TO BE OBSERVED BY
"Of the several Districts in the County of Edgecombe.
5". 9
THEY shall go by flight, nt such hour or hours thereof as they shall
think will best answer the object of their appointment to all the houses in
habited by slaves within theiV respective districts, once in each and every
month, or oftener if necessary; and if lhey shall find in any of said houses,
or in the possession of a slave, or in any place of concealment, any fire arm
oi; other warlike instruments, or seditious publications, which they are dili
gentlv to search for in all suspected places they shall seize the same and
present them in the state they are founxl to the Court of this County, which
shall happen next after the finding with a return in. writing specifying the
time when, the place where, and the person or persons in whose possession
or care they were found. And if any circumstances indicating danger to the
.peace or safety of the Slate shall attend the finding they shall apprehend
the slave or slaves on whom suspicion shall attach and carry, him, her or
them before some Justice of the Peace to be dealt with as the law directs.
On any slave they shall find by night or by day more than one mile from
thp house or olantation in which he or she usually resides, without a pass in
- com mhor stron? and convincing evidence of leave or orders
from his or her owner, overseer or employer, they or any two of them, may
inflict punishment, according to the opinion they shall entertain respecting
the design of the offender, not exceeding fifteen lashes. On any slave they
shall find behaving himself in a riotous or disorderly manner, whether at or
from home, or with or without a written pass, they, or any two ot them,
mav inflict a nunishment according to the circumstances of the case, not ex
ceeding fifteen la-hes; provided, they shall be of opinion that such riotous
or disorderly behavior did not proceed irom a premeditated design to dis
turb the public peace. But when they shall see or know of a riot or other
disorderly behaviour among slaves, indicating danger to the peace or safety
of the Stale, they shall take and use all necessary and proper means to ap-!
prehend the offenders, and having apprehended them, shall, without inflic
ting any punishment, other than such as may be necessary to their safekee
ping carry them before some Justice of the Peace, to be dealt with according
to law.
It is to be understood and at all times remembered, that the object of pat
rolling is to prevent any - public mischief without creating private injury,
and that therefore a slave found from home by day or at an early hour of the
night, without a pass, but behaving in an orderly, peaceable manner, and
having in possession something known to belong to his or her owner, over
seer or employer, as a horse, an ox, &c. or seeming to be engaged in the per
formance of some duty to the person to whom he or she owes obedience, is
not to be punished or turned aside, or unreasonably detained; but the pat
roller or patrollers, meeting or finding a slave in such a situation, may go
with or carry said slave to his or her owner, overseer or employer, to know
whether the story by him or her told be true or false; and if fahsc, then due"
punishment may be inflicted.
And as it is known that some owners, overseers or employers of slaves
are not capable of writing it is to be further understood, thai a negro man of
good moral character and peaceable demeanor, is not to be punished for the
mere act of going without a written pass, on a Saturday night, Sunday or
Sunday nigh', to see his wife at a house of good fame, to which he has been
long accustomed to in such manner, by the declared consent of hU own
2nd his wife's master, mistress, overseer or employer.
The patrollers in each district of the county shall call on the master, mis
tress, overseer or employer, as the case may be, for the names of their slaves
from twelve years of age and upwards, which slaves they shall enrol on a
list to be provided and kept for that purpose; And at each succeeding time
they shall go through their district, thc-shall c;ill over the names of the
slaves they hav so enrolled, and if any should be absent between the hours
of 9 o clock and C o clock in the morning, or on the Sabbath day, they shall
call on the master, mistress or overseer of such absent slaves, to know whe
ther Ihcy are gone on their business, or by their special permit or knowl
edge. If neither can bo made appear, they shall be adjudged guilty of the
same crime and liable to the same punishment as if caught without a permit
from home.
If a disagreement should arise between the master, mistress, or overseer,
and the, patrollers, with respect to the punishment of said slave, then it shall
be the duty of the patrollers to order the said master, mistress, or overseer
of such slave, to bring him, her, or them, before some Justice of the Peace of
saiu county, ai a time and place which they may appoint, and on refusing to
comply therewith, the patrollers shall apply to some Justice of the PeaceVor
a warrant, and cause said slave or slaves to appear before him or some other
Just ice of the Peace, to be examined for said offence, and the cost thereby
incurred shall be paid by the holder of said slave.
It shall be the duty of tiie patrollers to patrol the, place or places of public
worship, on the Sabbath days at the hours of public worship in their respec
tive districts, and shall correct all slaves they may find behaving themselves
in a disorderly manner, or may be found strolling about not attending to the
service of the day, and all such as may be found with any article of any kind
whatsoever to sell or dispose of in any way.
The following is an extract from the Act of Assembly, passed at the ses-
siuu ui ioou, ana is nerc inserted lor the information of the patrollers and
me xairoi ommiuec as lornimg a part ot these rules.. The 1st section of
said Act authorises ,the County Court lo appoint a Patrol Committee of
mree persons in each captain's district in said county, whose duty it shall be
to employ a patrol," &e.
The 2d section makes it the duty of the County Court "to lay a tax of
uuu mure ui:ui ien cenis on eacn taxable slave in said county, and be applied
under the direction of the County Court to defi
The 3d section provides Mhat it shall be the dutv of the nstrrtl tn visit ftio
negro houses in their respective districts as often as mav hn n,,.,,.,, i in
flict a punishment not exceeding fifteen lashes on all slaves they may find off
u u; UVI,CI 5 P'aniawon wunoul a permit or pass. It shall also he the duty
of the patrollers.lo visit all suspected places, and suppress all collections of
slaves; it shall also be their duty to be diligent in apprehending all runaway
negroes in meir respective districts; 1o be vigilant and endeavor to detect all
'thefts, and bring the perpetrators to justice, and also all persons guilty of tra
ding with slaves. The Patrol Committee shall hear all comnlnJnu 11,!
against the patrollers for abuse or neglect of duty; and shall have full power
in.l nulliA.!).. l .1! I - . .. ..
uu auiiiuuiy iu mscuarge any one or more ot the patrollers, and employ
others, at any time when they may think it expedient. The patrols thus
employed shall have as full powers as those heretofore appointed by the
(.ounty Courts; and if upon taking up a negro and chastising him as' now
directed by law, he shall behave insolently, thev may inflict further punish
ment tor his misconduct, not exceeding thirty-nine lashes."
And the Cth section of the said Act provides "that any person who shall
ho appointed a patrol under this Act and who shall refuse or neglect to serve,
shall be subject to a penalty of twenty dollars to be sued for by the Patrol
Committee of his particular district, and when recovered shall be paid over
port onhlplTro0'' TrUSlee' 10 form a fund iu aid of the lax for ll,e SUP-
servin,l'VhereaS ' nS und.erst,d there are persons willing to volunteer their
has author8: pJJlro,,ers' m. cl!stricts where a greater number than the Court
regular lv TU ,dered' that 3,1 such Persons wh y be
anthori?vP,nte(! hy lhenPatro Committee, shall have the same powers
Orde
these Rules; vlVch Si T i lmpy of Palroller3 with copy of
' cn&hall be returned by the said patrollers to the County
Court at the 'expiration of the.fime "df
service; And all patrollers hereafter
appointed shall receive for their servi
ces a rateable proportion of the fund
authorised by law to be raised for that
purpose, and ta be paid at the expira
tion of the time of service, upon their
furnishing to the County Courl satis
factory evidence, that they have dis
charged their duty as such, as far as
was in their power, agreeably to the
Rules laid down for their govern
ment; of which fact they shall make
oath if the Court shall require it.
By Order, Feb. Term, mi-
TEST.
MICIIL. HEAHN, C.C.
native Statu during the recess j not to his discredit) that I
CTTPJlt
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1831
7"7Wf nrp .nithnrisnd tr st.itp-
at the unrent solicitations of his friends i teem of
. i 1
of ConsresS, 1 viii,.wiin
pleasure, accept the flattering
invitation which you have so
kindlv presented me, in behalf
of its'inhabitants, to visit Mur
frecsborougli. The State of
Norih Carolina is a portion of
our country endeared to mc by
the earliest associations. It
was upon ' her bosom, and a
mong her citizens, I first enter
ed the career of life. Her peo
ple were the patrons of my
vouth as thev have been the
true and zealous supporters of
my political cause. I heir
generous confidence and kind
regard wil ever be remembered
with feelings of the warmest
sensibility.
Allow me, Gentlemen, to
present to you individually, and
through von to the citizens of
Murfreesborouojli an expres
that'sionof the gratitude and es
from different pans'of the district,
Dr. T. H. Hall has been induced to
forego his determination to withdraw
from public service, and may there
fore be considered a candidate to re
present this district in the next Con
gress of the United Stales.
Robbery. On Thursday evening,
the 17th ins', the store of Mr. Janet
Hopkins, in this place, was robbed
of about 350, which was in a small
tin trunk in the money drawer. The
trunk was found next morning in the
counting-room of the Store, but the
money was missing.
Your fellow Citizen,
ANDREW JACKSON.
Messrs. Lewis AJ. Cowper,
John II. Wheeler,
Charles Spiers, & others.
Fire. On Monday morning of
last week about 9 o'clock, the citi
zens of this place ware alarmed by
the cry of fire on hastening to the
spot, the smoke-house of Miss F.
Campbell was found to be on fire
which soon communicated itself to
the Stables of W. P. Hadly's tavern.
Dy the active exertions of the engine
company, aided by the citizens, the
fire was here arrested. The smoke
house and contents, together with the
stables and a large quantity of fodder,
several small out-houses, fences, Sec.
were entirely consumed. Fortunate
ly, the wind blew the flames from
the Main-street; if it had blown oth
erwise, no human exertions could
have saved the lower part of our
villajre from total destruction.
Deaths by Lightninsr. During
the severe thunder storm on Saturday
night last, about 11 o'clock, a cabin
on the plantation of Mn Ileddin
PiUman, in this county, was struck
bv lijrhtninjr and a negro woman aged
about 22 years, and a child about 2
years old, were instantaneously kill
ed. A younger child, lying on the
same bed on which it is supposed the
others were silling, escaped uninjured.
fnrpi(nnr. nnvinrr - '
"-o ' s 'u pcrnvih
interests in the com,,,,,.' e
. . wvl , nn.
which he is
therefore it cannot bu
Attempt to Murder. Early on
Tuesday morning last, Mr. J'Jmos
Clark, overseer of the plantation of
F. L, Dancy, Ksq. near this place,
was shot at and severely wounded by
some unknown person. A number
of shot were extracted from him and
he is now in a fairwav of recovprv.
U. S. Supreme Court. We learn
from the National Intelligencer, that
the Supreme Court of the U. States
idjourned on the ISth inst. and that
among ibe decisions nronounced nre-
vious to the adjournment, was one
upon t lie application on the part of
PI 1 r .
jieiuKee nation, ior an injunc
tion to stay certain proceedings of
the""State of Georgia. The decision
was an unequivocal denial of the in
junction. 1 ne Court disclaimed iu-
risdiction of ihe case, on the ground
that the Cherokee nation is not a fo
reign nation, in the sense of the
Constitutionbut are domestic de
pendant nations, in a state of "pupil
age" to the United States, or in a re
lation corresponding to that which
wards have to their guardians.
We are highly gratified that this
irritating question has at length been
happily decided; the principal ground
assumed by Georgia, and sustained by
the Administration, has now received
the sanction of t,e Supreme Court
and the "Poor Indian" party must
now devise some other pretext under
which they can covertly attempt to
embarrass the Administration, and in
termeddle in the domestic policy of
tne Southern States.
President Jaceson.We cony
from the Halifax Advocate the fol
lowing reply of the President to
the invitation of the citizens of Mur
Ireesboro'
Washington, 8 March, 1331.
Gentlemen: I have the
satisfaction, to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of the 2Gth
Ultimo. Should my official
dunes permit me to visit my
Surplus Hi venue. The Legisla
ture of New-York have unanimously
adopted resolutions recommending a
di'tributton df the surplus revenue
among the several States, according
to their population, and requesting
the Legislatures of other States to
take the subject into consideration.
The New-York Banner of the Con
stitution very correctly,- in our opi
nion, remarks:
"We do really consider the
clamor raised in favor of divi
ding the surplus funds as only
a ruse dc guerre, to kill the
squandering system by inches.
For, what man can seriously
believe, after the public debt is
paid off, that the people of the
United States will deliberately
tax themselves ten millions of
dollars merely for the sake of
having the pleasure of receiv
ing the money back again, after
maintaining some thousands of
agents, and sinking half a mil
i: . c i it
1 1 on oi uonars in commissions
and interest? Whenever this
system comes to be analyzed,
it will he tound to contain so
many inherent difficulties and
absurdities, that the good sense
ot the nation will instantly re
ject it."
From the Salisbury. Carolinian.
Slate Bank. It appears that
Mr. uameron has resumed thp
Presidency of the State Bank,
ana that Air. Brown has been
appointed to fill the vacancy
the appointment, if we justly
uiiueisianti tne motives which
led to it, together with the timn
at winch it was made, has just-
j cuijHisu ana no
smaii degree of indignation in
uns section, ot the State,
exhibits an ungrateful and
picBn,u spirit on the part of
t ie directors, Like all tyrants
j uuuussnry pre-
uui.uu io remove those from
me uoard who were . rnnr,i
hostile to the movement and
then they could shape their
course without any obstruction.
What their views are may be
readily inferred from the eleva
tion ofiMr. Brown to the Presi
dency. Of Mr, Brown we do
not wish or design to say any
thing harsh or unjust, but it is
a well fcnovn Tnct (we say it
It
op-
that he will yield il.n, V1
and at the:same time, pru;
compliance to the necessity
the people, or nernnVt'?01
the loans of the Bank to 1
times as one who hail So."
community of interest J?''
those most directly concern
with the business of the jj.
Under this aspect of t,e
the appointment of Mr. Hrc
is injudicious, but there arc 0j
cr and equally strong object"
It is the certainty that tlc
cy which has been hitherto
sued in the Bank will be V
tircly abandoned and a ncu
dcr of things established. 7
was the object contemplated
placing Mr. Brown at the 1
of the concerns of the lJaci
and to 'effect his elevation
several of the most worthy
influential members of ihe lat
board we're displaced,
step would have endanj
their plan of operations had if
been promulgated during t
session of the last legislature
and it is too apparent to be 4
credited, that this was the rej.
son of the late president's de
lay in resigning, for it was
ported some time back that
intended to retire. Under Mr
Brown's administration iW
- HKI
expect to close the concerns o;
the Bank as rapidly as possible
nd that upon the most xm
and unaccommodating tornw
-
rids is a manifest violation oi
the spirit of the law passed du
ring tne session betorck the Inst
wherein it is expressly proviJec
that no unnecessary despatch
to characterize the proceeding
of the Bank and its branches i:
the winding up of its concern?
It is said that some recent regu
lations have passed the Boar
nt IMlnifrli nndnr in nrnspn
administration, which takes tne!
power from the Branches
adopt any measures which rca
conflict with the present polic;
of the mother Bank. If iw
true whatman of firmness
independence would consent:
serve as a Director Who,
noor of snirit. as to he wills:
and passive agents to exec
the decrees of an arbitrary
nicd faction against themse'i
and their neighbors!
We were gratified to
that Mr. Maxwell Chamber
the President" of the l)c
the Branch in this p?.icc, see
ing the servile dcpcnW;
which they proposed to p;
him, immediately resigns
This does him great credit aJ
we hope his motives
properly appreciated and J-'
course followed by the
tors. We hold ourselves taj
fully justified for these rein
since the late proceeding31
the State Bank deeply ; concej
the people of this section of
State of North Carolina. l!,
not the stock-holders norj
debtors alone who suffer u.
thn rirrid rntridntinns n nd onp
fc r,.
of the Bank, but everv
7 - j .
the community feels t li ei r
not less than the debtcr-".
bnvnr in nn rnnnl deffreC
f 1 1 rt ironlnr - n - li nllfl fcj
r .! nnnl- r
thnr H'cl
venjence wuicu IUBU ,riPfs
the same selfish and il 'DV
practises of, the Bank,
1J " ,1 i-nnlnr?j'
wuum reiiiiiiu uui i"- .
that al notes except ino
. r. 1 1 T.. .1 .Ml
the state anu uuhvm