In all the American colonies provision was made by law for the arrest and return of fugitive slaves. The articles of confederation between the New England colonies in 1643 provided for mutual restoration between those colonies. Somersett's case prevented extradition from England. The Ordinance for the Northwest Territory provided for return of fugitives thence.
The Constitution of 1787 provided that no fugitive slave, fleeing into a free State, should therefore be free, but that he should be delivered up on claim by his owner. In 1793 Congress passed the first Fugitive Slave Act, providing that, on the owner's giving proof of ownership before a magistrate of the locality where the slave was found, the magistrate should order the slave delivered up to him, without trial by jury. Hindering arrest or harbouring a runaway slave was punishable by fine of five hundred dollars. The law was open to much abuse. Many free Negroes in Northern States were kidnapped. Interference with captures and rescue of arrested Negroes became more frequent as anti-slavery feeling increased in the North. In Prigg vs. Pennsylvania the Supreme Court held that the law must be carried out by Federal authorities alone; States or State authorities could not be forced to act (1842). Several States then forbade them to do so. The escape of slaves to Canada was extensive, and systematically aided by the Underground Railway.
In 1850, as a part of the compromise measures of that year, the Fugitive Slave Bill was passed providing for a stricter practice in the matter, through US commissioners appointed by the US courts. Proof of identity and two witnesses to the fact of escape were all that was required as evidence. The Negro could not testify, nor have jury-trial. Upon this many Northern States passed 'Personal Liberty Laws' for the protection of Negroes. Some of these conflicted with the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 and even with the Constitution. The Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 aroused great feeling in the North, the 'Personal Liberty Laws' in the South. The question of fugitive slaves did much to bring on the American Civil War. The war and emancipation ended the whole matter, and the acts were declared to be unconstitutional by the judges of the superior court in 1855 and repealed in 1864. Research Fugitive Slave Laws
In law, habeas corpus is a writ ordering a person to be brought before a court or judge. The term is particularly applied to a writ so issued so that the court may ascertain whether the person's detention is lawful. From the time of the Magna Charta imprisonment at the discretion of any person has been unlawful in England, but for long the royal prerogative was so indefinite and the power of the crown so great that persons were frequently detained in custody at the discretion of the crown. It was not until the 17th century that the Habeas Corpus Act, passed in 1679 provided the great remedy for the violation of personal liberty by the writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (that you have the body to answer).
The provisions of the act may be stated generally thus : 1. That on complaint or request in writing, by, or on behalf of, any person committed and charged with any crime (unless treason, felony, etc, expressed in the warrant), the lord-chancellor, or any of the judges shall award a habeas corpus for such prisoner, and shall discharge the party, if bailable, upon security being given to appear and answer to the accusation. 2. The writ shall be returned, and the prisoner brought up within a limited time, not exceeding twenty days. 3. No person once delivered by habeas corpus shall be recommitted for the same offence. 4. Every person committed for treason or felony may insist on being tried at the next assizes, or admitted to bail, and if not tried at the second assizes or sessions, he shall be discharged from the imprisonment. The writ may be applied for by persons confined in any part of England, or Jersey and Guernsey. As the writ originally had to do solely with crimes, the statute 56 George III. cap. c. was passed, which extended the writ to other than criminal cases.
The result was that no person could be illegally confined in England for any length of time, since some friend could always apply for a habeas corpus, which, on a good prima facie case, would be issued. If the party was confined under recognized authority, as a child by a parent, this fact had to be stated.
In times of great political excitement, and suspected treasonable conspiracies, the operation of the Habeas Corpus Act has been occasionally suspended, and during the early 21st century under the pretext of 'combatting terrorism' exceptions made to it. But such suspension does not enable any one to imprison without cause or valid pretext for so doing. It only prevents persons who are committed from being bailed, tried, or discharged during the suspension, leaving to the committing magistrate all the responsibility attending on illegal imprisonment.
In Scotland similar protection of the liberty of the subject was secured by the Wrongous Imprisonment Act of 1701. The English statute was copied in the United States without essential change.
In the United States habeas corpus was suspended on July the 5th, 1861. Attorney-GeneralBates gave an opinion in favour of the President's power to declare martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus. A special session of Congress approved this opinion. Thereafter many arbitrary arrests were made, arousing much indignation. On September the 24th, 1862, the suspension was made general by the President so far as it might affect persons arrested by military authority for disloyal practices. An act of Congress, on March the 3rd, 1863, again authorized the suspension of the writ by the President in cases of prisoners of war, deserters, those resisting drafts and offenders against the military or naval service. The arrest of Vallandigham, in Ohio, and of Milligan, in Indiana, caused great excitement. The case of the latter being brought before the Supreme Court of the Union, that body decided that Congress could not give to military commissions the power of trial and conviction, and that the suspension of the privilege of habeas corpus did not suspend the writ itself. In the case of the Ku-Klux rebellions there was a brief suspension of habeas corpus in 1871. Research Habeas Corpus
A Quaestor was an ancient Roman magistrate. The earliest quaestors had judicial powers, but as the finances of Rome increased in complexity, two quaestors were appointed by the consuls to control the public treasury. After 447 BC the quaestors were elected annually by the legislative body known as the comitia tributa. In 421 BC the office was opened to the plebs and the number of quaestors was raised to four. As the Roman Republic gained control of Italy and more provinces were acquired, additional quaestors were elected as financial assistants to the military commanders and provincial governors. Under Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC, there were 40 quaestors. The Emperor Augustus later reduced the number to 20, which was the usual number for the duration of the Roman Empire. Research Quaestor
Albrecht von Haller was a Swiss physician and physiologist. He was born in 1708 at Bern and died in 1777. He studied medicine at Tubingen, and afterwards at Leyden under the famous Boerhaave. He became a public lecturer on anatomy at Bern, and afterwards physician to the hospital and principal librarian. In 1736 he was made professor of anatomy and surgery in the University of Gottingen. In 1747 his Primae Lineae Physiologiae appeared, and in 1757 his Elementa Physiologiae Corporis Humani. Amongst his other works are: Icones Anatomicae (1743), Bibliotheca Botanica (1771), Bibliotheca Anatomica (1774), .Bibliotheca Chirurgica (1774), Bibliotheca Medicinae Practicae (1776). He was ennobled by the Emperor Francis I, and became chief magistrate of Bern, to which he had retired in 1753. Albrecht von Haller had a considerable reputation as a poet. He also wrote three philosophical romances, Usong, Alfred the Great, and Fabius and Cato. Research Albrecht von Haller
An Alcalde or Alcaide is the magistrate in the Spanish and Portuguese towns, to whom the administration of justice and the regulation of the police is committed. His office nearly corresponds to that of the British justice of the peace. The name and the office are of Moorish origin.
An Alcalde was the principal officer in the local government of the earlier towns of California, USA. The office was borrowed from the Spanish settlements, and was first introduced in the mining camps, where the miners made laws and elected officers to enforce them. Research Alcalde
Anglo-Saxons is the name commonly given to the nation or people formed by the amalgamation of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who settled in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons being simply the English people of the earlier period of English history. The tribes who were thus the ancestors of the bulk of the English-speaking nationalities came from north Germany, where they inhabited the parts about the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, and the first body of them who gained a footing in Britain are said to have landed in 449, and to have been led by Hengist and Horsa. From the preponderance of the Angles the whole country came to be called Engla-land, that is, the land of the Angles or English.
The whole Anglo-Saxon community was frequently spoken of as consisting of the eorls and the ceorls, or the nobles and common freemen. The former were the men of property and position, the latter were the small landholders, handicraftsmen, etc, who generally placed themselves under the protection of some nobleman, who was hence termed their hlaford or lord. Besides these there was the class of the serfs or slaves (theowas), who might be either born slaves or freemen who had forfeited their liberty by their crimes, or whom poverty or the fortune of war had brought into this position. They served as agricultural labourers on their masters' estates, and were merechattels, as absolutely the property of their master as his cattle.
The king (cyning, cyng) was at the head of the state; he was the highest of the nobles and the chief magistrate. He was not looked upon as ruling by any divine right, but by the will of the people, as represented by the witan (wise men) or great council of the nation. The new king was not always the direct and nearest heir of the late king, but one of the royal family whose abilities and character recommended him for the office. He had the right of maintaining a standing army of household troops, the duty of calling together the witan, and of laying before them public measures, with certain distinctions of dress, dwelling, etc, all his privileges being possessed and exercised by the advice and consent of the witenagemot or parliament (literally meaning meeting of the wise). Next in rank and dignity to the king were the ealdormen, who were the chief witan or counsellors, and without whose assent laws could not be made, altered, or abrogated. They were at the head of the administration of justice in the shires, possessing both judicial and executive authority, and had as their officers the scir-gerefan or sheriffs. The ealdormen led the fyrd or armed force of the county, and the ealdorman, as such, held possession of certain lands attached to the office, and was entitled to a share of fines and other moneys levied for the king's use and passing through his hands. The whole executive government may be considered as a great aristocratical association, of which the ealdormen were the members, and the king little more than the president. The ealdorman and the king were both surrounded by a number of followers called thegnas or thanes, who were bound by close ties to their superior. The king's thanes were the higher in rank, they possessed a certain quantity of land, smaller in amount than that of an ealdorman, and they filled offices connected with the personal service of the king or with the administration of justice. The scir-gerefa (shire-reeve or sheriff) was also
important functionary. He presided at the county-court along with the ealdorman and bishop, or alone in their absence; and he had to carry out the decisions of the court, levy fines, collect taxes, etc. The shires were divided into hundreds and tithings, the latter consisting of ten heads of families, who were jointly responsible to the state for the good conduct of any member of their body. Eor the trial and settlement of minor causes there was a hundred court held once a month. The place of the modern parliament was held by the witena-gemot. Its members, who were not elected, comprised the gethelings or princes of the blood royal, the bishops and abbots, the ealdormen, the thanes, the sheriffs, etc.
