What do Mr. and Mrs. Bird argue about at the beginning of Chapter 9?

The scene now shifts to the home of the Ohio Senator Bird. The senator has just arrived home, and his wife Mary asks him the news from the senate. He tells her that a new law has been passed prohibiting people to aid runaway slaves from Kentucky. Even though her husband voted for the law, his wife will break it because it is unchristian. Her loyalty is first to the Bible, and then to the state.