Fugitives in Canada

FUGITIVES IN CANADA- The action of the Court of Queen's Bench at Toronto, deciding upon the extradition of the fugitive slave Jones, alias Anderson, if it should not be reversed on appeal, will prove very important to those who lose their negroes. Any runaway can be charged with the larceny of his clothes, as the property of the master, and this will bring him back under our extradition law with great Britain. A change in our diplomatic policy requiring the restoration of fugitive slaves by foreign powers has been frequently proposed, and only last week was enforced by the Hon. Miles Taylor, of Louisiana, before Congress. Henry Clay, when Secretary of State, instructed our British Minister to make this demand, and claimed that Great Britain had recognized slaves as property by compensating the Southern states for those taken by her troops. The Canadian decision is interesting, therefore, as it will virtually break up the underground railroad, and render it unnecessary to negotiate with England on the subject.