William Manuel, a free coloured man, was sentenced by the Superior Court of Sampson to be hired out as he was unable to pay the fine of [dollars] 20 following a conviction for assault and battery. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled, after much discussion of a certain act of 1831 and the revised statutes, that under the latter he could serve 20 days in prison instead of paying the fine, or he could pay the fine, or he could be hired out until the fine was paid. Manuel also had to pay the costs of his appeal.
