domain material from the ,google ,print 
project47              ,a   ,,letter    
,,to  ,,the ,,hon4 ,,samuel ,a4 ,,eliot1
  ,,representative ,,in ,,congress      
,,from ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,boston1  in  
reply to his    ,,apology ,,for ,,voting
 ,,for ,,the ,,fugitive   ,,slave       
,,bill4  ,,by ,,hancock     ,,boston3   
,,wm4 ,,crosby  ,h4 ,p4 ,,nichols1      
#aaa ,,washington ,,street4   #ahea4    
,,cambridge3  ,,metcalf ,,and ,,company1
  ,,printers ,,to ,,the ,,university4   
,a ,,letter1 c4   ,,sir2--  ,an ,english
 courtier procured a colonial judgeship 
for a young dependant wholly ignorant of
 law4 ,the new functionary1 on parting  
with his patron1 received from him the  
following sage advice1--,be careful     
never to assign reasons1 for whether    
your judgments be right or wrong1 your  
reasons will certainly be bad4 ,you have
 cause to regret that some friend had   
not been equally provident of your      
reputation1 and intimated that it was   
only expected of you to vote for ,mr4   

,webster's measures1 but by no means to 
assist him in vindicating them4 ,you    
did1 indeed1 vote precisely as those who
 procured your nomination intended you  
should2 yet1 on your return home1 you   
found your name had become a byword and 
a reproach in your native ,state4       
,another election approached1 but you   
declined submitting your recent course  
to the judgment of the electors1 and    
withdrew from the canvass4 ,but although
 the people were thus prevented from    
voting against you1 they persisted in   
speaking and writing against you4       
,anxious to relieve yourself from the   
load of obloquy by which you were       
oppressed1 in an evil hour you rashly   
appealed to the public through the      
columns of a newspaper1 and gave the    
reasons of your vote for the ,fugitive  
,slave ,law4 ,you had a high and recent 
example of the kind of logic suited to  
your case4 ,you might have indulged in  
transcendental nonsense1 and talked     
about the climate1 soil1 and scenery of 

,new ,england and the wonders of        
physical geography1 and1 assuming that  
negroes were created free1 you might    
have contended that1 in voting for a law
 to catch and enslave them1 you had     
avoided the folly of renacting the law  
of ,god4 ,reasons of this sort1 you and 
others had declared1 had convinced the  
understanding and touched the conscience
 of the nation4 ,instead of following an
 example so illustrious and successful1 
you assign reasons so very commonplace1 
that the most ordinary capacity can     
understand them1 and so feeble1 that the
 slightest strength can overthrow them4 
,your first reason is1 that the delivery
 of fugitives is a constitutional       
obligation4 ,by this you mean1 that1 by 
virtue of the construction of a certain 
clause in the ,constitution by the      
,supreme ,court1 ,congress has the power
 to pass a law for the recovery of      
fugitive slaves4 ,well1 ,sir1 does this 
constitutional obligation authorize     
,congress to pass any law whatsoever on 

the subject1 however atrocious and      
wicked8 ,had you voted for a law to     
prevent smuggling1 in which you had     
authorized every tide-waiter to shoot   
any person suspected of having          
contraband goods in his possession1     
would it have been a good reason for    
such an atrocity1 that the collection of
 duties was a constitutional obligation8
 ,you are condemned for voting for an   
arbitrary1 detestable1 diabolical       
law1--one that tramples upon the rights 
of conscience1 outrages the feelings of 
humanity1 discards the rules of         
evidence1 levels all the barriers       
erected by the common law for the       
protection of personal liberty1 and1 in 
defiance of the ,constitution1 and      
against its express provisions1 gives to
 the courts the appointment of legions  
of slave-catching judges4 ,and your     
reason for all this is1 that the        
delivery of fugitives is a              
constitutional obligation6 ,the         
obligation is not in issue4 ,please to  

understand1 ,sir1 that it is not denied4
 ,it is for the manner in which you     
profess to have discharged the          
obligation that you are censured1 and be
 it remembered1 that not one of the     
obnoxious provisions of your law is     
required by the ,constitution4 ,you go  
on and attempt to enlighten your        
constituents as to the history of this  
constitutional obligation4 ,as the      
obligation affords you no apology for   
the iniquitous features of your law1 its
 history is1 of course1 mere surplusage1
 and serves no other purpose than to    
divert the attention of your readers    
from yourself4 ,about two thirds of your
 apology is occupied with an historical 
disquisition1 which has as much to do   
with your vindication as the question   
respecting the existence of a lunar     
atmosphere4 ,i will not1 however1       
withhold from you whatever benefit you  
may derive from either your logic or    
your history1 but will give each a fair 
and honest examination4 ,you inform the 

public that1 at the time the            
,constitution was formed1       ,slavery
 had been abolished in some of the      
,states1 and still      existed in      
others4 ,here seemed an insurmountable  
incompatibility of      interests1 and  
nothing perplexed the wise men of that  
day--and they      were very wise       
men--so much as this topic4 ,at last    
they agreed      that the new           
,constitution should have nothing to do 
with it2 that      the word slavery     
should not be mentioned in it1 and that 
it      should be left to the ,states   
themselves to establish1 retain1 or     
abolish it1 just as much after the      
adoption of the ,constitution as        
before4 ,but in order to secure the     
existence of the institution to         
those ,states who preferred it1 it was  
agreed that the persons      escaping   
from labor to which they were bound1 in 
one commonwealth1      and found in     
another1 should be returned to the      
,state from which      they had fled4   

,the provision was necessary for the    
preservation of      this interest in   
statu quo4 ,it did not extend slavery4  
,it kept it      where it already was1  
and where it could not have continued if
      every slave who escaped ,north was
 at once free and irreclaimable4        
,the members of the confederacy from the
 ,south saw this distinctly1      and   
deliberately declared that they could   
not and would not enter      a union    
with ,states who would tempt away their 
slaves with the      prospect of        
immediate and permanent freedom4444 ,the
 ,constitution      was adopted with    
this provision1 and it could not have   
been adopted      without it4  ,thus we 
learn from you1 ,sir1 that when the     
,constitution was formed1 slavery had   
been abolished in some of the ,states4  
,it is a pity you did not vouchsafe to  
tell us which of the ,states had thus   
early and honorably distinguished       
themselves4 ,of the thirteen ,american  
,states in #aghg1 how many1 ,sir1 had by

 law abolished slavery8 ,,not ,,one4    
,your some ,states consisted of         
,,massachusetts alone4 ,and how was     
slavery abolished there8 ,not by any    
express prohibition in her constitution1
 nor by any act of her legislature4     
,fortunately1 her constitution1 like    
that of most other ,states1 contained a 
general declaration of human rights1    
somewhat similar to the rhetorical      
abstraction in the ,declaration of      
,independence4 ,two or three years      
before the ,federal ,convention         
assembled1 a young lawyer1 perceiving   
that the declaration in the constitution
 had inadvertently made no exclusion of 
the rights of men with dark complexions1
 brought an action for a slave against  
his master for work done and performed4 
,an upright and independent court1 not  
having the fear of our ,southern        
brethren before their eyes1 decided that
 the slave was a ,,man1 and therefore   
entitled to the rights which the        
constitution declared belonged to all   

men1 and gave judgment for the          
plaintiff4 ,in this way1 ,sir1 was      
slavery abolished in ,massachusetts1 and
 hence the delegates from ,massachusetts
 in the ,convention were the only ones  
who represented a free ,state4 ,and now1
 ,sir1 what becomes of your             
insurmountable incompatibility of       
interests arising from the fact that    
slavery had been abolished in some      
,states and still existed in others1    
which you tell us so much perplexed the 
wise men of that day8 ,we shall see1    
,sir1 that on questions touching human  
bondage the ,massachusetts delegation   
seem to have been slaveholders in heart1
 and did not partake of the perplexity  
which troubled the wise men4 ,with the  
exception of that delegation1 there were
 not probably half a dozen members of   
the convention who were not             
slaveholders4  ,it would seem from your 
historical review1 that the clause in   
the ,constitution respecting fugitive   
slaves was the grand compromise between 

the ,north and the ,south1 without which
 the ,constitution could not have been  
adopted2 and that to this clause we owe 
our glorious slave-catching ,union4 ,you
 fortify this wonderful historical      
discovery by appealing to the deliberate
 declarations of ,southern members1 that
 they would not enter a union with      
,states who would tempt away their      
slaves1 c4 ,it is to be regretted that  
you have not deemed it expedient to     
refer to the records of these           
declarations1 as other students of our  
constitutional history are wholly       
ignorant of them4 ,suffer me1 ,sir1 to  
enter into a few historical details1 for
 the purpose of vindicating the liberty 
,i take to differ with you as to the    
accuracy of your statements4  ,the      
,convention met in ,philadelphia1 #beth 
,may1 #aghg4 ,on the #bith of the same  
month1 ,mr4 ,randolph1 of ,virginia1    
submitted a plan of government4 ,it     
contained no allusion to fugitive       
slaves4 ,on the same day1 ,mr4 ,charles 

,pinckney1 of ,south ,carolina1         
submitted another plan4 ,this last      
provided for the surrender of fugitive  
criminals1 but was silent about fugitive
 slaves4 ,on the #aeth of ,june1 ,mr4   
,patterson1 of ,new ,jersey1 submitted a
 third plan4 ,this also provided for the
 surrender of fugitives from justice1   
but not from bondage4 ,on the #ahth1    
,mr4 ,hamilton announced his plan1 but  
the fugitive slave found no place in it4
 ,on the #bfth of ,june1 the            
,convention1 having agreed on the       
general features of the proposed        
,constitution in the form of            
resolutions1 referred them to a         
committee of detail1 for the purpose of 
reducing them to the form of a          
,constitution4 ,in these resolutions1   
there was not the most distant allusion 
to fugitive slaves4 ,on the #fth of     
,august1 the committee reported the     
draft of a ,constitution1 and yet1      
strange as you may deem it1 the         
provision without which1 you tell us1   

the ,constitution could not have been   
adopted1 was not in it1 although there  
was in it a provision for the surrender 
of fugitive criminals4 ,for three months
 had the ,convention been in session1   
and not one syllable had been uttered   
about fugitive slaves4 ,at last1 on the 
#bith of ,august1 as we learn from the  
minutes1 ,it was moved and seconded to  
agree to the following proposition1 to  
be inserted after the #aeth article3    
',if any person1 bound to service or    
labor in any of the ,united ,states1    
shall escape into another ,state1 he or 
she shall not be discharged from such   
service or labor in consequence of any  
regulation subsisting in the ,state to  
which they escape1 but shall be         
delivered up to the person justly       
claiming their service or labor1' which 
passed unanimously4 ,really1 ,sir1 ,i   
find in this record but little evidence 
of the perplexity which distressed our  
wise men1 or of the great compromise    
between the ,north and ,south1 on which 

you dwell4 ,the #aeth article1 referred 
to above1 was the article providing for 
the surrender of fugitives from justice1
 and this suggested the idea1 that it   
would be well to provide1 also1 for the 
surrender of fugitive slaves4 ,in an    
assembly consisting almost exclusively  
of slaveholders1 the idea was           
exceedingly relished2 and without a word
 of opposition1 the suggestion was      
unanimously adopted4 ,from ,mr4         
,madison's report we learn that1 the day
 before1 ,messrs4 ,butler and ,pinckney 
had informally proposed that fugitive   
slaves and servants should be delivered 
up like criminals4 ,mr4 ,wilson of      
,penn44 ,this would oblige the          
,executive of the ,state to do it at the
 public expense4 ,mr4 ,sherman of ,conn4
 saw no more propriety in the public    
seizing and surrendering a slave or     
servant than a horse4 7,madison ,papers1
 p4 #addg47 ,the subject was here       
dropped4 ,the next day the motion was   
made in form1 and1 as ,mr4 ,madison     

says1 agreed to1 nem4 con4 ,from the    
phraseology of the motion1 and the      
objections of ,messrs4 ,wilson and      
,sherman1 it was perfectly understood   
that the obligation of delivery was     
imposed on the ,states1 and that no     
power was intended to be conferred on   
,congress to legislate on the subject4  
,messrs4 ,wilson and ,sherman's         
objections arose from no moral          
repugnance to slave-catching1 but from  
the inconvenience they apprehended the  
,state authorities would be subjected   
to2 and ,mr4 ,wilson perhaps spoke from 
experience1 as his own ,state had at    
that very time a law for catching and   
returning fugitive slaves from other    
,states4 ,the idea1 therefore1 that this
 agreement was a compromise between the 
,north and ,south is wholly imaginary1  
and you1 ,sir1 must have mistaken some  
recent fulminations from the ,southern  
chivalry for the deliberate declarations
 which you suppose were made in the     
,convention4 ,believe me1 ,sir1 no      

members of the ,convention ever declared
 they would not enter into the ,union1  
unless it was agreed to surrender       
fugitive slaves1 for the obvious reason1
 that the ,northern slaveholders        
required no threats from their ,southern
 brethren to consent to a compact       
convenient to both4 ,it is very true1   
,sir1 that there were compromises1 and  
that there were deliberate declarations1
 but they had no reference to the       
surrender of runaway slaves4 ,i have    
pointed out your historical mistake1 not
 because it has the remotest bearing on 
your justification1 but because you seem
 to think that it has4  ,the first great
 compromise was between1 not the ,north 
and the ,south1 but the small and the   
large ,states4 ,the one claimed1 and the
 other refused1 an equality of suffrage 
in the national legislature4 ,it was at 
last agreed1 that the suffrage should be
 equal in one house1 and according to   
population in the other4 ,this was the  
first compromise4 ,then came the        

question1 ,what should constitute the   
representative population8 ,the         
,southern ,states had more slaves than  
the ,northern1 and the former insisted  
that slaves should be included in the   
representative population4 ,this would  
have given the ,southern ,states an     
unfair preponderance in ,congress4      
,moreover1 a portion of the ,southern   
,states were engaged in the ,african    
slave-trade1 and1 of course1 every slave
 landed on their shores would increase  
their political power in ,congress4 ,to 
reconcile the ,north to slave           
representation1 it was offered that     
direct taxation should be proportioned  
to representation4 ,but the ,north was  
reluctant1 and1 as usual1 was bullied   
into a compromise4 ,mr4 ,davie1 of      
,north ,carolina1 made a deliberate     
declaration3--,he was sure that ,north  
,carolina would never confederate on any
 terms that did not rate them 7the      
slaves7 at least as three fifths4 ,if   
the ,eastern ,states meant1 therefore1  

