Am3f CENTRAl aRCUUTION BOOKSTACKS 3!!.L^hi'°f" charging this material is re- sponsible for Its renewal or its return to the hbraiy from which it was borrowed on or before the lotest Date staS lO RENEW CAU lEUPHONE CENTER, 3JJ.«400 j;?!!!!^!? OF atlNCS L,m«y AT U«AH..o. ! f OEc 1 7I99B MAY 2 9 2001 0V 2 5 2002 ^ 0$ 2004 M 2 4 2008 J^oJsTfdf.t''''"''''"^''"'*''"'''-'^- I THE /uoitiDe Sim pill : HISTORY MD UNCONSTITUTIONALITY: WITH AN ACC0L":NT OF THE SEIZURE AND ENSLAVEMENT JAMES HAMLET, A^-D ms UBSEftUENT RESTORATION TO LIBERTY riLLIAM EARNED, 61 JOHN STREET. Price $2 a hundred ; single copies, 5 cents. 1850. . *»". r- PREFACE Office of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, } 61, John street, Xew-York, October 7, 1850. J^ This Review of the infamous Bill recently passed by the Congress of the Tnited States has been hastily prepared, with a view to meet the present exigency, and the author has freely availed himself of such helps as were at hand. A wide circula- tion should be given to the pamphlet. To enable the friends of freedom to accom- phsh this object, it will be sold by the thousand or hundred at the bare cc.t. They are earnestly entreated to have a copy put into the hands of every citizen in the Free States, and to have copious extracts made for the public press. The Executive Committee of the Society believe that the heart of every anti- slavery individual will deeply sympathize with the panting fugitive. They trust that the dwelling of every citizen will be an asylum, or place of protection ; and that in view of his extraordinary circumstances, and the approaching cold weather, clothing, and otlier necessary articles, will be furnished with a liberal hand. They would not recommend that fugitives go to Canada, at least on the approach of winter; but if any go, that they be men without families. It is well for every fugitive to avoid large cities and piibhc houses. The free people of color are advised to remain at their posts, unmoved and " unawed," and each one to consider his dwelling his castle. In case of assault or molestation, they may be assured that they will be effectuaUy aided by their white friends. The opposition to the wicked Bill is general and strong ; and if those exposed to be its victims are circumspect and fearless, the opposition will increase, and the sympathy will be deeper and more general, untQ the " law " is indignantly and for ever swept from the statute book. Those who aid the fugitive, and defend the free people of color from being kid- napped, act on conscientious, and many of them from Christian principles. The administration of the iniquitous and unconstitutional law is therefore a matter of persecution. In every way in which it can be viewed, it is a disgrace to the nation, an act of extreme cruelty, and can be -viewed as an experiment on the part of the Slave Power to see how much the Free States will bear, with reference to future experiments upon their rights and feelings. LEWIS TAPPAN, Cor. Sec. CIVIL LIBERTY OUTRAGED. The First Fruits of the Compromise ! The First United States Official Slave-catcher in New- York ! The First Outrage upon Civil Liberty ox Free Soil, IN A Free State ! Let the following plain statement of facts be read by every Ameri- , can citizen, and the public judgment be passed upon the authors* of the law under which they took p'ace, and their aiders, abettors, and ^ approvers. On the 26th day of September last, one Thomas J. Clare came to - the city of New- York from Baltimore, with a power of attorney, pur- , porting to be executed by one Mary Brown — not by her signature, but by her mark — authorizing him to take and carry to Baltimore a ' man represented to be her slave. Bringing with him a copy of the ^ Fugitive Slave Law, just passed by Congress, as one of the heralded '• measures of peace in which that body has been engaged for the last -^ ten months, certified to be authentic by Daniel Webster, Secretary v3^ of State, Clare appeared before Alexander Gardiner, Clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New- York, and Commissioner under the Fugitive Slave Law, and in virtue of this law, constituted a slave-catcher, and made an affidavit that George Hamlet, a mulatto man, about 30 years of age, who has resided in the neighborhood of this city for the last two or three years, and who has a wife and children there, was the slave of Mrs. Brown, 1 \ 4 HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY and that he escaped from her in Baltimore about the year 1848, and asked for a warrant to arrest him. Commissioner Gardiner, entering promptly upon the execution of his new office under the \a.vf — one of the provisions of which gives the Commissioner ten dollars, provided he decides tht; man is a slave, but only five dollars in case he decides him to be a free man — forthwith prepared the necessary papers, issued the demanded warrant, and placed it in the hands of the United States Marshal, who, tlirough one of his deputies, arrested Hamlet, while pursuing his ordinary bu-iness as porter in the store of Tilton & Maloney, 58 Water street, New- York city — having formerly lived with Mr, Silas Wood, in this city — and brought him, according to the directions of the wan-ant, before Mr. G-ardiner. He was then taken into a retired room in the second story of the old City Hall, and the Commissioner, without any notice to any acquaintance of the prisoner, without assigning him any coun- sel, or giving him ^ moment's opportunity to send for assistance, pro- ceeded with hot haste, ex-parte, to take the testimony of Clare, the son-in-law of the alleged claimant, and young Gustavus Brown, her son, in proof that the prisoner was her slave. By accident, a gentleman who has some sympathy for the dis- tressed, heard what was going on, and sent for a gentleman of the New- York bar to appear as counsel for the prisoner, who arrived only in time to elicit, by a cross-examination of the witnesses, the admission that at the time of the alleged escape of Hamlet, he was not in the employment of Mrs. Brown, but had for some time been hired out as servant in a Baltimore Shot Company, for whom Clare was clerk. Hamlet insisted that his mother was a free woman, and that he was a free man, and denied that he was a slave. But the law proliibited liis testimony from being taken, and Commissioner Gardiner, upon the testimony of the two family witnesses, the son-in-law and son of the alleged owner — who by her mark upon the power of attorney, it ap- pears, cannot wi-ite her name, and whose name was evidently used in the matter for the benefit of Clare and young Brown — decided tlmt the prisoner was the slave of the claimant, and doomed him to per- petual bondage, by delivering him up to Clare as his property. The demand was then made that the Marshal of the United States, at the expense of the United States, take the prisoner to Balti- more. The law sanctions the demand, and a wai-rant for that purpose was immediately issued, and this man, torn from his wife and children / OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. O and doomed to perpetual bondage, not hj the verdict of a jury, but by the fiat of a mere clerk, whom this law has constituted slave-catcher for Southern masters, and upon the testimony of the parties in inter- est, was then taken into custody by deputy Benjamin H. Tallmadge, (who is son of Henry F. Tallmadge, U. S. Marshal,) hand-cuffed, and with his limbs thus cramped in irons, forced into a carriage pre- pared and standing at the court-house door. With two men on the driver's seat and three inside the carriage, he was hurried to the steamboat and taken to Baltimore, and lodged in the slave prison of the successor of Hope H. Slatter, a well-known hell upon earth, there to remain till a favorable bargain can be made for his sale and ship- ment to a Southern market. The expenses, amounting to between §70 and $80, have been paid by the United States. His wife and two children, who had no knowledge of his doom till he was gone, remain among us, deprived even of the mournful consolation of bid- ding farewell to their husband and father, who has been torn from them for no crime, under the sanction of and in conformity to a law made by the representatives of the people of these United States. Young Tallmadge lost no time, after seeing that Hamlet was safely lodged in the slave prison at Baltimore, in communicating the news to his fetlier's