An Act to Abolish Slavery

revision approved April 18, 1846, Revision of 1846, Title XI, ch.6, p.382-390

1. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, That slavery in this state be and it is hereby abolished, and every person who is now holden in slavery by the laws thereof, be and hereby is made free, subject, however, to the restrictions and obligations hereinafter mentioned and imposed; and the children hereafter to be born to all such persons shall be absolutely free from their birth, and discharged of and from all manner of service whatsoever.

2. And be it enacted, That every such person shall, by force and virtue of this act, and without the previous execution of any indenture of apprenticeship, or other deed or instrument for that purpose, become and be an apprentice, bound to service to his or her present owner, and his or her executors or administrators; which service shall continue until such person is discharged therefrom, as is hereinafter directed.

3. And be it enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for every person who shall be entitled to the service of any such apprentice to discharge such apprentice from such service, by writing, under hand and seal, executed in the presence of at least one witness; provided, that such apprentice, at the time of such discharge being executed, shall be desirous of such discharge, and be sound in mind, and not under any incapacity of obtaining a support; and provided also, that the person entitled to the service of such apprentice shall, previous to the execution of such instrument of discharge, obtain a certificate, signed by the overseers of the poor and any two justices of the peace of the township wherein such person entitled shall reside, and also cause such certificate to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county; for which service the said clerk shall be entitled to twelve cents; which certificate shall be in the words, or to the effect following:

__________ county, to wit:
We do hereby certify, that on this ________ day of ___________ A. D.______ A. B. of the township of ____________ in the said county, brought before us, the overseers of the poor and two justices of the peace of the said township, an apprentice in his (or her) service, named ___________ who declares before us that he (or she) is desirous of being discharged by virtue of an act entitled, " An act to abolish slavery," and who on view and examination appears to us to be sound in mind, and not under any incapacity of obtaining a support.—In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, the day and year above written.

C. D.   E. F.   Overseers, &c.
G. H.   I. K.   Justices, &c.

That upon such certificate being so signed and recorded, and such instrument or deed of discharge being so executed, such apprentice shall be discharged of and from all liability to or for any service or claim whatsoever ; and the person executing such discharge, shall be exonerated and acquitted from all costs and charges which may arise for the support of such apprentice, except his or her proportion of any general tax or assessment therefor.

4. And be it enacted, That if any person entitled to the service of any such apprentice, shall, by his or her last Will and testament, give such discharge as aforesaid, and the said apprentice shall be desirous of such discharge, and be sound in mind, and not under any incapacity of obtaining a support, to be certified in manner aforesaid, then such discharge shall be good and effectual in law.

5. And be it enacted, That if any person entitled to the service of any apprentice bound to service by this act, other than such as is described in the two sections next preceding, be disposed to discharge such apprentice from service, and such person so entitled or any other sufficient person, for and in behalf of such apprentice, shall and do at the court of common pleas of the county where such apprentice shall reside, enter into bond to the state of New Jersey, with at least two sureties, being inhabitants and freeholders of and in the said county, to be approved by such court, in a sum not less than five hundred dollars, to prevent and keep any such apprentice from becoming or being a charge to any township, place or county in this state, then such apprentice shall be discharged of and from all liability to and for any such service; provided, that such discharge be in writing, signed and sealed in the presence of at least one witness: and further, that if any such apprentice of the description contained in this section, shall be discharged from service by the last will and testament of any person deceased, and if the executor or executors of such last will and testament, or, in case of the neglect or refusal of such executor or executors, if any other sufficient person, shall and do, within six months after proving the said last will and testament, enter into a bond, with sureties, and in manner aforesaid, then the said apprentice shall be discharged, according to the true intent and meaning of such last will and testament; but if, in any of the cases mentioned in this section, such bond be not entered into in the manner aforesaid, then the said discharge shall be absolutely void and of no effect.

6. And be it enacted, That all apprentices discharged by virtue of this act, shall be discharged and exonerated, after he or she arrives to the age of forty years, from the payment of any bond, note, or other contract, or performance of any indenture, that shall have been obtained against him or her in consequence of such discharge from service.

7. And be it enacted, That the legal settlement of every apprentice so discharged, who shall be likely to become a public charge, shall be in that township or place in this state where the person discharging him or her, may have a legal settlement at the time of such discharge; provided, that nothing in this section contained, shall be construed to prevent any apprentice so discharged, from afterwards gaining a legal settlement in any other township, in the same manner as other persons may gain a legal settlement by virtue of the existing laws of this state.

8. And be it enacted, That every person entitled to the service of such apprentice not discharged according to the directions of this act, his or her heirs, executors or administrators shall be obliged at all times to support and maintain such apprentice; provided, that if any person entitled as aforesaid shall become insolvent and so unable to provide for such apprentice who shall, by sickness, or otherwise, be rendered incapable of supporting himself or herself then he or she shall be deemed to be a pauper, whose legal settlement shall follow the legal settlement in this state of him or her who was entitled to the service of such apprentice as aforesaid.

9. And be it enacted, That the children hereafter to be born of every such apprentice not discharged from service as aforesaid, shall be supported and maintained by the master or mistress of such apprentice until they shall attain the age of six years, when said children shall be bound out by the trustees or overseers of the poor, as in other cases of poor children; the master or mistress such apprentice, in the absence of any just objection, (of which said trustees or overseers shall judge), being first entitled to take such children under indentures from the said trustees or overseers; and the poor children of such apprentices as shall be legally discharged from service under this act, may likewise be bound out in like form and under like circumstances as other poor children; and the same rights, obligations and duties shall vest in, and be performed by the said trustees, overseers and justices acting in the premises, as provided for in other cases where they bind out poor children.

10. And be it enacted, That in case any instrument or deed, discharging such apprentice from service, shall be acknowledged by the party or parties who shall have executed the same, or be proved by one or more of the subscribing witnesses to it, that such party or parties signed, sealed and delivered the same, as his or her voluntary act and deed, before one of the officers authorized by law to take the acknowledgment or proof of deeds, and such certificate of such acknowledgment or proof shall be written under or upon such instrument or deed, and subscribed by the officer before whom made, then, and in that case, every such instrument or deed so acknowledged or proved and certified, shall be received in evidence in any court of this state, in like manner as if the same were then and there proved by one or more witnesses.

11. And be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county in which the person entitled to the services of such apprentice shall reside, at the time of discharging him or her, to record in a well bound book of good paper, to be provided for that purpose, and well preserved, every such instrument or deed acknowledged or proved, and certified as aforesaid, together with the acknowledgment or proof, and the certificate written on or under the same, which shall be delivered to him to be recorded; to which book every person shall have access at proper hours, and be entitled to transcripts from the same, on paying the fees allowed by law.

12. And be it enacted, That the record aforesaid of such instrument or deed, or a Copy of such record, certified to be a true copy by the clerk, in whose office the said record is kept, shall be received in evidence in any court of this state, and be as good, effectual, and available in law as if the original instrument of deed were then and there produced and proved.

13. And be it enacted, That the clerk shall deliver a receipt to the person who shall deliver to him any such instrument or deed as aforesaid mentioning therein the time when it was delivered to him or brought to his office to be recorded, its date, and the names of the parties to it, and shall certify on or under the said instrument or deed the time it was received, and the name and number of the book, and page or pages in which it is recorded; and when recorded, shall deliver it to the party entitled to it, or to his or her order; and the said clerk shall be entitled to receive for recording every such instrument or deed, with the acknowledgment or proof and certificate, for every sheet five cents, and for every copy of the same five cents, and for every receipt six cents.

