Re edit #2, that exact reasoning was applied by Lord Mansfield in the famous 1772 ruling in Somersett's case[2] that slavery was never legal under English commo

Re edit #2, that exact reasoning was applied by Lord Mansfield in the famous 1772 ruling in Somersett's case[2] that slavery was never legal under English common law: "The state of slavery is of such a nature, that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political; but only positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasion, and time itself from whence it was created, is erased from memory: it's so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it, but positive law." [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somersett%27s_Case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somersett%27s_Case