to exclude them 7the slaves7 altogether1
 the business was at an end4 7,madison  
,papers1 p4 #ajha47 ,this threat1 and   
others like it1 settled the matter4 ,the
 compromise1 of three fifths of the     
slaves to be included in the            
representative population1 was accepted 
on the motion of a ,new ,england member2
 and the consequence is1 that the slave 
,states have now twenty-one members in  
the lower house of ,congress more than  
they are entitled to by their free      
population4 ,this was the second        
compromise4 ,there was still a third1   
far more wicked and detestable1 and     
effected by the deliberate declarations 
of ,southern members4 ,the committee of 
detail has been already mentioned4 ,it  
consisted of ,messrs4 ,rutledge of      
,south ,carolina1 ,randolph of          
,virginia1 ,wilson of ,pennsylvania1    
,ellsworth of ,connecticut1 and ,gorham 
of ,massachusetts4 ,this committee1 it  
will be recollected1 were to reduce to  
the form of a ,constitution the         

resolutions agreed on by the            
,convention4 ,neither in the resolutions
 themselves1 nor in the discussions     
which preceded their adoption1 had any  
reference been made to a guarantee for  
the continuance of the ,african         
slave-trade4 ,nevertheless1 this        
committee1 of their own will and        
pleasure1 inserted in their draft the   
following clause3--,no tax or duty shall
 be laid by the legislature on articles 
exported from any ,state1 nor on the    
migration or importation of such persons
 as the several ,states shall think     
proper to admit1 nor shall such         
migration or importation be prohibited4 
,to understand the cunning wickedness of
 this clause1 it must be recollected    
that ,congress was to have power to     
regulate foreign commerce1 and commerce 
between the ,states2 and hence it might1
 at a future time1 suppress both the    
foreign and domestic commerce in human  
flesh1 or it might burden this commerce 
with duties4 ,hence this artfully       

expressed perpetual restriction on the  
power of ,congress to interfere with the
 traffic in human beings4 ,as this grand
 scheme was concocted in the committee1 
and not in the ,convention1 it may be   
interesting to inquire into its         
paternity4  ,in the debates which ensued
 on this clause1 ,mr4 ,ellsworth1 one of
 the committee who reported it1 was for 
leaving the clause as it now stands4    
,let every ,state import what it        
pleases4 ,the morality or wisdom of     
slavery are considerations belonging to 
the ,states themselves4 ,what enriches a
 part enriches the whole1 and the       
,states are the best judges of their    
particular interests4 ,the old          
,confederation had not meddled with this
 point1 and he did not see any greater  
necessity for bringing it within the    
policy of the new one4 ,as slaves       
multiply so fast in ,virginia and       
,maryland that it is cheaper to raise   
than to import them1 whilst in the      
sickly rice-swamps foreign supplies are 

necessary1 if we go no farther than is  
urged a proposal to permit the trade for
 a limited time1 we shall be unjust     
towards ,south ,carolina and ,georgia4  
,let us not intermeddle4 7,madison      
,papers1 pp4 #achi1 #acia47 ,this       
gentleman was one of your very wise men2
 and his mantle has recently fallen upon
 other wise men from the ,east4 ,mr4    
,wilson1 another member of the          
committee1 objected4 ,all articles      
imported1 said he1 are to be taxed2     
slaves alone are exempt4 ,this is1 in   
fact1 a bounty on that article4 ,the    
clause was referred to another          
committee1 who modified it1 by limiting 
the restriction to #ahjj4 ,it was moved 
to guarantee the slave-trade for twenty 
years1 by postponing the restriction to 
#ahjh4 ,this motion was seconded by ,mr4
 ,gorham1 another member of the         
committee4 ,mr4 ,randolph1 also of the  
committee1 was against the slave-trade1 
and opposed to any restriction on the   
power of ,congress to suppress it4 ,two 

of the committee1 then1 we find1 were   
against the trade1 and three1 ,messrs4  
,rutledge1 ,ellsworth1 and ,gorham1 for 
perpetuating it4 ,and now1 ,sir1 what   
were the inducements which prevailed on 
the two wise men from the ,east to yield
 their consent to a proposition so      
wicked and abominable8 ,we are1 of      
course1 not informed what passed in the 
committee1 but we can well imagine1 from
 the language used by the chairman and  
others in the ,convention4 ,said ,mr4   
,rutledge1 ,if the ,convention thinks   
,north ,carolina1 ,south ,carolina1 and 
,georgia will ever agree to this plan   
the ,federal ,constitution unless their 
right to import slaves be untouched1 the
 expectation is ,,vain4 ,the people of  
those ,states will never be such fools  
as to give up so important an interest4 
,in other words1 ,gentlemen of the      
,north1 no ,union without the ,african  
slave-trade4 ,said ,mr4 ,charles        
,pinckney1 ,south ,carolina can never   
receive the plan of the ,constitution if

 it prohibits the slave-trade4 ,in every
 proposed extension of the powers of    
,congress1 that ,state has expressly and
 watchfully excepted that of meddling   
with the importation of negroes4        
7,madison ,papers1 p4 #achi47 ,mr4      
,charles ,c4 ,pinckney thought himself  
bound to declare candidly1 that he did  
not think ,south ,carolina would stop   
her importations of slaves in any short 
time4 ,thus you see1 ,sir1 that the     
deliberate declarations to which you    
allude were made in reference to the    
continuance of the ,african slave-trade1
 and not1 as you suppose1 to the        
catching of fugitive slaves4 ,two ,new  
,england gentlemen of the committee     
yielded to these declarations1 and      
sacrificed conscience and humanity for  
the sake of the ,union1 and the         
consideration that what enriched a part 
enriched the whole4 ,happily1 in this   
case1 ,southern bluster was met by      
,southern bluster1 and it is owing to   
,virginia1 and not to the virtue and    

independence of ,new ,england1 that the 
,constitution was rescued from the      
infamy of granting a solemn and         
perpetual guarantee to an accursed      
commerce4  ,in ,virginia1 the slaves1 as
 ,mr4 ,ellsworth remarked1 multiplied so
 fast1 that it was cheaper to raise than
 import them4 ,she was then1 as now1 a  
breeding ,state for the ,southern       
markets4 ,hence1 her delegates were as  
ready to bluster for protection1 as the 
,south ,carolina delegates were for a   
free trade in men and women4 ,of course1
 the motives assigned were patriotic1   
not selfish4 ,mr4 ,randolph could never 
agree to the clause as it stands4 ,he   
would sooner ,,risk ,,the               
,,constitution4 7,madison ,papers1 p4   
#acif47 ,mr4 ,madison would not consent 
to the continuance of the traffic till  
#ahjh4 ,twenty years will produce all   
the mischief that can be apprehended    
from the liberty to import slaves4 ,so  
long a term will be more dishonorable to
 the ,american character1 than to say   

nothing about it in the ,constitution4  
7,madison ,papers1 p4 #adbg47 ,mr4      
,mason from ,virginia denounced the     
traffic as infernal4 7,madison ,papers1 
p4 #acij47 ,the result of all these     
threats on each side was1 as usual1 a   
compromise1 by which ,congress was      
prohibited from suppressing the foreign 
and internal commerce in slaves for     
twenty years1 and was left at liberty to
 do as it might see fit1 after that     
period4 ,after twenty years the foreign 
trade was suppressed1 and ,north and    
,south ,carolina and ,georgia remained  
in the ,union6 ,virginia1 as well as the
 other ,slave ,states1 is greatly       
interested in the home slave-trade1 and 
that has not been suppressed1 although  
,congress has full power over it4  ,it  
does not appear from ,mr4 ,madison's    
report what reply was made in the       
,convention to the ,virginia objections1
 but in his speech in the ,convention of
 his own ,state1 he tells us1--,the     
gentlemen from ,south ,carolina and     

,georgia argued in this manner3 ,we have
 now liberty to import this species of  
property1 and much of the property now  
possessed had been purchased or         
otherwise acquired in contemplation of  
improving it by the assistance of       
imported slaves4 ,what would be the     
consequence of hindering us in this     
point8 ,the slaves of ,virginia would   
rise in value1 and we should be obliged 
to go to your markets4 7,elliott's      
,debates1 ,,iii4 #ded47 ,certainly1     
,sir1 these ,south ,carolina and        
,georgia delegates were very wise men1  
and their predictions are now history1  
and the planters of ,georgia1 ,south    
,carolina1 ,mississippi1 and ,louisiana 
buy slaves of the ,virginia breeders4   
,but what shall ,i say of the wise men  
from the ,east8 ,this horrible          
compromise1 this guarantee of the       
,african slave-trade for twenty years1  
was carried by the votes of the         
,massachusetts and ,connecticut         
delegates1 and would have been defeated1

 had they had the courage and virtue to 
have voted against it4  ,i have indulged
 in this long digression1 to show that  
the clause in the ,constitution         
respecting fugitive slaves was not1 as  
you represent it1 the great compromise  
of the ,constitution1 the key-stone of  
the ,union1 and that our slaveholding   
fathers were not1 as you suppose1       
greatly perplexed1 nor their consciences
 deeply wounded1 by the existence of    
slavery in all the ,states of the       
confederacy with one exception4 ,having 
disposed of your history1 ,i return to  
your logic4  ,whether the constitutional
 injunction to surrender fugitive slaves
 was a compromise or not1 is of no      
practical importance4 ,the clause speaks
 for itself1 and prescribes no mode by  
which the title of the claimant shall be
 ascertained1 while it expressly implies
 that the title shall be established    
before the surrender is made4 ,hence1   
the fair presumption is1 that the title 
to a ,,man shall be proved1 with at     

least as much certainty and formality as
 the title to a horse4 ,had you1 ,sir1  
in your law1 provided that a ,virginian 
shall not come to ,boston1 and there    
seize and carry off a husband1 wife1 or 
child but by the same process1 and on as
 strong evidence1 as he may now seize   
and carry off a horse which you claim as
 your own1 instead of finding your name 
a byword and a reproach1 you would have 
been honored and applauded by your      
fellow-citizens1 and returned to        
,congress by a triumphant vote2 nor is  
there a syllable in the ,constitution   
which prohibits or discountenances such 
a mode of deciding the title to a human 
being4 ,it is in vain1 then1 ,sir1 that 
you plead your constitutional obligation
 in justification of your most          
detestable law4 ,but1 as if one wrong   
could justify another1 you plead in your
 excuse the law of #agic1 and you ask in
 your simplicity of those who condemn   
your law if they do not perceive that   
they are denouncing their fathers4      

,well1 ,sir1 were our fathers           
infallible8 ,pity it is1 ,sir1 that you 
were not on the floor of ,congress when 
that body declared the ,african         
slave-trade to be ,,piracy4 ,you might  
then1 ,sir1 have risen in your place1   
and inquired1 ,do you not perceive that 
you are denouncing your fathers1 who    
were very wise men1 and who guaranteed  
for twenty years the very traffic which 
you now proclaim to be piracy8 ,pity it 
is1 ,sir1 that you did not stand by the 
side of your patron on ,plymouth ,rock1 
and whisper in his ear1 ,do you not     
perceive that you are denouncing our    
fathers8 when he declared1 ,in the sight
 of our law the ,african slave-trader is
 a ,,pirate and a ,,felon1 and in the   
sight of ,heaven an offender beyond the 
ordinary depth of human guilt4 ,mr4     
,webster is better versed in            
constitutional history than you are1 and
 he well knew that some of our fathers  
deliberately declared they would not    
enter a ,union in which they were to be 

debarred from pursuing this piratical1  
felonious1 guilty traffic4 ,our fathers 
were mostly slaveholders1 and yet you1  
,sir1 unconsciously denounce both their 
morality and intelligence1 when you     
affirm the institution of slavery to be 
wrong and unwise4 ,and yet all who      
presume to find fault with your cruel1  
unjust1 wicked law are guilty forsooth  
of denouncing their fathers6  ,you tell 
us that the ,convention of #aghg agreed 
that the new ,constitution should have  
nothing to do with slavery4 ,i have not 
been so fortunate as to find the record 
of this agreement1 but if such a compact
 was indeed made1 then seldom1 if ever1 
has a solemn covenant been more grossly 
and wickedly violated4 ,is it1 ,sir1 in 
virtue of this agreement1 that you voted
 to fine and imprison every             
conscientious1 humane citizen who may   
refuse1 at the command of a minion of a 
commissioner1 to join in a slave hunt8  
,did this agreement confer on the       
holders of slaves an enlarged           

representation in ,congress8 ,was it in 
pursuance of this agreement that the    
importation of slaves was guaranteed for
 twenty years8 ,did this agreement      
authorize the ,federal government to    
enter into negotiations with ,great     
,britain and ,mexico for a mutual       
surrender of runaway slaves8 ,was it in 
pursuance of this same agreement1 that  
our government negotiated with ,russia  
and ,spain to prevent emancipation in   
,cuba1--a traitorous conspiracy with    
despots against the rights of man8 ,how1
 ,sir1 was this agreement illustrated1  
when ,daniel ,webster1 as ,secretary of 
,state under ,john ,tyler of glorious   
memory1 made a demand on ,great ,britain
 for the surrender of the slaves of the 
,creole1 who had gallantly achieved     
their liberty1 and taken refuge in the  
,west ,indies8 ,how comes it1 ,sir1 that
 under this agreement an act of         
,congress secures to the ,slave ,states 
officers in the navy in proportion to   
the number of their slaves8 ,how is it1 

that under this agreement colored men   
are seized in the ,district of          
,columbia1 under the exclusive          
jurisdiction of the ,federal government 
on the suspicion of being slaves1 and1  
when that suspicion is rebutted by the  
non-appearance of any claimant1 are sold
 as slaves for life1 to pay their       
jail-fees8 ,perhaps it would be         
denouncing our fathers1 to say that     
,messrs4 ,webster and ,cass may search  
the archives of ,austria in vain for any
 act so utterly diabolical as this1     
perpetrated by a government which it was
 agreed should have nothing to do with  
slavery4 ,was it to carry out this      
famous agreement that the ,federal      
government officially declared through  
its ,secretary1 ,mr4 ,calhoun1 that     
,texas was annexed to preserve the      
institution of slavery from the perils  
that threatened it8  ,once more1 ,sir4  
,we all know that the slaveholders      
regard the free blacks as dangerous to  
the subordination of their slaves1 and  

