C. _Sheriffs and Constables._ It was the business of sheriffs and constables to apprehend runaway slaves, place them in jail, and advertise them that they might be returned to their owners. They assisted in the enforcement of the powers of the patrols, who were really a part of the police system of the state. The patrol system was supposed to be maintained by the taxation of slaves, but since it involved also the general system of police of the state, it was to some extent a burden upon the general public. Slavery created a real problem of government. “For reasons of policy and necessity,” said Judge McKinney in 1858, “it has been found indispensable, in every slaveholding community, to provide various police and patrol regulations, giving to white persons, other than the owner, the right, and making it the duty, under certain circumstances, to exercise a control over other slaves. The safety of the community, the protection of the person and property of individuals, and the safety of the owner’s property in his slaves, alike demand the enactment of such laws.”[87] The constant fear of insurrections, the ever-present runaway, and the carelessness of masters in granting passes were the main reasons why society maintained such a rigid system of control. Of course, the interests of the owners of slaves were conserved by such a system. V. SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF SLAVE GOVERNMENT— A. _The Runaway._ The runaway was a great source of worry and expense to the master and somewhat of a terror to the community. The police system of slavery was never able to prevent runaways. If a runaway were caught outside the limits of a corporation, he was taken before a justice of the peace and asked for his master’s name. If he refused to give this information, he was placed in jail and advertised by a placard on the courthouse door and in the newspapers.[88] If the slave was not claimed within twelve months, the sheriff of the county, on thirty days’ notice, sold him at the courthouse to the highest bidder, the net proceeds of the sale going to the county. The county court gave title of the slave to the purchaser. The county jailer, with the consent of the county court or two of the justices of the peace, could hire out a runaway to either a private individual or an incorporated town.[89] To release the county from obligation, he placed around the negro’s neck a collar, on which was stamped “P. G.”[90] The wages of the slave went into the county treasury to be disposed of by the county court. If an incorporated town or city hired the runaway, it gave bond to the sheriff of the county for double the value of the slave. This was the bond of the corporation to the State of Tennessee for the safekeeping, good treatment, and delivery of the slave to the owner or jailer at the completion of the contract. The wages of the slave went to the county.[91] The corporation made a very careful description of the slave to use in case of escape.