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BOSTON, May 7th, 1855.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS, ESQ: MY DEAR SIR:
—The most important feature in the "acts"
of the past week is the Personal Liberty
Bill, reported to the Legislature, by the
Committee on Federal Relations, and which,
if passed, will kill the Fugitive Slave Act as
"dead as a door nail," in Massachusetts,
and the fugitive slave will breathe free here
once more, despite of the barbarous enact-
ments of '93 and '50. It provides that the
writ of habeas corpus may be issued by the
supreme judicial court, the court of common
pleas, by any justice's court, or police court
of any town or city, by any court of record,
or by any justice of either of the said courts,
or by any judge of probate, and may be is-
sued by a justice of the peace, if no magis-
trate above named is known to the said
justice of the peace, to be within five miles
of the place where the party is imprisoned,
or restrained, and it shall be returnable be-
fore the supreme judicial court, court of
common pleas, or other court of record, or
any one of the justices thereof, whether the
court may be in session or not, and in term
time or vacation. The supreme judicial
court, the court of common pleas, or other
court of record, or any justice of either of
the said courts, before whom the writ of
habeas corpus shall be made returnable, shall
on application by any party to the proceed-
ing, order a trial by jury, as to the facts al-
leged, if it shall appear by the return of
the officer, or otherwise, that the person
whose restraint or imprisonment is in ques-
tion, is claimed to be held to service or labor
in another State, and to have escaped from
such service or labor, may admit such per-
son to bail, in a sum not to exceed two
thousand dollars. In such case issue may
be joined by a general denial of the facts
alleged, the plea may be not guilty, and the
jury shall have the right to return a gen-
eral verdict, and the same discretion as ju-
ries have in the trial of criminal cases, and
the finding a verdict of not guilty, shall be
final and conclusive. In case one jury shall
disagree, it may be submitted to another, or
continued to the next term at the discretion
of the Court. The claimant must state in
writing the facts on which he relies with
precision and certainty, and neither the
claimant of the alleged fugitive, nor any per-
son interested in his alleged obligation to
service or labor, nor the alleged fugitive,
shall be permitted to testify at the issue;
and no confessions, admissions, or declara-
tions of the alleged fugitive against himself
shall be given in evidence. Upon every
question of fact involved in the issue, the
burden of proof shall be on the claimant,