are contemplating their forcible        
removal4 ,think you1 ,sir1 ,mr4 ,webster
 was mindful of the agreement you have  
discovered1 when1 on the #gth of last   
,march1 in his place in the ,senate1 he 
proposed his magnificent scheme of      
taxing the whole nation untold millions 
to give additional security to property 
in human beings8 ,if1 said the          
,massachusetts ,senator1 any gentleman  
from the ,south shall propose a scheme  
of colonization to be carried on by this
 government upon a large scale1 for the 
transportation of free colored people to
 any colony or any place in the world1  
,i should be quite disposed to incur    
almost any degree of expense to         
accomplish the object4 ,the magnitude of
 the scheme1 and the cost at which it is
 to be accomplished1 are thus           
hinted3--,there have been received into 
the treasury of the ,united ,states     
,,eighty ,,millions of dollars1 the     
proceeds of the sales of the public     
lands ceded by ,virginia4 ,if the       

residue should be sold at the same rate1
 the whole aggregate will exceed ,,two  
,,hundred ,,millions of dollars4 ,if    
,virginia and the ,south see fit to     
adopt any proposition to relieve        
themselves from the free people of color
 among them1 they have my free consent  
that the government shall pay them any  
sum of money out of the proceeds which  
may be adequate for the purpose4 ,will  
you1 ,sir1 please to point out the      
article of the agreement of #aghg1      
which1 while it restricts ,congress from
 having any thing to do with slavery1   
sanctions an appropriation not exceeding
 two hundred millions of dollars1 for   
the purpose of strengthening the        
institution of slavery1 by relieving the
 slaveholders from the presence of free 
people of color1 and forcibly           
transporting to any place in the world  
hundreds of thousands of native-born    
,americans1 who have as good a          
constitutional right to the pursuit of  
life1 liberty1 and happiness on their   

native soil1 as ,mr4 ,webster himself8  
,mr4 ,webster1 it seems1 now views the  
subject of negro colonization in        
precisely the same light that he did    
thirty years since1 although his        
intentions on this1 as on various other 
points1 have undergone marvellous       
changes4 ,we learn from a ,massachusetts
 paper 7,congregationalist1 #f ,july1   
#ahdi71 that this gentleman was in #ahbb
 appointed by a public meeting to draft 
a constitution for the ,state           
,colonization ,society4 ,after          
considerable discussion in the committee
 he rose and said1 ,i must leave4 ,i    
understand the whole project4 ,it is a  
scheme of the slaveholders to get rid of
 their free negroes4 ,i will have       
nothing to do with it4  ,and how1 ,sir1 
as a member of ,congress1 have you      
fulfilled this agreement to have nothing
 to do with slavery8 ,not only have you 
required good citizens1 when commanded1 
to hunt and catch slaves1 but you have  
even fixed a money value on every slave4

 ,if a master fails to recover his      
fugitive slave through the agency1      
direct or indirect1 of any citizen1 you 
give him an action for damages4 ,in all 
other cases of trespass1 the damages    
sustained by the plaintiff are assessed 
by a jury according to the evidence4    
,you kindly save the master the trouble 
of proving the value of his lost        
property1 and give him out of the       
pockets of the defendant #a1jjj1 no     
matter whether the slave was sick or    
well1 young or old4 ,if a woman escapes 
with a child at the breast1 the master  
is to have #b1jjj6 ,recollect1 ,sir1    
this is for damages to the slaveholder2 
the trespasser is to pay to the         
government1 which was to have nothing to
 do with slavery1 another thousand      
dollars1 and to be incarcerated six     
months4 ,either1 ,sir1 you have wholly  
mistaken the nature of the agreement1 or
 the slaveholders1 through the aid of   
their ,northern auxiliaries1 have1 in   
defiance of the agreement1 rendered the 

,federal government a mighty engine in  
protecting1 extending1 and perpetuating 
the stupendous iniquity of human        
bondage4  ,your first excuse for voting 
for the recent slave-catching law1 after
 relying on your constitutional         
obligation1 is1 that it is practically  
more favorable to the fugitive than the 
law of #agic666 ,the ,southern lawyers1 
then1 who drafted the bill1 were a set  
of blunderers1 and your constituents are
 blockheads for blaming you for         
legislating against human rights1 when1 
in fact1 you were loosening the bonds of
 the oppressed1 and facilitating escape 
from the prison-house4 ,your assertion  
may well excite astonishment at the     
,south as well as the ,north1 till your 
proof is known1 and then1 indeed1       
astonishment will be exchanged for      
ridicule4 ,you tell us1 the evidence of 
such an assertion may be found in the   
fact1 that by the old law every         
magistrate in ,massachusetts1 amounting 
to several hundreds1 and so in the other

 ,states1 were authorized and required  
to cause the arrest of any fugitive1    
examine into his case1 and deliver him  
to the claimant1 if he was proved to be 
a slave2 while under the new law that   
power is limited to the justices of the 
,united ,states' courts1 and to the     
commissioners appointed by them1 not    
exceeding1 perhaps1 on an average1 six  
or eight persons in each ,state4 ,so it 
seems the slave-catchers had formerly no
 difficulty in finding a magistrate     
among hundreds to aid them1 but that    
now1 before they hunt a slave1 they must
 hunt and catch a ,united ,states judge1
 or a commissioner of six or eight in a 
whole ,state4 ,truly a hard case1 and   
yet the slaveholders themselves set the 
very trap in which they have been       
caught1 and thus it is that1 through    
their folly1 and your generosity in not 
pointing out to them the blunder they   
were committing1 the new law is more    
favorable to the fugitive than the old  
one4 ,surely1 ,sir1 it could not have   

been more perilous to the young ,west   
,indian judge to meddle with reasons1   
than it is for you4 ,either1 ,sir1 you  
voted for the law without reading it1 or
 you have forgotten its provision4 ,be  
assured1 the ,southern lawyers were as  
well acquainted as yourself with the    
fact1 that a few individuals1 termed    
commissioners1 had been appointed by the
 ,united ,states courts to perform      
certain ministerial acts2 and that1 as  
these men were now to be promoted to the
 office of slave-catching judges1 they  
would be wholly inadequate in number to 
lend efficient aid to the hunters of    
men4 ,hence1 they inserted in the third 
section of the bill1 the following      
enactment1 which has strangely escaped  
your recollection1 viz43--,and it is    
further enacted1 that the ,circuit      
,courts of the ,united ,states1 and the 
,superior ,courts of each organized     
,territory of the ,united ,states1      
,,shall from time to time ,,enlarge     
,,the ,,number ,,of ,,commissioners with

 a view to afford reasonable facilities 
to reclaim fugitives from labor1 and to 
the prompt discharge of the duties      
imposed by this act4 ,so that1 instead  
of six or eight commissioners in a      
,state1 we are to have as many hundreds1
 if needed4 ,nor is this all4 ,by the   
second section1 the power possessed by  
the ,circuit ,courts to appoint         
commissioners is for the first time     
conferred on the ,territorial courts1 so
 that there shall be no lack of         
slave-catching judges in ,oregon1 ,utah1
 and ,new ,mexico4 ,instead of your six 
or eight commissioners in a ,state1 your
 law contemplates that there shall be   
one or more in each county2 for the     
fifth section provides1 that1 the better
 to enable the said commissioners to    
execute their duties faithfully and     
efficiently1 444 they are hereby        
authorized and empowered1 within their  
counties respectively1 to appoint one or
 more persons to execute their warrants4
 ,so it seems we are to have an         

unlimited number of judges and          
executioners4 ,these executioners1      
expressly appointed to catch slaves1 and
 of course among the most worthless and 
degraded of the community1 are one and  
all invested with the power of a high   
sheriff to call out the posse comitatus1
 not merely in his own county1 but in   
every hamlet in the ,state1 and require 
good citizens1 under pain of fine and   
imprisonment1 to join him in his        
execrable hunt4 ,really1 ,sir1 your     
evidence that the new law is more       
favorable to the fugitive than the old  
one falls short of demonstration4  ,you 
thus apologize for not giving the       
alleged fugitive a trial by jury4 ,there
 was no more trial by jury provided for 
under the old law than under the new    
law4 ,the claim of a jury trial is      
entirely new2 never thought of till     
modern discussions of the subject begun4
 ,for fifty-seven years our fathers and 
we have been living under the laws which
 provided no such thing1 and now one    

which makes no such provision is        
denounced in unmeasured terms as cruel  
and inhuman4 ,where have we all been    
living for half a century8 ,surely1     
,sir1 it is a most logical reason for   
not changing a wicked law1 that it has  
been in force for fifty-seven years4    
,strange that the legislators of        
,massachusetts did not perceive the     
force of this reasoning when they       
abolished the laws for hanging witches  
and whipping ,quakers4 ,permit me1 ,sir1
 to ask1 ,where had you been living when
 you declared it to be the duty of      
,congress to give the fugitive a trial  
by jury1 although for fifty-seven years 
such a trial had been denied him8 ,you  
probably forgot1 ,sir1 when giving the  
above reason1 that1 not long before you 
took your seat in ,congress1 you had1 as
 a member of the ,massachusetts         
,legislature1 voted for the following   
resolution1 viz43--,we hold it to be the
 duty of that body ,congress to pass    
such laws only in regard thereto as will

 be maintained by the public sentiment  
of the free ,states1 where such laws are
 to be enforced1 and which shall        
especially secure all persons1 whose    
surrender may be claimed as having      
escaped from labor and service in other 
,states1 the right of having the        
validity of such claim determined by a  
jury in the ,state where such claim is  
made4 ,so it seems that1 while in       
,boston1 you esteemed it the especial   
duty of ,congress to grant the fugitive 
a trial by jury1 but that in the        
atmosphere of ,washington you acquired  
new views of moral philosophy4  ,suffer 
me1 ,sir1 also to inquire1 ,where had   
,mr4 ,webster been living for half a    
century1 when1 on the #c;d of last      
,june1 he introduced into the ,senate a 
bill amendatory of the act of #agic1    
granting the alleged fugitive a trial by
 jury whenever he shall make oath that  
he is not the slave of the claimant8    
,another of your reasons is1 that your  
law does not suspend the habeas corpus1 

and in proof of its innocence in this   
respect1 you refer to the opinion of    
legal authority of the highest kind1    
viz4 ,mr4 ,crittenden1 of ,kentucky4 ,it
 is very true that the words habeas     
corpus are omitted in your law1 as the  
word slave is in the ,constitution1 but 
in neither case is the omission of any  
practical importance4 ,you must be      
aware1 ,sir1 that whenever a person is  
in the custody of another1 if sufficient
 ground be shown to render it probable  
that the custody is illegal1 the writ is
 granted as a matter of right4 ,but why 
is it granted8 ,that the court may at   
its discretion1 according to            
circumstances1 remand or discharge the  
prisoner4 ,take away from the court the 
discretionary power to discharge1 and   
the writ is rendered an idle form4 ,your
 law1 you say1 does not suspend the     
habeas corpus2 it is guiltless of such  
an enormity4 ,a man who is carrying off 
one of our citizens in chains1 may      
indeed be served with the writ1 and he  

brings his prisoner before the court1   
and he produces a paper for which he    
paid #aj1 and reads from your law1 that 
this paper1 called a certificate1 shall 
be conclusive1 and shall prevent all    
molestation of said person or persons by
 any process issued by any court1 judge1
 or magistrate1 or other person         
whomsoever4 ,it is because the word     
process1 instead of habeas corpus1 is   
used1 that your law does not suspend the
 writ of freedom6 ,in vain may the      
prisoner plead that he is not the person
 mentioned in the certificate2 in vain  
may he offer to show that the           
certificate is a forgery2 in vain may he
 urge that the man who signed the       
certificate was not a commissioner4 ,the
 little piece of paper costing ten      
dollars is to save the slave-catcher    
from all molestation1 not because the   
writ of habeas corpus is suspended1--,o1
 no6 but in consequence of the words any
 process6  ,you refer to two objections1
 which you say are made to your law1 and

 endeavour to refute them2 viz4 the     
onerous obligations imposed upon the    
marshal1 and the penalties attached to  
an attempt to assist in the rescue of   
the slave after he has been proved to be
 such4 ,you have evinced your discretion
 in confining yourself to only four     
objections made to your law2 viz4 the   
denial of a jury trial1 the suspension  
of the habeas corpus1 the duties of the 
marshal1 and the penalties imposed on an
 attempt to rescue the slave after      
judgment4 ,with what success1 and with  
what reasons1 you have combated the     
first two has already been seen4 ,as to 
the last two1 they scarcely merit an    
answer1 and hence you have selected     
them4 ,if the obligations of the marshal
 are onerous1 he has voluntarily assumed
 them by accepting the office4 ,if1 in a
 civilized country1 a man attempts      
forcibly to rescue a prisoner in the    
custody of the law1 he must expect to be
 punished4 ,there are many weighty      
objections to your law which you have   

not thought it expedient to notice4     
,permit me to supply your omission1 and 
to tell you why your law is so intensely
 odious4 ,and here let me again remind  
you of the true issue between you and   
the people4 ,it is not now the          
constitutional power of ,congress under 
the decision of the ,supreme ,court to  
pass a law for the recovery of fugitive 
slaves1--this is conceded4 ,the odium   
you have experienced1 and against which 
you have appealed to the public1 is     
caused by your having voted for a law   
which1 in its details1 violates the     
,constitution1 and outrages justice and 
humanity4 ,throughout your long and     
labored apology1 you avoid grappling    
with these charges4 ,you vindicate the  
denial of a jury trial only on the      
ground that it has been denied for      
fifty-seven years1 and on the authority 
of ,mr4 ,crittenden affirm that the     
habeas corpus is not suspended2 but you 
avoid the constitutional and moral      
objections urged against your law4  ,by 

the ,constitution1 fugitive slaves are  
to be restored to those1 and those only1
 who are legally entitled to their      
services4 ,the means of ascertaining    
whether a man is a slave1 whether he has
 fled from his master1 and whether the  
claimant is legally entitled to him1 are
 not defined by the ,constitution4 ,it  
is now intrusted to the discretion of   
,congress to specify these means1 but of
 course that discretion ought to be     
exercised in accordance with the        
,constitution1 with justice1 and with   
humanity4 ,the complaint against you is1
 that you have voted for a law which    
outrages them all1 and against this     
complaint you have failed to offer the  
shadow of a vindication4  ,a ,virginian 
comes to ,boston1 and there seizes one  
of the inhabitants as his slave4 ,the   
man claimed declares the claim to be    
false and fraudulent4 ,here1 then1 is an
 issue both of law and of fact between  
two men equally entitled to the         
protection of law2 for the man claimed  