One of the peculiar features of Anglo-Saxon society was the wergyld, which was established for the settling of feuds. A sum, paid either in kind or in money, was placed upon the life of every freeman, according to his rank in the state, his birth, or his office. A corresponding sum was settled for every wound that could be inflicted upon his person; for nearly every injury that could be done to his civil rights, his honour, or his domestic peace, etc. From the operation of this principle no one from king to peasant was exempt.
Agriculture, including especially the raising of cattle, sheep, and swine, was the chief occupation of the Anglo-Saxons. Gardens and orchards are frequently mentioned, and vineyards were common in the southern counties. The forests were extensive, and valuable both from the mast they produced for the swine, and from the beasts of the chase which they harboured. Hunting was a favourite recreation among the higher ranks, both lay and clerical. Fishing was largely carried on, herrings and salmon being the principal fish caught; and the Anglo-Saxon whaling vessels used to go as far as Iceland. The manufactures were naturally of small moment. Iron was made to some extent, and some cloth, and salt works were numerous. In embroidery and working in gold the English were famous over Europe. There was a considerable trade at London, which was frequented by Normans, French, Flemings, and the merchants of the Hanse towns. Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers were notorious for their excess in eating and drinking, and in this respect formed a strong contrast to the Norman conquerors. Ale, mead, and cider were the common beverages, wine being limited to the higher classes. Pork and eels were favourite articles of food. The houses were rude structures, but were often richly furnished and hung with fine tapestry. The dress of the people was loose and flowing, composed chiefly of linen, and often adorned with embroidery. The men wore their hair long and flowing over their shoulders. Christianity was introduced among the Anglo-Saxons in the end of the sixth century by St Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Kent, then under King Ethelred, was the first place where it took root, and thence it soon spread over the rest of the country. The Anglo-Saxon Church long remained independent of Rome, notwithstanding the continual efforts of the popes to bring it under their power. It was not until the tenth century that this result was
t about by Dunstan. Many Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics were distinguished for learning and ability, but the VenerableBede holds the first place.
The Anglo-Saxon language, which is simply the earliest form of English, claims kinship with Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and German, especially with the Low German dialects (spoken in North Germany). It was not called Anglo-Saxon by those who spoke it, but Englisc (English), and many condemn the former name as a misnomer. The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature show different dialects, of which the northern and the southern were the principal. The former was the first to be cultivated as a literary language, but afterwards it was supplanted in this respect by the southern or that of Wessex. It is in the latter that the principal Anglo-Saxon works are written. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet was substantially the same as that which we still use, except that some of the letters were different in form, while it had two characters either of which represented the sounds of th in thy and in thing. Nouns and adjectives are declined much as in German or in Latin. The pronouns of the first and second person had a dual number, 'we tw' or 'us two' and 'you two', besides the plural for more than two. The infinitive of the verb is in -am, the participle in -ende, and there is a gerund somewhat similar in its usage to the Latingerund. The verb had four moods - indicative, subjunctive, imperative, and infinitive, but only two tenses, the present (often used as a future) and the past. Other tenses and the passive voice were formed by auxiliary verbs. Anglo-Saxon words terminated in a vowel much more frequently than the modern English, and altogether the language is so different that it has to be learned quite like a foreign tongue. Yet notwithstanding the large number of words of Latin or French origin that our language now contains, and the changes it has undergone, its framework, so to speak, is still Anglo-Saxon. Many chapters of the New Testament do not contain more than four per cent of non-Teutonic words, and as a whole it averages perhaps six or seven.
The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature include compositions in prose and poetry, some of which must be referred to a very early period, one or two perhaps to a time before the Angles and Saxons emigrated to England. The most important Anglo-Saxon poem is that called Beowulf, after its hero, extending to more than 6000 lines. Beowulf is a Scandinavian prince, who slays a fiendish cannibal, after encountering supernatural perils, and is at last slain in a contest with a frightful dragon. Its scene appears to be laid entirely in Scandinavia. Its date is uncertain; parts of it may have been brought over at the emigration from Germany, though in its present form it is much later than this. The poetical remains include a number of religious poems, or poems on sacred themes; ecclesiastical narratives, as lives of saints and versified chronicles; psalms and hymns; secular lyrics; allegories, gnomes, riddles, etc. The religious class of poems was the largest, and of these Caedmon's (about 660) are the most remarkable. His poems consist of loose versions of considerable portions of the Biblehistory, and treat of the creation, the temptation, the fall, the exodus of the Israelites, the story of Daniel, the incarnation, and the harrowing of hell, or release of the ransomed souls by Christ. Other most interesting poems are those ascribed to Cynewulf, the Christ, Elene, and Juliana, the subjects respectively being Christ, the finding of the cross by the EmpressHelena, and the life of Juliana. Rhyme was little used in Anglo-Saxon poetry, alliteration being employed instead, as in the older northern poetry generally. The style of the poetry is highly elliptical, and it is full of harsh inversions and obscure metaphors.
