Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1861-02-23

~State-Judgo Tilden-on q write of habeas coypus
The merit Of such an act depends a good deal upon
The question presented by the writ, aud when il
Is seen from the character of the writ, the decision
made upon IL, and the admission of the clailnanps
council in relation to that decision, that the sole
object Of the issuing of that process was to deter
mine whether the Sheriff and jailor could hold
Lucy in durance inside the walls Of the Jail rs we'll
as outside, one is not disposed to praise very much
this legal effort of Lucy's distinguished council
Writs of habeds corpus have been issued in Wis
consin for the purpose Of testing tho constitution
atty of the fugitive slave law, and inasmuch as
the Republicans of Cleveland have for the last ten
years been affirming II to be unconstitutional, the
testing Of this question before Judge Tilden, might
have been Of some advantage not only to Lucy, but
to all the fugitives of Cleveland, and would have
afforded the Judge an opportunity legally to decide
what his party have been continually asserting in
their political meetings.
The Judge took from Saturday until Monday to
fully investigate the important point he was called
upon to decide. We shall not copy bS decision
here, seeing it can be Of no earthly advantage
to any alleged fugitive, and although 1t may re.
dound to the possible honor of the "free, white,
male citizens" Of Ohio, that honor threatens to be
swallowed up in the rendition Of Lucy. The Judge
quoted law after law law positive, law amen
datory, and law revoking, exhibiting a see-saw-
process by which Ohio jails have opened and clos
ed their doors to the admission of fugitive slaves,
until he felt constrained to settle down on the
following decision, with which his opinion is
closed.
Tho order of the Court, therefore, is. that the
Sheriff forthwith discharge this woman from Der
imprisonment ia the Jail. WHEN OUTSIDE OF TUE
JAIL, II HE CHOOSES TO RETAIN HER IN HIS CUSTODY
AS THE AGENT OF TIE MARSHAL, 1T Is NOT THE PUR-
POSE OF THE COURT TO INTERFERE WITH SUCH AR
RANGEMENT."
The first sentence OF the above is in reality the
judicial decision Of Judge Tilden upon The point
presented for adjudication. All that preceded it
was but the. rehearsal of the reasons aud facts
which influenced that decision. The concluding
sentence of the above paragraph, and which is a
triie more lengthy than the 6rst, is his. extraju-
dicial decision upon a point not presented in the
writ, not demanded at his hands, and which he
was obliged to travel out of his record to reach.
Why Judge Tilden gave this aid and comfort to
the STAKEHOLDER, why he was thus Oficious in as
surfing the jailor Of Lucy that although he must
not confne her in the Jail, he need not loose his
clutch upon her when he brought her outside of
the prison walls, lie q mystery to which we can
fnd no solution. His judicial decision amounted
to nothing one way or the other and it was a
thousand pities be was not content to send it I'M
attended Oh its way to posterity, instead of attach.
ing to it an assurance that gave strength and COM
fort to the hounds that had seized poor Lucy. 1t
would h~aveSbeen otherwise, perhaps, had be taken
counsel of his heart rather than his head.
The manner..in which the deoisions-both Judi
cial and extraj udicial-were received by the u.
S. Commissioner ard others interested in the case
may be gathered from the ~folloSing statements
mede during tho subsequent trial.
Commissioner White said the law of Congress pro-
vides that Marshals may make any arrangement to
keep a prisoner, and he had a right to do so.
Judge TRden has no control oUer The Jail in This
matter. The statute does notr forbid The Sheriff
keeping the prisoner. l still think my mittimus
was right in directing that the prisoner BIO detain-
ed in the County Jail.
The claimant has said that he wanted to seeiif
the people of Cleveland would enforce tho laws of
the United States that he did not care for her
value. While she lie detained by the MarShal's
agent, a habeas corpus is issued, and she is dis
charged. He referred to the habeas corpus case
Of Bushnell, saying the Supreme Court refused it
because the prisoner was in the hands of O compe-
tent Court. A Sheriff cannot take a vessel from
the District Court until that Court was done with
it.
Mr.. Bsckus-May it please the Court, Judge
Tilden did not discharge the prisoner at all, but
said that although the Sheriff could not detain her
as Sheriff, he had full power to act as agent of the
Marshal in bis private capacity.
A TEST QUESTION.
From the commencement TO the conclusion of
this case it was clearly apparent, as we'll as openly
ayowed, that the claimant did not SO much care to
recover possession Of Lucy simply as a piece Of
property, as to make the question of her rendition
one that should compel the people of Cleveland to
belle ell their anti-slavery professions, and bring
upon them the curse that God pronounced on the
serpent which tempted, but did not enslave, the
Woman. The Western Reserve has, or lad, per-
haps we should say, q terribly anti-slayery char
acter in the South. 1t was the home of the junior
John Brown and his companions, the City OF Re-
fuge for Coppoc and Merriam, a very Fort Moul-
trie of the anti-slavery garrison. If Cleveland. its
chief city, could be captured, if the Palmetto of
slavery could there be made to ~supplant the ban
ner of freedom, glorious would be the slave-catch-
er's victory, and great the rejoicing throughout
Slavedom.
Having received notice in advance of tho pur-
pose Of Lucy's claimant, it would seem as though
such notice ought to have raised up abolitionists
by the thousand, and made every drop of Yankee
blood boil to huri back the insulting defiance.
But such was not the case. The ~prOfessed aboli-
~tionists of Cleveland showed as little pIuck us the
Coon that came down at the first sight of Captain
Scott.
The case presents some very remarkable features
from which conclusions have been drawn that may,
or may not, be correct. The actors seemed to have
had their parts assigned and studied we'll. Each
part was perfect in itself, and the combination
formed a perfect whole; and had the performance
of the tragedy been advertised by posters, it is