Page:United States Reports, Volume 1.djvu/66

 Rh  thus etablished, met on the 28th of November, 1776, and then choe their Speaker and Clerk. 1. Min. A. 98. On the ucceeding day the clerk was qualified, everal public officers were appointed, and votes were entered into repecting the collection of fines from non-aociators, and the enacting of a Militia-Law. id. On the 30th of November, the houe having made undry orders relative to the Militia, adjourned till the 1t of December; and on the 5th of that month, when the houe were again aembled, a committee was appointed to bring in the draft of a Militia-Law, id. 100—With repect to the Executive Council, it is true, that body did not enter upon any official buines, till the beginning of March, 1777; but its members were choen at the ame time with the members of the Legilature.

From this recapitulation, it appears, that, even before the etablihment of the contitution, a government under the authority of the people was adminitered by councils, committees, and conventions. After the etablihment of the contitution, however, the legilative (which is the overeign) body aembled and proceeded to dicharge its duties; and it was not neceary to the exitence of the government, either that they hould have enacted a law, or that the Supreme Executive Council hould have been convened.

Under every change of the government, Samuel Chapman, remained here till the 26th day of December, 1776; and, at that time, he was certainly a ubject of the tate of Pennylvania, under the contitution agreed to on the 28th day of September preceding, whatever doubts may be entertained with repect to the former etablihments. That this was, likewie, the ene of the legilature, is abundantly evident from the act on which the proclamation is founded; for, Mr. Galloway, and others, who joined the enemy in the fall of 1776, are there conidered as ubjects of Pennylvania; and all the tates are clearly deemed to have been free and independent from the declaration publihed by Congres on the 4th of July in that year.

The Attorney-General, to hew the definition of a nation, the relation which a citizen bears to the tate, and the natural connexion between a tate of ociety and the intitution of a government, cited the following authors: Vatt. 92. ''id. B.'' 1. c. 19. ect. 212. ''id. ect.'' 1. p. 9. ''id. ect.'' 4. Burlem. 25. 1. ''Black. Com.'' 46. 47. 48. 213. ''Vatt. p.'' 15. ect. 26. id. 19. ect. 38.

delivered a learned and circumtantial charge to the Jury. After tating the proclamation, the iue, and the evidence, behe [sic] proceeded as follows.

Chief Jutice:—The quetion that is to be decided on the facts before us, is, whether Samuel Chapman, the prioner at the bar, ever was a ubject of this Commonwealth? The reaon which has been principally urged to take him out of that decription, is that on the 26th day of December, in the year 1776, when he withdrew from Pennylvania, no government exited to which he could owe allegiance as a ubject.—I hall, in the firt place, conider how far