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the 8enate Chamber, that this great negro mob of Bo-too, against which the public la preparing it*". *?" ^ gtigated by the cmtosaries of Greet Britain. And ? thing we koow of e cmll will be nude to the Brhwh to know whether or not the Government of r . tolerate, any auch thing. Once for *Imfl t hJAjflf idle. There to no wrath of man whhfceM(Now to into anything that la worthy of the "J3 about it. It is one of the .imple.t and ma* plated affair, that ever occurred? a momentary impul*.to euc cenful resisUnce taJftV. II hM Uzed community, anftn every State of the Union and will occur so long as mankind continue to be what they "wT!e. And if upon every aoch occasion auch a parade as thiaismade, it will bring the Government into contempt. You will make the whole body of the people diatrust the effl eiency of the Government in it. regular operation. Instead of strengthening, you weaken ; instead of giving respect you take it away i instead of adding rtrength, you but make it weaker .nd weaker. It to for this reason that I am utterly oDDoeed to taking any further notice of thia matter. If the ?onatituted authorities of Boeton shall advise the Premdent that there ia a ehade of doubt that they are competent to car ry out the la we, then, and not till then, will it be time for us Mr'cASS. Mr. President, I have listened with patience to this discussion. There to a great deal to excite the indig nation of the 8enator from Kentucky, and I concur in much that be haa aaid. With reapect to the courae of the Admin istration, which to condemned by the honorable Senator from Virginia, it to no part of my business to defend it; it haa able and cealou. friend, enough on thi. floor to do that 5 but I owe it to truth and candor to say that, a. far as I understand the measure, of the Premdent, I approve them, and I believe he is determined to do hto duty firmly in reapect to thia law ; and as one member of the 8eoate, I will ?ay that if the law is de fective, I am willing to clothe him with any neceuary power within the limit, of the constitution. I am prepared to do th*But I roee principally to .ay that I regret to have heard the remarks of the 8enator from Virginia, (Mr. Masoh.) He will permit me to aay that I cannot see any good that will re suit from that attain of observation. I do not ate any use in a member of thia Senate getting up and announcing to the public that the law will not be executed. It does no good, and I believe myaelf, aa one, that the 8enator to totally mi* taken. Why will it not be executed ? The Senator from Virginia and the Senator from Maasachusett., the other day, teemed both to say that public opinion was against it. The Senator from Massachusetts says that it will not. openly be re stoted, but it would not be executed. Mr. DAVI8, of Massachusetts I made use of no such language. I expieaaed no opinion that the law would not be executed. . Mr. CA88. If I did not very much misapprehend the honorable Seoator, bis remark was that when public opinion was against the law, it waa decidedly useless to expect its ex ecution, and that public opinion waa againat it in his own 8tate. , . ... T Mr. DAVIS, of Massachusetts. Nothing of the kind. I expreaaed no auch opinion. Mr. CASS. A gentleman near me informs me that the 8enator from New Hampahire (Mr. Hali) uttered this opin ion. I thought it was the Senator from Massachusetts, but at any late I think it apparent, from what was .aid by the Se nator from Massachusetts, that the aa >ral sentiment of the country was, in his section of it, against the law. Why does the honorable 8enatoi from Virginia aay it will not be exe cuted ? For two reaaona, ao far a. I understood him ; one legal, and one rcaulting from the atate of public opinion. That there are laws on the statute book of Massachusetts that should never have been there, and which should be wiped away instantly, no man who loves the constitution of his country, and wishes the perpetuation of tbe Union, can doubt for a tingle moment. They ought to be expunged. But those laws will not interfere with the laws of the United State* 80 far as they are unconstitutional they have no legal exist ence, and will present no real impediment to the execution of our laws. The judiciary will condemn them, and our laws will be executed. 80 far as the laws of Massachusetts are constitutional, no matter in what spirit they may have been passed, we have no right aa legtolatora here to call them in question. We may condemn the motive, but so far as re spects Massachusetts, she may make such Isws as she thinks proper within her own limits con forma t ly to the constitution of the United States and tbe constitution of that State. It aeems to me surprising that any man can be found within right of Faneuil ^all, that old Cradle of American Liberty, who would hesitate for one moment to sweep forever fi om the statute book lawa framed in auch a spirit and leading to such onsequence.. Again, why cannot this law be executed ? The honorable Senator from Virginia .ay. that the people will not join in the execution of it ; that the people are opposed to it. What does the honorable Senator mean by that ? He does not mean that, every man in Massachusetts should voluntarily get up and aarist in the recapture of a fugitive. He doc not mean that, of courae. If the constitution is carried out in good faith, and the owner of the alave or his agent ia clothed with all the necessary power and authority, that to all you can aak of the legislative department of tbe Government j and all you can aak of the executive department ia, that neither the ownera nor its officers should be interfered wilh or resisted in the execution of the power given them by the law and by the constitution. But it is said that the people are opposed to the law. That is no objection to the validity of the law nor to its due execution. Opinion is one thing and actual reaistance another. If a murderer eacapes from Michigan into Virginia you cannot expect the population to rise up and run after him. It is not reasonable to anticipate such a thing. Mr. MASON. It would be done. Mr. CA?8. Would the honorable Senator leave Win cheater and go to hunt up a murderer, or forger, or thief who had escaped from another State ? Mr. MASON. I would, if it was necessary to execute the law. Mr. CASS. If it was necessary to execute the law, of course he would do it with pleatuie. 80 would I ; and so would every body with correct sentiments upon this subject. But I am speaking of the voluntary action of the people, of their gratuitous and uncalled for interposition. The only idea I meant to convey was, that the withholding of this voluntary action does not constitute reasonable ground for saying that the law will never be executed. The public sentiment in Massachusetts upon this subject to as unfortunate as it is wrong. No man deplores it more than I do, but I believe the law will be executed there and wherever the flsg of the Union waves. That is my fum belief. No man has a right to doubt it till the subject has been fairly tried. A wonderful change in public sentiment ha. taken place. It is going on and will go onward until the great object i. accompliahed. We we it at the North, we we it at the West, and all around us \ and we cannot misuke it. As my friend from New York (Mr. Dickih.oh) very truly and impressively stated, the de cirion in the city of New York in the case of Long has been of great value towards carrying into effect the provisions of the constitution in relation to this subject. Its imposing manner, the length of time taken to argue it, leaving every thing free to be discussed for and against the law, and finally the delivering up by the officers of the United 8utes, aided by the police of the city, of the fugitive, was a beautiful trial of public opinion, and an illuatration of the effect of this law, and ha. been felt throughout thia Union Irom one end of it to the other. Let u. try the law, and not denounce it be forehand. These foreboding prediction, do no good. It to not .uprising, after the wonderful agitation through which we have passed, that the wave, do not instantly subside. It is not in human nature. Time must be given for reflection before a calm can tske place. Give these element, of sound public opinion, and let it be seen that the law will be carried into effect, and when ever resistance arise, to iU execution, let it be at once put down fairly and promptly. I believe in that manner the object will be accomplished, and speedily. 1 join in the general reprobation so well expressed by the Senator, from Kentucky and Virginia, of the fo reigner who ha. come to our country. If an American went to England and conducted himself in the seme manner, he would not only be put down by public opinion, as the hon orable 8etutor from Kentucky but, he would be on his way to BoUny Bay within a month after the meeting of the first ceurt that could try him for treason or aedi'ion. "Vet many person, and many papers in our own country advocate the courae of thi. vile disturber of the public peace?advocate hi. right to come to our country and denounce our institu tions, and disseminate doctrines, which, if they prevail, will lead to the dissolution of thia Uni >n as ccrtainly aa that the sun, which to about to ?et, will rise again to-morrow. V et we are asked tamely to suffer this state of things. I see that the papers in Edinburgh and in London, which alwaya mani fest such a "kind" regard and watchful care for the honor and institution, of the United States, are denouncing the eppos'tion to thi. man, and maintaining bi. right to go from one end of our country to the other, abusing our people and on* inatitutions, and propagating view. a. false as they are dangerous. The honorable Senator from New Hampshire seems to think that this is all fair5 that there ia not a particle of ill-will or anim-uity in it, but the kindest feelings towards the United Statea ; thst it ia a generous philanthropy alone which instigates thi? foreign political propagandist. Crednt Judsrut Ape I la Let him believe thia who can. I judge ihe man by hia acU and doctrines. If there were neither phyai cal nor moral evila in England, and not enough of either to engage the most enlarged philanthropy, I should hs?e more patience with a man who sets out to try to find them in an other country. But he comes here from a land abounding in misery, to srraign our institutions, to abuse our people, to condemn our Government, and by falsehood and mi.repre.en tation to excite one portion of our country against another by deeds of lawlew violence. I am not among those who 1be lieve that he ia sent out on thi. mission by the British Wov ernment. I do them no such injustice. But he is doubtless simulated and encouraged by a latoe atate of public 0P,n*M} in that oountry, originating in ?nd motives which I do not now stop to Instigate. There can be no " to tbe bearing of public ojtahm there upon h s efforts. Tbey ?re almost universally approved. Nor do I believe, if he should accomplish his object, and give practical effect to prin ciple* tbat would break up the Government arid dissolve the L nion, and direct our energies to internal war rather than to the great enterprises of peace, that many sincere regrets would be felt in tbat country, however sentimental might be the para graphs in the papers. r MA80N. The 8enator from Michigan, I take it for granted, does not mean to misquote me. I did not remark that this law would never be executed. I cannot pretend to look so far into futurity. What I said, and what I now re peat, la this .- that if the 8enator considers that this law has been executed in such a way aa to yield the fruits of the law in every instance where the alave is not recovered by effectual violence and resistance to the law, he does not interpret the execution of tbe law as I do. I mean to aay, that except in aome few instancea, tbia law, as far as I am informed, haa not yielded the fruits of such a law; for when it has returned the property to the master, it is returned at a cost equal lo the value of the property. If the honorable Senator from Michi gan means that that is the execution of the law with which the slave States are to be satisfied, he misinterprets the feeling of the people of those States. Sir, I have not aaid that this law never will be executed. I nave said, what I repeat, that tte law cannot be executed \ ,t>,u jl?f.l^e Power ?' man ,0 execute it, unless it is done with diligence, and alacrity, and zeal, and good faiib. I call upon the 8enator from Michigan to let me know a case where the Uw has been executed with alacrity, and zeal, and dili gence, not only on the part of the ministers executing the lew, but on the part of the people in the midat of whom it was to bo executed ? It is easy to trace this thing to its true ?ource ; it is the fixed and aedled hostility to the inatitutioni which prevail among tbe people from whom these fugitives come. It is an abiding hostility to that iustitntion which makes them treat the law as the law of a foreign Power, and ? law which they did not contribute by their efforta to pasa. The fact remaina upon tbe journal of the Senate that when that law passed here at the last session it was pasaed by the votes of the slaveholding States. There were but three out of the thirfy-two Senators from the free 8tates who voted for that law. I instance the honorable Senator in my eye from the State of Pennsylvania, (Mr. 8-rcBoxoir,) and the two Senators from Iowa, (Messrs. Dodge and Jones.) Mr. DICKIN80N. If the Senator will allow me to in terrupt him, I would state that my colleague, who is supposed to be very strongly against the law, paired off with me on that question. I stated tbat fact in ? apeech which I made at the time of tbe passage of <he bill. Mr. SEWARD. The honorable 8enator from Virginia will allow me to say that my colleague baa stated the truth of this matter. He would undoubtedly, as he has now said, have voted for the law, if sickness, which rendered it impossible for me to sit or stand, had not prevented me from being here. Mr. MA80N. lam not challenging the votes of the Se nators. I am stating a fact, an historical fact. I am perfectly satisfied that every gentleman who did not vote on that occa sion had proper and sufficient reasons for not voting. I am the last man to challenge any Senator's vote. 8uch is tbe fact?litcra scripta manet. Only three Senators from the free States voted for that law, and all oihers who voted, voted against it?I think twelve in number. Now, I say we may trace it in this particular instance, and we can see and know and understand, and wo do understand and feel every day, tbat the reason why this law is not successfully executed in tbe free 8tates is tbat the spirit of the people is against the law and against the objects of the law. But the honorable Senator from Michigan asks me if I ex pect every man, woman, and child will rise up and run after these fugitives ? Not at all. I pointed to what occurred in the city in which he lives, where the attempt to execute the law was resisted, although not successfully resisted, by vio lence. I understood that a slave was arrested in Detroit some time daring the last fall, that a mob gathered, that the mili tary were called out, and the law was not successfully resisted by the mob. Mr. CA8S. There was a fugitive in tbe city of Detroit, and the military were called out. There was a demonstra tion, but no effort of resistance ; nor in my opinion, and in the opinion of every well informed person there, would there have been any resistance to the taking away of the slave, even if the military had not been called out. Mr. MA80N. There must certainly have been a very strong demonstration, or the military would not have been called out. Now it is one thing not to lend efficient aid in carrying the law into execution, and it is another thing not to interpose obstacles when the fugitive is protected, screened, and assisted by the population. There may be instances to the contrary f and although I do not mean to say, and have not said, that this law will never be executed, I do say that as long as this spirit obtains among the people where the law is to be executed, that it will not be done { or if it be done, it will be done at an expense equal to the value of the property recovered. I understand that the 8enator from New York corrects me in one single particular, in relation to the case which occurred in the city of New York. It seems that suits were not actually brought in that case against the claimant, as they were brought in the case of Crafts at Boston. I do not know whether I said that suits were brough', against the claimant or no', but if I did I was wrong in so doing. I say that there were delays, great delays, in that case ; and that evasions of the law were resorted to by thoae connected