“Whereas it is represented to this General Assembly that ——­ of ——­ county, brought into this state from the state of Virginia, sometime in the month of March last, two negro slaves, to wit, ——­ and ——­ his wife, who are slaves for life, and who were acquired by the said ——­ by purchase, and whereas, the said ——­ is desirous of retaining said slaves in this state.  THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED, by the General Assembly of Maryland, that the said ——­ be, and he is hereby authorized to retain said negroes as slaves for life within this state, provided that the said ——­ shall within thirty days after the passage of this act, file with the clerk of the ——­ county court, a list of said slaves so brought into this state, stating their ages, with an affidavit thereto attached, that the same is a true and faithful list of the slaves so removed, and that they were not brought into this state for the purpose of sale, and that they are slaves for life.  And provided also, that the sum of fifteen dollars for each slave, between the ages of twelve and forty-five years, and the sum of five dollars for each slave above the age of forty-five years and under twelve years of age, so brought into this state, shall be paid to the said clerk of ——­ county court:  to be paid over by him to the treasurer of the western shore, for the use and benefit of the Colonization Society of this state.

  State of Connecticut.

  Office of Secretary of State_.

  “I hereby certify, that the foregoing is a true copy of an act passed by
  the General Assembly of Maryland, January 17th, 1842, as it appears in
  the printed acts of the said Maryland, in the Library of the state.

  In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of said
  state, at Hartford, this 17th day of August, 1846.

  CHARLES W. BEADLEY,

  (SEAL.)

  Secretary of State.”

Thus, the whole family after being twice fairly entitled to their liberty, even by the laws of two slave states, had the mortification of finding themselves again, not only recorded as slaves for life, but also a premium paid upon them, professedly to aid in establishing others of their fellow-beings in a free republic on the coast of Africa; but the hand of God seems to have been heavy upon the man who could plan such a stratagem to wrong his fellows.

The immense fortune he possessed when I left him, (bating one thousand dollars I brought with me in my own body,) and which he seems to have retained till that time, began to fly, and in a few years he was insolvent, so that he was unable to hold the family, and was compelled to think of selling them again.  About this time I heard of their state by an underground railroad passenger, who came from that neighbourhood, and resolved to make an effort to obtain the freedom of my parents, and to relieve myself from liability.  For this purpose, after arranging for the means to purchase, I employed counsel to make a definite offer for my parents and myself.  To his proposal, the following evasive and offensive answer was returned.