Newspaper Page Text
OLITEII JOIIXSOX, Elitor. "NO UNION WITH 81 f E D 0 1 DE R8." J A ITIES BAKNAIlV, I'ufelislilna; ATnU SALEM, COLUMBIANA CO;, (3lII0, OCTOBER 5, 1850. VOL. 6-NO. 4. WHOLE NO. 264, ,!' THE ASTI-SL1TERT BUGLE, PuMUhed trerjf Saturday, at .Salem, Col. Co., Trims. j 1,50 per annum if Daid In advance. $1.74 por nnnum if paid within tho first six monin 01 me subscriber year. $2,00 per annum, if payment be delayed beyond ait months. LTW occasionally tend numbers to those who are not subscribers, but who arc believed to be interested in the dissemination of anti-sis Yery truth, with the hope that they will oithor ubscribo theinaclvos, or use their influence to extend ita circulation anions their friends. ry Communication intended for insertion, to be addressed to Oliver. Johnson. Editor. AUothera to Jams Bahnabt, Publishing Agent THE BUGLE. The New Slave—Catching Law. AN ACT to nmend and supplementary to the act entitled "An net respecting fugi tives from justice and persons escaping irom tiie service ot tlioir masters, n , proved February Vi, 1703. Bt it enacted by the Snntt and Ifoun of J?,,. ...-.I-I.' r.L 11. 'i 1 t-i i e. i V ea tit Votigresi attembled, Tlmt the persons wno navo uecn or wno limy licrcnller I hi i,- poimeu commissioners in virtue ill any m l of Congress by the circuit courts of tlin United States, mid who, in consequence of such apKiutiucnt, are authorized to exercise the powers tlmt any justice of the pence or other mngistrute ol any ol'tlie United Suites may exercise in respect to offenders for ny crime or offence niriiiust tho United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or boiling a Bamo uniivr ami ny vmuo oi mo thirty third section of the net of the twenty-foui-ili ofSeptcmlier, seventeen hundred and eighty nine, entitled "An uet to establish thejtuii cinl courts of the United States," shull he end are hereby authorized nnd required to exercise nnd discharge nil the powers ami duties conferred by this act. Sec. 2. .Ind be it further enacted, Tlmt the superior court of each organized Territory of the United States shnll hnve the snme jiower to appoint commissioners to tako acknowledgments of bi I and affidavits, and tQ take depositions of witnesses in civil caus es which is now possessed by tho circuit court of the United States ; and nil commis sioners who shall hereafter be appointed for such purposes by the stiieiior court of any organized Territory of the United Stotes shall possess all tho powers and exercise nil the duties conferred by law upon tho com missioner appointed by the circuit courts of the Indeed btates tor similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise and dischorgo all the powers and dutits conferred by this net. Sec 3. Jlnd be it further enaitcd, That the circuit courts of the United States nnd the superior courts of eiich organized Territory of the United States shall Irom time to time enlarge the number of commissioners with view to afford reasonable fiicilities to re claim fugitives from hihor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this act. Sect 4. And be it further enacted, Tlmt the commissioners nbovc named shnll hnvc concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the circuit and district courts of United States, in their respective circuits and dis tricts within the severul States, and the judg es of the superior courts of the Territories, severally and collectively, in term time and vacation ; and shall grant certificates to such claiinauts, upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority to take and remove such fugitives from service or labor, under the restrictions herein contained, to the State or Territory from which such persons may have escaped or fled. See, 5. And bt it further enacted, That it hall be the duty of nil marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants end precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed ; nnd should njr marshal or deputy marshal refuse to re ceive such warrant or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper moans diligent ly to execute the same, he shall, on convic tion thereof, be fined ill the sum of one thousand dollars to the use of such cluimunt, on tbe motion of such claimant, by tiie cir cuit or district court for the district ol micli marshal ; and after arrest of such fugitive by such marshal or his deputy, or w hilst at any time in bis custody under the provisions of this act, should such fugitive cscupc, whether with or without the assent of such marshal or bis deputy, such tnnrshal shull bo liable on bis official bond to be prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in tho State, Territory, or District whence he escnp fld and the butter to eunblo the said com rnisViouers, when thus appointed, to execute their duties fuithfully-aiid efficiently, in con formity with the requiremeuts of the Con stitution of the United States nnd of this act, they are hereby authorized and empow ered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other Iirocess as mny be issued by them in the awful performance of their respective du ties, with authority to itich commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to execute process bs aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid tbe bystanders or posit comi tate of the proper county, when necessary to ensure a faithful observance of the clause f the Constitution referred to, in conformi ty with the provisions of this act; nnd oil good citizens are hereby commanded to aid end assist in the prompt nnd efficient exe cution of this law, whenever their services jtiry be required, as aforesaid, for that pur pose end said warrant shall run and be fleeiued by said officers any whore in the State within which they are issued. . See. 6. Ani bt it further enacted, That svnen a person held to service or labor iu eny State or Territory of the United States has heretofore or slmll hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or Inlior may lie due, or his, her, or their ngent or attorney, duly authorized, by power of attorney. In writing, acknowledged and certified under the soi l of some legnl officer or court of the State or Territory in which the same mny be executed, may pur sue and recluiin such fusitive person, either by procuring a warrant from somo one of the rourtH, judges, or commissioners afore said, of the proter circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or Inlior, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be dono without process, and bv taking, or cnusinir such person to lie taken, forthwith belbre such court, judge, or commissioner, whoso duty it shnll be to henr nnd determine tho ense of such claimant in a summitry man ner; mid upon satisfactory proof being made, by dejiosiiion or affidavit, iu writing, to bo taken nnd certified by such court. judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfac tory testimony, duly taken nnd eertihcd by some court, magistrate, justice f the peace, or other legal officer authorized to adminis ter nu o.ith ami take depositions under the laws ot tho Mate or territory Irom which such person owing service or l.ilior innv have escaped, with a certificate of such magistracy or other authority, us alorrsuid, with the seal of tho proper court or officer thereto nt'.achcd, which seal shall lie sulli- cicnt to establish the competency of the proof. nnd with pi oof, also by alliilavit, of the iden IV of tho person whoso service or labor ij 'laimed to lie dun ns aforesaid, that the per son so arrested does in fact owe service or I ulHir to the person or persons claiming him or her, in tho State or Territory from w hich such fugitive may hnve escaped as afore said, and that snid person escaped, to make out and deliver to such clnimnnt, his or her ngcnl or attorney, a certificate setting forth the substantial liicts as to the service or labor duo from Bitch fugitivo to the claimant, and of his or her escape from tho Stuto or Ter- tory in which sucli service or lalmr was due, to tho Sttte or Territory in which he or he was arrested, with authority to such claimant, or his or her agent or attorney, to use such rensouublo force und restraint as may bo necessary, under the circumstances of tho case, to take nnd remove such fugi- ivo person back to tho State or Territory whence be or she mny have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this net shull the testimony of such alleged fugi tive bo admitted in evidence : nnd tho cer- ideates in this nnd the first section mention ed shall be cnnclusivo uf the right of the person or persons in whose favor granted to remove audi fugitive to the Stata or 'J'crrito. ry from which ho escaped, and shall prevent II molestation ot such person or porsons by ny process issued bv nny court, judge, mag istrate, or other person whomsoever. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That tiny person who fIihII knowingly nnd willingly Iwttruct, hinder, or prevent sucli claimant, is agent, or attorney, or any person or per sons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, from arresting such n fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid ; or shnll rescue, or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or lulior from the custody of such cluiinnut, his or her agent or attorney, or other persou or per sons lawfully assisting ns aforesaid, when so nrrcsted, pursuant to the authority herein given and declared, or shall uul, ntiet, or as sist such person so owing service or labor ns aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escnpe out such claimant, bis scent or nttorucy, or other person or persons legally authorized ns iloresaul ; or shull hnroor or conceal buck iigitivc, so as to prevent tho discovery nnd arrest of such person, nftcr notice or know- duo ol tho Hict tlmt such person wusn fugi tive from service or labor, as aforesaid, shull, for either of said offences, bo subject to a ue not execcdingnno thousand dollars, nnd imprisonment not execding six months, by indictment and conviction before the district ourt of the United States for the district in which such offence mny have been commit ted, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within nny ene of the organized territories ot the United States ; and shnll moreover forfeit and pay, ly way of civil damages, to tho purty injur ed bv such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as foresaid, to be recovered by action ol debt, in any of the district or territorial courts aforesaid, within whoso jurisdiction the said offence may have been committed. . , , , Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the snid district and territorial courts, shull be paid for their services the like fees ns mny be allowed to them for similar services iu other esses ; r.nd where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, and delivery of tho fugitivo to tho claimant, his or her ngent or attorney, or w here such supposed fugitivo tuny be discharged out of custody for tho want of sufficient proof ns albresuid, then such fees are to bo puid in the whole by such claimant, bis ngent or at torney ; nnd iu all cases where the proceed ings uro belbre a commissioner, be shnll be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for bis services iu ench case, upon the delivery of the suid certificate to the clnimnnt, his or her agent or attorney ) or n fee of five dollurs in esses where the proof shall not in the opin ion of such commissioner, warrant such cer tificate and delivery, iuclusive of all services Incident to such orrest and exominntion, to be paid, iu either case, by tho claimant, his or her agent or attorney. The person or persons authorized to execute the proceBi to be issued by such commissioners for the arrest and detention of fugitives from ser vice or lubor as aforesaid, shall also be enti tled to a fie of five dollars each for ench ercn he or they mny arrest and take be lbre any auch couimissioncr as albresuid, at the instance and request of such cluimunt, with such other fees as may be deemed rea sonable bv such commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or thorn j such as attend ing at the examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, nun providing nun wun iuui mm Indffinff durinir nis detention, and until the final determination of such commissioner and in ccneral for performing such other da ties as mny be required by such clnimnnt, his or her atterney or agent, or commission er in the premises; sucli fees to be made up in conformity witn tiie lees usuauy ennrgeii by the officers of the courts of justice with in tho proper district or county, ss near as mny lie prnclicoblo, and paid by such claim ants, their ngents or nttorncys, whether sum supposed fugitives from service or labor be ordered to lie delivered to such cluimnnts by tho final determination of such commission ers or not. Sec. U. nrf be it further tnactrd, Tlmt up on nfhdnvit made by the claimant ol sucli fugitive, bis ncent or attorney, after such certificate has been issued, that he has res son to apprehend Ihnt such fugitive will bo rescued bv force from his or their possession lMforo he can lie taken beyond tho limits of tho State in which the arrest Is mnuo, n shall lie the duty of tho officer making tho arrest to retain such fugitive in bis custody, nnd to remove him to tho State whence ho fled, nnd there to deliver him to snid clai mant, his ngent or attorney. And to this end, the officer nlnrcsnid is hereby authorized and reouiri-d to employ so many persons as he may deem necessary to overcome such force nnd to retain them in his service so long ns circumstances may rcqi'ire. Tho said officer and his assistants, while so em ployed, to receive tho same compensation, nnd to bo allowed the same expenses, ns are now allowed by law for tho transiKirtntion of criminals, to lie certified by the judge of inu iiisinci wiiiiiu wuieu me nrrcst m iiiaoe, nnd paid out of the treasury of tho United States. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, Thut when any person belli to service or Inlior in nny State or Territory, or in tho District of Columbia, shall escape therefrom, the pnrty to whom such service or labor shnll bo due, his, her, or their ngent or attorney, tuny np ply to nny court of record therein, or judjje thereof iu vacation, and make sntisliictory proof to such court, or judgo in vacation, of the escnpo aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service or labor to such par ty.. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to bo made of the matters so proved, auu also a general description ol tho person so escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be ; and a transcript of such record-, authenticated by tho attestation of the clerk nnd of the senl of tho snid court, being pro duced in any other State, Territory, or Dis trict in which the person no escnpinir mnv Ve flMilirr, linn TuTflg exliff'ltcr-Tr aij;f3imi. commissioner, or oilier officer authorized by the law of the United States to cause per sons escnping from service or labor to be delivered up, shull be held and taken to be full and conclusivo evidence of the fiict of escnpe, nnd thut tho service or lubor of tho person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. And upon the produc tion by the said pnrty of other nnd further evidence, if necessury, cither oral or by alli ilavit, in addition to what is contained iu tho suid record of tho identity of tho person escaping, he or slm shall be delivered up to tho cluitnnnt. And tho snid court, commis sioner, judge, or other person authorized by this net to grant certificates to claimants of fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such cluimunt a certificntn of his right to tuke nny such person identified, nnd proved to be owing service or lubor as aforesaid, which certiticuto shull authorize sucli cluim unt to seizo or arrest nnd transport such person to the Stuto or Territory from which lie escaped : Provided, That nothing herein contained shull be construed as requiring the prudutiou of a transcript of such record ns evidence as aforesaid. Hut in its absence tho claim shall be heard and determined upon other satisfactory proof competent in i luw. , , Approved, September 18, 1850. Comments of the Press. Slave Catching. Tbe majority of the 31st Congress, 'in both Houses, hnve branded themselves with iufumy, and, as fur as they have power, dis giaced the nation. A bill, imposing a fine of one thousand dollurs, nnd six mouths im prisonment, fur obeying God's express com mand to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and hido the outcasts," has passed through both branches of tho National Legislature. We are neither prophet nor prophet's son, yet a revclutiou from Mouven would mnke us no surer thun we are now, that tho names of those, especially from the Free States, who have voted for this bill, will go down to posterity along with thoso of Ilenedict Ar nold nnd Judus Iscariot. Nay, if it bo possi ble, they will descend with a shade of deep er infamy. Tho record is traced, more in delibly than on Corinthian brass. The wat ers of nil ocenn cannot wash it out, and the nhrudiug hand of time cannot erase It. Representatives of men culling themselves free have crouched like spaniels, at tho feet of Southern lordlings, and have done the bidding of their musters. They have voted to muku humanity a crime subnission to ruffian violence a virtue, and obedience to God an offence to be punished by fine and iniprisoument. . . It is hard to find language with which to characterize such enactments. Their atroci ty ia fathomless, and ought to be nameleta. Let us look at it deliberately, and measure, so far ns we can, its measureless wicked ness. Slavery is the greatest wrong one hu mnn being can inflict on another. It is worse than dcuth, as every true man would rather die thuu bo a slave. If war is ever