Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 14.djvu/57

 THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 31. 1866. 27 CHAP. XXXI.—An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil April 9. 1666- Ilights, and_fumish the Meaens q/' their Wndicatian. Be it enacted by the Senate and {Ease of Representatives of the Qzitcd Wbg :]:6 dll- States of America in Qongress assembled, That all persons born in the {$2,;% SSM, United States and not subject to any foreign power. excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens ol' the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the h _ d h same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make mt, ggliéugm and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding. Sisc. 2. And bs itfuriher enacted, That any person who, under color of renalty for doany law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause §;;V:"Ba’;';7ri’°'; to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprive- p,.°mm·by 5,1;, tion of any right secured or protected by this act, or to different punish- act, by reason of ment, pains, or penalties on account of such person having at any time °°‘°"°'”°°¤&° been held in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of the United Qourts of the States, within their respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the E“'*°S1 $*§¥°:,°" courts of the several States, cognizauce of all crimes and offences com- Oi-ig;-g3;;;, ::,,3: mitted against the provisions of this act, and also, concurrently with the this uctcircuit courts of the United States, of all causes, civil and criminal, aflecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights secured to them by the first section of this aot; and if any suit or prosecution, Suits 45cmcivil or criminal, has been or shall be commenced in any State court, 3i2f;;;" §)g‘t° against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, or against any ohicer, removed oii decivil or military, or other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, tres- f•=¤d¤¤*’¤ ¤¤<>fi¢>¤- passes, or wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derivcd from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the relief of Freedmcn and Refiigees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing v1f°5z.$’h· 9;} to do any act upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this act, 0xm' P' 0 ` such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or circuit court in the manner prescribed by the “Act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and all 1863, cb. 87. acts amendatory thereofi The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters Vg}- ?‘ll;P:755· hereby conterredon the district and circuit courts of the United States bg 2;};g;;Sm° shall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United <=¤¤1i¤g to the _ States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect ; but L‘Q"§tg$;;‘°°P'3:` in all cases where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient e0mm¤n1Lw,5,,: m the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish ofi°'ences against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitation and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if of a criminal nature, in the iniiictiou of punishment on the party found guilty.