Section I
Be It enacted by the
Senate and
House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
persons who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed commissioners, in virtue of any
act of Congress, by the
Circuit
Courts of the United States, and Who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized to exercise the powers that any
justice of the peace, or other
magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise in respect to offenders for any crime or
offense against the United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same under and by the virtue of the thirty-third
section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September seventeen hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An Act to establish the
judicial courts of the United States" shall be, and are hereby, authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the
powers and duties conferred by this act.
Section II
And be it further enacted, That the
Superior Court of each organized
Territory of the United States shall have the same
power to appoint commissioners to take acknowledgments of
bail and affidavits, and to take depositions of witnesses in civil
causes, which is now possessed by the Circuit Court of the United States; and all commissioners who shall hereafter be
appointed for such purposes by the Superior Court of any organized Territory of the United States, shall possess all the
powers, and exercise all the duties, conferred by law upon the commissioners appointed by the Circuit Courts of the United
States for similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act.
Section III
And be it further enacted, That the Circuit Courts of the United States shall from time to time enlarge the number of the
commissioners, with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim
fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the
duties imposed by this act.
Section IV
And be it further enacted, That the commissioners above named shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the
Circuit and
District Courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within the several States, and the
judges of the Superior Courts of the Territories, severally and collectively, in term-time and vacation; shall grant certificates
to such claimants, upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority to take and remove such fugitives from service or labor,
under the restrictions herein contained, to the State or Territory from which such persons may have escaped or fled.
Section V
And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and
precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to
receive such warrant, or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on
conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of such
claimant, on the motion of such claimant,
by the Circuit or District Court for the district of such marshal; and after arrest of such fugitive, by such marshal or his
deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody under the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or
without the assent of such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, to be prosecuted for the
benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory, or District whence he
escaped: and the better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, to execute their duties faithfully and
efficiently, in conformity with the requirements of the
Constitution of the United States and of this act, they are hereby
authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing under their hands, any one or more
suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful
performance of their respective duties; with authority to such commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to
execute process as aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders, or
posse comitatus of the proper county, when
necessary to ensure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this
act; and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever
their services may be required, as aforesaid, for that purpose; and said warrants shall run, and be executed by said officers,
any where in the State within which they are issued.
Section VI
And be it further enacted, That when a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has
heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such
service or labor may be due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorized, by
power of attorney, in writing,
acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer or court of the State or Territory in which the same may be
executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or
commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor,
or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be done without process, and by taking, or causing such person
to be taken, forthwith before such court, judge, or commissioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case of
such claimant in a summary manner; and upon
satisfactory proof being made, by
deposition or
affidavit, in writing, to be
taken and certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by
some court, magistrate, justice of the peace, or other legal officer authorized to
administer an oath and take depositions
under the laws of the State or Territory from which such person owing service or labor may have escaped, with a certificate
of such magistracy or other authority, as aforesaid, with the seal of the proper court or officer thereto attached, which seal
shall be sufficient to establish the competency of the proof, and with proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the person
whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the person so arrested does in fact owe service or labor to the
person or persons claiming him or her, in the State or Territory from which such fugitive may have escaped as aforesaid, and
that said person escaped, to make out and deliver to such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, a certificate setting forth the
substantial facts as to the service or labor due from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her escape from the State or
Territory in which he or she was arrested, with authority to such claimant, or his or her agent or attorney, to use such
reasonable force and restraint as may be necessary, under the circumstances of the case, to take and remove such fugitive
person back to the State or Territory whence her or she may have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this act
shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence; and the certificates in this and the first {fourth} section
mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of the persons or persons in whose favor granted, to remove such fugitive to the
State or Territory from which he escaped, and shall prevent all molestation of such person or persons by any process issued
by any court, judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever.
