Case of Passmore Williamson. Reports of the Proceedings on the Writ of Habeas Corpus by Kane, Hon. John K - 1856

Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt & Son, 1856. First Edition. Hardcover. Fair. 8vo. 191 pages. Dark cloth hardcover with gilt title on the front cover. Cloth is worn, wrinkled and damp-stained on the front cover. Front end sheets and title page are spotted, damp stained, and toned. Rear end papers toned. Interior contents in good condition. Previous owner name of Rich R. Parry 1857 written on the right front flyleaf, title page, and page 3. A fair reading copy. From wikipedia:

Passmore Williamson was an abolitionist who helped Jane Johnson and her two sons gain freedom from Slavery. In a case that established legal precedent, he was served with a writ of Habeas corpus by federal US District Court John K. Kane under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 to produce Johnson and her two sons in court. He did not know where they were held, so could not respond; Judge Kane charged him with contempt of court and sentenced him to 90 days.

The jailing of Williamson dramatically expanded news coverage of the case and generated debate about the extension of "Slave Power" over state law, as Pennsylvania did not recognize slavery. It held that slave owners gave up their property rights in slaves if they brought them into the state; if the slave chose freedom, the state would support that decision and not compensate the owner. Thus, Johnson was not literally a fugitive, as she had gained freedom in the state according to state law, after John Hill Wheeler voluntarily took her there in the course of his travel.