justifiable, a crusade for the deliverance of the slave would be the holiest ever carried on. An hour of what the slave endures, ac cording to Jefferson, is worse than an eter nity1 of that which our fathers waged a scv An 1 . . . I ... .... . nar 10 uirow on. i he slave sees before him nothing but n destiny of outrage and cruelty, for himself and his children, so long ns slavery shull Inst. The gisve is the onllf asylum in which be can ever hope to ...... i i ny me legislation ot the Von e.."ui urn u. n., in the year JH.K), it is mndn a crime to attempt to ieneeftiy es cn from his chains. To help him on his wn v or even refuse to assist in thrusting him l.n b I- . I . ....... , , piuuBiieii ny line unit impris- uuMK-iii. unynnii might Justly feci slnn dercd if nnnied in the same cn'tegory with the men by whose votes this net whs passed. a anno trutn which wo are tired of re l:niiMfr, mat u any ono ol tho oppressors, -r i.ii ir nortnern allies were placed in the condition of the slave, they would esteem it 10 escn ne, and kill their musters in the attempt if tlmt w ere necessary to suc cess Now with what feelings would these men nun iiieinsclves seized nnd hurled back Jo their Ixindnpo by the citizens of a free State to which ihry had fled on their way lo freedom? How would they regard a luw ptinHnng with fine nnd iniprisoument, tho mniv who should give them a crust of bread and a ciiii of cold water f Tim ilmWi c heli would he searched in vnin In f,n,t tl'nr Je to express their conception of its atrocity. Yet this sumo thinff thev ran cool I u !. t othe s, and then wipe their hands and rail ihciUM-lves patriots and Christians. The worst feature of the whole case is, tlmt the men who have voted for this net nf Dmtu. less hiliuny, have liecn elected by the votes of mi ll i-iuilll mt in 111) llic i In nunra nl ll,- meek nnd low ly Jesus ; nnd will bo voted for hfnin by the sumo men in iliniiuimly The yorth has liecn used to submission so long, and the consciences of tho American people are so completely drugged with the wine .of the fornication of the American linr. lot "-Mlnvcry, that we have no hoe that those who ilmve enacted this bill will receive iin- mciiiatcly that retribution they deserve. VeJ it is a consolation to know that whilo party drill may save these men from thoir merited doom, there is yet too much hu niniiiiy left among tho people to permit this enactment to be ony thins more thon a prnruvul nullity. The poor fiuritive will still fuul worm hearts nnd open bauds to siipplv his need, to feel Ibr his woes nnd help dim on to freedom. 'I ho slaveholders nnd tbuir miserable tools will find how utter ly vain are puny leuislulivo enactments. In stifle Iho luoviiigs of wnrm-hcurtud philan thropy. Could our voico rcuch tho poor slave-mother, as in Seechless agony she bends over her sleepless babe- soon to be torn f m her embrace by tbe ruthless trader rr iii iiikoc iiuimi'imiii treasure una make .....i i iii.. - your way ll possible to Pennsylvania or uuio, ana you win nua our Houses open to shelter you, and swift conveyances to curry you, to that country where, beneath tho Iiiou-Standard of (Heat Ui ituin you ' mny cherish thoso tender hulies, safe from tho claws of the American F.nglc. Lot slave breeders threaten, and sneaking dough-laces echo tho cry, there are yet thoso who will obey God rather than men ; who will hide the outcast, nnd deliver the spoiled out of the baud of tho oppressor. tee Prttby teriaiur.,. -. ).., . We are all Slave-Catchers. The deed is done. Tho lust, the crown ing act has becu Consummated. The Fugi tive Slave Hill has passed both Houses of the Americnn Congress, und has doubtless ro coived ere this the sanction of tho President, and become the law of the land, superior and paramount to uli statu luws. Tho whole civil mill military power of the people of theso Uni'ed Stales is now nrrnyed iu tho form of a paramount luw, binding nil over the Union upon every mnn, woman und child in it, iu favor of slaveholders, and uguitist thoso who have attempted, or w ho may hcrcultcr ut tcmpt to escape from tho worst form of op pression the Btin over shone upon. The luy goes into immediate operation. Slavery gives ita victims no hrentbing time. Iu every county, town aud village, the Uni tod States Courts, if necessury for the slave holding interest, will erect petty courts held by Commissioners, as they are called, mean ing purveyors of aluvuholdera, for issuing process for the arrest and delivery of human