HISTORY

 OF THE

 NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA

 _FROM 1619 TO 1880. _

 NEGROES AS SLAVES, AS SOLDIERS, AND AS CITIZENS;

 TOGETHER WITH

 A PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATION OF THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN FAMILY, AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF AFRICA, AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE NEGRO GOVERNMENTS OF SIERRA LEONE AND LIBERIA. 

 BY

 GEORGE W. WILLIAMS, FIRST COLORED MEMBER OF THE OHIO LEGISLATURE, AND LATE JUDGE ADVOCATE OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF OHIO, ETC. 

 _IN TWO VOLUMES. _

 VOLUME I. 

 1619 TO 1800. 

 NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, 27 AND 29 WEST 23D STREET. 

 1883. 

 TO THE

 REV. JUSTIN DEWEY FULTON, D. D. , OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK;

 AND TO THE

 HON. CHARLES FOSTER, GOVERNOR OF OHIO;

 WHO, AS CLERGYMAN AND STATESMAN, REPRESENT THE PUREST PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH AND STATE. 

 To the Illustrious Representative of the Church of Christ:

 WHO, FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, HAS STOOD THE INTREPID CHAMPION OF DIVINE TRUTH, AND THE DEFENDER OF HUMANITY: DURING THE DARK DAYS OF SLAVERY, PLEADING THE CAUSE OF THE BONDMEN OF THE LAND; DURING THE WAR, URGING THE EQUALITY OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS, DURING RECONSTRUCTION, ENCOURAGING THE FREEDMEN TO NOBLE LIVES THROUGH THE AGENCY OF THE CHURCH AND THE SCHOOL, AND EVERMORE THE ENEMY OF ANY DISTINCTION BASED UPON RACE, COLOR, OR PREVIOUS CONDITION OF SERVITUDE. 

 To the Distinguished Statesman:

 WHO, ENDUED WITH THE GENIUS OF COMMON SENSE, TOO EXALTED TO BE INFLAMED BY TEMPORARY PARTY OR FACTIONAL STRIFE, AND WHO, AS CONGRESSMAN AND GOVERNOR, IN STATE AND NATIONAL POLITICS, HAS PROVEN HIMSELF CAPABLE OF

 SACRIFICING PERSONAL INTEREST TO PUBLIC WELFARE;

 WHO, IN DEALING WITH THE NEGRO PROBLEM, HAS ASSERTED A NEW DOCTRINE IN IGNORING THE CLAIMS OF RACES: AND WHO, AS THE FIRST NORTHERN GOVERNOR TO APPOINT A COLORED MAN TO A POSITION OF PUBLIC TRUST, HAS THEREBY DECLARED THAT NEITHER NATIONALITY NOR COMPLEXION SHOULD ENHANCE OR IMPAIR THE CLAIMS OF MEN TO POSITIONS WITHIN THE GIFT OF THE EXECUTIVE. 

 TO THESE NOBLE MEN THIS WORK IS DEDICATED, WITH SENTIMENTS OF HIGH ESTEEM AND PERSONAL REGARD, BY THEIR FRIEND AND HUMBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. 

PREFACE. 

I was requested to deliver an oration on the Fourth of July, 1876, atAvondale, O. It being the one-hundredth birthday of the AmericanRepublic, I determined to prepare an oration on the _American Negro_. I at once began an investigation of the records of the nation tosecure material for the oration. I was surprised and delighted to findthat the historical memorials of the Negro were so abundant, and socreditable to him. I pronounced my oration on the Fourth of July, 1876; and the warm and generous manner in which it was received, bothby those who listened to it and by others who subsequently read it inpamphlet form, encouraged me to devote what leisure time I might haveto a further study of the subject. 

I found that the library of the Historical and Philosophical Societyof Ohio, and the great _Americana_ of Mr. Robert Clarke containingabout eight thousand titles, both in Cincinnati, offered peculiaradvantages to a student of American history. For two years I spentwhat time I could spare from professional cares in studying the wholeproblem of the African slave-trade; the founding of the Britishcolonies in North America; the slave problem in the colonies; therupture between the colonies and the British Government; the war ofthe Revolution; the political structure of the Continental governmentand Confederation; the slavery question in local and nationallegislation; and then traced the slavery and anti-slavery questiondown to the Rebellion. I became convinced that a history of theColored people in America was required, because of the amplehistorically trustworthy material at hand; because the Colored peoplethemselves had been the most vexatious problem in North America, fromthe time of its discovery down to the present day; because that inevery attempt upon the life of the nation, whether by foes fromwithout or within, the Colored people had always displayed a matchlesspatriotism and an incomparable heroism in the cause of Americans; andbecause such a history would give the world more correct ideas of theColored people, and incite the latter to greater effort in thestruggle of citizenship and manhood. The single reason that there wasno history of the Negro race would have been a sufficient reason forwriting one. 

The labor incident upon the several public positions held by meprecluded an earlier completion of this task; and, finding itabsolutely impossible to write while discharging public duties orpractising law, I retired from the public service several years ago, and since that time have devoted all my energies to this work. It isnow nearly seven years since I began this wonderful task. 

I have been possessed of a painful sense of the vastness of my workfrom first to last. I regret that for the sake of pressing the workinto a single volume, favorable to a speedy sale, --at the sacrifice ofthe record of a most remarkable people, --I found my heart unwilling, and my best judgment protesting. 

In the preparation of this work I have consulted over twelve thousandvolumes, --about one thousand of which are referred to in thefootnotes, --and thousands of pamphlets. 

After wide and careful reading, extending through three years, Iconceived the present plan of this history. I divided it into nineparts. Two thoughts led me to prepare the chapters under the head ofPRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. _First_, The defenders of slavery and thetraducers of the Negro built their pro-slavery arguments upon biblicalethnology and the curse of Canaan. I am alive to the fact, that, whileI am a believer in the Holy Bible, it is not the best authority onethnology. As far as it goes, it is agreeable to my head and heart. Whatever science has added I have gladly appropriated. I make noclaim, however, to be a specialist. While the curse of Canaan is nolonger a question of debate, yet nevertheless the folly of theobsolete theory should be thoroughly understood by the young men ofthe Negro race who, though voting now, were not born when Sumter wasfired upon. _Second_, A growing desire among the enlightened Negroesin America to learn all that is possible from research concerning theantiquity of the race, --Africa, its inhabitants, and the developmentof the Negro governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia, led me tofurnish something to meet a felt need. If the Negro slave desired hisnative land before the Rebellion, will not the free, intelligent, andreflective American Negro turn to Africa with its problems ofgeography and missions, now that he can contribute something towardsthe improvement of the condition of humanity? Editors and writerseverywhere throughout the world should spell the word Negro with acapital N; and when referring to the race as Colored people employ acapital C. I trust this will be observed. 

In PART II. , SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES, I have striven to give asuccinct account of the establishment and growth of slavery under theEnglish Crown. It involved almost infinite labor to go to the recordsof "the original thirteen colonies. " It is proper to observe that thispart is one of great value and interest. 

In PART III. , THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION, I found much of analmost romantic character. Many traditions have been put down, andmany obscure truths elucidated. Some persons may think it irreverentto tell the truth in the plain, homely manner that characterizes mynarrative; but, while I have nothing to regret in this particular, Ican assure them that I have been actuated by none other spirit thanthat of candor. Where I have used documents it was with a desire toescape the charge of superficiality. If, however, I may be chargedwith seeking to escape the labor incident to thorough digestion, Ianswer, that, while men with the reputation of Bancroft and Hildrethcould pass unchallenged when disregarding largely the use of documentsand the citation of authorities, I would find myself challenged by alarge number of critics. Moreover I have felt it would be almost cruelto mutilate some of the very rare old documents that shed suchpeerless light upon the subject in hand. 

I have brought the first volume down to the close of the eighteenthcentury, detailing the great struggle through which the slaveryproblem passed. I have given as fair an idea of the debate on thisquestion, in the convention that framed the Constitution, as possible. It was then and there that the hydra of slavery struck its fangs intothe Constitution; and, once inoculated with the poison of the monster, the government was only able to purify itself in the flames of a greatcivil war. 

The second volume opens with the present century, and closes with theyear 1880. Unable to destroy slavery by constitutional law, the bestthought and effort of this period were directed against the extensionof the evil into the territory beyond the Ohio, Mississippi, andMissouri rivers. But having placed three-fifths of the slavepopulation under the Constitution, having pledged the Constitution tothe protection of slave property, it required an almost superhumaneffort to confine the evil to one section of the country. Like aloathsome disease it spread itself over the body politic until ournation became the eyesore of the age, and a byword among the nationsof the world. The time came when our beloved country had to submit toheroic treatment, and the cancer of slavery was removed by the sword. 

In giving an account of the _Anti-Slavery Agitation Movement_, I havefound myself able to deal briefly with methods and results only. Ihave striven to honor all the multifarious measures adopted to savethe Negro and the Nation. I have not attempted to write a history ofthe Anti-Slavery Movement. Many noble men and women have not even beenmentioned. It should not be forgotten that this is a history of theNegro race; and as such I have not run into the topic discussed by thelate Henry Wilson in his "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power. "

In discussing the problem of the rendition of fugitive slaves by theUnion army, I have given the facts with temperate and honestcriticism. And, in recounting the sufferings Negro troops endured asprisoners of war in the hands of the Rebels, I have avoided any spiritof bitterness. A great deal of the material on the war I purchasedfrom the MS. Library of Mr. Thomas S. Townsend of New-York City. Thequestions of vital, prison, labor, educational, and financialstatistics cannot fail to interest intelligent people of all races andparties. These statistics are full of comfort and assurance to theNegro as well as to his friends. 

Every cabinet minister of the President wrote me full information uponall the questions I asked, and promptly too. The refusal of thegeneral and adjutant-general of the army did not destroy my hope ofgetting some information concerning the Negro regiments in the regulararmy. I visited the Indian Territory, Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico, where I have seen the Ninth and Tenth Regiments of cavalry, and theTwenty-fourth Regiment of infantry. The Twenty-fifth Regiment ofinfantry is at Fort Randall, Dakota. These are among the mosteffective troops in the regular army. The annual desertions in whiteregiments of cavalry vary from ninety-eight to a hundred and eighteen;while in Negro regiments of cavalry the desertions only average fromsix to nine per annum. The Negro regiments are composed of young men, intelligent, faithful, brave. I heard but one complaint from the lipsof a score of white officers I met, and that was that the Negroessometimes struck their horses over the head. Every distinction in lawhas disappeared, except in the regular army. Here Negroes are excludedfrom the artillery service and engineer's department. It is wrong, andCongress should place these brave black soldiers upon the same footingas the white troops. 

I have to thank Drs. George H. Moore and S. Austin Allibone, of theLenox Library, for the many kind favors shown me while pursuing mystudies in New-York City. And I am under very great obligations to Dr. Moore for his admirable "History of Early Slavery in Massachusetts, "without which I should have been put to great inconvenience. To Mr. John Austin Stevens, late editor of "The Magazine of AmericanHistory, " who, during several months residence in New-York City, placed his private library and office at my service, and did everything in his power to aid my investigations, I return my sincerestthanks. To the Librarians of the New-York Historical, Astor, andNew-York Society Libraries, I return thanks for favors shown, andprivileges granted. I am especially grateful to the Hon. Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, for the manner in which hefacilitated my researches during my sojourn in Washington. I had theuse of many newspapers of the last century, and of other material tobe found only in the Congressional Library. 

To Sir T. Risely Griffith, Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of SierraLeone, I am indebted for valuable statistics concerning that colony. 

To the Assistant Librarian of the State Library of Ohio, theaccomplished and efficient Miss Mary C. Harbough, I owe more than toany other person. Through her unwavering and untiring kindness andfriendship, I have been enabled to use five hundred and seventy-sixvolumes from that library, besides newspaper files and CongressionalRecords. To Gov. Charles Foster, Chairman of the Board of LibraryCommissioners, I offer my profoundest thanks for the intelligent, active, and practical interest he has taken in the completion of thiswork. And to Major Charles Townsend, Secretary of State, I offerthanks for favors shown me in securing documents. To the Rev. J. L. Grover and his competent assistant, Mr. Charles H. Bell, of the PublicLibrary of Columbus, I am indebted for the use of many works. Theycheerfully rendered whatever aid they could, and for their kindness Ireturn many thanks. 

I am obliged to the Rev. Benjamin W. Arnett, Financial Secretary ofthe A. M. E. Church of the United States, for the statistics of hisdenomination. And to all persons who have sent me newspapers andpamphlets I desire to return thanks. I am grateful to C. A. Fleetwood, an efficient clerk in the War Department, for statistics on theFreedmen's Bank. And, above all and more than all, I return myprofoundest thanks to my heavenly Father for the inspiration, health, and money by which I have been enabled to complete this great task. 

I have mentioned such Colored men as I thought necessary. To give abiographical sketch of all the worthy Colored men in the UnitedStates, would require more space than has been occupied in this work. 

Not as the blind panegyrist of my race, nor as the partisan apologist, but from a love for "_the truth of history_, " I have striven to recordthe truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I have notstriven to revive sectional animosities or race prejudices. I haveavoided comment so far as it was consistent with a clear exposition ofthe truth. My whole aim has been to write a thoroughly trustworthyhistory; and what I have written, if it have no other merit, isreliable. 

I commit this work to the public, white and black, to the friends andfoes of the Negro, in the hope that the obsolete antagonisms whichgrew out of the relation of master and slave may speedily sink asstorms beneath the horizon; and that the day will hasten when thereshall be no North, no South, no Black, no White, --but all be Americancitizens, with equal duties and equal rights. 

 GEORGE W. WILLIAMS. 

NEW YORK, November, 1882. 

CONTENTS. 

Part I. 

_PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS_

 * * * * *

CHAPTER I. 

THE UNITY OF MANKIND. 

 The Biblical Argument. --One Race and One Language. --One Blood. --The Curse of Canaan. 1

CHAPTER II. 

THE NEGRO IN THE LIGHT OF PHILOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND EGYPTOLOGY. 

 Cushim and Ethiopia. --Ethiopians, White and Black. --Negro Characteristics. --The Dark Continent. --The Antiquity of the Negro. --Indisputable Evidence. --The Military and Social Condition of Negroes. --Cause of Color. --The Term "Ethiopian. " 12

CHAPTER III. 

PRIMITIVE NEGRO CIVILIZATION. 

 The Ancient and High Degree of Negro Civilization. --Egypt, Greece, and Rome borrow from the Negro the Civilization that made them Great. --Cause of the Decline and Fall of Negro Civilization. --Confounding the Terms "Negro" and "African. " 22

CHAPTER IV. 

NEGRO KINGDOMS OF AFRICA. 

 BENIN: Its Location. --Its Discovery by the Portuguese. --Introduction of the Catholic Religion. --The King as a Missionary. --His Fidelity to the Church purchased by a White Wife. --Decline of Religion. --Introduction of Slavery. --Suppression of the Trade by the English Government. --Restoration and Peace. 

 DAHOMEY: Its Location. --Origin of the Kingdom. --Meaning of the Name. --War. --Capture of the English Governor, and his Death. --The Military Establishment. --Women as Soldiers. --Wars and their Objects. --Human Sacrifices. --The King a Despot. --His Powers. --His Wives. --Polygamy. --Kingly Succession. --Coronation. --Civil and Criminal Law. --Revenue System. --Its Future. 

 YORUBA. Its Location. --Slavery and its Abolition--Growth of the People of Abeokuta. --Missionaries and Teachers from Sierra Leone. --Prosperity and Peace attend the People. --Capacity of the People for Civilization. --Bishop Crowther. --His Influence. 26

CHAPTER V. 

THE ASHANTEE EMPIRE. 

 Its Location and Extent. --Its Famous Kings. --The Origin of the Ashantees Obscure. --The War with Denkera. --The Ashantees against the Field conquer two Kingdoms, and annex them. --Death of Osai Tutu. --The Envy of the King of Dahomey. --Invasion of the Ashantee Country by the King of Dahomey. --His Defeat shared by his Allies. --Akwasi pursues the Army of Dahomey into its own Country. --Gets a Mortal Wound and suffers a Humiliating Defeat, --The King of Dahomey sends the Royal Kudjoh his Congratulations. --Kwamina deposed for attempting to introduce Mohammedanism into the Kingdom. --The Ashantees conquer the Mohammedans. --Numerous Wars. --Invasion of the Fanti Country. --Death of Sir Charles McCarthy. --Treaty. --Peace. 34

CHAPTER VI. 

THE NEGRO TYPE. 

 Climate the Cause. --His Geographical Theatre. --He is susceptible to Christianity and Civilization. 45

CHAPTER VII. 

AFRICAN IDIOSYNCRASIES. 

 Patriarchal Government. --Construction of Villages. --Negro Architecture. --Election of Kings. --Coronation Ceremony. --Succession. --African Queens. --Law, Civil and Criminal. --Priests. --Their Functions. --Marriage. --Warfare. --Agriculture. --Mechanic Arts. --Blacksmiths. 50

CHAPTER VIII. 

LANGUAGES, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION. 

 Structure of African Languages. --The Mpongwe, Mandingo, and Grebo. --Poetry: Epic, Idyllic, and Miscellaneous. --Religions and Superstitions. 66

CHAPTER IX. 

SIERRA LEONE. 

 Its Discovery and Situation. --Natural Beauty. --Founding of a Negro Colony. --The Sierra Leone Company. --Fever and Insubordination. --It becomes an English Province. --Character of its Inhabitants. --Christian Missions, etc. 85

CHAPTER X. 

THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. 

 Liberia. --Its Location. --Extent. --Rivers and Mountains. --History of the First Colony. --The Noble Men who laid the Foundation of the Liberian Republic. --Native Tribes. --Translation of the New Testament into the Vei Language. --The Beginning and Triumph of Christian Missions to Liberia. --History of the Different Denominations on the Field. --A Missionary Republic of Negroes. --Testimony of Officers of the Royal Navy as to the Efficiency of the Republic in suppressing the Slave-Trade. --The Work of the Future. 95

CHAPTER XI. 

RÉSUMÉ. 

 The Unity of the Human Family re-affirmed. --God gave all Races of Men Civilization. --The Antiquity of the Negro beyond Dispute. --Idolatry the Cause of the Degradation of the African Races. --He has always had a Place in History, though Incidental. --Negro Type caused by Degradation. --Negro Empires an Evidence of Crude Ability for Self-Government. --Influence of the two Christian Governments on the West Coast upon the Heathen. --Oration on Early Christianity in Africa. --The Duty of Christianity to evangelize Africa. 108

 * * * * *

Part II. 

_SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES_. 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA. 

1619-1775. 

 Introduction of the First Slaves. --"The Treasurer" and the Dutch Man-of-War. --The Correct Date. --The Number of Slaves. --Were there Twenty, or Fourteen?--Litigation about the Possession of the Slaves. --Character of the Slaves imported, and the Character of the Colonists. --Race Prejudices. --Legal Establishment of Slavery. --Who are Slaves for Life. --Duties on Imported Slaves. --Political and Military Prohibitions against Negroes. --Personal Rights. --Criminal Laws against Slaves. --Emancipation. --How brought about. --Free Negroes. --Their Rights. --Moral and Religious Training. --Population. --Slavery firmly established. 115

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE COLONY OF NEW YORK. 

1628-1775. 

 Settlement of New York by the Dutch in 1609. --Negroes introduced into the Colony, 1628. --The Trade in Negroes increased. --Tobacco exchanged for Slaves and Merchandise. --Government of the Colony. --New Netherland falls into the Hands of the English, Aug. 27, 1664. --Various Changes. --New Laws adopted. --Legislation. --First Representatives elected in 1683. --In 1702 Queen Anne instructs the Royal Governor in Regard to the Importation of Slaves. --Slavery Restrictions. --Expedition to effect the Conquest of Canada unsuccessful. --Negro Riot. --Suppressed by the Efficient Aid of Troops. --Fears of the Colonists. --Negro Plot of 1741. --The Robbery of Hogg's House. --Discovery of a Portion of the Goods. --The Arrest of Hughson, his Wife, and Irish Peggy. --Crimination and Recrimination. --The Breaking-out of Numerous Fires. --The Arrest of Spanish Negroes. --The Trial of Hughson. --Testimony of Mary Burton. --Hughson hanged. --The Arrest of Many Others implicated in the Plot. --The Hanging of Cæsar and Prince. --Quack and Cuffee burned at the Stake. --The Lieutenant-Governor's Proclamation. --Many White Persons accused of being Conspirators. --Description of Hughson's Manner of swearing those having Knowledge of the Plot. --Conviction and Hanging of the Catholic Priest Ury. --The Sudden and Unexpected Termination of the Trial. --New Laws more stringent toward Slaves adopted. 134

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

1633-1775. 

 The Earliest Mentions of Negroes in Massachusetts. --Pequod Indians exchanged for Negroes. --Voyage of the Slave Ship "Desire" in 1638--Fundamental Laws adopted. --Hereditary Slavery--Kidnapping Negroes--Growth of Slavery in the Seventeenth Century--Taxation of Slaves--Introduction of Indian Slaves prohibited. --The Position of the Church respecting the Baptism of Slaves--Slave Marriage--Condition of Free Negroes--Phillis Wheatley the African Poetess. --Her Life--Slavery recognized in England in Order to be maintained in the Colonies--The Emancipation of Slaves. --Legislation favoring the Importation of White Servants, but prohibiting the Clandestine bringing-in of Negroes. --Judge Sewall's Attack on Slavery. --Judge Saffin's Reply to Judge Sewall. 172

CHAPTER XV. 

THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS, --CONTINUED. 

1633-1775. 

 The Era of Prohibitory Legislation against Slavery. --Boston instructs her Representatives to vote against the Slave-Trade. --Proclamation issued by Gov. Dummer against the Negroes, April 13, 1723. --Persecution of the Negroes. --"Suing for Liberty. "--Letter of Samuel Adams to John Pickering, jun. , on Behalf of Negro Memorialists. --A Bill for the Suppression of the Slave-Trade passes. --Is vetoed by Gov. Gage, and fails to become a Law. 220

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE COLONY OF MARYLAND. 

1634-1775. 

 Maryland under the Laws of Virginia until 1630. --First Legislation on the Slavery Question in 1637-38--Slavery established by Statute in 1663--The Discussion of Slavery. --An Act passed encouraging the Importation of Negroes and White Slaves in 1671. --An Act laying an Impost on Negroes and White Servants imported into the Colony. --Duties imposed on Rum and Wine. --Treatment of Slaves and Papists. --Convicts imported into the Colony--An Attempt to justify the Convict-Trade. --Spirited Replies. --The Laws of 1723, 1729, 1752. --Rights of Slaves--Negro Population in 1728. --Increase of Slavery in 1750--No Efforts made to prevent the Evils of Slavery. --The Revolution nearing. --New Life for the Negroes. 238

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE COLONY OF DELAWARE. 

1636-1775. 

 The Territory of Delaware settled in part by Swedes and Danes, anterior to the Year 1638. --The Duke of York transfers the Territory of Delaware to William Penn. --Penn grants the Colony the Privilege of Separate Government. --Slavery introduced on the Delaware as early as 1636. --Complaint against Peter Alricks for using Oxen and Negroes belonging to the Company. --The First Legislation on the Slavery Question in the Colony. --An Enactment of a Law for the Better Regulation of Servants. --An Act restraining Manumission. 249

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. 

1646-1775. 

 The Founding of Connecticut, 1631-36. --No Reliable Data given for the Introduction of Slaves. --Negroes were first introduced by Ship during the Early Years of the Colony. --"Committee for Trade and Foreign Plantations. "--Interrogating the Governor as to the Number of Negroes in the Colony in 1680. --The Legislature (1690) passes a Law pertaining to the Purchase and Treatment of Slaves and Free Persons. --An Act passed by the General Court in 1711, requiring Persons manumitting Slaves to maintain them. --Regulating the Social Conduct of Slaves in 1723. --The Punishment of Negro, Indian, and Mulatto Slaves, for the Use of Profane Language, in 1630. --Lawfulness of Indian and Negro Slavery recognized by Code, Sept. 5, 1646. --Limited Rights of Free Negroes in the Colony. --Negro Population in 1762. --Act against Importation of Slaves, 1774. 252

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

1647-1775. 

 Colonial Government in Rhode Island, May, 1647. --An Act passed to abolish Slavery in 1652, but was never enforced. --An Act specifying what Times Indian and Negro Slaves should not appear in the Streets. --An Impost-Tax on Slaves (1708). --Penalties imposed on Disobedient Slaves. --Anti Slavery Sentiment in the Colonies receives Little Encouragement. --Circular Letter from the Board of Trade to the Governor of the English Colonies, relative to Negro Slaves. --Governor Cranston's Reply. --List of Militia-Men, including White and black Servants. --Another Letter from the Board of Trade. --An Act preventing Clandestine Importations and Exportations of Passengers, Negroes, or Indian Slaves. --Masters of Vessels required to report the Names and Number of Passengers to the Governor. --Violation of the Impost-Tax Law on Slaves punished by Severe Penalties. --Appropriation by the General Assembly, July 5, 1715, from the Fund derived from the Impost Tax, for the paving of the Streets of Newport. --An Act passed disposing of the Money raised by Impost-Tax. --Impost-Law repealed, May, 1732. --An Act relating to freeing Mulatto and Negro Slaves passed 1728--An Act passed preventing Masters of Vessels from carrying Slaves out of the Colony, June 17, 1757. --Eve of the Revolution. --An Act prohibiting Importation of Negroes into the Colony in 1774. --The Population of Rhode Island in 1730 and 1774. 262

CHAPTER XX. 

THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY. 

1664-1775. 

 New Jersey passes into the Hands of the English. --Political Powers conveyed to Berkeley and Carteret. --Legislation on the Subject of Slavery during the Eighteenth Century. --The Colony divided into East and West Jersey. --Separate Governments. --An Act concerning Slavery by the Legislature of East Jersey. --General Apprehension respecting the rising of Negro and Indian Slaves. --East and West Jersey surrender their Rights of Government to the Queen. --An Act for regulating the Conduct of Slaves. --Impost-Tax of Ten Pounds levied upon each Negro imported into the Colony. --The General Court passes a Law regulating the Trial of Slaves. --Negroes ruled out of the Militia Establishment upon Condition. --Population of the Jerseys in 1738 and 1745. 282

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE COLONY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

1665-1775. 

 The Carolinas receive two Different Charters from the Crown of Great Britain. --Era of Slavery Legislation. --Law establishing Slavery. --The Slave Population of this Province regarded as Chattel Property. --Trial of Slaves. --Increase of Slave Population. --The Increase in the Rice-Trade. --Severe Laws regulating the Private and Public Conduct of Slaves. --Punishment of Slaves for running away. --The Life of Slaves regarded as of Little Consequence by the Violent Master Class. --An Act empowering two Justices of the Peace to investigate Treatment of Slaves. --An Act prohibiting the Overworking of Slaves. --Slave-Market at Charleston. --Insurrection. --A Law authorizing the carrying of Fire-Arms among the Whites. --The Enlistment of Slaves to serve in Time of Alarm. --Negroes admitted to the Militia Service. --Compensation to Masters for the Loss of Slaves killed by the Enemy or who desert. --Few Slaves manumitted. --From 1754-76, Little Legislation on the Subject of Slavery. --Threatening War between England and her Provincial Dependencies. --The Effect upon Public Sentiment. 289

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE COLONY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

1669-1775. 

 The Geographical Situation of North Carolina favorable to the Slave-Trade. --The Locke Constitution adopted. --William Sayle commissioned Governor. --Legislative Career of the Colony. --The Introduction of the Established Church of England into the Colony. --The Rights of Negroes controlled absolutely by their Masters. --An Act respecting Conspiracies. --The Wrath of Ill-natured Whites visited upon their Slaves. --An Act against the Emancipation of Slaves. --Limited Rights of Free Negroes. 302

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

1679-1775. 

 The Provincial Government of Massachusetts exercises Authority over the State of New Hampshire at its Organization. --Slavery existed from the Beginning. --The Governor releases a Slave from Bondage. --Instruction against Importation of Slaves. --Several Acts regulating the Conduct of Servants. --The Indifferent Treatment of Slaves. --The Importation of Indian Servants forbidden. --An Act checking the Severe Treatment of Servants and Slaves. --Slaves in the Colony until the Commencement of Hostilities. 309

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

1681-1775. 

 Organization of the Government of Pennsylvania. --The Swedes and Dutch plant Settlements on the Western Bank of the Delaware River. --The Governor of New York seeks to exercise Jurisdiction over the Territory of Pennsylvania. --The First Laws agreed upon in England. --Provisions of the Law. --Memorial against Slavery draughted and adopted by the Germantown Friends. --William Penn presents a Bill for the Better Regulation of Servants. --An Act preventing the Importation of Negroes and Indians. --Rights of Negroes. --A Duty laid upon Negroes and Mulatto Slaves. --The Quaker the Friend of the Negro. --England begins to threaten her Dependencies in North America. --The People of Pennsylvania reflect upon the Probable Outrages their Negroes might commit. 312

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. 

1732-1775. 

 Georgia once included in the Territory of Carolina. --The Thirteenth Colony planted in North America by the English Government. --Slaves ruled out altogether by the Trustees. --The Opinion of Gen. Oglethorpe concerning Slavery. --Long and Bitter Discussion in Regard to the Admission of Slavery into the Colony. --Slavery introduced. --History of Slavery in Georgia. 316

 * * * * *

Part III. 

_THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION_. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 

1775-1780. 

 The Colonial States in 1715. --Ratification of the Non-Importation Act by the Southern Colonies. --George Washington presents Resolutions against Slavery, in a Meeting at Fairfax Court-House, Va. --Letter written by Benjamin Franklin to Dean Woodward, pertaining to Slavery. --Letter to the Freemen of Virginia from a Committee, concerning the Slaves brought from Jamaica. --Severe Treatment of Slaves in the Colonies modified. --Advertisement in "The Boston Gazette" of the Runaway Slave Crispus Attucks. --The Boston Massacre. --Its Results. --Crispus Attucks shows his Loyalty. --His Spirited Letter to the Tory Governor of the Province. --Slaves admitted into the Army. --The Condition of the Continental Army. --Spirited Debate in the Continental Congress, over the Draught of a Letter to Gen. Washington. --Instructions to discharge all Slaves and Free Negroes in his Army. --Minutes of the Meeting held at Cambridge. --Lord Dunmore's Proclamation. --Prejudice in the Southern Colonies. --Negroes in Virginia flock to the British Army. --Caution to the Negroes printed in a Williamsburg Paper. --The Virginia Convention answers the Proclamation of Lord Dunmore. --Gen. Greene, in a Letter to Gen. Washington, calls Attention to the raising of a Negro Regiment on Staten Island. --Letter from a Hessian Officer. --Connecticut Legislature on the Subject of Employment of Negroes as Soldiers. --Gen. Varnum's Letter to Gen. Washington, suggesting the Employment of Negroes, sent to Gov. Cooke. --The Governor refers Varnum's Letter to the General Assembly. --Minority Protest against enlisting Slaves to serve in the Army. --Massachusetts tries to secure Legal Enlistments of Negro Troops. --Letter of Thomas Kench to the Council and House of Representatives, Boston, Mass. --Negroes serve in White Organizations until the Close of the American Revolution. --Negro Soldiers serve in Virginia. --Maryland employs Negroes. --New York passes an Act providing for the Raising of two Colored Regiments. --War in the Middle and Southern Colonies. --Hamilton's Letter to John Jay. --Col. Laurens's Efforts to raise Negro Troops in South Carolina. --Proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton inducing Negroes to desert the Rebel Army. --Lord Cornwallis issues a Proclamation offering Protection to all Negroes seeking his Command, --Col. Laurens is called to France on Important Business. --His Plan for securing Black Levies for the South upon his Return. --His Letters to Gen. Washington in Regard to his Fruitless Plans. --Capt David Humphreys recruits a Company of Colored Infantry in Connecticut. --Return of Negroes in the Army in 1778. 324

CHAPTER XXVII. 

NEGROES AS SOLDIERS. 

1775-1783. 

 The Negro as a Soldier. --Battle of Bunker Hill--Gallantry of Negro Soldiers. --Peter Salem, the Intrepid Black Soldier. --Bunker-hill Monument. --The Negro Salem Poor distinguishes himself by Deeds of Desperate Valor. --Capture of Gen. Lee. --Capture of Gen. Prescott--Battle of Rhode Island. --Col. Greene commands a Negro Regiment. --Murder of Col. Greene in 1781. --The Valor of the Negro Soldiers. 363

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

LEGAL STATUS OF THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION

1775-1783. 

 The Negro was Chattel or Real Property. --His Legal Status during his New Relation as a Soldier--Resolution introduced in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to prevent the selling of Two Negroes captured upon the High Seas--The Continental Congress appoints a Committee to consider what should be done with Negroes taken by Vessels of War in the Service of the United Colonies. --Confederation of the New States. --Spirited Debate in Congress respecting the Disposal of Recaptures. --The Spanish Ship "Victoria" captures an English Vessel having on Board Thirty-four Negroes taken from South Carolina. --The Negroes recaptured by Vessels belonging to the State of Massachusetts. --They are delivered to Thomas Knox, and conveyed to Castle Island. --Col. Paul Revere has Charge of the Slaves on Castle Island--Massachusetts passes a Law providing for the Security, Support, and Exchange of Prisoners brought into the State. --Gen Hancock receives a Letter from the Governor of South Carolina respecting the Detention of Negroes--In the Provincial Articles between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty, Negroes were rated as Property. --And also in the Definite Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty. --And also in the Treaty of Peace of 1814, between His Britannic Majesty and the United States, Negroes were designated as Property. --Gen. Washington's Letter to Brig-Gen Rufus Putnam in regard to a Negro in his Regiment claimed by Mr. Hobby. --Enlistment in the Army did not always work a Practical Emancipation. 370

CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE NEGRO INTELLECT. --BANNEKER THE ASTRONOMER. --FULLER THEMATHEMATICIAN. --DERHAM THE PHYSICIAN. 

 Statutory Prohibition against the Education of Negroes. --Benjamin Banneker, the Negro Astronomer and Philosopher. --His Antecedents--Young Banneker as a Farmer and Inventor--The Mills of Ellicott & Co. --Banneker cultivates his Mechanical Genius and Mathematical Tastes. --Banneker's first Calculation of an Eclipse submitted for Inspection in 1789. --His Letter to Mr Ellicott. --The Testimony of a Personal Acquaintance of Banneker as to his Upright Character. --His Home becomes a Place of Interest to Visitors. --Record of his Business Transactions. --Mrs. Mason's Visit to him. --She addresses him in Verse. --Banneker replies by Letter to her. --Prepares his First Almanac for Publication in 1792. --Title of his Almanac--Banneker's Letter to Thomas Jefferson. --Thomas Jefferson's Reply. --Banneker invited to accompany the Commissioners to run the Lines of the District of Columbia. --Banneker's Habits of studying the Heavenly Bodies. --Minute Description given to his Sisters in Reference to the Disposition of his Personal Property after Death. --His Death. --Regarded as the most Distinguished Negro of his Time. --Fuller the Mathematician, or "The Virginia Calculator. "--Fuller of African Birth, but stolen and sold as a Slave into Virginia. --Visited by Men of Learning. --He was pronounced to be a Prodigy in the Manipulation of Figures. --His Death. --Derham the Physician. --Science of Medicine regarded as the most Intricate Pursuit of Man. --Early Life of James Derham. --His Knowledge of Medicine, how acquired. --He becomes a Prominent Physician in New Orleans. --Dr. Rush gives an Account of an Interview with him. --What the Negro Race produced by their Genius in America. 385

CHAPTER XXX. 

SLAVERY DURING THE REVOLUTION. 

1775-1783. 

 Progress of the Slave-Trade. --A Great War for the Emancipation of the Colonies from Political Bondage. --Condition of the Southern States during the War. --The Virginia Declaration of Rights. --Immediate Legislation against Slavery demanded. --Advertisement from "The Independent Chronicle. "--Petition of Massachusetts Slaves. --An Act preventing the Practice of holding Persons in Slavery. --Advertisements from "The Continental Journal. "--A Law passed in Virginia limiting the Rights of Slaves. --Law emancipating all Slaves who served in the Army. --New York promises her Negro Soldiers Freedom. --A Conscientious Minority in Favor of the Abolition of the Slave-Trade. --Slavery flourishes during the Entire Revolutionary Period. 402

CHAPTER XXXI. 

SLAVERY AS A POLITICAL AND LEGAL PROBLEM. 

1775-1800. 

 British Colonies in North America declare their Independence. --A New Government established. --Slavery the Bane of American Civilization. --The Tory Party accept the Doctrine of Property in Man. --The Doctrine of the Locke Constitution in the South. --The Whig Party the Dominant Political Organization in the Northern States. --Slavery recognized under the New Government. --Anti Slavery Agitation in the States. --Attempted Legislation against Slavery. --Articles of Confederation. --Then Adoption in 1778. --Discussion concerning the Disposal of the Western Territory. --Mr. Jefferson's Recommendation. --Amendment by Mr. Spaight. --Congress in New York in 1787. --Discussion respecting the Government of the Western Territory. --Convention at Philadelphia to frame the Federal Constitution. --Proceedings of the Convention. --The Southern States still advocate Slavery. --Speeches on the Slavery Question by Leading Statesmen. --Constitution adopted by the Convention in 1787. --First Session of Congress under the Federal Constitution held in New York in 1789. --The Introduction of a Tariff-Bill. --An Attempt to amend it by inserting a Clause levying a Tax on Slaves brought by Water. --Extinction of Slavery in Massachusetts. --A Change in the Public Opinion of the Middle and Eastern States on the Subject of Slavery. --Dr. Benjamin Franklin's Address to the Public for promoting the Abolition of Slavery. --Memorial to the United-States Congress. --Congress in 1790. --Bitter Discussion on the Restriction of the Slave-Trade. --Slave-Population. --Vermont and Kentucky admitted into the Union. --A Law providing for the Return of Fugitives from "Labor and Service. "--Convention of Friends held in Philadelphia. --An Act against the Foreign Slave-Trade. --Mississippi Territory. --Constitution of Georgia revised. --New York passes a Bill for the Gradual Extinction of Slavery. --Constitution of Kentucky revised. --Slavery as an Institution firmly established. 412

HISTORY OF THE NEGRO RACE IN AMERICA. 

Part I. 

_PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. _

CHAPTER I. 

THE UNITY OF MANKIND. 

 THE BIBLICAL ARGUMENT. --ONE RACE AND ONE LANGUAGE. --ONE BLOOD. --THE CURSE OF CANAAN. 

During the last half-century, many writers on ethnology, anthropology, and slavery have strenuously striven to place the Negro outside of thehuman family; and the disciples of these teachers have endeavored tojustify their views by the most dehumanizing treatment of the Negro. But, fortunately for the Negro and for humanity at large, we live nowin an epoch when race malice and sectional hate are disappearingbeneath the horizon of a brighter and better future. The Negro inAmerica is free. He is now an acknowledged factor in the affairs ofthe continent; and no community, state, or government, in this periodof the world's history, can afford to be indifferent to his moral, social, intellectual, or political well-being. 

It is proposed, in the first place, to call the attention to theabsurd charge that the Negro does not belong to the human family. Happily, there are few left upon the face of the earth who stillmaintain this belief. 

In the first chapter of the Book of Genesis it is clearly stated that"God created man, " "male and female created he them;"[1] that "theLord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into hisnostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul;"[2] andthat "the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Edento dress it and to keep it. "[3] It is noticeable that the sacredhistorian, in every reference to Adam, speaks of him as "_man_;" andthat the divine injunction to them was, --Adam and Eve, --"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and havedominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, andover every living thing that moveth upon the earth. "[4] As among theanimals, so here in the higher order, there were two, --a pair, --"maleand female, " of the human species. We may begin with man, and run downthe scale, and we are sure to find two of a kind, "male and female. "This was the divine order. But they were to "be fruitful, " were to"replenish the earth. " That they did "multiply, " we have thetrustworthy testimony of God; and it was true that man and beast, fowland fish, increased. We read that after their expulsion from theGarden of Eden, Eve bore Adam a family. Cain and Abel; and that they"peopled the earth. "

After a number of years we find that wickedness increased in theearth; so much so that the Lord was provoked to destroy the earth witha flood, with the exception of Noah, his wife, his three sons andtheir wives, --eight souls in all. [5] Of the animals, two of each kindwere saved. 

But the most interesting portion of Bible history comes after theFlood. We then have the history of the confusion of tongues, and thesubsequent and consequent dispersion of mankind. In the eleventhchapter and first verse of Genesis it is recorded: "_And the_ WHOLEEARTH _was of_ ONE LANGUAGE, _and of_ ONE SPEECH. " "The whole earth"here means all the inhabitants of the earth, --all mankind. The mediumof communication was common. Everybody used one language. In the sixthverse occurs this remarkable language: "And the Lord said, Behold, thepeople is _one_, and they have all _one_ language. " Attention iscalled to this verse, because we have here the testimony of the Lordthat "the people is _one_, " and that the language of the people isone. This verse establishes two very important facts; i. E. , there wasbut one nationality, and hence but one language. The fact that theyhad but one language furnishes reasonable proof that they were of oneblood; and the historian has covered the whole question verycarefully by recording the great truth that they were _one people_, and had but _one language_. The seventh, eighth, and ninth verses ofthe eleventh chapter are not irrelevant: "Go to, let us go down, andthere confound their language, that they may not understand oneanother's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence uponthe face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did thereconfound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lordscatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. "

It was the wickedness of the people that caused the Lord to dispersethem, to confound their speech, and bring to nought their haughtywork. Evidently this was the beginning of different families ofmen, --different nationalities, and hence different languages. In theninth verse it reads, that "from thence did the Lord scatter themabroad upon the face of all the earth. " There is no ambiguity aboutthis language. He did not only "confound their language, " but"scattered them from thence, " from Babel, "upon the face of all theearth. " Here, then, are two very important facts: their _language_ was_confused_, and they _were_ "_scattered_. " They were not only"scattered, " they were "scattered _abroad upon the face of all_ theearth. " That is, they were dispersed very widely, sent into thevarious and remote parts of the earth; and their nationality receivedits being from the latitudes to which the divinely appointed wave ofdispersion bore them; and their subsequent racial character was toborrow its tone and color from climateric influences. Three greatfamilies, the Shemitic, Hamitic, and Japhetic, were suddenly built up. Many other families, or tribes, sprang from these; but these were thethree great heads of all subsequent races of men. 

 "That the three sons of Noah overspread and peopled the whole earth, is so expressly stated in Scripture, that, had we not to argue against those who unfortunately disbelieve such evidence, we might here stop: let us, however, inquire how far the truth of this declaration is substantiated by other considerations. Enough has been said to show that there is a curious, if not a remarkable, analogy between the predictions of Noah on the future descendants of his three sons, and the actual state of those races which are generally supposed to have sprung from them. It may here be again remarked, that, to render the subject more clear, we have adopted the quinary arrangement of Professor Blumenbach: yet that Cuvier and other learned physiologists are of opinion that the primary varieties of the human form are more properly but three; viz. , the Caucasian, Mongolian, and Ethiopian. This number corresponds with that of Noah's sons. Assigning, therefore, the Mongolian race to Japheth, and the Ethiopian to Ham, the Caucasian, the noblest race, will belong to Shem, the third son of Noah, himself descended from Seth, the third son of Adam. That the primary distinctions of the human varieties are but _three_, has been further maintained by the erudite Prichard; who, while he rejects the nomenclature both of Blumenbach and Cuvier, as implying absolute divisions, arranges the leading varieties of the human skull under three sections, differing from those of Cuvier only by name. That the three sons of Noah who were to 'replenish the earth, ' and on whose progeny very opposite destinies were pronounced, should give birth to different races, is what might reasonably be conjectured; but that the observation of those who do, and of those who do not, believe the Mosaic history, should tend to confirm truth, by pointing out in what these three races do actually differ, both physically and morally, is, to say the least, a singular coincidence. It amounts, in short, to a presumptive evidence, that a mysterious and very beautiful analogy pervades throughout, and teaches us to look beyond natural causes in attempting to account for effects apparently interwoven in the plans of Omnipotence. "[6]

In the seventeenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, twenty-sixthverse, we find the following language: "And hath made of one blood allnations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hathdetermined the times before appointed, and the bounds of theirhabitation. "[7] The Apostle Paul was a missionary. He was, at thistime, on a mission to the far-famed city of Athens, --"the eye ofGreece, and the fountain of learning and philosophy. " He told the "menof Athens, " that, as he travelled through their beautiful city, he hadnot been unmindful of its attractions; that he had not beenindifferent to the claims of its citizens to scholarship and culture, and that among other things he noticed an altar erected to _an unknownGod_. He went on to remark, that, great as their city and nation were, God, whose offspring they were, had created other nations, who livedbeyond their verdant hills and swelling rivers. And, moreover, thatGod had created "all nations of men for to dwell on all the face ofthe earth" out "of one blood. " He called their attention to thefact that God had fenced all the nations in by geographicalboundaries, --had fixed the limits of their habitation. 

We find two leading thoughts in the twenty-sixth verse; viz. , thatthis passage establishes clearly and unmistakably the unity ofmankind, in that God created them of one blood; second, he hathdetermined "the bounds of their habitation, "--hath located themgeographically. The language quoted is very explicit. "He hathdetermined the bounds of their habitation, " that is, "all the nationsof men. [8] We have, then, the fact, that there are different "nationsof men, " and that they are all "of one blood, " and, therefore, have acommon parent. This declaration was made by the Apostle Paul, aninspired writer, a teacher of great erudition, and a scholar in boththe Hebrew and the Greek languages. 

It should not be forgotten either, that in Paul's masterly discussionof the doctrine of sin, --the fall of man, --he always refers to Adam asthe "one man" by whom sin came into the world. [9] His Epistle to theRomans abounds in passages which prove very plainly the unity ofmankind. The Acts of the Apostles, as well as the Gospels, prove theunity we seek to establish. 

But there are a few who would admit the unity of mankind, and stillinsist that the Negro does not belong to the human family. It is sopreposterous, that one has a keen sense of humiliation in the assuredconsciousness that he goes rather low to meet the enemies of God'spoor; but it can certainly do no harm to meet them with theeverlasting truth. 

In the Gospel of Luke we read this remarkable historical statement:"And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that hemight bear it after Jesus. "[10] By referring to the map, the readerwill observe that Cyrene is in Libya, on the north coast of Africa. All the commentators we have been able to consult, on the passagequoted below, agree that this man Simon was a Negro, --a black man. John Melville produced a very remarkable sermon from this passage. [11]And many of the most celebrated pictures of "The Crucifixion, " inEurope, represent this Cyrenian as black, and give him a veryprominent place in the most tragic scene ever witnessed on this earth. In the Acts of the Apostles we have a very full and interestingaccount of the conversion and immersion of the Ethiopian eunuch, "aman of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, Queen ofthe Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had cometo Jerusalem for to worship. "[12] Here, again, we find that all thecommentators agree as to the nationality of the eunuch: he was aNegro; and, by implication, the passage quoted leads us to the beliefthat the Ethiopians were a numerous and wealthy people. Candace wasthe queen that made war against Augustus Cæsar twenty years beforeChrist, and, though not victorious, secured an honorable peace. [13]She reigned in Upper Egypt, --up the Nile, --and lived at Meroe, thatancient city, the very cradle of Egyptian civilization. [14]

 "In the time of our Saviour (and indeed from that time forward), by Ethiopia was meant, in a general sense, the countries south of Egypt, then but imperfectly known; of one of which that Candace was queen whose eunuch was baptized by Philip. Mr. Bruce, on his return from Abyssinia, found in latitude 16° 38' a place called Chendi, where the reigning sovereign was then a queen; and where a tradition existed that a woman, by name Hendaque (which comes as near as possible to the Greek name [Greek: Chandakê]), once governed all that country. Near this place are extensive ruins, consisting of broken pedestals and obelisks, which Bruce conjectures to be those of Meroe, the capital of the African Ethiopia, which is described by Herodotus as a great city in his time, namely, four hundred years before Christ; and where, separated from the rest of the world by almost impassable deserts, and enriched by the commercial expeditions of their travelling brethren, the Cushites continued to cultivate, so late as the first century of the Christian era, some portions of those arts and sciences to which the settlers in the cities had always more or less devoted themselves. "[15]

But a few writers have asserted, and striven to prove, that theEgyptians and Ethiopians are quite a different people from the Negro. Jeremiah seems to have understood that these people about whom we havebeen writing were Negroes, --we mean black. "Can the Ethiopian, " asksthe prophet, "change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" The prophetwas as thoroughly aware that the Ethiopian was black, as that theleopard had spots; and Luther's German has for the word "Ethiopia, ""Negro-land, "--the country of the blacks. [16] The word "Ethiop" inthe Greek literally means "sunburn. "

That these Ethiopians were black, we have, in addition to the valuabletestimony of Jeremiah, the scholarly evidence of Herodotus, Homer, Josephus, Eusebius, Strabo, and others. 

It will be necessary for us to use the term "Cush" farther along inthis discussion: so we call attention at this time to the fact, thatthe Cushites, so frequently referred to in the Scriptures, are thesame as the Ethiopians. 

Driven from unscriptural and untenable ground on the unity of theraces of mankind, the enemies of the Negro, falling back in confusion, intrench themselves in the curse of Canaan. "And Noah awoke from hiswine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto hisbrethren. "[17] This passage was the leading theme of the defenders ofslavery in the pulpit for many years. Bishop Hopkins says, --

 "The heartless irreverence which Ham, the father of Canaan, displayed toward his eminent parent, whose piety had just saved him from the Deluge, presented the immediate _occasion_ for this remarkable prophecy; but the actual _fulfilment_ was reserved for his posterity after they had lost the knowledge of God, and become utterly polluted by the abominations of heathen idolatry. The Almighty, foreseeing this total degradation of the race, ordained them to servitude or slavery under the descendants of Shem and Japheth, doubtless because _he judged it to be their fittest condition_. And all history proves how accurately the prediction has been accomplished, even to the present day. "[18]

Now, the first thing to be done by those who adopt this view is, toprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Noah was inspired to pronouncethis prophecy. Noah _had_ been, as a rule, a righteous man. For morethan a hundred years he had lifted up his voice against the growingwickedness of the world. His fidelity to the cause of God wasunquestioned; and for his faith and correct living, he and his entirehousehold were saved from the Deluge. But after his miraculousdeliverance from the destruction that overcame the old world, hisentire character is changed. There is not a single passage to show usthat he continued his avocation as a preacher. He became a husbandman;he kept a vineyard; and, more than all, he drank of the wine and gotdrunk! Awaking from a state of inebriation, he knew that Ham hadbeheld his nakedness and "told his two brethren. " But "Shem andJapheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, andwent backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and theirfaces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. "[19]It is quite natural to suppose, that, humiliated and chagrined at hissinful conduct, and angered at the behavior of his son and grandson, Ham and Canaan, Noah expressed his disapprobation of Canaan. It was_his_ desire, on the impulse of the moment, that Canaan should suffera humiliation somewhat commensurate with his offence; and, on theother hand, it was appropriate that he should commend the conduct ofhis other sons, who sought to hide their father's shame. And all thiswas done without any inspiration. He simply expressed himself as afallible man. 

Bishop Hopkins, however, is pleased to call this a "prophecy. " Inorder to prophesy, in the scriptural meaning of the word, a man musthave the divine unction, and must be moved by the Holy Ghost; and, inaddition to this, it should be said, that a true prophecy always comesto pass, --is sure of fulfilment. Noah was not inspired when hepronounced his curse against Canaan, for the sufficient reason that itwas not fulfilled. He was not speaking in the spirit of prophecy whenhe blessed Shem and Japheth, for the good reason that theirdescendants have often been in bondage. Now, if these words of Noahwere prophetic, were inspired of God, we would naturally expect tofind _all of Canaan's descendants in bondage_, and all of Shem's outof bondage, --free! If this prophecy--granting this point to thelearned bishop for argument's sake--has not been fulfilled, then weconclude one of two things; namely, these are not the words of God, orthey have not been fulfilled. But they were not the words of prophecy, and consequently never had any divine authority. It was Canaan uponwhom Noah pronounced the curse: and Canaan was the son of Ham; andHam, it is said, is the progenitor of the Negro race. The Canaaniteswere not bondmen, but freemen, --powerful tribes when the Hebrewsinvaded their country; and from the Canaanites descended the bold andintelligent Carthaginians, as is admitted by the majority of writerson this subject. From Ham proceeded the Egyptians, Libyans, thePhutim, and the Cushim or Ethiopians, who, colonizing the Africanside of the Red Sea, subsequently extended themselves indefinitely tothe west and south of that great continent. Egypt was called Chemia, or the country of Ham; and it has been thought that the Egyptian'sdeity, Hammon or Ammon, was a deification of Ham. [20] TheCarthaginians were successful in numerous wars against the sturdyRomans. So in this, as in many other instances, the prophecy of Noahfailed. 

Following the chapter containing the prophecy of Noah, the historianrecords the genealogy of the descendants of Ham and Canaan. We willquote the entire account that we may be assisted to the truth. 

 "And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan; and the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (out of whom came Philistim), and Caphtorim. And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. "[21]

Here is a very minute account of the family of Ham, who it is said wasto share the fate of his son Canaan, and a clear account of thechildren of Canaan. "Nimrod, " says the record, "began to be a mightyone in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.... And thebeginning of his kingdom, " etc. We find that Cush was the oldest sonof Ham, and the father of Nimrod the "mighty one in the earth, " whose"kingdom" was so extensive. He founded the Babylonian empire, and wasthe father of the founder of the city of Nineveh, one of the grandestcities of the ancient world. These wonderful achievements were of thechildren of Cush, the ancestor of the Negroes. It is fair to supposethat this line of Ham's posterity was not lacking in powers necessaryto found cities and kingdoms, and maintain government. 

Thus far we have been enabled to see, according to the Bible record, that the posterity of Canaan did not go into bondage; that it was apowerful people, both in point of numbers and wealth; and, from thenumber and character of the cities it built, we infer that it was anintellectual posterity. We conclude that thus far there is noevidence, from a biblical standpoint, that Noah's prophecy wasfulfilled. But, notwithstanding the absence of scriptural proof as tothe bondage of the children of Canaan, the venerable Dr. Mede says, "There never has been a son of Ham who has shaken a sceptre over thehead of Japheth. Shem has subdued Japheth, and Japheth has subduedShem; but Ham has never subdued either. " The doctor is eitherfalsifying the facts of history, or is ignorant of history. TheHebrews were in bondage in Egypt for centuries. Egypt was peopled byMisraim, the second son of Ham. Who were the Shemites? They wereHebrews! The Shemites were in slavery to the Hamites. Melchizedek, whose name was expressive of his character, --_king of righteousness_(or a righteous king), was a worthy priest of the most high God; andAbimelech, whose name imports _parental king_, pleaded the integrityof his heart and the righteousness of his nation before God, and hisplea was admitted. Yet both these personages appear to have beenCanaanites. "[22] Melchizedek and Abimelech were Canaanites, and themost sacred and honorable characters in Old-Testament history. It wasAbraham, a Shemite, who, meeting Melchizedek, a Canaanite, gave him atenth of all his spoils. It was Nimrod, a Cushite, who "went to Asher, and built Nineveh, " after subduing the Shemites, So it seems veryplain that Noah's prophecy did not come true in every respect, andthat it was not the word of God. "And God blessed Noah and hissons. "[23] God pronounces his blessing upon this entire family, andenjoins upon them to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish theearth. " Afterwards Noah seeks to abrogate the blessing of God by his"cursed be Canaan. " But this was only the bitter expression of adrunken and humiliated parent lacking divine authority. No doubt heand his other two sons conformed their conduct to the spirit of thecurse pronounced, and treated the Hamites accordingly. The scholarlyDr. William Jones[24] says that Ham was the youngest son of Noah; thathe had four sons, Cush, Misraim, Phut, and Canaan; and that theypeopled Africa and part of Asia. [25] The Hamites were the offspring ofNoah, and one of the three great families that have peopled theearth. [26]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Gen. I. 27. 

[2] Gen. Ii. 7. 

[3] Gen. Ii. 15. 

[4] Gen. I. 28. 

[5] Gen. Vi. 5_sq. _

[6] Encycl. Of Geo. , p. 255. 

[7] If the Apostle Paul had asserted that all men resembled each otherin the color of their skin and the texture of their hair, or even intheir physiological make-up, he would have been at war withobservation and critical investigation. But, having announced awonderful truth in reference to the unity of the human race as basedupon one blood, science comes to his support, and through themicroscope reveals the corpuscles of the blood, and shows that theglobule is the same in all human blood. 

[8] Deut. Xxxii. 8, 9: "When the Most High divided to the nationstheir inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set thebounds of the people according to the number of the children ofIsrael. For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of hisinheritance. "

[9] Rom. V. 12, 14-21. 

[10] Luke xxiii, 26: Acts vi. 9, also second chapter, tenth verse. Matthew records the same fact in the twenty-seventh chapter, thirty-second verse. "And at they came out, they found a man ofCyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. "

[11] See Melville's Sermons. 

[12] Acts viii. 27. 

[13] Pliny says the Ethiopian government subsisted for severalgenerations in the hands of queens whose name was _Candace_. 

[14] See Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon. 

[15] Jones's Biblical Cyclopædia, p. 311. 

[16] The term Ethiope was anciently given to all those whose color wasdarkened by the sun. --_Smyth's Unity of the Human Races_, chap. I. P. 34. 

[17] Gen. Ix. 24, 25. See also the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventhverses. 

[18] Bible Views of Slavery, p. 7. 

[19] Gen. Ix. 23. 

[20] Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride. See also Dr. Morton, andEthnological Journal, 4th No p. 172. 

[21] Gen. X. 6-20. 

[22] Dr. Bush. 

[23] Gen. Ix. I. 

[24] Jones's Biblical Cyclopædia, p. 393. Ps. Lxxviii. 51. 

[25] Ps. Cv. 23. 

[26] If Noah's utterance were to be regarded as a prophecy, it appliedonly to the Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, Noah's grandson. Nothing is said in reference to any person but Canaan in the supposedprophecy. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE NEGRO IN THE LIGHT OF PHILOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND EGYPTOLOGY. 

 CUSHIM AND ETHIOPIA. --ETHIOPIANS, WHITE AND BLACK. --NEGRO CHARACTERISTICS. --THE DARK CONTINENT. --THE ANTIQUITY OF THE NEGRO. --INDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE. --THE MILITARY AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF NEGROES. --CAUSE OF COLOR. --THE TERM ETHIOPIAN. 

There seems to be a great deal of ignorance and confusion in the useof the word "Negro;"[27] and about as much trouble attends the properclassification of the inhabitants of Africa. In the preceding chapterwe endeavored to prove, not that Ham and Canaan were the progenitorsof the Negro races, --for that is admitted by the most consistentenemies of the blacks, --but that the human race is _one_, and thatNoah's curse was not a divine prophecy. 

The term "Negro" seems to be applied chiefly to the dark andwoolly-haired people who inhabit Western Africa. But the Negro is tobe found also in Eastern Africa. [28] Zonaras says, "Chus is the personfrom whom the Cuseans are derived. They are the same people as theEthiopians. " This view is corroborated by Josephus. [29] Apuleius, andEusebius. The Hebrew term "Cush" is translated Ethiopia by theSeptuagint, Vulgate, and by almost all other versions, ancient andmodern, as well as by the English version. "It is not, therefore, tobe doubted that the term '_Cushim_' has by the interpretation of allages been translated by 'Ethiopians, ' because they were also known bytheir black color, and their transmigrations, which were easy andfrequent. "[30] But while it is a fact, supported by both sacred andprofane history, that the terms "Cush" and "Ethiopian" were usedinterchangeably, there seems to be no lack of proof that the sameterms were applied frequently to a people who were not Negroes. Itshould be remembered, moreover, that there were nations who wereblack, and yet were not Negroes. And the only distinction amongst allthese people, who are branches of the Hamitic family, is the textureof the hair. "But it is _equally_ certain, as we have seen, that theterm 'Cushite' is applied in Scripture to other branches of the samefamily; as, for instance, to the Midianites, from whom Moses selectedhis wife, and who could not have been Negroes. The term 'Cushite, 'therefore, is used in Scripture as denoting nations who were notblack, or in any respect Negroes, and also countries south of Egypt, whose inhabitants were Negroes; and yet both races are declared to bethe descendants of Cush, the son of Ham. Even in Ezekiel's day theinterior African nations were not of one race; for he represents Cush, Phut, Lud, and Chub, as either themselves constituting, or as beingamalgamated with, 'a mingled people' (Ezek. Xxx. 5); 'that is to say, 'says Faber, 'it was a nation of Negroes who are represented as verynumerous, --_all_ the mingled people. '"[31]

The term "Ethiopia" was anciently given to all those whose color wasdarkened by the sun. Herodotus, therefore, distinguishes the EasternEthiopians who had straight hair, from the Western Ethiopians who hadcurly or woolly hair. [32]. They are a twofold people, lying extendedin a long tract from the rising to the setting sun. "[33]

The conclusion is patent. The words "Ethiopia" and "Cush" were usedalways to describe a black people, or the country where such a peoplelived. The term "Negro, " from the Latin "_niger_" and the French"_noir_, " means black; and consequently is a modern term, with all theoriginal meaning of Cush and Ethiopia, with a single exception. Wecalled attention above to the fact that all Ethiopians were not of thepure Negro type, but were nevertheless a branch of the originalHamitic family from whence sprang all the dark races. The term "Negro"is now used to designate the people, who, in addition to their darkcomplexion, have curly or woolly hair. It is in this connection thatwe shall use the term in this work. [34]

Africa, the home of the indigenous dark races, in a geographic andethnographic sense, is the most wonderful country in the world It isthoroughly tropical. It has an area in English square miles of11, 556, 600, with a population of 192, 520, 000 souls. It lies betweenthe latitudes of 38° north and 35° south; and is, strictly speaking, an enormous peninsula, attached to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez. Themost northern point is the cape, situated a little to the west of CaboBlanco, and opposite Sicily, which lies in latitude 37° 20' 40" north, longitude 9° 41' east. Its southernmost point is Cabo d'Agulhas, in34° 49' 15" south; the distance between these two points being 4, 330geographical, or about 5, 000 English miles. The westernmost point isCabo Verde, in longitude 17° 33' west; its easternmost, CapeJerdaffun, in longitude 51° 21' east, latitude 10° 25' north, thedistance between the two points being about the same as its length. The western coasts are washed by the Atlantic, the northern by theMediterranean, and the eastern by the Indian Ocean. The shape of this"dark continent" is likened to a triangle or to an Oval. It is rich inoils, ivory, gold, and precious timber. It has beautiful lakes andmighty rivers, that are the insoluble problems of the present times. 

Of the antiquity of the Negro there can be no doubt. He is known asthoroughly to history as any of the other families of men. He appearsat the first dawn of history, and has continued down to the presenttime. The scholarly Gliddon says, that "the hieroglyphical designationof 'KeSH, ' exclusively applied to _African_ races as distinct from theEgyptian, has been found by Lepsius as far back as the monuments ofthe sixth dynasty, 3000 B. C. But the great influx of Negro and Mulattoraces into Egypt as captives dated from the twelfth dynasty; when, about the twenty-second century, B. C. , Pharaoh SESOUR-TASEN extendedhis conquests up the Nile far into Nigritia. After the eighteenthdynasty the monuments come down to the third century, A. D. , withoutone single instance in the Pharaonic or Ptolemaic periods that Negrolabor was ever directed to any agricultural or utilitarianobjects. "[35] The Negro was found in great numbers with the Sukim, Thut, Lubin, and other African nations, who formed the strength of thearmy of the king of Egypt, Shishak, when he came against Rehoboam inthe year 971 B. C. ; and in his tomb, opened in 1849, there were foundamong his depicted army the exact representation of the genuine Negrorace, both in color, hair, and physiognomy. Negroes are alsorepresented in Egyptian paintings as connected with the militarycampaigns of the eighteenth dynasty. They formed a part of the army ofIbrahim Pacha, and were prized as gallant soldiers at Moncha and inSouth Arabia. [36] And Herodotus assures us that Negroes were found inthe armies of Sesostris and Xerxes; and, at the present time, they areno inconsiderable part of the standing army of Egypt. [37] Herodotusstates that eighteen of the Egyptian kings were Ethiopians. [38]

It is quite remarkable to hear a writer like John P. Jeffries, whoevidently is not very friendly in his criticisms of the Negro, makesuch a positive declaration as the following:--

 "Every rational mind must, therefore, readily conclude that the African race has been in existence, as a distinct people, over four thousand two hundred years; and how long before that period is a matter of conjecture only, there being no reliable data upon which to predicate any reliable opinion. "[39]

It is difficult to find a writer on ethnology, ethnography, orEgyptology, who doubts the antiquity of the Negroes as a distinctpeople. Dr. John C. Nott of Mobile, Ala. , a Southern man in the widestmeaning, in his "Types of Mankind, " while he tries to make his bookacceptable to Southern slaveholders, strongly maintains the antiquityof the Negro. 

 "Ethnological science, then, possesses not only the authoritative testimonies of Lepsius and Birch in proof of the existence of Negro races during the twenty-fourth century, B. C. , but, the same fact being conceded by all living Egyptologists, we may hence infer that these Nigritian types were contemporary with the earliest Egyptians. "[40]

In 1829 there was a remarkable Theban tomb opened by Mr. Wilkinson, and in 1840 it was carefully examined by Harris and Gliddon. There isa most wonderful collection of Negro scenes in it. Of one of thesescenes even Dr. Nott says, --

 "A Negress, apparently a princess, arrives at Thebes, drawn in a plaustrum by a pair of humped oxen, the driver and groom being red-colored Egyptians, and, one might almost infer, eunuchs. Following her are multitudes of Negroes and Nubians, bringing tribute from the upper country, as well as black slaves of both sexes and all ages, among which are some _red_ children, whose _fathers_ were Egyptians. The cause of her advent seems to have been to make offerings in the tomb of a 'royal son of KeS_h_--Amunoph, ' who may have been her husband. "[41]

It is rather strange that the feelings of Dr. Nott toward the Negrowere so far mollified as to allow him to make a statement thatdestroys his heretofore specious reasoning about the political andsocial status of the Negro. He admits the antiquity of the Negro; butmakes a special effort to place him in a servile state at all times, and to present him as a vanquished vassal before Ramses III. And otherEgyptian kings. He sees no change in the Negro's condition, exceptthat in slavery he is better fed and clothed than in his native home. But, nevertheless, the Negress of whom he makes mention, and theentire picture in the Theban tomb, put down the learned doctor'sargument. Here is a Negro princess with Egyptian driver and groom, with a large army of attendants, going on a long journey to the tombof her royal husband!

There is little room here to question the political and socialconditions of the Negroes. [42] They either had enjoyed a long andpeaceful rule, or by their valor in offensive warfare had wonhonorable place by conquest. And the fact that black slaves arementioned does not in any sense invalidate the historicaltrustworthiness of the pictures found in this Theban tomb; forWilkinson says, in reference to the condition of society at thisperiod, --

 "It is evident that both white and black slaves were employed as servants; they attended on the guests when invited to the house of their master; and, from their being in the families of priests as well as of the military chiefs, we may infer that they were purchased with money, and that the right of possessing slaves was not confined to those who had taken them in war. The traffic in slaves was tolerated by the Egyptians; and it is reasonable to suppose that many persons were engaged ... In bringing them to Egypt for public sale, independent of those who were sent as part of the tribute, and who were probably, at first, the property of the monarch; nor did any difficulty occur to the Ishmaelites in the purchase of Joseph from his brethren, nor in his subsequent sale to Potiphar on arriving in Egypt. "

So we find that slavery was not, at this time, confined to anyparticular race of people. This Negro princess was as liable topurchase white as black slaves; and doubtless some were taken insuccessful wars with other nations, while others were purchased asservants. 

But we have further evidence to offer in favor of the antiquity of theNegro. In Japan, and in many other parts of the East, there are to befound stupendous and magnificent temples, that are hoary with age. Itis almost impossible to determine the antiquity of some of them, inwhich the idols are exact representations of woolly-haired Negroes, although the inhabitants of those countries to-day have straight hair. Among the Japanese, black is considered a color of good omen. In thetemples of Siam we find the idols fashioned like unto Negroes. [43]Osiris, one of the principal deities of the Egyptians, is frequentlyrepresented as black. [44] Bubastis, also, the Diana of Greece, and amember of the great Egyptian Triad, is now on exhibition in theBritish Museum, sculptured in black basalt silting figure. [45] Amongthe Hindus, Kali, the consort of Siva, one of their great Triad;Crishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu; and Vishnu also himself, the second of the Trimerti or Hindu Triad, are represented of a blackcolor. [46] Dr. Morton says, --

 "The Sphinx may have been the shrine of the Negro population of Egypt, who, as a people, were unquestionably under our average size. Three million Buddhists in Asia represent their chief deity, Buddha, with Negro features and hair. There are two other images of Buddha, one at Ceylon and the other at Calanee, of which Lieut. Mahoney says, 'Both these statues agree in having crisped hair and long, pendent ear-rings, '"[47]

And the learned and indefatigable Hamilton Smith says, --

 "In the plains of India are Nagpoor, and a ruined city without name at the gates of Benares (perhaps the real Kasi of tradition), once adorned with statues of a woolly-haired race. "[48]

Now, these substantial and indisputable traces of the march of theNegro races through Japan and Asia lead us to conclude that the Negrorace antedates all profane history. And while the great body of theNegro races have been located geographically in Africa, they havebeen, in no small sense, a cosmopolitan people. Their wanderings maybe traced from the rising to the setting sun. 

 "The remains of architecture and sculpture in India seem to prove an early connection between that country and Africa.... The Pyramids of Egypt, the colossal statues described by Pausanias and others, the Sphinx, and the Hermes Canis, which last bears a strong resemblance to the Varaha Avatar, indicate the style of the same indefatigable workmen who formed the vast excavations of Canarah, the various temples and images of Buddha, and the idols which are continually dug up at Gaya or in its vicinity. These and other indubitable facts may induce no ill-grounded opinion, that Ethiopia and Hindustan were peopled or colonized by the same extraordinary race; in confirmation of which it may be added, that the mountaineers of Bengal and Benhar can hardly be distinguished in some of their features, particularly in their lips and noses, from the modern Abyssinians. "[49]

There is little room for speculation here to the candid searcher aftertruth. The evidence accumulates as we pursue our investigations. Monuments and temples, sepulchred stones and pyramids, rise up todeclare the antiquity of the Negro races. Hamilton Smith, aftercareful and critical investigation, reaches the conclusion, that theNegro type of man was the most ancient, and the indigenous race ofAsia, as far north as the lower range of the Himalaya Mountains, andpresents at length many curious facts which cannot, he believes, beotherwise explained. 

 "In this view, the first migrations of the Negro stock, coasting westward by catamarans, or in wretched canoes, and skirting South-western Asia, may synchronize with the earliest appearance of the Negro tribes of Eastern Africa, and just precede the more mixed races, which, like the Ethiopians of Asia, passed the Red Sea at the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, ascended the Nile, or crossed that river to the west. "[50]

Taking the whole southern portion of Asia westward to Arabia, thisconjecture--which likewise was a conclusion drawn, after patientresearch, by the late Sir T. Stanford Raffles--accounts, moresatisfactorily than any other, for the Oriental habits, ideas, traditions, and words which can be traced among several of the presentAfrican tribes and in the South-Sea Islands. Traces of this black raceare still found along the Himalaya range from the Indus to Indo-China, and the Malay peninsula, and in a mixed form all through the southernstates to Ceylon. [51]

But it is unnecessary to multiply evidence in proof of the antiquityof the Negro. His presence in this world was coetaneous with the otherfamilies of mankind: here he has toiled with a varied fortune; andhere under God--_his_ God--he will, in the process of time, work outall the sublime problems connected with his future as a man and abrother. 

There are various opinions rife as to the cause of color and textureof hair in the Negro. The generally accepted theory years ago was, that the curse of Cain rested upon this race; while others saw in thedark skin of the Negro the curse of Noah pronounced against Canaan. These two explanations were comforting to that class who claimed thatthey had a right to buy and sell the Negro; and of whom the Savioursaid, "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and laythem on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them withone of their fingers. "[52] But science has, of later years, attempteda solution of this problem. Peter Barrère, in his treatise on thesubject, takes the ground that the bile in the human system has muchto do with the color of the skin. [53] This theory, however, has drawnthe fire of a number of European scholars, who have combated it withmore zeal than skill. It is said that the spinal and brain matter areof a dark, ashy color; and by careful examination it is proven thatthe blood of Ethiopians is black. These facts would seem to clothethis theory with at least a shadow of plausibility. But the opinion ofAristotle, Strabo, Alexander, and Blumenbach is, that the climate, temperature, and mode of life, have more to do with giving color thanany thing else. This is certainly true among animals and plants. Thereare many instances on record where dogs and wolves, etc. , have turnedwhite in winter, and then assumed a different color in the spring. Ifyou start at the north and move south, you will find, at first, thatthe flowers are very white and delicate; but, as you move toward thetropics, they begin to take on deeper and richer hues until they runinto almost endless varieties. Guyot argues on the other side of thequestion to account for the intellectual diversity of the races ofmankind. 

 "While all the types of animals and of plants go on decreasing in perfection, from the equatorial to the polar regions, in proportion to the temperatures, man presents to our view his purest, his most perfect type, at the very centre of the temperate continents, --at the centre of Asia, Europe, in the regions of Iran, of Armenia, and of the Caucasus; and, departing from this geographical centre in the three grand directions of the lands, the types gradually lose the beauty of their forms, in proportion to their distance, even to the extreme points of the southern continents, where we find the most deformed and degenerate races, and the lowest in the scale of humanity. "[54]

The learned professor seeks to carry out his famous geographicalargument, and, with great skill and labor, weaves his theory of theinfluence of climate upon the brain and character of man. But while noscholar would presume to combat the theory that plants take on themost gorgeous hues as one nears the equator, and that the races ofmankind take on a darker color in their march toward the equator, certainly no student of Oriental history will assent to theunsupported doctrine, that the intensity of the climate of tropicalcountries affects the intellectual status of races. If any one be soprejudiced as to doubt this, let him turn to "Asiatic Researches, " andlearn that the dark races have made some of the most invaluablecontributions to science, literature, civil-engineering, art, andarchitecture that the world has yet known. Here we find the cradle ofcivilization, ancient and remote. 

Even changes and differences in color are to be noted in almost everycommunity. 

 "As we go westward we observe the light color predominating over the dark; and then, again, when we come within the influence of damp from the sea-air, we find the shade deepened into the general blackness of the coast population. "

The artisan and farm-laborer may become exceedingly dark fromexposure, and the sailor is frequently so affected by the weather thatit is next to impossible to tell his nationality. 

 "It is well known that the Biscayan women are a shining white, the inhabitants of Granada on the contrary dark, to such an extent, that, in this region, the pictures of the blessed Virgin and other saints are painted of the same color. "[55]

The same writer calls attention to the fact, that the people on theCordilleras, who live under the mountains towards the west, and are, therefore, exposed to the Pacific Ocean, are quite, or nearly, as fairin complexion as the Europeans; whereas, on the contrary, theinhabitants of the opposite side, exposed to the burning sun andscorching winds, are copper-colored. Of this theory of climatericinfluence we shall say more farther on. 

It is held by some eminent physicians in Europe and America, that thecolor of the skin depends upon substances external to the _cutisvera_. Outside of the _cutis_ are certain layers of a substancevarious in consistence, and scarcely perceptible: here is the home andseat of color; and these may be regarded as secretions from thevessels of the _cutis_. The dark color of the Negro principallydepends on the substance interposed between the true skin and thescarf-skin. This substance presents different appearances: and it isdescribed sometimes as a sort of organized network or reticulartissue; at others, as a mere mucous or slimy layer; and it is odd thatthese somewhat incompatible ideas are both conveyed by the term_reticulum mucosum_ given to the intermediate portion of the skin byits orignal discoverer, Malpighi. There is, no doubt, somethingplausible in all the theories advanced as to the color and hair of theNegro; but it is verily all speculation. One theory is about asvaluable as another. 

Nine hundred years before Christ the poet Homer, speaking of the deathof Memnon, killed at the siege of Troy, says, "He was received by hisEthiopians. " This is the first use of the word Ethiopia in the Greek;and it is derived from the roots [Greek: aithô], "to burn, " and[Greek: ôps], "face. " It is safe to assume, that, when God dispersedthe sons of Noah, he fixed the "bounds of their habitation, " and, that, from the earth and sky the various races have secured theircivilization. He sent the different nations into separate parts of theearth. He gave to each its racial peculiarities, and adaptability forthe climate into which it went. He gave color, language, andcivilization; and, when by wisdom we fail to interpret his inscrutableways, it is pleasant to know that "he worketh all things after thecounsel of his own mind. "

FOOTNOTES:

[27] Edward W. Blyden, LL. D. , of Liberia, says, "Supposing that thisterm was originally used as a phrase of contempt, is it not with us toelevate it? How often has it not happened that names originally givenin reproach have been afterwards adopted as a title of honor by thoseagainst whom it was used?--Methodists, Quakers, etc. But as a proofthat no unfavorable signification attached to the word when firstemployed, I may mention, that, long before the slave-trade began, travellers found the blacks on the coast of Africa preferring to becalled Negroes" (see Purchas' Pilgrimage ... ). And in all thepre-slavetrade literature the word was spelled with a capital _N_. Itwas the slavery of the blacks which afterwards degraded the term. Tosay that the name was invented to degrade the race, some of whosemembers were reduced to slavery, is to be guilty of what in grammar iscalled a _hysteron proteron_. The disgrace became attached to the namein consequence of slavery; and what we propose to do is, now thatslavery is abolished, to restore it to its original place andlegitimate use, and therefore to restore the capital _N_. "

[28] Prichard, vol. Ii. P. 44. 

[29] Josephus, Antiq. , lib. 2, chap. 6. 

[30] Poole. 

[31] Smyth's Unity Human Races, chap. II, p. 41. 

[32] Herodotus, vii. , 69, 70. Ancient Univ. Hist. , vol. Xviii. Pp. 254, 255. 

[33] Strabo, vol. I. P. 60. 

[34] It is not wise, to say the least, for intelligent Negroes inAmerica to seek to drop the word "Negro. " It is a good, strong, andhealthy word, and ought to live. It should be covered with glory: letNegroes do it. 

[35] Journal of Ethnology, No. 7, p. 310. 

[36] Pickering's Races of Men, pp. 185-89. 

[37] Burckhardt's Travels, p. 341. 

[38] Euterpe, lib. 6. 

[39] Jeffries's Nat. Hist. Of Human Race, p. 315. 

[40] Types of Mankind, p. 259. 

[41] Types of Mankind, p. 262. 

[42] Even in Africa it is found that Negroes possess great culture. Speaking of Sego, the capital of Bambara, Mr. Park says: "The view ofthis extensive city, the numerous, canoes upon the river, the crowdedpopulation, and the cultivated state of the surrounding country, formed altogether a prospect of civilization and magnificence which Ilittle expected to find in the bosom of Africa. " See Park's Travels, chap. Ii. 

Mr. Park also adds, that the population of this city, Sego, is aboutthirty thousand. It had mosques, and even ferries were busy conveyingmen and horses over the Niger. 

[43] See Ambassades Mémorables de la Companie des Indes orientales desProvinces Unies vers les Empereurs du Japan, Amst. , 1680; andKaempfer. 

[44] Wilkinson's Egypt, vol. Iii. P. 340. 

[45] Coleman's Mythology of the Hindus, p. 91. Dr. William Jones, vol. Iii. , p. 377. 

[46] Asiatic Researches, vol. Vi. Pp. 436-448. 

[47] Heber's Narrative, vol. I. P. 254. 

[48] Nat. Hist. Of the Human Species, pp. 209, 214, 217. 

[49] Asiatic Researches, vol. I. P 427. Also Sir William Jones, vol. Iii. 3d disc. 

[50] Nat. Hist. Human Species, p. 126. 

[51] Prichard, pp. 188-219. 

[52] Matt. Xxiii. 4. 

[53] Discours sur la cause physicale de la couleur des nègres. 

[54] Earth and Man. Lecture x. Pp. 254, 255. 

[55] Blumenbach, p. 107. 

CHAPTER III. 

PRIMITIVE NEGRO CIVILIZATION. 

 THE ANCIENT AND HIGH DEGREE OF NEGRO CIVILIZATION. --EGYPT, GREECE, AND ROME BORROW FROM THE NEGRO THE CIVILIZATION THAT MADE THEM GREAT. --CAUSE OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF NEGRO CIVILIZATION. --CONFOUNDING THE TERMS "NEGRO" AND "AFRICAN. "

It is fair to presume that God gave all the races of mankindcivilization to start with. We infer this from the known character ofthe Creator. Before Romulus founded Rome, before Homer sang, whenGreece was in its infancy, and the world quite young, "hoary Meroe"was the chief city of the Negroes along the Nile. Its private andpublic buildings, its markets and public squares, its colossal wallsand stupendous gates, its gorgeous chariots and alert footmen, itsinventive genius and ripe scholarship, made it the cradle ofcivilization, and the mother of art. It was the queenly city ofEthiopia, --for it was founded by colonies of Negroes. Through its opengates long and ceaseless caravans, laden with gold, silver, ivory, frankincense, and palm-oil, poured the riches of Africa into thecapacious lap of the city. The learning of this people, embalmed inthe immortal hieroglyphic, flowed adown the Nile, and, like spray, spread over the delta of that time-honored stream, on by the beautifuland venerable city of Thebes, --the city of a hundred gates, anothermonument to Negro genius and civilization, and more ancient than thecities of the Delta, --until Greece and Rome stood transfixed beforethe ancient glory of Ethiopia! Homeric mythology borrowed its veryessence from Negro hieroglyphics; Egypt borrowed her light from thevenerable Negroes up the Nile. Greece went to school to the Egyptians, and Rome turned to Greece for law and the science of warfare. Englanddug down into Rome twenty centuries to learn to build and plant, toestablish a government, and maintain it. Thus the flow of civilizationhas been from the East--the place of light--to the West; from theOriental to the Occidental. (God fixed the mountains east and west inEurope. )

 "Tradition universally represents the earliest men descending, it is true, from the high table-lands of this continent; but it is in the low and fertile plains lying at their feet, with which we are already acquainted, that they unite themselves for the first time in natural bodies, in tribes, with fixed habitations, devoting themselves to husbandry, building cities, cultivating the arts, --in a word, forming well-regulated societies. The traditions of the Chinese place the first progenitors of that people on the high table-land, whence the great rivers flow: they mike them advance, station by station as far as the shores of the ocean. The people of the Brahmins come down from the regions of the Hindo-Khu, and from Cashmere, into the plains of the Indus and the Ganges; Assyria and Bactriana receive their inhabitants from the table-lands of Armenia and Persia. 

 "These alluvial plains, watered by their twin rivers, were better formed than all other countries of the globe to render the first steps of man, an infant still, easy in the career of civilized life. A rich soil, on which overflowing rivers spread every year a fruitful loam, as in Egypt, and one where the plough is almost useless, so movable and so easily tilled is it, a warm climate, finally, secure to the inhabitants of these fortunate regions plentiful harvests in return for light labor. Nevertheless, the conflict with the river itself and with the desert, --which, on the banks of the Euphrates, as on those of the Nile and the Indus, is ever threatening to invade the cultivated lands, --the necessity of irrigation, the inconstancy of the seasons, keep forethought alive, and give birth to the useful arts and to the sciences of observation. The abundance of resources, the absence of every obstacle, of all separation between the different parts of these vast plains, allow the aggregation of a great number of men upon one and the same space, and facilitate the formation of those mighty primitive states which amaze us by the grandeur of their proportions. 

 "Each of them finds upon its own soil all that is necessary for a brilliant exhibition of its resources. We see those nations come rapidly forward, and reach in the remotest antiquity a degree of culture of which the temples and the monuments of Egypt and of India, and the recently discovered palaces of Nineveh are living and glorious witnesses. 

 "Great nations, then, are separately formed in each of these areas, circumscribed by nature within natural limits. Each has its religion, its social principles, its civilization severally. But nature, as we have seen, has separated them; little intercourse is established between them; the social principle on which they are founded is exhausted by the very formation of the social state they enjoy, and is never renewed. A common life is wanting to them: they do not reciprocally share with each other their riches. With them movement is stopped: every thing becomes stable and tends to remain stationary. 

 "Meantime, in spite of the peculiar seal impressed on each of these Oriental nations by the natural conditions in the midst of which they live, they have, nevertheless some grand characteristics common to all, some family traits that betray the nature of the continent and the period of human progress to which they belong, making them known on the one side as Asiatic, and on the other side as primitive. "[56]

Is it asked what caused the decline of all this glory of the primitiveNegro? why this people lost their position in the world's history?Idolatry! Sin![57]

Centuries have flown apace, tribes have perished, cities have risenand fallen, and even empires, whose boast was their duration, havecrumbled, while Thebes and Meroe stood. And it is a remarkable fact, that the people who built those cities are less mortal than theirhandiwork. Notwithstanding their degradation, their woes and wrongs, the perils of the forest and dangers of the desert, this remarkablepeople have not been blotted out. They still live, and are multiplyingin the earth. Certainly they have been preserved for some wisepurpose, in the future to be unfolded. 

But, again, what was the cause of the Negro's fall from his high stateof civilization? It was forgetfulness of God, idolatry! "Righteousnessexalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people. "

The Negro tribes of Africa are as widely separated by mental, moral, physical, and social qualities as the Irish, Huns, Copts, and Druidsare. Their location on the Dark Continent, their surroundings, and theamount of light that has come to them from the outside world, are thethermometer of their civilization. It is as manifestly improper tocall all Africans Negroes as to call, Americans Indians. 

 "The Negro nations of Africa differ widely as to their manner of life and their characters, both of mind and body, in different parts of that continent, according as they have existed under different moral and physical conditions. Foreign culture, though not of a high degree, has been introduced among the population of some regions; while from others it has been shut out by almost impenetrable barriers, beyond which the aboriginal people remain secluded amid their mountains and forests, in a state of instinctive existence, --a state from which, history informs us, that human races have hardly emerged, until moved by some impulse from without. Neither Phoenician nor Roman culture seems to have penetrated into Africa beyond the Atlantic region and the desert. The activity and enthusiasm of the propagators of Islam have reached farther. In the fertile low countries beyond the Sahara, watered by rivers which descend northward from the central highlands, Africa has contained for centuries several Negro empires, originally founded by Mohammedans. The Negroes of this part of Africa are people of a very different description from the black pagan nations farther towards the South. They have adopted many of the arts of civilized society, and have subjected themselves to governments and political institutions. They practise agriculture, and have learned the necessary, and even some of the ornamental, arts of life, and dwell in towns of considerable extent; many of which are said to contain ten thousand, and even thirty thousand inhabitants, --a circumstance which implies a considerable advancement in industry and the resources of subsistence. All these improvements were introduced into the interior of Africa three or four centuries ago; and we have historical testimony, that in the region where trade and agriculture now prevail the population consisted, previous to the introduction of Islam, of savages as wild and fierce as the natives farther towards the south, whither the missionaries of that religion have never penetrated. It hence appears that human society has not been in all parts of Africa stationary and unprogressive from age to age. The first impulse to civilization was late in reaching the interior of that continent, owing to local circumstances which are easily understood; but, when it had once taken place, an improvement has resulted which is, perhaps, proportional to the early progress of human culture in other more favored regions of the world. "[58]

But in our examination of African tribes we shall not confineourselves to that class of people known as Negroes, but call attentionto other tribes as well. And while, in this country, all persons witha visible admixture of Negro blood in them are considered Negroes, itis technically incorrect. For the real Negro was not the sole subjectsold into slavery: very many of the noblest types of mankind in Africahave, through the uncertainties of war, found their way to the horrorsof the middle passage, and finally to the rice and cotton fields ofthe Carolinas and Virginias. So, in speaking of the race in thiscountry, in subsequent chapters, I shall refer to them as _coloredpeople_ or _Negroes_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[56] Earth and Man, pp. 300-302. 

[57] It is a remarkable fact, that the absence of salt in the food ofthe Eastern nations, especially the dark nations or races, has beenvery deleterious. An African child will eat salt by the handful, and, once tasting it, will cry for it. The ocean is the womb of nature; andthe Creator has wisely designed salt as the savor of life, thepreservative element in human food. 

[58] Physical History of Mankind, vol. Ii. Pp. 45, 46. 

CHAPTER IV. 

NEGRO KINGDOMS OF AFRICA. 

 BENIN: ITS LOCATION. --ITS DISCOVERY BY THE PORTUGUESE. --INTRODUCTION OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGION. --THE KING AS A MISSIONARY, --HIS FIDELITY TO THE CHURCH PURCHASED BY WHITE WIFE. --DECLINE OF RELIGION. --INTRODUCTION OF SLAVERY. --SUPPRESSION OF THE TRADE BY THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. --RESTORATION AND PEACE. 

 DAHOMEY: ITS LOCATION. --ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM. --MEANING OF THE NAME. --WAR. --CAPTURE OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNOR, AND HIS DEATH. --THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. --WOMEN AS SOLDIERS. --WARS AND THEIR OBJECTS. --HUMAN SACRIFICE. --THE KING A DESPOT. --HIS POWERS. --HIS WIVES. --POLYGAMY. --KINGLY SUCCESSION. --CORONATION. --CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW. --REVENUE SYSTEM. --ITS FUTURE. 

 YORUBA: ITS LOCATION. --SLAVERY AND ITS ABOLITION. --GROWTH OF THE PEOPLE OF ABEOKUTA. --MISSIONARIES AND TEACHERS FROM SIERRA LEONE. --PROSPERITY AND PEACE ATTEND THE PEOPLE. --CAPACITY OF THE PEOPLE FOR CIVILIZATION. --BISHOP CROWTHER. --HIS INFLUENCE. 

BENIN. 

The vast territory stretching from the Volta River on the west to theNiger in the Gulf of Benin on the east, the Atlantic Ocean on thesouth, and the Kong Mountains on the north, embraces the threepowerful Negro kingdoms of Benin, Dahomey, and Yoruba. From thiscountry, more than from any other part of Africa, were the people soldinto American slavery. Two or three hundred years ago there wereseveral very powerful Negro empires in Western Africa. They had socialand political government, and were certainly a very orderly people. But in 1485 Alfonso de Aviro, a Portuguese, discovered Benin, the mosteasterly province; and as an almost immediate result the slave-tradewas begun. It is rather strange, too, in the face of the fact, that, when De Aviro returned to the court of Portugal, an ambassador fromthe Negro king of Benin accompanied him for the purpose of requestingthe presence of Christian missionaries among this people. Portugalbecame interested, and despatched Fernando Po to the Gulf of Benin;who, after discovering the island that bears his name, ascended theBenin River to Gaton, where he located a Portuguese colony. The RomishChurch lifted her standard here. The brothers of the Society of Jesus, if they did not convert the king, certainly had him in a humor tobring all of his regal powers to bear upon his subjects to turn theminto the Catholic Church. He actually took the contract to turn hissubjects over to this Church! But this shrewd savage did not agree toundertake this herculean task for nothing. He wanted a white wife. Hetold the missionaries that he would deliver his subjects toChristianity for a white wife, and they agreed to furnish her. Somepriests were sent to the Island of St. Thomas to hunt the wife. Thisisland had, even at that early day, a considerable white population. Astrong appeal was made to the sisters there to consider this matter asa duty to the holy Church. It was set forth as a missionaryenterprise. After some contemplation, one of the sisters agreed toaccept the hand of the Negro king. It was a noble act, and one forwhich she should have been canonized, but we believe never was. 

The Portuguese continued to come. Gaton grew. The missionary workedwith a will. Attention was given to agriculture and commerce. But theclimate was wretched. Sickness and death swept the Portuguese as thefiery breath of tropical lightning. They lost their influence over thepeople. They established the slave-trade, but the Church and slave-penwould not agree. The inhuman treatment they bestowed upon the peoplegave rise to the gravest suspicions as to the sincerity of themissionaries. History gives us the sum total of a religious effortthat was not of God. There isn't a trace of Roman Catholicism in thatcountry, and the last state of that people is worse than the former. 

The slave-trade turned the heads of the natives. Their cruel andhardened hearts assented to the crime of man-stealing. They turnedaside from agricultural pursuits. They left their fish-nets on theseashore, their cattle uncared for, their villages neglected, and wentforth to battle against their weaker neighbors. They sold theirprisoners of war to slave-dealers on the coast, who gave them rum andtobacco as an exceeding great reward. When war failed to give from itsbloody and remorseless jaws the victims for whom a ready marketawaited, they turned to duplicity, treachery, and cruelty. "And men'sworst enemies were those of their own household. " The personsuspicioned of witchcraft was speedily found guilty, and adjudged toslavery. The guilty and the innocent often shared the same fate. Thethief, the adulterer, and the aged were seized by the rapacity thatpervaded the people, and were hurled into the hell of slavery. 

Now, as a result of this condition of affairs, the population wasdepleted, the people grew indolent and vicious, and finally the empirewas rent with political feuds. Two provinces was the result. One stillbore the name of Benin, the other was called Waree. The capital of theformer contains about 38, 000 inhabitants, and the chief town andisland of Waree only contain about 16, 000 of a population. 

Finally England was moved to a suppression of the slave-trade at thispoint. The ocean is very calm along this coast, which enabled herfleets to run down slave-vessels and make prizes of them. This had asalutary influence upon the natives. Peace and quietness came asangels. A spirit of thrift possessed the people. They turned to thecultivation of the fields and to commercial pursuits. On the riverBonny, and along other streams, large and flourishing palm-oil martssprang up; and a score or more of vessels are needed to export thesingle article of palm-oil. The morals of the people are not what theyought to be; but they have, on the whole, made wonderful improvementduring the last fifty years. 

DAHOMEY. 

This nation is flanked by Ashantee on the west, and Yoruba on theeast; running from the seacoast on the south to the Kong mountains onthe north. It is one hundred and eighty miles in width, by two hundredin breadth. Whydah is the principal town on the seacoast. The storyruns, that, about two hundred and seventy-five years ago, Tacudons, chief of the Foys, carried a siege against the city of Abomey. He madea solemn vow to the gods, that, if they aided him in pushing the cityto capitulate, he would build a palace in honor of the victory. Hesucceeded. He laid the foundations of his palace, and then upon themripped open the bowels of Da. He called the building _Da-Omi_, whichmeant Da's belly. He took the title of King of Dahomey, which hasremained until the present time. The neighboring tribes, proud andambitious, overran the country, and swept Whydah and adjacent placeswith the torch and spear. Many whites fell into their hands asprisoners; all of whom were treated with great consideration, save theEnglish governor of the above-named town. They put him to death, because, as they charged, he had incited and excited the people ofDahomey to resist their king. 

This is a remarkable people. They are as cruel as they are cunning. The entire population is converted into an army: even women aresoldiers. Whole regiments of women are to be found in the army of theking of Dahomey, and they are the best foot-regiments in the kingdom. They are drilled at stated periods, are officered, and welldisciplined. The army is so large, and is so constantly employed inpredatory raids upon neighboring tribes, that the consuming element isgreater than the producing. The object of these raids was threefold:to get slaves for human sacrifices, to pour the blood of the victimson the graves of their ancestors yearly, and to secure human skulls topave the court of the king and to ornament the walls about the palace!After a successful war, the captives are brought to the capital of thekingdom. A large platform is erected in the great market space, encircled by a parapet about three feet high. The platform blazes withrich clothes, elaborate umbrellas, and all the evidences of kinglywealth and splendor, as well as the spoils taken in battle. The kingoccupies a seat in the centre of the platform, attended by hisimperturbable wives. The captives, rum, tobacco, and cowries are nowready to be thrown to the surging mob below. They have foughtgallantly, and now clamor for their reward. "Feed us, king!" they cry, "feed us, king! for we are hungry!" and as the poor captives aretossed to the mob they are despatched without ceremony!

But let us turn from this bloody and barbarous scene. The king is themost absolute despot in the world. He is heir-at-law to all hissubjects. He is regarded as a demigod. It is unlawful to indicate thatthe king eats, sleeps, or drinks. No one is allowed to approach him, except his nobles, who at a court levee disrobe themselves of alltheir elegant garments, and, prostrate upon the ground, they crawlinto his royal presence. The whole people are the cringinglickspittles of the nobles in turn. Every private in the army isambitious to please the king by valor. The king is literally monarchof all he surveys. He is proprietor of the land, and has at hisdisposal every thing animate or inanimate in his kingdom. He has aboutthree thousand wives. [59] Every man who would marry must buy hisspouse from the king; and, while the system of polygamy obtainseverywhere throughout the kingdom, the subject must have care not tosecure so many wives that it would appear that he is attempting torival the king. The robust women are consigned to the militaryservice. But the real condition of woman in this kingdom is slavery ofthe vilest type. She owns nothing. She is always in the market, andlives in a state of constant dread of being sold. When the king dies, a large number of his wives are sacrificed upon his grave. This factinspires them to take good care of him! In case of death, the king'sbrother, then his nephew, and so on, take the throne. An inaugurationgenerally lasts six days, during which time hundreds of human livesare sacrificed in honor of the new monarch. 

The code of Dahomey is very severe. Witchcraft is punished with death;and in this regard stalwart old Massachusetts borrowed from thebarbarian. Adultery is punished by slavery or sudden death. Thievesare also sold into slavery. Treason and cowardice and murder arepunished by death. The civil code is as complicated as the criminal issevere. Over every village, is a Caboceer, equivalent to our mayor. Hecan convene a court by prostrating himself and kissing the ground. Thecourt convenes, tries and condemns the criminal. If it be a deathsentence, he is delivered to a man called the Milgan, or equivalent toour sheriff, who is the ranking officer in the state. If the criminalis sentenced to slavery, he is delivered to the Mayo, who is second inrank to the Milgan, or about like our turnkey or jailer. All sentencesmust be referred to the king for his approval; and all executions takeplace at the capital, where notice is given of the same by a publiccrier in the market-places. 

The revenue system of this kingdom is oppressive. The majority ofslaves taken in war are the property of the king. A tax is levied oneach person or slave exported from the kingdom. In relation todomestic commerce, a tax is levied on every article of food andclothing. A custom-service is organized, and the tax-collectors areshrewd and exacting. 

The religion of the people is idolatry and fetich, or superstition. They have large houses where they worship snakes; and so great istheir reverence for the reptile, that, if any one kills one that hasescaped, he is punished with death. But, above their wild andsuperstitious notions, there is an ever-present consciousness of aSupreme Being. They seldom mention the name of God, and then with fearand trembling. 

 "The worship of God in the absurd symbol of the lower animals I do not wish to defend: but it is all that these poor savages can do; and is not that less impious than to speak of the Deity with blasphemous familiarity, as our illiterate preachers often do?"[60]

But this people are not in a hopeless condition of degradation. 

 "The Wesleyan Missionary Society of England have had a mission-station at Badagry for some years, and not without some important and encouraging tokens of success.... The king, it is thought, is more favorable to Christian missions now than he formerly was. "[61]

And we say Amen!

YORUBA. 

This kingdom extends from the seacoast to the river Niger, by which itis separated from the kingdom of Nufi. It contains more territory thaneither Benin or Dahomey. Its principal seaport is Lagos. For manyyears it was a great slave-mart, and only gave up the traffic underthe deadly presence of English guns. Its facilities for the trade weregreat. Portuguese and Spanish slave-traders took up their abode here, and, teaching the natives the use of fire-arms, made a stubborn standfor their lucrative enterprise; but in 1852 the slave-trade wasstopped, and the slavers driven from the seacoast. The place cameunder the English flag; and, as a result, social order and businessenterprise have been restored and quickened. The slave-trade wroughtgreat havoc among this people. It is now about fifty-five years sincea few weak and fainting tribes, decimated by the slave-trade, fled toOgun, a stream seventy-five miles from the coast, where they tookrefuge in a cavern. In the course of time they were joined by othertribes that fled before the scourge of slave-hunters. Their commondanger gave them a commonality of interests. They were, at first, reduced to very great want. They lived for a long time on berries, herbs, roots, and such articles of food as nature furnished withoutmoney and without price; but, leagued together to defend their commonrights, they grew bold, and began to spread out around theirhiding-place, and engage in agriculture. Homes and villages began torise, and the desert to blossom as the rose. They finally chose aleader, --a wise and judicious man by the name of Shodeke; and onehundred and thirty towns were united under one government. In 1853, less than a generation, a feeble people had grown to be nearly onehundred thousand (100, 000); and Abeokuta, named for their cave, contains at present nearly three hundred thousand souls. 

In 1839 some colored men from Sierra Leone, desirous of engaging intrade, purchased a small vessel, and called at Lagos and Badagry. Theyhad been slaves in this country, and had been taken to Sierra Leone, where they had received a Christian education. Their visit, therefore, was attended with no ordinary interest. They recognized many of theirfriends and kindred, and were agreeably surprised at the wonderfulchange that had taken place in so short a time. They returned toSierra Leone, only to inspire their neighbors with a zeal forcommercial and missionary enterprise. Within three years, five hundredof the best colored people of Sierra Leone set out for Lagos andBadagry on the seacoast, and then moved overland to Abeokuta, wherethey intended to make their home. In this company of noble men weremerchants, mechanics, physicians, school-teachers, and clergymen. Their people had fought for deliverance from physical bondage: thesebrave missionaries had come to deliver them from intellectual andspiritual bondage. The people of Abeokuta gave the missionaries ahearty welcome. The colony received new blood and energy. School-buildings and churches rose on every hand. Commerce wasrevived, and even agriculture received more skilful attention. Peaceand and plenty began to abound. Every thing wore a sunny smile, andmany tribes were bound together by the golden cords of civilization, and sang their _Te Deum_ together. Far-away England caught their songsof peace, and sent them agricultural implements, machinery, andChristian ministers and teachers. So, that, nowhere on the continentof Africa is there to be found so many renewed households, so manyreclaimed tribes, such substantial results of a vigorous, Christiancivilization. 

The forces that quickened the inhabitants of Abeokuta were not allobjective, exoteric: there were subjective and inherent forcesat work in the hearts of the people. They were capable ofcivilization, --longed for it; and the first blaze of light fromwithout aroused their slumbering forces, and showed them the broad andascending road that led to the heights of freedom and usefulness. Thatthey sought this road with surprising alacrity, we have the mostabundant evidence. Nor did all the leaders come from abroad. Adgai, inthe Yoruba language, but Crowther, in English, was a native of thiscountry. In 1822 he was sold into slavery at the port of Badagry. Thevessel that was to bear him away to the "land of chains and stocks"was captured by a British man-of-war, and taken to Sierra Leone. Herehe came under the influence of Christian teachers. He proved to be oneof the best pupils in his school. He received a classical education, fitted for the ministry, and then hastened back to his native countryto carry the gospel of peace. It is rather remarkable, but he foundhis mother and several sisters still "in the gall of bitterness and inthe bonds of iniquity. " The son and brother became their spiritualteacher, and, ere long, had the great satisfaction of seeing them"clothed, in their right mind, and sitting at the feet of Jesus. " Hisinfluence has been almost boundless. A man of magnificent physicalproportions, --tall, a straight body mounted by a ponderous head, shapely, with a kind eye, benevolent face, a rich cadence in hisvoice, --the "black Bishop" Crowther is a princely looking man, whowould attract the attention of cultivated people anywhere. He is a manof eminent piety, broad scholarship, and good works. He has translatedthe Bible into the Yoruba language, founded schools, and directed theenergies of his people with a matchless zeal. His beautiful andbeneficent life is an argument in favor of the possibilities of Negromanhood so long injured by the dehumanizing influences of slavery. Others have caught the inspiration that has made Bishop Crowther'slife "as terrible as an army with banners" to the enemies of Christand humanity, and are working to dissipate the darkness of that landof night. 

FOOTNOTES:

[59] The king of Dahomey is limited to 3, 333 wives! It is hardly fairto suppose that his majesty feels cramped under the ungenerous actthat limits the number of his wives. 

[60] Savage Africa, p. 51. 

[61] Western Africa, p. 207. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE ASHANTEE EMPIRE. 

 ITS LOCATION AND EXTENT. --ITS FAMOUS KINGS. --THE ORIGIN OF THE ASHANTEES OBSCURE. --THE WAR WITH DENKERA. --THE ASHANTEES AGAINST THE FIELD CONQUER TWO KINGDOMS AND ANNEX THEM. --DEATH OF OSAI TUTU. --THE ENVY OF THE KING OF DAHOMEY. --INVASION OF THE ASHANTEE COUNTRY BY THE KING OF DAHOMEY. --HIS DEFEAT SHARED BY HIS ALLIES. --AKWASI PURSUES THE ARMY OF DAHOMEY INTO ITS OWN COUNTRY. --GETS A MORTAL WOUND AND SUFFERS A HUMILIATING DEFEAT. --THE KING OF DAHOMEY SENDS THE ROYAL KUDJOH HIS CONGRATULATIONS. --KWAMINA DEPOSED FOR ATTEMPTING TO INTRODUCE MOHAMMEDANISM INTO THE KINGDOM. --THE ASHANTEES CONQUER THE MOHAMMEDANS. --NUMEROUS WARS. --INVASION OF THE FANTI COUNTRY. --DEATH OF SIR CHARLES MCCARTHY. --TREATY. --PEACE. 

The kingdom of Ashantee lies between the Kong Mountains and the vastcountry of the Fantis. The country occupied by the Ashantees was, atthe first, very small; but by a series of brilliant conquests theyfinally secured a territory of three hundred square miles. One oftheir most renowned kings, Osai Tutu, during the last century, addedto Ashantee by conquest the kingdoms of Sarem, Buntuku, Warsaw, Denkera, and Axim. Very little is known as to the origin of theAshantees. They were discovered in the early part of the eighteenthcentury in the great valley between the Kong Mountains and the riverNiger, from whence they were driven by the Moors and MohammedanNegroes. They exchanged the bow for fire-arms, and soon became awarlike people. Osai Tutu led in a desperate engagement against theking of Denkera, in which the latter was slain, his army was put torout, and large quantities of booty fell into the hands of thevictorious Ashantees. The king of Axim unwittingly united his forcesto those of the discomforted Denkera, and, drawing the Ashantees intobattle again, sustained heavy losses, and was put to flight. He wascompelled to accept the most exacting conditions of peace, to pay theking of the Ashantees four thousand ounces of gold to defray theexpenses of the war, and have his territory made tributary to theconqueror. In a subsequent battle Osai Tutu was surprised and killed. His courtiers and wives were made prisoners, with much goods. Thisenraged the Ashantees, and they reeked vengeance on the heads of theinhabitants of Kromanti, who laid the disastrous ambuscade. Theyfailed, however, to recover the body of their slain king; but many ofhis attendants were retaken, and numerous enemies, whom theysacrificed to the manes of their dead king at Kumasi. 

After the death of the noble Osai Tutu, dissensions arose among hisfollowers. The tribes and kingdoms he had bound to his victoriouschariot-wheels began to assert their independence. His life-work beganto crumble. Disorder ran riot; and, after a few ambitious leaders wereconvinced that the throne of Ashantee demanded brains and courage, they cheerfully made way for the coronation of Osai Opoko, brother tothe late king. He was equal to the existing state of affairs. Heproved himself a statesman, a soldier, and a wise ruler. He organizedhis army, and took the field in person against the revolting tribes. He reconquered all the lost provinces. He defeated his most valorousfoe, the king of Gaman, after driving him into the Kong Mountains. When his jealous underlings sought his overthrow by conspiracy, heconquered them by an appeal to arms. His rule was attended by the mostlasting and beneficent results. He died in 1742, and was succeeded byhis brother, Osai Akwasi. 

The fame and military prowess of the kings of the Ashantees were borneon every passing breeze, and told by every fleeing fugitive. The wholecountry was astounded by the marvellous achievements of this people, and not a little envy was felt among adjoining nations. The king ofDahomey especially felt like humiliating this people in battle. Thisspirit finally manifested itself in feuds, charges, complaints, and, laterally, by actual hostilities. The king of Dahomey felt that he hadbut one rival, the king of Ashantee. He felt quite sure of victory onaccount of the size, spirit, and discipline of his army. It was idleat this time, and was ordered to the Ashantee border. The firstengagement took place near the Volta. The king of Dahomey hadsucceeded in securing an alliance with the armies of Kawaku andBourony, but the valor and skill of the Ashantees were too much forthe invading armies. If King Akwasi had simply maintained hisdefensive position, his victory would have been lasting; but, overjoyed at his success, he unwittingly pursued the enemy beyond theVolta, and carried war into the kingdom of Dahomey. Troops fight withgreat desperation in their own country. The Ashantee army was struckon its exposed flanks, its splendid companies of Caboceers went downbefore the intrepid Amazons. Back to the Volta, the boundary linebetween the two empires, fled the routed Ashantees. Akwasi received amortal wound, from which he died in 1752, when his nephew, OsaiKudjoh, succeeded to the throne. 

Three brothers had held the sceptre over this empire, but now itpassed to another generation. The new king was worthy of hisillustrious family. After the days of mourning for his royal unclewere ended, before he ascended the throne, several provinces revolted. He at once took the field, subdued his recalcitrant subjects, and madethem pay a heavy tribute. He won other provinces by conquest, and awedthe neighboring tribes until an unobstructed way was open to hisinvincible army across the country to Cape Palmas. His fame grew witheach military manoeuvre, and each passing year witnessed new triumphs. Fawning followed envy in the heart of the king of Dahomey; and a largeembassy was despatched to the powerful Kudjoh, congratulating him uponhis military achievements, and seeking a friendly alliance between thetwo governments. Peace was now restored; and the armies of Ashanteevery largely melted into agricultural communities, and greatprosperity came. But King Kudjoh was growing old in the service of hispeople; and, as he could no longer give his personal attention topublic affairs, dissensions arose in some of the remote provinces. With impaired vision and feeble health he, nevertheless, put an armyinto the field to punish the insubordinate tribes; but beforeoperations began he died. His grandson, Osai Kwamina, was designatedas legal successor to the throne in 1781. He took a solemn vow that hewould not enter the palace until he secured the heads of Akombroh andAfosee, whom he knew had excited and incited the people to rebellionagainst his grandfather. His vengeance was swift and complete. Theheads of the rebel leaders were long kept at Juntas as highly prizedrelics of the reign of King Kwamina. His reign was brief, however. Hewas deposed for attempting to introduce the Mohammedan religion intothe kingdom. Osai Apoko was crowned as his successor in 1797. TheGaman and Kongo armies attached themselves to the declining fortunesof the deposed king, and gave battle for his lost crown. It was a lostcause. The new king could wield his sword as well as wear a crown. Hedied of a painful sickness, and was succeeded by his son, Osai TutuKwamina, in 1800. 

The new king was quite youthful, --only seventeen; but he inheritedsplendid qualities from a race of excellent rulers. He re-organizedhis armies, and early won a reputation for courage, sagacity, andexcellent ability, extraordinary in one so young. He inherited abitter feeling against the Mohammedans, and made up his mind tochastise two of their chiefs, Ghofan and Ghobago, and make theterritory of Banna tributary to Ashantee. He invaded their country, and burned their capital. In an engagement fought at Kaha, the entireMoslem army was defeated and captured. The king of Ghofan was woundedand made prisoner, and died in the camp of the Ashantee army. Two moreprovinces were bound to the throne of Kwamina; and we submit that thisis an historical anomaly, in that a pagan people subdued an army thatemblazoned its banner with the faith of _the one God_!

The Ashantee empire had reached the zenith of its glory. Its flagwaved in triumph from the Volta to Bossumpea, and the Kong Mountainshad echoed the exploits of the veterans that formed the strength ofits army. The repose that even this uncivilized people longed for wasdenied them by a most unfortunate incident. 

Asim was a province tributary to the Ashantee empire. Two of thechiefs of Asim became insubordinate, gave offence to the king, andthen fled into the country of the Fantis, one of the most numerous andpowerful tribes on the Gold Coast. The Fantis promised the fugitivesarmed protection. There was no extradition treaty in those days. Theking despatched friendly messengers, who were instructed to set forththe faults of the offending subjects, and to request their return. Therequest was contemptuously denied, and the messengers subjected to apainful death. The king of Ashantee invaded the country of the enemy, and defeated the united forces of Fanti and Asim. He again made theman offer of peace, and was led to believe it would be accepted. Butthe routed army was gathering strength for another battle, althoughChibbu and Apontee had indicated to the king that the conditions ofpeace were agreeable. The king sent an embassy to learn when a formalsubmission would take place; and they, also, were put to death. KingOsai Tutu Kwamina took "_the great oath_, " and vowed that he wouldnever return from the seat of war or enter his capital without theheads of the rebellious chiefs. The Ashantee army shared the desperatefeelings of their leader; and a war was begun, which for cruelty andcarnage has no equal in the annals of the world's history. Pastoralcommunities, hamlets, villages, and towns were swept by the red wavesof remorseless warfare. There was no mercy in battle: there were noprisoners taken by day, save to be spared for a painful death atnightfall. Their groans, mingling with the shouts of the victors, madethe darkness doubly hideous; and the blood of the vanquished army, buta short distance removed, ran cold at the thoughts of the probablefate that waited them on the morrow. Old men and old women, young menand young women, the rollicking children whose light hearts knew notouch of sorrow, as well as the innocent babes clinging to theagitated bosoms of their mothers, --unable to distinguish betweenfriend or foe, --felt the cruel stroke of war. All were driven to aninhospitable grave in the place where the fateful hand of war madethem its victims, or perished in the sullen waters of the Volta. Fornearly a hundred miles "the smoke of their torment" mounted the skies. Nothing was left in the rear of the Ashantee army, not even cattle orbuildings. Pursued by a fleet-footed and impartial disaster, thefainting Fantis and their terrified allies turned their faces towardthe seacoast. And why? Perhaps this fleeing army had a sort ofsuperstitious belief that the sea might help them. Then, again, theyknew that there were many English on the Gold Coast; that they hadforts and troops. They trusted, also, that the young king of theAshantees would not follow his enemy under the British flag and guns. They were mistaken. The two revolting chiefs took refuge in the fortat Anamabo. On came the intrepid king, thundering at the very gates ofthe English fort. The village was swept with the hot breath of battle. Thousands perished before this invincible army. The English soldierspoured hot shot and musketry into the columns of the advancing army;but on they marched to victory with an impurturbable air, worthy of"_the old guard_" under Ney at Waterloo. Preparations were completedfor blowing up the walls of the fort; and it would have been but a fewhours until the king of Ashantee would have taken the governor'schair, had not the English capitulated. During the negotiations one ofthe offending chiefs made good his escape to a little village calledCape Coast; but the other was delivered up, and, having been takenback to Kumasi, was tortured to death. Twelve thousand persons fell inthe engagement at Anamabo, and thousands of lives were lost in otherengagements. This took place in 1807. 

In 1811 the king of Ashantee sent an array to Elmina to protect hissubjects against predatory bands of Fantis. Three or four battles werefought, and were invariably won by the Ashantee troops. 

Barbarians have about as long memories as civilized races. They are akind-hearted people, but very dangerous and ugly when they are led tofeel that they have been injured. "_The great oath_" means a greatdeal; and the king was not happy in the thought that one of theinsolent chiefs had found refuge in the town of Cape Coast, which wasin the Fanti country. So in 1817 he invaded this country, and calledat Cape Coast, and reduced the place to the condition of a siege. TheEnglish authorities saw the Fantis dying under their eyes, and paidthe fine imposed by the King of Ashantee, rather than bury the deadinhabitants of the beleaguered town. The Ashantees retired. 

England began to notice the Ashantees. They had proven themselves tobe a most heroic, intelligent, and aggressive people. The Fantis laystretched between them and the seacoast. The frequent invasion of thiscountry, for corrective purposes as the Ashantees believed, veryseriously interrupted the trade of the coast; and England began tofeel it. The English had been defeated once in an attempt to assistthe Fantis, and now thought it wise to turn attention to a pacificpolicy, looking toward the establishment of amicable relations betweenthe Ashantees and themselves. There had never been any unpleasantrelations between the two governments, except in the instance named. The Ashantees rather felt very kindly toward England, and forprudential and commercial reasons desired to treat the authorities atthe coast with great consideration. They knew that the English gavethem a market for their gold, and an opportunity to purchasemanufactured articles that they needed. But the Fantis, right underthe English flag, receiving a rent for the ground on which the Englishhad their fort and government buildings, grew so intolerably abusivetowards their neighbors, the Ashantees, that the British saw nothingbefore them but interminable war. It was their desire to avoid it ifpossible. Accordingly, they sent an embassy to the king of theAshantees, consisting of Gov. James, of the fort at Akra, a Mr. Bowdich, nephew to the governor-in-chief at Cape Coast, a Mr. Hutchinson, and the surgeon of the English settlement, Dr. Teddlie. Mr. Bowdich headed the embassy to the royal court, where they werekindly received. A treaty was made. The rent that the Fantis had beenreceiving for ground occupied by the English--four ounces of gold permonth--was to be paid to the king of Ashantee, as his by right ofconquest. Diplomatic relations were to be established between the twogovernments, and Mr. Hutchinson was to remain at Kumasi as the Britishresident minister. He was charged with the carrying out of so much ofthe treaty as related to his government. The treaty was at onceforwarded to the home government, and Mr. Dupuis was appointed consulof his Majesty's government to the court of Ashantee. A policy wasoutlined that meant the opening up of commerce with the distantprovinces of the Ashantee empire along the Kong Mountains. In thosedays it took a long time to sail from England to the Gold Coast inWestern Africa; and before Consul Dupuis reached the coast, the kingof Ashantee was engaged in a war with the king of Gaman. The Ashanteearmy was routed. The news of the disaster was hailed by the Fantis onthe coast with the most boisterous and public demonstrations. Thisgave the king of Ashantee offence. The British authorities were quitepassive about the conduct of the Fantis, although by solemn treatythey had become responsible for their deportment. The Fantis grew veryinsulting and offensive towards the Ashantees. The king of the lattercalled the attention of the authorities at the Cape to the conduct ofthe Fantis, but no official action was taken. In the mean while Mr. Dupuis was not allowed to proceed on his mission to the capital of theAshantees. Affairs began to assume a very threatening attitude; andonly after the most earnest request was he permitted to proceed to thepalace of the king of Ashantee. He received a hearty welcome at thecourt, and was entertained with the most lavish kindness. After longand painstaking consideration, a treaty was decided upon that wasmutually agreeable; but the self-conceited and swaggering insolence ofthe British authorities on the coast put it into the waste-basket. Thecommander of the British squadron put himself in harmony with thelocal authorities, and refused to give Consul Dupuis transportation toEngland for the commissioners of the Ashantee government, whom he hadbrought to the coast with the intention of taking to London with him. 

