Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-04-17

i Last evening another attempt was made
to take the alleged Fugitive Sims from th,
custody Of the y. S. marshal, BY IN appli
cafion to Judge Lesi Woodbury., Of th'
| Y. s Supreme Court.
i Tie application was made by Messrs
4 Charles Sumner, Richard II. Dana, Jr.
and Samuel f. Scwcll.
A Chambcr Court was held At O'Clock
By Judge Woodbury. ia the U, D Cour
Room, and the parties applying were hcaio
In argument in support cfthe petition.
His honor Judge Woodbury. said he
should issue writ of fabeas corpus. and
order releasefrom the marshal forthwith
but wherheror not lie waste be discharged
fully, was quite another thing--it was q
question Of law and justice.
| Accordingly, the prisoner tSims) wa.
brought before his honor, when B. X. Cur.
tiss. Esq, appeared in behalf Of the Mar
shall, and read the return, and also the or.
ders from the Commissioners Court, fol-
the rcmanding Of the prisoner from time
to time from the custody of the marshal.
Mr.. Sumner wished for delay for the
purpose Of collecting evidence Of the I'M
reasonabIeness ofrhe delay by the marshal
in bringing Sims before the commissioner
for the offence charged.
Judge Woodbury. suggested thai he had
consented 10 come into chamber this eve
ming on the urgent solicitation OF the coun-
sci Of Sims, with the express stipulation
that the matter would there be finally dis
posed Of He had told them that he would
much prefer 10 have them before him in
Court, but they insisted.
His Honor observed that during the
Crafts affair, an application was made to
him IN chamber for the issue Of a process
and he declined doing it, but advised par
~ to apply to hun in Court.
The party did SO apply, and his Honor
got the counsel in case in hearing to give
way, and issued the warrant
Mr.. Sumner still prayed for delay until
Friday, p N. or Saturday morning.
Judge Woodbury. finally consented to
an adjournment until , O'Clock this alter
noon, and ordered the marshal 10 keep TIC
prisoner in custody there to be brought to
| him.
The adjournment took place at a quar-
ter past ! l..
THE FUGITIVE REMANDED.
The United States Commissioner, came
in at nine o'clock to give his decision. He
said the hearing had been continued from
day to day since Friday last, and his decis-
ion was now to be made; and as no Court
had interposcd to relieve him from the re-
sponsibility, he shonld not shrink from it.
He was here to decide great question Of
law on his Conscientious convictions Of the
various questions which had been discuss
ed
The first was, that a Commissioner had
no right TO decide this case inasmuch as he
was not clothed with judicial power. He
admitted fully, that claim of this sort came
under tie judicial power Of the United
State, and the question is whether or not
Congress had provided a proper act en-
powcIing the Commissioners to cxerc;s
any of such powers. BY the act of 1912,
there was an authorization of Commission
ers to ascertain the extent, and it was quite
common t'iils ,oi ;hem to arrest, examine
and imprison offending seamen and Others,
Holding them in prison until finally tried
This was degree ofjudicial power
The counsel for the fugitive had con-
tended that an act of restoration by the
Commissioner here would inevitably con
sign the prisoner 10 perpetual Slavery
lie did not agree with the counsel fully on
this point. The rendition of slaves from
one State to another was of the same ma
turc as the rendition offugi;ivcs from JUS
tee; only the one was TO the owner and
the other to State. All that came before
the magistrate before either prisoners were
arranged, was simply the questioned reno
val.
twasasccrtained or passed upon whcth-
er the act OF Congress of 1850 authorised
Commissioners to give a certificate for the
removal on finding evidence that the claim
of the owner is sustained. The liberty of
theparty was notin final consultation there
fore. The ground assumed by the coun-
sci for the prisoner that, as question
of property, the prisoner was entitled to
trial by jury here was untcnable.
The Commissioner reviewed the law. CT
ted authority, and then took a careful re-
view of the evidence, and said that there
was no doubt in his mind that the claim of
the agent of Mr.. Potter was well founded
IN fact; and said, Il deem it my duty to
grant certificate for his removal back to
Georgia, and therefore do grant it."
Mr.. Sewall arose and suggested to the
Commissioner that the prisoner had cues
ton pending before Judge Woodbury.,
which he desired now to pursue.
The Commissioner said. / have consul.
ted with Judge Woodbury. this morning,
and he assured me the matter had no re-
laiion to this case. The certificate have
already granted
The fugitive was then taken from the
court room under the direction ofthe Mar
shall
JUDGE WOODBURY'S DECISION.
The court met at o'clock. Mr.. Thorn
as claimed that ii was his right TO appear
solely as counsel for Sims, holding as he
did the certificate from the Commissioner
REMINDING Sims to lis master, as Sims
now stood as regarded his master in the
situation of a ward. Mr.. Sewall replied
that that might be law in slave States, but
not in Massachus, It's.
Judge Woodbury. asked Scwall if Mas
sachusetts was not a State Of the Union
which recognised tie institution Of slavery.
For his part he thanked God that Massa-
chusetts was still a State ofthc Union
and so long as she is such he should admin
lister the laws ofthc Union or perish in the
attempt. Great applause in the court
room-Marshall called loudly to order.)
Mr.. Sumner then argued the case at
length and Mr.. Curtis rcloincd.
Judge Woodbury. then proceeded to
give his opnion-hc decided that the war