Anti-slavery bugle. [volume], February 16, 1861, Image 1

About Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861

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"NO UNION Wlttt Sti knoiDERS"
BENJAMIN S. JONES, EDITOR.
ANN PEARSON, PUBLISHING AGENT."
4
SALEM, COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO, SAf ttttDAY, FEBRUARY 1G, 1SG1.
VOL. 1G. NO. 27.
WHOLE NO. 801:
7
the
THE ANTI-SLAV K.RY BUCLE,
POBHIl'tD VERr SATURDAY AT SALEM, OUlu'
By the Eseoutive Committee, of tho Western Anti
Slavery Sooiolj.
TERMS. $1-50 per annum payable n advance.
B-Coinmunieations intended for inaertiun, to
'be addrossod to Benjamin S. Junes, Editor.
Orders for tlie l oj er nnd loiters containing
money in payment for tlie sumoshould be Mros
ed to Ann Pearson, Publishing .Agent, Salem
olumbiana County, Ohio.
jjgy-Money carefully enveloped and directed aa
above, may bo sent by mail at our risk.
JyWe occasionally ennd numbers to tliote who
are not subscribers, but who ore believed to be
interested in tho dissemination of Anti-Slavery
'truth, with tho hope that they will cither subscribo
themiclvos or use their influence to extond ita
oiroula'.ion among their frie'rida.
TERMS OF ADVFRT1SIXG.
no Square, (1G linos) three wouke,
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of changing monthly, - - 12.00
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jiC:ir'la not exceeding eight lines will be in
serted one year for $300; nix month?, $2 00.
joy-Advertisements for patent medicine, speci
fic remedies, chance l uiuke money, Ac, neither
solicited nor published.
J. HUDSON, PRINTER.
The Anti-Slavery Bugle.
TWO CONFEDERACIES.
It is cloar, that at prosent nothing can be dono
in tho way of a friendly adjustment of tho dispute.
To all human appcarai.ee the cure of the prosont
unhappy state of things must be left to time and
Ik firm and prudor.t course on tho part of the gen
eral government. If the result should be a final
separation of tho slave states from tho free, there
are advantages in tho ecparatijn which we ought
riot to overlook. Let it be understood that a disso
lution of the Union is not what we desire, but it
roust not bejorgotieu tha', if the free states form
ed a republio by themselves it would be fid of an
'influence which has demoralized and corrupted
Oifr politics, by shaping them to promote tho in
terests of a powerful oligarchy ; that we shalj
have freed ourselves from the - dishonor of tolera
ting slavery within any pur; of our jurisdiction ;
that the slave slates, no lunger cr.j lying that re
ppeot ' which the free communities of the North
havo acquired for them, will be left to feel :he ef
fect which the natural abhorrence of the civilized
world for slavery will have upon the standing of
those countries iu which it in tolerated ; that we of
the free states, freed from that-clog on our action,
and clear of that dark blot, shall proceed on a ca
reer of glory and prosperity to which tfco world
will offer no pa'ullul; while tha slavo states will
bo loft to tho censure of civiTzcd mankind) to the
feebleness which their favorite institution oertaic.
ly entails upon them, and to the barbarism in
which those communities where it is not iu process
of extirpation are sure to plungo dcoper and deep
er. If wo might, iu this enumeration, refer to
niitters of less importance, we should mention the
greater economy with which the government might
be carried on wore the slaveholding states no long
er to form part of our confederacy.
But what Bteps, in the meantimo, shall the gov
ernment take? It seems to us that the question
is easily answered. It should insist on the return
of the property of which it has boen robbed. It
cannot expect that the irn.irgonts will respect the
government as long as it allows itself to be trifled
with. Those forts which it is of any consequence
to the United States to hold, should bo retaken; the
others might be left us they are. The federal
'government should again enter upon the posses
sion of the Pensaoula Navy Yard. It should fully
teinforce Fort Sumtor, It should require the res
toration of tho revenue outtor stolen from it at
Charleston. I. should declare the harbors of the
seceding states porn of entry no longer, and pro
. vent smuggling in their waters.