chattels to thoso who cluim them as beasts of burden. Tito states mny hove now, or they mny hereafter pass laws against kidnapping, but they will be controlled and overlsirno by the law aud authority of tho United States. These Commissioners these purveyors of slavery, will hitigh at your cobweb state laws. Thoy are authorized upon the production of an affidavit to bund over the supposed fugi give, whether white, bluck, or copper-colored, to the claimant, upon a mcro tt parte exa mination. The luw mukes the affidavit conclusive aguinst the supposed fugitive gives him no subpoena to compel the ulteuduuco nf wit nesses in bis behalf emnnunels no jury to decide upon his right to lilu nnd liberty, but consigns him ut ouco to chains nnd sluvery, upon the mere affidavit, it may be, of a heart less man-sic ulcr who for tho sake of a few hundred dollurs, will file his affidavit in some southern court, that a certain person living in a free stuto, is his slave. . Aud tho Uuited States Courts and these petty Commissioners aro authorized to ap point any number of Slave-Catchers as Do- Iiuty Marshals and Constables, to arrest and ring the supposed fugitive before bis Honor, the Comiiiibkioncr, for a muck trial, und then deliver him kufcly to tho uffiduvit-maker, or if the cluimunt is a cowurd and afraid to come into a free state oiler bis property, to transport, at the expense of the United plates, the suid property lo his lordship in South Ca rolina or Tcxus. Who will uccept tho of fice of Sluve-Culcber ? None, we apprehend, but tiie most reckless and unprincipled men who for the sake of a little money in the shape of fees, will prowl around vour dwel lings, aud, like bloodhounds, scent out their i .. - ' . :.' every nook and corner of the Clear the track, or the car of slnvery w ill crush you. You must not obstruct, or in any wise hinder any one of these legal Slave- ntcners,or any one aiding him, in the bust "i Binvo-iiiiniing or siavc-di ivuig nny more, you must not in nny manner conceal or even harbor the noor trcmblinir fiur'uim flying from bloodhounds in human shnte if you no nny 01 ineso unlawful tilings, you mny bo hnulcd tin ns a common felon before the United States Courts sitting in tho Capi tal of your state, bo indicted by a grand jury, to iiniu una iiioiitMiiiii untirs, in imprison ed for six months, nnd moreover, be compel. led to nny one thousand dollars more, which the law fixes as the value of a black or a white person claimed as a fugitive sluvo, no matter whether old or young, feeble and decrepid or strong of wind and limb. You must clenr the track for the slave holder's minions, did we say? No, not so. i on must bo one of these minions yourself The law doea not permit you to stand neutral in tins controversy lietwcen Slnvery and f reedom. Should any of your fellow citi- zens more hardy than yourself, dure attempt to shield the victim from the doom that n- wiiits him, the luw nuthorizes thete officers ol timu(i-, to summon the poise co nilnlus, thut is, lite peoplo, and you among the num ber, mid commands you in tho name nnd by the authority of the people of tho U. States, to givo your aid and hearty co-operation to these legal kidnappers. VulumbuM Utandard. victims in land. Fugitive Slave Bill. Wo copy from the Intctlivencer of Sept. l!)th this infamous law. ltead it. No mut ter w hat your purty ties are, read It, and say w 'bother you can submit to it. Jton t talk about lis being a nullity, or lis ten to those who say it is. The spirit that put it upon the statue book is dead to Hu manity nnd the spirit which refuses to erase it from that statute book is as dead, nnd will, if it rule, disgrace and degrado the North. Murk our prediction. There Is not a slave in nil the North who will not be pur sued. Wherever it is known, or suspected, that fugitives hove found a refuge in Iho free States, there, as soon as the machinery of this tyrannous act can bo put in motion, the leashes will be wound round them, nnd they borne bnck to slavery in triumph. Already slaveholders are busy. ihey mean to enforce the act. .They will test the question: will see whether avorice and the I law ennnot prevail. Money is raised in V.t.-. I 1. . l. !4U ," "." """ i llnlttmoro, to ncwio a number of slaves who I ttimuonuun THnnis, mna v.mbab. muaiamiW residence are known, and, upon their arrest, ml mmn n m.