A free man may be thus robbed of his liberty, and carried beyond the
seas, without having the least opportunity of making his case known;
which should teach us how jealous we ought to be of all imprisonments
made without the authority, or previous examination, of a civil
magistrate.

The distinction of colour will, in a short time, be no protection
against such outrages, especially as not only Negroes, but Mulatoes, and
even American Indians, (which appears by one of the advertisements
before quoted) are retained in slavery in our American colonies; for
there are many honest weather-beaten Englishmen, who have as little
reason to boast of their complexion as the Indians. And indeed, the more
northern Indians have no difference from us in complexion, but such as
is occasioned by the climate, or different way of living. The plea of
private property, therefore, cannot, by any means, justify a private
commitment of any person whatsoever to prison, because of the apparent
danger and tendency of such innovation. This dangerous practice of
concealing in prison was attempted in the case of Jonathan Strong; for
the door-keeper of the P----lt----y C----pt----r (or some person who
acted for him) absolutely refused, for two days, to permit this poor
injured Negro to be seen or spoke with, though a person went on purpose,
both those days, to demand the same.--All laws ought to be founded upon
the principle of "_doing as one would be done by_;" and indeed this
principle seems to be the very basis of the English constitution; for
what precaution could possibly be more effectual for that purpose, than
the right we enjoy of being judged by our Peers, creditable persons of
the vicinage; especially, as we may likewise claim the right of
excepting against any particular juryman, who might be suspected of
partiality.

This law breathes the pure spirit of liberty, equity, and social love;
being calculated to maintain that consideration and mutual regard which
one person ought to have for another, howsoever unequal in rank or
station.

But when any part of the community, under the pretence of private
property, is deprived of this common privilege, it is a violation of
civil liberty, which is entirely inconsistent with the social principles
of a free state.

True liberty protects the labourer as well as his Lord; preserves the
dignity of human nature, and seldom fails to render a province rich and
populous; whereas, on the other hand, a