5 Rob. 113 | La. | 1843
The defendants, owners of the ship St. Mary, prosecute this appeal from a judgment decreeing them to' pay A fine of $500, under the provisions of the act, approved March, 25th, 1840, “ to amend the several acts passed for the purpose of preventing slaves from being transported or conducted out of the State, against the Will of théir owners.”
The material facts of the case, as shown by the evidence, are, that on the evening of the 24th of May, 184Ó, the ship St. Mary, Captain Foster, was towed down the river by the tow-boat Tiger, Under the Command of j. Beébe ; that on the next morning, being about twenty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, Captain Foster discovered a negro on board of his ship; that on being asked who he was, the negro stated himself to be the second cook; the Captain replied, that he was not, and that he had never seen him before ; that thereupon the cook of the vessel being called upon by the Captain to say who the man was, asserted that lie was the second cook ; to this the Captain again replied, that he had never seen the mail before, and then called upon the negro to pro»
“ S. W. Pass, May 24, 1840.
“ Sir I discovered on board of my ship a negro man who calls himself Thomas Taylor, says he is free, and was born in Richmond, Virginia. The said negro having no documents or proof by which his freedom can be authenticated, I have thought proper to place him in charge of- Captain Beebe, of the steamboat Tiger, who will deliver him over to the competent authorities. Respectfully,
“ R. W. Foster, comvrüg ship St. Mary.
u To Wm. Freret,-Mayor of New Orleans.”
The evidence further shows, that the boy, Thomas Taylor, was a confirmed, and incorrigible runaway, and Was advertised in the Picayune, as having left the plaintiff, his master, on the 23d of May, 1840.
Under these facts, it does not appear to us, that the defendants have incurred the fine imposed by the statute of 1840. This law, being one of great severity, must be construed strictly, and should not be extended to cases not coming clearly, and literally, within its purview. The fine of $500 is incurred, only when the master and owners of a vessel labor under the presumption created by the first section of the act, and cannot destroy it in the manner therein required. The presumption, which the law implies, from the fact of the master finding his slave on board of a vessel without his written consent, is, that the master and owners of the vessel have received the slave, or have hidden him, or have suffered him to remain on board, with the intention of depriving his master of him, and of transporting him out of the State, or from one part of the State to another. • In the present case, no such presumption exists against the defendants, because the Captain himself, and not the owner, found this slave on board of the vessel. The pre
It is, therefore, ordered, that the judgment of the District Court be avoided, and reversed, and that ours be’ for the defendants, with co^ts in both courts.