office. By a telegraphic dispatch from Baltimore he sent intelligence that the victim whom he had volunteered to take in chains to the dungeon in that city, was securely incarcerated. This young man, we regret to say, is the grandson of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge of the revolutionary army, and once an Aid of General "Wasliington ! James Hamlet is a highly esteemed young man. In the language of the subservient Journal of Commerce, he is " a steady, correct, and upright man," " a member of the Methodist Church," and " can be redeemed for $800." The Jom-nal says the decree was according to law and the Constitution. The lattes asseetiox is false, as the act tramples upon the Constitution, as well as upon the law of God. The caitiff editor sneers at a " higher law," and exults in the prostration of civU. liberty, while he, with an affectation of benevolence, soUcits money to purchase Hamlet, that he may be restored to his family. It is said that a silver pitcher is in preparation to be presented to the editor by slaveholders, in testimony of their appreciation of his ser- vices on behalf of the institution the past year. This " law," called the Fugitive Slave Law, is said to have been 6 HISTORY AND UNCOXSTITUTIOXALITT drafted by Mr. Mason, Senator from Virginia. It is the act of which Daniel Webster said, " I propose to support that bill with all proper authority and provisions in it, to the fullest extent — to the fullest extent ;" and for which he has received the cordial ajDprobation of Moses Stuart, and a number of manufacturers, recreant preachers, and venal politicians. Tliis law is an audacious violation of the first prin- ciples of Civil Liberty, and of the Constitution of the country. " For my own part," says Judge Jay, " I regard the bill before the Senate as a most gross usui-pation of power in Congress ; a plain, palpable violation of the Constitution, an outrage on the religious and benevo- lent sensibilities of the community, and a disgrace to our national character." Here is the bill : — AN ACT To Amend, and Supplementary to the Act, entitled, " An Act respecting Fugitives from justice, and persons escap- ing FROM the service OF THEIR MASTERS," APPROVED FEBRU- ARY 12, 1793. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the persons who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed commissioners, in vu'tue of any act of Congress, by the circuit courts of the United States, and who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized to exercise the powers that any justice of the peace or other magistrate of any of the United States may exercise in respect to offenders for any crime or offence against the United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same under and by virtue of the thirty-third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September, seventeen hundred and eighty- nine, entitled " An act to establish the judicial courts of the United States," shall be, and are hereby anthorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the superior court of each organized territory of the United States shall have the same power to appoint commissioners to take acknowledgments of bail and affi- davit, and to take depositions of witnesses in civil causes, which is now possessed by the circuit courts of the United States ; and all commissioners who shall hereafter be appointed for such purposes by the superior court of any organized territory of the United States shall possess all the powers and exercise all the duties confen-ed by law upon the commissioners appointed by the circuit courts of the United States for similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted", Ih?^ the circuit courts of the United States, and the superior courts of each organized territoiy of the United States, shall from time to tune enlarge tlie number of OF TUE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 7 commissioners, with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this act. Sec. 4. And be it furtlier enacted, That the commissioners above named shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the circuit and district courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within the several States, and the judges of the superior courts of tlie Territories, severally and collectively, in term time and vacation ; and shall grant certificates to such claimants, upon satisfoc- tory proof being made, with autliority to take and remove such fugi- tives from service or labor, under the restrictions herein contained, to the State or territory from which such persons may have escaped or fled. Sec. 5. Andhe It further enacterl. That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marslials to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed ; and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such wan"ant or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one tliousand dollars to the use of such claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the circuit or district court for the district of such marshal ; and after arrest of such fugitive by such mar- shal or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody, under the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the assent of such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, to be prosecuted, for the benefit of such claimant for the full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory, or district whence he escaped; and the better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in confurmity with the requirements of the constitution of the United States and of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their coimties respectively, to appoint in writmg under their hands, any one or more suitable per- sons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them m the lawful performance of their respect- ive duties ; with an authority to such commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to execute process as aforesaid, to summon and call to tlieir aid the bystanders, or />o.s se coimtatus of the proper county, when necessary to insure a faithful observance of the clause of the constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this act : and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required, as aforesaid, for tliat purpose ; and said warrants shall run and be executed by said officers anywhere in the State within which they are issued. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That when a person held to ser- vice or labor in any State or Territory of tlie United States has here- tofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or 8 HISTORY AND UXCONSTITUTIONALITY labor may be due, or his, her, or thek agent or attorney, duly author- ized, by power of attorney, in writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal office or court of the State or Territory in which the same may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, dis- trict or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and arrestinfr such fugitive, where the same can be done without process, and by taking and causing such person to be taken forthwith before such com-t, judge or commissioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case of such claimant in a summary manner; and upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit, in writing, to he taken and Certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by some court, magistrate, justice of the peace, or other legal officer authorized to administer an oath and take depositions under the laws of the State or Territory from which such person owing service or labor may have escaped, with a certificate of such magis- tracy or other authority, as aforesaid, with the seal of the proper cmrt or officer thereto attached, which seal shall be sufficient to establish the competency of the proof, and with proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the person whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, thai the person so an-ested does in fact owe service or labor to the person or persons claiming him or her, in the State or T>'rritory fnnn wnich such fugi ive may have escaped as aforesaid, and that said person escaped, to make out and deliver to such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, a certificate setting forth the substantial facts as to the service or labor due