14. And be it enacted, That if any master or mistress, or other person entitled to the service of such apprentice or servant under this act, or under the act entitled, " An act for the gradual abolition of slavery, and other purposes respecting slaves," passed twenty-fourth February, eighteen hundred and twenty, shall be guilty of any misusage, refusal of necessary provision or clothing, unreasonable correction, cruelty or other ill treatment, so that his or her apprentice or servant shall have just cause of complaint, or if said apprentice or servant shall absent himself or herself from the service of his or her master or mistress, or be guilty of any misdemeanor, miscarriage or ill behavior, or do not his or her duty to his or her master or mistress, then the said master or mistress, or the said apprentice or servant being aggrieved and having just cause of complaint, shall be entitled to the like remedy, and similar proceedings shall be had therein, as is provided in like cases by the act entitled, " An act respecting apprentices and servants;" provided, that if such apprentice or servant shall be discharged upon his or her complaint, such discharge shall not exempt the master or mistress of such apprentice or servant from the support of said apprentice or servant, should he or she become unable to support himself or herself.

15. And be it enacted, That every person who shall counsel, persuade, entice, aid or assist any such apprentice or servant to run away or absent himself or herself from the service of his or her master of mistress, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered by action of debt, with costs, by such master of mistress, in any court of record having cognizance thereof; and such person shall also be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine, of not less than one, nor more than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor, not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had: and further, if any master, mistress, or other person entitled to the service of such apprentice or servant under this act, or under the act entitled, " An act for the gradual abolition of slavery, and other purposes respecting slaves," passed twenty-fourth February, eighteen hundred and twenty, shall be guilty of any misusage, refusal of necessary provision or clothing, unreasonable correction, cruelty or other ill treatment, he, she or such other person as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine, not exceeding one hundred dollars; provided nevertheless, and be it enacted, that if any master, mistress or other person as aforesaid, shall at the time when any complaint may be preferred against him or her, as is mentioned in the fourteenth section of this act, enter into recognizance to the state of New Jersey, with one good freeholder resident in the county, conditioned for his or her appearance before the next court of general quarter sessions of the peace to be holden in and for the county in which such master or mistress, or other person as aforesaid, may reside, to answer any complaint which may then and there be made against him or her for any of the matters specified in this section, that then the justice before whom such complaint may have been made shall discharge such complaint, and the provisions of the fourteenth section of this act shall be deemed inoperative touching said complaint.

16. And be it enacted, That every person who shall entertain, harbor or conceal any such apprentice or servant, knowing such apprentice or servant to have run away, shall forfeit and pay one dollar for every day's entertaining, harboring or concealing as aforesaid, to be sued for and recovered by action of debt, with costs, by such master or mistress, in any court of record having cognizance thereof.

17. And be it enacted, That no person shall hereafter sell or in any wise dispose of any apprentice bound to service by virtue of this act, or of any interest or right in and to the service of such apprentice except in writing, and with the consent of said apprentice expressed by his or her signature thereto; nor shall such sale be made upon any pretence whatsoever to any person not a citizen and resident of this state.

18. And be it enacted, That no such sale as is mentioned in the section next preceding, shall operate to release or discharge their estate of the person making such sale from the support and maintenance of such apprentice in the event of the purchaser at the time of said sale being insolvent, and the said apprentice being rendered incapable from sickness or other cause of supporting himself or herself; but the person making such sale, his or her heirs, executors and administrators shall be and remain liable for such support and maintenance in the same manner as he, she or they would have been had no such sale been made.

19. And be it enacted, that no apprentice or servant under this act, or under the act entitled, "An act for the gradual abolition of slavery, and other purposes respecting slaves," passed February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and twenty, shall hereafter be removed, exported or carried out of this state except as hereinafter provided.

20. And be it enacted, That if any person shall send to sea or export, or attempt to send to sea or export from this state, or send or carry out of, or attempt to send or carry out of this state, except as hereinafter provided, any such apprentice or servant, every person so exporting, or attempting to export, or sending or carrying out of this state, or attempting to send or carry out of this state, such apprentice or servant, and his or her aiders or abettors, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction in due course of law, shall be punished by fine not less than one thousand dollars, nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisonment at hard labor, for any term not less than two years, nor more than four years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had; and every such apprentice or servant so exported or carried out of this state, or attempted to be exported or carried out of this state, or sent to sea, shall be thereafter discharged from all further service whatsoever.

