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VOL 4.] PUBLISHED {WEEKLY . | THOMAS A. PASTEUR J O* TKRM&—The WasMugton News is fmb i ‘liud weekly, a* Four Dollars a year; or Three Dollars, if paid one half in advance, & the oth-j £•> at the expiration of six months. •T?’ No subscription wiil be received for a less “term than six months.—All arrearages must be ’ j>aid before any subscription can be discontinued, but at the option .of the proprietor. (VJ* A failure to notify a discontinuance at the end of the year, will be considered as anew en gagement. ITT* Advertisements (except those published . monthly) will be inserted conspicuously at 75 cents j per square for the first insertion, and 50 cents for | each continuance.—ls the number of insertions is j not specified, they will be continued until forbid, and charged accordingly. (GP All advertisements published monthly will be charged one dollar per square for each in sertion. (TIT Letters must be post paid, or they will be charged to the writers. (O’For the information of our advertising l fiends, we publish the following Law Requisites. ! Stiles of Land and Negroes, by Administrators Kjiecutors or Guardians, are required, by law, %o be held on the first Tuesday in the month, be tween the hours often in the forenoon and three in the afternoon, at the Court-House of the coun ty in which the property is situate.—Notice of these rules must he given in a gazette SIXTY days previous to the day ofvsale. N dice of the sale of personal property must be given in like manner, FOKTY days previous to the day of sale. Notice to the debtorsandcreditors ofan estate, must be published for FORTY days. Notice that application will be made to the Court of Ordinary for leave to sell land, or Negroes, roust be published foi FOUR MONTHS. From the Augusta Chronicle PFiirors case, “We defer several articles of our own, and correspondents, together with other matter, already in type, to make room for the Report of the Philpot case., which will he found below, —sensible that, under the great anxiety which has existed to see it, since it has been stated to he forthcoming, that wo could offer nothing else of so much interest to our readers.—We have heretofore refiained from a free discussion of this subject, from a desire to know distinctly all the facts of the case ere we did so, and want of room necessarily restrains ns, now, from saying more than this,—-that, while the-justly high and irreproachable character of the Reporter, both as ajuiistanda man, forbid a doubt of his veracity, or the scrupulous correctness of his statements, to the | bcstofhis knowledge or belief—we j must believe, that if the law does i not plainly justify the severe course j taken against Philpot—and we can- 1 not perceive that it docs; but 01, that, our readers can judge as well as ourselves—it is a most flagrant outrage upon the rights of the citi zen—and if the law docs plainly justify it, then our boasted liberties, under such law, are a mere mocke ry—a name, and nothing more—a specious jargon of cunning terms, “That keep the word of promise to the ear. And break it to theliopcv” This opinion, though formed by one liable, like all others, honestly to err, was nevertheless formed un der a careful examination of the facts, and is expressed with the more boldness and freedom, as the facts which created it, and with which it is submitted, will enable every reader to judge fairly for him- i or error. And : in iffimg|§ /Ins duty, as a memJßjjiprf the highest and most sacrecPniDtinal of his country, and as he values his interest and honor as an American citizen, to judge with reference to the Jacts of the case alone, and in doing so, to divest himself of all extraneous in fluence —and prejudice or partiality, fear, favor, oraffection. Such should he the conduct of a Juryman orjudge, •vand how much more so, then, of tT.ase who arc the highest judges and jurymen of the land, and to whom all other tribunals aie prop erly subservient —the people! While they remain honest, upright, and impartial judges, we have nought to fear, ultimately, for the protection of our rights, and the maintenance of our liberties; but, when they be come otherwise, no other tribunals will suffice to sustain them. For the Chronicle fy Advertiser. PHIL POT’S CASE. I am pleased at had ah %,-iportunity of avoiding the cAisui -. which hv*s been ljsvellsd at tnc, for WASHINGTON, (GA.) SATURDAY, MAY 7, 1831. I sending the following Report to the (Journal for publication. AruiiUSU iul press of matter upon that paper | has placed it in my power to recal the report, and I avail myself of the ; earliest opportunity which has of fered, since its return, to give it publicity in this place. In submitting the following Re port of the case of John N. Philpot,, to the public, it is proper to remark, by way of apology for its length, land for the minuteness of its details, ! that various and contradictory ru ! moms are in circulation, relative to I the case. Misunderstandings have ! arisen between the court and some of the counsel engaged in the cause as to several matters which trans pired in the progress of the case, (and particularly as to the manner in which the conflicting decisions oi | Judges Holt and Lamar, were