Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1859-06-15
THE HiBglS CORPUS CASES.
Dissenting Opinion CT Justice sutliF.
SurLrFF, j., bels,

| hat tHe return % The wriiS, neceSSa
rily pFesf med for consideration the cen
siitn;ionalty of the act of Congress r
1853, called the Fugitive Law. II
thought; that il The Court were saisfie,
beyoad reasonable doubt, that Congress
had no power 10 iegislaie co. the ex,radi
ion Of fugiIives from -ervice; or even, i
having such power, the law un1t
whica the prisoners were held was CLEAR
lv repugnant 10 express provisions ct' ih'
Corsn rtion, in either case the ieturn ID
The writ was Insufficient.
Alier cartfll examination Of III,
whole subject, he couli rot say that h.
had any reasonable 30 .bi that lhis act c
Congress was unconstitutional upon b. Il
grounds.
Upon the frs ground he insisted upoi
tie consideration that the Legislative
power being in the S ates respectively
prior to the adoption of the Constitution
the reasonable presumption, as well a
the express provision of the 10Th amend
m nj OF the Constitution, slowed iha
power sill 10 remain viii he State, uB
less delegated unier the Constitution Il
the Federal Government And If III,
power claimed By the Federal Go, era
menr, 10 legislaie, i is incumbent 10 snow
lille thereto, by pointing cut the CLAUSE
under which the same had been ceGnd "
the Safes.
He then Re ferred to the rules given
commentators, which were applicable Il
the construction OF the Constitution Isl,
that the meaning of The insirumen, wa,
10 be songhl fIr according TO the sense
of the Terms and unde rstandIng of the
parties; that where the terms are clear
ard The sense distinct from the language,
recourse TO other means is not admissible
to ascertain the meaning. -, where the
words are not PLAIN and clear. bat tht
meaning ambiguous or unceriain. is the
or ly case where Interpretation is allowa
BILE; that contemPorane) )us his Ory, OF IN
terpretaiion, can only be resorted to, 10
escape some absurd Consequence, Or
guard against some fatal evil, &c.
He insisted that the meaning of the
clause, "No person h ID TO service or la
bor," &C., under which the power 10 leg
islate was claimed for Congress, was
neither unceriain or doubtful; and that
the maxim, II is not allo,C b to inter
pret arh0t hos no need cf iRterp citation, =
ougi 10 apply; thai the clause was a ma
ked compact, the same as the Two pre-
,pl,,..L, k:l,
il ihe Articles of Confederation, had
been named and re arjtd as mare com
pacIs. He urged that power to Congress
b ing expressed in sec l, aud sec. 3, o
art q, and Not expressed in sec. ,. The
maxim erprCssiO URias &c applied aiii
double force. He il sisted that the plain
AMI obvious sense Of the clause wa
simply treaty stipulation, the same as
The QUE provided that The citizens a
each State shall be entitled to all priv.
lsges and imInnniiies of cit z ms OF the
several States, and Vas never inlen Ted.
and could not have been understood, 10 he
a cession Of powers to Congress 10 le.iS-
late. He denied thai coitemporaDeOu>
history was admissible; iDasnuch as lie
people adopted The constitution noi upon
history which was not submitted 10 them,
bui upon the letter Of The text, which
was; ard when submitted 10 them, they
must be presumed 10 have read aud un
Gers,oOd il according 10 its obvious mean
ing
Reierrin~, however, 10 contempora-
neous histo Y, he showed very clearly
thai nothing could be gained from that
source, even if allowable TO refer 10 it,
to show that it was either understood or
intended that power should be delegated
to Congress TO legisIate in relation to
frgiiives from service. The Fugitive
law Of 1898 was passed for the proposed
o C, Of reclai;ning fugiiives from jas
'ice, with very little attention given 10
!he bill at the time; that the question OF
power was not considered. BJI liie STATE,
On the other hand, claimed and exercised
the power of legisla;ing upon the same
subject; and the States continued to leg
islate uTon The subject until the decision
of thi Prigg case in 1912. t..t.
He then remarked upon objectionable
{ atIres or the Flu Iiiive Law of 1851;
II e commissioners were vested with Ia-
dicial powers unconslituiionally. BY
the provisions of the law the right of trial
by jury and due process of law Were de-
MED in violation of express provisions
Of the Constitution; that the provisions Of
the Constitution guaranteeing these
rights, being contained in the amend
menis OF the Constitution, they must
haye full force: however they may quai
ify the right of the claimant to a sum
mary removal Of the person owing ser
vice. He remarked that the Fugitive
Law of 1880 provided for the surrender
of fugilives from service in othtr cases
than that mentioned in the Constitution,
that while the provisions of the Cons,i'u-
lion was only for the delivering up of
Fugitives sheld to labor in one Sale
ander the laws thereof" the act provides
TOR the surrender of fugiiives, shield to
service o. labor in any S.ate," merely. !"
The act was as general 10 lis terms as
any law upon the statute book, and It's
provisions were applicable TO all other
general laws. 10 every person giihin the
State. 1t was, Therefore, not only uu-
constitutional, in that j, was enacted
without power, and in authorizing un-
reasonable seizures, and in casps not pro
vided for by the Constitution, withhold
ing due process of law and denying a
right of trial by jury. &c, but only un-
in that ii was enacted with
ou, power, and authorizing un e Isonable
and in cases not provided for
by The Constitution, Withholding due pro-
cess of Law and deny right of trial by
Jury, &e., but was, in provisions fla
grant subversion Of the municipal laws Of