New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-04-18

get the s!avehunting Xartbal out of Jail the boot
having, by the energetic proceedings Of the Ohio
Judges, been suddenly trsosf.rIed - the other
leg, and 1t being 10 longer the won.n bat me
Msrsbhl who Was in custody. For that purpose,
application was made to Mr. Justice McLsau, of
the Supreme Court Of the United State., who
having brought before him the chop-fallen Mar
shall On Q writ Of hsbeas corpus. discharged him
from JAIL Oh the ground that he had been im prop
erly committed by the State Judge, and that he
was fully justified by the Commssiouer's warrant
in srestiIg and holding the woman.
Now. that is q point on which We must beg per-
mission to take an issue Of Law. With ell hi,
ready ,ubseIviency to the Shareholders Of which
he has given frequent Instances, aud in which
pitiful businem, whatsoever erimaces be may at
tine have put on. he has perhaps gone q1te as
far as any Judge on the Supreme Bench, Mr..
Ju.iice Mclean must, we imagine, be full y aware
that the provisions Of the Fugitive Slave Act are,
by tteirvsy terms. and must be, by the very terms
Of the Constitution applicable exclusively to fugi
tives fro service, ard not in the least 70 free oit
zeps BY the confession of les advocates AMI the
un'f,Im consent of all the Judges whe have sus-
tanned its cons itutonality, the Fugitive Slave
Act makes no provision for trying the question of
slave or not, but only for the extr sdition OF PSF
.ous bound to service or labor. OF course all the
parties, from the Commissioner downward, who
take any share in that extradtion, must take
upon themselves the responsibility that the party
so proceeded against is really fugitive from
labor, and no other persOn but an actual
fugitive, and an actual fugitive, too, from
the party claimant, is bOuad in the least
10 submit to be arrested on C)nmis-
.ion,rs warrant. Suppose that some stupid,
orvhstn. corrupt or ignorant slave-catcning
Com missioner should choose t0 issue q war
rant, on the oath o. some clainaa. of the same
feather, for tie arrest Of Judge Mclean, or
of the Editor of THE TRIBUNE, az fugitive
from service. A, to the point of being bound to
labor We do not know how it nay be with the
Judge, but for ourselves, we cOuld not under-
take to dispute II at; yet we do not suppose that
the leatn.d Judge would hold that either no or
We would be uGder the slightest obligation to
pay the least degree OF re ,peet to any such war
rant. C.rrainly we should be at full liberty to
bick cut Of cur houses or to knock do IN in the
street, any marshal or marshals man who might !
attempt to arrest u, known and acknowledged
clizeDs and freemen, upon any such process.
Berg freemen AID no fugitves, Of course we
are lot liable to be arrested upon process which
has and can have no application excep. to fagi-
tives from q service to which they are bound
und or the laws of some other State.
AND if this be true Of Judge Mclean and OF
u.s. is it not equslly true and true in stu higher
degree, of a person who has been declared free
by q solemn decision OF Court of omnpo'ent
jur,dictioD TIE pretended fugitive from labor
whom the Ohio Marshal undertook to arrest, was
a ,ree wouaB. and rot merely free woman in
la ". but free woman of record. In the old times,
when there were serfs in England, the highest
proof of serfdom was the record of court to that
effect Ard should not the record Of court be
io.t as potent to establish the fact of liberty
Il the reversed and pertios ctous claimant Of
this poor won an to be at liberty to pursue her
through the Court Of every fugitive slave Com.
missioner In the State or ofevsry State to which
she mby 60, till some scoundrel can be found, or
some friendly judge can be persuaded to appoint
one, ready TO prt nOupce her slave aod such
scoupdrel being found or sppoinsed, is she to be
carried out Of thu State ia spite of the solemn
record Of an Ohio Court that she is frse woman 7
Such law Night pr';;..sely have gone down three
or ftur years ago, but times have char ged and are
cbsIsi g, ard if Mf Justice Mclean does not wish
to BE- cto az obsolete as an old almanac, We advise
BIN to give the subjec. little reconsderation.
Nothing, We think, can be palmer or nore Ger.
tain than that Commissioner warrant Of arrest
issued sgoinst freeman, or against person not
a fugitive from the party who claims him, is q
mere piece Of waste plper, or if not that then
gross libel, for which the Com missioner msy be
sued and indicted, but upon which no freeman can
be arrested or held.