The constitutional objections to the Fugitive Slave Act are abundant. It is not too much to say, that in every section and at every point it is repugnant to admitted principles of Constitutional Law. UNCONSTITUTIONAL DENIAL OF TRIAL BY JURY. Foremost among these objections it is proper to put the denial of trial by jury to the fugitive whose liberty is in question. It is well known that Judge Story, who pronounced the opinion of the Supreme Court affirming the constitutionality of the early Fugitive Slave Act, declared that the necessity of a trial by jury had not been argued before the Court, and that in his opinion this was still “an open question.”[359] It has never been argued since; but it is difficult to say that it is still “an open question.” The battles of Freedom are never lost, and the longer this right is denied the more its justice has become apparent, until at last it shines resplendent beyond all contradiction. Even if there were doubt of the obligation of Congress, there can be no doubt of the power. Nobody denies that Congress, if it legislates on this matter, _may_ allow trial by jury. But here again, if it _may_, so overwhelming is the claim of justice, it MUST. The text of the Constitution leaves the case beyond question. And here, on the threshold, two necessary incidents of the delivery are observed: first, it must be made in the State where the fugitive is found; and, secondly, it restores to the claimant complete control over the person, so that the victim may be conveyed to any part of the country where it is possible to hold a slave, or he may be sold on the way. The proceedings, therefore, cannot be regarded, in any just sense, as preliminary or auxiliary to some future formal trial, as in the case of a fugitive from justice, but as complete in themselves, final and conclusive. It is because of the contempt with which, under the teachings of Slavery, to the shame of our country, men have thus far regarded the rights of colored persons, that courts have been willing for a moment to recognize the constitutional right to hurl a human being into bondage without trial by jury. Had the victims been white, it is easy to see that the rule would have been different. But it is obvious, that, under the Constitution, the rule must be the same for all, whether black or white.