-t to plead the provisions ot the r tigitive Slave bill. Well tho law is before us. What it aims at, all can see. Whnt it will effect for slave ry, tho fhture will disclose How it will net upon freemen, every day will write out, un til its doom, or theirs, be sealed. Comment is unnecessary. Ihelnw is its own best commentary. Again, then, do we ublish it, and nsk every 0110 to read it. Cleveland True Democrat. II The Fugitive Slave Bill. Lnngtinge would fail to express the con tempt with which we regnrd tho miserable tools, sycophants and traitors whose votes have brought about this result. A more abominable, disgraceful nnd inhuman act of legislation never passed a body claiming to possess a decent regnrd for the opinions end feelings of mankind. Thoso who voted for it can be considered only ns enemies of the human race. Such legislation is sickening nnd disgusting, und completes the degrada tion of the Americnn Congress. This body, composed in part of cowards and reiiegudes, apparently destitute of the commonest im pulses of Immunity, has consummated acts of legislation worthy of the dark ages, aud which would even then have been scorned as base and tyrannical. Tbe American Con gress has endeavored to convert the free citi zens of the north into slave catchers for the southern licgro-holdcrs, and to accomplish this bus trampled upon tho principles of civ il liberty and now calls upon us to repudi ate the obligations of Christianity and the impulses of tho human heart. We tell the miserable, tyrants end tools of tyrants who are engaged in this effort, tbnt their detesta ble legislation will bo spurned ns it deserves, and they, tho authors of It, will lie spurned too, anil if it be possible their names will bo mudo hateful to men. the Amencun con gress is mad. It has lost all sense of shame, und, unfortiiuntely, never possessed either honor or principle. We had not believed it possible for this fugitive slave bill to pass the llouso. Cor rupt, weak nnd hypocritical as wo knew tho northern doughfaces to bo, we had yet sup posed they retained a sufficient degree of manhood to contemn a bill so outrageous and iniquitous. But we wero mistaken. There is no lower deep in tho moral world thun the American Congress. There is no business there too vile to be done if it is but the sluveholder's bidding. Saltnt (Mast.) freeman. 1 Slave Catching. The Senate's 1 Fugitive Sluvo Hill,' so-called, passed the House yesterday by a vote of 100 Yeas to 75 Nays a good muny Mem hcrs having just been struck with a tit of the dumb-ague. Tho only Whigs from the Freo sin.iiK who minnorted it. were Messrs. K'iot of llostoti, M iiaught V of liidinnn, and John Ij. Taylor of Ohio. There were tweniy-tix Opposition votes from tlio Free Slates iu its fiivor, including Wahlcii of New-York nnd Wildrii k of New-Jersey. Of our City Dele gation, Messrs. lhiggs nnd Underbill voted Nay j Messrs. Urodk and Phojnix tailed to t Tim were futufv votes from tide State against the bill to only on for it, but . . . rn. . I.. I I I.. I -A. fAirten absentees: iriouuuiy puiruuvu mm each other. . We hnve not cnreflillv examined its pro-' visions, but we do not beiieve thi act will amount to much in practice The defect sought to lie remedied is not in our Slsvo Cntching Inws they were stringent already --biit In the general feeling of our Northern People Ihnt a mnn innocent of other crime Ihnn a love of libr.rty when running for his freedom ouirni not to be emgn. We don't seo how nny law is to remedy thin: but pcr hnps if Gen. Foote would condescend to stump the I'reo States on tho subject he might set us right on the question. If ho should, the old laws would be found striu gent enough. Without somo such potont agency to operate on Public Sentiment we dou t believe five more runaway slnvea per annum will lie caught in consequence of h new law, while it has a lot of Mndcrous ma chinery for slnve-catching, which enn hard ly fail to lie generally odious. We doubt whether commissioners can be found to f.il fil its requirements in some sections. How ever, let us Tlinuk tho House for disposing of the bill somehow. V. K TKbunt. How would it do lo have Mr. Clny take the stump to remedy tho evil of Northern . defection? Ho thinks it the duty of "every mnn " to assist in catching Staves, and he would surely have more influcnco with our Northern people especially Whigs than Mr. Foote, and Mr. Greeley should coax tho frrtal compromlier to tuke the stump in favor ui ine inn. no nns always. favored it quite ns much ns the little Mutt-maker JVf. burgh Visitor, Congress and the People. If the doincs of Congress nffiirded