is on every presumption of law and      
justice to be regarded as free1 till the
 contrary is proved4 ,the issue between 
these two men is1 ,i have said1 one of  
fact and of law4 ,is the person seized  
the man he is said to be8 ,this is a    
question of fact4 ,admitting his        
identity1 is he a slave1 and1 if so1    
does he belong to the claimant8 ,these  
are both questions of law1 resting upon 
facts to be proved4 ,those familiar with
 the reports of ,southern courts know   
that the title to slaves is a frequent  
matter of litigation1 involving         
intricate questions respecting the      
validity of wills1 the construction of  
deeds1 the partition of estates1 and the
 claims of creditors4 ,by carrying a    
slave into a free ,state1 the owner     
forfeits his title to him while there1  
and cannot reclaim him2 and hence the   
acts of the claimant himself may be     
involved in the issue4 ,and now1 ,sir1  
,i ask1 have you ever known1 or can you 
conceive of1 any issue at law respecting

 the title to property so awfully       
momentous to a defendant as the one we  
are considering8 ,were your son or      
daughter the defendant in such an issue1
 would you not rejoice to purchase a    
favorable judgment by the contribution  
of the last cent of your great wealth8  
,let us1 then1 proceed to inquire what  
provision you1 in the fear of ,god and  
the love of justice and humanity1 have  
made for the trial of this tremendous   
issue1--an issue on the result of which 
all the hopes of a fellow-man for the   
life that is1 and for that which is to  
come1 are suspended4  ,in the first     
place1 ,what is the pecuniary value of  
the plaintiff's claim to himself8--for  
it would be an insult to humanity to    
estimate in dollars and cents the       
blessings of liberty and of the conjugal
 and parental relations to the unhappy  
defendant4 ,you have yourself fixed the 
value of the plaintiff's claim at one   
thousand dollars4 ,so far1 then1 the    
issue is1 by your own showing1 within   

the constitutional guarantee of trial by
 jury in all suits at common law where  
the matter in controversy is of the     
value of twenty dollars4 ,but is the    
claim made by the plaintiff a suit at   
common law8 ,what is a suit8 ,the       
,supreme ,court thus answers the        
question3--,we understand it a suit to  
be the prosecution or pursuit of some   
claim1 demand1 or request4 ,in law      
language1 it is the prosecution of some 
demand in a court of justice4 7#f       
,wheaton1 #djg47  ,it seems1 then1 that 
the ,virginian1 in claiming an          
inhabitant of ,boston as his slave1 in  
fact brings a suit against him for      
services due worth one thousand dollars4
 ,now remember1 ,sir1 the fugitive is   
not to be delivered up1 as a mass of    
flesh1 or inanimate matter1 belonging to
 the claimant1 but as a debtor1 in the  
phraseology of your own law1 owing      
service or labor4 ,the suit is brought  
for service or labor due1 and the       
,constitution provides that the person  

so owing service or labor shall be      
delivered to him to whom the same is    
due4 ,and now1 is this suit for service 
due a suit at common law8 ,again let the
 ,supreme ,court answer4 ,the phrase    
common law1 found in this clause the    
clause guaranteeing a jury trial1 is    
used in contradistinction to equity and 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction4 ,it
 is well known1 that1 in civil causes in
 courts of equity and admiralty1 juries 
do not intervene1 and that courts of    
equity use the trial by jury only in    
extraordinary cases1 to inform the      
conscience of the court4 ,when1         
therefore1 we find that the amendment   
requires that the right of trial by jury
 shall be preserved in suits at common  
law1 the natural conclusion is1 that    
this distinction was present to the     
minds of the framers of the amendment4  
,by common law1 they meant what the     
,constitution denominated1 in the third 
article1 'law'2 not merely suits which  
the common law recognized among its old 

and settled proceedings1 but suits in   
which legal rights were to be           
ascertained and determined1 in          
contradistinction to those where        
equitable rights alone were recognized1 
and equitable remedies were             
administered4444 ,in a just sense1 the  
amendment1 then1 may be construed to    
embrace all suits which are not of      
equity and admiralty jurisdiction1      
whatever may be the peculiar form which 
they may assume to settle legal rights4 
7#c ,peters1 #ddf47  ,if there be       
meaning in words1 these authorities     
settle the case1 and your law is in     
palpable violation of the amendment to  
the ,constitution securing a trial by   
jury in suits at common law where the   
matter in controversy exceeds twenty    
dollars in value4 ,think not1 ,sir1 that
 ,i am misrepresenting the ,supreme     
,court4 ,i know well that the dicta ,i  
have quoted have reference to white men1
 and that they have been virtually set  
aside in decisions respecting black men4

 ,i well know1 that1 in our model       
republic1 law and justice and morality  
are all cutaneous4 ,but admitting that  
the ,supreme ,court have stultified     
themselves1 and virtually denied1 that1 
where a suit was brought for the        
services of a black man1 the            
,constitution required a jury trial1    
recollect1 ,sir1 that not in one single 
instance has the court decided that the 
,constitution prohibited such a trial4  
,but if not prohibited1 then ,congress  
are permitted to accord such a trial1   
and both you and ,mr4 ,webster have     
declared that ,congress had a right to  
grant such a trial1 and ought to grant  
it4 ,in voting1 therefore1 for a law    
denying such a trial1 you made a        
voluntary surrender to the slaveholder  
of the security which such a trial would
 have afforded to multitudes of your    
poor1 ignorant1 oppressed fellow-men4   
,for this act of cruelty and injustice1 
committed against your own late         
conviction of duty1 what is your        

justification8 ,why1 that the blacks had
 been already deprived of the right of  
trial by jury fifty-seven years6  ,let  
us now see what tribunal you have       
substituted for a jury in the trial of  
one of the most momentous issues that   
can engage the attention of a court of  
justice4 ,you have provided for the     
appointment of an indefinite number of  
judges1 each of whom is to have         
exclusive jurisdiction of these issues1 
and from whose judgment there is to be  
no appeal4 ,the ,constitution declares1 
,the judges1 both of the ,supreme and   
inferior courts1 shall hold their       
offices during good behaviour1 and      
shall1 at stated times1 receive for     
their services a compensation1 which    
shall not be diminished during their    
continuance in office4 ,these judges are
 appointed by the ,senate1 on the       
nomination of the ,president4 ,your herd
 of judges1 called commissioners1 are   
appointed by the courts1 and hold office
 during pleasure1 and instead of        

receiving a salary1 are rewarded by a   
rule the infamy of which1 it is         
believed1 belongs to your law           
exclusively1--a rule which doubles their
 compensation whenever they decide in   
favor of the rich plaintiff1 and against
 the poor and friendless defendant4 ,but
 perhaps you will deny that these men   
are judges2 for1 if judges1 their       
appointment is palpably                 
unconstitutional4 ,let us hear the      
,supreme ,court1 at a time when it was  
deemed expedient to maintain that the   
persons who executed the law of #agic   
were judges4 ,it is plain1 that1 where a
 claim is made by the owner out of      
possession for the delivery of a slave1 
it must be made1 if made at all1 against
 some other person2 and inasmuch as the 
right is a right of property1 capable of
 being recognized and asserted by       
proceedings before a court of justice   
between parties adverse to each other1  
it constitutes1 in the strictest sense1 
a controversy between parties1 and a    

case arising under the ,constitution of 
the ,united ,states1 within the express 
delegation of judicial power given by   
that instrument4 7#af ,peters1 #faf47   
,hence your commissioners are1 in the   
strictest sense1 judges1 exercising     
judicial power delegated by the         
,constitution4  ,you pronounce ,mr4     
,crittenden legal authority of the      
highest kind4 ,this legal authority     
understands the sixth section of your   
law as providing that each commissioner 
shall have judicial power and           
jurisdiction to hear1 examine1 and      
decide the case in a summary manner4    
,now1 if a man1 having judicial power   
and jurisdiction to decide controversies
 between parties adverse to each other1 
in controversies arising under the      
,constitution and within the express    
delegation of judicial power given by   
that instrument1 is not a judge1 do tell
 us who is one4 ,once more1 ,sir1 ,mr4  
,crittenden says1 ,the legal authority  
of every tribunal of exclusive          

jurisdiction1 where no appeal lies1 is  
of necessity conclusive upon every      
tribunal2 and therefore the judgment of 
the tribunal created by this act is     
conclusive upon all other tribunals4 ,so
 your commissioner is not only a judge1 
but he constitutes a tribunal of        
exclusive jurisdiction1 and his judgment
 is binding even upon the ,supreme      
,court of the ,united ,states4 ,and yet1
 ,sir1 you must deny that this          
omnipotent commissioner is a judge1 or  
you must admit1 that1 in the mode of his
 appointment1 you have flagrantly       
violated the ,constitution of your      
country4  ,it has been most wickedly    
asserted by our proslavery presses and  
our proslavery politicians1 that the    
surrender of fugitives from labor and   
fugitives from justice are similar      
proceedings4 ,the surrender of a        
fugitive slave involves two questions1  
that of identity and that of property2  
and the law makes the decision of the   
commissioner on both points final and   

conclusive upon every ,state and        
,federal court in the land4 ,the        
surrender of a fugitive criminal        
involves only the question of personal  
identity4 ,the ,governor of the ,state  
issues his warrant for the apprehension 
and delivery of a certain person proved 
to him to be charged with felony4 ,if   
the officer arrests the wrong person1 he
 does it at his peril1 and a writ of    
habeas corpus would immediately release 
the person wrongfully arrested4 ,again1 
it is most fraudulently maintained1     
that1 if the wrong person is by the     
commissioner adjudged a slave1 he may   
sue for his freedom in a ,southern      
court6 ,should he do so1 the exhibition 
of the commissioner's certificate is by 
law declared to be conclusive upon all  
tribunals4 ,but even supposing that a   
,southern court1 in defiance of law1    
should go behind the certificate1 how is
 a free colored person from the ,north1 
working under the lash on a ,mississippi
 plantation1 to prove his freedom8 ,how 

is he to fee a lawyer8 ,how is he to get
 into court8 ,if once there1 where are  
his witnesses8 ,they are his friends and
 acquaintances of his own color residing
 in the ,north4 ,how are they to be     
summoned to ,mississippi8 ,should they  
venture to enter the ,state1 they would 
be imprisoned1 and perhaps sold into    
slavery2 or even if permitted to enter  
the court-room1 their testimony would by
 law be excluded1 against the claims of 
a white man4 ,how despicably profligate1
 then1 is the assumption of the         
advocates of your law1 that any         
injustice committed under it would be   
repaired by ,southern courts6  ,it was  
not enough1 it seems1 that the wretched 
defendant in this momentous issue should
 be subjected to the jurisdiction of a  
judge unknown to the ,constitution1     
holding his office by a prohibited      
tenure1 incapable of being impeached1   
and bribed to decide in favor of the    
plaintiff by the promise of double fees1
 but the very trial allowed him must be 

a burlesque on all the forms and        
principles of juridical justice4 ,the   
plaintiff1 without notice to the        
defendant1 prepares himself for trial1  
and when his affidavits or witnesses are
 all ready1 he seizes the unsuspecting  
victim in the street1 and puts him      
instanter on his defence4 ,had the      
wretched man been accused of some       
atrocious crime1 he might have demanded 
bail1 and would have been permitted to  
go at large to seek for counsel1 to look
 for witnesses1 and to prepare for trial
 at some future day1 of which he would  
have due notice4 ,but no such privilege 
is allowed a man who is accused of owing
 service4 ,one of your commissioners has
 already decided that the law does not  
permit him to bail the prisoner4 ,the   
slave power rides in triumph over all   
the barriers erected by the wisdom of   
ages for the protection of human rights4
 ,the defendant is brought1 generally in
 irons1 before your commissioner judge1 
who is required to hear and determine   

the case of the claimant in a summary   
manner4 ,the law seems not even to      
imagine the possibility of any defence  
being made on the part of the defendant4
 ,it makes no provision for such a      
defence1--no assignment of counsel1 no  
summons for witnesses4 ,we shall see    
presently1 that if the plaintiff makes  
out a prim facie title1 satisfactory to 
the commission1 it is all the law       
requires4 ,let me now call your         
attention to the practical working of   
your diabolical law4 ,a man named ,rose 
was lately seized at ,detroit1 and      
brought before a commissioner as a      
fugitive slave4 ,i copy from the        
newspaper report4 ,mr4 ,joy 7counsel for
 defendant7 moved a postponement of the 
trial to a future day1 to enable ,rose  
to produce his papers to establish his  
right to freedom1 which papers he had   
sworn were in ,cincinnati4 ,the counsel 
for the claimant denied that the        
commissioner had any authority under the
 law to grant a postponement4 ,the      

commissioner agreed with the counsel for
 the plaintiff1 that he had no authority
 to postpone the trial2 and he further  
declared1 that1 even were the papers by 
which ,rose was manumitted present1 he  
could not under the law receive them in 
evidence4  ,utterly devilish as was this
 decision1 it was sound law4 ,the       
plaintiff had proved his title          
satisfactorily1 and this being done1 the
 commissioner was bound by the express  
words of the law to grant the           
certificate4 ,he had no right to admit  
rebutting evidence4 ,it was sufficient  
to prove that the prisoner had been the 
slave of the claimant's father1 and that
 the claimant was the heir at law of his
 father4 ,this of itself was            
satisfactory1 and therefore the         
commissioner had no right to admit in   
evidence the very deed of manumission   
granted by the father to the slave4 ,the
 framers of the law had been as explicit
 as they dared to be4 ,upon satisfactory
 proof being made by deposition or      