from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her escape from the State or Territory in which such service or labor wa^ due to the State or Territory in which he or she was arrested, v.'ith authority to such claimant, or his or her agent or attorney, to use such reasonable force and restraint as may be necessary under the circumstances of the case, to take and remove such fugitive per- son back to the State or Territory from whence he or she may have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of si;ch alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence ; and the certificates in this and the first sectio)i mentioned shall be conclusive of the right of the person or i^ersons in whose favor granted to remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which he escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of said person or persons by any process issued by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever. Sh.c. 7. And be it furf her enacted. That any person who shall know- ingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such clairaan-, his agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, i) o n arresting such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or wiihout process as aforesaid ; or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue such fugitive from service or labor, from the custody of such c-aimant, his or her agent or attorney or other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested, pursuant to the an- OF THE rrCrlTIYE SLATE BILL. 9 thnritv herein given and declared ; or shall aid, abet, or assist such person, so owing service or labor as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from Mich claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or persons, legally authorized as afore.-aid ; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discover^- and arrest of such person, after notice or knowledge of the foct that such person was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of said ofiences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the district court of the United' States for the district in which such of- fence may have been committed, or before the proper court of crimi- nal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized Terri- tories of the United States ; and shaU moreover forfeit and pay, by wav of civil damages to the party injm-ed by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt in any of the district or territorial courts aforesaid^ within whose jurisdiction the said offence may have been committed. Sec. 8. A)id he it farther enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said district and ten-itorial courts, shall be paid fur their services the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services ui other cases ; and where such services are rendered exclu- sively in the anest, custody, and deliveiy of the fugitive to the claim- ant, his or her agent or attorney, or where such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody for the want of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in the whole by such claim- ant, liis agent or attorney ; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars ft full for his services in each case, upon the d- livery of the said cer- tificate to the claimant, his or her agent or attorney ; or a fee of five dollars in cases where the proof shall not, in the opinion of such comniis- siuner, warrant such certificate and delivery, inclusive of all ser\nces incident to such arrest and examination, to be paid in either case, by the claimant, his or her agent or attorney. The person or persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by such commissioners for the an-est and detention of fugitives from service or labor as afore- said, shall also be entitled t. a fee of five dollars each for each per- son he or they may arrest and take before any such commissioner as aforesaid at the instance and request of such claimant, with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or them : such as attending to the*^ examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, and providing him vdth food and lodging during his detention, and until the final determination of such commi.-sioner ; and in general for perfomiing such other duties as may be required by such claimant, his or her attorney or agent, or commissioner in the premises ; such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the proper district or county, as near as mav be practicable, and paid by such claimants, their agents 1* 10 HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIOXALITY or attorneys, whether such supposed fugitive from service or labor be ordered to be delivered to such claimants by the final determioa- tion of such commissioners or not. Sec. 9. And he it further enacted, That upon affidavit made by the claimant of sucli fugitive, his agent or attorney, after such certiti- cate has been issued, that he has reason to apprehend that such fugi- tive will be rescued by force from his or theh possession before he can be taken beyond the limits of the State in wliich the arrest is made, it shall be the duty of the officer making the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him to the State whence he fled, and there to deliver him to said claimant, his agent or attor- ney. And to this end the officer aforesaid is hereby authorized and required to employ so many persons as he may deem necessary, to overcome such force, and to retain them in his service so long as cir- cumstances may require ; the said officer and his assistants, v.'hile so employed, to receive the same compensation, and to be allowed the same expenses as are now allowed by law for the transportation of criminals, to be certified by the judge of tlie district within which the arrest is made, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. Sec. 10. And be it farther enacted, That when any person held to service or labor in any State or Territory, or in the District of Col- umbia, shall escape therefrom, the party to whom such service or labor shall be due, his, her, or theh agent or attorney may apply to any court of record therein, or judge thereof, in vacation, and make satisfactory proof to such court, or judge, in vacation, of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service or labor to such party. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be made of the matters so proved, and also a general description of the person so escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be ; and atranscri^ of such record authenticated by the attestation of the clerk, and of the seal of the said court, being produced in any other State, Territory, or District in which the person so escaping may be found, and being exhibited to any judge, commissioner, or other officer, authorized by the law of the United States to cause persons escaping from service or labor to be delivered up, shall be held aiid taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape, and that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. And upon the production by tlie said party of other and further evi- dence, if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is con- tained in the said record of the identity of the person escaping, he or she shall be delivered up to the claimant. And the said court, com- missioner, judge or other person authorized by tiiis act to grant cer- tificates to claimants of fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such claimant a cer- tificate of his right to take any such person identified and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid, which certificate shall author- ize such claimant to seize or arrest and transport such person to the State or Territory from which he escaped : Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as requiring the production of a OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 11 transcript of such record as evidence as aforesaid ; but in its absence, the claim sliall be heard and determined upon other satisfactory proofs competent in law. HOWELL COBB, Speaker of the House of Representatives. WILLIAM R. KING, Fresident of the Senate, pro tempore. Approved September 18, 1850. MILLARD FILLMORE. SYNOPSIS OF THE BILL. 1. United States Commissioners who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed by the Circuit Courts of the United States, are author- ized and required to exercise the powers conferred by this act. 3. The Superior Court of each Territory shall have power to appoint similar commissioners, with the same authority as that possessed by the commissioners appointed by the United States Circuit Courts. 