Tho seceding states have put out the lamps of
our light-houses, removed cur beaoons and taken
away the buoys which marked the access to their
liarbor. This is a violatiou of the laws of nations
The law requires six months' notice to be given of
the ereotion of a light-house or beacon, and six
months' notice of its removal. What the seoeding
states have dono may strew our shores with wrecks
and oorpses. The lamps in the light-houses must
be relit, the beacons set up again, and tho sea
narks restored. They are all ours; established!
at our expense t the sites bought for them by the
money of the free states, and a full title given to
the federal governmennt.
' The post routs in the seceding states must be
suppressed. They are not only used for purposes
of insurrection, at our expense, but thsy are in the
bands of those -who piy into all private corre
spondence, open private letters, and keep back all
those which they do not think proper to forward.
This makes them a nuisance which should bo in
stantly abated.
The Mississippi should bo kept open for the pas
sage of our oountrymen of the western states. If
obstructed by the revolutionists, their batteries,
built to command it, should be dotnolished. If tho
federal government fail to do this, the West will
do it for itself.
With these measures, our government can af
ford patiently to wait for the new asptots whioh
tr!e secession movement may take. It is premature
to talk of yielding tot he demand for a peaceable
separation. Wo must first let publio opinion at
tho South fully declare itself, we must give time
for the conservative classes, encouraged by a show
of strength and determination in the federal gov
ernment, to oombine and make themselves beard,
that we may dotermine how large a portion of the
population they firm, X Y. Ertniny Poit,
c
of
is
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
"A great many partisan intorosts are to be sup
pressed, party platforms swopt away, before the
Union, if in danger, (Vnd if it is to bo saved, can
bo saved ; but it will require a very short time, if
(ho Union does require to be saved, Tor all these
interests and platforms all these men, to disap
pear. Everybody who shull oppose', resist or stand
in the wny of the preservation of this L'r.ion, w ill
appear like moths on a summer evening, when
tlie whirlwind of popular indignation arises that
shall be excited at tho full discovery that this Un
ion is in dangor through die faction, or even the
impracticability of one part." Sctcard's Speech.
What doe, Mr. Seward mean by such language?
Dj?s ho mean, by tho sweeping away of platforms,
that the principles of the Chicago plutform are to
bo surrendered to the haughty demands of the
South? What does he mean by tho assertion that
'U these interests aid plutfornis all these men
are Id disappear " Docs he mean that the men
who supported the Chicago platform are to give
way bc.'ure the traitor disui.ioniats of the South
Dues he apply to the resolute, sincoro and un-
yielding men who adhere, now and forever, in the
lace of all conscqueucos, to the principles on
which Mr. Lincoln vvbs elected, the reptoaebful
terms, 'faction,' and impracticability I'forlayc
Luunly Democrat.
?,
JJrWe seo by the llurrisburg Ttlegraplt that
Mr. Irish, the excellent Senator from Allegheny,
has introduced in our Stato Satiate, a bill having
for iis object the protection of tho rights of mar
ried women. It soemi that whilst heretofore mar
ried women had possessed the legal right to carry
on business as if ihcy were unmarried and whilst
tho intention of our legislators was evidently to
give them the sole right to collect their own earn
ings yet our Supreme Court has construed the
law so as to coufor the light on tho husband to
collect such money as sha may have earned the
profits of her own labor. The design of Mr.
Irish's bill intends to confer upon her the oxclu
ive right to collect her earnings. This is emi
nently just, and prevcits any violation of the
rights which God and nature have conferred ur.on
ber. Irue American (la )
J&SaTWo learn that Miss White daughter ol
Mr. Ezra White of M'Kean township who ro.
cectly married n gentleman from Mississippi and
removed timber, arrived in this city on Tuesday
last, having been driven from the State because
she held opinions adverse to the interests of that
system whioh chattelisies four millions of human
beings nud degrades all who would obtain honest
livings by honest toil. She was warned to leave,
and ten hours was set as th limit of time within
which she was to effect her departure.
Hadn't wo better cvmprominct AYie True
American.
From the Ashtabula Sentinel.
"And this is Homo, Home, that sat m her eoven
hills, and from her throne of beauty ruled tho
world."
Cleveland, cur proud Forest Oityj is degraded,
bowed down to the very dust, and at the beck aud '
ill of ruffians. Vauii ! vanity I a little more
ihutn twelve mouth since, you draped your city
in bUuk, sent up sighs and lamentation!1; because
the nolilo spirit of the freedom loving martyr,
John mown, ascended to Heaven, n tiat U onion
possesses you now, that you delight in the surreu
der of a poor helpless slave-girl to her relentless
and dastardly owners ? And bow proud you are
say, we abide the Law.
And the Cleveland Leader, too has become a
based, and cringes to a ficud law. How we glo
ried in the conviction that to thousands, it was
sent the white-winged messenger of Truth, the
friend of the wronged and oppressed, demanding
justice for all. But alas, how changed I Now it
delights to be acknowledged as tho compeer of the
Plain Dealer and Democrat. Was its editor one
the pall-bearing deputies, the slavo-girl boing
the bier on which was carried out of our midst,
the living sacrifice of our most holy piinciples ?
Bury your resolutions, Clovelanders, of former
years. Let them moulder in the grave of your
city's liberty. Set Marshal Johnston in a high
place in your temple of infamy and wrong. Crown
Slude with laurel. Shout his resolutions to the
winds of Heaven. Let tbem blow fiercely over
tbo broad waters of Erie, and to the land where
the bond go free, and tbey will be answered in
time.
From the Ashtabula Sentinel. From the Ohio State Journal.
A Clevaland paper states that "a paper Is be'
ing circulated on the streets, we are told, and al
ready numerously signed, giving assurance to a
geutleinad from Kentucky, who has ascertained
that one of his runaway slaves is in the city,
that he shall be protected in coming here and
regaining possession of his property." The pa
per further says that about a hundred signatures
had been obtained, mostly those of llepuulicane.
We would suggest to our Republican brethren of
Cleveland that they go a little further in their de
votiou to the due enforcement of law, end as it
rather expensive hunting up fugitives oireu
late a subscription paper to raise means to defray
the expenses of the Kentucky gentleman, and
aleo to tender him a reception ball at one of the
commodious hotels of their pleasant city. It
would bo well, also, to avoid all reference, in pros
euce of the Kentucky gentleman, to the manner in
which free white men of the North are treated by
our Southern brethren, to tho battery at Vieke-
burg, stealing of Uuited States property by the
chivalry and all that kind of facts, which might
not bo agreeable to the gentleman from Kentucky,
aDd which might oreate serious unpleasantness,
THE CALL.
Sons of the bast of fathers I will ye falter
With all they left yo perilled and at stake ?
Ho 1 once again on Frsedom's holy altar
The fire awake I .
Prayer-strengthoned for the trial, come together,
Put on the harness for the moral fight,
And, with the blessing of our Heaveuly Father,
MAINTAIN THE RIGHT.
From the Boston Post.
CRUDITIES OF THE CONSTITUTION—THE
DIFIFCULTIES THAT SURROUND US.
Certuio people of the North will Insist that the
United States government is a military despotism,
and that President Buchanan Las all the power ol
the shnh of Persia to soizo and imprison and bang
men at his pleasure. Thus the republican presses
ore demanding of tho President, that he shall
seize the commissioners from South Carolina, and
(ry thorn for treason 1 If you ask tbem what is
treason, they can't tell, but they insist that the
President ou-ht to hang somebody, because Par
ton, in what lie calls his ''Life of Andrew Jackson,"
(compiled too much from street talk and
newspaper slanders,) sets it down that General
Jackson proposed to hang Mr. Calbouu, for nulli
fication, which is false. Nooitiien can be punish
ed or deprived of life 'or liberty, in this country
without the proeess of lew
Massachusetts, iu 1814, sent two ambassadors
f the Hartford convention to Washington, to-de
mand of President Madison, tile separation
o
Now Eoglund from the Union, in carrying on the
J war. William Sullivan and Harrison Gray Otis
were the commissioners. LMr. Madison did not
' proposo to hang thorn. But, as Mr. John Quinoy
j Adams eajs, of the peace of Ghent, the news
which came wliilo the commissioners were
Washington, "tho (interposition of a kind Provi
dence averted the must deplorable of catastro,
phies" "ihe establishment of a Northern confed
eracy."
South Carolina now follows the example of Mas
sacliusetts, byteuding her commissioners to Prei
idjut Buchanan, and President Buchanan is abus
ed by Massachusetts, in particular, because he
won't hang them for treason; without judge or
jury 1
Now let us enquire what treason H, and what
the Coustituion says about seizing and hanging
peoplo in this country.
The Constitution of the United S;ates soys :
"Treason against the United States shall con
sist, only, in lovyiug war against them, or in ad
hering to their enemies, giving them aid and com
fort." Tho last applies only to aiding a foreign enemy
and giving them comfort, as the Hartford conven
tion did in 1814.
The Uuited States not being at war, treason now
can consist only in levying war upon the United
Siates, and the Constitution says trie re must be
some overt act proved by two witnesses. And
what is levying war is thus defined by the Su
preme Court of the United States vs. Aaroi Burr:
' To levy war is to raiso, create, maks or carry on
war. War can bo levied only by the employment
of actual force troops must be embodied, men
must be openly raised, 4c." And the purpose
must bo to make war on tho United Sta'es. Thus,
"to march in arms, with a force marshaled and
arrayed, committing acts of violence and devasta
tion, in order to compel tha resignation of a public
officer, to render ineffective an aot of Congress, is
high treason," says Chief Justice Marshall.
That was the nature of the offence which Theo
dore Parker, Wendell Philips, and their associ
ates were charged with, when they incitod the
mob, in Faneuil Hall, to go to the court house and
rescue BurnB, the fugttivo slave, in whioh unlaw
ful enterprise Batchelder, one- ol the marshal's
deputies, was murdered.
And hero, again, South Carolina is only follow
ing this example of Massachusetts, in the attack
of the forts, if she had really UBed military lorce
to take them.
That is treason in the men who committed and
incited tho act, unless South Carolina has a right
to secede from the Union. But it is not treason
in the State, for a State cannot commit treason.
It is only treason in the individuals wbooommit
tho overt aot.
And if it be treason or misdemeanor, where is
the authority of the President to seize or hang
anybody, as the republicans are insisting be ought
to do, and charge him with being a traitor for nut
doing?
The Constitution is very plain on this point. It
reads thus :
'The trial of all crimes shall be by jury, and
such trial shall be held in the State where the
said crimes shall havo been committed."
"No person shall be held to answer for a crime,
unless ott a presentment or indictment of a grand
jury, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law."
"And, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
publio trial, by an impartial jury of the Slate,
where the crime has been committed."
Tbeeo are (he limitations of that despotism
whioh certain people so inconsiderately claim now-
a-days for the President.
If any citizen or body of men in South Carolina
have levied war against the United States, they
cannot be arraigned or tried for it anywhere but
in South Carolina.
There must be first an indictment found by a
grand jury in South Carolina. There must be a
district attorney to prepare and attest the indict
ment. There must be a oourt to reoeivo it and ar
raign the prisoner, and a jury to try bio).
This last was the protection which Parker and
Phillips and their associates found when they were
indicted for what they called "free speech" in con
nection with the murder of Batchelder, and the
obstruction of tho laws of the United States for
the rendition of fugitive slaves.
The President oou'.d not seise them, nor could
they be tried anywhere but in Massachusetts;
and though there were all the'offiuers of the lasr
here and a grand jury indicted them, they
esoaped a trial and got off upon a very small tech
nicality, which was that the commissioner who
issued bis warrant of arrest had signed it only
commissioner, without saying what commissioner;
and the oourt beld that the icdictment, howevor
drawn could not supply this deficiency, because it
eould not gs beyond the desoription in the war
rant Just so President Buobanan has no power to
seize, or arraign, or try anybody In Washington or
anywhere else. If (hers have been aets of trea
son, they bavs besn oommitted only in South Caro-
Una. The parties charged must be tried in that
State by a jury of the Slate. There is no United
States marshal to arrest them, no district attorney
to indict them, no grand jury to find a bill, no
eourl to arraign, and no Jury to try tbetn. How
then are the steps to bo taken whioh the Constitu
tion demands in every case of allosod crime? And
if there were all (be officers of the court and ju
ries, everybody know, that a court in South Caro
lina would bold that the right of secession absol
ved the party accused from his liability to the laws
of the United States, and no jury would eonvi'it.
From the Ashtabula Sentinel.
THE FUGITIVE AT CLEVELAND.
Her ancestors had been kidnaped in Africa.
For generations Ihey bad been beld as slaves in
Virginia, bad been scourged, degraded, brutal
ized. She had herself caught some glimpses of
Ubnstianity. She saw that her life, her liberty,
and that which was dearer than both, were held
at the disposal of a brutal master. She had beard
of Cleveland as Ihe citidel of freedom'; she bad
beou told that a Christain community resided
there. She fled to it. She was a strar.gor de
manding Ibe protection of a Christaiu peoplo.
But she was pursued by her despotic claimant.
He asserted his right to dispose of her life, bor
liberty, her virtue. In open day, in the midst of
civilized people, she was seized ; the cold iron was
placed upon ber limbs, and she was hurried to a
fote far worse than death. Persons of her own
complexion were iol'd they rhUst not inteiftre to
save this helpless, this friendless woman. In
Africa, tbey would have dono it; but in Cleveland,
barbarism was protected by their public men.
Indeed, some of them united in the perpetration of
this revelling crime.
I bring no railing accusation against them. I
feel this blow t the honor of our beautiful city, at
the honor of our Western Reserve, at the honor of
our State, at the honor of our people, too deeply. I
write in sorrow, and not in anger. But they rep
resented themselves as acting in obedienco toLiw.
I deny it emphatically, l'ho Fugitivo Slave Act
is not law according to the definition of that term
given by any approved writer for the last centu
ry. "Law" says Blackstone, "is a rule of action
prescribed by the supreme powor of a State, com
manding that which is right, and prohibiting that
which Is wrong." The Fugitive Act commands
that which is wrong, and prohibits that which is
right. It is the reverse of law, the antagonism of
law. It was never prescribed by the people who
are tho supreme power in this nation. Tbey nev
er delegated to members of Congress authority to
murder, or enslave any human being ; tbey held
no such authority thomsolves, and could not have
delegated it to slaveholders and doughfaces. It
s insulting to the intelligence of our people to
call that act "Law," No, let the troth be spoken:
thecapturo of Luoy was as unauthorized, as unmit
igated a piracy as was the capture of her ancestors
in Africa. But some of those men were Republi
cans, luey naa saia to tne worm, tnat uacj neia
her right to life and liberty from tie Creator.
That our government was instituted to secure the
onjoj meat of thes3 rights. Under the Constitu
tion they had sworn she should not be deprived of
them, except on conviction of crime. Added to
these, were all the huihin sympathies and all the
moral considerations appreciable by mortals ur
ging them to protect this friendless female stran
ger. Why did tbey not do it ? They dared not
do it. They bowed meekly submissive, to the
most arrant despotism that ever crushed the souls
of men. It was the despotism of slavery. Bu
chanan surrenders up onr Forts and Arsenals at
the bidding of the slave power. But the princi
ple men of Cleveland surrender up helpless fe
males to moral death, at this bidding of the same
slave power. History will record too mournful
story of Luoy ; but when future generations shall
look back upon the present day, and find that
obedience to the most revolting despotism was held
forth as a virtue, here on this Western Reserve lb
this afternoon of the nineteenth century; that in
a land of bibles and of churches, aland boasting
of its Christianity, the people quietly looked upon
this most repulsive barbarism without raising a
band to prevent it, they will wonder, but will be
unable to account for suoh moral phenomenon.
When our people were seized and enslaved un
der Algerine enaotments, we, as a nation, with
unanimous voice pronounced the enslavers "pi
stes," unworthy of human association, and we
butchered them without mercy. If those Alge-
rines deserved death, Qoshorn and the captors of
Lucy bavs no claims to life, and every man who
advised or consented, or assisted to oonsign ber to
chains and bondage, is accessory to the crime.
Nor ars we to be told that the people cannot
judge of these questions. There is not a mechan
ic black or white, in tne city ol Cleveland, wbo
will admit that Congress oan confer on any man
authority to murder or enslave an innocent fellow
being. That tbey oan impose upon any person an
obligation to submit to be' murdered or enslaved.
