Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-06-12
(" Bill Of sale from God Almighty.


In another column of this paper we repro
duce the main part of an article contributed
by Oliver johnson, the veteran journalist and
original abolitionist, to the New York Inde-
pendent, regarding one of the most pictur-
esque and unique figures in our Vermont his
tory. Judge Theophilus Harrington, to whom
the article refers, although not a lawyer by
profession, and not even member of the bar
until after his election as Judge served on
the supreme bench for period of ten years,
from 1903 to 1918, his sound common-sense
and sterling integrity giving him his election.
At that time the supreme bench had three
members-Judge Herrington's associates be-
ing the late Judge Royal Tyler and Judge
Fay.
The incident to which Mr.. johnson refers,
when Judge Harrington demanded "a bill of
sale from the Almighty, was one of the most
striking and significant in the whole history
of the anti slavery agitation, and was the
more so because it stood by itself, the act of
one man and the expression of his own indi-
vidual manhood, long before slavery had
come to be recognized as a vital issue before
the country. The occurrence of the incident
was on this wise-and we give the narrative
as told by the late Lieut. Gov. Leonard Sar-
geant of Manchester, who was an eyewitness
of the proceeding. A runaway slave, un-
doubtedly from New York, where slavery was
then state institution, had been brought be-
fore the judge for proof Of title" to enable
his owner to take him back to bondage, the
laws then and for many years afterwArd pro-
vidng that the owner of q fugitive slave
could seize him and take him before a magis-
trate, and on satisfactory proof of title il was
the duty of the magistrate to give q certiA-
cate which would enable the owner to take
his slave back to the place he fed from. 1t
may also be mentioned in explanation that
Judge Harrington was largely occupied in
those early days in the trial of land titles in
which cases the procedure was to trace the
titles back to "the original proprietor, which
would finally end in establishing the original
charter or grant from the king or state gov
ernor
In this case, besides submitting other usual
proof the owner of the slave or his attorney
had proved the ownership OF the slaves moth
err, which had always been held to be final
and last resort. But still the Judge re-
manned inexorable, declaring as each success
sive item of proof was furnished: "You
don't go back far enough you don't go back
to the original proprietor" At last the as.
founded and dumfounded slave owner asked
in despair, What WOULD be satisfactory
proof Of title ?" "a BILL OF SALE FROM
GOD ALMIGHTY" answered the Judge
with grim decision and the slave went free.
Did not this ringing utterance sound the
keynote in the great contest which swept on
and on until Lincoln proclaimed freedom fol
every slave in 1862, and until Lee surrender.
ed to Grant in 1866? That this occurrence
did not go on record, as mentioned by Mr..
Johnson, is due to the fact that such proceed.
ings were always before a Judge or magis.
trate as such, and not before a court in form.
al assembly, and no record was required any
more than in an ordinary justice case.
Many other incidents Of Judge Herringion'G
career are told, one of the most amusing OF
which relates to his sentence of q ne'er-do.
we'll who stole pair of boots from his EN-.
ployer, Gen. Curtis of Windsor, and ran away.
The fellow was captured and brought into
Judge Herrington's court and convicted The
judge evidently felt that Gen. Curtis had been
too hard on the poor vagrsnt. and when the
time for sentence came he told the prisoner
to stand up, and proceeded to read him lee.
ture on the exceeding sinfulness of his sin.
"You have been guilty of great offense
against the laws, !" he said land the offense
is worse because you stole the boots from q
great man-from Gen. Curtis, who lives in
Windsor, on the main street in Windsor in q
large house, and on the same street with the
Orthodox church and the state prison, and
other reformatory institutions In view OF
the enormity of your crime, the court fines
you one shilling, and if yOu don't happen u
haze tie shilling about yOu tie court loiH lena
10 to goa !"
Judge Harrington was buried at Chippen
Hook in Castleton, his death occurring in
1913. His grave is said to have fallen into
neglect, and the legislature of 1884, recog.
nizing very inadequately the place which he
occupied in American Jurisprudence, passed
an act appropriatng the pittance of $4OC
''for the purpose of erecting monument al
his grave" and putting the grounds in order
Judge Veazey was made chairman of the
committee to eIpend the appropriation and
such other sums az may be contributed by
popular subscription. Mr. Johnson's sugges
ton that a statue to Judge Herrington's mem
DRY should be erected on the capitol grounds
at Montpelier deserves attention from the
people of the state. In allusion to 1t the
Montpelier Waterman well says that "somC
suitable commemoration of Judge Herring
ton and the annihilating requirement he LAID
upon the man-hunter should be placed in the
state capitol, where all the people, the living
and the generations to come, may read the
story and draw inspiration from it. Her
rington and his Bill of Sale from God AL
mighty would make most fitting companion
statue to Old Ethan and his In the Name Of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Con
gress