3. The Circuit Courts of the U. S. and the Superior Courts of the Territories shall increase the number of commissioners from time to time, as their services may be needed. 4. Such commissioners shall possess concurrent jurisdiction, in rela- tion to %igitives, with the Judges of the Cu-cuit and District Courts of the U. S., and the Superior Courts of the Territories, in term time, and vacation, 5. Marshals and Deputies are required to execute aU warrants and precepts, or other processes for the arrest and detention of fugitives, imder penalty of a fine of §1,000 for the use of the claimant of such fugitive ; and in case of the escape of a fugitive from the custody of a marshcal, wliether with or without his knowledge and connivance, said marshal is to be liable to a prosecution for the full value of the said fugitive. The commissioners have also powers to appoint suitable per- sons from time to time, to execute all warrants and processes need- ful for the arrest and detention of fugitives, with power to call on the posse comitatus, or by-standers, for assistance, if needed ; and all good citizens are commanded to aid and assist in the execution of the law, when their services shall be required. 6. The owner, or the attorney of any owner, of any fugitive slave, is authorized to seize such fugitive, with or without warrant or prq-f 12 HISTORY A^•D UInCOXSTITUTIONALITT cess, and take him before some one of the court?, judges, or com- missioners aforesaid, whose duty it shall be to determine the case in a summary manner ; and on proof, by deposition or affidavit, or other satisfactory testimony, duly certified, of the escape and identity of said fugitive, and of the right of said claimant to the service of said fugitiv.e, the commissioner shall make out and deliver to said claim- ant, a certificate, lohich shall be conclusive, and prevent all molesta- tion of the clalmaytt by any process issued by any couirt, judge, magis- trate or other persoii whomsoever— setting forth the substantial facts in the case, with antlwrity to use necessary force and restraint to take and remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which he has es- caped. The testimony of the fugitive is in no case to be admitted. 1. Any person who shall knowingly hinder the arrest of a fugitive, or attempt to rescue him after arrest, or assist such fugitive, directly or indirectly, to escape, or harbor or conceal liim after notice or knowledge of the fact that he was a fugitive, shall be liable to a fine of $1,000 and six months' imprisonment, by conviction before the proper District or Territorial courts, and to a suit for damages of $1,000 for each fugitive lost to his owner by said obstruction or rescue, the same to be recovered by action of debt in any of the courts aforesaid. 8. The marshals, deputies and clerks shall receive the usual com- pensation in such cases for their services ; when the proceecungs are before a commissioner, he is entitled to a fee of ten dollars upon the delivery of the said certificate to the claimant ; or to a fee of five dollars if the proof is deemed insufficient : the persons authorized to execute the process for the arrest and detention of such fugitive, shall receive a fee of five dollars, with other fees which may be deemed reasonable for additional services: all which fees are to be paid by such claimants. 9. Upon affidavit by the claimant that he apprehends a rescue^ after the delivery of a fugitive to his master, the officer who efiected the arrest may be required to take the slave to the place from whence he escaped, and employ as many persons as may be necessaiy to prevent a rescue, until he can be delivered to his master in the State from which he fled. The expen>es of assistance and transportation, the same as those now allowed for criminals, are to be paid out of the U. S. Treasury. 10. On the escape of a slave, the master or his attorney may make OF THE rrCITIVE SLAVE BILL. ] 3 satisfactory proof to any Court of Record, or Judge thereof in vaca- tion, of Lis ownersliip of an escaped slave, -whereupon the court are required to issue an authenticated copy of said testimony, with a description of the person of the fugitive loith stick convenient cer- tainty as may he, which being exhibited to any judge, commissioner, or other officer authorized to act, shall be held as conclusive evidence of the escape of said slave, and of the claimant's right to said fugitive. Upon the production of other evidence, if necessaiy, either oral or by affidavit, a certificate shall be granted which shall authorize the claimant to arrest and transport such person into the State or Territory whence he may have escaped. In the absence of said copy of said testimony, the claim shall be determined upon other proofs " compe- tent in law." THB V7A.T TS WAS DONE. It is curious to know the modus operandi, and it should be kept in everlasting remembrance. The chief plotters — the slave-holding Speaker, Cobb, of Georgia, and his confederates on the floor of the House — and the subservient, pliaut, dough faced tools of the Xorth, mcludiug those who voted for the Bill, and those who dodged the question, will have their names registered here and elsewhere for the eyes of tlieir constituents, their countrymen, the world, and pos- terity. May the indignant frown of a virtuous people drive them from posts of influence, and doom them to political death, as they have doomed themselves to perpetual shame and dishonor. The following is the Senate vote on the engrossment of the bill:- Teas — ^lessrs. Atcliison, Badger, Barnwell, Bell, Berrien. Butler, Davis, of Mississippi, Dawson, Dodge, of lovra, Downs, Foote, Houston, Hunter, Jones, King, Mangum, Mason, Pierce, Rusk, Sebasrian, Soule, Spruance, Sturgeon, Turney, Undei-wood, Wales, Yulee — 27. N"ays — Messrs. Baldwin, Bradbury, Cha*e, Cooper, Davis, of Mass., Davton. Dodge, of Wisconsra, Greene, Smith, Upham, Walker, and Winthrop— f2. Absent, or Not Voting— IsLiiisxB. Benton, Borland, Biight, Clarke, Clay, Cass, Clemens. Dickinson, Douglas, Ewing, Felch, Hale, Ham- lin, Miller, Morton, Norris, Phelus, Pratt, Seward, Shields, \yhit- 00 mb — •-' 1 . I Yeas from the Free States — Messrs, A, C. Dodge and i Jones, of Iowa. I 14 HISTORY AKD UNCONSTITUTIOXALITY On the final passage, the Yeas and Nays were not called, the fate of the bill being decided by the preceding vote ; but that emi - nently national statesman, Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, made a few remarks in favor of the bill, and it passed without further division, Mr. Seward was absent from the city, unwell. Mr. Hale was, we be- lieve, with his fiiniily, for a few days, in New-Hampshire ; but most of the twenty-one absentees were only indisposed to vote. The bill was taken up in the House, September 12th, and forced through, says the editor of the National Era, without discussion, con- sideration, or any opportunity for amendment. The bill coming up, JAMES THOMPSON, of Pennsylvania, was recognized by the Speaker, who, it is believed, fully understood the views of that recre- ant representative of a Free State. He addressed the House in sup- port of the bill, and closed by moving the previous question. Thad- deus Stevens, of the same State, strongly appealed to his colleague to withraw the motion, as he desired to reply to him. Thompson would consent only on condition that Mr. Stevens would renew it; but this HE NOBLY KEFUSED TO DO. Other members renewed the ap- peal, but their entreaties were in vain. Thompson was inexorable. Mr. Crowell moved a call of the House. It was refused, and the de- mand for the previous question was sustained l—yeas 8*7, nays 69. Mr. Stevens then moved to lay the bill on the table. The motion was lost— yeas 07, nays 113. The main question was then ordered to be put, and the bill was ordered to a third reading— yeas 105, nays 73. The bill was read a third time by its title, the question being, " Shall it pass r Mr. Thompson moved a call of the House, which was decided in the negative,— yeas 73, nays 100. The ques- tion, " Shall this bill pass T was then decided in the affirmative — YEAS 109, NAYS 75. The following is a classification of the