to, have been settled—Judge Ilolt main- j tabling, as it is understood, that the cause was left to the final decision ! of Judge Crawford, and that no- j thing which they have said, when taken in connexion with the circum stances attending their remarks, could fairly he construed into such ail agreement. —that the controversy being between the Judges, was not j one which they conceived themselves at liberty to settle by agreement und Judgq Holt, by his own sug gestions, made under very peculiar circumstauces, had prompted the counsel to express a preference, and then turned this intu an agreement, by which he had professed to be go verned ever since, though the cir cumstances under which it was ex- ’ pressed, underwent an entire change, by his own conduct, in a fortnight’s time afterwards. In this state of things, t determ-1 ined to make out a full Report of’ the case, and to set forth, upon ail points which I thought would admit I of dispute, which was said and dent by the court and counsel, rather than the impressions said to have been received by each, upon such occasions; and to omit no remark which fell from the court, from the beginning to the end of the case, I which J could remember. Accord ingly, I made out such a report, chiefly from memory, as the papers j in the case were removed from the Clerk’s office ut this lime, and sub mitted it to Judge Holt, with a re quest, that he would correct it—at tiie same time informing him, that i had left blanks in the report, for. the matters of record, which should be inserted as spoil as the papers should he returned to the office, j His Honor soon after returned the report, with u note, informing me! “that it presented so false a coloring, | and was so erroneous, as not to ad- j mit of correction, but by a distinct | report*, which it was not then hisj purpose to make.”—This reply of! the court, left hie no alternative, - hut to suppress the report entirely, or to [Publish it upon my own respon sibility, at the hazard of the Judge’s power. I feel it my duty to adopt the latter alternative. I regret, ex ceedingly, that 1 was denied the aid j of the court, in placing the facts of the case beyond dispute. It was my intention to have submitted to his Honor's corrections, invariably, where I could not have supported my views by at least two witnesses, or by one witness ;Td the records of the court—and always to have giv en his Honor’s statement, with my own, where they couhl nqtJhs^recon ciled. Alter port, every thing whiem, v-rui* fioy confirm in the manner just StunSfciji it is not materially altered from* a substantial copy of that laid before the court; and the public will bo en abled to judge from it, when its er rors shall be pointed out, how far his Honor was justified in pronoun cing the sentence which lip did upon the first. That there may have been errors in that, and that there may he in this, is not improbable— but that no intentional errors were committed, in either, is most cer tain. The records are in an ex tremely confused condition, in the office—very few of the proceedings indeed are recorded ataal most oi them are upon J?ntalj| loose pieces of paper—many of the orders are/ without date, and. except the few which are recorded, ifot One, it is believed, is dated by the clerk, — nor are entries of the clerk made upon them, by which it can be as certained when, or in what case, they were made. There are no en tries on the affidavits, to show when they were filed.—The Orders and papers, in the case of the woman, are commixed with those which ap pertain to the ease of the boy; and, in one instance, there was an im portant and interesting sitting ofthe court, upon Philpot’s case, which is distinctly admitted by Judge Holt, I in his decision (with a slight error ns to date,) and yet, there is not a pa per in the office which shows that there ever was such a meeting of the court, except in an indirect manner. 1 The transcript of the record, made j out for me by the Clerk, is, if pos-j ! siblo, more confounded tiian the j | papers in the office. Those inat j tors which stand together on the tiles, und those of the same date, are separated here, arid all arc transcribed, in my exemplification, without the slightest regard to or der, time, or connection. Under such circumstances, it will not be considered surprising, iff shall have omitted or misplaced some matters ot record even. I believe, howev er, that I have committed no error ol this kind.—l have omitted the ar gument oi the counsel, for the sake oi brevity, und introduced their rc ! marks only, where I thought they bore an impoituut relation to some thing suid or done bv t.h court, THE REPORTER. | Sometime in the year 1829, in ■ teliigerjeo reached Augusta, that a j negro woman; by mim,e VVinney, j alias Jane, then in the possession jof lv. M. were free. Upon receiv | ing this.intelligence, R. M. return ed the negroes to Jonty N. Pun.rb r, from whom ho had recently purcha sed them, Philpot hud purchased! them from a stranger, and had been j in tile undisturbed possession of! j them for uhotit seven years. Soon j I alter they were re-delivered to Phil- j ! pot, tiie woman found her way toj j the premises of \V. S. where Phil- j | pot found her, and required her to go home v. itlr him, which she refns- j ed to do, uml he was proceeding to’ force her a\vay, when W. S, inter-) posed, arid with the threatening of a j drawn sword, compelled him to tie-j sist and leave the premises. On the 18th October, 1829, 11., rU. made an affidavit before one of, tire Justices of the inferior Courts j setting forth that said negro won an, 1 then in the possession of W. S. was.