Ninety-one citizens of Beaufort District consider themselves "considerably aggrieved from the want of a Law by means of which the Slaves of this district could be restrained from the mischievous practice of killing up the stock and otherwise injuring the people and well disposed citizens of this district." The petitioners note that, between June and October, many planters and overseers in the region leave their plantations and journey to healthier climes; as a result, slaves kill livestock and steal staple crops with impunity, and "the greater part of the inhabitants especially on the Sea Coast are materially injured." Citing that an 1812 law imposes a penalty on planters with at least thirty slaves who leave them unsupervised, the residents purport that said law "is almost invariably disregarded." They therefore seek a law imposing severe penalties on slave owners who do not reside on their plantations or who do not "keep some white person" on their plantations throughout a given year.
Result: Referred to judiciary committee.
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Repository: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina
