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Show 148 ON THE SLAVERY ,\ND CoMMERCF. rately, as they refult either from long and painful labour, a 7t'ant of the common neceffaries of life, or continualflverity. OppreiTed by a daily talk of fuch immoderate labour as human nature is utterly unable to perform, many of them run away from their mail:ers. They fly to the recelles of the mountains, where they choofe rather to live upon any thing that the foil a/lords them, nay, the very foil itfelf, than return to that happy jituation, which is reprefented by the recei'uers, as the condition of a llave. It fometimes happens, that the manager of a mountain p-lantation, falls in with one of thefe; he immediately feizes him, and threatens to carry him to his former mafler, unJefs he will confent to live on the mountain and cultivate his ground. When his plantation is put in order, he carries the delinquent home, abandons him to all the fuggefiions of defpotick rage, and accepts a reward for his honejly. The unhappy wretch is chained, fcourged, tortured; and all this, becaufe he obeyed the dictates of nature, and wanted to be free. And who is there, that would not have done the fame or THE HuMAN SPECIES. 149 [u11e thing, in the f.1me fituation ? Who is there, that has once known the charms of liberty, that would not fly from defpotifm .? And yet, by the impious laws of the r·ecezvers, the "abfence of fix months from the lal11 of tyranny is ·--death. But this law is even mild, when compared with another againfl: the f.1me offence, which was in force fometime ago, and which we fear is even now in force, in fame of thofe colonies which this account of the treatment comprehends . . " Advertife-ments have frequently appeared there, offering a reward for the apprehending of fugitive flaves either alive or dead. The following inflance was given us by a perfon of unquefl:ionable veracity, under whofe own obfervation it fell. As • In this cafe he is confidercd as a criminal againft the fbtc. Thcmarjhal, an officer anfwering to our lheriff, fupcrintends hi:. execution, and the mafi.er receives the value of the fbvc from the publick treafury. We may obfcrve here, that in all ca_fcs where the delinquent is a criminal of the !late, he is cxecut~d, and his value is received in the fame manner. lie is tried aod cOndemhec\ by two or three jufticcs of the peace, omd witjlout ta"Y intervention of a jury. l\. 3 " he |