Apparently it was necessary to remind the good folks of Orange County the
law pertaining to aiding and abetting runaway slaves in this article,
written in the Paoli True American, January 29, 1842. Orange County had
several depots of the Underground Railroad during this time, and with a
black population from the earliest days of the county and a strong Quaker
population, deplored the condition of slavery allowed just south of the Ohio
River.
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RUNAWAY SLAVES
We publish the following section of law, on the subject of aiding slaves to
escape. It will be found in the Revised Laws of Indiana, of 1838, page 214.
It is as follows.
"Sec.37. That if any person without proper authority, shall give to any one
owing service in any state of territory within the United States, a
certificate or other testimonial of emancipation, or shall knowingly harbor
or employ any such one owing service as aforesaid, or held as a slave, who
may have come to this state without the consent of his or her owner or shall
encourage or assist any such one to desert or not go with his or her owner,
or shall use any violence, or other means to prevent, let or hinder any
person, in lawfully recovering any fugitive, slave or person owing service,
such person so offending, shall upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum
not exceeding five hundred dollars, and be liable for damages to any person
or persons injured by any of the said acts."
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