ntoul, Hon. Horace Mann, Hon. Charles Sumner, and
other able men, have argued against the Constitutionality of the
Fugitive Slave Bill, proving it to be not only contrary to the
_spirit_ and _meaning_ of the Constitution, but also to be
unauthorized by the _letter_ of that document. That this nefarious
Bill is contrary to the _spirit_ and _intention_ of the Constitution
is shown by the published opinions of those who framed it; by the
debates at the time of its adoption; and by its Preamble, which sets
forth that it was ordained to "establish _justice_, ensure domestic
_tranquillity_, promote the _general welfare_, and secure the
blessings of _liberty_." The arguments adduced to prove that this
bill is unauthorized by the _letter_ of the Constitution, I will
endeavor to compress into a few words.

Article 10 of the Amendments to the Constitution expressly provides
that

"_Powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution_, nor prohibited by it to the States, _are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people_."

Article 4 of the Constitution contains four compacts. The first is:

"Full faith and credit shall be given in each of the States
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of
every other State. And the _Congress may, by general laws,
prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof_."

Here, _power is expressly delegated by the Constitution to the
United States_.

The second compact is:

"The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States."

Under this provision, an attempt was made to obtain some action of
Congress for the protection of colored seamen in slaveholding ports;
but it was decided that Congress had no power to act on the subject,
because _the Constitution had not delegated any power to the United
States_ in the clause referred to. Slaveholders are very strict in
adherence to the Constitution, whenever any question of _protection_
to colored people is involved in their decisions; but for purposes
of _oppression_, they have no scruples. They reverse the principle
of Common Law, that "in any question under the Constitution, _every
word is to be construed in favor of liberty_."

The third compact is:

"A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other
crime, who shall flee f