It would be a subject of regret to every thinking person, if courts of Justice were restrained, by any austere rule of judicature, from keeping pace with the march of benignant policy and provident humanity, which for many years has characterized every legislative act relative to the protection of slaves, and which Christianity, by the mild diffusion of its light and influence, has contributed to promote.[1] It will be seen throughout the study of the slave code that the slave in Tennessee enjoyed a privileged status, that he was more than a mere chattel, and that his disabilities, characteristic of slavery in many of the states, were considerably modified. I. THE PRIVILEGES OF SLAVES— A. _Hunting._ At the request of the master, the county courts permitted one slave on each plantation to hunt with a gun during the cultivation or harvesting of crops. They issued to such a slave a certificate, describing him and granting this privilege, and requested him, when he hunted, to carry it with him to prevent his arrest for being unlawfully armed. The master was financially responsible for any damage done by such a slave.[2] The courts more fully granted authority to the slaves to hunt with dogs, and were limited in such matters only by the degree of responsibility that the master would assume. Slaves were whipped not exceeding thirty lashes if they were caught hunting unlawfully.[3] The slave was not allowed to hunt at night by fire-light with a gun. If he was duly convicted, before a justice of the peace, of violating this restriction, his owner was fined fifteen dollars.[4] B. _Travel._ The travel of slaves in their immediate community was regulated by a system of passes issued by the masters or their representatives. No slave, except a domestic servant, was supposed to leave his master’s premises without a pass, explaining the cause of his absence.[5] No stage driver, captain of a steamboat, or railroad conductor could receive a slave passenger for an extended journey unless he produced a pass from a county clerk, giving instructions for such a journey and a description of the slave.[6] One could be imprisoned six months and fined five hundred dollars for violating this regulation, unless he could prove that the transportation of the slave took place without his knowledge. The slave in such instances, if he was discovered, was arrested, placed in the nearest jail, and advertised as a runaway.[7] C. _Suits for Freedom._