A war-cloud was gathering. Dupuis saw it. He sent word to the king ofAshantee to remember his oath, and refrain from hostilities until hecould communicate with the British government. The treaty stipulatedfor the recognition, by the British authorities, of the authority ofthe Ashantee king over the Fantis. Only those immediately around thefort were subject to English law, and then not to an extent to exemptthem from tax imposed by the Ashantee authorities. 

In the midst of these complications, Parliament, by a special act, abolished the charter of the African Company. This put all its forts, arsenals, and stations under the direct control of the crown. SirCharles McCarthy was made governor-general of the British possessionson the Gold Coast, and took up his head-quarters at Cape Coast inMarch, 1822. Two months had passed now since Dupuis had sailed forEngland; and not a syllable had reached the king's messenger, who, allthis time, had waited to hear from England. The country was in anunsettled state. Gov, McCarthy was not equal to the situation. He fellan easy prey to the fawning and lying Fantis. They received him as thechampion of their declining fortunes, and did every thing in theirpower to give him an unfriendly opinion of the Ashantees. The king ofthe Ashantees began to lose faith in the British. His faithfulmessenger returned from the coast bearing no friendly tidings. Theking withdrew his troops from the seacoast, and began to put his armyupon a good war-footing. When all was in readiness a Negro sergeant inthe British service was seized, and put to a torturous death. This wasa signal for the grand opening. Of course the British were bound todemand redress. Sir Charles McCarthy was informed by some Fantisscouts that the king of Ashantee, at the head of his army, wasmarching for Cape Coast. Sir Charles rallied his forces, and wentforth to give him battle. His object was to fight the king at adistance from the cape, and thus prevent him from devastating theentire country as in former wars. Sir Charles McCarthy was a braveman, and worthy of old England; but in this instance his courage wasfoolhardy. He crossed the Prah River to meet a wily and desperate foe. His troops were the worthless natives, hastily gathered, and wereintoxicated with the hope of deliverance from Ashantee rule. He shouldhave waited for the trained troops of Major Chisholm. This was hisfatal mistake. His pickets felt the enemy early in the morning of the21st of January, 1824. A lively skirmish followed. In a short time theclamorous war-horns of the advancing Ashantees were heard, and ageneral engagement came on. The first fighting began along a shallowstream. The Ashantees came up with the courage and measured tread ofa well-disciplined army. They made a well-directed charge to gain theopposite bank of the stream, but were repulsed by an admirable bayonetcharge from Sir Charles's troops. The Ashantees then crossed thestream above and below the British army, and fell with suchdesperation upon its exposed and naked flanks, that it was bent intothe shape of a letter A, and hurled back toward Cape Coast in dismay. Wounded and exhausted, toward evening Sir Charles fled from hisexposed position to the troops of his allies under the command of theking of Denkera. He concentrated his artillery upon the heaviestcolumns of the enemy; but still they came undaunted, bearing down uponthe centre like an avalanche. Sir Charles made an attempt to retreatwith his staff, but met instant death at the hands of the Ashantees. His head was removed from the body and sent to Kumasi. His heart waseaten by the chiefs of the army that they might imbibe his courage, while his flesh was dried and issued in small rations among theline-officers for the same purpose. His bones were kept at the capitalof the Ashantee kingdom as national fetiches. [62]

Major Chisholm and Capt. Laing, learning of the disaster that hadwell-nigh swallowed up Sir Charles's army, retreated to Cape Coast. There were about thirty thousand troops remaining, but they were soterrified at the disaster of the day that they could not be induced tomake a stand against the gallant Ashantees. The king of Ashantee, instead of following the routed army to the gates of Cape Coast, wherehe could have dealt it a death-blow, offered the English conditions ofpeace. Capt. Ricketts met the Ashantee messengers at Elmina, and heardfrom them the friendly messages of the king. The Ashantees only wantedthe British to surrender Kudjoh Chibbu of the province of Denkera; butthis fugitive from the Ashantee king, while negotiations were pending, resolved to rally the allied armies and make a bold stroke. He crossedthe Prah at the head of a considerable force, and fell upon theAshantee army in its camp. The English were charmed by this boldstroke, and sent a reserve force; but the whole army was againdefeated by the Ashantees, and came back to Cape Coast in completeconfusion. 

The Ashantee army were at the gates of the town. Col. Southerlandarrived with re-enforcements, but was beaten into the fort by theunyielding courage of the attacking force. A new king, Osai Ockote, arrived with fresh troops, and won the confidence of the army bymarching right under the British guns, and hissing defiance into theface of the foe. The conflict that followed was severe, anddestructive to both life and property. All the native and Britishforces were compelled to retire to the fort; while the Ashanteetroops, inspired by the dashing bearing of their new king, closed inaround them like tongues of steel. The invading army was not dauntedby the belching cannon that cut away battalion after battalion. Onthey pressed for revenge and victory. The screams of fainting womenand terrified children, the groans of the dying, and the bitterimprecations of desperate combatants, --a mingling medley, --swelled thegreat diapason of noisy battle. The eyes of the beleaguered wereturned toward the setting sun, whose enormous disk was leaning againstthe far-away mountains, and casting his red and vermilion over thedusky faces of dead Ashantees and Fantis; and, imparting a momentarybeauty to the features of the dead white men who fell so far away fromhome and friends, he sank to rest. There was a sad, far-off look inthe eye of the impatient sailor who kept his lonely watch on thevessel that lay at rest on the sea. Night was wished for, prayed for, yearned for. It came at last, and threw its broad sable pinions overthe dead, the dying, and the living. Hostilities were to be renewed inthe morning; but the small-pox broke out among the soldiers, and theking of Ashantee retired. 

Sir Neill Campbell was appointed governor-general at Cape Coast. Oneof his first acts was to call for all the chiefs of the Fantis, andgive them to understand that hostilities between themselves and theking of Ashantee must stop. He then required Osai Ockoto to depositfour thousand ounces of gold ($72, 000), as a bond to keep the peace. In case he provoked hostilities, the seventy-two thousand dollars wereto be used to purchase ammunition with which to chastise him. In 1831the king was obliged to send two of his royal family, Kwanta Missah, his own son, and Ansah, the son of the late king, to be held ashostages. These boys were sent to England, where they were educated, but are now residents of Ashantee. 

Warsaw and Denkera, interior provinces, were lost to the Ashanteeempire; but, nevertheless, it still remains one of the most powerfulNegro empires of Western Africa. 

The king of Ashantee has a fair government. His power is well-nighabsolute. He has a House of Lords, who have a check-power. Coomassi isthe famous city of gold, situated in the centre of the empire. Thecommunication through to the seacoast is unobstructed; and it israther remarkable that the Ashantees are the only nation in Africa, who, living in the interior, have direct communication with theCaucasian. They have felt the somewhat elevating influence ofMohammedanism, and are not unconscious of the benefits derived by theliterature and contact of the outside world. They are a remarkablepeople: brave, generous, industrious, and mentally capable. The day isnot distant when the Ashantee kingdom will be won to the Saviour, andits inhabitants brought under the beneficent influences of Christiancivilization. 

FOOTNOTES:

[62] The following telegram shocks the civilized world. It servesnotice on the Christians of the civilized world, that, in a largemissionary sense, they have come far short of their duty to the"nations beyond, " who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. 

 "MASSACRE OF MAIDENS. LONDON, NOV. 10, 1881. --Advices from Cape Coast Castle report that the king of Ashantee killed two hundred young girls for the purpose of using their blood for mixing mortar for repair of one of the state buildings. The report of the massacre was received from a refugee chosen for one of the victims. Such wholesale massacres are known to be a custom with the king. "--_Cinn. Commercial. _

CHAPTER VI. 

THE NEGRO TYPE. 

 CLIMATE THE CAUSE. --HIS GEOGRAPHICAL THEATRE. --HE IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION. 

If the reader will turn to a map of Africa, the Mountains of theMoon[63] will be found to run right through the centre of thatcontinent. They divide Africa into two almost equal parts. In adialectic sense, also, Africa is divided. The Mountains of the Moon, running east and west, seem to be nature's dividing line between twodistinct peoples. North of these wonderful mountains the languages arenumerous and quite distinct, and lacking affinity. For centuries thesetribes have lived in the same latitude, under the same climaticinfluences, and yet, without a written standard, have preserved theidiomatic coloring of their tribal language without corruption. Thusthey have eluded the fate that has overtaken all other races whowithout a written language, living together by the laws of affinity, sooner or later have found one medium of speech as inevitable asnecessary. 

But coming south of the Mountains of the Moon, until we reach the Capeof Good Hope, there is to be found one great family. Nor is thedifference between the northern and southern tribes only linguistic. The physiological difference between these people is great. They rangein color from the dead black up to pure white, and from the dwarfs onthe banks of the Casemanche to the tall and giant-like Vei tribe ofCape Mount. 

 "The Fans which inhabit the mountain terraces are altogether of a different complexion from the seacoast tribes. Their hair is longer: that of the women hangs down in long braids to their shoulders, while the men have tolerably long two-pointed beards. It would be impossible to find such long hair among the coast tribes, even in a single instance. 

 "In the low, swampy land at the mouth of the Congo, one meets with typical Negroes; and there again, as one reaches a higher soil, one finds a different class of people. 

 "The Angolese resemble the Fula. They are scarcely ever black. Their hands and feet are exquisitely small; and in every way they form a contrast with the slaves of the Portuguese, who, brought for the most part from the Congo, are brutal and debased. 

 "I have divided Africa into three grand types, --the Ethiopian, the intermediate, and the Negro. In the same manner the Negro may be divided into three sub-classes:--

 "The bronze-colored class: gracefully formed, with effeminate features, small hands and feet, long fingers, intelligent minds, courteous and polished manners. Such are the Mpongwe of the Gaboon, the Angolese, the Fanti of the Gold Coast, and most probably the Haoussa of the Niger, a tribe with which I am not acquainted. 

 "The black-skinned class: athletic shapes, rude manners, less intelligence, but always with some good faculties, thicker lips, broader noses, but seldom prognathous to any great degree. Such are the Wollof, the Kru-men, the Benga of Corisco, and the Cabinda of Lower Guinea, who hire themselves out as sailors in the Congo and in Angola precisely as do the Kru-men of North Guinea. 

 "Lastly, the typical Negroes: an exceptional race even among the Negroes, whose disgusting type it is not necessary to re-describe. They are found chiefly along the coast between the Casemanche and Sierra Leone, between Lagos and the Cameroons, in the Congo swamps, and in certain swampy plains and mountain-hollows of the interior. "[64]

That climate has much to do with physical and mental character, wewill not have to prove to any great extent. It is a fact as wellestablished as any principle in pathology. Dr. Joseph Brown says, --

 "It is observed that the natives of marshy districts who permanently reside in them lose their whole bodily and mental constitution, contaminated by the poison they inhale. Their aspect is sallow and prematurely senile, so that children are often wrinkled, their muscles flaccid, their hair lank, and frequently pale, the abdomen tumid, the stature stunted, and the intellectual and moral character low and degraded. They rarely attain what in more wholesome regions would be considered old age. In the marshy districts of certain countries, --for example, Egypt, Georgia, and Virginia, --the extreme term of life is stated to be forty in the latter place.... In portions of Brittany which adjoin the Loire, the extreme duration of life is fifty, at which age the inhabitant wears the aspect of eighty in a healthier district. It is remarked that the inferior animals, and even vegetables, partake of the general deprivation; they are stunted and short-lived. "

In his "Ashango Land, " Paul B. Du Chaillu devotes a large part of hisfifteenth chapter to the Obongos, or Dwarfs. Nearly all Africanexplorers and travellers have been much amazed at the diversity ofcolor and stature among the tribes they met. This diversity inphysical and mental character owes its existence to the diversity andperversity of African climate. 

The Negro, who is but a fraction of the countless indigenous races ofAfrica, has been carried down to his low estate by the invincibleforces of nature. Along the ancient volcanic tracts are to be foundthe Libyan race, with a tawny complexion, features quite Caucasian, and long black hair. On the sandstones are to be found an intermediatetype, darker somewhat than their progenitors, lips thick, and nostrilswide at the base. Then comes the Negro down in the alluvia, with darkskin, woolly hair, and prognathous development. 

 "The Negro forms an exceptional race in Africa. He inhabits that immense tract of marshy land which lies between the mountains and the sea, from Senegal to Benguela, and the low lands of the eastern side in the same manner. He is found in the parts about Lake Tchad, in Sennaar, along the marshy banks of rivers, and in several isolated spots besides. "[65]

The true Negro inhabits Northern Africa. When his country, of which weknow absolutely nothing, has been crowded, the nomadic portion of thepopulation has poured itself over the mountain terraces, and, descending into the swamps, has become degraded in body and mind. 

Technically speaking, we do not believe the Negro is a distinctspecies. 

 "It is certain that the woolly hair, the prognathous development, and the deep black skin of the typical Negro, are not peculiar to the African continent. "[66]

The Negro is found in the low, marshy, and malarious districts. Wethink the Negro is produced in a descending scale. The African whomoves from the mountain regions down into the miasmatic districts maybe observed to lose his stature, his complexion, his hair, and hisintellectual vigor: he finally becomes the Negro. Pathologicallyconsidered, he is weak, sickly, and short-lived. His legs are slenderand almost calf-less: the head is developed in the direction of thepassions, while the whole form is destitute of symmetry. 

 "It will be understood that the typical Negroes, with whom the slavers are supplied, represent the dangerous, the destitute, and diseased classes of African society. They may be compared to those which in England fill our jails, our workhouses, and our hospitals. So far from being equal to us, the polished inhabitants of Europe, as some ignorant people suppose, they are immeasurably below the Africans themselves, "The typical Negro is the true savage of Africa; and I must paint the deformed anatomy of his mind, as I have already done that of his body. 

 "The typical Negroes dwell in petty tribes, where all are equal except the women, who are slaves; where property is common, and where, consequently, there is no property at all; where one may recognize the Utopia of philosophers, and observe the saddest and basest spectacles which humanity can afford. 

 "The typical Negro, unrestrained by moral laws, spends his days in sloth, his nights in debauchery. He smokes hashish till he stupefies his senses or falls into convulsions; he drinks palm-wine till he brings on a loathsome disease; he abuses children, stabs the poor brute of a woman whose hands keep him from starvation, and makes a trade of his own offspring. He swallows up his youth in premature vice; he lingers through a manhood of disease, and his tardy death is hastened by those who no longer care to find him food.... If you wish to know what they have been, and to what we may restore them, look at the portraits which have been preserved of the ancient Egyptians: and in those delicate and voluptuous forms; in those round, soft features; in those long, almond-shaped, half-closed, languishing eyes; in those full pouting lips, large smiling mouths, and complexions of a warm and copper-colored tint, --you will recognize the true African type, the women-men of the Old World, of which the Negroes are the base, the depraved caricatures. "[67]

But the Negro is not beyond the influences of civilization andChristianization. Hundreds of thousands have perished in the cruelswamps of Africa; hundreds of thousands have been devoured by wildbeasts of the forests; hundreds of thousands have perished before thesteady and murderous columns of stronger tribes; hundreds of thousandshave perished from fever, small-pox, and cutaneous diseases; hundredsof thousands have been sold into slavery; hundreds of thousands haveperished in the "middle-passage;" hundreds of thousands have beenlanded in this New World in the West: and yet hundreds of thousandsare still swarming in the low and marshy lands of Western Africa. Pooras this material is, out of it we have made, here in the UnitedStates, six million citizens; and out of this cast-away material ofAfrica, God has raised up many children. 

To the candid student of ethnography, it must be conclusive that theNegro is but the most degraded and disfigured type of the primevalAfrican. And still, with all his interminable woes and wrongs, theNegro on the west coast of Africa, in Liberia and Sierra Leone, aswell as in the southern part of the United States, shows thatcenturies of savagehood and slavery have not drained him of all theelements of his manhood. History furnishes us with abundant andspecific evidence of his capacity to civilize and Christianize. Weshall speak of this at length in a subsequent chapter. 

FOOTNOTES:

[63] See Keith Johnson's Map of Africa, 1863. 

[64] Savage Africa, pp. 403, 404. 

[65] Savage Africa, p. 400. 

[66] Savage Africa, p. 412. 

[67] Savage Africa, p. 430. 

CHAPTER VII. 

AFRICAN IDIOSYNCRASIES. 

 PATRIARCHAL GOVERNMENT. --CONSTRUCTION OF VILLAGES. --NEGRO ARCHITECTURE. --ELECTION OF KINGS. --CORONATION CEREMONY. --SUCCESSION. --AFRICAN QUEENS. --LAW, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL. --PRIESTS. --THEIR FUNCTIONS. --MARRIAGE. --WARFARE. --AGRICULTURE. --MECHANIC ARTS. --BLACKSMITHS. 

All the tribes on the continent of Africa are under, to a greater orless degree, the patriarchal form of government. It is usual forwriters on Africa to speak of "kingdoms" and "empires;" but thesekingdoms are called so more by compliment than with any desire toconvey the real meaning that we get when the empire of Germany orkingdom of Spain is spoken of. The patriarchal government is the mostancient in Africa. It is true that great kingdoms have risen inAfrica; but they were the result of devastating wars rather than thecreation of political genius or governmental wisdom. 

 "Pangola is the child or vassal of Mpende. Sandia and Mpende are the only independent chiefs from Kebrabasa to Zumbo, and belong to the tribe Manganja. The country north of the mountains, here in sight from the Zambesi, is called Senga, and its inhabitants Asenga or Basenga; but all appear to be of the same family as the rest of the Manganja and Maravi. Formerly all the Manganja were united under the government of their great chief, Undi, whose empire extended from Lake Shirwa to the River Loangwa; but after Undi's death it fell to pieces, and a large portion of it on the Zambesi was absorbed by their powerful Southern neighbors, the Bamjai. This has been the inevitable fate of every African empire from time immemorial. A chief of more than ordinary ability arises, and, subduing all his less powerful neighbors, founds a kingdom, which he governs more or less wisely till he dies. His successor, not having the talents of the conqueror, cannot retain the dominion, and some of the abler under-chiefs set up for themselves; and, in a few years, the remembrance only of the empire remains. This, which may be considered as the normal state of African society, gives rise to frequent and desolating wars, and the people long in vain for a power able to make all dwell in peace. In this light a European colony would be considered by the natives as an inestimable boon to inter-tropical Africa. Thousands of industrious natives would gladly settle around it, and engage in that peaceful pursuit of agriculture and trade of which they are so fond; and, undistracted by wars or rumors of wars, might listen to the purifying and ennobling truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Manganja on the Zambesi, like their countrymen on the Shire, are fond of agriculture; and, in addition to the usual varieties of food, cultivate tobacco and cotton in quantities more than equal to their wants. To the question, 'Would they work for Europeans?' an affirmative answer may be given; if the Europeans belong to the class which can pay a reasonable price for labor, and not to that of adventurers who want employment for themselves. All were particularly well clothed from Sandia's to Pangola's; and it was noticed that all the cloth was of native manufacture, the product of their own looms. In Senga a great deal of iron is obtained from the ore, and manufactured very cleverly. "[68]

The above is a fair description of the internecine wars that have beencarried on between the tribes in Africa, back "to a time whereof thememory of man runneth not to the contrary. " In a preceding chapter wegave quite an extended account of four Negro empires. We callattention here to the villages of these people, and shall allowwriters who have paid much attention to this subject to give theirimpressions. Speaking of a village of the Aviia tribe called Mandji, Du Chaillu says, --

 "It was the dirtiest village I had yet seen in Africa, and the inhabitants appeared to me of a degraded class of Negroes. The shape and arrangement of the village were quite different from any thing I had seen before. The place was in the form of a quadrangle, with an open space in the middle not more than ten yards square; and the huts, arranged in a continuous row on two sides, were not more than eight feet high from the ground to the roof. The doors were only four feet high, and of about the same width, with sticks placed across on the inside, one above the other, to bar the entrance. The place for the fire was in the middle of the principal room, on each side of which was a little dark chamber; and on the floor was an _orala_, or stage, to smoke meat upon. In the middle of the yard was a hole dug in the ground for the reception of offal, from which a disgusting smell arose, the wretched inhabitants being too lazy or obtuse to guard against this by covering it with earth. 

 "The houses were built of a framework of poles, covered with the bark of trees, and roofed with leaves. In the middle of the village stood the public shed, or palaver-house, --a kind of town-hall found in almost all West-African villages. A large fire was burning in it, on the ground; and at one end of the shed stood a huge wooden idol, painted red and white, and rudely fashioned in the shape of a woman. The shed was the largest building in the village, for it was ten feet high, and measured fifteen feet by ten. It is the habit of the lazy negroes of these interior villages--at least, the men--to spend almost the whole day lying down under the palaver-shed, feeding their morbid imaginations with tales of witchcraft, and smoking their _condoquais_. "

But all the villages of these poor children of the desert are not sountidy as the one described above. There is a wide difference in thesanitary laws governing these villages. 

 "The Ishogo villages are large. Indeed, what most strikes the traveller in coming from the seacoast to this inland country, is the large size, neatness, and beauty of the villages. They generally have about one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty huts, arranged in streets, which are very broad and kept remarkably clean. Each house has a door of wood which is painted in fanciful designs with red, white, and black. One pattern struck me as simple and effective; it was a number of black spots margined with white, painted in regular rows on a red ground. But my readers must not run away with the idea that the doors are like those of the houses of civilized people; they are seldom more than two feet and a half high. The door of my house was just twenty-seven inches high. It is fortunate that I am a short man, otherwise it would have been hard exercise to go in and out of my lodgings. The planks of which the doors are made are cut with great labor by native axes out of trunks of trees, one trunk seldom yielding more than one good plank. My hut, an average-sized dwelling, was twenty feet long and eight feet broad. It was divided into three rooms or compartments, the middle one, into which the door opened, being a little larger than the other two.... Mokenga is a beautiful village, containing about one hundred and sixty houses; they were the largest dwellings I had yet seen on the journey. The village was surrounded by a dense grove of plantain-trees, many of which had to be supported by poles, on account of the weight of the enormous bunches of plantains they bore. Little groves of lime-trees were scattered everywhere, and the limes, like so much golden fruit, looked beautiful amidst the dark foliage that surrounded them. Tall, towering palm-trees were scattered here and there. Above and behind the village was the dark green forest. The street was the broadest I ever saw in Africa; one part of it was about one hundred yards broad, and not a blade of grass could be seen in it. The _Sycobii_ were building their nests everywhere, and made a deafening noise, for there were thousands and thousands of these little sociable birds. "[69]

The construction of houses in villages in Africa is almost uniform, asfar as our studies have led us. [70] Or, rather, we ought to modifythis statement by saying there are but two plans of construction. Oneis where the houses are erected on the rectilinear, the other is wherethey are built on the circular plan. In the more warlike tribes thelatter plan prevails. The hillsides and elevated places near thetimber are sought as desirable locations for villages. The plan ofarchitecture is simple. The diameter is first considered, andgenerally varies from ten to fifteen feet. A circle is drawn in theground, and then long flexible sticks are driven into the earth. Thebuilder, standing inside of the circle, binds the sticks together atthe top; where they are secured together by the use of the"monkey-rope, " a thick vine that stretches itself in great profusionfrom tree to tree in that country. Now, the reader can imagine a largeumbrella with the handle broken off even with the ribs when closed up, and without any cloth, --nothing but the ribs left. Now open it, andplace it on the ground before you, and you have a fair idea of the hutup to the present time. A reed thatching is laid over the frame, andsecured firmly by parallel lashings about fifteen inches apart. Thedoor is made last by cutting a hole in the side of the hut facingtoward the centre of the contemplated circle of huts. [71] The door isabout eighteen inches in height, and just wide enough to admit thebody of the owner. The sharp points, after the cutting, are guarded byplaited twigs. The door is made of quite a number of stout sticksdriven into the ground at equal distances apart, through which, in andout, are woven pliant sticks. When this is accomplished, the makercuts off the irregular ends to make it fit the door, and removes it toits place. Screens are often used inside to keep out the wind: theyare made so as to be placed in whatever position the wind is blowing. Some of these houses are built with great care, and those with domedroofs are elaborately decorated inside with beads of various sizes andcolors. 

The furniture consists of a few mats, several baskets, a milk-pail, anumber of earthen pots, a bundle of assagais, and a few other weaponsof war. Next, to guard against the perils of the rainy season, a ditchabout two feet in width and of equal depth is made about the newdwelling. Now multiply this hut by five hundred, preserving thecircle, and you have the village. The _palaver-house_, or place forpublic debates, is situated in the centre of the circle of huts. Amongthe northern and southern tribes, a fence is built around theirvillages, when they are called "kraals. " The space immediately outsideof the fence is cleared, so as to put an enemy at a disadvantage in anattack upon the village. Among the agricultural tribes, as, forexample, the Kaffirs, they drive their cattle into the kraal, and forthe young build pens. 

The other method of building villages is to have one long street, witha row of houses on each side, rectangular in shape. They are abouttwenty-five or thirty feet in length, and about twelve to fifteen feetin width. Six or eight posts are used to join the material of thesides to. The roofs are flat. Three rooms are allowed to each house. The two end rooms are larger than the centre one, where the door opensout into the street. Sometimes these rooms are plastered, but it isseldom; and then it is in the case of the well-to-do class. [72]

We said, at the beginning of this chapter, that the government inAfrica was largely patriarchal; and yet we have called attention tofour great kingdoms. There is no contradiction here, although theremay seem to be; for even kings are chosen by ballot, and a sort of ahouse of lords has a veto power over royal edicts. 

 "Among the tribes which I visited in my explorations I found but one form of government, which may be called the patriarchal. There is not sufficient national unity in any of the tribes to give occasion for such a despotism as prevails in Dahomey, and in other of the African nationalities. I found the tribes of equatorial Africa greatly dispersed, and, in general, no bond of union between parts of the same tribe. A tribe is divided up into numerous _clans_, and these again into numberless little villages, each of which last possesses an independent chief. The villages are scattered; are often moved for death or witchcraft, as I have already explained in the narrative; and not infrequently are engaged in war with each other. 

 "The chieftainship is, to a certain extent, hereditary, the right of succession vesting in the brother of the reigning chief or king. The people, however, and particularly the elders of the village, have a veto power, and can, for sufficient cause, deprive the lineal heir of his succession, and put in over him some one thought of more worth. In such cases the question is put to the vote of the village; and, where parties are equally divided as to strength, there ensue sometimes long and serious palavers before all can unite in a choice. The chief is mostly a man of great influence prior to his accession, and generally an old man when he gains power. 

 "His authority, though greater than one would think, judging from the little personal deference paid to him, is final only in matters of every-day use. In cases of importance, such as war, or any important removal, the elders of the village meet together and deliberate in the presence of the whole population, which last finally decide the question. 

 "The elders, who possess other authority, and are always in the counsels of the chief, are the oldest members of important families in the village. Respect is paid to them on account of their years, but more from a certain regard for 'family, ' which the African has very strongly wherever I have known him. These families form the aristocracy. "[73]

Here are democracy and aristocracy blended somewhat. The king's powerseems to be in deciding everyday affairs, while the weighty matterswhich affect the whole tribe are decided by the elders and the people. Mr. Reade says of such government, --

 "Among these equatorial tribes the government is patriarchal, which is almost equivalent to saying that there is no government at all. The tribes are divided into clans. Each clan inhabits a separate village, or group of villages; and at the head of each is a patriarch, the parody of a king. They are distinguished from the others by the grass-woven cap which they wear on their heads, and by the staff which they carry in their hands. They are always rich and aged: therefore they are venerated; but, though they can exert influence, they cannot wield power; they can advise, but they cannot command. In some instances, as in that of Quenqueza, King of the Rembo, the title and empty honors of royalty are bestowed upon the most influential patriarch in a district. This is a vestige of higher civilization and of ancient empire which disappears as one descends among the lower tribes. "[74]

 "The African form of government is patriarchal, and, according to the temperament of the chief, despotic, or guided by the counsel of the elders of the tribe. Reverence for loyalty sometimes leads the mass of the people to submit to great cruelty, and even murder, at the hands of a despot or madman; but, on the whole, the rule is mild; and the same remark applies in a degree to their religion. "[75]

When a new king is elected, he has first to repair to the pontiff'shouse, who--apropos of priests--is more important than the kinghimself. The king prostrates himself, and, with loud cries, entreatsthe favor of this high priest. At first the old man inside, with agruff voice, orders him away, says he cannot be annoyed; but the kingenumerates the presents he has brought him, and finally the dooropens, and the priest appears, clad in white, a looking-glass on hisbreast, and long white feathers in his head. The king is sprinkled, covered with dust, walked over, and then, finally, the priest liesupon him. He has to swear that he will obey, etc. ; and then he isallowed to go to the coronation. Then follow days and nights offeasting, and, among some tribes, human sacrifices. 

The right of succession is generally kept on the male side of thefamily. The crown passes from brother to brother, from uncle tonephew, from cousin to cousin. Where there are no brothers, the sontakes the sceptre. In all our studies on Africa, we have found onlytwo women reigning. A woman by the name of Shinga ascended the throneof the Congo empire in 1640. She rebelled against the ceremonies, sought to be introduced by Portuguese Catholic priests, who incitedher nephew to treason. Defeated in several pitched battles, she fledinto the Jaga country, where she was crowned with much success. In1646 she won her throne again, and concluded an honorable peace withthe Portuguese. The other queen was the bloodthirsty Tembandumba ofthe Jagas. She was of Arab blood, and a cannibal by practice. Shefought many battles, achieved great victories, flirted with beautifulyoung savages, and finally was poisoned. 

The African is not altogether without law. 

 "Justice appears, upon the whole, to be pretty fairly administered among the Makololo. A headman took some beads and a blanket from one of his men who had been with us; the matter was brought before the chief; and he immediately ordered the goods to be restored, and decreed, moreover, that no headman should take the property of the men who had returned. In theory all the goods brought back belonged to the chief; the men laid them at his feet, and made a formal offer of them all: he looked at the articles, and told the men to keep them. This is almost invariably the case. Tuba Mokoro, however, fearing lest Sekeletu might take a fancy to some of his best goods, exhibited only a few of his old and least valuable acquisitions. Masakasa had little to show: he had committed some breach of native law in one of the villages on the way, and paid a heavy fine rather than have the matter brought to the doctor's ears. Each carrier is entitled to a portion of the goods in his bundle, though purchased by the chief's ivory; and they never hesitate to claim their rights; but no wages can be demanded from the chief if he fails to respond to the first application. "[76]

We have found considerable civil and criminal law among the differenttribes. We gave an account of the civil and criminal code of Dahomeyin the chapter on that empire. In the Congo country all civil suitsare brought before a judge. He sits on a mat under a large tree, andpatiently hears the arguments _pro_ and _con_. His decisions arefinal. There is no higher court, and hence no appeal. The criminalcases are brought before the _Chitomé_, or priest. He keeps a sacredfire burning in his house that is never suffered to go out. He issupported by the lavish and delicate gifts of the people, and is heldto be sacred. No one is allowed to approach his house except on themost urgent business. He never dies, so say the people. When he isseriously sick his legal successor steals quietly into his house, andbeats his brains out, or strangles him to death. It is his duty tohear all criminal cases, and to this end he makes a periodical circuitamong the tribe. Murder, treason, adultery, killing the escapedsnakes from the fetich-house, --and often stealing, --are punished bydeath, or by being sold into slavery. A girl who loses her standing, disgraces her family by an immoral act, is banished from the tribe. And in case of seduction the man is tied up and flogged. In case ofadultery a large sum of money must be paid. If the guilty one isunable to pay the fine, then death or slavery is the penalty. 

 "Adultery is regarded by the Africans as a kind of theft. It is a vice, therefore, and so common that one might write a Decameron of native tales like those of Boccaccio. And what in Boccaccio is more poignant and more vicious than this song of the Benga, which I have often heard them sing, young men and women together, when no old men were present?--

 'The old men young girls married. The young girls made the old men fools; For they love to kiss the young men in the dark, Or beneath the green leaves of the plantain-tree. The old men then threatened the young men, And said, "You make us look like fools; But we will stab you with our knives till your blood runs forth!" "Oh, stab us, stab us!" cried the young men gladly, "_For then your wives will fasten up our wounds_. "'"[77]

The laws of marriage among many tribes are very wholesome andelevating. When the age of puberty arrives, it is the custom in manytribes for the elderly women, who style themselves _Negemba_, to gointo the forest, and prepare for the initiation of the _igonji_, ornovice. They clear a large space, build a fire, which is kept burningfor three days. They take the young woman into the fetich-house, --anew one for this ceremony, --where they go through some ordeal, that, thus far, has never been understood by men. When a young man wants awife, there are two things necessary; viz. , he must secure herconsent, and then buy her. The apparent necessary element in Africancourtship is not a thing to be deprecated by the contracting parties. On the other hand, it is the _sine qua non_ of matrimony. It is proofpositive when a suitor gives cattle for his sweetheart, first, that heis wealthy; and, second, that he greatly values the lady he fain wouldmake his bride. He first seeks the favor of the girl's parents. If shehave none, then her next of kin, as in Israel in the days of Boaz. Forit is a law among many tribes, that a young girl shall never bewithout a guardian. When the relatives are favorably impressed withthe suitor, they are at great pains to sound his praise in thepresence of the girl; who, after a while, consents to see him. Thenews is conveyed to him by a friend or relative of the girl. Thesuitor takes a bath, rubs his body with palm-oil, dons his best armor, and with beating heart and proud stride hastens to the presence of thefastidious charmer. She does not speak. He sits down, rises, turnsaround, runs, and goes through many exercises to show her that he issound and healthy. The girl retires, and the anxious suitor receivesthe warm congratulations of the spectators on his noble bearing. Thefair lady conveys her assent to the waiting lover, and the villagerings with shouts of gladness. Next come the preliminary mattersbefore the wedding. Marriage among most African tribes is a coetaneouscontract. The bride is delivered when the price is paid by thebridegroom. No goods, no wife. Then follow the wedding and feasting, firing of guns, blowing of horns, music, and dancing. [78]

Polygamy is almost universal in Africa, and poor woman is the greatersufferer from the accursed system. It is not enough that she isdrained of her beauty and strength by the savage passions of man: sheis the merest abject slave everywhere. The young women are beautiful, but it is only for a brief season: it soon passes like the fragilerose into the ashes of premature old age. In Dahomey she is a soldier;in Kaffir-land she tends the herds, and builds houses; and in Congowithout her industry man would starve. Everywhere man's cruel hand isagainst her. Everywhere she is the slave of his unholy passions. [79]

It is a mistaken notion that has obtained for many years, that theNegro in Africa is physically the most loathsome of all mankind. True, the Negro has been deformed by degradation and abuse; but this is nothis normal condition. We have seen native Africans who were jet black, woolly-haired, and yet possessing fine teeth, beautiful features, tall, graceful, and athletic. 

 "In reference to the status of the Africans among the nations of the earth, we have seen nothing to justify the notion that they are of a different 'breed' or 'species' from the most civilized. The African is a man with every attribute of human kind. Centuries of barbarism have had the same deteriorating effects on Africans as Prichard describes them to have had on certain of the Irish who were driven, some generations back, to the hills in Ulster and Connaught; and these depressing influences have had such moral and physical effects on some tribes, that ages probably will be required to undo what ages have done. This degradation, however, would hardly be given as a reason for holding any race in bondage, unless the advocate had sunk morally to the same low state. Apart from the frightful loss of life in the process by which, it is pretended, the Negroes are better provided for than in a state of liberty in their own country, it is this very system that perpetuates, if not causes, the unhappy condition with which the comparative comfort of some of them in slavery is contrasted. 

 "Ethnologists reckon the African as by no means the lowest of the human family. He is nearly as strong physically as the European; and, as a race, is wonderfully persistent among the nations of the earth. Neither the diseases nor the ardent spirits which proved so fatal to North-American Indians, South-Sea Islanders, and Australians, seem capable of annihilating the Negroes. Even when subjected to that system so destructive to human life, by which they are torn from their native soil, they spring up irrepressibly, and darken half the new continent. They are gifted by nature with physical strength capable of withstanding the sorest privations, and a lightheartedness which, as a sort of compensation, enables them to make the best of the worst situations. It is like that power which the human frame possesses of withstanding heat, and to an extent which we should never have known, had not an adventurous surgeon gone into an oven, and burnt his fingers with his own watch. The Africans have wonderfully borne up under unnatural conditions that would have proved fatal to most races. 

 "It is remarkable that the power of resistance under calamity, or, as some would say, adaptation for a life of servitude, is peculiar only to certain tribes on the continent of Africa. Climate cannot be made to account for the fact that many would pine in a state of slavery, or voluntarily perish. No Krooman can be converted into a slave, and yet he is an inhabitant of the low, unhealthy west coast; nor can any of the Zulu or Kaffir tribes be reduced to bondage, though all these live on comparatively elevated regions. We have heard it stated by men familiar with some of the Kaffirs, that a blow, given even in play by a European, must be returned. A love of liberty is observable in all who have the Zulu blood, as the Makololo, the Watuta, and probably the Masai. But blood does not explain the fact. A beautiful Barotse woman at NHLe, on refusing to marry a man whom she did not like, was in a pet given by the headman to some Mambari slave-traders from Benguela. Seeing her fate, she seized one of their spears, and, stabbing herself, fell down dead. "[80]

Dr. David Livingstone is certainly entitled to our utmost confidencein all matters that he writes about. Mr. Archibald Forbes says he hasseen Africans dead upon the field of battle that would measure ninefeet, and it was only a few months ago that we had the privilege ofseeing a Zulu who was eight feet and eleven inches in height. As tothe beauty of the Negro, nearly all African travellers agree. 

 "But if the women of Africa are brutal, the men of Africa are feminine. Their faces are smooth; their breasts are frequently as full as those of European women; their voices are never gruff or deep; their fingers are long; and they can be very proud of their rosy nails. While the women are nearly always ill-shaped after their girlhood, the men have gracefully moulded limbs, and always after a feminine type, --the arms rounded, the legs elegantly formed, without too much muscular development, and the feet delicate and small. 

 "When I first went ashore on Africa, viz. , at Bathurst, I thought all the men who passed me, covered in their long robes, were women, till I saw one of the latter sex, and was thereby disenchanted. 

 "While no African's face ever yet reminded me of a man whom I had known in England, I saw again and again faces which reminded me of women; and on one occasion, in Angola, being about to chastise a _carregadore_, he sank on his knees as I raised my stick, clasped his hands, and looked up imploringly toward me, --was so like a young lady I had once felt an affection for, that, in spite of myself, I flung the stick away, fearing to commit a sacrilege. 

 "Ladies on reading this will open their eyes, and suppose that either I have very bad taste, or that I am writing fiction. But I can assure them that among the Angolas, and the Mpongwe, and the Mandingoes, and the Fula, I have seen men whose form and features would disgrace no petticoats, --not even satin ones at a drawing-room. 

 "While the women are stupid, sulky, and phlegmatic, the men are vivacious, timid, inquisitive, and garrulous beyond belief. They make excellent domestic servants, are cleanly, and even tedious in the nicety with which they arrange dishes on a table or clothes on a bed. They have also their friendships after the manner of woman, embracing one another, sleeping on the same mat, telling one another their secrets, betraying them, and getting terribly jealous of one another (from pecuniary motives) when they happen to serve the same master. 

 "They have none of that austerity, that reserve, that pertinacity, that perseverance, that strong-headed stubborn determination, or that ferocious courage, which are the common attributes of our sex. They have, on the other hand, that delicate tact, that intuition, that nervous imagination, that quick perception of character, which have become the proverbial characteristics of cultivated women. They know how to render themselves impenetrable; and if they desire to be perfidious, they wear a mask which few eyes can see through, while at the same time a certain sameness of purpose models their character in similar moulds. Their nature is an enigma: but solve it, and you have solved the race. They are inordinately vain: they buy looking-glasses; they will pass hours at their toilet, in which their wives must act as _femmes de chambre_; they will spend all their money on ornaments and dress, in which they can display a charming taste. They are fond of music, of dancing, and are not insensible to the beauties of nature. They are indolent, and have little ambition except to be admired and well spoken of. They are so sensitive that a harsh word will rankle in then hearts, and make them unhappy for a length of time; and they will strip themselves to pay the _grills_ for their flattery, and to escape their satire. Though naturally timid, and loath to shed blood, they witness without horror the most revolting spectacles which their religion sanctions; and, though awed by us their superiors, a real injury will transform their natures, and they will take a speedy and merciless revenge. 

 "According to popular belief, the Africans are treacherous and hostile. The fact is, that all Africans are supposed to be Negroes, and that which is criminal is ever associated with that which is hideous. But, with the exception of some Mohammedan tribes toward the north, one may travel all over Africa without risking one's life. They may detain you, they may rob you, if you are rich; they may insult you, and refuse to let you enter their country, if you are poor: but your life is always safe till you sacrifice it by some imprudence. 

 "In ancient times the blacks were known to be so gentle to strangers that many believed that the gods sprang from them. Homer sings of the Ocean, father of the gods; and says that, when Jupiter wishes to take a holiday, he visits the sea, and goes to the banquets of the blacks, --a people humble, courteous, and devout. "[81]

We have quoted thus extensively from Mr. Reade because he has given afair account of the peoples he met. He is a good writer, but sometimesgets real funny!

It is a fact that all uncivilized races are warlike. The tribes ofAfrica are a vast standing army. Fighting seems to be theiremployment. We went into this matter of armies so thoroughly in thefourth chapter that we shall not have much to say here. The bow andarrow, the spear and assagai were the primitive weapons of Africanwarriors; but they have learned the use of fire-arms within the lastquarter of a century. The shield and assagai are not, however, doneaway with. The young Prince Napoleon, whose dreadful death the readermay recall, was slain by an assagai. These armies are officered, disciplined, and drilled to great perfection, as the French andEnglish troops have abundant reason to know. 

 "The Zulu tribes are remarkable for being the only people in that part of Africa who have practised war in an European sense of the word. The other tribes are very good at bush fighting, and are exceedingly crafty at taking an enemy unawares, and coming on him before he is prepared for them. Guerilla warfare is, in fact, their only mode of waging battle; and, as is necessarily the case in such warfare, more depends on the exertion of individual combatants than on the scientific combinations of masses. But the Zulu tribe have, since the time of Dhaka, the great inventor of military tactics, carried on war in a manner approaching the notions of civilization. 

 "Their men are organized into regiments, each subdivided into companies, and each commanded by its own chief, or colonel; while the king, as commanding general, leads his forces to war, disposes them in battle-array, and personally directs their movements. They give an enemy notice that they are about to match against him, and boldly meet him in the open field. There is a military etiquette about them which some of our own people have been slow to understand. They once sent a message to the English commander that they would 'come and breakfast with him. ' He thought it was only a joke, and was very much surprised when the Kaffirs, true to their promise, came pouring like a torrent over the hills, leaving him barely time to get his men under arms before the dark enemies arrived. "[82]

And there are some legends told about African wars that would put the"Arabian Nights" to the blush. [83]

In Africa, as in districts of Germany and Holland, woman is burdenedwith agricultural duties. The soil of Africa is very rich, [84] andconsequently Nature furnishes her untutored children with muchspontaneous vegetation. It is a rather remarkable fact, that theaverage African warrior thinks it a degradation for him to engage inagriculture. He will fell trees, and help move a village, but _willnot_ go into the field to work. The women--generally the marriedones--do the gardening. They carry the seed on their heads in a largebasket, a hoe on their shoulder, and a baby slung on the back. Theyscatter the seed over the ground, and then break up the earth to thedepth of three or four inches. 

 "Four or five gardens are often to be seen round a kraal, each situated so as to suit some particular plant. Various kinds of crops are cultivated by the Kaffirs, the principal being maize, millet, pumpkins, and a kind of spurious sugar-cane in great use throughout Southern Africa, and popularly known by the name of 'sweet-reed. ' The two former constitute, however, the necessaries of life, the latter belonging rather to the class of luxuries. The maize, or, as it is popularly called when the pods are severed from the stem, 'mealies, ' is the very staff of life to a Kaffir; as it is from the mealies that is made the thick porridge on which the Kaffir chiefly lives. If a European hires a Kaffir, whether as guide, servant, or hunter, he is obliged to supply him with a stipulated quantity of food, of which the maize forms the chief ingredient. Indeed, so long as the native of Southern Africa can get plenty of porridge and sour milk, he is perfectly satisfied with his lot. When ripe, the ears of maize are removed from the stem, the leafy envelope is stripped off, and they are hung in pairs over sticks until they are dry enough to be taken to the storehouse. "[85]

The cattle are cared for by the men, and women are not allowed toengage in the hunt for wild animals. The cattle among the mountain andsandstone tribes are of a fine stock, but those of the tribes in thealluvia, like their owners, are small and sickly. 

The African pays more attention to his weapons of offensive warfarethan he does to his wives; but in many instances he is quite skilfulin the handicrafts. 

 "The Ishogo people are noted throughout the neighboring tribes for the superior quality and fineness of the _bongos_, or pieces of grass-cloth, which they manufacture. They are industrious and skilful weavers. In walking down the main street of Mokenga, a number of _ouandjas_, or houses without walls are seen, each containing four or five looms, with the weavers seated before them weaving the cloth. In the middle of the floor of the _ouandjay_ a wood-fire is seen burning; and the weavers, as you pass by, are sure to be seen smoking their pipes, and chatting to one another whilst going on with their work. The weavers are all men, and it is men also who stitch the _bongos_ together to make _denguis_ or robes of them; the stitches are not very close together, nor is the thread very fine, but the work is very neat and regular, and the needles are of their own manufacture. The _bongos_ are very often striped, and sometimes made even in check patterns; this is done by their dyeing some of the threads of the warp, or of both warp and woof, with various simple colors; the dyes are all made of decoctions of different kinds of wood, except for black, when a kind of iron ore is used. The _bongos_ are employed as money in this put of Africa. Although called grass-cloth by me, the material is not made of grass, but of the delicate and firm cuticle of palm leaflets, stripped off in a dexterous manner with the fingers. "[86]

Nearly all his mechanical genius seems to be exhausted in theperfection of his implements of war, and Dr. Livingstone is of theopinion, that when a certain perfection in the arts is reached, thenatives pause. This, we think, is owing to their far remove from othernations. Livingstone says, --

 "The races of this continent seem to have advanced to a certain point and no farther; their progress in the arts of working iron and copper, in pottery, basket-making, spinning, weaving, making nets, fish-hooks, spears, axes, knives, needles, and other things, whether originally invented by this people or communicated by another instructor, appears to have remained in the same rude state for a great number of centuries. This apparent stagnation of mind in certain nations we cannot understand, but, since we have in the latter ages of the world made what we consider great progress in the arts, we have unconsciously got into the way of speaking of some other races in much the same tone as that used by the Celestials in the Flowery Land. These same Chinese anticipated us in several most important discoveries, by as many centuries as we may have preceded others. In the knowledge of the properties of the magnet, the composition of gunpowder, the invention of printing, the manufacture of porcelain, of silk, and in the progress of literature, they were before us. But then the power of making further discoveries was arrested, and a stagnation of the intellect prevented their advancing in the path of improvement or invention. "

Mr. Wood says, --

 "The natives of Southern Africa are wonderful proficients in forging iron; and, indeed, a decided capability for the blacksmith's art seems to be inherent in the natives of Africa, from north to south, and from east to west. None of the tribes can do very much with the iron, but the little which they require is worked in perfection. As in the case with all uncivilized beings, the whole treasures of the art are lavished on their weapons; and so, if we wish to see what an African savage can do with iron, we must look at his spears, knives, and arrows--the latter, indeed, being but spears in miniature. "

The blacksmith, then, is a person of some consequence in his village. He gives shape and point to the weapons by which game is to be securedand battles won. All seek his favor. 

 "Among the Kaffirs, a blacksmith is a man of considerable importance, and is much respected by the tribe. He will not profane the mystery of his craft by allowing uninitiated eyes to inspect his various processes, and therefore carries on his operations at some distance from the kraal. His first care is to prepare the bellows. The form which he uses prevails over a very large portion of Africa, and is seen, with some few modifications, even among the many islands of Polynesia. It consists of two leathern sacks, at the upper end of which is a handle. To the lower end of each sack is attached the hollow horns of some animal, that of the cow or eland being most commonly used; and when the bags are alternately inflated and compressed, the air passes out through the two horns. 

 "Of course the heat of the fire would destroy the horns if they were allowed to come in contact with it; and they are therefore inserted, not into the fire, but into an earthenware tube which communicates with the fire. The use of valves is unknown; but as the two horns do not open into the fire, but into the tube, the fire is not drawn into the bellows as would otherwise be the case. This arrangement, however, causes considerable waste of air, so that the bellows-blower is obliged to work much harder than would be the case if he were provided with an instrument that could conduct the blast directly to its destination. The ancient Egyptians used a bellows of precisely similar construction, except that they did not work them entirely by hand. They stood with one foot on each sack, and blew the fire by alternately pressing on them with the feet, and raising them by means of a cord fastened to their upper ends. 

 "When the blacksmith is about to set to work, he digs a hole in the ground, in which the fire is placed; and then sinks the earthenware tube in a sloping direction, so that the lower end opens at the bottom of the hole, while the upper end projects above the level of the ground. The two horns are next inserted into the upper end of the earthenware tube; and the bellows are then fastened in their places, so that the sacks are conveniently disposed for the hands of the operator, who sits between them. A charcoal-fire is then laid in the hole, and is soon brought to a powerful heat by means of the bellows. A larger stone serves the purpose of an anvil, and a smaller stone does duty for a hammer. Sometimes the hammer is made of a conical piece of iron, but in most cases a stone is considered sufficient. The rough work of hammering the iron into shape is generally done by the chief blacksmith's assistants, of whom he has several, all of whom will pound away at the iron in regular succession. The shaping and finishing the article is reserved by the smith for himself. The other tools are few and simple, and consist of punches and rude pinchers made of two rods of iron. 

 "With these instruments the Kaffir smith can cast brass into various ornaments, Sometimes he pours it into a cylindrical mould, so as to make a bar from which bracelets and similar ornaments can be hammered, and sometimes he makes studs and knobs by forming their shape in clay moulds. "[87]

Verily, the day will come when these warlike tribes shall beat theirspears into pruning-hooks, and their assagais into ploughshares, andshall learn war no more! The skill and cunning of their artificersshall be consecrated to the higher and nobler ends of civilization, and the noise of battle shall die amid the music of a variedindustry!

FOOTNOTES:

[68] Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi, pp. 216, 217. 

[69] Ashango Land, pp. 288, 289, 291, 292. 

[70] Western Africa, p. 257 _sq. _

[71] Through the Dark Continent, vol. I. P. 489. 

[72] Uncivilized Races of Men, vol. I. Chap, vii. 

[73] Equatorial Africa, pp. 377, 378. 

[74] Savage Africa, p. 216. 

[75] Expedition to Zambesi, pp. 626, 627. 

[76] Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi, pp. 307, 308. 

[77] Savage Africa, p. 219. 

[78] See Savage Africa, p. 207. Livingstone's Life-Work, pp. 47, 48. Uncivilized Races of Men, vol. 1. Pp. 71-86; also Du Chaillu andDenham and Clappterton. 

[79] Savage Africa, pp. 424, 425. 

[80] Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi, pp 625, 626. 

[81] Savage Africa, pp 426, 427. 

[82] Uncivilized Races of Men, vol. I. P. 94. 

[83] Through the Dark Continent, vol. I. P. 344 _sq. _; also vol. Ii. Pp. 87, 88. 

[84] Livingstone's Zambesi, pp. 613-617. 

[85] Uncivilized Races of Men, vol. I. P. 146. 

[86] Ashango Land, pp 290, 291. 

[87] Uncivilized Races of Men, vol. I. Pp. 97, 98. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

LANGUAGES, LITERATURE, AND RELIGION. 

 STRUCTURE OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES. --THE MPONGWE, MANDINGO, AND GREBO. --POETRY: EPIC, IDYLLIC, AND MISCELLANEOUS. --RELIGIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

Philologically the inhabitants of Africa are divided into two distinctfamilies. The dividing line that Nature drew across the continent isabout two degrees north of the equator. Thus far science has notpushed her investigations into Northern Africa; and, therefore, littleis known of the dialects of that section. But from what travellershave learned of portions of different tribes that have crossed theline, and made their way as far as the Cape of Good Hope, we infer, that, while there are many dialects in that region, they all belong toone common family. During the Saracen movement, in the second centuryof the Christian era, the Arab turned his face toward Central Africa. Everywhere traces of his language and religion are to be found. Hetransformed whole tribes of savages. He built cities, and plantedfields; he tended flocks, and became trader. He poured new blood intocrumbling principalities, and taught the fingers of the untutoredsavage to war. His religion, in many places, put out the ineffectualfires of the fetich-house, and lifted the grovelling thoughts ofidolaters heavenward. His language, like the new juice of the vine, made its way to the very roots of Negro dialects, and gave them methodand tone. In the song and narrative, in the prayer and precept, of theheathen, the Arabic comes careering across each sentence, givingcadence and beauty to all. 

On the heels of the Mohammedan followed the Portuguese, the tried andtrue servants of Rome, bearing the double swords and keys. Not soextensive as the Arab, the influence of the Portuguese, nevertheless, has been quite considerable. 

[Transcriber's Note: A breve diacritical mark, a u-shaped symbol abovea letter used to indicate special pronunciation, is found on severalwords in the original text. These letters are indicated here by thecoding [)x] for a breve above any letter x. For example, the word"tonda" with a breve above the letter "o" will appear as "t[)o]nda" inthe following text. ]

All along the coast of Northern Guinea, a distance of nearly fifteenhundred miles, --from Cape Mesurado to the mouth of the Niger, --theKree, Grebo, and Basa form one general family, and speak the Mandulanguage. On the Ivory Coast another language is spoken between Friscoand Dick's Cove. It is designated as the Av[)e]kw[)o]m language, andin its verbal and inflective character is not closely related to theMandu. The dialects of Popo, Dahomey, Ashantee, and Akra areresolvable into a family or language called the _Fantyipin_. All thesedialects, to a greater or less extent, have incorporated many foreignwords, --Dutch, French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and even manywords from Madagascar. The language of the Gold and Ivory Coasts wefind much fuller than those on the Grain Coast. Wherever commerce ormechanical enterprise imparts a quickening touch, we find thevocabulary of the African amplified. Susceptible, apt, and cunning, the coast tribes, on account of their intercourse with the outsideworld, have been greatly changed. We are sorry that the change has notalways been for the better. Uncivilized sailors, and brainless andheartless speculators, have sown the rankest seeds of an effeteCaucasian civilization in the hearts of the unsuspecting Africans. These poor people have learned to cheat, lie, steal; are capable ofremarkable diplomacy and treachery; have learned well the art offlattery and extreme cruelty. Mr. Wilson says, --

 "The Sooahelee, or Swahere language, spoken by the aboriginal inhabitants of Zanzibar, is very nearly allied to the Mpongwe, which is spoken on the western coast in very nearly the same parallel of latitude. _One-fifth of the words of these two dialects are either the same, or so nearly so that they may easily be traced to the same root_. "

The Italics are our own. The above was written just a quarter of acentury ago. 

 "The language of Uyanzi seemed to us to be a mixture of almost all Central African dialects. Our great stock of native words, in all dialects, proved of immense use to me; and in three days I discovered, after classifying and comparing the words heard from the Wy-anzi with other African words, that I was tolerably proficient, at least for all practical purposes, in the Kiyanzi dialect. "[88]

Mr. Stanley wrote the above in Africa in March, 1877. It was but arepetition of the experiences of Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, that, while the dialects west and south-west of the Mountains of the Moonare numerous, and apparently distinct, they are referable to onecommon parent. The Swahere language has held its place from thebeginning. Closely allied to the Mpongwe, it is certainly one of greatstrength and beauty. 

 "This great family of languages--if the Mpongwe dialect may be taken as a specimen--is remarkable for its beauty, elegance, and perfectly philosophical arrangements, as well as for its almost indefinite expansibility. In these respects it not only differs essentially and radically from all the dialects north of the Mountains of the Moon, but they are such as may well challenge a comparison with any known language in the world. "[89]

The dialects of Northern Africa are rough, irregular in structure, andunpleasant to the ear. The Mpongwe we are inclined to regard as thebest of all the dialects we have examined. It is spoken, with butslight variations, among the Mpongwe, Ayomba, Oroungou, Rembo, Camma, Ogobay, Anenga, and Ngaloi tribes. A careful examination of severalother dialects leads us to suspect that they, too, sustain a distantrelationship to the Mpongwe. 

Next to this remarkable language comes the Bakalai, with its numerousdialectic offspring, scattered amongst the following tribes: theBalengue, Mebenga, Bapoukow, Kombe, Mbiki, Mbousha, Mbondemo, Mbisho, Shekiani, Apingi, Evili, with other tribes of the interior. 

The two families of languages we have just mentioned--the Mpongwe andthe Bakalai--are distinguished for their system and grammaticalstructure. It is surprising that these unwritten languages should holdtheir place among roving, barbarous tribes through so many years. Inthe Mpongwe language and its dialects, the liquid and semi-vowel _r_is rolled with a fulness and richness harmonious to the ear. TheBakalai and its branches have no _r_; and it is no less true that alltribes that exclude this letter from their dialects are warlike, nomadic, and much inferior to the tribes that use it freely. 

The Mpongwe language is spoken on each side of the Gabun, at CapeLopez, and at Cape St. Catharin in Southern Guinea; the Mandingo, between Senegal and the Gambia; and the Grebo language, in and aboutCape Palmas. It is about twelve hundred miles from Gabun to CapePalmas, about two thousand miles from Gabun to Senegambia, and aboutsix hundred miles from Cape Palmas to Gambia. It is fair to presumethat these tribes are sufficiently distant from each other to becalled strangers. An examination of their languages may not fail tointerest. 

It has been remarked somewhere, that a people's homes are the surestindications of the degree of civilization they have attained. It iscertainly true, that deportment has much to do with the polish oflanguage. The disposition, temperament, and morals of a people whohave no written language go far toward giving their language itsleading characteristics. The Grebo people are a well-made, quick, andcommanding-looking people. In their intercourse with one another, however, they are unpolished, of sudden temper, and revengefuldisposition. [90] Their language is consequently _monosyllabic_. Agreat proportion of Grebo words are of the character indicated. A fewverbs will illustrate. _Kba_, carry; _la_, kill; _ya_, bring; _mu_, go; _wa_, walk; _ni_, do; and so on. This is true of objects, ornouns. _Ge_, farm; _bro_, earth; _w[)e]nh_, sun; _tu_, tree; _gi_, leopard; _na_, fire; _yi_, eye; _bo_, leg; _lu_, head; _nu_, rain;_kai_, house. The Grebo people seem to have no idea of syllabication. They do not punctuate; but, speaking with the rapidity with which theymove, run their words together until a whole sentence might be takenfor one word. If any thing has angered a Grebo he will say, "_E ya mukra wudi_;" being interpreted, "It has raised a great bone in mythroat. " But he says it so quickly that he pronounces it in thismanner, _yamukroure_. There are phrases in this language that arebeyond the ability of a foreigner to pronounce. It has nocontractions, and often changes the first and second person of thepersonal pronoun, and the first and second person plural, by loweringor pitching the voice. The orthography remains the same, though thesignifications of those words are radically different. 

The Mpongwe language is largely polysyllabic. It is burdened withpersonal pronouns, and its adjectives have numerous changes inaddition to their degrees of comparison. We find no inflections tosuggest case or gender. The adjective _mpolo_, which means "large, "carries seven or eight forms. While it is impossible to tell whether anoun is masculine, feminine, or neuter, they use one adjective for allfour declensions, changing its form to suit each. 

The following form of declensions will serve to impart a clearer ideaof the arbitrary changes in the use of the adjective:

 First Declension. (Singular, _nyare mpolu_, a large cow. (Plural, _inyare impolu_, large cows. 

 Second Declension. (Singular, _egara evolu_, a large chest. (Plural, _gara volu_, large chests. 

 Third Declension. (Singular, _idâmbe ivolu_, a large sheep. (Plural, _idâmbe ampolu_, large sheep. 

 Fourth Declension. (Singular, _omamba ompolu_, a large snake. (Plural, _imamba impolu_, large snakes. [91]

We presume it would be a difficult task for a Mpongwe to explain thearbitrary law by which such changes are made. And yet he is as uniformand strict in his obedience to this law as if it were written out inan Mpongwe grammar, and taught in every village. 

His verb has four moods; viz. , indicative, imperative, conditional, and subjunctive. The auxiliary particle gives the indicative mood itsgrammatical being. The imperative is formed from the present of theindicative by changing its initial consonant into its reciprocalconsonant as follows:--

 _tonda_, to love. _ronda_, love thou. _denda_, to do. _lenda_, do thou. 

The conditional mood has a form of its own; but the conjunctiveparticles are used as auxiliaries at the same time, and differentconjunctive particles are used with different tenses. The subjunctive, having but one form, in a sentence where there are two verbs is usedas the second verb. [92] So by the use of the auxiliary particles theverb can form the infinitive and potential mood. The Mpongwe verbcarries four tenses, --present, past or historical, perfect past, andfuture. Upon the principle of alliteration the perfect past tense, representing an action as completed, is formed from the present tenseby prefixing _a_, and by changing _a_-final into _i_: for example, _t[)o]nda_, "to love;" _at[)o]ndi_, "did love. " The past or historicaltense is derived from the imperative by prefixing _a_, and by changing_a_-final into _i_. Thus _r[)o]nda_, "love;" _ar[)o]ndi_, "haveloved. " The future tense is constructed by the aid of the auxiliaryparticle _be_, as follows: _mi be t[)o]nda_, " I am going to love. "

We have not been able to find a Mandingo grammar, except Mr. MacBrair's, which is, as far as we know, the only one in existence. We have had but little opportunity to study the structure of thatlanguage. But what scanty material we have at hand leads us to theconclusion that it is quite loosely put together. The saving elementin its verb is the minuteness with which it defines the time of anaction. The causative form is made by the use of a suffix. It does notuse the verb "to go" or "come" in order to express a future tense. Numerous particles are used in the substantive verb sense. TheMandingo language is rather smooth. The letters _v_ and _z_ are not init. About one-fifth of the verbs and nouns commence with vowels, andthe noun always terminates in the letter _o_. 

Here is a wide and interesting field for philologists: it should becultivated. 

The African's nature is as sunny as the climate he lives in. He is notbrutal, as many advocates of slavery have asserted. It is theunanimous testimony of all explorers of, and travellers through, theDark Continent, that the element of gentleness predominates among themore considerable tribes; that they have a keen sense of thebeautiful, and are susceptible of whatever culture is brought withintheir reach. The Negro nature is not sluggish, but joyous andvivacious. In his songs he celebrates victories, and laughs at deathwith the complacency of the Greek Stoics. 

 "Rich man and poor fellow, all men must die: Bodies are only shadows. Why should I be sad?"[93]

He can be deeply wrought upon by acts of kindness; and bears afriendship to those who show him favor, worthy of a better state ofsociety. When Henry M. Stanley (God bless him! noble, brave soul!) wasabout emerging from the Dark Continent, he made a halt at Kabindabefore he ended his miraculous journey at Zanzibar on the PacificOcean. He had been accompanied in his perilous journey bystout-hearted, brave, and faithful natives. Their mission almostcompleted, they began to sink into that listlessness which is oftenthe precursor of death. They had been true to their master, and werenow ready to die as bravely as they had lived. Read Mr. Stanley'saccount without emotion if you can:--

 "'Do you wish to see Zanzibar, boys?' I asked. 

 "'Ah, it is far. Nay, speak not, master. We shall never see it, ' they replied. 

 "'But you will die if you go on in this way. Wake up--shake yourselves--show yourselves to be men. '

 "'Can a man contend with God? Who fears death? Let us die undisturbed, and be at rest forever, ' they answered. 

 "Brave, faithful, loyal souls! They were, poor fellows, surrendering themselves to the benumbing influences of a listlessness and fatal indifference to life! Four of them died in consequence of this strange malady at Loanda, three more on board her Majesty's ship Industry, and one woman breathed her last the day after we arrived at Zanzibar. But in their sad death they had one consolation, in the words which they kept constantly repeating to themselves--

 "'We have brought our master to the great sea, and he has seen his white brothers. La il Allah, il Allah! There is no God but God!' they said--and died. 

 "It is not without an overwhelming sense of grief, a choking in the throat, and swimming eyes, that I write of those days; for my memory is still busy with the worth and virtues of the dead. In a thousand fields of incident, adventure, and bitter trials, they had proved their stanch heroism and their fortitude; they had lived and endured nobly. I remember the enthusiasm with which they responded to my appeals; I remember their bold bearing during the darkest days; I remember the Spartan pluck, the indomitable courage, with which they suffered in the days of our adversity. Their voices again loyally answer me, and again I hear them address each other upon the necessity of standing by the 'master. ' Their boat-song, which contained sentiments similar to the following:--

 'The pale-faced stranger, lonely here, In cities afar, where his name is dear, Your Arab truth and strength shall show; He trusts in us, row, Arabs, row'--

 despite all the sounds which now surround me, still charms my listening ear. [94] ... 

 "They were sweet and sad moments, those of parting. What a long, long, and true friendship was here sundered! Through what strange vicissitudes of life had they not followed me! What wild and varied scenes had we not seen together! What a noble fidelity these untutored souls had exhibited! The chiefs were those who had followed me to Ujiji in 1871; they had been witnesses of the joy of Livingstone at the sight of me; they were the men to whom I intrusted the safe-guard of Livingstone on his last and fatal journey, who had mourned by his corpse at Muilala, and borne the illustrious dead to the Indian Ocean. 

 "And in a flood of sudden recollection, all the stormy period here ended rushed in upon my mind; the whole panorama of danger and tempest through which these gallant fellows had so stanchly stood by me--these gallant fellows now parting from me. Rapidly, as in some apocalyptic vision, every scene of strife with Man and Nature, through which these poor men and women had borne me company, and solaced me by the simple sympathy of common suffering, came hurrying across my memory; for each face before me was associated with some adventure or some peril, reminded me of some triumph or of some loss. What a wild, weird retrospect it was, --that mind's flash over the troubled past! so like a troublous dream!

 "And for years and years to come, in many homes in Zanzibar, there will be told the great story of our journey, and the actors in it will be heroes among their kilt and kin. For me too they are heroes, these poor, ignorant children of Africa, for, from the first deadly struggle in savage Ituru to the last staggering rush into Embomma, they had rallied to my voice like veterans, and in the hour of need they had never failed me. And thus, aided by their willing hands and by their loyal hearts, the expedition had been successful, and the three great problems of the Dark Continent's geography had been fairly settled. "[95]

How many times we have read this marvellous narrative of Stanley'smarch through the Dark Continent, we do not know; but we do know thatevery time we have read it with tears and emotion, have blessed thenoble Stanley, and thanked God for the grand character of his blackfollowers! There is no romance equal to these two volumes. The tripwas one awful tragedy from beginning to end, and the immortal deeds ofhis untutored guards are worthy of the famous _Light Brigade_. 

On the fourth day of August, 1877, Henry M. Stanley arrived at thevillage of Nsanda on his way to the ocean. He had in his command onehundred and fifteen souls. Foot-sore, travel-soiled, and hungry, hispeople sank down exhausted. He tried to buy food from the natives; butthey, with an indifference that was painful, told them to wait untilmarket-day. A foraging party scoured the district for food, but foundnone. Starvation was imminent. The feeble travellers lay upon theground in the camp, with death pictured on their dusky features. Stanley called his boat-captains to his tent, and explained thesituation. He knew that he was within a few days march of Embomma, andthat here were located one Englishman, one Frenchman, one Spaniard, and one Portuguese. He told the captains that he had addressed aletter to these persons for aid; and that resolute, swift, andcourageous volunteers were needed to go for the relief, --without whichthe whole camp would be transformed into a common graveyard. We willnow quote from Mr. Stanley again in proof of the noble nature of theNegro:--

 "The response was not long coming; for Uledi sprang up and said, 'O master, don't talk more! I am ready now. See, I will only buckle on my belt, and I shall start at once, and nothing will stop me. I will follow on the track like a leopard. '

 "'And I am one, ' said Kachéché. 'Leave us alone, master. If there are white men at Embomma, we will find them out. We will walk and walk, and when we cannot walk we will crawl. '

 "'Leave off talking men, ' said Muini Pembé, 'and allow others to speak, won't you? Hear me, my master. I am your servant. I will outwalk the two. I will carry the letter, and plant it before the eyes of the white men. '

 "'I will go too, sir, ' said Robert. 

 "'Good! It is just as I should wish it; but, Robert, you cannot follow these three men. You will break down, my boy. '

 "'Oh, we will carry him if he breaks down, ' said Uledi. 'Won't we, Kachéché?"

 "'_Inshallah_!' responded Kachéché decisively. 'We must have Robert along with us, otherwise the white men won't understand us. '"

What wonderful devotion! What sublime self-forgetfulness! The worldhas wept over such stories as Bianca and Héloise, and has builtmonuments that will stand, --

 "_While Fame her record keeps, Or Homer paints the hallowed spot Where Valor proudly sleeps_, "--

and yet these black heroes are unremembered. "I will follow the tracklike a leopard, " gives but a faint idea of the strong will of Uledi;and Kachéché's brave words are endowed with all the attributes of thatheroic _abandon_ with which a devoted general hurls the last fragmentof wasting strength against a stubborn enemy. And besides, there issomething so tender in these words that they seem to melt the heart. "We will walk and walk, and when we cannot walk we will crawl!" Wehave never read but one story that approaches this narrative of Mr. Stanley, and that was the tender devotion of Ruth to hermother-in-law. We read it in the Hebrew to Dr. O. S. Stearns of Newton, Mass. ; and confess that, though it has been many years since, theblessed impression still remains, and our confidence in humanity isstrengthened thereby. 

Here are a few white men in the wilds of Africa, surrounded by theuncivilized children of the desert. They have money and valuableinstruments, a large variety of gewgaws that possessed the power ofcharming the fancy of the average savage; and therefore the whiteswould have been a tempting prey to the blacks. But not a hair of theirhead was harmed. The white men had geographical fame to encourage themin the struggle, --friends and loved ones far away beyond thebeautiful blue sea. These poor savages had nothing to steady theirpurposes save a paltry sum of money as day-wages, --no home, nofriends; and yet they were as loyal as if a throne were awaiting them. No, no! nothing waited on their heroic devotion to a magnificent causebut a lonely death when they had brought the "master" to the sea. Whentheir stomachs, pinched by hunger; when their limbs, stiff fromtravel; when their eyes, dim with the mists of death; when every vitalforce was slain by an heroic ambition to serve the great Stanley; whenthe fires of endeavor were burnt to feeble embers, --then, and onlythen, would these faithful Negroes fail in the fulfilment of theirmission, so full of peril, and yet so grateful to them, because it wasin the line of _duty_. 

Cicero urged virtue as necessary to effective oratory. The greatmajority of Negroes in Africa are both orators and logicians. A peoplewho have such noble qualities as this race seems to possess has, as alogical necessity, the poetic element in a large degree. 

In speaking of Negro poetry, we shall do so under three differentheads; viz. , the _Epic_, _Idyllic_, _Religious_, or miscellaneous. 

_The epic poetry_ of Africa, so far as known, is certainly worthy ofcareful study. The child must babble before it can talk, and allbarbarians have a sense of the sublime in speech. Mr. Taine, in his"History of English Literature, " speaking of early Saxon poetry, says, --

 "One poem nearly whole, and two or three fragments, are all that remain of this lay-poetry of England. The rest of the pagan current, German and barbarian, was arrested or overwhelmed, first by the influx of the Christian religion, then by the conquest of the Norman-French. But what remains more than suffices to show the strange and powerful poetic genius of the race, and to exhibit beforehand the flower in the bud. 

 "If there has ever been anywhere a deep and serious poetic sentiment, it is here. They do not speak: they sing, or rather they shout. Each little verse is an acclamation, which breaks forth like a growl; their strong breasts heave with a groan of anger or enthusiasm, and a vehement or indistinct phrase or expression rises suddenly, almost in spite of them, to their lips. There is no art, no natural talent, for describing, singly and in order, the different parts of an object or an event. The fifty rays of light which every phenomenon emits in succession to a regular and well-directed intellect, come to them at once in a glowing and confused mass, disabling them by their force and convergence. Listen to their genuine war-chants, unchecked and violent, as became their terrible voices! To this day, at this distance of time, separated as they are by manners, speech, ten centuries, we seem to hear them still. "[96]

This glowing description of the poetry of the primitive and hardySaxon gives the reader an excellent idea of the vigorous, earnest, andgorgeous effusions of the African. Panda was king of the Kaffirs. Hewas considered quite a great warrior. It took a great many_isi-bongas_ to describe his virtues. His chief _isi-bongas_ was"O-Elephant. " This was chosen to describe his strength and greatness. Mr. Wood gives an account of the song in honor of Panda:--

 "1. Thou brother of the Tchaks, _considerate forder_, 2. A _swallow which fled in the sky_; 3. A swallow with a whiskered breast; 4. Whose cattle was ever in so huddled a crowd, 5. They stumble for room when they ran. 6. Thou false adorer of the valor of another, 7. That valor thou tookest at the battle of Makonko. 8. Of the stock of N'dabazita, _ramrod of brass_, 9. _Survivor alone of all other rods_; 10. Others they broke and left this in the soot, 11. Thinking to burn at some rainy cold day. 12. _Thigh of the bullock of Inkakavini_, 13. Always delicious if only 'tis roasted, 14. It will always be tasteless if boiled. 15. The woman from Mankeba is delighted; 16. She has seen the leopards of Jama, 17. Fighting together between the Makonko. 18. He passed between the Jutuma and Ihliza, 19. The Celestial who thundered between the Makonko. 20. I praisethee, O King! son of Jokwane, the son of Undaba, 21. The merciless opponent of every conspiracy. 22. Thou art an _elephant_, an _elephant_, an _elephant_. 23. All glory to thee, thou _monarch who art black_. "

 "The first _isi-bonga_, in line 1, alludes to the ingenuity with which Panda succeeded in crossing the river so as to escape out of the district where Dingan exercised authority. In the second line, 'swallow which fled in the sky' is another allusion to the secrecy with which he managed his flight, which left no more track than the passage of a swallow through the air. Lines 4 and 5 allude to the wealth, i. E. , the abundance of cattle, possessed by Panda. Line 6 asserts that Panda was too humble minded, and thought more of the power of Dingan than it deserved; while line 7 offers as proof of this assertion, that, when they came to fight, Panda conquered Dingan. Lines 8 to 11 all relate to the custom of seasoning sticks by hanging them over the fireplaces in Kaffir huts. Line 14 alludes to the fact that meat is very seldom roasted by the Kaffirs, but is almost invariably boiled, or rather stewed, in closed vessels. In line 15 the 'woman from Mankebe' is Panda's favorite wife. In line 19 'The Celestial' alludes to the name of the great Zulu tribe over which Panda reigned; the word 'Zulu' meaning celestial, and having much the same import as the same word when employed by the Chinese to denote their origin. Line 21 refers to the attempts of Panda's rivals to dethrone him, and the ingenious manner in which he contrived to defeat their plans by forming judicious alliances. "

There is a daring insolence, morbid vanity, and huge description inthis song of Panda, that make one feel like admitting that the sablebard did his work of flattery quite cleverly. It should not beforgotten by the reader, that, in the translation of these songs, muchis lost of their original beauty and perspicuity. The following songwas composed to celebrate the war triumphs of Dinga, and is, withal, exciting, and possessed of good movement. It is, in some instances, much like the one quoted above:--

 "Thou needy offspring of Umpikazi, Eyer of the cattle of men; Bird of Maube, fleet as a bullet, Sleek, erect, of beautiful parts; Thy cattle like the comb of the bees; O head too large, too huddled to move; Devourer of Moselekatze, son of Machobana; Devourer of 'Swazi, son of Sobuza; Breaker of the gates of Machobana; Devourer of Gundave of Machobana; A monster in size, of mighty power; Devourer of Ungwati of ancient race; Devourer of the kingly Uomape; Like heaven above, raining and shining. "

The poet has seen fit to refer to the early life of his hero, to callattention to his boundless riches, and, finally, to celebrate his warachievements. It is highly descriptive, and in the Kaffir language isquite beautiful. 

Tchaka sings a song himself, the ambitious sentiments of which wouldhave been worthy of Alexander the Great or Napoleon Bonaparte. He hadcarried victory on his spear throughout all Kaffir-land. Everywherethe tribes had bowed their submissive necks to his yoke; everywhere hewas hailed as king. But out of employment he was not happy. He sighedfor more tribes to conquer, and thus delivered himself:--

 "Thou hast finished, finished the nations! Where will you go out to battle now? Hey! where will you go out to battle now? Thou hast conquered kings! Where are you going to battle now? Thou hast finished, finished the nations! Where are you going to battle now? Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! Where are you going to battle now?"

There is really something modern in this deep lament of the noblesavage!

The following war song of the Wollof, though it lacks the sonorous andmetrical elements of real poetry, contains true militaryaggressiveness, mixed with the theology of the fatalist. 

A WAR SONG. 

 "I go in front. I fear not death. I am not afraid. If I die, I will take my blood to bathe my head. 

 "The man who fears nothing marches always in front, and is never hit by the murderous ball. The coward hides himself behind a bush, and is killed. 

 "Go to the battle. It is not lead that kills. It is Fate which strikes us, and which makes us die. "

Mr. Reade says of the musicians he met up the Senegal, --

 "There are three classes of these public minstrels, --1, those who play such vulgar instruments as the flute and drum; 2, those who play on the ballafond, which is the marimba of Angola and South America, and on the harp; 3, those who sing the legends and battle-songs of their country, or who improvise satires or panegyrics. This last class are dreaded, though despised. They are richly rewarded in their lifetime, but after death they are not even given a decent burial. If they were buried in the ground, it would become barren; if in the river, the water would be poisoned, and the fish would die: so they are buried in hollow trees. 

_The idyllic poetry_ of Africa is very beautiful in its gorgeousnative dress. It requires some knowledge of their mythology in orderto thoroughly understand all their figures of speech. The followingsong is descriptive of the white man, and is the production of aBushman. 

 "_In the blue palace of the deep sea Dwells a strange creature: His skin as white as salt; His hair long and tangled as the sea-weed. He is more great than the princes of the earth; He is clothed with the skins of fishes, -- Fishes more beautiful than birds. His house is built of brass rods; His garden is a forest of tobacco. On his soil white beads are scattered Like sand-grains on the seashore. _"

The following idyl, extemporized by one of Stanley's black soldiers, on the occasion of reaching Lake Nyanza, possesses more energy ofmovement, perspicuity of style, and warm, glowing imagery, than anysong of its character we have yet met with from the lips of unletteredNegroes. It is certainly a noble song of triumph. It swells as itrises in its mission of praise. It breathes the same victorious air ofthe song of Miriam: "_Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphedgloriously; the horse and the rider hath he thrown into the sea_. " Andin the last verse the child-nature of the singer riots like "The MayQueen" of Tennyson. 

THE SONG OF TRIUMPH. 

 "Sing, O friends, sing; the journey is ended: Sing aloud, O friends; sing to the great Nyanza. Sing all, sing loud, O friends, sing to the great sea; Give your last look to the lands behind, and then turn to the sea. 

 Long time ago you left your lands, Your wives and children, your brothers and your friends; Tell me, have you seen a sea like this Since you left the great salt sea?

 CHORUS. 

 Then sing, O friends! sing; the journey is ended: Sing aloud, O friend! sing to this great sea. 

 This sea is fresh, is good and sweet; Your sea is salt, and bad, unfit to drink. This sea is like wine to drink for thirsty men; The salt sea--bah! it makes men sick. 

 Lift up your heads, O men, and gaze around; Try if you can see its end. See, it stretches moons away, This great, sweet, fresh-water sea. 

 We come from Usukuma land, The land of pastures, cattle, sheep and goats, The land of braves, warriors, and strong men, And, lo! this is the far-known Usukuma sea. 

 Ye friends, ye scorned at us in other days. Ah, ha! Wangwana. What say ye now? Ye have seen the land, its pastures and its herds, Ye now see the far-known Usukuma sea. Kaduma's land is just below; He is rich in cattle, sheep, and goats. The Msungu is rich in cloth and beads; His hand is open, and his heart is free. 

 To-morrow the Msungu must make us strong With meat and beer, wine and grain. We shall dance and play the livelong day, And eat and drink, and sing and play. "

_The religious and miscellaneous poetry_ is not of the highest order. One of the most remarkable men of the Kaffir tribe was Sicana, apowerful chief and a Christian. He was a poet, and composed hymns, which he repeated to his people till they could retain them upon theirmemories. The following is a specimen of his poetical abilities, andwhich the people are still accustomed to sing to a low monotonousair:--

 "Ulin guba inkulu siambata tina Ulodali bom' unadali pezula, Umdala undala idala izula, Yebinza inquinquis zixeliela. UTIKA umkula gozizuline, Yebinza inquinquis nozilimele. Umze uakonana subiziele, Umkokeli ua sikokeli tina, Uenza infama zenza go bomi; Imali inkula subiziele, Wena wena q'aba inyaniza, Wena wena kaka linyaniza, Wena wena klati linyaniza; Invena inh'inani subiziele, Ugaze laku ziman' heba wena, Usanhla zaku ziman' heba wena, Umkokili ua, sikokeli tina: Ulodali bom' uadali pezula, Umdala uadala idala izula. "

TRANSLATION. 

 "Mantle of comfort! God of love! The Ancient One on high! Who guides the firmament above, The heavens, and starry sky;

 Creator, Ruler, Mighty One; The only Good, All-wise, -- To him, the great eternal God, Our fervent prayers arise. 

 Giver of life, we call on him, On his high throne above, Our Rock of refuge still to be, Of safety and of love;

 Our trusty shield, our sure defence, Our leader, still to be: We call upon our pitying God, Who makes the blind to see. 

 We supplicate the Holy Lamb Whose blood for us was shed, Whose feet were pierced for guilty man, Whose hands for us have bled;

 Even our God who gave us life, From heaven, his throne above, The great Creator of the world, Father, and God of love. "

When any person is sick, the priests and devout people consult theirfavorite spirits. At Goumbi, in Equatorial Africa, this ceremony isquite frequent. Once upon a time the king fell sick. Quengueza was thename of the afflicted monarch. Ilogo was a favorite spirit whoinhabited the moon. The time to invoke the favor of this spirit isduring the full moon. The moon, in the language of Equatorial Africa, is Ogouayli. Well, the people gathered in front of the king's house, and began the ceremony, which consisted chiefly in singing thefollowing song:--

 "_Ilogo, we ask thee! Tell who has bewitched the king!

 Ilogo, we ask thee, What shall we do to cure the king?

 The forests are thine, Ilogo! The rivers are thine, Ilogo!

 The moon is thine! O moon! O moon! O moon! Thou art the house of Ilogo! Shall the king die? Ilogo! O Ilogo! O moon! O moon!_"[97]

In African caravans or processions, there is a man chosen to go infront and sing, brandishing a stick somewhat after the manner of ourband-masters. The song is rather an indifferent howl, with little orno relevancy. It is a position much sought after, and affords abundantopportunity for the display of the voice. Such a person feels thedignity of the position. The following is a sample:--

 "_Shove him on! But is he a good man? No, I think he's a stingy fellow; Shove him on! Let him drop in the road, then. No, he has a big stick: Shove him on! Oh, matta-bicho! matta-bicho! Who will give me matta-bicho_?"

Of this song Mr. Reade says, --

 "_Matta-bicho_ is a bunda compound meaning _kill-worm_; the natives supposing that their entrails are tormented by a small worm, which it is necessary to kill with raw spirits. From the frequency of their demand, it would seem to be the worm that ever gnaws, and that their thirst is the fire which is never quenched. "

The Griot, as we have already mentioned, sings for money. He is a mostaccomplished parasite and flatterer. He makes a study of the art. Hereis one of his songs gotten up for the occasion. 

 I. 

 "The man who had not feared to pass the seas through a love of study and of science heard of the poor Griot. He had him summoned. He made him sing songs which made the echoes of the Bornou mountains, covered with palm-trees, ring louder and louder as the sounds flew over the summits of the trees. 

 II. 

 "The songs touched the heart of the great white man, and the dew of his magnificence fell upon the Griot's head. Oh! how can he sing the wonderful deeds of the Toubab? His voice and his breath would not be strong enough to sing that theme. He must be silent, and let the lion of the forest sing his battles and his victories. 

 III. 

 "Fatimata heard the songs of the Griot. She heard, too, the deeds which the Toubab had accomplished. She sighed, and covered her head with her robe. Then she turned to her young lover, and she said, 'Go to the wars; let the flying ball kill thee: for Fatimata loves thee no longer. The white man fills her thoughts. '"

The most beautiful nursery song ever sung by any mother, in anylanguage, may be heard in the Balengi county, in Central Africa. Thereis wonderful tenderness in it, --tenderness that would melt thecoldest heart. It reveals a bright spot in the heart-life of thispeople. [98]

 "_Why dost than weep, my child? The sky is bright; the sun is shining: why dost than weep? Go to thy father: he loves thee; go, tell him why thou weepest. What! thou weepest still! Thy father loves thee; I caress thee: yet still thou art sad. Tell me then, my child, why dost thou weep?_"

It is not so very remarkable, when we give the matter thought, thatthe African mother should be so affectionate and devoted in herrelations to her children. The diabolical system of polygamy has butthis one feeble apology to offer in Africa. The wives of one man mayquarrel, but the children always find loving maternal arms ready toshelter their heads against the wrath of an indifferent and cruelfather. The mother settles all the disputes of the children, and caresfor them with a zeal and tenderness that would be real beautiful inmany American mothers; and, in return, the children are very noble intheir relations to their mothers. "Curse me, but do not speak ill ofmy mother, " is a saying in vogue throughout nearly all Africa. The oldare venerated, and when they become sick they are abandoned to diealone. 

It is not our purpose to describe the religions and superstitions ofAfrica. [99] To do this would occupy a book. The world knows that thispoor people are idolatrous, --"_bow down to wood and stone_. " They donot worship the true God, nor conform their lives unto the teachingsof the Saviour. They worship snakes, the sun, moon, and stars, trees, and water-courses. But the bloody human sacrifice which they make isthe most revolting feature of their spiritual degradation. Dr. Prichard has gone into this subject more thoroughly than our time orspace will allow. 

 "Nowhere can the ancient African religion be studied better than in the kingdom of Congo. Christianity in Abyssinia, and Mohammedanism in Northern Guinea, have become so mingled with pagan rites as to render it extremely difficult to distinguish between them. 

 "The inhabitants of Congo, whom I take as a true type of the tribes of Southern Guinea generally, and of Southern Central Africa, believe in a supreme Creator, and in a host of lesser divinities. These last they represent by images; each has its temple, its priests, and its days of sacrifice, as among the Greeks and Romans. "[100]

The false religions of Africa are but the lonely and feeble reachingout of the human soul after the true God. 

FOOTNOTES:

[88] Stanley's Through the Dark Continent, vol. Ii. Pp. 320, 321; see, also, pp. 3, 78, 123, 245, 414. 

[89] Western Africa, p. 455. 

[90] Western Africa, p. 456. 

[91] Western Africa, p. 470. 

[92] Equatorial Africa, p. 531. 

[93] Savage Africa, p. 212. 

[94] Through the Dark Continent, vol. Ii. Pp, 470, 471. 

[95] Through the Dark Continent, vol. Ii. Pp. 482, 483. 

[96] History of English Literature, vol i. Pp. 48. 49. 

[97] Equatorial Africa, pp. 448, 449. 

[98] On the intellectual faculties of the Negro, see Prichard, thirded. , 1837, vol. Ii. P. 346, sect. Iii. Peschel's Races of Men, p. 462, _sq. _, especially Blumenbach's Life and Works, p. 305, _sq_ WesternAfrica, p. 379, --all of chap. Xi. 

[99] See Prichard, fourth ed. , 1841, vol. 1. P. 197, sect. V. Moffat'sSouthern Africa; Uncivilized Races of Men, vol 1. Pp. 183-219. 

[100] Savage Africa, p. 287, _sq. _

CHAPTER IX. 

SIERRA LEONE. 

 ITS DISCOVERY AND SITUATION. --NATURAL BEAUTY. --FOUNDING OF A NEGRO COLONY. --THE SIERRA LEONE COMPANY. --FEVER AND INSUBORDINATION. --IT BECOMES AN ENGLISH PROVINCE--CHARACTER OF ITS INHABITANTS. --CHRISTIAN MISSIONS, ETC. 

Sierra Leone was discovered and named by Piedro de Cintra. It is apeninsula, about thirty miles in length by about twenty-five inbreadth, and is situated 8° and 30' north latitude, and is about13-1/2° west longitude. Its topography is rather queer. On the southand west its mountains bathe their feet in the Atlantic Ocean, and onthe east and north its boundaries are washed by the river and bay ofSierra Leone. A range of mountains, co-extensive with thepeninsula, --forming its backbone, --rises between the bay of SierraLeone and the Atlantic Ocean, from two to three thousand feet inaltitude. Its outlines are as severe as Egyptian architecture, and thelandscape view from east or west is charming beyond the power ofdescription. Freetown is the capital, with about twenty thousandinhabitants, situated on the south side of Sierra Leone River, andhugged in by an amphitheatre of beautiful hills and majesticmountains. 

 "On the side of the hill [says Mr. Reed] which rises behind the town is a charming scene, which I will attempt to describe. You have seen a rural hamlet, where each cottage is half concealed by its own garden. Now convert your linden into graceful palm, your apples into oranges, your gooseberry-bushes into bananas, your thrush which sings in its wicker cage into a gray parrot whistling on a rail; ... Sprinkle this with strange and powerful perfumes; place in the west a sun flaming among golden clouds in a prussian-blue sea, dotted with white sails; imagine those mysterious and unknown sounds, those breathings of the earth-soul, with which the warm night of Africa rises into life, --and then you will realize one of those moments of poetry which reward poor travellers for long days and nights of naked solitude. "[101]

In 1772 Lord Mansfield delivered his celebrated opinion on the case ofthe Negro man Sommersett, whose master, having abandoned him in asick condition, afterwards sought to reclaim him. The decision was tothe effect that no man, white or black, could set foot on British soiland remain a slave. The case was brought at the instance of Mr. Granville Sharp. The decision created universal comment. Many Negroesin New England, who had found shelter under the British flag onaccount of the proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton, went to England. Free Negroes from other parts--Jamaica, St. Thomas, and SanDomingo--hastened to breathe the free air of the British metropolis. Many came to want, and wandered about the streets of London, strangersin a strange land. Granville Sharp, a man of great humanity, wasdeeply affected by the sad condition of these people. He consultedwith Dr. Smeathman, who had spent considerable time in Africa; andthey conceived the plan of transporting them to the west coast ofAfrica, to form a colony. [102] The matter was agitated in London bythe friends of the blacks, and finally the government began to beinterested. A district of about twenty square miles was purchased bythe government of Naimbanna, king of Sierra Leone, on which to locatethe proposed colony. About four hundred Negroes and sixty whitepersons, the greater portion of the latter being "women of thetown, "[103] were embarked on "The Nautilus, " Capt. Thompson, andlanded at Sierra Leone on the 9th of May, 1787. The climate wassevere, the sanitary condition of the place vile, and the habits ofthe people immoral. The African fever, with its black death-stroke, reaped a harvest; while the irregularities and indolence of themajority of the colonists, added to the deeds of plunder perpetratedby predatory bands of savages, reduced the number of the colonists toabout sixty-four souls in 1791. 

The dreadful news of the fate of the colony was borne to thephilanthropists in England. But their faith in colonization stood asunblanched before the revelation as the Iron Duke at Waterloo. Anassociation was formed under the name of "St. George's Bay, " butafterwards took the name of the "Sierra Leone Company, " with a capitalstock of one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with suchhumanitarians as Granville Sharp, Thornton, Wilberforce, and Clarksonamong its directors. The object of the company was to push forward thework of colonization. One hundred Europeans landed at Sierra Leone inthe month of February, 1792, and were followed in March by elevenhundred and thirty-one Negroes. A large number of them had served inthe British army during the Revolutionary War in America, and, accepting the offer of the British Government, took land in thiscolony as a reward for services performed in the army. Another feverdid its hateful work; and fifty or sixty Europeans, and many blacks, fell under its parching and consuming touch. [104] Jealous feuds rentthe survivors, and idleness palsied every nerve of industry in thecolony. In 1794 a French squadron besieged the place, and the peoplesustained a loss of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Oncemore an effort was made to revive the place, and get its drowsyenergies aroused in the discharge of necessary duties. Some littlegood began to show itself; but it was only the tender bud of promise, and was soon trampled under the remorseless heel of five hundred andfifty insurrectionary maroons from Jamaica and Nova Scotia. 

The indifferent character of the colonists, and the hurtful touch ofthe climate, had almost discouraged the friends of the movement inEngland. It was now the year 1800. This vineyard planted by good menyielded "nothing but leaves. " No industry had been developed, nosubstantial improvement had been made, and the future was veiled inharassing doubts and fears. The money of the company had almost allbeen expended. The company barely had the signs of organic life in it, but the light of a beautiful Christian faith had not gone out acrossthe sea in stalwart old England. The founders of the colony believedthat good management would make the enterprise succeed: so they lookedabout for a master hand to guide the affair. On the 8th of August, 1807, the colony was surrendered into the hands of the Crown, and wasmade an English colony. During the same year in which this transferwas made, Parliament declared the slave-trade piracy; and a navalsquadron was stationed along the coast for the purpose of suppressingit. At the first, many colored people of good circumstances, feelingthat they would be safe under the English flag, moved from the UnitedStates to Sierra Leone. But the chief source of supply of populationwas the captured slaves, who were always unloaded at this place. Whenthe English Government took charge of Sierra Leone, the population was2, 000, the majority of whom were from the West Indies or Nova Scotia. In 1811 it was nearly 5, 000; in 1820 it was 12, 000; it 1833 it was30, 000; in 1835 it was 35, 000; in 1844 it was 40, 000; in 1869 it was55, 374, with but 129 white men. On the 31st of March, 1827, the slavesthat had been captured and liberated by the English squadron numbered11, 878; of which there were 4, 701 males above, and 1, 875 under, fourteen years of age. There were 2, 717 females above, and 1, 517under, the age of fourteen, besides 1, 068 persons who settled inFreetown, working in the timber-trade. 

With the dreadful scourge of slavery driven from the sea, the sanitarycondition of the place greatly improved; and with a vigorous policy oforder and education enforced, Sierra Leone began to bloom and blossomas a rose. When the slaver disappeared, the merchant-vessel came onher peaceful mission of commerce. 

The annual trade-returns presented to Parliament show that thedeclared value of British and Irish produce and manufactures exportedto the West Coast of Africa, arranged in periods of five years each, has been as follows:--

 EXPORTS FROM GREAT BRITAIN. 

 1846-50 . . . £2, 773, 408; or a yearly average of £554, 681 1851-55 . . . 4, 314, 752; " " " 862, 950 1856-60 . . . 5, 582, 941; " " " 1, 116, 588 1861-63 . . . 4, 216, 045; " " " 1, 405, 348

IMPORTS

The same trade-returns show that the imports of African produce fromthe West Coast into Great Britain have been as follows. The "officialvalue" is given before 1856, after that date the "computed real value"is given. 

 Official value, 1851-55 . . . £4, 154, 725; average, £830, 945 Computed real value, 1856-60 . . 9, 376, 251; " 1, 875, 250 " " " 1861-63 . . 5, 284, 611; " 1, 761, 537

The value of African produce has decreased during the last few yearsin consequence of the discovery of the petroleum or rock-oil inAmerica. In 1864 between four and five thousand bales of cotton wereshipped to England. 

It is to be borne in mind, that under the system which existed whenSierra Leone, the Gambia, and Gold Coast settlements were maintainedfor the promotion of the slave-trade, the lawful commerce was only£20, 000 annually, and that now the amount of tonnage employed incarrying legal merchandise is greater than was ever engaged incarrying slaves. [105] W. Winwood Reade visited Sierra Leone during theRebellion in America; but, being somewhat prejudiced against theNegro, we do not expect any thing remarkably friendly. But we quotefrom him the view he took of the people he met there:--

 "The inhabitants of the colony may be divided into four classes:--

 "First, The street-venders, who cry cassada-cakes, palm-oil, pepper, pieces of beef, under such names, as _agedee_, _aballa_, _akalaray_, and which are therefore as unintelligible as the street-cries of London. This is the costermonger type. 

 "Second, The small market-people, who live in frame houses, sell nails, fish-hooks, tape, thread, ribbons, etc. , and who work at handicrafts in a small way. 

 "Third, The shopkeepers, who inhabit frame houses on stone foundations, and within which one may see a sprinkling of mahogany, a small library of religious books, and an almost English atmosphere of comfort. 

 "Lastly, The liberated Africans of the highest grade, who occupy two-story stone houses enclosed all around by spacious piazzas, the rooms furnished with gaudy richness; and the whole their own property, being built from the proceeds of their ... Thrift. "

When England abolished the slave-trade on the West Coast of Africa, Christianity arose with healing in her wings. Until slavery wasabolished in this colony, missionary enterprises were abortive; butwhen the curse was put under the iron heel of British prohibition, theLord did greatly bless the efforts of the missionary. The EpiscopalChurch--"the Church of England"--was the first on the ground in 1808;but it was some years before any great results were obtained. In 1832this Church had 638 communicants, 294 candidates for baptism, 684sabbath-school pupils, and 1, 388 children in day-schools. This Churchcarried its missionary work beyond its borders to the tribes that were"sitting in darkness;" and in 1850 had built 54 seminaries andschools, had 6, 600 pupils, 2, 183 communicants, and 7, 500 attendants onpublic worship. It is pleasant to record that out of 61 teachers, 56_were native Africans!_ In 1865 there were sixteen missionarysocieties along the West Coast of Africa. Seven were American, sixEnglish, two German, and one West-Indian. These societies maintained104 European or American missionaries, had 110 mission-stations, 13, 000 scholars, 236 schools, 19, 000 registered communicants;representing a Christian population of 60, 000 souls. 

The Wesleyan Methodists began their work in 1811; and in 1831 they hadtwo missionaries, 294 members in their churches, and 160 pupils inschool. They extended their missions westward to the Gambia, andeastward toward Cape Coast Castle, Badagry, Abbeokuta, and Kumasi; andin this connection, in 1850, had 44 houses of worship, 13out-stations, 42 day-schools, 97 teachers, 4, 500 pupils in day andsabbath schools, 6, 000 communicants, 560 on probation, and 14, 600 inattendance on public worship. In 1850 the population of Sierra Leonewas 45, 000; of which 36, 000 were Christians, against 1, 734Mohammedans. 

Sierra Leone represents the most extensive composite population in theworld for its size. About one hundred different tribe are represented, with as many different languages or dialects. Bishop Vida, underdirection of the British Parliament, gave special attention to thismatter, and found not less than one hundred and fifty-one distinctlanguages, besides several dialects spoken in Sierra Leone. They werearranged under twenty-six groups, and yet fifty-four are unclassifiedthat are distinct as German and French. "God makes the wrath of man topraise him, and the remainder thereof he will restrain. " Through thesenumerous languages, poor benighted Africa will yet hear the gospel. 

Some years ago Dr. Ferguson, who was once governor of the Sierra Leonecolony, and himself a colored man, wrote and an extended account ofthe situation there, which was widely circulated in England andAmerica at the time. It is so manifestly just and temperate in tone, so graphic and minute in description, that we reproduce it _inextenso_:--

 "1. Those most recently arrived are to be found occupying mud houses and small patches of ground in the neighborhood of one or other of the villages (the villages are about twenty in number, placed in different parts of the colony, grouped in three classes or districts; names, mountain, river, and sea districts. ) The majority remain in their locations as agriculturists; but several go to reside in the neighborhood of Freetown, looking out for work as laborers, farm-servants, servant to carry wood and water, grooms, house-servants, etc. ; others cultivate vegetables, rear poultry and pigs, and supply eggs, for the Sierra Leone market. Great numbers are found offering for sale in the public market and elsewhere a vast quantity of cooked edible substances--rice, corn and cassava cakes; heterogeneous compounds of rice and corn-flower, yams, cassava, palm-oil, pepper, pieces of beef, mucilaginous vegetables, etc. , etc. , under names quite unintelligible to a stranger, such as _aagedee_, _aballa_, _akalaray_, _cabona_, etc. , etc. , cries which are shouted along the streets of Freetown from morn till night. These, the lowest grade of liberated Africans, are a harmless and well-disposed people; there is no poverty among them, nor begging; their habits are frugal and industrious; their anxiety to possess money is remarkable: but their energies are allowed to run riot and be wasted from the want of knowledge requisite to direct them in proper channels. 

 "2. Persons of grade higher than those last described are to be found occupying frame houses: they drive a petty trade in the market, where they expose for sale nails, fish-hooks, door-hinges, tape, thread, ribbons, needles, pins, etc. Many of this grade also look out for the arrival of canoes from the country laden with oranges, _kolas_, sheep, bullocks, fowls, rice, etc. , purchase the whole cargo at once at the water-side, and derive considerable profit from selling such articles by retail in the market and over the town. Many of this grade are also occupied in curing and drying fish, an article which always sells well in the market, and is in great request by people at a distance from the water-side, and in the interior of the country. A vast number of this grade are tailors, straw-hat makers, shoemakers, cobblers, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, etc. Respectable men of this grade meet with ready mercantile credits amounting from twenty pounds to sixty pounds; and the class is very numerous. 

 "3. Persons of grade higher than that last mentioned are found occupying frame houses reared on a stone foundation of from six to ten feet in height. These houses are very comfortable; they are painted outside and in; have piazzas in front and rear, and many of them all round; a considerable sprinkling of mahogany furniture of European workmanship is to be found in them; several books are to be seen lying about, chiefly of a religious character; and a general air of domestic comfort pervades the whole, which, perhaps more than any thing else, bears evidence of the advanced state of intelligence at which they have arrived. This grade is nearly altogether occupied in shopkeeping, hawking, and other mercantile pursuits. At sales of prize goods, public auctions, and every other place affording a probability of cheap bargains, they are to be seen in great numbers, where they club together in numbers of from three to six, seven, or more, to purchase large lots or unbroken bales. And the scrupulous honesty with which the subdivision of the goods is afterwards made cannot be evidenced more thoroughly than this: that, common as such transactions are, they have never yet been known to become the subject of controversy or litigation. The principal streets of Freetown, as well as the approaches to the town, are lined on each side by an almost continuous range of booths and stalls, among which almost every article of merchandise is offered for sale, and very commonly at a cheaper rate than similar articles are sold in the shops of the merchants. 

 "Two rates of profit are recognized in the mercantile transactions of the European merchants; namely, a wholesale and retail profit, the former varying from thirty to fifty per cent, the latter from fifty to one hundred per cent. The working of the retail trade in the hands of Europeans requires a considerable outlay in the shape of shop-rent, shopkeepers' and clerks' wages, etc. The liberated Africans were not slow in observing nor in seizing on the advantages which their peculiar position held out for the successful prosecution of the retail trade. 

 "Clubbing together, as before observed, and holding ready money in their hands the merchants are naturally anxious to execute for them considerable orders on such unexceptionable terms of payment while, on the other hand, the liberated Africans, seeing clearly their advantage, insist most pertinaciously on the lowest possible percentage of wholesale profit. 

 "Having thus become possessed of the goods at the lowest possible ready-money rate, then subsequent transactions are not closed with the expense of shop-rents, shopkeepers' and clerks' wages and subsistence, etc. , etc. , expenses unavoidable to Europeans. They are therefore enabled at once to undersell the European retail merchants, and to secure a handsome profit to themselves; a consummation the more easily attained, aided as it is by the extreme simplicity and abstemiousness of their mode of living, which contrast so favorably for them with the expensive and almost necessary luxuries of European life. Many of this grade possess huge canoes, with which they trade in the upper part of the river, along shore, and in the neighbouring rivers, bringing down rice, palm-oil, cam-wood, ivory, hides, etc. , etc. , in exchange for British manufactures. They are all in easy circumstances, readily obtaining mercantile credits from sixty pounds to two hundred pounds. Persons of this and the grade next to be mentioned evince great anxiety to become possessed of houses and lots in old Freetown. These lots are desirable because of their proximity to the market-place and the great thoroughfares, and also for the superior advantages which they allow for the establishment of their darling object, --'a retail store. ' Property of this description has of late years become much enhanced in value, and its value is still increasing solely from the annually increasing numbers and prosperity of this and the next grade. The town-lots originally granted to the Nova-Scotian settlers and the Maroons are, year after year, being offered for sale by public auction, and in every case liberated Africans are the purchasers. A striking instance of their desire to possess property of this description, and of its increasing value, came under my immediate notice a few months ago. 

 "The gentlemen of the Church Missionary Society having been for some time looking about in quest of a lot on which to erect a new chapel, a lot suitable for the purpose was at length offered for sale by public auction, and at a meeting of the society's local committee, it was resolved, in order to secure the purchase of the property in question, to offer as high as sixty pounds. The clergyman delegated for this purpose, at my recommendation, resolved, on his own responsibility, to offer, if necessary, as high as seventy pounds; but to the surprise and mortification of us all, the lot was knocked down at upward of ninety pounds, and a liberated African was the purchaser. He stated very kindly that if he had known the society were desirous of purchasing the lot he would not have opposed them; he nevertheless manifested no desire of transferring to them the purchase, and even refused an advance of ten pounds on his bargain. 

 "4. Persons of the highest grade of liberated Africans occupy comfortable two story stone houses, enclosed all round with spacious piazzas. These houses are their own property and are built from the proceeds of their own industry. In several of them are to be seen mahogany chairs, tables, sofas, and four-post bedsteads, pier-glasses, floor-cloths, and other articles indicative of domestic comfort and accumulating wealth. 

 "Persons of this grade, like those last described, are almost wholly engaged in mercantile pursuits. Their transactions, however, are of greater magnitude and value, and their business is carried on with an external appearance of respectability commensurate with then superior pecuniary means: thus, instead of exposing their wares for sale in booths or stalls by the wayside, they are to be found in neatly fitted-up shops on the ground-floors of their stone dwelling houses. 

 "Many individual members of this grade have realized very considerable sums of money, --sums which, to a person not cognizant of the fact, would appear to be incredible. From the studied manner in which individuals conceal their pecuniary circumstances from the world, it is difficult to obtain a correct knowledge of the wealth of the class generally. The devices to which they have recourse in conducting a bargain are often exceedingly ingenious; and to be reputed rich might materially interfere with their success on such occasions. There is nothing more common than to hear a plea of poverty set up and most pertinaciously urged, in extenuation of the terms of a purchase, by persons whose outward condition, comfortable well-furnished houses, and large mercantile credits, indicate any thing but poverty. 

 "There are circumstances, however, the knowledge of which they cannot conceal, and which go far to exhibit pretty clearly the actual state of matters: such as, _First_, the facility with which they raise large sums of cash prompt' at public auctions. _Second_, the winding up of the estates of deceased persons. (Peter Newland, a liberated African, died a short time before I left the colony: and his estate realized, in houses, merchandise, and cash, upward of fifteen hundred pounds. ) _Third_, the extent of their mercantile credits. I am well acquainted with an individual of this grade who is much courted and caressed by every European merchant in the colony, who has transactions in trade with all of them, and whose name, shortly before my departure from the colony, stood on the debtor side of the books of one of the principal merchants to the amount of nineteen hundred pounds, to which sum it had been reduced from three thousand pounds during the preceding two months. A highly respectable female has now, and has had for several years, the government contract for the supplying of fresh beef to the troops and the naval squadron; and I have not heard that on a single occasion there has been cause of complaint for negligence or non-fulfilment of the terms of the contract. _Fourth_, many of them at the present moment have their children being educated in England at their own expense. There is at Sierra Leone a very fine regiment of colonial militia, more than eight-tenths of which are liberated Africans. The amount of property which they have acquired is ample guaranty for their loyalty, should that ever be called in question. They turn out with great alacrity and cheerfulness on all occasions for periodical drill. But perhaps the most interesting point of view in which the liberated Africans are to be seen, and that which will render their moral condition most intelligible to those at a distance, is where they sit at the Quarter Sessions as petty, grand, and special jurors. They constitute a considerable part of the jury at every session, and I have repeatedly heard the highest legal authority in the colony express his satisfaction with their decisions. "

But this account was written at the early sunrise of civilization inSierra Leone. Now civilization is at its noonday tide, and the hopesof the most sanguine friends of the liberated Negro have been morethan realized. How grateful this renewed spot on the edge of the DarkContinent would be to the weary and battle-dimmed vision ofWilberforce, Sharp, and other friends of the colony! And if they stilllived, beholding the wonderful results, would they not gladly say, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thyword: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast preparedbefore the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, andthe glory of thy people Israel"?

FOOTNOTES:

[101] Savage Africa, p. 25. 

[102] Précis sur l'Établissement des Colonies de Sierra Léona et deBoulama, etc. Par C. B. Wadström, pp. 3-28. 

[103] Wadström Essay on Colonization, p. 220. 

[104] This led to the sending of 119 whites, along with a governor, ascounsellors, physicians, soldiers, clerks, overseers, artificers, settlers, and servants. Of this company 57 died within the year, 22returned, and 40 remained. See Wadström, pp. 121, _sq. _

[105] See Livingstone's Zambesi, pp. 633, 634. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. 

 LIBERIA. --ITS LOCATION. --EXTENT. --RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS. --HISTORY OF THE FIRST COLONY. --THE NOBLE MEN WHO LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE LIBERIAN REPUBLIC. --NATIVE TRIBES. --TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT INTO THE VEI LANGUAGE. --THE BEGINNING AND TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS TO LIBERIA. --HISTORY OF THE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS ON THE FIELD. --A MISSIONARY REPUBLIC OF NEGROES. --TESTIMONY OF OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL NAVY AS TO THE EFFICIENCY OF THE REPUBLIC IN SUPPRESSING THE SLAVE-TRADE. --THE WORK OF THE FUTURE. 

That section of country on the West Coast of Africa known as Liberia, extending from Cape Palmas to Cape Mount, is about three hundred milescoastwise. Along this line there are six colonies of Colored people, the majority of the original settlers being from the United States. The settlements are Cape Palmas, Cape Mesurado, Cape Mount, RiverJunk, Basa, and Sinon. The distance between them varies fromthirty-five to one hundred miles, and the only means of communicationis the coast-vessels. Cape Palmas, though we include it under thegeneral title of Liberia, was founded by a company of intelligentColored people from Maryland. This movement was started by theindefatigable J. H. B. Latrobe and Mr. Harper of the MarylandColonization Society. This society purchased at Cape Palmas aterritory of about twenty square miles, in which there was at thattime--more than a half-century ago--a population of about fourthousand souls. Within two years from the time of the first purchase, this enterprising society held deeds from friendly proprietors foreight hundred square miles, embracing the dominions of nine kings, whobound themselves to the colonists in friendly alliance. This territoryspread over both banks of the Cavally River, and from the ocean to thetown of Netea, which is thirty miles from the mouth of the river. Inthe immediate vicinity of Cape Palmas, --say within an area of twentymiles, --there was a native population of twenty-five thousand. Were weto go toward the interior from the Cape about forty-five or fiftymiles, we should find a population of at least seventy thousandnatives, the majority of whom we are sure are anxious to enjoy theblessings of education, trade, civilization, and Christianity. Thecountry about Cape Palmas is very beautiful and fertile. The capeextends out into the sea nearly a mile, the highest place being aboutone hundred and twenty-five feet. Looking from the beach, the groundrises gradually until its distant heights are crowned with heavy, luxuriant foliage and dense forest timber. And to plant this colonythe Maryland Legislature appropriated the sum of two hundred thousanddollars! And the colony has done worthily, has grown rapidly, and atpresent enjoys all the blessings of a Christian community. Not manyyears ago it declared its independence. 

But Liberia, in the proper use of the term, is applied to all thesettlements along the West Coast of Africa that were founded byColored people from the United States. It is the most beautiful spoton the entire coast. The view is charming in approaching this country, Rev. Charles Rockwell says, --

 "One is struck with the dark green hue which the rank and luxuriant growth of forest and of field everywhere presents. In this it respect it strongly resembles in appearance the dark forests of evergreens which line a portion of the coast of Eastern Virginia ... At different points there are capes or promontories rising from thirty to forty to one or two hundred feet above the level of the sea; while at other places the land, though somewhatuneven, has not, near the sea, any considerable hills. In some places near the mouths of the rivers are thickly wooded marshes; but on entering the interior of the country the ground gradually rises, the streams become rapid, and at the distance of twenty miles or more from the sea, hills, and beyond them mountains, are often met with. "

The physical, social, and political bondage of the Colored people inAmerica before the war was most discouraging. They were mobbed in theNorth, and sold in the South. It was not enough that they wereisolated and neglected in the Northern States: they were proscribed bythe organic law of legislatures, and afflicted by the most burningpersonal indignities. They had a few friends; but even theirbenevolent acts were often hampered by law, and strangled bycaste-prejudice. Following the plans of Granville Sharp and WilliamWilberforce, Liberia was founded as a refuge to all Colored men whowould avail themselves of its blessings. 

Colonization societies sprang into being in many States, and largesums of money were contributed to carry out the objects of theseorganizations. Quite a controversy arose inside of anti-slaverysocieties, and much feeling was evinced; but the men who believedcolonization to be the solution of the slavery question went forwardwithout wavering or doubting. In March, 1820, the first emigrantssailed for Africa, being eighty-six in number; and in January, 1822, founded the town of Monrovia, named for President Monroe. Rev. SamuelJ. Mills, while in college in 1806, was moved by the Holy Spirit toturn his face toward Africa as a missionary. His zeal for missionarylabor touched the hearts of Judson, Newell, Nott, Hall, and Rice, whowent to mission-fields in the East as early as 1812. [106] The AmericanColonization Society secured the services of the Rev. Samuel J. Millsand Rev. Ebenezer Burgess to locate the colony at Monrovia. Mr. Millsfound an early, watery grave; but the report of Mr. Burgess gave thesociety great hope, and the work was carried forward. 

The first ten years witnessed the struggles of a noble band of Coloredpeople, who were seeking a new home on the edge of a continent givenover to the idolatry of the heathen. The funds of the society were notas large as the nature and scope of the work demanded. Emigrants wentslowly, not averaging more than 170 per annum, --only 1, 232 in tenyears: but the average from the first of January, 1848, to the last ofDecember, 1852, was 540 yearly; and, in the single year of 1853, 782emigrants arrived at Monrovia. In 1855 the population of Monrovia andCape Palmas had reached about 8, 000. 

Going south from Monrovia for about one hundred miles, and inlandabout twenty, the country was inhabited by the Bassa tribe and itsbranches; numbering about 130, 000 souls, and speaking a commonlanguage. "They were peaceful, domestic, and industrious; and, afterfully supplying their own wants, furnish a large surplus of rice, oil, cattle, and other articles of common use, for exportation. "[107] Thistribe, like the Veis, of whom we shall make mention subsequently, havereduced their language to a written system. The New Testament has beentranslated into their language by a missionary, and they have had thegospel these many years in their own tongue. 

The "Greybo language, " spoken in and about Cape Palmas, has beenreduced to a written form; and twenty thousand copies of elevendifferent works have been printed and distributed. There are aboutseventy-five thousand natives within fifty miles of Cape Palmas; and, as a rule, they desire to avail themselves of the blessings ofcivilization. The Veis occupy about fifty miles of seacoast; extendingfrom Gallinas River, one hundred miles north of Monrovia, andextending south to Grand Mount. Their territory runs back from theseacoast about thirty miles, and they are about sixteen thousandstrong. 

This was a grand place to found a Negro state, --a _missionaryrepublic_, as Dr. Christy terms it. When the republic rose, thebetter, wealthier class of free Colored people from the United Statesembarked for Liberia. Clergymen, physicians, merchants, mechanics, andschool-teachers turned their faces toward the new republic, with anearnest desire to do something for themselves and race; and historyjustifies the hopes and players of all sincere friends of Liberia. Unfortunately, at the first, many white men were more anxious to getthe Negro out of the country than to have him do well when out; and, in many instances, some unworthy Colored people got transportation toLiberia, of whom Americans were rid, but of whom Liberians could notboast. But the law of the survival of the fittest carried the rubbishto the bottom. The republic grew and expanded in every direction. Fromyear to year new blood and fresh energy were poured into the socialand business life of the people; and England, America, and otherpowers acknowledged the republic by sending resident ministers there. 

The servants of Christ saw, at the earliest moment of the conceptionto build a black government in Africa, that the banner of the crossmust wave over the new colony, if good were to be expected. TheMethodist Church, with characteristic zeal and aggressiveness, sentwith the first colonists several members of their denomination and two"local preachers;" and in March, 1833, the Rev. Melville B. Cox, anordained minister of this church, landed at Monrovia. The missionexperienced many severe trials; but the good people who had it incharge held on with great tenacity until the darkness began to giveaway before the light of the gospel. Nor did the Board of theMethodist Missionary Society in America lose faith. They appropriatedfor this mission, in 1851, $22, 000; in 1852, $26, 000; in 1853, $32, 957; and in 1854, $32, 957. In the report of the board of managersfor 1851, the following encouraging statement occurs:--

 "All eyes are now turned toward this new republic on the western coast of Africa as the star of hope to the colored people both bond and free, in the United States. The republic is establishing and extending itself; and its Christian population is in direct contact with the natives, both Pagans and Mohammedans. Thus the republic has, indirectly, a powerful missionary influence, and its moral and religious condition is a matter of grave concern to the Church. Hence the Protestant Christian missions in Liberia are essential to the stability and prosperity of the republic, and the stability and prosperity of the republic are necessary to the protection and action of the missions. It will thus appear that the Christian education of the people is the legitimate work of the missions. "

At this time (1851) they had an annual Conference, with threedistricts, with as many presiding elders, whose duty it was to visitall the churches and schools in their circuit. The Conference had 21members, all of whom were colored men. The churches contained 1, 301members, of whom 115 were on probation, and 116 were natives. Therewere 20 week-day schools, with 839 pupils, 50 of whom were natives. Then there Were seven schools among the natives, with 127 faithfulattendants. 

Bishop Scott, of the General Conference of the Methodist EpiscopalChurch, was, by order of his Conference, sent on an official visit toLiberia. He spent more than two months among the missions, andreturned in 1853 much gratified with the results garnered in thatdistant field. 

