Mrs. Rhame then sued Ferguson
and Dangerfield to procure possession of the negroes, claiming that she had
legally seized them on the occasion described. At the trial in the circuit
court, Singletary rehearsed the seizure and testified further that
Dangerfield had left the negroes customarily to themselves in virtually
complete freedom. In rebuttal, Dr. Theodore Gaillard testified that the
negroes, whom he described as orderly by habit, were kept under control
by the trustee and made to work. The verdict of the jury, deciding the
questions of fact in pursuance of the judge's charge as to the law, was in
favor of the defendants; and Mrs. Rhame entered a motion for a new trial.
This was in due course denied by the Court of Appeals on the ground that
Broad's will had clearly vested title to the slaves in Dangerfield, who
after Broad's death was empowered to do with them as he pleased. If he, who
was by the will merely trustee but by law the full owner, had given up
the practical dominion over the slaves and left them to their own
self-government they were liable to seizure under the law of 1800. This
question of fact, the court concluded, had properly been put to the jury
along with the issue as to the effectiveness of the plaintiff's seizure of
the slaves; and the verdict for the defendants was declared conclusive.
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