with the defence, for the purpose, so far as I can understand, of defeating the execution of the law ; and although they did not successfully defeit it as fsr as final judgment was con cerned, they did defeat it as far as the value of the property was concerned. ^ I adduced the case in New York for the purpose of showing that thia law was not sufficiently carried out. It is no anawer to the objection when I am told by the Senator from New York that the expenses were paid by vol untary contributions by the citizens. It was done in that case, it seems, but in how few cases would tbe claimants who go into free States to recover property find the citizens ready to bear the expenses of the recovery. I have no deposition, and I do not mean to aay that any thing was left undone by the ministers of the law in the city of New Yoik, necessary to carry the law into execution ; but I speak of it for the pur pose of showing the impossibility of executing tbe law in such a way as to make it valuable, when the people among whom it is to be executed are hostile to that law. That is the only purpose for which I alluded to the matter. Mr. DICKINSON. In the recovery of any species of pro perty under any law there is more or less controversy and contestation, and if there were to be no contest in tbe matter, no law would be necessary. If the individual is to go and take his property, according to the ancient rule, "and let him take who has the power," " and he may keep who can," no law would be neceaaary. The very law, summary though it be, supposes that that there will be more or less contest, and provides accordingly, and there can be no litigation without some delay. Now, in this case, the delay which is complain ed of, the Senator says prevented the recovery of the ob ject of the pursuit. That depends entirely on bow high ly the gentleman who was sgent of the claimant valued his time. He was there, I believe, about ten dsys, perhapa more. His own expenses, I understand, were paid. Coun sel among the most eminent the State or city of New York could furnish was furnished him free of charge. He was him self entertained by them most hospitably ; lost nothing but his own time, as the slave was taken back to Virginia. If a few days of bia time were worth more than the value of the slave, and the perfect triumph of the law, then he wont back without the fruita of what he sought, as contended for by the Senator from Virginia. But a portion of tbat delay waa caused, as I am informed, by tbe declaration of the claimant himself, that he wished every poaaible facility given to test the efficiency of the law, and to have the matter fairly and fully tried. It was a leading caae under the new law, which had greatly excited public attention, and he wished?and that very properly, too?to have its practical operation put to the trial. He aougbt no advantage, no baste, which would not give tbe fulleat and moat compleie opportunity to prove what would be the operation of the law. Another portion of the delay waa cauaed by the very aerioua illness of the diatrict judge, who was for that reason unable for some time to pro ceed with th? case. It doeaseem to mi, therefore, that unleaa we aie willing to have it believed that we do not deaire to have the law execut ed, we should not cite cases of tbia kind as proof that it can not be done. Because, I repeat, aofiar from ahowing that the law could not be executed, it has shown that a strong public opin ion, at least in that locality, waa in favor of ita execution; for no one would undertake to struggle against the public sentiment of his neighborhood, to volunteer his time and pay his money for a foreign claimant, unleas he believed he would be fully jus tified in so doing by the right of the matter, and be sustained by public opinion. Mr. CLAY. I can say, with the Senator from Michi gan, that I heard with great regret the remirka made by the Senator from Virginia, because I do not coincide with him in the facts upon which bis remarks were founded, and I think they may have a tendency to produce ill effects where there is already too much disposition in the public mind to be ope rated upon diaadvsniageouslj to the Union. I stated when I was up before, and I aay now, that I doubt whether there is aoy man in Congress who hss walcbed with more anxious at tention the operation of the fugitive act of the laat session than I have, and in every inatance which haa come within my knowledge the law haa been executed. In no inatance bas there been a violent obstruction to the execution of the law, as far as I know, except in the city of Boston. Sir, let me run rapidly over aome of these cases. Let me i recur to the acta in Indiana, ao highly creditable to that peadle loving and union-loving State. It was the case of a claim for peraona being alavea who were at white as you and I are. From what I read, the appearance of the persons bore testimo ny, as far as mere appearance could bear testimony to ihe fact, that (hey were not descendants of Africana; yet, as we all k ?r* l*Ut C>*#, deliberately listened to, and the fact waa clearly made out, that, although they appeared to white, they were descendanta of Africans, and thst Ibe claimant of them owned then as property ? they were there upon immediately surrendered by the authorities. No at rapt waa made whatever to disturb the execution of the law. 1 boy were takep over to L<wi?ville, but the generosity of the citizens of Indiana prompted them lo Mbscrifce ? aum sufficient to buy these perrons, and they were parch aaed at moderate price and set at liberty. I know of do other i??t*e which his occurred la Indiana, though there aiay poaaibl nave besn some other case. We go to Cincinaattl, and what do we find therf There was the case of a young female slave?prior to the of to which the honorable Senator from Virginia has referred who wae claimed, taken before a commissioner, adjudged to i the pro perty of the clajmaot, and quietly permitted to leiI the city wtibout the slightest disturbance, The nry cis lo which the senator alluded is an example of the faithful < cution of the law. What was it > A woman had escspe While her mas er was pursuing her in the streets of C iionati, a mob collected, and the cry of her being free wae re d. The man was pursued and the negro waa rescued. I ?he waa retaken and carried before the proper authority that au honty wm in progrcas of examination of the fact i ether she was a slave or no slave ; and towards evening, the Ige being about to postpone the case until the next day, the n< o woman SkUKi ? ' ",et me home to my mast " That P y ts the caae with many of those bousehc servants who are imprudently enticed away by abolitionista She said let me go home to my maater." There waa, ten, con clusive evidence of the existence of slavery. The waa con chs.ve evidence that the owner had a right to it properly. Wm there any attempt made then to rescue hei or to pre vent her being taken on board the boat, and transp ted to the residence of her master > None whatever. Tl law wm fully and faithfully executed. Now with regard to the caae at Harrisburg. Since this ucussion has arisen, I have been informed, and tb perfect satisfaction to my mind, that within a few dayi >e Comp troller baa pawed an account in which twelve or t teen hun dred dollars were allowed to the marahal for carry g the fugi tive slaves back in that caae to the ueighborhood the hon orulile Senator from Virginia. I will Py^ery rapidly over the other caaes. here were 0 cases in Philadelphia?one in which the law as execut ed, and more than executed ; for a person who v i no slave at all was pronounced to be a slave, and was d vered up 5 but the mistake was aecertained, and he was retur d. In the other case the law was fully executed, and the s -e waa ac tually taken back to his owner in Maryland. 