Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1860-12-08
The ti-Fugitive Slave Law
OF this State.

Slave Law. At that time we were not
fully acquainted with the action of our own
State on this question, but, upon invest-
CATION, we find that there exists upon our
Statute books law interfering with the
laws OF the United States in reference to
the return of fugtives from labor. This
law was originally enacted in 1S47, and
was gotten up under the auspices of G..
Gibbon, leading Republican of Phila-
delphia, at that time Senator from that
city and also Speaker ofthe Senate. The
law as published below is taken from the
Revised Penal Code as amended by Com
missioners Knox, King and Webster, who
were appointed by the Legislature to do
this work under bill entitled "An act to
consolidate, revise and amend the Penal
Laws of this Commonwealth" The law
originally prohibited any judge, justice of
the peace, or alderman from taking cog.
nizance of the case of any fugitive from
labor, "under a certain act of Congress
passed on the 18th day of February ,l793;
and the commissioners struck out the
words we have italicised, and inserted in
lieu thereof the wordt "under any act of
Congress-
"No Judge of any of the Courts of this
Commonwealth, nor any Alderman or
Justice of the Peace of said Common
wealth, shall have jurisdiction, or take
cognizance of the case of any fugitive from
labor from any of the United States, or
Territories, under any Act Of Congress {;
nor shall any such Judge, Alderman, or
Justice of the Peace of this Common
wealth, issue or grant any certificate or
warrant of removal of any such fugitive
from labor, under any Act of Congress ;
and if any Alderman or Justice of the
Peace of this Commonwealth shall take
cognizance, or jurisdiction, of the case of
, any such fugitive, or shall grant or issue
, any certificate, or warrant of removal, as
aforesaid, then. and in either case, he
shall be deemed guilty of misdcmcanor
, in office, and shall, on conviction thereof,
be sentenced 10 pay, at the discretion Of The
Court, any sum mol exceeding one MOu-
f Satd dtlarS, the onc-half to the party
. prosecuting for the same, and the other
: half to the use of this Commonwealth.
, yany person or persons, clatming any
5 negro or mula'to as q fugitive from Servi-
tule or labor, shall, undcr any pretence Of
authority whatscever, violently and tumul
tuously, seize upon and carry away to any
place, or attempt to seize and carry away
in riotous, violent, tumultuous and un
reasonable manner, and so as to disturb
or endanger the public peace, any Negro
I or mulatto within this Commonwealth
y eather V,th or pitiout the iatenti9n Of ta
+ king such negro or mulano before an
District or Circuit Judee, the person o.
% persons so offending against the peace o
: this Commonwealth, shall be guilty of ;
e misdemeanor and on conviction thereo
II shall be sentrncsd 10 pay a fine nat eaceed
J. ing one thousand doIars, and further t
c be imprisoned in the County Jd,h for an
u period al tile assertion OF the Court, M
l. e1ceeding three monthS."
l. Our readers who have been pridin
. themselves with the belief that our oil
Il Commonwealth has been true to the Fed
: eral compact can now see how sneakingl
y this law attempts to carry out the princi
pie of notification. Thus any justice @
- the peace or alderman who shall aid in tn
y execution of a law of the United States
j. shall be broke of his Office and be fine
81 900, one-half to be pocketed by an
g negro who shall prosecute for the sam'
: while the other half goes into the Golfer
= of the State. Moreover, the owner of
s. slave is threatened with fine and impri
i' onmeut, if he shall attempt, nnder an
ie pretence of authority wh@tUsr, to carr
y his fugitive violently before District {
u Circuit judge. As has been truly sale
rs we'll did the Abolition author of this inf
nous law know that rare would be tt
f. case when fugitive from labor could
es taken in any other manner than yiolen
Of ly; and thus insidiously did he attem
re to deprive the owner of the services of h
60 fugitive by hanging over his head the lo
d. of his money and the terrors of the ia
rs if he should attempt to recover him.
of To those leaders of the Republican pa
ty, and to their press, who are daily b
rating the South for their attempted nj
m lifcation, we especially recommend co
om siderution of this law, with the ADV
n that, when they shall have removed
ler beam from their own eve, they will be b