bondage to the said Claude Alexander, as his lawful reclaimed slave and property, as by true and certified copies of the said warrant and order, and the certificate of the said provost marshal hereunto annexed, will fully appear.

That a gentleman by the name of Hugh Perry Keane Esq., formerly of Lincoln's Inn, barrister of law, but now resident in this island, having been made acquainted with the circumstances, did immediately and gratuitously take up the case of your Memorialist, and having in the first instance, to no effect, applied to the said Daniel M'Dowall, the justice aforesaid, who insisted that the said Claude Alexander had a right to seize and secure his former property wherever he could find it, and therefore to seize and again enslave your Memorialist; and having likewise, to no purpose, applied to the said Claude Alexander for the release of your Memorialist, he, the said Hugh Perry Keane, did sue out a Habeas Corpus, to oblige the said Claude Alexander to appear before William Taylor Esq. the chief justice of the Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas of the said island with the body of him, your Memorialist, in order that the said William Taylor, chief justice, might examine into the cause of the caption, detention, and imprisonment of him, your Memorialist, and release, bail, or remand him, as the circumstances of the case should require, as by the said writ of Habeas Corpus, and the return thereon, hereunto annexed, will appear.

That the said Hugh Perry Keane, on the part of your Memorialist, did state before the said chief justice, all the circumstances of the case, and did contend, that after the before-mentioned capture and condemnation of the said sloop Revenge, with the cargo and slaves on board, and your Memorialist as one of them, the said Claude Alexander could have no right, or title, or property whatever in your Memorialist; the same having passed, if any there ever were, to the captors, as lawful prize, by virtue of the condemnation aforesaid, and from them by public sale to the said Rubin Pitcher, and by purchase from him to the said John Gordon. And the said Hugh Perry Keane did further insist, that the

N

manumission of your Memorialist by the said John Gordon, at Bath, was conclusive, as to all former claims on your Memorialist as a slave or bondsman, and completely established the freedom of your Memorialist with the rights and privileges of a freeman to all intents and purposes. And the said Hugh Perry Keane did then and there produce two competent and creditable witnesses; James Wilson, Esq. who had hired the said sloop, and was on board of her at the time of her capture by the enemy, and carried to Cumana, and William Hinds, formerly master of a vessel, and in the employ of the said Rubin Pitcher, who was at Margaritta and Cumana, at the time of the condemnation of the said sloop with the cargo and slaves, and who carried your Memorialist, with other slaves then purchased at the said public sale, from thence over to Saint Croix, for the said Rubin Pitcher. And by such witnesses he did offer to prove upon oath, before the said chief justice, the aforesaid capture, condemnation, and sale, with all and every particular relating thereunto at large and did also further offer to prove, by Willian Glenn, Esq. of the said island, who well knew your Memorialist at Bath in the service of the said John Gordon, your Memorialist's residence and services with his said master, and the high opinion and regard his said master bore towards him, together with all other circumstances relating to the death of the said John Gordon, and the acknowledged freedom of your Memorialist. But the counsel on the part of the said Claude Alexander did oppose the admission of such viva voce evidence, and insist before the said chief justice, that he, the said chief justice, could not take cognizance of the case in such form and manner, or allow any such evidence to militate against the claim of property made by the said Claude Alexander on your deponent as his slave; but that the same should be tried by action at law before the Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas, when and where the sentence of condemnation itself or a certified transcript thereof from Cumana ought to be produced as the only admissible evidence; while, on the con

