An action on the case lies for harbor ing a slave. (XXIV.) HARBORING SLAVES.* 1. SCIDMORE V. SMITH. Aug. T. 1816. 13 Johns. Rep. 322. Smith, the defendant in error, brought an action of trespass in the court below, against the plaintiff in error, to recover damages for seducing and harboring his man servant. It was objected that the action should have been debt, under the 15th section of the act concerning slaves and servants." (2 N. R. L. 206.,) but the exception was overruled, and judgment was given for the defendant in error. Per Cur. The statute penalty for harboring slaves or servants is cumulative, and does not destroy the common law remedy. Judgment affirmed. *By Aiken's Ala. Dig. p. 109, any person harboring or concealing any negro or negroes belonging to any other person, or suffering the same to be done (with his consent and knowledge,) shall be punished in a sum not exceeding $700, and shall be imprisoned not less than one, nor exceeding six calendar months; and by Prince's Dig. Laws of Geo. p. 375, any person guilty of harboring, &c. to be sentenced to the penitentiary, at hard labor, for a term not exceeding 2 years, provided, an apparent well founded claim to said slave is not shown on trial; damages may also be recovered in a civil suit for loss of labor, &c. And by the Rev. Code of Miss. p. 585, any white person, free negro, or mulatto, harboring or entertaining a slave without the consent of his or her owner or overseer, shall forfeit to the informer, for every such offence, $10; and if a free negro, or mulatto, shall, in addition, receive any number of lashes, not exceeding thirty. Ib. p. 318, any licensed innkeeper harboring a slave knowing him to be such, without a written permission from the master or mistress, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence, a sum not less than $10, nor more than $50; and in p. 584, a slave harboring, &c. another slave, shall be punished by stripes not exceeding thirtynine. By the Rev. Code of Miss. p. 380, any white person, negro, or mulatto, harboring a slave without the consent of the master, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding $20, and shall be liable in damages to the owner; and any slave committing a like offence, to receive not exceeding thirty-nine lashes. By the Rev. Code of Virginia p. 439, any free person guilty of, &c. shall be considered guilty of a misdemeanor, and punishable as in other cases of misdemeanors, and shall also be liable for damages to the party injured: if a slave, to receive not exceeding thirty-nine lashes. By the Rev. Code of Tenn. vol. 1. p. 329, any white person, free negro, or mulatto, harboring or enticing a slave, without the knowledge and consent of the master, shall forfeit, &c. a sum not exceeding $20, nor less than $10; Ib. p. 320, for harboring, &c. a slave on any pretence whatever, shall forfeit and pay to the owner, for every such offence, $50, and be also liable in an action for damages to the owner; and if the offence is committed with a view to the escape of the slave from the state, shall pay to the master or mistress, for every such negro enticed away, $62 and 50 cents, to be levied on his property; but if he be insolvent, shall be compelled to serve the owner 5 years. By 2. DARK V. MARSH. July T. 1815. 2 North Carolina Law Repository 249. Harboring taining a slave with and main runaway me in the meaning of the 4th section of 1791 of a secret and This was an action of debt to recover the penalty under the 4th section of the act of 1791, against harboring slaves. The declara tion contained three counts: 1. For enticing and persuading the slave to leave the plaintiff's service. 2. For harboring and maintaining the slave, knowing her to be a runaway. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, subject to the opinion of the court, on the act of the following case. The plaintiff proved a title to the two slaves, North Carmother and child, under a bill of sale, and possession of them from olina means February 1807, until the September following, when she absented fraudulent harboring herself with her child, in the night time, taking with her all her and main apparel, and was the next morning in possession of the defendant, taining who at that time, gave notice to the plaintiff of the fact, and said he should retain them until recovered by law; as he claimed them as his father's property. The defendant has had them in possession till 1813, harboring and maintaining them, but in an open and avowed manner, the woman being the wife of one of his negro men. The plaintiff sued out a writ of detinue for the slaves in 1807, and in September 1813, recovered them, and damages for the detention. The writ in the present action was sued out in 1809. Per Cur. Seawell, J. The jury have found for the defendant the act of 1836, any person or persons, harboring, &c. any runaway slave, knowing him to be such, shall, on conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary, at hard labor, for a period not exceeding 10, nor less than 3 years. In Kentucky, by the act of 1830, p. 173, any person concealing or harboring a runaway slave, knowing him to be such, in addition to compensation to the owner, shall, on conviction, pay a fine not exceeding $500, nor less than $50, and also give security for good behaviour during his stay in the state. By Lislet's Louisiana Dig. vol. 1, p. 121. any person harboring, concealing, or hiring any runaway slave, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding $300, nor less than $100; Ib. p. 398, any person harboring, &c. knowing them to be such, &c. shall, on conviction, be fined in a sum not exceeding $1000, nor less than $200, and be imprisoned not exceeding 2 years, nor less than 6 months. By 2 Brevard's Dig. Laws of South Carolina, p. 237., any free negro, mulatto, mestizo, or slave, guilty of harboring, &c. a runaway slave or slaves, charged or accused of any criminal matter, if a slave, shall receive such corporal punishment, not extending to life and limb, as the court shall think fit; and if a free negro, &c. shall forfeit to the use of the owner, £10 for the first day, so harbored or concealed, and £1 for every day after; and if unable to pay said forfeiture, shall be publicly sold to pay the same. Ib. p. 257. harboring any negro illegally brought into the state, shall forfeit and pay $100, for every such offence. on all the counts in the declaration, except the one for harboring and maintaining the slave as a runaway. Upon that count we think there can be no doubt as to what verdict they should have found, under the facts which form the case. The act of assembly gives a penalty, where any person shall "harbor or maintain under any pretence whatever, any runaway servant or slave." Now, it has been contended by the plaintiff's counsel, that if the slave was a runaway, and was in the possession of defendant, and retained by him, that it was then such a case as was provided