American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-10-23
i,Misfellameo
CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.
Opinion of Chief Justice Chase.
q THE LAW CONSTITUTIONAL

Sac BALTIMORE, October l6.--ln the Uni
ted States Circuit Court, yesterday, a
hearing was had before Chief Justice
Chase upon the petition of Elizabeth
Turner, colored, by her next friend Chas
II Minaky, addressed to the Hon. Sal
mon p. Chase, Chief Judge of the Cir.
cult Court OF the United States, and for
the Mary land District. The petitioner
alleges that she is the child Of Elizabeth
Turner'S that she il restrained of her
liberty and held in custody by Philemon
T. Hambletou, of Talbot county, Mary,
land, in violation of the Constitution and
laws Of the United States; also that the
petitioner is restrained of her liberty BY
virtue of certain alleged indentures of
apprenticeship made not in accordance
with the laws of the State of Maryland,
as applicable to the binding OF white
children. s-.. ...
The petitioner prays this Court for a
writ of habeas corpus, addressed to said
. Hamblcton, requiring him to produce in
court the person of the petitioner, and
certify the true cause of her detention,
and to show cause, if any he has, why
petitioner should not be discharged
Z CSigued by HI. Stockbridge and Nathan
g. M. Pusey, attorneys for petitioner.
The petition was fled September Goth,
and iudorsed, Writ granted as prayed ,
returnable October 18th, 1867.
[Signcd,1 IS. P. CHASE,
"Chief Justice of the United States.
The master, Z. T. Hambleton, made
the following return to the writ: In
j obedience to the command of the within
writ l herewith produce the body of
Elizabeth Turner, together with copy
of theindenture of apprenticeship, show
ing cause of her caption and detention,
and respectfully await the action of your
homer" .t~s
10 The petitioner appeared by counsel
The Chief Justice inquired Of the res
pondent if he had counsel in Court He
replied in the negative, and said he would
let the matter be settled by the court
The Chief Justice stated he would pre-
fer that the case should be fully argued.
The respondent stated that the child and
its mother were formerly his slaves, and
wereset free by the constitution, which
went into operation in November lst,
. 1854. The child was -apprenticed No
vember 3, 1864, two days after she was
emancipated. The law of Congress call,
ed the Civi! Rights Bill was passed since
the child was indentured, April 9th, '66,
and everybody told him that the law did
not Interfere with this case.
The Chief Justice said the questions
In the case will bc grave and important !;
that he wished to be advised by argu, {,
ment of counsel on the part of claimant.
He would adjourn the Court until to,day
at o'clock, in order to give claimant or
any other person interested in tho decis>
ion an opportunity to appear. If no per-
son appeared, he would dispose Of the
case. The Court convened at o'clock
this morning, when the Chief Justice de.
livered the following decision
The petitioner in this case seeks relief
from restraint and detention by Philemon
T. Hambleten, Of Talbot counay, in Ma.
ryland, in alleged contravention of the
Constitution and laws of the United
States. The facts as they appear from
! the return made BY Mr.. Hambleton to the
writ, and by his verbal statement made
in Court and admitted as part of tie re,
turns, are substantially as follows: The
petitioner, Elizabeth Turner, young
person Of color, and her mother were,
/. prior to the adoption Of the Maryland
Constitution of. 1864, slaves of the re-
spondent that Constitution went into
operation November LIST, 1861, and pro-
hibited slavery. Almost Immediately
thereafter many of the freed people Of
Talbot county we're collected together
under some local authority, the nature Of
which does not clearly appear. The
younger pcrsoas were bound as appren-
tices usually, if not always, to their las:
masters among others, Elizabeth, the
petitioner, was apprenticed to Hamble.
ton by an indenture dated on the Sd Of
November, two days after the new cou,
? istitutions went into operation. Upon
; comparing the terms Of this indenture,
whic b is claimed to have been executed