the land: he wished, therefore, that the next
cause might be argued upon this principle. Lord Mansfield too, who had
been biassed by the opinion of York and Talbot, began to waver in
consequence of the different pleadings he had heard on this subject: he
saw also no end of trials like these, till the law should be
ascertained, and he was anxious for a decision on the same basis as Mr.
Sharp. In this situation the following case offered, which was agreed
upon for the determination of this important question.

James Somerset, an African slave, had been brought to England by his
master, Charles Stewart, in November 1769. Somerset in process of time
left him. Stewart took an opportunity of seizing him, and had him
conveyed on board the Ann and Mary, Captain Knowles, to be carried out
of the kingdom and sold as a slave in Jamaica: the question was,
"Whether a slave, by coming into England, became free?"

In order that time might be given for ascertaining the law fully on this
head, the case was argued at three different sittings. First, in
January, 1772; secondly, in February, 1772; and thirdly, in May, 1772.
And that no decision otherwise than what the law warranted might be
given, the opinion of the judges was taken upon the pleadings. The great
and glorious result of the trial was, "That as soon as ever any slave
set his foot upon English territory, he became free."

Thus ended the great case of Somerset, which, having, been determined
after so deliberate an investigation of the law, can never be reversed
while the British Constitution remains. The eloquence displayed in it by
those who were engaged on the side of liberty, was perhaps never
exceeded on any occasion; and the names of the counsellors Davy, Glynn,
Hargrave, Mansfield, and Alleyne, ought always to be remembered with
gratitude by the friends of this great cause. For when we consider in
how many crowded courts they pleaded, and the number of individuals in
these, whose minds they enlightened, and whose hearts they interested in
the subject, they are certainly to be put down as no small instruments
in the promotion of it; but chiefly to him, under Divine Providence, are
we to give the praise, who became the first great actor in it, who
devoted his time, his talents, and his substance to this Christian
undertaking, and by whose laborious researches the very pleaders
themselves were instructed and benefited. By means of his almost
incessant vigilance and attenti