affidavit1 to be taken and certified1   
c41 or by other satisfactory testimony  
of course1 in writing1 and ex parte1 and
 with proof1 also by affidavit1 of the  
identity of the person1 c41 the         
defendant is to be surrendered4 ,not a  
hint is given that any testimony may be 
received to rebut the satisfactory proof
 given by the plaintiff4 ,you have1     
moreover1 ,sir1 provided a species of   
evidence never before heard of in the   
trial of an issue4 ,by the tenth        
section1 the claimant may go before a   
judge or court in ,texas1 and there make
 proof by affidavit that his slave has  
escaped4 ,whereupon1 the court or judge 
is to certify that the proof is         
satisfactory4 ,a record of this         
satisfactory proof1 together with a     
description of the fugitive1 is to be   
made1 and a certified transcript of this
 record1 being exhibited to any judge1  
commissioner1 or other officer          
authorized1 c41 shall be held and taken 
to be full and conclusive evidence of   

the fact of escape1 and that the service
 or labor of the person escaping is due 
to the party in such record mentioned4  
,here all defence is taken from the     
defendant4 ,should he summon a host of  
witnesses to prove his freedom1 not one 
could be heard2 should he offer a bill  
of sale from the claimant to another1 it
 could not be received2 should he       
produce a deed of manumission1          
acknowledged and certified in a         
,southern court1 it would be waste      
paper4 ,and thus a man's freedom is to  
be sacrificed on an affidavit made a    
thousand miles off4 ,what1 ,sir1 would  
you think of a law that would authorize 
the seizure and sale of your property to
 satisfy a debt which any man in        
,california might think proper to swear1
 before a ,californian judge1 was due   
from you to him8  ,such1 ,sir1 is the   
trial which you1 the representative of  
,boston1 a descendant of the ,pilgrims1 
and a gentleman of property and         
standing1 have accorded to the poor and 

oppressed4 ,did the ,constitution       
require such a prostitution of justice1 
such an outrage of humanity1 at your    
hands8 ,i need not be told that some of 
your commissioners have not construed   
your law as strictly as did the ,detroit
 functionary4 ,thanks to the force of   
public opinion1 and to the zeal of some 
benevolent lawyers1 whose hearts were   
not padded with cotton1 in some         
instances defendants have been permitted
 to call witnesses in their behalf2 and 
some regard has been paid to the        
ordinary principles of justice4 ,but in 
all such instances1 the spirit of the   
law and the intentions of its framers   
have been frustrated4  ,and now let us  
listen to your reason for justifying all
 the atrocities and abominations of your
 law4 ,you gravely tell us1 ,the entire 
population of the ,north has acquiesced 
in the law of #agic1 without thinking   
itself exposed to the charge of         
barbarity1 and ,i have only to say1 that
 ,i do not think the charge any more    

just now4 ,certainly1 ,sir1 the young   
colonial judge could not have given a   
reason less logical or satisfactory4    
,you must be an inattentive observer of 
passing events1 if you are ignorant that
 the law of #agic has again and again   
been denounced as iniquitous1 that some 
of the ,states have prohibited their    
officers from assisting in its          
execution1 that numberless petitions    
have been presented to ,congress for its
 repeal1 and that you yourself1 instead 
of acquiescing in it1 solemnly declared 
it to be the duty of ,congress so far to
 alter the law1 as to grant the alleged 
fugitive a trial by jury4 ,yet the law  
of #agic1 wicked as it was1 was justice 
and mercy compared with yours4 ,the     
trials under that were almost invariably
 before judges of the ,state courts1 not
 appointed like your commissioners for  
the vile and only purpose of reducing   
their fellow-men to bondage4 ,there     
judges were not confined to ex parte    
evidence1 were not compelled to receive 

as full and conclusive affidavits made  
in distant ,states1 and by unknown      
persons4 ,for the most part1 they       
honestly endeavoured1 by a patient      
investigation according to the ordinary 
rules of evidence1 and by holding the   
plaintiff to strict legal proof1 to     
supply the want of a jury4  ,david ,paul
 ,brown1 ,esq41 of ,philadelphia1 in a  
letter of last ,november1 affirms that  
for the last thirty years he has been   
engaged as counsel in almost every      
important fugitive case brought before  
the judges and courts of ,philadelphia1 
and he tells us1 thanks to those upright
 and impartial and independent judges by
 whom the rights of the parties were    
finally determined1 he knows of no      
instance in which a colored person was1 
in his opinion1 wrongfully surrendered4 
,but he adds1 ,i have known ,,hundreds  
who have been illegally and unjustly    
claimed4 ,this experienced lawyer1      
commenting on your law1 justly says it  
allows ex parte testimony to be received

 against the alleged fugitive1 which1   
upon no principle known to the common   
law1 could be received upon the claim to
 a horse or a dog4 ,about four weeks    
after the date of this letter1 ,mr4     
,brown was called to defend an alleged  
fugitive illegally and unjustly claimed1
 not before one of the upright and      
impartial and independent ,pennsylvania 
judges1 but before one of your          
ten-dollar slave-catching judges4 ,i beg
 you to mark the result4  ,on the #bast 
of ,december1 a colored man was arrested
 in the street in ,philadelphia1 without
 warrant1 and accused of stealing       
chickens4 ,he was thrust into a         
carriage1 driven to the ,state-,house1  
carried into an upper room1 and         
handcuffed4 ,in this state he was       
detained till a commissioner arrived4   
,the name of this executor of your law  
is worthy of remembrance4 ,,edward ,d4  
,,ingraham ought to be as much endeared 
to slave-catchers1 as ,judge ,jeffries  
was to ,james the ,second4  ,by some    

means1 the arrest became known1 and     
counsel appeared for the prisoner4 ,your
 commissioner was informed that the     
prisoner had only been seized an hour   
and a half before1 and had not heard the
 charge against him2 that his counsel   
had had no time to learn the plaintiff's
 case1 nor to prepare for the defence2  
that there were persons residing at a   
distance1 some in ,new ,jersey and some 
in ,wilmington1 who would be important  
witnesses in his behalf4 ,on these      
grounds1 a motion was made for a        
continuance4 ,and what1 ,sir1 do you    
suppose was the reply made by the       
slave-catching judge to this motion8    
,,the ,,hearing ,,is ,,to ,,be ,a       
,,summary ,,one3 ,,let ,,it ,,proceed4  
,no doubt you fully participate in ,mr4 
,webster's indignation against ,austrian
 barbarity2 but see no barbarity in this
 accursed proceeding against a colored  
,american4 ,the hearing did proceed1 and
 ,james ,s4 ,price1 on behalf of the    
plaintiff1 swore that the prisoner was  

,emery ,rice1 the man claimed1 but knew 
nothing further about his being a slave1
 except that he had seen him riding the 
claimant's horse4 ,had heard it said the
 prisoner was a slave4 ,this was the    
amount of the testimony on behalf of the
 claimant4 ,any honest jury1 nay1 any   
honest judge1 would instantly have      
decided in favor of the prisoner4 ,not  
so ,,mr4 ,,edward ,d4 ,,ingraham4 ,the  
counsel for the defendant asked again   
for a postponement1 and founded the     
motion on the oath of the defendant1    
that he could procure six persons1      
naming them1 to testify to his freedom4 
,a delay of ,,one ,,hour was asked for4 
,this was refused1 and the judge767 sent
 for a certificate to sign4 ,during the 
delay thus occasioned1 one of the six   
persons named by the defendant appeared1
 and swore that he had known the        
prisoner all his life4 ,that he was not 
,emery ,rice1 but ,adam ,gibson2 that he
 was a freeman1 having been manumitted  
by the will of his late master4 ,mr4    

,brown produced a copy of the will of   
the late master1 and it so far confirmed
 the testimony of the witness4 ,another 
person in the crowd now came forward1   
and swore that he also knew the         
prisoner1 and that he was a free person1
 and that he was ,adam ,gibson4 ,but all
 was in vain4 ,the commissioner signed  
the certificate1 and1 with an obtuseness
 of intellect which marked him as a fit 
subject for a commission of lunacy1     
declared1 ,he had no doubt of the       
identity of the prisoner with the slave 
,emery ,rice1 and that all other        
proceedings must be before the courts of
 ,maryland1 whither he would send him4#a
 ,and so the prisoner1 without seeing   
his wife and children1 whom he had that 
morning parted from unsuspicious of     
danger and unconscious of crime1 was    
hurried off at the expense of our       
glorious model republic1 under an escort
 of officers1 who delivered him1 not to 
the courts of ,maryland1 but to ,mr4    
,william ,s4 ,knight1 the reputed owner4

 ,but ,mr4 ,knight told the officers1   
,you have brought me a wrong man2 this  
is not ,emery ,rice2 this man is no     
slave of mine4 ,and so ,adam ,gibson    
returned to ,philadelphia1 and is now a 
living illustration of the abominable   
iniquity of one of the most accursed    
laws to be found in the statute-book of 
any civilized nation4  #a ,see report in
 the ,new ,york ,tribune1 #beth         
,december1 #ahej4  ,you do not think    
your law more barbarous than that of    
#agic4 ,let me further enlighten you4   
,judge ,mc,lean of the ,supreme ,court1 
in his opinion delivered last ,may in   
the case of ,norris v4 ,newton et al41  
remarks1--,in regard to the arrest of   
fugitives from labor1 the law act of    
#agic does not impose any active duties 
on our citizens generally2 and he argues
 in defence of the law1 that it gives no
 one a just right to complain2 he has   
only to refrain from an express         
violation of the law4 ,in other words1  
the law only required individuals to be 

passive spectators of a horrible        
outrage1 and did not compel them to be  
active participators in other men's     
villany4 ,now1 what says your law8 ,why1
 that every commissioner may appoint as 
many official slave-catchers as he      
pleases1 and that each of these menials 
may summon and call to their aid the    
by-standers or posse comitatus of the   
proper county1 when necessary to insure 
a faithful observance of the clause of  
the ,constitution referred to in        
conformity with the provisions of this  
act1 ,,and ,,all ,,good ,,citizens ,,are
 ,,hereby ,,commanded ,,to ,,aid ,,and  
,,assist in the prompt and efficient    
execution of this law1 whenever their   
services may be required4 ,and what is  
the fate you have provided for the good 
citizen1 who1 believing slavery to be   
sinful1 cannot1 in the fear of ,god1 aid
 and assist in making a fellow-man a    
slave8 ,any person who shall aid1 abet1 
or assist the fugitive directly or      
indirectly 7cunning words7 to escape    

from such claimant1 as1 for instance1   
refusing to join in a slave-hunt when   
required1 shall be fined not exceeding  
#a1jjj1 be imprisoned six months1 and   
pay the claimant #a1jjj4 ,i hope1 ,sir1 
you are now able to perceive that your  
law has a preminence in barbarity over  
its predecessor4 ,and now1 ,sir1 please 
to recollect1 that party discipline1    
aided by the influence of ,messrs4      
,webster and ,clay1 and the factory and 
cotton interest of ,boston and ,new     
,york1 could not procure for this       
atrocious law the votes of one half the 
members of the ,house of                
,representatives4 ,of two hundred and   
thirty-two members1 only one hundred and
 nine dared to place their names on an  
enduring and shameful record1 while many
 basely deserted their seats1 fearing   
alike to vote either for or against it4 
,you1 ,sir1 following ,mr4 ,webster's   
advice1 conquered your prejudices1 and  
in company with two more ,northern      
,whigs1 one of them a native of         

,virginia1 cast your vote for this bill 
of abominations4 ,but1 although you     
voted for the law1 you do not wish your 
constituents to suppose you approved of 
it4 ,it will not1 ,i trust1 be inferred 
from any thing ,i have said1 that ,i    
consider the law which has passed       
unexceptionable4 ,there are amendments  
which ,i strongly desire to be          
introduced into it4 ,what are the       
exceptionable features of the law1 what 
are the amendments you desire1 you      
refrain from specifying4 ,but you tell  
us that you would have labored for these
 amendments had it been possible1 but   
every body knows that it was            
impracticable4 ,you allude to the       
previous question1 which prevented both 
discussion and amendments4 ,but why1    
then1 did you vote for an objectionable 
bill which could not be amended8 ,here1 
again1 we have one of your unfortunate  
reasons4 ,i deem conformity to the      
design of the ,constitution more        
important than the objectionable details

 of the bill4 ,so1 by your own          
confession1 had there been no previous  
question1 you would have swallowed the  
bill with all its objectionable details1
 out of reverence for the design of the 
,constitution1 although that design     
neither embraced nor required a single  
one of those details4 ,did you1 ,sir1   
vote against the previous question8 ,on 
this point you are silent1 and the      
minutes afford no information2 but if   
you did1 your vote was a most remarkable
 aberration from your proslavery course 
in ,congress4 ,after the previous       
question had been seconded1 it was moved
 to lay the bill on the table4 ,had this
 motion been carried1 you might have    
introduced another bill1 omitting the   
objectionable details1 but you voted    
with the slaveholders4 ,the slaveholders
 then moved that the bill be read a     
third time4 ,had this been lost1 there  
would have been a chance of correcting  
the objectionable details4 ,again you   
voted with the slaveholders1 and a third

 time1 also1 on the main question4  ,i  
will now1 ,sir1 call your attention to  
the disastrous influence which your law 
has exerted on the moral sense of the   
community4 ,says ,coleridge1 ,to        
dogmatize a crime1 that is1 to teach it 
as a doctrine1 is itself a crime4 ,of   
this crime of dogmatizing crime1 ,mr4   
,webster1 and most of our cotton        
politicians1 and1 alas6 many of our     
fashionable1 genteel divines1 are       
guilty2 nor are you innocent1 ,sir1 who 
in your law require ,,good citizens to  
aid in hunting and enslaving their      
fellow-men4  ,in former years1 and      
before ,mr4 ,webster had undergone his  
metamorphosis1 he thus1 in a speech at  
,new ,york1 expressed himself in regard 
to the antislavery agitation at the     
,north4 ,it slavery has arrested the    
religious feeling of the country2 it has
 taken strong hold of the consciences of
 men4 ,he is a rash man indeed1 little  
conversant with human nature1 and       
especially has he a very erroneous      

estimate of the character of the people 
of this country1 who supposes that a    
feeling of this kind is to be trifled   
with or despised4 ,this gentleman has   
become the rash man shadowed forth in   
his speech1 and is trifling with and    
despising the religious feeling of the  
,north4 ,in his street speech in        
,boston1 in favor of slave-hunting1 he  
avowed that he was well aware that the  
return of fugitives is a topic that must
 excite prejudices1 and that the        
question for ,massachusetts to decide   
was1 whether she will conquer her own   
prejudice4 ,in his letter to the        
citizens of ,newburyport1 he sneeringly 
alludes to the cry that there is a rule 
for the government of public men and    
private men which is superior to the    
,constitution1 and he scornfully        
intimates that ,mr4 ,horace ,mann1 who  
had objected to your law as wicked1     
would do well to appeal at once1 as     
others do1 to that high authority which 
sits enthroned above the ,constitution  