Even the heathen barbarism on board tbe slave
ship Amistad acknowledged this universal con
sciousness. They asserted their right to life, their
right to liberty, and slew those wbo attempted to
bold tbem in bondagsi Tbey strnck down men
who were far more innocent than was Qoshorn
and his assistants in orime. But the Supreme
Some twelve years sines, a young slave woman
in Virginia was set upon by a white ruffian who
ttemped to violata ber person. She possessed
strong pbysioai powers, and in defending herself,
she strack such blow as to lay him dead at ber
foot. For doing this shs was oonvkted and sen
tenced to be boogi Members of tbe Methodist
Church to which she belonged, interceded with
the Executive) who agreed to pardon ber on con
dition that she would Wave the United States.
Her friends sgress) tbal she should do so, and ap
plied to the writer for letters addressed to the
friends of liberty in Ohio asking their hospitality
towards this viotim to tile barbarism of Virginia,
to which Lucy was consigned by men of Cleva
land. The letters were given; end this woman Is
now an sxile, for defending ber virtue nnder Yirr
ginla lane.
Court of the United elates bold them guiltless
and tbe Christian world approved the act. They
surely manifested a superior civilization, a higher
vbristiaaity on this point than did those princi
pal men of Cleveland. The elavos on board the
Creole understood their natural rights ; they slew
those who attempted to make, merchandise bf
their souls and bodios. I, aoting as the Represent
atives of this Congressional District, publicly vin
dicated this act of the slaves. The British min
istry vindicated it ) the peoplo of our district, in
deed the peoplo of (he United States approved of
the action of those slaves. And the people
of Cuyahoga county for ten years, sustained me in
the position I had assumed on that subject.
I am laying down no new doctrine. For a cen
tury it bis been beld by Christian Publicists, that
the right of every human being to life and liber
ty, lies behind and Above human governments,
guaranteed by the will of tbe Most High, that
to violate this will of God by murdering or
enslaving men, constitutes tbe highest of human
offences, whether it be done by murderers, pirates,
or despots. This will of God, this natural law,
cannot be changed or modified by human legis
lation. It constitutes the basis, the essential el
ement in cur government. It constitutes the life
giving principle of the Republican organization.
To surrender it, would be to surrender the Re
public in party, to surrender (be government, to
surrender our liberties.
The doctrine of submission preached by our
friends at Clovelund, when curried out, would sur
render their own daughters to Southern prosititu
tinn, and themselves to interminable bondage.
Nor can Marshal Johnson Le !b any degree ex
cused, because he is an officer. He knows that
Lucy's right to liberty was beld directly from the
5r'oat'or. Thit neither murderers, pirates, nor
members of Congress had authority to disrobe bor
of this prerogative. He knew that the process is
sued by Bushnel White, commanding him to vio
late the liberty of Lucy, was void, was a mockery,
confering on him no authority whatever, imposing
dpoh her no obligation to submit to bo enslaved.
That its orly effect was to involve White in the
Crime, to render him n party in the guilt. There
is but one qualification to which these remarks is
subject: The turpitude of White, John'on and
Goshorn. and those principal men of Cleveland,
who advised, or consented to this enslavement of
Lucy, is measured by their intelligence. G
P. S. Since writing the above, I have been in
formed that those persons who met at Lima are
to be indicted, and punished for conspiring to se
cure Lucy in the enjoyment of ber liberty. Such
a prosecution will be consistent. If the fugitive
act be "law," all wbo conspire in favor of freedom
must be offenders. And inasmuob as Hancock,
Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and their associates
who favored the great oonspiraoy of 1776, are now
beyond the jurisdiction of Judge Wilson's oourt,
it might be well to ombraoe the Chicago Conven
tion and tbe Republican party in one general in
dictment. The submissionists and com promisors
will of course be glad to aot as prosecuting wit
nesses. 1 presume .mage wane, judge uanney,
and all those publio men who have deolarsd they
would liberate any person captured undor tbe fu
gilive act, will at once plead guilty. Judge Sut-
liff and Judge Brinkerhoff, having dared officially
to proclaim tbo fugitive act void, should be most
severely punished.
But what can be said to mitigate tbe punish
ment of Tom Corwin, Senator Monroe, and other
conspirators who oomposed the Republican State
Convention of 1859, and before the country de
clared this fugitive aot "destructive to the rights
of the States, to the liberties of the people, and
abhorrent to the sense of the civilited toorld." I
tremble for these flagrant offenders. But I trust
that the punishment of the poople of our State,
who voted to sustain tbe views of tbe convention,
who elected Judge Brinketboff because he beld
these doctrines, will receive mercy at the bands of
the slave-catchers.
THE BRITISH WRIT HABEAS CORPUS.
Considerable interest is now felt in the issue of
tbe writ of habeas corpus to the Governor-General
of the Canadas in the case of Anderson, the fugi
tive slave, claimed as a oriminal. Tbe Judges of
England, who have issued Ihe writ, are apprehen-
sive, in tne nrsi instance, ot (no eneoi oi sucn a
proceeding npon the dignity o f the local courts ;
and, in the second, of the consequence to their
Own dignity of tbe possible disobedience of tbe
Queen's Viceroy. A precedent occurs to as whioh
ought to allay any apprehensions on tbe score of
the resistance of tbe Governor.
Some thirty yei.rs ago the sitting judge of tbe
Supreme Court of Bombay (Sir John Petet Grant)
issued 4 writ of habeas corpus, . returnable by an
offiocr in tbe interior ot the Deccan or southern
districts. - Tbe object was to bring np the body of
a Hindoo youth, with Christian proolivities, whose
parents desired to keep bim in a state of Hindoo
religious servitude, oir John Maloom, the Gover
nor of B-imbay and the provinces inoloded in that
presidency, alarmed in reality for his dwn absolu
tism, but professing apprehensions tnat the natives
would regard the exeroise of Ihe authority of Ihe
Supreme Court a a movement in favor of conver
sion, ordered forcible resistance to the writ. Sir
John Grant then olosed bis court after an indig
nant remonstrance, and appealed to the authorities
in England. . Tho law upheld Sir John's proceed
ings; but the President pf tbe Board of Coutrol
(Lord Elleoborough) sent out two Puisne Judges
to sit for the future on the ssme bench with Sir
John Orant, and curb, by a numerioal majority,
bis disposition to carry out British law with' ex
actitude. '
this arrangement the facetious and self-complacent
Ellenboroogb likened o the employment of
two tame elephants to coerce i wild one. Mr.
John Grant it once resigned bis seat and recom
menced praotioe at tbe bar, only to be raised again
to more luorative position on the bcheb of Cal
cutta by Lord Ellenboroogh't laooessorV
It is manifest from this thai the writ of habeas
corpus is operative throogout the British territo
ries, and that any resistance to Its' authority is
j
only calculated to produce disturbance) and in '
dignity. No lame elephopte ban be brougni io
bear upon the Lord Chief Justice of England and -i
his concurring colleagues! and it may therefore ti -'
assumed that the local authorities in Canada will1"
not resent the writ with impunity. Indeed, hay-'
seem to be inclined to obey a law which gives
freedom (o the slave orider any, fciroometiocsi
however aggravated. N. 1. k"ost. 1
From the London Times, Jan 22.
COTTON IS KING.
The American Revolution is advancing wllh rajv
id strides to a consummation. Within a west or
two we may expect to. hear of oivtl war between iht
States of the Great Republio. Anxious lis we feel
to escape such a conclusion! we do not see how it
is to be evaded. The ftorth ie no longer disposed
to mate 'concessions e7en if ihe Sodlh would listen1
to compromise, and, although we may allow for a '
certain amount ot blustering on the part of tht
Secessionists, nobody doubts that Americans art '
ready to fight. We look apon this prospect with'
unaffected horror. Independently of oar natural
sympathies, wo have enormous interests at stale
such interests, indeed, that our charily mast b'egtii
at home. We deplore the political catoslrotiHe', v
but our Srst thought tribst necessarily be given to
its commercial effects. If trie' Southern States of"
Ihe Union are convulsed by war, a servile insur-
rection will be Only oi probable an incident of tbi
strife; if the slaves rebel, the cottoc crojp perish ;
es; and with tbe failure of the cotton crop comes
the parslysis of our own staple manufacture. The
question is 80 momentous that It cannot be too "
seriously urged or too expeditiously entertained.