* as deponent believed, free, & that j there was danger of her being for-! : oil-ly taken from the county of Rich-’ moiidt- i Thereupon, the Justice address-! ed this order to the Jailor of the! county: “At GtisTA, ISth Oct. 1829. j Sir :—1 have received informa tion, on the oath of It. R. that a| certain person, named Wiitney, is! in danger of being enslaved, and isj free. You will receive and keep in custody the said person, named | Jane, or Wiuney, until demanded by my order,”* On the same day that this order j was passed, a Writ of Habeas Cor pus was issued by the same Justice! upon the petition of R. It. directed | to IF. 8. requiring him to produce the body of said girl, to which was j added this order: “You are hereby to lodge the said girl, Winney Tir Jane, Tor safe keeping, ill fMiiMPgl.nl on jail of Richmond coJilfteSiake there shall he auy danger.Vf fiet removal, by fraud ot force, from yqiujc- vtfody.” On the sanjejpP&he jailor gave the following receipt: “Received of W. S. the body of ‘rie§M£2f]jViiinc\, alias Jane, according toSHfe within Writ of Habeas Corpus, and I pro mise not to deliver her up to any person, except by the authority ol the within named officer.” It will be observed, that all tile * I liave placed this order before the orpus, because it occupies this tie transcript of the record, made out Vy the Clerk l'ciiiups itihryild UUow the ‘ A ‘foregoing proceedings tooa place on the Sabbath —or they are all erro neously dated. Agreeably to the mandate of the Writ, W. S. ap peared before some of the Justices ofj the Inferior Coutt, on the 24th ofj October, 1829, and in his return, stated that the Woman Was left in his possession by Mr. S., by whom she was hired—that she was so left, because Mr. S. feared to remove her from his lot, where she acciden tally was, and from which John N. j Philpot was attempting to take her by force—that repliant believed she ! was free born, although she was j I claimed as u slave, by John N. Phil-! pot. Thereupon, the Court order-*] ed that the further consideration oT the Writ, be postponed until the! Monday week following, and that J the girl be confined in jail, for safe | ; keeping, in the meantime. On the j j 2d of November following, she was j (again brought before the Court, j when Philpot appeared by tiis coun sel, (no opposition being made,) and resisted tiie whole proceedings. But j the Comt ordeied her back to jail, I tor Safe keeping, &c. until JohnN.l Philpot, or whoever else claimed her, should give boud, mid good securi tp, in SI,OOO, to produce her, when required by the Court. Under this order, she remained in jail rathi.r more than seven months, when she petitioned the Judge of the feoperi or Court, (->1 sl May, 1830,) in her | own name, lbr a Habeas Corpus. In her petition to his Honor, she tendered her grateful acknowledge ments for the well-intended orders by which siie laid been imprisoned, ffiit aiiuorl, tllßt they had actually \ deprived her ofthe right of loeomo-j tion. Bhe therefore prayed the Writ of Habeas Corpus, “t/iffi her case Might Oe investigated, and jus- tice dune.” Judge Holt granted her petition, and she was accordingly brought up, by the jailor. An effort was now j made to oriubfish tier freedom; and fto that end, the affidavit of vV: B.j i was read, going to show, that elu* j j was free-boru. Pnilpot again ap i peered by his attornics, and resist | ed the proceedings, as before. The J udge decidesj. the question of freedom could not he fried upon the I Writ of Habeas Corpus;, but that, j under this writ; the Court might pass ; an order for the protection ot persons j of color. Upon this suggestion, Winney ; withdrew Iter petition aud whs re : ma tided to jail, under the former or -1 ders—where u is believed she still 1 remains! j On the lfith Get. 1829, a petition, j ’ unsupported oy affidavit, was filed by I : R. it., for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, in behalf of tiie negro boy James, i setting fort! that, in the opinion of the applicant, the said boy was j tree.-*-Whereupon a Justice ofthe Inferior Court granted the Writ di | rented to Philpot, (who was alledged, i in the writ, to be in the |iossession of : the hov,) requiring him to produce, ! &c. Judge Ilolt happening - to he in town, intermediate the issuing and the return ofthe writ, it was returned before lmn. Philpot appeared, with ! iiis counsel, and stated that the negro boy was in his possession, was over | in Beach island, and it time were al lowed him, until the following Satur ! day, he would make a full and per fect retdrn, by procuring the hoy. *j Ihe case was postponed, from time j to time, until the 13th Nov., 1829, t j * This is givcit as Judge Holt lias rcpenledly | asserted llie fact It? be. Both rhilpot aud bis ‘ j counsel state that his honor issinistakeii inascrib- j ing this statement to Philpot. A similar one was j made by Philpot’s counsel, and is thus explained i by him and Philpot. When the writ was thug serv ed, bis counsel asked Philpot it'he could produce the boy. Philpot replied that he did not know— that he had sold him, but supposed he could get him if he had time to go after him. His counsel said that he would go before the Court and ask time. Accordingly, he went before his Hohor, and after making un unsuccessful attempt he set aside the writ, Ut (the counsel) begged until the following Saturday, to produce the boy—which was granted. Philpot did not tell him where the boy w as, and he never heard of his being in Beach Island, until he saw it mentioned in his Ho nor’s decision. 11 have fixed the dqle of *his meeting on this j day, because tine last preceding adjournment was to this day. But I may be mistak *i. All I j can say, with certainty, is, that the meeting took place between the 2nd and 28th of November. I (Though it was a meeting of some interest, as will qjmpear by the report, there is not a paper in the clerk s ollice, which shews (except j I # ftl €Ver tvgs fuci* a meetljtif. , [New Series—;\o. 4(f>. ‘when Rhilpot was again brought bw foi'e thu Court. Ho now filed an af fidavit which he had made oh the 2d Nov. previous, to have been used at I ihat time, hut which was not filed or j used then; hut was reserved, as the case was continued. In this affida vit, he stated, that the hoy was not in his possession or custody at the time the writ was served*, nor had he been since, and that is was not in hia power to produce him. | When this affidavit was offered, ■ the court met it with decided marks of disapprobation, strongly intiniat j ing, that Philpot would not he per* ■ initted to deny having the boy (or his i power to produce him) after what he bad said in the hearing of the Court. ! Philpot’s counsel now asked the court lif he was certain that, Piiilpot tiad* ’ made the statement ascribed to him, i adding, that Philpot himself maiu taiiu’d that the Court was mistake*! in attributing the statement to him* The Court and the opposing counsel both pointed to the spot where he stood (or his relative situation to the I Court,) whom lie made the state | meat. Philpot’s counsel observed,, ■that he could not again say the state- ment now made, as ho was not present when Philpot was first brought be fore the Court, “lie certainfy did •make the statement,” said the oppos ing counsel, “ami I shall move the - Court for this order.”* He tiour i presented an order, in which it was set forth, that John N. Philpot hav ing been required to produce the boy, and the said John N. Philpot pray ing further time to produce him, it was ordered, that the said John N. do produce the said negro on the fol lowing Saturday, and that he theft olake a full and perfect return to the writ if Habeas Corpus, &c. This order was passed, and the Court was’ about to adjourn, when Philpot’a counsel insisted upon filing his uffU daqit, at all event—nliicli he did, the Coilrt neither assenting or ob jecting! To this affidavit aecepti- I ons were then filed, aqd the Court, ad-? Ijournod- No fart tier proceeding of consequence were hud, in either of the cases, until the last May Term of Richmond Superior Court, wiierj the case of the woman was argued,* nad disposed of, as befoie st-nted. The following rule was then mov ed for, and granted by the Court. “In the mutter oi the boy, James/ it appearing that John N. Philpot hath not made a full and perfect re turn to the writ of Habeas Corpus', inasmuch as he has not br ought tho body of the boy James before (he ■ Court, as ho was required to do by tho Court, and as he promised to do, up om time granted to him—lt is order- that the said John N. do shew cause, at nine o’clock to morrow morning, why an attachment should not issue against him, for his row-, tempt of writ of Habeas Corpus, of the authority of the Court and bis fai lure to comply with his undertaking to produce the Said boy James, and to make a perfect return to the writ of Habeas Corptis—it is further or dered, tiiat a copy of the writ be served,” &.c< la oppositioii to this rule, Philpot’s counsel, among other things, relied upon his affidavit, heretofore filed. The Court observed, that the affida vit was drawn with very great cau tion—that it would he trifling with the justice of the country to permit Philpot to come into Court and say that he could not produce the boy, i after what he had stated in the pre- - j sence of the Court. ] The counsel who drew Philpot’s affidavit, stated, that to the best of j his knowledge and belief, tlicie whs no design of equivocation, either od the part of Philpot or his counsel, in drawitg up the affidavits. The Cojirt granted the rule ms, A day of two afterwards, Philpot appeared, und for cause against making the rule absolute, he tiled a, second affidavit, in which he swore, that the boy was not in his power, custody, or possession,—He admit ted, that he was, at one time, under the impression that he could produce* him, but in this he had been disap * There is an order of similar iiupoil on (be files, rt'h'ch bears date on tlit J7;b October pi e, viou-. ii ibcre be uo mistake in fho <tute of this , oni. i, then liieie were two orders to ‘feet, 0119 of wtych rs