Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1861-01-26
THE ANTI-SLAVERY BUGLE.


in prison, or to detain in the pcnitentiary Of this
State, or in the jail of any county in this State,
&c., any person or persons charged with simply
being a fugitive from slavery"
Again, on the 4th of April, 1859, the Legisla-
ture of Ohio passed an act entitled ian act to
amend Sec. l of an act for the confinement Of
persons under the authority Of the United States IN
The jails Of this State, passed Dec. 20, 1906. and
TO repeal Sec. 2 Of said act" By this statute,
it is enacted that the Sheriff or the keeper Of ev-
cry Jail in any county in this State, shall be, and
is hereby authorized and required to receive all
prisoners committed to his custody by the authority
of the United Statee, and to keep them in safety
until discharged BY due course of the laws Of the
same"
BY this statute, the law of 1906 was restored,
and it was made the duty of the Sherifs and Jail
ors Of the several counties to receive and safely
keep all prisoners committed under the authority
Of the United States, Including ~fugitives from SER
vice) in the Jail Of their county, until discharged
by due course of the laws of the United States.
Again, on the Goth of March, 1860, our Legisla-
ture passed an act entitled an 'Act to p1ortde for
the confinement Of prisoners under the laCs Of The
United States in the jails Of this State, and 10 re-
peal certain acts therein mentioned"
The first section of this act provides that the
Sheriff or Keeper of every Jail in any county OF
this State, shall and he is hereby authorized and
required to receive all prisoners charged to'th crime
committed to his custody by the authority OF the
l United States and to keep them safely until dis
3 charged by due course of the law of the same
The second section of this act repeats the amenda-
tory act of 1859 and also the law Of 1906.
I have recited all the legislation of Ohio upon
r this subject, and from this it will be seen that UNI
G der tho statute of 1906 all prisoners under the
authority of the United States (of course inclu-
= ding fugitive slaves could be imprisoned within
, tho jails Of this State.
By the statute Of 1857 such imprisonment OF
= fugitive slaves was foI hidden, and the use of the
jails for such purpose prohibited. In 1859 this
= last law, the law of 1857, was repealed, and the
o law of 1906 amended, and in effect revived, and
the jails again opened for the Imprisonment OF
t fugitive slaves.
e Bu. again in March, 1860, the statute of 1906,
. as amended, was again repealed and a new statute
i regulating the confinement of prisoners of the
6 United States in the jails of this State was enact.
ed; and this statute of 1860, already recited, limits
the use of the iails as to confinement of the pris.
h oners Of the U. S. to such prisoners as charged
It pih crimes, This act Of 1860 was the law Of
J Ohio at the time Commissioner White issued hit
command to the Sheriff TO ~imprison this woman
in the Jail of our county and # he had any au
e thority for his proceedings it is to be found here
and not elsewhere.
| cannot believe that the Commissioner was
aware of the existance of this statute. 1t having
q been SO recently passed, his attention had, proba
bly,, never been called to it for it 10 incredible
that upon reading it. he could have concluded tina
! the case Of this woman was within its provisions
The statute refers to prisoners charged will
Z crimes, and to those only and no citizen Of Ohio
- I trust, is so lost to the distinctions between righ
and wrong as to mistake for crime the efforts o
~ the enslaved to obtain their freedom.
This woman was not, therefore, when before thu
t, Commissioner, a prisoner charged with crime; ant
rs the order for her confinement in the Jail of Cuya
hoga County was, therefore, unauthorized anG
void, and no duty or obligation was thereby i'm
posed upon the Sheriff to take her into custody
He derived no authority whatever from the process
ne Of the Commissioner to %intermeddle in any man
ID ner with this woman.
But there is one other point arising in the case
which it is the duty of the Court to consider. Th
u Sheriff, in his return, states that he detained thi
us woman in custody, under the mittimus of the Con
H' missioner, and also under the requisition and al
W thority of Marshal johnson.
III This requisition and authority are supposed
be contained in the following endorsement on tn
d back of the mittimus
"To James A. Craw, Sheriff of the County
Cuyahoga. O,;-You are hereby commanded
"a receive the within named Lucy, and to hold her
custody in the Jail of Cuyahoga County, accor'
=. ing to the commands of the foregoing writ
toa Signed by the Deputy Marsha
1is We cannot deny in this proceeding the right
nd impart that custody to enthusiastically n
ir- while the case is still pending before the Commi
hit eioner. And should Sheriff Craw choose to act
nd the agent of the Marshal. he is at liberty to do 8
for and there is no power in this Court to disturb SUI
NV an arrangement. But this endorsement Of Il
SD. Marshal on the back of the mittimus, which
The made part of the Sheriff 8 returns, shows that Il
i've Marshal has only requested or rather command,
in the Sheriff to obey the void mittimus Of the Coz
lue missioner. He makes no new request of the ShC
of if, nor does he Except on the authority Of ii
in mittimus) impart to him the custody Of this "
man, and the case stands as though this endor'
au- ment of the Marshal had not been made. If t
au- Sheriff, in his private capacity had agreed to
la tain the custody Of this woman for the MarshI
he has no authority of law for carrying out II
ich undertaking by c~onfning her in the county Jail.
the The order of the Court, therefore, is that t
in Sheriff forthwith discharge this woman from b
md Imprisonment in the Jail. When outside of t
his Jail, if he chooses to retain her in his custody
md the agent of the Marshal, it is not the purpose
rise the Court to interfere with such arrangement.
1 They are talking loudly in the Cotton States
a a prohibiting the interstate slave trade-that is,
md forbid the OoFuer save o'ateS se''hg 'neir 81
10 plus blacks South. Presently this will be dor