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

Communications: For The Signal Of Liberty: The Constitution ... image
Parent Issue
Day
15
Month
July
Year
1844
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Mkss8. Editohs;- Mr.S. W. Foster, i ilie Sigmil of the ist nsr, bends Mscommuni catioti thus: "The Conslilution pro-feluvory. The Const itnfíon fanctioní slavery. anrf therelbreoii!)t to be aniended." These wordt? foil'nv:" Hje Con.stittition of the United States recoj-rnzpti ido importa! ion of sla ves imo ihc severa) Simes at the wil] of the States respeetively, nn:il the yeor 1808, nnd therefore rer.mnized the propriety of reducing men i'o sJnvery by -due pr .crss un'dé-r theWs .of the States; nnd consequent ]v the eb.uee ín nrticle 5 of ninendments in 'the follmvinp wordn: 'nor be dèprived of file, liberty, or Drope.ty. without doe process of law,''were not. intemled lo proliibi1. the States redncmg men to ehyery within their Iimiis.- Rtidi n view of if Ú entiroly inco'nrflteftt with tht' rpcdnriiiiion of the Slnve Trnde, with t de throp-iïfihs representa t ion in Congres, and with the provisión of the lOth article of ameridments which is in these words: ■: 'The powers not rielepated to the United Mntes by the Con.-titntion, nor prohibited by it to 'he Stotcp, nre reserved to tt.e States r to the people.' " Mr. Foster introduces in' o this one single pnragraph topics enmifi-li ond of sufficient itntortance to justify eeveral distinct communi cotions of convenient lengtl) - but inoemuch ns he niakes the issue of the whole to turn upon the single positiin that the Constitutifii recognized the importation ofjom for a time, if thdtposiüon shnuld be found to be nntenable, the nrf.niment contained ín his cornmunicalion, togptlier with all its illustrations and nppendagep, must go for nothincr.- VVhether such will be the result, reniains to be 8?en.Mr. F. makes the qnestion f o be, as it re&lly i?, Is tl,e Conslitutiun pm-slavery? Does it sancfion slavery? He uppor;s the affiimalive. What ib the Conslitution? It s n doe ument framed by a convention of State? called in 1787. It is deposited with the notional archives. It is, or ouht to be, in every mnn's library. It declares itself to be the snpremeJaw of the land. To it then, rmipt we go for a knowíedge ofits contenía. It s pur record- substnmially decjaring iiself lo be so. We cannot travel out of the record for any pnrpose other ..thon to-avail ourselves of lefritimale rules of conslrnction: nnd lliose rules to be legitimnto must be of fair and unfioiibtcd applicnfion to the record itself. Traditionury compromises cnnnot be the record, heen use fioi recorded. Munh disciiísion was had in the convention, but that discussion cannot be ihe Constinuion or any part of it, beca u se the Constitution is the conclusión nf the whole mat tor; and becauee mch tradition, if adtnitied,snpercedes Die record and becomes the Constitution itself: lea ving Uie nationalgislation dependam en the vngue hypothesis of each eucccssive legislatura for ihe measure of its act ion' and the iimits of its power. 1 rhen arrive at ihe conclusión that no mere unrecorded understnmling1 of nny portion of ihe Convention, which eonflicts with the strici letter of the recorded instrument can be taken fis n part of the same, or snperceding' nny pnrt or porlion of tho same, wheih.LT it be favorable or ndverse to Mr. F's. or my constmction: - for surely neillier of us will readily bring himsfilf to consent to vjolate the setiJed nnd we!l: known mie of construct icn; that 'Uvhen personal fieedonnüs in jeopardv, the law shmild he constnied slrictlv.'Now to Mr. F'?, pnsition that the Constinition rpcoirnizd the unporlatioó of slaves until 1808. See Art. 1, Sec. 9, Clunse 1 . it truc? Let iis eee. The word n the ciafc;e is PERSONS, not sla vos. The phraseoioo-y employed in the cluiiie is that of the cornmon law. It rrquires no argument to prove that the word persons, as a legal term, npplies to individuáis of the human species otily, nnd embraces n.]) Riich individuáis. As aiiy condition or aitribute of slavvry is unknowH to the common hw, the word "persons" cannut mean slavet-v bul nfceösanlv exdudes the most distant idea of tslavery. Then ;he "persons" ot the clause were not slaves bul free men. Now lis Mr. F. rmkes the success of his argument to depend upon the correctness of liis positicn, viz: that slaves might be imponed- and as the word is -persons in6tead of olavcs - and as persons is a common law term which does not embrace any idea of slavery in its signification, it is appreheuded that hi& posiliön is not tenable, and that asa matter of course, his argument íalls wilh his posilion. There is aliusion madi; in the argumeiH to ihe i-evervl cunstitutional provisión?, wiuch aláo contain fome (to me at Jeast) broad assër.tions wliicli must now be passed without cotnment, but which mny be considered in

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News