Volume I Part 57 (2/2)
LANCASTER HILL, PETER BESS, BRISTER SLENFEN, PRINCE HALL, JACK PIERPONT, [his X mark.]
NERO FUNELO, [his X mark.]
NEWPORT SUMNER, [his X mark.]”
The following entry, bearing the same date, was made:--
”A pet.i.tion of Lancaster Hill, and a number of other Negroes praying the Court to take into consideration their state of bondage, and pa.s.s an act whereby they may be restored to the enjoyment of that freedom which is the natural right of all men. Read and committed to Judge Sargent, Mr. Dalton, Mr.
Appleton, Col. Brooks, and Mr. Story.”
There is no record of the action of the committee, if any were ever had; but at the afternoon session of the Legislature, Monday, June 9, 1777, a bill was introduced to prevent ”the Practice of holding persons in Slavery.” It was ”read a first time, and ordered to be read again on Friday next, at 10 o'clock A.M.” Accordingly, on the 13th of June, the bill was ”read a second time, and after Debate thereon, it was moved and seconded, That the same lie upon the Table, and that Application be made to Congress on the subject thereof; and the Question being put, it pa.s.sed in the affirmative, and Mr. Speaker, Mr.
Wendell, and Col. Orne, were appointed a Committee to prepare a letter to Congress accordingly, and report.” The last action, as far as indicated by the journal, was had on Sat.u.r.day, June 14, when ”the Committee appointed to prepare a Letter to Congress, on the subject of the Bill for preventing the Practice of holding Persons in Slavery, reported.” It was ”Read and ordered to lie.”[623] And so it did ”lie,”
for that was the end of the matter.
Judge Sargent, who was chairman of the committee appointed on the 18th of March, 1777, was doubtless the author of the following bill:--
”STATE OF Ma.s.sACHUSETTS BAY. IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1777.
”AN ACT for preventing the practice of holding persons in Slavery.
”WHEREAS, the practice of holding Africans and the children born of them, or any other persons, in Slavery, is unjustifiable in a civil government, at a time when they are a.s.serting their natural freedom; wherefore, for preventing such a practice for the future, and establis.h.i.+ng to every person residing within the State the invaluable blessing of liberty.
”_Be it Enacted_, by the Council and House of Representatives, in General Court a.s.sembled, and by the authority of the same,--That all persons, whether black or of other complexion, above 21 years of age, now held in Slavery, shall, from and after the ---- day of ---- next, be free from any subjection to any master or mistress, who have claimed their servitude by right of purchase, heirs.h.i.+p, free gift, or otherwise, and they are hereby ent.i.tled to all the freedom, rights, privileges and immunities that do, or ought of right to belong to any of the subjects of this State, any usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
”_And be it Enacted_, by the authority aforesaid, that all written deeds, bargains, sales or conveyances, or contracts without writing, whatsoever, for conveying or transferring any property in any person, or to the service and labor of any person whatsoever, of more than twenty-one years of age, to a third person, except by order of some court of record for some crime, that has been, or hereafter shall be made, or by their own voluntary contract for a term not exceeding seven years, shall be and hereby are declared null and void.
”And WHEREAS, divers persons now have in their service negroes, mulattoes or others who have been deemed their slaves or property, and who are now incapable of earning their living by reason of age or infirmities, and may be desirous of continuing in the service of their masters or mistresses,--_be it therefore Enacted_, by the authority aforesaid, that whatever negro or mulatto, who shall be desirous of continuing in the service of his master or mistress, and shall voluntarily declare the same before two justices of the County in which said master or mistress resides, shall have a right to continue in the service, and to a maintenance from their master or mistress, and if they are incapable of earning their living, shall be supported by the said master or mistress, or their heirs, during the lives of said servants, any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding.
”_Provided_, nevertheless, that nothing in this act shall be understood to prevent any master of a vessel or other person from bringing into this State any persons, not Africans, from any other part of the world, except the United States of America, and selling their service for a term of time not exceeding five years, if twenty-one years of age, or, if under twenty-one, not exceeding the time when he or she so brought into the State shall be twenty-six years of age, to pay for and in consideration of the transportation and other charges said master of vessel or other person may have been at, agreeable to contracts made with the persons so transported, or their patents or guardians in their behalf, before they are brought from their own country.”[624]
On the back of the bill the following indors.e.m.e.nt was written by some officer of the Legislature: ”Ordered to lie till the second Wednesday of the next Session of the General Court.” This might have ended the struggle for the extinction of slavery in Ma.s.sachusetts, had not the people at this time made an earnest demand for a State const.i.tution.
As the character of the const.i.tution was discussed, the question of slavery divided public sentiment. If it were left out of the const.i.tution, then the claims of the master would forever lack the force of law; if it were inserted as part of the const.i.tution, it would evidence the insincerity of the people in their talk about the equality of the rights of man, etc. The Legislature--Convention of 1777-78--prepared, debated, and finally approved and submitted to the people, a draught of a const.i.tution for the State, on the 28th of February, 1778. The framers of the const.i.tution seemed to lack the courage necessary to declare in favor of the freedom of the faithful blacks who had rendered such efficient aid to the cause of the colonists. The prevailing sentiment of the people demanded an article in the const.i.tution denying Negroes the right of citizens. It may be fortunate for the fame of the Commonwealth that the record of the debates on the article denying Negroes the right of suffrage has not been preserved. The article is here given:--
”V. Every male inhabitant of any town in this State, being _free_, and twenty-one years of age, _excepting Negroes, Indians and Mulattoes_, shall be int.i.tled to vote for a Representative or Representatives, as the case may be,” etc.
By this article three cla.s.ses of inhabitants were excluded from the rights, blessings, and duties of citizens.h.i.+p; and the inst.i.tution of slavery was recognized as existing by sanction of law. But the const.i.tution was rejected by the people, by an overwhelming majority; not, however, on account of the fifth article, but because the instrument was obnoxious to them on general principles.
The defeat of the const.i.tution did not temper public sentiment on the question of Negro slavery, for the very next year the domestic trade seemed to receive a fresh impetus. The following advertis.e.m.e.nts furnish abundant proof of the undiminished vigor of the enterprise.
From ”The Continental Journal,” Nov. 25, 1779:--
”_To be_ SOLD A likely NEGRO GIRL, 16 years of Age, for no fault, but want of employ.”
From the same, Dec. 16, 1779:--
”_To be_ SOLD, A Strong likely NEGRO GIRL,” etc.
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