Opinions of Several Gentlemen of the Law, on the Subject of Negro Servitude

Published in 1802, Opinions of Several Gentlemen of the Law, on the Subject of Negro Servitude, in the Province of Nova Scotia, is a small surviving piece of the history of slavery in Canada. The pamphlet does not attempt to debate the morality of slavery but rather to answer questions regarding the legality of “Trover” (a term which defined a slave as property) in one single case in Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

The dispute under discussion arose between two men: a Colonel James Delancey, and a well-to-do merchant named Mr. Wooden, somewhere around the year 1800.