and the laws2 and he gives an extract   
from a nameless ,english correspondent1 
in which the writer remarks1 ,religion  
is an excellent thing except in         
politics1 a maxim exceedingly palatable 
to very many of our politicians4 ,aware 
that the impiety of this sentiment was  
not exactly suited to the meridian of   
,massachusetts1 he says his friend      
undoubtedly meant a fantastical notion  
of religion4 ,of course1 he regards the 
religious prejudice against hunting and 
enslaving men as springing from a       
fantastic notion of religion4 ,yet1 with
 a strange fatuity1 he confesses that   
the teaching of ,christ and his         
,apostles is a sure guide to duty in    
politics1 as in any other concern of    
life1 utterly oblivious of the fact1    
that the higher law1 which he ridicules1
 was proclaimed in that very teaching4  
,christ taught1 ,fear not them          
magistrates who kill the body1 but are  
not able to kill the soul1 but rather   
fear ,,him who is able to destroy both  

soul and body in hell4 ,what taught the 
,apostles8 ,we must obey ,god1 rather   
than man4 ,such teaching it was1 that   
gave birth to the noble army of martyrs1
 and this very teaching will induce     
multitudes of ,christians at the present
 day to hazard fines and imprisonment   
rather than obey the wicked injunctions 
of your law4 ,it was this same teaching 
which1 on the publication of your law1  
induced numerous ministers of ,jesus    
,christ1 and various ecclesiastical     
assemblies1 to denounce it as wicked1   
and obedience to it as rebellion against
 ,god4 ,this expression of religious    
sentiment alarmed both our politicians  
and our merchants4 ,how could the one   
expect ,southern votes1 or the other    
,southern trade1 if the religious people
 at the ,north refused to catch slaves8 
,hence arose a mighty outcry against the
 blending of religion with politics1 and
 most fearful were the anathemas against
 the parsons who desecrated the pulpit  
by preaching politics1 that is1         

preaching that people ought to obey ,god
 rather than the ,fugitive ,slave ,act4 
,such men were1 in the language of one  
of the ,new ,york commercial journals1  
clerical preachers of rebellion1 and    
their congregations were exhorted to    
leave them to naked walls4 ,but the     
leaven was at work1 and an antidote was 
greatly wanted4 ,supply of course       
follows demand1 and forthwith there was 
a sudden advent of cotton clergyman1    
preaching against rebellion1 and        
cunningly confounding a conscientious1  
passive disobedience with forcible      
resistance4 ,their sermons1 in which    
virtually      ,the image of ,god was   
accounted as base1     ,and the image of
 ,csar set up in its place1  were       
received with mighty applause by the    
very men who had been striving to save  
the pulpit from all contaminating       
contact with politics1 and the reverend 
preachers of cotton politics were       
elevated into patriots1 and their       
disquisitions against the higher law    

were scattered on the wings of the      
commercial press broadcast over the     
land4#b ,the theology which holds that  
the allegiance we owe to civil          
government binds the conscience to      
obedience to its mandates1 is the same  
with which ,shakspeare's assassin       
quieted his scruples when acting under  
the royal command1--,if a king bid a man
 be a villain1 he is bound by the       
indenture of his oath to be one4  #b ,in
 one of the most celebrated of these    
sermons1 we find the following broad    
assertion3--,if ,god has left to men the
 choice of the kind of government they  
will have1 he has not left it to their  
choice whether they will obey human     
government or not4 ,he has commanded    
that obedience4 ,our rulers command us1 
when required by a commissioner's agent1
 to aid in hunting and seizing our      
innocent fellow-men1 and delivering them
 into the hands of their task-masters4  
,that the reverend preacher would render
 a cheerful obedience to such a mandate1

 there is little doubt4 ,we read that   
the ,jewish rulers1 ,the chief priests  
and ,pharisees1 had given a commandment1
 that1 if any one knew where he 7,jesus7
 was1 he should show it1 that they might
 take him4 ,strange is it1 that of the  
college of ,apostles there was but one  
good citizen1 who rendered obedience to 
the powers ordained by ,god2 all the    
others suffered death for their wilful1 
deliberate defiance of the laws and the 
magistrates of the land4 ,as a specimen 
of the teaching of these cotton divines1
 ,i quote from this same admired sermon 
the following precious piece of         
information1 viz43--,nor is it true that
 the fugitive slave is made an outlaw1  
and on that ground justifiable for      
bloody and murderous resistance of law4 
,he is under the protection of law2 and 
if any man injures him1 or kills him1   
the law will avenge him1 just as soon as
 it would you or me4 ,to deny the truth 
of this solemn declaration1 made in the 
house of ,god1 would be1 in the reverend

 gentleman's estimation1 but a portion  
of that perpetual abuse of our ,southern
 brethren of which he complains4 ,he    
must1 however1 permit us to call his    
attention to the following              
advertisements respecting a ,,fugitive  
,,slave1 published in the ,wilmington   
,journal of the #ahth of ,october last1 
in pursuance of a law of the ,state of  
,north ,carolina4  ,state of ,north     
,carolina1 ,new ,hanover                
,county4--,whereas complaint upon oath  
hath this day been made to us1 two of   
the justice of the peace for the ,state 
and ,county aforesaid1 by ,guilford     
,horn1 of ,edgecombe ,county1 that a    
certain male slave belonging to him1    
named ,,harry1--a carpenter by trade1   
about #dj years old1 #e feet #e inches  
high1 or thereabouts1 yellow complexion1
 stout built1 with a scar on his left   
leg 7from the cut of an axe71 has very  
thick lips1 eyes deep sunk in his head1 
forehead very square1 tolerably loud    
voice1 has lost one or two of his upper 

teeth1 and has a very dark spot on his  
jaw1 supposed to be a mark1--hath       
absented himself from his master's      
service1 and is supposed to be lurking  
about in this ,county1 committing acts  
of felony or other misdeeds3 ,these are1
 therefore1 in the name of the ,state   
aforesaid1 to command said slave        
forthwith to surrender himself1 and     
return home to his master2 and we do    
hereby1 by virtue of the act of         
,assembly in such case made and         
provided1 intimate and declare that if  
the said slave ,harry doth not surrender
 himself1 and return home immediately   
after the publication of these presents1
 that any person or persons may ,,kill  
and ,,destroy the said slave by such    
means as he may think fit1 without      
accusation or impeachment of any crime  
or offence for so doing1 and without    
incurring any penalty or forfeiture     
thereby4  ,given under our hands and    
seals1 this #bith day of ,june1 #ahej4  
,,james ,t4 ,,miller1 ,j4 ,p4  ,w4 ,c4  

,,benttencourt1 ,j4 ,p4  ,,one ,,hundred
 ,,and ,,twenty-,,five ,,dollars        
,,reward will be paid for the delivery  
of said ,,harry to me at ,tonsott       
,depot1 ,edgecombe ,county1 or for his  
confinement in any jail in the ,state1  
so that ,i can get him2 or one hundred  
and fifty dollars will be given for his 
,,head4 ,he was lately heard from in    
,newbern1 where he called himself ,henry
 ,barnes 7or ,burns7 and will be likely 
to continue the name or assume that of  
,coppage or ,farmer4 ,he has a free     
mulatto woman for a wife1 by the name of
 ,sally ,bozeman1 who has lately removed
 to ,wilmington1 and lives in that part 
of the town called ,texas1 where he will
 likely be lurking4  ,,guilford ,,horn4 
,june #bi1 #ahej4  ,it is amusing to    
observe with what awful reverence our   
merchants and brokers regard the        
sanctity of human law1 when it commands 
them to catch slaves2 a reverence not   
always felt by them for the statute of  
usury when the money market is tight4   

,a vast deal of nonsense and impiety has
 been recently thrown upon the public in
 relation to the higher law1 by men who 
had political and pecuniary interests   
depending on the good-will of the       
slaveholders4 ,the whole subject is     
perfectly simple and intelligible1 and  
has been intentionally misrepresented   
and mystified4  ,human government is    
indispensable to the happiness and      
progress of human society4 ,hence ,god1 
in his wisdom and benevolence1 wills its
 existence2 and in this sense1 and this 
alone1 the powers that be are ordained  
by him4 ,but civil government cannot    
exist1 if each individual may1 at his   
pleasure1 forcibly resist its           
injunctions4 ,therefore ,christians are 
required to submit to the powers that   
be1 whether a ,nero or a slave-catching 
,congress4 ,but obedience to the civil  
ruler often necessarily involves        
rebellion to ,god4 ,hence we are warned 
by ,christ and his ,apostles1 and by the
 example of saints in all ages1 in such 

cases1 not to obey1 but to submit and   
suffer4 ,we are to hold fast our        
allegiance to ,jehovah1 but at the same 
time not take up arms to defend         
ourselves against the penalties imposed 
by the magistrate for our disobedience4 
,thus the ,divine sovereignty and the   
authority of human government are both  
maintained4 ,revolution is not the      
abolition of human government1 but a    
change in its form1 and its lawfulness  
depends on circumstances4 ,what was the 
den in which ,john ,bunyan had his      
glorious vision of the ,pilgrim's       
,progress8 ,a prison to which he was    
confined for years for refusing         
obedience to human laws4 ,and what      
excuse did this holy man make for       
conduct now denounced as wicked and     
rebellious8 ,i cannot obey1 but ,i can  
suffer4 ,the ,quakers have from the     
first refused to obey the law requiring 
them to bear arms2 yet have they never  
been vilified by our politicians and    
cotton clergymen1 as rebels against the 

powers that be1 nor sneered at for their
 acknowledgment of a higher than human  
law4 ,the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 after   
requiring us to love ,god and our       
neighbour1 added1 ,there is none other  
commandment greater than these2 no1 not 
even a slave-catching act of ,congress1 
which requires us to hunt our neighbour1
 that he may be reduced to the condition
 of a beast of burden4 ,rarely has the  
religious faith of the community        
received so rude a shock as that which  
has been given it by your horrible law1 
and the principles advanced by its      
political and clerical supporters4      
,cruelty1 oppression1 and injustice are 
elevated into virtues1 while justice1   
mercy1 and compassion are ridiculed and 
vilified4  ,but lately1 the business of 
catching slaves was regarded as one of  
the lowest grades of scoundrelism4 ,now1
 great pains are taken by our gentlemen 
of property and standing to ennoble it2 
and men of eminence in the legal        
profession are stooping to take the     

wages of iniquity1 and lending          
themselves to consign to the horrors of 
,american slavery men whom they know to 
be innocent of crime4 ,nay1 we have seen
 in ,new ,york a committee of gentlemen 
actually raising money by voluntary     
contribution to furnish a slave-catcher 
with professional services gratis2--a   
free gift1 not to mitigate human misery1
 but to aggravate the hardships of the  
poor and friendless a thousandfold4 ,can
 men of standing in the community thus  
openly espouse the cause of cruelty and 
oppression1 and1 from commercial and    
political views1 trample upon every     
principle of ,christian benevolence1    
without corrupting the moral sense of   
the people to the extent of their       
influence8 ,when gentlemen club together
 to hire a lawyer to assist a           
slave-catcher1 no wonder that the       
commercial press should teem with the   
vilest abuse of all who feel sympathy   
for the fugitive4 ,one of the most      
malignant proslavery journals in ,new   

,york is edited by your colleague and   
fellow-,whig1 the ,honorable ,mr4       
,brooks1 and his brother4 ,i copy1 ,sir1
 for your consideration1 the following  
article from the ,new ,york ,evening    
,express1 published during the late     
trial in that city of ,henry ,long1 an  
alleged fugitive3--  ,two fugitive cases
 are now before our courts2 one that of 
the negro ,henry ,long1 and the other   
that of three white ,frenchmen1 under   
the extradition treaty with ,france4    
,the negro's case makes a great deal of 
noise1 because he is black2 the three   
white ,frenchmen are hardly heard of4   
,the three white ,french people pay     
their own counsel3 they may have        
committed a robbery in ,paris1 or may   
not2 are perhaps innocent1 though       
possibly guilty2 but here they are on   
trial1 with no chance of a trial before 
a jury6 ,if they are sent back1 and are 
convicted1 they go to the galleys1 and  
are slaves for life4 ,the negro1 ,henry 
,long1 lucky fellow for being black6    

lives in clover here1 and has one of the
 best speakers in the city1 on the best 
fee1 interests all the ,abolitionists in
 all quarters1 who contribute money     
freely for his defence1 and if he is    
returned1 leaves here canonized as a    
martyr1 and goes back to the condition  
he was born in1 to fatten on hog and    
hominy1 better fed and better clothed   
than nine tenths of the farm laborers in
 ,great ,britain4 ,another consideration
 strikes us1 and that is1 the cost of   
defending ,long will buy his freedom    
three times over4 ,the very fee of his  
counsel would purchase his freedom4 ,but
 to buy him and pay for him1 not steal  
him1 would leave no room for agitation4 
,and where does this money come from1   
that cares for ,long and neglects the   
three ,frenchmen8 ,from ,england1 in the
 main1 we believe4 ,the ,abolitionists  
here do not contribute it4  ,it would be
 difficult to find in the ,satanic press
 a more clumsy piece of malignant       
falsehood4 ,we have here1 from the same 

pen1 and in the same article1 the       
assertions1 that the ,abolitionists1 in 
all quarters1 we are assured1 contribute
 money freely for his defence2 and then 
the money1 it is believed1 comes mainly 
from ,england4 ,the ,abolitionists here 
do not contribute it4 ,to contribute    
money for the legal defence of a        
fugitive is stealing him4 ,the cost of  
defending ,long amounted to three times 
the price that would be asked for him4  
,long1 after his return1 sold in        
,richmond for #gej2 of course his       
defence cost #b1bej4 ,to whom1 and for  
what1 was this money paid8 ,long could  
not be bought in ,new ,york1 all        
advances for the purpose being          
peremptorily repulsed4 ,his counsel's   
fee was #cjj1 being all contributed in  
,new ,york1 and about #ajj of it being  
raised by the free colored people4      
,while #cjj were thus raised to give    
,long the chance of a legal defence1    
gentlemen of the ,new ,york ,union      
,safety ,committee1 of which your       

colleague has the honor of being a      
member1 contributed #ejj to aid the     
slave-catcher in reducing to bondage a  
man unaccused of crime6  ,i am inclined 
to believe1 ,sir1 that you have little  
cause to congratulate yourself1 that1 in
 voting for the ,fugitive ,slave ,law1  
you have advanced the cause of truth1   
justice1 humanity1 or religion4  ,a     
refusal to obey your wicked law has been
 artfully represented as a determination
 to resist its execution4 ,very few of  
our white population have intimated the 
most distant intention of resorting to  
illegal violence4 ,very many            
ecclesiastical bodies have denounced    
your law as so iniquitous1 that they    
could not in conscience obey it2 but ,i 
challenge you to point to a single      
instance in which such a body has       
recommended forcible resistance4 ,to the
 vast accumulation of impiety uttered in
 support of your law has been added a   
fiendish ridicule of the benevolent and 
,christian feeling arrayed against it4  

