The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1850-11-07
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW.


-ous men have minis,ered much TO the pas.
sions of misguided and infatuated fanatics
until there IS such an uneasiness in the pub
lie mind that we are almost prepared fol
any out.burst of madness. We hear ol
conventions every day where black spirits,
white spirits, and gray are mixed in beauti-
full sympathy; and breathe loud anathemaf
-agains! the laws of the land The white
. plays second fiddle 10 black itinerant lee.
turer: and crowd of delicate and modest
American women applaud the ebony Jupiter
as he Eliminates at the American consttu.
ton! Even in our own state, we heat him
denounced as "infamous," whose memory
we were wont 10 reverence of The "fath-
er of his country"
Still we do not despair of the republic. II
has that of strength and vitality about its Or
ganiza,ion that il is not affected by the raile-
nv Of madmen OF the treason of fact:ous
reyel But we desire 10 reason on this su b.
ject and not 10 deal in unmeaning invective
It is a provision of the American constitu.
tion that persons "held TO service or labor
in one state, under the laws thereof, ard es.
Gaping into another, shall be delivered up
on claim Of the party 10 whom such service
or labor may be due" The Act of Con-
gress of 1893 provided what proof should be
necessary TO remove such fugilives. 1t e.
naced that the master, his agent or attorney,
might follow the fugitive slave and arrest
HIM 10 bring him "before any Judge of the
Circuit or District Court ofthe United States,
residing or being within the state, or before
any magistrate of county, city or town
corporate, wherein such seizure. or arrest
was maGe;'' and then, upon satisfactory
proof by the oath Of the master or other per-
son, that the defendant was a fugitive slave,
the magistrate was 10 give a certificate TO
the clament, his agent or attorney and
this was sufficient warrant for the removal
of the fugitive This act of Congress was
signed by Washington, and precisely SINH.
lar 10 the act Of 1850. t..
The old law would have answered every
useful purpose, but for the fact that the
northern states prevented its enforcement.
by refusing 10 lend the aid of the state Of
ficers In 1s47 the Pennsylvania Legislature
enacted thar magistrate was guilty of q
misdemeanor in Office, and should be fined
from $500 10 $1,000 for carrying out the pro-
visions of the national law of 1893. There
were hence no officers 10 carry ou, the Act
of Congress, and the law Of 1850 merely
supplies this detect. The abolitionists oi
course are petulant TO thi nix that now they
can no longer subver the power of Con
gress and annul the constitution, by the
trickery of state legislation.
Under the act of 1893 no man ever com
planned that the writ of habeas corpus was a.
bolished. Upon that writ the only question
is as 10 The form and legality of the impris
onment. The enquiry cannot go behind The
record 10 Try the case upon lis merits.
looks only 10 zee that it is legal authority un
der which the complainant is held in arrest
and if The right 10 obtain the warrant ha.
been abused, tlIe remedy is in suit for ma
lclous prosecution.
In tho case of fugitive from justice the
proceedings are er parte in ike same manner
So in fact upon every arrest and commit
ment on criminal charge. The preliminar,
enquiry is only as 10 a reasonable cause fo
a binding over or commitment 10 answer ir
The proper uenue. The policy of the law
is that every trial shall be where the case
can be best understood, and witnesses mos,
readily obtained on both sides. Hence j
is that we have fugilves from justice re-
moved from county TO county and from state
TO state. No magistrate thinks of giving ar
arrested whitc man trial upon the merits
and then committing him 10 another county
or state for second trial there.
Again, if the fugitive slave is not permit
ted 10 be witness for himself it is precisely
similar to any other examination. That the
master may testify to. what indirectly may
interest him, has also its analogy in ever,
magistedal examination upon warrant il
Pennsylvania, and in almost every Grim ina
trial before a jury. The prosecutor in lar
.ceny swears property into his possession
with the same breath that he convicts the
fh.ef.
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