Section VII
And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and willingly
obstruct,
hinder, or prevent such claimant, his
agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them from arresting such a fugitive from service or
labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue, such fugitive from service or labor,
from the custody of such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid,
when so arrested, pursuant to the authority herein given and declared; or shall aid,
abet, or assist such person so owing
service or labor as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from such claimant, his agent or attorney, or other person or
persons legally authorized as aforesaid; or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of
such person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or labor as aforesaid, shall,
for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six
months, by indictment and conviction before the District Court of the United States for the district in which such offence may
have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized
Territories of the United States; and shall moreover
forfeit and pay, by way of
civil damages to the party injured by such
illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be recovered by action of debt, in
any of the District or Territorial Courts aforesaid, within whose jurisdiction the said offence may have been committed.
Section VIII
And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said District and Territorial Courts, shall be
paid, for their services, the like fees as may be allowed for similar services in other cases; and where such services are
rendered exclusively in the arrest, custody, and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or where
such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody for the want of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to
be paid in whole by such claimant, his or her agent or attorney; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a
commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for his services in each case, upon the delivery of the said
certificate to the claimant, his agent or attorney; or a fee of five dollars in cases where the proof shall not, in the opinion of
such commissioner, warrant such certificate and delivery, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and examination, to
be paid, in either case, by the claimant, his or her agent or attorney. The person or persons authorized to executed the
process to be issued by such commissioner for the arrest and detention of fugitives from service or labor as aforesaid, shall
also be entitled to a fee of five dollars each for each person he or they may arrest, and take before any commissioner as
aforesaid, at the instance and request of such claimant, with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such
commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or them; such as attending at the
examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, and providing him with food and lodging during his detention, and until the final
determination of such commissioners; and, in general, for performing such other duties as may be required by such claimant,
his or her attorney or agent, or commissioner in the premises, such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually
charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the proper district or country, as near as may be practicable, and paid
by such claimants, their agents or attorneys, whether such supposed fugitives from service or labor be ordered to be
delivered to such claimant by the final determination of such commissioner or not.
Section IX
And be it further enacted, That, upon affidavit made by the claimant of such fugitive, his agent or attorney, after such
certificate has been issued, that he has reason to apprehend that such fugitive will be rescued by force from his or their
possession before he can be taken beyond the limits of the State in which the arrest is made, it shall be the duty of the officer
making the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him to the State whence he fled, and there to deliver
him to said claimant, his agent, or attorney. And to this end, the officer aforesaid is hereby authorized and required to employ
so many persons as he may deem necessary to overcome such force, and to retain them in his service so long as
circumstances may require. The said officer and his assistants, while so employed, to receive the same compensation, and to
be allowed the same expenses, as are now allowed by law for transportation of criminals, to be certified by the judge of the
district within which the arrest is made, and paid out of the
treasury of the United States.
Section X
And be it further enacted, That when any person held to service or labor in any State or Territory, or in the
District of
Columbia, shall escape therefrom, the party to whom such service or labor shall be due, his, her, or their agent or attorney,
may apply to any court of record therein, or judge thereof in vacation, and make satisfactory proof to such court, or judge in
vacation, of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service or labor to such party. Whereupon the court
shall cause a record to be made of the matters so proved, and also a general description of the person so escaping, with such
convenient certainty as may be; and a transcript of such record, authenticated by the attestation of the clerk and of the seal of
the said court, being produced in any other State, Territory, or district in which the person so escaping may be found, and
being exhibited to any judge, commissioner, or other officer authorized by the law of the United States to cause persons
escaping from service or labor to be delivered up, shall be held and taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of
escape, and that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the party in such record mentioned. And upon the
production by the said party of other and further evidence if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is
contained in the said record of the identity of the person escaping, he or she shall be delivered up to the claimant. And the
said court, commissioner, judge, or other person authorized by this act to grant certificates to claimants or fugitives, shall,
upon the production of the record and other evidences aforesaid, grant to such claimant a certificate of his right to take any
such person identified and proved to be owing service or labor as aforesaid, which certificate shall authorized such claimant
to seize or arrest and transport such person to the State or Territory from which he escaped: Provided, That nothing herein
contained shall be construed as requiring the production of a transcript of such record as evidence as aforesaid. But in its
absence the claim shall be heard and determined upon other satisfactory proofs, competent in law.
Approved, September 18, 1850.