,it is true1 that some of our free      
blacks and fugitives have declared1 that
 they would1 at the hazard of their     
lives1 defend themselves against the    
kidnapper4 ,whatever may be thought of  
the wisdom of such a determination1 be  
assured it will tax your logical powers 
to the utmost to prove that ,god has    
conferred the right of self-defence     
exclusively upon white men4 ,the slave  
is a prisoner of war1 and instead of    
being protected by law1 he is subjected 
by it to every conceivable outrage4     
,when murdered1 his owner seeks in the  
courts damages at the hands of the      
murderer1 as he would for the death of  
his horse4 ,for no possible injury      
committed on his person1 either by his  
owner or others1 can he receive         
compensation1 although the law may      
profess to punish cruelty to him as to  
other animals4 ,now it has never been   
regarded as immoral1 by those who admit 
the right of self-defence1 for a        
prisoner of war to effect his escape by 

slaying his guard4 ,all this1 ,i know1  
will horrify a certain class of our     
divines and politicians4 ,but let them  
be patient4 ,i am not laying down a     
doctrine1 but stating facts1 which they 
may disprove if they can4 ,let them     
remember1 that all the slavery which    
they delight to find in the ,bible was  
the slavery of white men1 and that the  
,roman slaves in the time of ,christ1   
whose bondage1 we are told1 he and his  
,apostles approved1 were held by the    
right of war4 ,white ,americans have    
been held as slaves by the same holy and
 ,scriptural tenure4 ,let us1 then1     
inquire how the escape and resistance of
 white slaves have heretofore been      
regarded4 ,in #aece1 the white slaves in
 ,tunis alone amounted to twenty        
thousand4 ,cervantes1 who had himself   
been a slave in ,algiers1 says in his   
writings1 ,for liberty we ought to risk 
life itself2 slavery being the greatest 
evil that can fall to the lot of man4   
,acting upon this precept1 he himself1  

while a slave1 planned a general        
insurrection of the slaves4 ,yet        
,cervantes was recognized as a faithful 
son of the ,church1 and the license     
prefixed to his works declares they     
contain nothing contrary to the         
,christian religion4 ,the ,annual       
,register for #agfc announces1 that1    
last month1 the ,christian slaves at    
,algiers1 to the number of four         
thousand1 rose and killed their guards1 
and massacred all who came in their way4
 ,the insurrection was suppressed1 but  
no one in ,europe denounced the         
insurgents as bloodthirsty wretches1 nor
 regarded their effort as an impious and
 anti-,christian rebellion against the  
powers ordained of ,god4 ,in the reign  
of ,elizabeth1 one ,john ,fox1 a slave  
on the ,barbary coast1 slew his master1 
and1 effecting his escape with a number 
of his fellow-slaves1 arrived in        
,england4 ,the queen1 instead of looking
 upon him as a murderer1 testified her  
admiration of his exploit by allowing   

him a pension4#c  #c ,for the facts on  
this subject1 see the admirable work by 
,charles ,sumner1 entitled ,white       
,slavery in the ,barbary ,states4       
,washington ,madison performed a similar
 exploit on board an ,american coast    
slaver1 and arrived1 with a large number
 of his fellow-slaves1 in the ,british  
,west ,indies4 ,mr4 ,webster1 then      
,secretary of ,state1 officially        
demanded of the ,british government the 
surrender of this heroic man as a       
,,murderer4  ,in #agic1 there were one  
hundred and fifteen ,american slaves in 
,algiers1 held by as perfect and        
,scriptural a tenure as any slave is now
 held in any part of our wide republic4 
,had one of these slaves made his escape
 by killing his ,algerine master1 would 
any of our patriotic divines1 would any 
gentleman of the ,new ,york ,union      
,committee of ,safety1 would even ,mr4  
,webster himself1 have pronounced him a 
murderer8 ,had the captain of a ,british
 ship favored his escape1 and given him 

a passage to ,boston1 would your        
colleague1 the ,honorable ,mr4 ,brooks1 
have accused him of slave-stealing8 ,is 
it not possible1 ,sir1 that1 with very  
many of our casuists and moralists1     
questions of conscience are decided     
according to the tincture of a skin8  ,i
 will now ask your attention to some of 
the political consequences resulting    
from the late measures in which you     
rejoice1 and for which you voted4 ,no   
sooner had ,congress made the required  
concessions to the slave power1 than the
 advocates of those measures claimed the
 glory of having given peace to the     
country1 and perpetuity to the ,union4  
,mr4 ,webster1 as one of the chief      
agents in this blessed consummation1    
received the congratulations of a crowd 
in ,washington4 ,in his reply he        
observed1--,truly1 gentlemen1 the last  
two days have been great days4 ,a work  
has been accomplished which dissipates  
doubts and alarms1 puts an end to angry 
controversies1 fortifies the            

,constitution of the country1 and       
strengthens the bond of the ,union4     
',now is the winter of our discontent   
,made glorious summer24444     ,and all 
the clouds that lowered upon our house  
,in the deep bosom of the ocean buried4'
  ,the glorious summer anticipated by   
the orator proved cold and brief1 and if
 the lowering clouds were indeed buried 
in the ocean1 the sea has given up its  
dead4 ,never before1 since the          
organization of the government1 has such
 a tempest of indignation swept over the
 land4 ,never before1 in a single       
instance1 has there been manifested     
throughout the religious portion of the 
community1 of all creeds and names1 such
 a settled determination in the fear of 
,god to withhold obedience to a law of  
the land4 ,the sentiments of the great  
mass of the people of the free ,states1 
exclusive of the commercial cities1 are 
briefly but emphatically embodied in a  
resolution of the ,common ,council of   
,chicago1 viz43--,the ,fugitive ,slave  

,act recently passed by ,congress is    
revolting to our moral sense1 and an    
outrage on our feelings of justice and  
humanity1 because it disregards all the 
securities which the ,constitution and  
laws have thrown around personal        
liberty1 and its direct tendency is to  
alienate the people from their love and 
reverence for the government and        
institutions of our country4  ,how far  
the clouds which hovered over our house 
have been dissipated1 let the recent    
rout of ,mr4 ,webster's party in        
,massachusetts testify4 ,let his own    
declaration1 a month after the peace    
measures were adopted1 that the ,union  
was passing through a fiery trial1      
testify4#d ,how far the work of the two 
days has fortified the ,constitution1   
let the recent law of ,vermont1         
denounced as an utter nullification of  
the ,constitution1 because it rescues   
the alleged fugitive from the hands of  
the commissioner1 and gives him a jury  
trial before a ,state court1 testify4   

,when rumors were rife that ,mr4        
,webster intended to repudiate his own  
thunder1 the ,wilmot ,proviso1 the ,new 
,york ,herald1 the chief ,northern organ
 of the slaveholders1 promised that1 if 
the ,senator would indeed pursue a      
course so patriotic1 a grateful country 
would1 at the next election1 place him  
in the ,presidential chair4 ,but        
scarcely had the acts advocated by ,mr4 
,webster been consummated1 than the     
,herald1 with sardonic malice1          
announces1--,the predictions of ,mr4    
,clay1 that the ,compromise ,bill would 
speedily conciliate all parties1 and    
restore the era of good feeling1 were   
exactly the reverse of the actual       
consequences4 ,mr4 ,webster has been    
cast overboard in ,massachusetts4       
,general ,cass has been virtually       
condemned in ,michigan4 ,mr4 ,dickinson1
 the ,president1 and his cabinet1 have  
been routed in ,new ,york4 ,mr4 ,phelps 
has been superseded in ,vermont4 ,whilst
 in ,ohio1 ,illinois1 ,iowa1 and        

,wisconsin1 the ,free-,soilers have     
carried off the booty4 ,and he winds up 
with declaring1 that the next ,president
 can't be ,fillmore nor ,webster4  #d   
,letter to ,union ,meeting in ,new      
,york1 #bhth ,oct41 #ahej4  ,if the     
peace measures have strengthened the    
bond of the ,union1 what mean all the   
meetings lately held to save the ,union8
 ,why is the tocsin now sounded by the  
very authors and friends of the         
measures8 ,how comes it that1 in ,boston
 itself1 the chairman of a ,union       
meeting contradicts the exulting and    
jubilant shout of triumph uttered by the
 ,secretary of ,state1 and makes the    
following doleful announcement3--,the   
,union1 and consequently the existence  
of this nation1 is menaced1 and unless  
there is a great and general effort in  
their support1 we may soon behold the   
mighty fabric of our government         
trembling over our heads1 and           
threatening by its fall to crush the    
prosperity which we have so long and    

happily enjoyed4 ,so relaxed has become 
the bond of our ,union1 that one hundred
 gentlemen of property and standing in  
,new ,york have1 under the style and    
title of ,the ,new ,york ,union         
,committee of ,safety1 assumed the      
onerous task of taking it into their    
safe-keeping4 ,committees of safety are 
associated with times of peril and      
anarchy1 and are never wanted when      
alarms have ceased1 angry discussions   
ended1 the ,constitution fortified1 and 
the bond of union strengthened4  ,in    
this universal panic1 in this dread     
entertained1 especially in ,boston1 by  
,mr4 ,webster's friends1 of soon seeing 
the mighty fabric of our government     
trembling over their heads1 it may1     
,sir1 be consolatory to you and others  
to know how so dire a calamity may be   
averted4 ,the chivalric ,senator from   
,mississippi--the gentleman who         
threatens to hang one ,senator if he    
dare place his foot on the soil of      
,mississippi1 who draws a loaded pistol 

on another1 and for a third bears a     
challenge to mortal combat--was lately  
in the city of ,new ,york4 ,the         
,committee of ,safety found him out1 and
 lauded him for his fearless discharge  
of duty1 and his fervor and devotion to 
the ,union1 and welcomed him to the     
commercial emporium in the name of all  
who appreciate the blessings we enjoy1  
and are willing to transmit them to     
their children4 ,the worthy and         
conciliatory gentleman very             
appropriately communicated to the       
committee having the ,union in charge   
the conditions on which alone it could  
be saved1 notwithstanding its bond had  
so recently been strengthened4 ,these   
conditions are1 we learn1 four in       
number4  #a4 ,the ,fugitive ,slave ,bill
 passed by ,congress shall remain the   
law of the land1 and be faithfully      
executed4  ,both you and ,mr4 ,webster  
admit that the ,constitution permits a  
jury trial to the fugitive4 ,should     
,congress1 in its wisdom1 and in        

obedience to the wishes of the great    
mass of the ,northern population1 and in
 the exercise of its constitutional     
power1 elevate property in a human being
 to the same level with that in a horse1
 and permit a jury to pass upon the     
title to it1--the ,union must be        
dissolved4  #b4 ,the ,wilmot ,proviso1  
that monstrous thing1 shall not be      
revived4 ,it was not courteous1         
certainly1 in ,mr4 ,foote thus to       
characterize ,mr4 ,webster's thunder4   
,the claim to this thunder was made in  
his speech1 ,september1 #ahdg1 at the   
,springfield ,convention1 which         
nominated him for ,president2 and the   
,convention1 in his presence1 thus      
declared their devotion to his missile4 
,the ,whigs of ,massachusetts now       
declare1 and put this declaration of    
their purpose on record1 that           
,massachusetts will never consent that  
,mexican territories1 however acquired1 
shall become a part of the ,american    
,union1 unless on the unalterable       

condition that there shall be neither   
slavery nor involuntary servitude1      
otherwise than in punishment for crime4 
,the next year ,mr4 ,webster launched   
his thunder over the ,territory of      
,oregon1 and thus in his speech 7#ajth  
,august1 #ahdh7 vindicated it from the  
character now given to it by ,mr4       
,foote3--  ,gentlemen from the ,south   
declare that we invade their rights when
 we deprive them of a participation in  
the enjoyment of territories acquired by
 the common services and common         
exertions of all4 ,is this true8 ,of    
what do we deprive them8 ,why1 they say 
that we deprive them of the privilege of
 carrying their slaves as slaves into   
the new territories4 ,well1 ,sir1 what  
is the amount of that8 ,they say1 that  
in this way we deprive them of going    
into this acquired territory with their 
property4 ,their property6 ,what do they
 mean by this 'property'8 ,we certainly 
do not deprive them of the privilege of 
going into those newly acquired         

territories with all that1 in the       
general estimate of human society and   
common and universal understanding of   
mankind1 is esteemed property4 ,not at  
all4 ,the truth is just this4 ,they have
 in their own ,states peculiar laws     
which create property in persons4444    
,the real meaning1 then1 of ,southern   
gentlemen1 in making this complaint1 is1
 that they cannot go into the           
territories of the ,united ,states      
carrying with them their own peculiar   
law1 a law which creates property in    
persons4  ,so the ,wilmot ,proviso was  
no monstrous thing at all1 as applied to
 ,oregon4 ,when the question came up of 
applying this same ,proviso to ,new     
,mexico and ,california1 ,mr4 ,webster  
discovered in these ,territories a      
certain peculiarity of physical         
geography and ,asiatic scenery which he 
had not discovered in ,oregon1 and      
which1 he found1 rendered it a physical 
impossibility for ,southern gentlemen to
 carry there a law which creates        

