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Show 394 And if we 1 urn to tho legiHiation of tlw Stat ,8 1 < w t ~ re Rl:tvery hatl worn out, or lll l'li S ttr J~ lakvn l'or i!. . • • • K 1-iJl<.l<l< 1Y a bo-litiOn, we shall ftncl LllC sntllo Ol>it.ium; und 1,r1 ' 11 <··,, 1 . • t 1 l~ti , C<Jllttll h xed and oq nally acted 11 po 11 . y " 'l'lu:Fi, .Mnssachus~Us, in 1 7~G, pnsse<l a law Hinti l~tr to llte Colunutl o ne, uf wh1 ch we lmvc H11 (ll ·l' ll '1'1 1 f' • I , " • I o n w u 1 7 tH' l1ko tho law of' 1705, foru i<ls the lll'll'ri ·to·n <>{' 1 . J, , • . • ' ' r- ,, un Y w 11 tu pc1. ou to any llC0TO, ImJatn, or mulatto <tnd i 11fl i ·t 1 • ' • ~ a pell-a ty ~f fifty ponnd1:l upon nny one who shall j oill theJil iu mn rna~o; au d. declares nll such maniages nbsolu 1 ul y null u.nd votd, an~ d grades thus the unhappy i:-3sue of' Ute IIIHl'rHtgc, Ly fixing u.pon it the stain of ua~-; tardy. And th is mark of dcgra<.llttJOn was renewed uu<.I no· ·~ 1• 11 · • 1 o• ~ lnlJH'('SI-Ied up~u the. rucc, m the cnref'ul nml dcliucratc preparation of tho1r rev1~ etl code, puLJished in 1 3G 'l'h 1 ' , • 1 [' 1 · . • . ' S CO< 0 Ul' HdS any pet-.·on from JOIIlillg iu lll:tiTino·e ·tny wJ 11·~ 0 · . n ' " J>CI't'lOll W1 ll1 nil)' lnd.Jnn, .ucgr?, or lllulatLo, and . Hllj ·cl::; the parLy who RlmlJ otlclld 111 thiS l'CSJICCt to illll)l'i~Wlllll C ill ll <)l · , . . . ' ' "' " e.xcuot III O' s1x monllls, 111 the common J·ail or to h"I'<1 I· 1. • • 1 o • , ·~ .tuOI, .Ill ( to IL l1nc n~t. less Lhnn fifty or mo~·o than t"Vvo thousand dollnn; ; nnd, like tl1C law of 17 G, It declareH the marriage.· abso-lutely null ancJ void. lt will be seen 1h.,t ~llc · 1 • • ' " u " }HilliS IIIICllL L' 1ncreused by the code upou the J) rson who ·I 11 . . . s 1u many them, l>y a.~uu1g Impn~onmcnt to a pecuniary penally. o, :oo, .Ill c()nllCCtlcllt. We rcf'ur rnorc particularly to the l.c .g .i sl:ttJOn of Llris SLate , bcc••tu '"'o 1't ''Vl' "' 1101 1 ·~ • .. ., " o 11 y n m on g the f11~-;t to put nn end to slavery within its own t<'JTitory Lut \oVUs the fin;t to fix a mark of n'prubation upon Uw Afri~ Cltll :-;lav I Lm<lc. rrhc law Jnst lll (' lltione<l was J>:l i-:S(·d ill October 17 H, about nino monlhs uf't <~r lhe Lu te had J'ULilictl nnd adopted the ~lrcscut Constitution of' the Unil ed Sl aLcli ; and b~ thai law lt prohibited ils own ·i t izCII 8, und er severe pcu.a~ti ·s, f~·om Cllgn.g ing iu tho trad e, and declared all po1ICICS of Insnt·auce on the vos. cl or cargo made in the Slate to he unll aud void. Bitt, up tu Limo of Lite adopLiull Tll.ill Dltl~ lJ ~ U O'l''l' CA::;)lJ:. 39G f tho Constitution, th ere is not hing iu Lhe legislalion of Lho ~talc indicating any Clll:tiWC Of. opini on HH 10 the r.elati~o rights and positionH of t.he wh1lc and l>lack rnees Ill tlut3 country, or in<licnt.ing th :tL i t tll<'nnt lo place lhe .lallcr, wl.tcn free upon a. le vel with i t~ <' itize ns. An<l cc rl:uuly uotlllng whi~h wuul tl lmvc lc1l the slavchold ing Btaies to suppose that Connect icut <lesig netl lo claim fo r LhonJ, un der the now Cousti tutio11, tho equal ri ghts nnd pri vilege$, and rank of r:itizens, in every other Stntc. '£ho first slop taken l>y Connrct.icul 11pon Lhis sul>joct wns us early ns l 771, when iL pnssecl nn aeL forbi dtliug tho further illlportnLion of s hWNl into the S trtlc. BuL Llw HCction containing Lhc pruhil>i lion is inLruducet1 hy lhe follow-ing preamble : . . . . . 11 And whr rcns th inrrcnsc of sl:lvrH Into Ll11s Stn.te IH I IIJil- riOllR LO the poor, tUH 1 .J IICO!l V 'II .I CII t . " '!'his rccitn,l would nppt':tr Lo lmvc been •areftdly int roduced, in order to preven t any lllisund •rshw ding· of tho motive whieh in<lu cc1l the lt'p; isJ: ,turc lo ] HISS the l:tw, :w<l 11nco it JistincLly upon Lhc in Lor('sl and co n v<~ui e ll tc of tho ~hito population-excluding the infe rence Lhat ~t m.ighL have been intomled, in any degree, fo r Lhc bcneftt of the other. An<l in the uei of 17 84, by whi ·h the issue of slaves, born n.ftcr the Lime therein mentioned, were io be f'ree at a t·<·rt~lin ngc, the secti on is n.gain introd uc·e!l hy a pre <t n 1 1>1~ assigning 11 si111ilar motive for the ncL. J L is in these wo r<lt-~ : 11 vVhcrca~, sound policy rc<pli r<'H LlmL the ubolil.iou ol' sbt.very should l>c cfl' ·ct<'<1 as soon as may be collsisL<Ittl wi !h the ri o·htR of indi vidu als a11<l the pulJ iic s:t f'e ly aml \\'(·l!'nr<•,'' _ ho~v ing Lhn.t the right of pro perty in the tn~t.· t ·1: was to be prol ct:Led , and that the m •ftsurc was one of po.lley, all<l to prevent the i11jnry and inconve ni ence lo ihe whi t<.::-;, of u. a slave popul11tion in ihe Stale. . And still further pursuing its legislation, we find that m |