578 



PERSONAL LIBERTY LAWS. 



ject of the rendition of fugitive slaves is vested 

 exclusively in Congress ; that no State laws can 

 constitutionally be enacted even to aid masters 

 in the recovery of their slaves, much less to in- 

 terfere with or hinder their recovery ; and 

 that all such State laws as well as all legisla- 

 tion by Congress contemplating any service by 

 States in the rendition of slaves which the 

 States are not willing to perform, are alike 

 foreign to the plan of the Constitution ; the 

 power of legislation on the subject, as already 

 stated, being vested exclusively in Congress. 



At the next session of her Legislature, Mas- 

 sachusetts endorsed this interpretation of the 

 Constitution, by the passage of the Personal 

 Liberty Act of 1843, by which all State magis- 

 trates and officers were prohibited, under pen- 

 alties, from performing the services imposed 

 by the United States Fugitive Act of 1793. 

 Subsequent to the passage by Congress of the 

 Fugitive Act of 1850, and in the year 1855, the 

 Legislature of the State passed another act un- 

 der which commissioners were to be appointed 

 by the Governor, whose duty it was made, on 

 being informed of the arrest of any person as a 

 fugitive slave, to " use all lawful means to pro- 

 tect and defend such alleged fugitive, and se- 

 cure to him a fair and impartial trial by jury." 

 The burden of proof was laid on the claimant, 

 who must bring two credible witnesses to sub- 

 stantiate his claim ; persons holding any place 

 of honor or emolument under the Common- 

 wealth were forbidden to issue any warrant or 

 other process under the United States Fugitive 

 Slave Act ; jails of the State not to be used for 

 the detention of fugitive slaves ; commissioners 

 to be appointed in every county to defend the 

 cause of alleged fugitive slaves, &c. In the 

 year 1858 judges of the State were forbidden 

 to issue any writ under the United States Fugi- 

 tive Slave Law of 1850. 



In 1859, the statutes of the State were re- 

 vised, and these three acts were expressly re- 

 pealed and their substance incorporated in a 

 new text. They thus continued substantially 

 as before until the session of the Legislature in 

 1861, when an organization was formed under 

 the auspices of prominent citizens of Boston, to 

 procure signers to petitions for a repeal of the 

 law. The subject was referred to a joint com- 

 mittee of the Legislature, who resolved to re- 

 port a declaratory act to exclude any construc- 

 tion of the personal liberty laws which should 

 contravene the Constitution or laws of the 

 United States. They also recommended such 

 changes as to make the writ of habeas corpus 

 returnable only before a Justice of the Supreme 

 Court, instead of Justices of the Superior Court 

 as well as the Supreme Court ; to provide that 

 the militia may be lawfully called out to pre- 

 serve the public peace in cases growing out of 

 the rendition of a fugitive slave : to allow the 

 evidence of the claimant in proof of his claim 

 to the alleged fugitive. 



In New York there is no law having refer- 

 ence to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. An 



act passed in 1840, entitled " An Act to extend 

 the right of trial by jury," has not been re- 

 pealed, although it is regarded as obsolete. 

 This act extends the trial by jury to the cases 

 of persons arrested as fugitive slaves. 



The State of New Jersey has no statutes 

 bearing on this subject save those which enjoin 

 on her State officers the duty of aiding in the 

 recovery of fugitive slaves. Persons tempo- 

 rarily residing in the State are also permitted 

 to bring with them and retain their domestic 

 slaves. 



In the State of Pennsylvania, the consoli- 

 dated, revised, and amended Penal Laws, enact- 

 ed on March 31st, 1860, contain the following 

 provision : 



No Judge of any of the Courts of this Commonwealth, 

 nor any Alderman or Justice of the Peace of said Com- 

 monwealth, 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 Commonwealth issue or grant any cer- 

 tificate 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 Common- 

 wealth shall take cognizance or jurisdiction of the case 

 of any such fugitive, or shall grant or issue any cer- 

 tificate or warrant of removal, as aforesaid, then, and 

 in either case, he shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 

 meanor in office, and shall, on conviction thereof, be 

 sentenced to pay, at the discretion of the Court, any 

 sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, the one-half 

 to the party prosecuting for the same, and the other 

 half to the use of this Commonwealth. 



The States of Indiana and Illinois have no 

 personal liberty laws, but negroes are not 

 allowed to enter and settle within the limits of 

 those States. 



The law of Michigan requires all State attor- 

 neys to act as counsel for fugitive slaves; se- 

 cures to persons arrested as fugitive slaves the 

 benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and trial 

 by jury ; denies the use of State jails for de- 

 tention of alleged fugitives ; requires that iden- 

 tity of fugitive slaves shall be proved by two 

 credible witnesses, or by legal evidence equiva- 

 lent thereto, and provides a fine of not less 

 than five hundred nor more than one thousand 

 dollars, and imprisonment in the State prison 

 for five years, for forcibly seizing, or causing 

 to be seized, any free person, with intent to 

 have such person held in slavery. 



The law of Ohio possesses the same general 

 features with that of Michigan ; the identity 

 of the fugitive must be shown, &c. 



In Wisconsin the law requires the district at- 

 torneys to act as counsel for alleged fugitive 

 slaves ; secures to such persons the benefits of 

 the writ of habeas corpus ; provides for appeal 

 to be taken to next stated term of the Circuit, 

 Court; secures trial by jury ; enjoins a penalty 

 of one thousand dollars and imprisonment of 

 not more than five nor less than one year on 

 all who " falsely and maliciously represent any 

 free person to be a slave ; " identity of alleged 

 fugitive slave is to be proved by two credible 

 witnesses ; no deposition to be received in evi- 

 dence. It is also provided that 



