Any postmaster or clerk could be appointed a commissioner to hear cases under the law.
A United States marshal was under penalty of $1,000 for refusing or neglecting to make an arrest when called upon to do so.
Fugitive slaves could be arrested, with or without warrant and taken before a commissioner or judge, who was empowered to dispose of the case forthwith.
If a fugitive escaped from a United States marshal, the latter could be sued on his bond and the full value of the slave recovered.
There was a penalty of five years in prison or a fine of $5,000 for aiding or abetting a slave’s escape.
The only proof needed was an affidavit by the alleged owner or some one acting in his behalf alleging right of property, escape or service due on escape, and a description of the person arrested, certified to by the magistrate.
There were provisions for military aid for the United States marshal in case of resistance.
The commissioner received a larger fee in case of extradition than he would obtain in case of discharge.
The slave thus arrested could not testify in his own behalf and was not allowed a jury trial.
The first effect of the law was to create a panic and stampede among the colored people of the free-states. It looked for awhile as if every Negro resident north of the Ohio had lost faith in the tenure of his own title to himself. There was wholesale emigration to Canada of colored people from every part of the United States. In his Life of Frederick Douglass, Mr. Holland gives an account of forty Negroes of Boston, who left home within three days after the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. The pastor of a colored church and his entire membership of 112 persons fled to British soil. A number of talented men who had done service in the anti-slavery cause, went to England. Mr. Douglass, who was in close touch with every movement, every fear, and every secret purpose of his people, says: