These pages contain a wealth of information transcribed from obscure and fragile, original documents housed at the North Carolina General Assembly Sessions Records at the North Carolina State Archives. Every attempt has been made to transcribe the complete collection, including partial or fragmented documents. The wide variety of documents transcribed includes: Magistrates or Special Courts for slaves, owner's claims for executed slaves, runaway slaves, outlawed slaves, slave rebellion, clandestine trading with slaves, hiring of slaves, petitions relative to the Revolutionary War, importation of slaves from the Caribbean and Africa, Quaker petitions, emancipation petitions, and many other diverse records. All races are represented in these records-slaves, free mulattoes, free Blacks, and Whites. These records are teeming with intrigue of every description. They abound with murder, poison, rape, conspiracy, angry pilots, clandestine dealings with slaves, pious Quakers, slaves from Africa, greed, and last, but not least, the ordinary people themselves. Records are grouped by: General Assembly Sessions, 1709-1782, and 1783-1789; Secretary of State papers (Magistrate Courts); and Court Martial (Lt. William Lyle.) A Table of Cases for the Magistrates Courts records, and the laws relative to the Magistrates Courts (1715-1825) are provided in the appendices. A full name plus subject index further enhances this excellent resource. This is Mr. Byrd's sixth book with Heritage Books.