 "The government of the republic of Liberia, which is formed on the model of our own, and is wholly in the hands of colored men, seems to be exceedingly well administered. I never saw so orderly a people. I saw but one intoxicated colonist while in the country, and I heard not one profane word. The sabbath is kept with singular strictness, and the churches crowded with attentive and orderly worshippers. "[108]

The above is certainly re-assuring, and had its due influence amongChristian people at the time it appeared. At an anniversary meeting ofthe Methodist Church, held in Cincinnati, O. , in the same year, 1853, Bishop Ames gave utterance to sentiments in regard to the character ofthe government of Liberia that quite shocked some pro-slavery peoplewho held "_hired pews_" in the Methodist Church. His utterances wereas brave as they were complimentary. 

 "Nations reared under religious and political restraint are not capable of self-government, while those who enjoy only partially these advantages have set an example of such capability. We have in illustration of this a well-authenticated historical fact: we refer to the colored people of this country, who, though they have grown up under the most unfavorable circumstances, were enabled to succeed in establishing a sound republican government in Africa. They have given the most clear and indubitable evidence of their capability of self-government, and in this respect have shown a higher grade of manhood than the polished Frenchman himself. "[109]

The Presbyterian Board of Missions sent Rev. J. B. Pinny into the fieldin 1833. In 1837, missions were established among the natives, andwere blessed with very good results. In 1850 there were, under themanagement of this denomination, three congregations, with 116members, two ordained ministers, and a flourishing sabbath school. Ahigh-school was brought into existence in 1852, with a whitegentleman, the Rev D. A. Wilson, as its principal. It was afterwardraised into a college, and was always crowded. 

The American Protestant-Episcopal Church raised its missionarystandard in Liberia in 1836. The Rev John Payne was at the head ofthis enterprise, assisted by six other clergymen, until 1850, when hewas consecrated missionary bishop for Africa. He was a white gentlemanof marked piety, rare scholarship, and large executive ability. Thestation at Monrovia was under the care of the Rev. Alexander Crummell, an educated and eloquent preacher of the Negro race. There was anexcellent training-school for religious and secular teachers; thereare several boarding-schools for natives, with an average attendanceof a hundred; and up to 1850 more than a thousand persons had beenbrought into fellowship with this church. 

The Foreign Missionary Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in1845 turned its attention to this fruitful field. In 1855, ten yearsafter they began work, they had 19 religious and secular teachers, 11day-schools, 400 pupils, and 484 members in their churches. There were13 mission-stations, and all the teachers were colored men. 

We have said, a few pages back in this chapter, that the MethodistChurch was first on the field when the colony of Liberia was founded. We should have said _one_ of the first; because we find, in "Gammell'sHistory of the American Baptist Missions, " that the Baptists were inthis colony as missionaries in 1822, that under the direction of theRevs. Lot Carey and Collin Teage, two intelligent Colored Baptists, achurch was founded. Mr. Carey was a man of most exemplary character. He had received an education in Virginia, where he had resided as afreeman for some years, having purchased his freedom by his personalefforts, and where also he was ordained in 1821. 

 "In September, 1826, he was unanimously elected vice-agent of the colony; and on the return of Mr. Ashmun to the United States, in 1828, he was appointed to discharge the duties of governor in the interim, --a task which he performed during the brief remnant of his life with wisdom, and with credit to himself. His death took place in a manner that was fearfully sudden and extraordinary. The natives of the country had committed depredations upon the property of the colony, and were threatening general hostilities. Mr. Carey, in his capacity as acting governor, immediately called out the military forces of the colony, and commenced vigorous measures for repelling the assault and protecting the settlements. He was at the magazine, engaged in superintending the making of cartridges, when by the oversetting of a lamp, a large mass of powder became ignited, and produced and explosion which resulted in the death of Mr. Carey, and seven others who were engaged with him. In this sudden and awful manner perished and extraordinary man, --one who in a higher sphere might have developed many of the noblest energies of character and who, even in the humble capacity of a missionary among his own benighted brethren, deserves a prominent place in the list of those who have shed lustre upon the African race. 

 "At the period of Mr. Carey's death, the church of which he was the pastor contained a hundred members, and was in a highly flourishing condition. It was committed to the charge of Collin Teage, who now returned from Sierra Leone, and of Mr. Waring, one of its members, who had lately been ordained a minister. The influences which had commenced with the indefatigable founder of the mission continued to be felt long after he had ceased to live. The church an Monrovia was increased to two hundred member; and the power of the gospel was manifested in other settlements of the Colonization Society, and even among the rude natives of the coast, of whom nearly a hundred were converted to Christianity, and united with the several churches of the colony. "[110]

We regret that statistics on Liberia are not as full as desirable; butwe have found enough to convince us that the cause of religion, education, and republican government are in safe hands, and on a surefoundation. There are now more than three thousand and eighteenhundred children, seven hundred of whom are natives;[111] and in theday-schools are gathered about two thousand bright and promisingpupils. 

Many noble soldiers of the cross have fallen on this field, where adesperate battle has been waged between darkness and light, heathenismand religion, the wooden gods of men and the only true God who madeheaven and earth. Many have been mortally touched by the poisonousbreath of African fever, and, like the sainted Gilbert Haven, havestaggered back to home and friends to die. Few of the white teachershave been able to remain on the field. During the first thirty yearsof missionary effort in the field, the mortality among the whitemissionaries was terrible. Up to 1850 the Episcopal Church hademployed twenty white teachers, but only three of them were left. Therest died, or were driven home by the climate. Of nineteenmissionaries sent out by the Presbyterian Church up to 1850, ninedied, seven returned home, and but three remained. The MethodistChurch sent out thirteen white teachers: six died, six returned home, and but one remained. Among the colored missionaries the mortality wasreduced to a minimum. Out of thirty-one in the employ of the MethodistChurch, only seven died natural deaths, and fourteen remained in theservice. On this subject of mortality, Bishop Payne says, --

 "It is now very generally admitted, that Africa must be evangelized chiefly by her own children. It should be our object to prepare them, so far as we may, for their great work. And since colonists afford the most advanced material for raising up the needed instruments, it becomes us, in wise co-operation with Providence, to direct our efforts in the most judicious manner to them. To do this, the most important points should be occupied, to become in due time radiating centres of Christian influence to colonists and natives. "[112]

In thirty-three years Liberia gained wonderfully in population, and, at the breaking-out of the Rebellion in the United States, had about ahundred thousand souls, besides the three hundred thousand natives inthe vast territory over which her government is recognized. Businessof every kind has grown up. The laws are wholesome; the law-makersintelligent and upright; the army and navy are creditable, and therepublic is in every sense a grand success. Mr. Wilson says, --

 "Trade is the chosen employment of the great mass of the Liberians, and some of them have been decidedly successful in this vocation. It consists in the exchange of articles of American or European manufacture for the natural products of the country; of which palm oil, cam-wood, and ivory are the principal articles. Cam-wood is a rich dye-wood, and is brought to Monrovia on the shoulders of the natives from a great distance. It is worth in the European and American markets from sixty to eighty dollars per ton. The ivory of this region does not form an important item of commerce. Palm-oil is the main article of export, and is procured along the seacoast between Monrovia and Cape Palmas. The Liberian merchants own a number of small vessels, built by themselves, and varying in size from ten or fifteen to forty or fifty tons. These are navigated by the Liberian sailors, and are constantly engaged in bringing palm-oil to Monrovia, from whence it is again shipped in foreign vessels for Liverpool or New York. I made inquiry, during a short sojourn at this place in 1852 on my way to this country, about the amount of property owned by the wealthiest merchants of Monrovia, and learned that there were four or five who were worth from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars, a large number who owned property to the amount of ten thousand dollars, and perhaps twelve or fifteen who were worth as much as five thousand dollars. The property of some of these may have increased materiallv since that time. 

 "The settlers along the banks of the St. Paul have given more attention to the cultivation of the soil. They raise sweet-potatoes, cassava, and plantains, for their own use, and also supply the Monrovia market with the same. Ground-nuts and arrow-root are also cultivated, but to a very limited extent. A few individuals have cultivated the sugar cane with success, and have manufactured a considerable quantity of excellent sugar and molasses. Some attention has been given to the cultivation of the coffee tree. It grows luxuriantly, and bears most abundantly. The flavor of the coffee is as fine as any in the world; and, if the Liberians would give the attention to it they ought, it would probably be as highly esteemed as any other in the world. It is easily cultivated, and requires little or no outlay of capital; and we are surprised that it has not already become an article of export. The want of disposition to cultivate the soil is, perhaps, the most discouraging feature in the prospects of Liberia. Mercantile pursuits are followed with zeal and energy, but comparatively few are willing to till the ground for the means of subsistence. "

Liberia had its first constitution in 1825. It was drawn at theinstance of the Colonization Society in the United States. It setforth the objects of the colony, defined citizenship, and declared theobjects of the government. It remained in force until 1836. In 1839 a"Legislative Council" was created, and the constitution amended tomeet the growing wants of the government. In 1847 Liberia declaredherself an independent republic. The first article of the constitutionof 1847 reads as follows:--

 "ARTICLE I. SECTION I. All men are born equally free and independent, and among them natural, inherent and inalienable rights, are the rights of enjoying and defending _life_ and LIBERTY. "

This section meant a great deal to a people who had abandoned theirhomes in the United States, where a chief justice of the Supreme Courthad declared that "a Negro has no rights which a white man is bound torespect, "--a country where the Federal Congress had armed everyUnited-States marshal in all the Northern States with the inhuman andarbitrary power to apprehend, load with chains, and hurl back into thehell of slavery, every poor fugitive who sought to find a home in aprofessedly free section of "the _land of the free and the home of thebrave_. " These brave black pilgrims, who had to leave "the freest landin the world" in order to get their freedom, did not intend that thesolemn and formal declaration of principles contained in theirconstitution should be reduced to a _reductio ad absurdum_, as thosein the American Constitution were by the infamous _Fugitive-slaveLaw_. And in section 4 of their constitution they prohibit "the sum ofall villanies"--_slavery_! The article reads:--

 "There shall be no slavery within this republic. Nor shall any citizen of this republic, or any person resident therein, deal in slaves, either within or without this republic. "

They had no measure of _compromise_ by which slavery could be carriedon beyond certain limits "for highly commercial and business interestsof a portion of their fellow-citizens. " Liberians might have grownrich by merely suffering the slave-trade to be carried on among thenatives. The constitution fixed a scale of revenue, and levied atariff on all imported articles. A customs-service was introduced, andmany reforms enforced which greatly angered a few avaricious white menwhose profession as _men-stealers_ was abolished by the constitution. Moreover, there were others who for years had been trading and doingbusiness along the coast, without paying any duties on the articlesthey exported. The new government incurred their hostility. 

In April, 1850, the republic of Liberia entered into a treaty withEngland, and in article nine of said treaty bound herself to thesuppression of the slave-trade in the following explicit language:--

 "Slavery and the slave-trade being perpetually abolished in the republic of Liberia, the republic engages that a law shall be passed declaring it to be piracy for any _Liberian citizen_ or vessel to be engaged or concerned in the slave-trade. "

Notwithstanding the above treaty, the enemies of the republiccirculated the report in England and America that the Liberiangovernment was secretly engaged in the slave-trade. The friends ofcolonization in both countries were greatly alarmed by the rumor, andsought information in official quarters, --of men on the ground. Thefollowing testimony will show that the charge was malicious:--

 "Capt. Arabian, R. N. , in one of his despatches says, 'Nothing had been done more to suppress the slave-trade in this quarter than the constant intercourse of the natives with these industrious colonists;' and again, 'Their character is exceedingly correct and moral, their minds strongly impressed with religious feeling, and their domestic habits remarkably neat and comfortable. ' 'wherever the influence of Liberia extends, the slave trade has been abandoned by the natives. '

 "Lieut. Stott, R. N. , in a letter to Dr. Hodgkin, dated July, 1840, says, it (Liberia) promises to be the only successful institution on the coast of Africa, keeping in mind its objects; viz. , 'that of raising the African slave into a free man, the extinction of the slave-trade, and the religious and moral improvement of Africa;' and adds, 'The surrounding Africans are aware of the nature of the colony, taking refuge when persecuted by the few neighboring slave-traders. The remnant of a tribe has lately fled to and settled in the colony on land granted them. Between my two visits, a lapse of only a few days, four or five slaves sought refuge from their master, who was about to sell, or had sold, them to the only slave-factory on the coast. The native chiefs in the neighborhood have that respect for the colonists that they have made treaties for the abolition of the slave trade. '

 "Capt. Irving, R. N. , in a letter to Dr. Hodgkin, Aug 3, 1840, observes, 'You ask me if they aid in the slave-trade? I assure you, no! and I am sure the colonists would feel themselves much hurt should they know such a question could possibly arise in England. In my opinion it is the best and safest plan for the extinction of the slave-trade, and the civilization of Africa, for it is a well-known fact, that wherever their flag flies it is an eye-sore to the slave-dealers. '

 "Capt. Herbert, R. N. : 'With regard to the present state of slave-taking in the colony of Liberia, I have never known one instance of a slave being owned or disposed of by a colonist. On the contrary, I have known them to render great facility to our cruisers in taking vessels engaged in that nefarious traffic. '

 "Capt. Dunlop, who had abundant opportunities for becoming acquainted with Liberia during the years 1848-50, says, 'I am perfectly satisfied no such thing as domestic slavery exists in any shape amongst the citizens of the republic. '

 "Commodore Sir Charles Hotham, commander-in-chief of her British Majesty's squadron on the western coast of Africa, in a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, dated April 7, 1847, and published in the Parliamentary Returns, says, 'On perusing the correspondence of my predecessors, I found a great difference of opinion existing as to the views and objects of the settlers; some even accusing the governor of lending himself to the slave-trade. After discussing the whole subject with officers and others best qualified to judge on the matter, I not only satisfied my own mind that there is no reasonable cause for such a suspicion, but further, that this establishment merits all the support we can give it, for it is only through their means that we can hope to improve the African race. ' Subsequently, in 1849, the same officer gave his testimony before the House of Lords, in the following language: 'There is no necessity for the squadron watching the coast between Sierra Leone and Cape Palmas, as the liberian territory intervenes, and there the slave-trade has been extinguished. '"[113]

The government was firmly and wisely administered, and its friendseverywhere found occasion for great pleasure in its marked success. While the government had more than a quarter of a million of nativesunder its care, the greatest caution was exercised in dealing withthem legally. The system was not so complicated as our Indian system, but the duties of the officers in dealing with the uncivilized tribeswere as delicate as those of an Indian agent in the United States. 

 "The history of a single case will illustrate the manner in which Liberia exerts her influence in preventing the native tribes from warring upon each other. The territory of Little Cape Mount, Grand Cape Mount, and Gallinas was purchased, three or four years since, and added to the Republic. The chiefs, by the term of sale, transferred the rights of sovereignty and of soil to Liberia, and bound themselves to obey her laws. The government of Great Britain had granted to Messrs. Hyde, Hodge, & Co. , of London, a contract for the supply of laborers from the coast of Africa to the planters of her West India colonies. This grant was made under the rule for the substitution of _apprentices_, to supply the lack of labor produced by the emancipation of the slaves. The agents of Messrs. Hyde, Hodge, & Co. Visited Grand Cape Mount, and made an offer of ten dollars per head to the chiefs for each person they could supply as _emigrants_ for this object. The offer excited the cupidity of some of the chiefs; and to procure the emigrants and secure the bounty one of them, named Boombo, of Little Cape Mount, resorted to war upon several of the surrounding tribes. He laid waste the country, burned the towns and villages, captured and murdered many of the inhabitants, carried off hundreds of others, and robbed several factories in that legion belonging to merchants in Liberia. On the 26th of February, 1853, President Roberts issued his proclamation enjoining a strict observance of the law regulating passports, and forbidding the sailing of any vessel with emigrants without first visiting the port of Monrovia, where each passenger should be examined as to his wishes. On the 1st of March the president, with two hundred men, sailed for Little Cape Mount, arrested Boombo and fifty of his followers, summoned a council of the other chiefs at Monrovia for his trial on the 14th, and returned home with his prisoners. At the time appointed, the trial was held, Boombo was found guilty of '_high misdemeanor_' and sentenced 'to make restitution, restoration, and reparation of goods stolen, people captured, and damages committed: to pay a fine of five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for two years. ' When the sentence was pronounced, the convict shed tears, regarding the ingredient of imprisonment in his sentence to be almost intolerable. These rigorous measures, adopted to maintain the authority of the government and majesty of the laws, have had a salutary influence upon the chiefs. No outbreaks have since occurred, and but little apprehension of danger for the future is entertained. "[114]

The republic did a vast amount of good before the Great Rebellion inthe United States, but since emancipation its population has been fedby the natives who have been educated and converted to Christianity. Professor David Christy, the great colonizationist, said in a lecturedelivered in 1855, --

 "If, then, a colony of colored men, beginning with less than a hundred, and gradually increasing to nine thousand, has in thirty years established an independent republic amidst a savage people, destroyed the slave-trade on six hundred miles of the African coast, put down the heathen temples in one of its largest counties, afforded security to all the missions within its limits, and now casts its shield over three hundred thousand native inhabitants, what may not be done in the next thirty years by colonization and missions combined, were sufficient means supplied to call forth all their energies?"

The circumstances that led to the founding of the Negro Republic inthe wilds of Africa perished in the fires of civil war. The Negro isfree everywhere; but the republic of Liberia stands, and should standuntil its light shall have penetrated the gloom of Africa, and untilthe heathen shall gather to the brightness of its shining. May itstand through the ages as a Christian Republic, as a faithfullight-house along the dark and trackless sea of African paganism!

FOOTNOTES:

[106] Ethiope, p. 197. 

[107] Foreign Travel and Life at Sea, vol. Ii. P. 359. 

[108] Bishop Scott's Letter in the Colonization Herald, October, 1853. 

[109] In Methodist Missionary Advocate, 1853. 

[110] Gammell's History of the American Baptist Missions, pp. 248, 249. 

[111] Edward W. Blyden, L. L. D. , president of Liberia College, a WestIndian, is a scholar of marvellous erudition, a writer of rareabilities, a subtle reasoner, a preacher of charming graces, and oneof the foremost Negroes of the world. He is himself the best argumentin favor of the Negro's capacity for Christian civilization. He ranksamongst the world's greatest linguists. 

[112] Report of Bishop Payne, June 6, 1853. 

[113] Colonization Herald, December, 1852. 

[114] Ethiope, pp. 207, 208. 

CHAPTER XI. 

RÉSUMÉ. 

 THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN FAMILY RE-AFFIRMED. --GOD GAVE ALL RACES OF MEN CIVILIZATION. --THE ANTIQUITY OF THE NEGRO BEYOND DISPUTE. --IDOLATRY THE CAUSE OF THE DEGRADATION OF THE AMERICAN RACES. --HE HAS ALWAYS HAD A PLACE IN HISTORY, THOUGH INCIDENTAL. --NEGRO TYPE CAUSED BY DEGRADATION. --NEGRO EMPIRES AN EVIDENCE OF CRUDE ABILITY FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. --INFLUENCE OF THE TWO CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENTS ON THE WEST COAST UPON THE HEATHEN. --ORATION ON EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA. --THE DUTY OF CHRISTIANITY TO EVANGELIZE AFRICA. 

The preceding ten chapters are introductory in their nature. We feltthat they were necessary to a history of the Colored race in theUnited States. We desired to explain and explode two erroneousideas, --the curse of Canaan, and the theory that the Negro is adistinct species, --that were educated into our white countrymen duringthe long and starless night of the bondage of the Negro. It mustappear patent to every honest student of God's word, that the slaveryinterpretation of the curse of Canaan is without warrant of Scripture, and at war with the broad and catholic teachings of the New Testament. It is a sad commentary on American civilization to find even a few menlike Helper, "Ariel, " and the author of "The Adamic Race" stillcroaking about the inferiority of the Negro; but it is highlygratifying to know that they no longer find an audience or readers, not even in the South. A man never hates his neighbors until he hasinjured them. Then, in justification of his unjustifiable conduct, heuses slander for argument. 

During the late war thousands of mouths filled with vituperative wrathagainst the colored race were silenced as in the presence of theheroic deeds of "the despised race, " and since the war the obloquy ofthe Negro's enemies has been turned into the most fulsome praise. 

We stand in line and are in harmony with history and historians--modern and ancient, sacred and profane--on the subject of the unityof the human family. There are, however, a few who differ; but theirwild, incoherent, and unscholarly theories deserve the mercy of oursilence. 

It is our firm conviction, and it is not wholly unsupported byhistory, that the Creator gave all the nations arts and sciences. Where nations have turned aside to idolatry they have lost theircivilization. The Canaanites, Jebusites, Hivites, etc. , theidolatrous[115] nations inhabiting the land of Canaan, were thedescendants of Canaan; and the only charge the Lord brought againstthem when he commanded Joshua to exterminate them was, that they werehis enemies[116] in all that that term implies. The sacred recordtells us that they were a warlike, powerful people, [117] living inwalled cities, given to agriculture, and possessing quite arespectable civilization; but they were idolaters--God's enemies. 

It is worthy of emphasis, that the antiquity of the Negro race isbeyond dispute. This is a fact established by the most immutablehistorical data, and recorded on the monumental brass and marble ofthe Oriental nations of the most remote period of time. The importanceand worth of the Negro have given him a place in all the histories ofEgypt, Greece, and Rome. His position, it is true, in all history upto the present day, has been accidental, incidental, and collateral;but it is sufficient to show how he has been regarded in the past byother nations. His brightest days were when history was an infant;and, since he early turned from God, he has found the cold face ofhate and the hurtful hand of the Caucasian against him. The Negro typeis the result of degradation. It is nothing more than the loweststrata of the African race. Pouring over the venerable mountainterraces, an abundant stream from an abundant and unknown source, intothe malarial districts, the genuine African has gradually degeneratedinto the typical Negro. His blood infected with the poison of his lowhabitation, his body shrivelled by disease, his intellect veiled inpagan superstitions, the noblest yearnings of his soul strangled atbirth by the savage passions of a nature abandoned to sensuality, --thepoor Negro of Africa deserves more our pity than our contempt. 

It is true that the weaker tribes, or many of the Negroid type, werethe chief source of supply for the slave-market in this country formany years; but slavery in the United States--a severe ordeal throughwhich to pass to citizenship and civilization--had the effect ofcalling into life many a slumbering and dying attribute in the Negronature. The cruel institution drove him from an extreme idolatry to anextreme religious exercise of his faith in worship. And now that he isan American citizen, --the condition and circumstances which renderedhis piety appropriate abolished, --he is likely to move over to anextreme rationalism. 

The Negro empires to which we have called attention are an argumentagainst the theory that he is without government, and his career as asoldier[118] would not disgrace the uniform of an American soldier. Brave, swift in execution, terrible in the onslaught, tireless inenergy, obedient to superiors, and clannish to a fault, --the abilitiesof these black soldiers are worthy of a good cause. 

On the edge of the Dark Continent, Sierra Leone and Liberia havesprung up as light-houses on a dark and stormy ocean of lost humanity. Hundreds of thousands of degraded Negroes have been snatched from thevile swamps, and Christianity has been received and appreciated bythem. These two Negro settlements have solved two problems; viz. , theNegro's ability to administer a government, and the capacity of thenative for the reception of education and Christian civilization. SanDomingo and Jamaica have their lessons too, but it is not our purposeto write the history of the Colored people of the world. The task maybe undertaken some time in the future, however. 

It must be apparent to the interested friends of languishing Africa, that there are yet two more problems presented for our solution; andthey are certainly difficult of solution. First, we must solve theproblem of African geography; second, we must redeem by the power ofthe gospel, with all its attending blessings, the savage tribes ofAfricans who have never heard the beautiful song of the angels:"_Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towardmen_. " That this work will be done we do not doubt. We have greatfaith in the outcome of the missionary work going on now in Africa;and we are especially encouraged by the wide and kindly interestawakened on behalf of Africa by the noble life-work of Dr. DavidLivingstone, and the thrilling narrative of Mr. Henry M. Stanley. 

It is rather remarkable now, in the light of recent events, that weshould have chosen a topic at the close of both our academic andtheological course that we can see now was in line with this work sonear our heart. The first oration was on "The Footsteps of theNation, " the second was "Early Christianity in Africa. " Dr. Livingstone had just fallen a martyr to the cause of geography, andthe orators and preachers of enlightened Christendom were busy withthe virtues and worth of the dead. It was on the tenth day of June, 1874, that we delivered the last-named oration; and we can, even atthis distance, recall the magnificent audience that greeted it, andthe feeling with which we delivered it. We were the first Colored manwho had ever taken a diploma from that venerable and world-famedinstitution (Newton Seminary, Newton Centre, Mass. ), and thereforethere was much interest taken in our graduation. We were ordained onthe following evening at Watertown, Mass. ; and the original poemwritten for the occasion by our pastor, the Rev. Granville S. Abbott, D. D. , contained the following significant verses:--

 "Ethiopia's hands long stretching, Mightily have plead with God; Plead not vainly: time is fetching Answers, as her faith's reward. God is faithful, Yea, and Amen is his word. 

 Countless prayers, so long ascending, Have their answer here and now; Threads of purpose, wisely meeting In an ordination vow. Afric brother, To thy mission humbly bow. "

The only, and we trust sufficient, apology we have to offer to thereader for mentioning matters personal to the author is, that we aredeeply touched in reading the oration, after many years, in theoriginal manuscript, preserved by accident. It is fitting that itshould be produced here as bearing upon the subject in hand. 

 EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA. 

 ORATION BY GEORGE W. WILLIAMS, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS GRADUATION FROM NEWTON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEWTON CENTRE, MASS. , JUNE 10, 1874. 

 Africa was one of the first countries to receive Christianity. Simon, a Cyrenian, from Africa, bore the cross of Jesus for him to Calvary. There was more in that singular incident than we are apt to recognize, for the time soon came when Africa did indeed take up the Saviour's cross. 

 The African, in his gushing love, welcomed the new religion to his country and to his heart. He was willing to share its persecutions, and endure shame for the cross of Christ. 

 Africa became the arena in which theological gladiators met in dubious strife. It was the scene of some of the severest doctrinal controversies of the early Church. Here men and women, devoted to an idea, stood immovable, indomitable as the pyramids, against the severest persecution. Her sons swelled the noble army of martyrs and confessors. The eloquence of their shed blood has been heard through the centuries, and pleads the cause of the benighted to-day. 

 It was Africa that gave the Christian Church Athanasius and Origen, Cyprian, Tertullian, and Augustine, her greatest writers and teachers. Athanasius, the missionary of monachism to the West, was the indefatigable enemy of Arianism, the bold leader of the Catholic party at Alexandria, at the early age of thirty (30) elevated to its bishopric, one of the most important sees in the East. Ever conscientious and bold, the whole Christian Church felt his influence, while emperors and kings feared his power. His life was stormy, because he loved the truth and taught it in all boldness. He hated his own life for the truth's sake. He counted all things but loss, that he might gain Christ. He was often in perils by false brethren, was driven out into the solitary places of the earth, --into the monasteries of the Thebaid; and yet he endured as seeing Him who is invisible, looking for the reward of the promise, knowing that He who promised is faithful. 

 Origen was an Alexandrian by birth and culture, an able preacher, a forcible writer, and a theologian of great learning. His influence while living was great, and was felt long after his death. 

 In North Africa, Cyprian, the great writer of Church polity, a pastor and teacher of rare gifts, was the first bishop to lay down his life for the truth's sake. The shadows of fifteen centuries rest upon his name; but it is as fadeless to-day as when a weeping multitude followed him to his martyrdom, and exclaimed, "Let us die with our holy bishop. "

 The weary centuries intervene, and yet the student of Church polity is fascinated and instructed by the brilliant teachings of Cyprian. His bitterest enemies--those who have most acrimoniously assailed him--have at length recognized in him the qualities of a great writer and teacher; and his puissant name, sending its influence along the ages, attracts the admiration of the ecclesiastical scholars of every generation. 

 Tertullian, the leader of the Montanists, fiery, impulsive, the strong preacher, the vigorous writer, the bold controversialist, organized a sect which survived him, though finally disorganized through the influence of Augustine, the master theologian of the early Church, indeed of the Church universal. 

 Other fathers built theological systems that flourished for a season; but the system that Augustine established survived him, has survived the intervening centuries, and lives to-day. 

 Africa furnished the first dissenters from an established church, --the Donatists. They were the Separatists and Puritans of the early Church. 

 Their struggle was long, severe, but useless. They were condemned, not convinced; discomfited, not subdued; and the patient, suffering, indomitable spirit they evinced shows what power there is in a little truth held in faith. 

 Christianity had reached its zenith in Africa. It was her proudest hour. Paganism had been met and conquered. The Church had passed through a baptism of blood, and was now wholly consecrated to the cause of its Great Head. Here Christianity flowered, here it brought forth rich fruit in the lives of its tenacious adherents. Here the acorn had become the sturdy oak, under which the soldiers of the cross pitched their tents. The African Church had triumphed gloriously. 

 But, in the moment of signal victory, the Saracens poured into North Africa, and Mohammedanism was established upon the ruins of Christianity. 

 The religion of Christ was swept from its moorings, the saint was transformed into the child of the desert, and quiet settlements became bloody fields where brother shed brother's blood. 

 Glorious and sublime as was the triumph of Christianity in North Africa, we must not forget that only a narrow belt of that vast country, on the Mediterranean, was reached by Christianity. Its western and southern portions are yet almost wholly unknown. Her vast deserts, her mighty rivers, and her dusky children are yet beyond the reach of civilization; and her forests have been the grave of many who would explore her interior. To-day England stands by the new-made grave of the indomitable Livingstone, --her courageous son, who, as a missionary and geographer spent his best days and laid down his life in the midst of Africa. 

 For nearly three centuries Africa has been robbed of her sable sons. For nearly three centuries they have toiled in bondage, unrequited, in this youthful republic of the West. They have grown from a small company to be an exceedingly great people, --five millions in number. No longer chattels, they are human beings, no longer bondmen, they are freemen, with almost every civil disability removed. 

 Their weary feet now press up the mount of science. Their darkened intellect now sweeps, unfettered, through the realms of learning and culture. With his Saxon brother, the African slakes his insatiable thirstings for knowledge at the same fountain. In the Bible, he leads not only the one unalterable text, "Servants, obey your masters, " but also, "Ye are all brethren. " "God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. " "He is no respecter of persons. "

 The Negro in this country has begun to enjoy the blessings of a free citizenship. Under the sunny sky of a Christian civilization he hears the clarion voices of progress about him, urging him onward and upward. From across the ocean, out of the jungles of Africa, come the voices of the benighted and perishing. Every breeze is freighted with a Macedonian call, "Ye men of the African race, come over and help us!"

 "Shall we, whose souls are lighted By wisdom from on high, -- Shall we, to men benighted The lamp of life deny?"

 God often permits evil on the ground of man's free agency, but he does not commit evil. 

 The Negro of this country can turn to his Saxon brothers and say, as Joseph said to his brethren who wickedly sold him, "As for you, ye meant it unto evil but God meant it unto good; that we, after learning your arts and sciences, might return to Egypt and deliver the rest of our brethren who are yet in the house of bondage. "

 That day will come! Her chains will be severed by the sword of civilization and liberty. Science will penetrate her densest forests, and climb her loftiest mountains, and discover her richest treasures. The Sun of righteousness, and the star of peace shall break upon her sin-clouded vision, and smile upon her renewed households The anthem of the Redeemer's advent shall float through her forests, and be echoed by her mountains. Those dusky children of the desert, who now wander and plunder, will settle to quiet occupations of industry. Gathering themselves into villages, plying the labors of handicraft and agriculture, they will become a well disciplined society, instead of being a roving, barbarous horde. 

 The sabbath bells will summon from scattered cottages smiling populations, linked together by friendship, and happy in all the sweetness of domestic charities. Thus the glory of her latter day shall be greater than at the beginning, _and Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God_. 

It is our earnest desire and prayer, that the friends of missions inall places where God in his providence may send this history will givethe subject of the civilization and Christianization of Africaprayerful consideration. The best schools the world can afford shouldbe founded on the West Coast of Africa The native should be educatedat home, and mission stations should be planted under the very shadowof the idol-houses of the heathen. The best talent and abundant meanshave been sent to Siam, China, and Japan. Why not send the best talentand needful means to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Cape Palmas, thatnative missionaries may be trained for the outposts of the Lord? Thereis not a more promising mission-field in the world than Africa, andyet our friends in America take so little interest in this work! TheLord is going to save that Dark Continent, and it behooves hisservants here to honor themselves in doing something to hasten thecompletion of this inevitable work! Africa is to be redeemed by theAfrican, and the white Christians of this country can aid the work bymunificent contributions. Will you do it, brethren? God help you!

FOOTNOTES:

[115] Deut. Xii. 2, 3, also 30th verse. 

[116] Deut. Vi. 19. 

[117] Deut. Vii. 7. 

[118] News comes to us from Egypt that Arabi Pacha's best artilleristsare Negro soldiers. 

Part II. 

_SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES_. [119]

CHAPTER XII. 

THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA. 

1619-1775. 

 INTRODUCTION OF THE FIRST SLAVES. --"THE TREASURER" AND THE DUTCH MAN-OF-WAR. --THE CORRECT DATE. --THE NUMBER OF SLAVES. --WERE THERE TWENTY, OR FOURTEEN?--LITIGATION ABOUT THE POSSESSION OF THE SLAVES. --CHARACTER OF THE SLAVES IMPORTED, AND THE CHARACTER OF THE COLONISTS. --RACE PREJUDICES. --LEGAL ESTABLISHMENT OF SLAVERY. WHO ARE SLAVES FOR LIFE. --DUTIES ON IMPORTED SLAVES. --POLITICAL AND MILITARY PROHIBITIONS AGAINST NEGROES. --PERSONAL RIGHTS. --CRIMINAL LAWS AGAINST SLAVES. EMANCIPATION. --HOW BROUGHT ABOUT. --FREE NEGROES. --THEIR RIGHTS. --MORAL AND RELIGIOUS TRAINING. --POPULATION. --SLAVERY FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. 

Virginia was the mother of slavery as well as "the mother ofPresidents. " Unfortunate for her, unfortunate for the other colonies, and thrice unfortunate for the poor Colored people, who from 1619 to1863 yielded their liberty, their toil, --unrequited, --their bodies andintellects to an institution that ground them to powder. No event inthe history of North America has carried with it to its last analysissuch terrible forces. It touched the brightest features of sociallife, and they faded under the contact of its poisonous breath. Itaffected legislation, local and national; it made and destroyedstatesmen; it prostrated and bullied honest public sentiment; itstrangled the voice of the press, and awed the pulpit into silentacquiescence; it organized the judiciary of States, and wrotedecisions for judges; it gave States their political being, andafterwards dragged them by the fore-hair through the stormy sea ofcivil war; laid the parricidal fingers of Treason against the fairthroat of Liberty, --and through all time to come no event will be moresincerely deplored than the introduction of slavery into the colony ofVirginia during the last days of the month of August in the year 1619!

The majority of writers on American history, as well as most historieson Virginia, from Beverley to Howison, have made a mistake in fixingthe date of the introduction of the first slaves. Mr. Beverley, whosehistory of Virginia was printed in London in 1772, is responsible forthe error, in that nearly all subsequent writers--excepting thelaborious and scholarly Bancroft and the erudite Campbell--haverepeated his mistake. Mr. Beverley, speaking of the burgesses having"met the Governor and Council at James Town in May 1620, " adds in asubsequent paragraph, "In August following a Dutch Man of War landedtwenty Negroes for sale; which were the first of that kind that werecarried into the country. "[120] By "August following, " we infer thatBeverley would have his readers understand that this was in 1620. ButBurk, Smith, Campbell, and Neill gave 1619 as the date. [121] But weare persuaded to believe that the first slaves were landed at a stillearlier date. In Capt. John Smith's history, printed in London in1629, is a mere incidental reference to the introduction of slavesinto Virginia. He mentions, under date of June 25, that the "governorand councell caused Burgesses to be chosen in all places, "[122] whichis one month later than the occurrence of this event as fixed byBeverley. Smith speaks of a vessel named "George" as having been "sentto Newfoundland" for fish, and, having started in May, returned aftera voyage of "seven weeks. " In the next sentence he says, "About thelast of August came in a dutch man of warre that sold us twentyNegars. "[123] Might not he have meant "about the end of last August"came the Dutch man-of-war, etc. ? All historians, except two, agreethat these slaves were landed in August, but disagree as to the year. Capt. Argall, of whom so much complaint was made by the VirginiaCompany to Lord Delaware, [124] fitted out the ship "Treasurer" at theexpense of the Earl of Warwick, who sent him "an olde commission ofhostility from the Duke of Savoy against the Spanyards, " for a"filibustering" cruise to the West Indies. [125] And, "after severalacts of hostility committed, and some purchase gotten, she returns toVirginia at the end of ten months or thereabouts. "[126] It was in theearly autumn of 1618, [127] that Capt. Edward (a son of William)Brewster was sent into banishment by Capt. Argall; and this, we think, was one of the last, if not _the_ last official act of that arbitrarygovernor. It was certainly before this that the ship "Treasurer, "manned "with the ablest men in the colony, " sailed for "the Spanishdominions in the Western hemisphere. " Under date of June 15, 1618, John Rolfe, speaking of the death of the Indian Powhatan, which tookplace in April, says, "Some private differences happened betwixt Capt. Bruster and Capt. Argall, " etc. [128] Capt. John Smith's information, as secured from Master Rolfe, would lead to the conclusion that thedifficulty which took place between Capt. Edward Brewster and Capt. Argall occurred in the spring instead of the autumn, as Neill says. Ifit be true that "The Treasurer" sailed in the early spring of 1618, Rolfe's statement as to the time of the strife between Brewster andArgall would harmonize with the facts in reference to the length oftime the vessel was absent as recorded in Burk's history. But if Neillis correct as to the time of the quarrel, --for we maintain that it wasabout this time that Argall left the colony, --then his statement wouldtally with Burk's account of the time the vessel was on the cruise. If, therefore, she sailed in October, 1618, being absent ten months, she was due at Jamestown in August, 1619. 

But, nevertheless, we are strangely moved to believe that 1618 was thememorable year of the landing of the first slaves in Virginia. And wehave one strong and reliable authority on our side. Stith, in hishistory of Virginia, fixes the date in 1618. [129] On the same pagethere is an account of the trial and sentence of Capt. Brewster. Theship "Treasurer" had evidently left England in the winter of 1618. When she reached the Virginia colony, she was furnished with a newcrew and abundant supplies for her cruise. Neill says she returnedwith booty and "a certain number of negroes. " Campbell agrees that itwas some time before the landing of the Dutch man-of-war that "TheTreasurer" returned to Virginia. He says, "She returned to Virginiaafter some ten months with her booty, which consisted of capturednegroes, who were not left in Virginia, because Capt. Argall had goneback to England, but were put on the Earl of Warwick's plantation inthe Somer Islands. "[130]

During the last two and one-half centuries the readers of the historyof Virginia have been mislead as to these two vessels, the Dutchman-of-war and "The Treasurer. " The Dutch man-of-war did land thefirst slaves; but the ship "Treasurer" was the first to bring them tothis country, in 1618. 

When in 1619 the Dutch man-of-war brought the first slaves toVirginia, Capt. Miles Kendall was deputy-governor. The man-of-warclaimed to sail under commission of the Prince of Orange. Capt. Kendall gave orders that the vessel should not land in any of hisharbors: but the vessel was without provisions; and the Negroes, _fourteen_ in number, were tendered for supplies. Capt. Kendallaccepted the slaves, and, in return, furnished the man-of-war with thecoveted provisions. In the mean while Capt. Butler came and assumedcharge of the affairs of the Virginia Company, and dispossessedKendall of his slaves, alleging that they were the property of theEarl of Warwick. He insisted that they were taken from the ship"Treasurer, "[131] "with which the said Holland man-of-war hadconsorted. " Chagrined, and wronged by Gov. Butler, Capt. Kendallhastened back to England to lay his case before the London Company, and to seek equity. The Earl of Warwick appeared in court, and claimedthe Negroes as his property, as having belonged to his ship, "TheTreasurer. " Every thing that would embarrass Kendall was introduced bythe earl. At length, as a final resort, charges were formallypreferred against him, and the matter referred to Butler for decision. Capt. Kendall did not fail to appreciate the gravity of his case, whencharges were preferred against him in London, and the trial orderedbefore the man of whom he asked restitution! The case remained in_statu quo_ until July, 1622, when the court made a disposition of thecase. Nine of the slaves were to be delivered to Capt. Kendall, "andthe rest to be consigned to the company's use. " This decision wasreached by the court after the Earl of Warwick had submitted the caseto the discretion and judicial impartiality of the judges. The courtgave instructions to Capt. Bernard, who was then the governor, to seethat its order was enforced. But while the order of the court was _intransitu_, Bernard died. The earl, learning of the event, immediatelywrote a letter, representing that the slaves should _not_ be deliveredto Kendall; and an advantage being taken--purely technical--of theomission of the name of the captain of the Holland man-of-war, Capt. Kendall never secured his nine slaves. 

It should be noted, that while Rolfe, in Capt. Smith's history, fixesthe number of slaves in the Dutch vessel at _twenty_, --as also doesBeverley, --it is rather strange that the Council of Virginia, in 1623, should state that the commanding officer of the Dutch man-of-war toldCapt. Kendall that "he had fourteen Negroes on board!"[132] Moreover, it is charged that the slaves taken by "The Treasurer" were divided upamong the sailors; and that they, having been cheated out of theirdues, asked judicial interference. [133] Now, these slaves from "TheTreasurer" "were placed on the Earl of Warwick's lands in Bermudas, and there kept and detained to his Lordship's use. " There are severalthings apparent; viz. , that there is a mistake between the statementof the Virginia Council in their declaration of May 7, 1623, about thenumber of slaves landed by the man-of-war, and the statements ofBeverley and Smith. And if Stith is to be relied upon as to the slavesof "The Treasurer" having been taken to the "Earl of Warwick's landsin Bermudas, and there kept, " his lordship's claim to the slaves Capt. Kendall got from the Dutch man-of-war was not founded in truth orequity!

Whether the number was fourteen or twenty, it is a fact, beyondhistorical doubt, that the Colony of Virginia purchased the firstNegroes, and thus opened up the nefarious traffic in human flesh. Itis due to the Virginia Colony to say, that these slaves were forcedupon them; that they were taken in exchange for food given to relievethe hunger of famishing sailors; that white servitude[134] was common, and many whites were convicts[135] from England; and the extraordinarydemand for laborers may have deadened the moral sensibilities of thecolonists as to the enormity of the great crime to which they wereparties. Women were sold for wives, [136] and sometimes werekidnapped[137] in England and sent into the colony. There was nothingin the moral atmosphere of the colony inimical to the spirit ofbondage that was manifest so early in the history of this people. England had always held her sceptre over slaves of some character:villeins in the feudal era, stolen Africans under Elizabeth and underthe house of the Tudors; Caucasian children--whose German blood couldbe traced beyond the battle of Hastings--in her mines, factories, andmills; and vanquished Brahmans in her Eastern possessions. How, then, could we expect less of these "knights" and "adventurers" who"degraded the human race by an exclusive respect for the privilegedclasses"?[138]

The institution of slavery once founded, it is rather remarkable thatits growth was so slow. According to the census of Feb. 16, 1624, there were but twenty-two in the entire colony. [139] There were elevenat Flourdieu Hundred, three in James City, one on James Island, one onthe plantation opposite James City, four at Warisquoyak, and two atElizabeth City. In 1648 the population of Virginia was about fifteenthousand, with a slave population of three hundred. [140] The cause ofthe slow increase of slaves was not due to any colonial prohibition. The men who were engaged in tearing unoffending Africans from theirnative home were some time learning that this colony was at this timea ready market for their helpless victims. Whatever feeling orscruple, if such ever existed, the colonists had in reference to thesubject of dealing in the slave-trade, was destroyed at conception bythe golden hopes of large gains. The latitude, the products of thesoil, the demand for labor, the custom of the indenture of whiteservants, were abundant reasons why the Negro should be doomed tobondage for life. 

The subjects of slavery were the poor unfortunates that the strongpush to the outer edge of organized African society, where, throughneglect or abuse, they are consigned to the mercy of avarice andmalice. We have already stated that the weaker tribes of Africa arepushed into the alluvial flats of that continent; where they haveperished in large numbers, or have become the prey of the morepowerful tribes, who consort with slave-hunters. Disease, tribal warsin Africa, and the merciless greed of slave-hunters, peopled thecolony of Virginia with a class that was expected to till the soil. African criminals, by an immemorial usage, were sold into slavery asthe highest penalty, save death; and often this was preferred tobondage. Many such criminals found their way into the colony. To bebondmen among neighboring tribes at home was dreaded beyondexpression; but to wear chains in a foreign land, to submit to thedehumanizing treatment of cruel taskmasters, was an ordeal that fannedinto life the last dying ember of manhood and resentment. 

The character of the slaves imported, and the pitiable condition ofthe white servants, produced rather an anomalous result. "Maleservants, and slaves of both sex" were bound together by thefellowship of toil. But the distinction "made between them in theirclothes and food"[141] drew a line, not between their socialcondition, --for it was the same, --but between their nationality. First, then, was social estrangement, next legal difference, and lastof all political disagreement and strife. In order to oppress theweak, and justify the unchristian distinction between God's creatures, the persons who would bolster themselves into respectability must havethe aid of law. Luther could march fearlessly to the Diet of Worms ifevery tile on the houses were a devil; but Macbeth was conquered bythe remembrance of the wrong he had done the virtuous Duncan and theunoffending Banquo, long before he was slain by Macduff. A guiltyconscience always needs a multitude of subterfuges to guard againstdreaded contingencies. So when the society in the Virginia Colony hadmade up its mind that the Negroes in their midst were mereheathen, [142] they stood ready to punish any member who had thetemerity to cross the line drawn between the races. It was not amitigating circumstance that the white servants of the colony who cameinto natural contact with the Negroes were "disorderly persons, " orconvicts sent to Virginia by an order of the king of England. It wasfixed by public sentiment and law that there should be no relationbetween the races. The first prohibition was made "September 17th, 1630. " Hugh Davis, a white servant, was publicly flogged "before anassembly of Negroes and others, " for defiling himself with a Negro. Itwas also required that he should confess as much on the followingsabbath. [143]

In the winter of 1639, on the 6th of January, during the incumbency ofSir Francis Wyatt, the General Assembly passed the first prohibitionagainst Negroes. "All persons, " doubtless including fraternizingIndians, "except Negroes, " were required to secure arms andammunition, or be subject to a fine, to be imposed by "the Governorand Council. "[144] The records are too scanty, and it is impossible tojudge, at this remote day, what was the real cause of this law. Wehave already called attention to the fact that the slaves were but amere fraction of the _summa summarum_ of the population. It could notbe that the brave Virginians were afraid of an insurrection! Was itanother reminder that the "Negroes were heathen, " and, therefore, notentitled to the privileges of Christian freemen? It was not the act ofthat government, which in its conscious rectitude "can put tenthousand to flight, " but was rather the inexcusable feebleness of adiseased conscience, that staggers off for refuge "when no manpursueth. "

Mr. Bancroft thinks that the "special tax upon female slaves"[145] wasintended to discourage the traffic. It does not so seem to us. Itseems that the Virginia Assembly was endeavoring to establish friendlyrelations with the Dutch and other nations in order to secure "trade. "Tobacco was the chief commodity of the colonists. They intended by theact[146] of March, 1659, to guarantee the most perfect liberty "totrade with" them. They required, however, that foreigners should "givebond and pay the impost of tenn shillings per hogshead laid upon alltobacco exported to any fforreigne dominions. " The same act recites, that whenever any slaves were sold for tobacco, the amount of impostswould only be "two shillings per hogshead, " which was only the nominalsum paid by the colonists themselves. This act was passed severalyears before the one became a law that is cited by Mr. Bancroft. Itseems that much trouble had been experienced in determining who weretaxable in the colony. It is very clear that the LIV. Act of March, 1662, which Mr. Bancroft thinks was intended to discourage theimportation of slaves by taxing female slaves, seeks only to determinewho shall be taxable. It is a general law, declaring "that _all_ malepersons, of what age soever imported into this country shall bebrought into lysts and be liable to the payment of all taxes, and allnegroes, male and female being imported shall be accompted tythable, and all Indian servants male or female however procured being adjudgedsixteen years of age shall be likewise tythable from which none shallbe exempted. "[147] Beverley says that "the male servants, and slavesof both sexes, " were employed together. It seems that white women wereso scarce as to be greatly respected. But female Negroes and Indianswere taxable; although Indian children, unlike those of Negroes, werenot held as slaves. [148] Under the LIV. Act there is but one classexempted from tax, --white females, and, we might add, persons undersixteen years of age. [149] So what Mr. Bancroft mistakes as repressivelegislation against the slave-trade is only an exemption of whitewomen, and intended to encourage their coming into the colony. 

The legal distinction between slaves and servants was, "slaves forlife, and servants for a time. "[150] Slavery existed from 1619 until1662, without any sanction in law. On the 14th of December, 1662, thefoundations of the slave institution were laid in the old law maxim, "_Partus sequitur ventrum_, "--that the issue of slave mothers shouldfollow their condition. [151] Two things were accomplished by this act;viz. , slavery received the direct sanction of statutory law, and itwas also made hereditary. On the 6th of March, 1655, --seven yearsbefore the time mentioned above, --an act was passed declaring that allIndian children brought into the colony by friendly Indians should notbe treated as slaves, [152] but be instructed in the trades. [153] Byimplication, then, slavery existed legally at this time; but the actof 1662 was the first direct law on the subject. In 1670 a questionarose as to whether Indians taken in war were to be servants for aterm of years, or for life. The act passed on the subject is ratherremarkable for the language in which it is couched; showing, as itdoes, that it was made to relieve the Indian, and fix the term of theNegro's bondage beyond a reasonable doubt. "_It is resolved_ andenacted that all servants not being Christians imported into thiscolony by shipping shall be slaves for their lives; but what shallcome by land shall serve, if boyes or girles, until thirty yeares ofage, if men or women twelve yeares and no longer. "[154] Thisremarkable act was dictated by fear and policy. No doubt the Indianwas as thoroughly despised as the Negro; but the Indian was on hisnative soil, and, therefore, was a more dangerous[155] subject. Instructed by the past, and fearful of the future, the sagaciouscolonists declared by this act, that those who "shall come by land"should not be assigned to servitude for life. While this act waspassed to define the legal status of the Indian, at the same time, and with equal force, it determines the fate of the Negro who is sounfortunate as to find his way into the colony. "_All servants notbeing Christians imported into this colony by shipping shall be slavesfor their lives_. " Thus, in 1670, Virginia, not abhorringthe institution, solemnly declared that "all servants notchristians"--heathen Negroes--coming into her "colony byshipping"--there was no other way for them to come!--should "_beslaves for their lives_!"

In 1682 the colony was in a flourishing condition. Opulence generallymakes men tyrannical, and great success in business makes themunmerciful. Although Indians, in special acts, had not been classed asslaves, but only accounted "servants for a term of years, " the growingwealth and increasing number of the colonists seemed to justify themin throwing off the mask. The act of the 3d of October, 1670, definingwho should be slaves, was repealed at the November session of theGeneral Assembly of 1682. Indians were now made slaves, [156] andplaced upon the same legal footing with the Negroes. The sacred riteof baptism[157] did not alter the condition of children--Indian orNegro--when born in slavery. And slavery, as a cruel and inhumaninstitution, flourished and magnified with each returning year. 

Encouraged by friendly legislation, the Dutch plied the slave-tradewith a zeal equalled only by the enormous gains they reaped from theplanters. It was not enough that faith had been broken with friendlyIndians, and their children doomed by statute to the hell of perpetualslavery; it was not sufficient that the Indian and Negro werecompelled to serve, unrequited, for their lifetime. On the 4th ofOctober, 1705, "an act declaring the Negro, Mulatto, and Indianslaves, within this dominion, to be real estate, "[158] was passedwithout a dissenting voice. Before this time they had been denominatedby the courts as chattels: now they were to pass in law as realestate. There were, however, several provisos to this act. Merchantscoming into the colony with slaves, not sold, were not to be affectedby the act until the slaves had actually passed in a _bonâ-fide_ sale. Until such time their slaves were contemplated by the law as chattels. In case a master died without lawful heirs, his slaves did notescheat, but were regarded as other personal estate or property. Slaveproperty was liable to be taken in execution for the payment ofdebts, and was recoverable by a personal action. [159]

The only apology for enslaving the Negroes we can find in all therecords of this colony is, that they "were heathen. " Every statute, from the first to the last, during the period the colony was under thecontrol of England, carefully mentions that all persons--Indians andNegroes--who "are not Christians" are to be slaves. And theirconversion to Christianity afterwards did not release them from theirservitude. [160]

The act making Indian, Mulatto, and Negro slaves real property, passedin October, 1705, under the reign of Queen Anne, and by her approved, was "explained" and "amended" in February, 1727, during the reign ofKing George II. Whether the act received its being out of a desire toprevent fraud, like the "Statutes of Frauds, " is beyond finding out. But it was an act that showed that slavery had grown to be so commonan institution as not to excite human sympathy. And the attempt to"explain" and "amend" its cruel provisions was but a faint precursorof the evils that followed. Innumerable lawsuits grew out of the act, and the courts and barristers held to conflicting interpretations andconstructions. Whether complaints were made to his Majesty, the king, the records do not relate; or whether he was moved by feelings ofhumanity is quite as difficult to understand. But on the 31st ofOctober, 1751, he issued a proclamation repealing the act declaringslaves real estate. [161] The proclamation abrogated nine other acts, and quite threw the colony into confusion. [162] It is to be hoped thatthe king was animated by the noblest impulses in repealing one of themost dehumanizing laws that ever disgraced the government of anycivilized people. The General Assembly, on the 15th of April, 1752, made an appeal to the king, "humbly" protesting against theproclamation. The law-makers in the colony were inclined to doubt theking's prerogative in this matter. They called the attention of hisMajesty to the fact that he had given the "Governor" "full power andauthority with the advice and consent of the council" to make needfullaws; but they failed to realize fully that his Majesty, inaccordance with the proviso contained in the grant of authority madeto the governor and council of the colony, was using his veto. Theyrecited the causes which induced them to enact the law, recounted thebenefits accruing to his Majesty's subjects from the conversion ofhuman beings into real property, [163] and closed with a touchingappeal for the retention of the act complained of, so that slaves"_might not at the same time be real estate in some respects, personalin others, and bothe in others_!" History does not record that thebrusque old king was at all moved by this earnest appeal andconvincing argument of the Virginia Assembly. 

In 1699 the government buildings at James City were destroyed. TheGeneral Assembly, in an attempt to devise means to build a newCapitol, passed an act on the 11th of April of the aforesaid year, fixing a "duty on servants and slaves imported"[164] into the colony. Fifteen shillings was the impost tax levied upon every servantimported, "not born in England or Wales, and twenty shillings forevery Negro or other slave" thus imported. The revenue arising fromthis tax on servants and slaves was to go to the building of a newCapitol. Every slave-vessel was inspected by a customs-officer. Thecommanding officer of the vessel was required to furnish the names andnumber of the servants and slaves imported, the place of their birth, and pay the duty imposed upon each before they were permitted to belanded. This act was to be in force for the space of "three years fromthe publication thereof, and no longer. "[165] But, in the summer of1701, it was continued until the 25th day of December, 1703. The actwas passed as a temporary measure to secure revenue with which tobuild the Capitol. [166] Evidently it was not intended to remain a partof the code of the colony. In 1732 it was revived by an act, thepreamble of which leads us to infer that the home government was notfriendly to its passage. In short, the act is preceded by a prayer forpermission to pass it. Whatever may have been the feeling in Englandin reference to levying imposts upon servants and slaves, it iscertain the colonists were in hearty accord with the spirit and letterof the act. It must be clear to every honest student of history, thatthere never was, up to this time, an attempt made to cure the growingevils of slavery. When a tax was imposed upon slaves imported, theobject in view was the replenishing of the coffers of the colonialgovernment. In 1734 another act was passed taxing imported slaves, because it had "been found very easy to the subjects of this colony, and no ways burthensome to the traders in slaves. " The additionalreason for continuing the law was, "that a competent revenue" might beraised "for preventing or lessening a poll-tax. "[167] And in 1738, this law being "found, by experience, to be an easy expedient forraising a revenue towards the lessening a pooll-tax, always grievousto the people of this colony, and is in no way burthensom to thetraders in slaves, " it was re-enacted. In every instance, through allthese years, the imposition of a tax on slaves imported into thecolony had but one end in view, --the raising of revenue. In 1699 theend sought through the taxing of imported slaves was the building ofthe Capitol; in 1734 it was to lighten the burden of taxes on thesubjects in the colony; but, in 1740, the object was to get funds toraise and transport troops in his Majesty's service. [168] The originalduty remained; and an additional levy of five per centum was requiredon each slave imported, over and above the twenty shillings requiredby previous acts. 

In 1742 the tax was continued, because it was "necessary" "todischarge the public debts. "[169] And again, in 1745, it was stillbelieved to be necessary "for supporting the public expense. "[170] Theact, in a legal sense, expired by limitation, but in spirit remainedin full force until revived by the acts of 1752-53. [171] In the springof 1755 the General Assembly increased the tax on imported slavesabove the amount previously fixed by law. [172] The duty at this timewas ten per centum on each slave sold into the colony. The same lawwas reiterated in 1757, [173] and, when it had expired by limitation, was revived in 1759, to be in force for "the term of seven years fromthence next following. "[174]

Encouraged by the large revenue derived from the tax imposed onservants and slaves imported into the colony from foreign parts, theGeneral Assembly stood for the revival of the impost-tax. The act of1699 required the tax at the hands of "the importer, " and from as manypersons as engaged in the slave-trade who were subjects of GreatBritain, and residents of the colony; but the tax at length became aburden to them. In order to evade the law and escape the tax, theyfrequently went into Maryland and the Carolinas, and bought slaves, ostensibly for their own private use, but really to sell in the localmarket. To prevent this, an act was passed imposing a tax of twentyper centum on all such sales;[175] but there was a great outcry madeagainst this act. Twenty per centum of the gross amount on each slave, paid by the person making the purchase, was a burden that plantersbore with ill grace. The question of the reduction of the tax to tenper centum was vehemently agitated. The argument offered in favor ofthe reduction was three-fold; viz. , "very burthensom to the fairpurchaser, " inimical "to the settlement and improvement of the lands"in the colony, and a great hinderance to "the importation of slaves, and thereby lessens the fund arising upon the duties uponslaves. "[176] The reduction was made in May, 1760; and, underadditional pressure, the additional duty on imported slaves to be"paid by the buyer" was taken off altogether. [177] But in 1766 theduty on imported slaves was revived;[178] and in 1772 an act waspassed reviving the "additional duty" on "imported slaves, and wascontinued in force until the colonies threw off the British yoke in1775. "[179]

In all this epoch, from 1619 down to 1775, there is not a scrap ofhistory to prove that the colony of Virginia ever sought to prohibitin any manner the importation of slaves. That she encouraged thetraffic, we have abundant testimony; and that she enriched herself byit, no one can doubt. 

During the period of which we have just made mention above, the slavesin this colony had no political or military rights. As early as1639, [180] the Assembly _excused_ them from owning or carrying arms;and in 1705 they were barred by a special act from holding orexercising "any office, ecclesiastical, civil, or military, or anyplace of publick trust or power, "[181] in the colony. If found with a"gun, sword, club, staff, or other weopon, "[182] they were turned overto the constable, who was required to administer "twenty lashes on hisor her bare back. " There was but one exception made. Where Negro andIndian slaves lived on the border or the colony, frequently harassedby predatory bands of hostile Indians, they could bear arms by firstgetting written license from their master;[183] but even then theywere kept under surveillance by the whites. 

Personal rights, we cannot see that the slaves had any. They were notallowed to leave the plantation on which they were held as chattel orreal estate, without a written certificate or pass from their master, which was only granted under the most urgent circumstances. [184] Ifthey dared lift a hand against any white man, or "Christian" (?) asthey loved to call themselves, they were punished by thirty lashes;and if a slave dared to resist his master while he was correcting him, he could be killed; and the master would be guiltless in the eyes ofthe law. [185] If a slave remained on another plantation more than fourhours, his master was liable to a fine of two hundred pounds oftobacco. [186] And if any white person had any commercial dealings witha slave, he was liable to imprisonment for one month without bail, andcompelled to give security in the sum of ten pounds. [187] If a slavehad earned and owned a horse and buggy, it was lawful to seizethem;[188] and the church-warden was charged with the sale of thearticles. Even with the full permission of his master, if a slave werefound going about the colony trading any articles for his or master'sprofit, his master was liable to a fine of ten pounds; which fine wentto the church-warden, for the benefit of the poor of the parish inwhich the slave did the trading. [189]

In all the matters of law, civil and criminal, the slave had norights. Under an act of 1705, Catholics, Indian and Negro slaves, weredenied the right to appear as "witnesses in any cases whatsoever, ""not being Christians;"[190] but this was modified somewhat in 1732, when Negroes, Indians, and Mulattoes were admitted as witnesses in thetrial of slaves. [191] In criminal causes the slave could be arrested, cast into prison, tried, and condemned, with but one witness againsthim, and sentenced without a jury. The solemnity and dignity of "trialby jury, " of which Englishmen love to boast, was not allowed thecriminal slave. [192] And, when a slave was executed, a value was fixedupon him; and the General Assembly was required to make anappropriation covering the value of the slave to indemnify themaster. [193] More than five slaves meeting together, "to rebel or makeinsurrection" was considered "felony;" and they were liable to"suffer death, and be utterly excluded the benefit of clergy;"[194]but, where one slave was guilty of manslaughter in killing anotherslave, he was allowed the benefit of clergy. [195] In case of burglaryby a slave, he was not allowed the benefit of the clergy, except "saidbreaking, in the case of a freeman, would be burglary. "[196] And theonly humane feature in the entire code of the colony was an act passedin 1772, providing that no slave should be condemned to suffer "unlessfour of the judges" before whom he is tried "concur. "[197]

The free Negroes of the colony of Virginia were but little removed bylaw from their unfortunate brothers in bondage. Their freedom was theact of individuals, with but one single exception. In 1710 a fewrecalcitrant slaves resolved to offer armed resistance to theirmasters, whose treatment had driven them to the verge of desperation. A slave of Robert Ruffin, of Surry County, entered into the plot, butafterwards revealed it to the masters of the rebellious slaves. As areward for his services, the General Assembly, on the 9th of October, 1710, gave him his manumission papers, with the added privilege toremain in the colony. [198] For the laws of the colony required "thatno negro, mulatto, or indian slaves" should be set free "except forsome meritorious services. " The governor and council were to decideupon the merits of the services, and then grant a license to themaster to set his slave at liberty. [199] If any master presumed toemancipate a slave without a license granted according to the act of1723, his slave thus emancipated could be taken up by thechurch-warden for the parish in which the master of the slave resided, and sold "by public outcry. " The money accruing from such sale was tobe used for the benefit of the parish. [200] But if a slave wereemancipated according to law, the General Assembly paid the master somuch for him, as in the case of slaves executed by the authorities. But it was seldom that emancipated persons were permitted to remain inthe colony. By the act of 1699 they were required to leave the colonywithin six months after they had secured their liberty, on pain ofhaving to pay a fine of "ten pounds sterling to the church-wardens ofthe parish;" which money was to be used in transporting the liberatedslave out of the country. [201] If slave women came in possession oftheir freedom, the law sought them out, and required of them to paytaxes;[202] a burden from which their white sisters, and even Indianwomen, were exempt. 

If free Colored persons in the colony ever had the right of franchise, there is certainly no record of it. We infer, however, from the act of1723, that previous to that time they had exercised the votingprivilege. For that act declares "that no free negro shall hereafterhave any vote at the election. "[203] Perhaps they had had a voteprevious to this time; but it is mere conjecture, unsupported byhistorical proof. Being denied the right of suffrage did not shieldthem from taxation. All free Negroes, male and female, were compelledto pay taxes. [204] They contributed to the support of the colonialgovernment, and yet they had no voice in the government. Theycontributed to the building of schoolhouses, but were denied theblessings of education. 

Free Negroes were enlisted in the militia service, but were notpermitted to bear arms. They had to attend the trainings, but wereassigned the most servile duties. [205] They built fortifications, pitched and struck tents, cooked, drove teams, and in some instanceswere employed as musicians. Where free Negroes were acting ashousekeepers, they were allowed to have fire-arms in theirpossession;[206] and if they lived on frontier plantations, as we havemade mention already, they were permitted to use arms under thedirection of their employers. 

In a moral and religious sense, the slaves of the colony of Virginiareceived little or no attention from the Christian Church. Allintercourse was cut off between the races. Intermarrying of whites andblacks was prohibited by severe laws. [207] And the most commoncivilities and amenities of life were frowned down when intended for aNegro. The plantation was as religious as the Church, and the Churchwas as secular as the plantation. The "white christians" hated theNegro, and the Church bestowed upon him a most bountiful amount ofneglect. [208] Instead of receiving religious instruction from theclergy, slaves were given to them in part pay for their ministrationsto the whites, --for their "use and encouragement. "[209] It was as lateas 1756 before any white minister had the piety and courage to demandinstruction for the slaves. [210] The prohibition against instructionfor these poor degraded vassals is not so much a marvel after all. Forin 1670, when the white population was forty thousand, servants sixthousand, and slaves two thousand, Sir William Berkeley, when inquiredof by the home government as to the condition of education in thecolony, replied:--

 "The same course that is taken in England out of towns, --every man according to his ability instructing his children. We have forty-eight parishes, and our ministers are well paid, and by my consent should be better _if they would pray oftener and preach less_. But of all other commodities, so of this, _the worst are sent us_, and we had few that we could boast of, since the persecution of Cromwell's tyranny drove divers worthy men hither. But I thank God, _there are no free schools nor printing_, and I hope we shall not have these hundred years: for _learning_ has brought disobedience and heresy and sects into the world; and _printing_ has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!"[211]

Thus was the entire colony in ignorance and superstition, and it wasthe policy of the home government to keep out the light. Thesentiments of Berkeley were applauded in official circles in England, and most rigorously carried out by his successor who, in 1682, withthe concurrence of the council, put John Buckner under bonds forintroducing the art of printing into the colony. [212] This prohibitioncontinued until 1733. If the whites of the colony were left inignorance, what must have been the mental and moral condition of theslaves? The ignorance of the whites made them the pliant tools of theLondon Company, and the Negroes in turn were compelled to submit to acondition "of rather rigorous servitude. "[213] This treatment has itsreflexive influence on the planters. Men fear most the ghosts of theirsins, and for cruel deeds rather expect and dread "the reward in thelife that now is. " So no wonder Dinwiddie wrote the father of CharlesJames Fox in 1758: "We dare not venture to part with any of our whitemen any distance, as we must have a watchful eye over our negroslaves. "

In 1648, as we mentioned some pages back, there were about threehundred slaves in the colony. Slow coming at first, but at length theybegan to increase rapidly, so that in fifty years they had increasedone hundred per cent. In 1671 they were two thousand strong, and all, up to that date, direct from Africa. In 1715 there were twenty-threethousand slaves against seventy-two thousand whites. [214] By the year1758 the slave population had increased to the alarming number of overone hundred thousand, which was a little less than the numericalstrength of the whites. 

During this period of a century and a half, slavery took deep root inthe colony of Virginia, and attained unwieldy and alarmingproportions. It had sent its dark death-roots into the fibre andorganism of the political, judicial, social, and religious life of thepeople. It was crystallized now into a domestic institution. Itexisted in contemplation of legislative enactment, and had highjudicial recognition through the solemn forms of law. The Church hadproclaimed it a "sacred institution, " and the clergy had covered itwith the sanction of their ecclesiastical office. There it stood, anorganized system, --the dark problem of the uncertain future: moreterrible to the colonists in its awful, spectral silence during theyears of the Revolution than the victorious guns of the French andContinental armies, which startled the English lion from his hurtfulhold at the throat of white men's liberties--black men had no country, no liberty--in this new world in the West. But, like the dead body ofthe Roman murderer's victim, slavery was a curse that pursued thecolonists evermore. 

FOOTNOTES:

[119] News comes to us from Egypt that Arabi Pacha's best artilleristsare Negro soldiers. 

[120] R. Beverley's History of Virginia, pp. 35, 36. 

[121] See Campbell, p. 144; Burk, vol. I. P. 326. 

[122] Smith, vol. Ii pp. 38, 39. 

[123] Smith's History of Virginia, vol. Ii. P. 39. 

[124] Virginia Company of London, p. 117, _sq. _

[125] Campbell, p. 144. 

[126] Burk, vol. I. P. 319. 

[127] Neill, p. 120. 

[128] Smith, vol. II. P. 37. 

[129] There were two vessels, The Treasurer and the Dutch man-of-war;but the latter, no doubt, put the first slaves ashore. 

[130] Campbell, p. 144. 

[131] Burk, Appendix, p. 316, Declaration of Virginia Company, 7thMay, 1623. 

[132] See Burk, vol. I. P. 326. 

[133] Stith, Book III. Pp. 153, 154. 

[134] Beverley, 235, _sq. _

[135] Campbell, 147. 

[136] Beverley, p. 248. 

[137] Court and Times of James First, ii. P. 108; also, Neill p. 121. 

[138] Bancroft, vol. I. P. 468. 

[139] Neill, p. 121. 

[140] Hist. Tracts, vol. Ii. Tract viii. 

[141] Beverley, p. 236. 

[142] Campbell, p. 145. 

[143] Hening, vol. I. P. 146; also p. 552. 

[144] Hening, vol. I. P 226. 

[145] Bancroft, vol. I. P. 178. 

[146] Hening, vol. I. P. 540. 

[147] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 84. 

[148] Hening, vol. I. P. 396. 

[149] Burk, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Xxiii. 

[150] Beverley, p. 235. 

[151] Hening, vol. Ii. P. 170; see, also, vol. Iii. P. 140. 

[152] Beverley, p. 195. 

[153] Hening, vol. I. P. 396. 

[154] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 283. 

[155] Campbell, p. 160; also Bacon's Rebellion. 

[156] Hening, vol. Ii. Pp. 490, 491. 

[157] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 260; see, also, vol. Iii. P. 460. 

[158] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 333. 

[159] Hening, vol. Iii. Pp. 334, 335. 

[160] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 448; see, also, vol. V. P. 548. 

[161] Hildreth, in his History of the United States, says that the lawmaking "Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians" real estate "continued to bethe law so long as Virginia remained a British colony. " This is amistake, as the reader can see. The law was repealed nearly a quarterof a century before Virginia ceased to be a British colony. 

[162] Hening, vol. V. P. 432, _sq. _

[163] Beverley, p. 98. 

[164] Hening, vol. Iii, pp. 193, 194. 

[165] Hening, vol. Iii. P. 195. 

[166] Burk, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Xxii. 

[167] Hening, vol. Iv. P. 394. 

[168] Ibid. , vol, v. Pp. 92, 93. 

[169] Ibid. , vol. V. Pp. 160, 161. 

[170] Ibid. , vol. V. Pp. 318, 319. 

[171] Ibid. , vol. Vi. Pp. 217, 218. 

[172] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 466. 

[173] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 81. 

[174] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 281. 

[175] Hening, vol. Vii, p. 338. 

[176] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 363. 

[177] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 383. 

[178] Ibid. , vol. Viii. Pp. 190, 191, 237, 336, 337. 

[179] Ibid. , vol. Viii, pp. 530, 532. 

[180] Ibid. , vol. I. P. 226. 

[181] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 251. 

[182] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 459; also vol. Iv. P. 131, vol. Vi. P. 109, and vol. Ii. P. 481. 

[183] Hening. , vol. Vi. P. 110. 

[184] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 481. 

[185] Ibid. , vol. Ii p. 270. 

[186] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 493. 

[187] Ibid. , vol. Iii, p. 451. 

[188] Ibid. , vol. Iii. Pp. 459, 460. 

[189] Ibid. , vol. Viii. P. 360. 

[190] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 298. 

[191] Ibid. , vol. Iv. P. 327. 

[192] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 103. 

[193] Ibid. , vol. Iii, p. 270, and vol. Iv. P. 128. 

[194] Hening, vol. Iv. P. 126, and vol. Vi. P. 104, _sq. _

[195] Ibid. , vol. Viii. P. 139. 

[196] Ibid. , vol. Viii. P. 522. 

[197] Ibid. , vol. Viii. P. 523. 

[198] Ibid. , vol. Viii. Pp. 536, 537. 

[199] Ibid. , vol. Iv. P. 132. 

[200] Ibid. , vol. Vi, p. 112. 

[201] Hening, vol. Iii. Pp. 87, 88. 

[202] Ibid. , vol. Ii. P. 267. 

[203] Ibid. , vol. Iv. Pp. 133, 134. 

[204] Ibid. , vol. Iv, p. 133. 

[205] Ibid. , vol. Vii. P. 95; and vol. Vi. P. 533. 

[206] Ibid. , vol. Iv. P. 131. 

[207] Ibid. , vol. Iii. P. 87. 

[208] Campbell, p. 529. 

[209] Burk, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Xiii. 

[210] Foot's Sketches, First Series, p. 291. 

[211] Hening, vol. Ii. P. 517. 

[212] Hening, vol. Ii. P. 518. 

[213] Campbell, p. 383. 

[214] Chalmers's American Colonies, vol. Ii. P. 7. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE COLONY OF NEW YORK. 

1628-1775. 

 SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK BY THE DUTCH IN 1609. --NEGROES INTRODUCED INTO THE COLONY, 1628. --THE TRADE IN NEGROES INCREASED. --TOBACCO EXCHANGED FOR SLAVES AND MERCHANDISE. GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY. --NEW NETHERLAND FALLS INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENGLISH, AUG. 27, 1664. --VARIOUS CHANGES. --NEW LAWS ADOPTED. --LEGISLATION. --FIRST REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED IN 1683. --IN 1702 QUEEN ANNE INSTRUCTS THE ROYAL GOVERNOR IN REGARD TO THE IMPORTATION OF SLAVES. --SLAVERY RESTRICTIONS. --EXPEDITION TO EFFECT THE CONQUEST OF CANADA UNSUCCESSFUL. --NEGRO RIOT. --SUPPRESSED BY THE EFFICIENT AID OF TROOPS. --FEARS OF THE COLONISTS. --NEGRO PLOT OF 1741. --THE ROBBERY OF HOGG'S HOUSE. --DISCOVERY OF A PORTION OF THE GOODS. --THE ARREST OF HUGHSON, HIS WIFE, AND IRISH PEGGY. --CRIMINATION AND RECRIMINATION. --THE BREAKING-OUT OF NUMEROUS FIRES. --THE ARREST OF SPANISH NEGROES. --THE TRIAL OF HUGHSON. --TESTIMONY OF MARY BURTON. --HUGHSON HANGED. --THE ARREST OF MANY OTHERS IMPLICATED IN THE PLOT. --THE HANGING OF CÆSAR AND PRINCE. --QUACK AND CUFFEE BURNED AT THE STAKE. --THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION. --MANY WHITE PERSONS ACCUSED OF BEING CONSPIRATORS. --DESCRIPTION OF HUGHSON'S MANNER OF SWEARING THOSE HAVING KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLOT. --CONVICTION AND HANGING OF THE CATHOLIC PRIEST URY. --THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED TERMINATION OF THE TRIAL. --NEW LAWS MORE STRINGENT TOWARD SLAVES ADOPTED. 

From the settlement of New York by the Dutch in 1609, down to itsconquest by the English in 1664, there is no reliable record ofslavery in that colony. That the institution was coeval with theHolland government, there can be no historical doubt. During thehalf-century that the Holland flag waved over the New Netherlands, slavery grew to such proportions as to be regarded as a necessaryevil. As early as 1628 the irascible slaves from Angola, [215] Africa, were the fruitful source of wide-spread public alarm. A newly settledcountry demanded a hardy and energetic laboring class. Money wasscarce, the colonists poor, and servants few. The numerous physicalobstructions across the path of material civilization suggested cheapbut efficient labor. White servants were few, and the cost of securingthem from abroad was a great hinderance to their increase. The Dutchhad possessions on the coast of Guinea and in Brazil, and hence theyfound it cheap and convenient to import slaves to perform the labor ofthe colony. [216]

The early slaves went into the pastoral communities, worked on thepublic highways, and served as valets in private families. Theirincrease was stealthy, their conduct insubordinate, and their presencea distressing nightmare to the apprehensive and conscientious. 

The West India Company had offered many inducements to itspatroons. [217] And its pledge to furnish the colonists with "as manyblacks as they conveniently could, " was scrupulously performed. [218]In addition to the slaves furnished by the vessels plying betweenBrazil and the coast of Guinea, many Spanish and Portuguese prizeswere brought into the Netherlands, where the slaves were made thechattel property of the company. An urgent and extraordinary demandfor labor, rather than the cruel desire to traffic in human beings, led the Dutch to encourage the bringing of Negro slaves. Scatteredwidely among the whites, treated often with the humanity thatcharacterized the treatment bestowed upon the white servants, therewas little said about slaves in this period. The majority of them wereemployed upon the farms, and led quiet and sober lives. The largestfarm owned by the company was "_cultivated by the blacks_;"[219] andthis fact was recorded as early as the 19th of April, 1638, by "SirWilliam Kieft, Director-General of New Netherland. " And, although thereferences to slaves and slavery in the records of Amsterdam areincidental, yet it is plainly to be seen that the institution waspurely patriarchal during nearly all the period the Hollanders heldthe Netherlands. 

Manumission of slaves was not an infrequent event. [220] Sometimes itwas done as a reward for meritorious services, and sometimes it wasprompted by the holy impulses of humanity and justice. The most cruelthing done, however, in this period, was to hold as slaves in theservice of the company the children of Negroes who were lawfullymanumitted. "All their children already born, or yet to be born, remained obligated to serve the company as slaves. " In cases ofemergency the liberated fathers of these bond children were requiredto serve "by water or by land" in the defence of the Hollandgovernment. [221] It is gratifying, however, to find the recordedindignation of some of the best citizens of the New Netherlandsagainst the enslaving of the children of free Negroes. It was severelydenounced, as contrary to justice and in "violation of the law ofnature. " "How any one born of a free Christian mother" could, notwithstanding, be a slave, and be obliged to remain such, passedtheir comprehension. [222] It was impossible for them to explain it. "And, although "they were treated just like Christians, " the moralsense of the people could not excuse such a flagrant crime againsthumanity. [223]

Director-General Sir William Kieft's unnecessary war, "without theknowledge, and much less the order, of the XIX. , and against the willof the Commonality there, " had thrown the Province into greatconfusion. Property was depreciating, and a feeling of insecurityseized upon the people. Instead of being a source of revenue, NewNetherlands, as shown by the books of the Amsterdam Chamber, had costthe company, from 1626 to 1644, inclusive, "over five hundred andfifty thousand guilders, deducting the returns received from there. "It was to be expected that the slaves would share the general feelingof uneasiness and expectancy. Something had to be done to stay thepanic so imminent among both classes of the colonists, bond and free. The Bureau of Accounts made certain propositions to the companycalculated to act as a tonic upon the languishing hopes of the people. After reciting many methods by which the Province was to berejuvenated, it was suggested "that it would be wise to permit thepatroons, colonists, and other farmers to import as many Negroes fromthe Brazils as they could purchase for cash, to assist them on theirfarms; as (it was maintained) these slaves could do more work fortheir masters, and were less expensive, than the hired laborersengaged in Holland, and conveyed to New Netherlands, "_by means ofmuch money and large promises_. "[224]

Nor was the substitution of slave labor for white a temporaryexpedient. Again in 1661 a loud call for more slaves was heard. [225]In the October treaty of the same year, the Dutch yielded to theseductive offer of the English, "to deliver two or three thousandhogsheads of tobacco annually ... In return for negroes andmerchandise. " At the first the Negro slave was regarded as a cheaplaborer, --a blessing to the Province; but after a while the cupidityof the English induced the Hollanders to regard the Negro as acoveted, marketable chattel. 

 "In its scheme of political administration, the West-India Company exhibited too often a mercantile and selfish spirit; and in encouraging commerce in Negro slaves, it established an institution which subsisted many generations after its authority had ceased. "[226]

The Dutch colony was governed by the Dutch and Roman law. Thegovernment was tripartite, --executive, legislative, and judicial, --allvested in, and exercised by, the governor and council. There seemed tobe but little or no necessity for legislation on the slavery question. The Negro seemed to be a felt need in the Province, and was regardedwith some consideration by the kind-hearted Hollanders. Benevolent andsocial, they desired to see all around them happy. The enfranchisedAfrican might and did obtain a freehold; while the Negro who remainedunder an institution of patriarchal simplicity, scarcely knowing hewas in bondage, danced merrily at the best, in "kermis, " at Christmasand Pinckster. [227] There were, doubtless, a few cases where theslaves received harsh treatment from their masters; but, as a rule, the jolly Dutch fed and clothed their slaves as well as their whiteservants. There were no severe rules to strip the Negroes of theirpersonal rights, --such as social amusements or public feasts whentheir labors had been completed. During this entire period, they wentand came among their class without let or hinderance. They weremarried, and given in marriage;[228] they sowed, and, in manyinstances, gathered an equitable share of the fruits of their labors. If there were no schools for them, there were no laws against anhonest attempt to acquire knowledge at seasonable times. TheHollanders built their government upon the hearthstone, believing itto be the earthly rock of ages to a nation that would build wisely forthe future. And while it is true that they regarded commerce as thelife-blood of the material existence of a people, they neverthelessfound their inspiration for multifarious duties in the genial sunshineof the family circle. A nation thus constituted could not habilitateslavery with all the hideous features it wore in Virginia andMassachusetts. The slaves could not escape the good influences of themild government of the New Netherlands, nor could the Hollanderswithhold the brightness and goodness of their hearts from theirdomestic slaves. 

On the 27th of August, 1664, New Netherlands fell into the hands ofthe English; and the city received a new name, --New York, after thefamous Duke of York. When the English colors were run up over FortAmsterdam, it received a new name, "Fort James. " In the twenty-fourarticles in which the Hollanders surrendered their Province, there isno direct mention of slaves or slavery. The only clause that might beconstrued into a reference to the slaves is as follows: "IV. If anyinhabitant have a mind to remove himself, he shall have a year and sixweeks from this day to remove himself, wife, children, _servants_, goods, and to dispose of his lands here. " There was nothing in thearticles of capitulation hostile to slavery in the colony. 

During the reign of Elizabeth, the English government gave its royalsanction to the slave-traffic. "In 1562 Sir John Hawkins, Sir LionelDuchet, Sir Thomas Lodge, and Sir William Winter"--all "honorablemen"--became the authors of the greatest curse that ever afflicted theearth. Hawkins, assisted by the aforenamed gentlemen, secured aship-load of Africans from Sierra Leone, and sold them at Hispaniola. Many were murdered on the voyage, and cast into the sea. The story ofthis atrocity coming to the ears of the queen, she was horrified. Shesummoned Hawkins into her presence, in order to rebuke him for hiscrime against humanity. He defended his conduct with great skill andeloquence. He persuaded her Royal Highness that it was an act ofhumanity to remove the African from a bad to a better country, fromthe influences of idolatry to the influences of Christianity. Elizabeth afterwards encouraged the slave-trade. 

So when New Netherlands became an English colony, slavery receivedsubstantial official encouragement, and the slave became the subjectof colonial legislation. 

The first laws under the English Government were issued under thepatent to the Duke of York, on the 1st of March, 1665, and were knownas "the Duke's Laws. " It is rather remarkable that they were fashionedafter the famous "Massachusetts Fundamentals, " adopted in 1641. Theselaws have the following caption: "_Laws collected out of the severallaws now in force in his majesty's American colonies andplantations. _" The first mention of slavery is contained in a sectionunder the caption of "Bond Slavery. "

 "No Christian shall be kept in Bondslavery, villenage, or Captivity, Except Such who shall be Judged thereunto by Authority, or such as willing have sold or shall sell themselves, In which Case a Record of Such servitude shall be entered in the Court of Sessions held for that Jurisdiction where Such Masters shall Inhabit, provided that nothing in the Law Contained shall be to the prejudice of Master or Dame who have or shall by any Indenture or Covenant take Apprentices for Terme of Years, or other Servants for Term of years or Life. "[229]

By turning to the first chapter on Massachusetts, the reader willobserve that the above is the Massachusetts law of 1641 with but avery slight alteration. We find no reference to slavery directly, andthe word slave does not occur in this code at all. Article 7, underthe head of "Capital Laws, " reads as follows: "If any person forciblystealeth or carrieth away any mankind he shall be put to death. "

On the 27th of January, 1683, Col. Thomas Dongan was sent to New Yorkas its governor, and charged with carrying out a long list ofinstructions laid down by his Royal Highness the Duke of York. Gov. Dongan arrived in New York during the latter part of August; and onthe 13th of September, 1683, the council sitting at Fort Jamespromulgated an order calling upon the people to elect representatives. On the 17th October, 1683, the General Assembly met for the first timeat Fort James, in the city of New York. It is a great misfortune thatthe journals of both houses are lost. The titles of the Acts passedhave been preserved, and so far we are enabled to fairly judge of thecharacter of the legislation of the new assembly. On the 1st November, 1683, the Assembly passed "_An Act for naturalizing all those offoreign nations_ at present inhabiting within this province andprofessing Christianity, and for encouragement for others to come andsettle within the same. "[230] This law was re-enacted in 1715, andprovided, that "nothing contained in this Act is to be construed todischarge or set at liberty any servant, bondman or slave, but only tohave relation to such persons as are free at the making hereof. "[231]

So the mild system of domestic slavery introduced by the Dutch nowreceived the sanction of positive British law. Most of the slaves inthe Province of New York, from the time they were first introduced, down to 1664, had been the property of the West-India Company. As suchthey had small plots of land to work for their own benefit, and werenot without hope of emancipation some day. But under the Englishgovernment the condition of the slave was clearly defined by law andone of great hardships. On the 24th of October, 1684, an Act waspassed in which slavery was for the first time regarded as alegitimate institution in the Province of New York under the Englishgovernment. [232]

The slave-trade grew. New York began to feel the necessity of a largernumber of slaves. In 1702 her "most gracious majesty, " Queen Anne, among many instructions to the royal governor, directed that thepeople "take especial care, that God Almighty be devoutly and dulyserved, " and that the "Royal African Company of England" "takeespecial care that the said Province may have a constant andsufficient supply of merchantable Negroes, at moderate rates. "[233] Itwas a marvellous zeal that led the good queen to build up the Churchof England alongside of the institution of human slavery. It was animpartial zeal that sought their mutual growth, --the one intended byour divine Lord to give mankind absolute liberty, the other intendedby man to rob mankind of the great boon of freedom! But with thesanction of statutory legislation, and the silent acquiescence of theChurch, the foundations of the institution of slavery were firmly laidin the approving conscience of a selfish public. Dazzled byprospective riches, and unscrupulous in the methods of accumulations, the people of the Province of New York clamored for more exacting lawsby which to govern the slaves. [234] Notwithstanding Lord Cornbury hadreceived the following instructions from the crown, "you shallendeavor to get a law passed for the restraining of any inhumanseverity ... To find out the best means to facilitate and encouragethe conversion of Negroes and Indians to the Christian religion, " theColonial Assembly (the same year, 1702) passed severe laws against theslaves. It was "_An Act for regulating slaves_, " but was quite lengthyand specific. It was deemed "_not lawful to trade with negro slaves_, "and the violation of this law was followed by fine and imprisonment. "_Not above three slaves may meet together:_" if they did they wereliable to be whipped by a justice of the peace, or sent to jail. "_Acommon whipper to be appointed_, " showed that the justices had morephysical exercise than they cared for. "_A slave not to strike afreeman_, " indicated that the slaves in New York as in Virginia wereaccounted as heathen. "_Penalty for concealing slaves_, " and thepunishment of Negroes for stealing, etc. , were rather severe, but onlyindicated the temper of the people at that time. [235]

The recommendations to have Negro and Indian slaves baptized gave riseto considerable discussion and no little alarm. As was shown in thechapter on Virginia, the proposition to baptize slaves did not meetwith a hearty indorsement from the master-class. The doctrine hadobtained in most of the colonies, that a man was a freeman by virtueof his membership in a Christian church, and hence eligible to office. To escape the logic of this position, the dealer in human flesh soughtto bar the door of the Church against the slave. But in 1706 "_An Actto encourage the baptizing of Negro, Indian, and mulatto slaves_, " waspassed in the hope of quieting the public mind on this question. 

 "Whereas divers of her Majesty's good Subjects, Inhabitants of this Colony, now are, and have been willing that such Negroe, Indian, and Mulatto Slaves, who belong to them, and desire the same, should be baptized, but are deterred and hindered therefrom by reason of a groundless Opinion that hath spread itself in this Colony, that by the baptizing of such Negro, Indian, or Mulatto Slave, they would become Free, and ought to be set at liberty. In order therefore to put an end to all such Doubts and scruples as have, or hereafter at any time may arise about the same--

 "_Be it enacted, &c. _, that the baptizing of a Negro, Indian, or Mulatto Slave shall not be any cause or reason for the setting them or any of them at liberty. 

 "_And be it, &c. _, that all and every Negro, Indian, Mulatto and Mestee bastard child and children, who is, are, and shall be born of any Negro, Indian, or Mestee, shall follow the state and condition of the mother and be esteemed, reputed, taken and adjudged a slave and slaves to all intents and purposes whatsoever. 

 "_Provided always, and be it_, &c. , That no slave whatsoever in this colony shall at any time be admitted as a witness for or against any freeman in any case, matter or cause, civil or criminal, whatsoever. "[236]

So when the door of the Christian Church was opened to the Negro, hewas to appear at the sacred altar with his chains on. Thoughemancipated from the bondage of Satan, he nevertheless remained theabject slave of the Christian colonists. Claiming spiritual kinshipwith Christ, the Negro could be sold at the pleasure of his master, and his family hearthstone trodden down by the slave-dealer. Thehumane feature of the system of slavery under the simple Dutchgovernment, of allowing slaves to acquire an interest in the soil, wasnow at an end. The tendency to manumit faithful slaves called forth noapprobation. The colonists grew cold and hard-fisted. They saw notGod's image in the slave, --only so many dollars. There were no strongmen in the pulpits of the colony who dared brave the avaricious spiritof the times. Not satisfied with colonial legislation, the municipalgovernment of the city of New York passed, in 1710, [237] an ordinanceforbidding Negroes, Indians, and Mulatto slaves from appearing "in thestreets after nightfall without a lantern with a lighted candle init. "[238] The year before, a slave-market was erected at the foot ofWall Street, where slaves of every description were for sale. Negroes, Indians, and Mulattoes; men, women, and children; the old, themiddle-aged, and the young, --all, as sheep in shambles, were dailydeclared the property of the highest cash-bidder. And what of the fewwho secured their freedom? Why, the law of 1712 declared that noNegro, Indian, or Mulatto that shall hereafter be set free "shall holdany land or real estate, but the same shall escheat. "[239] There was, therefore, but little for the Negro in either state, --bondage orfreedom. There was little in this world to allure him, to encouragehim, to help him. The institution under which he suffered was one hugesepulchre, and he was buried alive. 

The poor grovelling worm turns under the foot of the pedestrian. TheNegro winched under his galling yoke of British colonial oppression. 

A misguided zeal and an inordinate desire of conquest had led theLegislature to appropriate ten thousand pounds sterling toward anexpedition to effect the conquest of Canada. Acadia had just falleninto the hands of Gov. Francis Nicholson without firing a gun, and thenews had carried the New Yorkers off their feet. "On to Canada!" wasthe shibboleth of the adventurous colonists; and the expeditionstarted. Eight transports, with eight hundred and sixty men, perishedamid the treacherous rocks and angry waters of the St. Lawrence. Thetroops that had gone overland returned in chagrin. The city waswrapped in gloom: the Legislature refused to do any thing further; andhere the dreams of conquest vanished. The city of New York was thrownon the defensive. The forts were repaired, and every thing put inreadiness for an emergency. Like a sick man the colonists started atevery rumor. On account of bad faith the Iroquois were disposed tomischief. 

In the feeble condition of the colonial government, the Negro grewrestless. At the first, as previously shown, the slaves were very few, but now, in 1712, were quite numerous. The Negro, the Quaker, and thePapist were a trinity of evils that the colonists most dreaded. TheNegro had been badly treated; and an attempt on his part to cast offthe yoke was not improbable, in the mind of the master-class. Thefears of the colonists were at length realized. A Negro riot brokeout. A house was burned, and a number of white persons killed; and, had it not been for the prompt and efficient aid of the troops, thecity of New York would have been reduced to ashes. 

Now, what was the condition of the slaves in the Christian colony ofNew York? They had no family relations: for a long time they livedtogether by common consent. They had no property, no schools, and, neglected in life, were abandoned to burial in a common ditch afterdeath. They dared not lift their hand to strike a Christian or a Jew. Their testimony was excluded by the courts, and the power of theirmasters over their bodies extended sometimes to life and limb. Thiscondition of affairs yielded its bitter fruit at length. 

 "Here we see the effects of that blind and wicked policy which induced England to pamper her merchants and increase her revenues, by positive instructions to the governours of her colonies, strictly enjoining them (for the good of the African company, and for the emoluments expected from the assiento contract), to fix upon America a vast negro population, torn from their homes and brought hither by force. New York was at this time filled with negroes; every householder who could afford to keep servants, was surrounded by blacks, some pampered in indolence, all carefully kept in ignorance, and considered, erroneously, as creatures whom the white could not do without, yet lived in dread of. They were feared, from their numbers, and from a consciousness, however stifled, that they were injured and might seek revenge or a better condition. "[240]

The Negro plot of 1741 furnishes the most interesting and thrillingchapter in the history of the colony of New York. Unfortunately forthe truth of history, there was but one historian[241] of the affair, and he an interested judge; and what he has written should be taken_cum grano salis_. His book was intended to defend the action of thecourt that destroyed so many innocent lives, but no man can read itwithout being thoroughly convinced that the decision of the court wasboth illogical and cruel. There is nothing in this country to equalit, except it be the burning of the witches at Salem. But in stalwartold England the Popish Plot in 1679, started by Titus Oates, is theonly occurrence in human history that is so faithfully reproduced bythe Negro plot. Certainly history repeats itself. Sixty-two years ofhistory stretch between the events. One tragedy is enacted in themetropolis of the Old World, the other in the metropolis of the NewWorld. One was instigated by a perjurer and a heretic, the other by anindentured servant, in all probability from a convict ship. The onewas suggested by the hatred of the Catholics, and the other by hatredof the Negro. And in both cases the evidence that convicted andcondemned innocent men and women was wrung from the lying lips ofdoubtful characters by an overwrought zeal on the part of the legalauthorities. 

Titus Oates, who claimed to have discovered the "_Popish Plot_, " was aman of the most execrable character. He was the son of an Anabaptist, took orders in the Church, and had been settled in a small living bythe Duke of Norfolk. Indicted for perjury, he effected an escape in amarvellous manner. While a chaplain in the English navy he wasconvicted of practices not fit to be mentioned, and was dismissed fromthe service. He next sought communion with the Church of Rome, andmade his way into the Jesuit College of St. Omers. After a briefresidence among the students, he was deputed to perform a confidentialmission to Spain, and, upon his return to St. Omers, was dismissed tothe world on account of his habits, which were very distasteful toCatholics. He boasted that he had only joined them to get theirsecrets. Such a man as this started the cry of the Popish Plot, andthrew all England into a state of consternation. A chemist by the nameof Tongue, on the 12th of August, 1678, had warned the king against aplot that was directed at his life, etc. But the king did not attachany importance to the statement until Tongue referred to Titus Oatesas his authority. The latter proved himself a most arrant liar whileon the stand: but the people were in a credulous state of mind, andOates became the hero of the hour;[242] and under his wicked influencemany souls were hurried into eternity. Read Hume's account of thePopish Plot, and then follow the bloody narrative of the Negro plot ofNew York, and see how the one resembles the other. 

 "Some mysterious design was still suspected in every enterprise and profession: arbitrary power and Popery were apprehended as the scope of all projects: each breath or rumor made the people start with anxiety: their enemies, they thought, were in their very bosom, and had gotten possession of their sovereign's confidence. While in this timorous, jealous disposition, the cry of a _plot_ all on a sudden struck their ears: they were wakened from their slumber, and like men affrightened and in the dark, took every figure for a spectre. The terror of each man became the source of terror to another. And a universal panic being diffused, reason and argument, and common-sense and common humanity, lost all influence over them. From this disposition of men's minds we are to account for the progress of the _Popish Plot_, and the credit given to it; an event which would otherwise appear prodigious and altogether inexplicable. "[243]

On the 28th of February, 1741, the house of one Robert Hogg, Esq. , ofNew-York City, a merchant, was robbed of some fine linen, medals, silver coin, etc. Mr. Hogg's house was situated on the corner of Broadand Mill Streets, the latter sometimes being called Jew's Alley. Thecase was given to the officers of the law to look up. 

The population of New-York City was about ten thousand, about twothousand of whom were slaves. On the 18th of March the chapel in thefort took fire from some coals carelessly left by an artificer in agutter he had been soldering. The roof was of shingles; and a briskwind from the south-east started a fire, that was not observed untilit had made great headway. In those times the entire populace usuallyturned out to assist in extinguishing fires; but this fire being inthe fort, the fear of an explosion of the magazine somewhat checkedtheir usual celerity on such occasions. The result was, that all thegovernment buildings in the fort were destroyed. A militia officer bythe name of Van Horne, carried away by the belief that the fire waspurposely set by the Negroes, caused the beating of the drums and theposting of the "night watch. " And for his vigilance he was nicknamed"Major Drum. " The "Major's" apprehensions, however, were contagious. The fact that the governor reported the true cause of the fire to theLegislature had but little influence in dispossessing the people oftheir fears of a Negro plot. The next week the chimney of Capt. Warren's house near the fort took fire, but was saved with but slightdamage. A few days after this the storehouse of a Mr. Van Zandt wasfound to be on fire, and it was said at the time to have beenoccasioned by the carelessness of a smoker. In about three days after, two fire alarms were sounded. One was found to be a fire in some hayin a cow-stable near a Mr. Quick's house. It was soon extinguished. The other alarm was on account of a fire in the kitchen loft of thedwelling of a Mr. Thompson. On the next day coals were discoveredunder the stables of a Mr. John Murray on Broadway. On the nextmorning an alarm called the people to the residence of Sergeant Burns, near the fort; and in a few hours the dwelling of a Mr. Hilton, nearFly Market, was found to be on fire. But the flames in both placeswere readily extinguished. It was thought that the fire was purposelyset at Mr. Hilton's, as a bundle of tow was found near the premises. Ashort time before these strange fires broke out, a Spanish vessel, partly manned by Spanish Catholic Negroes, had been brought into theport of New York as a prize. All the crew that were Negroes werehurried into the Admiralty Court; where they were promptly condemnedto slavery, and an order issued for their sale. The Negroes pleadedtheir freedom in another country, but had no counsel to defend them. ACapt. Sarly purchased one of these Negroes. Now, Capt. Sarly's houseadjoined that of Mr. Hilton's; and so, when the latter's house wasdiscovered to be on fire, a cry was raised, "The Spanish Negroes! TheSpanish! Take up the Spanish Negroes!" Some persons took it uponthemselves to question Capt. Sarly's Negro about the fires, and it issaid that he behaved in an insolent manner; whereupon he was sent tojail. A magistrate gave orders to the constables to arrest andincarcerate the rest of the Spanish Negroes. The magistrates held ameeting the same day, in the afternoon; and, while they weredeliberating about the matter, another fire broke out in Col. Phillipes's storehouse. Some of the white people cried "Negro!Negro!" and "Cuff Phillipes!" Poor Cuff, startled at the cry, ran tohis master's house, from whence he was dragged to jail by an excitedmob. Judge Horsemanden says, --

 "Many people had such terrible apprehensions on this occasion that several Negroes (many of whom had assisted to put out the fire) who were met in the streets, were hurried away to jail; and when they were there they were continued some time in confinement before the magistrates could spare time to examine into their several cases. "[244]

Let the reader return now to the robbery committed in Mr. Hogg's houseon the 28th of February. The officers thought they had traced thestolen goods to a public house on the North River, kept by a personnamed John Hughson. This house had been a place of resort for Negroes;and it was searched for the articles, but nothing was found. Hughsonhad in his service an indentured servant, --a girl of sixteenyears, --named Mary Burton. She intimated to a neighbor that the goodswere concealed in Hughson's house, but that it would be at the expenseof her life to make this fact known. This information was made knownto the sheriff, and he at once apprehended the girl and produced herbefore Alderman Banker. This benevolent officer promised the girl herfreedom on the ground that she should tell all she knew about themissing property. For prudential reasons the Alderman ordered MaryBurton to be taken to the City Hall, corner Wall and Nassua Streets. On the 4th of March the justices met at the City Hall. In the meanwhile John Hughson and his wife had been arrested for receiving stolengoods. They were now examined in the presence of Mary Burton. Hughsonadmitted that some goods had been brought to his house, produced them, and turned them over to the court. It appears from the testimony ofthe Burton girl that another party, dwelling in the house of theHughson's, had taken part in receiving the stolen articles. She was agirl of bad character, called Margaret Sorubiero, _alias_ Solinburgh, _alias_ Kerry, but commonly called Peggy Carey. This woman had livedin the home of the Hughsons for about ten months, but at one timeduring this period had remained a short while at the house of JohnRommes, near the new Battery, but had returned to Hughson's again. The testimony of Mary Burton went to show that a Negro by the name ofCæsar Varick, but called Quin, on the night in which the burglary wascommitted, entered Peggy's room through the window. The next morningMary Burton saw "speckled linen" in Peggy's room, and that the manVarick gave the deponent two pieces of silver. She further testifiedthat Varick drank two mugs of punch, and bought of Hughson a pair ofstockings, giving him a lump of silver; and that Hughson and his wifereceived and hid away the linen. [245] Mr. John Varick (it was spelledVaarck then), a baker, the owner of Cæsar, occupied a house near thenew Battery, the kitchen of which adjoined the yard of John Romme'shouse. He found some of Robert Hogg's property under his kitchenfloor, and delivered it to the mayor. Upon this revelation Romme fledto New Jersey, but was subsequently captured at Brunswick. He hadfollowed shoemaking and tavern-keeping, and was, withal, a verysuspicious character. 

Up to this time nothing had been said about a Negro plot. It wassimply a case of burglary. Hughson had admitted receiving certainarticles, and restored them; Mr. Varick had found others, anddelivered them to the mayor. 

The reader will remember that the burglary took place on the 28th ofFebruary; that the justices arraigned the Hughsons, Mary Burton, andPeggy Carey on the 4th of March; that the first fire broke out on the18th, the second on the 25th, of March, the third on the 1st of April, and the fourth and fifth on the 4th of April; that on the 5th of Aprilcoals were found disposed so as to burn a haystack, and that the dayfollowing two houses were discovered to be on fire. 

On the 11th of April the Common Council met. The following gentlemenwere present: John Cruger, Esq. , mayor; the recorder, DanielHorsemanden; aldermen, Gerardus Stuyvesant, William Romaine, SimonJohnson, John Moore, Christopher Banker, John Pintard, John Marshall;assistants, Henry Bogert, Isaac Stoutenburgh, Philip Minthorne, GeorgeBrinckerhoff, Robert Benson, and Samuel Lawrence. Recorder Horsemandensuggested to the council that the governor be requested to offerrewards for the apprehension of the incendiaries and all personsimplicated, and that the city pay the cost, etc. It was accordinglyresolved that the lieutenant-governor be requested to offer a rewardof one hundred pounds current money of the Province to any whiteperson, and pardon, if concerned; and twenty pounds, freedom, and, ifconcerned, pardon to any slave (the master to be paid twenty-fivepounds); and to any free Negro, Mulatto, or Indian, forty-five poundsand pardon, if concerned. The mayor and the recorder (Horsemanden), called upon Lieut. -Gov. Clark, and laid the above resolve before him. 

The city was now in a state of great excitement. The air was peopledwith the wildest rumors. 

On Monday the 13th of April each alderman, assistant, and constablesearched his ward. The militia was called out, and sentries posted atthe cross-streets. While the troops were patrolling the streets, thealdermen were examining Negroes in reference to the origin of thefires. Nothing was found. The Negroes denied all knowledge of thefires or a plot. 

On the 21st of April, 1741, the Supreme Court convened. [246] JudgesFrederick Phillipse and Daniel Horsemanden called the _grand jury_. The members were as follows: Robert Watts, merchant, foreman; JeremiahLatouche, Joseph Read, Anthony Rutgers, John M'Evers, John Cruger, jun. , John Merrit, Adoniah Schuyler, Isaac DePeyster, AbrahamKetteltas, David Provoost, Rene Hett, Henry Beeckman, jun. , David vanHorne, George Spencer, Thomas Duncan, and Winant Van Zandt, --all setdown as merchants, --a respectable, intelligent, and influential grandjury! Judge Phillipse informed the jury that the people "have been putinto many frights and terrors, " in regard to the fires; that it wastheir duty to use "all lawful means" to discover the guilty parties, for there was "much room to suspect" that the fires were notaccidental. He told them that there were many persons in jail uponwhom suspicion rested; that arson was felony at common law, eventhough the fire is extinguished, or goes out itself; that arson was adeep crime, and, if the perpetrators were not apprehended andpunished, "who can say he is safe, or where will it end?" The learnedjudge then went on to deliver a moral lecture against the wickednessof selling "penny drams" to Negroes, without the consent of theirmasters. In conclusion, he charged the grand jury to present "allconspiracies, combinations and other offences. "

It should be kept in mind that Mary Burton was only a witness in theburglary case already mentioned. Up to that time there had been nofires. The fires, and wholesale arrests of innocent Negroes, followedthe robbery. But the grand jury called Mary Burton to testify inreference to the fires. She refused to be sworn. She was questionedconcerning the fires, but gave no answer. Then the proclamation of themayor, offering protection, pardon, freedom, and one hundred pounds, was read. It had the desired effect. The girl opened her mouth, andspake all the words that the jury desired. At first she agreed to tellall she knew about the stolen goods, but would say nothing about thefires. This declaration led the jury to infer that she could, butwould not say any thing about the fires. After a moral lecture uponher duty in the matter in the light of eternal reward, and areiteration of the proffered reward that then awaited her wisedecision, her memory brightened, and she immediately began to tell_all_ she knew. She said that a Negro named Prince, belonging to a Mr. Auboyman, and Prince (Varick) brought the goods, stolen from Mr. Hogg's house, to the house of her master, and that Hughson, his wife, and Peggy (Carey) received them; further, that Cæsar, Prince, andCuffee (Phillipse) had frequently met at Hughson's tavern, anddiscoursed about burning the fort; that they had said they would godown to the Fly (the east end of the city), and burn the entire place;and that Hughson and his wife had assented to these insurrectionaryremarks, and promised to assist them. She added, by way of fulness andemphasis, that when a handful of wretched slaves, seconded by amiserable and ignorant white tavern-keeper, should have lain the cityin ashes, and murdered eight or nine thousand persons, --then Cæsarshould be governor, Hughson king, and Cuffee supplied with abundantriches! The loquacious Mary remembered that this intrepid trio hadsaid, that when they burned the city it would be in the night, so theycould murder the people as they came out of their homes. It should notbe forgotten that _all_ the fires broke out in the daytime!

It is rather remarkable and should be observed, that this wonderfulwitness stated that her master, John Hughson, had threatened to poisonher if she told anybody that the stolen goods were in his house; thatall the Negroes swore they would burn her if she told; and that, whenthey talked of burning the town during their meetings, there were nowhite persons present save her master, mistress, and Peggy Carey. 

The credulous Horsemanden tells us that "the evidence of aconspiracy, " not only to burn the city, but also "to destroy andmurder the people, " was most "astonishing to the grand jury!" But thatany white person should confederate with slaves in such a wicked andcruel purpose was astounding beyond measure! And the grand jury waspossessed of the same childlike faith in the ingenious narrative ofthe wily Mary. In their report to the judges, they set forth in strongterms their faith in the statements of the deponent, and required thepresence of Peggy Carey. The extent of the delusion of the judges, jury, and people may be seen in the fact, that, immediately upon thereport of the jury, the judges summoned the entire bar of the city ofNew York to meet them. The following gentlemen responded to the call:Messrs. Murray, Alexander, Smith, Chambers, Nichols, Lodge, andJameson. All the lawyers were present except the attorney-general. Bythe act of 1712, "for preventing, suppressing and punishing theconspiracy and insurrection of negroes and other slaves, "[247] ajustice of the peace could try the refractory slaves at once. But herewas a deep, dark, and bloody plot to burn the city and murder itsinhabitants, in which _white_ persons were implicated. This fact ledthe learned judges to conclude it wise and prudent to refer this wholematter to the Supreme Court. And the generous offer of the _entire_bar of New-York City to assist, in turns, in every trial, shouldremain evermore an indestructible monument to their unselfish devotionto their city, the existence of which was threatened by less than ascore of ignorant, penniless Negro slaves!

By the testimony of Mary Burton, Peggy Carey stood convicted as one ofthe conspirators. She had already languished in jail for more than amonth. The judges thought it advisable to examine her in her cell. They tried to cajole her into criminating others; but she stoutlydenied all knowledge of the fires, and said "that if she should accuseanybody of any such thing, she must accuse innocent persons, and wrongher own soul. "

On the 24th of April, Cæsar Varick, Prince Auboyman, John Hughson, his wife, and Peggy Carey were arraigned for felony, and pleaded notguilty. Cæsar and Prince were first put on trial. As they did notchallenge the jury, the following gentlemen were sworn: Messrs. RogerFrench, John Groesbeck, John Richard, Abraham Kipp, George Witts, JohnThurman, Patrick Jackson, Benjamin Moore, William Hammersley, JohnLashiere, Joshua Sleydall, and John Shurmer. "Guilty!" as charged inthe indictment. They had committed the robbery, so said the jury. 

On the 3d of May one Arthur Price, a common thief, was committed tojail for theft. He occupied a cell next to the notorious Peggy Carey. In order to bring himself into favor with the judges, he claimed tohave had a conversation with Peggy through the hole in the door. Pricesays she told him that "she was afraid of those fellows" (theNegroes); that if they said any thing in any way involving her shewould hang every one of them; that she did not care to go on the standagain unless she was called; that when asked if she intended to setthe town on fire she said no; but she knew about the plot; thatHughson and his wife "were sworn with the rest;" that she was notafraid of "Prince, Cuff, Cæsar, and Fork's Negro--not Cæsar, butanother, " because they "were all true-hearted fellows. " Thisremarkable conversation was flavored throughout with the vilestspecies of profanity. Notwithstanding this interview was between acommon Irish prostitute and a wretched sneak-thief, it had greatweight with the solemn and upright judges. 

In the midst of this trial, seven barns were burnt in the town ofHackinsack. Two Negroes were suspected of the crime, but there was notthe slightest evidence that they were guilty. But one of them saidthat he had discharged a gun at the party who set his master's barn onfire, but did not kill any one. The other one was found loading a gunwith two bullets. This was enough to convict. They were burnt alive ata stake. This only added fuel to the flame of public excitement in NewYork. 

On the 6th of May (Wednesday) two more arrests were made, --Hughson'sdaughter Sarah, suspected of being a confederate, and Mr. Sleydall'sNegro Jack, --on suspicion of having put fire to Mr. Murray's haystack. On the same day the judges arraigned the white persons implicated inthe case, --John Hughson, his wife, and Peggy Carey. The jury promptlyfound them guilty of "receiving stolen goods. " "Peggy Carey, " saysRecorder Horsemanden, "seeming to think it high time to do somethingto recommend herself to mercy, made a voluntary confession. " Thisvile, foul-mouthed prostitute takes the stand, and gives a new turn tothe entire affair. She removes the scene of the conspiracy to anothertavern near the new Battery, where John Romme had made a habit ofentertaining, _contrary to law_, Negro slaves. Peggy had seen manymeetings at this place, particularly in December, 1740. At that timeshe mentioned the following Negroes as being present: Cuff, Brash, Curacoa, Cæsar, Patrick, Jack, Cato; but _her_ especial Cæsar Varickwas not implicated! Romme administered an oath to all these Negroes, and then made a proposition to them; viz. , that they should destroythe fort, burn the town, and bring the spoils to him. He engaged todivide with them, and take them to a new country, where he would givethem their freedom. Mrs. Romme was present during this conversation;and, after the Negroes had departed, she and the deponent (Peggy) weresworn by Romme to eternal secrecy. Mrs. Romme denied swearing to theconspiracy, but acknowledged that her husband had received stolengoods, that he sold drams to Negroes who kept game-fowls there; butthat never more than three Negroes came at a time. She absconded ingreat fright. It has been mentioned that Peggy Carey had lived at thetavern of John Romme for a short time, and that articles belonging toMr. Hogg had been found under the kitchen floor of the house next toRomme's. 

The judges evidently reasoned that all Negroes would steal, or thatstealing was incident upon or implied by the condition of the slave. Then Romme kept a "tippling-house, " and defied the law by selling"drams" to Negroes. Now, a man who keeps a "tippling-house" was liableto encourage a conspiracy. 

A full list of the names of the persons implicated by Peggy was handedto the proper officers, and those wicked persons apprehended. Theywere brought before the redoubtable Peggy for identification. Sheaccused them of being sworn conspirators. They all denied the charge. Then they were turned over to Mary Burton; and she, evidentlydispleased at Peggy's attempt to rival her in the favor of thepowerful judges, testified that she knew them not. But it was vain. Peggy had the ear of the court, and the terror-stricken company waslocked up in the jail. Alarmed at their helpless situation, theignorant Negroes began "to accuse one another, as it would seem, byway of injuring an enemy and guarding themselves. "

Cæsar and Prince, having been tried and convicted of felony, weresentenced to be hanged. The record says, --

 "Monday, 11th of May. Cæsar and Prince were executed this day at the gallows, according to sentence: they died very stubbornly, without confessing _any thing about the conspiracy_: and denied that _they knew any thing about it to the last_. The body of Cæsar was accordingly hung in chains. "[248]

On the 13th of May, 1741, a solemn fast was observed; "because manyhouses and dwellings had been fired about our ears, without anydiscovery of the cause or occasion of them, which had put us into theutmost consternation. " Excitement ran high. Instead of getting anylight on the affair, the plot thickened. 

On the 6th of May, Hughson, his wife, and Peggy Carey had been triedand found guilty, as has already been stated. Sarah Hughson, daughterof the Hughsons, was in jail. Mary Burton was the heroine of the hour. Her word was law. Whoever she named was produced in court. Thesneak-thief, Arthur Price, was employed by the judges to perform amission that was at once congenial to his tastes and in harmony withhis criminal education. He was sent among the incarcerated Negroes toadminister punch, in the desperate hope of getting more "confessions!"Next, he was sent to Sarah Hughson to persuade her to accuse herfather and mother of complicity in the conspiracy. He related aconversation he had with Sarah, but she denied it to his teeth withgreat indignation. This vile and criminal method of securing testimonyof a conspiracy never brought the blush to the cheek of a singleofficer of the law. "None of these things moved" them. They werethemselves so completely lost in the general din and excitement, wereso thoroughly convinced that a plot existed, and that it was theirduty to prove it in some manner or other, --that they believed everything that went to establish the guilt of any one. 

Even a feeble-minded boy was arrested, and taken before the grandjury. He swore that he knew nothing of the plot to burn the town, butthe kind magistrates told him that if he would tell the truth heshould not be hanged. Ignorant as these helpless slaves were, they nowunderstood "telling the truth" to mean to criminate some one in theplot, and thus gratify the inordinate hunger of the judges and juryfor testimony relating to a "conspiracy. " This Negro imbecile beganhis task of telling "what he knew, " which was to be rewarded byallowing him to leave without being hung! He deposed that Quackdesired him to burn the fort; that Cuffee said he would fire onehouse, Curacoa Dick another, and so on _ad infinitum_. He was asked byone of the learned gentlemen, "what the Negroes intended by all thismischief?" He answered, "To kill all the gentlemen and take theirwives; that one of the fellows already hanged, was to be an officer inthe Long Bridge Company, and the other, in the Fly Company. "[249]

On the 25th of May a large number of Negroes were arrested. The boyreferred to above (whose name was Sawney, or Sandy) was called to thestand again on the 26th, when he grew very talkative. He said that "ata meeting of Negroes he was called in and frightened into undertakingto burn the slip Market;" that he witnessed some of the Negroes intheir attempts to burn certain houses; that at the house of oneComfort, he, with others, was sworn to secrecy and fidelity to eachother; said he was never at either tavern, Hughson's nor Romme's; andended his revelations by accusing a woman of setting fire to a house, and of murdering her child. As usual, after such confessions, morearrests followed. Quack and Cuffee were tried and convicted of felony, "for wickedly and maliciously conspiring with others to burn the townand murder the inhabitants. " This was an occasion to draw forth theeloquence of the attorney-general; and in fervid utterance he picturedthe Negroes as "monsters, devils, etc. " A Mr. Rosevelt, the master ofQuack, swore that his slave was home when the fire took place in thefort; and Mr. Phillipse, Cuffee's master, testified as much for hisservant. But this testimony was not what the magistrates wanted: sothey put a soldier on the stand who swore that Quack _did_ come to thefort the day of the fire; that his wife lived there, and when heinsisted on going in he (the sentry) knocked him down, but the officerof the guard passed him in. Lawyer Smith, "whose eloquence haddisfranchised the Jews, " was called upon to sum up. He thought toomuch favor had been shown the Negroes, in that they had been accordeda trial as if they were freemen; that the wicked Negroes might havebeen proceeded against in a most summary manner; that the Negrowitnesses had been treated with too much consideration; that "the lawrequires no oath to be administered to them; and, indeed, it would bea profanation of it to administer it to a heathen in a legal form;"that "the monstrous ingratitude of this black tribe is whatexceedingly aggravates their guilt;" that their condition as slaveswas one of happiness and peace; that "they live without care; arecommonly better fed and clothed than the poor of most Christiancountries; they are indeed slaves, " continued the eloquent and logicalattorney, "but under the protection of the law: none can hurt themwith impunity; but notwithstanding all the kindness and tendernesswith which they have been treated among us, yet this is the secondattempt of this same kind that this brutish and bloody species ofmankind have made within one age!" Of course the jury knew their duty, and merely went through the form of going out and coming inimmediately with a verdict of "guilty. " The judge sentenced them to bechained to a stake and burnt to death, --"and the Lord have mercy uponyour poor wretched souls. " His Honor told them that "they should bethankful that their feet were caught in the net; that the mischief hadfallen upon their own pates. " He advised them to consider thetenderness and humanity with which they had been treated; that theywere the most abject wretches, the very outcasts of the nations of theearth; and, therefore, they should look to their souls, for as totheir bodies, they would be burnt. 

