attorneys for both sides had given their arguments, Mansfield called a recess, saying that "[the case] required ... [a] consultation ... among the twelve Judges". Finally, on 22 June 1772 Mansfield gave his judgment, which ruled that a master could not carry his slave out of England by force, and concluded: 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. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from a decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England; and therefore the black must be discharged. Though the ruling criticised slavery, it did conclusively establish that there was no legal status of slave in either parliamentary legislation or the common law. This did not effect slavery in the British Empire which would not be done until the passage of the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act through Parliament. As a result of the reporting of Mansfield's decision, public opinion and some newspapers gave the impression that slavery had been abolished in England by the ruling. Some historians believe that between 14,000 and 15,000 slaves were immediately freed in England, some of whom remained with their masters as paid or unpaid employees. However, it is questionable whether that many black people lived in England at the time, and those who did were mostly free already. Despite the ruling, Black Britons were occasionally kidnapped in the streets of London, Liverpool and Bristol and forcibly brought back to the colonies.(Such an incident was recounted by Olaudah Equiano in 1774 in his autobiography, An Interesting Narrative (1789).) Contemporary reports suggested that Mansfield's personal experience with raising Dido Belle influenced his decision. Lord Mansfield's Rule Lord Mansfield is frequently mentioned in modern legal settings as the originator of "Lord Mansfield's Rule", in his own words: "...the law of England is clear, that the declarations of a father or mother, cannot be admitted to bastardize the issue born after marriage." This quote comes from Mansfield's appellate decision in . The primary legal question in the case was not this preexisting principle, which applies only to children "born after marriage", but rather whether the