I do not adequately expose this bill, when I say it is a sacrifice to Slavery. It is a sacrifice to Slavery in its most odious form. Bad as Slavery is, it is not so bad as hunting slaves. There is seeming apology for Slavery at home, in States where it prevails, founded on difficulties in the position of the master and the relations of personal attachment it sometimes excites; but every apology fails, when you seek again to enslave the fugitive whom the master cannot detain by duress or kindness, and who, by courage and intelligence, under guidance of the North Star, can achieve a happy freedom. Sir, there is wide difference between Slaveholder and Slave-Hunter. But the bill before you is to aid in the chase of slaves. This is its object. This is its "being's end and aim." And this bill, with this object, is pressed upon the Senate by the honorable Senator from Connecticut [Mr. TOUCEY]. Not from slave soil, but from free soil, comes this effort. A Senator from the North, a Senator from New England, lends himself to the work, and with unnatural zeal helps to bind still stronger the fetter of the slave. MR. RUSK (of Texas) [_interrupting_]. Will the honorable Senator allow me to interrupt him? MR. SUMNER. Certainly. MR. RUSK. I ask him to point out the words in this bill where Slavery is mentioned. MR. SUMNER. I am glad the Senator from Texas asks the question, for it brings attention at once to the true character of this bill. I know its language well, and also its plausible title. On its face it purports to be "a bill to protect officers and other persons acting under the authority of the United States"; and it provides for the transfer of certain proceedings from State Courts to the Circuit Courts of the United States. And yet, Sir, by the admission of this whole debate, stretching from noon to midnight, it is a bill to bolster up the Fugitive Slave Act. MR. RUSK. I have not listened to the debate, but I ask the Senator to point out in the bill the place where Slavery is mentioned. If the Constitution and laws appoint officers, and require them to discharge duties, will he abandon them to the mob? MR. SUMNER. The Senator asks me to point out any place in this bill where "Slavery" is mentioned. Why, Sir, this is quite unnecessary. I might ask the Senator to point out any place in the Constitution of the United States where "Slavery" is mentioned, or where the word "slave" can be found, and he could not do it. MR. RUSK. That is evading the question. I asked the Senator to point out in the bill the clause where Slavery is mentioned. The bill proposes to protect officers of the United States, whom you appoint, in discharging their duties. If they are to be left unprotected, repeal your law.