nition of
the existing status and provision for its destruction in the
afterborn. This continued slavery though it much mitigated its
severity and secured its downfall in time. But there were slaves in
Upper Canada when the Imperial Act of 1833 came in force. The Act of
1793 was admittedly but a compromise measure; and beneficial as it was
it was a paltering with sin.

In Lower Canada, there was no legislation, and slavery was never
formally abolished until the Imperial Act of 1833; but the courts
decided in effect if not in form that a master had no rights over his
slave, and that is tantamount to saying that where there is no master
there is no slave. The reasoning in these cases as in the Somerset
case may not recommend itself to the lawyer but the effect is
undoubtedly, "Slaves cannot live in Lower Canada."

In Nova Scotia, there was no decision that slavery did not exist.
Indeed the course of procedure presupposed that it did exist, but the
courts were astute to find means of making it all but impossible for
the alleged master to succeed; and slavery disappeared accordingly.

In New Brunswick the decision by a divided court was in favor of the
master; but juries were of the same calibre and sentiments in New
Brunswick as in Nova Scotia and the same results were to be
anticipated, if Nova Scotian means were used; and the slave owners
gave way.

In the old land, judicial decision destroyed slavery on the British
domain; but conscience and sense of justice and right impelled its
destruction elsewhere by statute; and the same sense of justice and
right impelled the Parliament of Great Britain to recompense the
owners for their property thus destroyed. If there be any more
altruistic act of any people in any age of the world's history I have
failed to hear or read of it.

In the United States, slavery was abolished as a war measure. Lincoln
hating slavery as he did would never have abolished it, had he not
considered it a useful war measure. No compensation was paid, of
course.[1] Everywhere slavery was doomed and in one way or another it
has met a deserved fate.

WILLIAM RENWICK RIDDELL

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF ONTARIO,
OSGOOD HALL, TORONTO,
February 5, 1920

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I had with the late Hon. Warwick Hough of St. Louis, Missouri, who
had been an officer in the Southern Army, several conversations on the
subject of slavery. He gave