The Anglo-Saxon prose remains consist of translations of portions of the Bible, homilies, philosophical writings, history, biography, laws, leases, charters, popular treatises on science and medicine, grammars, etc. Many of these were translations from the Latin. The Anglo-Saxon versions of the Gospels, next to the Moeso-Gothic, are the earliest scriptural translations in any modern language. The Psalms are said to have been translated by Bishop Aldhelm (who died in 709), and also under Alfred's direction; and the Gospel of St John by Bede; but it is not known who were the authors of the extant versions. A translation of the first seven books of the Bible is believed to have been the work of Aelfric, who was Abbot of Ensham and lived in the beginning of the eleventh century. We have also eighty homilies from his pen, several theological treatises, a Latingrammar, etc. King Alfred was a diligent author, besides being a translator of Latin works. We have under his name translations of Boethius De Consolatione Philosophise, the Universal History of Orosius, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great, etc. The most valuable to us of the Anglo-Saxon prose writings is the Saxon Chronicle, as it is called, a collection of annals recording important events in the history of the country, and compiled in different religious houses. The latest text comes down to 1154. A considerable body of laws remains, as well as a large number of charters. Research Anglo-Saxons
Averroes was an Arabian philosopher. He was born probably between 1120 and 1149 at Cordova, in Spain and died sometime betrween 1198 and 1225. His ability procured him the succession to his father's office of chief magistrate, and the King of Morocco appointed him at the same time cadi in the province of Mauretania. Accused of being an infidel, he was, however, deprived of his offices, and banished to Spain; but, being persecuted there also, he fled to Fez, where he was condemned to recant and undergo public penance. Upon this he went back to his own country, where the Caliph Almansur finally restored him to his dignities. Averroes regarded Aristotle as the greatest of all philosophers, and devoted himself so largely to the exposition of his works as to be called among the Arabians The Interpreter. He wrote a compendium of medicine, and treatises in theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, etc. His commentaries upon Aristotle appeared before 1250 in a Latin translation attributed to Michael Scott and others. Research Averroes
Brillat-Savarin was a French author and magistrate. He was born in 1755 at Bellay and died in 1826. Although he wrote works on political economics, archaeology, and duelling, he is now known only by his famous book on gastronomy, the Physiologie du Gout, published in 1825. Research Brillat-Savarin
Confucius (Kong Fu-tse) was an ancient Chinese philosopher. He was born around 551 BC at Shantung province and died around 479 BC. His father, Shuh-liang-heih, who was of royal descent, died when Confucius was three years old, and the boy was reared in comparative poverty by his mother, Ching-tsai. At the age of seventeen he was made inspector of corn-markets, at nineteen he married, and after about four years of domesticity, in which a son and two daughters were born him, he commenced his career as a teacher.
In 517 BC he was induced by two members of one of the principal houses in Lu, who had joined his band of disciples, to visit the capital with them, where he had interviews with Lao-tse, the founder of Taoism. Though temporarily driven from Lu to Tsi by a revolution, he soon returned thither with an increasing following, and at the age of fifty-two was made chief magistrate of the city of Chung-too. So striking a reformation was effected by him that he was chosen for higher posts, became minister of crime, and with the aid of two powerful disciples elevated the state of Lu to a leading position in the kingdom. Its marquis, however, soon after gave himself up to debauchery, and Confucius became a wanderer in many states for thirteen years. In 483 he returned to Lu, but would not take office. The deaths of his favourite disciples Yen Hwin and Tse-lu in 481 and 478 did much to further his own, which took place in about 479.
Confucius left no work detailing his moral and social system, but the five canonical books of Confucianism are the Yih-king, the Shu-king, the Sbi-king, the Le-king, and the Ghun-tsien, with which are grouped the 'Four Books', by disciples of Confucius, the Ta-heo or Great Study, the Chung-Yung or Invariable Mean, the Tun-yu or 'Philosophical Dialogues', and the Hi-tse, written by Meng-tse or Mencius. The teaching of Confucius has had, and still has, an immense influence in China. All his teaching was devoted to practical morality and to the duties of man in this world in relation to his fellow-men; in it was summed up the wisdom acquired by his own insight and experience, and that derived from the teaching of the sages of antiquity. Research Confucius
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Fugitive Slave Laws