These poor fellows were accordingly chained to the stake the nextSunday; but, before the fuel was lighted, Deputy Sheriff More and Mr. Rosevelt again questioned Quack and Cuffee, and reduced theirconfessions to paper, for they had stoutly protested their innocencewhile in court, in hope of being saved they confessed, in substance, that Hughson contrived to burn the town, and kill the people; that acompany of Negroes voted Quack the proper person to burn the fort, because his wife lived there; that he did set the chapel on fire witha lighted stick; that Mary Burton had told the truth, and that shecould implicate many more if she would, etc. All this general lyingwas done with the understanding that the confessors were to bereprieved until the governor could be heard from. But a large crowdhad gathered to witness the burning of these poor Negroes, and theycompelled the sheriff to proceed with the ceremonies. The convictedslaves were burned. 

On the 1st of June the boy Sawney was again put upon thewitness-stand. His testimony led to the arrest of more Negroes. Hecharged them with having been sworn to the plot, and with having sharppenknives with which to kill white men. One Fortune testified that henever knew of houses where conspirators met, nor did he know Hughson, but accuses Sawney, and Quack who had been burnt. The next witness wasa Negro girl named Sarah. She was frightened out of her senses. Shefoamed at the mouth, uttered the bitterest imprecations, and deniedall knowledge of a conspiracy. But the benevolent gentlemen whoconducted the trial told her that others had said certain things inproof of the existence of a conspiracy, that the only way to save herlife was to acknowledge that there had been a conspiracy to burn thetown and kill the inhabitants. She then assented to all that was toldher, and thereby implicated quite a number of Negroes; but, when hertestimony was read to her, she again denied all. She was without doubta fit subject for an insane-asylum rather than for the witness-stand, in a cause that involved so many human lives. 

It will be remembered that John Hughson, his wife, and daughter hadbeen in the jail for a long time. He now desired to be called to thewitness-stand. He begged to be sworn, that in the most solemn mannerhe might deny all knowledge of the conspiracy, and exculpate his wifeand child. But the modest recorder reminded him of the fact that hestood convicted as a felon already, that he and his family were doomedto be hanged, and that, therefore, it would be well for him to"confess all. " He was sent back to jail unheard. Already condemned tobe hung, the upright magistrates had Hughson tried again for"conspiracy" on the 4th of June! The indictments were three in number:_First_, that Hughson, his wife, his daughter, and Peggy Carey, withthree Negroes, Cæsar, Prince, and Cuffee, conspired in March last toset fire to the house in the fort. _Second_, That Quack (alreadyburnt) did set fire to and burn the house, and that the prisoners, Hughson, his wife, daughter Sarah, and Peggy, encouraged him so to do. _Third_, That Cuffee (already burnt) did set fire to Phillipse'shouse, and burnt it; and they, the prisoners, procured and encouragedhim so to do. Hughson, his family, and Peggy pleaded not guilty to allthe above indictments. The attorney-general delivered a spiritedaddress to the jury, which was more forcible than elegant. Hedenounced the unlucky Hughson as "infamous, inhuman, an arch-rebelagainst God, his king, and his country, --a devil incarnate, " etc. Hewas ably assisted by eminent counsel for the king, --Joseph Murray, James Alexander, William Smith, and John Chambers. Mary Burton wascalled again. She swore that Negroes used to go to Hughson's at night, eat and drink, and sometimes buy provisions; that Hughson did swearthe Negroes to secrecy in the plot; that she herself had seen seven oreight guns and swords, a bag of shot, and a barrel of gunpowder atHughson's house; that the prisoner told her he would kill her if sheever revealed any thing she knew or saw; wanted her to swear like therest, offered her silk gowns, and gold rings, --but none of thosetempting things moved the virtuous Mary. Five other witnessestestified that they heard Quack and Cuffee say to Hughson while injail, "This is what you have brought us to. " The Hughsons had nocounsel, and but three witnesses. One of them testified that he hadlived in Hughson's tavern about three months during the past winter, and had never seen Negroes furnished entertainment there. The twoothers said that they had never seen any evil in the man nor in hishouse, etc. 

"William Smith, Esq. " now took the floor to sum up. He told the jurythat it was "black and hellish" to burn the town, and then kill themall; that John Hughson, by his complicity in this crime, had madehimself blacker than the Negroes; that the credit of the witnesses wasgood, and that there was nothing left for them to do but to find theprisoners guilty, as charged in the indictment. The judge charged thejury, that the evidence against the prisoners "is ample, full, clear, and satisfactory. They were found guilty in twenty minutes, and on the8th of June were brought into court to receive sentence. The judgetold them that they were guilty of a terrible crime; that they had notonly made Negroes their equals, but superiors, by waiting upon, keeping company with, entertaining them with meat, drink, and lodging;that the most amazing part of their conduct was their part in a plotto burn the town, and murder the inhabitants, --to have consulted with, aided, and abetted the "black seed of Cain, " was an unheard ofcrime, --that although "with uncommon assurance they deny the fact, andcall on God, as a witness of their innocence, He, out of his goodnessand mercy, has confounded them, and proved their guilt, to thesatisfaction of the court and jury. " After a further display offorensic eloquence, the judge sentenced them "to be hanged by the neck'till dead, " on Friday, the 12th of June, 1741. 

The Negro girl Sarah, referred to above, who was before the jury onthe 1st of June in such a terrified state of body and mind, wasre-called on the 5th of June. She implicated twenty Negroes, whom shedeclared were present at the house of Comfort, whetting their knives, and avowing that "they would kill white people. " On the 6th of June, Robin, Cæsar, Cook, Cuffee, and Jack, another Cuffee, and Jamaica werearrested, and put upon trial on the 8th of June. It is a sad fact torecord, even at this distance, that these poor blacks, withoutcounsel, friends, or money, were tried and convicted upon the evidenceof a poor ignorant, hysterical girl, and the "dying confession" ofQuack and Cuffee, who "confessed" with the understanding that theyshould be free! Tried and found guilty on the 8th, without clergy ortime to pray, they were burned at the stake the next day! Only Jackfound favor with the court, and that favor was purchased by perjury. He was respited until it "was found how well he would deserve furtherfavor. " It was next to impossible to understand him, so two whitegentlemen were secured to act as interpreters. Jack testified tohaving seen Negroes at Hughson's tavern; that "when they were eating, he said they began to talk about setting the houses on fire:" he wasso good as to give the names of about fourteen Negroes whom he heardsay that they would set their masters' houses on fire, and then rushupon the whites and kill them; that at one of these meetings therewere five or six Spanish Negroes present, whose conversation he couldnot understand; that they waited a month and a half for the Spaniardsand French to come, but when they came not, set fire to the fort. Asusual, more victims of these confessors swelled the number already inthe jail; which was, at this time, full to suffocation. 

On the 19th of June the lieutenant-governor issued a proclamation offreedom to all who would "confess and discover" before the 1st ofJuly. Several Indians were in the prison, charged with conspiracy. Theconfessions and discoveries were numerous. Every Negro charged withbeing an accomplice of the unfortunate wretches that had alreadyperished at the stake began to accuse some one else of complicity inthe plot. They all knew of many Negroes who were going to cut thewhite people's throats with penknives; and when the town was in flamesthey were to "meet at the end of Broadway, next to the fields!" And itmust be recorded, to the everlasting disgrace of the judiciary of NewYork, that scores of ignorant, helpless, and innocent Negroes--and afew white people too--were convicted upon the confessions of theterror-stricken witnesses! There is not a court to-day in allenlightened Christendom that would accept as evidence--not evencircumstantial--the incoherent utterances of these Negro "confessors. "And yet an intelligent (?) New-York court thought the evidence "clear(?), and satisfactory!"

But the end was not yet reached. A new turn was to be given to thenotorious Mary Burton. The reader will remember that she said thatthere never were any white persons present when the burning of thetown was the topic of conversation, except her master and mistress andPeggy Carey. But on the 25th of June the budding Mary accused Rev. John Ury, a reputed Catholic priest, and a schoolmaster in the town, and one Campbell, also a school-teacher, of having visited Hughson'stavern with the conspirators. 

On the 26th of June, nine more Negroes were brought before the courtand arraigned. Seven pleaded guilty in the hope of a reprieve: twowere tried and convicted upon the testimony of Mary Burton. Eight morewere arraigned, and pleaded guilty; followed by seven more, some ofwhom pleaded guilty, and some not guilty. Thus, in one day, the courtwas enabled to dispose of twenty-four persons. 

On the 27th of June, one Adam confessed that he knew of the plot, butsaid he was enticed into it by Hughson, three years before; thatHughson told him that he knew a man who could forgive him all hissins. So between John Hughson's warm rum, and John Ury's ability toforgive sin, the virtuous Adam found all his scruples overcome; and hetook the oath. A Dr. Hamilton who lodged at Holt's, and the latteralso, are brought into court as accused of being connected with theplot. It was charged that Holt directed his Negro Joe to set fire tothe play-house at the time he should indicate. At the beginning of thetrial only four white persons were mentioned; but now they began tomultiply, and barrels of powder to increase at a wonderful rate. Theconfessions up to this time had been mere repetitions. The arrestswere numerous, and the jail crowded beyond its capacity. The poorNegroes implicated were glad of an opportunity to "confess" againstsome one else, and thereby save their own lives. Recorder Horsemandensays, "Now many negroes began to squeak, in order to lay hold of thebenefit of the proclamation. " He deserves the thanks of humanity forhis frankness! For before the proclamation there were not more thanseventy Negroes in jail; but, within eight days after it was issued, thirty more frightened slaves were added to the number. And JudgeHorsemanden says, "'Twas difficult to find room for them, nor could wesee any likelihood of stopping the impeachments. " The Negroes turnedto accusing white persons, and seven or eight were arrested. Thesanitary condition of the prison now became a subject of graveconcern. The judges and lawyers consulted together, and agreed topardon some of the prisoners to make room in the jail. They alsothought it prudent to lump the confessions, and thereby facilitatetheir work; but the confessions went on, and the jail filled up again. 

The Spanish Negroes taken by an English privateer, and adjudged toslavery by the admiralty court, were now taken up, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hung. Five others received sentence the same day. 

The bloody work went on. The poor Negroes in the jail, in a state ofmorbid desperation, turned upon each other the blistering tongue ofaccusation. They knew that they were accusing each otherinnocently, --as many confessed afterwards, --but this was the laststraw that these sinking people could see to catch at, and this theydid involuntarily. "Victims were required; and those who brought themto the altar of Moloch, purchased their own safety, or, at least, their lives. "

On the 2d of July, one Will was produced before Chief-Justice JamesDeLancy. He plead guilty, and was sentenced to be burnt to death onthe 4th of July. On the 6th of July, eleven plead guilty. One Dundeeimplicates Dr. Hamilton with Hughson in giving Negroes rum andswearing them to the plot. A white man by the name of William Nuilldeposed that a Negro--belonging to Edward Kelly, a butcher--namedLondon swore by God that if he should be arrested and cast into thejail, he would hang or burn all the Negroes in New York, guilty or notguilty. On this same day five Negroes were hanged. One of them was"hung in chains" upon the same gibbet with Hughson. And the Christianhistorian says "the town was amused" on account of a report thatHughson had turned black and the Negro white! The vulgar and sickeningdescription of the condition of the bodies, in which Mr. Horsemandentook evident relish, we withhold from the reader. It was rumored thata Negro doctor had administered poison to the convicts, and hence thechange in the bodies after death. 

In addition to the burning of the Negro Will, on the 4th of July, wasthe sensation created by his accusing two white soldiers, Kane andKelly, with complicity in the conspiracy. Kane was examined the nextday: said that he had never been to the house of John Romme;acknowledged that he had received a stolen silver spoon, given to hiswife, and sold it to one Van Dype, a silversmith; that he never knewJohn Ury, etc. Knowing Mary Burton was brought forward, --as she alwayswas when the trials began to lag, --and accused Kane. He earnestlydenied the accusation at first, but finally confessed that he was atHughson's in reference to the plot on two several occasions, but wasinduced to go there "by Corker, Coffin, and Fagan. " After his tonguegot limbered up, and his memory refreshed, he criminated Ury. Heimplicated Hughson's father and three brothers, Hughson'smother-in-law, an old fortune-teller, as being parties to the plot assworn "to burn, and kill;" that Ury christened some of the Negroes, and even had the temerity to attempt to proselyte him, Kane; that Uryasked him if he could read Latin, could he read English; to bothquestions he answered no; that the man Coffin read to him, anddescanted upon the benefits of being a Roman Catholic; that they couldforgive sins, and save him from hell; and that if he had not gone awayfrom their company they might have seduced him to be a Catholic; thatone Conolly, on Governor's Island, admitted that he was "bred up apriest;" that one Holt, a dancing-master, also knew of the plot; andthen described the mystic ceremony of swearing the plotters. He said, "There was a black ring made on the floor, about a foot and a half indiameter; and Hughson bid every one put off the left shoe and puttheir toes within the ring; and Mrs. Hughson held a bowl of punch overtheir heads, as the Negroes stood around the circle, and Hughsonpronounced the oath above mentioned, (something like a freemason'soath and penalties, ) and every negro severally repeated the oath afterhim, and then Hughson's wife fed them with a draught out of the bowl. "

This was "new matter, " so to speak, and doubtless broke the monotonyof the daily recitals to which their honors had been listening allsummer. Kane was about to deprive Mary Burton of her honors; and, ashe could not write, he made his mark. A peddler named Coffin wasarrested and examined. He denied all knowledge of the plot, never sawHughson, never was at his place, saw him for the first time when hewas executed; had never seen Kane but once, and then at EleanorWaller's, where they drank beer together. But the court committed him. Kane and Mary Burton accused Edward Murphy. Kane charged DavidJohnson, a hatter, as one of the conspirators; while Mary Burtonaccuses Andrew Ryase, "little Holt, " the dancing-master, John Earl, and seventeen soldiers, --all of whom were cast into prison. 

On the 16th of July nine Negroes were arraigned: four plead guilty, two were sentenced to be burnt, and the others to be hanged. On thenext day seven Negroes plead guilty. One John Schultz came forward, and made a deposition that perhaps had some little influence on thecourt and the community at large. He swore that a Negro man slave, named Cambridge, belonging to Christopher Codwise, Esq. , did on the9th of June, 1741, confess to the deponent, in the presence of Codwiseand Richard Baker, that the confession he had made before Messrs. Lodge and Nichols was entirely false; viz. , that he had confessedhimself guilty of participating in the conspiracy; had accused a Negronamed Cajoe through fear; that he had heard some Negroes talkingtogether in the jail, and saying that if they did not confess theywould be hanged; that what he said about Horsefield Cæsar was a lie;that he had never known in what section of the town Hughson lived, nordid he remember ever hearing his name, until it had become the towntalk that Hughson was concerned in a plot to burn the town and murderthe inhabitants. 

This did not in the least abate the zeal of Mary Burton and WilliamKane. They went on in their work of accusing white people and Negroes, receiving the approving smiles of the magistrates. Mary Burton saysthat John Earl, who lived in Broadway, used to come to Hughson's withten soldiers at a time; that these white men were to command the Negrocompanies; that John Ury used to be present; and that a man near theMayor's Market, who kept a shop where she (Mary Burton) got rum from, a doctor, by nationality a Scotchman, who lived by the Slip, andanother dancing-master, named Corry, used to meet with theconspirators at Hughson's tavern. 

On the 14th of July, John Ury was examined, and denied ever havingbeen at Hughson's, or knowing any thing about the conspiracy; said henever saw any of the Hughsons, nor did he know Peggy Carey. ButWilliam Kane, the soldier, insisted that Ury did visit the house ofHughson. Ury was again committed. On the next day eight persons weretried and convicted upon the evidence of Kane and Mary Burton. Thejail was filling up again, and the benevolent magistrates pardonedfourteen Negroes. Then they turned their judicial minds to the case ofWilliam Kane _vs_. John Ury. First, he was charged with havingcounselled, procured, and incited a Negro slave, Quack, to burn theking's house in the fort: to which he pleaded not guilty. Second, thatbeing a priest, made by the authority of the pretended See of Rome, hehad come into the Province and city of New York after the time limitedby law against Jesuits and Popish priests, passed in the eleventh yearof William III. , and had remained for the space of seven months; thathe had announced himself to be an ecclesiastical person, made andordained by the authority of the See of Rome; and that he had appearedso to be by celebrating masses and granting absolution, etc. To thesecharges Ury pleaded not guilty, and requested a copy of theindictments, but was only allowed a copy of the second; and pen, ink, and paper grudgingly granted him. His private journal was seized, anda portion of its contents used as evidence against him. The followingwas furnished to the grand jury:--

 "Arrived at Philadelphia the 17th of February, 1738. At Ludinum, 5th March. --To Philadelphia, 29th April. --Began school at Burlington, 18th June. Omilta Jacobus Atherthwaite, 27th July. --Came to school at Burlington, 23d January, 1740. --Saw ----, 7th May. --At five went to Burlington, to Piercy, the madman. --Went to Philadelphia, 19th May. --Went to Burlington, 18th June. --At six in the evening to Penefack, to Joseph Ashton. --Began school at Dublin under Charles Hastie, at eight pounds a year, 31st July, ----, 15th October, ----, 27th ditto. --Came to John Croker (at the Fighting Cocks), New York, 2d November. --I boarded gratis with him, 7th November, --Natura Johannis Pool, 26th December. --I began to teach with John Campbell, 6th April, 1741. --Baptized Timothy Ryan, born 18th April, 1740, son of John Ryan and Mary Ryan, 18th May. --Pater Confessor Butler, two Anni, no sacramentum non confessio. "[250]

On the 21st of July, Sarah Hughson, who had been respited, was put onthe witness-stand again. There were some legal errors in theindictments against Ury, and his trial was postponed until the nextterm; but he was arraigned on a new indictment. The energies of thejury and judges received new life. Here was a man who was aCatholic, --or had been a Catholic, --and the spirit of religiousintolerance asserted itself. Sarah Hughson remembered having seen Uryat her father's house on several occasions; had seen him make a ringwith chalk on the floor, make all the Negroes stand around it, whilehe himself would stand in the middle, with a cross, and swear theNegroes. This was also "new matter:" nothing of this kind wasmentioned in the first confession. But this was not all. She had seenUry preach to the Negroes, forgive their sins, and baptize some ofthem! She said that Ury wanted her to confess to him, and that Peggyconfessed to him in French. 

On the 24th of July, Elias Desbroses, confectioner, being called, swore that Ury had come to his shop with one Webb, a carpenter, andinquired for sugar-bits, or wafers, and asked him "whether a ministerhad not his wafers of him? or, whether that paste, which the deponentshowed him, was not made of the same ingredients as the Luthernminister's?" or words to that effect: the deponent told Ury that if hedesired such things a joiner would make him a mould; and that when heasked him whether he had a congregation, Ury "waived giving him ananswer. "

On the 27th of July, Mr. Webb, the carpenter, was called to thewitness-stand and testified as follows: That he had met Ury at JohnCroker's (at the Fighting Cocks), where he became acquainted with him;that he had heard him read Latin and English so admirably that heemployed him to teach his child; that finding out that he was aschool-teacher, he invited him to board at his house without charge;that he understood from him that he was a non-juring minister, hadwritten a book that had drawn the fire of the Church, was charged withtreason, and driven out of England, sustaining the loss of "a living"worth fifty pounds a year; that on religious matters the deponentcould not always comprehend him; that the accused said Negroes wereonly fit for slaves, and to put them above that condition was toinvite them to cut your throats. The observing Horsemanden was so muchpleased with the above declaration, that he gives Ury credit in afootnote for understanding the dispositions of Negroes![251] Fartheron Mr. Webb says, that, after one Campbell removed to Hughson's, Urywent thither, and so did the deponent on three different times, andheard him read prayers after the manner of the Church of England; butin the prayer for the king he only mentioned "our sovereign lord theKing, " and not "King George. " He said that Ury pleaded againstdrunkenness, debauchery, and Deists; that he admonished every one tokeep his own minister; that when the third sermon was delivered oneMr. Hildreth was present, when Ury found fault with certain doctrines, insisted that good works as well as faith were necessary to salvation;that he announced that on a certain evening he would preach from thetext, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hellshall not prevail against it; and whosoever sins ye remit, they areremitted, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. "

The judges, delighted with this flavor added to the usually dryproceedings, thought they had better call Sarah Hughson; that if shewere grateful for her freedom she would furnish the testimony theirhonors desired. Sarah was accordingly called. She is recommended formercy. She is, of course, to say what is put in her mouth, to givetestimony such as the court desires. So the fate of the poorschoolmaster was placed in the keeping of the fateful Sarah. 

On the 28th of July another grand jury was sworn, and, like the oldone, was composed of merchants. The following persons composed it:Joseph Robinson, James Livingston, Hermanus Rutgers, jun. , CharlesLeRoux, Abraham Boelen, Peter Rutgers, Jacobus Roosevelt, JohnAuboyneau, Stephen Van Courtlandt, jun. , Abraham Lynsen, GerardusDuyckinck, John Provost, Henry Lane, jun. , Henry Cuyler, JohnRoosevelt, Abraham DePeyster, Edward Hicks, Joseph Ryall, PeterSchuyler, and Peter Jay. [252]

Sarah Hughson had been pardoned. John Ury was brought into court, whenhe challenged some of the jury. William Hammersley, Gerardus Beekman, John Shurmur, Sidney Breese, Daniel Shatford, Thomas Behenna, PeterFresneau, Thomas Willett, John Breese, John Hastier, James Tucker, andBrandt Schuyler were sworn to try him. Barring formalities, he wasarraigned upon the old indictment; viz. , felony, in inciting andexciting the Negro slave Quack to set fire to the governor's house. The king's counsel were the attorney-general, Richard Bradley, andMessrs. Murray, Alexander, Smith, and Chambers. Poor Ury had nocounsel, no sympathizers. The attorney-general, in an opening speechto the jury, said that certain evidence was to be produced showingthat the prisoner at the bar was guilty as charged in the indictment;that he had a letter that he desired to read to them, which had beensent to Lieut. -Gov. Clark, written by Gen. Oglethorpe ("the visionaryLycurgus of Georgia"), bearing date of the 16th of May. The followingis a choice passage from the letter referred to:--

 "Some intelligence I had of a villanous design of a very extraordinary nature, and if true very important, viz. , that the Spaniards had employed emissaries to burn all the magazines and considerable towns in the English North America, and thereby to prevent the subsisting of the great expedition and fleet in the West Indies; and for this purpose many priests were employed, who pretended to be physicians, dancing-masters, and other such kinds of occupations, and under that pretence to get admittance and confidence in families. "[253]

The burden of his effort was the wickedness of Popery and theRoman-Catholic Church. The first witness called was the irrepressibleMary Burton. She began by rehearsing the old story of setting fire tothe houses: but this time she varied it somewhat; it was not the fortthat was to be burnt first, but Croker's, near a coffee-house, by thelong bridge. She remembered the ring drawn with chalk, saw things init that looked like rats (the good Horsemanden throws a flood of lightupon this otherwise dark passage by telling his reader that it was theNegroes' black toes!); that she peeped in once and saw a black thinglike a child, and Ury with a book in his hand, and at this moment shelet a silver spoon drop, and Ury chased her, and would have caughther, had she not fallen into a bucket of water, and thus marvellouslyescaped! But the rule was to send this curious Mary to bed when anything of an unusual nature was going on. Ury asked her some questions. 

 "_Prisoner_. --You say you have seen me several times at Hughson's, what clothes did I usually wear?

 "_Mary Burton_. --I cannot tell what clothes you wore particularly. 

 "_Prisoner. _--That is strange, and know me so well?"

She then says several kinds, but particularly, or chiefly, ariding-coat, and often a brown coat, trimmed with black. 

 "_Prisoner_. --I never wore such a coat. What time of the day did I used to come to Hughson's?

 "_M. Burton_. --You used chiefly to come in the night-time, and when I have been going to bed I have seen you undressing in Peggy's room, as if you were to lie there; but I cannot say that you did, for you were always gone before I was up in the morning. 

 "_Prisoner_. --What room was I in when I called Mary, and you came up, as you said?

 "_M. Burton_. --In the great room, up stairs. 

 "_Prisoner_. --What answer did the Negroes make, when I offered to forgive them their sins, as you said?

 "_M. Burton_. --I don't remember. "[254]

William Kane, the soldier, took the stand. He was very bold to answerall of Ury's questions. He saw him baptize a child, could forgivesins, and wanted to convert him! Sarah Hughson was next called, butUry objected to her because she had been convicted. The judge informedhim that she had been pardoned, and was, therefore, competent as awitness. Judge Horsemanden was careful to produce newspaper scraps toprove that the court of France had endeavored to create and exciterevolts and insurrections in the English colonies, and ended bytelling a pathetic story about an Irish schoolmaster in Ulster Countywho drank the health of the king of Spain![255] This had great weightwith the jury, no doubt. Poor Ury, convicted upon the evidence ofthree notorious liars, without counsel, was left to defend himself. Headdressed the jury in an earnest and intelligent manner. He showedwhere the evidence clashed; that the charges were not in harmony withhis previous character, the silence of Quack and others alreadyexecuted. He showed that Mr. Campbell took possession of the housethat Hughson had occupied, on the 1st of May; that at that timeHughson and his wife were in jail, and Sarah in the house; that Sarahabused Campbell, and that he reproved her for the foul language sheused; and that this furnished her with an additional motive to accusehim; that he never knew Hughson or any of the family. Mr. John Crokertestified that Ury never kept company with Negroes, nor did he receivethem at Croker's house up to the 1st of May, for all the plotting wasdone before that date; that he was a quiet, pious preacher, and anexcellent schoolmaster; that he taught Webb's child, and alwaysdeclared himself a non-juring clergyman of the Church of England. Butthe fatal revelation of this friend of Ury's was, that Webb made him adesk; and the jury thought they saw in it an altar for a Catholicpriest! That was enough. The attorney-general told the jury that theprisoner was a Romish priest, and then proceeded to prove theexceeding sinfulness of that Church. Acknowledging the paucity of theevidence intended to prove him a priest, the learned gentlemanhastened to dilate upon all the dark deeds of Rome, and therebypoisoned the minds of the jury against the unfortunate Ury. He wasfound guilty, and on the 29th of August, 1741, was hanged, professinghis innocence, and submitting cheerfully to a cruel and unjust deathas a servant of the Lord. [256]

The trials of the Negroes had continued, but were somewhatovershadowed by that of the reputed Catholic priest. On the 18th ofJuly seven Negroes were hanged, including a Negro doctor named Harry. On the 23d of July a number of white persons were fined for keepingdisorderly houses, --entertaining Negroes; while nine Negroes were, thesame day, released from jail on account of a lack of evidence! On the15th of August a Spanish Negro was hanged. On the 31st of August, Corry (the dancing-master), Ryan, Kelly, and Coffin--all whitepersons--were dismissed because no one prosecuted; while the readermust have observed that the evidence against them was quite as strongas that offered against any of the persons executed, by the lying trioBurton, Kane, and Sarah. But Mr. Smith the historian gives the correctreason why these trials came to such a sudden end. 

 "The whole summer was spent in the prosecutions; every new trial led to further accusations: a coincidence of slight circumstances, was magnified by the general terror into violent presumptions; tales collected without doors, mingling with the proofs given at the bar, poisoned the minds of the jurors; and the sanguinary spirit of the day suffered no check till Mary, the capital informer, bewildered by frequent examinations and suggestions, lost her first impressions, and began to touch characters, which malice itself did not dare to suspect. "[257]

The 24th of September was solemnly set apart for public thanksgivingfor the escape of the citizens from destruction!

As we have already said, this "Negro plot" has but one parallel in thehistory of civilization. It had its origin in a diseased publicconscience, inflamed by religious bigotry, accelerated by hired liars, and consummated in the blind and bloody action of a court and jury whoimagined themselves sitting over a powder-magazine. That a robberytook place, there was abundant evidence in the finding of some of thearticles, and the admissions of Hughson and others; but there was nota syllable of competent evidence to show that there was an organizedplot. And the time came, after the city had gotten back to itsaccustomed quietness, that the most sincere believers in the "Negroplot" were converted to the opinion that the zeal of the magistrateshad not been "according to knowledge. " For they could not have failedto remember that the Negroes were considered heathen, and, therefore, not sworn by the court; that they were not allowed counsel; that theevidence was indirect, contradictory, and malicious, while the trialswere hasty and unfair. From the 11th of May to the 29th of August, onehundred and fifty-four Negroes were cast into prison; fourteen of whomwere burnt, eighteen hanged, seventy-one transported, and theremainder pardoned. During the same space of time twenty-four whiteswere committed to prison; four of whom were executed, and theremainder discharged. The number arrested was one hundred andseventy-eight, thirty-six executed, and seventy-one transported! Whata terrible tragedy committed in the name of law and Christiangovernment! Mary Burton, the Judas Iscariot of the period, receivedher hundred pounds as the price of the blood she had caused to beshed; and the curtain fell upon one of the most tragic events in allthe history of New York or of the civilized world. [258]

The legislature turned its attention to additional legislation uponthe slavery question. Severe laws were passed against the Negroes. Their personal rights were curtailed until their condition was butlittle removed from that of the brute creation. We have gone over thevoluminous records of the Province of New York, and have not found asingle act calculated to ameliorate the condition of the slave. [259]He was hated, mistrusted, and feared. Nothing was done, of a friendlycharacter, for the slave in the Province of New York, untilthreatening dangers from without taught the colonists the importanceof husbanding all their resources. The war between the Britishcolonies in North America and the mother country gave the Negro anopportunity to level, by desperate valor, a mountain of prejudice, andwipe out with his blood the dark stain of 1741. History says he didit. 

FOOTNOTES:

[215] Brodhead's History of New York, vol. I. P. 184. 

[216] O'Callaghan's History of New Netherlands, pp. 384, 385. 

[217] Brodhead, vol. I. P. 194. 

[218] Ibid, vol. I. Pp. 196, 197. 

[219] Dunlap's History of New York, vol. I. P, 58. 

[220] O'Callaghan, p. 385. 

[221] Van Tienhoven. 

[222] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 441; also Hol. Doc. , III. P. 351. 

[223] Annals of Albany, vol. Ii. Pp. 55-60. 

[224] O'Callaghan, p. 353. N. Y. Col. Docs. , vol. Ii, pp. 368, 369. 

[225] Brodhead, vol. I. P. 697. 

[226] Brodhead, vol. I. P. 746. 

[227] Ibid. , vol. I. P. 748. 

[228] Valentine's Manual for 1861, pp. 640-664. 

[229] New York Hist. Coll. , vol. I. Pp. 322, 323. 

[230] Journals of Legislative Council, vol. I. P xii. 

[231] Bradford's Laws, p. 125. 

[232] Journals, etc. , N. Y. , vol. I. P. Xiii. 

[233] Dunlap's Hist, of N. Y. , vol. I. P. 260, [234] Booth's Hist, of N. Y. , vol. I. P, 270-272. 

[235] On the 22nd of March, 1680, the following proclamation wasissued: "Whereas, several inhabitants within this city have and doedayly harbour, entertain and countenance Indian and neger slaves intheir houses, and to them sell and deliver wine, rum, and other strongliquors, for which they receive money or goods which by the saidIndian and negro slaves is pilfered, purloyned, and stolen from theirseveral masters, by which the publick peace is broken, and the damageof the master is produced, etc. , therefore they are prohibited, etc. ;and if neger or Indian slave make application for these forbiddenarticles, immediate information is to be given to his master or to themayor or oldest alderman. "--DUNLAP, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Cxxviii. 

[236] Bradford Laws, p. 81. 

[237] The ordinance referred to was re-enacted on the 22d of April, 1731, and reads as follows: "No Negro, Mulatto, or Indian slave, abovethe age of fourteen, shall presume to appear in any of the streets, orin any other place of this city on the south side of Fresh Water, inthe night time, above an hour after sunset, without a lanthorn andcandle in it (unless in company with his owner or some white belongingto the family). Penalty, the watch-house that night; next day, prison, until the owner pays 4_s_, and before discharge, the slave to bewhipped not exceeding forty lashes. "--DUNLAP, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Clxiii. 

[238] Booth, vol. I. P. 271. 

[239] Hurd's Bondage and Freedom, vol. I. P. 281. 

[240] Dunlap, vol. I. P. 323. 

[241] Judge Daniel Horsemanden. 

[242] Hume, vol. Vi. Pp. 171-212. 

[243] Ibid. , vol. Vi. P. 171. 

[244] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, p. 29. 

[245] As far back as 1684 the following was passed against theentertainment of slaves: "No person to countenance or entertain anynegro or Indian slave, or sell or deliver to them any strong liquor, without liberty from his master, or receive from them any money orgoods; but, upon any offer made by a slave, to reveal the same to theowner, or to the mayor, under penalty of £5. "--DUNLAP, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Cxxxiii. 

[246] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, p. 33. 

[247] Bradford's Laws, pp. 141-144. 

[248] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, p. 60. 

[249] The city of Now York was divided into parts at that time, andcomprised two militia districts. 

[250] Dunlap, vol. I. P. 344. 

[251] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, p. 284. 

[252] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, p. 286. 

[253] Colonial Hist. Of N. Y. , vol. Vi. P. 199. 

[254] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, pp. 292, 293. 

[255] Ibid. , pp. 298, 299, note. 

[256] Horsemanden's Negro Plot, pp. 221, 222. 

[257] Smith's Hist. Of N. Y. , vol. Ii. Pp. 59, 60. 

[258] "On the 6th of March, 1742, the following order was passed bythe Common Council: 'Ordered, that the indentures of Mary Burton bedelivered up to her, and that she be discharged from the remainder ofher servitude, and three pounds paid her, to provide necessaryclothing. ' The Common Council had purchased her indentures from hermaster, and had kept her and them, until this time. "--DUNLAP, vol. Ii. Appendix, p. Clxvii. 

[259] "On the 17th of November, 1767, a bill was brought into theHouse of Assembly "to prevent the unnatural and unwarrantable customof enslaving mankind, and the importation of slaves into thisprovince. " It was changed into an act "for laying an impost on Negroesimported. " This could not pass the governor and council; and it wasafterward known that Benning I. Wentworth, the governor of NewHampshire, had received instructions not to pass any law "imposingduties on negroes imported into that province. " Hutchinson ofMassachusetts had similar instructions. The governor and his Majesty'scouncil knew this at the time. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

1633-1775. 

 THE EARLIEST MENTIONS OF NEGROES IN MASSACHUSETTS. --PEQUOD INDIANS EXCHANGED FOR NEGROES. --VOYAGE OF THE SLAVE-SHIP "DESIRE" IN 1638. --FUNDAMENTAL LAWS ADOPTED. --HEREDITARY SLAVERY. --KIDNAPPING NEGROES. --GROWTH OF SLAVERY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. --TAXATION OF SLAVES. --INTRODUCTION OF INDIAN SLAVES PROHIBITED. --THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH RESPECTING THE BAPTISM OF SLAVES. --SLAVE MARRIAGE. --CONDITION OF FREE NEGROES. --PHILLIS WHEATLEY THE AFRICAN POETESS. --HER LIFE. --SLAVERY RECOGNIZED IN ENGLAND IN ORDER TO BE MAINTAINED IN THE COLONIES. --THE EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES. --LEGISLATION FAVORING THE IMPORTATION OF WHITE SERVANTS, BUT PROHIBITING THE CLANDESTINE BRINGING-IN OF NEGROES. --JUDGE SEWALL'S ATTACK ON SLAVERY. --JUDGE SAFFIN'S REPLY TO JUDGE SEWALL. 

Had the men who gave the colony of Massachusetts its political beingand Revolutionary fame known that the Negro--so early introduced intothe colony as a slave--would have been in the future Republic foryears the insoluble problem, and at last the subject of so great andgrave economic and political concern, they would have committed to thejealous keeping of the chroniclers of their times the records forwhich the historian of the Negro seeks so vainly in this period. Stolen as he was from his tropical home; consigned to a servitude atwar with man's intellectual and spiritual, as well as with hisphysical, nature; the very lowest of God's creation, in the estimationof the Roundheads of New England; a stranger in a strange land, --thepoor Negro of Massachusetts found no place in the sympathy or historyof the Puritan, --Christians whose deeds and memory have been embalmedin song and story, and given to an immortality equalled only by theindestructibility of the English language. The records of the mostremote period of colonial history have preserved a silence on thequestion of Negro slavery as ominous as it is conspicuous. What datathere are concerning the introduction of slavery are fragmentary, uncertain, and unsatisfactory, to say the least. There is but one workbearing the luminous stamp of historical trustworthiness, and whichturns a flood of light on the dark records of the darker crime ofhuman slavery in Massachusetts. And we are sure it is as complete asthe ripe scholarship, patient research, and fair and fearless spiritof its author, could make it. [260]

The earliest mention of the presence of Negroes in Massachusetts is inconnection with an account of some Indians who were frightened at aColored man who had lost his way in the tangled path of the forest. The Indians, it seems, were "worse scared than hurt, who seeing ablackamore in the top of a tree looking out for his way which he hadlost, surmised he was _Abamacho_, or the devil; deeming all devilsthat are blacker than themselves: and being near to the plantation, they posted to the English, and entreated their aid to conjure thisdevil to his own place, who finding him to be a poor wanderingblackamore, conducted him to his master. "[261] This was in 1633. It iscircumstantial evidence of a twofold nature; i. E. , it proves thatthere were Negroes in the colony at a date much earlier than can befixed by reliable data, and that the Negroes were slaves. It is a fairpresumption that this "wandering blackamore" who was conducted "to his_master_" was not the only Negro slave in the colony. Slaves generallycome in large numbers, and consequently there must have been quite anumber at this time. 

Negro slavery in Massachusetts was the safety-valve to the pent-upvengeance of the Pequod Indians. Slavery would have been establishedin Massachusetts, even if there had been no Indians to punish by war, captivity, and duplicity. Encouraged by the British authorities, avarice and gain would have quieted the consciences of Puritanslave-holders. But the Pequod war was the early and urgent occasionfor the founding of slavery under the foster care of a _free churchand free government_! As the Pequod Indians would "not endure theyoke, " would not remain "as servants, "[262] they were sent toBermudas[263] and exchanged for Negroes, [264] with the hope that thelatter would "endure the yoke" more patiently. The first importationof slaves from Barbados, secured in exchange for Indians, was made in1637, the first year of the Pequod war, and was doubtless kept up formany years. 

But in the following year we have the most positive evidence that NewEngland had actually engaged in the slave-trade. 

 "Mr. Pierce, in the Salem ship, the Desire, returned from the West Indies after seven months. He had been at Providence, and brought some cotton, and tobacco, and negroes, &c. , from thence, and salt from Tertugos.... Dry fish and strong liquors are the only commodities for those parts. He met there two men-of-war, sent forth by the lords, &c. , of Providence with letters of mart, who had taken divers prizes from the Spaniard and many negroes. "[265]

"The Desire" was built at Marblehead in 1636;[266] was of one hundredand twenty tons, and perhaps one of the first built in the colony. There is no positive proof that "The Mayflower, " after landing theholy Pilgrim Fathers, was fitted out for a slave-cruise! But there isno evidence to destroy the belief that "The Desire" was built for theslave-trade. Within a few years from the time of the building of "TheDesire, " there were quite a number of Negro slaves in Massachusetts. "John Josselyn, Gen't" in his "Two Voyages to New England, " made in"1638, 1663, " and printed for the first time in 1674, [267] gives anaccount of an attempt to breed slaves in Massachusetts. 

 "The Second of _October_, (1639) about 9 of the clock in the morning, Mr. _Maverick's_ Negro woman came to my chamber window, and in her own Countrey language and tune sang very loud and shril, going out to her, she used a great deal of respect towards me, and willingly would have expressed her grief in _English_; but I apprehended it by her countenance and deportment, whereupon I repaired to my host, to learn of him the cause, and resolved to entreat him in her behalf, for that I understood before, that she had been a Queen in her own Countrey, and observed a very humble and dutiful garb used towards her by another Negro who was her maid. Mr. _Maverick_ was desirous to have a breed of Negroes, and therefore seeing she would not yield by persuasions to company with a Negro young man he had in his house; he commanded him will'd she nill'd she to go to bed to her, which was no sooner done but she kickt him out again, this she took in high disdain beyond her slavery, and this was the cause of her grief. "[268]

It would appear, at first blush, that slavery was an individualspeculation in the colony; but the voyage of the ship "Desire" wasevidently made with a view of securing Negro slaves for sale. Josselynsays, in 1627, that the English colony on the Island of Barbados had"in a short time increased to twenty thousand, besides Negroes. "[269]And in 1637 he says that the New Englanders "sent the male children ofPequets to the Bermudus. "[270] It is quite likely that manyindividuals of large means and estates had a few Negro slaves quiteearly, --perhaps earlier than we have any record; but as a publicenterprise in which the colony was interested, slavery began as earlyas 1638. "It will be observed, " says Dr. Moore, "that this firstentrance into the slave-trade was not a private, individualspeculation. It was the enterprise of the authorities of the colony. And on the 13th of March, 1639, it was ordered by the General Court"that 3_l_ 8_s_ should be paid Lieftenant Davenport for the present, for charge disbursed for the slaves, which, when they have earned it, hee is to repay it back againe. " The marginal note is "Lieft. Davenport to keep ye slaves. " (Mass. Rec. I. 253. [271]) So there canbe no doubt as to the permanent establishment of the institution ofslavery as early as 1639, while before that date the institutionexisted in a patriarchal condition. But there isn't the least fragmentof history to sustain the haphazard statement of Emory Washburn, thatslavery existed in Massachusetts "from the time Maverick was founddwelling on Noddle's Island in 1630. "[272] We are sure this assertionlacks the authority of historical data. It is one thing for ahistorian to think certain events happened at a particular time, butit is quite another thing to be able to cite reliable authority inproof of the assertion. [273] But no doubt Mr. Washburn relies upon Mr. Palfrey, who refers his reader to Mr. Josselyn. Palfrey says, "BeforeWinthrop's arrival, there were two negro slaves in Massachusetts, heldby Mr. Maverick, on Noddle's Island. "[274] Josselyn gives the onlyaccount we have of the slaves on Noddle's Island. The incident thatgave rise to this scrap of history occurred on the 2d of October, 1639. Winthrop was chosen governor in the year 1637. [275] It was inthis year, on the 26th of February, that the slave-ship "Desire"landed a cargo of Negroes in the colony. Now, if Mr. Palfrey reliesupon Josselyn for the historical trustworthiness of his statement thatthere were two Negroes in Massachusetts before Winthrop arrived, hehas made a mistake. There is no proof for the assertion. That therewere three Negroes on Noddle's Island, we have the authority ofJosselyn, but nothing more. And if the Negro queen who kickedJosselyn's man out of bed had been as long in the island as Palfreyand Washburn indicate, she would have been able to explain her griefto Josselyn in English. We have no doubt but what Mr. Maverick got hisslaves from the ship "Desire" in 1638, the same year Winthrop wasinaugurated governor. 

In Massachusetts, as in the other colonies, slavery made its way intoindividual families first; thence into communities, where it wasclothed with the garment of usage and custom;[276] and, finally, menlonging to enjoy the fruit of unrequited labor gave it the sanction ofstatutory law. There was not so great a demand for slaves inMassachusetts as in the Southern States; and yet they had their usesin a domestic way, and were, consequently, sought after. As early as1641 Massachusetts adopted a body of fundamental laws. Themagistrates, [277] armed with authority from the crown of GreatBritain, had long exercised a power which well-nigh trenched upon thepersonal rights of the people. The latter desired a revision of thelaws, and such modifications of the power and discretion of themagistrates as would be in sympathy with the spirit of personalliberty that pervaded the minds of the colonists. But while the peoplesought to wrest an arbitrary power from the unwilling hands of theirjudges, they found no pity in their hearts for the poor Negroes intheir midst, who, having served as slaves because of their numericalweakness and the passive silence of justice, were now to become thelegal and statutory vassals--for their life-time--of a liberty-lovingand liberty-seeking people! In the famous "Body of Liberties" is to befound the first statute establishing slavery in the United States. Itis as follows:--

 "It is ordered by this court, and the authority thereof; that there shall never be any bond slavery, villainage or captivity amongst us, unless it be lawful captives taken in just wars, as willingly sell themselves or are sold to us, and such shall have the liberties and christian usage which the law of God established in Israel concerning such persons doth morally require; provided this exempts none from servitude, who shall be judged thereto by authority. "[278]

We have omitted the old spelling, but none of the words, as theyappeared in the original manuscript. There isn't the shadow of a doubtbut what this law has been preserved inviolate. [279]

There has been considerable discussion about the real bearing of thisstatute. Many zealous historians, in discussing it, have betrayed morezeal for the good name of the Commonwealth than for the truth ofhistory. Able lawyers--and some of them still survive--havemaintained, with a greater show of learning than of facts, that thisstatute abolished slavery in Massachusetts. But, on the other hand, there are countless lawyers who pronounce it a plain and unmistakablelaw, "creating and establishing slavery. " An examination of thestatute will help the reader to a clear understanding of it. To beginwith, this law received its being from the existent _fact_ of slaveryin the colony. From the practice of a few holding Negroes as slaves, it became general and prodigious. Its presence in society called forlawful regulations concerning it. While it is solemnly declared "thatthere shall never be any bond slavery, villianage, or captivity" inthe colony, there were three provisos; viz. , "lawful captives taken injust wares, " those who would "sell themselves or are sold to us, " andsuch as "shall be judged thereto by authority. " Under the foregoingconditions slavery was plainly established in Massachusetts. The "justwares" were the wars against the Pequod Indians. That these were madeprisoners and slaves, we have the universal testimony of all writerson the history of Massachusetts. Just what class of people would "sellthemselves" into slavery we are at a loss to know! We can, however, understand the meaning of the words, "or are sold to us. " This was anopen door for the traffic in human beings; for it made it lawful forto sell slaves to the colonists, and lawful for the latter topurchase them. Those who were "judged thereto by authority" were thosein slavery already and such as should come into the colony byshipping. 

This statute is wide enough to drive a load of hay through. It is notthe work of a novice, but the labored and skilful product of great lawlearning. 

 "The law must be interpreted in the light of contemporaneous facts of history. At the time it was made (1641), what had its authors to provide for?

 "1. Indian slaves--their captives taken in war. 

 "2. Negro slaves--their own importations of 'strangers, ' obtained by purchase or exchange. 

 "3. Criminals--condemned to slavery as a punishment for offences. 

 "In this light, and only in this light, is their legislation intelligible and consistent. It is very true that the code of which this law is a part 'exhibits throughout the hand of the practised lawyer, familiar with the principles and securities of English Liberty;' but who had ever heard, at that time, of the 'common-law rights' of Indians and Negroes, or anybody else but Englishmen?

 "Thus stood the statute through the whole colonial period, and it was never expressly repealed. Based on the Mosaic code, it is an absolute recognition of slavery as a legitimate status, and of the right of one man to sell himself as well as that of another man to buy him. It sanctions the slave-trade, and the perpetual bondage of Indians and Negroes, their children and their children's children, and entitles Massachusetts to precedence over any and all the other colonies in similar legislation. It anticipates by many years any thing of the sort to be found in the statutes of Virginia, or Maryland, or South Carolina, and nothing like it is to be found in the contemporary codes of her sister colonies in New England. "[280]

The subject had been carefully weighed; and, lacking authority forlegalizing a crime against man, the Mosaic code was cited, and inaccordance with its _humane_ provisions, slaves were to be treated. But it was _authority_ for slavery that the cunning lawyer who drewthe statute was seeking, and not precedents to determine the kind oftreatment to be bestowed upon the slave. Under it "human slaveryexisted for nearly a century and a half without seriouschallenge;"[281] and here, as well as in Virginia, it received thesanction of the Church and courts. It grew with its growth, andstrengthened with its strength; until, as an organic institution, ithad many defenders and few apologists. [282]

 "This article gives express sanction to the slave-trade, and the practice of holding Negroes and Indians in perpetual bondage, anticipating by many years any thing of the sort to be found in the statutes of Virginia or Maryland. "[283]

And it is rather strange, in the light of this plain statuteestablishing and legalizing the purchase of slaves, that Mr. Washburn's statement, unsustained, should receive the publicindorsement of so learned a body as the Massachusetts HistoricalSociety!

 "But, after all [says Mr. Washburn], the laws on this subject, as well as the practice of the government, were inconsistent and anomalous, indicating clearly, that whether Colony or Province, so far as it felt free to follow its own inclinations, uncontrolled by the action of the mother country, Massachusetts was hostile to slavery as an institution!"[284]

No doubt Massachusetts was "inconsistent" in seeking liberty for herwhite citizens while forging legal chains for the Negro. And how farthe colony "felt free to follow its own inclinations" Chief-JusticeParsons declares from the bench. Says that eminent jurist, --

 "Slavery was introduced into this country [Massachusetts] soon after its first settlement, and was tolerated until the ratification of the present Constitution--of 1780. "[285]

So here we find an eminent authority declaring that slavery followedhard upon the heels of the Pilgrim Fathers, "and was tolerated" until1780. Massachusetts "felt free" to tear from the iron grasp of theimperious magistrates the liberties of the people, but doubtless feltnot "free" enough to blot out "the crime and folly of an evil time. "And yet for years lawyers and clergymen, orators and statesmen, historians and critics, have stubbornly maintained, that, whileslavery did creep into the colony, and did exist, it was "not probablyby force of any law, for none such is found or known toexist. "(?)[286]

Slavery having been firmly established in Massachusetts, the next stepwas to make it hereditary. This was done under the sanction of thehighest and most solemn forms of the courts of law. It is not ourpurpose to give this subject the attention it merits, in this place;but in a subsequent chapter it will receive due attention. We will, however, say in passing, that it was the opinion of many lawyers inthe last century, some of whom served upon the bench in Massachusetts, that children followed the condition of their mothers. Chief-JusticeParsons held that "the issue of the female slave, according to themaxim of the civil law, was the property of her master. " And, subsequently, Chief-Justice Parker rendered the following opinion:--

 "The practice was ... To consider such issue as slaves, and the property of the master of the parents, liable to be sold and transferred like other chattels, and as assets in the hands of executors and administrators.... We think there is no doubt that, at any period of our history, the issue of a slave husband and a free wife would have been declared free. His children, if the issue of a marriage with a slave, would, immediately on their birth, become the property of his master, or of the master of the female slave. "[287]

This decision is strengthened by the statement of Kendall in referenceto the wide-spread desire of Negro slaves to secure free Indian wives, in order to insure the freedom of their children. He says, --

 "While slavery was supposed to be maintainable by law in Massachusetts, there was a particular temptation to Negroes for taking Indian wives, the children of Indian women being acknowledged to be free. "[288]

We refer the reader, with perfect confidence, to our friend Dr. GeorgeH. Moore, who, in his treatment of this particular feature of slaveryin Massachusetts, has, with great research, put down a number ofzealous friends of the colony who have denied, with great emphasis, that any child was ever born into slavery there. Neither the opinionof Chief-Justice Dana, nor the naked and barren assertions ofhistorians Palfrey, Sumner, and Washburn, --great though the menwere, --can dispose of the _historical reality of hereditary slavery inMassachusetts_, down to the adoption of the Constitution of 1780. 

The General Court of Massachusetts issued an order in 1645[289] forthe return of certain kidnapped or stolen Negroes to their nativecountry. It has been variously commented upon by historians andorators. The story runs, that a number of ships, plying betweenNew-England seaport towns and Madeira and the Canaries, made it theircustom to call on the coast of Guinea "to trade for negroes. " Thussecured, they were disposed of in the slave-markets of Barbadoes andthe West Indies. The New-England slave-market did not demand a largesupply. Situated on a cold, bleak, and almost sterile coast, Massachusetts lacked the conditions to make slave-trading as lucrativeas the Southern States; but, nevertheless, she disposed of quite anumber, as the reader will observe when we examine the first census. Aship from the town of Boston consorted with "some Londoners" with theobject of gaining slaves. Mr. Bancroft[290] says that "upon the Lord'sday, invited the natives aboard one of their ships, " and then madeprisoners of such as came; which is not mentioned by Hildreth. [291]The latter writer says, that "on pretence of some quarrel with thenatives, " landed a small cannon called a "murderer, " attacked thevillage on Sunday; and having burned the village, and killed many, made a few prisoners. Several of these prisoners fell to the Bostonship. On account of a disagreement between the captain and underofficers of the ship, as well as the owners, the story of the aboveaffair was detailed before a Boston court. Richard Saltonstall was oneof the magistrates before whom the case was tried. He was moved by therecital of the cruel wrong done the Africans, and thereforepresented a petition to the court, charging the captain andmate with the threefold crime of "murder, " "man-stealing, " and"sabbath-breaking. "[292]

It seems that by the Fundamental Laws, adopted by the people in 1641, the first two offences were punishable by death, and all of them"capitall, by the law of God. " The court doubted its jurisdiction overcrimes committed on the distant coast of Guinea. But articleninety-one of "The Body of Liberties" determined who were lawfulslaves, --those who sold themselves or were sold, "lawful captivestaken in just wares, " and those "judged thereto by authority. " Had theunfortunate Negroes been purchased, there was no law in Massachusettsto free them from their owners; but having been kidnapped, unlawfullyobtained, the court felt that it was its plain duty to bear witnessagainst the "sin of man-stealing. " For, in the laws adopted in 1641, among the "Capital Laws, " at the latter part of article ninety-four isthe following: "If any man stealeth a man, or mankind, he shall surelybe put to death. "[293] There is a marginal reference to Exod. Xxi. 16. Dr. Moore does not refer to this in his elaborate discussion ofstatute on "bond slavery. " And Winthrop says that the magistratesdecided that the Negroes, "having been procured not honestly bypurchase, but by the unlawful act of kidnaping, " should be returned totheir native country. That there was a criminal code in the colony, there can be no doubt; but we have searched for it in vain. Hildreth[294] says it was printed in 1649, but that there is now nocopy extant. 

The court issued an order about the return of the kidnapped Negroes, which we will give in full, on account of its historical value, andbecause of the difference of opinion concerning it. 

 "The general court conceiving themselves bound by the first opportunity to bear witness against the heinous, and crying sin of man-stealing, as also to prescribe such timely redress for what is past, and such a law for the future, as may sufficiently deter all others belonging to us to have to do in such vile and odious courses, justly abhorred of all good and just men, do order that the negro interpreter with others unlawfully taken, be by the first opportunity at the charge of the country for the present, sent to his native country (Guinea) and a letter with him of the indignation of the court thereabouts, and justice thereof, desiring our honored governor would please put this order in execution. "[295]

This "protest against man-stealing" has adorned and flavored many anoration on the "position of Massachusetts" on the slavery question. Ithas been brought out "to point a moral and adorn a tale" by the proudfriends of the Commonwealth; but the law quoted above against"man-stealing, " the language of the "protest, " the statute on "bondservitude, " and the practices of the colonists for many yearsafterwards, prove that many have gloried, but not according to thetruth. [296] When it came to the question of damages, the court said:"For the negars (they being none of his, _but stolen_) we thinke meeteto allow nothing. "[297]

So the decision of the court was based upon law, --the prohibitionagainst "man-stealing. " And it should not be forgotten that many ofthe laws of the colony were modelled after the Mosaic code. It isreferred to, apologetically, in the statute of 1641; and no carefulstudent can fail to read between the lines the desire there expressedto refer to the Old Testament as authority for slavery. Now, slaveswere purchased by Abraham, and the New-England "doctors of the law"were unwilling to have slaves stolen when they could be bought[298] soeasily. Dr. Moore says, in reference to the decision, --

 "In all the proceedings of the General Court on this occasion, there is not a trace of anti-slavery opinion or sentiment, still less of anti-slavery legislation; though both have been repeatedly claimed for the honor of the colony. "[299]

And Dr. Moore is not alone in his opinion; for Mr. Hildreth says thiscase "in which Saltonstall was concerned has been magnified by tooprecipitate an admiration into a protest on the part of Massachusettsagainst the African slave-trade. So far, however, from any suchprotest being made, at the very birth of the foreign commerce of NewEngland the African slave-trade became a regular business. "[300] Thereis now, therefore, no room to doubt but what the decision was renderedon a technical point of law, and not inspired by an anti-slaverysentiment. 

As an institution, slavery had at first a stunted growth inMassachusetts, and did not increase its victims to any great extentuntil near the close of the seventeenth century. But when it did begina perceptible growth, it made rapid and prodigious strides. In 1676there were about two hundred slaves in the colony, and they werechiefly from Guinea and Madagascar. [301] In 1680 Gov. Bradstreet, incompliance with a request made by the home government, said that theslave-trade was not carried on to any great extent. They wereintroduced in small lots, and brought from ten to forty pounds apiece. He thought the entire number in the colony would not reach more thanone hundred and twenty-five. Few were born in the colony, and none hadbeen baptized up to that time. [302] The year 1700 witnessed anunprecedented growth in the slave-trade. From the 24th of January, 1698, to the 25th of December, 1707, [303] two hundred Negroes wereimported into the colony, --quite as many as in the previous sixtyyears. In 1708 Gov. Dudley's report to the board of trade fixed thenumber of Negroes at five hundred and fifty, and suggested that theywere not so desirable as white servants, who could be used in thearmy, and in time of peace turn their attention to planting. Theprohibition against the Negro politically and in a military sense, inthat section of the country, made him almost valueless to the colonialgovernment struggling for deliverance from the cruel laws of themother country. The white servant could join the "minute-men, " ploughwith his gun on his back, go to the church, and, having received theblessing of the parish minister, could hasten to battle with the proudand almost boastful feelings of a Christian freeman! But the Negro, bond and free, was excluded from all these sacred privileges. Wronged, robbed of his freedom, --the heritage of all human kind, --he wassuspicioned and contemned for desiring that great boon. On the 17th ofFebruary, 1720, Gov. Shute placed the number of slaves--including afew Indians--in Massachusetts at two thousand. During the same yearthirty-seven males and sixteen females were imported into thecolony. [304] We are unable to discover whether these were counted inthe enumeration furnished by Gov. Shute or not. We are inclined tothink they were included. In 1735 there were two thousand sixhundred[305] bond and free in the colony; and within the nextseventeen years the Negro population of Boston alone reached1, 541. [306]

In 1754 the colonial government found it necessary to establish asystem of taxation. Gov. Shirley was required to inform the House ofRepresentatives as to the different kinds of taxable property. Andfrom a clause in his message, Nov. 19, 1754, on the one hundred andnineteenth page of the Journal, we infer two things; viz. , that slaveswere chattels or real estate, and, therefore, taxable. The governorsays, "There is one part of the Estate, viz. , the Negro slaves, whichI am at a loss how to come at the knowledge of, without yourassistance. " In accordance with the request for assistance on thismatter, the Legislature instructed the assessors of each town anddistrict within the colony to secure a correct list of all Negroslaves, male and female, from sixteen years old and upwards, to bedeposited in the office of the secretary of state. [307] The result ofthis enumeration was rather surprising; as it fixed the Negropopulation at 4, 489, --quite an increase over the last enumeration. Again, in 1764-65, another census of the Negroes was taken; and theywere found to be 5, 779. 

Here, as in Virginia, an impost tax was imposed upon all Negro slavesimported into the colony. We will quote section 3 of the Act ofOctober, 1705, requiring duty upon imported Negroes; because many aredisposed to discredit some historical statements about slavery inMassachusetts. 

 "SECT. 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after the first day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and six, every master of ship or vessel, merchant or other person, importing or bringing into this province any negroe or negroes, male or female, of what age soever, shall enter their number, names and sex in the impost office; and the master shall insert the same in the manifest of his lading, and shall pay to the commissioner and receiver of the impost, four pounds per head for every such negro, male or female; and as well the master, as the ship or vessel wherein they are brought, shall be security for payment of the said duty; and both or either of them shall stand charged in the law therefor to the commissioner, who may deny to grant a clearing for such ship or vessel, until payment be made, or may recover the same of the master, at the commissioner's election, by action of debt, bill, plaint or information in any of her majesty's courts of record within this province. "[308]

A fine of eight pounds was imposed upon any person refusing orneglecting to make a proper entry of each slave imported, in the"Impost Office. " If a Negro died within six weeks after his arrival, adrawback was allowed. If any slave was sold again into anotherProvince or plantation within a year after his arrival, a drawback wasallowed to the person who paid the impost duty. A subsequent and morestringent law shows that there was no desire to abate the traffic. InAugust, 1712, a law was passed "prohibiting the importation orbringing into the province any Indian servants or slaves;"[309] but itwas only intended as a check upon the introduction of the Tuscarorasand other "revengeful" Indians from South Carolina. [310] DesperateIndians and insubordinate Negroes were the occasion of grave fears onthe part of the colonists. [311] Many Indians had been cruelly dealtwith in war; in peace, enslaved and wronged beyond their power ofendurance. Their stoical nature led them to the performance ofdesperate deeds. There is kinship in suffering. There is an unspokenlanguage in sorrow that binds hearts in the indissoluble fellowship ofresolve. Whatever natural and national differences existed between theIndian and the Negro--one from the bleak coasts of New England, theother from the tropical coast of Guinea--were lost in the commonalityof degradation and interest. The more heroic spirits of both racesbegan to grow restive under the yoke. The colonists were not slow toobserve this, and hence this law was to act as a restraint upon andagainst "their rebellion and hostilities. " And the reader shouldunderstand that it was not an anti-slavery measure. It was not"hostile to slavery" as a system: it was but the precaution of aguilty and ever-gnawing public conscience. 

Slavery grew. There was no legal obstacle in its way. It had thesanction of the law, as we have already shown, and what was betterstill, the sympathy of public sentiment. The traffic in slaves appearsto have been more an object in Boston than at any period before orsince. For a time dealers had no hesitation in advertising them forsale in their own names. At length a very few who advertised wouldrefer purchasers to "inquire of the printer, and know further. "[312]This was in 1727, fifteen years after the afore-mentioned Act became alaw, and which many apologists would interpret as a specific anddirect prohibition against slavery; but there is no reason for such aperversion of so plain an Act. 

Slavery in Massachusetts, as elsewhere, in self-defence had to claimas one of its necessary and fundamental principles, that the slave waseither _naturally_ inferior to the other races, or that, by somefundamentally inherent law in the institution itself, the master wasjustified in placing the lowest possible estimate upon his slaveproperty. "Property" implied absolute control over the thingpossessed. It carried in its broad meaning the awful fact, not aloneof ownership, but of the supremacy of the will of the owner. Mr. Addison says, --

 "What color of excuse can there be for the contempt with which we treat this part of our species, that we should not put them upon the common foot of humanity, that we should only _set an insignificant fine upon the man who murders them_; nay, that we should, as much as in us lies, cut them off from the prospect of happiness in another world, as well as in this, and deny them that which we look upon as the proper means for obtaining it?"[313]

None whatever! And yet the Puritans put the Negro slaves in theircolony on a level with "horses and hogs. " Let the intelligent Americanof to-day read the following remarkable note from Judge Sewall'sdiary, and then confess that facts are stranger than fiction. 

 "1716. I essayed June 22, to prevent Indians and Negroes being rated with Horses and Hogs; but could not prevail. Col. Thaxter bro't it back, and gave as a reason of y'r Nonagreement, They were just going to make a new valuation. "[314]

It had been sent to the deputies, and was by them rejected, and thenreturned to the judge by Col. Thaxter. The House was "just going tomake a New Valuation" of the property in the colony, and hence didnot care to exclude slaves from the list of chattels, [315] in whichthey had always been placed. 

 "In 1718, all Indian, Negro, and Mulatto servants for life were estimated as other Personal Estate--viz. : Each male servant _for life_ above fourteen years of age, at fifteen pounds value; each female servant for life, above fourteen years of age, at ten pounds value. The assessor might make abatement for cause of age or infirmity. Indian, Negro, and Mulatto Male servants _for a term of years_ were to be numbered and rated as other Polls, and not as Personal Estate. In 1726, the assessors were required to estimate Indian, Negro, and Mulatto servants proportionably as other Personal Estate, according to their sound judgment and discretion. In 1727, the rule of 1718 was restored, but during one year only, for in 1728 the law was the same as that of 1726; and so it probably remained, including all such servants, as well for term of years as for life, in the ratable estates. We have seen the supply-bills for 1736, 1738, 1739, and 1740, in which this feature is the same. 

 "And thus they continued to be rated with horses, oxen, cows, goats, sheep, and swine, until after the commencement of the War of the Revolution. [316]

On the 22d of April, 1728, the following notice appeared in a Bostonnewspaper:--

 "Two very likely Negro girls. Enquire two doors from the Brick Meetinghouse in Middle-street. At which place is to be sold women's stays, children's good callamanco stiffened-boddy'd coats, and childrens' stays of all sorts, and women's hoop-coats; all at very reasonable rates. "[317]

So the "likely Negro girls" were mixed up in the sale of "women'sstays" and "hoop-coats"! It was bad enough to "rate Negroes withHorses and Hogs, " but to sell them with second-hand clothing was anincident in which is to be seen the low depth to which slavery hadcarried the Negro by its cruel weight. A human being could be soldlike a cast-off garment, and pass without a bill of sale. [318] Theannouncement that a "likely Negro woman about nineteen years and achild about six months of age _to be sold together or apart_"[319] didnot shock the Christian sensibilities of the people of Massachusetts. A babe six months old could be torn from the withered and famishingbosom of the young mother, and sold with other articles ofmerchandise. How bitter and how cruel was such a separation, mothers[320] only can know; and how completely lost a community andgovernment are that regard with complacency a hardship so diabolical, the Christians of America must be able to judge. 

The Church has done many cruel things in the name of Christianity. Inthe dark ages it filled the minds of its disciples with fear, andtheir bodies with the pains of penance. It burned Michael Servetus, and it strangled the scientific opinions of Galileo. And in stalwartold Massachusetts it thought it was doing God's service in denying theNegro slave the right of Christian baptism. "

 "The famous French _Code Noir_ of 1685 obliged every planter to have his Negroes baptized, and properly instructed in the doctrines and duties of Christianity. Nor was this the only important and humane provision of that celebrated statute, to which we may seek in vain for any parallel in British Colonial legislation. "[321]

On the 25th of October, 1727, Matthias Plant[322] wrote, in answer tocertain questions put to him by "the secretary of the Society for thePropagation of the Gospel, " as follows:--

 "6. Negro slaves, one of them is desirous of baptism, but _denied by her master_, a woman of wonderful sense, and prudent in matters, of equal knowledge in Religion with most of her sex, far exceeding any of her own nation that ever yet I heard of. "[323]

It was nothing to her master that she was "desirous of baptism, " "ofwonderful sense, " "prudent in matters, " and "of equal knowledge inreligion with most of her sex!" She was a Negro slave, and as such wasdenied the blessings of the Christian Church. 

 "The system of personal servitude was fast disappearing from Western Europe, where the idea had obtained that it was inconsistent with Christian duty for Christians to hold Christians as slaves. But this charity did not extend to heathen and infidels. The same system of morality which held the possessions of unbelievers as lawful spoils of war, delivered over their persons also to the condition of servitude. Hence, in America, the slavery of the Indians, and presently of Negroes, whom experience proved to be much more capable of enduring the hardships of that condition. "[324]

And those who were so fortunate as to secure baptism were not freedthereby. [325] In Massachusetts no Negro ever had the courage to seekhis freedom through this door, and, therefore, there was no necessityfor legislation there to define the question, but in the Southerncolonies the law declared that baptism did not secure the liberty ofthe subject. As early as 1631 a law was passed admitting no man to therights of "freemen" who was not a member of some church within thelimits of the jurisdiction of the colony. [326] The blessings of a"freeman" were reserved for church-members only. Negroes were notadmitted to the church, and, therefore, were denied the rights of afreeman. [327] Even the mother country had no bowels of compassion forthe Negro. In 1677 the English courts held that a Negro slave was_property_. 

 "That, being usually bought and sold among merchants as merchandise, and _also being infidels_, there might be a property in them sufficient to maintain trover. "[328]

So as "infidels" the Negro slaves of Massachusetts were deprived ofrights and duties belonging to a member of the Church and State. 

 "Zealous for religion as the colonists were, very little effort was made to convert the Negroes, owing partly, at least, to a prevalent opinion that neither Christian brotherhood nor the law of England would justify the holding Christians as slaves. Nor could repeated colonial enactments to the contrary entirely root out this idea, for it was not supposed that a colonial statute could set aside the law of England. "[329]

But the deeper reason the colonists had for excluding slaves frombaptism, and hence citizenship, was twofold; viz. , to keep in harmonywith the Mosaic code in reference to "strangers" and "Gentiles, " andto keep the door of the Church shut in the face of the slave; becauseto open it to him was to emancipate him in course of time. Religiousand secular knowledge were not favorable to slavery. The coloniststurned to the narrow, national spirit of the Old Testament, ratherthan to the broad and catholic spirit of the New Testament, forauthority to withhold the mercies of the Christian religion from theNegro slaves in their midst. 

The rigorous system of domestic slavery established in the colony ofMassachusetts bore its bitter fruit in due season. It was impossibleto exclude the slaves from the privileges of the Church and Statewithout inflicting a moral injury upon the holy marriage relation. Inthe contemplation of the law the slave was a chattel, an article ofmerchandise. The custom of separating parent and child, husband andwife, was very clear proof that the marriage relation was eitherpositively ignored by the institution of slavery, or grossly violatedunder the slightest pretext. All well-organized society or governmentrests upon this sacred relation. But slavery, with lecherous grasp andavaricious greed, trailed the immaculate robes of marriage in themoral filth of the traffic in human beings. True, there never was anyprohibition against the marriage of one slave to another slave, --forthey _tried_ to breed slaves in Massachusetts!--but there never wasany law encouraging the lawful union of slaves until after theRevolutionary War, in 1786. We rather infer from the following in theAct of October, 1705, that the marriage relation among slaves had beenleft entirely to the caprices of the master. 

 "And no master shall unreasonably deny marriage to his Negro with one of the same nation; any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. "[330]

We have not been able to discover "any law" positively prohibitingmarriage among slaves; but there was a custom denying marriage to theNegro, that at length received the weight of positive law. Mr. Palfreysays, --

 "From the reverence entertained by the fathers of New England for the nuptial tie, it is safe to infer that slave husbands and wives were never separated. "[331]

We have searched faithfully to find the slightest justification forthis inference of Mr. Palfrey, but have not found it. There is not aline in any newspaper of the colony, until 1710, that indicates theconcern of the people in the lawful union of slaves. And there was nolegislation upon the subject until 1786, when an "Act for the orderlySolemnization of Marriage" passed. That Negro slaves were united inmarriage, there is abundant evidence, but not many in this period. Itwas almost a useless ceremony when "the customs and usages" of slaveryseparated them at the convenience of the owner. The master's powerover his slaves was almost absolute. If he wanted to sell the childrenand keep the parents, his decision was not subject to any court oflaw. It was final. If he wanted to sell the wife of his slave man intothe rice-fields of the Carolinas or into the West India Islands, thetears of the husband only exasperated the master. "The fathers of NewEngland" had _no_ reverence for the "nuptial tie" among their slaves, and, therefore, tore slave families asunder without the leastcompunction of conscience. "Negro children were considered anincumbrance in a family, and, when weaned, were given away likepuppies, " says the famous Dr. Belknap. But after the Act of 1705;"their banns were published like those of white persons;" and publicsentiment began to undergo a change on the subject. The followingNegro marriage was prepared by the Rev. Samuel Phillips of Andover. His ministry did not commence until 1710; and, therefore, thismarriage was prepared subsequent to that date. He realized the need ofsomething, and acted accordingly. 

 "You, Bob, do now, in ye Presence of God and these Witnesses, Take Sally to be your wife;

 "Promising, that so far as shall be consistent with ye Relation which you now Sustain as a servant, you will Perform ye Part of an Husband towards her: And in particular, as you shall have ye Opportunity & Ability, you will take proper Care of her in Sickness and Health, in Prosperity & Adversity;

 "And that you will be True & Faithful to her, and will Cleave to her only, so long as God, in his Providence, shall continue your and her abode in Such Place (or Places) as that you can conveniently come together. --Do You thus Promise?

 "You, Sally, do now, in ye Presence of God, and these Witnesses, Take Bob to be your Husband;

 "Promising, that so far as your present Relation as a Servant shall admit, you will Perform the Part of a Wife towards him: and in particular, "You Promise that you will Love him; And that as you shall have the Opportunity & Ability, you will take a proper Care of him in Sickness and Health; in Prosperity and Adversity:

 "And you will cleave to him only, so long as God, in his Providence, shall continue his & your Abode in such Place (or Places) as that you can come together. --Do you thus Promise? I then, agreeable to your Request, and with ye Consent of your Masters & Mistresses, do Declare that you have License given you to be conversant and familiar together as Husband and Wife, so long as God shall continue your Places of Abode as aforesaid; And so long as you Shall behave yourselves as it becometh servants to doe:

 "For you must both of you bear in mind that you remain still, as really and truly as ever, your Master's Property, and therefore it will be justly expected, both by God and Man, that you behave and conduct yourselves as Obedient and faithful Servants towards your respective Masters & Mistresses for the Time being:

 "And finally, I exhort and Charge you to beware lest you give place to the Devil, so as to take occasion from the license now given you, to be lifted up with Pride, and thereby fall under the Displeasure, not of Man only, but of God also; for it is written, that God resisteth the Proud but giveth Grace to the humble. 

 "I shall now conclude with Prayer for you, that you may become good Christians, and that you may be enabled to conduct as such; and in particular, that you may have Grace to behave suitably towards each Other, as also dutifully towards your Masters & Mistresses, Not with Eye Service as Men pleasers, ye Servants of Christ doing ye Will of God from ye heart, &c. 

 ["ENDORSED] NEGRO MARRIAGE. "[332]

Where a likely Negro woman was courted by the slave of another owner, and wanted to marry, she was sold, as a matter of humanity, "with herwearing apparel" to the owner of the man. "A Bill of Sale of a NegroWoman Servant in Boston in 1724, recites that 'Whereas Scipio, ofBoston aforesaid, Free Negro Man and Laborer, proposes Marriage toMargaret, the Negro Woman Servant of the said Dorcas Marshall [a WidowLady of Boston]: Now to the Intent that the said Intended Marriage maytake Effect, and that the said Scipio may Enjoy the said Margaretwithout any Interruption, ' etc. , she is duly sold, with her apparel, for Fifty Pounds. "[333] Within the next twenty years the Governor andhis Council found public opinion so modified on the question ofmarriage among the blacks, that they granted a Negro a divorce onaccount of his wife's adultery with a white man. But in Quincy'sReports, page 30, note, quoted by Dr. Moore, in 1758 the followingrather loose decision is recorded: that the child of a female slavenever married according to any of the forms prescribed by the laws ofthis land, by another slave, who "had kept her company with hermaster's consent, " was not a bastard. 

The Act of 1705 forbade any "christian" from marrying a Negro, andimposed a fine of fifty pounds upon any clergyman who should join aNegro and "christian" in marriage. It stood as the law of theCommonwealth until 1843, when it was repealed by an "Act relating toMarriage between Individuals of Certain Races. "

As to the political rights of the Negro, it should be borne in mind, that, as he was excluded from the right of Christian baptism, hencefrom the Church; and as "only church-members enjoyed the rights offreemen, it is clear that the Negro was not admitted to the exerciseof the duties of a freeman. [334] Admitting that there were instanceswhere Negroes received the rite of baptism, it was so well understoodas not entitling them to freedom or political rights, that it wasnever questioned during this entire period. Free Negroes were butlittle better off than the slaves. While they might be regarded asowning their own labor, political rights and ecclesiastical privilegeswere withheld from them. 

 "They became the objects of a suspicious legislation, which deprived them of most of the rights of freemen, and reduced them to a social position very similar, in many respects, to that which inveterate prejudice in many parts of Europe has fixed upon the Jews. "

Though nominally free, they did not come under the head of"Christians. " Neither freedom, nor baptism in the Church, could freethem from the race-malice of the whites, that followed them like thefleet-footed "Furies. " There were special regulations for freeNegroes. The Act of 1703, forbidding slaves from being out at nightafter the hour of nine o'clock, extended to free Negroes. [335] In 1707an Act was passed "regulating of free negroes. "[336] It recites that"free negroes and mulattos, able of body, and fit for labor, who arenot charged with trainings, watches, and other services, "[337] shallperform service equivalent to militia training. They were under thecharge of the officer in command of the military company belonging tothe district where they resided. They did fatigue-duty. And the onlytime, that, by law, the Negro was admitted to the trainings, wasbetween 1652 and 1656. But there is no evidence that the Negroes tookadvantage of the law. Public sentiment is more potent than law. InMay, 1656, the law of 1652, admitting Negroes to the trainings, wasrepealed. 

 "For the better ordering and settling of severall cases in the military companyes within this jurisdiction, which, upon experience, are found either wanting or inconvenient, it is ordered and declared by this Court and the authoritie thereof, that henceforth no negroes or Indians, although servants to the English, shal be armed or permitted to trayne, and y't no other person shall be exempted from trayning but such as some law doth priveledge. "[338]

And Gov. Bradstreet, in his report to the "Committee for Trade, " madein May, 1680, says, --

 "We account all generally from Sixteen to Sixty that are healthfull and strong bodys, both House-holders and Servants fit to beare Armes, _except Negroes_ and _slaves_, whom wee arme not. "[339]

The law of 1707--which is the merest copy of the Virginia law on thesame subject--requires free Negroes to answer fire-alarms with thecompany belonging to their respective precincts. They were not allowedto entertain slave friends at their houses, without the permission ofthe owner of the slaves. To all prohibitions there was affixed severefines in large sums of money. In case of a failure to pay these fines, the delinquent was sent to the House of Correction; where, undersevere discipline, he was constrained to work out his fine at the rateof one shilling per day! If a Negro "presume to smite or strike anyperson of the English, or other Christian nation, " he was publiclyflogged by the justice before whom tried, at the discretion of thatofficer. 

During this period the social condition of the Negroes, bond andfree, was very deplorable. The early records of the town of Bostonpreserve the fact that one Thomas Deane, in the year 1661, wasprohibited from employing a Negro in the manufacture of hoops, under apenalty of twenty shillings; for what reason is not stated. [340] Nochurches or schools, no books or teachers, they were left to the gloomand vain imaginations of their own fettered intellects. John Eliot"had long lamented it with a Bleeding and Burning Passion, that theEnglish used their Negroes but as their Horses or their Oxen, and thatso little care was taken about their immortal souls; he looked upon itas a Prodigy, that any wearing the _Name_ of _Christians_ should somuch have the _Heart_ of _Devils_ in them, as to prevent and hinderthe Instruction of the poor _Blackamores_, and confine the souls oftheir miserable Slaves to a _Destroying Ignorance_, merely for fear ofthereby losing the Benefit of their Vassalage; but now he made amotion to the _English_ within two or three Miles of him, that at sucha time and place they would send their _Negroes_ once a week unto him:For he would then _Catechise_ them, and _Enlighten_ them, to theutmost of his power in things of their Everlasting Peace; however, hedid not live to make much progress in this undertaking. "[341] The fewfaint voices of encouragement, that once in a great while reached themfrom the pulpit[342] and forum, were as strange music, mellowed andsweetened by the distance. The free and slave Negroes were separatedby law, were not allowed to communicate together to any great extent. They were not allowed in numbers greater than three, and then, if notin the service of some white person, were liable to be arrested, andsent to the House of Correction. 

 "The slave was the property of his master as much as his ox or his horse; _he had no civil rights_ but that of protection from cruelty; he could acquire no property nor dispose of any[343] without the consent of his master.... We think he had not the capacity to communicate a civil relation to his children, which he did not enjoy himself, except as the property of his master. "[344]

With but small means the free Negroes of the colony were unable tosecure many comforts in their homes. They were hated and dreaded morethan their brethren in bondage. They could judge, by contrast, of theabasing influences of slavery. They were only nominally free; becausethey were taxed[345] without representation, --had no voice in thecolonial government. 

But, notwithstanding the obscure and neglected condition of the freeNegroes, some of them by their industry, frugality, and aptitude won aplace in the confidence and esteem of the more humane of the whitepopulation. Owning their own time, many of the free Negroes appliedthemselves to the acquisition of knowledge. Phillis Wheatley, thoughnominally a slave for some years, stood at the head of theintellectual Negroes of this period. She was brought from Africa tothe Boston slave-market, where, in 1761, she was purchased by abenevolent white lady by the name of Mrs. John Wheatley. She wasnaked, save a piece of dirty carpet about her loins, was delicate ofconstitution, and much fatigued from a rough sea-voyage. Touched byher modest demeanor and intelligent countenance, Mrs. Wheatley choseher from a large company of slaves. It was her intention to teach herthe duties of an ordinary domestic; but clean clothing and wholesomediet effected such a radical change in the child for the better, thatMrs. Wheatley changed her plans, and began to give her privateinstruction. Eager for learning, apt in acquiring, though only eightyears old, she greatly surprised and pleased her mistress. Placedunder the instruction of Mrs. Wheatley's daughter, Phillis learned theEnglish language sufficiently well as to be able to read the mostdifficult portions of the Bible with ease and accuracy. This sheaccomplished in less than a year and a half. She readily mastered theart of writing; and within four years from the time she landed in theslave-market in Boston, she was able to carry on an extensivecorrespondence on a variety of topics. 

Her ripening intellectual faculties attracted the attention of therefined and educated people of Boston, many of whom sought her societyat the home of the Wheatleys. It should be remembered, that thisperiod did not witness general culture among the masses of whitepeople, and certainly no facilities for the education of Negroes. Andyet some cultivated white persons gave Phillis encouragement, loanedher books, and called her out on matters of a literary character. Having acquired the principles of an English education, she turned herattention to the study of the Latin language, [346] and was able to dowell in it. Encouraged by her success, she translated one of Ovid'stales. The translation was considered so admirable that it waspublished in Boston by some of her friends. On reaching England it wasrepublished, and called forth the praise of many of the reviews. 

Her manners were modest and refined. Her nature was sensitiveand affectionate. She early gave signs of a deep spiritualexperience, [347] which gave tone and character to all her efforts incomposition and poetry. There was a charming vein of gratitude in allher private conversations and public utterances, which her owners didnot fail to recognize and appreciate. Her only distinct recollectionof her native home was, that every morning early _her mother pouredout water before the rising sun_. Her growing intelligence and keenappreciation of the blessings of civilization overreached mere animalgrief at the separation from her mother. And as she knew more of theword of God, she became more deeply interested in the condition of herrace. 

At the age of twenty her master emancipated her. Naturally delicate, the severe climate of New England, and her constant application tostudy, began to show on her health. Her friend and mother, for suchshe proved herself to be, Mrs. Wheatley, solicitous about her health, called in eminent medical counsel, who prescribed a sea-voyage. A sonof Mrs. Wheatley was about to visit England on mercantile business, and therefore took Phillis with him. For the previous six years shehad cultivated her taste for poetry; and, at this time, her reputationwas quite well established. She had corresponded with persons inEngland in social circles, and was not a stranger to the English. Shewas heartily welcomed by the leaders of the society of the Britishmetropolis, and treated with great consideration. Under all the tryingcircumstances of high social life, among the nobility and rarestliterary genius of London, this redeemed child of the desert, coupledto a beautiful modesty the extraordinary powers of an incomparableconversationalist. She carried London by storm. Thoughtful peoplepraised her; titled people dined her; and the press extolled the nameof Phillis Wheatley, the African poetess. 

Prevailed upon by admiring friends, in 1773[348] she gave her poems tothe world. They were published in London in a small octavo volume ofabout one hundred and twenty pages, comprising thirty-nine pieces. Itwas dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon, with a picture of thepoetess, and a letter of recommendation signed by the governor andlieutenant-governor, with many other "respectable citizens of Boston. "

 * * * * *

 TO THE PUBLIC. 

 As it has been repeatedly suggested to the publisher, by persons who have seen the manuscript, that numbers would be ready to suspect they were not really the writings of PHILLIS, he has procured the following attestation, from the most respectable characters in _Boston_, that none might have the least ground for disputing their _Original_. 

 We, whose Names are under-written, do assure the World, that the Poems specified in the following page were (as we verily believe) written by PHILLIS, a young Negro Girl, who was, but a few Years since, brought, an uncultivated Barbarian, from _Africa_, and has ever since been, and now is, under the disadvantage of serving as a Slave in a family in this town. She has been examined by some of the best judges, and is thought qualified to write them. 

 _His Excellency_, THOMAS HUTCHINSON, _Governor_. _The Hon_. ANDREW OLIVER, _Lieutenant Governor_. 

 _Hon_. Thomas Hubbard, | _Rev_. Charles Chauncy, _Hon_. John Erving, | _Rev_. Mather Byles, _Hon_. James Pitts, | _Rev_. Ed Pemberton, _Hon_. Harrison Gray, | _Rev_. Andrew Elliot, _Hon_. James Bowdoin, | _Rev_. Samuel Cooper, John Hancock, _Esq_. | _Rev_. Samuel Mather, Joseph Green, _Esq_. | _Rev_. John Moorhead, Richard Cary, _Esq_. | _Mr_. John Wheatley, her master. 

 * * * * *

The volume has passed through several English and American editions, and is to be found in all first-class libraries in the country. Mrs. Wheatley sickened, and grieved daily after Phillis. A picture of herlittle ward, sent from England, adorned her bedroom; and she pointedit out to visiting friends with all the sincere pride of a mother. Onone occasion she exclaimed to a friend, "See! Look at my Phillis! Doesshe not seem as though she would speak to me?" Getting no better, shesent a loving request to Phillis to come to her at as early a momentas possible. With a deep sense of gratitude to Mrs. Wheatley forcountless blessings bestowed upon her, Phillis hastened to return toBoston. She found her friend and benefactor just living, and shortlyhad the mournful satisfaction of closing her sightless eyes. Thehusband and daughter followed the wife and mother quickly to thegrave. Young Mr. Wheatley married, and settled in England. Phillis wasalone in the world. 

 "She soon after received an offer of marriage from a respectable colored man, of Boston. The name of this individual was _John_ Peters. [349] He kept a grocery in Court Street, and was a man of handsome person. He wore a wig, carried a cane, and quite acted out '_the gentleman_. ' In an evil hour, he was accepted; and, though he was a man of talents and information, --writing with fluency and propriety, and, at one period, reading law, --he proved utterly unworthy of the distinguished woman who honored him by her alliance. "

Her married life was brief. She was the mother of one child, that diedearly. Ignorant of the duties of domestic life, courted and flatteredby the cultivated, Peters's jealousy was at length turned into harshtreatment. Tenderly raised, and of a delicate constitution, Phillis soon went into decline, and died Dec. 5, 1784, in thethirty-first[350] year of her life, greatly beloved and sincerelymourned by all whose good fortune it had been to know of her highmental endowments and blameless Christian life. 

Her influence upon the rapidly growing anti-slavery sentiment ofMassachusetts was considerable. The friends of humanity took pleasurein pointing to her marvellous achievements, as an evidence of what theNegro could do under favorable circumstances. From a state of nudityin a slave-market, a stranger to the English language, this youngAfrican girl had won her way over the rough path of learning; hadconquered the spirit of caste in the best society of conservative oldBoston; had brought two continents to her feet in admiration andamazement at the rare poetical accomplishments of a child ofAfrica![351]

She addressed a poem to Gen. Washington that pleased the old warriorvery much. We have never seen it, though we have searched diligently. Mr. Sparks says of it, --

 "I have not been able to find, among Washington's papers the letter and poem addressed to him. They have doubtless been lost. From the circumstance of her invoking the muse in his praise, and from the tenor of some of her printed pieces, particularly one addressed to King George seven years before, in which she compliments him on the repeal of the Stamp Act, it may be inferred, that she was a Whig in politics after the American way of thinking; and it might be curious to see in what manner she would eulogize liberty and the rights of man, while herself, nominally at least, in bondage. "[352]

Gen. Washington, in a letter to Joseph Reed, bearing date of the 10thof February, 1776, from Cambridge, refers to the letter and poem asfollows:--

 "I recollect nothing else worth giving you the trouble of, unless you can be amused by reading a letter and poem addressed to me by Miss Phillis Wheatley. In searching over a parcel of papers the other day, in order to destroy such as were useless, I brought it to light again. At first, with a view of doing justice to her poetical genius, I had a great mind to publish the poem; but not knowing whether it might not be considered rather as a mark of my own vanity, than as a compliment to her, I laid it aside, [353] till I came across it again in the manner just mentioned. "[354]

This gives the world an "inside" view of the brave old general'sopinion of the poem and poetess, but the "outside" view, as expressedto Phil's, is worthy of reproduction at this point. 

 CAMBRIDGE, 28 February, 1776. 

 MISS PHILLIS, --Your favor of the 26th of October did not reach my hands, till the middle of December. Time enough, you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. But a variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to distract the mind and withdraw the attention, I hope will apologize for the delay, and plead my excuse for the seeming but not real neglect. I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me, in the elegant lines you enclosed; and however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyric, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your poetical talents; in honor of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I would have published the poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, while I only meant to give the world this new instance of your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of vanity. This, and nothing else, determined me not to give it place in the public prints. 

 If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near head-quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favored by the Muses, and to whom nature has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations. 

 I am, with great respect, your obedient, humble servant, GEORGE WASHINGTON. [355]

This letter is a handsome compliment to the poetess, and does honor toboth the head and heart of the general. His modesty, socharacteristic, has deprived history of its dues. But it is consolingto know that the sentiments of the poem found a response in thepatriotic heart of the _first soldier of the Revolution, and theFather of his Country_!

While Phillis Wheatley stands out as one of the most distinguishedcharacters of this period, and who, as a Colored person, had no equal, yet she was not the only individual of her race of intellect andcharacter. A Negro boy from Africa was purchased by a Mr. Slocum, whoresided near New Bedford, Mass. After he acquired the language, heturned his thoughts to freedom, and in a few years, by working beyondthe hours he devoted to his master, was enabled to buy himself fromhis master. He married an Indian woman named Ruth Moses, and settledat Cutterhunker, in the Elizabeth Islands, near New Bedford. In a fewyears, through industry and frugality, John Cuffe--the name he took asa freeman--was enabled to purchase a good farm of one hundred (100)acres. Every year recorded new achievements, until John Cuffe had awide reputation for wealth, honesty, and intelligence. He appliedhimself to books, and secured, as the ripe fruit of his studioushabits, a fair business education. Both himself and wife wereChristian believers; and to lives of industry and increasing secularknowledge, they added that higher knowledge which makes alive to"everlasting life. " Ten children were born unto them, --four boys andsix girls. One of the boys, Paul Cuffe, became one of the mostdistinguished men of color Massachusetts has produced. The reader willbe introduced to him in the proper place in the history. John Cuffedied in 1745, leaving behind, in addition to considerable property, agood name, which is of great price. [356]

Richard Dalton, Esq. , of Boston, owned a Negro boy whom he taught toread any Greek writer without hesitancy. Mr. Dalton was afflicted withweak eyes; and his fondness for the classics would not allow him toforego the pleasure of them, and hence his Negro boy Cæsar wasinstructed in the Greek. [357] "The Boston Chronicle" of Sept. 21, 1769, contains the following advertisement: "To be sold, a LikelyLittle negroe boy, who _can speak the French language_, and very fitfor a Valet. "

With increasing evidence of the Negro's capacity for mentalimprovement, and fitness for the duties and blessings of a freeman, and the growing insolence and rigorous policy of the mother country, came a wonderful change in the colony. The Negroes were emboldened toask for and claim rights as British subjects, and the more humaneelement among the whites saw in a relaxation of the severe treatmentof the blacks security and immunity in war. But anti-slavery sentimentin Massachusetts was not born of a genuine desire to put down a wickedand cruel traffic in human beings. Two things operated in favor ofhumane treatment of the slaves, --an impending war, and the decision ofLord Mansfield in the Sommersett case. The English government wasyearly increasing the burdens of the colonists. The country was young, its resources little known. The people were largely engaged inagricultural pursuits. There were no tariff laws encouraging orprotecting the labor or skill of the people. Civil war seemedinevitable. Thoughtful men began to consider the question as to whichparty the Negroes of the colony would contribute their strength. Itwas no idle question to determine whether the Negroes were Tories orWhigs. As early as 1750 the questions as to the legality of holdingNegroes in slavery in British colonies began to be discussed inEngland and New England. "What, precisely, the English law might be onthe subject of slavery, still remained a subject of doubt. "[358] LordHolt held that slavery was a condition unknown to English law, --thatthe being in England was evidence of freedom. This embarrassedNew-England planters in taking their slaves to England. The plantersbanded for their common cause, and secured the written opinion ofYorke and Talbot, attorney and solicitor general of England. They heldthat slaves _could_ be held in England as well as in America; thatbaptism did not confer freedom: and the opinion stood as sound law fornearly a half-century. [359] The men in England who lived on the moneywrung from the slave-trade, the members of the Royal African Company, came to the rescue of the institution of slavery. In order to maintainit by law in the American colonies, it had to be recognized inEngland. The people of Massachusetts took a lively interest in thequestion. In 1761, at a meeting "in the old court-house, " JamesOtis, [360] in a speech against the "writs of assistance, " struck apopular chord on the questions of "The Rights of the Colonies, "afterwards published (1764) by order of the Legislature. He took thebroad ground, "that the colonists, black and white, born here, arefree-born British subjects and entitled to all the essential rights ofsuch. "[361] In 1766 Nathaniel Appleton and James Swan distinguishedthemselves in their defence of the doctrines of "liberty for all. " Itbecame the general topic of discussion in private and public, andcountry lyceums and college societies took it up as a subject offorensic disputation. [362] In the month of May, 1766, therepresentatives of the people were instructed to advocate the totalabolition of slavery. And on the 16th of March, 1767, a resolution wasoffered to see whether the instructions should be adhered to, and wasunanimously carried in the affirmative. But it should be rememberedthat British troops were in the colony, in the streets of Boston. Themutterings of the distant thunder of revolution could be heard. Publicsentiment was greatly tempered toward the Negroes. On the 31st of May, 1609, the House of Representatives of Massachusetts resolved againstthe presence of troops, and besought the governor to remove them. HisExcellency disclaimed any power under the circumstances to interfere. The House denounced a standing army in time of peace, without theconsent of the General Court, as "without precedent, andunconstitutional. "[363] In 1769 one of the courts of Massachusettsgave a decision friendly to a slave, who was the plaintiff. Thisstimulated the Negroes to an exertion for freedom. The entire colonywas in a feverish state of excitement. An anonymous Tory writerreproached Bostonians for desiring freedom when they themselvesenslaved others. 

 "'What!' cries our good people here, 'Negro slaves in Boston! It cannot be. ' It is nevertheless true. For though the Bostonians have grounded their rebellion on the 'immutable laws of nature, ' yet, notwithstanding their resolves about freedom in their Town-meetings, they actually have in town 2, 000 Negro slaves. "[364]

These trying and exasperating circumstances were but the friendlyprecursors of a spirit of universal liberty. 

In England the decision of Lord Mansfield in the Sommersett[365] casehad encouraged the conscientious few who championed the cause of theslave. Charles Stewart, Esq. , of Boston, Mass. , had taken to Londonwith him his Negro slave, James Sommersett. The Negro was seized witha sickness in the British metropolis, and was thereupon abandoned byhis master. He afterwards regained his health, and secured employment. His master, learning of his whereabouts, had him arrested, and placedin confinement on board the vessel "Ann and Mary, " Capt. John Knowls, commander, then lying in the Thames, but soon to sail for Jamaica, where Sommersett was to be sold. 

 "On the 3rd of Dec. , 1771, affidavits were made by Thomas Walklin, Elizabeth Cade, and John Marlow, that James Sommersett, a Negro, was confined in irons on board a ship called the _Ann_ and _Mary_, John Knowls commander, lying in the Thames, and bound for Jamaica. Lord Mansfield, upon the prayer of the above subscribers, allowed a writ of _habeas corpus_, requiring the return of the body of Sommersett before his lordship with an explanation of the cause of his detention. On the 9th of Dec. , Capt. Knowls produced the body of Sommersett in Court. Lord Mansfield, after a preliminary examination, referred the matter to the Court of King's Bench, and, therefore, took sureties, and bound Sommersett over 'till 'the 2nd day of the next Hillary term. ' At the time appointed the defendant with counsel, the reputed master of the Negro man Sommersett, and Capt. John Knowls, appeared before the court. Capt. Knowls recited the reasons that led him to detain Sommersett: whereupon the counsel for the latter asked for time in which to prepare an argument against the return. Lord Mansfield gave them until the 7th of February. At the time appointed Mr. Sergeant Davy and Mr. Sergeant Glynn argued against the return, and had further argument 'postponed' till Easter term, ' when Mr. Mansfield, Mr. Alleyne, and Mr. Hargrave argued on the same side. 'The only question before us is whether the cause on the return is sufficient. If it is, the Negro must be remanded; if it is not, he must be discharged. The return states that the slave departed and refused to serve, whereupon he was kept to be sold abroad. So high an act of dominion must be recognized by the law of the country where it is used. The power of a master over his slave has been exceedingly different in different countries. The state of slavery is of such a nature that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political, but only by positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasions, and time itself from whence it was created is erased from memory. It is so odious that nothing can be suffered to support it but positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from the decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England, and therefore the black must be discharged. '"

The influence of this decision was wide-spread, and hurtful to slaveryin the British colonies in North America. It poured new life into theexpiring hopes of the Negroes, and furnished a rule of law for theadvocates of "freedom for all. " It raised a question of law in all thecolonies as to whether the colonial governments could pass an Actlegalizing that which was "contrary to English law. "[366]

Notwithstanding the general and generous impulse for liberty, theindissoluble ties of avarice, and the greed for the unearned gains ofthe slave-trade, made public men conservate to conserve the interestsof those directly interested in the inhuman traffic. 

 "In an age when the interests of trade guided legislation, this branch of commerce possessed paramount attractions. Not a statesman exposed its enormities; and, if Richard Baxter echoed the opinions of Puritan Massachusetts, if Southern drew tears by the tragic tale of Oronooko, if Steele awakened a throb of indignation by the story of Inkle and Yarico, if Savage and Shenstone pointed their feeble couplets with the wrongs of 'Afric's sable children, ' if the Irish metaphysician Hutcheson, struggling for a higher system of morals, --justly stigmatized the traffic; yet no public opinion lifted its voice against it. English ships, fitted out in English cities, under the special favor of the royal family, of the ministry, and of parliament, stole from Africa, in the years from 1700 to 1750, probably a million and a half of souls, of whom one-eighth were buried in the Atlantic, victims of the passage; and yet in England no general indignation rebuked the enormity; for the public opinion of the age was obedient to materialism. "[367]

Humane masters who desired to emancipate their slaves were embarrassedby a statute unfriendly to manumission. The Act of 1703[368] deterredmany persons from emancipating their slaves on account of its unjustand hard requirements. And under it quite a deal of litigation arose. It required every master who desired to liberate his slave, beforedoing so, to furnish a bond to the treasurer of the town or place inwhich he resided, in a sum not less than fifty pounds. [369] This wasto indemnify the town or place in case the Negro slave thusemancipated should, through lameness or sickness, become a charge. Incase a master failed to furnish such security, his emancipated slaveswere still contemplated by the law as in bondage, "notwithstanding anymanumission or instrument of freedom to them made or given. " JudgeSewall, in a letter to John Adams, cites a case in point. 

 "A man, by will, gives his Negro his liberty, and leaves him a legacy. The executor consents that the Negro shall be free, but refuseth to give bond to the selectmen to indemnify the town against any charge for his support in case he should become poor (without which, by the province law, he is not manumitted), or to pay him the legacy. 

 _Query_. Can he recover the legacy, and how?

 I have just observed that in your last you desire me to say something towards discouraging you from removing to Providence; and you say, any thing will do. At present, I only say, you will do well enough where you are. I will explain myself, and add something further, in some future letter. I have not time to enlarge now, for which I believe you will not be inconsolably grieved. So, to put you out of pain, your hearty friend, JONATHAN SEWALL. "[370]

Mr. Adams replied as follows:--

 "Now. _En mesure le manner_. The testator intended plainly that his negro should have his liberty and a legacy; therefore the law will presume that he intended his executor should do all that without which he could have neither. That this indemnification was not in the testator's mind, cannot be proved from the will any more than it could be proved, in the first case above, that the testator did not know a fee simple would pass a will without the word heirs; nor than, in the second case, that the devise of a trust, that might continue forever, would convey a fee-simple without the like words. I take it, therefore, that the executor of this will is, by implication, obliged to give bonds to the town treasurer, and, in his refusal, is a wrongdoer; and I cannot think he ought to be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong, so much as to allege this want of an indemnification to evade an action of the case brought for the legacy by the negro himself. 

 But why may not the negro bring a special action of the case against the executor, setting forth the will, the devise of freedom and a legacy, and then the necessity of indemnification by the province law, and then a refusal to indemnify, and, of consequence, to set free and to pay the legacy?

 Perhaps the negro is free at common law by the devise. Now, the province law seems to have been made only to oblige the master to maintain his manumitted slave, and not to declare a manumission in the master's lifetime, or at his death, void. Should a master give his negro his freedom, under his hand and seal, without giving bond to the town, and should afterwards repent and endeavor to recall the negro into servitude, would not that instrument be a sufficient discharge against the master?"[371]

It is pleaded in extenuation of this Act, that it was passed to put astop to the very prevalent habit of emancipating old and decrepitNegroes after there was no more service in them. If this be true, itreveals a practice more cruel than slavery itself. 

In 1702 the representatives of the town of Boston were "desired topromote the encouraging the bringing of White servants and to put aperiod to Negroes being slaves. "[372] This was not an anti-slaverymeasure, as some have wrongly supposed. [373] It was not a resolutionor an Act: it was simply a request; and one that the "Representatives"did not grant for nearly a century afterwards. 

 "In 1718, a committee of both Houses prepared a bill entitled 'An Act for the Encouraging the Importation of White Male Servants, and the preventing the Clandestine bringing in of Negroes and Molattoes. '"

It was read in Council a first time on the 16th of June, and "sentdown recommended" to the House; where it was also read a first time onthe same day. The next day it was read a second time, and, "on thequestion for a third reading, decided in the negative. "[374] In 1706an argument or "Computation that the Importation of Negroes is not soprofitable as that of White Servants, " was published in Boston. [375]It throws a flood of light upon the Act mentioned above, and showsthat the motives that inspired the people who wanted a period put tothe holding of Negroes as slaves were grossly material and selfish. Itwas the first published article on the subject, and is worthy ofreproduction in full. It is reprinted from "The Boston News-Letter, "No. 112, June 10, 1706, in the New-York Historical Society. 

 "By last Year's Bill of Mortality for the Town of _Boston_, in _Number 100 News-Letter_, we are furnished with a List of 44 Negroes dead last year, which being computed one with another at 30_l. _ per Head, amounts to the Sum of One Thousand three hundred and Twenty Pounds, of which we would make this Remark: That the Importing of Negroes into this or the Neighboring Provinces is not so beneficial either to the Crown or Country, as White Servants would be. 

 "For Negroes do not carry Arms to defend the Country as Whites do. 

 "Negroes are generally Eye-Servants, great Thieves, much addicted to Stealing, Lying and Purloining. 

 "They do not People our Country as Whites would do whereby we should be strengthened against an Enemy. 

 "By Encouraging the Importing of White Men Servants, allowing somewhat to the Importer, most Husbandmen in the Country might be furnished with Servants for 8, 9, or 10_l. _ a Head, who are not able to launch out 40 or 50_l. _ for a Negro the now common Price. 

 "A Man then might buy a White Man Servant we suppose for 10_l. _ to serve 4 years, and Boys for the same price to Serve 6, 8, or 10 years; If a White Servant die, the Loss exceeds not 10_l. _ but if a Negro dies, 'tis a very great loss to the Husbandman; Three years Interest of the price of the Negro, will near upon if not altogether purchase a White Man Servant. 

 "If necessity call for it, that the Husbandman must fit out a Man against the Enemy; if he has a Negro he cannot send him, but if he has a White Servant, 'twill answer the end, and perhaps save his son at home. 

 "Were Merchants and Masters Encouraged as already said to bring in Men Servants, there needed not be such Complaint against Superiors Impressing our Children to the War, there would then be Men enough to be had without Impressing. 

 "The bringing in of such Servants would much enrich this Province, because Husbandmen would not only be able far better to manure what Lands are already under Improvement, but would also improve a great deal more that now lyes waste under Woods, and enable this Province to set about raising of Naval Stores, which would be greatly advantageous to the Crown of England, and this Province. 

 "For the raising of Hemp here, so as to make Sail-cloth and Cordage to furnish but our own shipping, would hinder the Importing it, and save a considerable sum in a year to make Returns for which we now do, and in time might be capacitated to furnish England not only with Sail-cloth and Cordage, but likewise with Pitch, Tar, Hemp, and other Stores which they are now obliged to purchase in Foreign Nations. 

 "Suppose the Government here should allow Forty Shillings per head for five years, to such as should Import every of these years 100 White Men Servants, and each to serve 4 years, the cost would be but 200_l. _ a year, and a 1000_l. _ for the 5 years. The first 100 Servants, being free the 4th year they serve the 5th for Wages, and the 6th there is 100 that goes out into the Woods, and settles a 100 Families to Strengthen and Baracado us from the Indians, and also a 100 Families more every year successively. 

 "And here you see that in one year the Town of Boston has lost 1320_l. _ by 44 Negroes, which is also a loss to the Country in general, and for a less loss (if it may improperly be so called) for a 1000_l. _ the Country may have 500 Men in 5 years time for the 44 Negroes dead in one year. 

 "A certain person within these 6 years had two Negroes dead computed both at 60_l. _ which would have procured him six white Servants at 10_l. _ per head to have Served 24 years, at 4 years apiece, without running such a great risque, and the Whites would have strengthened the Country, that Negroes do not. 

 "'Twould do well that none of those Servants be liable to be Impressed during their Service of Agreement at their first Landing. 

 "That such Servants being Sold or Transported out of this Province during the time of their Service, the Person that buys them be liable to pay 3_l. _ into the Treasury. "

Comment would be superfluous. It is only necessary for the reader tonote that there is not a humane sentiment in the entire article. 

But universal liberty was not without her votaries. All had not bowedthe knee to Baal. The earliest friend of the Indian and the Negro wasthe scholarly, pious, and benevolent Samuel Sewall, at one time one ofthe judges of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, and afterwards thechief justice. He hated slavery with a righteous hatred, and earlyraised his voice and used his pen against it. He contributed the firstarticle against slavery printed in the colony. It appeared as a tract, on the 24th of June, 1700, and was "Printed by Bartholomew Green andJohn Allen. " It is withal the most remarkable document of its kind weever saw. It is reproduced here to show the reader what a learnedChristian judge thought of slavery one hundred and eighty-two yearsago. 

 "THE SELLING OF JOSEPH A MEMORIAL. 

 "By the Hon'ble JUDGE SEWALL in New England. 

 "FORASMUCH _as_ LIBERTY _is in real value next unto Life; None ought to part with it themselves, or deprive others of it, but upon most mature consideration. _

 "The Numerousness of Slaves at this Day in the Province, and the Uneasiness of them under their Slavery, hath put many upon thinking whether the Foundation of it be firmly and well laid; so as to sustain the Vast Weight that is built upon it. It is most certain that all Men, as they are the Sons of _Adam_, are Co-heirs, and have equal Right unto Liberty, and all other outward Comforts of Life. GOD _hath given the Earth [with all its commodities] unto the Sons of Adam, Psal. , 115, 16. And hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men, for to dwell on all the face of the Earth, and hath determined the Times before appointed, and the bounds of their Habitation: That they should seek the Lord. Forasmuch then as we are the Offspring of_ GOD, &c. _Acts, 17, 26, 27, 29_. Now, although the Title given by the last ADAM doth infinitely better Men's Estates, respecting GOD and themselves; and grants them a most beneficial and inviolable Lease under the Broad Seal of Heaven, who were before only Tenants at Will; yet through the Indulgence of GOD to our First Parents after the Fall, the outward Estate of all and every of their Children, remains the same as to one another. So that Originally, and Naturally, there is no such thing as Slavery. _Joseph_ was rightfully no more a slave to his Brethren, than they were to him; and they had no more Authority to _Sell_ him, than they had to _Slay_ him. And if _they_ had nothing to do to sell him; the _Ishmaelites_ bargaining with them, and paying down Twenty pieces of Silver, could not make a Title. Neither could _Potiphar_ have any better Interest in him than the _Ishmaelites_ had. _Gen. 37, 20, 27, 28_. For he that shall in this case plead _Alteration of Property_, seems to have forfeited a great part of his own claim to Humanity. There is no proportion between Twenty Pieces of Silver and LIBERTY. The Commodity itself is the Claimer. If _Arabian_ Gold be imported in any quantities, most are afraid to meddle with it, though they might have it at easy rates; lest it should have been wrongfully taken from the Owners, it should kindle a fire to the Consumption of their whole Estate. 'Tis pity there should be more Caution used in buying a Horse, or a little lifeless dust, than there is in purchasing Men and Women: Whereas they are the Offspring of GOD, and their Liberty is, ... _Auro pretiofior Omni. _

 "And seeing GOD hath said, _He that Stealeth a Man, and Selleth him, or if he be found in his Hand, he shall surely be put to Death. _ Exod. 21, 16. This Law being of Everlasting Equity, wherein Man-Stealing is ranked among the most atrocious of Capital Crimes: What louder Cry can there be made of that Celebrated Warning

 _Caveat Emptor!_

 "And all things considered, it would conduce more to the Welfare of the Province, to have White Servants for a Term of Years, than to have Slaves for Life. Few can endure to hear of a Negro's being made free; and indeed they can seldom use their Freedom well; yet their continual aspiring after their forbidden Liberty, renders them Unwilling Servants. And there is such a disparity in their Conditions, Colour, and Hair, that they can never embody with us, & grow up in orderly Families, to the Peopling of the Land; but still remain in our Body Politick as a kind of extravasat Blood. As many Negro Men as there are among us, so many empty Places are there in our Train Bands, and the places taken up of Men that might make Husbands for our Daughters. And the Sons and Daughters of _New England_ would become more like _Jacob_ and _Rachel_, if this Slavery were thrust quite out of Doors. Moreover it is too well known what Temptations Masters are under, to connive at the Fornication of their Slaves; lest they should be obliged to find them Wives, or pay their Fines. It seems to be practically pleaded that they might be lawless; 'tis thought much of, that the Law should have satisfaction for their Thefts, and other Immoralities; by which means, _Holiness to the Lord_ is more rarely engraven upon this sort of Servitude. It is likewise most lamentable to think, how in taking Negroes out of _Africa_, and selling of them here, That which GOD has joined together, Men do boldly rend asunder; Men from their Country, Husbands from their Wives, Parents from their Children. How horrible is the Uncleanness, Mortality, if not Murder, that the Ships are guilty of that bring great Crowds of these miserable Men and Women. Methinks when we are bemoaning the barbarous Usage of our Friends and Kinsfolk in _Africa_, it might not be unreasonable to enquire whether we are not culpable in forcing the _Africans_ to become Slaves amongst ourselves. And it may be a question whether all the Benefit received by _Negro_ Slaves will balance the Accompt of Cash laid out upon them; and for the Redemption of our own enslaved Friends out of _Africa_. Besides all the Persons and Estates that have perished there. 

 "Obj. 1. _These Blackamores are of the Posterity of Cham, and therefore are under the Curse of Slavery_. Gen. 9, 25, 26, 27. 

 "_Ans. _ Of all Offices, one would not beg this; viz. Uncall'd for, to be an Executioner of the Vindictive Wrath of God; the extent and duration of which is to us uncertain. If this ever was a Commission; How do we know but that it is long since out of Date? Many have found it to their Cost, that a Prophetical Denunciation of Judgment against a Person or People, would not warrant them to inflict that evil. If it would, _Hazael_ might justify himself in all he did against his master, and the _Israelites_ from _2 Kings 8, 10, 12_. 

 "But it is possible that by cursory reading, this Text may have been mistaken. For _Canaan_ is the Person Cursed three times over, without the mentioning of _Cham_. Good Expositors suppose the Curse entailed on him, and that this Prophesie was accomplished in the Extirpation of the _Canaanites_, and in the Servitude of the _Gibeonites. Vide Pareum_. Whereas the Blackmores are not descended of _Canaan_, but of Cush. Psal. 68, 31. _Princes shall come out of Egypt_ [Mizraim]. _Ethiopia_ [Cush] _shall soon stretch out her hands unto God_. Under which Names, all _Africa_ may be comprehended; and their Promised Conversion ought to be prayed for. _Jer. 13, 23. Can the Ethiopian change his Skin?_ This shows that Black Men are the Posterity of _Cush_. Who time out of mind have been distinguished by their Colour. And for want of the true, _Ovid_ assigns a fabulous cause of it. 

 _Sanguine tum credunt in corpora summa vocato Æthiopum populos nigrum traxisse colorem_. Metamorph. Lib. 2. 

 "Obj. 2. _The_ Nigers _are brought out of a Pagan Country, into places where the Gospel is preached_. 

 "_Ans. _ Evil must not be done, that good may come of it. The extraordinary and comprehensive Benefit accruing to the Church of God, and to _Joseph_ personally, did not rectify his Brethren's Sale of him. 

 "Obj. 3. _The Africans have Wars one with another: Our Ships bring lawful Captives taken in those wars_. 

 "_Answ. _ For aught is known, their Wars are much such as were between _Jacob's_ Sons and their Brother _Joseph_. If they be between Town and Town; Provincial or National: Every War is upon one side Unjust. An Unlawful War can't make lawful Captives. And by receiving, we are in danger to promote, and partake in their Barbarous Cruelties. I am sure, if some Gentlemen should go down to the _Brewsters_ to take the Air, and Fish: And a stronger Party from _Hull_ should surprise them, and sell them for Slaves to a Ship outward bound; they would think themselves unjustly dealt with; both by Sellers and Buyers. And yet 'tis to be feared, we have no other Kind of Title to our _Nigers. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. _ Matt. 7, 12. 

 "Obj. 4. Abraham _had Servants bought with his money and born in his House. _

 "_Ans. _ Until the Circumstances of _Abraham's_ purchase be recorded, no Argument can be drawn from it. In the mean time, Charity obliges us to conclude, that He knew it was lawful and good. 

 "It is Observable that the _Israelites_ were strictly forbidden the buying or selling one another for Slaves. _Levit. 25. 39. 46. Jer. 34, 8-22_. And GOD gaged His Blessing in lieu of any loss they might conceit they suffered thereby, _Deut. _ 15. 18. And since the partition Wall is broken down, inordinate Self-love should likewise be demolished. GOD expects that Christians should be of a more Ingenuous and benign frame of Spirit. Christians should carry it to all the World, as the _Israelites_ were to carry it one towards another. And for Men obstinately to persist in holding their Neighbours and Brethren under the Rigor of perpetual Bondage, seems to be no proper way of gaining Assurance that God has given them Spiritual Freedom. Our Blessed Saviour has altered the Measures of the ancient Love Song, and set it to a most Excellent New Tune, which all ought to be ambitious of Learning. _Matt. 5. 43. 44_. _John 13. 34_. These _Ethiopians_, as black as they are, seeing they are the Sons and Daughters of the First _Adam_, the Brethren and Sisters of the Last ADAM, and the Offspring of GOD; They ought to be treated with a Respect agreeable. 

 "_Servitus perfecta voluntaria, inter Christianum & Christianum, ex parte servi patientis saepe est licita, quia est necessaria; sed ex parte domini agentis, & procurando & exercendo, vix potest esse licita; quia non convenit regulæ illi generali; Quaecunque volueritis ut faciant vobis homines, ita & vos facite eis. Matt. 7, 12. _

 "_Perfecta servitus paenae, non potest jure locum habere, nisi ex delicto gravi quod ultimum supplicium aliquo modo meretur: quia Libertas ex naturali æstimatione proxime accedit ad vitam ipsam, & eidem a multis præferri solet. _

 "Ames. Cas. Confc. Lib. 5. Cap. 23. Thes. 2. 3. "

Judge Sewall's attack on slavery created no little stir in Boston; andthe next year, 1701, Judge John Saffin, an associate of Judge Sewall, answered it in quite a lengthy paper. [376] Having furnished JudgeSewall's paper, it is proper that Judge Saffin's reply should likewisehave a place here. 

 "JUDGE SAFFIN'S REPLY TO JUDGE SEWALL, 1701. 

 "A Brief and Candid Answer to a late Printed Sheet, _Entituled_, The Selling of Joseph. 

 "THAT Honourable and Learned Gentleman, the Author of a Sheet, Entituled, _The Selling of Joseph, A_ Memorial, seems from thence to draw this conclusion, that because the Sons of _Jacob_ did very ill in selling their Brother _Joseph_ to the _Ishmaelites_, who were Heathens, therefore it is utterly unlawful to Buy and Sell Negroes, though among Christians; which Conclusion I presume is not well drawn from the Premises, nor is the case parallel; for it was unlawful for the _Israelites_ to Sell their Brethren upon any account, or pretence whatsoever during life. But it was not unlawful for the Seed of _Abraham_ to have Bond men, and Bond women either born in their House, or bought with their Money, as it is written of _Abraham, Gen. 14. 14. _ & 21. 10. & _Exod. 21. 16. _ & _Levit. 25. 44. 45. 46 v. _ After the giving of the law: And in _Josh. 9. 23. _ That famous Example of the _Gibeonites_ is a sufficient proof where there no other. 

 "To speak a little to the Gentlemans first Assertion: _That none ought to part with their Liberty themselves, or deprive others of it but upon mature consideration_; a prudent exception, in which he grants, that upon some consideration a man may be deprived of his Liberty. And then presently in his next Position or Assertion he denies it, _viz. : It is most certain, that all men as they are the Sons of_ Adam _are Coheirs, and have equal right to Liberty, and all other Comforts of Life_, which he would prove out of _Psal. 115. 16_. _The Earth hath he given to the Children of Men_. True, but what is all this to the purpose, to prove that all men have equal right to Liberty, and all outward comforts of this life; which Position seems to invert the Order that God hath set in the World, who hath Ordained different degrees and orders of men, some to be High and Honourable, some to be Low and Despicable; some to be Monarchs, Kings, Princes and Governours, Masters and Commanders, others to be Subjects, and to be Commanded; Servants of sundry sorts and degrees, bound to obey; yea, some to be born Slaves, and so to remain during their lives, as hath been proved. Otherwise there would be a meer parity among men, contrary to that of the Apostle, I. _Cor. 12 from the 13 to the 26 verse_, where he sets forth (by way of comparison) the different sorts and offices of the Members of the Body, indigitating that they are all of use, but not equal, and of Like dignity. So God hath set different Orders and Degrees of Men in the World, both in Church and Common weal. Now, if this Position of parity should be true, it would then follow that the ordinary Course of Divine Providence of God in the World should be wrong, and unjust, (which we must not dare to think, much less to affirm) and all the sacred Rules, Precepts and Commands of the Almighty which he hath given the Sons of Men to observe and keep in their respective Places, Orders and Degrees, would be to no purpose; which unaccountably derogate from the Divine Wisdom of the most High, who hath made nothing in vain, but hath Holy Ends in all his Dispensations to the Children of men. 

 "In the next place, this worthy Gentleman makes a large Discourse concerning the Utility and Conveniency to keep the one, and inconveniency of the other; respecting white and black Servants, which conduceth most to the welfare and benefit of this Province: which he concludes to be white men, who are in many respects to be preferred before Blacks; who doubts that? doth it therefore follow, that it is altogether unlawful for Christians to buy and keep Negro Servants (for this is the thesis) but that those that have them ought in Conscience to set them free, and so lose all the money they cost (for we must not live in any known sin) this seems to be his opinion; but it is a Question whether it ever was the Gentleman's practice? But if he could perswade the General Assembly to make an Act, That all that have Negroes, and do set them free, shall be Reimbursed out of the Publick Treasury, and that there shall be no more Negroes brought into the country; 'tis probable there would be more of his opinion; yet he would find it a hard task to bring the Country to consent thereto; for then the Negroes must be all sent out of the Country, or else the remedy would be worse than the disease; and it is to be feared that those Negroes that are free, if there be not some strict course taken with them by Authority, they will be a plague to this Country. 

 "_Again_, If it should be unlawful to deprive them that are lawful Captives, or Bondmen of their Liberty for Life being Heathens; it seems to be more unlawful to deprive our Brethren, of our own or other Christian Nations of the Liberty, (though but for a time) by binding them to Serve some Seven, Ten, Fifteen, and some Twenty Years, which oft times proves for their whole Life, as many have been; which in effect is the same in Nature, though different in the time, yet this was allow'd among the _Jews_ by the Law of God; and is the constant practice of our own and other Christian Nations in the World: the which our Author by his Dogmatical Assertions doth condem as Irreligious; which is Diametrically contrary to the Rules and Precepts which God hath given the diversity of men to observe in their respective Stations, Callings, and Conditions of Life, as hath been observed. 

 "And to illustrate his Assertion our Author brings in by way of Comparison the Law of God against man Stealing, on pain of Death: Intimating thereby, that Buying and Selling of Negro's is a breach of that Law, and so deserves Death: A severe Sentence: But herein he begs the Question with a _Caveat Emptor_. For, in that very Chapter there is a Dispensation to the People of _Israel_, to have Bond men, Women and Children, even of their own Nation in some case; and Rules given therein to be observed concerning them; Verse the 4_th_. And in the before cited place, _Levit 25. 44, 45, 46_. Though the _Israelites_ were forbidden (ordinarily) to make Bond men and Women of their own Nation, but of Strangers they might: the words run thus, verse 44. _Both thy Bond men, and thy Bond maids which thou shall have shall be of the Heathen, that are round about you: of them shall you Buy Bond men and Bond maids, &c_. See also, I _Cor. 12, 13_. Whether we be Bond or Free, which shows that in the times of the New Testament, there were Bond men also, &c. 

 "_In fine_, The sum of this long Haurange, is no other, than to compare the Buying and Selling of Negro's unto the Stealing of Men, and the Selling of _Joseph_ by his Brethren, which bears no proportion therewith, nor is there any congruiety therein, as appears by the foregoing Texts. 

 "Our Author doth further proceed to answer some Objections of his own framing, which he supposes some might raise. 

 "Object. 1. _That these Blackamores are of the Posterity of_ Cham, _and therefore under the Curse of Slavery. Gen. 9. 25, 26, 27. _ The which the Gentleman seems to deny, saying, _they ware the Seed of Canaan that were Cursed, &c. _

 "_Answ. _ Whether they were so or not, we shall not dispute: this may suffice, that not only the seed of _Cham_ or _Canaan_, but any lawful Captives of other Heathen Nations may be made Bond men as hath been proved. 

 "Obj. 2. _That the Negroes are brought out of Pagan Countreys into places where the Gospel is preached. _ To which he Replies, _that we must not doe Evil that Good may come of it_. 

 "_Ans. _ To which we answer, That it is no Evil thing to bring them out of their own Heathenish Country, where they may have the knowledge of the True God, be Converted and Eternally saved. 

 "Obj. 3. _The_ Affricans _have Wars one with another_; our Ships bring lawful Captives taken in those Wars. 

 "To which our Author answers Conjecturally, and Doubtfully, _for aught we know_, that which may or may not be; which is insignificant, and proves nothing. He also compares the Negroes Wars, one Nation with another, with the Wars between _Joseph_ and his Brethren. But where doth he read of any such War? We read indeed of a Domestick Quarrel they had with him, they envyed and hated _Joseph_; but by what is Recorded, he was meerly passive and meek as a Lamb. This Gentleman farther adds, _That there is not any War but is unjust on one side, &c. _ Be it so, what doth that signify: We read of lawful Captives taken in the Wars, and lawful to be Bought and Sold without contracting the guilt of the _Agressors_; for which we have the example of _Abraham_ before quoted; but if we must stay while both parties Warring are in the right, there would be no lawful Captives at all to be Bought; which seems to be rediculous to imagine, and contrary to the tenour of Scripture, and all Humane Histories on that subject. 

 "Obj. 4. _Abraham had Servants bought with his Money, and born in his House. Gen. 14. 14. _ To which our worthy Author answers, _until the Circumstances of Abraham's purchase be recorded, no Argument can be drawn from it_. 

 "_Ans. _ To which we Reply, this is also Dogmatical, and proves nothing. He farther adds, _In the mean time Charity Obliges us to conclude, that he knew it was lawful and good_. Here the gentleman yields the case; for if we are in Charity bound to believe _Abrahams_ practice, in buying and keeping _Slaves_ in his house to be lawful and good: then it follows, that our Imitation of him in this his Moral Action, is as warrantable as that of his Faith; _who is the Father of all them that believe. Rom. 4. 16. _

 "In the close all, Our Author Quotes two more places of Scripture, _viz. , Levit. 25. 46_, and _Jer. 34. _ from the 8. To the 22. _v_. To prove that the people of Israel were strictly forbidden the Buying and Selling one another for _Slaves_: who questions that? and what is that to the case in hand? What a strange piece of Logick is this? 'Tis unlawful for Christians to Buy and Sell one another for slaves. _Ergo_, It is unlawful to Buy and Sell Negroes that are lawful Captiv'd Heathens. 

 "And after a Serious Exhortation to us all to Love one another according to the Command of Christ _Math. 5, 43, 44_. This worthy Gentleman concludes with this Assertion, _That these Ethiopians as Black as they are, seeing they are the Sons and Daughters of the first_ Adam; _the Brethren and Sisters of the Second_ Adam, _and the Offspring of God; we ought to treat them with a respect agreeable_. 

 "_Ans. _ We grant it for a certain and undeniable verity, That all Mankind are the Sons and Daughters of _Adam_, and the Creatures of God: But it doth not therefore follow that we are bound to love and respect all men alike; this under favour we must take leave to deny, we ought in charity, if we see our Neighbour in want, to relieve them in a regular way, but we are not bound to give them so much of our Estates, as to make them equal with ourselves, because they are our Brethren, the Sons of _Adam_, no, not our own natural Kinsmen: We are Exhorted _to do good unto all, but especially to them who are of the Household of Faith, Gal. 6. 10_. And we are to love, honour and respect all men according to the gift of God that is in them. I may love my Servant well, but my Son better; Charity begins at home, it would be a violation of common prudence, and a breach of good manners, to treat a Prince like a Peasant. And this worthy Gentleman would deem himself much neglected, if we should show him no more Defference than to an ordinary Porter: And therefore these florid expressions, the Sons and Daughters of the First _Adam_, the Brethren and Sisters of the Second _Adam_, and the Offspring of God, seem to be misapplied to import and insinuate, that we ought to tender Pagan Negroes with all love, kindness, and equal respect as to the best of men. 

 "By all which it doth evidently appear both by Scripture and Reason, the practice of the People of God in all Ages, both before and after the giving of the Law, and in the times of the Gospel, that there were Bond men, Women and Children commonly kept by holy and good men, and improved in Service; and therefore by the Command of God, _Lev. 25, 44_, and their venerable Example, we may keep Bond men, and use them in our Service still; yet with all candour, moderation and Christian prudence, according to their state and condition consonant to the Word of God. "

Judge Sewall had dealt slavery a severe blow, and opened up anagitation on the subject that was felt during the entire Revolutionarystruggle. He became the great apostle of liberty, the father of theanti-slavery movement in the colony. He was the bold and stern Johnthe Baptist of that period, "the voice of one crying in thewilderness" of bondage, to prepare the way for freedom. 

The Quakers, or Friends as they were called, were perhaps the earliestfriends of the slaves, but, like Joseph of Arimathæa, were "secretly"so, for fear of the "Puritans. " But they early recorded theirdisapprobation of slavery as follows:--

 _26th day of y'e 9th mo. 1716. _

 "An epistle from the last Quarterly Meeting was read in this, and y'e matter referred to this meeting, viz. , whether it is agreeable to truth for friends to purchase slaves and keep them term of liffe, was considered, and y'e sense and judgment of this meeting is, that it is not agreeable to truth for friends to purchase slaves and hold them term of liffe. 

 "Nathaniel Starbuck, jun'r is to draw out this meeting's judgment concerning friends not buying slaves and keeping them term of liffe, and send it to the next Quarterly Meeting, and to sign it in y'e meeting's behalf. "[377]

Considering the prejudice and persecution that pursued this goodpeople, their testimony against slavery is very remarkable. In 1729-30Elihu Coleman of Nantucket, a minister of the society of Friends, wrote a book against slavery, published in 1733, entitled, "_ATestimony against that Anti-Christian Practice of_ MAKING SLAVESOF MEN. [378] It was well written, and the truth fearlessly toldfor the conservative, self-seeking period he lived in. He says, --

 "I am not unthoughtful of the ferment or stir that such discourse as this may make among some, who (like Demetrius of old) may say, by this craft we have our wealth, which caused the people to cry out with one voice, great is Diana of the Ephesians, whom all Asia and the world worship. "

He examined and refuted the arguments put forth in defence of slavery, charged slaveholders with idleness, and contended that slavery was themother of vice, at war with the laws of nature and of God. Otherscaught the spirit of reform, and the agitation movement gainedrecruits and strength every year. Felt says, "1765. Pamphlets andnewspapers discuss the subjects of slavery with increasing zeal. " Thecolonists were aroused. Men were taking one side or the other of aquestion of great magnitude. In 1767 an anonymous tract of twentyoctavo pages against slavery made its appearance in Boston. It waswritten by Nathaniel Appleton, a co-worker with Otis, and an advancedthinker on the subject of emancipation. It was in the form of a letteraddressed to a friend, and was entitled, "Considerations on Slavery. "The Rev. Samuel Webster Salisbury published on the 2d of March, 1769, "An Earnest Address to my Country on Slavery. " He opened his articlewith an argument showing the inconsistency of a Christian peopleholding slaves, pictured the evil results of slavery, and thenasked, --

 "What then is to be done? Done! for God's sake break every yoke and let these oppressed ones _go free without delay_--let them taste the sweets of that _liberty_, which we so highly prize, and are so earnestly supplicating God and man to grant us: nay, which we claim as the natural right of every man. Let me beseech my countrymen to put on bowels of compassion for these their _brethren_ (for so I must call them, ) yea, let me beseech you for your own sake and for God's sake, _to break every yoke_ and let the oppressed go free. "[379]

Begun among the members of the bar and the pulpit, the common folk atlength felt a lively interest in the subject of emancipation. Anoccasional burst of homely, vigorous eloquence from the pulpit on theduties of the hour inflamed the conscience of the pew with a noblezeal for a righteous cause. The afflatus of liberty sat upon thepeople as cloven tongues. Every village, town, and city had itsorators whose only theme was emancipation. "The pulpit and the presswere not silent, and sermons and essays in behalf of the enslavedAfricans were continually making their appearance. " The publicconscience was being rapidly educated, and from the hills of Berkshireto the waters of Massachusetts Bay the fires of liberty were burning. 

FOOTNOTES:

[260] George H. Moore, LL. D. , for many years librarian of the New-YorkHistorical Society, but at present the efficient superintendent of theLenox Library, in his "Notes on the History of Slavery inMassachusetts, " has summoned nearly all the orators and historians ofMassachusetts to the bar of history. He leaves them open to one ofthree charges, viz. , evading the truth, ignorance of it, or falsifyingthe record. And in addition to this work, which is authority, his"Additional Notes" glow with an energy and perspicuity of style whichlead me to conclude that Dr. Moore works admirably under the spur, andthat his refined sarcasm, unanswerable logic, and critical accuracygive him undisputed place amongst the ablest writers of our times. 

[261] Wood's New-England Prospect, 1634, p. 77. 

[262] Slavery in Mass. , p. 7. 

[263] Ibid. , pp. 4, 5, and 6. 

[264] Elliott's New-England Hist. , pp. 167-205. 

[265] Winthrop's Journal, Feb. 26, 1638, vol. I. P. 254; see, also, Felt, vol. Ii. P. 230. 

[266] Dr. Moore backs his statement as to the time The Desire wasbuilt by quoting from Winthrop, vol. I. P. 193. But there is a mistakesomewhere as to the correct date. Winthrop says she was built in 1636;but I find in Mr. Drake's "Founders of New England, " pp. 31, 32, thisentry: "More (June) XXth, 1635. In the Desire de Lond. Pearce, andbond for New Eng. P'r cert, fro ij Justices of Peace and ministers ofAll Saints lionian in Northampton. " If she sailed in 1635, she musthave been built earlier. 

[267] Dr. George H. Moore says Josselyn's Voyages were printed in1664. This is an error. They were not published until ten years later, in 1674. In 1833 the Massachusetts Historical Society printed the workin the third volume and third series of their collection. 

[268] Josselyn, p. 28. 

[269] Ibid. , p. 250. 

[270] Ibid. , p. 258. 

[271] Slavery in Mass. , p. 9. 

[272] Mass. Hist Coll. , vol. Iv. 4th Series, p. 333, _sq. _

[273] Mr. Bancroft (Centenary Edition, vol. I. P. 137) says, "Theearliest importation of Negro slaves into New England was made in1637, from Providence Isle, in the Salem ship Desire. " But Winthrop(vol. I. P. 254, under date of the 26th of February, 1638) says, "TheDesire returned from the West Indies after seven months. " He alsostates (ibid. , p. 193) that The Desire was "built at Marblehead in1636. " But this may or may not be true according to the old method ofkeeping time. 

[274] Palfrey's Hist. Of N. E. , vol. Ii. P. 30, note. 

[275] Josselyn, p. 257. 

[276] Elliott's New-England Hist. , vol. Ii. Pp. 57, 58. 

[277] Hildreth, vol. I, p. 270, _sq_. 

[278] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , pp. 52, 23. 

[279] Slavery in Mass. , p. 13, note. 

[280] Slavery in Mass. , pp. 18, 19. 

[281] Ibid. , p. 12. 

[282] Elliott's New-England Hist. , vol. I. P. 383. 

[283] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 278. 

[284] Mass. Hist. Coll. , vol. Iv. 4th Series, p. 334. 

[285] Quoted by Dr. Moore, p. 20. 

[286] Commonwealth _vs_. Aves, 18 Pickering, p. 208. 

[287] Andover _vs_. Canton, Mass. Reports, 551, 552, quoted by Dr. Moore. 

[288] Kendall's Travels, vol. Ii. P. 179. 

[289] The following note, if it refers to the kidnapped Negroes, givesan earlier date, --"29th May, 1644. Mr. Blackleach his petition aboutthe Mores was consented to, to be committed to the eld'rs, to enformeus of the mind of God herein, & then further to consider it. "--_Mass. Records_, vol. Ii. P. 67. 

[290] Bancroft, Centennial edition, vol. I. P. 137. 

[291] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 282. 

[292] The petition is rather a remarkable paper, and is printed below. It is evident that the judge was in earnest. And yet the court, whileadmitting the petition, tried the case on only one ground, man-stealing. 

 _To the honored general court. _

 The oath I took this yeare att my enterance upon the place of assistante was to this effect: That I would truly endeavour the advancement of the gospell and the good of the people of this plantation (to the best of my skill) dispencing justice equally and impartially (according to the laws of God and this land) in all cases wherein I act by virtue of my place. I conceive myself called by virtue of my place to act (according to this oath) in the case concerning the negers taken by captain Smith and Mr. Keser; wherein it is apparent that Mr. Keser gave chace to certaine negers; and upon the same day tooke divers of them; and at another time killed others; and burned one of their townes. Omitting several misdemeanours, which accompanied these acts above mentioned, I conceive the acts themselves to bee directly contrary to these following laws (all of which are capitall by the word of God; and two of them by the lawes of this jurisdiction). 

 The act (or acts) of murder (whether by force or fraude) are expressly contrary both to the law of God, and the law of this country. 

 The act of stealing negers, or taking them by force (Whether it be considered as theft or robbery) is (as I conceive) expressly contrary, both to the law of God, and the law of this country. 

 _The act of chaceing the negers (as aforesayde) upon the sabbath day (being a servile worke and such as cannot be considered under any other heade) is expressly capitall by the law of God. _

 These acts and outrages being committed where there was noe civill government, which might call them to accompt, and the persons, by whom they were committed beeing of our jurisdiction, I conceive this court to bee the ministers of God in this case, and therefore my humble request is that the severall offenders may be imprisoned by the order of this court, and brought into their deserved censure in convenient time; and this I humbly crave that soe the sinn they have committed may be upon their own heads, and not upon ourselves (as otherwise it will. )

 Yrs in all christean observance, Richard Saltonstall. 

 The house of deputs thinke meete that this petition shall be granted, and desire our honored magistrats concurrence herein. 

 Edward Rawson. --Coffin's _Newbury_, pp. 335, 336. 

[293] Laws Camb. , 1675, p. 15. 

[294] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 368. 

[295] Coffin, p. 335. 

[296] Drake (p. 288) says, "This act, however, was afterwards repealedor disregarded. "

[297] Mass. Records, vol ii. P 129. 

[298] Moore, Appendix, 251, _sq. _

[299] Slavery in Mass. , p. 30. 

[300] Hildreth, vol. I. P, 282. 

[301] Slavery in Mass. , p. 49. See, also, Drake's Boston, p. 441, note. 

[302] Mass. Hist. Coll. , vol. Viii. 3d Series, p. 337. 

[303] Slavery in Mass. , p. 50. 

[304] Coll. Amer. Stat. Asso. , vol. I. P. 586. 

[305] Douglass's British Settlements, vol. I. P. 531. 

[306] Drake, p. 714. I cannot understand how Dr. Moore gets 1, 514slaves in Boston in 1742, except from Douglass. His "1742" should read1752, and his "1, 514" slaves should read 1, 541 slaves. 

[307] "There is a curious illustration of 'the way of putting it' inMassachusetts, in Mr. Felt's account of this 'census of slaves, ' inthe Collections of the American Statistical Association, vol. I. P, 208. He says that the General Court passed this order 'for the purposeof having an accurate account of slaves in our Commonwealth, _as asubject in which the people were becoming much interested, relative tothe cause of liberty!_" There is not a particle of authority for thissuggestion--such a motive for their action never existed anywhere butin the imagination of the writer himself!"--_Slavery in Mass_. , p. 51, note. 

[308] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , p. 748. 

[309] Ibid. 

[310] Slavery in Mass. , p. 61. 

[311] Hildreth, vol. Ii. Pp. 269, 270. 

[312] Drake's Boston, p. 574. 

[313] Spectator, No. 215, Nov. 6, 1711. 

[314] Slavery in Mass. , p. 64. 

[315] "In the inventory of the estate of Samuel Morgaridge, who diedin 1754, I find, 'Item, three negroes £133, 6_s. _, 8_d. _ Item, flax £12, 2_s. _, 8. '

"In the inventory of Henry Rolfe's estate, taken in April, 1711, Ifind the following, namely, 'Fifteen sheep, old and young £3, 15_s. _ An old gun 2 An old Negroe man 10 0 -------- £13 7_s. _'" --COFFIN, p. 188. 

[316] Slavery in Mass. , pp. 64, 65. 

[317] Drake, 583, note. 

[318] Here is a sample of the sales of those days: "In 1716, RiceEdwards, of Newbury, shipwright, sells to Edmund Greenleaf 'my wholepersonal estate with all my goods and chattels as also _one negroman_, one cow, three pigs with timber, plank, and boards. "--COFFIN, p. 337. 

[319] New-England Weekly Journal, No. 267, May 1, 1732. 

[320] A child one year and a half old--a nursing child sold from thebosom of its mother!--and _for life!_--COFFIN, p. 337. 

[321] Slavery in Mass. , p. 96. Note. 

[322] Eight years after this, on the 22d of June, 1735, Mr. Plantrecords in his diary: "I wrote Mr. Salmon of Barbadoes to send me aNegro. " (Coffin, p. 338. ) It doesn't appear that the reverendgentleman was opposed to slavery!

[323] Note quoted by Dr. Moore, p. 58. 

[324] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 44. 

[325] "For they tell the Negroes, that they must believe in Christ, and receive the Christian faith, and that they must receive thesacrament, and be baptized, and so they do; but still they keep themslaves for all this. "--MACY'S _Hist. Of Nantucket_, pp. 280, 281. 

[326] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , p. 117. 

[327] Mr. Palfrey relies upon a single reference in Winthrop for thehistorical trustworthiness of his statement that a Negro slave couldbe a member of the church. He thinks, however, that this "presents acurious question, " and wisely reasons as follows: "As a church-member, he was eligible to the political franchise, and, if he should beactually invested with it, he would have a part in making laws togovern his master, --laws with which his master, if a non-communicant, would have had no concern except to obey them. But it is improbablethat the Court would have made a slave--while a slave--a member of theCompany, though he were a communicant. --PALFREY, vol. Ii. P. 30. Note. 

[328] Butts _vs_. Penny, 2 Lev. , p. 201; 3 Kib. , p. 785. 

[329] Hildreth, vol. Ii. P. 426. 

[330] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , p. 748. 

[331] Palfrey, vol. Ii. P. 30. Note. 

[332] Hist. Mag. , vol. V. , 2d Series, by Dr. G. H. Moore. 

[333] Slavery in Mass. , p. 57, note. 

[334] I use the term freeman, because the colony being under theEnglish crown, there were no citizens. All were British subjects. 

[335] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , p. 746. 

[336] Ibid. , p. 386. 

[337] Mr. Palfrey is disposed to hang a very weighty matter on a veryslender thread of authority. He says, "In the list of men capable ofbearing arms, at Plymouth, in 1643, occurs the name of 'AbrahamPearse, the Black-moore, ' from which we infer ... That Negroes werenot dispensed from military service in that colony" (History of NewEngland, vol. Ii. P. 30, note). This single case is borne down by thelaws and usages of the colonists on this subject. Negroes as a classwere absolutely excluded from the military service, from thecommencement of the colony down to the war with Great Britain. 

[338] Slavery in Mass. , Appendix, p. 243. 

[339] Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. , vol. Viii. 3d Series, p. 336. 

[340] Lyman's Report, 1822. 

[341] Mather's Magnalia, Book III. , p. 207. Compare also p. 209. 

[342] Elliott's New-England Hist. , vol. Ii. P. 165. 

[343] Mr. Palfrey comes again with his single and exceptional case, asking us to infer a rule therefrom. See History of New England, note, p. 30. 

[344] Chief-Justice Parker, in Andover vs. Canton, 13 Mass. P. 550. 

[345] Slavery in Mass. , p. 62. 

[346] Mott's Sketches, p. 17. 

[347] At the early age of sixteen, in the year 1770, Phillis wasbaptized into the membership of the society worshipping in the "OldSouth Meeting-House. " The gifted, eloquent, and noble Dr. Sewall wasthe pastor. This was an exception to the rule, that slaves were notbaptized into the Church. 

[348] All writers I have seen on this subject--and I think I have seenall--leave the impression that Miss Wheatley's poems were firstpublished in London. This is not true. The first published poems fromher pen were issued in Boston in 1770. But it was a mere pamphletedition, and has long since perished. 

[349] All the historians but Sparks omit the given name of Peters. Itwas John. 

[350] The date usually given for her death is 1780, while her age isfixed at twenty-six. The best authority gives the dates above, and Ithink they are correct. 

[351] "Her correspondence was sought, and it extended to persons ofdistinction even in England, among whom may be named the Countess ofHuntingdon, Whitefield, and the Earl of Dartmouth. "--SPARKS'S_Washington_, vol. Iii. P. 298, note. 

[352] Sparks's Washington, vol iii. P. 299, note. 

[353] This destroys the last hope I have nursed for nearly six yearsthat the poem might yet come to light. Somehow I had overlooked thisnote. 

[354] Sparks's Washington, vol iii. P. 288. 

[355] Ibid. , vol. Iii. Pp. 297, 298. 

[356] Armistead's A Tribute to the Negro, pp. 460, 461. 

[357] Douglass, vol. Ii. P. 345, note. 

[358] Hildreth, vol. Ii. P. 426. 

[359] Pearce _vs. _ Lisle, Ambler, 76. 

[360] It may sound strangely in the ears of some friends and admirersof the gifted John Adams to hear now, after the lapse of many years, what he had to say of the position Otis took. His mild views onslavery were as deserving of scrutiny as those of the elder Quincy. Mr. Adams says: "Nor were the poor negroes forgotten. Not a Quaker inPhiladelphia, or Mr. Jefferson, of Virginia, ever asserted the rightsof negroes in stronger terms. Young as I was, and ignorant as I was, Ishuddered at the doctrine he taught; and I have all my lifetimeshuddered, and still shudder, at the consequences that may be drawnfrom such premises. Shall we say, that the rights of masters andservants clash, and can be decided only by force? I adore the idea ofgradual abolitions! But who shall decide how fast or how slowly theseabolitions shall be made?"

[361] Hildreth, vol. Ii. Pp. 564, 565. 

[362] Coffin says, "In October of 1773, an action was brought againstRichard Greenleaf, of Newburyport, by Cæsar [Hendrick], a colored man, whom he claimed as his slave, for holding him in bondage. He laid thedamages at fifty pounds. The council for the plaintiff, in whose favorthe jury brought in their verdict and awarded him eighteen pounds'damages and costs, was John Lowell, Esq. , afterward Judge Lowell. Thiscase excited much interest, as it was the first, if not the only oneof the kind, that ever occurred in the county. "

[363] Hildreth, vol. Ii, pp. 550, 551. 

[364] Drake, p. 729, note. 

[365] I use the English spelling, --Sommersett. 

[366] Hildreth, vol. Ii. P. 567. 

[367] Bancroft, 12th ed. Vol. Iii. P. 412. 

[368] Ancient Charters and Laws of Mass. , pp. 745, 746. 

[369] The following is from Felt's Salem, vol. Ii. Pp. 415, 416, andillustrates the manner in which the law was complied with: "1713. Ann, relict of Governor Bradstreet, frees Hannah, a negro servant. 1717, Dec. 21. William and Samuel Upton, of this town, liberate Thomas, whohas faithfully served their father, John Upton, of Reading. They givesecurity to the treasurer, that they will meet all charges, which mayaccrue against the said black man. 1721, May 27. Elizur Keyser doesthe same for his servant, Cato, after four years more, and then thelatter was to receive two suits of clothes.... 1758, June 5. The heirsof John Turner, having freed two servants, Titus and Rebeckah, givebonds to the selectmen, that they shall be no public charge. "

[370] John Adams's Works, vol. I. P. 51. 

[371] Adams's Works, vol. I. P. 55. 

[372] Drake, p. 525. 

[373] The late Senator Sumner, in a speech delivered on the 28th ofJune, 1854, refers to this as "the earliest testimony from anyofficial body against negro slavery. " Even the weight of the senator'sassertion cannot resist the facts of history. The "resolve"instructing the "representatives" was never carried; but, on thecontrary, the next Act was the law of 1703 restricting manumission!

[374] Journal H. Of R. , 15, 16. General Court Records, x. 282. 

[375] Slavery in Mass. , p. 106. 

[376] It was thought to be lost for some years, until Dr. George H. Moore secured a copy from George Brinley, Esq. , of Hartford, Conn. , and reproduced it in his Notes. 

[377] History of Nantucket, p. 281. 

[378] Coffin, p. 338; also History of Nantucket, pp. 279, 280. 

[379] Coffin, p. 338. 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS, --CONTINUED. 

1633-1775. 

 THE ERA OF PROHIBITORY LEGISLATION AGAINST SLAVERY. --BOSTON INSTRUCTS HER REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE AGAINST THE SLAVE-TRADE. --PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY GOV. DUMMER AGAINST THE NEGROES, APRIL 13, 1723. --PERSECUTION OF THE NEGROES. --"SUING FOR LIBERTY. "--LETTER OF SAMUEL ADAMS TO JOHN PICKERING, JUN. , ON BEHALF OF NEGRO MEMORIALISTS--A BILL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE PASSES. --IS VETOED BY GOV. GAGE AND FAILS TO BECOME A LAW. 

The time to urge legislation on the slavery question had come. Cultivated at the first as a private enterprise, then fostered as apatriarchal institution, slavery had grown to such giganticproportions as to be regarded as an unwieldy evil, and subversive ofthe political stability of the colony. Men winked at the "day of itssmall things, " and it grew. Little legislation was required toregulate it, and it began to take root in the social and politicallife of the people. The necessities for legislation in favor ofslavery increased. Every year witnessed the enactment of laws moresevere, until they appeared as scars upon the body of the laws of thecolony. To erase these scars was the duty of the hour. 

It was now 1755. More than a half-century of agitation and discussionhad prepared the people for definite action. Manumission and petitionwere the first methods against slavery. On the 10th of March, 1755, the town of Salem instructed their representative, Timothy Pickering, to petition the General Court against the importation of slaves. [380]The town of Worcester, in June, 1765, instructed their representativeto "use his influence to obtain a law to put an end to thatunchristian and impolitic practice of making slaves of the humanspecies, and that he give his vote for none to serve in His Majesty'sCouncil, who will use their influence against such a law. "[381] Thepeople of Boston, in the month of May, 1766, instructed theirrepresentatives as follows:--

 "And for the total abolishing of slavery among us, that you move for a law to prohibit the importation and the purchasing of slaves for the future. "[382]

And in the following year, 1767, on the 16th of March, the questionwas put as to whether the town should adhere to its previousinstructions in favor of the suppression of the slave-trade, andpassed in the affirmative. Nearly all the towns, especially thosealong the coast, those accessible by mails and newspapers, hadrecorded their vote, in some shape or other, against slavery. Thepressure for legislation on the subject was great. The country membersof the Legislature were almost a unit in favor of the passage of abill prohibiting the further importation of slaves. The oppositioncame from the larger towns, but the opposers were awed by thedetermined bearing of the enemies of the slave-trade. The scholarship, wealth, and piety of the colony were steadily ranging to the side ofhumanity. 

On the 13th of March, 1767, a bill was introduced in the House ofRepresentatives "to prevent the _unwarrantable and unlawful_ Practiceor Custom of inslaving Mankind in this Province, and the importationof slaves into the same. "[383] It was read the first time, when adilatory motion was offered that the bill lie over to the nextsession, which was decided in the negative. An amendment was offeredto the bill, limiting it "to a certain time, " which was carried; andthe bill made a special order for a second reading on the followingday. It was accordingly read on the 14th, when a motion was made todefer it for a third reading to the next "May session. " The friends ofthe bill voted down this dilatory motion, and had the bill made thespecial order of the following Monday, --it now being Saturday. OnSunday there must have been considerable lobbying done, as can be seenby the vote taken on Monday. After it was read, and the debate wasconcluded, it was "_Ordered that the Matter subside_, and that Capt. Sheaffe, Col. Richmond, and Col. Bourne, be a Committee to bring in aBill for laying a Duty of Impost on slaves importing into thisProvince. "[384] This was a compromise, that, as will be seensubsequently, impaired the chances of positive and wholesomelegislation against slavery. The original bill dealt a double blow:it struck at the slave-trade in the Province, and levelled theinstitution already in existence. But some secret influences were setin operation, that are forever hidden from the searching eye ofhistory; and the friends of liberty were bullied or cheated. There wasno need of a bill imposing an impost tax on slaves imported, for sucha law had been in existence for more than a half-century. If the taxwere not heavy enough, it could have been increased by an amendment ofa dozen lines. On the 17th the substitute was brought in by thespecial committee appointed by the Speaker the previous day. The rulesrequiring bills to be read on three several days were suspended, thebill ordered to a first and second reading, and then made the specialorder for eleven o'clock on the next day, Wednesday, the 18th. Themotion to lie on the table until the "next May" was defeated. Anamendment was then offered to limit the life of the bill to one year, which was carried, and the bill recommitted. On the afternoon of thesame day it was read a third time, and placed on its passage with theamendment. It passed, was ordered engrossed, and was "sent up by Col. Bowers, Col. Gerrish, Col. Leonard, Capt. Thayer, and Col. Richmond. "On the 19th of March it was read a first time in the council. On the20th it was read a second time, and passed to be engrossed "as takeninto a new draft. " When it reached the House for concurrence, in theafternoon of the same day, it was "Read and unanimously non-concurred, and the House adhere to their own vote, sent up for concurrence. "[385]

Massachusetts has gloried much and long in this Act to prohibit "theCustom of enslaving mankind;" but her silver-tongued orators andprofound statesmen have never possessed the courage to tell the plaintruth about its complete failure. From the first it was harassed bydilatory motions and amendments directed to its life; and thesubstitute, imposing an impost tax on imported slaves for one year, showed plainly that the friends of the original bill had been drivenfrom their high ground. It was like applying for the position of amajor-general, and then accepting the place of a corporal. It was asthough they had asked for a fish, and accepted a serpent instead. Itseriously lamed the cause of emancipation. It filled the slaves withgloom, and their friends with apprehension. On the other hand, thosewho profited by barter in flesh and blood laughed secretly tothemselves at the abortive attempt of the anti-slavery friends to calla halt on the trade. They took courage. For ten weary years the voiceslifted for the freedom of the slave were few, faint, and far between. The bill itself has been lost. What its subject-matter was, is left touncertain and unsatisfactory conjecture. All we know is from the titlejust quoted. But it was, nevertheless, the only direct measure offeredin the Provincial Legislature against slavery during the entirecolonial period, and came nearest to passage of any. But "a miss is asgood as a mile!"

It was now the spring season of 1771. Ten years had flown, and no onein all the Province of Massachusetts had had the courage to attemptlegislation friendly to the slave. The scenes of the preceding yearwere fresh in the minds of the inhabitants of Boston. The blood of themartyrs to liberty was crying from the ground. The "red coats" of theBritish exasperated the people. The mailed hand, the remorseless steelfinger, of English military power was at the throat of the rights ofthe people. The colony was gasping for independent political life. Aterrible struggle for liberty was imminent. The colonists were aboutto contend for all that men hold dear, --their wives, their children, their homes, and their country. But while they were panting for anuntrammelled existence, to plant a free nation on the shores of NorthAmerica, they were robbing Africa every year of her sable children, and condemning them to a bondage more cruel than politicalsubjugation. This glaring inconsistency imparted to reflecting personsa new impulse toward anti-slavery legislation. 

In the spring of 1771 the subject of suppressing the slave-trade wasagain introduced into the Legislature. On the 12th of April a bill"_To prevent the Importation of slaves from Africa_" was introduced, and read the first time, and, upon the question "When shall the billbe read again?" was ordered to a second reading on the day followingat ten o'clock. Accordingly, on the 13th, the bill was read a secondtime, and postponed till the following Tuesday morning. On the 16th itwas recommitted. On the 19th of the same month a "Bill to prevent theImportation of Negro slaves into this Province" was read a first time, and ordered to a second reading "to-morrow at eleven o'clock. " On thefollowing day it was read a second time, and made the special orderfor three o'clock on the following Monday. On the 22d, Monday, it wasread a third time, and placed upon its passage and engrossed. On the24th it passed the House. When it reached the Council James Otisproposed an amendment, and a motion prevailed that the bill lie uponthe table. But it was taken from the table, and the amendment of Otiswas concurred in by the House. It passed the Council in the latterpart of April, but failed to receive the signature of the governor, onthe ground that he was "not authorized by Parliament. "[386] The samereason for refusing his signature was set up by Gen. Gage. Thus thebill failed. Gov. Hutchinson gave his reasons to Lord Hillsborough, secretary of state for the colonies. The governor thought himselfrestrained by "instructions" to colonial governors "from assenting toany laws of a new and unusual nature. " In addition to the foregoing, his Excellency doubted the lawfulness of the legislation to which the"scruple upon the minds of the people in many parts of the province"would lead them; and that he had suggested the propriety oftransmitting the bill to England to learn "his Majesty's pleasure"thereabouts. Upon these reasons Dr. Moore comments as follows:--

 "These are interesting and important suggestions. It is apparent that at this time there was no special instruction to the royal governor of Massachusetts, forbidding his approval of acts against the slave-trade. Hutchinson evidently doubted the genuineness of the 'chief motive' which was alleged to be the inspiration of the bill, the 'meerly moral' scruple against slavery; but his reasonings furnish a striking illustration of the changes which were going on in public opinion, and the gradual softening of the harsher features of slavery under their influence. The non-importation agreement throughout the Colonies, by which America was trying to thwart the commercial selfishness of her rapacious Mother, had rendered the provincial viceroys peculiarly sensitive to the slightest manifestation of a disposition to approach the sacred precincts of those prerogatives by which King and Parliament assumed to bind their distant dependencies: and the 'spirit of non-importation' which Massachusetts had imperfectly learned from New York was equally offensive to them, whether it interfered with their cherished 'trade with Africa, ' or their favorite monopolies elsewhere. "

Discouraged by the failure of the House and General Court to passmeasures hostile to the slave-trade, the people in the outlying townsbegan to instruct their representatives, in unmistakable language, tourge the enactment of repressive legislation on this subject. At atown meeting in Salem on the 18th of May, 1773, [387] therepresentatives were instructed to prevent, by appropriatelegislation, the further importation of slaves into the colony, as"repugnant to the natural rights of mankind, and highly prejudicial tothe Province. " On the very next day, May 19, 1773, at a similarmeeting in the town of Leicester, the people gave among otherinstructions to Thomas Denny, their representative, the following onthe question of slavery:--

 "And, as we have the highest regard for (so as even to revere the name of) liberty, we cannot behold but with the greatest abhorrence any of our fellow-creatures in a state of slavery. 

 "Therefore we strictly enjoin you to use your utmost influence that a stop maybe put to the slave-trade by the inhabitants of this Province; which, we apprehend, may be effected by one of these two ways: either by laying a heavy duty on every negro imported or brought from Africa or elsewhere into this Province; or by making a law, that every negro brought or imported as aforesaid should be a free man or woman as soon as they come within the jurisdiction of it; and that every negro child that shall be born in said government after the enacting such law should be free at the same age that the children of white people are; and, from the time of their birth till they are capable of earning their living, to be maintained by the town in which they are born, or at the expense of the Province, as shall appear most reasonable. 

 "Thus, by enacting such a law, in process of time will the blacks become free; or, if the Honorable House of Representatives shall think of a more eligible method, we shall be heartily glad of it. But whether you can justly take away or free a negro from his master, who fairly purchased him, and (although illegally; for such is the purchase of any person against their consent unless it be for a capital offence) which the custom of this country has justified him in, we shall not determine; but hope that unerring Wisdom will direct you in this and all your other important undertakings. "[388]

Medford instructed the representative to "use his utmost influence tohave a final period put to that most cruel, inhuman and unchristianpractice, the slave-trade. " At a town meeting the people of Sandwichvoted, on the 18th of May, 1773, "that our representative isinstructed to endeavor to have an Act passed by the Court, to preventthe importation of _slaves_ into this country, and that all childrenthat shall be born of such Africans as are now slaves among us, shall, after such Act, be free at 21 yrs. Of age. "[389]

This completes the list of towns that gave instructions to theirrepresentatives, as far as the record goes. But there doubtless wereothers; as the towns were close together, and as the "spirit ofliberty was rife in the land. "

The Negroes did not endure the yoke without complaint. Having waitedlong and patiently for the dawn of freedom in the colony in vain, aspirit of unrest seized them. They grew sullen and desperate. Thelocal government started, like a sick man, at every imaginary sound, and charged all disorders to the Negroes. If a fire broke out, the"Negroes did it, "--in fact, the Negroes, who were not one-sixth of thepopulation, were continually committing depreciations against thewhites! On the 13th of April, 1723, Lieut. -Gov. Dummer issued aproclamation against the Negroes, which contained the followingpreamble:--

 "Whereas, within some short time past, many fires have broke out within the town of Boston, and divers buildings have thereby been consumed: which fires have been designedly and industriously kindled by some villanous and desperate negroes, or other dissolute people, as appears by the confession of some of them (who have been examined by the authority), and many concurring circumstances; and it being vehemently suspected that they have entered into a combination to burn and destroy the town, I have therefore thought fit, with the advice of his Majesty's council, to issue forth this proclamation, " etc. 

On Sunday, the 18th of April, 1723, the Rev. Joseph Sewall preached asermon suggested "by the late fires y't have broke out in Boston, supposed to be purposely set by y'e negroes. " The town was greatlyexercised. Everybody regarded the Negroes with distrust. Specialmeasures were demanded to insure the safety of the town. The selectmenof Boston passed "nineteen articles" for the regulation of theNegroes. The watch of the town was increased, and the military calledout at the sound of every fire-alarm "to keep the slaves from breakingout"! In August, 1730, a Negro was charged with burning a house inMalden; which threw the entire community into a panic. In 1755 twoNegro slaves were put to death for poisoning their master, John Codmanof Charlestown. One was hanged, and the other burned to death. In 1766all slaves who showed any disposition to be free were "transported andexchanged for small negroes. "[390] In 1768 Capt. John Willson, of theFifty-ninth Regiment, was accused of exciting the slaves against theirmasters; assuring them that the soldiers had come to procure theirfreedom, and that, "with their assistance, they should be able todrive the Liberty Boys to the Devil. " The following letter from Mrs. John Adams to her husband, dated at the Boston Garrison, 22dSeptember, 1774, gives a fair idea of the condition of the publicpulse, and her pronounced views against slavery. 

 "There has been in town a conspiracy of the negroes. At present it is kept pretty private, and was discovered by one who endeavored to dissuade them from it. He being threatened with his life, applied to Justice Quincy for protection. They conducted in this way, got an Irishman to draw up a petition to the Governor [Gage], telling him they would fight for him provided he would arm them, and engage to liberate them if he conquered. And it is said that he attended so much to it, as to consult Percy upon it, and one Lieutenant Small has been very busy and active. There is but little said, and what steps they will take in consequence of it I know not. I wish most sincerely there was not a slave in the province; it always appeared a most iniquitous scheme to me to fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have. You know my mind upon this subject. "[391]

The Negroes of Massachusetts were not mere passive observers of thebenevolent conduct of their white friends. They were activelyinterested in the agitation going on in their behalf. Here, as in noother colony, the Negroes showed themselves equal to the emergenciesthat arose, and capable of appreciating the opportunities to strikefor their own rights. The Negroes in the colony at length struck ablow for their liberty. And it was not the wild, indiscriminate blowof Turner, nor the military measure of Gabriel; not the remorselesslogic of bludgeon and torch, --but the sober, sensible efforts of _men_and _women_ who believed their condition abnormal, and slaveryprejudicial to the largest growth of the human intellect. Theeloquence of Otis, the impassioned appeals of Sewall, and the zeal ofEliot had rallied the languishing energies of the Negroes, and chargedtheir hearts with the divine passion for liberty. They had learned tospell out the letters of freedom, and the meaning of the word hadquite ravished their fainting souls. They had heard that the royalcharter declared all the colonists British subjects; they had devouredthe arguments of their white friends, and were now prepared to act ontheir own behalf. The slaves of Greece and Rome, it is true, petitioned the authorities for a relaxation of the severe laws thatcrushed their manhood; but they were captives from other nations, noted for government and a knowledge of the science of warfare. But itwas left to the Negroes of Massachusetts to force their way intocounts created only for white men, and win their cause!

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1766, John Adams makes the following record inhis diary:--

 "5. Wednesday. Attended Court; heard the trial of an action of trespass, brought by a mulatto woman, for damages, for restraining her of her liberty. This is called suing for liberty; the first action that ever I knew of the sort, though I have heard there have been many. "[392]

So as early as 1766 Mr. Adams records a case of "suing for liberty;"and though it was the first he had known of, nevertheless, he had"heard there have been many. " _How_ many of these cases were inMassachusetts it cannot be said with certainty, but there were "many. "The case to which Mr. Adams makes reference was no doubt that of JennySlew _vs. _ John Whipple, jun. , cited by Dr. Moore. It being theearliest case mentioned anywhere in the records of the colony, greatinterest attaches to it. 

 "JENNY SLEW of Ipswich in the County of Essex, spinster, Pltff. , agst. JOHN WHIPPLE, Jun. , of said Ipswich Gentleman, Deft. , in a Plea of Trespass that the said John on the 29th day of January, A. D. 1762, at Ipswich aforesaid with force and arms took her the said Jenny, held and kept her in servitude as a slave in his service, and has restrained her of her liberty from that time to the fifth of March last without any lawful right & authority so to do and did her other injuries against the peace & to the damage of said Jenny Slew as she saith the sum of twenty-five pounds. This action was first brought at last March Court at Ipswich when & where the parties appeared & the case was continued by order of Court to the then next term when and where the Pltff appeared & the said John Whipple Jun, came by Edmund Trowbridge, Esq. His attorney & defended when he said that there is no such person in nature as Jenny Slew of Ipswich aforesaid, Spinster, & this the said John was ready to verify wherefore the writ should be abated & he prayed judgment accordingly which plea was overruled by the Court and afterwards the said John by the said Edmund made a motion to the Court & praying that another person might endorse the writ & be subject to cost if any should finally be for the Court but the Court rejected the motion and then Deft. Saving his plea in abatement aforesaid said that he is not guilty as the plaintiff contends, & thereof put himself on the Country, & then the cause was continued to this term, and now the Pltff. Reserving to herself the liberty of joining issue on the Deft's plea aforesaid in the appeal says that the defendant's plea aforesaid is an insufficient answer to the Plaintiff's declaration aforesaid and by law she is not held to reply thereto & she is ready to verify wherefore for want of a sufficient answer to the Plaintiff's declaration aforesaid she prays judgment for her damages & costs & the defendant consenting to the waiving of the demurrer on the appeal said his plea aforesaid is good & because the Pltff refuses to reply thereto He prays judgment for his cost. It is considered by the Court that the defendant's plea in chief aforesaid is good & that the said John Whipple recover of the said Jenny Slew costs tax at the Pltff appealed to the next Superior Court of Judicature to be holden for this County & entered into recognizance with sureties as the law directs for prosecuting her appeal to effect. " _Records of the Inferior Court of C. C. P. , Vol_. --, (_Sept. _ 1760 _to July_ 1766), _page_ 502. 

 "JENNY SLEW of Ipswich, in the County of Essex, Spinster, Appellant, versus JOHN WHIPPLE, Jr. Of said Ipswich, Gentleman Appellee from the judgment of an Inferior Court of Common Pleas held at Newburyport within and for the County of Essex on the last Tuesday of September 1765 when and where the appellant was plaint. , and the appellee was defendant in a plea of trespass, for that the said John upon the 29th day of January, A. D. 1762, at Ipswich aforesaid with force and arms took her the said Jenny held & kept her in servitude as a slave in his service & has restrained her of her liberty from that time to the fifth of March 1765 without any lawful right or authority so to do & did other injuries against the Peace & to the damage of the said Jenny Slew, as she saith, the sum of twenty-five pounds, at which Inferior Court, judgment was rendered upon the demurrer then that the said John Whipple recover against the said Jenny Slew costs. This appeal was brought forward at the Superior Court of Judicature &c. , holden at Salem, within & for the County of Essex on the first Tuesday of last November, from whence it was continued to the last term of this Court for this County by consent & so from thence unto this Court, and now both parties appeared & the demurrer aforesaid being waived by consent & issue joined upon the plea tendered at said Inferior Court & on file. The case after full hearing was committed to a jury sworn according to law to try the same who returned their verdict therein upon oath, that is to say, they find for appellant reversion of the former judgment four pounds money damage & costs. It's therefore considered by the Court, that the former judgment be reversed & that the said Slew recover against the said Whipple the sum of four pounds lawful money of this Province damage & costs taxed 9_l. _ 9_s. _ 6_d. _

 "Exon. Issued 4 Dec. 1766. " _Records of the Superior Court of Judicature_ (_vol. _ 1766-7), _page_ 175. 

The next of the "freedom cases, " in chronological order, was the caseof Newport _vs. _ Billing, and was doubtless the one in which JohnAdams was engaged in the latter part of September, 1768. [393] It wasbegun in the Inferior Court, where the decision was against the slave, Amos Newport. The plaintiff took an appeal to the highest court in thecolony; and that court gave as its solemn opinion, "that the said Amos[Newport] was not a freeman, as he alleged, but the proper slave ofthe said Joseph [Billing]. "[394] It should not be lost sight of, thatnot only the Fundamental laws of 1641, but the highest court inMassachusetts, held, as late as 1768, that there was property in man!

The case of James _vs. _ Lechmere is the one "which has been for morethan half a century the grand _cheval de bataille_ of the champions ofthe historic fame of Massachusetts. "[395] Richard Lechmere resided inCambridge, and held to servitude for life a Negro named "James. " Onthe 2d of May, 1769, this slave began an action in the Inferior Courtof Common Pleas. The action was "in trespass for assault and battery, and imprisoning and holding the plaintiff in servitude from April 11, 1758, to the date of the writ. " The judgment of the Inferior Court wasadverse to the slave; but on the 31st of October, 1769, the SuperiorCourt of Suffolk had the case settled by compromise. A long line ofworthies in Massachusetts have pointed with pride to this decision asthe legal destruction of slavery in that State. But it "_is shown bythe records and files of Court to have been brought up from theInferior Court by sham demurrer, and, after one or two continuances, settled by the parties_. "[396] The truth of history demands that thefacts be given to the world. It will not be pleasant for the people ofMassachusetts to have this delusion torn from their affectionateembrace. It was but a mere historical chimera, that ought not to havesurvived a single day; and, strangely enough, it has existed until thepresent time among many intelligent people. This case has been citedfor the last hundred years as having settled the question of bondservitude in Massachusetts, when the fact is, there was no decision inthis instance! And the claim that Richard Lechmere's slave James wasadjudged free "upon the same grounds, substantially, as those uponwhich Lord Mansfield discharged Sommersett, " is absurd andbaseless. [397] For on the 27th of April, 1785 (thirteen years afterthe famous decision), Lord Mansfield himself said, in reference to theSommersett case, "that his decision went no farther than that themaster cannot by force compel the slave to go out of the kingdom. "Thirty-five years of suffering and degradation remained for theAfricans after the decision of Lord Mansfield. His lordship's decisionwas rendered on the 22d of June, 1772; and in 1807, thirty-five yearsafterwards, the British government abolished the slave-trade. Andthen, after twenty-seven years more of reflection, slavery wasabolished in English possessions. _So, sixty-two years after LordMansfield's decision, England emancipated her slaves!_ It took onlytwo generations for the people to get rid of slavery under the Britishflag. How true, then, that "facts are stranger than fiction"!

In 1770 John Swain of Nantucket brought suit against Elisha Folger, captain of the vessel "Friendship, " for allowing a Mr. Roth to receiveon board his ship a Negro boy named "Boston, " and for the recovery ofthe slave. This was a jury-trial in the Court of Common Pleas. Thejury brought in a verdict in favor of the slave, and he was"manumitted by the magistrates. " John Swain took an appeal from thedecision of the Nantucket Court to the Supreme Court of Boston, butnever prosecuted it. [398] In 1770, in Hanover, Plymouth County, aNegro asked his master to grant him his freedom as _his right_. Themaster refused; and the Negro, with assistance of counsel, succeededin obtaining his liberty. [399]

 "In October of 1773, an action was brought against Richard Greenleaf, of Newburyport, by Cæsar [Hendrick, ] a colored man, whom he claimed as his slave, for holding him in bondage. He laid the damages at fifty pounds. The counsel for the plaintiff, in whose favor the jury brought in their verdict and awarded him eighteen pounds damages and costs, was John Lowell, esquire, afterward judge Lowell. This case excited much interest, as it was the first, if not the only one of the kind, that ever occurred in the county. "[400]

This case is mentioned in full by Mr. Dane in his "Abridgment andDigest of American Law, " vol. Ii. P. 426. 

In the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, in the county of Essex, Julyterm in 1774, a Negro slave of one Caleb Dodge of Beverly brought anaction against his master for restraining his liberty. The jury gave averdict in favor of the Negro, on the ground that there was "no law ofthe Province to hold a man to serve for life. "[401] This is the onlydecision we have been able to find based upon such a reason. The jurymay have reached this conclusion from a knowledge of the provisions ofthe charter of the colony; or they may have found a verdict inaccordance with the charge of the court. The following significantlanguage in the charter of the colony could not have escaped thecourt:--

 "That all and every of the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, which go to and inhabit within our said province and territory, and every of their children which shall happen to be born there, or on the seas in going thither, or returning from thence, shall have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects within the dominions of us, our heirs and successors, to all intents, constructions, and purposes whatsoever, as if they and every of them were born within our realm of England. "

The Rev. Dr. Belknap, speaking of these cases which John Adams speaksof as "suing for liberty, " gives an idea of the line of argument usedby the Negroes:--

 "On the part of the blacks it was pleaded, that the royal charter expressly declared all persons born or residing in the province, to be as free as the King's subjects in Great Britain; that by the laws of England, no man could be deprived of his liberty but by the judgment of his peers; that the laws of the province respecting an evil existing, and attempting to mitigate or regulate it, did not authorize it; and, on some occasions, the plea was, that though the slavery of the parents be admitted, yet no disability of that kind could descend to children. "[402]

The argument pursued by the masters was, --

 "The pleas on the part of the masters were, that the negroes were purchased in open market, and bills of sale were produced in evidence; that the laws of the province recognized slavery as existing in it, by declaring that no person should manumit his slave without giving bond for his maintenance. "[403]

It is well that posterity should know the motives that inspired judgesand juries to grant these Negroes their prayer for liberty. 

 "In 1773, etc. , some slaves did recover against their masters; but these cases are no evidence that there could not be slaves in the Province, for sometimes masters permitted their slaves to recover, to get clear of maintaining them as _paupers_ when old and infirm; the effect, as then generally understood, of a judgment against the master on this point of slavery; hence, a very feeble defence was often made by the masters, especially when sued by the old or infirm slaves, as the masters could not even manumit their slaves, without indemnifying their towns against their maintenance, as town paupers. "

And Chief-Justice Parsons, in the case of Winchendon _vs. _ Hatfield, in error, says, --

 "Several negroes, born in this country of imported slaves demanded their freedom of their masters by suit at law, and obtained it by a judgment of court. The defence of the master was feebly made, for such was the temper of the times, that a restless discontented slave was worth little; and when his freedom was obtained in a course of legal proceedings, the master was not holden for his future support, if he became poor. "

Thus did the slaves of Massachusetts fill their mouths with arguments, and go before the courts. The majority of them, aged and infirm, wereallowed to gain their cause in order that their masters might berelieved from supporting their old age. The more intelligent, and, consequently, the more determined ones, were allowed to have theirfreedom from prudential reasons, more keenly felt than franklyexpressed by their masters. In some instances, however, noble, high-minded Christians, on the bench and on juries, were led to theirconclusions by broad ideas of justice and humanity. But the spirit ofthe age was cold and materialistic. With but a very few exceptions, the most selfish and constrained motives conspired to loose the chainsof the bondmen in the colony. 

The slaves were not slow to see that the colonists were in a frame ofmind to be persuaded on the question of emancipation. Their feelingswere at white heat in anticipation of the Revolutionary struggle, andthe slaves thought it time to strike out a few sparks of sympathy. 

On the 25th of June, 1773, a petition was presented to the House ofRepresentatives, and read before that body during the afternoonsession. It was the petition "of Felix Holbrook, and others, Negroes, praying that they may be liberated from a state of Bondage, and madeFreemen of this Community, and that this Court would give and grant tothem some part of the unimproved Lands belonging to the Province, fora settlement, or relieve them in such other Way as shall seem good andwise upon the Whole. " After its reading, a motion prevailed to referit to a select committee for consideration, with leave to report atany time. It was therefore "ordered, that Mr. Hancock, Mr. Greenleaf, Mr. Adams, Capt. Dix, Mr. Pain, Capt. Heath, and Mr. Pickeringconsider this Petition, and report what may be proper to bedone. "[404] It was a remarkably strong committee. There were thepatriotic Hancock, the scholarly Greenleaf, the philosophic Pickering, and the eloquent Samuel Adams. It was natural that the Negropetitioners should have expected something. Three days after thecommittee was appointed, on the 28th of June, they recommended "thatthe further Consideration of the Petition be referred till nextsession. " The report was adopted, and the petition laid over until the"_next session_. "[405]

But the slaves did not lose heart. They found encouragement among afew noble spirits, and so were ready to urge the Legislature to aconsideration of their petition at the next session, in the winter of1774. The following letter shows that they were anxious and earnest. 

 "SAMUEL ADAMS TO JOHN PICKERING, JR. 

 "BOSTON, Jan'y. 8, 1774. 

 "_Sir_, --

 As the General Assembly will undoubtedly meet on the 26th of this month, the Negroes whose petition lies on file, and is referred for consideration, are very solicitous for the Event of it, and having been informed that you intended to consider it at your leisure Hours in the Recess of the Court, they earnestly wish you would compleat a Plan for their Relief. And in the meantime, if it be not too much Trouble, they ask it as a favor that you would by a Letter enable me to communicate to them the general outlines of your Design. I am, with sincere regard, " etc. [406]

It is rather remarkable, that on the afternoon of the first day of thesession, --Jan. 26, 1774, --the "Petition of a number of Negro Men, which was entered on the Journal of the 25th of June last, andreferred for Consideration to this session, " was "read again, togetherwith a Memorial of the same Petitioners, and _Ordered_, that Mr. Speaker, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Adams, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Pain, and Mr. Greenleaf consider the same, and report. "[407] Thepublic feeling on the matter was aroused. It was considered asimportant as, if not more important than, any measure before theLegislature. 

The committee were out until March, considering what was best to doabout the petition. On the 2d of March, 1774, they reported to theHouse "a Bill to prevent the Importation of Negroes and others asslaves into this Province, " when it was read a first time. On the 3dof March it was read a second time in the morning session; in theafternoon session, read a third time, and passed to be engrossed. Itwas then sent up to the Council to be concurred in, by Col. Gerrish, Col. Thayer, Col. Bowers, Mr. Pickering and Col. Bacon. [408] On thenext day the bill "passed in Council with Amendments, "[409] and wasreturned to the House. On the 5th of March the House agreed to concurin Council amendments, and on the 7th of March passed the bill asamended. On the day following it was placed upon its passage in theCouncil, and carried. It was then sent down to the governor to receivehis signature, in order to become the law of the Province. Thatofficial's approval was withheld, and the reason given was, "thesecretary said (on returning the approved bills) that his Excellencyhad not had time to consider the other Bills that had been laid beforehim. "[410]

It is quite fortunate that the bill was preserved;[411] for it is now, in the certain light of a better civilization, a document of greathistoric value. 

 "ANNO REGNI REGIS GEORGII TERTII &c. DECIMO QUARTO. 

 "AN ACT to prevent the importation of Negroes or other Persons as Slaves into this Province, and the purchasing them within the same, _and for making provision for relief of the children of such as are already subjected to slavery Negroes Mulattoes & Indians born within this Province_. 

 "WHEREAS the Importation of Persons as Slaves into this Province has been found detrimental to the interest of his Majesty's subjects therein; And it being apprehended that the abolition thereof will be beneficial to the Province--

 "_Be it therefore Enacted_ by the Governor Council and House of Representatives that whoever shall after the Tenth Day of April next import or bring into this Province by Land or Water any Negro or other Person or Persons whether Male or Female as a Slave or Slaves shall for each and every such Person so imported or brought into this Province forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred Pounds to be recovered by presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury and when so recovered to be to his Majesty for the use of this Government or by action of debt in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record and in case of such recovery the one moiety thereof to be to his majesty for the use of this Government the other moiety to the Person or Persons who shall sue for the same. 

 "_And be it further Enacted_ that from and after the Tenth Day of April next any Person or Persons that shall purchase any Negro or other Person or Persons as a Slave or Slaves imported or brought into this Province as aforesaid shall forfeit and pay for every Negro or other Person so purchased Fifty Pounds to be recovered and disposed of in the same way and manner as before directed. 

 "_And be it further Enacted_ that every Person, concerned in importing or bringing into this Province, or purchasing any such Negro or other Person or Persons as aforesaid within the same; who shall be unable, or refuse, to pay the Penalties or forfeitures ordered by this Act; shall for every such offence suffer Twelve months' imprisonment without Bail or mainprise. 

 "_Provided_ allways that nothing in this act contained shall extend to subject to the Penalties aforesaid the Masters, Mariners, Owners or Freighters of any such Vessel or Vessels, as before the said Tenth Day of April next shall have sailed from any Port or Ports in this Province, for any Port or Ports not within this Government, for importing or bringing into this Province any Negro or other Person or Persons as Slaves who in the prosecution of the same voyage may be imported or brought into the same. _Provided_ he shall not offer them or any of them for sale. 

 "_Provided_ also that this act shall not be construed to extend to any such Person or Persons, occasionally hereafter coming to reside within this Province, or passing thro' the same, who may bring such Negro or other Person or Persons as necessary servants into this Province provided that the stay or residence of such Person or Persons shall not exceed Twelve months or that such Person or Persons within said time send such Negro or other Person or Persons out of this Province there to be and remain, and also that during said Residence such Negro or other Person or Persons shall not be sold or alienated within the same. 

 "[Transcriber's Note: Inverted A appears here. ] _And be it further Enacted and declared that nothing in this act contained shall extend or be construed to extend for retaining or holding in perpetual servitude any Negro or other Person or Persons now inslaved within this Province but that every such Negro or other Person or Persons shall be intituled to all the Benefits such Negro or other Person or Persons might by Law have been intituled to, in case this act had not been made_. 

 "In the House of Representatives March 2, 1774. Read a first & second Time. March 3, 1774. Read a third Time & passed to be engrossed. Sent up for concurrence. 

 T. CUSHING, _Spkr. _

 "In Council March 3, 1774. Read a first time. 4. Read a second Time and passed in Concurrence to be Engrossed with the Amendment at [Transcriber's Note: Inverted A appears here. ] dele the whole Clause. Sent down for concurrence. 

 THOS. FLUCKER, _Secry. _

 "In the House of Representatives March 4, 1774. Read and concurred. 

 T. CUSHING, _Spkr. _"

Like all other measures for the suppression of the slave-trade, thisbill failed to become a law. If Massachusetts desired to free herselffrom this twofold cross of woe, --even if her great jurists could tracethe law that justified the abolition of the curse, in the pages of theroyal charter, --were not the British governors of the Province butconserving the corporation interests of the home government and themembers of the Royal African Company? By the Treaty of Utrecht, England had agreed to furnish the Spanish West Indies with Negroesfor the space of thirty years. She had aided all her colonies toestablish slavery, and had sent her navies to guard the vessels thatrobbed Africa of five hundred thousand souls annually. [412] This wasthe cruel work of England. For all her sacrifices in the war, themillions of treasure she had spent, the blood of her children soprodigally shed, with the glories of Blenheim, of Ramillies, ofOudenarde and Malplaquet, England found her consolation and reward inseizing and enjoying, as the lion's share of results of the grandalliance against the Bourbons, the exclusive right for thirty years ofselling African slaves to the Spanish West Indies and the coast ofAmerica![413] Why _should_ Gov. Hutchinson sign a bill that wasintended to choke the channel of a commerce in human souls that was sonear the heart of the British throne?

Gov. Hutchinson was gone, and Gen. Gage was now governor. He convenedthe General Court at Salem, in June, 1774. On the 10th of June thesame bill that Gov. Hutchinson had refused to sign was introduced, with a few immaterial changes, and pushed to a third reading, andengrossed the same day. It was called up on the 16th of June, andpassed. It was sent up to the Council, where it was read a third time, and concurred in. But the next day the General Court was dissolved!And over the grave of this, the last attempt at legislation tosuppress the slave-trade in Massachusetts, was written: "_Not to havebeen consented_ to by the governor"!

These repeated efforts at anti-slavery legislation were strategic andpolitic. The gentlemen who hurried those bills through the House andCouncil, almost regardless of rules, knew that the royal governorswould never affix their signatures to them. But the colonists, havingput themselves on record, could appeal to the considerate judgment ofthe impatient Negroes; while the refusal of the royal governors togive the bills the force of law did much to drive the Negroes to thestandard of the colonists. In the long night of darkness that wasdrawing its sable curtains about the colonial government, the loyaltyof the Negroes was the lonely but certain star that threw its peerlesslight upon the pathway of the child of England so soon to be forced tolift its parricidal hand against its rapacious and cruel mother. 

FOOTNOTES:

[380] Felt, vol. Ii. P. 416. 

[381] Newspaper Literature, vol. I. P. 31. 

[382] Lyman's Report, quoted by Dr. Moore. 

[383] House Journal, p. 387. 

[384] Ibid. 

[385] House Journals; see, also, Gen. Court Records, May, 1763, toMay, 1767, p. 485. 

[386] Slavery in Mass. , pp. 131, 132. 

[387] Felt, vol. Ii. Pp. 416, 417. 

[388] Hist. Of Leicester, pp. 442, 443. 

[389] Freeman's Hist. Of Cape Cod, vol. Ii. Pp. 114, 115. 

[390] Boston Gazette, Aug. 17, 1761. 

[391] Letters of Mrs. Adams, p. 20. 

[392] Adams's Works, vol. Ii. P. 200. 

[393] Adams's Works, vol. Ii, p. 213. 

[394] Records, 1768, fol. , p. 284. 

[395] This is the case referred to by the late Charles Sumner in hisfamous speech in answer to Senator Butler of South Carolina; see alsoSlavery in Mass. , p. 115, 116; Washburn's Judicial Hist. Of Mass. , p. 202; Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. , 1863-64, p. 322. 

[396] Records, 1769, fol. P. 196. Gray in Quincy's Reports, p. 30, note, quoted by Dr. Moore. 

[397] Slavery in Mass. , pp. 115, 116, note. 

[398] Lyman's Report, 1822. 

[399] Slavery in Mass. , p. 118. 

[400] Hist. Of Newbury, p. 339. 

[401] The Watchman's Alarm, p. 28, note; also Slavery in Mass. , p. 119. 

[402] Mass. Hist Soc. Coll. , vol. Iv. 1st Series, pp. 202, 203. 

[403] Hildreth, vol. Ii. P. 564. 

[404] House Journal, p. 85, quoted by Dr. Moore. 

[405] House Journal, p. 94. 

[406] Slavery in Mass. , p. 136. 

[407] House Journal, p. 104. 

[408] House Journal p. 224. 

[409] Ibid. , p. 226. 

[410] House Journal, Gen Court Records, xxx. Pp. 248, 264; also, Slavery in Mass, p. 137. 

[411] Mass. Archives, Domestic Relations, 1643-1774, vol. Ix. P. 457. 

[412] Ethiope, p. 12. 

[413] Bolingbroke, pp. 346-348. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE COLONY OF MARYLAND. 

1634-1775. 

 MARYLAND UNDER THE LAWS OF VIRGINIA UNTIL 1630. --FIRST LEGISLATION ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN 1637-38. --SLAVERY ESTABLISHED BY STATUTE IN 1663. --THE DISCUSSION OF SLAVERY. --AN ACT PASSED ENCOURAGING THE IMPORTATION OF NEGROES AND WHITE SERVANTS IN 1671. --AN ACT LAYING AN IMPOST ON NEGROES AND WHITE SERVANTS IMPORTED INTO THE COLONY. --DUTIES IMPOSED ON RUM AND WINE. --TREATMENT OF SLAVES AND PAPISTS. --CONVICTS IMPORTED INTO THE COLONY. --AN ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY THE CONVICT-TRADE. --SPIRITED REPLIES. --THE LAWS OF 1723, 1729, 1752. --RIGHTS OF SLAVES. --NEGRO POPULATION IN 1728. --INCREASE OF SLAVERY IN 1756. --NO EFFORTS MADE TO PREVENT THE EVILS OF SLAVERY. --THE REVOLUTION NEARING. --NEW LIFE FOR THE NEGROES. 

Up to the 20th of June, 1630, the territory that at presentconstitutes the State of Maryland was included within the limits ofthe colony of Virginia. During that period the laws of Virginiaobtained throughout the entire territory. 

In 1637[414] the first assembly of the colony of Maryland agreed upona number of bills, but they never became laws. The list is left, butnothing more. The nearest and earliest attempt at legislation on theslavery question to be found is a bill that was introduced "_forpunishment of ill servants_. " During the earlier years of theexistence of slavery in Virginia, the term "servant" was applied toNegroes as well as to white persons. The legal distinction betweenslaves and servants was, "servants for a term of years, "--whitepersons; and "servants for life, "--Negroes. In the first place, therecan be no doubt but what Negro slaves were a part of the population ofthis colony from its organization;[415] and, in the second place, theabove-mentioned bill of 1637 for the "_punishment of ill servants_"was intended, doubtless, to apply to Negro servants, or slaves. Sofew were they in number, that they were seldom referred to as"slaves. " They were "servants;" and that appellation dropped out onlywhen the growth of slavery as an institution, and the necessity ofspecific legal distinction, made the Negro the only person that wassuited to the condition of absolute property. 

In 1638 there was a list of bills that reached a second reading, butnever passed. There was one bill "_for the liberties of the people_, "that declared "all Christian inhabitants (slaves only excepted) tohave and enjoy all such rights, liberties, immunities, privileges andfree customs, within this province, as any natural born subject ofEngland hath or ought to have or enjoy in the realm of England, byforce or virtue of the common law or statute law of England, saving insuch cases as the same are or may be altered or changed by the lawsand ordinances of this province. "[416] There is but one mention madeof "slaves" in the above Act, but in none of the other Acts of 1638. There are certain features of the Act worthy of special consideration. The reader should keep the facts before him, that by the laws ofEngland no Christian could be held in slavery; that in the Provincialgovernments the laws were made to conform with those of the homegovernment; that, in specifying the rights of the colonists, theProvincial assemblies limited the immunities and privileges conferredby the Magna Charta upon British subjects, to Christians; that Negroeswere considered heathen, and, therefore, denied the blessings of theChurch and State; that even where Negro slaves were baptized, it washeld by the courts in the colonies, and was the law-opinion of thesolicitor-general of Great Britain, that they were not _ipso facto_free;[417] and that, where Negroes were free, they had no rights inthe Church or State. So, while this law of 1638 did not say thatNegroes _should_ be slaves, in designating those who were to enjoy therights of freemen, it excludes the Negro, and thereby fixes hiscondition as a slave by implication. If he were not named as afreeman, it was the intention of the law-makers that he should remaina bondman, --the exception to an established rule of law. [418]

In subsequent Acts reference was made to "servants, " "fugitives, ""runaways, " etc. ; but the first statute in this colony establishingslavery was passed in 1663. It was "_An Act concerning negroes andother slaves_. " It enacts section one:--

 "All negroes or other slaves within the province, and all negroes and other slaves to be hereafter imported into the province, shall serve _durante vita_; and all children born of any negro or other slave, shall be slaves as their fathers were for the term of their lives. "

Section two:--

 "And forasmuch as divers freeborn _English_ women, forgetful of their free condition, and to the disgrace of our nation, do intermarry with negro slaves, by which also divers suits may arise, touching the issue of such women, and a great damage doth befall the master of such negroes, for preservation whereof for deterring such free-born women from such shameful matches, _be it enacted_, &c. : That whatsoever free-born woman shall intermarry with any slave, from and after the last day of the present assembly, shall serve the master of such slave during the life of her husband; and that all the issue of such free-born women, so married, shall be slaves as their fathers were. "

Section three:--

 "And be it further enacted, that all the issues of _English_, or other free-born women, that have already married negroes, shall serve the master of their parents, till they be thirty years of age and no longer. "[419]

Section one is the most positive and sweeping statute we have everseen on slavery. It fixes the term of servitude for the longest timeman can claim, --the period of his earthly existence, --and dooms thechildren to a service from which they were to find discharge only indeath. Section two was called into being on account of theintermarriage of white women with slaves. Many of these women had beenindentured as servants to pay their passage to this country, some hadbeen sent as convicts, while still others had been apprenticed for aterm of years. Some of them, however, were very worthy persons. Nolittle confusion attended the fixing of the legal status of the issueof such marriages; and it was to deter Englishwomen from suchalliances, and to determine the status of the children before thecourts, that this section was passed. Section three was clearly an _expost facto_ law: but the public sentiment of the colony was reflectedin it; and it stood, and was re-enacted in 1676. 

Like Virginia, the colony of Maryland found the soil rich, and thecultivation of tobacco a profitable enterprise. The country was new, and the physical obstructions in the way of civilization numerous andformidable. Of course all could not pursue the one path that led toagriculture. Mechanic and trade folk were in great demand. Laborerswere scarce, and the few that could be obtained commanded high wages. The Negro slave's labor could be made as cheap as his master'sconscience and heart were small. Cheaper labor became the cry on everyhand, and the Negro was the desire of nearly all white men in thecolony. [420] In 1671 the Legislature passed "_An Act encouraging theimportation of negroes and slaves into_" the colony, which wasfollowed by another and similar Act in 1692. Two motives inspired thecolony to build up the slave-trade; viz. , to have more laborers, andto get something for nothing. And, as soon as Maryland was known to bea good market for slaves, the traffic increased with wonderfulrapidity. Slaves soon became the bone and sinew of the working-forceof the colony. They were used to till the fields, to fell the forests, to assist mechanics, and to handle light crafts along thewater-courses. They were to be found in all homes of opulence andrefinement; and, unfortunately, their presence in such large numbersdid much to lower honorable labor in the estimation of the whites, andto enervate women in the best white society. While the colonistspersuaded themselves that slavery was an institution indispensable tothe colony, its evil effects soon became apparent. It were impossibleto engage the colony in the slave-trade, and escape the bad results ofsuch an inhuman enterprise. It made men cruel and avaricious. 

It was the motion of individuals to have legislative encouragementtendered the venders of human flesh and blood; but the time came whenthe government of the colony saw that an impost tax upon the slavesimported into the colony would not impair the trade, while it wouldaid the government very materially. In 1696 "_An Act laying animposition on negroes, slaves and while persons imported_" into thecolony was passed. It is plain from the reading of the caption of theabove bill, that it was intended to reach three classes of persons;viz. , Negro servants, Negro slaves, and white servants. The word"imported" means such persons as could not pay their passage, and weretherefore indentured to the master of the vessel. When they arrived, their time was hired out, if they were free, for a term of years, atso much per year;[421] but if they were slaves the buyer had to payall claims against this species of property before he could acquire afee simple in the slave. Some historians have too frequentlymisinterpreted the motive and aim of the colonial Legislatures inimposing an impost tax upon Negroes and other servants imported intotheir midst. The fact that the law applied to white persons does notaid in an interpretation that would credit the makers of the act withfeelings of humanity. A people who could buy and sell wives did nothesitate to see in the indentured white servants property that oughtto be taxed. Why not? These white servants represented so many dollarsinvested, or so many years of labor in prospect! So all personsimported into the colony of Maryland, "Negroes, slaves, and whitepersons, " were taxed as any other marketable article. A swift andremorseless civilization against the stolid forces of nature made menindiscriminate and cruel in their impulses to obtain. Public sentimenthad been formulated into law: the law contemplated "servants andslaves" as chattel property; and the political economists of theProvince saw in this species of property rich gains for thegovernment. It was condition, circumstances, that made the servant orslave; but at length it was nationality, color. 

When, on the threshold of the eighteenth century, "white indentured"servants were rapidly ceasing to exist under color or sanction of law, religious bigotry and ecclesiastical intolerance joined hands with thesupporters of Negro slavery in a crusade[422] against the IrishCatholics. In 1704 the Legislature passed "_An Act imposing threepence per gallon on rum and wine, brandy and spirits, and twentyshillings per poll for negroes, for raising a supply to defray thepublic charge of this province, and twenty shillings, per poll, onIrish servants, to prevent the importing too great a number of Irishpapist into this province_. " Although this Act was intended to remainon the statute-books only three years, its life was prolonged by asupplemental Act, and it disgraced the colony for twenty-one years. Asin New York, so here, the government regarded the slave and Papistwith feelings of hatred and fear. The former was only suited to acondition of perpetual bondage, the latter to be ostracized and drivenout from before the face of the exclusive Protestants of that period. Both were cruelly treated; one on account of his face, the other onaccount of his faith. 

 "Unfortunately for the professors of the Catholic religion, by the force of circumstances which it is not necessary to detail, their religious persuasions became identified, in the public mind, with opposition to the principles of the revolution. Their political disfranchisement was the consequence. Charles Calvert, the deposed proprietary, shared the common fate of his Catholic brethren. Sustained and protected by the crown in the enjoyment of his mere private rights, the general jealousy of Catholic power denied him the government of the province. "[423]

A knowledge of the antecedents of the master-class will aid the readerto a more accurate conception of the character of the institution ofslavery in the colony of Maryland. 

It is not very pleasing for the student of history at this time toremember that the British colonies in North America received intotheir early life the worst poison of European society, --the criminalelement. From the first the practice of transporting convicts into thecolonies obtained. And, during the reign of George I. , statutes werepassed "authorizing transportation as a commutation punishment forclergyable felonies. " These convicts were transported by privateshippers, and then sold into the colony; and thus it became a gainfulenterprise. From 1700 until 1760 this nefarious and pestiferoustraffic greatly increased. At length it became, as already indicated, the subject of a special impost tax. Three or four hundred convictswere imported into the colony annually, and the people began tocomplain. [424] In "The Maryland Gazette" of the 30th of July, 1767, awriter attempted to show that the convict element was not to bedespised, but was rather a desirable addition to the Province. Hesays, --

 "I suppose that for these last thirty years, communibus annis, there have been at least 600 convicts per year imported into this province: and these have probably gone into 400 families. "

After answering some objections to their importation because of thecontagious diseases likely to be communicated by them, he furtherremarks, --

 "This makes at least 400 to one, that they do no injury to the country in the way complained of: and the people's continuing to buy and receive them so constantly, shows plainly the general sense of the country about the matter; notwithstanding a few gentlemen seem so angry that convicts are imported here at all, and would, if they could, by spreading this terror, prevent the people's buying them. I confess I am one, says he, who think a young country cannot be settled, cultivated, and improved, without people of some sort: and that it is much better for the country to receive convicts than slaves. The wicked and bad amongst them, that come into this province, mostly run away to the northward; mix with their people, and pass for honest men: whilst those more innocent, and who came for very small offences, serve their times out here, behave well, and become useful people. "

This attempt to justify the _convict trade_ elicited two able andspirited replies over the signatures of "Philanthropos" and "C. D. "appearing in "Green's Gazette" of 20th of August, 1767, in which thewriter of the first article is handled "with the gloves off. "

 "His remarks [says Philanthropos] remind me of the observation of a great philosopher, who alleges that there is a certain race of men of so selfish a cast, that they would even set a neighbour's house on fire, for the convenience of roasting an egg at the blaze. That these are not the reveries of fanciful speculatists, the author now under consideration is in a great measure a proof; for who, but a man swayed with the most sordid selfishness, would endeavor to disarm the people of all caution against such imminent danger, lest their just apprehensions should interfere with his little schemes of profit? And who but such a man would appear publicly as an advocate for the importation of felons, the scourings of jails, and the abandoned outcasts of the British nation, as a mode in any sort eligible for peopling a young country?"

In another part of his reply he remarks, --

 "In confining the indignation because of their importation to a few, and representing that the general sense of the people is in favor of this vile importation, he is guilty of the most shameful misrepresentation and the grossest calumny upon the whole province. What opinion must our mother country, and our sister colonies, entertain of our virtue, when they see it confidently asserted in the Maryland Gazette, that we are fond of peopling our country with the most abandoned profligates in the universe? Is this the way to purge ourselves from that false and bitter reproach, so commonly thrown upon us, _that we are the descendants of convicts?_ As far as it has lain in my way to be acquainted with the general sentiments of the people upon this subject, I solemnly declare, that the most discerning and judicious amongst them esteem it the greatest grievance imposed upon us by our mother country. "

The writer felt that a young country could not be settled "withoutpeople of some sort, " and that it was better to secure "convicts thanslaves. " Upon what grounds precisely this defender of buying convictlabor based his conclusion that he would rather have "convicts thanslaves" is not known. It could not have been that he believed theconvicts of England more industrious or skilful than Negro slaves? Or, had he theoretical objections to slavery as a permanent institution?Perhaps the writer had himself graduated from the criminal class! Butthere were gentlemen who differed with him, and couched theirobjections to the convict system of importation in very vigorousEnglish. On the 20th of August, 1767, two articles appeared in"Greene's Gazette. " Says one of these writers, --

 "For who, but a man swayed with the most sordid selfishness, would endeavor to disarm the people of all caution against such imminent danger, lest their just apprehensions should interfere with his little schemes of profit? And who but such a man would appear publicly as an advocate for the importation of felons, the scourings of jails, and the abandoned outcasts of the British nation, as a mode in any sort eligible for peopling a young country?"

There can be no doubt but that many of the convicts thus imported, having served out their time, in a brief season became slave-driversand slave-owners. With hearts reduced to flinty hardness in the firesof unrestrained passions, the convict element, as it became absorbedin the great free white population of the Province, [425] created amost positive sentiment in favor of a cruel code for the government ofthe Negro slave. There were two motives that inspired the ex-convictto cruelty to the Negro: to divert attention from himself, and topersuade himself, in his doubting mind, that the Negro was inferior tohim by _nature_. It was, no doubt, a great undertaking; but thefindings of such a court must have been comforting to an anxiousconscience! The result can be judged. Maryland made a slave-code, which, for cruelty and general inhumanity, has no equal in theSouth. [426] The Maryland laws of 1715 contained, in chapterforty-four, an act with one hundred and thirty-five sections relatingto Negro slaves. A most rigorous pass-system was established. Bysection six, no Negro or other servant was allowed to leave the countywithout a pass under the seal of the county in which their masterresided; for which pass the slave or other servant was compelled topay ten pounds of tobacco, or one shilling in money. If such personswere apprehended, a justice of the peace could impose such fines andinflict such punishment as were fixed by the law applying to runaways. By the Act of 1723, chapter fifteen, under the caption of "_An Act toprevent the tumultuous meeting and other irregularities of negroes andother slaves_, " the severity of the laws was increased tenfold. According to section four, a Negro or other slave who had the temerityto strike a white person, was to have his ears "_cropt on order of aJustice_. " Section six denies slaves the right of possession ofproperty: they could not own cattle. Section seven gave authority toany white man to kill a Negro who resisted an attempt to arrest him;and by a supplemental Act of 1751, chapter fourteen, the owner of aslave thus killed was to be paid out of the public treasury. In 1729an Act was passed providing, that upon the conviction of certaincrimes, Negroes and other slaves shall be not only hanged, but thebody should be quartered, and exposed to public view. When slaves grewold and infirm in the service of their masters, and the latter wereinspired by a desire to compliment the faithfulness of their servantsby emancipation, the law came in and forbade manumission by the "lastwill or testament, " or the making free in any way of Negro slaves. Itwas a temporary Act, passed in 1752, void of every element ofhumanity; and yet it stood as the law of the colony for twenty longyears. 

In 1748 the Negro population of Maryland was thirty-six thousand, andstill rapidly increasing. 

 "By a 'very accurate census, ' taken this year, this was found to be the number of white inhabitants in Maryland:--

 +---------+--------+-----------+-----------+---------+ | | FREE. | SERVANTS. | CONVICTS. | TOTAL. | +---------+--------+-----------+-----------+---------+ |Men | 24, 058 | 3, 576 | 1, 507 | 29, 141 | |Women | 23, 521 | 1, 824 | 386 | 25, 731 | |Boys | 26, 637 | 1, 048 | 67 | 27, 752 | |Girls | 24, 141 | 422 | 21 | 24, 584 | |---------+--------+-----------+-----------+---------+ | | 98, 357 | 6, 870 | 1, 981 | 107, 208 | +---------+--------+-----------+-----------+---------+

 "By the same account the total number of mulattoes in Maryland amounted to 3, 592; and the total number of Negroes, to 42, 764. Pres. Stiles' MS. It was reckoned (say the authors of Univ. Hist. ), that above 2, 000 Negro slaves were annually imported into Maryland. "[427]

In 1756 the blacks had increased to 46, 225, and in 1761 to 49, 675. There was nothing in the laws to prohibit the instruction of Negroes, and yet no one dared to brave public sentiment on that point. Thechurches gave no attention or care to the slaves. During the firsthalf or three-quarters of a century there was an indiscriminatemingling and marrying among the Negroes and white servants; and, although this was forbidden by rigid statutes, it went on to aconsiderable extent. The half-breed, or Mulatto, populationincreased;[428] and so did the number of free Negroes. The contact ofthese two elements--of slaves and convicts--was neither prudent norhealthy. The Negroes suffered from the touch of the moral contagion ofthis effete matter driven out of European society. Courted as ratheragreeable companions by the convicts at first, the Negro slaves wereat length treated worse by the ex-convicts than by the mostintelligent and opulent slave-dealers in all the Province. And with norights in the courts, incompetent to hold an office of any kind, thefree Negroes were in almost as disagreeable a situation as the slaves. 

From the founding of the colony of Maryland in 1632 down to theRevolutionary War, there is no record left us that any effort was evermade to cure the most glaring evils of slavery. For the Negro this wasone long, starless night of oppression and outrage. No siren's voicewhispered to him of a distant future, propitious and gracious tohearts almost insensible to a throb of joy, to minds unconscious ofthe feeblest rays of light. Being _absolute_ property, it was theright of the master to say how much food, or what quantity ofclothing, his slave should have. There were no rules by which a slavecould claim the privilege of ceasing from labor at the close of theday. No, the master had the same right to work his slaves afternightfall as to drive his horse morning, noon, and night. Poorclothes, rough and scanty diet, wretched quarters, overworked, neglected in body and mind, the Negroes of Maryland had a sore lot. 

The Revolution was nearing. Public attention was largely occupied withthe Stamp Act and preparations for hostilities. The Negro was left totoil on; and, while at this time there was no legislation sought forslavery, there was nothing done that could be considered hostile tothe institution. The Negroes hailed the mutterings of the distantthunders of revolution as the precursor of a new era to them. It didfurnish an opportunity for them in Maryland to prove themselvespatriots and brave soldiers. And how far their influence went tomollify public sentiment concerning them, will be considered in itsappropriate place. Suffice it now to say, that cruel and hurtful, unjust and immoral, as the institution of slavery was, it had notrobbed the Negro of a lofty conception of the fundamental principlesthat inspired white men to resist the arrogance of England; nor did itimpair his enthusiasm in the cause that gave birth to a new republicamid the shock of embattled arms. 

FOOTNOTES:

[414] Dr. Abiel Holmes, in his American Annals, vol. Ii. P. 5, says, "Maryland now contained about thirty-six thousand persons, of whitemen from sixteen years of age and upwards, and negroes male, andfemale from sixteen to sixty. " I infer from this statement thatslavery was in existence in Maryland in 1634; and I cannot find anything in history to lead me to doubt but that slavery was born withthe colony. 

[415] Cabinet Cyclopædia, vol. I. P. 61. 

[416] See Bacon's Laws, also Holmes's Annals, vol. I. P. 250. 

[417] The following appeared in the Plantation Laws, printed in Londonin 1705: "Where any negro or slave, being in servitude or bondage, isor shall become Christian, and receive the sacrament of baptism, thesame shall not nor ought not to be deemed, adjudged or construed to bea manumission or freeing of any such negro or slave, or his or herissue, from their servitude or bondage, but that notwithstanding theyshall at all times hereafter be and remain in servitude and bondage asthey were before baptism, any opinion, matter or thing to the contrarynotwithstanding. "

[418] McSherry's Hist. Of Maryland, p. 86. 

[419] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 249. 

[420] McMahon's Hist. Of Maryland, vol. I. P. 274. 

[421] The following form was used for a long time in Maryland forbinding out a servant. 

 This Indenture _made the ---- day of ---- in the ---- yeere of our Soveraigne Lord King_ Charles, _&c betweene ---- of the one party_, and ---- on the _other party_, Witnesseth, _that the said ---- doth hereby covenant promise, and grant, to and with the said ---- his Executors and Assignes, to serve him from the day of the date hereof, untill his first and next arrivall in_ Maryland: _and after for and during the tearme of ---- yeeres, in such service and imployment, as the said ---- or his assignee shall there imploy him, according to the custome of the Countrey in the like kind. In consideration whereof, the said ---- doth promise and grant, to and with the said ---- to pay for his passing, and to find him with Meat, Drinke, Apparell and Lodging, with other necessaries during the said terme; and at the end of the said terme, to give him one whole yeeres provision of Corne, and fifty acres of Land, according to the order of the countrey. In witnesse whereof, the said ---- hath hereunto put his hand and seate, the day and yeere above written_. 

 Sealed and delivered in the presence of ----

 --_Relation of the state of Maryland_, pp. 62, 63. 

[422] Modern Traveller, vol. I. Pp. 122, 123. 

[423] McMahon's Maryland, vol. I. P. 278. 

[424] 1st Pitkin's United States, p. 133. 

[425] McMahone says of this convict element: "The pride of this agerevolts at the idea of going back to such as these, for the roots of agenealogical tree; and they, whose delight it would be, to trace theirblood through many generations of stupid, sluggish, imbecileancestors, with no claim to merit but the name they carry down, willeven submit to be called '_novi homines_, ' if a convict stand in theline of ancestry. "

[426] With perhaps the single exception of South Carolina, of whichthe reader will learn more farther on. 

[427] American Annals. 

[428] Dr. Holmes says, "The total number of mulattoes in Marylandamounted to 3, 592, " in 1755. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE COLONY OF DELAWARE. 

1636-1775. 

 THE TERRITORY OF DELAWARE SETTLED IN PART BY SWEDES AND DANES, ANTERIOR TO THE YEAR 1678. --THE DUKE OF YORK TRANSFERS THE TERRITORY OF DELAWARE TO WILLIAM PENN. --PENN GRANTS THE COLONY THE PRIVILEGE OF SEPARATE GOVERNMENT. --SLAVERY INTRODUCED ON THE DELAWARE AS EARLY AS 1636. --COMPLAINT AGAINST PETER ALRICKS FOR USING OXEN AND NEGROES BELONGING TO THE COMPANY. --THE FIRST LEGISLATION ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN THE COLONY. --AN ENACTMENT OF A LAW FOR THE BETTER REGULATION OF SERVANTS. --AN ACT RESTRAINING MANUMISSION. 

Anterior to the year 1638, the territory now occupied by the State ofDelaware was settled in part by Swedes and Danes. It has been recordedof them that they early declared that it was "not lawful to buy andkeep slaves. "[429] But the Dutch claimed the territory. When NewNetherlands was ceded to the Duke of York, Delaware was occupied byhis representatives. On the 24th of August, 1682, the Duke transferredthat territory to William Penn. [430] But in 1703 Penn surrendered theold form of government, and gave the Delaware counties the privilegeof a separate administration under the _Charter of Privileges_. Delaware inaugurated a legislature, but remained under the Council andGovernor of Pennsylvania. But slavery made its appearance on theDelaware as early as 1636. [431]

 "At this early period there appears to have been slavery on the Delaware. As one Coinclisse was 'condemned, on the 3d of February, to serve the company with the blacks on South River for wounding a soldier at Fort Amsterdam. He was also to pay a fine to the fiscal, and damages to the wounded soldier. ' On the 22d, a witness testifying in the case of Governor Van Twiller, (the governor of New Neitherlands before Kieft, ) who was charged with neglect and mismanagement of the company's affairs, said that 'he had in his custody for Van Twiller, at Fort Hope and Nassau, twenty-four to thirty goats, and that _three negroes bought by the director_ in 1636, were since employed in his private service. ' Thus it will be seen that slavery was introduced on the Delaware as early as 1636, though probably not in this State, as the Dutch at that time had no settlement here. "[432]

And on the 15th of September, 1657, complaint was made that PeterAlricks had "used the company's oxen and negroes;" thus showing thatthere were quite a number of Negroes in the colony at the timementioned. In September, 1661, there was a meeting between Calvert, D'Hinoyossa, Peter Alricks, and two Indian chiefs, to negotiate termsof peace. At this meeting the Marylanders agreed to furnish the Dutchannually three thousand hogsheads of tobacco, provided the Dutch would"supply them with negroes and other commodities. "[433] Negroes werenumerous, and an intercolonial traffic in slaves was established. 

The first legislation on the slavery question in the colony ofDelaware was had in 1721. "_An Act for the trial of Negroes_" providedthat two justices and six freeholders should have full power to try"negro and mulatto slaves" for heinous offences. In case slaves wereexecuted, the Assembly paid the owner two-thirds the value of suchslave. It forbade convocations of slaves, and made it a misdemeanor tocarry arms. During the same year an Act was passed punishing adulteryand fornication. In case of children of a white woman by a slave, thecounty court bound them out until they were thirty-one years of age. In 1739 the Legislature passed an Act for the better regulation ofservants and slaves, consisting of sixteen articles. It provided thatno indentured servant should be sold into another government withoutthe approval of at least one justice. Such servant could not beassigned over except before a justice. If a person manumitted a slave, good security was required: if he failed to do this, the manumissionwas of no avail. If free Negroes did not care for their children, theywere liable to be bound out. In 1767 the Legislature passed anotherAct restraining manumission. It recites:--

 "SECTION 2. _And be it enacted by the honorable John Penn, esq. With his Majesty's royal approbation, Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the counties of New-Castle, Kent and Sussex, upon Delaware, and province of Pennsylvania, under the honorable Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, esquires, true and absolute proprietaries of the said counties and province, by and with the advice and consent of the Representatives of the freemen of the said counties, in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same_, That if any master or mistress shall, by will or otherwise, discharge or set free any Mulatto or Negro slave or slaves; he or she, or his or her executors or administrators, at the next respective County Court of Quarter Sessions, shall enter into a recognizance with sufficient sureties, to be taken in the name of the Treasurer of the said county for the time being, in the sum of Sixty Pounds for each slave so set free, to indemnify the county from any charge they or any of them may be unto the same, in case of such Negro or Mulattoe's being sick, or otherwise rendered incapable to support him or herself; and that until such recognizance be given, no such Negro or Mulatto shall be deemed free. "[434]

The remainder of the slave code in this colony was like unto those ofthe other colonies, and therefore need not be described. Negroes hadno rights, ecclesiastical or political. They had no property, norcould they communicate a relation of any character. They had noreligious or secular training, and none of the blessings of home life. Goaded to the performance of the most severe tasks, their only audiblereply was an occasional growl. It sent a feeling of terror throughtheir inhuman masters, and occasioned them many ugly dreams. 

FOOTNOTES:

[429] Dr. Stevens in his History of Georgia, vol. I. P. 288, says, "Inthe Swedish and German colony, which Gustavus Adolphus planted inDelaware, and which in many points resembled the plans of theTrustees, negro servitude was disallowed. " But he gives no authority, I regret. 

[430] See Laws of Delaware, vol. I. Appendix, pp. 1-4. 

[431] Albany Records, vol. Ii, p. 10. 

[432] Vincent's History of Delaware, p. 159. 

[433] Ibid. , p. 381. 

[434] Laws of Delaware, vol. I. P. 436. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. 

1646-1775. 

 THE FOUNDING OF CONNECTICUT, 1631-36. --NO RELIABLE DATA GIVEN FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF SLAVES. --NEGROES WERE FIRST INTRODUCED SOME DURING THE EARLY YEARS OF THE COLONY. --"COMMITTEE FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN PLANTATIONS. "--INTERROGATING THE GOVERNOR AS THE NUMBER OF NEGROES IN THE COLONY IN 1680. --THE LEGISLATURE (1690) PASSES A LAW PERTAINING TO THE PURCHASE AND TREATMENT OF SLAVES AND FREE PERSONS. --AN ACT PASSED BY THE GENERAL COURT IN 1711, REQUIRING PERSONS MANUMITTING SLAVES TO MAINTAIN THEM. --REGULATING THE SOCIAL CONDUCT OF SLAVES IN 1723. --THE PUNISHMENT OF NEGRO, INDIAN, AND MULATTO SLAVES, FOR THE USE OF PROFANE LANGUAGE, IN 1630. --LAWFULNESS OF INDIAN AND NEGRO SLAVERY RECOGNIZED BY CODE, SEPT. 5, 1646. --LIMITED RIGHTS OF FREE NEGROES IN THE COLONY. --NEGRO POPULATIONS IN 1762. --ACT AGAINST IMPORTATION OF SLAVES, 1774. 

Although the colony of Connecticut was founded between the years 1631and 1636, there are to be found no reliable data by which to fix thetime of the introduction of slavery there. [435] Like the serpent'sentrance into the Garden of Eden, slavery entered into this colonystealthily; and its power for evil was discovered only when it hadbecome a formidable social and political element. Vessels from theWest Coast of Africa, from the West Indies, and from Barbadoes, landedNegroes for sale in Connecticut during the early years of itssettlement. And for many years slavery existed here, without sanctionof law, it is true, but perforce of custom. Negroes were bought aslaborers and domestics, and it was a long time before their numbercalled for special legislation. But, like a cancer, slavery grew untilthere was not a single colony in North America that could boast of itsability to check the dreadful curse. When the first slaves wereintroduced into this colony, can never be known; but, that there wereNegro slaves from the beginning, we have the strongest historicalpresumption. For nearly two decades there was no reference made toslavery in the records of the colony. 

In 1680 "the Committee for Trade and Foreign Plantations" addressed tothe governors of the North-American plantations or colonies a seriesof questions. Among the twenty-seven questions put to Gov. Leete ofConnecticut, were two referring to Negroes. The questions were asfollows:--

 "17. What number of English, Scotch, Irish or Forreigners have (for these seaven yeares last past, or any other space of time) come yearly to plant and inhabit within your Corporation. And also, what Blacks and Slaves have been brought in within the said time, and att what rates?

 "18. What number of Whites, Blacks or Mulattos have been born and christened, for these seaven yeares last past, or any other space of time, for as many yeares as you are able to state on account of?"[436]

To these the governor replied as follows:--

 "17. _Answ_. For English, Scotts and Irish, there are so few come in that we cannot give a certain acco't. Som yeares come none; sometimes, a famaly or two, in a year. And for Blacks, there comes sometimes 3 or 4 in a year from Barbadoes; and they are sold usually at the rate of 22'li. A piece, sometimes more and sometimes less, according as men can agree with the master of vessells, or merchants that bring them hither. 

 "18. _Answ_. We can give no acco't. Of the perfect number of either born; but fewe blacks; and but two blacks christened, as we know of. "[437]

It is evident that the number of slaves was not great at this time, and that they were few and far between. The sullen and ofttimesrevengeful spirit of the Indians had its effect upon the few Negroslaves in the colony. Sometimes they were badly treated by theirmasters, and occasionally they would run away. The country was new, the settlements scattered; and slavery as an institution, at this timeand in this colony, in its infancy. The spirit of insubordinationamong the slave population seemed to call aloud for legislativerestriction. In October, 1690, the Legislature passed the followingbill:--

 "Whereas many persons of this Colony doe for their necessary use purchase negroe seruants, and often times the sayd seruants run away to the great wronge, damage and disapoyntment of their masters and owners, for prevention of which for [221] the future, as much as || may be, it is ordered by this Court that Whateuer negroe or negroes shall hereafter, at any time, be fownd wandring out of the towne bownds or place to which they doe belong, without a ticket or pass from the authority, or their masters or owners, shall be stopt and secured by any of the inhabitants, or such as shall meet with them, and brought before the next authority to be examined and returned to their owners, who shall sattisfy for the charge if any be; and all ferrymen within this Colony are hereby required not to suffer any negroe without such certificate, to pass over their ferry by assisting them therein, upon the penalty of twenty shillings, to be payd as a fine to the county treasury, and to be leuyed upon theire estates for non-payment in way of distresse by warrant from any one Assistant or Com'r. This order to be observed as to vagrant and susspected persons fownd wandring from town to town, hauveing no passes; such to be seized for examination and farther disspose by the authority; and if any negroes are free and for themselves, travelling without such ticket or certificate, they to bear the charge themselves of their takeing up. "[438]

The general air of complaint that pervades the above bill leads to theconclusion that it was required by an alarming state of affairs. Thepass-system was a copy from the laws of the older colonies whereslavery had long existed. By implication free Negroes had to securefrom the proper authorities a certificate of freedom; and the billrequired them to carry it, or pay the cost of arrest. 

One of the most palpable evidences of the humanity of the Connecticutgovernment was the following act passed in May, 1702:--

 "Whereas it is observed that some persons in this Colonie having purchased Negro or Malatta Servants or Slaves, after they have spent the pricipall part of their time and strength in their masters service, doe sett them at liberty, and the said slaves not being able to provide necessaries for themselves may become a charge and burthen to the towns where they have served: for prevention whereof, "It is ordered and enacted by this Court and the authority thereof: That every person in this Colonie that now is or hereafter shall be owner of a negro or mulatta servant or slave, and after some time of his or her being taken into imployment in his or her service, shall sett such servant or slave at liberty to provide for him or herselfe, if afterwards such servant or slave shall come to want, every such servant shall be relieved at the onely cost and charge of the person in whose service he or she was last reteined or taken, and by whome sett at liberty, or at the onely cost and charge of his or her heirs, executors or administrators, any law, usage or custome to the contrary notwithstanding. "[439]

Massachusetts had acted and did act very cowardly about this matter. But Connecticut showed great wisdom and humanity in making a just andequitable provision for such poor and decrepit slaves as might findthemselves turned out to charity after a long life of unrequitedtoil. Slavery was in itself "the sum of all villanies, "--the blackestcurse that ever scourged the earth. To buy and sell human beings; totear from the famishing breast of the mother her speechless child; toseparate the husband from the wife of his heart; to wring riches fromthe unpaid toil of human beings; to tear down the family altar, andlet lecherous beasts, who claim the name of "Christian, " run overdefenceless womanhood as swine over God's altar!--is there any thingworse, do you ask? Yes! To work a human being from youth to old age, to appropriate the labor of that being exclusively, to rob it of theblessings of this life, to poison every domestic charity, to fetterthe intellect by the power of fatal ignorance, to withhold theprivileges of the gospel of love; and then, when the hollow coughcomes under an inclement sky, when the shadows slant, when the handtrembles, when the gait is shuffling, when the ear is deaf, the eyedim, when desire faileth, --then to turn that human being out to die isby far the profoundest crime man can be guilty of in his dealings withmankind! And slavery had so hardened men's hearts, that the above actwas found to be necessary to teach the alphabet of human kindness. Nowonder human forbearance was strained to its greatest tension whenmasters, thus liberating their slaves, assumed the lofty air ofhumanitarians who had actually done a noble act in manumitting aslave!

In 1708 the General Court was called upon to legislate against thecommercial communion that had gone on between the slaves and freepersons in an unrestricted manner for a long time. Slaves would oftensteal articles of household furniture, wares, clothing, etc. , and sellthem to white persons. And, in order to destroy the ready market thiswide-spread kleptomania found, an Act was passed making it amisdemeanor for a free person to purchase any article from slaves. Itis rather an interesting law, and is quoted in full. 

 "Whereas divers rude and evil minded persons for the sake of filthie lucre do frequently receive from Indians, malattoes and negro servants, money and goods stolen or obteined by other indirect and unlawful means, thereby incouraging such servants to steal from their masters and others: for redress whereof, [35] _Be it enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authoritie of the same_, That every free person whomsoever, which shall presume either openly or privately to buy or receive of or from any Indian, molato or negro servant or slave, any goods, money, merchandize, wares, or provisions, without order from the master or mistress of such servant or slave, every person so offending and being thereof convicted, shall be sentenced to restore all such money, goods, wares, merchandizes, or provisions, unto the partie injured, in specie, (if not altered, ) and also forfeit to the partie double the value thereof over and above, or treble the value where the same are disposed of or made away. And if the person so offending be unable, or shall not make restitution as awarded, then to be openly whipt with so many stripes (not exceeding twentie, ) as the court or justices that have cognizance of such offence shall order, or make satisfaction by service. And the Indian, negro, or molatto servant or slave, of or from whom such goods, money, wares, merchandizes or provisions shall be received or bought, if it appear to be stolen, or that shall steal any money, goods, or chattells, and be thereof convicted, although the buyer or receiver be not found, shall be punished by whipping not exceeding thirtie stripes, and the money, goods or chattels shall be restored to the partie injured, if it be found. And every assistant and justice of peace in the countie where such offence is committed, is hereby authorized to hear and determine all offences against this law, provided the damage exceed not the sum of fortie shillings. "[440]

On the same day another act was passed, charging that as Mulatto andNegro slaves had become numerous in parts of the colony, destined tobecome insubordinate, abusive of white people, etc. , and is asfollows:--

 "And whereas negro and molatto servants or slaves are become numerous in some parts of this Colonie, and are very apt to be turbulent, and often quarrelling with white people to the great disturbance of the peace:

 "_It is therefore ordered and enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authoritie of the same_, That if any negro or malatto servant or slave disturb the peace, or shall offer to strike any white person, and be thereof convicted, such negro or malatto servant or slave shall be punished by whipping, at the discretion of the court, assistant or justice of the peace that shall have cognizance thereof, not exceeding thirtie stripes for one offence. "[441]

In 1711 the General Court of Connecticut Colony signally distinguisheditself by the passage of an act in harmony with that of 1702. It wasfound that indentured servants as well as slaves had been made thevictims of the cruel policy of turning slaves and servants out intothe world without means of support after they had become helpless, orhad served out their time. This class of human beings had been castaside, like a squeezed lemon, to be trodden under the foot of men. Thehumane and thoughtful men of the colony demanded a remedy at law, andit came in the following admirable bill:--

 "An Act relating to Slaves, and such in particular as shall happen to become Servants for Time. 

 "_It is ordered and enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That all slaves set at liberty by their owners, and all negro, malatto, or Spanish Indians, who are servants to masters for time, in case they come to want, after they shall be so set at liberty, or the time of their said service be expired, shall be relieved by such owners or masters respectively, their heirs, executors, or administrators; and upon their, or either of their refusal so to do, the said slaves and servants shall be relieved by the selectmen of the towns to which they belong, and the said selectmen shall recover of the said owners or masters, their heirs, executors, or administrators, all the charge and cost they were at for such relief, in the usual manner as in the case of any other debts. "[442]

In 1723 an Act was passed regulating the social conduct, andrestricting the personal rights, of slaves. The slaves were quitenumerous at this time, and hence the colonists deemed it proper tosecure repressive legislation. It is strange how anticipatory thecolonies were during the zenith of the slavery institution! They werealways expecting something of the slaves. No doubt they thought thatit would be but the normal action of goaded humanity if the slavesshould rise and cut their masters' throats. The colonists lived inmortal dread of their slaves, and the character of the legislation wasbut the thermometer of their fear. This Act was a slight indication ofthe unrest of the people of this colony on the slavery question:--

 "[376] AN ACT TO PREVENT THE DISORDER OF NEGRO AND INDIAN SERVANTS AND SLAVES IN THE NIGHT SEASON. 

 "_Be it enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That from and after the publication of this act, if any negro or Indian servant or slave shall be found abroad from home in the night season, after nine of the clock, without special order from his or their master or mistress, it shall be lawful for any person or persons to apprehend and secure such negro or Indian servant or slave so offending, and him or them bring before the next assistant or justice of peace; which assistant or justice of peace shall have full power to pass sentence upon such negro or Indian servant or slave so offending, and order him or them to be publickly whipt on his or their naked body, not exceeding ten stripes, and pay cost of court, except his or their master or mistress shall redeem them by paying a fine not exceeding twenty shillings. 

 "_And it is hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid_, That if any such negro or Indian servant or slave as abovesaid shall have entertainment in any house after nine of the clock as aforesaid, except to do any business they may be sent upon, the head of the family that entertaineth or tolerates them in his or their house, or any the dependencies thereof, and being convicted thereof before any one assistant or justice of the peace, who shall have power to hear and determine the same, shall forfeit the sum of twenty shillings, one-half to the complainer and the other half to the treasury of the town where the offence is committed; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. And that it shall be the duty of the several grand-jurors and constables and tything-men, to make diligent enquiry into and present of all breaches of this act. "[443]

The laws regulating slavery in the colony of Connecticut, up to thistime, had stood, and been faithfully enforced. There had been a fewinfractions of the law, but the guilty had been punished. And inaddition to statutory regulation of slaves, the refractory ones wereoften summoned to the bar of public opinion and dealt with summarily. Individual owners of slaves felt themselves at liberty to use theutmost discretion in dealing with this species of their property. Soon every hand the slave found himself scrutinized, suspicioned, feared, hated, and hounded by the entire community of whites who wereby law a perpetual _posse comitatus_. The result of too greatvigilance and severe censorship was positive and alarming. It made theslave desperate. It intoxicated him with a malice that would brook norestraint. It is said that the use of vigorous adjectives and strongEnglish is a relief to one in moments of trial. But even this wasdenied the oppressed slaves in Connecticut; for in May, 1730, a billwas passed punishing them for using strong language. 

 "AN ACT FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF NEGROES, INDIAN AND MULATTO SLAVES, FOR SPEAKING DEFAMATORY WORDS. 

 "_Be it enacted by the Governour, Council and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same_, That if any Negro, Indian or Molatto slave shall utter, publish and speak such words of any person that would by law be actionable if the same were uttered, published or spoken by any free person of any other, such Negro, Indian or Molatto slave, being thereof convicted before any one assistant or justice of the peace, (who are hereby impowred to hear and determine the same, ) shall be punished by whipping, at the discretion of the assistant or justice before whom the tryal is, (respect being had to the circumstances of the case, ) not exceeding forty stripes. And the said slave, so convict, shall be sold to defray all charges arising thereby, unless the same be by his or their master or mistress paid and answered, &c. "[444]

The above act is the most remarkable document in this period of itskind. And yet there are two noticeable features in it: viz. , theslave is to be proceeded against the same as if he were a free person;and he was to be entitled to offer evidence, enter his plea, andotherwise defend himself against the charge. This was more than wasallowed in any of the other colonies. 

On the 9th of September, 1730, Gov. J. Talcott, in a letter to the"Board of Trade, " said that there were "about 700 Indian and Negroslaves" in the colony. The most of these were Negro slaves. For on the8th of July, 1715, a proclamation was issued by the governor againstthe importation of Indians;[445] and on the 13th of October, 1715, abill was passed "_prohibiting the Importation or bringing into_" thecolony any Indian slaves. It was an exact copy of the Act of May, 1712, passed in the colony of Massachusetts. 

The colony of Connecticut never established slavery by direct statute;but in adopting a code which was ordered by the General Court ofHartford to be "copied by the secretary into the book of publicrecords, " it gave the institution legal sanction. This code was signedon the 5th of September, 1646. It recognized the lawfulness of Indianand Negro slavery. This was done under the confederacy of the "UnitedColonies of New England. "[446] For some reason the part of the coderecognizing slavery is omitted from the revised laws of 1715. In thiscolony, as in Massachusetts, only members of the church, "and livingwithin the jurisdiction, " could be admitted to the rights of freemen. In 1715 an Act was passed requiring persons who desired to become"freemen of this corporation, " to secure a certificate from theselectmen that they were "persons of quiet and peaceable behavior andcivil conversation, of the age of twenty-one years, and freeholders. "This provision excluded all free Negroes. It was impossible for one tosecure such a certificate. Public sentiment alone would have frownedupon such an innovation upon the customs and manners of the Puritans. On the 17th of May, 1660, the following Act was passed: "It is orderedby this court, that neither Indian nor negar serv'ts shall be requiredto traine, watch or ward in the Collo:"[447]

To determine the status of the Negro here, this Act was necessary. Hemight be free, own his own labor; but if the law excluded him from theperiodical musters and trainings, from the church and civil duties, his freedom was a mere _misnomer_. It is difficult to define therights of a free Negro in this colony. He was restricted in hisrelations with the slaves, and in his intercourse with white peoplewas regarded with suspicion. If he had, in point of law, the right topurchase property, the general prejudice that confronted him on everyhand made his warmest friends judiciously conservative. There were noprovisions made for his intellectual or spiritual growth. He wasregarded by both the religious and civil government, under which helived, as a heathen. Even his accidental conversion could not changehis condition, nor mollify the feelings of the white Christians (?)about him. Like the wild animal, he was possessed with the barestprivilege of getting something to eat. Beyond this he had nothing. Everywhere he turned, he felt the withering glance of a suspiciouspeople. Prejudice and prescriptive legislation cast their dark shadowson his daily path; and the conscious superiority of the whitesconsigned him to the severest drudgery for his daily bread. Therecollection of the past was distressing, the trials and burdens ofthe present were almost unbearable, while the future was one shapelesshorror to him. 

Perhaps the lowly and submissive acquiescence of the Negroes, bond andfree, had a salutary effect upon the public mind. There is somethingawfully grand in an heroic endurance of undeserved pain. The whiteChristians married, and were given in marriage; they sowed andgathered rich harvests; they bought and built happy homes; beautifulchildren were born unto them; they built magnificent churches, andworshipped the true God: the present was joyous, and the futurepeopled with sublime anticipation. The contrast of these two peoplesin their wide-apart conditions must have made men reflective. Andadded to this came the loud thunders of the Revolution. Connecticuthad her orators, and they touched the public heart with the glowingcoals of patriotic resolve. They felt the insecurity of their ownliberties, and were now willing to pronounce in favor of the libertyof the Negroes. The inconsistency of asking for freedom, praying forfreedom, fighting for freedom, and dying for freedom, when theythemselves held thousands of human beings in bondage the most cruelthe world ever knew, helped the cause of the slave. In 1762 the Negropopulation of this colony was four thousand five hundred andninety. [448] Public sentiment was aroused on the slavery question;and in October, 1774, the following prohibition was directed atslavery:--

 "_Act against importation of slaves_--"No Indian, negro, or mulatto slave shall at any time hereafter be brought or imported into this State, by sea or land, from any place or places whatsoever, to be disposed of, left or sold, within this State. "[449]

The above bill was brief, but pointed; and showed that Connecticut wasthe only one of the New-England colonies that had the honesty andcourage to legislate against slavery. And the patriotism andincomparable valor of the Negro soldiers of Connecticut, who proudlyfollowed the Continental flag through the fires of the RevolutionaryWar, proved that they were worthy of the humane sentiment thatdemanded the Act of 1774. 

FOOTNOTES:

[435] In the Capital Laws of Connecticut, passed on the 1st ofDecember, 1642, the tenth law reads as follows. "10. If any manstealeth a man or mankind, he shall be put to death. Ex. 21 16. " Butthis was the law in Massachusetts, and yet slavery existed there forone hundred and forty-three (143) years. 

[436] Conn. Col. Recs. , 1678-89, p. 293. 

[437] Ibid. , p. 298. 

[438] Conn Col Recs. , 1689-1706, p. 40

[439] Ibid. 1689-1706, pp. 375, 376. 

[440] Conn. Col. Recs. , 1706-16, p. 52. 

[441] Ibid. , pp 51, 53. 

[442] Conn. Col. Recs. , 1706-16, p. 233. 

[443] Conn. Col. Recs. , 1717-25, pp. 390, 391. 

[444] Ibid. , 1726-35, p. 290. 

[445] Conn. Col. Recs. , 1706-16, pp. 515, 516. 

[446] Hazard, State Papers, vol. Ii. Pp. 1-6. 

[447] Conn. Col. Recs. , vol. I. P. 349. 

[448] Pres. Stiles's MSS. 

[449] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. Pp. 272, 273. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND. 

1647-1775. 

 COLONIAL GOVERNMENT IN RHODE ISLAND, MAY, 1647. --AN ACT PASSED TO ABOLISH SLAVERY IN 1652, BUT WAS NEVER ENFORCED. --AN ACT SPECIFYING WHAT TIMES INDIAN AND NEGRO SLAVES SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN THE STREETS. --AN IMPOST-TAX ON SLAVES (1708). --PENALTIES IMPOSED ON DISOBEDIENT SLAVES. --ANTI-SLAVERY SENTIMENT IN THE COLONIES RECEIVES LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT. --CIRCULAR LETTER FROM THE BOARD OF TRADE TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES RELATIVE TO NEGRO SLAVES. --GOVERNOR CRANSTON'S REPLY. --LIST OF MILITIA-MEN, INCLUDING WHITE AND BLACK SERVANTS. --ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE BOARD OF TRADE. --AN ACT PREVENTING CLANDESTINE IMPORTATIONS AND EXPORTATION OF PASSENGERS, NEGROES, OR INDIAN SLAVES. --MASTERS OF VESSELS REQUIRED TO REPORT THE NAMES AND NUMBER OF PASSENGERS TO THE GOVERNOR. --VIOLATION OF THE IMPOST-TAX LAW ON SLAVES PUNISHED BY SEVERE PENALTIES. --APPROPRIATION BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JULY 5, 1715, FROM THE FUND DERIVED FROM THE IMPOST-TAX, FOR THE PAVING OF THE STREETS OF NEWPORT. --AN ACT PASSED DISPOSING OF THE MONEY RAISED BY IMPOST-TAX. --IMPOST-LAW REPEALED, MAY, 1732. --AN ACT RELATING TO FREEING MULATTO AND NEGRO SLAVES PASSED 1728. --AN ACT PASSED PREVENTING MASTERS OF VESSELS FROM CARRYING SLAVES OUT OF THE COLONY, JUNE 17, 1757. --EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. --AN ACT PROHIBITING IMPORTATION OF NEGROES INTO THE COLONY IN 1774. --THE POPULATION OF RHODE ISLAND IN 1730 AND 1774. 

Individual Negroes were held in bondage in Rhode Island from the timeof the formation of the colonial government there, in May, 1647, downto the close of the eighteenth century. Like her sister colonies, sheearly took the poison of the slave-traffic into her commercial life, and found it a most difficult political task to rid herself of it. Theinstitution of slavery was never established by statute in thiscolony; but it was so firmly rooted five years after the establishmentof the government, that it required the positive and explicitprohibition of law to destroy it. On the 19th of May, 1652, theGeneral Court passed the following Act against slavery. It is theearliest positive prohibition against slavery in the records of modernnations. 

 "Whereas, there is a common course practiced amongst English men to buy negers, to that end they may have them for service or slaves forever; for the preventinge of such practices among us, let it be ordered, that no blacke mankind or white being forced by covenant bond, or otherwise, to serve any man or his assighnes longer than ten yeares, or until they come to bee twentie-four yeares of age, if they bee taken in under fourteen, from the time of their cominge within the liberties of this Collonie. And at the end or terme of ten yeares to sett them free, as the manner is with the English servants. And that man that will not let them goe free, or shall sell them away elsewhere, to that end that they may bee enslaved to others for a long time, hee or they shall forfeit to the Collonie forty pounds. "[450]

The above law was admirable, but there was lacking the publicsentiment to give it practical force in the colony. It was neverrepealed, and yet slavery flourished under it for a century and ahalf. Mr. Bancroft says, "The law was not enforced, but the principlelived among the people. "[451] No doubt the principle lived among thepeople; but, practically, they did but little towards emancipatingtheir slaves until the Revolutionary War cloud broke over their homes. There is more in the statement Mr. Bancroft makes than the casualreader is likely to discern. 

The men who founded Rhode Island, or Providence Plantation as it wascalled early, were of the highest type of Christian gentlemen. Theyheld advanced ideas on civil government and religious liberty. Theyrealized, to the full, the enormity of the sinfulness of slavery; butwhile they hesitated to strike down what many men pronounced anecessary social evil, it grew to be an institution that governed morethan it could be governed. The institution was established. Slaveswere upon the farms, in the towns, and in the families, of those whocould afford to buy them. The population of the colony was small; andto manumit the slaves in whom much money was invested, or to suddenlycut off the supply from without, was more than the colonists felt ableto perform. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. 

For a half-century there was nothing done by the General Court tocheck or suppress the slave-trade, though the Act of 1652 remained thelaw of the colony. The trade was not extensive. No vessels from Africatouched at Newport or Providence. The source of supply was Barbadoes;and, occasionally, some came by land from other colonies. Little wassaid for or against slavery during this period. It was a questiondifficult to handle. The sentiment against it was almost unanimous. Itwas an evil; but how to get rid of it, was the most important thing tobe considered. During this period of perplexity, there was an ominoussilence on slavery. The conservatism of the colonists produced theopposite in the Negro population. They began to think and talk abouttheir "rights. " The Act of 1652 had begun to bear fruit. At theexpiration of ten years' service, slaves began to demand theirfreedom-papers. This set the entire Negro class in a state ofexpectancy. Their eagerness for liberty was interpreted by the moretimid among the whites as the signal for disorder. A demand was madefor legislation that would curtail the personal liberties of theNegroes in the evenings. It is well to produce the Act of Jan. 4, 1703, that the reader may see the similarity of the laws passed in theNew-England colonies against Negroes:--

 "An Act to restrict negroes and Indians for walking in unseasonable times in the night, and at other times not allowable. 

 "Voted, Be it enacted by this Assembly and the authority thereof, and it is hereby enacted, If any negroes or Indians, either freemen, servants, or slaves, do walk in the streets of the town of Newport, of any other town in this Collony, after nine of the clock of the night, without a certificate from their masters, or some English person of said family with them, or some lawfull excuse for the same, that it shall be lawfull for any person to take them up and deliver them to a Constable, to be secured, or see them secured, till the next morning, and then to be brought before some Justice of the Peace in said town, to be dealt withall, according to the recited Act, which said Justice shall cause said person or persons so offending, to be whipped at the publick whipping post in said town, not exceeding fifteen stripes upon their naked backs, except their incorrigible behavior require more. And all free negroes and free Indians to be under the same penalty, without a lawful excuse for their so being found walking in the streets after such unseasonable time of night. 

 "And be it further enacted, All and every house keeper, within said town or towns or Collony, that shall entertain men's servants, either negroes or Indians, without leave of their masters or to whom they do belong, after said set time of the night before mentioned, and being convicted of the same before any one Justice of the Peace, he or they shall pay for each his defect five shillings in money, to be for the use of the poor in the town where the person lives; and if refused to be paid down, to be taken by distraint by a warrant to any one Constable, in said town; any Act to the contrary notwithstanding. "[452]

It is rather remarkable that this Act should prohibit free Negroes andfree Indians from walking the streets after nine o'clock. In thisparticular this bill had no equal in any of the other colonies. Thisact seemed to be aimed with remarkable precision at the Negroes as aclass, both bond and free. The influence of free Negroes upon theslaves had not been in harmony with the condition of the latter; andthe above Act was intended as a reminder, in part, to free Negroesand Indians. It went to show that there was but little meaning in theword "free, " when placed before a Negro's name. No such restrictioncould have been placed upon the personal rights of a white colonist;for, under the democratical government of the colony, a subject wasgreater than the government. No law could stand that was inimical tohis rights as a freeman. But the free Negro had no remedy at law. Hewas literally between two conditions, bondage and freedom. 

Attention has been called to the fact, that the Act of 1652 was neverenforced. In April, 1708, an Act, laying an impost-tax upon slavesimported into the colony, was passed which really gave legal sanctionto the slave-trade. [453] The following is the Act referred to:--

 "And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that whereas, by an act of Assembly, in February last past, concerning the importing negroes, one article of said act, expressing that three pounds money shall be paid into the treasury for each negro imported into this colony; but upon exporting such negro in time limited in said act, said three pounds were to be drawn out of the treasury again by the importer:

 "It is hereby enacted, that said sum for the future, shall not be drawn out, but there continued for the use in said act expressed; any act to the contrary, notwithstanding. "[454]

The Act referred to as having passed "in February last past, " cannotbe found. [455] But, from the one quoted above, it is to be inferredthat two objects were aimed at, viz. : First, under the codes ofMassachusetts and Virginia, a drawback was allowed to an importer of aNegro who exported him within a stated time: the Rhode-Island Act of"February" had allowed importers this privilege. Second, notwithstanding the loud-sounding Act of 1652, this colony was notonly willing to levy an impost-tax upon all slaves imported, but, inher greed for "blood money, " even denied the importer the meanprivilege, in exporting his slave, of drawing his rebate! Theconsistency of Rhode Island must have been a jewel that the othercolonies did not covet. 

The last section of the Act of 1703 was directed against "housekeepers, " who were to be fined for entertaining Negro or Indianslaves after nine o'clock. In 1708 another Act was passed, supplemental to the one of 1703, and added stripes as a penalty fornon-payment of fines. Many white persons in the larger towns had grownrather friendly towards the slaves; and, even where they did not speakout in public against the enslavement of human beings, their heartsled them to the performance of many little deeds of kindness. Theydiscovered many noble attributes in the Negro character, and were notbackward in expressing their admiration. When summoned before ajustice, and fined for entertaining Negroes after nine o'clock, theypaid the penalty with a willingness and alacrity that alarmed theslave-holding caste. This was regarded as treason. Some could not paythe fine, and, hence, went free. The new Act intended to remedy this. It was as follows:--

 "An Act to prevent the entertainment of Negroes, &c. 

 "Whereas, there is a law in this colony to suppress any persons from entertaining of negro slaves or Indian servants that are not their own, in their houses, or unlawfully letting them have strong drink, whereby they were damnified, such persons were to pay a fine of five shillings, and so by that means go unpunished, there being no provision made [of] what corporeal punishment they should have, if they have not wherewith to pay:

 "Therefore, it is now enacted, that any such delinquent that shall so offend, if he or she shall not have or procure the sum of ten shillings for each defect, to be paid down before the authority before whom he or she hath been legally convicted, he or she shall be by order of said authority, publicly whipped upon their naked back, not exceeding ten stripes; any act to the contrary, notwithstanding. "[456]

It is certain that what little anti-slavery sentiment there was in theBritish colonies in North America during the first century of theirexistence received no encouragement from Parliament. From thebeginning, the plantations in this new world in the West were regardedas the hotbeds in which slavery would thrive, and bring forth abundantfruit, to the great gain of the English government. All theappointments made by the crown were expected to be in harmony with theplans to be carried out in the colonies. From the settlement ofJamestown down to the breaking out of the war, and the signing of theDeclaration of Independence, not a single one of the royal governorsever suffered his sense of duty to the crowned heads to be warped bylocal views on "the right of slavery. " The Board of Trade wasuntiring in its attention to the colonies. And no subject occupiedgreater space in the correspondence of that colossal institution thanslavery. The following circular letter, addressed to the governors ofthe colonies, is worthy of reproduction here, rather than in theAppendix. It is a magnificent window, that lets the light in upon adark subject. It gives a very fair idea of the profound concern thatthe home government had in foreign and domestic slavery. 

 "CIRCULAR LETTER FROM THE BOARD OF TRADE TO THE GOVERNORS OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES, RELATIVE TO NEGRO SLAVES. 

 "APRIL 17, 1708. 

 "Sir: Some time since, the Queen was pleased to refer to us a petition relating to the trade of Africa, upon which we have heard what the Royal African Company, and the separate traders had to offer; and having otherwise informed ourselves, in the best manner we could, of the present state of that trade, we laid the same before Her Majesty. The consideration of that trade came afterwards into the house of commons, and a copy of our report was laid before the house; but the session being then too far spent to enter upon a matter of so great weight, and other business intervening, no progress was made therein. However, it being absolutely necessary that a trade so beneficial to the kingdom should be carried on to the greatest advantage, there is no doubt but the consideration thereof will come early before the Parliament at their next meeting; and as the well supplying of the plantations and colonies with sufficient numbers of negroes at reasonable prices, is in our opinion the chief point to be considered in regard to that trade, and as hitherto we have not been able to know how they have been supplied by the company, or by separate traders, otherwise than according to the respective accounts given by them, which for the most part are founded upon calculations made from their exports on one side and the other, and do differ so very much, that no certain judgment can be made upon those accounts. 

 "Wherefore, that we may be able at the next meeting of the Parliament to lay before both houses when required, an exact and authentic state of that trade, particularly in regard to the several plantations and colonies: we do hereby desire and strictly require you, that upon the receipt hereof, you do inform yourself from the proper officers or otherwise, in the best manner you can, what number of negroes have been yearly imported directly from Africa into Jamaica, since the 24th of June, 1698, to the 25th of December, 1707, and at what rate per head they have been sold each year, one with another, distinguishing the numbers that have been imported on account of the Royal African Company, and those which have been imported by separate traders; as likewise the rates at which such negroes have been sold by the company and by separate traders. We must recommend it to your care to be as exact and diligent therein as possibly you can, and with the first opportunity to transmit to us such accounts as aforesaid, that they may arrive here in due time, as also duplicates by the first conveyance. 

 "And that we may be the better able to make a true judgment of the present settlement of that trade, we must further recommend it to you to confer with some of the principal planters and inhabitants within your government touching that matter, and to let us know how the negro trade was carried on, and the island of Jamaica supplied with negroes till the year 1698, when that trade was laid open by act of Parliament; how it has been carried on, and negroes supplied since that time, or in what manner they think the said trade may best be managed for the benefit of the plantations. 

 "We further desire you will inform us what number of ships, if any, are employed from Jamaica to the coast of Africa in the negro trade, and how many separate traders are concerned therein. 

 "Lastly, whatever accounts you shall from time to time send us touching these matters of the negro trade, we desire that the same may be distinct, and not intermixed with other matters; and that for the time to come, you do transmit to us the like half yearly accounts of negroes, by whom imported and at what rates sold; the first of such subsequent accounts, to begin from Christmas, 1707, to which time those now demanded, are to be given. So we bid you heartily farewell, "Your very loving friends, "STAMFORD, HERBERT, PH. MEADOWS, I. PULTENEY, R. MONCKTON. 

 "P. S. We expect the best account you can give us, with that expedition which the shortness of the time requires. 

 "Memorandum. This letter, mutatis mutandis, was writ to the Governors of Barbadoes, the Leeward Islands, Bermuda, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, the President of the Council of Virginia, the Governor of New Hampshire and the Massachusetts Bay, the Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, the Lords proprietors of Carolina, the Governors and Companies of Connecticut and Rhode Island. "[457]

The good Queen of England was interested in the traffic in humanbeings; and although the House of Commons was too busy to giveattention to "a matter of so great weight, " the "Board of Trade" feltthat it was "absolutely necessary that a trade so beneficial to thekingdom should be carried on to the greatest advantage. " England nevergave out a more cruel document than the above circular letter. To readit now, under the glaring light of the nineteenth century, will almostcause the English-speaking people of the world to doubt even "thetruth of history. " Slavery did not exist at sufferance. It was a crimeagainst the weak, ignorant, and degraded children of Africa, systematically perpetrated by an organized Christian government, backed by an army that grasped the farthest bounds of civilization, and a navy that overshadowed the oceans. 

The reply of the governor of Rhode Island was not as encouraging astheir lordships could have wished. 

 GOVERNOR CRANSTON'S REPLY. 

 "May it please your Lordships: In obedience to your Lordships' commands of the 15th of April last, to the trade of Africa. 

 "We, having inspected into the books of Her Majesty's custom, and informed ourselves from the proper officers thereof, by strict inquiry, can lay before your Lordships no other account of that trade than the following, viz:

 "1. That from the 24th of June, 1698, to the 25th of December, 1707, we have not had any negroes imported into this colony from the coast of Africa, neither on the account of the Royal African Company, or by any of the separate traders. 

 "2. That on the 30th day of May, 1696, arrived at this port from the coast of Africa, the brigantine Seaflower, Thomas Windsor, master, having on board her forty-seven negroes, fourteen of which he disposed of in this colony, for betwixt £30 and £35 per head; the rest he transported by land for Boston, where his owners lived. 

 "3. That on the 10th of August, the 19th and 28th of October, in the year 1700, sailed from this port three vessels, directly for the coast of Africa; the two former were sloops, the one commanded by Nicho's Hillgroue, the other by Jacob Bill; the last a ship, commanded by Edwin Carter, who was part owner of the said three vessels, in company with Thomas Bruster, and John Bates, merchants, of Barbadoes, and separate traders from thence to the coast of Africa; the said three vessels arriving safe to Barbadoes from the coast of Africa, where they made the disposition of their negroes. 

 "4. That we have never had any vessels from the coast of Africa to this colony, nor any trade there, the brigantine above mentioned, excepted. 

 "5. That the whole and only supply of negroes to this colony, is from the island of Barbadoes; from whence is imported one year with another, betwixt twenty and thirty; and if those arrive well and sound, the general price is from £30 to £40 per head. 

 "According to your Lordships' desire, we have advised with the chiefest of our planters, and find but small encouragement for that trade to this colony; since by the best computation we can make, there would not be disposed in this colony above twenty or thirty at the most, annually, the reasons of which are chiefly to be attributed to the general dislike our planters have for them, by reason of then turbulent and unruly tempers. 

 "And that most of our planters that are able and willing to purchase any of them, are supplied by the offspring of those they have already, which increase daily; and that the inclination of our people in general, is to employ white servants before Negroes. 

 "Thus we have given our Lordships a true and faithful account of what hath occurred, relating to the trade of Africa from this colony; and if, for the future, our trade should be extended to those parts, we shall not fail transmitting accounts thereof according to your Lordships' orders, and that at all times, be ready to show ourselves, "Your Lordships' obedient servant, "SAMUEL CRANSTON, _Governor_. 

 "NEWPORT, ON RHODE ISLAND, December 5, 1708. "[458]

So in nine years there had been no Negro slaves imported into thecolony; that in 1696 fourteen had been sold to the colonists forbetween thirty pounds and thirty-five pounds apiece; that this was theonly time a vessel direct from the coast of Africa had touched in thiscolony; that the supply of Negro slaves came from Barbadoes, and thatthe colonists who would purchase slaves were supplied by the offspringof those already in the plantation; and that the colonists preferredwhite servants to black slaves. The best that can be said of Gov. Cranston's letter is, it was very respectful in tone. The followingtable was one of the enclosures of the letter. It is given in full onaccount of its general interest:--

 "A list of the number of freemen and militia, with the servants, white and black, in the respective towns; as also the number of inhabitants in Her Majesty's colony of Rhode Island, &c. , December the 5th, 1708. 

 +-------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+-----------+ | | | | | | TOTAL | | TOWNS. |FREEMEN|MILITIA. | WHITE | BLACK | NUMBER OF | | | | |SERVANTS. |SERVANTS. |INHABITANTS| +-------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+-----------+ | Newport | 190 | 358 | 20 | 220 | 2, 203 | | Providence | 241 | 283 | 6 | 7 | 1, 446 | | Portsmouth | 98 | 104 | 8 | 40 | 628 | | Warwick | 80 | 95 | 4 | 10 | 480 | | Westerly | 95 | 100 | 5 | 20 | 570 | | New Shoreham| 38 | 47 | -- | 6 | 208 | | Kingstown | 200 | 282 | -- | 85 | 1, 200 | | Jamestown | 33 | 28 | 9 | 32 | 206 | | Greenwich | 40 | 65 | 3 | 6 | 240 | +-------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+-----------+ | Total | 1, 015 | 1, 362 | 56 | 426 | 7, 181 | +-------------+-------+--------+---------+---------+-----------+

 "It is to be understood that all men within this colony, from the age of sixteen to the age of sixty years, are of the militia, so that all freemen above and under said ages are inclusive in the abovesaid number of the militia. 

 "As to the increase or decrease of the inhabitants within five years last past, we are not capable to give an exact account, by reason there was no list ever taken before this (the militia excepted), which hath increased since the 14th of February, 1704-5 (at which time a list was returned to your Lordships), the number of 287. 

 "SAMUEL CRANSTON, _Governor_. 

 "NEWPORT, ON RHODE ISLAND, December the 5th, 1708. "[459]

The Board of Trade replied to Gov. Cranston, under date of "Whitehall, January 16th, 1709-10. , " saying they should be glad to hear from him"in regard to Negroes, " etc. [460]

The letter of inquiry from the Board of Trade imparted toslave-dealers an air of importance and respectability. The institutionwas not near so bad as it had been thought to be; the royal familywere interested in its growth; it was a gainful enterprise; and, morethan all, as a matter touching the conscience, the Bible and universalpractice had sanctified the institution. To attempt to repeal the Actof 1652 would have been an occasion unwisely furnished foranti-slavery men to use to a good purpose. The bill was a dead letter, and its enemies concluded to let it remain on the statute-book of thecolony. 

The experiment of levying an impost-tax upon Negro slaves importedinto the colony had proved an enriching success. After 1709 theslave-trade became rather brisk. As the population increased, publicimprovements became necessary, --there were new public buildings indemand, roads to be repaired, bridges to be built, and the poor andafflicted to be provided for. To do all this, taxes had to be leviedupon the freeholders. A happy thought struck the leaders of thegovernment. If men _would_ import slaves, and the freemen of thecolony _would_ buy them, they should pay a tax as a penalty for theirsin. [461] And the people easily accommodated their views to the stateof the public treasury. 

Attention has been called already to the impost Act of 1708. On the27th of February, 1712, the General Assembly passed "_An Act forpreventing clandestine importations and exportations of passengers, or negroes, or Indian slaves into or out of this colony_, " etc. TheAct is quite lengthy. It required masters of vessels to report to thegovernor the names and number of all passengers landed into thecolony, and not to carry away any person without a pass or permissionfrom the governor, upon pain of a fine of fifty pounds current moneyof New England. Persons desiring to leave the colony had to givepublic notice for ten days in the most public place in the colony; andit specifies the duties of naval officers, and closes with thefollowing in reference to Negro slaves, calling attention to theimpost Act of 1708. --

 "It was then and there enacted, that for all negroes imported into this colony, there shall be £3 current money, of New England, paid into the general treasury of this colony for each negro, by the owner or importer of said negro; reference being had unto the said act will more fully appear. 

 "But were laid under no obligation by the said act, to give an account to the Governor what negroes they did import, whereby the good intentions of said act were wholly frustrated and brought to no effect, and by the clandestinely hiding and conveying said negroes out of the town into the country, where they lie concealed:

 "For the prevention of which for the future, it is hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from and after the publication of this act, all masters of vessels that shall come into the harbor of Newport, or into any port of this government, that hath imported any negroes or Indian slaves, shall, before he puts on shore in any port of this government, or in the town of Newport, any negroes or Indian slaves, or suffers any negroes or Indian slaves to be put on shore by any person whatsoever, from on board his said vessel, deliver unto the naval officer in the town of Newport, a fair manifest under his hand, which shall specify the full number of negroes and Indian slaves he hath imported in his said vessel, of what sex, with their names, the names of their owners, or of those they are consigned to; to the truth of which manifest so given in, the said master shall give his corporal oath, or solemn engagement unto the said naval officer, who is hereby empowered to administer the same unto him, which said manifest being duly sworn unto, the said naval officer shall make a fair entry thereof in a book, which shall be prepared for that use, whereunto the said mister shall set his hand.... 

 "And when the said master hath delivered his said manifest and sworn to it, as abovesaid, and before he hath landed on shore, or suffer to be landed, any negroes or Indian slaves as aforesaid, he, the said master, shall pay to the naval officer the sum of £3 current money, of New England, for each negro; and the sum of forty shillings of the like money for each Indian that shall be by him imported into this colony, or that shall be brought into this colony in the vessel whereof he is master. 

 "But if he hath not ready money to pay down, as aforesaid, he shall then give unto the said naval officer a bill, as the law directs, to pay unto him the full sum above mentioned, for each and every negro and Indian imported as above said, which bill shall run payable in ten days from the entering the manifest as above said; and if at the end of the ten days, the said master shall refuse to pay the full contents of his bill, that then the said naval officer shall deliver the said bill unto the Governor, or in his absence, to the next officer of the peace, as aforesaid who shall immediately proceed with the said master in the manner above said, by committing of him to Her Majesty's jail, where he shall remain without bail or mainprize, until he hath paid unto the naval officer, for the use of this colony, double the sum specified in his said bill, and all charges that shall accrue thereby; which money shall be paid out by the said naval officer, as the General Assembly of this colony shall order the same. 

 "And it is further enacted, that the naval officer who now is, and who ever shall be for the future put into said office, shall at his entering into the said office, take his engagement to the faithful performance of the above said acts. And for his encouragement, shall have such fees as are hereafter mentioned at the end of this act. 

 "And for the more effectual putting in execution those acts, and that none may plead ignorance:

 "It is enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all masters of vessels trading to this government, shall give bond, with sufficient surety in the naval office, for the sum of £50, current money of New England. "[462]

We have omitted a large portion of the bill, because of its length;but have quoted sufficient to give an excellent idea of the marvellouscaution taken by the good Christians of Rhode Island to get every centdue them on account of the slave trade, which their prohibition didnot prohibit. It was a carefully drawn bill for those days. 

The diligence of the public officers in the seaport town of Newportwas richly rewarded. The slave-trade now had the sanction andregulation of colonial law. The demand for Negro laborers was notaffected in the least, while traders did not turn aside on account ofthree pounds per head tax upon every slave sold into Rhode Island. Onthe 5th of July, 1715, the General Assembly appropriated a portion ofthe fund derived from the impost-tax on imported Negroes to repairingthe streets; and then strengthened and amplified the original law onimpost-duties, etc. The following is the Act:--

 "This Assembly, taking into consideration that Newport is the metropolitan town in this colony, and that all the courts of judicature within this colony are held there; and also, that it is the chief market town in the government; and that it hath very miry streets, especially that leading from the ferry, or landing place, up to the colony house, so that the members of the courts are very much discommoded therewith, and is a great hindrance to the transporting of provisions, &c. , in and out of the said towns, to the great loss of the inhabitants thereof:--

 "Therefore, be it enacted by this present Assembly, and by the authority thereof it is enacted, that the sum of £289 17s. 3d. , now lying in the naval officer's hand, (being duties paid to this colony for importing of slaves), shall be, and is hereby granted to the town of Newport, towards paving the streets of Newport, from the ferry place, up to the colony house, in said Newport; to be improved by their directors, such as they shall, at their quarter meetings appoint for the same. 

 "And whereas, there was an act of Assembly, made at Newport in the year 1701-2, for the better preventing of fraud, and cozen, in paying the duties for importing of negro and Indian slaves into this colony, and the same being found in some clauses deficient, for the effecting of the full intent and purpose thereof:--

 "Therefore, it is hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid, that every master of ship, or vessel, merchant or other person or persons, importing or bringing into this colony any negro slave or slaves of what age soever, shall enter their number, names, and sex in the naval office; and the master shall insert the same in the manifest of his lading, and shall pay to the naval officer in Newport, £3 per head, for the use of this colony, for every negro, male or female, so imported, or brought in. And every such master, merchant, or other person, refusing or neglecting to pay the said duty within ten days after they are brought ashore in said colony, then the said naval officer, on knowledge thereof, shall enter an action and sue [for] the recovery of the same, against him or them, in an action of debt, in any of His Majesty's courts of record, within this colony. 

 "And if any master of ship or vessel, merchant or others, shall refuse or neglect to make entry, as aforesaid, of all negroes imported in such ship or vessel, or be convicted of not entering the full number, such master, merchant, or other person, shall forfeit and pay the sum of £6, for every one that he shall refuse or neglect to make entry, of one moiety thereof to His Majesty, for and towards the support of the government of this colony; and the other moiety to him or them that shall inform or sue for the same; to be recovered by the naval officer in manner as above said. 

 "And also, all persons that shall bring any negro or negroes into this colony, from any of His Majesty's provinces adjoining, shall in like manner enter the number, names and sex, of all such negroes, in the above said office, under the penalty of the like forfeiture, as above said, and to be recovered in like manner by the naval officer, and shall pay into the said office within the time above limited, the like sum of £3 per head; and for default of payment, the same to be recovered by the naval officer in like manner as aforesaid. 

 "Provided always, that if any gentleman, who is not a resident in this colony, and shall pass through any part thereof, with a waiting man or men with him, and doth not reside in this colony six months, then such waiting men shall be free from the above said duty; the said gentleman giving his solemn engagement, that they are not for sale; any act or acts, clause or clauses of acts, to the contrary hereof, in any ways, notwithstanding. 

 "Provided, that none of the clauses in the aforesaid act, shall extend to any masters or vessels, who import negroes into this colony, directly from the coast of Africa. 

 "And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the money raised by the impost of negroes, as aforesaid, shall be disposed of as followeth, viz. :

 "The one moiety of the said impost money to be for the use of the town of Newport, to be disposed of by the said town towards paving the streets of said town, and for no other use whatsoever, for and during the full time of seven years from the publication of this act, and that £60 of said impost money be for, and towards the erecting of a substantial bridge over Potowomut river, at or near the house of Ezekiel Hunt, in East Greenwich, and to no other use whatsoever. 

 "And that Major Thomas Frye and Capt. John Eldredge be the persons appointed to order and oversee the building of said bridge, and to render an account thereof, to the Assembly, and the said Major Frye and Capt. Eldredge to be paid for their trouble and pains, out of the remaining part of said impost money, and the remainder of said impost money to be disposed of as the Assembly shall from time to time see fit. "[463]

And in October, 1717, the following order passed the assembly:--

 "It is ordered by this Assembly, that the naval officer pay out of the impost money on slaves, £100, to the overseer that oversees the paving of the streets of Newport, to be improved for paying the charges of paving said streets. "[464]

The fund accruing from the impost-duty on slaves was regarded withgreat favor everywhere, especially in Newport. It had cleaned herstreets and lightened the burdens of taxation which rested sogrievously upon the freeholders. There was no voice lifted against theiniquitous traffic, and the conscience of the colony was at rest. InJune, 1729, the following Act was passed:--

 "An Act disposing of the money raised in this colony on importing negro slaves into this colony. 

 "Forasmuch as there is an act of Assembly made in this colony the 27th day of February, A. D. 1711, laying a duty of £3 per head on all slaves imported into this colony, as is in said act is expressed; and several things of a public nature requiring a fund to be set apart for carrying them on:--

 "Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, and by the authority of the same it is enacted and declared, that henceforward all monies that shall be raised in this colony by the aforesaid account, on any slaves imported into this colony, shall be employed, the one moiety thereof for the use of the town of Newport, towards paving and amending the streets thereof, and the other moiety, for, and towards the support, repairing and mending the great bridges on the main, in the country roads, and for no other use whatsoever; any thing in the aforesaid act to the contrary, in anywise notwithstanding. "[465]

It is wonderful how potential the influence of money is upon mankind. The sentiments of the good people had been scattered to the winds; andthey had found a panacea for the violated convictions of the wrong ofslavery in the reduction of their taxes, new bridges, and cleansedstreets. Conscience had been bribed into acquiescence, and theiniquity thrived. There were those who still endeavored to escape thevigilance of the naval officers, and save the three pounds on eachslave. But the diligence and liberality of the authorities were not tobe outdone by the skulking stinginess of Negro-smugglers. On the 18thof June, 1723, the General Assembly passed the following order:--

 "Voted, that Mr. Daniel Updike, the attorney general, be, and he hereby is ordered, appointed and empowered to gather in the money due to this colony, for the importation of negroes, and to prosecute, sue and implead such person or persons as shall refuse to pay the same; and that he be allowed five shillings per head, for every slave that shall be hereafter imported into this colony, out of the impost money; and that he be also allowed ten per cent. More for all such money as he shall recover of the outstanding debts; and in all respects to have the like power as was given to the naval officer by the former act. "[466]

The above illustrates the spirit of the times. There was a mania forthis impost-tax upon stolen Negroes, and the law was to be enforcedagainst all who sought to evade its requirements. But the Assembly hada delicate sense of equity, as well as an inexorable opinion of theprecise demands of the law in its letter and spirit. On the 19th ofJune, 1716, the following was passed:--

 "It is ordered by this Assembly, that the duty of two sucking slaves imported into this colony by Col. James Vaughan, of Barbadoes, be remitted to the said James Vaughan. "[467]

It was not below the dignity of the Legislature of the colony of RhodeIsland to pass a bill of relief for Col. Vaughan, and refund to himthe six pounds he had paid to land his two sucking Negro baby slaves!In June, 1731, the naval officer, James Cranston, called the attentionof the Assembly to the case of one Mr. Royall, --who had importedforty-five Negroes into the colony, and after a short time soldsixteen of them into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, where therewas also an impost-tax, --and asked directions. The Assembly replied asfollows:--

 "Upon consideration whereof, it is voted and ordered, that the duty to this colony of the said sixteen negroes transported into the Massachusetts Bay, as aforesaid, be taken off and remitted; but that he collect the duty of the other twenty-nine. "[468]

But the zeal of the colony in seeking the enforcement of theimpost-law created a strong influence against it from without; and byorder of the king the entire law was repealed in May, 1732. [469]

The cruel practice of manumitting aged and helpless slaves became sogeneral in this plantation, that the General Assembly passed a lawregulating it, in February, 1728. It was borrowed very largely from asimilar law in Massachusetts, and reads as follows:--

 "An Act relating to freeing mulatto and negro slaves. 

 "Forasmuch, as great charge, trouble and inconveniences have arisen to the inhabitants of divers towns in this colony, by the manumitting and setting free mulatto and negro slaves; for remedying whereof, for the future, --

 "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of this colony, and by the authority of the same it is enacted, that no mulatto or negro slave, shall be hereafter manumitted, discharged or set free, or at liberty, until sufficient security be given to the town treasurer of the town or place where such person dwells, in a valuable sum of not less than £100, to secure and indemnify the town or place from all charge for, or about such mulatto or negro, to be manumitted and set at liberty, in case he or she by sickness, lameness or otherwise, be rendered incapable to support him or herself. 

 "And no mulatto or negro hereafter manumitted, shall be deemed or accounted free, for whom security shall not be given as aforesaid, but shall be the proper charge of their respective masters or mistresses, in case they should stand in need of relief and support; notwithstanding any manumission or instrument of freedom to them made and given; and shall be liable at all times to be put forth to service by the justices of the peace, or wardens of the town. "[470]

It is very remarkable that there were no lawyers to challenge thelegality of such laws as the above, which found their way into thestatute books of all the New-England colonies. There could he noconditional emancipation. If a slave were set at liberty, why he wasfree, and, if he afterwards became a pauper, was entitled to the samecare as a white freeman. But it is not difficult to see that thestatus of a free Negro was difficult of definition. When the Negroslave grew old and infirm, his master no longer cared for him, and thepublic was protected against him by law. Death was his most beneficentfriend. 

In October, 1743, a widow lady named Comfort Taylor, of BristolCounty, Massachusetts Bay, sued and obtained judgment against a Negronamed Cuff Borden for two hundred pounds, and cost of suit "for agrievous trespass. " Cuff was a slave. An ordinary execution would havegone against his person: he would have been imprisoned, and nothingmore. In view of this condition of affairs, Mrs. Taylor petitioned theGeneral Assembly of Rhode Island, praying that authority be grantedthe sheriff to sell Cuff, as other property, to satisfy the judgment. The Assembly granted her prayer as follows:--

 "Upon consideration whereof, it is voted and resolved, that the sheriff of the said county of Newport, when he shall receive the execution against the said negro Cuff, be, and he is hereby fully empowered to sell said negro Cuff as other personal estate: and after the fine of £20 be paid into the general treasury, and all other charges deducted out of the price of said negro, the remainder to be appropriated in said satisfying said execution. "[471]

This case goes to show that in Rhode Island Negro slaves were rated, at law, as chattel property, and could be taken in execution tosatisfy debts as other personal property. 

A great many slaves availed themselves of frequent opportunities ofgoing away in privateers and other vessels. With but little beforethem in this life, they were even willing to risk being sold intoslavery at some other place, that they might experience a change. Theymade excellent seamen, and were greatly desired by masters of vessels. This went on for a long time. The loss to the colony was great; andthe General Assembly passed the subjoined bill as a check to thestampede that had become quite general:--

 "AN ACT TO PREVENT THE COMMANDERS OF PRIVATEERS, OR MASTERS OF ANY OTHER VESSELS, FROM CARRYING SLAVES OUT OF THIS COLONY. 

 "Whereas, it frequently happens that the commanders of privateers, and masters of other vessels, do carry off slaves that are the property of inhabitants of this colony, and that without the privity or consent of their masters or mistresses; and whereas, there is no law of this colony for remedying so great an evil, --

 "Be it therefore enacted by this General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, it is enacted, that from and after the publication of this act, if any commander of a private man of war, or master of a merchant ship or other vessel, shall knowingly carry away from, or out of this colony, a slave or slaves, the property of any inhabitant thereof, the commander of such privateer, or the master of the said merchant ship or vessel, shall pay, as a fine, the sum of £500, to be recovered by the general treasurer of this colony for the time being, by bill, plaint, or information in any court of record within this colony. 

 "And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the owner or owners of any slave or slaves that may be carried away, as aforesaid, shall have a right of action against the commander of the said privateer, or master of the said merchant ship or vessel, or against the owner or owners of the same, in which the said slave or slaves is, or are carried away, and by the said action or suit, recover of him or them, double damages. 

 "And whereas, disputes may arise respecting the knowledge that the owner or owners, commanders or masters of the said private men of war, merchant ships or vessels may have of any slave or slaves being on board a privateer, or merchant ship or vessel, --

 "Be it therefore further enacted, and by the authority aforesaid, it is enacted, that when any owner or owners of any slave or slaves in this colony, shall suspect that a slave or slaves, to him, her or them belonging, is, or are, on board any private man of war, or merchant ship or vessel, the owner or owners of such slave or slaves may make application, either to the owner or owners, or to the commander or master of the said ship or vessel, before its sailing, and inform him or them thereof, which being done in the presence of one or more substantial witness or witnesses, the said information or application shall amount to, and be construed, deemed and taken to be a full proof of his or their knowledge thereof, provided, the said slave or slaves shall go in any such ship or vessel. 

 "And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if the owner or owners of any slave or slaves in this colony, or any other person or persons, legally authorized by the owner or owners of a slave or slaves, shall attempt to go on board any privateer, or a merchant ship or vessel, to search for his, her or their slave or slaves, and the commander or master of such ship or vessel, or other officer or officers on board the same, in the absence of the commander or master, shall refuse to permit such owner or owners of a slave or slaves, or other person or persons, authorized, as aforesaid, to go on board and search for the slave or slaves by him, her or them missed, or found absent, such refusal shall be deemed, construed, and taken to be full proof that the owner or owners, commander or master of the said privateer or other ship or vessel, hath, or have a real knowledge that such slave or slaves is, or are on board. 

 "And this act shall be forthwith published, and therefrom have, and take force and effect, in and throughout this colony. 

 "Accordingly the said act was published by the beat of drum, on the 17th day of June, 1757, a few minutes before noon, by

 "THO. WARD, Secretary. "[472]

The education of the Negro slave in this colony was thought to beinimical to the best interests of the master class. Ignorance was the_sine qua non_ of slavery. The civil government and ecclesiasticalestablishment ground him, body and spirit, as between "the upper andnether millstones. " But the Negro was a good listener, and was notunconscious of what was going on around him. He was neither blind nordeaf. 

The fires of the Revolutionary struggle began to melt the frozenfeelings of the colonists towards the slaves. When they began to feelthe British lion clutching at the throat of their own liberties, thebondage of the Negro stared them in the face. They knew the Negro'spower of endurance, his personal courage, his admirable promptitude inthe performance of difficult tasks, and his desperate spirit whenpressed too sharply. The thought of such an ally for the English army, such an element in their rear, was louder in their souls than the roarof the enemy's guns. The act of June, 1774, shows how deeply thepeople felt on the subject. 

 "AN ACT PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION OF NEGROES INTO THIS COLONY. 

 Whereas, the inhabitants of America are generally engaged in the preservation of their own rights and liberties, among which, that of personal freedom must be considered as the greatest; as those who are desirous of enjoying all the advantages of liberty themselves, should be willing to extend personal liberty to others;--

 "Therefore, be it enacted by this General Assembly, and by the authority thereof it is enacted, that for the future, no negro or mulatto slave shall be brought into this colony; and in case any slave shall hereafter be brought in, he or she shall be, and are hereby, rendered immediately free, so far as respects personal freedom, and the enjoyment of private property, in the same manner as the native Indians. 

 "Provided, nevertheless, that this law shall not extend to servants of persons travelling through this colony, who are not inhabitants thereof, and who carry them out with them, when they leave the same. 

 "Provided, also, that nothing in this act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to any negro or mulatto slave, belonging to any inhabitant of either of the British colonies, islands or plantations, who shall come into this colony, with an intention to settle or reside, for a number of years, therein; but such negro or mulatto, so brought into this colony, by such person inclining to settle or reside therein, shall be, and remain, in the same situation, and subject in like manner to their master or mistress, as they were in the colony or plantation from whence they removed. 

 "Provided, nevertheless, that if any person, so coming into this colony, to settle or reside, as aforesaid, shall afterwards remove out of the same, such person shall be obliged to carry all such negro or mulatto slaves, as also all such as shall be born from them, out of the colony with them. "Provided, also, that nothing in this act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to any negro or mulatto slave brought from the coast of Africa, into the West Indies, on board any vessel belonging to this colony, and which negro or mulatto slave could not be disposed of in the West Indies, but shall be brought into this colony. 

 "Provided, that the owner of such negro or mulatto slave give bond to the general treasurer of the said colony, within ten days after such arrival in the sum of £100, lawful money, for each and every such negro or mulatto slave so brought in, that such negro or mulatto slave shall be exported out of the colony, within one year from the date of such bond; if such negro or mulatto be alive, and in a condition to be removed. 

 "Provided, also, that nothing in this act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to any negro or mulatto slave that may be on board any vessel belonging to this colony, now at sea, in her present voyage. "[473]

In 1730 the population of Rhode Island was, whites, 15, 302; Indians, 985; Negroes, 1, 648; total, 17, 935. In 1749 there were 28, 439 whites, and 3, 077 Negroes. Indians were not given this year. In 1756 thewhites numbered 35, 939, the Negroes 4, 697. In 1774 Rhode Islandcontained 9, 439 families, Newport had 9, 209 inhabitants. The whites inthe entire colony numbered 54, 435, the Negroes, 3, 761, and theIndians, 1, 482. [474] It will be observed that the Negro populationfell off between the years 1749 and 1774. It is accounted for by thefact mentioned before, --that many ran away on ships that came into theProvince. 

The Negroes received better treatment at this time than at any otherperiod during the existence of the colony. There was a generalrelaxation of the severe laws that had been so rigidly enforced. Theytook great interest in public meetings, devoured with avidity everyscrap of news regarding the movements of the Tory forces, listenedwith rapt attention to the patriotic conversations of their masters, and when the storm-cloud of war broke were as eager to fight for theindependence of North America as their masters. 

FOOTNOTES:

[450] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. I. P. 243. 

[451] Bancroft, vol. I. 5th ed. P. 175. 

[452] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iii. Pp. 492, 493. 

[453] There is no law making the manufacturing of whiskey legal in theUnited States; and yet the United-States government makes laws toregulate the business, and collects a revenue from it. It exists byand with the consent of the government, and, in a sense, is legal. 

[454] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv. P. 34. 

[455] I have searched diligently for the Act of February, among theRhode-Island Collections and Records, but have not found it. It wasevidently more comprehensive than the above Act. 

[456] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol iv. P. 50. 

[457] R. I. Col. Recs, vol. Iv. Pp. 53, 54. 

[458] R. I. Coll. Recs. , vol. Iv. Pp. 54, 55. 

[459] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol iv. P. 59. 

[460] J. Carter Brown's Manuscripts, vol. Viii. Nos. 506, 512. 

[461] It was a specious sort of reasoning. I learn that the bank overon the corner is to be robbed to-night at twelve o'clock. Shall I goand rob it at ten o'clock; because, if I do not do so, another personwill, two hours later?

[462] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv. Pp. 133-135. 

[463] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv. Pp. 191-193. 

[464] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv p. 225. 

[465] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv. Pp. 423, 424. 

[466] Ibid. , p. 330. 

[467] Ibid. , vol. Iv. P. 209. 

[468] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Iv. P. 454. 

[469] Ibid. , vol. Iv. P. 471. 

[470] Ibid. , vol. Iv. Pp. 415, 416. 

[471] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. V. Pp. 72, 73. 

[472] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol vi. Pp. 64, 65. 

[473] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Vii. Pp. 251, 252. 

[474] American Annals, vol ii. Pp. 107, 155, 156, 184, and 265. 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY. 

1664-1775. 

 NEW JERSEY PASSES INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENGLISH. --POLITICAL POWERS CONVEYED TO BERKELEY AND CARTERET. --LEGISLATION ON THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. --THE COLONY DIVIDED INTO EAST AND WEST JERSEY--SEPARATE GOVERNMENTS. --AN ACT CONCERNING SLAVERY BY THE LEGISLATURE OF EAST JERSEY. --GENERAL APPREHENSION RESPECTING THE RISING OF NEGRO AND INDIAN SLAVES. --EAST AND WEST JERSEY SURRENDER THEIR RIGHTS OF GOVERNMENT TO THE QUEEN. --AN ACT FOR REGULATING THE CONDUCT OF SLAVES. --IMPOST-TAX OF TEN POUNDS LEVIED UPON EACH NEGRO IMPORTED INTO THE COLONY. --THE GENERAL COURT PASSES A LAW RECREATING THE TRIAL OF SLAVES. --NEGROES RULED OUT OF THE MILITIA ESTABLISHMENT UPON CONDITION. --POPULATION OF THE JERSEYS IN 1738 AND 1745. 

The colony of New Jersey passed into the control of the English in1664; and the first grant of political powers, upon which thegovernment was erected, was conveyed by the Duke of York to Berkeleyand Carteret during the same year. In the "Proprietary Articles ofConcession, " the words _servants, slaves, and Christian servants_occur. It was the intention of the colonists to draw a distinctionbetween "_servants for a term of years_, " and "_servants for life_, "between white servants and black slaves, between Christians andpagans. 

When slavery was introduced into Jersey is not known. [475] There is nodoubt but that it made its appearance there almost as early as in NewNetherlands. The Dutch, the Quakers, and the English held slaves. Butthe system was milder here than in any of the other colonies. TheNegroes were scattered among the families of the whites, and weretreated with great humanity. Legislation on the subject of slavery didnot begin until the middle of the eighteenth century, and it was notsevere. Before this time, say three-quarters of a century, a few Actshad been passed calculated to protect the slave element from the sinof intoxication. In 1675 an Act passed, imposing fines and punishmentsupon any white person who should transport, harbor, or entertain"apprentices, servants, or slaves. " It was perfectly natural that theNegroes should be of a nomadic disposition. They had no homes, nowives, no children, --nothing to attach them to a locality. Those whoresided near the seacoast watched, with unflagging interest, thecoming and going of the mysterious white-winged vessels. They hungupon the storied lips of every fugitive, and dreamed of lands afarwhere they might find that liberty for which their souls thirsted asthe hart for the water-brook. Far from their native country, withoutthe blessings of the Church, or the warmth of substantial friendship, they fell into a listless condition, a somnolence that led them tostagger against some of the regulations of the Province. Theirwandering was not inspired by any subjective, inherent, generic evil:it was but the tossing of a weary, distressed mind under the dreadfulinfluences of a hateful dream. And what little there is in the earlyrecords of the colony of New Jersey is at once a compliment to thehumanity of the master, and the docility of the slave. 

In 1676 the colony was divided into East and West Jersey, withseparate governments. The laws of East Jersey, promulgated in 1682, contained laws prohibiting the entertaining of fugitive servants, ortrading with Negroes. The law respecting fugitive servants wasintended to destroy the hopes of runaways in the entertainment they sofrequently obtained at the hands of benevolent Quakers and otherenemies of "indenture" and slavery. The law-makers acted upon thepresumption, that as the Negro had no property, did not own himself, he could not sell any article of his own. All slaves who attempted todispose of any article were regarded with suspicion. The law made it amisdemeanor for a free person to purchase any thing from a slave, andhence cut off a source of revenue to the more industrious slaves, whoby their frugality often prepared something for sale. 

In 1694 "_an Act concerning slaves_" was passed by the Legislature ofEast Jersey. It provided, among other things, for the trial of"_negroes and other slaves, for felonies punishable with death, by ajury of twelve persons before three justices of the peace; for theft, before two justices; the punishment by whipping_. " Here was thegrandest evidence of the high character of the white population inEast Jersey. In every other colony in North America the Negro wasdenied the right of "trial by jury, " so sacred to Englishmen. InVirginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, --in all thecolonies, --the Negro went into court convicted, went out convicted, and was executed, upon the frailest evidence imaginable. But here inJersey the only example of justice was shown toward the Negro in NorthAmerica. "Trial by jury" implied the right to be sworn, and givecompetent testimony. A Negro slave, when on trial for his life, wasaccorded the privilege of being tried by twelve honest white colonistsbefore _three_ justices of the peace. This was in striking contrastwith the conduct of the colony of New York, where Negroes werearrested upon the incoherent accusations of dissolute whites andterrified blacks. It gave the Negroes a new and an anomalous positionin the New World. It banished the cruel theory of Virginia, New York, and Connecticut, that the Negro was a pagan, and therefore should notbe sworn in courts of justice, and threw open a wide door for hisentrance into a more hopeful state than he had, up to that time, daredto anticipate. It allowed him to infer that his life was a little morethan that of the brute that perisheth; that he could not be dragged bymalice through the forms of a trial, without jury, witness, counsel, or friend, to an ignominious death, that was to be regretted only byhis master, and his regrets to be solaced by the Legislature paying"the price;" that the law regarded him as a man, whose life was toodear to be committed to the disposition of irascible men, whoseprejudices could be mollified only in extreme cruelty or cold-bloodedmurder. It had much to do toward elevating the character of the Negroin New Jersey. It first fired his heart with the noble impulse ofgratitude, and then led him to _hope_. And how much that little wordmeans! It causes the soul to spread its white pinions to everyfavoring breeze, and hasten on to a propitious future. And then thefact that Negroes had rights acknowledged by the statutes, andrespectfully accorded them by the courts, had its due influence uponthe white colonists. The men, or class of men, who have rights notchallenged, command the respect of others. The fact clothes them withdignity as with a garment. And then, by the inevitable logic of theposition of the courts of East Jersey, the colonists were led to theconclusion that the Negroes among them had other rights. And, as ithas been said already, they received better treatment here than in anyother colony in the country. 

In West Jersey happily the word "slave" was omitted from the laws. Only servants and runaway servants were mentioned, and the selling ofrum to Negroes and Indians was strictly forbidden. 

The fear of insurrection among Indians and Negroes was generalthroughout all of the colonies. One a savage, and the other untutored, they knew but two manifestations, --gratitude and revenge. It wasdeemed a wise precaution to keep these unfortunate people as farremoved from the exciting influences of rum as possible. Chaptertwenty-three of a law passed in West Jersey in 1676, providing forpublicity in judicial proceedings, concludes as follows:--

 "That all and every person and persons inhabiting the said province, shall, as far as in us lies, be free from oppression and slavery. "[476]

In 1702 the proprietors of East and West Jersey surrendered theirrights of government to the queen. The Province was immediately placedwith New York, and the government committed to the hands of LordCornbury. [477] In 1704 "_An Act for regulating negroe, Indian andmulatto slaves within the province of New Jersey_, " was introduced, but was tabled and disallowed. The Negroes had just cause for thefears they entertained as to legislation directed at the few rightsthey had enjoyed under the Jersey government. Their fellow-servantsover in New York had suffered under severe laws, and at that time hadno privilege in which they could rejoice. In 1713 the following lawwas passed:--

 "_An act for regulating slaves. _ (1 Nev. L. , c. 10. ) Sect. 1. Against trading with slaves. 2. For arrest of slaves being without pass. 3. Negro belonging to another province, not having license, to be whipped and committed to jail. 4. Punishment of slaves for crimes to be by three or more justices of the peace, with five of the principal freeholders, without a grand jury; seven agreeing, shall give judgment. 5. Method in such causes more particularly described. Provides that 'the evidence of Indian, negro, or mulatto slaves shall be admitted and allowed on trials of such slaves, on all causes criminal. ' 6. Owner may demand a jury. 7, 8. Compensation to owners for death of slave. 9. A slave for attempting to ravish any white woman, or presuming 'to assault or strike any free man or woman professing Christianity, ' any two justices have discretionary powers to inflict corporal punishment, not extending to life or limb. 10. Slaves, for stealing, to be whipped. 11. Penalties on justices, &c. , neglecting duty. 12. Punishment for concealing, harboring, or entertaining slaves of others. 13. Provides that no Negro, Indian, or mulatto that shall thereafter be made free, shall hold any real estate in his own right, in fee simple or fee tail. 14. 'And whereas it is found by experience that free Negroes are an idle, slothful people, and prove very often a charge to the place where they are, ' enacts that owners manumitting, shall give security, &c. "[478]

Nearly all the humane features of the Jersey laws were supplanted bysevere prohibitions, requirements, and penalties. The trial by jurywas construed to mean that one Negro's testimony was good againstanother Negro in a trial for a felony, allowing the owner of the slaveto demand a jury. Humane masters were denied the right to emancipatetheir slaves, and the latter were prohibited from owning real propertyin fee simple or fee tail. Having stripped the Negro of the few rightshe possessed, the General Court, during the same year, went on toreduce him to absolute property, and levied an impost-tax of tenpounds upon every Negro imported into the colony, to remain in forcefor seven years. 

In 1754 an Act provided, that in the borough of Elizabeth any whiteservant or servants, slave or slaves, which shall "be brought beforethe Mayor, &c. , by their masters or other inhabitant of the Borough, for any misdemeanor rude or disorderly behavior, may be committed tothe workhouse to hard labor and receive correction not exceedingthirty lashes. "[479] This Act was purely local in character, andindiscriminate in its application to every class of servants. It wasnothing more than a police regulation, and as such was a wholesomelaw. 

In 1768 the General Court passed _An Act to regulate the trial ofslaves for murder and other crimes and to repeal so much of an act, &c_. Sections one and two provided for the trial of slaves by theordinary higher criminal courts. Section three provided that theexpenses incurred in the execution of slaves should be levied upon allthe owners of able-bodied slaves in the county, by order of thejustices presiding at the trial. Section four repealed sections four, five, six, and seven of the Act of 1713. This was significant. Itportended a better feeling toward the Negroes, and illumined the darkhorizon of slavery with the distant light of hope. A strong feelingin favor of better treatment for Negro slaves made itself manifest atthis time. When the Quaker found the prejudice against himselfsubsiding, he turned, like a good Samaritan, to pour the wine of humansympathy into the lacerated feelings of the Negro. Private instructionwas given to them in many parts of Jersey. The gospel was expounded tothem in its beauty and simplicity, and produced its good fruit inbetter lives. 

The next year, 1769, a mercenary spirit inspired and secured thepassage of another Act levying a tax upon imported slaves, andrequiring persons manumitting slaves to give better securities. Itreads, --

 "Whereas duties on the importation of negroes in several of the neighboring colonies hath, on experience, been found beneficial in the introduction of sober industrious foreigners, to settle under his Majesty's allegiance, and the promoting a spirit of industry among the inhabitants in general, in order therefore to promote the same good designs in this government and that such as purchase slaves may contribute some equitable proportion of the public burdens. "[480]

How an impost-tax upon imported slaves would be "beneficial in theintroduction of sober industrious foreigners, " is not easilyperceived; and how it would promote "a spirit of industry among theinhabitants in general, " is a problem most difficult of solution. Butthese were the lofty reasons that inspired the General Court to seekto fill the coffers of the Province with money drawn from theslave-lottery, where human beings were raffled off to the highestbidders in the colony. The cautious language in which the Act wascouched indicated the sensitive state of the public conscience onslavery at that time. They were afraid to tell the truth. They did notdare to say to the people: We propose to repair the streets of yourtowns, the public roads, and lighten the burden of taxation, by sayingto men-stealers, we will allow you to sell your cargoes of slaves intothis colony provided you share the spoils of your superlative crime!No, they had to tell the people that the introduction of Negro slaves, upon whom there was a tax, would entice sober and industrious whitepeople to come among them, and would quicken the entire Province witha spirit of thrift never before witnessed!

In 1760 the Negro was ruled out of the militia establishment upon acondition. The law provided against the enlistment of any "_young manunder the age of twenty-one years, or any slaves who are so for termsof life, or apprentices_, " without leave of their masters. This wasthe mildest prohibition against the entrance of the slave into themilitia service in any of the colonies. There is nothing said aboutthe employment of the free Negroes in this service; and it is fair tosuppose, in view of the mild character of the laws, that they were notexcluded. In settlements where the German and Quaker elementspredominated, the Negro found that his "lines had fallen unto him inpleasant places, and that he had a goodly heritage. " In the coasttowns, and in the great centres of population, the white people wereof a poorer class. Many were adventurers, cruel and unscrupulous intheir methods. The speed with which the people sought to obtain acompetency wore the finer edges of their feeling to the coarse grainof selfishness; and they not only drew themselves up into themiserable rags of their own selfish aggrandizements as far as allcompetitors were concerned, but regarded slavery with imperturbablecomplacency. 

In 1738 the population of the Jerseys was, whites, 43, 388; blacks, 3, 981. In 1745 the whites numbered 56, 797, and the blacks, 4, 606. [481]

FOOTNOTES:

[475] It is unfortunate that there is no good history of New Jersey. The records of the Historical Society of that State are notconveniently printed, nor valuable in colonial data. 

[476] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 283. 

[477] The following were the instructions his lordship received, concerning the treatment of Negro slaves: "You shall endeavour to geta law past for the restraining of any inhuman severity, which by illmasters or overseers may be used towards their Christian servants andtheir slaves, and that provision be made therein that the wilfullkilling of Indians and negroes may be punished with death, and that afit penalty be emposed for the maiming of them. "--_Freedom andBondage_, vol. I. P. 280, note. 

[478] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 284. 

[479] Hurd, vol. I. P. 285. 

[480] Hurd, vol. I. P 285. 

[481] American Annals, vol. Ii. Pp. 127, 143. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE COLONY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

1665-1775. 

 THE CAROLINAS RECEIVE TWO DIFFERENT CHARTERS FROM THE CROWN OF GREAT BRITAIN. --ERA OF SLAVERY LEGISLATION. --LAW ESTABLISHING SLAVERY. --THE SLAVE POPULATION OF THIS PROVINCE REGARDED AS CHATTEL PROPERTY. --TRIAL OF SLAVES. --INCREASE OF SLAVE POPULATION. --THE INCREASE IN THE RICE TRADE. --SEVERE LAWS REGULATING THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC CONDUCT OF SLAVE. --PUNISHMENT OF SLAVES FOR RUNNING AWAY. --THE LIFE OF SLAVES REGARDED AS OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE BY THE VIOLENT MASTER CLASS. --AN ACT EMPOWERING TWO JUSTICES OF THE PEACE TO INVESTIGATE TREATMENT OF SLAVES. --AN ACT PROHIBITING THE OVERWORKING OF SLAVES. --SLAVE-MARKET AT CHARLESTON. --INSURRECTION. --A LAW AUTHORIZING THE CARRYING OF FIRE-ARMS AMONG THE WHITES. --THE ENLISTMENT OF SLAVES TO SERVE IN TIME OF ALARM. --NEGROES ADMITTED TO THE MILITIA SERVICE. --COMPENSATION TO MASTERS FOR THE LOSS OF SLAVES KILLED BY THE ENEMY OR WHO DESERT. --FEW SLAVES MANUMITTED. --FROM 1754-1776 LITTLE LEGISLATION ON THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY. --THREATENING WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HER PROVINCIAL DEPENDENCIES. --THE EFFECT UPON PUBLIC SENTIMENT. 

The Carolinas received two different charters from the crown of GreatBritain. The first was witnessed by the king at Westminster, March 24, 1663; the second, June 30, 1665. The last charter was surrendered tothe king by seven of the eight proprietors on the 25th July, 1729. Thegovernment became regal; and the Province was immediately divided intoNorth and South Carolina by an order of the British Council, and theboundaries between the two governments fixed. 

There were Negro slaves in the Carolinas from the earliest days oftheir existence. The era of slavery legislation began about the year1690. The first Act for the "_Better Ordering of Slaves_" was "readthree times and passed, and ratified in open Parliament, the seventhday of February, Anno Domini, 1690. " It bore the signatures of SethSothell, G. Muschamp, John Beresford, and John Harris. It containedfifteen articles of the severest character. On the 7th of June, 1712, the first positive law establishing slavery passed, and wassigned. [482] The entire Act embraced thirty-five sections. Sectionone is quoted in full because of the interest that centres in it inconnection with the problem of slavery legislation in the colonies. 

 "1. _Be it therefore enacted_, by his Excellency, William, Lord Craven, Palatine, and the rest of the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of this Province, by and with the advice and consent of the rest of the members of the General Assembly, now met at Charlestown, for the South-west part of this Province, and by the authority of the same, That all negroes, mulatoes, mustizoes or Indians, which at any time heretofore have been sold, or now are held or taken to be, or hereafter shall be bought and sold for slaves, are hereby declared slaves; and they, and their children, are hereby made and declared slaves, to all intents and purposes; excepting all such negroes, mulatoes, mustizoes or Indians, which heretofore have been, or hereafter shall be, for some particular merit, made and declared free, either by the Governor and council of this Province, pursuant to any Act or law of this Province, or by their respective owners or masters; and also, excepting all such negroes, mulatoes, mustizoes or Indians, as can prove they ought not to be sold for slaves. And in case any negro, mulatoe, mustizoe or Indian, doth lay claim to his or her freedom upon all or any of the said accounts, the same shall be finally heard and determined by the Governor and council of this Province. "[483]

The above section was re-enacted into another law, containingforty-three sections, passed on the 23d of February, 1722. Virginiadeclared that children should follow the condition of their mothers, but never passed a law in any respect like unto this most remarkableAct. South Carolina has the unenviable reputation of being the onlycolony in North America where by positive statute the Negro was doomedto perpetual bondage. [484] On the 10th of May, 1740, an act regulatingslaves, containing fifty sections, recites:--

 "Whereas, in his Majesty's plantations in America, slavery his been introduced and allowed, and the people commonly called negroes, Indians, mulattoes and mustizoes, have been deemed absolute slaves, and the subjects of property in the hands of particular persons, the extent of whose power over such slaves ought to be settled and limited by positive laws, so that the slave may be kept in due subjection and obedience, and the owners and other persons having the care and government of slaves may be restrained from exercising too great rigour and cruelty over them, and that the public peace and order of this Province may be preserved: We pray your most sacred Majesty that it may be enacted. "[485]

The first section of this Act was made more elaborate than any otherlaw previously passed. It bore all the marks of ripe scholarship andprofound law learning. The first section is produced here:--

 "1. _And be it enacted_, by the honorable William Bull, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-chief, by and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's honorable Council, and the Commons House of Assembly of this Province, and by the authority of the same, That all negroes and Indians, (free Indians in amity with this government, and negroes, mulattoes and mustizoes, who are now free, excepted, ) mulattoes or mustizoes who now are, or shall hereafter be, in this Province, and all their issue and offspring, born or to be born, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, and remain forever hereafter, absolute slaves, and shall follow the condition of the mother, and shall be deemed, held, taken, reputed and adjudged in law, to be chattels personal, in the hands of their owners and possessors, and their executors, administrators and assigns, to all intents, constructions and purposes whatsoever; _provided always_, that if any negro, Indian, mulatto or mustizo, shall claim his or her freedom, it shall and may be lawful for such negro, Indian, mulatto or mustizo, or any person or persons whatsoever, on his or her behalf, to apply to the justices of his Majesty's court of common pleas, by petition or motion, either during the sitting of the said court, or before any of the justices of the same court, at any time in the vacation; and the said court, or any of the justices thereof, shall, and they are hereby fully impowered to, admit any person so applying to be guardian for any negro, Indian, mulatto or mustizo, claiming his, her or their freedom; and such guardians shall be enabled, entitled and capable in law, to bring an action of trespass in the nature of ravishment of ward, against any person who shall claim property in, or who shall be in possession of, any such negro, Indian, mulatto or mustizo; and the defendant shall and may plead the general issue on such action brought, and the special matter may and shall be given in evidence, and upon a general or special verdict found, judgment shall be given according to the very right of the cause, without having any regard to any defect in the proceedings, either in form or substance; and if judgment shall be given for the plaintiff, a special entry shall be made, declaring that the ward of the plaintiff is free, and the jury shall assess damages which the plaintiff's ward hath sustained, and the court shall give judgment, and award execution, against the defendant for such damage, with full costs of suit; but in case judgment shall be given for the defendant, the said court is hereby fully impowered to inflict such corporal punishment, not extending to life or limb, on the ward of the plaintiff, as they, in their discretion, shall think fit; _provided always_, that in any action or suit to be brought in pursuance of the direction of this Act, the burthen of the proof shall lay on the plaintiff, and it shall be always presumed that every negro, Indian, mulatto and mustizo, is a slave, unless the contrary can be made appear, the Indians in amity with this government excepted, in which case the burthen of the proof shall lye on the defendant; _provided also_, that nothing in this Act shall be construed to hinder or restrain any other court of law or equity in this Province, from determining the property of slaves, or their right of freedom, which now have cognizance or jurisdiction of the same, when the same shall happen to come in judgment before such courts, or any of them, always taking this Act for their direction therein. "[486]

The entire slave population of this Province was regarded as _chattelproperty, absolutely_. They could be seized in execution as in thecase of other property, but not, however, if there were other chattelsavailable. In case of "burglary, robbery, burning of houses, killingor stealing of any meat or other cattle, or other petty injuries, asmaiming one of the other, stealing of fowls, provisions, or such liketrespass or injuries, " a justice of the peace was to be informed. Heissued a warrant for the arrest of the offender or offenders, andsummoned all competent witnesses. After examination, if found guilty, the offender or offenders were committed to jail. The justice thennotified the justice next to him to be associated with him in thetrial. He had the authority to fix the day and hour of the trial, tosummon witness, and "three discreet and sufficient freeholders. " Thejustices then swore the "freeholders, " and, after they had tried thecase, had the authority to pronounce the sentence of death, "or suchother punishment" as they felt meet to fix. "The solemnity of a jury"was never accorded to slaves. "Three freeholders" could dispose ofhuman life in such cases, and no one could hinder. [487] The confessionof the accused slave, and the testimony of another slave, were "heldfor good and convincing evidence in all petty larcenies or trespassesnot exceeding forty shillings. " In the case of a Negro on trial forhis life, "the oath of Christian evidence" was required, or the"positive evidence of two Negroes or slaves, " in order to convict. 

The increase of slaves was almost phenomenal. The rice-trade had grownto enormous proportions. The physical obstruction gave away rapidlybefore the incessant and stupendous efforts of Negro laborers. Thecolonists held out most flattering inducements to Englishmen toemigrate into the Province. The home government applauded the zeal andexecutive abilities of the local authorities. Attention was called tothe necessity of legislation for the government of the vast Negropopulation in the colony. The code of South Carolina was without anexample among the civilized governments of modern times. It wasunlawful for any free person to inhabit or trade with Negroes. [488]Slaves could not leave the plantation on which they were owned, exceptin livery, or armed with a pass, signed by their master, containingthe name of the possessor. For a violation of this regulation theywere whipped on the naked back. No man was allowed to conduct a"plantation, cow-pen or stock, " that shall be six miles distant fromhis usual place of abode, and wherein six Negroes were employed, without one or more white persons were residing on the place. [489]Negro slaves found on another plantation than the one to which theybelonged, "on the Lord's Day, fast days, or holy-days, " even thoughthey could produce passes, were seized and whipped. If a slave werefound "keeping any horse, horses, or neat cattle, " any white man, bywarrant, could seize the animals, and sell them through thechurch-wardens; and the money arising from such sale was devoted tothe poor of the parish in which said presumptuous slaves resided. Ifmore than seven slaves were found travelling on the highway, exceptaccompanied by a white man, it was lawful for any white man toapprehend each and every one of such slaves, and administer twentylashes upon their bare back. No slave was allowed to hire out histime. Some owners of slaves were poor, and, their slaves being trustyand industrious, permitted them to go out and get whatever work theycould, with the understanding that the master was to have the wages. An Act was passed in 1735, forbidding such transactions, and finingthe persons who hired slaves who had no written certificate from theirmasters setting forth the terms upon which the work was to be done. Noslave could hire a house or plantation. No amount of industry couldmake him an exception to the general rule. If he toiled faithfully foryears, amassed a fortune for his master, earned quite a competence forhimself during the odd moments he caught from a busy life, and then, with acknowledged character and business tact, he sought to hire aplantation or buy a house, the law came in, and pronounced it amisdemeanor, for which both purchaser and seller had to pay in fines, stripes, and imprisonment. A slave could not keep in his own name, orthat of his master, any kind of a house of entertainment. He was evenprohibited by law from selling corn or rice in the Province. Thepenalty was a fine of forty shillings, and the forfeiture of thearticles for sale. They could not keep a boat or canoe. 

The cruelties of the code are without a parallel, as applied to thecorrection of Negro slaves. 

 "If any negro or Indian slave [says the act of Feb. 7, 1690] shall offer any violence, by stricking or the like, to any white person, he shall for the first offence be severely whipped by the constable, by order of any justice of peace; and for the second offence, by like order, shall be severely whipped, his or her nose slit, and face burnt in some place; and for the third offence, to be left to two justices and three sufficient freeholders, to inflict death, or any other punishment, according to their discretion. "

As the penalties for the smallest breach of the slave-code grew moresevere, the slaves grew more restless and agitated. Sometimes undergreat fear they would run away for a short time, in the hope thattheir irate masters would relent. But this, instead of helping, hindered and injured the cause of the slaves. Angered at the conductof their slaves, the master element, having their representatives onthe floor of the Assembly, secured the passage of the following brutallaw:--

 "That every slave of above sixteen years of age, that shall run away from his master, mistress or overseer, and shall so continue for the space of twenty days at one time, shall, by his master, mistress, overseer or head of the family's procurement, for the first offence, be publicly and severely whipped, not exceeding forty lashes; and in case the master, mistress, overseer, or head of the family, shall neglect to inflict such punishment of whipping, upon any negro or slave that shall so run away, for the space of ten days, upon complaint made thereof, within one month, by any person whatsoever, to any justice of the peace, the said justice of the peace shall, by his warrant directed to the constable, order the said negro or slave to be publicly and severely whipped, the charges of such whipping, not exceeding twenty shillings, to be borne by the person neglecting to have such runaway negro whipped, as before directed by this Act. And in case such negro or slave shall run away a second time, and shall so continue for the space of twenty days, he or she, so offending, shall be branded with the letter R, on the right cheek. And in case the master, mistress, overseer, or head of the family, shall neglect to inflict the punishment upon such slave running away the second time, the person so neglecting shall forfeit the sum of ten pounds, and upon any complaint made by any person, within one month, to any justice of the peace, of the neglect of so punishing any slave for running away the second time, such justice shall order the constable to inflict the same punishment upon such slave, or cause the same to be done, the charges thereof, not exceeding thirty shillings, to be borne by the person neglecting to have the punishment inflicted. And in case such negro or slave shall run away the third time, and shall so continue for the space of thirty days, he or she, so offending, for the third offence, shall be severely whipped, not exceeding forty lashes, and shall have one of his ears cut off; and in case the master, mistress, overseer or head of the family, shall neglect to inflict the punishment upon such slave running away the third time, the person so neglecting shall forfeit the sum of twenty pounds, and upon any complaint made by any person, within two months, to any justice of the peace, of the neglect of the so punishing any slave for running away the third time, the said justice shall order the constable to inflict the same punishment upon such slave, or cause the same to be done, the charges thereof, not exceeding forty shillings, to be borne by the person neglecting to have the punishment inflicted. And in case such male negro or slave shall run away the fourth time, and shall so continue for the space of thirty days, he, so offending, for the fourth offence, by order or procurement of the master, mistress, overseer or head of the family, shall be gelt; and in case the negro or slave that shall be gelt, shall die, by reason of his gelding, and without any neglect of the person that shall order the same, the owner of the negro or slave so dying, shall be paid for him, out of the public treasury. And if a female slave shall run away the fourth time, then she shall, by order of her master, mistress or overseer, be severely whipped, and be branded on the left cheek with the letter R, and her left ear cut off. And if the owner, if in this Province, or in case of his absence, if his agent, factor or attorney, that hath the charge of the negro or slave, by this Act required to be gelt, whipped, branded and the ear cut off, for the fourth time of running away, shall neglect to have the same done and executed, accordingly as the same is ordered by this Act, for the space of twenty days after such slave is in his or their custody, that then such owner shall lose his property to the said slave, to him or them that will sue for the same, by information, at any time within six months, in the court of common pleas in this Province. And every person who shall so recover a slave by information, for the reasons aforesaid, shall, within twenty days after such recovery, inflict such punishment upon such slave as his former owner or head of a family ought to have done, and for neglect of which he lost his property to the said slave, or for neglect thereof shall forfeit fifty pounds; and in case any negro slave so recovered by information, and gelt, shall die, in such case, the slave so dying shall not be paid for out of the public treasury. And in case any negro or slave shall run away the fifth time, and shall so continue by the space of thirty days at one time, such slave shall be tried before two justices of the peace and three freeholders, as before directed by this Act in case of murder, and being by them declared guilty of the offence, it shall be lawful for them to order the cord of one of the slave's legs to be cut off above the heel, or else to pronounce sentence of death upon the slave, at the discretion of the said justices; and any judgment given after the first offence, shall be sufficient conviction to bring the offenders within the penalty for the second offence; and after the second, within the penalty of the third; and so for the inflicting the rest of the punishments. "[490]

If any slave attempted to run away from his or her master, and go outof the Province, he or she could be tried before two justices andthree freeholders, and sentenced to suffer a most cruel death. If itcould be proved that any Negro, free or slave, had endeavored topersuade or entice any other Negro to run off out of the Province, upon conviction he was punished with forty lashes, and branded on theforehead with a red hot iron, "that the mark thereof may remain. " If awhite man met a slave, and demanded of him to show his ticket, and theslave refused, the law empowered the white man "to beat, maim, orassault; and if such Negro or slave" could not "be taken, to killhim, " if he would not "shew his ticket. "

The cruel and barbarous code of the slave-power in South Carolinaproduced, in course of time, a re-action in the opposite direction. The large latitude that the law gave to white people in their dealingswith the hapless slaves made them careless and extravagant in the useof their authority. It educated them into a brood of tyrants. They didnot care any more for the life of a Negro slave than for the crawlingworm in their path. Many white men who owned no slaves poured forththeir wrathful invectives and cruel blows upon the heads of innocentNegroes with the slightest pretext. They pushed, jostled, crowded, andkicked the Negro on every occasion. The young whites early took theirlessons in abusing God's poor and helpless children; while an overseerwas prized more for his brutal powers--to curse, beat, andtorture--than for any ability he chanced to possess for businessmanagement. The press and pulpit had contemplated this state ofaffairs until they, too, were the willing abettors in the most cruelsystem of bondage that history has recorded. But no man wants hishorse driven to death, if it is a beast. No one cares to have everyman that passes kick his dog, even if it is not the best dog in thecommunity. It is _his_ dog, and that makes all the difference in theworld. The men who did the most cruel things to the slaves they foundin their daily path were, as a rule, without slaves or any other kindof property. They used their authority unsparingly. Common-sensetaught the planters that better treatment of the slaves meant betterwork, and increased profits for themselves. A small value was finallyplaced upon a slave's life, --fifty pounds. Fifty pounds paid into thepublic treasury by a man who, "of wantonness, or only ofbloody-mindedness, or cruel intention, " had killed "a negro or otherslave of his own, " was enough to appease the public mind, and atonefor a cold-blooded murder! If he killed another man's slave, the lawdemanded that he pay fifty pounds current money into the publictreasury, and the full price of the slave to the owner, but was "notto be liable to any other punishment or forfeiture for the same. "[491]The law just referred to, passed in 1712, was re-enacted in 1722. Onechange was made in it: i. E. , if a white servant, having no property, killed a slave, three justices could bind him over to the master whoseslave he killed to serve him for five years. This law had a wholesomeeffect upon irresponsible white men, who often presumed upon theirnationality, having neither brains, money, nor social standing, topunish slaves. 

In 1740, May 10, the following Act became a law, showing that therehad been a wonderful change in public sentiment rejecting thetreatment of slaves:--

 "XXXVII. And _whereas_, cruelty is not only highly unbecoming those who profess themselves christians but is odious in the eyes of all men who have any sense of virtue or humanity; therefore, to restrain and prevent barbarity being exercised towards slaves, _Be it enacted_ by the authority aforesaid, That if any person or persons whosoever, shall wilfully murder his own slave, or the slave of any other person every such person shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit and pay the sum of seven hundred pounds current money, and shall be rendered, and is hereby declared altogether and forever incapable of holding, exercising, enjoying or receiving the profits of any office, place or employment, civil or military, within this Province: And in case any such person shall not be able to pay the penalty and forfeitures hereby inflicted and imposed, every such person shall be sent to any of the frontier garrisons of this Province, or committed to the work house in Charlestown, there to remain for the space of seven years, and to serve or to be kept at hard labor. And in case the slave murdered shall be the property of any other person than the offender, the pay usually allowed by the public to the soldiers of such garrison, or the profits of the labor of the offender, if committed to the work house in Charlestown shall be paid to the owner of the slave murdered. And if any person shall, on a sudden heat of passion, or by undue correction, kill his own slave, or the slave of any other person, he shall forfeit the sum of three hundred and fifty pounds, current money. And in case any person or persons shall wilfully cut out the tongue, put out the eye, castrate, or cruelly scald, burn, or deprive any slave of any limb or member, or shall inflict any other cruel punishment, other than by whipping or beating with a horse-whip, cow-skin, switch or small stick or by putting irons on, or confining or imprisoning such slave, every such person shall, for every such offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds, current money. "[492]

It may be said truthfully that the slaves in the colony of SouthCarolina were accorded treatment as good as that bestowed uponhorses, in 1750. But their social condition was most deplorable. Thelaw positively forbid the instruction of slaves, and the penalty was"one hundred pounds current money. " For a few years Saturday afternoonhad been allowed them as a day of recreation, but as early as 1690 itwas forbidden by statute. In the same year an Act was passed declaringthat slaves should "have convenient clothes, once every year; and thatno slave" should "be free by becoming a christian, [493] but as topayments of debts" were "deemed and taken as all other goods andchattels. " Their houses were searched every fortnight "for runawayslaves" and "stolen goods. " Druggists were not allowed to employ aNegro to handle medicines, upon pain of forfeiting twenty poundscurrent money for every such offence. Negroes were not allowed topractise medicine, nor administer drugs of any kind, except by thedirection of some white person. Any gathering of Negroes could bebroken up at the discretion of a justice living in the district wherethe meeting was in session. 

Poor clothing and insufficient food bred wide-spread discontent amongthe slaves, and attracted public attention. [494] Many mastersendeavored to get on as cheaply as possible in providing for theirslaves. In 1732 the Legislature passed an Act empowering two justicesof the peace to inquire as to the treatment of slaves on the severalplantations; and if any master neglected his slaves in food andraiment, he was liable to a fine of not more than fifty shillings. InMay, 1740, an Act was passed requiring masters to see to it that theirslaves were not overworked. The time set for them to work, was "fromthe 25th day of March to the 25th day of September, " not "more thanfifteen hours in four-and-twenty;" and "from the 25th day of Septemberto the 25th day of March, " not "more than fourteen hours infour-and-twenty. "

The history of the impost-tax on slaves imported into the Province ofSouth Carolina is the history of organized greed, ambition, andextortion. Many were the gold sovereigns that were turned into theofficial coffers at Charleston! With a magnificent harbor, and agenial climate, no city in the South could rival it as a slave-market. With an abundant supply from without, and a steady demand from within, the officials at Charleston felt assured that high impost-duties couldnot interfere with the slave-trade; while the city would be a greatgainer by the traffic, both mediately and immediately. 

Sudden and destructive insurrections were the safety-valves to theinstitution of slavery. A race long and cruelly enslaved may endurethe yoke patiently for a season: but like the sudden gathering of thesummer clouds, the pelting rain, the vivid, blinding lightning, thedeep, hoarse thundering, it will assert itself some day; and then itis indeed a day of judgment to the task-masters! The Negroes in SouthCarolina endured a most cruel treatment for a long time; and, when"the day of their wrath" came, they scarcely knew it themselves, muchless the whites. Florida was in the possession of the Spaniards. Itsgovernor had sent out spies into Georgia and South Carolina, who heldout very flattering inducements to the Negroes to desert their mastersand go to Florida. Moreover, there was a Negro regiment in the Spanishservice, whose officers were from their own race. Many slaves had madegood their escape, and joined this regiment. It was allowed the sameuniform and pay as the Spanish soldiers had. The colony of SouthCarolina was fearing an enemy from without, while behold their worstenemy was at their doors! In 1740 some Negroes assembled themselvestogether at a town called Stone, and made an attack upon two youngmen, who were guarding a warehouse, and killed them. They seized thearms and ammunition, effected an organization by electing one of theirnumber captain; and, with boisterous drums and flying banners, theymarched off "like a disciplined company. " They entered the house ofone Mr. Godfrey, slew him, his wife, and child, and then fired hisdwelling. They next took up their march towards Jacksonburgh, andplundered and burnt the houses of Sacheveral, Nash, Spry, and others. They killed all the white people they found, and recruited their ranksfrom the Negroes they met. Gov. Bull was "returning to Charleston fromthe southward, met them, and, observing them armed, quickly rode outof their way. "[495] In a march of twelve miles, they had wrought awork of great destruction. News reached Wiltown, and the militia werecalled out. The Negro insurrectionists were intoxicated with theirtriumph, and drunk from rum they had taken from the houses they hadplundered. They halted in an open field to sing and dance; and, duringtheir hilarity, Capt. Bee, at the head of the troops of the district, fell upon them, and, having killed several, captured all who did notmake their escape in the woods. 

The Province was thrown into intense excitement. The Legislaturecalled attention to the insurrection, [496] and declared legal somevery questionable and summary acts. In 1743 the people had notrecovered from the fright they received from the insurrection. On the7th of May, 1743, an Act was passed requiring every white maleinhabitant, who resorted "to any church or any other public place ofdivine worship, within" the Province to "carry with him a gun or apair of horse pistols, in good order and fit for service, with atleast six charges of gun-powder and ball, " upon pain of paying "twentyshillings. "

As there was a law against teaching slaves to read and write, therewere no educated preachers. If a Negro desired to preach to hisfellow-slaves, he had to secure written permission from his master. While Negroes were sometimes baptized into the communion of theChurch, --usually the Episcopal Church, --they were allowed only in thegallery, or organ-loft, of white congregations, in small numbers. Noclergyman ventured to break unto this benighted people the bread oflife. They were abandoned to the superstitions and religiousfanaticisms incident to their condition. 

In 1704 an Act was passed "_for raising and enlisting such slaves asshalt be thought serviceable to this Province in time of Alarms_. " Itrequired, within thirty days after the publication of the Act, thatthe commanders of military organizations throughout the Provinceshould appoint "five freeholders, " "sober and discreet men, " who wereto make a complete list of all the able-bodied slaves in theirrespective districts. Three of them were competent to decide upon thequalifications of a slave. After the completion of the list, thefreeholders mentioned above notified the owners to appear before themupon a certain day, and show cause why their slaves should not bechosen for the service of the colony. The slaves were then enlisted, and their masters charged with the duty of arming them "with aserviceable lance, hatchet or gun, with sufficient amunition andhatchets, according to the conveniency of the said owners, to appearunder the colours of the respective captains, in their severaldivisions, throughout" the Province, for the performance of such"public service" as required. If an owner refused to equip or permithis slave to respond to alarms, he was fined five pounds for eachneglect, which was to be paid to the captain of the company to whichthe slave belonged. If a slave were killed by the enemy "in the lineof duty, " the owner of such slave was paid out of the public treasurysuch sum of money as three freeholders, under oath, should award. TheNegroes did admirably; and four years later, on the 24th of April, 1708, the Legislature re-enacted the bill making them militia-men. Thelast Act contained ten sections, and bears evidence of the pleasurethe whites took in the employment of Negroes as their defenders. If aNegro were taken prisoner by the enemy, and effected his escape backinto the Province, he was emancipated. And if a Negro captured andkilled an enemy, he was emancipated, but if wounded himself, was setfree at the public expense. If he deserted to the enemy, his masterwas paid for his loss. 

Few slaves were manumitted. The law required that masters whoemancipated their slaves should make provisions for transporting themout of the Province. If they were found in the Province twelve monthsafter they were set free, the manumission was considered void, exceptapproved by the Legislature. 

From 1754 till 1776 there was little legislation on the subject ofslavery. The pressure from without made men conservative aboutslavery, and radical on the question of the rights and liberties ofthe colonies. The threatening war between England and her provincialdependencies made men humane and patriotic; and during these years ofanxiety and excitement, the weary slaves breathed a better atmosphere, and enjoyed the rare sensation of confidence and benevolence. 

FOOTNOTES:

[482] An eminent lawyer, chief justice of the Supreme Court of theState of ----, and a warm personal friend of mine, recently said tome, during an afternoon stroll, that he never knew that slavery wasever established by statute in any of the British colonies in NorthAmerica. 

[483] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. P. 352. 

[484] Virginia made slavery statutory as did other colonies, but wehave no statute so explicit as the above. But slavery was slavery inall the colonies, cruel and hurtful. 

[485] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. P. 397. 

[486] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. Pp. 397, 398. 

[487] Ibid. , vol. Vii. Pp. 343, 344. 

[488] This Act, passed on the 16th of March, 1696, was made"perpetual" on the 12th of December, 1712. It remained throughout theentire period. See Statutes of S. C. , vol. Ii, p. 598. 

[489] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. P. 363. 

[490] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. Pp. 359, 360. 

[491] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. 363. 

[492] Ibid. , vol vii. Pp. 410. 411. 

[493] The following is the Act of the 7th of June, 1690. "XXXIV Sincecharity, and the christian religion, which we profess, obliges us towish well to the souls of all men, and that religion may not be made apretence to alter any man's property and right, and that no person mayneglect to baptize their negroes or slaves, or suffer them to bebaptized, for fear that thereby they should be manumitted and setfree, Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that itshall be, and is hereby declared, lawful for any negro or Indianslave, or any other slave or slaves whatsoever, to receive and professthe christian faith, and be thereinto baptized; but thatnotwithstanding such slave or slaves shall receive and profess theChristian religion, and be baptized, he or they shall not thereby bemanumitted or set free, or his or their owner, master or mistress losehis or their civil right, property, and authority over such slave orslaves, but that the slave or slaves, with respect to his servitudeshall remain and continue in the same state and condition that he orthey was in before the making of this act. "--_Statutes of S. C. _, vol. Vii. Pp 364, 365. 

[494] In 1740 an Act was passed requiring masters to provide"sufficient clothing" for their slaves. 

[495] Hist. S. C. And Georgia, vol. Ii. P. 73. 

[496] Statutes of S. C. , vol. Vii. P. 416. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE COLONY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

1669-1775. 

 THE GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION OF NORTH CAROLINA FAVORABLE TO THE SLAVE TRADE. --THE LOCKE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. --WILLIAM SAYLE COMMISSIONED GOVERNOR. --LEGISLATURE CAREER OF THE COLONY. --THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF ENGLAND INTO THE COLONY. --THE RIGHTS OF NEGROES CONTROLLED ABSOLUTELY BY THEIR MASTERS. --AN ACT RESPECTING CONSPIRACIES. --THE WRATH OF ILL-NATURED WHITES VISITED UPON THEIR SLAVES. --AN ACT AGAINST THE EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES. --LIMITED RIGHTS OF FREE NEGROES. 

The geographical situation of North Carolina was favorable to theslave-trade. 

Through the genius of Shaftesbury, and the subtle cunning of JohnLocke, Carolina received, and for a time adopted, the most remarkableconstitution ever submitted to any people in any age of the world. Thewhole affair was an insult to humanity, and in its fundamentalelements bore the palpable evidences of the cruel conclusions of anexclusive philosophy. "No elective franchise could be conferred upon afreehold of less than fifty acres, " while all executive power wasvested in the proprietors themselves. Seven courts were controlled byforty-two counsellors, twenty-eight of whom held their places throughthe gracious favor of the proprietary and "the nobility. " Trial byjury was concluded by the opinions of the majority. 

 "The instinct of aristocracy dreads the moral power of a proprietary yeomanry; the perpetual degradation of the cultivators of the soil was enacted. The leet-men, or tenants, holding ten acres of land at a fixed rent, were not only destitute of political franchises, but were adscripts to the soil, 'under the jurisdiction of their lord, without appeal;' and it was added, 'all the children of leet-men shall be leet-men, and so to all generations. '"[497]

The men who formed the rank and file of the yeomanry of the colony ofNorth Carolina were ill prepared for a government launched upon theimmense scale of the Locke Constitution. The hopes and fears, thefeuds and debates, the vexatious and insoluble problems, of thepolitical science of government which had clouded the sky of the mostastute and ambitous statesmen of Europe, were dumped into thisremarkable instrument. The distance between the people and thenobility was sought to be made illimitable, and the right to governwas based upon permanent property conditions. Hereditary wealth was togo arm in arm with political power. 

The constitution was signed on the 21st of July, 1669, and WilliamSayle was commissioned as governor. The legislative career of theProvince began in the fall of the same year; and history must recordthat it was one of the most remarkable and startling North Americaever witnessed. The portions of the constitution which refer to theinstitution of slavery are as follows:--

 "97th. But since the natives of that place, who will be concerned in our plantation, are utterly strangers to Christianity, whose idolatry, ignorance or mistake, gives us no right to expel or use them ill; and those who remove from other parts to plant there, will unavoidably be of different opinions, concerning matters of religion, the liberty whereof they will expect to have allowed them, and it will not be reasonable for us on this account to keep them out; that civil peace may be obtained amidst diversity of opinions, and our agreement and compact with all men, may be duly and faithfully observed; the violation whereof, upon what pretence soever, cannot be without great offence to Almighty God, and great scandal to the true religion which we profess; and also that Jews, Heathens and other dissenters from the purity of the Christian religion, may not be scared and kept at a distance from it, but by having an opportunity of acquainting themselves with the truth and reasonableness of its doctrines, and the peaceableness and inoffensiveness of its professors, may by good usage and persuasion, and all those convincing methods of gentleness and meekness, suitable to the rules and design of the gospel, be won over to embrace, and unfeignedly receive the truth; therefore any seven or more persons agreeing in any religion, shall constitute a church or profession, to which they shall give some name, to distinguish it from others.... 

 "101st. No person above seventeen years of age, shall have any benefit or protection of the law, or be capable of any place of profit or honor, who is not a member of some church or profession, having his name recorded in some one, and but one religious record, at once.... 

 "107th. Since charity obliges us to wish well to the souls of all men, and religion ought to alter nothing in any man's civil estate or right, it shall be lawful for slaves as well as others, to enter themselves and be of what church or profession any of them shall think best, and thereof be as fully members as any freemen. But yet no slave shall hereby be exempted from that civil dominion his master hath over him, but be in all things in the same state and condition he was in before.... 

 "110th. Every freeman of Carolina, shall have absolute power and authority over his negro slaves, of what opinion or religion soever. "[498]

Though the Locke Constitution was adopted by the proprietaries, March1, 1669, it may be doubted whether it ever had the force of law, as itwas never ratified by the local Legislature. Article one hundred andten, granting absolute power and authority to a master over his Negroslave, is without a parallel in the legislation of the colonies. Andwhile the slave might enter the Christian Church, and his humanitythereby be recognized, it was strangely inconsistent to place his lifeat the disposal of brutal masters, who "neither feared God norregarded man. "

The Negro slaves in North Carolina occupied the paradoxical positionof being eligible to membership in the Christian Church, and theabsolute property of their white brothers. In the second draught ofthe constitution, signed in March, 1670, against the eloquent protestof John Locke, the section on religion was amended so as, whiletolerating every religious creed, to declare "the Church Of England"the only true Orthodox Church, and the national religion of theProvince. This, in the face of the fact that the great majority of allthe Christians who flocked to the New World were dissenters, separatists, and nonconformists, can only be explained in the light ofthe burning zeal of the Church of England to out-Herod Herod, --tocarry the Negroes into the communion of the State church for politicalpurposes. It was the most sordid motive that impelled the churchmen toopen the church to the slave. His membership did not change hiscondition, nor secure him immunity from the barbarous treatment theinstitution of slavery bestowed upon its helpless victims. 

In the eyes of the law the Negro, being _absolute property_, had norights, except those temporarily delegated by the master; and he actedin the relation of an agent. Negro slaves were not allowed "to raisehorses, cattle or hogs;" and if any stock were found in theirpossession six months after the passage of the Act of 1741, they wereto be seized by the sheriff of the county, and sold by thechurch-wardens of the parish. The profits arising from such saleswent, one half to the parish, the other half to the informer. [499] Aslave was not suffered to go off of the plantation where he wasappointed to live, without a pass signed by his master or theoverseer. There was an exception made in the case of Negroes wearingliveries. Negro slaves were not allowed the use of fire-arms or otherweapons, except they were armed with a certificate from their mastergranting the coveted permission. If they hunted with arms, not havinga certificate, any Christian could apprehend them, seize the weapons, deliver the slave to the first justice of the peace; who wasauthorized to administer, without ceremony, twenty lashes upon his orher bare hack, and send him or her home. The master had to pay thecost of arrest and punishment. The one exception to this law was, thatone Negro on each plantation or in each district could carry a gun toshoot game for his master and protect stock, etc. ; but his certificatewas to be in his possession all the time. If a Negro went from theplantation on which he resided, to another plantation or place, he wasrequired by statute to travel in the most generally frequented road. If caught in another road, not much travelled, except in the companyof a white man, it was lawful for the man who owned the land throughwhich he was passing to seize him, and administer not more than fortylashes. If Negroes visited each other in the night season, --the onlytime they could visit, --the ones who were found on another plantationthan their master's were punished with lashes on their naked back, notexceeding forty; while the Negroes who had furnished the entertainmentreceived twenty lashes for their hospitality. In case any slave, whohad not been properly fed and clothed by his master, was convicted ofstealing cattle, hogs, or corn from another man, an action of trespasscould be maintained against the master in the general or county court, and damages recovered. [500]

Here, as in the other colonies, the greatest enemy of the colonistswas an accusing conscience. The people started at every breath ofrumor, and always imagined their slaves conspiring to cut theirthroats. There was nothing in the observed character of the slaves tojustify the wide-spread consternation that filled the public mind. Norwas there any occasion to warrant the passage of the Act of 1741, respecting conspiracies among slaves. It is a remarkable document, andis produced here. 

 "XLVII. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid_, That if any number of negroes or other slaves, that is to say, three, or more, shall, at any time hereafter, consult, advise or conspire to rebel or make insurrection, or shall plot or conspire the murder of any person or persons whatsoever, every such consulting, plotting or conspiring, shall be adjudged and deemed felony; and the slave or slaves convicted thereof, in manner herein after directed, shall suffer death. 

 "XLVIII. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid_, 'That every slave committing such offence, or any other crime or misdemeanor, shall forthwith be committed by any justice of the peace, to the common jail of the county within which the said offence shall be committed, there to be safely kept; and that the sheriff of such county, upon such commitment, shall forthwith certify the same to any Justice in the commission for the said court for the time being, resident in the county, who is thereupon required and directed to issue a summons for two or more Justices of the said court, and four freeholders, such as shall have slaves in the said county, which said three Justices and four freeholders, owners of slaves, are hereby impowered and required upon oath, to try all manner of crimes and offences, that shall be committed by any slave or slaves, at the court house of the county, and to take for evidence, the confession of the offender, the oath of one or more credible witnesses, or such testimony of negroes, mulattoes or Indians, bond or free, with pregnant circumstances, as to them shall seem convincing, without the solemnity of a jury; and the offender being then found guilty, to pass such judgment upon such offender, according to their discretion, as the nature of the crime or offence shall require; and on such judgment, to award execution. 

 "XLIX. _Provided always, and be it enacted_, That it shall and may be lawful for each and every Justice, being in the commission of the peace for the county where any slave or slaves shall be tried, by virtue of this act, (who is owner of slaves) to sit upon such trial, and act as a member of such court though he or they be not summoned thereto; anything herein before contained to the contrary, in any wise, notwithstanding. 

 "L. And to the end such negro, mulatto or Indian, bond or free, not being christians, as shall hereafter be produced as an evidence on the trial of any slave or slaves, for capital or other crimes, may be under the greater obligation to declare the truth; _Be it further enacted_, There where any such negro, mulatto or Indian, bond or free, shall, upon due proof made, or pregnant circumstances, appearing before any county court within this government, be found to have given a false testimony, every such offender shall, without further trial, be ordered, by the said court, to have one ear nailed to the pillory, and there stand for the space of one hour, and the said ear to be cut off, and thereafter the other ear nailed in like manner, and cut off, at the expiration of one other hour: and moreover, to order every such offender thirty-nine lashes, well laid on, on his or her bare back, at the common whipping post. 

 "LI. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid_, That at every such trial of slaves committing capital or other offences, the first person in commission sitting on such trial, shall, before the examination of every negro, mulatto or Indian, not being a christian, charge such to declare the truth. 

 "LII. _Provided always, and it is hereby intended_, That the master, owner or overseer of any slave, to be arraigned and tried by virtue of this act, may appear at the trial, and make what just defence he can for such slave or slave; so that such defence do not relate to any formality in the proceeding on the trial. "[501]

The manner of conducting the trials of Negroes charged with felony ormisdemeanor was rather peculiar. Upon one or more white persons'testimony, or the evidence of Negroes and Indians, bond or free, theunfortunate defendant, "without the solemnity of a jury, " before threejustices and four freeholders, could be hurried through a trial, convicted, sentenced to die a dreadful death, and then be executedwithout the officiating presence of a minister of the gospel. 

The unprecedented discretion allowed to masters in the government ledto the most tragic results. Men were not only reckless of the lives oftheir own slaves, but violent toward those belonging to others. If aNegro showed the least independence in conversation with a white man, he could be murdered in cold blood; and it was only a case of acontumacious slave getting his dues. But men became so prodigal in theexercise of this authority that the public became alarmed, and theLegislature called a halt on the master-class. At first theLegislature paid for the slaves who were destroyed by the consumingwrath of ill-natured whites, but finally allowed an action to lieagainst the persons who killed a slave. This had a tendency to reducethe number of murdered slaves; but the fateful clause in the LockeConstitution had educated a voracious appetite for blood, and theextremest cruel treatment continued without abatement. 

The free Negro population was very small in this colony. The followingact on manumission differs so widely from the law on this point in theother colonies, that it is given as an illustration of the severecharacter of the legislation of North Carolina against theemancipation of Negroes. 

 "LVI. _And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, _That no Negro or mulatto slaves shall be set free, upon any pretence whatsoever, except for meritorious services, to be adjudged and allowed of by the county court, and Licence thereupon first had and obtained: and that where any slave shall be set free by his or her master or owner, otherwise than is herein before directed, it shall and may be lawful for the church-wardens of the parish wherein such negro, mulatto or Indian, shall be found, at the expiration of six months, next alter his or her being set free, and they are hereby authorized and required, to take up and sell the said negro, mulatto or Indian, as a slave, at the next court to be held for the said county, at public vendue: and the monies arising by such sale, shall be applied to the use of the parish, by the vestry thereof: and if any negro, mulatto or Indian slave, set free otherwise than is herein directed, shall depart this province, within six months next after his or her freedom, and shall afterwards return into this government, it shall and may be lawful for the churchwardens of the parish where such negro or mulatto shall be found, at the expiration of one month, next after his or her return into this government to take up such negro or mulatto, and sell him or them, as slaves, at the next court to be held for the county, at public vendue; and the monies arising thereby, to be applied, by the vestry, to the use of the parish, as aforesaid. "[502]

The free Negroes were badly treated. They were not allowed anycommunion with the slaves. A free Negro man was not allowed to marry awhite woman, nor even a Negro slave woman without the consent of hermaster. If he formed an alliance with a white woman, her offspringwere bound out, or sold by the church-wardens, until they obtainedtheir majority. [503] If the white woman were an indentured servant, she was constrained to serve an additional year. If she were a freewoman, she was sold for two years by the church-wardens. Free Negroeswere greatly despised and shunned by both slaves and white people. 

As a conspicuous proof of the glaring hypocrisy of the "nobility, "who, in the constitution, threw open the door of the Church to theNegro, it should be said, that, during the period from the founding ofthe Province down to the colonial war, no attempt was ever made, through the ecclesiastical establishment, to dissipate the dark cloudsof ignorance that enveloped the Negro's mind. They were left in astate of ignorance and crime. The gravest social evils were winked atby masters, whose lecherous examples were the occasion for the mostgrievous offending of the slaves. The Mulattoes and other free Negroeswere taxed. They had no place in the militia, nor could they claim themeanest rights of the humblest "leetman. "

FOOTNOTES:

[497] Bancroft, vol. Ii. , 5th ed. P. 148. 

[498] Statutes of S. C. , vol. I. Pp. 53-55. 

[499] Public Acts of N. C. , vol. I. P. 64. 

[500] This is an instance of humanity in the North-Carolina codeworthy of special note. It stands as the only instance of justicetoward the over-worked and under-fed slaves of the colony. 

[501] Public Acts of N. C. , p. 65. 

[502] Public Acts of N. C. , p. 66. 

[503] The Act of 1741 says, "until 31 years of age. "

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

1679-1775. 

 THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS EXERCISES AUTHORITY OVER THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AT ITS ORGANIZATION. --SLAVERY EXISTED FROM THE BEGINNING. --THE GOVERNOR RELEASES A SLAVE FROM BONDAGE. --INSTRUCTION AGAINST IMPORTATION OF SLAVES. --SEVERAL ACTS REGULATING THE CONDUCT OF SERVANTS. --THE INDIFFERENT TREATMENT OF SLAVES. --THE IMPORTATION OF INDIAN SERVANTS FORBIDDEN. --AN ACT CHECKING THE SEVERE TREATMENT OF SERVANTS AND SLAVES. --SLAVES IN THE COLONY UNTIL THE COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 

Anterior to the year 1679, the provincial government of Massachusettsexercised authority over the territory that now comprises the State ofNew Hampshire. It is not at all improbable, then, that slavery existedin this colony from the beginning of its organic existence. As earlyas 1683 it was set upon by the authorities as a wicked and hatefulinstitution. On the 14th of March, 1684, the governor of New Hampshireassumed the responsibility of releasing a Negro slave from bondage. The record of the fact is thus preserved:--

 "_The governor tould Mr. Jaffery's negro hee might goe from his master, hee would clere him under hande and sele, so the fello no more attends his master's consernes. _"[504]

It may be inferred from the above, that the royal governor of theProvince felt the pressure of public sentiment on the question ofanti-slavery. While this colony copied its criminal code fromMassachusetts, its people seemed to be rather select, and, on thequestion of human rights, far in advance of the people ofMassachusetts. The twelfth article was: "If any man stealeth mankindhe shall be put to death or otherwise grievously punished. " The entirecode--the first one--was rejected in England as "fanatical andabsurd. "[505] It was the desire of this new and feeble colony tothrow every obstacle in the way of any legal recognition of slavery. The governors of all the colonies received instruction in regard tothe question of slavery, but the governor of New Hampshire hadreceived an order from the crown to have the tax on imported slavesremoved. The royal instructions, dated June 30, 1761, were asfollows:--

 "You are not to give your assent to, or pass any law imposing duties on negroes imported into New Hampshire. "[506]

New Hampshire never passed any law establishing slavery, but in 1714enacted several laws regulating the conduct of servants. One was _AnAct to prevent disorder in the night_:--

 "Whereas great disorders, insolencies, and burglaries are ofttimes raised and committed in the night time by Indian, negro and mulatto servants and slaves, to the disquiet and hurt of her Majesty's good subjects, for the prevention whereof _Be it_, &c. --that no Indian, negro or mulatto servant or slave may presume to be absent from the families where they respectively belong, or be found abroad in the night time after nine o'clock; unless it be upon errand for their respective masters. "[507]

The instructions against the importation of slaves were in harmonywith the feelings of the great majority of the people. They felt thatslavery would be a hinderance rather than a help to them, and in theselection of servants chose white ones. If the custom of holding menin bondage had become a part of the institutions of Massachusetts, --solike a cancer that it could not be removed without endangering thepolitical and commercial life of the colony, --the good people of NewHampshire, acting in the light of experience, resolved, upon thethreshold of their provincial life, to oppose the introduction ofslaves into their midst. The first result was, that they learned quiteearly that they could get on without slaves; and, second, the tradersin human flesh discovered that there was no demand for slaves in NewHampshire. Even nature fought against the crime; and Negroes werefound to be poorly suited to the climate, and, of course, were anexpensive luxury in that colony. 

But, nevertheless, there were slaves in New Hampshire. The majority ofthem had gone in during the time the colony was a part of theterritory of Massachusetts. They had been purchased by men whoregarded them as indispensable to them. They had lived long in manyfamilies; children had been born unto them, and in many instances theywere warmly attached to their owners. But all masters were not alike. Some treated their servants and slaves cruelly. The neglect in somecases was worse than stripes or over-work. Some were poorly clad andscantily fed; and, thus exposed to the inclemency of the severeclimate, many were precipitated into premature graves. Even white andIndian servants shared this harsh treatment. The Indians enduredgreater hardships than the Negroes. They were more lofty in theirtone, more sensitive in their feelings, more revengeful in theirdisposition. They were both hated and feared, and the public sentimentagainst them was very pronounced. A law, passed in 1714, forbid theirimportation into the colony under a heavy penalty. 

In 1718 it was found necessary to pass a law to check the severetreatment inflicted upon servants and slaves. _An Act for restraininginhuman severities_ recited, --

 "Fort the prevention and restraining of inhuman severities which by evil masters or overseers, may be used towards their Christian servants, that from and after the publication hereof, if any man smite out the eye or tooth of his man servant or maid servant, or otherwise maim or disfigure them much, unless it be by mere casualty, he shall let him or her go free from his service, and shall allow such further recompense as the court of quarter sessions shall adjudge him. 2. That if any person or persons whatever in this province shall wilfully kill his Indian or negroe servant or servants he shall be punished with death. "[508]

There were slaves in New Hampshire down to the breaking-out of the warin the colonies, but they were only slaves in name. Few in number, widely scattered, they felt themselves closely identified with theinterests of the colonists. 

FOOTNOTES:

[504] Belknap's Hist. Of N. H. , vol. I. P. 333. 

[505] Hildreth, vol. I. P. 501. 

[506] Gordon's Hist. Of Am. Rev. , vol. V. Letter 2. 

[507] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 266. 

[508] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 267. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

1681-1775. 

 ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA. --THE SWEDES AND DUTCH PLANT SETTLEMENTS ON THE WESTERN BANK OF THE DELAWARE RIVER. --THE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK SEEKS TO EXERCISE JURISDICTION OVER THE TERRITORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. --THE FIRST LAWS AGREED UPON IN ENGLAND. --PROVISIONS OF THE LAW. --MEMORIAL AGAINST SLAVERY DRAUGHTED AND ADOPTED BY THE GERMANTOWN FRIENDS. --WILLIAM PENN PRESENTS A BILL FOR THE BITTER REGULATION OF SERVANTS. --AN ACT PREVENTING THE IMPORTATION OF NEGROES AND INDIANS. --RIGHTS OF NEGROES. --A DUTY LAID UPON NEGROES AND MULATTO SLAVES. --THE QUAKER THE FRIEND OF THE NEGRO. --ENGLAND BEINGS TO THREATEN HER DEPENDENCIES IN NORTH AMERICA. --THE PEOPLE OF PENNSYLVANIA REFLECT UPON THE PROBABLE OUTRAGES THEIR NEGROES MIGHT COMMIT. 

Long before there was an organized government in Pennsylvania, theSwedes and Dutch had planted settlements on the western bank of theDelaware River. But the English crown claimed the soil; and thegovernor of New York, under patent from the Duke of York, sought toexercise jurisdiction over the territory. On the 11th of July, 1681, "Conditions and Concessions were agreed upon by William Penn, Proprietary, " and the persons who were "adventurers and purchasers inthe same province. " Provision was made for the punishment of personswho should injure Indians, and that the planter injured by them should"not be his own judge upon the Indian. " All controversies arisingbetween the whites and the Indians were to be settled by a council oftwelve persons, --six white men and six Indians. 

The first laws for the government of the colony were agreed upon inEngland, and in 1682 went into effect. Provision was made for theregistering of all servants, their full names, amount of wages paid, and the time when they received their remuneration. It was strictlyrequired that servants should not be kept beyond the time of theirindenture, should be kindly treated, and the customary outfitfurnished at the time of their freedom. 

The baneful custom of enslaving Negroes had spread through everysettlement in North America, and was even "tolerated in Pennsylvaniaunder the specious pretence of the religious instruction of theslave. "[509] In 1688 Francis Daniel Pastorius draughted a memorialagainst slavery, which was adopted by the Germantown Friends, and bythem sent up to the Monthly Meeting, and thence to the Yearly Meetingat Philadelphia. [510] The original document was found by Nathan Kiteof Philadelphia in 1844. [511] It was a remarkable document, and thefirst protest against slavery issued by any religious body in America. Speaking of the slaves, Pastorius asks, "Have not these negroes asmuch right to fight for their freedom as you have to keep themslaves?" He believed the time would come, --

 "When, from the gallery to the farthest seat, Slave and slave-owner shall no longer meet, But all sit equal at the Master's feet. "

He regarded the "buying, selling, and holding men in slavery, asinconsistent with the Christian religion. " When his memorial camebefore the Yearly Meeting for action, it confessed itself "unpreparedto act, " and voted it "not proper then to give a positive judgment inthe case. " In 1696 the Yearly Meeting pronounced against the furtherimportation of slaves, and adopted measures looking toward their moralimprovement. George Keith, catching the holy inspiration of humanity, with a considerable following, denounced the institution of slavery"as contrary to the religion of Christ, the rights of man, and soundreason and policy. "[512]

While these efforts were, to a certain extent, abortive, yet, nevertheless, the Society of the Friends made regulations for thebetter treatment of the enslaved Negroes. The sentiment thus createdwent far toward deterring the better class of citizens from purchasingslaves. To his broad and lofty sentiments of humanity, the piousWilliam Penn sought to add the force of positive law. The publishedviews of George Fox, given at Barbadoes in 1671, in his "Gospel FamilyOrder, being a short discourse concerning the ordering of Families, both of Whites, Blacks, and Indians, " had a salutary effect upon themind of Penn. In 1700 he proposed to the Council "_the necessitie ofa law [among others] about ye marriages of negroes_. " The bill wasreferred to a joint committee of both houses, and they brought in abill "_for regulating Negroes in their Morals and Marriages_ &c. " Itreached a second reading, and was lost. [513] Penn regarded theteaching of Negroes the sanctity of the marriage relation as of thegreatest importance to the colony, and the surest means of promotingpure morals. Upon what grounds it was rejected is not known. Hepresented, at the same session of the Assembly, another bill, whichprovided "_for the better regulation of servants in this province andterritories_. " He desired the government of slaves to be prescribedand regulated by law, rather than by the capricious whims of masters. No servant was to be sold out of the Province without giving hisconsent, nor could he be assigned over except before a justice of thepeace. It provided for a regular allowance to servants at theexpiration of their time, and required them to serve five days extrafor every day's absence from their master without the latter's assent. A penalty was fixed for concealing runaway slaves, and a rewardoffered for apprehending them. No free person was allowed to deal withservants, and justices and sheriffs were to be punished for neglectingtheir duties in the premises. 

In case a Negro was guilty of murder, he was tried by two justices, appointed by the governor, before six freeholders. The manner ofprocedure was prescribed, and the nature of the sentence andacquittal. Negroes were not allowed to carry a gun or other weapons. Not more than four were allowed together, upon pain of a severeflogging. An Act for raising revenue was passed, and a duty uponimported slaves was levied, in 1710. In 1711-12, an Act was passed"_to prevent the importation of negroes and Indians_" into theProvince. A general petition for the emancipation of slaves by law waspresented to the Legislature during this same year; but the wiselaw-makers replied, that "it was neither just nor convenient to setthem at liberty. " The bill passed on the 7th of June, 1712, but wasdisapproved by Great Britain, and was accordingly repealed by an Actof Queen Anne, Feb. 20, 1713. In 1714 and 1717, Acts were passed tocheck the importation of slaves. But the English government, insteadof being touched by the philanthropic endeavors of the people ofPennsylvania, was seeking, for purposes of commercial trade and gain, to darken the continent with the victims of its avarice. 

Negroes had no political rights in the Province. Free Negroes wereprohibited from entertaining Negro or Indian slaves, or trading withthem. Masters were required, when manumitting slaves, to furnishsecurity, as in the other colonies. Marriages between the races wereforbidden. Negroes were not allowed to be abroad after nine o'clock atnight. 

In 1773 the Assembly passed "_An Act making perpetual the Actentitled, An Act for laying a duty on negroes and mulatto slaves_, "etc. , and added ten pounds to the duty. The colonists did much tocheck the vile and inhuman traffic; but, having once obtained a hold, it did eat like a canker. It threw its dark shadow over personal andcollective interests, and poisoned the springs of human kindness inmany hearts. It was not alone hurtful to the slave: it transformed andblackened character everywhere, and fascinated those who were anxiousfor riches beyond the power of moral discernment. Here, however, as inNew Jersey, the Negro found the Quaker his practical friend; and hisupper and better life received the pruning advice, refining andelevating influence, of a godly people. But intelligence in the slavewas an occasion of offending, and prepared him to realize hisdeplorable situation. So to enlighten him was to excite in him a deepdesire for liberty, and, not unlikely, a feeling of revenge toward hisenslavers. So there was really danger in the method the guilelessFriends adopted to ameliorate the condition of the slaves. 

When England began to breathe out threatenings against hercontumacious dependencies in North America, the people of Pennsylvaniabegan to reflect upon the probable outrages their Negroes would, inall probability, commit. They inferred that the Negroes would be theirenemy because they were their slaves. This was the equitable findingsof a guilty conscience. They did not dare expect less than therevengeful hate of the beings they had laid the yoke of bondage upon;and verily they found themselves with "fears within, and fightingswithout. "

FOOTNOTES:

[509] Gordon's History of Penn. , p. 114. 

[510] Whittier's Penn. Pilgrim, p. Viii. 

[511] The memorial referred to was printed _in extenso_ in The Friend, vol. Xviii. No 16. 

[512] Minutes of Yearly Meeting, Watson's MS. Coll. Bettle's noticesof N. S. Minutes, Penn. Hist. Soc. 

[513] Colonial Rec. , vol. I. Pp. 598, 606. See also _Votes_ ofAssembly, vol. I. Pp. 120-122. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE COLONY OF GEORGIA. 

1732-1775. 

 GEORGIA ONCE INCLUDED IN THE TERRITORY OF CAROLINA. --THE THIRTEENTH COLONY PLANTED IN NORTH AMERICA BY THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. --SLAVES RULED OUT ALTOGETHER BY THE TRUSTEES. --THE OPINION OF GEN. OGLETHORPE CONCERNING SLAVERY. --LONG AND BITTER DISCUSSION IN REGARD TO THE ADMISSION OF SLAVERY INTO THE COLONY. --SLAVERY INTRODUCED. --HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN GEORGIA. 

Georgia was once included in the territory of Carolina, and extendedfrom the Savannah to the St. John's River. A corporate body, under thetitle of "The Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia, " wascreated by charter, bearing date of June 9, 1732. The life of theirtrust was for the space of twenty-one years. The rules by which thetrustees sought to manage the infant were rather novel; but as adiscussion of them would be irrelevant, mention can be made only ofthat part which related to slavery. Georgia was the last colony--thethirteenth--planted in North America by the English government. Special interest centred in it for several reasons, that will beexplained farther on. 

The trustees ruled out slavery altogether. Gen. John Oglethorpe, abrilliant young English officer of gentle blood, the first governor ofthe colony, was identified with "the Royal African Company, whichalone had the right of planting forts and trading on the coast ofAfrica. " He said that "slavery is against the gospel, as well as thefundamental law of England. We refused, as trustees, to make a lawpermitting such a horrid crime. " Another of the trustees, in a sermonpreached on Sunday, Feb. 17, 1734, at St. George's Church, HanoverSquare, London, declared, "Slavery, the misfortune, if not thedishonor, of other plantations, is absolutely proscribed. Let avaricedefend it as it will, there is an honest reluctance in humanityagainst buying and selling, and regarding those of our own species asour wealth and possessions. " Beautiful sentiments! Eloquent testimonyagainst the crime of the ages! At first blush the student of historyis apt to praise the sublime motives of the "trustees, " in placing arestriction against the slave-trade. But the declaration of principlesquoted above is not borne out by the facts of history. On this pointDr. Stevens, the historian of Georgia, observes, "Yet in the officialpublications of that body [the trustees], its inhibition is based onlyon political and prudential, and not on humane and liberal grounds, and even Oglethorpe owned a plantation and negroes near Parachucla inSouth Carolina, about forty miles above Savannah. "[514] To thisreliable opinion is added:--

 "The introduction of slaves was prohibited to the colony of Georgia for some years, not from motives of humanity, but for the reason it was encouraged elsewhere, to wit: the interest of the mother country. It was a favorite idea with the 'mother country, ' to make _Georgia_ a protecting blanket for the Carolinas, against the Spanish settlements south of her, and the principal Indian tribes to the west; to do this, a strong settlement of white men was sought to be built up, whose arms and interests would defend her northern plantations. The introduction of slaves was held to be unfavorable to this scheme, and hence its prohibition. During the time of the prohibition, Oglethorpe himself was a slave holder in Carolina. "[515]

The reasons that led the trustees to prohibit slavery in the colonyare put thus tersely. --

 "1st. Its expense: which the poor emigrant would be entirely unable to sustain, either in the first cost of a negro, or his subsequent keeping. 2d. Because it would induce idleness and render labour degrading. 3d. Because the settlers, being freeholders of only fifty-acre lots, requiring but one or two extra hands for their cultivation, the German servants would be a third more profitable than the blacks. Upon the last original design I have mentioned, in planting this colony, they also based an argument against their admission, viz. , that the cultivation of silk and wine, demanding skill and nicety, rather than strength and endurance of fatigue, the whites were better calculated for such labour than the negroes. These were the prominent arguments, drawn from the various considerations of internal and external policy, which influenced the Trustees in making this prohibition. Many of them, however, had but a temporary bearing, none stood the test of experience. "[516]

It is clear, then, that the founders of the colony of Georgia were notmoved by the noblest impulses to prohibit slavery within theirjurisdiction. In the chapter on South Carolina, attention was calledto the influence of the Spanish troops in Florida on the recalcitrantNegroes in the Carolinas, the Negro regiment with subalterns fromtheir own class, and the work of Spanish emissaries among the slaves. The home government thought it wise to build up Georgia out of whitemen, who could develop its resources, and bear arms in defence ofBritish possessions along an extensive border exposed to a pestiferousfoe. But the Board of Trade soon found this an impracticable scheme, and the colonists themselves began to clamor "for the use ofnegroes. "[517] The first petition for the introduction and use ofNegro slaves was offered to the trustees in 1735. This prayer waspromptly and positively denied, and for fifteen years they refused togrant all requests for the use of Negroes. They adhered to theirprohibition in letter and spirit. Whenever and wherever Negroes werefound in the colony, they were sold back into Carolina. In the monthof December, 1738, a petition, addressed to the trustees, includingnearly all the names of the foremost colonists, set forth thedistressing condition into which affairs had drifted under theenforcement of the prohibition, and declared that "the use of negroes, with proper limitations, which, if granted, would both occasion greatnumbers of white people to come here, and also to render us capable tosubsist ourselves, by raising provisions upon our lands, until wecould make some produce fit for export, in some measure to balance ourimportations. " But instead of securing a favorable hearing, thepetition drew the fire of the friends of the prohibition against theuse of Negroes. On the 3d of January, 1739, a petition to the trusteescombating the arguments of the above-mentioned petition, and urgingthem to remain firm, was issued at Darien. This was followed byanother one, issued from Ebenezer on the 13th of March, in favor ofthe position occupied by the trustees. A great many Scotch and Germanpeople had settled in the colony; and, familiar with the arts ofhusbandry, they became the ardent supporters of the trustees. JamesHabersham, the "_dear fellow-traveller_, " of Whitefield, exclaimed, --

 "I once thought, it was unlawful to keep negro slaves, but I am now induced to think God may have a higher end in permitting them to be brought to this Christian country, than merely to support their masters. Many of the poor slaves in America have already been made freemen of the heavenly Jerusalem, and possibly a time may come when many thousands may embrace the gospel, and thereby be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God. These, and other considerations, appear to plead strongly for a limited use of negroes; for, while we can buy provisions in Carolina cheaper than we can here, no one will be induced to plant much. "

But the trustees stood firm against the subtle cunning of thepoliticians, and the eloquent pleadings of avarice. 

On the 7th October, 1741, a large meeting was held at Savannah, and apetition drawn, in which the land-holders and settlers presented theirgrievances to the English authorities in London. On the 26th of March, 1742, Mr. Thomas Stephens, armed with the memorial, as the agent ofthe memorialists, sailed for London. While the document ostensibly setforth their wish for a definition of "the tenure of the lands, " reallythe burden of the prayer was for "_Negroes_. " He presented thememorial to the king, and his Majesty referred it to a committee ofthe "Lords of Council for Plantation Affairs. " This committeetransferred a copy of the memorial to the trustees, with a request fortheir answer. About this time Stephens presented a petition toParliament, in which he charged the trustees with direliction of duty, improper use of the public funds, abuse of their authority, andnumerous other sins against the public welfare. It created a genuinesensation. The House resolved to go into a "committee of the whole, "to consider the petitions and the answer of the trustees. The answerof the trustees was drawn by the able pen of the Earl of Egmont, andby them warmly approved on the 3d of May, and three days later wasread to the House of Commons. A motion prevailed "that the petitionsdo lie upon the table, " for the perusal of the members, for the spaceof one week. At the expiration of the time fixed, Stephens appeared, and all the petitions of the people of Georgia to the trustees inreference to "the tenure of lands, " and for "the use of negroes, " werelaid before the honorable body. In the committee of the whole theaffairs of the colony were thoroughly investigated; and, after a fewdays session, Mr. Carew reported a set of resolutions, being the senseof the committee after due deliberation upon the matters beforethem:--

 "That the province of Georgia, in America, by reason of its situation, may be an useful barrier to the British provinces on the continent of America against the French and Spaniards, and Indian nations in their interests; that the ports and harbors within the said province may be a good security to the trade and navigation of this kingdom, that the said province, by reason of the fertility of the soil, the healthfulness of the climate, and the convenience of the rivers, is a proper place for establishing a settlement, and may contribute greatly to the increasing trade of this kingdom; that it is very necessary and advantageous to this nation that the colony of Georgia should be preserved and supported; that it will be an advantage to the colony of Georgia to permit the importation of rum into the said colony from any of the British colonies; that the petition of Thomas Stephens contains false, scandalous and malicious charges, tending to asperse the characters of the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia, in America. "

When the resolution making the importation of rum lawful reached avote, it was amended by adding, "As also the use of negroes, who maybe employed there with advantage to the colony, under properregulations and restrictions. " It was lost by a majority of ninevotes. A resolution prevailed calling Thomas Stephens to the bar ofthe House, "to be reprimanded on his knees by Mr. Speaker, " for hisoffence against the trustees. 

On the next day Stephens, upon his bended knees at the bar of theHouse of Commons, before the assembled statesmen of Great Britain, waspublicly reprimanded by the speaker, and discharged after paying hisfees. Thus ended the attempt of the people of the colony of Georgia tosecure permission, over the heads of the trustees, to introduce slavesinto their service. 

The dark tide of slavery influence was dashing against the borders ofthe colony. The people were discouraged. Business was stagnated. Internal dissatisfaction and factional strife wore hard upon thespirit of a people trying to build up and develop a new country. Thenthe predatory incursions of the Spaniards, and the threateningattitude of the Indians, unnerved the entire Province. In this stateof affairs white servants grew insolent and insubordinate. Those whoseterm of service expired refused to work. In this dilemma many personsboldly put the rule of the trustees under foot, and hired Negroes fromthe Carolinas. At length the trustees became aware of the clandestineimportation of Negroes into the colony, and thereupon gave themagistrates a severe reproval. On the 2d of October, 1747, theyreceived the following reply:--

 "We are afraid, sir, from what you have wrote in relation to negroes, that he Honourable Trustees have been misinformed as to our conduct relating thereto; for we can with great assurance assert, that this Board has always acted an uniform part in discouraging the use of negroes in this colony, well knowing it to be disagreeable to the Trustees, as well as contrary to an act existing for the prohibition of them, and always give it in charge to those whom we had put in possession of lands, not to attempt the introduction or use of negroes. But notwithstanding our great caution, some people from Carolina, soon after settling lands on the Little Ogeechee, found means of bringing and employing a few negroes on the said lands, some time before it was discovered to us, upon which they thought it high time to withdraw them, for fear of being seized, and soon after withdrew themselves and families out of the colony, which appeals to us at present to be the resolution of divers others. "[518]

It was charged that the law-officers knew of the presence of Negroesin Georgia; that their standing and constant toast was, "_theone thing needful_" (Negroes); and that they themselves hadsurreptitiously aided in the procurement of Negroes for the colony. The supporters of the colonists grew less powerful as the strugglewent forward. The most active grew taciturn and conservative. Theadvocates of Negro labor became bolder, and more acrimonious indebate; and at length the champions of exclusive white labor shrankinto silence, appalled at the desperation of then opponents. The Rev. Martin Bolzius, one of the most active supporters of the trustees, wrote those gentlemen on May 3, 1748:--

 "Things being now in such a melancholy state, I must humbly beseech your honors, not to regard any more our of our friend's petitions against negroes. "

The Rev. George Whitefield and James Habersham used their utmostinfluence upon the trustees to obtain a modification of theprohibition against "the use of negroes. " On the 6th of December, 1748, Rev. Whitefield, speaking of a plantation and Negroes he hadpurchased, wrote the trustees:--

 "Upwards of five thousand pounds have been expended in that undertaking, and yet very little proficiency made in the cultivation of my tract of land, and that entirely owing to the necessity I lay under of making use of white hands. Had a negro been allowed, I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great many orphans, without expending above half the sum which has been laid out. An unwillingness to let so good a design drop, and having a rational conviction that it must necessarily, if some other method was not fixed upon to prevent it--these two considerations, honoured gentlemen, prevailed on me about two years ago, through the bounty of my good friends, to purchase a plantation in South Carolina, where negroes are allowed. Blessed be God, this plantation has succeeded; and though at present I have only eight working hands, yet in all probability there will be more raised in one year, and with a quarter the expense, than has been produced at Bethesda for several years last past. This confirms me in the opinion I have entertained for a long time, that _Georgia never can or will be a flourishing province without negroes are allowed_. "[519]

The sentiment in favor of the importation of Negro slaves had becomewell-nigh unanimous. The trustees began to waver. On the 10th ofJanuary, 1749, another petition was presented to the trustees. It wascarefully drawn, and set forth the restrictions under which slavesshould be introduced. On the 16th of May following, it was read to thetrustees; and they resolved to have it "presented to His Majesty incouncil. " They also asked that the prohibition against theintroduction of Negroes, passed in "1735, be repealed. " The Earl ofShaftesbury, at the head of a special committee, draughted a billrepealing the prohibition. On the 26th of October, 1749, a large andinfluential committee of twenty-seven drew up and signed a petitionurging the immediate introduction of slavery, with certainlimitations. The paper was duly attested, and returned to thetrustees. The opposition to the introduction of slavery into thecolony of Georgia had been conquered; and, after a long and bitterstruggle, slavery was firmly and legally established in this the lastProvince of the English in the Western world. The colonists werejubilant. 

The charter under which the trustees acted expired by limitation in1752, and a new form of government was established under the Board ofTrade. The royal commission appointed a governor and council. One ofthe first ordinances enacted by them was one whereby "all offencescommitted by slaves were to be tried by a single justice, without ajury, who was to award execution, and, in capital cases, to set avalue on the slave, to be paid out of the public treasury. " At thefirst session of the Assembly in 1755, a law was passed "_for theregulation and government of slaves_. " In 1765 an Act was passedestablishing a pass system, and the rest of the legislation in respectto slaves was a copy of the laws of South Carolina. 

The history of slavery in Georgia during this period is unparalleledand incomparably interesting. It illustrates the power of theinstitution, and shows that there was no Province sufficientlyindependent of its influence so as to expel it from its jurisdiction. Like the Angel of Death that passed through Egypt, there was no colonythat it did not smite with its dark and destroying pinions. Thedearest, the sublimest, interests of humanity were prostrated by itsdefiling touch. It shut out the sunlight of human kindness; it paledthe fires of hope; it arrested the development of the branches ofmen's better natures, and peopled their lower being with base andconsuming desires; it placed the "_Golden Rule_" under the unholy heelof time-servers and self-seekers; it made the Church as secular as theChange, and the latter as pious as the former: it was a giganticsystem, at war with the civilization of the Roundheads and Puritans, and an intolerable burden to a people who desired to build a newnation in this New World in the West. 

FOOTNOTES:

[514] Stephens's Journal, vol. Iii. P. 281. 

[515] Freedom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 310, note. 

[516] Stevens's Hist. Of Georgia, vol. I. P. 289. 

[517] Bancroft, vol. Iii. 12th ed. P. 427. 

[518] Stevens's Hist. Of Georgia, vol. I. P. 307. 

[519] Whitefield's Works, vol. Ii. Pp. 90, 105, 208. 

Part III. 

_THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION. _

CHAPTER XXVI. 

MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES. 

1775-1780. 

 "Many black soldiers were in the service during all stages of the war. "--SPARKS. 

 THE COLONIAL STATES IN 1715. --RATIFICATION OF THE NON-IMPORTATION ACT BY THE SOUTHERN COLONIES. --GEORGE WASHINGTON PRESENTS RESOLUTIONS AGAINST SLAVERY, IN A MEETING AT FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE, VA. --LETTER WRITTEN BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO DEAN WOODWARD, PERTAINING TO SLAVERY. --LETTER TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA FROM A COMMITTEE, CONCERNING THE SLAVES BROUGHT FROM JAMAICA. --SEVERE TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN THE COLONIES MODIFIED. --ADVERTISEMENT IN "THE BOSTON GAZETTE" OF THE RUNAWAY SLAVE CRISPUS ATTUCKS. --THE BOSTON MASSACRE. --ITS RESULTS. --CRISPUS ATTUCKS SHOWS HIS LOYALTY. --HIS SPIRITED LETTER TO THE TORY GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE. --SLAVES ADMITTED INTO THE ARMY. --THE CONDITION OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. --SPIRITED DEBATE IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, OVER THE DRAUGHT OF A LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON. --INSTRUCTIONS TO DISCHARGE ALL SLAVES AND FREE NEGROES IN HIS ARMY. --MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD AT CAMBRIDGE. --LORD DUNMORE'S PROCLAMATION. --PREJUDICE THE SOUTHERN COLONIES. --NEGROES IN VIRGINIA FLOCK TO THE BRITISH ARMY. --CAUTION TO THE NEGROES PRINTED IN A WILLIAMSBURG PAPER. --THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION ANSWERS THE PROCLAMATION OF LORD DUNMORE. --GEN. GREENE, IN A LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON, CALLS ATTENTION TO THE RAISING OF A NEGRO REGIMENT ON STATEN ISLAND. --LETTER FROM A HESSIAN OFFICER. --CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE ON THE SUBJECT OF EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS. --GEN. VARNUM'S LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON, SUGGESTING THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES, SENT TO GOV. COOKE. --THE GOVERNOR REFERS VARNUM'S LETTER TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. --MINORITY PROTEST AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES TO SERVE IN THE ARMY. --MASSACHUSETTS TRIES TO SECURE LEGAL ENLISTMENTS OF NEGRO TROOPS. --LETTER OF THOMAS KENCH TO THE COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, BOSTON, MASS. --NEGROES SERVE IN WHITE ORGANIZATIONS UNTIL THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. --NEGRO SOLDIERS SERVE IN VIRGINIA. --MARYLAND EMPLOY NEGROES. --NEW YORK PASSES AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE RAISING OF TWO COLORED REGIMENTS. --WAR IN THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN COLONIES. --HAMILTON'S LETTER TO JOHN JAY. --COL. LAURENS'S EFFORTS TO RAISE NEGRO TROOPS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. --PROCLAMATION OF SIR HENRY CLINTON INDUCING NEGROES TO DESERT THE REBEL ARMY. --LORD CORNWALLIS ISSUES A PROCLAMATION OFFERING PROTECTION TO ALL NEGROES SEEKING HIS COMMAND. --COL. LAURENS IS CALLED TO FRANCE ON IMPORTANT BUSINESS. --HIS PLAN FOR SECURING BLACK LEVIES FOR THE SOUTH UPON HIS RETURN. --HIS LETTERS TO GEN. WASHINGTON IN REGARD TO HIS FRUITLESS PLANS. --CAPT. DAVID HUMPHREYS RECRUITS A COMPANY OF COLORED INFANTRY IN CONNECTICUT. --RETURN OF NEGROES IN THE ARMY IN 1778. 

The policy of arming the Negroes early claimed the anxiousconsideration of the leaders of the colonial army during the AmericanRevolution. England had been crowding her American plantations withslaves at a fearful rate; and, when hostilities actually began, itwas difficult to tell whether the American army or the ministerialarmy would be able to secure the Negroes as allies. In 1715 the royalgovernors of the colonies gave the Board of Trade the number of theNegroes in their respective colonies. The slave population was asfollows:--

 NEGROES. | NEGROES. New Hampshire 150 |Maryland 9, 500 Massachusetts 2, 000 |Virginia 23, 000 Rhode Island 500 |North Carolina 3, 700 Connecticut 1, 500 |South Carolina 10, 500 New York 4, 000 | ------ New Jersey 1, 500 | Total 58, 850 Pennsylvania and Delaware 2, 500 |

Sixty years afterwards, when the Revolution had begun, the slavepopulation of the thirteen colonies was as follows:--

 NEGROES. | NEGROES. Massachusetts 3, 500 |Maryland 80, 000 Rhode Island 4, 373 |Virginia 165, 000 Connecticut 5, 000 |North Carolina 75, 000 New Hampshire 629 |South Carolina 110, 000 New York 15, 000 |Georgia 16, 000 New Jersey 7, 600 | ------- Pennsylvania 10, 000 | Total 501, 102 Delaware 9, 000 |

Such a host of beings was not to be despised in a great militarystruggle. Regarded as a neutral element that could be used simply tofeed an army, to perform fatigue duty, and build fortifications, theNegro population was the object of fawning favors of the whitecolonists. In the NON-IMPORTATION COVENANT, passed by the ContinentalCongress at Philadelphia, on the 24th of October, 1774, the secondresolve indicated the feeling of the representatives of the people onthe question of the slave-trade:--

 "2. We will neither import nor purchase, any slave imported after the first day of December next; after which time, we will wholly discontinue the slave-trade, and will neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those who are concerned in it. "[520]

It, with the entire covenant, received the signatures of all thedelegates from the twelve colonies. [521] The delegates from theSouthern colonies were greatly distressed concerning the probableattitude of the slave element. They knew that if that ignorant mass ofhumanity were inflamed by some act of strategy of the enemy, theymight sweep their homes and families from the face of the earth. Thecruelties of the slave-code, the harsh treatment of Negro slaves, thelack of confidence in the whites everywhere manifested among theblacks, --as so many horrid dreams, harassed the minds of slaveholdersby day and by night. They did not even possess the courage to ask theslaves to remain silent and passive during the struggle betweenEngland and themselves. The sentiment that adorned the speeches oforators, and graced the writings of the colonists, during this period, was "the equality of the rights of all men. " And yet the slaves whobore their chains under their eyes, who were denied the commonestrights of humanity, who were rated as chattels and real property, wereliving witnesses to the insincerity and inconsistency of thisdeclaration. But it is a remarkable fact, that all the Southerncolonies, in addition to the action of their delegates, ratified theNon-Importation Covenant. The Maryland Convention on the 8th ofDecember, 1774; South Carolina Provincial Congress on the 11thJanuary, 1775; Virginia Convention on the 22d March, 1775; NorthCarolina Provincial Congress on the 23d of August, 1775; DelawareAssembly on the 25th of March, 1775 (refused by Gov. John Penn); andGeorgia, --passed the following resolves thereabouts:--

 "1. _Resolved_, That this Congress will adopt, and carry into execution, all and singular the measures and recommendations of the late Continental Congress. 

 "4. _Resolved_, That we will neither import or [nor] purchase any slave imported from Africa or elsewhere after this date. "

Meetings were numerous and spirited throughout the colonies, in which, by resolutions, the people expressed their sentiments in reference tothe mother country. On the 18th of July, 1774, at a meeting held inFairfax Court-House, Virginia, a series of twenty-four resolutionswas presented by George Washington, chairman of the committee onresolutions, three of which were directed against slavery. 

 "17 _Resolved_. That it is the opinion of this meeting, that, during our present difficulties and distress, no slaves ought to be imported into any of the British colonies on this continent; and we take this opportunity of declaring our most earnest wishes to see an entire stop for ever put to such a wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade.... 

 "21. _Resolved_, That it is the opinion of this meeting, that this and the other associating colonies should break off all trade, intercourse, and dealings with that colony, province, or town, which shall decline, or refuse to agree to, the plan which shall be adopted by the General Congress.... 

 "24. _Resolved_, That George Washington and Charles Broadwater, lately elected our representatives to serve in the General Assembly, be appointed to attend the Convention at Williamsburg on the first day of August next, and present these resolves, as the sense of the people of this county upon the measures proper to be taken in the present alarming and dangerous situation of America. "

Mr. Sparks comments upon the resolutions as follows:--

 "The draught, from which the resolves are printed, I find among Washington's papers, in the handwriting of George Mason, by whom they were probably drawn up; yet, as they were adopted by the Committee of which Washington was chairman, and reported by him as moderator of the meeting, they may be presumed to express his opinions, formed on a perfect knowledge of the subject, and after cool deliberation. This may indeed be inferred from his letter to Mr. Bryan Fairfax, in which he intimates a doubt only as to the article favoring the idea of a further petition to the king. He was opposed to such a step, believing enough had been done in this way already; but he yielded the point in tenderness to the more wavering resolution of his associates. 

 "These resolves are framed with much care and ability, and exhibit the question then at issue, and the state of public feeling, in a manner so clear and forcible as to give them a special claim to a place in the present work, in addition to the circumstance of their being the matured views of Washington at the outset of the great Revolutionary struggle in which he was to act so conspicuous a part.... 

 "Such were the opinions of Washington, and his associates in Virginia, at the beginning of the Revolutionary contest. The seventeenth resolve merits attention, from the pointed manner in which it condemns the slave trade. "[522]

Dr. Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Dean Woodward, dated April 10, 1773, says, --

 "I have since had the satisfaction to learn that a disposition to abolish slavery prevails in North America, that many of the Pennsylvanians have set their slaves at liberty; and that even the Virginia Assembly have petitioned the king for permission to make a law for preventing the importation of more into that Colony. This request, however, will probably not be granted as their former laws of that kind have always been repealed, and as the interest of a few merchants here has more weight with Government than that of thousands at a distance. "[523]

Virginia gave early and positive proof that she was in earnest on thequestion of non-importation. One John Brown, a merchant of Norfolk, broke the rules of the colony by purchasing imported slaves, and wasseverely rebuked in the following article:--

 "'TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA:

 "'COMMITTEE CHAMBER, NORFOLK, March 6, 1775

 "'Trusting to your sure resentment against the enemies of your country, we, the committee, elected by ballot for the Borough of Norfolk, hold up for your just indignation Mr. John Brown, merchant of this place. 

 "'On Thursday, the 2d of March, this committee were informed of the arrival of the brig Fanny, Capt. Watson, with a number of slaves for Mr. Brown: and, upon inquiry, it appeared they were shipped from Jamaica as his property, and on his account; that he had taken great pains to conceal their arrival from the knowledge of the committee; and that the shipper of the slaves, Mr. Brown's correspondent, and the captain of the vessel, were all fully apprised of the Continental prohibition against that article. 

 "'From the whole of this transaction, therefore, we, the committee for Norfolk Borough, do give it as our unanimous opinion, that the said John Brown, has wilfully and perversely violated the Continental Association to which he had with his own hand subscribed obedience, and that, agreeable to the eleventh article, we are bound forthwith to publish the truth of the case, to the end that all such foes to the rights of British America may be publicly known and universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty, and that every person may henceforth break off all dealings with him. '"

And the first delegation from Virginia to Congress in August, 1774, had instructions as follows, drawn by Thomas Jefferson:--

 "For the most trifling reasons, and sometimes for no conceivable reason at all, his Majesty has rejected laws of the most salutary tendency. _The abolition of domestic slavery is the great object of desire in those Colonies, where it was, unhappily, introduced in their infant state. But, previous to the enfranchisement of the slaves we have, it is necessary to exclude all further importations from Africa. _ Yet our repeated attempts to effect this by prohibitions, and by imposing duties which might amount to a prohibition, have been hitherto defeated by his Majesty's negative; thus preferring the immediate advantages of a few British corsairs to the lasting interests of the American States, and to the rights of human nature, deeply wounded by this infamous practice. "[524]

It is scarcely necessary to mention the fact, that there were severalvery cogent passages in the first draught of the Declaration ofIndependence that were finally omitted. The one most pertinent to thishistory is here given:--

 "He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him; captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of _Infidel_ powers, is the warfare of the _Christian_ king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where _men_ should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce. And, that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed against the _liberties_ of one people with crimes which he urges them to commit against the _lives_ of another. [525]

The solicitude concerning the slavery question was not so great in theNorthern colonies. The slaves were not so numerous as in the Carolinasand other Southern colonies. The severe treatment of slaves had beengreatly modified, the spirit of masters toward them more gentle andconciliatory, and the public sentiment concerning them more humane. Public discussion of the Negro question, however, was cautiouslyavoided. The failure of attempted legislation friendly to the slaveshad discouraged their friends, while the critical situation of publicaffairs made the supporters of slavery less aggressive. On the 25th ofOctober, 1774, an effort was made in the Provincial Congress ofMassachusetts to re-open the discussion, but it failed. The record ofthe attempt is as follows:--

 "Mr. Wheeler brought into Congress a letter directed to Doct. Appleton, purporting the propriety, that while we are attempting to free ourselves from our present embarrassments, and preserve ourselves from slavery, that we also take into consideration the state and circumstances of the negro slaves in this province. The same was read, and it was moved that a committee be appointed to take the same into consideration. After some debate thereon, the question was put, whether the matter now subside, and it passed in the affirmative. "[526]

Thus ended the attempt to call the attention of the people'srepresentatives to the inconsistency of their doctrine and practice onthe question of the equality of human rights. Further agitation of thequestion, followed by the defeat of just measures in the interest ofthe slaves, was deemed by many as dangerous to the colony. Thediscussions were watched by the Negroes with a lively interest; andfailure led them to regard the colonists as their enemies, and greatlyembittered them. Then it was difficult to determine just what would bewisest to do for the enslaved in this colony. The situation wascritical: a bold, clear-headed, loyal-hearted man was needed. 

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1750, "The Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal, "contained the following advertisement:--

 "Ran-away from his master _William Brown_ of _Framingham_, on the 30th of _Sept_. Last, a Molatto Fellow, about 27 Years of Age, named _Crispas_, 5 Feet 2 Inches high, short curl'd Hair, his Knees nearer together than common; had on a light colour'd Bear-skin Coat, plain brown Fustian Jacket, or brown all-Wool one, new Buckskin Breeches, blue Yarn Stockings, and a checked woolen Shirt. 

 "Whoever shall take up said Run-away, and convey him to his abovesaid Master, shall have _ten Pounds_, old Tenor Reward, and all necessary Charges paid. And all Masters of Vessels and others, are hereby cautioned against concealing or carrying off said Servant on Penalty of the Law. _Boston, October 2, 1750_. "

During the month of November, --the 13th and 20th, --a similaradvertisement appeared in the same paper; showing that the "MolattoFellow" had not returned to his master. 

Twenty years later "Crispas's" name once more appeared in the journalsof Boston. This time he was not advertised as a runaway slave, nor wasthere reward offered for his apprehension. His soul and body werebeyond the cruel touch of master; the press had paused to announce hisapotheosis, and to write the name of the Negro patriot, soldier, andmartyr to the ripening cause of the American Revolution, in fadelessletters of gold, --CRISPUS ATTUCKS!

On March 5, 1770, occurred the Boston Massacre; and, while it was notthe real commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, it was the bloodydrama that opened the most eventful and thrilling chapter in Americanhistory. The colonists had endured, with obsequious humility, theoppressive acts of Britain, the swaggering insolence of theministerial troops, and the sneers of her hired minions. Theaggressive and daring men had found themselves hampered by theconservative views of a large class of colonists, who feared lest someone should take a step not exactly according to the law. But while the"wise and prudent" were deliberating upon a legal method of action, there were those, who, "made of sterner stuff, " reasoned right to theconclusion, that they had rights as colonists that ought to berespected. That there was cause for just indignation on the part ofthe people towards the British soldiers, there is no doubt. But thereis reason to question the time and manner of the assault made by thecitizens. Doubtless they had "a zeal, but not according to knowledge. "There is no record to controvert the fact of the leadership of CrispusAttucks. A manly-looking fellow, six feet two inches in height, he wasa commanding figure among the irate colonists. His enthusiasm for thethreatened interests of the Province, his loyalty to the teachings ofOtis, and his willingness to sacrifice for the cause of equal rights, endowed him with a courage, which, if tempered with better judgment, would have made him a military hero in his day. But consumed by thesacred fires of patriotism, that lighted his path to glory, his careerof usefulness ended at the beginning. John Adams, as the counsel forthe soldiers, thought that the patriots Crispus Attucks led were a"rabble of saucy boys, negroes, mulattoes, &c. , " who could notrestrain their emotion. Attucks led the charge with the shout, "Theway to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main-guard; strikeat the root: this is the nest. " A shower of missiles was answered bythe discharge of the guns of Capt. Preston's company. The exposed andcommanding person of the intrepid Attucks went down before themurderous fire. Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were also killed, whilePatrick Carr and Samuel Maverick were mortally wounded. 

The scene that followed beggared description. The people ran fromtheir homes and places of business into the streets, white with rage. The bells rang out the alarm of danger. The bodies of Attucks andCaldwell were carried into Faneuil Hall, where their strange faceswere viewed by the largest gathering of people ever before witnessed. Maverick was buried from his mother's house in Union Street, and Grayfrom his brother's residence in Royal Exchange Lane. But Attucks andCaldwell, strangers in the city, without relatives, were buried fromFaneuil Hall, so justly called "_the Cradle of Liberty_. " The fourhearses formed a junction in King Street; and from thence theprocession moved in columns six deep, with a long line of coachescontaining the first citizens of Boston. The obsequies were witnessedby a very large and respectful concourse of people. The bodies weredeposited in one grave, over which a stone was placed bearing thisinscription:--

 "Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend, Dear to your country shall your fame extend; While to the world the lettered stone shall tell Where Caldwell, Attucks, Gray and Maverick fell. "

Who was Crispus Attucks? A Negro whose soul, galling under thedestroying influence of slavery, went forth a freeman, went forth notonly to fight for _his_ liberty, but to give his life as an offeringupon the altar of _American liberty_. He was not a madcap, as somewould have the world believe. He was not ignorant of the issuesbetween the American colonies and the English government, between thefreemen of the colony and the dictatorial governors. Where he wasduring the twenty years from 1750 to 1770, is not known; but doubtlessin Boston, where he had heard the fiery eloquence of Otis, theconvincing arguments of Sewall, and the tender pleadings of Belknap. He had learned to spell out the fundamental principles that shouldgovern well-regulated communities and states; and, having come to therapturous consciousness of his freedom in fee simple, the brightestcrown God places upon mortal man, he felt himself neighbor and friend. His patriotism was not a mere spasm produced by sudden and excitingcircumstances. It was an education; and knowledge comes fromexperience; and the experience of this black hero was not of a singleday. Some time before the memorable 5th of March, Crispus addressedthe following spirited letter to the Tory governor of the Province:--

 "TO THOMAS HUTCHINSON: _Sir_, --You will hear from us with astonishment. You ought to hear from us with horror. You are chargeable before God and man, with our blood. The soldiers were but passive instruments, mere machines; neither moral nor voluntary agents in our destruction, more than the leaden pellets with which we were wounded. You was a free agent. You acted, coolly, deliberately, with all that premeditated malice, not against us in particular, but against the people in general, which, in the sight of the law, is an ingredient in the composition of murder. You will hear further from us hereafter. Crispus Attucks. "[527]

This was the declaration of war. It was fulfilled. The world has heardfrom him; and, more, the English-speaking world will never forget thenoble daring and excusable rashness of Attucks in the holy cause ofliberty! Eighteen centuries before he was saluted by death and kissedby immortality, another Negro bore the cross of Christ to Calvary forhim. And when the colonists were staggering wearily under their crossof woe, a Negro came to the front, and bore that cross to the victoryof glorious martyrdom!

And the people did not agree with John Adams that Attucks led "amotley rabble, " but a band of patriots. Their evidence of the beliefthey entertained was to be found in the annual commemoration of the"5th of March, " when orators, in measured sentences and impassionedeloquence, praised the hero-dead. In March, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren, who a few months later, as Gen. Warren, made Bunker Hill the shrine ofNew-England patriotism, was the orator. On the question of humanliberty, he said, --

 "That personal freedom is the natural right of every man, and that property, or an exclusive right to dispose of what he has honestly acquired by his own labor, necessarily arises therefrom, are truths which common sense has placed beyond the reach of contradiction. And no man, or body of men, can, without being guilty of flagrant injustice, claim a right to dispose of the persons or acquisitions of any other man, or body of men, unless it can be proved that such a right has arisen from some compact between the parties, in which it has been explicitly and freely granted. "

These noble sentiments were sealed by his blood at Bunker Hill, on the17th of June, 1775, and are the amulet that will protect his fame fromthe corroding touch of centuries of time

The free Negroes of the Northern colonies responded to the call "_toarms_" that rang from the placid waters of Massachusetts Bay to theverdant hills of Berkshire, and from Lake Champlain to the upperwaters of the Hudson. Every Northern colony had its Negro troops, notas separate organizations, --save the black regiment of RhodeIsland, --but scattered throughout all of the white organizations ofthe army. At the first none but free Negroes were received into thearmy; but before peace came Negroes were not only admitted, they werepurchased, and sent into the war, with an offer of freedom and fiftydollars bounty at the close of their service. On the 29th of May, 1775, the "_Committee of Safety_" for the Province of Massachusettspassed the following resolve against the enlistment of Negro slavesas soldiers:--

 "Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, as the contest now between Great Britain and the colonies respects the liberties and privileges of the latter, which the colonies are determined to maintain, that the admission of any persons, as soldiers, into the army now raising, but only such as are freemen, will be inconsistent with the principles that are to be supported, and reflect dishonor on this colony, and that no slaves be admitted into this army upon any consideration whatever. "[528]

On Tuesday, the 6th of June, 1775, "A resolve of the committee ofsafety, relative to the [admission] of slaves into the army was read, and ordered to lie on the table for further consideration. "[529] Butthis was but another evidence of the cold, conservative spirit ofMassachusetts on the question of other people's rights. 

The Continental army was in bad shape. Its arms and clothing, itsdiscipline and efficiency, were at such a low state as to create thegravest apprehensions and deepest solicitude. Gen. George Washingtontook command of the army in and around Boston, on the 3d of July, 1775, and threw his energies into the work of organization. On the10th of July he issued instructions to the recruiting-officers ofMassachusetts Bay, in which he forbade the enlistment of any "negro, "or "any Person who is not an American born, unless such Person has aWife and Family and is a settled resident in this Country. "[530] But, nevertheless, it is a curious fact, as Mr. Bancroft says, "the roll ofthe army at Cambridge had from its first formation borne the names ofmen of color. " "Free negroes stood in the ranks by the side of whitemen. In the beginning of the war they had entered the provincial army;the first general order which was issued by Ward, had required areturn, among other things, of the 'complexion' of the soldiers; andblack men like others were retained in the service after the troopswere adopted by the continent. " There is no room to doubt. Negroeswere in the army from first to last, but were there in contraventionof law and positive prohibition. [531]

On the 29th of September, 1775, a spirited debate occurred in theContinental Congress, over the draught of a letter to Gen. Washington, reported by Lynch, Lee, and Adams. Mr. Rutledge of South Carolinamoved that the commander-in-chief be instructed to discharge allslaves and free Negroes in his army. The Southern delegates supportedhim earnestly, but his motion was defeated. Public attention wascalled to the question, and at length the officers of the army debatedit. The following minute of a meeting held at Cambridge preserves andreveals the sentiment of the general officers of the army on thesubject:--

 "At a council of war, held at head-quarters, October 8th, 1775, present: His Excellency, General Washington; Major-Generals Ward, Lee, and Putnam Brigadier-Generals Thomas, Spencer, Heath, Sullivan, Greene, and Gates--the question was proposed:

 "'Whether it will be advisable to enlist any negroes in the new army? or whether there be a distinction between such as are slaves and those who are free?'

 "It was agreed unanimously to reject all slaves; and, by a great majority, to reject negroes altogether. "

Ten days later, Oct. 18, 1775, a committee of conference met atCambridge, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, and ThomasLynch, who conferred with Gen. Washington, the deputy-governors ofConnecticut and Rhode Island, and the Committee of the Council ofMassachusetts Bay. The object of the conference was the renovation andimprovement of the army. On the 23d of October, the employment ofNegroes as soldiers came before the conference for action, asfollows:--

 "Ought not negroes to be excluded from the new enlistment, especially such as are slaves? all were thought improper by the council of officers. "

 "_Agreed_ that they be rejected altogether"

In his General Orders, issued from headquarters on the 12th ofNovember, 1775, Washington said, --

 "Neither negroes, boys unable to bear arms, nor old men unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign, are to be enlisted. "[532]

But the general repaired this mistake the following month. LordDunmore had issued a proclamation declaring "all indented servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free. " Fearing lest manyNegroes should join the ministerial army, in General Orders, 30thDecember, Washington wrote:--

 "As the General is informed that numbers of free negroes are desirous of enlisting he gives leave to the recruiting officers to entertain them, and promises to lay the matter before the Congress, who, he doubts not, will approve of it. "

Lord Dunmore's proclamation is here given:--

 "_By his Excellency the Right Honorable_ JOHN, _Earl of_ DUNMORE, _his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor-General of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, and Vice-Admiral of the same_, --

 "A PROCLAMATION. 

 "As I have ever entertained hopes that an accommodation might have taken place between _Great Britain_ and this Colony, without being compelled by my duty to this most disagreeable but now absolutely necessary step, rendered so by a body of armed men, unlawfully assembled, firing on his Majesty's tenders; and the formation of an army, and that army now on their march to attack his Majesty's troops, and destroy the well-disposed subject of this Colony: To defeat such treasonable purposes, and that all such traitors and their abettors may be brought to justice, and that the peace and good order of this Colony may be again restored, which the ordinary course of the civil law is unable to effect, I have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation; hereby declaring, that until the aforesaid good purposes can be obtained, I do, in virtue of the power and authority to me given by his Majesty, determine to execute martial law, and cause the same to be executed, throughout this Colony. And, to the end that peace and good order may the sooner be restored, I do require every person capable of bearing arms to resort to his Majesty's standard, or be looked upon as traitors to his Majesty's Crown and Government, and thereby become liable to the penalty the law inflicts upon such offences, --such as forfeiture of life, confiscation of lands, &c. , &c. And I do hereby further declare all indented servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to Rebels, ) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining his Majesty's troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper sense of their duty to his Majesty's crown and dignity. I do further order and require all his Majesty's liege subjects to retain their quit-rents, or any other taxes due, or that may become due, in their own custody, till such time as peace may be again restored to this at present most unhappy country, or demanded of them, for their former salutary purposes, by officers properly authorized to receive the same. 

 "Given under my hand, on board the Ship _William_, off _Norfolk_, the seventh day of November, in the sixteenth year of his Majesty's reign. 

 "DUNMORE. 

 "_God save the King!_"[533]

On account of this, on the 31st of December, Gen. Washington wrote thePresident of Congress as follows:--

 "It has been represented to me, that the free negroes, who have served in this army, are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be apprehended, that they may seek employ in the ministerial army, I have presumed to depart from the resolution respecting them, and have given license for their being enlisted. If this is disapproved of by Congress, I will put a stop to it. "[534]

This letter was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Wythe, Adams, and Wilson. On the 16th of January, 1776, they made thefollowing report:--

 "That the free negroes who have served faithfully in the army at Cambridge may be re-enlist--therein, but no others. "[535]

This action on the part of Congress had reference to the army aroundBoston, but it called forth loud and bitter criticism from theofficers of the army at the South. In a letter to John Adams, datedOct. 24, 1775, Gen. Thomas indicated that there was some feeling evenbefore the action of Congress was secured. He says, --

 "I am sorry to hear that any prejudices should take place in any Southern colony, with respect to the troops raised in this. I am certain the insinuations you mention are injurious, if we consider with what precipitation we were obliged to collect an army. In the regiments at Roxbury, the privates are equal to any that I served with in the last war; very few old men, and in the ranks very few boys. Our fifers are many of them boys. We have some negroes; but I look on them, in general, equally serviceable with other men for fatigue; and, in action, many of them have proved themselves brave. 

 "I would avoid all reflection, or any thing that may tend to give umbrage; but there is in this army from the southward a number called riflemen, who are as indifferent men as I ever served with. These privates are mutinous, and often deserting to the enemy; unwilling for duty of any kind; exceedingly vicious; and, I think, the army here would be as well without as with them. But to do justice to their officers, they are, some of them, likely men. "

The Dunmore proclamation was working great mischief in the Southerncolonies. The Southern colonists were largely engaged in planting, and, as they were Tories, did not rush to arms with the celerity thatcharacterized the Northern colonists. At an early moment in thestruggle, the famous Rev. Dr. Hopkins of Rhode Island wrote thefollowing pertinent extract:--

 "God is so ordering it in his providence, that it seems absolutely necessary something should speedily be done with respect to the slaves among us, in order to our safety, and to prevent their turning against us in out present struggle, in order to get their liberty. Our oppressors have planned to gain the blacks, and induce them to take up arms against us, by promising them liberty on this condition; and this plan they are prosecuting to the utmost of their power, by which means they have persuaded numbers to join them. And should we attempt to restrain them by force and severity, keeping a strict guard over them, and punishing them severely who shall be detected in attempting to join our opposers, this will only be making bad worse, and serve to render our inconsistence, oppression, and cruelty more criminal, perspicuous, and shocking, and bring down the righteous vengeance of Heaven on our heads. The only way pointed out to prevent this threatening evil is to set the blacks at liberty ourselves by some public acts and laws, and then give them proper encouragement to labor, or take arms in the defence of the American cause, as they shall choose. This would at once be doing them some degree of justice, and defeating our enemies in the scheme that they are prosecuting. "[536]

On Sunday, the 24th of September, 1775, John Adams recorded thefollowing conversation, that goes to show that Lord Dunmore's policywas well matured:--

 "In the evening, Mr. Bullock and Mr. Houston, two gentlemen from Georgia, came into our room, and smoked and chatted the whole evening. Houston and Adams disputed the whole time in good humor. They are both dabs at disputation, I think. Houston, a lawyer by trade, is one of course, and Adams is not a whit less addicted to it than the lawyers. The question was, whether all America was not in a state of war, and whether we ought to confine ourselves to act upon the defensive only? He was for acting offensively, next spring or this fall, if the petition was rejected or neglected. If it was not answered, and favorably answered, he would be for acting against Britain and Britons, as, in open war, against French and Frenchmen; fit privateers, and take their ships anywhere. These gentlemen give a melancholy account of the State of Georgia and South Carolina. They say that if one thousand regular troops should land in Georgia, and their commander be provided with arms and clothes enough, and proclaim freedom to all the negroes who would join his camp, twenty thousand negroes would join it from the two Provinces in a fortnight. The negroes have a wonderful art of communicating intelligence among themselves; it will run several hundreds of miles in a week or fortnight. They say, their only security is this; that all the king's friends, and tools of government, have large plantations, and property in negroes; so that the slaves of the Tories would be lost, as well as those of the Whigs. "[537]

The Negroes in Virginia sought the standards of the ministerial army, and the greatest consternation prevailed among the planters. On the27th of November, 1775, Edmund Pendleton wrote to Richard Lee that theslaves were daily flocking to the British army. 

 "The Governour, hearing of this, marched out with three hundred and fifty soldiers, Tories and slaves, to Kemp's Landing, and after setting up his standard, and issuing his proclamation, declaring all persons Rebels who took up arms for the country, and inviting all slaves, servants, and apprentices to come to him and receive arms, he proceeded to intercept Hutchings and his party, upon whom he came by surprise, but received, it seems, so warm a fire, that the ragamuffins gave way. They were, however, rallied on discovering that two companies of our militia gave way; and left Hutchings and Dr. Reid with a volunteer company, who maintained their ground bravely till they were overcome by numbers, and took shelter in a swamp. The slaves were sent in pursuit of them; and one of Col. Hutchings's own, with another, found him. On their approach, he discharged his pistol at his slave, but missed him; and was taken by them, after receiving a wound in his face with a sword. The number taken or killed, on either side, is not ascertained. It is said the Governour went to Dr. Reid's shop, and, after taking the medicines and dressings necessary for his wounded men, broke all the others to pieces. Letters mention that slaves flock to him in abundance; but I hope it is magnified. "[538]

But the dark stream of Negroes that had set in toward the Englishtroops, where they were promised the privilege of bearing arms andtheir freedom, could not easily be stayed. The proclamation of Dunmorereceived the criticism of the press, and the Negroes were appealed toand urged to stand by their "true friends. " A Williamsburg paper, printed on the 23d of November, 1775, contained the followingwell-written plea:--

 "CAUTION TO THE NEGROES. 

 "The second class of people for whose sake a few remarks upon this proclamation seem necessary is the Negroes. They have been flattered with their freedom, if they be able to bear arms, and will speedily join Lord Dunmore's troops. To none, then, is freedom promised, but to such as are able to do Lord Dunmore service. The aged, the infirm, the women and children, are still to remain the property of their masters, --of masters who will be provoked to severity, should part of their slaves desert them. Lord Dunmore's declaration, therefore, is a cruel declaration to the Negroes. He does not pretend to make it out of any tenderness to them, but solely upon his own account; and, should it meet with success, it leaves by far the greater number at the mercy of an enraged and injured people. But should there be any amongst the Negroes weak enough to believe that Lord Dunmore intends to do them a kindness, and wicked enough to provoke the fury of the Americans against their defenceless fathers and mothers, their wives, their women and children, let them only consider the difficulty of effecting their escape, and what they must expect to suffer if they fall into the hands of the Americans. Let them further consider what must be their fate should the English prove conquerors. If we can judge of the future from the past, it will not be much mended. Long have the Americans, moved by compassion and actuated by sound policy, endeavored to stop the progress of slavery. Our Assemblies have repeatedly passed acts, laying heavy duties upon imported Negroes; by which they meant altogether to prevent the horrid traffick. But their humane intentions have been as often frustrated by the cruelty and covetousness of a set of English merchants, who prevailed upon the King to repeal our kind and merciful acts, little, indeed, to the credit of his humanity. Can it, then, be supposed that the Negroes will be better used by the English, who have always encouraged and upheld this slavery, than by their present masters, who pity their condition; who wish, in general, to make it as easy and comfortable as possible; _and who would, were it in their power, or were they permitted, not only prevent any more Negroes from losing their freedom, but restore it to such as have already unhappily lost it?_ No: the ends of Lord Dunmore and his party being answered, they will either give up the offending Negroes to the rigor of the laws they have broken, or sell them in the West Indies, where every year they sell many thousands of their miserable brethren, to perish either by the inclemency of weather or the cruelty of barbarous masters. Be not then, ye Negroes, tempted by this proclamation to ruin yourselves. I have given you a faithful view of what you are to expect; and declare before God, in doing it, I have considered your welfare, as well as that of the country. Whether you will profit by my advice, I cannot tell; but this I know, that, whether we suffer or not, if _you_ desert us, _you_ most certainly will. "[539]

But the Negroes had been demoralized, and it required an extraordinaryeffort to quiet them. On the 13th of December, the Virginia Conventionput forth an answer to the proclamation of Lord Dunmore. On the 14thof December a proclamation was issued "offering pardon to such slavesas shall return to their duty within ten days after the publicationthereof. " The following; was their declaration:--

 "_By the Representatives of the People of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, assembled in General Convention_, "A DECLARATION. 

 "Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated on board the ship 'William, ' off Norfolk, the seventh day of November, 1775, hath offered freedom to such able-bodied slaves as are willing to join him, and take up arms against the good people of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement to a general insurrection, which may induce a necessity of inflicting the severest punishments upon those unhappy people, already deluded by his base and insidious arts, and whereas, by an act of the General Assembly now in force in this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or other slaves, conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy;--we think it proper to declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be seduced, by his Lordship's Proclamation, or other arts, to desert their masters' service, and take up arms against the inhabitants of this Colony, shall be liable to such punishment as shall hereafter be directed by the General Convention. And to the end that all such who have taken this unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their duty, and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby promise pardon to them, they surrendering themselves to Colonel William Woodford or any other commander of our troops, and not appearing in arms after the publication hereof. And we do further earnestly recommend it to all humane and benevolent persons in this Colony to explain and make known this our offer of mercy to those unfortunate people. "[540]

Gen. Washington was not long in observing the effects of the Dunmoreproclamation. He began to fully realize the condition of affairs atthe South, and on Dec. 15 wrote Joseph Reed as follows:--

 "If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise, like a snow-ball in rolling, his army will get size, some through fear, some through promises, and some through inclination, joining his standard but that which renders the measure indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to join who will be afraid to do it without. "[541]

The slaves themselves were not incapable of perceiving the cunning ofLord Dunmore. England had forced slavery upon the colonists againsttheir protest, had given instructions to the royal governorsconcerning the increase of the traffic, and therefore could not bemore their friends than the colonists. The number that went over tothe enemy grew smaller all the while, and finally the British weretotally discouraged in this regard. Lord Dunmore was unwilling toacknowledge the real cause of his failure to secure black recruits, and so he charged it to the fever. 

 "LORD DUNMORE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

 [No. 1] "SHIP 'DUNMORE, ' IN ELIZABETH RIVER, VIRGINIA, 30th March, 1776

 * * * * *

 "Your Lordship will observe by my letter, No. 34, that I have been endeavouring to raise two regiments here--one of white people, the other of black. The former goes on very slowly, but the latter very well, and would have been in great forwardness, had not a fever crept in amongst them, which earned off a great many very fine fellows. "

 [No. 3] "SHIP 'DUNMORE, ' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOUR, VIRGINIA, June 26, 1776. 

 "I am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship, that that fever, of which I informed you in my letter No. 1, has proved a very malignant one, and has carried off an incredible number of our people, especially the blacks. Had it not been for this horrid disorder, I am satisfied I should have had two thousand blacks, with whom I should have had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this Colony. "[542]

While the colonists felt, as Dr. Hopkins had written, that somethingought to be done toward securing the services of the Negroes, yettheir representatives were not disposed to legislate the Negro intothe army. He was there, and still a conservative policy was pursuedrespecting him. Some bold officers took it upon themselves to receiveNegroes as soldiers. Gen. Greene, in a letter to Gen. Washington, called attention to the raising of a Negro regiment on Staten Island. 

 "CAMP ON LONG ISLAND, July 21, 1776, two o'clock. 

 "SIR; Colonel Hand reports seven large ships are coming up from the Hook to the Narrows. 

 "A negro belonging to one Strickler, at Gravesend was taken prisoner (as he says) last Sunday at Coney Island. Yesterday he made his escape, and was taken prisoner by the rifle-guard. He reports eight hundred negroes collected on Staten Island, this day to be formed into a regiment. 

 "I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant, "N. GREENE. 

 "_To his Excellency_ GEN. WASHINGTON, _Headquarters, New York_. "[543]

To the evidence already produced as to the indiscriminate employmentof Negroes as soldiers in the American army, the observations of aforeign officer are added. Under date of the 23d of October, 1777, aHessian officer wrote:[544]--

 "From here to Springfield, there are few habitations which have not a negro family dwelling in a small house near by. The negroes are here as fruitful as other cattle. The young ones are well foddered, especially while they are still calves. Slavery is, moreover, very gainful. The negro is to be considered just as the bond-servant of a peasant. The negress does all the coarse work of the house, and the little black young ones wait on the little white young ones. _The negro can take the field, instead of his master; and therefore no regiment is to be seen in which there are not negroes in abundance: and among them there, are able-bodied, strong, and brave fellows_. Here, too, there are many families of free negroes, who live in good houses, have property, and live just like the rest of the inhabitants. "[545]

In the month of May, 1777, the Legislature of Connecticut sought tosecure some action on the subject of the employment of Negroes assoldiers. "

 "In May, 1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut appointed a Committee 'to take into consideration the state and condition of the negro and mulatto slaves in this State, and what may be done for their emancipation. ' This Committee, in a report presented at the same session (signed by the chairman, the Hon. Matthew Griswold of Lyme), recommended--

 "'That the effective negro and mulatto slaves be allowed to enlist with the Continental battalions now raising in this State, under the following regulations and restrictions; viz. , that all such negro and mulatto slaves as can procure, either by bounty, hire, or in any other way, such a sum to be paid to their masters as such negro or mulatto shall be judged to be reasonably worth by the selectmen of the town where such negro or mulatto belongs, shall be allowed to enlist into either of said battalions, and shall thereupon be, de facto, _free and emancipated_; and that the master of such negro or mulutto shall be exempted from the support and maintenance of such negro or mulatto, in case such negro or mulatto shall hereafter become unable to support and maintain himself. 

 "'And that, in case any such negro or mulatto slave shall be disposed to enlist into either of said battalions during the [war], he shall be allowed so to do: and such negro or mulatto shall be appraised by the selectmen of the town to which he belongs, and his master shall be allowed to receive the bounty to which such slave may be entitled and also one-half of the annual wages of such slave during the time he shall continue in said service; provided, however, that said master shall not be allowed to receive such part of said wages after he shall have received so much as amounts, together with the bounty, to the sum at which he was appraised. '"

In the lower house the report was put over to the next session, butwhen it reached the upper house it was rejected. 

 "You will see by the Report of Committee, May, 1777, that General Varnum's plan for the enlistment of slaves had been anticipated in Connecticut; with this difference, that Rhode Island _adopted_ it, while Connecticut did _not. _

 "The two States reached nearly the same _results_ by different methods. The unanimous declaration of the officers at Cambridge, in the winter of 1775, _against_ the enlistment of slaves, --confirmed by the Committee of Congress, --had some weight, I think, with the Connecticut Assembly, so far as the formal enactment of a law _authorized_ such enlistments was in question. At the same time, Washington's license to _continue_ the enlistment of negroes was regarded as a rule of action both by the selectmen in making up, and by the State Government in accepting, the quota of the towns. The process of draughting, in Connecticut, was briefly this: The able-bodied men, in each town, were divided into 'classes:' and each class was required to furnish one or more men, as the town's quota required, to answer a draught. Now, the Assembly, at the same session at which the proposition for enlisting slaves was rejected (May, 1777), passed an act providing that any _two_ men belonging to this State, 'who should procure an able-bodied soldier or recruit to enlist into either of the Continental battalions to be raised from this State, ' should themselves be exempted from draught during the continuance of such enlistment. Of recruits or draughted men thus furnished, neither the selectmen nor commanding officers questioned the _color_ or the civil _status_: white and black, bond and free, if 'able-bodied, ' went on the roll together, accepted as the representatives of their 'class, ' or as substitutes for their employers. At the next session (October, 1777), an act was passed which gave more direct encouragement to the enlistment of slaves. By this existing law, the master who emancipated a slave was not released from the liability to provide for his support. This law was now so amended, as to authorize the selectmen of any town, on the application of the master, --after 'inquiry into the age, abilities, circumstances, and character' of the servant or slave, and being satisfied 'that it was likely to be consistent with his real advantage, and that it was probable that he would be able to support himself, '--to grant liberty for his emancipation, and to discharge the master 'from any charge or cost which may be occasioned by maintaining or supporting the servant or slave made free as aforesaid. ' This enactment enabled the selectmen to offer an additional inducement to enlistment for making up the quota of the town. The slave (or servant for term of years) might receive his freedom; the master might secure exemption from draught, and a discharge from future liabilities, to which he must otherwise have been subjected. In point of fact, some hundreds of blacks--slaves and freemen--were enlisted, from time to time, in the regiments of the State troops and of the Connecticut line. _How_ many, it is impossible to tell: for, from first to last, the company or regimental rolls indicate _no distinctions_ of color. The _name_ is the only guide, and, in turning over the rolls of the Connecticut line, the frequent recurrence of names which were exclusively appropriated to negroes and slaves, shows how considerable was their proportion of the material of the Connecticut army; while such surnames as 'Liberty. ' 'Freeman, ' 'Freedom, ' &c, by scores, indicate with what anticipations, and under what inducements, they entered the service. 

 As to the efficiency of the service they rendered, I can say nothing from the records, except what is to be gleaned from scattered files such as one of the petitions I send you. So far as my acquaintance extends, almost every family has its traditions of the good and faithful service of a black servant or slave, who was killed in battle, or served through the war, and came home to tell stories of hard fighting, and draw his pension. In my own native town, --not a large one, --I remember five such pensioners, three of whom, I believe, had been slaves, and, in fact, _were_ slaves to the day of their death; for (and this explains the uniform action of the General Assembly on petitions for emancipation) neither the towns nor the State were inclined to exonerate the master, at a time when slavery was becoming unprofitable, from the obligation to provide for the old age of his slave. "[546]

Gen. Varnum, a brave and intelligent officer from Rhode Island, earlyurged the employment of Negro soldiers. He communicated his views toGen. Washington, and he referred the correspondence to the governor ofRhode Island. 

 GEN. WASHINGTON TO GOV. COOKE. 

 HEADQUARTERS, 2d January, 1778

 SIR:--Enclosed you will receive a copy of a letter from General Varnum to me, upon the means which might be adopted for completing the Rhode Island troops to their full proportion in the Continental army. I have nothing to say in addition to what I wrote the 29th of the last month on this important subject, but to desire that you will give the officers employed in this business all the assistance in your power. 

 I am with great respect, sir, Your most obedient servant, G. WASHINGTON. 

 "To GOVERNOR COOKE. "[547]

The letter of Gen. Varnum to Gen. Washington, in reference to theemployment of Negroes as soldiers, is as follows:--

 GEN. VARNUM TO GEN. WASHINGTON. 

 "CAMP, January 2d, 1778. 

 "SIR:--The two battalions from the State of Rhode Island being small, and there being a necessity of the state's furnishing an additional number to make up their proportion in the Continental army; the field officers have represented to me the propriety of making one temporary battalion from the two, so that one entire corps of officers may repair to Rhode Island, in order to receive and prepare the recruits for the field. It is imagined that a battalion of negroes can be easily raised there. Should that measure be adopted, or recruits obtained upon any other principle, the service will be advanced. The field officers who go upon this command, are Colonel Greene, Lieutenant Colonel Olney, and Major Ward; seven captains, twelve lieutenants, six ensigns, one paymaster, one surgeon and mates, one adjutant and one chaplain. 

 "I am your Excellency's most obedient servant, "J. M. VARNUM. 

 "TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON. "[548]

Gov. Cooke wrote Gen. Washington as follows:--

 "STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, &c, "PROVIDENCE, January 19th, 1778. 

 "SIR:--Since we had the honor of addressing Your Excellency by Mr. Thompson, we received your favor of the 2d of January current, enclosing a proposition of Gen. Varnum's for raising a battalion of negroes. 

 "We in our letter of the 15th current, of which we send a duplicate, have fully represented our present circumstances, and the many difficulties we labor under, in respect to our filling up the Continental battalions. In addition thereto, will observe, that we have now in the state's service within the government, two battalions of infantry, and a regiment of artillery who are enlisted to serve until the 16th day of March next; and the General Assembly have ordered two battalions of infantry, and a regiment of artillery, to be raised, to serve until the 16th of March, 1779. So that we have raised and kept in the field, more than the proportion of men assigned us by Congress. 

 "The General Assembly of this state are to convene themselves on the second Monday of February next, when your letters will be laid before them, and their determination respecting the same, will be immediately transmitted to Your Excellency. 

 "I have the honor to be, &c. , "NICHOLAS COOKE. 

 "TO GEN. WASHINGTON. "[549]

The governor laid the above letters before the General Assembly, attheir February session; and the following act was passed:--

 "Whereas, for the preservation of the rights and liberties of the United States, it is necessary that the whole powers of government should be exerted in recruiting the Continental battalions; and whereas, His Excellency Gen. Washington hath enclosed to this state a proposal made to him by Brigadier General Varnum, to enlist into the two battalions, raising by this state, such slaves as should be willing to enter into the service; and whereas, history affords us frequent precedents of the wisest, the freest, and bravest nations having liberated their slaves, and enlisted them as soldiers to fight in defence of their country; and also whereas, the enemy, with a great force, have taken possession of the capital, and of a greater part of this state; and this state is obliged to raise a very considerable number of troops for its own immediate defence, whereby it is in a manner rendered impossible for this state to furnish recruits for the said two battalions, without adopting the said measure so recommended. 

 "It is voted and resolved, that every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man slave, in this state, may enlist into either of the said two battalions, to serve during the continuance of the present war with Great Britain. 

 "That every slave, so enlisting, shall be entitled to, and receive, all the bounties, wages, and encouragements, allowed by the Continental Congress, to any soldier enlisting into their service. 

 "It is further voted and resolved, that every slave, so enlisting, shall, upon his passing muster before Col. Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely FREE, as though he had never been encumbered with any kind of servitude or slavery. 

 "And in case such slave shall, by sickness or otherwise, be rendered unable to maintain himself, he shall not be chargeable to his master or mistress; but shall be supported at the expense of the state. 

 "And whereas, slaves have been, by the laws, deemed the property of their owners, and therefore compensation ought to be made to the owners for the loss of their service, --

 "It is further voted and resolved, that there be allowed, and paid by this state, to the owner, for every such slave so enlisting, a sum according to his worth; at a price not exceeding £120 for the most valuable slave; and in proportion for a slave of less value. 

 "Provided, the owner of said slave shall deliver up to the officer, who shall enlist him, the clothes of the said slave; or otherwise he shall not be entitled to said sum. 

 "And for settling and ascertaining the value of such slaves, --

 "It is further voted and resolved, that a committee of five be appointed, to wit:

 "One from each county; any three of whom, to be a quorum, to examine the slaves who shall be so enlisted, after they shall have passed muster, and to set a price upon each slave according to his value, as aforesaid. 

 "It is further voted and resolved, that upon any ablebodied negro, mulatto, or Indian slave, enlisting as aforesaid, the officer who shall so enlist him, after he shall have passed muster, as aforesaid, shall deliver a certificate thereof, to the master or mistress of said negro, mulatto, or Indian slave; which shall discharge him from the service of his said master or mistress, as aforesaid. 

 "It is further voted and resolved, that the committee who shall estimate the value of any slave, as aforesaid, shall give a certificate of the sum at which he may be valued, to the owner of said slave; and the general treasurer of this state is hereby empowered and directed to give unto the said owner of the said slave, his promissory note, as treasurer, as aforesaid, for the sum of money at which he shall be valued, as aforesaid, payable on demand, with interest at the rate of six per cent. Per annum; and that said notes, which shall be so given, shall be paid with the money which is due to this state, and is expected from Congress; the money which has been borrowed out of the general treasury, by this Assembly, being first re-placed. "[550]

This measure met with some opposition, but it was too weak to effectany thing. The best thing the minority could do was to enter a writtenprotest. 

 "PROTEST AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES TO SERVE IN THE ARMY. 

 "We, the subscribers, beg leave to dissent from the vote of the lower house, ordering a regiment of negroes to be raised for the Continental service, for the following reasons, viz. :

 "1st. Because, in our opinion, there is not a sufficient number of negroes in the state, who would have an inclination to enlist, and would pass muster, to constitute a regiment; and raising several companies of blacks, would not answer the purposes intended; and therefore the attempt to constitute said regiment would prove abortive, and be a fruitless expense to the state. 

 "2d. The raising such a regiment, upon the footing proposed, would suggest an idea and produce an opinion in the world, that the state had purchased a band of slaves to be employed in the defence of the rights and liberties of our country, which is wholly inconsistent with those principles of liberty and constitutional government, for which we are so ardently contending; and would be looked upon by the neighboring states in a contemptible point of view, and not equal to their troops; and they would therefore be unwilling that we should have credit for them, as for an equal number of white troops; and would also give occasion to our enemies to suspect that we are not able to procure our own people to oppose them in the field; and to retort upon us the same kind of ridicule we so liberally bestowed upon them, on account of Dunmore's regiment of blacks; or possibly might suggest to them the idea of employing black regiments against us. 

 "3d. The expense of purchasing and enlisting said regiment, in the manner proposed, will vastly exceed the expenses of raising an equal number of white men; and at the same time will not have the like good effect. 

 "4th. Great difficulties and uneasiness will arise in purchasing the negroes from their masters; and many of the masters will not be satisfied with any prices allowed. 

 "JOHN NORTHUP, GEORGE PIERCE, "JAMES BABCOK, JR. , SYLVESTER GARDNER, "OTHNIEL GORTON, SAMUEL BABCOCK. "[551]

Upon the passage of the Act, Gov. Cooke hastened to notify Gen. Washington of the success of the project. 

 "PROVIDENCE, February 23d, 1778. 

 "SIR:--I have been favored with your Excellency's letter of the [3d instant, ][552] enclosing a proposal made to you by General Varnum, for recruiting the two Continental battalions raised by this state. 

 "I laid the letter before the General Assembly at their session, on the second Monday in this month; who, considering the pressing necessity of filling up the Continental army, and the peculiarly difficult circumstances of this state, which rendered it in a manner impossible to recruit our battalions in any other way, adopted the measure. 

 "Liberty is given to every effective slave to enter the service during the war; and upon his passing muster, he is absolutely made free, and entitled to all the wages, bounties and encouragements given by Congress to any soldier enlisting into their service. The masters are allowed at the rate of £120, for the most valuable slave; and in proportion to those of less value. 

 "The number of slaves in this state is not great; but it is generally thought that three hundred, and upwards, will be enlisted. 

 "I am, with great respect, sir, "Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant, "NICHOLAS COOKE. 

 "TO GEN. WASHINGTON. "[553]

Where masters had slaves in the army, they were paid an annualinterest on the appraised value of the slaves, out of the publictreasury, until the end of the military service of such slaves. [554]If owners presented certificates from the committee appointed toappraise enlisted Negroes, they were paid in part or in full in"Continental loan-office certificates. "[555]

The reader will remember, that it has been already shown that Negroes, both bond and free, were excluded from the militia of Massachusetts;and, furthermore, that both the Committee of Safety and the ProvincialCongress had opposed the enlistment of Negroes. The first move in thecolony to secure legal enlistments and separate organizations ofColored troops was a communication to the General Assembly ofMassachusetts, 3d of April, 1778. 

 "_To the Honorable Council, and House of Representatives, Boston, or at Roxbury. _

 "HONORED GENTLEMEN, --At the opening of this campaign, our forces should be all ready, well equipped with arms and ammunition, with clothing sufficient to stand them through the campaign, their wages to be paid monthly, so as not to give the soldiery so much reason of complaint as it is the general cry from the soldiery amongst whom I am connected. 

 "We have accounts of large re-enforcements a-coming over this spring against us; and we are not so strong this spring, I think, as we were last. Great numbers have deserted; numbers have died, besides what is sick, and incapable of duty, or bearing arms in the field. 

 "I think it is highly necessary that some new augmentation should be added to the army this summer, --all the re-enforcements that can possibly be obtained. For now is the time to exert ourselves or never; for, if the enemy can get no further hold this campaign than they now possess, we [have] no need to fear much from them hereafter. 

 "A re-enforcement can quick be raised of two or three hundred men. Will your honors grant the liberty, and give me the command of the party? And what I refer to is negroes. We have divers of them in our service, mixed with white men. But I think it would be more proper to raise a body by themselves, than to have them intermixed with the white men; and their ambition would entirely be to outdo the white men in every measure that the fortune of war calls a soldier to endure. And I could rely with dependence upon them in the field of battle, or to any post that I was sent to defend with them; and they would think themselves happy could they gain their freedom by bearing a part of subduing the enemy that is invading our land, and clear a peaceful inheritance for their masters, and posterity yet to come, that they are now slaves to. 

 "The method that I would point out to your Honors in raising a detachment of negroes;--that a company should consist of a hundred, including commissioned officers; and that the commissioned officers should be white, and consist of one captain, one captain-lieutenant, two second lieutenants; the orderly sergeant white; and that there should be three sergeants black, four corporals black, two drums and two fifes black, and eighty-four rank and file. These should engage to serve till the end of the war, and then be free men. And I doubt not, that no gentleman that is a friend to his country will disapprove of this plan, or be against his negroes enlisting into the service to maintain the cause of freedom, and suppress the worse than savage enemies of our land. 

 "I beg your Honors to grant me the liberty of raising one company, if no more. It will be far better than to fill up our battalions with runaways and deserters from Gen. Burgoyne's army, who, after receiving clothing and the bounty, in general make it their business to desert from us. In the lieu thereof, if they are [of] a mind to serve in America, let them supply the families of those gentlemen where those negroes belong that should engage. 

 "I rest, relying on your Honor's wisdom in this matter, as it will be a quick way of having a re-enforcement to join the grand army, or to act in any other place that occasion shall require; and I will give my faith and assurance that I will act upon honor and fidelity, should I take the command of such a party as I have been describing. 

 "So I rest till your Honors shall call me; and am your very humble and obedient servant, "THOMAS KENCH, "In Col. Craft's Regiment of Artillery, now on Castle Island. 

 "CASTLE ISLAND, April 3, 1778. "

A few days later he addressed another letter to the same body. 

 "_To the Honorable Council in Boston. _

 "The letter I wrote before I heard of the disturbance with Col. Seares, Mr. Spear, and a number of other gentlemen, concerning the freedom of negroes, in Congress Street. It is a pity that riots should be committed on the occasion, as it is justifiable that negroes should have their freedom, and none amongst us be held as slaves, as freedom and liberty is the grand controversy that we are contending for; and I trust, under the smiles of Divine Providence, we shall obtain it, if all our minds can be united; and putting the negroes into the service will prevent much uneasiness, and give more satisfaction to those that are offended at the thoughts of their servants being free. 

 "I will not enlarge, for fear I should give offence; but subscribe myself

 "Your faithful servant, "THOMAS KENCH. 

 "CASTLE ISLAND, April 7, 1778. "[556]

On the 11th of April the first letter was referred to a jointcommittee, with instructions "to consider the same, and report. " Onthe 17th of April, "a resolution of the General Assembly of RhodeIsland for enlisting Negroes in the public service" was referred tothe same committee. In the Militia Act of 1775, the exceptions were, "Negroes, Indians, and mulattoes. " By the act of May, 1776, providingfor the re-enforcement of the American army, it was declared that, "Indians, negroes, and mulattoes, shall not be held to take up arms orprocure any person to do it in their room. " By another act, passedNov. 14, 1776, looking toward the improvement of the army, "Negroes, Indians, and mulattoes" were excluded. During the year 1776 an orderwas issued for taking the census of all males above sixteen, butexcepted "Negroes, Indians, and mulattoes. " But after some reverses tothe American army, Massachusetts passed a resolve on Jan. 6, 1777, "for raising every seventh man to complete our quota, " "without anyexceptions, save the people called Quakers. " This was the nearestMassachusetts ever got toward recognizing Negroes as soldiers. And onthe 5th of March, 1778, Benjamin Goddard, for the selectmen, Committeeof Safety, and militia officers of the town of Grafton, protestedagainst the enlistment of the Negroes in his town. 

It is not remarkable, in view of such a history, that Massachusettsshould have hesitated to follow the advice of Thomas Kench. On the28th of April, 1778, a law was draughted following closely theRhode-Island Act. But no separate organization was ordered; and, hence, the Negroes served in white organizations till the close of theAmerican Revolution. 

There is nothing in the records of Virginia to show that there wasever any legal employment of Negroes as soldiers; but, from thefollowing, it is evident that free Negroes _did_ serve, and that therewas no prohibition against them, providing they showed theircertificates of freedom:--

 "And whereas several negro slaves have deserted from their masters, and under pretence of being free men have enlisted as soldiers: For prevention whereof, _Be it enacted_, that it shall not be lawful for any recruiting officer within this commonwealth to enlist any negro or mulatto into the service of this or either of the United States, until such negro or mulatto shall produce a certificate from some justice of the peace for the county wherein he resides that he is a free man. "[557]

Maryland employed Negroes as soldiers, and sent them into regimentswith white soldiers. John Cadwalder of Annapolis, wrote Gen. Washington on the 5th of June, 1781, in reference to Negro soldiers, as follows:--

 "We have resolved to raise, immediately, seven hundred and fifty negroes, to be incorporated with the other troops; and a bill is now almost completed. "[558]

The legislature of New York, on the 20th of March, 1781, passed thefollowing Act, providing for the raising of two regiments of blacks:--

 "SECT. 6. --And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that any person who shall deliver one or more of his or her able-bodied male slaves to any warrant officer, as afore said, to serve in either of the said regiments or independent corps, and produce a certificate thereof, signed by any person authorized to muster and receive the men to be raised by virtue of this act, and produce such certificate to the Surveyor-General, shall, for every male slave so entered and mustered as aforesaid, be entitled to the location and grant of one right, in manner as in and by this act is directed; and shall be, and hereby is, discharged from any future maintenance of such slave, any law to the contrary notwithstanding: And such slave so entered as aforesaid, who shall serve for the term of three years or until regularly discharged, shall, immediately after such service or discharge, be, and is hereby declared to be, a free man of this State. "[559]

The theatre of the war was now transferred from the Eastern to theMiddle and Southern colonies. Massachusetts alone had furnished, andplaced in the field, 67, 907 men; while all the colonies south ofPennsylvania, put together, had furnished but 50, 493, --or 8, 414 _less_than the single colony of Massachusetts. [560] It was a difficult taskto get the whites to enlist at the South. Up to 1779, nearly all theNegro soldiers had been confined to the New-England colonies. Theenemy soon found out that the Southern colonies were poorly protected, and thither he moved. The Hon. Henry Laurens of South Carolina, anintelligent and observing patriot, wrote Gen. Washington on the 16thof March, 1779, concerning the situation at the South:--

 "Our affairs [he wrote] in the Southern department are more favorable than we had considered them a few days ago; nevertheless, the country is greatly distressed, and will be more so unless further reinforcements are sent to its relief. Had we arms for three thousand such black men as I could select in Carolina, I should have no doubt of success in driving the British out of Georgia, and subduing East Florida, before the end of July. "[561]

Gen. Washington sent the following conservative reply:--

 "The policy of our arming slaves is in my opinion a moot point, unless the enemy set the example. For, should we begin to form battalions of them, I have not the smallest doubt, if the war is to be prosecuted, of their following us in it, and justifying the measure upon our own ground. The contest then must be, who can arm fastest. And where are our arms? Besides, I am not clear that a discrimination will not render slavery more irksome to those who remain in it. Most of the good and evil things in this life are judged of by comparison; and I fear a comparison in this case will be productive of much discontent in those, who are held in servitude. But, as this is a subject that has never employed much of my thoughts, these are no more than the first crude ideas that have struck me upon the occasion. "[562]

The gifted and accomplished Alexander Hamilton, a member ofWashington's military family, was deeply interested in the plansuggested by the Hon. Henry Laurens, whose son was on Washington'sstaff. Col. John Laurens was the bearer of the following remarkableletter from Hamilton to John Jay, President of Congress. 

 "HEADQUARTERS, March 14, 1779. 

 "To JOHN JAY. 

 "DEAR SIR, --Col. Laurens who will have the honor of delivering you this letter, is on his way to South Carolina, on a project which I think, in the present situation of affairs there, is a very good one, and deserves every kind of support and encouragement. This is, to raise two, three, or four battalions of negroes, with the assistance of the government of the State, by contributions from the owners in proportion to the number they possess. If you should think proper to enter upon the subject with him, he will give you a detail of his plan. He wishes to have it recommended by Congress to the State: and, as an inducement, that they should engage to take those battalions into Continental pay. 

 "It appears to me, that an expedient of this kind, in the present state of Southern affairs, is the most rational that can be adopted, and promises very important advantages. Indeed, I hardly see how a sufficient force can be collected in that quarter without it; and the enemy's operations there are growing infinitely more serious and formidable. I have not the least doubt that the negroes will make very excellent soldiers with proper management; and I will venture to pronounce, that they cannot be put into better hands than those of Mr. Laurens. He has all the zeal, intelligence, enterprise, and every other qualification, necessary to succeed in such an undertaking. It is a maxim with some great military judges, that, with sensible officers, soldiers can hardly be too stupid; and, on this principle, it is thought that the Russians would make the best troops in the world, it they were under other officers than their own. The King of Prussia is among the number who maintain this doctrine; and has a very emphatic saying on the occasion, which I do not exactly recollect. I mention this because I hear it frequently objected to the scheme of embodying negroes, that they are too stupid to make soldiers. This is so far from appearing to me a valid objection, that I think their want of cultivation (for their natural faculties are probably as good as ours), joined to that habit of subordination which they acquire from a life of servitude, will make them sooner become soldiers than our white inhabitants. Let officers be men of sense and sentiment; and the nearer the soldiers approach to machines, perhaps the better. 

 "I foresee that this project will have to combat much opposition from prejudice and self-interest. The contempt we have been taught to entertain for the blacks makes us fancy many things that are founded neither in reason nor experience; and an unwillingness to part with property of so valuable a kind will furnish a thousand arguments to show the impracticability or pernicious tendency of a scheme which requires such a sacrifice. But it should be considered, that, if we do not make use of them in this way, the enemy probably will; and that the best way to counteract the temptations they will hold out will be to offer them ourselves. An essential part of the plan is to give them their freedom with their muskets. This will secure their fidelity, animate their courage, and, I believe, will have a good influence upon those who remain, by opening a door to their emancipation. This circumstance, I confess, has no small weight in inducing me to wish the success of the project, for the dictates of humanity, and true policy, equally interest me in favor of this unfortunate class of men. 

 "With the truest respect and esteem, "I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, "ALEX. HAMILTON. "[563]

The condition of the Southern States became a matter of Congressionalsolicitude. The letter of Col. Hamilton was referred to a specialcommittee on the 29th of March, 1779. It was represented that SouthCarolina especially was in great danger. The white population wassmall; and, while there were some in the militia service, it wasthought necessary to keep as large a number of whites at home aspossible. The fear of insurrection, the desertion[564] of Negroes tothe enemy, and the exposed condition of her border, intensified theanxiety of the people. The only remedy seemed to lie in the employmentof the more fiery spirits among the Negroes as the defenders of therights and interests of the colonists. Congress rather hesitated toact, --it was thought that that body lacked the authority to order theenlistment of Negroes in the States, --and therefore recommended to"the states of South Carolina and Georgia, if they shall think thesame expedient, to take measures immediately for raising threethousand able-bodied negroes. " After some consideration the followingplan was recommended by the special committee, and adopted:--

 "IN CONGRESS, March 29, 1779. 

 "The Committee, consisting of Mr. Burke, Mr. Laurens, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Dyer, appointed to take into consideration the circumstances of the Southern States, and the ways and means for their safety and defence, report, --

 * * * * *

 "That the State of South Carolina, as represented by the delegates of the said State and by Mr. Huger, who has come hither at the request of the Governor of the said State, on purpose to explain the particular circumstances thereof, is unable to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent insurrections among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them to the enemy. 

 "That the state of the country, and the great numbers of those people among them, expose the inhabitants to great danger from the endeavors of the enemy to excite them either to revolt or desert. 

 "That it is suggested by the delegates of the said State and by Mr. Huger, that a force might be raised in the said State from among the negroes, which would not only be formidable to the enemy from their numbers, and the discipline of which they would very readily admit, but would also lessen the danger from revolts and desertions, by detaching the most vigorous and enterprising from among the negroes. 

 "That, as this measure may involve inconveniences peculiarly affecting the States of South Carolina and Georgia, the Committee are of the opinion that the same should be submitted to the governing powers of the said States; and if the said powers shall judge it expedient to raise such a force, that the United States ought to defray the expense thereof: whereupon, "Resolved, That it be recommended to the States of South Carolina and Georgia, if they shall think the same expedient, to take measures immediately for raising three thousand able-bodied negroes. 

 "That the said negroes be formed into separate corps, as battalions, according to the arrangements adopted for the main army, to be commanded by white commissioned and non-commissioned officers. 

 "That the commissioned officers be appointed by the said States. 

 "That the non-commissioned officers may, if the said States respectively shall think proper, be taken from among the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Continental battalions of the said States respectively. 

 "That the Governors of the said States, together with the commanding officer of the Southern army, be empowered to incorporate the several Continental battalions of their States with each other respectively, agreeably to the arrangement of the army, as established by the resolutions of May 27, 1778; and to appoint such of the supernumerary officers to command the said negroes as shall choose to go into that service. 

 "Resolved, That Congress will make provision for paying the proprietors of such negroes as shall be enlisted for the service of the United States during the war a full compensation for the property, at a rate not exceeding one thousand dollars for each active, able bodied negro man of standard size, not exceeding thirty-five years of age, who shall be so enlisted and pass muster. 

 "That no pay or bounty be allowed to the said negroes, but that they be clothed and subsisted at the expense of the United States. 

 "That every negro who shall well and faithfully serve as a soldier to the end of the present war, and shall then return his arms, be emancipated, and receive the sum of fifty dollars. "[565]

Congress supplemented the foregoing measure by commissioning youngCol. Laurens to carry forward the important work suggested. Thegallant young officer was indeed worthy of the followingresolutions:--

 "Whereas John Laurens, Esq. , who has heretofore acted as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief, is desirous of repairing to South Carolina, with a design to assist in defence of the Southern States;--

 "_Resolved_, That a commission of lieutenant-colonel be granted to the said John Laurens, Esq. "[566]

He repaired to South Carolina, and threw all his energies into hisnoble mission. That the people did not co-operate with him, isevidenced in the following extract from a letter he subsequently wroteto Col. Hamilton:--

 "Ternant will relate to you how many violent struggles I have had between duty and inclination, --how much my heart was with you, while I appeared to be most actively employed here. But it appears to me, that I should be inexcusable in the light of a citizen, if I did not continue my utmost efforts for carrying the plan of the black levies into execution, while there remain the smallest hopes of success. "[567]

The enemy was not slow in discovering the division of sentiment amongthe colonists as to the policy of employing Negroes as soldiers. Andthe suspicions of Gen. Washington, indicated to Henry Laurens, in aletter already quoted, were not groundless. On the 30th of June, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton issued a proclamation to the Negroes. It firstappeared in "The Royal Gazette" of New York, on the 3d of July, 1779. 

 "By his Excellency Sir HENRY CLINTON, K. B. General and Commander-in-chief of all his Majesty's Forces within the Colonies laying on the Atlantic Ocean, from Nova Scotia to West-Florida, inclusive, &c. , &c. , &. 

 "PROCLAMATION. 

 "Whereas the enemy have adopted a practice of enrolling NEGROES among their Troops, I do hereby give notice That all NEGROES taken in arms, or upon any military Duty, shall be purchased for [_the public service at_] a stated Price; the money to be paid to the Captors. 

 "But I do most strictly forbid any Person to sell or claim Right over any NEGROE, the property of a Rebel, who may take Refuge with any part of this Army: And I do promise to every NEGROE who shall desert the Rebel Standard, full security to follow within these Lines, any Occupation which he shall think proper. 

 "Given under my Hand, at Head-Quarters, PHILLIPSBURGH, the 30th day of June, 1779. 

 "H. CLINTON. 

 "By his Excellency's command, "JOHN SMITH, _Secretary_. "

The proclamation had effect. Many Negroes, weary of the hesitancy ofthe colonists respecting acceptance of their services, joined theministerial army. On the 14th of February, 1780, Col. Laurens wroteGen. Washington, from Charleston, S. C. , as follows:--

 "Private accounts say that General Prevost is left to command at Savannah; that his troops consist of the Hessians and Loyalists that were there before, re-enforced by a corps of blacks and a detachment of savages. It is generally reported that Sir Henry Clinton commands the present expedition. "[568]

Lord Cornwallis also issued a proclamation, offering protection to allNegroes who should seek his command. But the treatment he gave them, as narrated by Mr. Jefferson in a letter to Dr. Gordon, a few yearsafter the war, was extremely cruel, to say the least. 

 "Lord Cornwallis destroyed all my growing crops of corn and tobacco; he burned all my barns, containing the same articles of the last year, having first taken what corn he wanted; he used, as was to be expected, all my stock of cattle, sheep, and hogs, for the sustenance of his army, and carried off all the horses capable of service; of those too young for service he cut the throats; and he burned all the fences on the plantation, so as to leave it an absolute waste. _He carried off also about thirty slaves. Had this been to give them freedom, he would have done right_; but it was to consign them to inevitable death from the small-pox and putrid fever, then raging in his camp. This I knew afterwards to be the fate of twenty-seven of them. I never had news of the remaining three, but presume they shared the same fate. When I say that Lord Cornwallis did all this, I do not mean that he carried about the torch in his own hands, but that it was all done under his eye; the situation of the house, in which he was, commanding a view of every part of the plantation, so that he must have seen every fire. I relate these things on my own knowledge, in a great degree, as I was on the ground soon after he left it. He treated the rest of the neighborhood somewhat in the same style, but not with that spirit of total extermination with which he seemed to rage over my possessions. Wherever he went, the dwelling-houses were plundered of every thing which could be carried off. Lord Cornwallis's character in England would forbid the belief that he shared in the plunder; but that his table was served with the plate thus pillaged from private houses, can be proved by many hundred eye-witnesses. From an estimate I made at that time, on the best information I could collect, I suppose _the State of Virginia lost, under Lord Cornwallis's hand, that year, about thirty thousand slaves; and that, of these, twenty-seven thousand died of the small-pox and camp-fever, and the rest were partly sent to the West Indies and exchanged for rum, sugar, coffee, and fruit; and partly sent to New York, from whence they went, at the peace, either to Nova Scotia or to England. From this last place, I believe, they have been lately sent to Africa. _ History will never relate the horrors committed by the British Army in the Southern States of America. "[569]

Col. Laurens was called from the South, and despatched to France on animportant mission in 1780. But the effort to raise Negro troops in theSouth was not abandoned. 

On the 13th of March, 1780, Gen. Lincoln, in a letter to Gov. Rutledgeof South Carolina, dated at Charleston, urged the importance ofraising a Negro regiment at once. He wrote, --

 "Give me leave to add once more, that I think the measure of raising a black corps a necessary one; that I have great reason to believe, if permission is given for it, that many men would soon be obtained. I have repeatedly urged this matter, not only because Congress have recommended it, and because it thereby becomes my duty to attempt to have it executed, but because my own mind suggests the utility and importance of the measure, as the safety of the town makes it necessary. "

James Madison saw in the emancipation and arming of the Negroes theonly solution of the vexatious Southern problem. On the 20th ofNovember, 1780, he wrote Joseph Jones as follows:--

 "Yours of the 18th came yesterday. I am glad to find the Legislature persist in their resolution to recruit their line of the army for the war; though, without deciding on the expediency of the mode under their consideration, would it not be as well to liberate and make soldiers at once of the blacks themselves, as to make them instruments for enlisting white soldiers? It would certainly be more consonant with the principles of liberty, which ought never to be lost sight of in a contest for liberty: and, with white officers and a majority of white soldiers, no imaginable danger could be feared from themselves, as there certainly could be none from the effect of the example on those who should remain in bondage; experience having shown that a freedman immediately loses all attachment and sympathy with his former fellow-slaves. "[570]

The struggle went on between Tory and Whig, between traitor andpatriot, between selfishness and the spirit of noble consecration tothe righteous cause of the Americans. Gen. Greene wrote from NorthCarolina on the 28th of February, 1781, to Gen. Washington asfollows:--

 "The enemy have ordered two regiments of negroes to be immediately embodied, and are drafting a great proportion of the young men of that State [South Carolina], to serve during the war. "[571]

Upon his return to America, Col. Laurens again espoused his favoriteand cherished plan of securing black levies for the South. Butsurrounded and hindered by the enemies of the country he so dearlyloved, and for the honor and preservation of which he gladly gave hisyoung life, his plans were unsuccessful. In two letters to Gen. Washington, a few months before he fell fighting for his country, hegave an account of the trials that beset his path, which he felt ledto honorable duty. The first bore date of May 19, 1782. 

 "The plan which brought me to this country was urged with all the zeal which the subject inspired, both in our Privy Council and Assembly; but the single voice of reason was drowned by the howlings of a triple-headed monster, in which prejudice, avarice, and pusillanimity were united. It was some degree of consolation to me, however, to perceive that truth and philosophy had gained some ground; the suffrages in favor of the measure being twice as numerous as on a former occasion. Some hopes have been lately given me from Georgia; but I fear, when the question is put, we shall be outvoted there with as much disparity as we have been in this country. 

 "I earnestly desire to be where any active plans are likely to be executed, and to be near your Excellency on all occasions in which my services can be acceptable. The pursuit of an object which, I confess, is a favorite one with me, because I always regarded the interests of this country and those of the Union as intimately connected with it, has detached me more than once from your family; but those sentiments of veneration and attachment with which your Excellency has inspired me, keep me always near you, with the sincerest and most zealous wishes for a continuance of your happiness and glory. "[572]

The second was dated June 12, 1782, and breathes a despondent air:--

 "The approaching session of the Georgia Legislature, and the encouragement given me by Governor Howley, who has a decisive influence in the counsels of that country, induce me to remain in this quarter for the purpose of taking new measures on the subject of our black levies. The arrival of Colonel Baylor, whose seniority entitles him to the command of the light troops, affords me ample leisure for pursuing the business in person; and I shall do it with all the tenacity of a man making a last effort on so interesting an occasion. "[573]

Washington's reply showed that he, too, had lost faith in thepatriotism of the citizens of the South to a great degree. He wrotehis faithful friend:--

 "I must confess that I am not at all astonished at the failure of your plan. That spirit of freedom, which, at the commencement of this contest, would have gladly sacrificed every thing to the attainment of its object, has long since subsided, and every selfish passion has taken its place. It is not the public but private interest which influences the generality of mankind; nor can the Americans any longer boast an exception. Under these circumstances, it would rather have been surprising if you had succeeded; nor will you, I fear, have better success in Georgia. "[574]

Although the effort of the Legislature of Connecticut to authorize theenlistment of Negroes in 1777 had failed, many Negroes, as has beenshown, served in regiments from that State; and a Negro company wasorganized. When white officers refused to serve in it, the gallantDavid Humphreys volunteered his services, and became the captain. 

 "In November, 1782, he was, by resolution of Congress, commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel, with order that his commission should bear date from the 23d of June, 1780, when he received his appointment as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief. He had, when in active service, given the sanction of his name and influence in the establishment of a company of colored infantry, attached to Meigs', afterwards Butler's, regiment, in the Connecticut line. He continued to be the nominal captain of that company until the establishment of peace. "[575]

The following was the roster of his company:--

 "_Captain_, DAVID HUMPHREYS. 

 _Privates_, Jack Arabus, Brister Baker, John Ball, John Cleveland, Cæsar Bagdon, John McLean, Phineas Strong, Gamaliel Terry, Jesse Vose, Ned Fields, Lent Munson, Daniel Bradley, Isaac Higgins, Heman Rogers, Sharp Camp, Lewis Martin, Job Cæsar, Jo Otis. Cæsar Chapman, John Rogers, James Dinah, Peter Mix, Ned Freedom, Solomon Sowtice, Philo Freeman, Ezekiel Tupham, Peter Freeman, Hector Williams, Tom Freeman, Cato Wilbrow, Juba Freeman, Congo Zado, Cuff Freeman, Cato Robinson, Peter Gibbs, Juba Dyer, Prince George, Prince Johnson, Andrew Jack, Prince Crosbee, Alex. Judd, Peter Morando, Shubael Johnson, Pomp Liberty, Peter Lion, Tim Cæsar, Cuff Liberty, Sampson Cuff, Jack Little, Pomp Cyrus, Dick Freedom, Bill Sowers, Harry Williams, Pomp McCuff. "[576] Dick Violet, Sharp Rogers, But notwithstanding the persistent and bitter opposition to theemployment of slaves, from the earliest hours of the Revolutionary Wartill its close, Negroes, bond and free, were in all branches of theservice. It is to be regretted that the exact number cannot be known. Adjutant-Gen. Scammell made the following official return of Negrosoldiers in the main army, under Washington's immediate command, twomonths after the battle of Monmouth; but the Rhode-Island regiment, the Connecticut, New York, and New-Hampshire troops are not mentioned. Incomplete as it is, it is nevertheless official, and thereforecorrect as far as it goes. 

 RETURN OF NEGROES IN THE ARMY, 24TH AUG. , 1778. 

 +--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+ | BRIGADES. | PRESENT. |SICK ABSENT. |ON COMMAND. | TOTAL. | +--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+ | North Carolina . | 42 | 10 | 6 | 58 | | Woodford . . | 36 | 3 | 1 | 40 | | Muhlenburg . . | 64 | 26 | 8 | 98 | | Smallwood . . | 20 | 3 | 1 | 24 | | 2d Maryland . . | 43 | 15 | 2 | 60 | | Wayne . . . | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | | 2d Pennsylvania . | [33] | [1] | [1] | [35] | | Clinton . . . | 33 | 2 | 4 | 39 | | Parsons . . . | 117 | 12 | 19 | 148 | | Huntington . . | 56 | 2 | 4 | 62 | | Nixon . . . | 26 | -- | 1 | 27 | | Patterson . . | 64 | 13 | 12 | 89 | | Late Learned . | 34 | 4 | 8 | 46 | | Poor. . . . | 16 | 7 | 4 | 27 | +--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+ | Total . . | 586 | 98 | 71 | 755 | +--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+ ALEX. SCAMMELL, _Adj. -Gen. _[577]

It is gratifying to record the fact, that the Negro was enrolled as asoldier in the war of the American Revolution. What he did will berecorded in the following chapter. 

FOOTNOTES:

[520] Journal of the Continental Congress. 

[521] The Hon. Peter Force, in an article to The NationalIntelligencer, Jan. 16 and 18, 1855, says: "Southern colonies, jointlywith all the others, and separately each for itself, did agree toprohibit the importation of slaves, voluntarily and in good faith. "Georgia was not represented in this Congress, and, therefore, couldnot sign. 

[522] Sparks's Washington, vol. Ii. Pp. 488-495. 

[523] Sparks's Franklin, vol. Viii, p. 42. 

[524] Jefferson's Works, vol. I. P. 135. 

[525] Ibid. , pp. 23, 24. 

[526] Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass. , p. 29. 

[527] Adams's Works, vol. Ii. P. 322. 

[528] Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass. , p. 553. 

[529] Ibid. , p. 302. 

[530] The following is a copy of Gen. Gates's order torecruiting-officers:--

 "You are not to enlist any deserter from the Ministerial Army, or any stroller, negro, or vagabond, or person suspected of being an enemy to the liberty of America, nor any under eighteen years of age. 

 "As the cause is the best that can engage men of courage and principle to take up arms, so it is expected that none but such will be accepted by the recruiting officer. The pay, provision, &c. , being so ample, it is not doubted but that the officers sent upon this service will, without delay, complete their respective corps, and march the men forthwith to camp. 

 "You are not to enlist any person who is not an American born, unless such person has a wife and family, and is a settled resident in this country. The persons you enlist must be provided with good and complete arms. "

 --MOORE'S _Diary of the American Revolution_, vol. I. P. 110. 

[531] The Provincial Congress of South Carolina, Nov 20, 1775, passedthe following resolve:--"On motion, _Resolved_, That the colonels ofthe several regiments of militia throughout the Colony have leave toenroll such a number of able male slaves, to be employed as pioneersand laborers, as public exigencies may require; and that a daily payof seven shillings and sixpence be allowed for the service of eachsuch slave while actually employed. "

--_American Archives_, 4th Series, vol. Iv p. 6. 

[532] Sparks's Washington, vol. Iii. P. 155, note. 

[533] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. Iii. P. 1, 385. 

[534] Spark's Washington, vol. Iii. P. 218. 

[535] Journals of Congress, vol ii. P. 26. 

[536] Hopkins's Works, vol. Ii. P. 584. 

[537] Works of John Adams, vol. Ii p. 428. 

[538] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. Iv. P. 202. 

[539] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. Iii. P. 1, 387. 

[540] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. Iv. Pp. 84, 85. 

[541] Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, vol. I. P. 135. 

[542] Force's American Archives, 5th Series, vol. Ii. Pp 160, 162. 

[543] Force's American Archives, 5th Series, vol. I p. 486. 

[544] During a few months of study in New-York City, I came across theabove in the library of the N. Y. Hist. Soc. 

[545] Schloezer's Briefwechsel, vol. Iv. P. 365. 

[546] An Historical Research (Livermore), pp. 114-116. 

[547] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Viii. P. 640. 

[548] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Viii. P. 641. 

[549] Ibid. , vol. Viii. P. 524. 

[550] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol viii. Pp. 358-360. 

[551] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Viii. P. 361. 

[552] This is evidently a mistake, as Washington's letter was datedJan. 2, as the reader will see. 

[553] R. I. Col. Recs. , vol. Viii. P. 526. 

[554] Ibid. , p. 376. 

[555] Ibid. , p. 465. 

[556] MSS. Archives of Mass. , vol. Cxcix. Pp. 80, 84. 

[557] Hening, vol. Ix. 280. 

[558] Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. Iii. P. 331. 

[559] Laws of the State of New York, chap. Xxxiii. (March 20, 1781, 4th Session). 

[560] The American Loyalist, p. 30, second edition. 

[561] Sparks's Washington, vol. Vi p. 204, note. 

[562] Ibid. , vol. Vi. P. 204. 

[563] Life of John Jay, by William Jay, vol. II. Pp. 31, 32. 

[564] Ramsay, the historian of South Carolina says, "It has beencomputed by good judges, that, between 1775 and 1783, the State ofSouth Carolina lost twenty-five thousand negroes. "

[565] Secret Journals of Congress, vol. I. Pp. 107-110. 

[566] Journals of Congress, vol. V. P. 123. 

[567] Works of Hamilton, vol. I. Pp. 114, 115. 

[568] Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. Ii. P. 402. 

[569] Jefferson's Works, vol ii. P. 426. 

[570] Madison Papers, p. 68. 

[571] Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. Iii. P. 246. 

[572] Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. Iii. P. 506. 

[573] Ibid. , p. 515. 

[574] Sparks's Washington, vol. Viii. Pp. 322, 323. 

[575] Biographical Sketch in "The National Portrait Gallery ofDistinguished Americans. "

[576] Colored Patriots of the Revolution, p. 134. 

[577] This return was discovered by the indefatigable Dr. George H. Moore. It is the only document of the kind in existence. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

NEGROES AS SOLDIERS. 

1775-1783. 

 THE NEGRO AS A SOLDIER. --BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. --GALLANTRY OF NEGRO SOLDIERS. --PETER SALEM, THE INTREPID BLACK SOLDIER. --BUNKER-HILL MONUMENT. --THE NEGRO SALEM POOR DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF BY DEEDS OF DESPERATE VALOR. --CAPTURE OF GEN. LEE. --CAPTURE OF GEN. PRESCOTT. --BATTLE OF RHODE ISLAND. --COL. GREENE COMMANDS A NEGRO REGIMENT. --MURDER OF COL. GREENE IN 1781. --THE VALOR OF THE NEGRO SOLDIERS. 

As soldiers the Negroes went far beyond the most liberal expectationsof their stanchest friends. Associated with white men, many of whomwere superior gentlemen, and nearly all of whom were brave andenthusiastic, the Negro soldiers of the American army became worthy ofthe cause they fought to sustain. Col. Alexander Hamilton had said, "_their natural faculties are as good as ours_;" and the assertion wassupported by their splendid behavior on all the battle-fields of theRevolution. Endowed by nature with a poetic element, faithful totrusts, abiding in friendships, bound by the golden threads ofattachment to places and persons, enthusiastic in personal endeavor, sentimental and chivalric, they made hardy and intrepid soldiers. Thedaring, boisterous enthusiasm with which they sprang to arms disarmedracial prejudice of its sting, and made friends of foes. 

Their cheerfulness in camp, their celerity in the performance offatigue-duty, their patient endurance of heat and cold, hunger andthirst, and their bold efficiency in battle, made them welcomecompanions everywhere they went. The officers who frowned at theirpresence in the army at first, early learned, from experience, thatthey were the equals of any troops in the army for severe service incamp, and excellent fighting in the field. 

The battle of Bunker Hill was one of the earliest and most importantof the Revolution. Negro soldiers were in the action of the 17th ofJune, 1775, and nobly did their duty. Speaking of this engagement, Bancroft says, --

 "Nor should history forget to record that, as in the army at Cambridge, so also in this gallant band, the free negroes of the colony had their representatives. "[578]

Two Negro soldiers especially distinguished themselves, and renderedthe cause of the colonists great service. Major Pitcairn was a gallantofficer of the British marines. He led the charge against the redoubt, crying exultingly, "The day is ours!" His sudden appearance and hiscommanding air at first startled the men immediately before him. Theyneither answered nor fired, probably not being exactly certain whatwas next to be done. At this critical moment, a Negro soldier steppedforward, and, aiming his musket directly at the major's bosom, blewhim through. [579] Who was this intrepid black soldier, who at acritical moment stepped to the front, and with certain aim broughtdown the incarnate enemy of the colonists? What was his name, andwhence came he to battle? His name was Peter Salem, a private in ColNixon's regiment of the Continental Army. 

 "He was born in Framingham [Massachusetts], and was held as a slave, probably until he joined the army: whereby, if not before, he became free. ... Peter served faithfully as a soldier, during the war. "[580]

Perhaps Salem was then a slave: probably he thought of the chains andstripes from whence he had come, of the liberty to be purchased in theordeals of war, and felt it his duty to show himself worthy of hisposition as an American soldier. He proved that his shots were aseffective as those of a white soldier, and that he was not wanting inany of the elements that go to make up the valiant soldier. Significant indeed that a Negro was the first to open the hostilitiesbetween Great Britain and the colonies, --the first to pour out hisblood as a precious libation on the altar of a people's rights; andthat here, at Bunker Hill, when the crimson and fiery tide of battleseemed to be running hard against the small band of colonists, a Negrosoldier's steady musket brought down the haughty form of thearch-rebel, and turned victory to the weak! England had loaded theAfrican with chains, and doomed him to perpetual bondage in theNorth-American colonies; and when she came to forge political chains, in the flames of fratricidal war, for an English-speaking people, theNegro, whom she had grievously wronged, was first to meet hersoldiers, and welcome them to a hospitable grave. 

Bunker-hill Monument has a charm for loyal Americans; and the Negro, too, may gaze upon its enduring magnificence. It commemorates thedeeds, not of any particular soldier, but all who stood true to theprinciples of equal rights and free government on that memorable "17thof June. "

 "No name adorns the shaft; but ages hence, though our alphabets may become as obscure as those which cover the monuments, of Nineveh and Babylon, its uninscribed surface (on which monarchs might be proud to engrave their titles) will perpetuate the memory of the 17th of June. It is the monument of the day, of the event, of the battle of Bunker Hill; of all the brave men who shared its perils, --alike of Prescott and Putnam and Warren, the chiefs of the day, and the colored man, Salem, who is reported to have shot the gallant Pitcairn, as he mounted the parapet. Cold as the clods on which it rests, still as the silent heavens to which it soars, it is yet vocal, eloquent, in their undivided praise. "[581]

The other Negro soldier who won for himself rare fame anddistinguished consideration in the action at Bunker Hill was SalemPoor. Delighted with his noble bearing, his superior officers couldnot refrain from calling the attention of the civil authorities to thefacts that came under their personal observation. The petition thatset forth his worth as a brave soldier is still preserved in themanuscript archives of Massachusetts:--

 "_To the Honorable General Court of the Massachusetts Bay_. 

 "The subscribers beg leave to report to your Honorable House (which we do in justice to the character of so brave a man), that, under our own observation, we declare that a negro man called Salem Poor, of Col. Frye's regiment, Capt. Ames' company, in the late battle at Charlestown, behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier. To set forth particulars of his conduct would be tedious. We would only beg leave to say, in the person of this said negro centres a brave and gallant soldier. The reward due to so great and distinguished a character, we submit to the Congress. 

 JONA. BREWER, Col. | ELIPHALET BODWELL, Sgt. THOMAS NIXON, Lt. -Col. | JOSIAH FOSTER, Lieut. WM. PRESCOTT, Col. | EBENR. VARNUM, 2d Lieut. EPHm. COREY, Lieut. | WM. HUDSON BALLARD, Cpt. JOSEPH BAKER, Lieut. | WILLIAM SMITH, Cap. JOSHUA ROW, Lieut. | JOHN MORTON, Sergt. [?] JONAS RICHARDSON, Capt. | Lieut. RICHARD WELSH. 

 "CAMBRIDGE, Dec. 5, 1775. 

 "In Council, Dec. 21, 1775. --Read, and sent down. 

 "PEREZ MORTON, _Dep'y Sec'y. _"[582]

How many other Negro soldiers behaved with cool and determined valorat Bunker Hill, it is not possible to know. But many were there; theydid their duty as faithful men, and their achievements are theheritage of the free of all colors under our one flag. Col. Trumbull, an artist as well as a soldier, who was stationed at Roxbury, witnessed the engagement from that elevation. Inspired by the scene, when it was yet fresh in his mind, he painted the historic picture ofthe battle in 1786. He represents several Negroes in good view, whileconspicuous in the foreground is the redoubtable Peter Salem. Somesubsequent artists--mere copyists--have sought to consign this blackhero to oblivion, but 'tis vain. Although the monument at Bunker Hill"does not bear his name, the pencil of the artist has portrayed thescene, the pen of the impartial historian has recorded hisachievement, and the voice of the eloquent orator has resounded hisvalor. "

Major Samuel Lawrence "at one time commanded a company whose rank andfile were all Negroes, of whose courage, military discipline, andfidelity he always spoke with respect. On one occasion, being outreconnoitring with this company, he got so far in advance of hiscommand, that he was surrounded, and on the point of being madeprisoner by the enemy. The men, soon discovering his peril, rushed tohis rescue, and fought with the most determined bravery till thatrescue was effectually secured. He never forgot this circumstance, andever after took especial pains to show kindness and hospitality to anyindividual of the colored race who came near his dwelling. "[583]

Gen. Lee, of the American army, was captured by Col. Harcourt of theBritish army. It was regarded as a very distressing event; andpreparations were made to capture a British officer of the same rank, so an exchange could be effected. Col. Barton of the Rhode-Islandmilitia, a brave and cautious officer, was charged with the capture ofMajor-Gen. Prescott, commanding the royal army at Newport. On thenight of the 9th of July, 1777, Col. Barton, with forty men, in twoboats with muffled oars, evaded the enemy's boats, and, being takenfor the sentries at Prescott's head-quarters, effected that officer'scapture--a Negro taking him. The exploit was bold and successful. 

 "They landed about five miles from Newport, and three-quarters of a mile from the house, which they approached cautiously, avoiding the main guard, which was at some distance. _The Colonel went foremost, with a stout, active negro close behind him, and another at a small distance; the rest followed so as to be near, but not seen_. 

 "A single sentinel at the door saw and hailed the Colonel; he answered by exclaiming against, and inquiring for, rebel prisoners, but kept slowly advancing. The sentinel again challenged him, and required the countersign. He said he had not the countersign, but amused the sentry by talking about rebel prisoners, and still advancing till he came within reach of the bayonet, which, he presenting, the Colonel suddenly struck aside and seized him. He was immediately secured, and ordered to be silent, on pain of instant death. _Meanwhile, the rest of the men surrounding the house, the negro, with his head, at the second stroke forced a passage into it, and then into the landlord's apartment. The landlord at first refused to give the necessary intelligence; but, on the prospect of present death he pointed to the General's chamber, which being instantly opened by the negro's head, the Colonel calling the General by name, told him he was a prisoner_. "[584]

Another account was published by a surgeon of the army, and is givenhere:--

 "_Albany_, Aug. 3, 1777. --The pleasing information is received here that Lieut. -Col. Barton, of the Rhode-Island militia, planned a bold exploit for the purpose of surprising and taking Major-Gen. Prescott, the commanding officer of the royal army at Newport. Taking with him, in the night, about forty men, in two boats, with oars muffled, he had the address to elude the vigilance of the ships-of-war and guard-boats: and, having arrived undiscovered at the quarters of Gen. Prescott, they were taken for the sentinels; and the general was not alarmed till his captors were at the door of his lodging-chamber, which was fast closed. _A negro man, named Prince, instantly thrust his beetle head through the panel door; and seized his victim while in bed.... _ This event is extremely honorable to the enterprising spirit of Col. Barton, and is considered as ample retaliation for the capture of Gen. Lee by Col. Harcourt. The event occasions great joy and exultation, as it puts in our possession an officer of equal rank with Gen. Lee, by which means an exchange may be obtained. Congress resolved that an elegant sword should be presented to Col. Barton for his brave exploit. "[585]

Col. Barton evidently entertained great respect for the valor andtrustworthiness of the Negro soldier whom he made the chief actor in amost hazardous undertaking. It was the post of honor; and the Negrosoldier Prince discharged the duty assigned him in a manner that wasentirely satisfactory to his superior officer, and crowned as one ofthe most daring and brilliant _coups d'état_ of the AmericanRevolution. 

The battle of Rhode Island, fought on the 29th of August, 1778, wasone of the severest of the Revolution. Newport was laid under siege bythe British. Their ships-of-war moved up the bay on the morning of theaction, and opened a galling fire upon the exposed right flank of theAmerican army; while the Hessian columns, stretching across a chain ofthe "highland, " attempted to turn Gen. Greene's flank, and storm theadvanced redoubt. The heavy cannonading that had continued since ninein the morning was now accompanied by heavy skirmishing; and theaction began to be general all along the lines. The American army wasdisposed in three lines of battle; the first extended in front oftheir earthworks on Butt's Hill, the second in rear of the hill, andthe third as reserve a half-mile in the rear of the advance line. Atten o'clock the battle was at white heat. The British vessels kept upa fire that greatly annoyed the Americans, but imparted courage to theHessians and British infantry. At length the foot columns massed, andswept down the slopes of Anthony's Hill with the impetuosity of awhirlwind. But the American columns received them with the intrepidityand coolness of veterans. The loss of the enemy was fearful. 

 "Sixty were found dead in one spot. At another, thirty Hessians were buried in one grave. Major-Gen. Greene commanded on the right. Of the four brigades under his immediate command, Varnum's, Glover's, Cornell's and Greene's, all suffered severely, but Gen. Varnum's perhaps the most. A third time the enemy, with desperate courage and increased strength, attempted to assail the redoubt, and would have carried it but for the timely aid of two continental battalions despatched by Sullivan to support his almost exhausted troops. It was in repelling these furious onsets, that the newly raised black regiment, under Col. Greene, distinguished itself by deeds of desperate valor. Posted behind a thicket in the valley, they three times drove back the Hessians who charged repeatedly down the hill to dislodge them; and so determined were the enemy in these successive charges, that the day after the battle the Hessian colonel, upon whom this duty had devolved, applied to exchange his command and go to New York, because he dared not lead his regiment again to battle, lest his men should shoot him for having caused them so much loss. "[586]

A few years later the Marquis de Chastellux, writing of this regiment, said, --

 "The 5th [of January, 1781] I did not set out till eleven, although I had thirty miles' journey to Lebanon. At the passage to the ferry, I met with a detachment of the Rhode-Island regiment, the same corps we had with us all the last summer, but they have since been recruited and clothed. The greatest part of them are negroes or mulattoes; but they are strong, robust men, and those I have seen had a very good appearance. '"[587]

On the 14th of May, 1781, the gallant Col. Greene was surprised andmurdered at Point's Bridge, New York, but it was not effected untilhis brave black soldiers had been cut to pieces in defending theirleader. It was one of the most touching and beautiful incidents of thewar, and illustrates the self-sacrificing devotion of Negro soldiersto the cause of American liberty. 

At a meeting of the Congregational and Presbyterian Anti-SlaverySociety, at Francestown, N. H. , the Rev. Dr. Harris, himself aRevolutionary soldier, spoke thus complimentarily of the Rhode-IslandNegro regiment:--

 "Yes, a regiment of _negroes_, fighting for _our_ liberty and independence, --not a white man among them but the officers, --stationed in this same dangerous and responsible position. Had they been unfaithful, or driven away before the enemy, all would have been lost. _Three times in succession_ were they attacked, with most desperate valor and fury, by well disciplined and veteran troops, and _three times_ did they successfully repel the assault, and thus preserve our army from capture. They fought through the war. They were brave, hardy troops. They helped to gain our liberty and independence. "

From the opening to the closing scene of the Revolutionary War; fromthe death of Pitcairn to the surrender of Cornwallis; on many fieldsof strife and triumph, of splendid valor and republican glory; fromthe hazy dawn of unequal and uncertain conflict, to the bright morn ofprofound peace; through and out of the fires of a great war that gavebirth to a new, a grand republic, --the Negro soldier fought his way toundimmed glory, and made for himself a magnificent record in theannals of American history. Those annals have long since beencommitted to the jealous care of the loyal citizens of the Republicblack men fought so heroically to snatch from the iron clutches ofBritain. 

FOOTNOTES:

[578] Bancroft, vol. Vii. , 6th ed. , p. 421. 

[579] An Historical Research, p. 93. 

[580] History of Leicester, p. 267. 

[581] Orations and Speeches of Everett, vol. Iii. P. 529. 

[582] MS. Archives of Massachusetts, vol. Clxxx, p. 241. 

[583] Memoir of Samuel Lawrence, by Rev. S. K. Lothrop, D. D. , pp. 8, 9. 

[584] Frank Moore's Diary of the American Revolution, vol. I. P. 468. 

[585] Thatcher's Military Journal, p. 87. 

[586] Arnold's History of Rhode Island, vol. Ii. Pp. 427, 428. 

[587] Chastellux' Travels, vol. I. P. 454; London, 1789. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

LEGAL STATUS OF THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION. 

1775-1783. 

 THE NEGRO WAS CHATTEL OR REAL PROPERTY. --HIS LEGAL STATUS DURING HIS NEW RELATION AS A SOLDIER. --RESOLUTION INTRODUCED IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO PREVENT THE SELLING OF TWO NEGROES CAPTURED UPON THE HIGH SEAS. --THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS APPOINTS A COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH NEGROES TAKEN IN VESSELS OF WAR IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED COLONIES. --CONFEDERATION OF THE NEW STATES. --SPIRITED DEBATE IN CONGRESS RESPECTING THE DISPOSAL OF RECAPTURES. --THE SPANISH SHIP "VICTORIA" CAPTURES AN ENGLISH VESSEL HAVING ON BOARD THIRTY FOUR NEGROES TAKEN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA--THE NEGROES RECAPTURED BY VESSELS BELONGING TO THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. --THEY ARE DELIVERED TO THOMAS KNOX, AND CONVEYED TO CASTLE ISLAND. --COL. PAUL REVERE HAS CHARGE OF THE SLAVES ON CASTLE ISLAND. --MASSACHUSETTS PASSES A LAW PROVIDING FOR THE SECURITY, SUPPORT, AND EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS BROUGHT INTO THE STATE. --GEN. HANCOCK RECEIVES A LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA RESPECTING THE DETENTION OF NEGROES. --IN THE PROVINCIAL ARTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY, NEGROES WERE RATED AS PROPERTY. --AND ALSO IN THE DEFINITE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY. --AND ALSO IN THE TREATY OF PEACE OF 1814, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY AND THE UNITED STATES, NEGROES WERE DESIGNATED AS PROPERTY. --GEN. WASHINGTON'S LETTER TO BRIG. GEN. RUFUS PUTNAM IN REGARD TO A NEGRO IN HIS REGIMENT CLAIMED BY MR. HOBBY. --ENLISTMENT IN THE ARMY DID NOT ALWAYS WORK A PRACTICAL EMANCIPATION. 

When the Revolutionary War began, the legal status of the Negro slavewas clearly defined in the courts of all the colonies. He was eitherchattel or real property. The question naturally arose as to his legalstatus during his new relation as a soldier. Could he be taken asproperty, or as a prisoner of war? Was he booty, or was he entitled tothe usage of civilized warfare, --a freeman, and therefore to betreated as such?

The Continental Congress, Nov. 25, 1775, passed a resolutionrecommending the several colonial legislatures to establish courtsthat should give jurisdiction to courts, already in existence, todispose of "cases of capture. " In fact, and probably in law, Congressexercised power in cases of appeal. Moreover, Congress had prescribeda rule for the distribution of prizes. But, curiously enough, Massachusetts, in 1776, passed an Act declaring, that, in casecaptures were made by the forces of the colony, the local authoritiesshould have complete jurisdiction in their distribution; but, whenprizes or captives were taken upon colonial territory by the forces ofthe United Colonies, the distributions should be made in accordancewith the laws of Congress. This was but a single illustration of thedivided sovereignty of a crude government. That there was need of auniform law upon this question, there could be no doubt, especially ina war of the magnitude of the one that was then being waged. 

On the 13th of September, 1776, a resolution was introduced into theMassachusetts House of Representatives, "to prevent the sale of twonegro men lately brought into this state, as prisoners taken on thehigh seas, and advertised to be sold at Salem, the 17th inst. , bypublic auction. "[588] The resolve in full is here given:--

 "IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SEPT. 13, 1776:

 "Whereas this House is credibly informed that two negro men lately brought into this State as prisoners taken on the High Seas are advertised to be sold at Salem, the 17th instant, by public auction, "_Resolved_, That the selling and enslaving the human species is a direct violation of the natural rights alike vested in all men by their Creator, and utterly inconsistent with the avowed principles on which this and the other United States have carried their struggle for liberty even to the last appeal, and therefore, that all persons connected with the said negroes be and they hereby are forbidden to sell them or in any manner to treat them otherways than is already ordered for the treatment of prisoners of war taken in the same vessell or others in the like employ and if any sale of the said negroes shall be made, it is hereby declared null and void. 

 "Sent up for concurrence. 

 "SAM'L. FREEMAN, _Speaker_, P. T. 

 "IN COUNCIL, Sept. 14, 1776. Read and concurred as taken into a new draught. Sent down for concurrence. 

 "JOHN AVERY, _Dpy. Secy. _

 "IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Sept. 14, 1776. Read and non-concurred, and the House adhere to their own vote. Sent up for concurrence. 

 "J. WARREN, _Speaker_. 

 "IN COUNCIL, Sept. 16, 1776. Read and concurred as now taken into a new draft. Sent down for concurrence. 

 "JOHN AVERY, _Dpy. Secy. _

 "IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Sept. 16, 1779. Read and concurred. 

 "J. WARREN, _Speaker_. 

 "Consented to. 

 "JER. POWELL, JABEZ FISHER, W. SEVER, B. WHITE, B. GREENLEAF, MOSES GILL, CALEB CUSHING, DAN'L HOPKINS, B. CHADBOURN, BENJ. AUSTIN, JOHN WHETCOMB, WM. PHILLIPS, ELDAD TAYLOR, D. SEWALL, S. HOLTEN, DAN'L HOPKINS. "

On the Journal of the House, p. 106, appears the following record, --

 "David Sewall, Esq. , brought down the resolve which passed the House yesterday, forbidding the sale of two negroes, with the following vote of Council thereon, viz _In Council_, Sept. 14, 1776. Read and concurred, as taken into a new draught. Sent down for concurrence. Read and non-concurred, and the House adhere to their own vote. Sent up for concurrence. "

The resolve, as it originally appeared, was dragged through a tediousdebate, non-concurred in by the House, recommitted, remodelled, andsent back, when it finally passed. 

 "LXXXIII. Resolve forbidding the sale of two Negroes brought in as Prisoners; Passed September 14, [16th, ] 1776. 

 "Whereas this Court is credibly informed that two Negro Men lately taken on the High Seas, on board the sloop _Hannibal_, and brought into this State as Prisoners, are advertized to be sold at _Salem_, the 17th instant, by public Auction:

 "_Resolved_, That all Persons concerned with the said Negroes be, and they are hereby forbidden to sell them, or in any manner to treat them otherwise than is already ordered for the Treatment of Prisoners taken in like manner; and if any Sale of the said Negroes shall be made it is hereby declared null and void, and that whenever it shall appear that any Negroes are taken on the High Seas and brought as Prisoners into this State, they shall not be allowed to be Sold, nor treated any otherwise than as Prisoners are ordered to be treated who are taken in like Manner. "[589]

It looked like a new resolve. The pronounced and advanced sentiment infavor of the equal rights of all created beings had been taken out, and it appeared now as a war measure, warranted upon military policy. This is the only chaplet that the most devout friends ofMassachusetts can weave out of her acts on the Negro problem duringthe colonial period, to place upon her brow. It attracted wide-spreadand deserved attention. 

During the following month, on the 14th of October, 1776, theContinental Congress appointed a special committee, Messrs. Lee, Wilson, and Hall, "to consider what is to be done with Negroes takenby vessels of war, in the service of the United States. " Here was aprofound legal problem presented for solution. According to ancientcustom and law, slaves came as the bloody logic of war. War betweennations was of necessity international; but while this truth had stoodthrough many centuries, the conversion of the Northern nations ofEurope into organized society greatly modified the old doctrine ofslavery. Coming under the enlightening influences of moderninternational law, war captives could not be reduced to slavery. [590]This doctrine was thoroughly understood, doubtless, in theNorth-American colonies as in Europe. But the almost universaldoctrine of property in the Negro, and his status in the courts of thecolonies, gave the royal army great advantage in the appropriation ofNegro captives, under the plea that they were "property, " and hencelegitimate "spoils of war;" while, on the part of the colonists, todeclare that captured Negroes were entitled to the treatment of"prisoners of war, " was to reverse a principle of law as old as theirgovernment. It was, in fact, an abandonment of the claim of propertyin the Negro. It was a recognition of his rights as a soldier, abestowal of the highest favors known in the treatment of captives ofwar. [591] But there was another difficulty in the way. Slavery hadbeen recognized in the venerable memorials of the most remote nations. This condition was coeval with the history of all nations, but nowhereregarded as a relation of a local character. It grew up in socialcompacts, in organized communities of men, and in great and powerfulstates. It was recognized in private international law; and therelation of master and slave was guarded in their local _habitat_, andrespected wherever found. [592] And this relation, this property inman, did not cease because the slave sought another nation, for itwas recognized in all the commercial transactions of nations. Now, upon this principle, the colonists were likely to claim their right toproperty in slaves captured. 