vote : — YEAS — calling themselves dehoceats — I Maine Thomas J. D. Fuller, of Calais; El- bridge Gerry, of Waterford; Nathl. S. Littlefield, of Bridgeton. N'cw'Hampshire... Harry Hibbard, of Bath; Charles H. Peaslee, of Concord. iSfeio- York Hirasi Walden, of Waldensville. Kew- Jersey Isaac Wildrick, of Blah'stown, OF THE FUGITIVE SLATE BILL. 15 TEAS CALLING THEMSELVES DEMOCRATS. Continued. Peimsylvania .. . Milo M. Dimmick, of Stroudsburg ; Jo lL4>-x, of Bedford ; J. X. McLanahan of Chambersburg ; John Robbins, Jr., of Philadelphia; Thomas Ross, of Doylestown; JAMES THOMPSON, of Erie. Ohio Moses Hoaglaxd, of Miller sburg ; John K. Miller, of Mount Vernon. MicMgaii AlexIinder W. Buell, of Detroit. Indiana Nathaniel Aleertson, of Greenville ; William J, Brown, of Amity; Cyrus L. Dunham, of Salem ; Willis A. Gorman, of Bloomington ; Jos. E. McDonald, of Crawfordsville. Illinois William H. Bissell, of Belleville; Thomas L. Harris, of Petersburg; John A. McClernand, William A. Richardson, of Quincy; Timothy R. Young, of MarshaU. Iowa Shepherd Leffler, of Burlington. California Edward Gilbert. Maryland. Hamilton. Virginia Averett, Bayly, Beale, E. Edmundson, McMullen, Holladay, Meade, MilLson, Parker, Powell, Sed- don. North Carolina.. Ashe, Caldwell, Venable. South Carolina.. Burt, Colcock, McQueen, Orr, Vrallace, Holmes, Woodward. Georgia Haralson, Jackson, Wellborn. Alabama Bowdon, Cobb, Hubbai'd, Hams, Inge. Louisiana ... La Sere. Tennessee Ewing, Han-is, Johnson, Jones, Savage, Stanton Thomas. Mississippi Brown, Featherston, Mc Willie, Thompson. Arkansa-^ Johnson. Texas Howard, Kaufman. Missouri B3,y, Bowlin, Green, Hall, Phelps. Kentucky Boyd, Caldwell, Mason, Stanton. 16 HISTOPA'' AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY YEAS — ^v^IGS. Massachusetts Samuel A. Elliot, of Boston. Ohio John L. Taylor, of Chillicothe. Indkina Edward W. McGaughey, of Rockville, Virginia Haymond, Morton. Maryland. Bowie, Kerr. Delaware Houston. North Carolina.. Clingman, Deberry, Stanley. Georgia Owen, Toombs. A labama Alston, Hilliard. . Tennessee Anderson, Gentry, Daniel, Outlaw, Sbepperd' Watkins, Williams. Kentucky Breck, Johnson, Marshall, McLean, Thompson. IS'AYS DEMOCRATS. Maine Cullex Sawtelle, of Norridge wock ; Charles Stetsox, of Bangor, Connecticut "Walter Booth, of Meriden ; Lorex P. "Waldo, of Tolland. Ohio Joseph Cable, of Carrolton ; David K. Carter, of Massillon ; Dayid T. Disxey, of Cincinnati ; Joxa- TiiAX D. Morris, of Batavia; Wm. A, "Whittle- sey, of Marietta ; Amos E. "Wood, of Woodville. Mich'' g an Kixsley S, Bixgham, of Kensington, Indiana Graham IS". Fitcii, of Logansport; Axdrew J. Harlax, of Marion ; Johx L. Robixson, of Rush- ville. Illinois Joiix "Wextworth, of Chicago. Wisconsin James D. Doty, of Meuasha. California Geo. W. "Wright, ISTAYS — WHIGS. Maine Johx Otis, of Halloweil. Vermont "William Hebard, of Chelsea; "^''illiam Hexey of Bellows' Falls ; James Meacham. OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 17 NAYS — \VHiGS. — Contbnted. Massachusetts. . . James H. Duncan, of Haverhill ; Orin Fo^w-ler, of Fall River ; Horace ]^L\xx, of West Ne-wtoa mode Island.... Xathax F. Dixon, of Westerly; George G.King of Newport. Connecticut Thos. B. Butler, of Xorwalk. Kew-York Henry P. Alexander, of Little Falls; Hentit Bennett, of New-Berlin; George Briggs, of New- York ; Lorenzo Burrows, of Albion ; Dan- iel GoTT, of Porapey ; Herman D. Gould, of Delhi ; Ransom Hallowat, of Beekman ; Wm. T. Jackson, of Havana ; John A. King, of Ja- maica ; Orsamus B. Matteson, of Utica ; Thomas McKissocK, of Newburgh; Wm. Nelson, of Peekskill ; Harvey Putnam, of Attica ; David RuMSEY, Jr., of Bath ; Wm. A. Sackett, of Sen- eca Falls; A. M. Schermekhorn, of Rochester; John L. Schoolcraft, of Albany; John R. Thurman, of Chestertown ; Walter Underhill of New-York ; Peter H. Silvester, of Cox- sackie. New-Jersey Andrew K. Hay, of Winslow ; James G. King, of Hoboken. Pennsyha.nia Sa^r'el Caltin, of Hollidaysburg ; Joseph R. Chandler, of Philadelphia; J. C. Dickey, of New-London ; J.Freedley, of Norristown ; Moses Hampton, of Pittsburg ; H. D. Moore, of Phila- delphia ; Chas. W. Pitman, of Potts^iile ; Rob- ert R. Reed, of Washington ; Thaddeus Ste- vens, of Lancaster. Ohio Moses B. Corwin, of Urbannn; Nathan Evans, of Cambridge ; Samuel F. Yinton, of Gallipolis. Michigan William Sprague, of Kalamazoo. Jlli?wis Edward D. Baker, of Galena. }ViSconsi7i Oksasius Cole, of Potonl NAYS— Free Soilers. K(vi-Hampshire . Amos Tuck, of Exeter. Massachusetts . . . Charles Allen, of Worcester. 18 HISTOHY AND UNCOXSTITUTIOXALITY NAYS— Free soih^ns.— Continued. New- York Preston King, of Ogdensburg. Pennsylvania . . . John W. Howe, of Franklin. Ohio Lewis D. Campbell, of Hamilton, John Ceowell, of Warren, J. R. Giddings, of Jefferson, Wm. F. Hunter, of Woodsfield, Jos. M. Root, of Sandusky. Indiana George W. Julian, of Centreviile. Wisconsiii Charles Durkee, of Southport. Yeas, 109 ; Nays, 15. ABSENT, OR NOT VOTING. Northern Whigs.— Andrews, Aslimun, Bokee, Brook?, Butler, Casey, Clarke, Conger, Duer, Goodenow, Grinnell, Levin, Nes, Newell, Ogle, Phcenix, Reynolds, Risley, Rockwell, Rose, Schenck, Spaulding, Van Dyke, White— 24. Freesoilcrs. — Wilmot, 1. Northern Democrats.— CleYel^rid, Gilmore, Olds, Peck, Potter, Strong, Sweetscr, Thompson, of Iowa — 8. Southern Whir/s. — 3. Southern Democrats. — 12. Total absent, or not voting — 48. Northern Democrats voting for the bill — 27. Northern Whigs voting fnr the bill — 3 : Elliott, of Massachusetts ; Taylor, of Ohio ; McGaughey, of Indiana. The members who intentionally absented themselves wlien this bill was about to be voted on, are less to be respected than those who boldly recorded their names in the affii-mative. Some of the mem- bers who did not vote are known to be opposed to the bill, and will doubtless give a good reason for their absence at such a critical time. The dough-faces, who dodged as the vote was about to be taken, should be ascertained, and held up to the merited contempt of the world. Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, after the passage of the bill, gravely rose, and suggested to the Chair the propriety of dispatching one of the pages, to inform his Whig friends wlio had gone out, that they now could return in safety, as the slavery matter was disposed of ! How mean and dastardly does the conduct of such " Whig OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 19 friends " appear, compared "^ith the noble independence of Stevens and his respected coadjutors, both Whigs and Democrats, and Free Soilers, who, by their votes, stood up bravtlj for the Constitution and Human Rights. It will be seen that the Representatives from tlie Free States numbered 141, wliile the number from Slave States was only 91. The former, therefore, had they all voted, could liave killed the bill. A tremendous responsibility rests upon them. There were, it seems, 50 who were absent, or who dodged the question. Why did any one flee from the House to save himself from saying aye or no ? Evi- dently because he feared to " face the music," or, in other words, he was afraid to meet his constituents if he voted aye, and trembled lest his party would lose their Southern wing, if he voted nay. There is no doubt that a large number of the dodgers from the Free States were convinced that a majority of their constituents were opposed to the bill, and that if they had voted in accordance with the views of those they were sent to represent, the bill would have been defeated. The people of the Xorth, therefore, justly feel that they have been betrayed by their representative^, and in uniting with the people of color in resisting this bill, they are only carrying out their original intentions in the instructions given to their Senators and Representa- tives in Congress. The above act was approved by Millard Fillmore, a northern President of the United States, Sept. 18, 1850. The day he put his name to it will be a memorable one in his life. It will be the act of his administration, by which he will be distinguished in history. He is a lawyer ; he knows what constitutional law is ; and he has stood up in the Halls of his native State and denounced the encroachments of the Slave Power. But now we behold him basely truckling to the dictation of the South, instead of promptly and manfully VETO- IXG- the act, because affixing his signature to it would be a violation of his oath of office, a violation of the Constitution, and an outrage upon Ci^il Liberty. He had not, it seems, integi-ity and independence enough to act out the convictions of his understanding. He has thus shown that, instead of being the dignified chief of a nation, he is the instrument of Daniel Webster, the manager of the acting President, the tool of a party that is succumbing to the Slave Power in order to secure their votes at the next Presidential election. For shame ! We have said that the infamous Fugitive Slave Bill — it is not wor- 20 HISTORY AND UNCONSTITUTIOXALITY thy to be styled a " Law," — is a palpable violation of the Constitution, and subversive of the first principles of Civil Liberty. Let this be made clear to the comprehension of eveiy reader. THE BILL EXAMINED. The most infamous feature of the bill is, that it compels eveiy citizen of the free States to be a " slave-catcher.""