aut nascuntur: fiunt jure gentium, aut
jure civili: nascuntur ex ancillis nostris._ _Inst._ 1. 3. 4.]

UPON these principles the law of England abhors, and will not endure
the existence of, slavery within this nation: so that when an attempt
was made to introduce it, by statute 1 Edw. VI. c. 3. which ordained,
that all idle vagabonds should be made slaves, and fed upon bread,
water, or small drink, and refuse meat; should wear a ring of iron
round their necks, arms, or legs; and should be compelled by beating,
chaining, or otherwise, to perform the work assigned them, were it
never so vile; the spirit of the nation could not brook this
condition, even in the most abandoned rogues; and therefore this
statute was repealed in two years afterwards[c]. And now it is laid
down[d], that a slave or negro, the instant he lands in England,
becomes a freeman; that is, the law will protect him in the enjoyment
of his person, his liberty, and his property. Yet, with regard to any
right which the master may have acquired, by contract or the like, to
the perpetual service of John or Thomas, this will remain exactly in
the same state as before: for this is no more than the same state of
subjection for life, which every apprentice submits to for the space
of seven years, or sometimes for a longer term. Hence too it follows,
that the infamous and unchristian practice of withholding baptism from
negro servants, lest they should thereby gain their liberty, is
totally without foundation, as well as without excuse. The law of
England acts upon general and extensive principles: it gives liberty,
rightly understood, that is, protection, to a jew, a turk, or a
heathen, as well as to those who profess the true religion of Christ;
and it will not dissolve a civil contract, either express or implied,
between master and servant, on account of the alteration of faith in
either of the contracting parties: but the slave is entitled to the
same liberty in England before, as after, baptism; and, whatever
service the heathen negro owed to his English master, the same is he
bound to render when a christian.

[Footnote c: Stat. 3 & 4 Edw. VI. c. 16.]

[Footnote d: Salk. 666.]

1. THE first sort of servants therefore, acknowleged by the laws of
England, are _menial servants_; so called from being _intra moenia_,
or domestics. The contract between them and their masters arises upon
the hiring. If the hiring be general without any particular time
limited