| 1805.
CHAP. 66.
Passed Jan. 25, 1806. |
LAWS OF MARYLAND.
CHAP. LXVI.
An Act, entitled, An additional supplement to an act, (a)
entitled, An
act relating to Negroes, and to repeal the Acts of Assembly
therein
mentioned. Lib. TH. No. 1, fol. 87.
(a) 1796, ch. 67. See 1804, ch. 90, and the acts there referred
to. |
| Preamble. |
WHEREAS great mischiefs have arisen from slaves
coming into
possession of the certificates of free negroes, by running away and
passing as free, under the faith of such certificates: And whereas
it has been found from experience, that the manner of granting certificates
of freedom is not sufficient to prevent the evils felt by slaves
coming into possession of such certificates; for remedy whereof, |
Certificates of
freedom to be
granted only by
the clerks of the
county courts and
registers of wills—
The manner of
granting them,
and a registry
thereof. |
2. BE IT ENACTED, by the General Assembly
of Maryland, That
from and after the first day of June next, it shall not be lawful for
any person or persons, except the clerks of the county courts in the
several counties of this state, or register of wills, where any
negro or negroes have been freed by last will and testament, to
grant certificates of freedom to any free negro or negroes (b), and
the said clerks and registers are hereby enjoined, when called upon
by any negro entitled to freedom, residing in, or belonging to, their
respective counties, for a certificate thereof, to grant the same under
the seal of their respective offices, and to set forth therein the
height, age, complexion, the time when such negro became free,
the place where he or she, as the case may be, was raised, and such
mark or marks as may appear to such clerk or register to be notable
in such negro, so applying for his or her certificate of freedom
as aforesaid; and the said clerk or register shall keep a registry of
each and every certificate granted by them, or either of them, to
any negro or negroes to whom such certificate have been granted.
(b) See 1807, ch. 164, which
directs that no negro shall receive a certificate of
freedom except from the clerk or register of wills of the county where
the deed
of manumission or will is recorded. |
Penalty on persons
other than
clerks, &c. for
granting certificates
of freedom,
and on clerks, &c.
for granting them
improperly. |
3. AND BE IT ENACTED, That if any person or
persons, other
than the clerks or registers as aforesaid of the several counties in
this state, shall give or grant any certificate of freedom to any
negro or negroes, he, she or they, shall, upon an indictment, and
being found guilty thereof, either by confession or verdict of a jury,
forfeit and pay not exceeding five hundred dollars for each and
every offence, to be applied to the use of the county where such
person shall reside; and if any clerk or register in any county in
this state shall grant a certificate of freedom to any negro or negroes
not entitled to freedom, knowing such negro or negroes not
to be entitled to freedom, or to any free negro or free negroes, except
such as belong to, or were manumitted or freed according to
the laws of this state, in his or their respective counties, shall, upon
an indictment and conviction thereof, forfeit and pay not exceeding
five hundred dollars for each and every offence, to be applied
as aforesaid. |
A second certificate
not to be
granted except on
oath that the first
is lost. |
4. AND BE IT ENACTED, That it shall not be
lawful for any
clerk or register of any county in this state to grant a certificate of
freedom to any negro manumitted or freed as aforesaid who has
once obtained a certificate of his or her freedom of such clerk or
register, unless such negro applying for the same shall make oath,
or prove by some credible and disinterested witness, that he or she,
as the case may be, has lost the former certificate of his or her
freedom, granted as aforesaid; and it shall be the duty of the said |
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