trary, the said Hugh Perry Keane did insist, that under the writ of Habeas Corpus the said chief justice was bound to examine and determine the case, not as a question of property, but of personal liberty due to the subject; and that such parol evidence as he did then offer to produce were fully competent and sufficient, as it would be in a case of loss upon a policy of insurance to recover against the assurers : and that from the impossibility, in time of war, of obtaining other evidence from the vice-admiralty courts of an enemy; and from the difficulty of doing so, in time of peace, from a port so far to leeward, and distant from the island of St. Vincent with which there is no trade or intercourse whatever; as well as from the want of any power or authority in a British court over the registry or records of any foreign independent colony, such evidence was the best that could possibly be produced, and, if not admitted, that your Memorialist would be without remedy. That as to any action at law, none could be maintained by your Memorialist, while considered and held in bondage as a slave, by virtue of an order of one of the justices of the said island; and in that respect, therefore, he was utterly without any redress whatever. Yet, notwithstanding, the said chief justice did refuse to enter into the question, or to hear the witnesses; but, contrary to law, as well as the just rights and freedom of your Memorialist, did deliver up your Memorialist to the said Claude Alexander, as his lawful slave and property. Whereupon the said Hugh Perry Keane did except to such decision, and call upon the said chief justice to certify his bill of exceptions.

And your Memorialist was accordingly delivered up to the said Claude Alexander, the said Claude Alexander only entering into a recognizance to produce your Memorialist before the said court on the first day of May next ensuing, if called upon, in pursuance of the further proceedings which the said Hugh Perry Keane has determined to take by way of appeal from the aforesaid decision. And your Memorialist is now consequently, from his former state of liberty, reduced once more to slavery, and kept in captivity and

bondage by the said Claude Alexander, although the said Hugh Perry Keane hath served a notice on the said Claude Alexander, that he shall, as soon as he has asserted the rights of your Memorialist, bring an action for false imprisonment against him the said Claude. And for further information of all and every of the above particulars, your Memorialist hath hereunto annexed certified copies of the said several proceedings, together with the affidavits of the aforesaid James Wilson, William Glenn, Esqrs., and William Hinds; duly attested according to the law and custom of the said colony, in proof of all and every the circumstances herein set forth, as, by reference to such annexed certificates, will fully and at large appear.

Your Memorialist, therefore, humbly prays that the honourable President and Directors of your benevolent Society, will be pleased to take his helpless and distressful case into your compassionate consideration. And inasmuch as he is advised, that there is no remedy open to him in conformity to the laws and institutions of this island, by any appeal from hence to any court of superior jurisdiction or authority in Great Britain; but that, from the new and extraordinary circumstances of his case, his only hope of redress will depend on the interference and humanity of your wise, merciful, and protecting institution, and the measures you may think proper to adopt on his behalf for recovering his liberty; he most humbly prays that you will extend your commiseration and protection towards him, and adopt such measures as to your wisdom shall seem most proper and effectual for rescuing him from an ignominious and oppressive state of slavery, and restoring him to the blessings of freedom and the rights of a British subject.

And your Memorialist shall ever pray, &c. &c. &c.

The facts of the above case are fully substantiated by copies of affidavits, and other documents which accompany it; and it must be admitted to be a case of great oppression, there being no reasonable doubt that the party is entitled to his freedom. The property of the master was fully divested

by the Spanish capture and condemnation; nor would any man have attempted under such circumstances, and against such evidence, to reclaim a ship, a bale of cotton, or any other commodity. The unfortunate negro slave is often, by the rights of war in the West Indies, consigned to a new master, and separated for ever from his wife, children, parents, and native settlement. It is hard indeed, if, after such sufferings, and earning his freedom, as in this instance, by good conduct, and by the favour of the master to whom he has been transferred, he is to forfeit it by returning to a British colony.

W.

Translation of the Royal Ordinance or Cedula, for the Government and Protection of Slaves, in the Spanish Colonies.

"PROCLAMATION.

"IN the code and other collection of laws published in this kingdom; in the abridgement of the statutes concerning the Indies; in the general and particular orders communicated to my dominions in America since the discovery of it; and in the ordinances, which, being examined by my council of the Indies, have merited my royal approbation, the system of making slaves useful has been established, observed, and constantly followed, and every thing necessary decreed, with respect to the education, treatment, and occupation which their masters are obliged to give them, agreeable to the principles and rules that religion, humanity, and the good of the state dictate, consistent with slavery and the public tranquillity; nevertheless, as it is not an easy matter for all my subjects in América, who keep slaves, to be sufficiently instructed