hereof, in assembly met, _That all persons
who are strangers and foreigners_, that do now inhabit this province
and counties aforesaid, _that hold land in fee in the same, according
to the law of a freeman_, and who shall solemnly promise, within
three months after the publication thereof, in their respective
county courts where they live, upon record, faith and allegiance to
the king of England and his heirs and successors, and fidelity and
lawful obedience to the said William Penn, proprietary and governor
of the said province and territories, and his heirs and assigns,
according to the king's letters, patents and deed aforesaid, _shall
be held and reputed freemen of the province and counties aforesaid,
in as ample and full a manner as any person residing therein_. And it
is hereby further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That when at
any time any person, that is a foreigner, shall make his request to
the proprietary and governor of this province and territories
thereof, _for the aforesaid freedom_, the said person shall be
admitted on the conditions herein expressed, paying at his admission
twenty shillings sterling, and no more, any thing in this law, or any
other law, act or thing in this province, to the contrary in any wise
notwithstanding."

"Given at Chester," &c., "under the hand and broad seal of William
Penn, proprietary and governor of this province and territories
thereunto belonging, in the second year of his government, by the
king's authority. W. PENN."[16]

Up to the time of our revolution, the _only_ meaning which the words
"free" and "freemen" had, in the English law, _in the charters granted
to the colonies_, and in the important documents of a political
character, when used to designate one person as distinguished from
another, was to designate a person enjoying some franchise or privilege,
as distinguished from aliens or persons not enjoying a similar
franchise. They were never used to designate a free person as
distinguished from a slave--for the very sufficient reason that all
these _fundamental_ laws presumed that there were no slaves.

Was such the meaning of the words "free" and "freemen," as used in the
constitutions adopted prior to 1789, in the States of Georgia, North and
South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware and New York?

The legal rule of interpretation before mentioned, viz: that an innocent
meaning must be give