Litchfield enquirer., 1880-11-04
g from the n. 7. Evening Postl
j THE JERRY RESCUE.
SYRACUSE, October l, 1880.

eIhE jerk kESCUE.
$50 SYRACUSE, October 1, 1880.
. On the 18th of September, 1850, the Fugi-
i've Slave bill, by virtue of the signature Of
President Fillmore, became law On the
4th OF October mass neeting.of citizens of
Syracuse, irrespective of party, and presided
over by the Mayor, adopted. with only one
dissenting voice, series of resolutions declar-
ing the act ian outrage upon the inalienable
rights OF man, and daring assault upon the
palladium Of American liberties" which every
intelligent man and woman ought to be pre-
pared to oppose; and appointed Vigilance
Committee of thirteen citizens, whose duty it
should be to see that no person was deprived
of his liberty without due process of law. On
the 18th of October au adjourned meeting I'M
der the same auspices adopted more denun-
ciatory resolutions formed itself into an as
ISOLATION pleged to stand Il by its members in,
In opposing the obnoxious law, and to share
with any of them the pecuniary losses they
might incur through such opposition; and
signed q petition to Congress for the repeal of
the law. The speeches made at these meet
iEgs we're striking specimens of oratory.
Charles b. Sedgewiek, in presenting the petit
ton, announced in sunequiyocal terms his in-
tentiou to resist to the utmost the threatened
encroachment OF the slave power. Samuel K.
Ward, the famous negro de5ater, and ]. w.
Loguen, a local colored preacher-both of
them ex-slaves-yowed that they would new
er go back into bondage alive, The Rev. r.
Il. Raymond cried, at one juncture of his
speech, Citizens of Syracuse. shall live man
be taken out of our city by force OF this law 2"
''No!" Numbered his hearers in responce
''Then, he went on, 'let us tell the Souther-
ners that it will not be safe for them to come
IN oft fn f0 a
away fugitive slave. will take the hunted
man to my OWL house, and he shall not be
torn away and I be left alive I" The out
burst of cheers that greeted this utterance
shook the walls of the building. Judge Nye
had little of the judicial air of moderation
about him as he advanced to the front of the
platform and said: Il am an officer of the
law. am otsnre that | am not one of
those officers who are clothed with anomalous
and terrible powers by this bill of abonina-
tions. If am I willtelI my constituency that
will trample that law in the dust, and they
must find another man, if there be one who
will degrade himself, to do this dirty work.
rt9.s.. l.... THE OTHER SIDE. ...,.
From these extracts may be inferred the
nature of the eloquence which made the great
room of the City Hal ring with notes of fervent
approval on the nights of October 4 and 10,
1885, Yet Syracuse harboreds a sober and
awabiding community. 1t was the only
spot in central New York where free speech
on every subject was both permitted and de-
Tended by police power in that era of mobs
and violence. Not long after the scenes
have described a southern gentleman came
hither for "a short visit. bringing with him
female slave. He took rooms at the leading
hotel, and awoke one morning to find himself
bereft of his human chattel she had been
spirited away in the night nobody knew by
whom and was probably within a few miles
of the Canada line by the time he discovered
her absence. A mild remoastrance found
voice in sundry quarters against the aggres
sive turn thus given to the warfare upon
slavery and tie federal officers of the district
were called on to do some detective work, but
in vain. There were, however, a small group
of pro-slavery Democrats who put their heads
together and swOre to avenge their brother
from the South, if for no other purpose, at
least to teach the abolitlonists that contempt
for ordained authority was not to be tolerated.
Their first step was to invite Daniel Webster
to deliver an address here. He came early in
June, 1851, and spoke from balcony over
looking the City Hall Park, repeating in SUBJ
stance the famous speech with which in Con-
gress he had turned his back upon the Free
soilers, and rounding his peroration with the
words: ''Those persons 10 this city who mean
tooppose the execution of the Fugitive Slave
law are traitors traitors Il TRAITORS i! This
law ought to be obeyed it shall be obeyed
Mark me well-it will be enforced in your
own city of Syracuse, yes, and ia the very
midst of the next nti-slavery convention if
then there shall be- any occasion to enforce
it," ca -ir .s. -et
When this menace was flung forth, its effect
was like frebrand thrown into the crowd
beneaththe balcony. The eyes of Freesoil
Democrats and forward abolitionists cleaned
with strange light as they exchanged glances
and sullen mIttering sound arose which
swelledin volume till it drowned the few
feeble cheers sent up by the pro-slavery advo-
Gates present. On the spot line was drawn
which obliterated partisan boundary lines of
long standing, and divided the local political
field anew between the friends of human free
dom and its foes. ~. @F u 7.-e.r
49, MR.. wEBsTERs THREAT FULFILLED.
An occasion was not long in coming to put
this redistribution to practical test. In the
northern part of the city lived mulatto
named Jerry McHenry, cooper by trade,
who had run away from Missouri plantation
several years before and was doing his bestto
earn an honest living as his own master. Up
on him the supporters OF the Fugitive Slave
law fixed as a victim. Word reached the ears
of the abolitionists that trouble was brewing,
and they arranged among themselves that at
the first overt act on the part of their adver-
saries the ringing of the bell at the Congrega-
tional meeting-house should be recognized as
a call to arms. - $3.50. -s-a
just twenty-nine years ago to-day, on the
LIST of OCTOBER 1851, the Liberty party held
their state convention here. The fair of the
County Agricultural Society was also in pro
gress, and the city was full of visitors and in
holiday attire. At the convention Gerrit
Smith filed the chair, and the discussion of
candidates, platform and plans was proceed
ing quietly when as'clang clang ciang!"
from the Congregational belfry brought the
whole asse,Hblageto their feet Mr. Smith
was the coolest person present. He raped
for order, and inquired of pale-faced mes
senger who came running into the room what
the sigeal meant. "Jerry McHenry has been
arrested under the Fugitive Slave law" was
the answer. 'Gentlemen," said Mr.. Smith,
''let us clOseour meeting properly by vote to
adjourn /; then we can go as q body and look
after the rights of our, colored friend. The
vote was promptly taken. Mr.. Gibbs, law
yer come into the convention, was invited by
Mr.. Smith to take charge of the ex-slave's
case, and.the two gentlemen led the process
sion to the Office of the United States Com
missioner, before whom the preliminary hear
ing was to be had. .Hsf3
THE FIRST BREAK FOR LIBERTY.
The Commissioner, Mr.. Joseph Sabin, sat
at one end of thereon as the crowd entered;
jerry, chained hand and foot, sat before him;
the Marshal and his deputies were grouped
near by, and Mr., Charles Merrick, WELL
known abolitionistof the younger generation,
stood by the side of the prisoner. Messrs.
Smith and Gibbs lookup their position on the
other side, aud the examination began. One
James Lear, Methodist preacher and a,
neighbor of IsJerry's former master, was at
hand TO identify the mulatte. His testimony
was all that the law required to be taken.
When he was sworn he assumed a defiant air.
which exaspersted the majority OF the specta-
tors. What is your name ?" asked the Com
missioner. Il represent an ancient people"
answered the agent; ''mv name 10 Lear" He
looked about him with self satisfied smile as
be made this scriptural play upon words, but