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Show 394 APPEXDIX. the judge thereof has no juri. diction to issue a writ of lwbeas corpus, commanding the alleged abductor to produce such fugitive, or to enforce a r eturn of such writ, or allow a traverse of the return thereof if made, or upon such traverse in effect convict the respondent, without indictment or trial by jury of such abduction, and thereupon punish him therefor by unlimited imprisonment in the name of a commitment, as for a contempt in r cfu ing to return such writ of habeas co1-pus. 11. That generally it is true that one court will not go behind a commitment by another court for contempt; but that this is only where the committing court has jurisdiction of the subject matter; and your petitioner submits that when the circumstances of the supposed con tempt arc set forth upon the record of commitment, and it further appears thereupon that the whole proceedings were cora'm non Judice, and that for that and other reasons the commitment was arbitrar)' illegal and void it is the ricrht and duty of a court of competent jurisdictio' n, by writ of hab' eas co1pus,b to relieve a citizen from imprisonment under such void commitment. 12. That neither the district court of the United States nor the judge thereof had any shadow or color of jurisdiction to award the writ of habeas COl]JUs directed to your petitioner, commanding him to produce the bodies of Jane, Daniel, and Isaiah, and that such w1it was void; that your petitioner was in no wi e bound to make return thereto; that the return which he did make thereto was unevasive, full, and complete, and was conclusive, and not traversable; that the commitment of your petitioner as for a contempt in refusing to return said writ is arbitrary, illegal, and utterly null rmd void; that the whole proceedings, including the commitment for contempt, were absolutely coram non judice. 13. That in such oppression of one of her citi?.cns, a subordinate j udge of the United tates has u urped upon the authority, violated the peace and derogated from the sovereign dignity of the commonwealth of Penn" Yh·ania; that all are hurt in the person of your petitioner, and that he is ju tified in looking with confidence to the authorities of his natiye state to vindicate her rigb ts by restoring his liberty. To be relieved, therefore, from the imprisonment aforesaid, your petitioner now applies, praying that a writ of habeas CO>]nts may be issued, according to the act of Assembly in such case made and provided, directed to Charles IIortz, the said keeper of said prison, commanding him to bring before your honorable court the body of your petitioner, to do and abide such order as your honorable court may direct. And your petitioner will e''cr pray, &c. Moyamensing P rison, Al<,r;ust 9, 18,)5. PASSMORE \VlLLIAMSON. APPENDIX. 39:) No. II. The Opinion and Decision ofJudge J(ww, n;_farul to in theforrgoing petition. Tlta U. S. A . ex. 'ral. 1V!wcleT agt. Passmore 1T'iL/imnson - Sur. Ilabeas Corpus, 27th July, 1856.- Colonel J ohu H. \Vhccler, of North Carolina, the United States JHinistcr to Nicaragua, was on board a steamboat at one of the DelaiYare whanes, on his \Yay from \Va hington to embark at Xcw York for his post of duty. Three laves belonging t? him were sitting nt his side on the upper deck. Just as the last signal bell was ringing, Pa smore \Villiamson came up to the party - decla;.ecl to the slaves that they were free - and forcil>ly pressing Mr. vVhccler aside, urged them to go ashore. lie was followed by some dozen or twenty negroes, who, by muscular strength, carried the slaves to the adj oining pier ; two of the sln.vcs at least, if not all. thr:e, struggling to release themsehes, and protesting their wi:sh to remam With their master; two of the negro mob in the meantime grasping Colonel. \Vhceler by the collar, and thren tei1i11g to cut his throat if he made any rest tance. The slaves were borne along to a 11 ac l.... ney coac h tll,'l t w'a s in waitinrhr ' a. nd were conveyed to some place o f concca I men t ,· .1n11 r· \Villi'a mson followmtc'rl and urrrinrr forward the mob · au d g1· n· ng. 11 ·1 s nan1 e 'a nd address to Colonel b 0 ' . d 1. vVheeler, with the declaration that he held himself responsible towa~· s mn for whatever might be his legal rights ; but taking no personally acbve part in the abduction after he had left the deck. I allowed a writ of llabeas corpus at the instance of Colonel \Vheeler, and subsequently an ah.a s; and to t h.1 s 1a s t l\Ir.. ''l y1·11iam · ·on made return, that the persons named in the wn. t, "nor e1• tl 1e1. o f th em, 'a .re not now nor ." ·as a. t the time of issuin rr of the writ, or the original writ, or at any other time, lll 0 the custody, power, or posse sw• n o f t h e respon dent ' nor b)' him confined or restrained: wherefore he can not haye the bodies," etc. At the hearing I allowed the relator to traverse this return i :md sev.eral witnesses, who were asked by hu. n, tes t"1f i ec1 t o the fa' cts as I have r.e c. itl'd them. The Di strict Attorney, upon th1. s s t ate o f f ,tc t ' moved for "\,V ,I lham- son's commitment: 1. For contempt 1.1 1 ma k"1 11c~r a fal·e return·' 2. I o take his trial for petj ury. Mr. Williamson then took t l1 e s t an d t o I) urchr e him elf of conte. mpt. He admitted the facts substanti.a lly as m. proo f ,u, e fo re.' nn' de it plam that . he had been an ad visor of the proJ. ect, an d 11 a d gn· ,e n 1· this ronfedrrate sanctJOn |