21. And be it enacted, That if any person shall hereafter sell, transfer or assign any such apprentice or servant, or the services of such, to any non-resident, or person not being an inhabitant of this state, or to any person intending to remove, or export, or earn such apprentice or servant out of this state, every person so knowingly selling, transferring or assigning such apprentice or servant. or the services of such, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by fine not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor, not less than one year nor more than two years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had; and every such apprentice or servant so sold, transferred or assigned, or whose services are so, to any non-resident. or person not being an inhabitant of this state, or to any person intending to remove, or export, or carry away such apprentice or servant out of this state, shall be thereafter discharged from all further service whatsoever.

22. And be it enacted, That if any person shall purchase or take a transfer or assignment of any such apprentice or servant, or the services of such, with a design or intent to export, or send, or earn such apprentice or servant out of this state, such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be punished by fine not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor, not less than two nor more than four years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction shall be had; and such apprentice or servant so purchased, transferred or assigned, or whose services are so, shall be thereafter discharged from all further ser vice whatsoever.

23. And be it enacted, That every master of a ship or other vessel, who shall knowingly receive on board any ship or other vessel of which he is master, for the purpose of carrying out of this state any such apprentice or servant, or who, having ignorantly received on board of said ship or other vessel such apprentice or servant, shall suffer such apprentice or servant to depart from his ship or other vessel, in any place out of this state, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by fine, not less than one thousand nor more than two thousand dollars, or imprisonment at hard labor, not less than two nor more than four years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

24. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for any inhabitant of this state, going out of the same on a journey to any other part of the United States, or for necessary business, to take with him or her any such apprentice or servant as aforesaid; but it shall be the duty of such inhabitant to bring back such apprentice or servant, and in default thereof he or she shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction, shall be punished by fine not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment at hard labor, not less than one year nor more than two years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom the conviction shall be had, unless such inhabitant shall make proof, within six months after his or her return, to the satisfaction of two of the judges of the court of common pleas, of the county in which he or she shall reside, that such apprentice or servant not brought back as aforesaid, could not be brought back, by reason of some unavoidable accident, and obtain a certificate thereof, subscribed by the two judges before whom such proof shall be made, and file the same in the office of the clerk of the said county; and every such apprentice or servant so taken out of this state, and not brought back as aforesaid, shall be thereafter discharged from all manner of service whatsoever; provided nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize or allow the taking away such apprentice or servant in any ship or vessel going to sea.

25. And be it enacted, That in case any person who shall be discharged from service by virtue of the provisions of the twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second or twenty-fourth sections of this act, shall become incapable by reason of sickness or other cause, of maintaining himself or herself, the former master or mistress of such person shall be and remain liable for his or her support and maintenance, in the same manner as they would have been had such person not been discharged.

26. And be it enacted, That when any habeas corpus shall be brought to remove any such apprentice or servant out of the possession or custody of any person or persons claiming the service of such apprentice or servant, the person or persons to whom the said habeas corpus is directed, may, in the return to the same writ, aver and set forth, that he, she or they has or have lawful right to the personal service of the said apprentice or servant; whereupon the prosecutor shall instanter join issue by denying the right of the defendant or defendants to the personal service of such apprentice or servant, and immediately upon the joinder of the said issue, the court shall award a venire facias to the sheriff or coroners, as the case may require, of the county in which such party defendant resides, commanding him or them to summon a jury to appear at the next circuit court to be held in such county for the trial of the issue so joined as aforesaid.

27. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for any person not an inhabitant of this state, who shall be travelling to or from or passing through this state, or coming into this state from any other of the United States, and having a temporary residence in this state, to bring with him or any slave or servant, and on removal or leaving this state, to take such slave or servant out of this state, provided, that the number of such slaves or servants shall not exceed the usual number of personal or household slaves or servants kept and maintained by said traveller or temporary resident.