Excerpt from A Legal Argument Before the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey: At the May Term, 1845, at Trenton, for the Deliverance of Four Thousand Persons From Bondage The return in the case of john A. Post was the same in substance, that he held the said William, a colored man, as a slave by virtue of the law aforesaid, being born before 1804. To these returns general demurrers were put in, alleging the institution of slavery was abolished, and that the returns did not state sufficient authority to authorize the defendants to hold said persons To which there was a joinder in demurrer. Both of these causes were argued together, depending on the same laws for their support, and for the purpose of obtaining a judicial deci Sion, overthrowing the system of slavery in New Jersey, in all its parts. The following pages are intended to be the substance of the argument and reply of alvan stewart, Esq., of New York, who appeared for the slave and servant, as their Counsel. The first article of the new Constitution of New Jersey, of September, 1844, is entitled rights and privileges. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defend. Ing life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and Of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.