property in persons1 and he therefore   
gave them full liberty to carry their   
law into those vast regions1 if they    
could4 ,but at the very moment of giving
 this liberty to ,southern gentlemen1 he
 courageously warned them that his      
thunder was good constitutional thunder1
 and would be used whenever necessary4  
,wherever there is an inch of land to be
 stayed back from becoming slave        
territory1 ,i am ready to insert the    
principle of the exclusion of slavery4  
,i am pledged to that from              
#ahcg1--pledged to it again and again1  
and ,i will perform those pledges4 ,so1 
should we get another slice of ,mexico1 
or annex ,cuba or ,st4 ,domingo1 ,mr4   
,webster would revive the ,wilmot       
,proviso1 and then he will be the means1
 if he succeeds1 of dissolving the      
,union6  #c4 ,the next condition        
announced to the ,safety ,committee     
is1--,no attempt shall be made in       
,congress to prohibit slavery in the    
,district of ,columbia4  ,now it is the 

opinion of ,mr4 ,webster1 that ,congress
 has the constitutional right1 not      
merely to attempt1 but actually to      
effect1 the exclusion of slavery in all 
the ,territories of the ,united ,states4
 ,the ,district of ,columbia being      
placed by the ,constitution expressly   
under the exclusive jurisdiction of     
,congress1 the constitutional right to  
abolish slavery there has rarely been   
questioned2 but it has been contended   
that good faith to the ,states which    
ceded the ,district forbids such an act 
of constitutional power4 ,hence1 in     
#ahch1 a resolution was introduced into 
the ,senate declaring that the abolition
 of slavery in the ,district would be a 
violation of good faith1 c4 ,what said  
,mr4 ,webster8 ,i do not know any matter
 of fact1 or any ground of argument1 on 
which this affirmation of plighted faith
 can stand4 ,i see nothing in the act of
 cession1 and nothing in the            
,constitution1 and nothing in the       
transaction1 implying any limitation on 

the authority of ,congress4#e  #e ,on   
the #ajth of ,january1 #ahch1 ,mr4 ,clay
 moved in the ,senate the following     
resolution1 viz43--,resolved1 that the  
interference by the citizens of any of  
the ,states with a view to the abolition
 of slavery in this ,district1 is       
endangering the rights and security of  
the people of this ,district2 and that  
any act or measure of ,congress designed
 to abolish slavery in this ,district   
would be a violation of the faith       
implied in the cession by the ,states of
 ,virginia and ,maryland1 a just cause  
of alarm to the people of the           
slaveholding ,states1 and have a direct 
and inevitable tendency to disturb and  
endanger the ,union4--,passed1 #ch to   
#h1 ,mr4 ,webster voting in the         
negative4 ,senate ,journal1 #b ,sess4   
#be ,cong41 p4 #abg4  #d4 ,the last     
condition on which the ,union can be    
preserved is1--,no ,state shall be      
prevented from coming into the ,union on
 the ground of having slavery4 ,this is 

an unkind cut at ,mr4 ,webster1 since he
 has again and again pledged himself    
against the admission of slave ,states4 
,even so early as #ahai1 he advocated1  
in a public meeting at ,boston1 a       
resolution declaring that ,congress     
possessed the constitutional power1 upon
 the admission of any new ,state created
 beyond the limits of the original      
territory of the ,united ,states1 to    
make the prohibition of the further     
extension of slavery or involuntary     
servitude in such new ,state a condition
 of admission4 ,that1 in the opinion of 
this meeting1 it is just and expedient  
that this power should be exercised by  
,congress upon the admission of all new 
,states created beyond the original     
limits of the ,united ,states4 ,in his  
,new ,york speech1 in #ahcg1 he averred1
 ,when it is proposed to bring new      
members into the political partnership1 
the old members have a right to say on  
what terms such new partners are to come
 in1 and what they are to bring along   

with them4 ,in his ,springfield speech1 
he insisted1 ,there is no one he forgot 
,mr4 ,foote and his other ,southern     
friends who can complain of the ,north  
for resisting the increase of slave     
representation1 because it gives power  
to the minority in a manner inconsistent
 with the principles of our government4 
,so late as #ahdh1 he proclaimed on the 
floor of the ,senate1 ,i shall oppose   
all such extension slave representation 
at all times and under all              
circumstances1 even against all         
inducements1 against all combinations1  
against all compromises4  ,the ,state of
 ,georgia1 in her convention of         
,december last1 added a fifth condition 
to those stated by ,mr4 ,foote as       
indispensable to the preservation of the
 ,union1 viz43--,no act suppressing the 
slave-trade between the slaveholding    
,states4 ,unfortunately for ,mr4        
,webster1 he is here1 for the fifth     
time1 virtually held up as a            
disorganizer1 and an enemy of the       

,union2 for in his speech in the ,senate
 7#fth ,february1 #ahcg7 he             
remarked1--,as to the point1 the right  
of regulating the transfer of slaves    
from one ,state to another1 he did not  
know that he entertained any doubt1     
because the ,constitution gave ,congress
 the right to regulate trade and        
commerce between the ,states4 ,trade in 
what8 ,in whatever was the subject of   
commerce and ownership4 ,if slaves were 
the subjects of ownership1 then trade in
 them between the ,states was subject to
 the regulation of ,congress4  ,mr4     
,webster declared1 that the work of the 
two days in which he rejoiced had       
fortified the ,constitution1 and        
strengthened the bond of the ,union2 and
 yet we are now solemnly warned1 by the 
very men and party with whom he is      
acting1 that the bond is to be severed1 
should ,congress pass any one of five   
laws1 all and each of which he1 the     
great expounder1 declares the           
,constitution authorizes ,congress to   

pass4 ,so it seems the great peril to   
which we are exposed1 the course which  
is to make the fabric of our government 
to tremble over the heads of the people 
of ,boston1 is1 not the violation of the
 ,constitution1 nor the breach of its   
compromises1 nor the invasion of the    
rights of the ,south1 but the exercise  
by ,congress of powers which ,mr4       
,webster declares to be undoubtedly     
constitutional4 ,the ,abolitionists     
supposed they were following a safe     
guide when they confined themselves1 in 
their petitions to ,congress for        
legislative action against slavery1     
exclusively to such measures as they    
were assured1 by the eminent expounder1 
were strictly constitutional4 ,the      
,abolitionists have sympathized with    
this gentleman in the obloquy he        
incurred1 in common with themselves1 for
 holding opinions unpalatable to the    
slaveholders1 and for maintaining the   
constitutional rights of ,congress4     
,because he insisted1 in the ,senate1 on

 the power of ,congress over slavery and
 the slave-trade in the ,district of    
,columbia1 ,mr4 ,rives1 of ,virginia1   
was so unkind as to say1 that the       
gentleman from ,massachusetts1 if it so 
pleased his fancy1 might disport himself
 in tossing squibs and firebrands about 
this hall2 but those who are sitting    
upon a barrel of gunpowder1 liable to be
 blown up by his dangerous missiles1    
could hardly be expected to be quite as 
calm and philosophic4 ,because he       
presented antislavery petitions1 and    
insisted on the duty of ,congress to    
consider them1 ,mr4 ,king1 of ,alabama1 
affirmed that the course which the      
,senator from ,massachusetts had taken  
had placed him at the head of those men 
who are inundating ,congress with their 
petitions4 ,strange as it may now seem1 
,mr4 ,cuthbert1 of ,georgia1 told ,mr4  
,webster to his face in the ,senate1    
,the gentleman had uniformly been       
opposed to all those measures which     
tended to quiet the country and heal    

those sectional dissensions which       
distract the ,union4#f ,surely1 when the
 ,abolitionists have so long made ,mr4  
,webster their polar star in all        
constitutional questions1 and have      
incurred with him the accusation of     
tossing squibs and firebrands1 and of   
opposing measures which tended to quiet 
the country and settle sectional        
dissensions1 they had a right to expect 
from his friends a larger share of      
compassion and forbearance than they    
have experienced4  #f ,speech1 ,june #h1
 #ahcf4  ,it would seem1 ,sir1 that1 in 
the late treaty of peace between the    
,north and the ,south1 it has been      
agreed and understood1 that every power 
granted by the ,constitution1 whereby   
slavery can be protected1 extended1 and 
perpetuated1 is to be actively enforced2
 and that every power which might be    
used for curtailing human bondage1      
however unquestionable may be its grant1
 shall for ever remain dormant1 under   
the penalty of an immediate dissolution 

of the ,union4 ,this1 ,sir1 is the      
treaty which our commercial cities are  
glorifying2 this is the treaty which has
 turned our winter of discontent into   
glorious summer4 ,and think you1 ,sir1  
that the slaveholders1 having eyes1 see 
not1 and having understandings1 perceive
 not1 the haberdashery patriotism which 
rejoices in such a treaty1 and denounces
 as fanatics1 vipers1 and woolly-headed 
philanthropists1 all who do not confess 
it to be a glorious consummation8 ,the  
,southern papers tell us that our ,union
 meetings are got up to sell a little   
more tape and flannel2 and they remark1 
,it is very queer that ,union meetings  
are held only in places which trade with
 the ,south4 ,out of regard to their    
,southern brethren1 a member of the     
,british ,house of ,commons was insulted
 in ,faneuil ,hall by a portion of the  
,boston people1 and forthwith the ,new  
,orleans ,delta1 instead of gratefully  
acknowledging the compliment1 remarks1  
that their good ,union-loving friends in

 ,boston are now solacing the ,south    
with sugar-plums in the shape of        
resolutions and speeches1 and spice in  
the form of a row1 got up on the        
occasion of the first appearance of     
,george ,thompson1 an imported          
incendiary and hireling agitator4 ,such 
manifestation possesses an advantage    
which doubtless constitutes no small    
recommendation with our good brethren of
 ,boston1--it is very cheap4 ,the       
cottoncratical clerks and warehousemen  
may raise a hubbub in ,faneuil ,hall1   
but the fanatics can slay them at the   
polls4  ,it is some consolation to those
 who are now suffering all the contempt 
and opprobrium which can be thrown both 
upon their heads and their hearts1      
because they have refused to follow ,mr4
 ,webster in the devious paths in which 
it has lately been his pleasure to walk1
 that they have by their constancy and  
firmness extorted from their ,southern  
antagonists a tribute which is not paid 
to their revilers4 ,said ,mr4 ,stanley1 

of ,virginia1 in his speech in the      
,house of ,representatives last ,march1 
speaking of a certain class of ,northern
 politicians1--,i would say1 with a     
slight alteration of one of ,canning's  
verses1--      ',give me the avowed1    
erect1 and manly foe1     ,open ,i can  
meet1 perhaps may turn1 his blow2       
,but of all the plagues1 great ,heaven1 
thy wrath can send1     ,save1 ,o1 save 
me from a dough-face friend6'  ,in      
closing this long letter1 permit me to  
advert to the opinion expressed abroad  
of your ,fugitive ,law4 ,mr4 ,webster   
thought it convenient to quote the      
sentiment of a nameless correspondent1  
as to the mischievous mixture of        
religion with politics4 ,possibly the   
opinion of ,dr4 ,lushington1 one of the 
,lords of the ,privy ,council1 ,judge of
 the ,vice-,admiralty ,court1 and the   
negotiator1 on the part of ,great       
,britain1 of a recent treaty with       
,france1 may be entitled to at least    
equal weight4 ,this gentleman1 in a     

private letter to an ,english friend1   
and not intended for publication1 thus  
speaks of your law3--,no one can feel   
more sincerely than myself1 abhorrence  
of the ,fugitive ,slave ,bill1--a       
measure as cruel and unchristian as ever
 disgraced any country4 ,an ,irish      
liberal1 writing from ,dublin1 says1--,i
 long looked to your country as the ark 
of the world's liberties4 ,i confess ,i 
hope for this no longer4 ,the ,fugitive 
,slave ,bill is a shocking sample of the
 depravity of public sentiment in the   
,united ,states4 ,so atrocious a measure
 could not have passed into a law1 if   
the majority of the people had not      
actively assented1 or passively         
consented4 ,here1 by the preponderating 
influence of our aristocracy1 a small1  
but compact body1 measures are often    
carried into laws that are very         
distasteful to multitudes2 but such a   
mean1 vile law as the ,fugitive ,slave  
,bill could not pass in ,england4  ,the 
,english press1 ,whig1 ,tory1 and       

,radical1 is indignant at the atrocities
 of your law4 ,the taunt of our         
slaveholders1 that the ,english had     
better reform abuses at home1 is thus   
met by a radical journal 7,the          
,people73--,the ,americans laugh at us  
when we speak of ,american slavery1 so  
long as so many of our fellow-subjects  
in ,england and ,ireland are perishing  
from starvation through monarchical and 
aristocratical tyranny4 ,we answer1 that
 the ,americans know that the men and   
women who lift up their voices against  
,american slavery are the enemies of    
,british tyranny and oppression4  ,your 
law1 ,sir1 degrades the national        
character abroad2 its excessive         
servility to ,southern dictation excites
 the contempt of the slaveholders for   
the easy1 selfish virtue of their       
,northern auxiliaries1 while its        
outrages upon religion1 justice1        
humanity1 and the dearest principles of 
personal freedom1 under pretence of     
preserving the ,union1 weaken the       

attachment of conscientious men for a   
confederacy which requires such horrible
 sacrifices for its continuance4 ,all   
these evils might have been easily      
avoided by a law satisfying every       
requirement of the ,constitution1 and   
yet treating the alleged fugitive as a  
,,man1 and granting him the same        
protection as is accorded to an alleged 
murderer4 ,god gave you1 ,sir1 an       
opportunity for which you ought to have 
been grateful1 of illustrating your     
,puritan descent by standing forth      
before the nation as an advocate of     
justice and freedom1 and of the rights  
of the poor and oppressed4 ,through a   
blind devotion to a political leader1   
you rejected the palm which ,providence 
tendered to your acceptance1 and have   
indelibly associated your name with     
cruelty and injustice4 ,had you retired 
from the notice of the public1 as you   
did from the suffrages of the electors1 
you had acted wisely4 ,in an evil hour  
for yourself1 you stood forth as the    

champion of the ,fugitive ,slave ,law4  
,its enemies rejoice in your rashness1  
for your feeble apology has rendered its
 deformities more prominent1 and1 by    
failing to vindicate1 you have virtually
 confessed its abominations4 ,may you   
live1 ,sir1 to deplore the grievous     
error you have committed1 and1 by your  
future efforts in behalf of human       
freedom and happiness1 atone for the    
wound they have received at your hands4 
,,hancock4  ,february1 #ahea4