But in particular states there were still other reasons against the colonial slave acts being valid under the new constitutions. For instance, South Carolina had no statute (as has before been mentioned,) that designated her slaves with such particularity as to distinguish them from free persons; and for that reason none of her slave statutes were legally "in force."
New-Jersey also was in the same situation. She had slave statutes; but none designating the slaves so as to distinguish them from the rest of her population. She had also one or more specific provisions in her constitution incompatible with slavery, to wit: "That the common law of England * * * * shall remain in force, until altered by a future law of the legislature; such parts only as are repugnant to the rights and privileges contained in this charter." (Sec. 22.)
Maryland had also, in her new constitution, a specific provision incompatible with the acts on her colonial statute book in regard to slavery, to wit:
"Sec. 3. That the inhabitants"—mark the word, for it includes all the inhabitants—"that the inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the common law of England, and the trial by jury, according to the course of that law," &c.
This guaranty, of "the common law of England" to all "the inhabitants of Maryland," without discrimination, is incompatible with any slave acts that existed on the statute book; and the latter would therefore have become void under the constitution, even if they had not been previously void under the colonial charter.
4. Several of these state constitutions have used the words "free" and "freemen."
For instance. That of South Carolina provided, (Sec. 13,) that the electors of that state should be "free white men." That of Georgia (Art. 11,) and that of North Carolina (Art. 40,) use the term "free citizen." That of Pennsylvania (Sec. 42,) has the term "free denizen."
These four instances are the only ones I have found in all the eleven constitutions, where any class of persons are designated by the term "free." And it will be seen hereafter, from the connexion and manner in which the word is used, in these four cases, that it implies no recognition of slavery.
Several of the constitutions, to wit, those of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New-York—but not Virginia, New-Jersey, Massachusetts or New-Hampshire—repeatedly use the word "freeman" or "freemen," when describing the electors, or other members of the state.
The only questions that can arise from the use of these words "free" and "freeman," are these, viz: Are they used as the correlatives, or opposites of slaves? Or are they used in that political sense, in which they are used in the common law of England, and in which they had been used in the colonial charters, viz., to describe those persons possessed of the privilege of citizenship, or some corporate franchise, as distinguished from aliens, and those not enjoying franchises, although free from personal slavery?