The testimony introduced by Smith at the hearing, showing conclusively that he was not a fugitive from justice, is not repugnant to the return.

, attorney general of the state of , in support of the points made by him, cited 2d Condensed Rep. 37; Gordon’s Digest, 73; Gale’s Statutes of Illinois, 318; Conkling, 85; 9th Wendell, 212.

The importance of this case, and the consequences which may flow from an erroneous precedent, affecting the lives and liberties of our citizens, have impelled the court to bestow upon it the most anxious consideration. The able arguments of the counsel for the respective parties, have been of great assistance in the examination of the important question arising in this cause.

When the patriots and wise men who framed our constitution were in anxious deliberation to form a perfect union among the states of the confederacy, two great sources of discord presented themselves to their consideration; the commerce between the states, and fugitives from justice and labor. The border collisions in other countries had been seen to be a fruitful source of war and bloodshed, and most wisely did the Constitution confer upon the National Government, the regulation of those matters, because of its exemption from the excited passions awakened by conflicts between neighboring states, and its ability alone to adopt a uniform rule, and establish uniform laws among all the states in those cases.

This case presents the important question arising under the constitution and laws of the , whether a citizen of the state of can be transported from his [p. 127]