8< n the caae of Long, m New York, which waa the second dthird ease which occurred in that great city. Long's trial, I\ink, was a most beautiful exhibition of the moral power of tbeW and of the disposition of the population of that great and Uorioos city to see the law executed, fr ?rsa in progress for two\eeka. t ull deliberation was given. Witneaees were beard pin and con, and the officer finally decided that the claimant o\tb? slave waa his true owner, and be was carried back throagh the free State of New Jersey without molestation, throigt I V"n"y|van,a? ^rough the State of Delaware, and that of Delaware which would be considered as almost entiigh free?through Wilmington?to Baltimore, and then to Rifch mond, by the marshal, or eome of hia deputies, at a great 4x penee, which, I dare aay, when we come to read the accounts will be shown by tbem. Now, what doea the 8enator from Virginia expect ? H< haa mentioned no case in which there has been a failu-e 01 the part of the claimant that has pursued bis slave to rceove htm. Did he expect, upon the passage of the law, that, with out diligence on the part of the master, the slave waa to be re turned to him at no expense whatever * Did he expsct tba there would be no evasions of the law > How are they to tx guarded against > Why, we all know the way in which tfcea< things are conducted. A negro runs away in the night, an< when he is in a free 8tate be will be received and harbored, b] whom nobody knows. He will silently and rapidly make hi, way to Canada. How is this to be prevented > All laws more or less, are liable to be evaded ; and that law, above a! others, will be most evaded where the object is to recover 1 human being who owes service as a slave to another; because, besides the aid and the sympathy which he will excite froa his particular condition, be bas his own intellect, his o* n cunning, and his own means of escape at his commanl Now, there are some persons who will not pursue their slav?i at all. Many will not give themselves the trouble to go aftei them. But, before the law can be charged with any viola Hon of duty to the slavebolding States ; before the Presiden can be arraigned for any violation of hia duty, a case shoulc bo made out where, by the exercise of proper diligence and vigi lance on the part of the executive authorities, the case ofeva siot] could be prevented. With respect to the caae in Boston which first occurred, what was done ? The agent of the owner of the slaves ir that case himself, before he left Boston, expressed to the mar shal his entire satisfaction with his conduct. The slater were hurried off^ carried to another State, and transported U England. What did the President do ? He submitted all the papers connected with the conduct of the marshal to the law officer of the Government, that officer himself from t slaveholding 8tate j and that officer, although he was not en tirely satisfied with the conduct of the marshal, gave it as hit deliberate and legal opinion that sufficient ground for the re moval of the marahal bad not been presented. I think my self that the late caae, without speaking at all of the one thai previously occurred in Boston, does present a ground for his re moval What the President may do I know not. What I would do, if I were in his situation, I have no hesitation in saying. I would remove him. He has shown that, either by himseli or by hts deputies, all those measures of precaution, in anti cipation of what might occur, had not been taken, and be bad failed to execute a law of the United 8tates, by which he was authorized to hire a jail for the purpose of the security of the slave. 1 think, then, that what I said when I waa up before is per fec ly correct. The law haa been executed, as far as we know, in every free State in the Union in which it has been brought into operation, with the sole exception of the city of Boston. That being the case, I think there is no just ground of re proach whatever towards the Executive of the nation. I am h?PPy to see the Senator from Michigan, though standing in different political relations to the President, do him the justice which he ha* done this day by the declaration of opinion which he has made. 8ir, I am perfectly satisfied, from all I know of the President and his Cabinet, that there is a most perfect and immovable determination to carry into execution the lawa of the land, and to employ all the means in their power in order to accomplish it. I owe an observation to the honorable 8enator from New Hampshire. He seemed to intimate that there was some purpose on my part to suppress the freedom of debate in his own particular case. I think I know tolerably well what I am capable of, physically and intellectually.' Then are some works too gigantic for me to attempt, and one ot them is to stop the Senator from debate in this body. It ii utterly impossible, and I shall make no such vain endeavor. He must, as George Canning once said, come into the Senate every now and then " to air his vocabulary." But the Senator made an observation with respect to a high officer of this Government that I thought unbecoming the dignity of the Senate, or the dignity of the Senator. He spoke of the message of the President as a contemptible ana ridiculous message. Mr. HALE. The 8enator is mistaken ; I refeired to the proclamation. Mr. CLAY. I thought the 8enator alluded to the mea ?age ; however, I think the proclamation is one of the best parts of the message. Mr. President, an old maid of my acquaintance?the anecdote has been told before?was run ning on, upon one occasion, in the city of Baltimore, very much against Napoleon, speaking of his conduct very harshly, pronouncing him a despit, and all that A French officer, with the politeness which usually characterizes that nation, being present, said, " Madam, I am very sorry that you think proper to express these sentiments of his Imperial Majesty, and I have no doubt that it will inflict great pain on him when be hears of it." [Laughter.] The Prerident will feel about aa much pain when he hears the opinion which bas been pro nounced by the Senator from New Hampshire upon a solemn and deliberate act in the performance of a high duty. It has been said that thia is an iaolated case. Do you ever, sir, see the papers from Boston ; I mean the abolition papers from that city, and not only from ibat city, but from other portions of the country ? Do you not see this Union de nounced Do you not see a declaration that within the , 1MaJ?ch?*,t? fugitive slave law never can be executed Do you not there see advice given to the blacks to arm themselves and kill the first peraon that attempts to arrest them and take them hack to the serviee from which they flc.J When you we this, and when you bear of ths. blscks aYid whites mixing together in pubNc assemblies in Boston, can you think that the blacks never heard the advice to arm themselves with revolver* and bowie knives and put down any attempt to carry them away > If yoa have read it, can you fail to believe that if must have operated on their minds, and that they have thought with what impunity tbey might rush into that court house and commit the atrocious scene which hss been depicted Mr. BUTLER. I came into the Senate this session with a streng resolution not to speak on this subject at all. But there are some topics involved in thia discussion which impe riously call upon me to notice tbem. Now, what a commen tary upon theConstitution of the United States does this de tate present It ? gravely proposed that the laws of the I mted States shall be so amended as to enable the President, l PT amat,on? to exertion the army and navy and the military force of the United 8tates. To do what > To enforce an article of the Constitution of the United States, because I choose to speak rather of the constitution than of he law enacted at the la* se~k>n for the purpo* of carry.ng the constitution into effect. Why, sir, oar simple anchor*, governe >y go faith and a just ngard to the constitutional compact, required no legislation for many years to carry into effect the article of the conrtitution for the reclamation of fu git.ve slaves. I assert it, in my place, that for several years ! ???titu.ion , and in B * ton, Philsdelphia, or New York, or many other city, , fur tive from hfor wooM have been delivered up on demand snd upon pro?f of identity without any litigation whatever. How la it now ? A single runaway negro baa H in his power to nil into exertion the voj highest powers committed to the President of the United States. I wiH make another remark in connexion with this subject. I do It with a firm belief of its truth. That hi Beaten, in the community of Massachusetts, you may throw u much blame on the marahal is yoa think proper, but the federal officer* will find it impossible by their mere exertion of power to carry into effect thi* article of the constitution, and the law referred to forthepurposeofgivingfotcetoit. If they cannot call out the pout comitatus, the very highest power which a sheriff or a marshal has, it i? in vain for them to resort to federal agencies as s limited and impotent oifana to perform the duiiea of their offices. Why, you are now attempting by auxiliary legisla tion to do, what} To breathe life into an extinct article of the Constitution of the United States. You are to supply from time to time, from session to session, sets of legislation to compel people who are opposed to the conatitution to ub serve it?lo resort lo the army and navy, to military force, to compel citiiens to do the duty which honor, honesty, justice, and good faith had previously imposed upon them. It is per fectly in vain, as baa been said, in consequence of the sen timent which obtains in some of the Northern 8tstes, and especially in Massachusetts, with the limited number of offi cers and the limited power which they exert over the com munity, to cnforce this srticle of the constitution. 