CONSIDERATIONS

ON THE

NEGROE CAUSE, &C.

MY LORD,

BEIN

EING, both by birth and fortune, connected with one of the Islands in America, I was led, fomewhat interestedly as your Lordship may suppose, to attend to the arguments that were lately offered in the Court of King's Bench, in the Case of Somerset the Negroe verfus Knowles and others. It was a new cafe, faid to be full of concern to America; and it had engroffed much of general expectation. My object therefore was that of information: but, without meaning to leffen the labours, or C 2 depreciate

depreciate the merits of the learned counsel concerned therein, I must confefs, that

the lights thrown on the cafe did by no means appear to me as, on either fide, de- `. cifive of the point in queftion [a]. It is true that a vast and extensive variety of reading was fhewn and difcovered: the profoundest depths of learning and science were fathomed and explored: lawgivers, philofophers, civilians, from all historic existence, were brought to light and examined; the examples,

[a] The late publication of Mr. Hargrave's argu ment, as one of Somerfet's counfel, gives me the fatisfaction of feeing in the whole, what I had before the opportunity of hearing only in part. I confefs I know not which moft to admire, the labour of this Gentleman's researches, or the ingenuity with which his collected materials are fyftematized and disposed. It is a history, perhaps the most compleat that is, of the rise, progress, decline, and general state of flavery; and, whilft it does as much honour to his humanity as to his understanding, will ferve as a light to enlighten the footsteps of posterity, fhould a revival of the laws of Villenage be ever attempted in this country: but, having faid this, I muft recur to my former opinion, that, learned as his arguments are in general, in this particular cafe they are founded on falfe and mistaken

examples, definitions, and opinions, which Mofes, Ariftotle, Juftinian, Grotius, Pufendorff, and the reft, had given of slavery, were cited, explained, and enlarged upon : the edicts and regulations of French, Spanish, German, Flemish, and Dutch police on this head were mentioned and produc

ed.

mistaken principles, and are totally inapplicable to the merits of the prefent question. His first principle or point is, (vid. p. 12.) that "whatever Mr. Steuart's Right may be, it fprings out of the condition of flavery; and accordingly, fays he, the return fairly admits flavery to be the fole foundation of Mr. Steuart's Claim." Thus, with a Petitio Principii, which neither is, can, or will be admitted, and upon a manifeft error in the return made to the writ of Habeas Corpus, does the argument of Mr. Hargrave commence, reft, and depend. If the return, instead of admitting, there being no law to countenance fuch admiffion, had relinquished the right, and denied the claim, of flavery: if it had fet forth, that Mr. Steuart was the bona fide purchafer of Somerset in the legal course of trade: that he had bought him out of a fhip's cargoe from Africa, together with fome elephants teeth, wax, leather, and other commodities of that country, for which he paid his money, or otherwise gave in exchange the manufactures of this country: that he had brought him here as an article of commerce with his other goods, under the fanction of

the

ed. But, my Lord, with all due deference and submission, may I afk, how applicable was this antiquated and foreign doctrine to the case then under your Lordship's contemplation? The politics of Aristotle are not the rules of the Court of King's Bench; neither is Roman jurisprudence the law of that court. As a display of general knowledge, it had with me, as it must have had

the laws of trade: that he meant to export him hence; under the fame protection, with his other property, in order to be fold for his better advantage in one of the English Colonies in America: that a writ of Habeas Corpus might as well iffue on account of his elephant teeth, his wax, his leather, and his other commodities of that country, as on account of his Negroe, they being expressly under the fame predicament of law, and fo fórth: I fay, under fuch circumftances, and upon fuch a return, what would become of this ftately pile of elaborate argument?

High-built, like Babel's tower, to magnify the fall! Muft not the lawyers feek new ground to build upon? Muft not the Court lofe that error of infufficiency, which now supports its only right of Judgment?

Note, Although this argument of Mr. Hargrave is faid to have been delivered in the particular Cafe of Somerfet a Negroe, yet it is meant and intended as a courfe of reasoning upon the general queftion of the ftate and condition of Negroes.