^ It appoints com- missioners for the purpose, expressly authorizing them '• to call to THEIR AID THE BY-STANDERS, or posse comitatus, of the proper coun- ty " — in the matter of seizing, and holding, and dragging back to chattelhood, fleeing slaves, if they be found at the North. The posse comitatus is the power of the county. The militia, if the slave- catcher require it, may be called on, to hunt men and women and children, as wild beasts, and to restore them to slavery. And the 5 th section has in it this most remarkable paragraph — " All good citizexs are hereby coiniAXDED to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient executioii of this law, whenever their services may he required^ "We ask every citizen of Xew-Yoiiic, if he does not feel all about his heart and conscience, that a law like that has no claim upon him and that it is absolutely void ? "We were once told by tliose who made this law, that " we had nothing to do with slavery." Yerily slavery has much to do with us, and necessarily we have much to do with it, in whatever it has to do with us. It is not enough that it seizes our Northern seamen in Southern ports, and sells them into slavery — not enough that it denies the beiiefit of the laws, and mobs us when we go there to bring the cases of our enslaved and persectited citizens before the com-ts — but with unaccountable insolence, it enacts that we shall return them to bondage if they escape to their Northern families and homes. It constitutes at the North, in our neighborhoods, and by our fire- sides, the most anomalous, overshadowing, insulting, and despotic police that perverted mind can contrive, or guilty power sustain — a police which guilty power cannot sustain, until honor, and purity, and freedom have fled from among us, and we have consented to be the most drivelling, and base, and worthless slaves that ever crawled at the Toot of Tyranny. Be it remembered, he who is forced to serve • In examining the bill we have made free use of the excellent remarks of the editor of the Liberty Party Paper, printed at Syracuse, N. Y. OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 21 is no more a slave than he who is forced to compel others to serve. Nav, we hold that slavery the most degrading, that forces us, whether we will or no, io force others into bondage, and keep them there for the use and benelit of inhuman monsters, who shake their manacles over both, and open our own prisons to both, if we fail to obey their inso- lent and hellish behests. This law leaves the freeman at the North no alternative. HE MUST DISOBEY THE LAW. Let the following pledge be signed by men and women in every town in the free States, in regard to this matter : PLEDGE. "Whereas the late act of Congress makes a refusal to aid in the capture of a fugitive a penal offence, the subscribers belxg restrained bv conscientious moth^es from rendering any active obedience to the law, do soleilnly pledge ourselves to each other, rather to submit to its penalties, than to obey its provis- IONS. This Pledge should be printed, and circulated over the land, and can be returned by the 1st of December, to Lewis Tappan, 61 John street, New- York city, for the purpose of publishing the names ; thus producing a powerful influence upon public opiniim, and prepar- ing the way for the repeal of this diabolical bill And we advise that it be printed on" handbills, and posted up in every dwelling- house, store, shop, manufactory, and other place of resort, that all may- read it, and have their attention attracted to the Pledge, as it may be circulated for signatm-es. The punishment for aiding in the escape of the fugitive, or for har- boring him, is ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, with IMPRISON- MENT not exceeding six months, besides one thousand dollars, to be recovered in a suit for civil damages, for each fugitive thus aided or harbored. Another aggravating feature of this BUI is, that it proposes a bribe to the cupidity of the sunken and worthless spirits, who, alone, will accept a conimission under it. Mark the direct terms of this bribe : " In all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of $10, in full for his services in such case, upon the delivery of the said certificate to the complainant, his or her agent, or attorney ; or a fee oi five dollars, in ca^es where the proof shall not, in the opinion of such commissioner, loarrant such certifi- cate and delivei-1/" 22 HISTORY AND UXCOXSTITUTIOXALITY The sordid villain -wbo is to have this office, takes no salary ■with it, but is paid ten dollars for every man he adjudges to be a slave, and is to have 85 in every case where he does not so adjudge. Another peculiarity of this law is, that it makes no exceptions on account of color. We mention this, not because we detest it any more for that — for indeed we like it the better on that account — neverthe- less, we wish our white citizens to understand, that ovir Congress have directly opened the door, by statutes, for the enslavement of our o^^-n children. It is unaccountable, that parties, for party purposes, can thus resolve their government into a despotism the most downright that has ever existed 1 It will be more astonishing still, if the people have so little respect for human freedom as to submit to it. The effect of the law, if carried out, according to its letter and intent, is to make the Free States the Guinea of America, where the dealers in human flesh may hunt, and prowl, under the auspices of the general government, and pick up their victims, black and white together, for the southern market. Tlie only evidence which is required of a southern kidnapper is, that he give his own ^Uleposition or affidavit" before a judge or com- missioner, or justice of the peace, in " the State or territory from which such person owing services has escaped" and such judge or com- missioner shall dehver to such claimant, or his agent, a warrant, which shall be his aidhority " to use such reasonable force or restraint as is necessary" " to remove him (the person claimed) back to the State from whence he fled." And to cut off all hope of the poor man who is thus pounced upon, it is further expressly provided, as follows : — " In xo trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of SAID ALLEGED FUGITIVE BE ADMITTED — and the certificate in this and the first section mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of the PERSON or persons IN WHOSE FAVOR GRANTED, TO REMOVE SUCH FUGI- TIVE TO THE State or Territory from avhich he escaped, and shall PREVENT all MOLESTATION OF SUCH PERSON OR PERSONS BY ANY PROCESS ISSUED BY ANY CoLTlT OR JuDGE, MAGISTRATE, OR OTHER PERSON WHOM- SOEVER." " A human being," says Judge Jay, in commenting upon this law, " is stripped of every right, and reduced to the condition of a vendi- ble beast of burden, with less ceremony, and with more celerity, than one neighbor can recover of another the value of a pig in any Court of Justice. The Constitution of the United States secures a trial by OF TUE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 23 jury in suits at coromon la\v in all cases where the value in contro- versy exceeds tsvextt dollars ; but here, where the matter in con- troversy is the hberty of an immortal man, and all his hopes of hap- piness in the life that is, and that which is to come, no jiu-y is allowed ; but a village postmaster, (or any other person appointed commis- sioner,) with the promise of ten dollars if he decides fo'- the slave- holder, and of only five if against him, is deemed a sufficient tribunal for the protection of a human being, to whom the Creator has pleased to give a dark-colored skin." Tiike the case of the late Professor TTebster. If he had been poor, the court would haVe assigned him counsel. Js'o one, ever so villainous or criminal, arraigned for the most heinous crime, is deprived of all the aid and lenity our courts can bestow. But if a man is charged with the offence of being a slave, all such aid is denied him, and the " law" wreaks its vengeance upon his defenceless head. Surely " the throne of iniquity " has been framing " mischief by a law." "Who ever heard of so atrocious a law ? One man, on liis own depo- sition or affidavit, allowed, by order of a commissioner, to claim an- other man or woman as his property ! — forbid to repel the affidavit or deposition with his own 1 — forbid any defence whatever, however abundant his means of defence, and to be delivered over by the war- rant of such commissioner to the claimant, whose character and claims such commissioner may not allow him or her to impeach in any manner whatever! — given over, him and his posterity for ever, to eternal bon- dage ! "Will not God's ciurse smite the heartless villain who will attempt to execute such a law ? Do we deserve to be a free people ; can we expect to escape the anger of Heaven, if we do not smite the law and its executors together in the dust ? The certificates referred to in the above paragraph, are, the certificate of the judge or justice in the slave State or Ten-itory, that the affidavit or deposition was in fact taken before him, and wliich is sealed by him, thereby -giving it the force of Record, and unimpeachable and conclusive evidence against the fugitive ; also the certificate of the commissioner, that the slave has been brought before him on the fonner affidavit and certificate, and by him dehvered over to his tormentors. These are. the only certificates mentioned in this act. It is apparent, . therefore, that there is nothing like a trial in the case. To know that there is not, we need but revert to the 6th section, which gives the proceedings before the commissioner, and compare them with the 24 • HISTORY AND UXCONSTITLTTIONALITT proceedings authorized under the 10th section, before a court. In the latter case, the claimant is requii'ed to " make satisfactory proof •" in the former, he presents only the certificate of his own deposition, made out by a judge or justice of a foreign State, and in the latter he is required to resort to common law proof, (because the com-ts may make judgment, or act in no case whatever but upon common law proof.) The proceedings imder this statute are authorized, therefore, expressly to evade coimnon law remedies and rights, and give tl:e victim over to his demandant without common law protection or remedy, against every principle of law or justice sanctioned by any juris- prudence of any people whatever. The defendant is expressly denied the right to prove that the papers adduced against him are a forgery. It will be seen that the proceeding under this act is entirely ex-parte — the order of the commissioner is ex-parte, even in the face of the de- fendant — the whole proceedings are on the part of the demandant, and no act, proceeding, resistance, or defence whatever are allowed to the defendant. Submission to his demandant is all that is admis- sible on his part. The same section that provides the commissioner to effect the intent of the statute, authorizes the demandant to arrest the person of his victim without aid. The appointment of the com- missioner is but to supply the lack of physical power in the claimant to seize and enslave his victim. Had he power, in his own person, to arrest and return the fugitive, the law would not be called for, and would not have been enacted. But he has no such physical power, and therefore Congress authorizes this means to aid the slaveholder in the premises, with the physical power of the States. There is therefore nothing resembling, as to form or intent, the doings of a court of law in the matter. It is simply a mode prescribed, in the form of law, by which the nation shall engage in behalf of the most squahd and Umitless despotism that can exist among men. The com- missioner is an agent only in one state of the case — and the posse co7nitatus, or the militia of the country, and "all good citizens," are forced into the array in another state of the case, to gratify the individual wishes, interests, or intent, of the most absolute despot that mind can conceive of, or power create. It is said, sometimes, that " Congress cannot make a slave or a king." This most atrocious act reverses this position, and expressly creates the relation of " King and Slave,'' and that too under the most objectionable and revolting circumstances. OF THE fugiti\t: sla^t: bill. 25 Not only does this law take from all Xorthera men every legal right, but it forbids all the tribunals of the country, whether state or national, to interfere in their behalf, if demanded as Slaves, by any perjured scoimdrel who may have the audacity to make the demand and swear to it. The Constitution of the United States declares that the "Habeas Corpus shall not he suspendedr This act pointedly destroys it, by providing, as it does, that the certificate of such com- missioner " SHALL PIIEVE>T ALL MOLESTATIOX OF SAID PEKSOX OB PER- SONS (the claimant and his agents) by axt process issued by axy Judge, Magistrate, or other person whomsoever," The Habeas Corpus is a "process issued" in behalf of freedom. This law declares that such writ shall not issue when Slavery demands any man, woman, or child, of any color, or condition, as a Slave. Again. This law applies as well to apprentices and minors'as^to slaves. It gives the aforesaid imaccountable power and authority, in all cases in which persons are charged as "fugitives from labor!' The word slave, or slaves, is not used by the act. It treats only of "fugitives from service or labor." In no case are the subjects of this severity called slaves. This act, then, reverses all the laws of this State, and other States, regulating " masters, apprentices and servants," as well as of " parent and child" in this regard. A Southern man-thief has but to come among us, and demand our childran as his children, and claim that they " owe hrm service," or demand them as apprentices who " owe him service or labor" and they are expressly forbid the right to try the question whether the villain's claim is true or false. Tlie commissioners in such case are ordered by the letter of the act to give them up and tote them off to legal bondage. The statutes of the State giving jurisdiction, and made to try the right before its own Judges and Justices, are all reversed, and the helpless youth is given up without trial, on the exparte affidavit of a foreigner, which he may not controvert or impeach, to go hence for ever. Were this law to be construed to be applicable to parent and child, and master and apprentice, alone — as by its terms it is only applicable — its pro- visions would be regarded as too atrocious and despotic to be obeyed. Men, nor women, nor children, sons nor servants, masters nor appren- tices, would consent that slaveholders of foreign States should, by so rude a tyranny, break up the primeval and dearest relations of society among us. And yet Congress, to aid cruel men to hold other men and women as cattle, has expressly interfered with our own domestic 2 26 HISTORY AND UNCONSTITTUIONALITY relations, and expressly thrown down every barrier, exposed them to the human wolves and lusty man-thieves who prowl for prey amid the desolations of slavery. A father, or mother, or master, are expressly forbid to defend their son or daughter, or apprentice, against the demand of a slaveholder of a slaveholding State, if such demand is but supported by the deposition of a person unknown to such father, master, son or appren- tice in a foreign State, and who therefore could not be confronted or cross-questioned by them ; but such son, daughter or apprentice is ruthlessly torn from his parental relations, by the power of a free State, (which may God forbid,) and given over to the blackness of darkness of slavery. The blood almost curdles at the recital. If such an enactment had been promulgated as the decree of the Rus- sian Autocrat, or the mihtary order of the bloody Haynau, men would