8ir, tbey are reconciled by a mere casuistry to see it violated ; they are reconciled to it by the pulpit; they are reconciled to it by de signing politicians ; and so long as the question of slsvery forms an element of political agitation, you might as well at tempt to bush the winds by ssying to them "cease." Ai I said the other day, you might as well expect to keep a ma niac quiet by ainging lullabies as to undertake in this wsy to compel a reluctant people to do their duty. It has been said that this law has been executed in good faith. Allow me to make one remark in this connexion, and I repeat it from what was said by a member of the othei honse. Fifteen thousand slsves have escaped and are in the free States. How many of them sre reclaimed under this 01 any other law ' I would just as soon have the law of 1793 as the present law, for any purpose, so far as regards the re clamation of fugitive slaves. I ssid so when this law wat under discuwion. The Senator from Keotucky has alluded to Indiana and some other States. What is the fact in rela tion to Indiana } Why, Indiana, Illinois, and lows, and some of the other States, have come to the conclusion, whiU professing philanthropy at one breatb, to exclude these peo ple from their borders. I cast no censure on their policy Their policy is to keep out all colored people, b >nd or free. It ia a matter of policy that they have consulted more thai any thing else. They have avowad it to be their policy tha they will allow no black man to enter their borders hereafter and,the time will come when every black man who has es from his master into the State of Ohio will be ex not for any thing like a regard for the black man, a policy, and a policy which I see i? likely to b< into California. These persons would have been ler to have been left as alaves than to have been seducet w?vJhis philanthropic advertisement that they will be free, Theyhave been in the nominal position of freemen only tc be cruVed, degraded, and excluded from employment. Gericmen speak of the case in Boston as a mob of negroes. GentleVen may speak of it as they please, but it is a symptoa thus faVthat they will take the part of the fugitive slaves ai i long ashey can, not with a view to protect them ultimately r when tky are free, but to exclude them from employment. . This verWt in Boston wilt have been communicated (through . speechesVelivered here, through speeches such as have been t deliveredW the honorable Senator from New Hampshire, ? which hn excused the acO to every Southern 8tate in this Union, yhy, gentlemen are absolutely holding a spark over a powder Magazine. I do not know that they can suc ceed in exiting the slaves of the South to insurrection, but it will dissatisfy them, and the creatures are becom ing every ay more dissatisfied with their condition ; al though it i absolutely certain that their condition will be worse t ider the system of policy snd miserable philan thropy whii i has been preached and practiced in some of the free S tea?infinitely worse. I am the fiiend cf the black man jompared with them, and he is a hypocrite who undertakes b preach in favor of a degraded race when in fact he takes lesicare of them than I would. I do not know how far this law | to operate, but I Will say that if a slave ol mine escaped I woild not go through any course of litigation to reclaim h'm ;\and if he had escaped at a former time and ac quicd a status, I would let him stay sooner than disturb him So far as regards the free people of color who have gont to the Ntrtb, the most of them would be glad to come back I know it, because I have had some experienco on the ?nbjftt. I was the means myself of sending some fifteen to Ohio and I think they would be glad to come back. Tb consequences of such an act as this in Boston is not limitd to the particular act itself, but its consequences are now prvading this community and creating a disturbance and dissatifaction among these poor degraded creatures which gentlemen cannot measure. My friend from Virginia has very poperly said that when the States will not execute this law, tht when the people of the Commonwealth of Massachu setts ar averse to it, it is perfectly vain to rely upon Federal legislatan to supply what the constitution imposed upon them as a dut.. I will never give up that it was a duty imposed on the pople of the States themselves to surrender fugitive! frem lab?. Never was it expected that we should have tc I resort to he army, to the navy, or to the militia, and to pro clamation, to supply this piece of legislation and that piece of legialaton, and preach to the country that the law will b< cxwwed. I any it i- hut preaching. I ?ytw?wni taW verv few cases in which y uu o*a reclaim ? slnv0t for th< ration that you cannot detect where he is, because persom in the free Stales will conceal bim, will throw all impediment! in the way of his apprehension ; and after his apprehension, vou have to go through a course of litigation to reclaim th< property which the constitution required the 8tates themselves to deliver up. The recovery of the property, it seems , is tc depend on the physical arm of this Government. The army and the navy are to be invoked to enforce an ar ticle of the constitution, because a runaway slave has gone to Boston. Now, what is the situation of this Government when a runway negro can produce such a state of things, such dis cussions as this, and can make such issues ? It is a symptom of the times ; and just as certain ss I am speaking, the notion which the abolitionists are inculcating is increasing, and the power is coming down upm the Southern States with the certainty of a descending screw. We may for a while be still, as long as the persons interested may make the arrest. VV e may sleep for a while in the apprehension and the hope, but it u a delusive hope. He who looks no further than the pre sent into this question chooses to disguise from himself that we are walking upon a precipice. These dangerous people have acquired I powerful control over the public mind in the non-slave holding States. In some respects they have ac quired the balance of power, and many of tbem ??P're to tl^ highest honors of the country and attain them. Am I to be told in the face of all this that our institutions are safe I do not be lieve a word of it. And I should not have been true to my position here if I had not proclaimed my cenvicUons on this sutyeet. r^is ^ matter 0f rec0Vering fugitives, I would say, injustice to Pennsylvania, that I believe she is the soundest of all the non-slavchold.ng States on this subject except tbe Northwestern States I believe so. Tb.s law ha. never beeu tested in the interior of New York, and other non-s .val ine States. It has been enforced in the city of New York, and there was reason for that. The city had more intimate intercourse with the South, and it was their interest to pre serve friendly and commercial relations with it. As I have Mid, it is not this mere case, but you are sowing the seeds of dissatisfaction aod of danger among the blacks. I do not ssy that it will uecomc very formdable, or that the dangersare likely to acquire any great inCtience, but it is proverbial among our overseers that every day and every year the management of these p 'or creatures is becoming more and more difficult. It is notorious in my own State. We sav the Federal Government is bound to protect us and we say incendiary pamphlets ought not to be disseminated. Whv the ?pecch of the Senator from New Hampshire is an incendiary pamphlet, and we publish it at our own rx