r their loss. Thomas
Ritchie member for Annapolis introduced a bill to regulate Negro
servants within the province. The bill passed its second reading
January 11, 1808, but failed to become law; and the attempt was never
renewed.

New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia in 1784. The Chief
Justice of that province was not as averse from slavery as his brother
of Nova Scotia. One of the most interesting and celebrated cases came
before the Supreme Court of New Brunswick in Hilary Term, February
1800. Captain Stair Agnew who had been an officer in the Queen's
Rangers settled opposite Fredericton. He was a man much thought of as
is shown by his being chosen for thirty years to represent York County
in the Legislature. He owned a slave Nancy Morton[16] who claimed her
freedom and whom apparently he had put in charge of one Caleb Jones. A
writ of habeas corpus was obtained directed to Jones and the matter
was arranged to be argued before the full court of four judges. For
the applicant appeared Ward Chipman[17] and Samuel Denny Street for
the master, Jonathan Bliss, Attorney General of the province, Thomas
Wetmore, John Murray Bliss, Charles J. Peters and Witham Botsford, all
men of ability and eminence. On the Bench were Chief Justice Ludlow
and Puisne Justices Allen, Upham and Saunders.

The addresses of the Attorney-General and Mr. Chipman are extant. The
former divided his speech into thirty-two heads; the latter took
eighty pages of foolscap for his. The arguments were extremely able
and exhaustive,[18] everything in history, morals and decided cases
being brought to bear. The case took two full days to argue and after
careful consideration the court divided equally, the Chief Justice and
Mr. Justice Upham affirming the right of the master and Mr. Justice
Allan and Mr. Justice Saunders held for the alleged slave.

The return of Jones to the writ was that Nancy "was at the time of her
birth and ever since hath been a female Negro slave or servant for
life born of an African Negro slave and before the removal of the said
Caleb Jones from Mary Land to New Brunswick was and became by purchase
the lawful and proper Negro slave or servant for life of him the said
Caleb Jones ..., that the said Caleb Jones in the year of our Lord
1785 brought and imported the said ... Nancy his Negro slave or
servant for life into the Province of New Brunswick ... and has always
hitherto held the said ... Nancy as his proper Negro slave