Negroes and Mulattoes, Bond and Free – 1805, Chapter I, An Act respecting Slaves. – Passed March 6, 1805: Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, that no slave shall keep or carry any gun, powder, shot, club, or other weapon whatsoever, offensive or defensive, except the tools given him to work with, or that he is ordered by his master, mistress, or overseer, to carry the said articles from one place to another, but all and every gun , weapon, or ammunition, found in the possession or custody of any slave, may be seized by any person, and upon due proof made thereof, before any justice of the peace of the county or corporation where such seizure shall be made, shall, by his order, be forfeited to the seizer, for his own use; and moreover, every such offender shall have and receive, by order of such justice, any number of lashes, not exceeding thirty-nine, on his bare back for every such offense : Provided nevertheless, That any justice of the peace may grant, in his proper county, permission in writing to any slave, on application of his master or overseer, to carry and use a gun and ammunition within the limits of his said master’s or owner’s plantation, for a term not exceeding one year, and revocable at any time within such term, at the discretion of the said justice, and to prevent the inconveniences arising from the meeting of slaves.