pense, and it goes all over the country, and it will be read by your authority. You may go through the Northern States and vou will find thousands who applaud his sentiments, while there will be scarcely one in a hundred who will sustain the honorable 8enator from Kentucky in denouncing him. I do not say that that is tbe case in all communities. I wph to be quslifi-d in my remarks. But I everheard a remark the other day by a Senator, that the universal sentiment st the North ws* in opposition to this Isw. I do not undertake to arraign any man's motives f.?r being opposed to slavery in the abstract, but I say be is the very worst man, if he had the courage to look at the consequences, who could make it one of the elements of his ambition. While he may sport with it while he may play with it as part of the political gam*, it i is' one of those things that have brought this ConfeJerscy, > once devised by wisdom and preserved by go< d faith, to the ! peril from wbich the patriots of the country have in vain I attempted to rescueit. The debates go on ?t the ISorth all I on one side, with no one to combat them. The late law ' think, in some measure has given rise to a freer scope of n I cussion, and to some extent it may produce a pause; but as I have before said, it ia only the pause of a diy. It is only e suspension of the machine that is coining dowr. upon us, am 1 I lo"k upon my part of the country, units* there is some mode to arrest it now, as a doimed and destined portion, , an that too, not originating from an enlightened policy or trom ihe principles of true philanthropy, but fr.?m hypocrites an demagogues who cho so to sport, with safety to them*e v- s. with the elements of an agitation wbich is likely to invo ve this country in ruin. . , Mr. DAVIS, of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I h??e forborne to en'er into this discussion while theie were poin s ' evidently of personal controversy prying on between gen e men ; but I should hardly discbarge my duty to the con? i u rncy Which I represent if I should not express *om* views which I entertain upon this subjec*. 1 sm not disp-nw? o question tbe motives upon which this inquiry was set <>n <*> ? It will remain to be Been, and history will tell us, whet er H one of the fit and appropriate occasions for the cxercixe o s power that I believe has been very sparingly exercised durin* tbe existence of this Government. The issuing of a proc a mation by the Executive Department of the Government, which, in and of Iteelf, necesaarily implies that there is exist j ing in public feeling a sentiment which Is dangerous, or w|icfc W,T *? ^ CtOnir0lW bj the power .nd autho rity of the Government, i. the first step taken to stronger mea ?urea. It ia initiatory to thoae meaaurea which the message indicates. It indicatea that it ia to be followed, if in the judg ment of the Government auch a farther 8tep is deemed ne cessary, by the military power of the Government to aubdue an insurrectionary spirit, if I may ao express myself, in that portion of the community. Now, it may be trqe that this ia a fitting and proper occa sion lor the ext rciae of that power, it may be true that thia ,'Vn^ ,nd "uitable occasion for the denunciatory language w ich has been employed in debate?denouncing the Legisla te of Massachusetts,>e whole people of Masaachuaetts, he citizens of Boaton, fend the police of that city, aa wanting in duty, and aa criminally negligent in their federal obliga tons. But, before we reach that conclusion, it really seems to be but just that we should understand the facta which ex ist, and that we should inquire whether or not there is exist ing, or has exiated, any general or widespread oppoaition to he laws or meaaurea of the Government which authorizes such a step. The mesaage itrelf begins by stating that the Exrcutire Uepartment 0f the Government is not in possession of any officiainformation which enables it to speak with deciaion upon this subject. It has certain newsp.percommuoica.ions: is in posses-ion of certain telegraphic communications, K funded the commuuication which has been made to the Senate. I have read with aorae attention the various accounta of this matter which have been published in the newspapers, and I desire to recall the attention of the Senate to thia Ease! gathering the facta from there sources. I cannot be answer able of courae for their entire correctneaa ; but I have no bet ter means, and perhaps not half ao good aa the Government, to acquire informatton. I ask, then, what ia the cause which l. Wu ne*8 "nd provokes denunciation of Massachu Why, we are told that a mob has appeared in the very sanctuary of justice, and baa reacued a person from the custody of the marshal or bia deputy, and that it ia an act of great enormity and outrage. Well, thus much I believe : that the court-house was employed aa a priaon, and that a mob of colored people did break open the door of that priaon in open daybght and did rescue one of their own color there in cus , y* rhua much ia true. But the question is, does it fol low that this ia one of thoae violationa of the law which bean not only the impress of outrage upon ita face, but of such dangei to the future admmiatration of juatice aa to authorize the in terference of ihia great Government in the exercise of a pow er seldom employed > or ia it safe to leave thia matter To be disposed of by the ordinary operation of the judicial syatem of the country Jn other words, would not the end.* of pub lic juaUce be better subserved and tfae lawa belter maintained without any attempt to overawe the public by a reaort to Jh! I'09 . ? m are in<luiriM which are pertinent, I think, to thia ?ubject. They are proper, and ihey are suitable. I would ask whether, if fifty men are gathered around the court-house in this or any other place, thay could not do vio p ? , not 'hey interrupt the aeaeirn of tbe court > Could Ihey not seize an officer of the court and take him away, if they were ao disposed, and would it imply any ne glect of i he people, or any absence of suitable preparations for such an emergency if it ahould happen > Are we to carry on our courts with a military force surrounding the temple of justice, or are we to go on in the usual peaceable, quiet, and orderly way 1 hat ia the inquiry. There are acta of vio lence too frequently occurring in all parta of the country. We witness them here in this District, over which Congress exercises unlimited power. How long is it since a man was shot down and taken up dead in the alreeta here at a fire > How long is it since another individual was shot down in ike manner in front of one of the principal hotels, in a con teat among firemen > How long ia it since I saw in the newspapers of this city an instance of individuals firing into private houses Are these acta of violence fit and suitable occasions for a proclamation of the President, or can the pun thelaw ? *UCh 8CtS bC enlrU9ted t0 ,he administration of I go this far. I say that whenever you go beyond thia : whenever you withdraw your confidence from the courta of justice, and resort to other meana that point by implication 0 a state of public sentiment opposed to the execution of a aw ao extensive as to be dangerous, it ia an imputation upon the patriotism of the community. Now, it ia.from that im putation, so far aa it ia implied from the course which has been pursued, that I wish to reacue the community in wbich I live. Mr. President, what authoriiy has the Senator from Ken tucky to denounce the police of the city of Boaton ? I have seen the card of the mayor and the card of the marshal of the city, but unfortunately I have left them on my table. The mayor, however, states that Riley, the deputy, called at his office and said be had got a negro, and he thought be would call and let the mayor know it; but he neither asked for nor suggested that he desired or expected to need aid. The city marshal slates that Riley called at hia office and said be had got a negro, and ihat be notified him of it, so that if there ahould be trouble, he (the marahal) might be about. No aid was sought, none desired beyond this. Such ia the state ment of these two officers. Nevertheless, the marahal made his communication to the mayor of the city, and thereupon the mayor orden d him to place a suitable force outaide the 1 "M'P0*. that be had no authoritv s with WhaiDM ' a,nd th,s order? il ?PPe*r,,> was complied ? I r J""" "?iJ? > Wkr, - W.?J