shudder. Yet Daniel Webster could go for the bill to the " fullest extent," and Moses Stuart could say of him, " Posterity, di- vested of partizan feeling and prejudice, will erect to him a lofty monument." UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE BILL. Senator Chase, in his speech of March 26th, said : — I ask Senators, who propose to support that bill, where they find the power to legislate on this subject in the Constitution? I know to what clause I shall be referred. I know I shall be told that the Constitution provides that "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 deUvered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." But this clause contains no grant of legislative power to Congress. That power is conferred exclusively by special clauses, granting legislative power in respect to particular subjects, and by the eighth section of the first article, which, after enumerating the specific powers of Congress, proceeds to declare that Congress shall have power " to make aU laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the fore- going powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Govern- ment of the United States, or in any department or office thereof. Now, Sir, what power is vested, by the clause, in relation to fugitives from service, in the government, or in any department or officer of the government ? None at aU ; and if none, then the legislative power of Congress does not extend to the subject. The clause is a clause of compact. It has been so denominated by every Senator who has had occasion to speak of it. The honorable Senator from Massachusetts told us that he "always thought that the Constitution ad- di-essed itself to the Legislatures of the States, or to the States themselves ; that he had always been of the opinion that it was an injunction upon the States OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 27 themselves." If this opinion be coirect, the power of legislation and the duty of legislation must be with the States, and not with Congress." We are not prepared, I hope, and I trust we never shall be prepared, to give the eanction of the American Senate to the bill and the amendments now upon our table — a bill which authorizes and requires the appointment of two hundred and sixty-one commissioners, and an indefinite number of other officers, to catch run-away slaves in the State of Ohio ; which punishes humanity as a crime ; which authorizes seizure without process, trial without a jury, and consignment to slavery beyond the limits of the State, without opportunity of defence, and upon ex-parte testimony. Certainly no such biU can receive my vote." Furthennore, the Bill suspends the Habeas Corptcs Act,^ the great bulwark of liberty, the Magna Charta of the civilized world. In Section IX. of the Constitution is this clause : "The privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the PUBLIC SAFETY ilAY REQUIRE IT." There was no " rebellion or invasion " in the land when the Bill was passed, although it is impossible to tell how soon the fact will be otherwise, if its diaboHcal provisions continue to be carried out. The Bill, as has been shown, is not confined to fugitive slaves ; it inchides all "fugitives from service or labor" be they white or colored. The Fugitive Slave BiU, Section VI, constitutes the commissioner a coui't, from whose decision there is no appeal ! There shall be no " molestation of said person or persons, by any process issued by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever." The commis- sioner, whoever he may be, a Postmaster, Collector, Tide-waiter, Ward Justice, Street Inspector, Clerk of the Market — in the recent case, the Clerk of the Circuit Court— is constituted the High Court of Judicature, his decree is ureversible, and neither any judge of the State Coui-ts, or United States Court, can issue the writ of Habeas Corpus, for the purpose of inquiring whether the person has been illegally deprived of his liberty. By an act of the State of llew-York, and by similar acts of other States, a slave brought into the State by his master shall be free. But the Fugitive Slave Bill appears to trample upon the State laws in this respect. Such a person — once a slave — may be arrested under * Habeas Corpus.— ^^ You may have the body before the Court." This is the great writ of personal Uberty. It lies, where a person being indicted or im- prisoned, (and an illegal arrest ia in law an " imprisonment,") unlawfully or unconstitutionally, applies to another tribunal for relief in the premises. 28 HISTORY AKD UNCONSTITUTIO^-ALITY the Bill, be taken before a commissioner, and be remanded into slavery. The decision of the upstart cominissioner-judge, is " conclu- sive ;" there shall be no molestation by any process issued by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever ! It is true that the language of the bill is, that slaves who shall escape /?-o?7i one State into anotlier State, may be arrested and remanded back ; but in the phraseolgy of slaveholders it is an " escape " — a constructive escape — to run away from the master anywhere. In the celebrated Prigg case, in Pennsylvania, Judge Story, in the name of the Supreme Court of the United States, gave an opinion that the law of 1 Y93, upon which the late Fugitive Slave BiU is foimded, was is some respects not free from reasonable doubt or difficulty as to its constitutionality, viz. : in that part that conferred authority on State magistrates to issue process, (fee, for the reclamation of fugitive slaves, and which has been generally understood to require them to perform this service. Eminent jurists in several States have long since given similar opinions. Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, during the recent session, in his place on the floor of the House of Representatives, pronoimced the law of 1793 INFAMOUS. I^ongress cannot confer jurisdiction upon a court not created by the Constitution and laws of the United States ; and transcended its powers in this way, in the en- actment of the law of 1793, which was besides imconstitutional, because it authorized the Federal Courts to try a claim to a man as a slave, witliout the intervention of a juiy. The Constitution (Art. 5 of the Amendments) says that no person shall be " deprived of life, liberty^ or property, without due process of law." And Aii. 6th provides that in criminal prosecutions, (and the proceedings in the case of Hamlet were of a criminal nature,) the accused shall enjoy a speedy and public trial by jm-j, and be confronted with the witness against him. Neither the law just passed, nor any other, can constitutionally take away this right, or authorize any commissioner or court to determine a case afifecting the life or liberty of an individual in a "summary manner." It is vesting such commissioner or coiu-t with power as absolute as that of the " Star Chamber," or " Turkish Kadis." It has been well said that the courts of the United States have power to apj^oint com- missioners to take affidavits and acknowledgments of bail ; but they do not possess, and cannot receive, authority from Congress to delegate to a commissioner the power of trying a cause. We see that the Bill enacted by Congress in 1793, approved by OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. 29 President Washington, acquiesced in for more than fifty years, is pro- nounced unconstitutional, or, in the carefully-worded language of the Supreme Court, " not free from reasonable doubt as to its constitu- tionality," in one or more of its principal provisions, by the decision of the highest judicial coiirt of the country. It shows that the gen- tlemen in both Houses of Congress, when they enact laws under the screws of party, and amidst champagne, clamor, and cries for the "pre- vious question, " may be enacting unconstitutional statutes. If they do this in one case, they are liable to do it in another. Infallibility does not pertain to such a body of men as compose the present House of Representatives. The clause of the Constitution, already referred to, says : " "No per- son held to service or labor in one State imder the laws thereof, escap- ing into another, shall be delivered up," J. M Smith, ^ yice Presidents. L. Napoleon, j Wm. C.Inners,J TVm. p. Powell, Secretary. John A. Gray, Printer, T9 Fulton, cor. oj Gold 'treei. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 3 0112 003219760 J».»