And that no decision otherwise than what the law warranted might be
given, the opinion of the judges was taken upon the pleadings. The great
and glorious result of the trial was, "That as soon as ever any slave
set his foot upon English territory, he became free."

Thus ended the great case of Somerset, which, having, been determined
after so deliberate an investigation of the law, can never be reversed
while the British Constitution remains. The eloquence displayed in it by
those who were engaged on the side of liberty, was perhaps never
exceeded on any occasion; and the names of the counsellors Davy, Glynn,
Hargrave, Mansfield, and Alleyne, ought always to be remembered with
gratitude by the friends of this great cause. For when we consider in
how many crowded courts they pleaded, and the number of individuals in
these, whose minds they enlightened, and whose hearts they interested in
the subject, they are certainly to be put down as no small instruments
in the promotion of it; but chiefly to him, under Divine Providence, are
we to give the praise, who became the first great actor in it, who
devoted his time, his talents, and his substance to this Christian
undertaking, and by whose laborious researches the very pleaders
themselves were instructed and benefited. By means of his almost
incessant vigilance and attention, and unwearied efforts, the poor
African ceased to be hunted in our streets as a beast of prey. Miserable
as the roof might be, under which he slept, he slept in security. He
walked by the side of the stately ship, and he feared no dungeon in her
hold. Nor ought we, as Englishmen, to be less grateful to this
distinguished individual than the African ought to be upon this
occasion. To him we owe it, that we no longer see our public papers
polluted by hateful advertisements of the sale of the human species, or
that we are no longer distressed by the perusal of impious rewards for
bringing back the poor and the helpless into slavery, or that we are