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A case tried before Mayor James Duane, of New York, in 1784. Under the provisions of the "Trespass Act," passed some time before by the New York State Legislature, Elizabeth Rutgers had sued Joshua Waddington, a wealthy Tory merchant, for unlawful trespass upon and possession of certain real estate. Alexander Hamilton appeared for the defendant. It was alleged that the Trespass Act was contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of 1783, by which protection was promised the Tories, and likewise violated principles of the law of nations. The court, however, refused to assume jurisdiction over acts of Assembly, to set them aside on any ground. It gave the case to the defendant by an equitable interpretation of the statute itself.