William R. Day

“ When a habeas corpus is granted to an adult, the object is to inquire whether he is legally restrained of his liberty; because if he is not, he must be set free, for the plain reason that by law he is entitled to his freedom. But if the court is also to set the infant free, they give him a right to which he is not entitled, and deprive the parent or guardian of a right to which he is entitled; to wit, the custody of the infant.'
We think that such considerations as these induced Congress to limit the right of appeal to this court in habeas corpus cases. ”

“ The society voluntarily took the child there with the intention that it should remain. Through imposition the child was placed in custody of those unfit to receive or maintain control over it, and, as above stated, came into the custody and possession of the respondent.
The child was within the jurisdiction of the court under such circumstances that rival claimants of the right of custody might invoke the jurisdiction of a competent court of the territory to determine, not the right of personal freedom, but to which custodian a child of tender years should be committed. ”

“ The jurisdiction is conferred to enable the cause of restraint to be inquired into, and the person imprisoned or wrongfully deprived of freedom restored to liberty.
The subject was discussed by Mr. Justice Miller in the case of Re Burrus, 136 U.S. 586, 34 L. ed. 500, 10 Sup. Ct. Rep. 850, in which it was held that a district court of the United States has no authority to issue a writ of habeas corpus to restore an infant to the custody of its father when unlawfully detained by its grandparents. ”