission as many men as they deemed
| M cessary to execute their warrants; would
bave all the powers of the circuit or dis
tfict Judges in term time Or vacation; could
issue their warrants for the arrest of any
citizen, and the warrants would be good
in any portion of the State; could summon
every man in the county to assist in
serving their processes, and If any refused
To obey their mandate, could fine aud inn
prison them for so doing; could include
Ia that posse c0na5tGtus such portion of the
United States forces, the army and navy
of the United States, as might be within
the territory over which they exercised
jurisdiction, and would possess powers
more than ample to secure peace and the
most perfect protection 70 life, liberty and
property in every State in the Union
aud the constitutionaip power of Congress to
confer these powers cannot be doubted,
for has not the party whose representa-
tives on this floor have so often assured
us of their devotion to the Constitution,
stamped the seal OF approval upon all its
provisions, enacted into law all It's princi
pies, and enforced and maintained that
law by all the machinery of the Govern
ment And the democratic party, having
enacted this law and sustained its constr
tutionality before the adoption or the
amendments to the Constitution which
have certainly conferred some new pow
ers upon Congress, cannot, presume will
NOT, attempt TO question: its constitution
atty now.
| law to empower an unlimited number of
comparatively irresponsible United States
marshals to use the army and navy Of the
| United States to enforce United States
laws when those laws were in the interest
of the Democratic party; and now, sir, we
witness the remarkable spectacle Of this
party, which conferred such powers upon
these men with no apprehension ofinjury
| To State gavernments--wlth no fears as to
any destruction of our liberties--with no
doubts us to their entire constitutionality,
now boldly denying that this Congress
has any constitutional right to give the
President of the United States power to
use the army and navy, Of which he is the
constitutional comnander me net. m pro-
tecting American citizens from outrage
and death the party who under the tu
gitive.slave law, marched United States
soldiers over the very spot where the first
martyr for American liberty shed his
bloou---and the bIooi Of Christopher At
tucks was rs red as yours or mine, sir.
though his skin was black.
The party who sent their troops over
the spot which his martyrdom had con
secrated to force back into slavery one
poor wretch WHO had succeeded in flying
20 l.nd which he supposed to be a land
of h,crty--t the party that did this act
daroS to tell the American people that
there is lo constitutional way IT, use the
army or navy of the United states in pro-
tecting American citizens from outrage
and death, unless the Goveror and legis
lature of the State in which these offences
are committed shonld call for assistance
Sir, have searched in vain for the call
made by the Governor or Legislature of
Massachusetts, for troops to assist in the
rendition of Anthony Burns. Every gen
tleman on this floor knows that the United
States soldiers sent to that State by the
Democratic party to assist their blood
hounds in tearing from Massachusetts soil
that poor, trembling fugitive, were not
sent there at the request of that State,
but by virtue of the law passed by
| Democratic Congress, enforced by Dem
ocratic administration, and inter preted by
a Democratic Attorney General, whose
| Interpretation has been sustained by the
courts and know the American people
well enough to know that no legal soph-
istry can make them believe that it was
constitutional to use the army and navy
of the United States in returning fugitives
TO slavery, but that no constitutional
means can be sfonnd to use these
agencies for the protection Of life, liberty
and property of free American citizens in
every State in the Union.