for by the act, which from the words, "under any pretence," would reach every possible case. That the legislature was competent to give a penalty in such a case, we do not deny, but feel warranted in saying they have not said so, or intended it, in this case. The act has in express words given a penalty for harboring;— harboring is a term well understood in our law, and means a fraudulent concealment; and the legislature not having said in what a maintaining under any pretence consists, we are left to find it out by construction. To us it seems clear, that it is a safe rule in construction, where acts of a known and definite meaning are described as constituting an offence, and then other words of a general nature are used as synonimous with the former, and apparently with a view of giving the act a liberal construction in suppression of the mischief, that these general expressions should not render penal by construction, any act which does not partake of the qualities of the act specially set forth. Such a construction would lead us to say, that the maintaining, intended by the legislature, was secret and fraudulent; this being negatived by the statement of the case, we think the jury should have found for the de, fendant on this count, and are all of opinion there should be judgment for defendant, Harboring a slave if a claim of 3. GORDON, by his next friend v. FARQUHAR. June T. 1823. Peck's Per Cur. Haywood, J. This was a warrant in debt, before a done under justice of the peace, for fifty dollars, founded on the act of 1799, ch. 28, sec. 2, for enticing and persuading a certain slave named Violet, from the service of the plaintiff, her master. The cause went into the circuit court by appeal, where there was a trial and verdict for the defendant. The clause in the act on which the property, and not with a view to subtract profits from the is not with warrant was founded, declares " that if any person shall hereafter owner, entice or persuade any servant or slave to absent him or herself in the act from his or her owner's service, or shall harbor or maintain under of Tennesany pretence whatever." On the trial it appeared, that the defendant met with the slave, who was absent under a pass or permit from the plaintiff, who claimed to be the owner under a purchase at sheriff's sale, and claiming an interest in the slave under a deed of trust, which deed was held by Tubb as trustee ; he directed the slave to go to Tubb, who he said had a claim to her,under which direction the slave went. The deed of trust was shown in defence, but it was insisted it was fraudulent, and should be viewed as a nullity. No part of the charge of the court is called in question, so far as it goes, but it is insisted that the judge should have charged the jury, that if the defendant claimed the girl by a deed fraudulent and void in law, he could not, by virtue thereof, justify persuading and enticing her from her owner's service. But the court, though requested, refused so to charge, having charged "that though the defendant might have persuaded her to put herself under the protection of Tubb; yet, if he did it under a belief that he had a good equitable or a legal title in Tubb, then he is not embraced in the act of assembly." The words, "under any pretence whatever," in the act of assembly, are referable to the harboring, not to the words "entice from the service of the owners;" this latter sentence means an acknowledged owner, not one whose claim is opposed by that of the defendant, by virtue of another claim of his own. If the prior possession is to be regarded, and he who is the owner with open possession is not to be disturbed, then a new possession taken by force and avowedly as a recaption, is not the object of the penalty awarded by this law, for that is but a restitution to the state, from which it ought not to have been taken, and one which is effected without force, and not without a justificatory motive. The penalty is to be recovered before a justice of the peace, and cer, tainly it cannot be pretended that the justice must decide on the merits of the respective claims, of course he cannot determine whether one of the claims be fraudulent or not. He can only enquire into the motive of the person charged, and whether it be such as the act condemns, that is, a desire to meddle with the property of another, to which the defendant had himself no colora see against harboring slaves. A person who holds possession of a slave without right or ti tle, altho' be not criminal, is expenses, to which ble claim, and to subtract from the owner, profits which the offender has no reason or pretence for claiming. 4. ROQUET V. RICHARDSON. March T. 1832. 3 Louisiana Rep. 452. Damages were claimed from the defendant, on the ground of having concealed and employed a runaway slave belonging to the plaintiff. The general issue was pleaded, and it appeared from the testimony, that a female slave aged about twelve years, was brought to the defendant's house by a carman, to whom she had stated she was free. She remained with the defendant for nearly a year, durliable for ing which time every publicity was given to the fact of her living there, and attempts made to discover whether she was a slave, and to whom she belonged. There was no paper published in the cover the parish where the defendant resided; nor did it contain a jail ;—it was further shown that the defendant was a justice of the peace. The plaintiff proved property in the slave; that he had advertised her in the papers of New Orleans as a runaway, and expended one hundred dollars in endeavoring to recover her. There was judgment for the defendant in the court below, and the plaintiff appealed. the owner is put to re slave. Per Cur. Mathews, J. In this case, damages are claimed from the defendant, on account of the concealment and detention of a female slave, the property of the plaintiff. The court below rendered judgment in favor of the former, from which the latter appealed. The amount claimed is in conformity with the acts of the legislature, (part of the Black Code,) passed in 1807 and 1809, and which relate to the penalty and punishment for harboring and concealing runaway slaves. These acts seem intended to fix the penalties to which offenders against their provisions may be legally subjected on conviction; they are pecuniary, but may be changed into imprisonment, if the persons convicted has not the means necessary to pay to owners of slaves the compensation accorded. See, Moreau's Dig. p. 119-20. In addition to the compensation allowed to owners, by the first article, a fine is imposed for the benefit of the parish, wherein the offender may be convicted, by the second. Same book, p. 121. These laws are evidently penal, and have relation to public offences. Whether the owner of a slave, which may have been concealed or hired without leave, can pursue the person offending, in a civil action, and on proof of the |