i lirely of colored peiaona?the greatest number of white per ' 8??" ^'imaled by the newspapers connected with them being only half a dozen?a band of colored persona then were within the walla of the court houae, unarmed, .bowing no purpose of resistance. What followed > In the courae of events/the city marshal slates that he sent an officer to the court room, who was denied admission, but the city marahal learned /rom sources in which he confided that the United States deputy marahal did not desire aaaistance. Thia in substance be states. What becomes, then, of these charges against the city government > What becomes of thia denunciation of the police I may add that when the city government assem bled, they pasced resolutions of express instruction to the police to interpose their power in all auch caaea. Some speculative doubts had arisen under tbe laws of Maaaachu aetta whether it was their duty, and it was, aa I suppoae, to dispel thoae doubts that these reaolutiona were adopted 1 now beg leave to read from one of the Boaton papers an ac count of the matter. Af.er quoting a New York paper, the | paper which I hold in my band, the Daily Bee, says : I ?f ',hInJhC *.b?Ve ?P'n!on' re*pecting the pusillanimous conduct of the deputy marshal, almo.t every one concur.. A. ye.ter ^nn!?n,ng * "u (a daily paper) truly remarks, that func nary appears to have made no preparation. to retain his priwner in case of an attempt at rescae, and when a rath was made into the court room by a small body of unarmed men unlil *"??tance could J 6, n ^ by lhe.city P?lice 10 Pretcrve the peace, ot a tingle blow was .truck, not a symptom of resistance was ^7hit om^S ldepUty mar*h^ "nd hU #,,'?tants allow ed this outrage to be committed in their presence, without apparently raising a finger to prevent it. 1 ' Certainly, this is what the facts in the case show The tbK.7 S wh!",! n,rT^' ^ UnPr??idcd with a resolute lorce. ?ay, when the ouftnge took place, he was, to quote sown testimony, ?tqueeted behind the green door.' We wilUhuTh^m,?'?! m"n devnd * Publ,c functionary who win thus be quietly cooped. Nor it it right to attemnt to ihe lonTr!!^"' ' bJfa,w'y imputing interested motive, for ciairrvr.r,et' .of An ?i,o ^ t0 I the ihame!" thoU,d be"r " double P?, tion of I might go on and multiply these accjunls from the varioua papers, and still come back to the inquiry, whether this is a " ing or suitable occasion for the exercise of this power, but I leave the public to settle that qbestion. sa d the other day that I would venture to predict that e people of Massachusetts, by peaceable means, would ex ec",?1e the United States. I have seen nothing which loads me to distrust this opinion, and I shall not dia ??? un'*' ' better evidence than any which now exists. Why what was to prevent tbe execution of the law in Ibis case There was some feeling in relation to this law. I here waa a disapprobation of it in the minds of many citi zen. ; and I subm<t to you, sir, whether it would not have been prudent an I proper for the United States officer to have taken some suitable and proper means to have defended him self against such a gang as collected. He not only took no means, *o far as the papers repre#en\ but there wa* uot one Mngle effoit made, a. far as I under?tar.d, to recapture the person who was rescued. Whether these facts cast blame and ri proach on the officers who had charge of the fugitive in custody, let every man judge for himself. I have no de ?ire to arraign t ie conduct of any one, and therefore leave the facts as I find them to speak for themselves. But the h norable Senator from Virginia (Mr. Masok) says that Massachusettn should be denounced as ha'ing failed tofolfi!h*r fe'eral obligations. In whar, air .' Why, be cause .he passed a law some seven years ago, from which he ! read a paragraph or two, in relation to the use of her prisons I and the employment .?f the S'ate officer, to execute the laws I of the United States. But before acquiescing in the justice of | this charge let us understand what Massachusetts has done in regard to the restoration of fugitive slaves * 8be undertook, like most, if not all the States, to carry out the reso'ution of Cobgn-as passed in 1789, interpreting the constitution on (his point. She considered this claare in the constitution, by it. own terms and by the resolution of 1789. as imposing'a duty on the tState to legislate for the return of fugitive slaves. She did legislate for that purpose in g vh! faith, and at the time the Supreme Court in Prigg M. Pennsylvania declared her "nd ,b? laws of other Statas unconstitutional, her statutes were in full f. rce; and ahe had executed them aa far as I kn >w in connexion with the law of tbe United States of 1793 W hen the constitutional authority declared that she had no power on this .object, that she had no right to legi.l.te on it then she changed her sy.tem of legi.lation. Now, while I do not approve, in my own judgment, the extent to wh.ch her act wa. carried, I must ?y ?n ',v l0 the Senator from Virginia, that I see no obligation, except obi gat ion of courtesy, on the part of the State of Masss cbuaetts, to employ her office?, or hrr prions, or her legislation, to exreute or carry into effect a provision eon fined exoluaively to the United Htafea. The p >wer of inter leave* aa a Stale had been denied to her by tbe competent tribunals of the country ; and there were, aa you know, sir, and aa others know, at that time other cause* working which, no doubt, might by possibility have crested, to some extent, a spirit of resentment; if it be so it is to be regretted, whatever and however unjuat the provocation. I do not think, then, that in this there ia any proof of a want of attachment lo the Union, or any violation on the part of the 8tate of her obligations. The Ulted States had aaid that it was their duty, and their duty k?execu,e provision of the constitution, and the oiatea bare no power, no control over it. I think that that .TV * Pfet'y clear tint, to .ay the least, that they would take n ustneas into their own hands, and manage it in their ,T'yVT ?fL'he 8ta,ea- What left lo the State .un,bU iT^ her lV"1 They ? a dead le'ter on the statute book, because they had been declared so to be. There might have been some want of courtesy, perhaps, in denying the use of her prisons in denying the use of her officers * but I think even the Senator from Virginia will not .iueaii? the right so to do, nor will he infer from it any violation of fed eral obligation whatever. Then what becomes of the declara tion of the Senator from Virginia that Massachusetts has been false to her federal obligations ? ' The Senator goes on still further to speculate on the state of public sentiment, or public opinion which exists there. He says, and sd says the honorable Senator from South Caro lina, that there is a public opinion existing there which is un favorable to this law and hostile to it. I am not disposed to draw in question the subattnce of that declaration, if it {pes no further than to allege disapprobation of some of the provisions of the act. I believe many of its stringent provisions are offensive lo the great maaa of the commu nity, and if there were time I think I could state very good reasons why they should be. They would, therefore, in my opinion, if they could frame a law, make ono in many respects different. But, nevertheless, I hold that lha Sen ator is in no respect justified in drawing the inference that the people will not execute the law. It is time enough to c arge ihem with a want of patriotism, a want of fidelity, and a want of attachment to the Union, when they show some evidence of it, when they refuse or neglect aome duly. INow, do the lacta, aa they appear in this case, show any want of attachment or fidelity to the Union ? Do they show any disrespect to the laws of the United Statea > Or any pur pose whatever of te.isiing the law ) In my opinion, ao far *?? "IE*" of Massachusetts, they ahow none at an. lbey may be less zealous, as volunteer agents, upon a subject of that description, than upon some others they have more at heart. But whan have they failed in their duties and in their obligations ? Why, the Senator from Kentucky ""y? '? second instance where they have failed. Well, he has himself furnished ?bo justification of tbe first. He has said that the facte in the cast of Grafts were all com mitted to the law officer of tbe Government, and the law