lUnnla indices of the free xiiiril nTtlin - I... ,.... ,.w ...., mini, render, would the world any of our boasted progress! We get so sick at henrt with watching tho course of ils leirislntion. tlmt we heve not a word lo say of hope, for either white or black sufferers, from the accursed institution. To think of civinir hundreds nf thousands of acres of free Mexican territory to be overrun by the slave laws of Texas, and then binding the freemen of tho freo States to M deliver up " every colored person de mnmled by whito rascals, whose brutal and nvoricioua appetites, unchecked by con science or humanity, will sweur that they are ins or ins employer s: Ah, reader, there is a better atmosnhrrw. and we escnpo to it from the foul aud stifled air of congressional hulls, and Iiohj springe strong aud buoyant again. The deep and imiijiuaui iccuiig oi the pmpln is only prens- the cause of lmnmn rinl.i.i ...! ;n ,.e into more acuvo and elnc ent service in ...... ' -.......,.... ... . hub inci we can, irom the iHittom or our heart, cryru loy on, McDuft" The old ad- efc. - m mva tl. lnvi il rone enoutrh and ha will -. ,1 ,..M lialiff himself!" seems In ua excnmlinvl n. plicuble to the slaveholders' bonus of the pre sent session. Indeed, render, it seems a law' of mind thut the evil must threaten ita very' life beforo it rouses itself to remove it ; aud : whnt is true of tbe individual kt true of asso ciated numbers. ... . 1 ho bono Of Contention ia disnniinil nf nn.l there is nothing lull for the application of the ' Proviso. And is the work of the friends of freedom ended? Is there no " Mason and , Dixon's line" to hold atrninst slnverv ? m' stand point for the enemies of shivery onr sido the Sluvo Slates ? Henceforth our work, " is to repel the invader ! Tho passage of the Fugitive Slave Hill is a precursor ol the tac tics of tho prosluverv nnrtv of tint V ni.iin. he cry will be, give, give, aud defend to ' us whnt you give." And let them only clam-.' or loud enough nnd strong enough, aud a. goodly army now sleeping under tho shad- ' ow ot tiie Union, will awuke to find it likn ' Jonah's gourd, withering in tho tropical ray of Sluvery! Hindhamln.) Deny. , The Fi-oiTiva Pnvr n,,.r. Ti.. v.u. York Courier and Knquirer indulges in , somo congratulatory remarks on the quiet and pence which tho luto action of Congresi nus given 10 ins country, and closes with the . following dissentient and truthful remarks on tho Fugitive Slnve Hill, with tho senti ments ot which we fully accord: " The law for the recovery of Fugitive Plnvce is an exception to these remarks. Un less we are greatly mistakon, that law ettv IhmI ics the elements of continued contro versy and excitement. Somo of its pro- ' visions are so directly at war with what' are generally considered and cherished aa personal rights, and are framed so expreae-r ly to do direct nnd wunton outrage, to ull generous and kindly feeling, that they will Inevitably awaken wide dissntiufuc-' Hon, and present points for most ef- fective appeuls to pcpulur feeling and sym- - fiathy. From that bill, therefore, wo appro i lend mischievous results. It will uot sub- ' " 1 stautiully aid the recovery of fugitivo slaves, while it w ill deepen and strengthen the pre valent feeling Umiii thut subject. -.!.. But tho exemption which we now enjoy-' . from exciting agitations must be grateful to ell, and should lie employed for the per manent harmony of the country. - It should be used to impress upon the public mind the esscutiul importance of a better state of feeling than has of lute existed, and the thorough nnd fundamental unity of interest ' which must maintain tho union of the Amsrican Stuto:'. In this way we may be . tho better prepared to Wurd off whatever . duhcra future agitations mny bring upon us.? Slave Catching. If those who hnve pnsn- ed the new slave catching bill, think it will bo the means of returning ninny slaves, thoy . aro, in our apprehension, grently niiHtnkon, It may be tho means of oppressing some kind hearted men who relievo the necessities of tho BUupgcr w ho nsk their aid when fly . ing from oppression', and it wilt, we doubt not ' muko tho whole system morn odious than . ever, but w ithoul tho aid of public sentiment, it cuu never effect tho objects intended by ite , uuwuige. Wo shall now see who there is amongst ns that will consent to take the office of Public Plavb Catcher, if there t is such an one, he ought to he known. t. -, v"l ..! Uui - ' 1 "T a 't ''!. a 1 V! ,v4 "V