Argument of Wendell Phillips, Esq.: Against the Repeal of the Personal Liberty Law (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Argument of Wendell Phillips, Esq.: Against the Repeal of the Personal Liberty Law

What is the objection to this Fugitive Slave Bill, that men are so anxious to have it countervailed, resisted, curbed, by the laws of, Massachusetts? It seems to 'me there is where our investiga tion commences.

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Excerpt from Argument of Wendell Phillips, Esq.: Against the Repeal of the Personal Liberty Law

Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Committee:

What are we here to consider? It is the claim, or request, of some citizens of the Commonwealth, and some influences outside of it, that one of our statutes should be repealed. What is the cause of that request, and what is the statute? It is a statute to secure - so it is named - the personal liberty of individuals within the Commonwealth. Why do any persons ask its repeal? Because it is supposed to conflict with a statute of the United States, termed the Fugitive Slave Bill. What is that bill? It is a bill to carry out a clause of the Constitution of the United States, which says that persons bound to service or labor in one State, shall not be freed from that bond by escaping to another State, but shall be delivered up on claim.

What is the objection to this Fugitive Slave Bill, that men are so anxious to have it countervailed, resisted, curbed, by the laws of Massachusetts? It seems to me, there is where our investigation commences.

What is this Fugitive Slave Bill, and why do we hate if? For I am willing to allow, Mr. Chairman, at the outset, that I value this Personal Liberty Bill not only for the protection that it gives to the free natives of Massachusetts, but for the measure of protection that it gives to fugitive slaves within the Commonwealth. I claim that, with one limitation, - that of the Constitution of the United States, - Massachusetts has a right to protect every human being within her borders, slave whether he may have been previously, or not. I wish it, therefore, understood, at the outset, that it is no objection, in my mind, that this Personal Liberty Bill does cover certain liabilities and dangers of fugitive slaves. And again, Mr. Chairman, I wish to speak to you, to-day, as under the Constitution, as I would address persons sworn to support the Constitution of the United States. I repudiate that Constitution; but I come to address a Legislature which stands under that law, and, of course, I wish to offer them such arguments as they are authorized to consider. What is, then, the Fugitive Slave Bill? It is a bill, as you know, that puts a man on trial for something more valuable than life, not before a judge, but before an officer whom a judge appoints, and may remove to-morrow.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.