Communications: For The Signal Of Liberty: The Constitution ...

Mkssrs. Editors:- The Constitution of ihe Uniietl States rccognized the importadou of alavés nto the several States at the will of the Suites respectively, umil the year 1803, and horefore recognized the propnety of reducing men to slatery by "du proces of Iaw" under he laws óf th States; and consequently the clausein article5of amendments in the iollowng words, "nor b d.prived of life. Jtberty, or property, without procesa of law," werenot niendd to prohibit the States from reducing men o slavery within thir limita. Such a view of t is entirely inconsistent with the recognition o h Slave trade, with the three-fifths represen taiion i) Cnferess, and with th provisión oí the lOth article of anniidraeiua which i3 in these words: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prolubited by it o the States, are reserved to the States respectvely or to the people." They may be deprired oí hberty by due proesi of Iaw without having commited crime; they muy be depri ved oí Hberty for anj cause which ie laws of th and may assign. John L. Brown was deprived of libertj and sentenced t be hung br helping an intended wife to escape from sluvey, which was no crime. The proceedings against irowu wereby due procesa of law, thö.ugh notby ust proceas [ Iaw.The lawa of the slaTeholding States pi o?icle that persona born of parents of a certain deec. pion shall be slaes, and protision is made for keeping the.n in that condition, and to prevent them from exercismg their natural liberty. They are born in the State subject to the existing laws thereof, whicb depriye them of their liberty, and muke the distinction botween them and oiher inhabitautg of the State, jjt as tho pecpla of the f'ree States are born subject to the laws t lereoi, which t!so niaLe some distinctions in regard to their rights; and the deprivation of the persond ;ibeuy of the slave results from due process of law just as the inhabitants of Mussachuaeiis and oiher Stateg were formerly depri ved of the right of voting without a property quaÜfioaiion: they were born subject to thoae lawa which deprivad them of the right of voting, while otlier who were fortúnate tnough to have property could vote. So if the slave can acquire the tneans and buy his liberty oí his legal owners, ir most cases, he can enjoy it by leaving the slaveliolding country. All these thinga are by due procesa of law. A man is born in acoramunity where laws ex ist against stealing: when he hatarrived at manhood he commits th crime oí stealing and 13 pun ished by the power of the law; this punishmen is by the process of a lavr that existed Lefore hc was born. Another man is born in a communtty where a portion of the people are prohibited by law from the enjojrment of personal libertj and whenever he attempis to use his liberty he is punished by a law or in conformity with a law that existed previous to his exisience. In both cases, the pumshment is by "due procesa of law' though in one case the law is just, and in the otlier, unjust.At the time thts ameDdment was adopted. slaves were held bj "due procesa of law." Several of the States abolished slavery within a feu yearo after the adoption of this araendment to he Conatituiian, but I aw notaware thatit nad any effect upon the legislatiori of any one of them. It was evidently not n tended to have any such effect when jt was adopted. It was probably intended to establish the principies of common law in favor of Wberty where State laws did not inferiere: bencé the particular wording of theclause, "without due procesa of law." How easy it would have beeu to have said í;Nor be dcprived of Iifc, Yikény ofMirty" excepufor ll:er,ommis3:on uf crinitJËfcid had been the intention, but no such inienrou existed, and no such construction has ever been put upon that claii8eby any Legisla ture, State or National. - Therelbre an umendment to tfïe Constitutiun is necessary to clothe tlie Genera!" Government with sufBcient power to aMijh slavery tbioughout the country; bul perfiaps it will be snid that the amoum o( antislavery influence wliich must be exerted upon the people in order to obtain an amendment to the would of itself abolish Slarcry before tlie amendment would pe obtained. Pyrhaps f it sliouiti be aimed at an amendment ol the constitution, or at the accomplÍ8hmentof aome other object which must necessarily epeedily abolish slavery, k inight have the efiect; and ifso, it ïa the very thing that Liberty men ought to set ihemselves iinmediately aboul, It the deieriuination of the pcuplo to make en aincnument to the Constitution will have the effect to induce the Slaveliolders to nboliah Slavery by State legislation, it will je wel!; i f not, this fact will prove to Liberty men the neeestüty of exerting all thcir legitímate ower.It is often tbs caso thaf judieious and ampio jrcparaüon for ihe accomplishmeiit of an object 8 of itself sufficient to acconiplish the object without carrying into effect the particular act iur whieh preparation has been madj. An instance is at hand: at the late liots in Philadelphiu, lie Mayor found it necessary to culi out a military lorce which dispersed the mob. though not a gun was fired; and why did they disperse? Becausc they knew that ihe military were prepaied with powder and ball nnd that tlie Mayor was doter mincd they shonld be uaed, il" neeessnry; the foith of ihe mob in these facis indueed thotn to disperse. Jn ihis case preparaiion was equivalent to the use of the means for which preparaiion liad been made. St with Liberty men in tlreir battle with Slavery. They ehould be united and prepared with their strungesi legal and logi:"mate powers to do battle with the enemy; int! if, on beholding their pywer and" pieparation. he shall surronder, it wi-11 bo'well. f not this proparation will bo neuessary. 1 ain obliged to your correspondent J. M. for the expressson oí liis views on this subject, though they difler from Euy own; discassion will elicit the truth.