There is no
reward for
reftoring a
flave to a f a ther
or Jon
(living in the
fame family,)
or to a bujband
or wife.
The death o f
the Have in
the' hands o f
the perfon
who takes
him does not
oecaflon re-
iponiibility:
■ but the taker
is not entitled
to a reward.
The reward,
cannot be'
evaded by.
emancipating
the Have on
the inftant o f
jelloration.
If the father, or the fin of the owner, living in the fame family;
reftore a fugitive flave, no reward whatever is due; (and the fame
rule obtains w here, of a hufband and wife, either reftores a fugitive flave
to the other;) becaufe, it is cuftomary for fuch relations to aft.gra.
tuitoufly towards each other.
If a fugitive flave abfeond from the hands of the perfon who ap*
prehended him, or die whilft in his pofieffion, no indemnification
whatever is due from him to the owner, becaufe the flave is a trufl
in his hands. This, however, obtains only where the perfon who
took him has called people to witnefs that “ he feized fuch a flave;
“ with a view of reftoring him to the ower,”— (in the manner already
mentioned in treating of troves.')— In the cafo here luppofed;
no reward whatever is due to the perfon who apprehended the
Have, becaufe he ftands in the predicament of a feller, and the mafier
of the flave ftands as a purchafer; (whence the former is at liberty to
detain the flave on account of the reward, in the fame manner as a
feller is at liberty to detain the article fold, until he receive the
price ;) and fuch being the cafe, no part of the reward is due to the
perfon who takes the flave, in the fame manner as no part of the
price is due to the feller; where the article fold perifhes in his hands.
If the mafter of a fugitive flave emancipate him on the inftant of
his being brought to him, and before the perfon who took him has.
delivered him up, he is.confidered as being feized of the flave at the
moment of emancipation, in the fame manner as where the purchafer.
of a flave emancipates him before feizin, in- which cafe- he is- confi-
dered as having taken pofleflion of him on the moment of emancipation
: and upon the. fame principle, if the mafter of the flave fe ll him.
to the perfon who apprehended him, he is. confidered as being feized1
of him on the inftant of fale, on account of his thus fecuring to him.
felf a recompenee for the flave in the price o f him.
fa
I t is incumbent upon the perfon apprehending a fugitive flave to
calTfome perfons to witnefs that “ he takes this flave in order to re-
“ ftore him to his mafter.” It is moreover to be obferved that it
is incumbent upon the taker (according to Haneefa and Mohammed,)
thus to call witnefles at the time o f his taking the Jlave-, infomuch that
if a perfon reftore the flave to his mafter without having called people
to witnefs at the time of feizing him, he is not entitled to any reward;
becaufe his negletting to call witnefles argues that he has taken the
flave for himfelf-, and the cafe is confequently the fame as if a man were
to purchafe the flave from the perfon apprehending him,— or to accept
of him, from the fame perfon, as a gift,— or, as if the flave had defeended
to him from the fame’perfon by inheritance,— and this man, fo poflefling
him by purchafe, gift, or inheritance, then reftore the flave to his
owner, in which cafe no reward is due to him, becaufe he here reftores
the flave to the proper owner fo r his own advantage; in other
words, in confequence of getting pofleflion of the flave he becomes
refponfible for ,him, and by returning him to his owner he is dif-
charged from the refponfibility; his returning him, therefore, with
a view to difeharge himfelf from refponfibility, is in fact returning
him with a view to his own advantage: no reward, therefore, is
due to him,— unlefs, at the time of purchafe, he had called feme
perfons'to witnefs that “ he purchafed this flave with a view to re-
“ ftore him to his owner,” in which cafe the reward is due to him •
but the purchafer, in this inftance, is confidered as having a fled gra-
tuitoufy in paying a price for the flave *.
If the fugitive flave be in pawn, the reward for reftoring him is
due from the perfon detaining him in pawn; becaufe the reftorer has
given life to the property involved in the flave by bringing him back;
and the property involved in him is the right of the perfon to whom
* And confequently, the purchafer has no claim upon the proprietor for the price he
ha* paid.
O o 2 he
The taker
mult declare,
to witnefles,
his defign in
feizing the
flave,
or he is not
entitled to the
reward.
The reward
for taking a
pawned fugitive
flave is
due from the
pawnee.