Lancashire depends on South Carolina, and wbtl
South Carolina is doing becomes lemliy evl'dohl
from each successive dispatch. The telegrams of '-'
Saturday last were the most ominous yet received,
and if we compare with these reports an article
trom a weekly cotemporary which we yesterday
transcriber', the perils actually ahead of US will 14
distinctly appreciated.
not a doubt exists as to the resources at cor
command. Cotton can be Crown almost Us eom-
monly as wheat. The best seeds and this besi
staples are now well understood, and the proper ; '
method of cleaning and packing tan be easily
taught. ' The r'sst is tbe work oT a year or two',- '
Since the pnblication of our last remarks on this '
subject, we have received a communication from
one of the Societies interested in Afrioan eivilisa--
lion, informing as that tbe progress of cotton cUj-
livatidn at Abbeokuta; as actually abd authentic!-'
!y recorded, is siioh as to matoh the beginnings of ' 1
even American enterprise. In 1850, that obsoare;
though productive region, sentabout half si bait of -'
cotton to England. In 1S55 (his medium he'd
been increased about forty fold, and in 1860 II
actually amounted to aboot 2,006 bales. We arw '
assured tbal the dijtrict could easily erovf cotton A
for the consumption of all Lancashire, and we art
asked whether the introduction of skilled htgroee
from the United States would not soori give hi s
new Charleston on the African coast? ' From In- -dia
the offers are Ihe same. If in 1857 Iadid '
could send ns, as she did, 080,000 bales, it ia fair -'
enough to presume that under the pressrirer and -
with the encouragement of a strong demand ste
could raise ber supplies to l.OOO.OOd bales seatw
ly half of our immediate wauls. Then, again, -'
tbero is Australia, actually inquiring for a staple
aM'He of produce, and desirous of nothing better
than to be set cotton growing for England.
We do not dissemble tbe particular difficulty of
tbe oase. We have repeatedly observed, and wa '
acknowledge once more; that Americd has got lb -oall
of the market. It is not tbal her ild7Dtitagei -might
not be equalled in the end by those of Aus
tralia or India, but at present she enjoys all those
facilities of organization and traffic which would
bavs to be created elswhere. The oreation woul4
be perfectly practicable, but it has still to ba sMs
complished, and in the meantime there-is the old-- :
fashioned firm, with its capital, its eonneetione,
and all that makes business profitable, yst ondam
aged. Nobody oan say, however, that the seon- ,
rity will last a month longer, and besides that,,.
our national interests call imperatively for new ,
upples. It is worth reflecting that if tbe agrisul- .
lure of the Slave States should be mined, there
will be a trade of 40,000,000 a year to be picked
up by some other oountries. ,
Mcnitt at Fcht Picksns; Ws5 leafii Irdm I,
private lotter received by a gentleman in this
place; and dated tbe 17th inst., that there was an
attempt to mutiny at Fort Pickens, by a portion of
the men under command of Lieutenant Slemer, but
it bad been put down; bat tbe men swear they want
fight against their countrymen. The writer does
not think there will be a fight, however, but rather
thinks that as soon aa everything is ready to b
eiege tbe fort, Lieutenant Slemer will surrender
it. Mobile Mercury '.'
LATEST FROM MONTGOMERY.
MoNtaotfiat. Feb. t). this has been tbt most
important day in tlie session of lbs Convention.
A Committee wae appointed to report on a flag,
seal of arms, and motto for tbe Confederacy. - -
Tbe Prosident was directed (0 appdltit a Com"
mittsa on Foroica Affairs, on Finance: on Military '
and Naval Affairs, on Postal Affairs, t)h Commsrea
and un Patents. " " ' r '
Tbe Convention then proceeded td (lie eleotiotj
of the executive officers of tha new Government.
with the following result! For President of Iht
Confederated State of North Ameribs; Hon. Jsffer- -son
Davis received the unanimous rota of tha Con- '
vention; for Vice President, lion; Alex. Stephens)
was elected;' " - ' ;.
A resolution was adopted; eppbiatlblf d CuusbIV'J
tee of three of Ihe Alabama lepfailes, io Inqutra -and
report on what term! suitable buildings; H
Montgomery ban be st ehrsd for tba use of ihe (av
eral exocutiva departments bt ibe fctibtbderScy,.
undor the prdvisiooal goththirioril. . ,
An ordinanoe vras passed, eontinaing in (area
until repealed or altered by Congress, all law af
ihe United Stales, bow in forca or use till tit trst
ol November, suhjeet tw tba Contrrstatioa ot ftf