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Show 298 tion nnd while the ~ clingH of ordiali ty, good-will, and en-tire 'j nstice prevailed nmong the StaLl'.', iL was allowed to con tinue in force nearly sixty yen.rs after the Um1stiLution was made, and was o. proof of' good feel i n ~ toward all during that time. By the term of' thi ~ H ·t, a discrimi nation was c ta'bli ·hod between sojourner ' nnd permanent rc.· id cnt~, and the cl mcnts of time- the most obvious and easy of all arbiters-was taken for t he rule or di scrimin atio n. Six mouths wns the time allowed to <li Hcrimin nte a Rojourn from a residence ; and durin()' that time the rights of the owner rcmn,incd complete in his sln,vc ; aft r the lap~o of that time, his owner hip ccn,sod. This six months wns cqnn,lly in favor of all per ons. But there was fur ther and ind ·fini te provisiot} S in favor of members of Cong-rc. s, nnd or the fcflcrnl government, all of whom coming from sln,ve '~ ta les, were allowed to rctnin their ownership ns long ns thci t· fcdeml duties rcqnired them to remain the St at· . Such an act wns just and wise, and in accorclnncc with th \ spir·it of comity whieh should prevail among States for·rnN1 in to a Un ion, having a common general government, and rec iprocating the rights of citizen hip. It is to be deplored that any event ever arose to occasion a repeal of that act. It i to bo wi hed a spirit would arise to re-enact it, and that oLhor of the free States shoulu follow the example. F or there wore others, and evcra.l which had similar acts, and which repealed them in like manner as Pennsylvani a, under th e samo lin happy influences, and with the same baleful conscqncnccs. New York for example-her law of di ~c rirnina t i o n between the ~oj o urn cr and rc, idcnt being tho 1mme in principl e, and still more liberal in detail than that of P en nsv ]van ia-allow- " ing nine months instead of six to clet rmine that character. This act of Now York, like that of Pcnnsyl vania, continued undisturbed in the State until the slavery agitation took root in Congress, aud was even so well established in the good opinion of the people of that State, as late as tbir- F UOI 'l'I V_b; SLAV ~~ , E'l'C. 299 teen years after th e commencement of that agitation, as to be boldly sustained by the ·anr1i<latcs for the highest office. On this an eminent instance will be given in the canvrt. , for the govcmorshi p of the State in the ycat· 1838. In that year Mr. Marcy and ~11' . sc .. vard were the :>pposiug candidates, and an anti-slave ry meeting, held at Utica, passed o. resolve to ha'lc t h m in terro()'alccl (among other things) on the point of repealing the slave soj ournment acl. Messrs. Gerrit Smith and William J ay were nominated a commitleo for that purpose, and fulfilled their mission so zealously us to rather over late the terms of the net, u. ing the word ,, im portation " a· ap plied to the corning of lh . slave: with their own rH, thus : "Arc yon in favo t· of the rep nl of th11 law which now authorizes the importation of ~laves iuto this Stale, and their deL nt ion us such fo r tbc time of nine months ?" Ohjccliug to the substit11tiou of the term importation, and stating the a~t co rrect l y~ both the caudidntt:s an. wercd fully in the 11 gatlVc, and w1th rcnsous for thc1r opinion. The act was first in its own term, as follows : 11.Any person not being an inhabitant of this Slate, who shall be traveling to or from, or pn,ssing through this State, may bring with him any person lawfully h 'ld by him in slavery, and may take such person with him from this S L~Le ; but the person so hclcl in . lavery shall not resi<lo or contmue in the State longer than nine mouths, and if such residence be continued beyond that time, snell person shall be fr ee." Replying to the in terrogatory, Mr·. Marcy then . ~rocecds to give his opinion and reasons in fuvor of sustmmng tllC act, which he docs u nrcscrved ly : By comparing thi. law with your inlerrocratory, you will perceive at once tha t the Jn.ttcr implies much more tha.n the form er cxprcs. cs. 'rho discrepancy between them 1s so great, that I snspcclcd, at first, that you had reference. to some other enactment whieh had escaped general nottee. As none, however, can be found but the foregoing, to |