offi cer of the Government aaid the marabal had done bis duty. What had he attempted to do ? All he had failed in doing was in hia unsuccessful attempts to arrest the individual. And I take it, when the law officer of the Government declares that he stands justified on this point, he means to say the facte were such as proved that he performed his duly. I do not know what he did. I have never seen these papers. It ia enough for me that the law officer of the Government, after examining the matter, says he did his duty. The Attorney Geoeral, in his statement, as the Senator from Kentucky says, was not entirely satisfied with his conduct, but still there was no such departure, no auch neglect as authorized any punish ment to bo inflicted upon bim. Did the people prevent him from arresting this fugitive > Is that any part of the evidence > Was it owing to tbe citizens of Boston or the citizena of Maasachuaette it was not done * If it was, I have never seen the proof of any such thing. The people of Massachusetts were mere lookera-on in thia matter. There was a state of perfect tranquillity in the cily of Bos ton ; and the account given by one of tbe agents in that case from Georgia is nearly ludicrous. He anya he fell no danger, he felt no apprehension, he saw nothing to fear. He saw some excitement among the black population; and that is about the whole story. Then we come down to this caae. Doea thia bear out th? charge which is implied in this proclamation, and in this mes sage, against tbe citizens of Boston > I know there are dis affected men there, and men who entertain principles which I abhor as much as the Senator from Kentucky can, and who talk openly and freely about a dissolution of the Union. But, thank God, they are very few in number. I am not here to approve of their conduct, or of their policy in any respect; but I am here to speak for my fellow citizeus generally, and I would vindicate them aa far as I could from any reproach unjustly cast upon them. And I cannot help feeling that the course of proceeding on the part of the Adminittration is, to aay the leaat, hasty. When I say so, I mean to go no fur ther than to declare that in my judgmeut just so far as it im plicatea the citizens of Boaton aa a body, or the citizena of the commonwealth of Masrachuaetts, it does them great injustice. I bold that they are true to tbe constitution ; they are true to their fidelity to thia Union ; and they have furnished no evi dence in thia transaction to the contrary. I-will not trouble the Senate at this late hour by entering more into this subject. My whole object was to draw the at tention of the Senate to the points which I have presented. And I wish when this matter go'a out to the wjrld that the world may take the fact*, and let those who can reaaon with candor npon subject, and who can ?*mine it w'tb Mlm n ess, to decide for tbemaelves whether any blame attaches to the city of Boston or to the body of ihe people of Massachu setts, and whether there is any obstruction to the administra tion of justice which the courts themselves cannot and have not overcome. I do not stand here to vindicate the act itaelf. It is indefensible unquestionably. But the true queation is whether it stards upon the same fooling with other acta of vio lence which are perpetrated almost daily, or wbe ber it stands so prominent atd so distinct in its character, and is so danger ous to the community, as to call for this interposition of power. Mr. BADGER. Mr. President, I agree with Ihe honorable Senator from Massachusetts, who has just taken his seat, that whether this proclamation of the President of the United Slates is a proper exercise of Executive power, and whether there was just occasion for the grave and serious contenta of the message which he has sent us, depends upon the inquiry whether the transaction to which it has reference was one ot the ordinary outbreaks of popular violence which occasionally occur in our country or not' If it was one of those ordinary outbreaks, I admit that the proclamation!was uncalled for, and the case ha< been made to assume a degree ol gravity and im portance to which, in its own nature, it is not entitled. But how stands tbe fact ' This transaction is not to be judged by its own particulars and circumstances, nor is its value and im portance to b# estimated by the number of those engaged in it, or the particular violence, or the particular amount of outrage involved in the transaction itself. It cUims pre-eminent ira p:rtance because it is the acting out of a great and widely spread scheme throughout no small portion of New England. If this had be* n an occasional outbreak of negroes or of whites, growing out of the momentary excitement, that men were stimulated to activity by the events of the day, which passed away with the hour of perpetration, it would be a case, however worthy of punishment, not worthy of the solemn importance with which it baa been invested. But that is not the nature of tbe transaction. Sir, it ia in vain to attempt to disguise it ; it is but the acting out of a desperate thing long meditated, long encouraged, stimulated, and pre pared for months ; aye, sir, for years. Now, how stands this case ? In the year 1843, in conse quence of the decision of the Supieme Court of the United States in the case of P.igg and Pennsylvania, the Legislature of Massachusetts passed an act, and now let us see whether that act is reconcilable with the positions assumed by my friend from Massachusetts on behalf of his State. What did the court decide * That the imperative obligation of carrying out the clause of the constitution in re?p.ct to the reclamation of fugitive slaves was upon tbe Government of the United States; that that obligation was not upon the Sta'es, as such ; that the State officers who were specified in the act of 1793,' and there authorized to execute the law, were not by that law pledged to execute it; that the United Stales had no p iwer lo require from Ihe State officers that they should exe cute the law of the United Statea. But they held that au thority was ultimately conveyed to them to execute the law if they tbought proper to use it. That was the decision of the court. .Now, what was the act which Massachusetts passed > In the first place she prohibited tbe use of her prisons for the confinement of this class of persona seised under the autho rity of the United Stales. Was that an exhibition of spite against the Supreme Court of the United S-atea and the au thorities of the nation, or was it a legitimate carrying out of iha? adjudication upon the meaning of the fundamental law ? It was not the latter, clearly, for the court had not said that the States could noi permit their prisons to be used for the purprse of confining these ss well as other pers*)* arrested under the authority of the Unied Sta'es. Why, then, was it withdrawn ' Why, but to embarrass, to obstruct, and, as far as depended on the action of the Legislature of Massa chusetts, to render it impossible to execute the law of the United Statea * In the next place, the State does not stop with d scbarging her officers from any obligation to carry out the law. The State doea not sto* with declaring ihey shall not act in the execution of the law in their respective official capteiiies ; but the law goes further, end expre?slv snd unequivocally prohi bits tbe office bearers in Massachusetts trrna lending their as sistance ss citizens of the Unied Stales, when summoned by the authority of Ihe United Stales to execute the law of ihe United Stales. The law of Massachusetts provided that their constables and other officers should not execute ihe law, and should not aid in its execution. It i* evident beyond dispute* no human ingenuity can make a doub', no human skill ?n avoid tbe conclusion, that if that act is to be carrie 1 our, it prr duces this result: that if tbe marahal of the United States, with a process >b bis hand, either when be is prevented frjm exe cuting the process, or when he is assailed by overpowering forces, and his prisoner about to be rescued from him, calls upon ibe sheriff* and other officer* of the State of Massachu setts to aid him in executing his duty, they are liable to ? thousand dollars fins or to two year- irapris >r>ment for per forming the duty ihey owe to ibe Uoi'ed Statea That is what the law of Massachusetts provides. Now, the utmost that could have been aaid was, that after the decision in the