The confederation of the new States was effected on the 1st of March, 1781. Art. IX. Gave the "United States in Congress assembled" theexclusive authority of making laws to govern the disposal of allcaptures made by land or water; to decide which were legal; how prizestaken by the land or naval force of the government should beappropriated, and the right to establish courts of competentjurisdiction in such case, etc. The first legislation under thisarticle was an Act establishing a court of appeals on the 4th of June, 1781. It was discussed on the 25th of June, and again, on the 17th ofJuly, took up a great deal of time, but was recommitted. The committeewere instructed to prepare an ordinance regulating the proceedings ofthe admiralty cases, in the several States, in instances of capture;to codify all resolutions and laws upon the subject; and to requestthe States to enact such provisions as would be in harmony with thereserved rights of the Congress in such cases as were specified in theNinth Article. Accordingly, on the 21st of September, 1781, thecommittee reported to Congress the results of their labor, in a billon the subject of captures. Upon the question of agreeing to thefollowing section, the yeas and nays were demanded by Mr. Mathews ofSouth Carolina:--

 "On the recapture by a citizen of any negro, mulatto, Indian, or other person from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed by _another citizen_, specific restitution shall be adjudged to the claimant, whether the original capture shall have been made on land or water, a reasonable salvage being paid by the claimant to the recaptor, not exceeding one-fourth part of the value of such labor or service, to be estimated according to the laws of the State _of which the claimant shall be a citizen_: but if the service of such negro, mulatto, Indian or other person, captured below high-water mark, shall not be legally claimed _by a citizen of these United States_, he shall be set at liberty. "

The delegates from North Carolina, Delaware, New Jersey, andConnecticut, refrained from voting; South Carolina voted in thenegative: but it was carried by twenty-eight yeas, against two nays. After a spirited debate, continuing through several days, and havingreceived several amendments, it finally passed on Dec. 4, 1781, asfollows:--

 "On the recapture by a citizen of any negro, mulatto, Indian, or other person, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed by _a State or a citizen of a State_, specific restitution shall be adjudged to the claimant, whether the original capture shall have been made on land or water, _and without regard to the time of possession by the enemy_, a reasonable salvage being paid by the claimant to the recaptor, not exceeding 1-4th of the value of such labor or service, to be estimated according to the laws of the State _under which the claim shall be made_. 

 "But if the service of such negro, mulatto, Indian, or other person, captured below high water mark, shall not be legally claimed _within a year and a day from the sentence of the Court_, he shall be set at liberty. "

It should be carefully observed that the above law refers only to_recaptures_. It would be interesting to know the views the committeeentertained in reference to slaves captured by the ministerial army. Nothing was said about this interesting feature of the case. WhyCongress did not claim proper treatment of the slaves captured by theenemy while in the service of the United Colonies, is not known. Doubtless its leaders saw where the logic of such a position wouldlead them. The word "another" was left out of the original measure, and was made to read, in the one that passed, "_a State or citizen_;"as if it were feared that, by implication, a Negro would be recognizedas a _citizen_. 

By the proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton, already mentioned in thepreceding chapter, Negroes were threatened with sale for "the publicservice;" and Mr. Jefferson in his letter to Mr. Gordon (see precedingchapter), says the enemy sold the Negroes captured in Virginia intothe West Indies. After the capture of Stony Point by Gen. Wayne, concerning two Negroes who fell into his hands, he wrote toLieut. -Col. Meigs from New Windsor on the 25th of July, 1779, asfollows:--

 "The wish of the officers to free the three Negroes after a few Years Service meets my most hearty approbation but as the Chance of War or other Incidents may prevent the officer [owner] from Compling with the Intention of the Officers it will be proper for the purchaser or purchasers to sign a Condition in the Orderly Book. 

 " ... I wou'd cheerfully join them in their Immediate Manumission--if a few days makes no material difference I could wish the sale put off until a Consultation may be had, & the opinion of the Officers taken on this Business. "[593]

In June, 1779, a Spanish ship called "Victoria" sailed fromCharleston, S. C. , for Cadiz. During the first part of her voyage shewas run down by a British privateer; but, instead of being captured, she seized her assailant, and found on board thirty-four Negroes, whomthe English vessel had taken from plantations in South Carolina. TheSpaniards got the Negroes on board their ship, disabled the Englishvessel, and then dismissed her. Within a few days she was taken by twoBritish letters-of-marque, and headed for New York. During her passagethither she was re-captured by the "Hazard" and "Tyrannicide, " armedvessels in the service of Massachusetts, and taken into the port ofBoston. By direction of the Board of War she was ordered into thecharge of Capt. Johnson, and was unloaded on the 21st of June. TheBoard of War reported to the Legislature that there were thirty-fourNegroes "taken on the high seas and brought into the state. " On the23d of June [1780] the Legislature ordered "that Gen. Lovell, Capt. Adams, and Mr. Cranch, be a committee to consider what is proper to bedone with a number of negroes brought into port in the prize shipcalled the[594] Lady Gage. "[595] On the 24th of June, "the committeeappointed to take into consideration the state and circumstances of anumber of negroes lately brought into the port of Boston, reported aresolve directing the Board of War to inform our delegates in Congressof the state of facts relative to them, to put them into the barrackson Castle Island, and cause them to be supplied and employed. "[596]The resolve passed without opposition. 

 "CLXXX. _Resolve on the Representation of the Board of War respecting a number of negroes captured and brought into this State_. Passed June 24, 1779. 

 "On the representation made to this Court by the Board of War respecting a number of negroes brought into the Port of Boston, on board the Prize Ship Victoria:

 "_Resolved_, that the Board of War be and they are hereby directed forthwith to write to our Delegates in Congress, informing them of the State of Facts relating to said Negroes, requesting them to give information thereof to the Delegates from the State of _South Carolina_, that so proper measures may be taken for the return of said Negroes, agreeable to their desire. 

 "And it is further _Resolved_, that the Board of War be and they hereby are directed to put the said Negroes, in the mean time, into the barracks on Castle Island in the Harbor of Boston, and cause them to be supplied with such Provision and Clothing as shall be necessary for their comfortable support, putting them under the care and direction of some Prudent person or Persons, whose business it shall be to see that the able-bodied men may be usefully employed during their stay in carrying on the Fortifications on said Island, or elsewhere within the said Harbor; and that the Women be employed according to their ability in Cooking, Washing, etc. And that the said Board of War keep an exact Account of their Expenditures in supporting said Negroes. "[597]

The Negroes were delivered to Thomas Knox on the 28th of June, andwere conveyed "to Castle Island pr. Order of Court. " The Board of Warvoted the "34 Negroes delivered" rations. Lieut. -Col. Paul Revere wasinstructed to "issue to the Negroes at Castle Island--1 lb. Of Beef, 1lb. Of Rice pr. Day. " The following letter is not without interest:--

 "WAR OFFICE, 28 June, 1779. 

 "LT. -COL. REVERE, "Agreeable to a Resolve of Court we send to Castle Island and place under your care the following Negroes, viz. :

 [19] Men, [10] Women, [5] Children, lately brought into this Port in the Spanish retaken Ship Victoria. The Men are to be employed on the Fortifications there or elsewhere in the Harbor, in the most useful manner, and the Women and Children, according to their ability, in Cooking, Washing, etc. They are to be allowed for their subsistence One lb. Of Beef, and one lb. Of Rice per day each, which Commissary Salisbury will furnish upon your order, and this to continue until our further orders. 

 "_By Order of the Board_. "

In accordance with the order of the Legislature, made on the 24th ofJune, the president of the Board of War, Samuel P. Savage, wrote aletter to the Massachusetts delegates in Congress, dated "War OfficeJune 29th 1779, " calling attention to the re-captured Negroes. Theletter closed with the following:--

 "Every necessary for the speedy discharge of these people, we have no doubt you will take, that as much expense as possible may be saved to those who call themselves their owners. "

The writer was at pains to enumerate, in his letter, such slaves as hewas enabled to locate. 

 "5 Men 4 Women 4 Boys 1 Girl belonging to Mr. Wm. Vryne. "9 Men 1 Woman belonging to Mr. Anthony Pawley. "1 Man belonging to Mr. Thomas Todd. "2 Men 3 Women belonging to Mr. Henry Lewis. "2 Men 2 Women belonging to Mr. William Pawley. 

 "One of the negroes is an elderly sensible man, calls himself James, and says he is free, which we have no reason to doubt the truth of. He also says that he with the rest of the Negroes were taken from a place called Georgetown. "[598]

Pending the action of the _lawful_ owners of these captives, thecouncil instructed the commandant of Castle Island, Col. Paul Revere, to place out to service, in different towns, some of the Negroes, withthe understanding that they should be delivered up to the authoritieson their order. Some were delivered to gentlemen who desired them asservants. But in the fall of 1779 quite a number were still on theisland, as may be seen by the following touching letter:--

 "BOSTON, Oct'r. 12. 1779. A Return of y'e Negroes at Castle Island, Viz. :

 "NEGRO MEN. 

 "1. ANTHONY. 6. BOBB. 11. JUNE. 2. PARTRICK. 7. ANTHONEY. 12. RHODICK. 3. PADDE. 8. ADAM. 13. JACK. 4. ISAAC. 9. JACK. 14. FULLER. 5. QUASH. 10. GYE. 15. LEWIS. 

 "_The above men are stout fellows_. 

 "NEGRO BOYS. 

 "No. 1. SMART. 2. RICHARD. "_Boys very small_. 

 "NEGRO WOOMEN. NEGRO GIRLS. "No. 1. KITTEY. No. 1. LYSETT. 2. LUCY. 2. SALLY 3. MILLEY. 3. MERCY. 4. LANDER. "_Pretty large_. _Rather stout_. 

 "_Gentlemen. 

 "The Scituation of these Negroes is pitiable with respect to Cloathing. 

 "I am, Gen't. "Your very hum. Serv't. "John Hancock. _"[599]

 "OCT. 12, 1779. "

In the mean time some of the reputed owners of the Negroes at CastleIsland had come from Charleston, S. C. , to secure their property. Whenthey arrived in Boston they secured the services of John Codman, IsaacSmith, and William Smith, who on the 15th of November, 1779, petitioned the Council for the "restitution" of slaves taken by aBritish privateer, and retaken by two armed vessels of Massachusetts. A committee was appointed to consider the petitions, and report whataction should be taken in the matter. Two days later another petitionwas presented to the Council by one John Winthrop, "praying thatcertain negroes, who were brought into this state by the Hazard andTyrannicide, may be delivered to him. " It was referred to thecommittee appointed on the 15th of November. On the 18th of November, "Jabez Fisher, Esq. , brought down a report of the Committee of bothHouses on the petition of Isaac Smith, being by way of resolve, directing the Board of War to deliver so many of the negroes thereinmentioned, as are now alive. Passed in Council, and sent down forconcurrence. " The order of the House is, "Read and concurred, as takeninto a new draught. Sent up for concurrence. "

It is printed among the resolves of November, 1779. 

 "XXXI. Resolve relinquishing this state's claim to a number of Negroes, passed November 18, 1779. 

 "Whereas a number of negroes were re-captured and brought into this State by the armed vessels Hazard and Tyrannicide, and have since been supported at the expense of this State, and as the original owners of said Negroes now apply for them:

 "Therefore _Resolved_, That this Court hereby relinquish and give up any claim they may have upon the said owners for re-capturing said negroes: Provided they pay to the Board of War of this State the expence that has arisen for the support and clothing of the Negroes aforesaid. "[600]

On the 12th of April, 1780, Massachusetts passed an Act providing moreeffectually "for the security, support, and exchange of prisoners ofwar brought into the State. " It declares that

 "All Prisoners of War, whether captured by the Army or Navy of the United States, or armed Ships or Vessels of any of the United States, or by the Subjects, Troops, Ships, or Vessels of War of this State, and brought into the same, or cast on shore by shipwreck on the coast thereof ... All such prisoners, so brought in or cast on shore (including Indians, Negroes, and Molatoes) be treated in all respects as prisoners of war to the United States, any law or resolve or this Court to the contrary notwithstanding. "[601]

The above Act was passed in compliance with a resolution of Congress, Jan. 13, 1780; and it repealed an Act of 1777, that made no provisionsfor the capture of Negroes. 

On the 23d of January, 1784, Gov. Hancock sent a message to theLegislature, transmitting correspondence received dining theadjournment of the Legislature from Oct 28, 1783, to Jan. 21, 1784. Calling the attention of the Legislature to this correspondence, hereferred to a letter from "His Excellency the Governor of SouthCarolina, respecting the detention of some Negroes here, belonging tothe subjects of that state. I have communicated it to the Judges ofthe Supreme Judicial Court--their observations upon it are with thePapers. I have made no reply to the letter, judging it best to haveyour decision upon it. "[602] The same papers on the same day were readin the Senate, and a joint committee of both houses was appointed. Thecommittee reported to both branches of the Legislature on the 23d ofMarch, 1784, and the report was adopted. A request was made of thegovernor to furnish copies of the opinions of the judges, etc. 

 "CLXXI. Order requesting the Governor to write to Governor _Guerard_ of _South Carolina_, inclosing the letter of the Judges of the Supreme Judicial Court, March, 23d, 1784. 

 "_Ordered_, that his Excellency the Governor be requested to write to His Excellency _Benjamin Guerard_, Governor of _South Carolina_, inclosing for the information of Governor Guerard, the letter of the Judges of the Supreme Judicial Court of this Commonwealth, with the copy in the said letter referred to, upon the subject of Governor _Guerard's_ letter, dated the sixth October, 1783. "

The papers referred to seem to have been lost, but extracts are hereproduced:--

 "GOVERNOR GUERARD TO GOVERNOR HANCOCK, 6th October, 1783. 

 EXTRACT. "That such adoption is favoring rather of the Tyranny of Great Britain which occasioned her the loss of these States--that no act of British Tyranny could exceed the encouraging the negroes from the State owning them to desert their owners to be emancipated--that it seems arbitrary and domination--assuming for the Judicial Department of any one State, to prevent a restoration voted by the Legislature and ordained by Congress. That the liberation of our negroes disclosed a specimen of Puritanism I should not have expected from gentlemen of my Profession. "

 MEMORANDUM. "He had demanded fugitives, carried off by the British, captured by the North, and not given up by the interference of the Judiciary. ' Governor Hancock referred the subject to the Judges. "

 "JUDGES CUSHING AND SARGENT TO GOVERNOR HANCOCK, Boston, Dec. 20, 1783. 

 EXTRACT. "How this determination is an attack upon the spirit, freedom, dignity, independence, and sovereignty of South Carolina, we are unable to conceive. That this has any connection with, or relation to Puritanism, we believe is above y'r Excellency's comprehension as it is above ours. We should be sincerely sorry to do any thing inconsistent with the Union of the States, which is and must continue to be the basis of our Liberties and Independence; on the contrary we wish it may be strengthened, confirmed, and endure for ever. "[603]

By the Treaty of Peace in 1783, Negroes were put in the same categorywith horses and other articles of property. [604]

 "Negroes [says Mr. Hamilton], by the laws of the States, in which slavery is allowed, are personal property. They, therefore, on the principle of those laws, like horses, cattle and other movables, were liable to become booty--and belonged to the enemy, [captor] as soon as they came into his hands. Belonging to him, he was free either to apply them to his own use, or set them at liberty. If he did the latter, the grant was irrevocable, restitution was impossible. Nothing in the laws of nations or in those of Great Britain, will authorize the resumption of liberty, once granted to a human being. "[605]

On the 6th of May, 1783, Gen. Washington wrote Sir Guy Carleton:--

 "In the course of our conversation on this point, I was surprised to hear you mention, that an embarkation had already taken place, in which a large number of negroes had been carried away. Whether this conduct is consonant to, or how far it may be deemed an infraction of the treaty, is not for me to decide. I cannot, however, conceal from you, that my private opinion is, that the measure is totally different from the letter and spirit of the treaty. But waiving the discussion of the point, and leaving its decision to our respective sovereigns; I find it my duty to signify my readiness, in conjunction with your Excellency, to enter into any agreement, or take any measures, which may be deemed expedient, to prevent the future carrying away of any negroes, or other property of the American inhabitants. "[606]

In his reply, dated New York, May 12, 1783, Sir Guy Carleton says, --

 "I enclose a copy of an order, which I have given out to prevent the carrying away any negroes or other property of the American inhabitants. "[607]

It is clear, that notwithstanding the Act of the MassachusettsLegislature, and in the face of the law of Congress on the question ofrecaptures, Gen. Washington, the Congress of the United Colonies, andsubsequently of the United States, regarded Negroes as _property_ fromthe beginning to the end of the war. The following treaties furnishabundant proof that Negroes were regarded as property during the war, by the American government:--

 "PROVISIONAL ARTICLES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY. 

 "Agreed upon by and between Richard Oswald, Esquire the Commissioner of His Britannic Majesty, for treating of Peace with the Commissioners of the United States of America, in behalf of his said Majesty, on one part, and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry Laurens, four of the Commissioners of the said States, etc. , etc. , etc. 

 "Article VII. * * * All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and His Britannic Majesty shall with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any '_negroes or other property_' of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons and fleets from the said United States, and from every port, place and harbour within the same. * * *

 "Done at Paris, Nov 30, 1782. 

 "RICHARD OSWALD, [L. S. ] "JOHN ADAMS, [L. S. ] "B. FRANKLIN, [L. S. ] "JOHN JAY, [L. S. ] "HENRY LAURENS, [L. S. ]"[608]

 "DEFINITE TREATY OF PEACE, BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY. 

 "Article VII. * * * And His Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any '_negroes or other property_' of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, etc. , etc. , etc. * * *

 "Done at Paris, Sept. 3, 1783. 

 "D HARTLEY. [L. S. ] "JOHN ADAMS, [L. S. ] "B. FRANKLIN, [L. S. ] "JOHN JAY, [L. S. ]"[609]

 "TREATY OF PEACE AND AMITY, BETWEEN HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, "[Ratified and confirmed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Feb. 11, 1815. ]

 "Article I. * * * Shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or other public property originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any '_slaves or other private property_. ' * * * *

 "Done, in triplicate, at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. 

 "GAMBIER, [L. S. ] "HENRY GOULBURN, [L. S. ] "WILLIAM ADAMS, [L. S. ] "JOHN OUINCY ADAMS, [L. S. ] "J. A. BAYARD, [L. S. ] "H. CLAY, [L. S. ] "JONA. RUSSELL, [L. S. ] "ALBERT GALLATIN. [L. S. ]"[610]

It was not a difficult matter to retake Negroes captured by the enemy, and then treat them as prisoners of war. But no officer in theAmerican army, no member of Congress, had the moral courage toproclaim that property ceased in a man the moment he donned theuniform of a Revolutionary soldier, and that all Negro soldierscaptured by the enemy should be treated as prisoners of war. So, allthrough the war with Britain, the Negro soldier was liable to beclaimed as property; and every bayonet in the army was at the commandof the master to secure his property, even though it had beentemporarily converted into an heroic soldier who had defended thecountry against its foes. The unprecedented spectacle was to bewitnessed, of a master hunting his slaves under the flag of thenation. And at the close of hostilities many Negro soldiers werecalled upon to go back into the service of their masters; while fewsecured their freedom as a reward for their valor. The followingletter of Gen. Washington, addressed to Brig. -Gen. Rufus Putnam, afterwards printed at Marietta, O. , from his papers, indicates theregard the Father of his Country had for the rights of the master, though those rights were pushed into the camp of the army where manybrave Negroes were found; and it also illustrates the legal strengthof such a claim:--

 "HEAD QUARTERS, Feb. 2, 1783. 

 "SIR, --Mr. Hobby having claimed as his property a negro man now serving in the Massachusetts Regiment, you will please to order a court of inquiry, consisting of five as respectable officers as can be found in your brigade, to examine the validity of the claim, the manner in which the person in question came into service, and the propriety of his being discharged or retained in service. Having inquired into the matter, with all the attending circumstances, they will report to you their opinion thereon; which you will report to me as soon as conveniently may be. 

 "I am, Sir, with great respect, "Your most obedient servant, "G. WASHINGTON. 

 "P. S. --All concerned should be notified to attend. 

 "Brig. -Gen. PUTNAM. "

Enlistment in the army did not work a practical emancipation of theslave, as some have thought. Negroes were rated as chattel property byboth armies and both governments during the entire war. This is thecold fact of history, and it is not pleasing to contemplate. The Negrooccupied the anomalous position of an American slave and an Americansoldier. He was a soldier in the hour of danger, but a chattel in timeof peace. 

FOOTNOTES:

[588] Felt says, in History of Salem, vol. Ii. P. 278: "Sept. 17[1776]. At this date two slaves, taken on board of a prize, were tohave been sold here; but the General Court forbid the sale, andordered such prisoners to be treated like all others. "

[589] Resolves, p. 14. Quoted by Dr. Moore from the originaldocuments. 

[590] Mr. Motley, "Rise of Dutch Republic, " vol. I. P. 151, says thatin the sixteenth century, in wars between European states, the captorhad a property in his prisoner, which was assignable. 

[591] Law of Fiefdom and Bondage, vol. I. P. 158. 

[592] Mr. Hurd says, "In ascribing slavery to the law of nations it isa very common error to use that term not in the sense of universaljurisprudence--the Roman _jus gentium_-but in the modern sense ofpublic international law, and to give the custom of enslavingprisoners of war, in illustration: as if the legal condition of otherslaves who had never been taken in war were not equally _jure gentium_according to the Roman jurisprudence" See Mr. Webster's speech, 7thMarch, 1830; Works, vol. V. P. 329. 

[593] Dawson's Stony Point, pp. 111, 118. 

[594] Dr. Moore thinks this the wrong name. The resolve proves it. 

[595] House Journal, p. 60. 

[596] Ibid, pp. 63, 64. 

[597] Resolves, p. 51. 

[598] Mass. Archives, vol. Cli. , pp. 202-294. 

[599] The indefatigable Dr. George H. Moore copied the letter from theoriginal manuscript. The portions in Italics are in the handwriting ofHancock. I have been placed under many obligations to my friend Dr. Moore. 

[600] Resolves, p. 131. 

[601] Laws, 1780, chap. V. Pp. 283, 284. 

[602] Journal, vol. Iv. Pp. 308, 309. 

[603] From Mr. Bancroft's MSS. , America, 1783, vol. Ii. Quoted by Dr. Moore. 

[604] Sparks's Washington, vol. Viii. P. 428, note. 

[605] Works of Hamilton, vol. Vii. P. 191. 

[606] Sparks's Washington, vol. Viii. Pp. 431, 432. 

[607] Sparks's Washington, vol. Viii, Appendix, p. 544. 

[608] U. S. Statutes at large, vol. Viii, pp. 54, 57. 

[609] Ibid. , pp. 80, 83. 

[610] U. S. Statutes at large, vol. Viii. P. 218. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE NEGRO INTELLECT. --BANNEKER THE ASTRONOMER. [611]. --FULLER THEMATHEMATICIAN. --DERHAM THE PHYSICIAN. 

 STATUTORY PROHIBITION AGAINST THE EDUCATION OF NEGROES. --BENJAMIN BANNEKER, THE NEGRO ASTRONOMER AND PHILOSOPHER. --HIS ANTECEDENTS. --YOUNG BANNEKER AS A FARMER AND INVENTOR. --THE MILLS OF ELLICOTT & Co. --BANNEKER CULTIVATES HIS MECHANICAL GENIUS AND MATHEMATICAL TASTES. --BANNEKER'S FIRST CALCULATION OF AN ECLIPSE SUBMITTED FOR INSPECTION IN 1789. --HIS LETTER TO MR. ELLICOTT. --THE TESTIMONY OF A PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCE OF BANNEKER AS TO HIS UPRIGHT CHARACTER. --HIS HOME BECOMES A PLACE OF INTEREST TO VISITORS. --RECORD OF HIS BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS. --MRS MASON'S VISIT TO HIM. --SHE ADDRESSES HIM IN VERSE. --BANNEKER REPLIES BY LETTER TO HER. --PREPARES HIS FIRST ALMANAC FOR PUBLICATION IN 1792. --TITLE OF HIS ALMANAC. --BANNEKER'S LETTER TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. --THOMAS JEFFERSON'S REPLY. --BANNEKER INVITED TO ACCOMPANY THE COMMISSIONERS TO RUN THE LINES OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. --BANNEKER'S HABITS OF STUDYING THE HEAVENLY BODIES. --MINUTE DESCRIPTION GIVEN TO HIS SISTERS IN REFERENCE TO THE DISPOSITION OF HIS PERSONAL PROPERTY AFTER DEATH.. --HIS DEATH.. --REGARDED AS THE MOST DISTINGUISHED NEGRO OF HIS TIME. --FULLER THE MATHEMATICIAN, OR "THE VIRGINIA CALCULATOR". --FULLER OF AFRICAN BIRTH, BUT STOLEN AND SOLD AS A SLAVE INTO VIRGINIA. --VISITED BY MEN OF LEARNING. --HE WAS PRONOUNCED TO BE A PRODIGY IN THE MANIPULATION OF FIGURES. --HIS DEATH. --DERHAM THE PHYSICIAN. --SCIENCE OF MEDICINE REGARDED AS THE MOST INTRICATE PURSUIT OF MAN. --DAILY LIFE OF JAMES DERHAM. --HIS KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICINES, HOW ACQUIRED. --HE BECOMES A PROMINENT PHYSICIAN IN NEW ORLEANS. --DR. RUSH GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM. --WHAT THE NEGRO RACE PRODUCED BY THEIR GENIUS IN AMERICA. 

From the moment slavery gained a foothold in North America until thedireful hour that witnessed its dissolution amid the shock ofembattled arms, learning was the forbidden fruit that no Negro daredtaste. Positive and explicit statutes everywhere, as fiery swords, drove him away hungry from the tree of intellectual life; and allpersons were forbidden to pluck the fruit for him, upon pain of severepenalties. Every yearning for intellectual food was answered by whipsand thumb-screws. 

But, notwithstanding the state of almost instinctive ignorance inwhich slavery held the Negro, there were those who occasionallyastounded the world with the brightness of their intellectual genius. There were some Negroes whose minds ran the gauntlet of publicproscription on one side and repressive laws on the other, and safelygained eminence in _astronomy, mathematics_, and _medicine_. 

BANNEKER THE ASTRONOMER. 

BENJAMIN BANNEKER, the Negro _astronomer_ and _philosopher_, was bornin Maryland, on the 9th of November, 1731. His maternal grandmotherwas a white woman, a native of England, named _Molly Welsh_. She cameto Maryland in a shipload of white emigrants, who, according to thecustom of those days, were sold to pay their passage. She served hermaster faithfully for seven years, when, being free, she purchased asmall farm, at a nominal price. Soon after she bought two Negro slavesfrom a ship that had come into the Chesapeake Bay, and began lifeanew. Both of these Negroes proved to be men of more than ordinaryfidelity, industry, and intelligence. One of them, it was said, wasthe son of an African king. She gave him his freedom, and then marriedhim. His name was Banneker. [612] Four children were the fruit of thisunion; but the chief interest centres in only one, --a girl, namedMary. Following the example of her mother, she also married a nativeof Africa: but both tradition and history preserve an unbroken silencerespecting his life, with the single exception that, embracing theChristian religion, he was baptized "Robert Banneker;" and the recordof his death is thus preserved, in the family Bible: "_Robert Bannekerdeparted this life, July 'ye_ 10th 1759. " Thus it is evident that hetook his wife's surname. Benjamin Banneker was the only child ofRobert and Mary Banneker. 

Young Benjamin was a great favorite with his grandmother, who taughthim to read. She had a sincere love of the Sacred Scriptures, whichshe did not neglect to inculcate into the youthful heart of hergrandson. In the neighborhood, --at that time an almost desolatespot, --a school was conducted where the master admitted severalColored children, with the whites, to the benefits of hisinstructions. It was a "pay school, " and thither young Banneker wassent at a very tender age. His application to his studies was equalledby none. When the other pupils were playing, he found great pleasurein his books. How long he remained in school, is not known. 

His father purchased a farm of one Richard Gist, and here he spent theremnant of his days. 

When young Banneker had obtained his majority, he gave attention tothe various interests of farm-life. He was industrious, intelligent inhis labors, scrupulously neat in the management of his grounds, cultivated a valuable garden, was gentle in his treatment ofstock, --horses, cows, etc. , --and was indeed comfortably situated. During those seasons of leisure which come to agriculturists, hestored his mind with useful knowledge. Starting with the Bible, heread history, biography, travels, romance, and such works on generalliterature as he was able to borrow. His mind seemed to turn withespecial satisfaction to mathematics, and he acquainted himself withthe most difficult problems. 

He had a taste also for mechanics. He conceived the idea of making atimepiece, a clock, and about the year 1770 constructed one. With hisimperfect tools, and with no other model than a borrowed watch, it hadcost him long and patient labor to perfect it, to make the variationnecessary to cause it to strike the hours, and produce a concert ofcorrect action between the hour, the minute, and the second machinery. He confessed that its regularity in pointing out the progress of timehad amply rewarded all his pains in its construction. [613]

In 1773 Ellicott & Co. Built flour-mills in a valley near the banks ofthe Patapsco River. Banneker watched the mills go up; and, when themachinery was set in motion, looked on with interest, as he had asplendid opportunity of observing new principles of mechanism. He mademany visits to the mills, and became acquainted with theirproprietors; and, till the day of his death, he found in the Ellicottskind and helpful friends. 

After a short time the Ellicotts erected a store, where, a littlelater, a post-office, was opened. To this point the farmers andgentlemen, for miles around, used to congregate. Banneker often calledat the post-office, where, after overcoming his natural modesty anddiffidence, he was frequently called out in conversations covering avariety of topics. His conversational powers, his inexhaustible fundof information, and his broad learning (for those times andconsidering his circumstances), made him the connoisseur of thatsection. At times he related, in modest terms, the difficulties he wasconstrained to encounter in order to acquire the knowledge of books hehad, and the unsatisfied longings he still had for further knowledge. His fame as a mathematician was already established, and with theincreasing facilities of communication his accomplishments andachievements were occupying the thought of many intelligent people. 

 "By this time he had become very expert in the solution of difficult mathematical problems, which were then, more than in this century, the amusement of persons of leisure, and they were frequently sent to him from scholars residing in different parts of our country who wished to test his capacity. He is reported to have been successful in every case, and, sometimes, he returned with his answers, questions of his own composition conveyed in rhyme. "

The following question was propounded to Mr. George Ellicott, and wassolved by Benjamin Hallowell of Alexandria. 

 "A Cooper and Vintner sat down for a talk, Both being so groggy, that neither could walk, Says Cooper to Vintner, 'I'm the first of my trade, There's no kind of vessel, but what I have made, And of any shape, Sir, --just what you will, -- And of any size, Sir, --from a ton to a gill!' 'Then, ' says the Vintner, 'you're the man for me, -- Make me a vessel, if we can agree. The top and the bottom diameter define, To bear that proportion as fifteen to nine; Thirty-five inches are just what I crave, No more and no less, in the depth, will I have; Just thirty-nine gallons this vessel must hold, -- Then I will reward you with silver or gold, -- Give me your promise, my honest old friend?' 'I'll make it to-morrow, that you may depend!' So the next day the Cooper his work to discharge, Soon made the new vessel, but made it too large:-- He took out some staves, which made it too small, And then cursed the vessel, the Vintner and all. He beat on his breast, 'By the Powers!'--he swore, He never would work at his trade any more! Now my worthy friend, find out, if you can, The vessel's dimensions and comfort the man!

 "BENJAMIN BANNEKER. "

The greater diameter of Banneker's tub must be 24. 746 inches; the lessdiameter, 14. 8476 inches. 

He was described by a gentleman who had often met him at Ellicott'sMills as "of black complexion, medium stature, of uncommonly soft andgentlemanly manners and of pleasing colloquial powers. "

Fortunately Mr. George Ellicott was a gentleman of exquisite literarytaste and critical judgment. He discovered in Banneker the elements ofa cultivated gentleman and profound scholar. He threw open his libraryto this remarkable Negro, loaded him with books and astronomicalinstruments, and gave him the emphatic assurance of sympathy andencouragement. He occasionally made Banneker a visit, when he wouldurge upon him the importance of making astronomical calculations foralmanacs. Finally, in the spring of 1789, Banneker submitted to Mr. Ellicott his first projection of an eclipse. It was found to contain aslight error; and, having kindly pointed it out, Mr. Ellicott receivedthe following reply from Banneker:--

 LETTER OF BENJAMIN BANNEKER TO GEORGE ELLICOTT. 

 "Sir, --I received your letter at the hand of Bell but found nothing strange to me In the Letter Concerning the number of Eclipses, the according to authors the Edge of the penumber only touches the Suns Limb in that Eclips, that I left out of the Number--which happens April 14th day, at 37 minutes past 7 o'clock in the morning, and is the first we shall have; but since you wrote to me, I drew in the Equations of the Node which will cause a small Solar Defet, but as I did not intend to publish, I was not so very peticular as I should have been, but was more intent upon the true method of projecting; a Solar Eclips--It is an easy matter for us when a Diagram is laid down before us, to draw one in resemblance of it, but it is a hard matter for young Tyroes in Astronomy, when only the Elements for the projection is laid down before him to draw his diagram with any degree of Certainty. 

 "Says the Learned LEADBETTER, the projection, I shall here describe, is that mentioned by Mr. Flamsted. When the sun is in Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio or, Sagitary, the Axes of the Globe must lie to the right hand of the Axes of the Ecliptic, but when the sun is in Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, or Gemini, then to the left. 

 "Says the wise author FERGUSON, when the sun is in Capercorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemeni, the Northern half of the Earths Axes lies to the right hand of the Axes of the Ecliptic and to the left hand, whilst the Sun is on the other six signs. 

 "Now Mr. Ellicott, two such learned gentlemen as the above mentioned, one in direct opposition to the other, stagnates young beginners, but I hope the stagnation will not be of long duration, for this I observe that Leadbetter counts the time on the path of Vertex 1, 2, 3 &c. From the right to the left hand or from the consequent to the antecedent, --But Ferguson on the path of Vertex counts the time 1, 2, 3 &c. From the left to the right hand, according to the order of numbers, so that that is regular, shall compensate for irregularity. Now sir if I can overcome this difficulty I doubt not being able to calculate a Common Almanac--Sir no more

 "But remain your faithful friend, "B. BANNEKER. 

 "Mr. GEORGE ELLICOTT, _Oct. 13th, 1789. _"

His mother, an active, intelligent, slight-built Mulatto, with longblack hair, had exercised a tender but positive influence over him. His character, so far as is known, was without blemish, with thesingle exception of an occasional use of ardent spirits. He foundhimself conforming too frequently to the universal habit of the times, social drinking. Liquors and wines were upon the tables and sideboardsof the best families, and wherever Banneker went it confronted him. Hefelt his weakness in this regard, and resolved to abstain from the useof strong drink. Some time after returning from a visit to Washington, in company with the commissioners who laid out the District ofColumbia, he related to his friends that during the entire absencefrom home he had abstained from the use of liquors; adding, "I fearedto trust myself even with wine, lest it should steal away the littlesense I have. " On a leaf of one of his almanacs, appears the followingin his own handwriting:--

 "Evil communications corrupt good manners, I hope to live to hear, that good communication corrects 'bad manners. '"

He had a just appreciation of his own strength. He hated vice of everykind; and, while he did not connect himself to any church, he wasdeeply attached to the _Society of Friends. _ He was frequently seen intheir meeting-house. He usually occupied the rear bench, where hewould sit with uncovered head, leaning upon his staff, wrapt inprofound meditation. The following letter addressed to Mr. J. SaurinNorris shows that his character was upright:--

 "In the year 1800, I commenced my engagements in the store of Ellicott's Mills, where my first acquaintance with Benjamin Banneker began. He often came to the store to purchase articles for his own use; and, after hearing him converse, I was always anxious to wait upon him. After making his purchases, he usually went to the part of the store where George Ellicott was in the habit of sitting to converse with him about the affairs of our Government and other matters. He was very precise in conversation and exhibited deep reflection. His deportment whenever I saw him, appeared to be perfectly upright and correct, and he seemed to be acquainted with every thing of importance that was passing in the country. 

 "I recollect to have seen his Almanacs in my father's house, and believe they were the only ones used in the neighborhood at the time. He was a large man inclined to be fleshy, and was far advanced in years, when I first saw him, I remember being once at his house, but do not recollect any thing about the comforts of his establishment, nor of the old clock, about which you enquired. He was fond of, and well qualified, to work out abstruse questions in arithmetic. I remember, he brought to the store, one which he had composed himself, and presented to George Ellicott for solution. I had a copy which I have since lost; but the character and deportment of the man being so wholly different from any thing I had ever seen from one of his color, his question made so deep an impression on my mind I have ever since retained a perfect recollection of it, except two lines, which do not alter the sense. I remember that George Ellicott, was engaged in making out the answer, and cannot now say that he succeeded, but have no doubt he did. I have thus, briefly given you my recollections of Benjamin Banneker. I was young when he died, and doubtless many incidents respecting him, have, from the time which has since elapsed, passed from my recollection:

 "CHARLES W. DORSEY, _of Elkridge_. "

After the death of his mother, Banneker dwelt alone until the day ofhis death, having never married, his manners were gentle and engaging, his benevolence proverbial. His home became a place of great interestto visitors, whom he always received cordially, and treated hospitablyall who called. 

 "We found the venerable star-gazer, " says the author of the Memoir of Susanna Mason, "under a wide spreading pear tree, leaden with delicious fruit; he came forward to meet us, and bade us welcome to his lowly dwelling. It was built of logs, one story in height, and was surrounded by an orchard. In one corner of the room, was suspended a clock of his own construction, _which_ was a true hearald of departing hours. He was careful in the little affairs of life as well as in the great matters. He kept record of all his business transactions, literary and domestic. The following extracts from his Account Book exhibit his love for detail. 

 "'Sold on the 2nd of April, 1795, to Buttler, Edwards & Kiddy, the right of an Almanac, for the year 1796, for the sum of 80 dollars, equal to £30. 

 "'On the 30th of April, 1795, lent John Ford five dollars. £1 17s. 6d. 

 "'12th of December, 1797, bought a pound of candles at 1s. 8d. 

 "'Sold to John Collins 2 qts. Of dried peaches 6d. "1 qt. Mead 4d. 

 "'On the 26th of March, came Joshua Sanks with 3 or 4 bushels of turnips to feed the cows. 

 "'13th of April, 1803, planted beans and sowed cabbage seed. '

 "He took down from a shelf a little book, wherein he registered the names of those, by whose visits he felt particularly honored, and recorded my mother's name upon the list; he then, diffidently, but very respectfully, requested her acceptance of one of his Almanacs in manuscript. "

Within a few days after this visit Mrs. Mason addressed him in apoetical letter, which found its way into the papers of the section, and was generally read. The subjoined portions are sufficient toexhibit the character of the effusion. The admonitory lines at the enddoubtless refer to his early addiction to strong drink. 

 "_An Address to_ BENJAMIN BANNEKER, _an African Astronomer, who presented the Author with a Manuscript Almanac in_ 1796. "

 "Transmitted on the wings of Fame, Thine _eclat_ sounding with thy name, Well pleased, I heard, ere 'twas my lot To see thee in thy humble cot. That genius smiled upon thy birth, And application called it forth; That times and tides thou could'st presage, And traverse the Celestial stage, Where shining globes their circles run, In swift rotation round the sun; Could'st tell how planets in their way, From order ne'er were known to stray. Sun, moon and stars, when they will rise, When sink below the upper skies, When an eclipse shall veil their light, And hide their splendor from our sight. . . . . . . . . . Some men whom private walks pursue, Whom fame ne'er ushered into view, May run their race, and few observe To right or left, if they should swerve, Their blemishes would not appear, Beyond their lives a single year. -- But thou, a man exalted high, Conspicuous in the world's keen eye, On record now, thy name's enrolled, And future ages will be told, -- There lived a man named BANNEKER, An African Astronomer!-- Thou need'st to have a special care, Thy conduct with thy talent square, That no contaminating vice, Obscure thy lustre in our eyes. "

During the following year Banneker sent the following letter to hisgood friend Mrs. Mason:--

 "_August 26th, 1797_. 

 "DEAR FEMALE FRIEND:--

 "I have thought of you every day since I saw you last, and of my promise in respect of composing some verses for your amusement, but I am very much indisposed, and have been ever since that time. I have a constant pain in my head, a palpitation in my flesh, and I may say I am attended with a complication of disorders, at this present writing, so that I cannot with any pleasure or delight, gratify your curiosity in that particular, at this present time, yet I say my will is good to oblige you, if I had it in my power, because you gave me good advice, and edifying language, in that piece of poetry which you was pleased to present unto me, and I can but love and thank you for the same; and if ever it should be in my power to be serviceable to you, in any measure, your reasonable requests, shall be armed with the obedience of, "Your sincere friend and well-wisher, "BENJAMIN BANNEKER. 

 "MRS. SUSANNA MASON. 

 "N. B. The above is mean writing, done with trembling hands. B. B. "

With the use of Mayer's Tables, Ferguson's Astronomy, and Leadbeater'sLunar Tables, Banneker had made wonderful progress in his astronomicalinvestigations. He prepared his first almanac for publication in 1792. Mr. James McHenry became deeply interested in him, and, convinced ofhis talent in this direction, wrote a letter to the firm of Goddard &Angell, publishers of almanacs, in Baltimore. They became the solepublishers of Banneker's almanacs till the time of his death. In aneditorial note in the first almanac, they say, --

 "They feel gratified in the opportunity of presenting to the public, through their press, what must be considered as an extraordinary effort of genius; a complete and accurate Ephemeris for the year 1792, calculated by a sable descendant of Africa, " etc. 

And they further say, --

 "That they flatter themselves that a philanthropic public, in this enlightened era, will be induced to give their patronage and support to this work, not only on account of its intrinsic merits, (it having met the approbation of several of the most distinguished astronomers of America, particularly the celebrated Mr. Rittenhouse, ) but from similar motives to those which induced the editors to give this calculation the preference, --the ardent desire of drawing modest merit from obscurity, and controverting the long-established illiberal prejudice against the blacks. "

The title of his almanac is given below as a matter of historicinterest. 

 "Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland Almanac and Ephemeris, for the year of our Lord 1792, being Bissextile or leap year, and the sixteenth year of American Independence, which commenced July 4, 1776; containing the motions of the Sun and Moon, the true places and aspects of the Planets, the rising and setting of the Sun, and the rising, setting, and southing, place and age of the Moon, &c. The Lunations, Conjunctions, Eclipses, Judgment of the Weather, Festivals, and remarkable days. "

He had evidently read Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia; and touchedby the humane sentiment there exhibited, as well as saddened by thedoubt expressed respecting the intellect of the Negro, Banneker senthim a copy of his first almanac, accompanied by a letter which pleadedthe cause of his race, and in itself, was a refutation of the chargethat the Negro had no intellectual outcome. 

 "MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY, August 19, 1791. 

 "SIR, "I am fully sensible of the greatness of the freedom I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified station in which you stand, and the almost general prejudice which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion. 

 "It is a truth too well attested, to need a proof here, that we are a race of beings, who have long laboured under the abuse and censure of the world; that we have long been looked upon with an eye of contempt; and considered rather as brutish than human, and scarcely capable of mental endowments. 

 "I hope I may safely admit, in consequence of the report which has reached me, that you are a man far less inflexible in sentiments of this nature, than many others, that you are measurably friendly and well disposed towards us; and that you are willing to lend your aid and assistance for our relief from those many distresses, and numerous calamities, to which we are reduced. 

 "If this is founded in truth, I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevail with respect to us: and that your sentiments are concurrent with mine, which are, that one universal Father hath given being to us all; that He hath not only made us all of one flesh, but that He hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the same sensations, and endowed us all with the same faculties; and that however variable we may be in society or religion, however diversified in situation or in colour, we are all of the same family, and stand in the same relation to Him. 

 "If these are sentiments of which you are fully persuaded, you cannot but acknowledge, that it is the indispensable duty of those, who maintain for themselves the rights of human nature, and who profess the obligations of Christianity, to extend their powers and influence to the relief of every part of the human race, from whatever burden or oppression they may unjustly labour under: and this, I apprehend, a full conviction of the truth and obligation of these principles should lead all to. 

 "I have long been convinced, that if your love for yourselves, and for those inestimable laws which preserved to you the rights of human nature, was founded on sincerity you could not but be solicitous, that every individual, of whatever rank or distinction, might with you equally enjoy the blessings thereof; neither could you rest satisfied short of the most active effusion of your exertions, in order to their promotion from any state of degradation, to which the unjustifiable cruelty and barbarism of men may have reduced them. 

 "I freely and cheerfully acknowledge, that I am of the African race, and in that colour which is natural to them, of the deepest dye; and it is under a sense of the most profound gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, that I now confess to you, that I am not under that state of tyrannical thraldom, and inhuman captivity, to which too many of my brethren are doomed, but that I have abundantly tasted of the fruition of those blessings, which proceed from that free and unequalled liberty with which you are favoured; and which I hope you will willingly allow you have mercifully received, from the immediate hand of that Being from whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift. 

 "Suffer me to recall to your mind that time, in which the arms of the British crown were exerted, with every powerful effort, in order to reduce you to a state of servitude: look back, I entreat you, on the variety of dangers to which you were exposed; reflect on that period in which every human aid appeared unavailable, and in which even hope and fortitude wore the aspect of inability to the conflict, and you cannot but be led to a serious and grateful sense of your miraculous and providential preservation; you cannot but acknowledge, that the present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy, you have mercifully received, and that it is the peculiar blessing of heaven. 

 "This, Sir, was a time when you cleary saw into the injustice of a state of Slavery, and in which you had just apprehensions of the horrors of its condition. It was then that your abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you publicly held forth this true and invaluable doctrine, which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeeding ages: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. '

 "Here, was a time in which your tender feelings for yourselves had engaged you thus to declare; you were then impressed with proper ideas of the great violation of liberty, and the free possession of those blessings, to which you were entitled by nature; but, sir, how pitiable is it to reflect, that although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution of these rights and privileges which he hath conferred upon them, that you should at the same time counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud and violence, so numerous a part of my brethren under groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves. 

 "Your knowledge of the situation of my brethren is too extensive to need a recital here; neither shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved, otherwise than by recommending to you and all others, to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them, and as Job proposed to his friends, 'put your soul in their soul's stead;' thus shall your hearts be enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards them; and thus shall you need neither the direction of myself or others in what manner to proceed herein. 

 "And now, sir, although my sympathy and affection for my brethren hath caused my enlargement thus far, I ardently hope, that your candour and generosity will plead with you in my behalf, when I state that it was not originally my design; but having taken up my pen in order to present a copy of an almanac which I have calculated for the succeeding year, I was unexpectedly led thereto. 

 "This calculation is the production of my arduous study, in my advanced stage of life: for having long had unbounded desires to become acquainted with the secrets of nature, I have had to gratify my curiosity herein through my own assiduous application to astronomical study, in which I need not recount to you the many difficulties and disadvantages which I have had to encounter. 

 "And although I had almost declined to make my calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of the time which I had allotted for it being taken up at the federal territory, by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, yet I industriously applied myself thereto, and hope I have accomplished it with correctness and accuracy. I have taken the liberty to direct a copy to you, which I humbly request you will favourably receive; and although you may have the opportunity of perusing it after its publication, yet I desire to send it to you in manuscript previous thereto, that thereby you might not only have an earlier inspection, but that you might also view it in my own handwriting. 

 "And now, sir, I shall conclude, and subscribe myself, with the most profound respect, "Your most obedient humble servant, "BENJAMIN BANNEKER. "

Mr. Jefferson, who was Secretary of State under President Washington, sent the great Negro the following courteous reply:--

 "PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 30, 1791. 

 "SIR, --I thank you sincerely for your letter of the 19th instant, and for the almanac it contained. Nobody wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that Nature has given to our black brethren talents equal to those of the other colors of men, and that the appearance of a want of them is owing only to the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa and America. I can add, with truth, that no one wishes more ardently to see a good system commenced for raising the condition, both of their body and mind, to what it ought to be, as fast as the imbecility of their present existence, and other circumstances which cannot be neglected, will admit. I have taken the liberty of sending your almanac to Monsieur de Condorcet, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, at Paris, and members of the Philanthropic Society, because I considered it a document to which your whole color had a right, for their justification against the doubts which have been entertained of them, "I am, with great esteem, sir, "Your most obedient servant, "THO. JEFFERSON. 

 "MR. BENJAMIN BANNEKER, near Ellicott's

 Lower Mills, Baltimore county. "[614]

The only time Banneker was ever absent from his home any distance waswhen "the Commissioners to run the lines of the District ofColumbia"--then known as the "Federal Territory"--invited him toaccompany them upon their mission. Mr. Norris says:--

 "Banneker's deportment throughout the whole of this engagement, secured their respect, and there is good authority for believing, that his endowments led the commissioners to overlook the color of his skin, to converse with him freely, and enjoy the clearness and originality of his remarks on various subjects. It is a fact, that they honored him with an invitation to a daily seat at their table; but this, with his usual modesty, he declined. They then ordered a side table laid for him, in the same apartment with themselves. On his return, he called to give an account of his engagements, at the house of one of his friends. He arrived on horseback, dressed in his usual costume;--full suit of drab cloth, surmounted by a broad brimmed beaver hat. He seemed to have been re-animated by the presence of the eminent men with whom he had mingled in the District, and gave a full account of their proceedings. "

His habits of study were rather peculiar. At nightfall, wrapped in agreat cloak, he would lie prostrate upon the ground, where he spentthe night in contemplation of the heavenly bodies. At sunrise he wouldretire to his dwelling, where he spent a portion of the day in repose. But as he seemed to require less sleep than most people, he employedthe hours of the afternoons in the cultivation of his garden, trimmingof fruit-trees, or in observing the habits and flight of his bees. When his service and attention were not required out-doors, he busiedhimself with his books, papers, and mathematical instruments, at alarge oval table in his house. The situation of Banneker's dwellingwas one which would be admired by every lover of nature, and furnisheda fine field for the observation of celestial phenomena. It was abouthalf a mile from the Patapsco River, and commanded a prospect of thenear and distant hills upon its banks, which have been so justlycelebrated for their picturesque beauty. A never-failing spring issuedfrom beneath a large golden-willow tree in the midst of hisorchard. [615] The whole situation was charming, inspiring, and nodoubt helped him in the solution of difficult problems. 

There is no reliable data to enlighten us as to the day of his death;but it is the opinion of those who lived near him, and theirdescendants, that he died in the fall of 1804. It was a bright, beautiful day, and feeling unwell he walked out on the hills to enjoythe sunlight and air. During his walk he came across a neighbor, towhom he complained of being sick. They both returned to his house, where, after lying down upon his couch, he became speechless, and diedpeacefully. During a previous sickness he had charged his sisters, Minta Black and Molly Morten, that, so soon as he was dead, all thebooks, instruments, etc. , which Mr. Ellicott had loaned him, should betaken back to the benevolent lender; and, as a token of his gratitude, all his manuscripts containing all his almanacs, his observations andwritings on various subjects, his letter to Thomas Jefferson, and thatgentleman's reply, etc. , were given to Mr. Ellicott. [616] On the dayof his death, faithful to the instructions of their brother, Banneker's sisters had all the articles moved to Mr. Ellicott's house;and their arrival was the first sad news of the astronomer's death. Tothe promptness of these girls in carrying out his orders is thegratitude of the friends of science due for the preservation of theresults of Banneker's labors. During the performance of the last sadrites at the grave, two days after his death, his house was discoveredto be on fire. It burnt so rapidly that it was impossible to save anything: so his clock and other personal property perished in theflames. He had given to one of his sisters a feather-bed, upon whichhe had slept for many years; and she, fortunately and thoughtfully, removed it when he died, and prized it as the only memorial of herdistinguished brother. Some years after, she had occasion to open thebed, when she discovered a purse of money--another illustration of hiscareful habits and frugality. 

Benjamin Banneker was known favorably on two continents, and at thetime of his death was the most intelligent and distinguished Negro inthe United States. 

FULLER THE MATHEMATICIAN. 

One of the standing arguments against the Negro was, that he lackedthe faculty of solving mathematical problems. This charge was madewithout a disposition to allow him an opportunity to submit himself toa proper test. It was equivalent to putting out a man's eyes, and thenasserting boldly that he cannot see; of manacling his ankles, andcharging him with the inability to run. But notwithstanding all theprohibitions against instructing the Negro, and his far remove fromintellectual stimulants, the subject to whom attention is now calledhad within his own untutored intellect the elements of a greatmathematician. 

Thomas Fuller, familiarly known as the Virginia Calculator, was anative of Africa. At the age of fourteen he was stolen, and sold intoslavery in Virginia, where he found himself the property of a planterresiding about four miles from Alexandria. He did not understand theart of reading or writing, but by a marvellous faculty was able toperform the most difficult calculations. Dr. Benjamin Rush ofPhiladelphia, Penn. , in a letter addressed to a gentleman residing inManchester, Eng. , says that hearing of the phenomenal mathematicalpowers of "Negro Tom, " he, in company with other gentlemen passingthrough Virginia, sent for him. One of the gentlemen asked him howmany seconds a man of seventy years, some odd months, weeks, and days, had lived, he gave the exact number in a minute and a half. Thegentleman took a pen, and after some figuring told Tom he must bemistaken, as the number was too great. " 'Top, massa!" exclaimed Tom, "you hab left out de leap-years!" And sure enough, on including theleap-years in the calculation, the number given by Tom was correct. 

 "He was visited by William Hartshorn and Samuel Coates, " says Mr. Needles, "of this city (Philadelphia), and gave correct answers to all their questions such as, How many seconds there are in a year and a half? In two minutes he answered 47, 304, 000. How many seconds in seventy years, seventeen days, twelve hours? In one minute and a half, 2, 110, 500, 800. [617]

That he was a prodigy, no one will question. [618] He was the wonder ofthe age. The following appeared in several newspapers at the time ofhis death:--

 "DIED, --Negro Tom, the famous African calculator, aged 80 years. He was the property of Mrs. Elizabeth Cox, of Alexandria. Tom was a very black man. He was brought to this country at the age of fourteen, and was sold as a slave with many of his unfortunate countrymen. This man was a prodigy. Though he could neither read nor write, he had perfectly acquired the use of enumeration. He could give the number of months, days, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds, for any period of time that a person chose to mention, allowing in his calculations for all the leap years that happened in the time. He would give the number of poles, yards, feet, inches, and barley-corns in a given distance--say, the diameter of the earth's orbit--and in every calculation he would produce the true answer in less time than ninety-nine out of a hundred men would take with their pens. And what was, perhaps, more extraordinary, though interrupted in the progress of his calculations, and engaged in discourse upon any other subject, his operations were not thereby in the least deranged; he would go on where he left off, and could give any and all of the stages through which the calculation had passed. 

 "Thus died Negro Tom, this untaught arithmetician, this untutored scholar. Had his opportunities of improvement been equal to those of thousands of his fellow-men, neither the Royal Society of London, the Academy of Science at Paris, nor even a Newton himself need have been ashamed to acknowledge him a brother in science. "[619]

DERHAM THE PHYSICIAN. 

Through all time the science of medicine has been regarded as rankingamong the most intricate and delicate pursuits man could follow. OurSaviour was called "the Great Physician, " and St. Luke "the belovedphysician. " No profession brings a man so near to humanity, and noother class of men have a higher social standing than those who areconsecrated to the "art of healing. " Such a position demands of a mannot only profound research in the field of medicine, but the rarestintellectual and social gifts and accomplishments. For a Negro to gainsuch a position in the nineteenth century would require merit ofunusual order. But in the eighteenth century, when slavery had castits long, dark shadows over the entire life of the nation, for aNegro, born and reared a slave, to obtain fame in medicine second tonone on the continent, was an achievement that justly challenged theadmiration of the civilized world. 

Dr. James Derham was born a slave in Philadelphia in 1762. His masterwas a physician. James was taught to read and write, and earlyrendered valuable assistance to his master in compounding medicines. Endowed with more than average intelligence, he took a great liking tothe science of medicine, and absorbed all the information that camewithin his observation. On the death of his master he was sold to thesurgeon of the Sixteenth British Regiment, at that time stationed inPhiladelphia. At the close of the war he was sold to Dr. Robert Doveof New Orleans, a humane and intelligent man, who employed him as hisassistant in a large business. He grew in a knowledge of hisprofession every day, was prompt and faithful in the discharge of thetrusts reposed in him, and thereby gained the confidence of hismaster. Dr. Dove was so much pleased with him, that he offered him hisfreedom upon very easy terms, requiring only two or three years'service. At the end of the time designated, Dr. Derham entered intothe practice of medicine upon his own account. He acquired theEnglish, French, and Spanish languages so as to speak them fluently, and built up a practice in a short time worth three thousand dollars ayear. [620] He married, and attached himself to the Episcopal Church, in 1788, and at twenty-six years of age was regarded as one of themost eminent physicians in New Orleans. 

Dr. Rush of Philadelphia, in "The American Museum" for January, 1789, gave an interesting account of this distinguished "Negro physician. "Says Dr. Rush, --

 "I have conversed with him upon most of the acute and epidemic diseases of the country where he lives. I expected to have suggested some new medicines to him, but he suggested many more to me. He is very modest and engaging in his manners. He speaks French fluently, and has some knowledge of the Spanish. "[621]

Phillis Wheatley has been mentioned already. So, in the midst ofdarkness and oppression, the Negro race in America, without the use ofthe Christian church, schoolhouse, or printing-press, produced a_poetess_, an _astronomer_, a _mathematician_, and a _physician_, who, had they been white, would have received monuments and gratefulmemorials at the hands of their countrymen. But even their colorcannot rob them of the immortality their genius earned. 

FOOTNOTES:

[611] William Wells Brown, William C Nell, and all the Colored menwhose efforts I have seen, have made a number of very serious mistakesrespecting Banneker's parentage, age, accomplishments, etc. _He was ofmixed blood_. His mother's name was not Molly Morton, but one of hissisters bore that name. 

I have used the Memoirs of Banneker, prepared by J. H. B. Latrobe and J. Saurin Norris, and other valuable material from the MarylandHistorical Society. 

[612] In the most remote records the name was written _Banneky_. 

[613] J. Saurin Norris's sketch. 

[614] Jefferson's Works, vol. Iii. P. 291. 

[615] See Norris, paper on Banneker. 

[616] All of Banneker's literary remains were published by J. H. B. Latrobe in the Maryland Historical Society, and in the MarylandColonization Journal in 1845. The Memoir of Banneker was somewhatmarred by a too precipitous and zealous attempt to preach the doctrineof colonization. 

[617] Needles's Hist. Memoir of the Penn. Society for Promoting theAbolition of Slavery, p 32. 

[618] J. P. Brissot de Warville's Travels in the U. S. , vol. I p. 243. 

[619] Columbian Centinal of Boston, Dec. 29, 1790. 

[620] Brissot de Warville's New Travels in the U. S. , ed. 1794, vol. I. P. 242. 

[621] For an account of Fuller and Derham, see De la Littérature desNègres, ou Recherches sur leurs Facultés intellectuelles, leursQualités morales et leur Littérature; suivies de Notices sur la Vie etles Ouvrages des Nègres qui se sont distingués dans les Sciences, lesLettres et les Arts. Par H. GRÉGOIRE, ancien Évêque de Blois, membredu Sénat conservateur, de l'Institut national, de la Société royaledes Sciences de Göttingue, etc. Paris: MDCCCVIII. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

SLAVERY DURING THE REVOLUTION. 

1775-1783. 

 PROGRESS OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. --A GREAT WAR FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF THE COLONIES, FROM POLITICAL BONDAGE. --CONDITION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES DURING THE WAR. --THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. --IMMEDIATE LEGISLATION AGAINST SLAVERY DEMANDED. --ADVERTISEMENT FROM "THE INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE. "--PETITION OF MASSACHUSETTS STATES. --AN ACT PREVENTING THE PRACTICE OF HOLDING PERSONS IN SLAVERY. --ADVERTISEMENT FROM "THE CONTINENTAL JOURNAL. "--A LAW PASSED IN VIRGINIA LIMITING THE RIGHTS OF SLAVES. --LAW DEMANDING ALL SLAVES WHO SERVED IN THE ARMY. --NEW YORK PROMISES HER NEGRO SOLDIERS FREEDOM. --A CONSCIENTIOUS MINORITY IN FAVOR OF THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. --SLAVERY FLOURISHES DURING THE ENTIRE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 

The thunder of the guns of the Revolution did not drown the voice ofthe auctioneer. The slave-trade went on. A great war for theemancipation of the colonies from the political bondage into which theBritish Parliament fain would precipitate them did not depreciate themarket value of human flesh. Those whose hearts were not enlisted inthe war skulked in the rear, and gloated over the blood-stainedshekels they wrung from the domestic slave-trade. While the precariouscondition of the Southern States during the war made legislation insupport of the institution of slavery impolitic, there were, nevertheless, many severe laws in force during this entire period. Inthe New England and Middle States there was heard an occasional voicefor the oppressed; but it was generally strangled at the earliestmoment of its being by that hell-born child, avarice. On the 21st ofSeptember, 1776, William Gordon of Roxbury, Mass. , wrote, --

 The Virginians begin their Declaration of Rights with saying, 'that _all _ men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive themselves or their posterity; among which are the enjoyment of life and _liberty_. ' The Congress declare that they 'hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created _equal_, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain _inalienable rights_, that among these are life, _liberty_ and pursuit of happiness. ' The Continent has rung with affirmations of the like import. If these, Gentlemen, are our genuine sentiments, and we are not provoking the Deity, by acting hypocritically to serve a turn, let us apply earnestly and heartily to the extirpation of slavery from among ourselves. Let the State allow of nothing beyond servitude for a stipulated number of years, and that only for seven or eight, when persons are of age, or till they are of age: and let the descendants of the Africans born among us, be viewed as free-born; and be wholly at their own disposal when one-and-twenty, the latter part of which age will compensate for the expense of infancy, education, and so on. "

No one gave heed. Two months later, Nov. 14, there appeared in "TheIndependent Chronicle" of Boston a plan for gradual emancipation; andon the 28th of the same month, in the same paper there appeared acommunication demanding specific and immediate legislation againstslavery. But all seemed vain: there were few moral giants among thefriends of "liberty for all;" and the comparative silence of the pressand pulpit gave the advocates of human slavery an easy victory. 

Boston, the home of Warren, and the city that witnessed the first holyoffering to liberty, busied herself through all the perilous years ofthe war in buying and selling human beings. The following are but afew of the many advertisements that appeared in the papers of the cityof Boston during the war:--[622]

From "The Independent Chronicle, " Oct. 3, 1776:--

 "_To be_ SOLD A stout, hearty, likely NEGRO GIRL, fit for either Town or Country. Inquire of Mr. _Andrew Gillespie, Dorchester, Octo. , 1. , 1776. _"

From the same, Oct. 10:--

 "A hearty NEGRO MAN, with a small sum of Money to be given away. "

From the same, Nov. 28:--

 "To SELL--A Hearty likely NEGRO WENCH about 12 or 13 Years of Age, has had the Small Pox, can wash, iron, card, and spin, etc. , for no other Fault but for want of Employ. "

From the same, Feb. 27, 1777:--

 "WANTED a NEGRO GIRL between 12 and 20 Years of Age, for which a good Price will be given, if she can be recommended. "

From "The Continental Journal, " April 3, 1777:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, a likely Negro Man, twenty-two years old, has had the small-pox, can do any sort of business; sold for want of employment. "

 _To be_ SOLD, a large, commodious Dwelling House, Barn, and Out-houses, with any quantity of land from 1 to 50 acres, as the Purchaser shall choose within 5 miles of Boston. Also a smart well-tempered NEGRO BOY of 14 years old, not to go out of this State and _sold for_ 15 _years only, if he continues to behave well_. "

From "The Independent Chronicle, " May 8, 1777:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, for want of employ, a likely strong NEGRO GIRL, about 18 years old, understands all sorts of household business, and can be well recommended. "

The strange and trying vicissitudes through which the colonies hadpassed exposed their hypocrisy, revealed the weakness of theirgovernment, and forced them to another attempt at the extirpation ofslavery. The valorous conduct of the Negro soldiers in the army hadgreatly encouraged their friends and emboldened their brethren, whostill suffered from the curse of slavery. The latter were not silentwhen an opportunity presented to claim the rights they felt their due. On the 18th of March, 1777, the following petition was addressed, bythe slaves in Boston, to the Legislature:--

 "PETITION OF MASSACHUSETTS SLAVES. 

 "The petition of a great number of negroes, who are detained in a state of slavery in the very bowels of a free and Christian country, humbly showing, --

 "That your petitioners apprehend that they have, in common with all other men, a natural and inalienable right to that freedom, which the great Parent of the universe hath bestowed equally on all mankind, and which they have never forfeited by any compact or agreement whatever. But they were unjustly dragged by the cruel hand of power from their dearest friends, and some of them even torn from the embraces of their tender parents, --from a populous, pleasant and plentiful country, and in violation of the laws of nature and of nations, and in defiance of all the tender feelings of humanity, brought hither to be sold like beasts of burthen, and, like them, condemned to slavery for life--among a people possessing the mild religion of Jesus--a people not insensible of the sweets of national freedom, nor without a spirit to resent the unjust endeavors of others to reduce them to a state of bondage and subjection. 

 "Your Honors need not to be informed that a life of slavery like that of your petitioners, deprived of every social privilege, of every thing requisite to render life even tolerable, is far worse than non-existence. 

 "In imitation of the laudable example of the good people of these States, your petitioners have long and patiently waited the event of petition after petition, by them presented to the legislative body of this State, and cannot but with grief reflect that their success has been but too similar. 

 "They cannot but express their astonishment that it has never been considered, that every principle from which America has acted, in the course of her unhappy difficulties with Great Britain, bears stronger than a thousand arguments in favor of your humble petitioners. They therefore humbly beseech Your Honors to give their petition its due weight and consideration, and cause an act of the legislature to be passed, whereby they may be restored to the enjoyment of that freedom, which is the natural right of all men, and their children (who were born in this land of liberty) may not be held as slaves after they arrive at the age of twenty-one years. So may the inhabitants of this State (no longer chargeable with the inconsistency of acting themselves the part which they condemn and oppose in others) be prospered in their glorious struggles for liberty, and have those blessings secured to them by Heaven, of which benevolent minds cannot wish to deprive their fellow men. 

 "And your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray:--

 LANCASTER HILL, PETER BESS, BRISTER SLENFEN, PRINCE HALL, JACK PIERPONT, [his X mark. ] NERO FUNELO, [his X mark. ] NEWPORT SUMNER, [his X mark. ]"

The following entry, bearing the same date, was made:--

 "A petition of Lancaster Hill, and a number of other Negroes praying the Court to take into consideration their state of bondage, and pass an act whereby they may be restored to the enjoyment of that freedom which is the natural right of all men. Read and committed to Judge Sargent, Mr. Dalton, Mr. Appleton, Col. Brooks, and Mr. Story. "

There is no record of the action of the committee, if any were everhad; but at the afternoon session of the Legislature, Monday, June 9, 1777, a bill was introduced to prevent "the Practice of holdingpersons in Slavery. " It was "read a first time, and ordered to be readagain on Friday next, at 10 o'clock A. M. " Accordingly, on the 13th ofJune, the bill was "read a second time, and after Debate thereon, itwas moved and seconded, That the same lie upon the Table, and thatApplication be made to Congress on the subject thereof; and theQuestion being put, it passed in the affirmative, and Mr. Speaker, Mr. Wendell, and Col. Orne, were appointed a Committee to prepare a letterto Congress accordingly, and report. " The last action, as far asindicated by the journal, was had on Saturday, June 14, when "theCommittee appointed to prepare a Letter to Congress, on the subject ofthe Bill for preventing the Practice of holding Persons in Slavery, reported. " It was "Read and ordered to lie. "[623] And so it did "lie, "for that was the end of the matter. 

Judge Sargent, who was chairman of the committee appointed on the 18thof March, 1777, was doubtless the author of the following bill:--

 "STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1777. 

 "AN ACT for preventing the practice of holding persons in Slavery. 

 "WHEREAS, the practice of holding Africans and the children born of them, or any other persons, in Slavery, is unjustifiable in a civil government, at a time when they are asserting their natural freedom; wherefore, for preventing such a practice for the future, and establishing to every person residing within the State the invaluable blessing of liberty. 

 "_Be it Enacted_, by the Council and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, --That all persons, whether black or of other complexion, above 21 years of age, now held in Slavery, shall, from and after the ---- day of ---- next, be free from any subjection to any master or mistress, who have claimed their servitude by right of purchase, heirship, free gift, or otherwise, and they are hereby entitled to all the freedom, rights, privileges and immunities that do, or ought of right to belong to any of the subjects of this State, any usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 

 "_And be it Enacted_, by the authority aforesaid, that all written deeds, bargains, sales or conveyances, or contracts without writing, whatsoever, for conveying or transferring any property in any person, or to the service and labor of any person whatsoever, of more than twenty-one years of age, to a third person, except by order of some court of record for some crime, that has been, or hereafter shall be made, or by their own voluntary contract for a term not exceeding seven years, shall be and hereby are declared null and void. 

 "And WHEREAS, divers persons now have in their service negroes, mulattoes or others who have been deemed their slaves or property, and who are now incapable of earning their living by reason of age or infirmities, and may be desirous of continuing in the service of their masters or mistresses, --_be it therefore Enacted_, by the authority aforesaid, that whatever negro or mulatto, who shall be desirous of continuing in the service of his master or mistress, and shall voluntarily declare the same before two justices of the County in which said master or mistress resides, shall have a right to continue in the service, and to a maintenance from their master or mistress, and if they are incapable of earning their living, shall be supported by the said master or mistress, or their heirs, during the lives of said servants, any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding. 

 "_Provided_, nevertheless, that nothing in this act shall be understood to prevent any master of a vessel or other person from bringing into this State any persons, not Africans, from any other part of the world, except the United States of America, and selling their service for a term of time not exceeding five years, if twenty-one years of age, or, if under twenty-one, not exceeding the time when he or she so brought into the State shall be twenty-six years of age, to pay for and in consideration of the transportation and other charges said master of vessel or other person may have been at, agreeable to contracts made with the persons so transported, or their patents or guardians in their behalf, before they are brought from their own country. "[624]

On the back of the bill the following indorsement was written by someofficer of the Legislature: "Ordered to lie till the second Wednesdayof the next Session of the General Court. " This might have ended thestruggle for the extinction of slavery in Massachusetts, had not thepeople at this time made an earnest demand for a State constitution. As the character of the constitution was discussed, the question ofslavery divided public sentiment. If it were left out of theconstitution, then the claims of the master would forever lack theforce of law; if it were inserted as part of the constitution, itwould evidence the insincerity of the people in their talk about theequality of the rights of man, etc. The Legislature--Convention of1777-78--prepared, debated, and finally approved and submitted to thepeople, a draught of a constitution for the State, on the 28th ofFebruary, 1778. The framers of the constitution seemed to lack thecourage necessary to declare in favor of the freedom of the faithfulblacks who had rendered such efficient aid to the cause of thecolonists. The prevailing sentiment of the people demanded an articlein the constitution denying Negroes the right of citizens. It may befortunate for the fame of the Commonwealth that the record of thedebates on the article denying Negroes the right of suffrage has notbeen preserved. The article is here given:--

 "V. Every male inhabitant of any town in this State, being _free_, and twenty-one years of age, _excepting Negroes, Indians and Mulattoes_, shall be intitled to vote for a Representative or Representatives, as the case may be, " etc. 

By this article three classes of inhabitants were excluded from therights, blessings, and duties of citizenship; and the institution ofslavery was recognized as existing by sanction of law. But theconstitution was rejected by the people, by an overwhelming majority;not, however, on account of the fifth article, but because theinstrument was obnoxious to them on general principles. 

The defeat of the constitution did not temper public sentiment on thequestion of Negro slavery, for the very next year the domestic tradeseemed to receive a fresh impetus. The following advertisementsfurnish abundant proof of the undiminished vigor of the enterprise. 

From "The Continental Journal, " Nov. 25, 1779:--

 "_To be_ SOLD A likely NEGRO GIRL, 16 years of Age, for no fault, but want of employ. "

From the same, Dec. 16, 1779:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, A Strong likely NEGRO GIRL, " etc. 

From "The Independent Chronicle, " March 9, 1780:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, for want of employment, an exceeding likely NEGRO GIRL, aged sixteen. "

From the same, March 30 and April 6, 1780:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, very Cheap, for no other Reason than for want of Employ, an exceeding Active NEGRO BOY, aged fifteen. Also, a likely NEGRO GIRL, aged seventeen. "

From "The Continental Journal, " Aug. 17, 1780:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, a likely NEGRO BOY. "

From the same, Aug. 24 and Sept. 7:--

 "_To be_ SOLD or LETT, for a term of years, a strong, hearty, likely NEGRO GIRL. "

From the same, Oct. 19 and 26, and Nov. 2:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, a likely NEGRO BOY, about eighteen years of Age, fit for to serve a Gentleman, to tend horses or to work in the Country. "

From the same, Oct. 26, 1780:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, a likely NEGRO BOY, about 13 years old, well calculated to wait on a Gentleman. Inquire of the Printer. "

 "_To be_ SOLD, a likely young COW and CALF. Inquire of the Printer. "

"Independent Chronicle, " Dec. 14, 21, 28, 1780:--

 "A NEGRO CHILD, _soon expected, of a good breed_, may be owned by any Person inclining to take it, and Money with it. "

"Continental Journal, " Dec. 21, 1780, and Jan. 4, 1781:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, a hearty, strong NEGRO WENCH, about 29 years of age, fit for town or country. "

From "The Continental Journal, " March 1, 1781:--

 "_To be_ SOLD, an extraordinary likely NEGRO WENCH, 17 years old, she can be warranted to be strong, healthy and good-natured, _has no notion of Freedom_, has been always used to a Farmer's Kitchen and dairy, and is not known to have any failing, but being with Child, which is the only cause of her being sold. "

It is evident, from the wording of the last advertisement quoted, thatthe Negroes were sniffing the air of freedom that occasionally blewfrom the victorious battle-fields, where many of their race haddistinguished themselves by the most intrepid valor. They began to get"_notions of freedom_, " and this depreciated their market value. 

Dr. William Gordon, the steadfast, earnest, and intelligent friend ofthe Negro, was deposed as chaplain of both branches of the Legislatureon account of his vehement protest against the adoption of the fiftharticle of the constitution by that body. But his zeal was not therebyabated. He continued to address able articles to the public, andwrought a good work upon the public conscience. 

In Virginia, notwithstanding Negroes were among the State's mostgallant defenders, a law was passed in October, 1776, "declaringtenants of lands or slaves in taille to hold the same in fee simple. "Under the circumstances, after the war had begun, and after thedeclaration by the State of national independence, it was a mostremarkable law. 

 "That any person who now hath, or hereafter may have, any estate in fee taille, general or special, in any lands or slaves in possession, or in the use or trust of any lands or slaves in possession, or who now is or hereafter may be entitled to any such estate taille in reversion or remainder, after the determination of any estate for life or lives, or of any lesser estate, whether such estate taille hath been or shall be created by deeds, will, act of assembly, or by any other ways or means, shall from henceforth, or from the commencement of such estate taille, stand _ipso facto_ seized, possessed, or entitled of, in, or to such lands or slaves, or use in lands or slaves, so held or to be held as aforesaid, in possession, reversion, or remainder, in full and absolute fee simple, in like manner as if such deed, will, act of assembly, or other instrument, had conveyed the same to him in fee simple; any words, limitations, or conditions, in the said deed, will, act of assembly, or other instrument, to the contrary notwithstanding. "[625]

But the valor of the Negro soldier had great influence upon the publicmind, and inspired the people in many of the States to demand publicrecognition of deserving Negroes. It has been noted already, that inSouth Carolina, if a Negro, having been captured by the enemy, madegood his escape back into the State, he was emancipated; and, ifwounded in the line of duty, was rewarded with his freedom. RhodeIsland purchased her Negroes for the army, and presented them withfifty dollars bounty and a certificate of freedom at the close of thewar. Even Virginia, the mother of slavery, remembered, at the close ofthe war, the brave Negroes who had fought in her regiments. InOctober, 1783, the following Act was passed emancipating all slaveswho had served in the army with the permission of their masters. It isto be regretted, however, that _all_ slaves who had served in the armywere not rewarded with their freedom. 

 "I. WHEREAS it hath been represented to the present general assembly, that during the course of the war, many persons in this state had caused their slaves to enlist in certain regiments or corps raised within the same, having tendered such slaves to the officers appointed to recruit forces within the state, as substitutes for free persons, whose lot or duty it was to serve in such regiments or corps, at the same time representing to such recruiting officers that the slaves so enlisted by their direction and concurrence were freemen; and it appearing further to this assembly, that on the expiration of the term of enlistment of such slaves that the former owners have attempted again to force them to return to a state of servitude, contrary to the principles of justice, and to then own solemn promise. 

 "II. And whereas it appears just and reasonable that all persons enlisted as aforesaid, who have faithfully served agreeable to the terms of their enlistment, and have thereby of course contributed towards the establishment of American liberty and independence, should enjoy the blessings of freedom as a reward for their toils and labours; _Be it therefore enacted_, That each and every slave who by the appointment and direction of his owner, hath enlisted in any regiment or corps raised within this state, either on continental or state establishment, and hath been received as a substitute for any free person whose duty or lot it was to serve in such regiment or corps, and hath served faithfully during the term of such enlistment, or hath been discharged from such service by some officer duly authorized to grant such discharge, shall from and after the passing of this act, be fully and compleatly emancipated, and shall be held and deemed free in as full and ample a manner as if each and every of them were specially named in this act; and the attorney-general for the commonwealth, is hereby required to commence an action, _in forma pauperis_, in behalf of any of the persons above described who shall after the passing of this act be detained in servitude by any person whatsoever; and if upon such prosecution it shall appeal that the pauper is entitled to his freedom in consequence of this act, a jury shall be empanelled to assess the damages for his detention. "[626]

New York enlisted her Negro soldiers under a statutory promise offreedom. They were required to serve three years, or until regularlydischarged. Several other States emancipated a few slaves who hadserved faithfully in the army; and the recital of the noble deeds ofblack soldiers was listened to with great interest, had an excellenteffect upon many white men after the war, and went far towardsmollifying public sentiment on the slavery question. 

If Massachusetts were ever moved by the valor of her black soldiers totake any action recognizing their services, the record has not beenfound up to the present time. After commemorating the 5th of March fora long time, as a day on which to inflame the public zeal for thecause of freedom, her Legislature refused to mark the grave of thefirst martyr of the Revolution, Crispus Attucks!

Slavery flourished during the entire Revolutionary period. It enjoyedthe silent acquiescence of the pulpit, the support of the publicjournals, the sanction of the courts, and the endorsement of themilitary establishment. In a free land (?), under the flag of thegovernment Negroes fought, bled, sacrificed, and died to establish, slavery held undisputed sway. The colonial government, built by thecruel and voracious avarice of Britain, crumbled under themaster-stroke of men who desired political and religious liberty morethan jewelled crowns; but the slave institution stood unharmed by theshock of embattled arms. The colonists asked freedom for themselvesand children, but forged chains for Negroes and their children. Andwhile a few individual Negro slaves were made a present of themselvesat the close of the war, on account of their gallant service, hundredsof thousands of their brethren were still retained in bondage

FOOTNOTES:

[622] See Slavery in Mass. , p. 178. 

[623] House Journal, pp. 19, 25. 

[624] Mass. Archives; Revolutionary Resolves, vol. Vii. P. 133. 

[625] Hening, vol. Ix. P. 226. 

[626] Hening, vol. Xi pp. 308, 309. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

SLAVERY AS A POLITICAL AND LEGAL PROBLEM. 

1775-1800. 

 BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE. --A NEW GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED. --SLAVERY THE BANE OF AMERICAS CIVILIZATION. --THE TORY PARTY ACCEPT THE DOCTRINE OF PROPERTY IN MAN. --THE DOCTRINE OF THE LOCAL CONSTITUTION IN THE SOUTH. --THE WAR PARTY THE DOMINANT POLITICAL ORGANIZATION IN THE NORTHERN STATES. --SLAVERY RECOGNIZED UNDER THE NEW GOVERNMENT. --ANTI SLAVERY AGITATION IN THE STATES. --ATTEMPTED LEGISLATION AGAINST SLAVERY. --ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. --THEIR ADOPTION IN 1778. --DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE DISPOSAL OF THE WESTERN TERRITORY. --MR. JEFFERSON'S RECOMMENDATION--AMENDMENT OF MR. SPAIGHT. --CONGRESS IN NEW YORK IN 1787. --DISCUSSION RESPECTING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WESTERN TERRITORY. --CONVENTION AT PHILADELPHIA TO FRAME THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. --PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. --THE SOUTHERN STATES STILL ADVOCATE SLAVERY. --SPEECHES ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION BY LEADING STATESMEN. --CONSTITUTION ADOPTED BY THE CONVENTION IN 1787. --FIRST SESSION OF CONGRESS UNDER THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION HELD IN NEW YORK IN 1789. --THE INTRODUCTION OF A TARIFF BILL. --AN ATTEMPT TO AMEND IT BY INSERTING A CLAUSE LEVYING A TAX ON SLAVES BROUGHT BY WATER. --EXTINCTION OF SLAVERY IN MASSACHUSETTS. --A CHANGE IN THE PUBLIC OPINION OF THE MIDDLE AND EASTERN STATES ON THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY. --DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC FOR PROMOTING THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. --MEMORIAL TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS. --CONGRESS IN 1790. --BITTER DISCUSSION ON THE RESTRICTION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. --SLAVE POPULATION. --VERMONT AND KENTUCKY ADMITTED INTO THE UNION. --A LAW PROVIDING FOR THE RETURN OF FUGITIVES FROM 'LABOR AND SERVICE. --CONVENTION OF FRIENDS HELD IN PHILADELPHIA. --AN ACT AGAINST THE FOREIGN SLAVE TRADE. --MISSOURI TERRITORY. --CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA REVISED. --NEW YORK PASSES A BILL FOR THE GRADUAL EXTINCTION OF SLAVERY. --CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY REVISED. --SLAVERY AS AN INSTITUTION FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. 

The charge that the mother-country forced slavery upon the Britishcolonies in North America held good until the colonies threw off theyoke, declared their independence, and built a new government, on the4th of July, 1776. After the promulgation of the gospel of humanliberty, the United States of America could no longer point to Englandas the "first man Adam" of the accursed sin of slavery. Henceforth theAmerican government, under the new dispensation of peace and theequality of all men, was responsible for the continuance of slavery, both as a political and legal problem

Slavery did not escheat to the English government upon the expirationof its authority in North America. It became the dreadful inheritanceof the new government, and the eyesore of American civilization. Instead of expelling it from the political institutions of thecountry, it gradually became a factor of great power. Instead ofruling it out of the courts, it was clothed with the ample garments ofjudicial respectability. 

The first article of the immortal Declaration of Independence was amighty shield of beautifully wrought truths, that the authors intendedshould protect every human being on the American Continent. 

 "_We hold these truths to be self-evident:--that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness_. "

It was to be expected, that, after such a declaration of principles, the United States would have abolished slavery and the slave-tradeforever. While the magic words of the Declaration of Independence werenot the empty "palaver" of a few ambitious leaders, yet the practicesof the local and the national government belied the grand sentimentsof that instrument. From the earliest moment of the birth of theUnited-States government, slavery began to receive political supportand encouragement. Though it was the cruel and depraved offspring ofthe British government, it nevertheless was adopted by the _freegovernment_ of America. Political policy seemed to dictate the methodsof a political recognition of the institution. And the fact that theslave-trade was prohibited by Congress at an early day, and by many ofthe colonies also, did not affect the institution in a local sense. 

The Tory party accepted the doctrine of property in man, withouthesitation or reservation. Their political fealty to the Crown, theirparty exclusiveness, and their earnest desire to co-operate with theRoyal African Company in the establishment of the slave institution inAmerica, made them, as per necessity, the political guardians ofslavery. The institution once planted, property in man having beenacquired, it was found to be a difficult task to uproot it. Moreover, the loss of the colonies to the British Crown did not imply death tothe Tory party. It doubtless suffered organically; but its individualmembers did not forfeit their political convictions, nor suffer theirinterest in the slave-trade to abate. The new States were ambitious toacquire political power. The white population of the South was smallwhen compared with that of the North; but the slave population, addedto the former, swelled it to alarming proportions. 

The local governments of the South had been organized upon thefundamental principles of the Locke Constitution. The government waslodged with the few, and their rights were built upon landed estatesand political titles and favors. Slaves in the Carolinas and Virginiasanswered to the vassals and villeins of England. This aristocraticelement in Tory politics was in harmony, even in a republic, with thelater wish of the South to build a great political "government uponSlavery as its chief corner-stone. " Added to this was the desire toabrogate the law of indenture of white servants, and thus to the odiumof slavery to loan the powerful influence of caste, --ranging theCaucasian against the Ethiopian, the intelligent against the ignorant, the strong against the weak. 

New England had better ideas of popular government for and of thepeople, but her practical position on slavery was no better than anyState in the South. The Whig party was the dominant politicalorganization throughout the Northern States; but the universality ofslavery made dealers in human flesh members of all parties. 

The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence deprecated slavery, as they were pronounced Whigs; but nevertheless many of them ownedslaves. They wished the evil exterminated, but confessed themselvesignorant of a plan by which to carry their desire into effect. Thegood desires of many of the people, born out of the early days of thestruggle for independent existence, perished in their very infancy;and, as has been shown, all the States, and the Congress of the UnitedStates, recognized slavery as existing under the new politicalgovernment. 

But public sentiment changes in a country where the intellect isunfettered. First, on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Congress andnearly all the States pronounced against slavery; a few years laterthey all recognized the sacredness of slave property; and still laterall sections of the United States seemed to have been agitated byanti-slavery sentiments. In 1780 the Legislature of Pennsylvaniaprohibited the further introduction of slaves, and gave freedom to thechildren of all slaves born in the State. Delaware resolved "that noperson hereafter imported from Africa ought to be held in slaveryunder any pretense whatever. " In 1784 Connecticut and Rhode Islandmodified their slave-code, and forbade further importations of slaves. In 1778 Virginia passed a law prohibiting the importation of slaves, and in 1782 repealed the law that confined the power of emancipatingto the Legislature, only on account of meritorious conduct. Privateemancipations became very numerous, and the sentiment in its favorpronounced. But the restriction was re-enacted in about ten years. Theeloquence of Patrick Henry and the logic of Thomas Jefferson went farto enlighten public sentiment; but the political influence of theinstitution grew so rapidly that in 1785, but two years after the war, Washington wrote LaFayette, "petitions for the abolition of slavery, presented to the Virginia Legislature, could scarcely obtain ahearing. " Maryland, New York, and New Jersey prohibited theslave-trade; but the institution held its place among the people until1830. North Carolina attempted to prohibit in 1777, but-failed; but in1786 declared the slave-trade "_of evil consequences and highlyimpolitic_. " South Carolina and Georgia refused to act, and theslave-trade continued along their shores. 

After the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1778, theContinental Congress found itself charged with the responsibility ofdeciding the conflicting claims of the various States to the vastterritory stretching westward from the Ohio River. The war over, thepayment of the public debt thus incurred demanded the consideration ofthe people and of their representatives. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia laid claim toboundless tracts of lands outside of their State boundaries. But NewHampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and SouthCarolina, making no such claims, and lacking the resources to paytheir share of the war debt, suggested that the other States shouldcede all the territory outside of their State lines, to the UnitedStates Government, to be used towards liquidating the entire debt. Theproposition was accepted by the States named; but not, however, without some modification. Virginia reserved a large territory beyondthe Ohio with which to pay the bounties of her soldiers, whileConnecticut retained a portion of the Reserve since so famous in thehistory of Ohio. The duty of framing an ordinance for the governmentof the Western territory was referred to a select committee byCongress, consisting of Mr. Jefferson of Virginia (chairman), Mr. Chase of Maryland, and Mr. Howell of Rhode Island. The plan reportedby the committee contemplated the whole region included within ourboundaries west of the old thirteen States, and as far south as ourthirty-first degree north latitude. The plan proposed the ultimatedivision of this territory into seventeen States; eight of which wereto be located below the parallel of the Falls of the Ohio (nowLouisville), and nine above it. But the most interesting rule reportedby Mr. Jefferson was the following, on the 19th of April, 1784:--

 "That after the year 1800, of the Christian era, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any part of the said _states_, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, whereof the part shall have been convicted to be personally guilty. "

Mr. Spaight of North Carolina moved to amend the report by strikingout the above clause, which was seconded by Mr. Reed of SouthCarolina. The question, upon a demand for the yeas and nays, was put:"Shall the words moved to be stricken out stand?" The question waslost, and the words were stricken out. The ordinance was furtheramended, and finally adopted on the 23d of April

The last Continental Congress was held in the city of New York in1787. The question of the government of the Western territory came up. A committee was appointed on this subject, with Nathan Dane ofMassachusetts as chairman On the 11th of July the committee reported"An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of the UnitedStates, _Northwest of the Ohio_. " It embodied many of the features ofMr. Jefferson's bill, concluding with six unalterable articles ofperpetual compact, the last being the following: "There shall beneither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall beduly convicted. " When upon its passage, a stipulation was added forthe delivery of fugitives from "labor or service:"[627] and in thisshape the entire ordinance passed on the 13th of July, 1787. 

Thus it is clear that under the Confederation slavery existed, a partof the political government, as a legal fact. There was no effort madeby Congress to abolish it. Mr. Jefferson simply sought to arrest itsprogress, and confine it to the original thirteen States. 

On the 25th of May, 1787, the convention to frame the FederalConstitution met at Philadelphia, although the day appointed was the14th. George Washington was chosen president, a committee chosen toreport rules of proceeding, and a secretary appointed. The sessionswere held with closed doors, and all the proceedings were secret. Itcontained the most eminent men in the United States, --generals of thearmy, statesmen, lawyers, and men of broad scholarship. The questionof congressional apportionment was early before them, and there wasgreat diversity of opinion. But, as there was no census, thereforethere could be no just apportionment until an enumeration of thepeople was taken. Until that was accomplished, the number of delegateswas fixed at sixty-five. Massachusetts was the only State in the Unionwhere slavery did not exist. The Northern States desiredrepresentation according to the free inhabitants only; while all ofthe Southern States, where the great mass of slaves was, wantedrepresentation according to the entire population, bond and free. Someof the Northern delegates urged their view with great force andeloquence. Mr. Patterson of New Jersey said he regarded slaves as mereproperty. They were not represented in the States: why should they bein the general government? They were not allowed to vote: why shouldthey be represented? He regarded it as an encouragement to theslave-trade. Mr. Wilson of Pennsylvania said, "Are they admitted ascitizens? then, why not on an equality with citizens? Are theyadmitted as property? then, why is not other property admitted intothe computation?" It was evident that neither extreme view couldcarry: so the proposition carried to reckon three-fifths of the slavesin estimating taxes, and to make taxation the basis of representation. New Jersey and Delaware voted Nay; Massachusetts and South Carolinawere divided; and New York was not represented, her delegates havingfailed to arrive. 

It was apparent during the early stages of the debates, that aconstitution had to be made that would be acceptable to the Southerndelegates. A clause was inserted relieving the Southern States fromduties on exports, and upon the importation of slaves; and that nonavigation act should be passed except by a two-thirds vote. Bydenying Congress the authority of giving preference to American overforeign shipping, it was designed to secure cheap transportation forSouthern exports; but, as the shipping was largely owned in theEastern States, their delegates were zealous in their efforts toprevent any restriction of the power of Congress to enact navigationlaws. It has been already shown that all the States, with theexception of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, hadprohibited the importation of slaves. The prohibition of duties on theimportation of slaves was demanded by the delegates from SouthCarolina and Georgia. They assured the Convention that without such aprovision they could never give their assent to the constitution. Thisdeclaration dragooned some Northern delegates into a support of therestriction, but provoked some very plain remarks concerning slavery. Mr. Pinckney said, that, "If the Southern States were let alone, theywould probably of themselves stop importations. He would himself, as acitizen of South Carolina, vote for it. "

Mr. Sherman remarked that "the abolition of slavery seemed to be goingon in the United States, and that the good sense of the several stateswould probably by degrees complete it;" and Mr. Ellsworth thought that"slavery, in time, will not be a speck in our country. " Mr. Madisonsaid "he thought it _wrong_ to admit in the Constitution the idea ofproperty in men. "

Slavery, notwithstanding the high-sounding words just quoted, wasrecognized in and by three separate clauses of the Constitution Theword "slave" was excluded, but the language does not admit of anydoubt. 

 "Art. I. Sect. 2.... Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers; which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, _three-fifths of all other persons. [628] ... _

 "Art I. Sect. 9. The migration or importation of such _persons_ as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.... 

 "Art. IV. Sect. 2.... No _person_ held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. "

The debate on the above was exciting and interesting, as the subjectof slavery was examined in all its bearings. Finally the Constitutionwas submitted to Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania, to receive thefinishing touches of his facile pen. On the 8th of August, 1787, during the debate, he delivered the following speech:--

 "He never would concur in upholding domestic slavery. It was a nefarious institution. It was the curse of Heaven on the States where it prevailed. Compare the free regions of the Middle States, where a rich and noble cultivation marks the prosperity and happiness of the people, with the misery and poverty which overspread the barren wastes of Virginia, Maryland, and the other States having slaves. Travel through the whole continent, and you behold the prospect continually varying with the appearance and disappearance of slavery. The moment you leave the Eastern States, and enter New York, the effects of the institution become visible. Passing through the Jerseys, and entering Pennsylvania, every criterion of superior improvement witnesses the change. Proceed southwardly, and every step you take through the great regions of slaves presents a desert, increasing with the increasing proportion of these wretched beings. Upon what principle it is that the slaves shall be computed in the representation? Are they men? Then make them citizens, and let them vote. Are they property? Why, then, is no other property included? The houses in this city (Philadelphia) are worth more than all the wretched slaves who cover the rice-swamps of South Carolina. The admission of slaves into the representation, when fairly explained, comes to this, --that the inhabitant of Georgia and South Carolina, who goes to the coast of Africa, and, in defiance of the most sacred laws of humanity, tears away his fellow-creatures from their dearest connections, and damns them to the most cruel bondage, shall have more votes in a government instituted for the protection of the rights of mankind than the citizen of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, who views with a laudable horror so nefarious a practice. He would add, that domestic slavery is the most prominent feature in the aristocratic countenance of the proposed Constitution. The vassalage of the poor has ever been the favorite offspring of aristocracy. And what is the proposed compensation to the Northern States for a sacrifice of every principle of right, of every impulse of humanity? They are to bind themselves to march their militia for the defence of the Southern States, for their defence against those very slaves of whom they complain. They must supply vessels and seamen in case of foreign attack. The Legislature will have indefinite power to tax them by excises and duties on imports, both of which will fall heavier on them than on the Southern inhabitants; for the bohea tea used by a Northern freeman will pay more tax than the whole consumption of the miserable slave, which consists of nothing more than his physical subsistence and the rag that covers his nakedness. On the other side, the Southern States are not to be restrained from importing fresh supplies of wretched Africans, at once to increase the danger of attack and the difficulty of defence: nay, they are to be encouraged to it by an assurance of having their votes in the National Government increased in proportion: and are, it the same time, to have their exports and their slaves exempt from all contributions for the public service. Let it not be said that direct taxation is to be proportioned to representation. It is idle to suppose that the General Government can stretch its hand directly into the pockets of the people scattered over so vast a country. They can only do it through the medium of exports, imports, and excises. For what, then, are all the sacrifices to be made? He would sooner submit himself to a tax for paying for all the negroes in the United States than saddle posterity with such a Constitution. "[629]

Mr. Rufus King of Massachusetts in the same debate said, --

 "The admission of slaves was a most grating circumstance to his mind, and he believed would be so to a great part of the people of America. He had not made a strenuous opposition to it heretofore, because he had hoped that this concession would have produced a readiness, which had not been manifested, to strengthen the General Government, and to mark a full confidence in it. The report under consideration had, by the tenor of it, put an end to all those hopes. In two great points, the hands of the Legislature were absolutely tied. The importation of slaves could not be prohibited. Exports could not be taxed. Is this reasonable? What are the great objects of the general system? First, defence against foreign invasion; secondly, against internal sedition. Shall all the States, then, be bound to defend each, and shall each be at liberty to introduce a weakness which will render defence more difficult? Shall one part of the United States be bound to defend another part, and that other part be at liberty, not only to increase its own danger, but to withhold the compensation for the burden? If slaves are to be imported, shall not the exports produced by their labor supply a revenue, the better to enable the General Government to defend their masters? There was so much inequality and unreasonableness in all this, that the people of the Northern States could never be reconciled to it. No candid man could undertake to justify it to them. He had hoped that some accommodation would have taken place on this subject; that, at least, a time would have been limited for the importation of slaves. He never could agree to let them be imported without limitation, and then be represented in the National Legislature. Indeed, he could so little persuade himself of the rectitude of such a practice, that he was not sure he could assent to it under any circumstances. At all events, either slaves should not be represented, or exports should be taxable. "

Mr. Roger Sherman of Connecticut, --

 "Regarded the slave-trade as iniquitous: but the point of representation having been settled after much difficulty and deliberation, he did not think himself bound to make opposition; especially as the present article, as amended, did not preclude any arrangement whatever on that point, in another place of the report. "[630]

Mr. Luther Martin of Maryland, in the debate, Tuesday, Aug. 21, --

 "Proposed to vary Art. 7, Sect. 4, so as to allow a prohibition or tax on the importation of slaves. In the first place, as five slaves are to be counted as three free men in the apportionment of representatives, such a clause would leave an encouragement to this traffic. In the second place, slaves weakened one part of the Union, which the other parts were bound to protect: the privilege of importing them was therefore unreasonable. And, in the third place, it was inconsistent with the principles of the Revolution, and dishonorable to the American character, to have such a feature in the Constitution. 

 "Mr. RUTLEDGE did not see how the importation of slaves could be encouraged by this section. He was not apprehensive of insurrections, and would readily exempt the other States from the obligation to protect the Southern against them. Religion and humanity had nothing to do with this question: interest alone is the governing principle with nations. The true question at present is, whether the Southern States shall or shall not be parties to the Union. If the Northern States consult their interest, they will not oppose the increase of slaves, which will increase the commodities of which they will become the carriers. 

 "Mr. ELLSWORTH was for leaving the clause as it stands. Let every State import what it pleases. The morality or wisdom of slavery are considerations belonging to the States themselves. What enriches a part enriches the whole, and the States are the best judges of their particular interest. The old Confederation had not meddled with this point; and he did not see any greater necessity for bringing it within the policy of the new one. 

 "Mr. PINCKNEY. South Carolina can never receive the plan if it prohibits the slave trade. In every proposed extension of the powers of Congress, that State has expressly and watchfully excepted that of meddling with the importation of Negroes, _If the States be all left at liberty on this subject, South Carolina may perhaps, by degrees, do of herself what is wished, as Virginia and Maryland have already done_. 

 "Adjourned. 

 "WEDNESDAY, Aug. 22. 

 "_In Convention_. --Art. 7, Sect. 4, was resumed. 

 "Mr. SHERMAN was for leaving the clause as it stands. He disapproved of the slave-trade; yet, as the States were now possessed of the right to import slaves, as the public good did not require it to be taken from them, and as it was expedient to have as few objections as possible to the proposed scheme of government, he thought it best to leave the matter as we find it. ... He urged on the Convention the necessity of despatching its business. 

 "Col. MASON. This infernal traffic originated in the avarice of British merchants. The British Government constantly checked the attempts of Virginia to put a stop to it. The present question concerns, not the importing States alone, but the whole Union. The evil of having slaves was experienced during the late war. Had slaves been treated as they might have been by the enemy, they would have proved dangerous instruments in their hands. But their folly dealt by the slaves as it did by the Tories. He mentioned the dangerous insurrections of the slaves in Greece and Sicily, and the instructions given by Cromwell to the commissioners sent to Virginia, --to arm the servants and slaves, in case other means of obtaining its submission should fail. Maryland and Virginia, he said, had already prohibited the importation of slaves expressly. North Carolina had done the same in substance. All this would be in vain, if South Carolina and Georgia be at liberty to import. The Western people are already calling out for slaves for their new lands; and will fill that country with slaves, if they can be got through South Carolina and Georgia. Slavery discourages arts and manufactures. The poor despise labor when performed by slaves. They prevent the emigration of whites, who really enrich and strengthen a country. _They produce the most pernicious effect on manners. Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven on a country. As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities_. He lamented that some of our Eastern brethren had, from a lust of gain, embarked in this nefarious traffic. As to the States being in possession of the right to import, this was the case with many other rights, now to be properly given up. He held it essential, in every point of view, that the General Government should have power to prevent the increase of slavery. 

 "Mr. ELLSWORTH, as he had never owned a slave, could not judge of the effects of slavery on character. He said, however, that, if it was to be considered in a moral light, we ought to go further, and free those already in the country. As slaves also multiply so fast in Virginia and Maryland, that it is cheaper to raise than import them, whilst in the sickly rice-swamps foreign supplies are necessary, if we go no further than is urged, we shall be unjust towards South Carolina and Georgia. Let us not intermeddle. As population increases, poor laborers will be so plenty as to render slaves useless. _Slavery, in time, will not be a speck in our county_. Provision is already made in Connecticut for abolishing it; and the abolition has already taken place in Massachusetts. As to the danger of insurrections from foreign influence, that will become a motive to kind treatment of the slaves. 

 "Gen. PINCKNEY declared it to be his firm opinion, that if himself and all his colleagues were to sign the Constitution, and use their personal influence, it would be of no avail towards obtaining the assent of their constituents. South Carolina and Georgia cannot do without slaves. As to Virginia, she will gain more by stopping the importations. Her slaves will rise in value, and she has more than she wants. It would be unequal to require South Carolina and Georgia to confederate on such unequal terms. He said, the royal assent, before the Revolution, had never been refused to South Carolina as to Virginia. He contended, that the importation of slaves would be for the interest of the whole Union. The more slaves, the more produce to employ the carrying-trade: the more consumption also; and, the more of this, the more revenue for the common treasury. He admitted it to be reasonable, that slaves should be dutied like other imports; but should consider a rejection of the clause as an exclusion of South Carolina from the Union. 

 "Mr. BALDWIN had conceived national objects alone to be before the Convention: not such as, like the present, were of a local nature. Georgia was decided on this point. That State has always hitherto supposed a General Government to be the pursuit of the Central States, who wished to have a vortex for every thing; that her distance would preclude her from equal advantage; and that she could not prudently purchase it by yielding national powers. From this it might be understood in what light she would view an attempt to abridge one of her favorite prerogatives. _If left to herself, she may probably put a stop to the evil_. As one ground for this conjecture, he took notice of the sect of ----, which, he said, was a respectable class of people, who carried their ethics beyond the mere _equality of men_, --extending their humanity to the claims of the whole animal creation. 

 "Mr. WILSON observed, that, _if South Carolina and Georgia were themselves disposed to get rid of the importation of slaves in a short time, as had been suggested, they would never refuse to unite because the importation might be prohibited_. As the section now stands, all articles imported are to be taxed. Slaves alone are exempt. This is, in fact, a bounty on that article. 

 "Mr. GERRY thought we had nothing to do with the conduct of the States as to slaves, but ought to be careful not to give any sanction to it. 

 "Mr. DICKINSON considered it as inadmissible, on every principle of honor and safety, that the importation of slaves should be authorized to the States by the Constitution. The true question was, whether the national happiness would be promoted or impeded by the importation; and this question ought to be left to the National Government, not to the States particularly interested. If England and France permit slavery, slaves are, at the same time, excluded from both those kingdoms. Greece and Rome were made unhappy by their slaves. He could not believe that the Southern States would refuse to confederate on the account apprehended; especially as the power was not likely to be immediately exercised by the General Government. 

 "Mr. WILLIAMSON stated the law of North Carolina on the subject; to wit, that it did not directly prohibit the importation of slaves. It imposed a duty of £5 on each slave imported from Africa, £10 on each from elsewhere, and £50 on each from a State licensing manumission. He thought the Southern States could not be members of the Union, if the clause should be rejected: and it was wrong to force any thing down not absolutely necessary, and which any State must disagree to. 

 "Mr. KING thought the subject should be considered in a political light only. If two States will not agree to the Constitution, as stated on one side, he could affirm with equal belief, on the other, that great and equal opposition would be experienced from the other States. He remarked on the exemption of slaves from duty, whilst every other import was subjected to it, as an inequality that could not fail to strike the commercial sagacity of the Northern and Middle States. 

 "Mr. LANGDON was strenuous for giving the power to the General Government. He could not, with a good conscience, leave it with the States, who could then go on with the traffic, without being restrained by the opinions here given, _that they will themselves cease to import slaves_. 

 "Gen. PINCKNEY thought himself bound to declare candidly, that he did not think South Carolina would stop her importations of slaves in any short time; but only stop them occasionally, as she now does. He moved to commit the clause, that slaves might be made liable to an equal tax with other imports, which he thought right, and which would remove one difficulty that had been started. 

 "Mr. RUTLEDGE. If the Convention thinks that North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia will ever agree to the plan, unless their right to import slaves be untouched, the expectation is vain. The people of those States will never be such fools as to give up so important an interest. He was strenuous against striking out the section, and seconded the motion of Gen. Pinckney for a commitment. 

 "Mr. GOUVERNEUR MORRIS wished the whole subject to be committed, including the clauses relating to taxes on export and to a navigation act. These things may form a bargain among the Northern and Southern States. 

 "Mr. BUTLER declared, that he never would agree to the power of taxing exports. 

 "Mr. SHERMAN said it was better to let the Southern States import slaves than to part with them, if they made that a _sine qua non_. He was opposed to a tax on slaves imported, as making the matter worse, because it implied they were _property_. He acknowledged, that, if the power of prohibiting the importation should be given to the General Government, it would be exercised. He thought it would be its duty to exercise the power. 

 'Mr. READ was for the commitment, provided the clause concerning taxes on exports should also be committed. 

 "Mr. SHERMAN observed, that that clause had been agreed to, and therefore could not be committed. 

 "Mr. RANDOLPH was for committing, in order that some middle ground might, if possible, be found. He could never agree to the clause as it stands. He would sooner risk the Constitution. He dwelt on the dilemma to which the Convention was exposed. By agreeing to the clause, it would revolt the Quakers, the Methodists, and many others in the States having no slaves. On the other hand, two States might be lost to the Union. Let us then, he said, try the chance of a commitment. "[631]

Three days later (Saturday, Aug. 25) the debate on the subject wasresumed, and the report of the committee of eleven was taken up. Itwas in the following words:--

 "Strike out so much of the fourth section as was referred to the Committee, and insert 'The migration or importation of such persons as the several States, now existing, think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Legislature prior to the year 1800; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such migration or importation, at a rate not exceeding the average of the duties laid on imports. '

 * * * * *

 "Gen. PINCKNEY moved to strike out the words 'the year eighteen hundred' as the year limiting the importation of slaves, and to insert the words 'the year eighteen hundred and eight. '

 "Mr. GORHAM seconded the motion. 

 "Mr. MADISON. Twenty years will produce all the mischief that can be apprehended from the liberty to import slaves. So long a term will be more dishonorable to the American character than to say nothing about it in the Constitution. 

 "On the motion, which passed in the affirmative, --

 "New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, ay, --7, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, no, --4. 

 "Mr. GOUVERNOUR MORRIS was for making the clause read at once, --

 "'The importation of slaves into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, shall not be prohibited, ' &c. This, he said, would be most fair, and would avoid the ambiguity by which, under the power with regard to naturalization, the liberty reserved to the States might be defeated. He wished it to be known, also, that this part of the Constitution was a compliance with those States. If the change of language, however, should be objected to by the members from those States, he should not urge it. 

 "Col. MASON was not against using the term 'slaves, ' but against naming North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, lest it should give offence to the people of those States. 

 "Mr. SHERMAN liked a description better than the terms proposed, which had been declined by the old Congress, and were not pleasing to some people. 

 "Mr. CLYMER concurred with Mr. Sherman. 

 "Mr. WILLIAMSON said, that, both in opinion and practice, he was against slavery; but thought it more in favor of humanity, from a view of all circumstances, to let in South Carolina and Georgia on those terms, than to exclude them from the Union. 

 "Mr. GOUVERNEUR MORRIS withdrew his motion. 

 "Mr. DICKINSON wished the clause to be confined to the States which had not themselves prohibited the importation of slaves; and, for that purpose, moved to amend the clause so as to read. --

 "'The importation of slaves into such of the States as shall permit the same shall not be prohibited by the Legislature of the United States until the year 1808;'--

 "which was disagreed to, _nem. Con. _

 "The first part of the Report was then agreed to, amended as follows:--

 "'The migration or importation of such persons as the several States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Legislature prior to the year 1808. '

 "New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, ay, --7; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, no, --4. "[632]

 * * * * *

The above specimens of the speeches on the slavery question, duringthe debate, are sufficient to furnish a fair idea of the personalopinion of the great thinkers of that time on slavery. It is clearthat it was the wish of the great majority of the Northern delegatesto abolish the institution, in a domestic as well as in a foreignsense; but they were not strong enough to resist the temptation tocompromise their profoundest convictions on a question as broad andfar-reaching as the Union that they were met to launch anew. Thus byan understanding, or, as Gouverneur Morris called it, "a bargain, "between the commercial representatives of the Northern States and thedelegates of South Carolina and Georgia, and in spite of theopposition of Maryland and Virginia, the unrestricted power ofCongress to enact navigation-laws was conceded to the Northernmerchants; and to the Carolina rice-planters, as an equivalent, twentyyears' continuance of the African slave-trade. This was the thirdgreat "compromise" of the Constitution. The other two were theconcession to the smaller States of an equal representation in theSenate; and, to the slaveholders, the counting three-fifths of theslaves in determining the ratio of representation. If this thirdcompromise differed from the other two by involving not merely apolitical but a moral sacrifice, there was this partial compensationabout it, that it was not permanent like the others, but expired, bylimitation, at the end of twenty years. [633]

The Constitution was adopted by the Convention, and signed, on the17th of September, 1787. It was then forwarded to Congress, then insession in New-York City, with the recommendation that that bodysubmit it to the State conventions for ratification; which wasaccordingly done. Delaware adopted it on the 7th of December, 1787;Pennsylvania, Dec. 12; New Jersey, Dec. 18; Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788;Connecticut, Jan. 9; Massachusetts, Feb. 7; Maryland, April 28; SouthCarolina, May 23; New Hampshire, June 21 (and, being the ninthratifying, gave effect to the Constitution); Virginia ratified June27; New York, July 26. North Carolina gave a conditional ratificationon the 7th of August, but Congress did not receive it until January, 1790; nor that of Rhode Island, until June of the same year. 

At the conclusion of the deliberations of the convention that framedthe Constitution, it was voted that its journal be intrusted to thecustody of George Washington. He finally deposited it in the StateDepartment, and it was printed in 1818 by order of Congress. 

The first session of Congress, under the new Constitution, was heldin the city of New York, in 1789. A quorum was obtained on the 6th ofApril; and the first measure brought up for consideration was atariff-bill which Mr. Parker of Virginia sought to amend by insertinga clause levying an impost-tax of ten dollars upon every slave broughtby water. "He was sorry the Constitution prevented Congress fromprohibiting the importation altogether. It was contrary to revolutionprinciples, and ought not to be permitted. " Thus the question ofslavery made its appearance early at the first session of the firstCongress under the present Constitution. At that time Georgia was theonly State in the Union that seemed to retain a pecuniary interest inthe importation of slaves. Even South Carolina had passed an Actprohibiting for one year the importation of slaves. In this, as onseveral occasions before, she was actuated on account of the lowprices of produce, --too low to be remunerative. But, notwithstandingthis, Mr. Smith, the member from the Charleston district, grew quitecaptious over the proposition of the gentleman from Virginia. He

 'Hoped that such an important and serious proposition would not be hastily adopted. It was rather a late moment for the first introduction of a subject so big with serious consequences. No one topic had been yet introduced so important to South Carolina and the welfare of the Union. "

Mr. Sherman got the floor, and said he

 "Approved the object of the motion, but did not think it a fit subject to be embraced in this bill. He could not reconcile himself to the insertion of human beings, as a subject of impost, among goods, wares, and merchandise. He hoped the motion would be withdrawn for the present, and taken up afterwards as an independent subject. "

Mr. Jackson of Georgia

 "Was not surprised, however others might be so, at the quarter whence this motion came. Virginia, as an old settled State, had her complement of slaves, and the natural increase being sufficient for her purpose, she was careless of recruiting her numbers by importation. But gentlemen ought to let their neighbors get supplied before they imposed such a burden. He knew this business was viewed in an odious light at the Eastward, because the people there were capable of doing their own work, and had no occasion for slaves. But gentlemen ought to have some feeling for others. Surely they do not mean to tax us for every comfort and enjoyment of life, and, at the same time, to take from us the means of procuring them! He was sure, from the unsuitableness of the motion to the business now before the house, and the want of time to consider it, the gentleman's candor would induce him to withdraw it. Should it ever be brought forward again, he hoped it would comprehend the white slaves as well as the black, imported from all the jails of Europe; wretches convicted of the most flagrant crimes, who were brought in and sold without any duty whatever. They ought to be taxed equally with Africans, and he had no doubt of the equal constitutionality and propriety of such a course. "

Mr. Parker of Virginia obtained the floor again, and proceeded toreply to the remarks offered upon his amendment by Sherman, Jackson, and Smith. He declared, --

 "That, having introduced the motion on mature reflection, he did not like to withdraw it. The gentleman from Connecticut had said that human beings ought not to be enumerated with goods, wares, and merchandise. Yet he believed they were looked upon by African traders in that light. He hoped Congress would do all in their power to restore to human nature its inherent privileges; to wipe off, if possible, the stigma under which America labored; to do away with the inconsistence in our principles justly charged upon us; and to show, by our actions, the pure beneficence of the doctrine held out to the world in our Declaration of Independence. "

Mr. Ames of Massachusetts

 "Detested slavery from his soul; but he had some doubts whether imposing a duty on their importation would not have an appearance of countenancing the practice. "

Mr. Madison made an eloquent speech in support of Mr. Parker'samendment. He said, --

 "The confounding men with merchandise might be easily avoided by altering the title of the bill; it was, in fact, the very object of the motion to prevent men, so far as the power of Congress extended, from being confounded with merchandise. The clause in the Constitution allowing a tax to be imposed, though the traffic could not be prohibited for twenty years, was inserted, he believed, for the very purpose of enabling Congress to give some testimony of the sense of America with respect to the African trade. By expressing a national disapprobation of that trade, it is to be hoped we may destroy it, and so save ourselves from reproaches, and our posterity from the imbecility ever attendant on a country filled with slaves. This was as much the interest of South Carolina and Georgia as of any other States. Every addition they received to their number of slaves tended to weakness, and rendered them less capable of self-defence. In case of hostilities with foreign nations, their slave population would be a means, not of repelling invasions, but of inviting attack. It was the duty of the general government to protect every part of the Union against danger, as well internal as external. Every thing, therefore, which tended to increase this danger, though it might be a local affair, yet, if it involved national expense or safety, became of concern to every part of the Union, and a proper subject for the consideration of those charged with the general administration of the government. "

Mr. Bland approved the position taken by Mr. Madison, while Mr. Burkeof South Carolina charged the gentlemen with having wasted the time ofCongress upon a useless proposition. He contended, that, while slaveswere not mentioned in the Constitution, they would come under thegeneral five per cent _ad valorem_ duty on all unenumerated articles, which would be equivalent to the proposition of the gentleman fromVirginia. Mr. Madison replied by saying, that no collector of customswould presume to apply the terms "goods, " "wares, " and "merchandise"to persons. Mr. Sherman followed him in the same strain, and deniedthat persons were anywhere recognised as property in the Constitution. Finally, at the suggestion of Mr. Madison, Mr. Parker consented towithdraw his motion with the understanding that a separate bill shouldbe brought in. A committee was appointed to discharge that duty, butthe noble resolve found a quiet grave in the committee-room. 

The failure of this first attempt, under the new Constitution, torestrict slavery, did not lame the cause to any great extent. It wasrather accelerated. The manner and spirit of the debate on the subjectquickened public thought, animated the friends of the Negro, andprovoked many people to good works. Slavery had ceased to exist inMassachusetts. Several suits, entered by slaves against their mastersfor restraining their liberty, had been won. The case of ElizabethFreeman, better known as "Mum Bet, " was regarded as the first-fruitsof the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights in the new Constitution of1780. The Duke de la Rochefoucault Laincort gives the followinginteresting account of the extinction of slavery in Massachusetts:--

 "In 1781, some negroes, prompted by private suggestion, maintained that they were not slaves: they found advocates, among whom was Mr. Sedgwick, now a member of the Senate of the United States; and the cause was carried before the Supreme Court. Their counsel pleaded, 1°. That no antecedent law had established slavery, and that the laws which seemed to suppose it were the offspring of error in the legislators, who had no authority to enact them;--2°, That such laws, even if they had existed, were annulled by the new Constitution. They gained the cause under both aspects: and the solution of this first question that was brought forward set the negroes entirely at liberty, and at the same time precluded their pretended owners from all claim to indemnification, since they were proved to have possessed and held them in slavery without any right. As there were only a few slaves in Massachusetts, the decision passed without opposition, and banished all further idea of slavery. "[634]

Mr. Nell gives an account of the legal death of slavery inMassachusetts, but unfortunately does not cite any authority. JohnQuincey Adams, in reply to a question put by John C. Spencer, statedthat, "a note had been given for the price of a slave in 1787. Thisnote was sued, and the Court ruled that the maker had received noconsideration, as a man could not be sold. From that time forward, slavery died in the Old Bay State. " There were several suitsinstituted by slaves against their reputed masters in 1781-82; butthere are strong evidences that slavery died a much slower death inMassachusetts than many are willing to admit. James Sullivan wrote toDr. Belknap in 1795:--

 "In 1781, at the Court in Worcester County, an indictment was found against a white man named Jennison for assaulting, beating, and imprisoning Quock Walker, a black. He was tried at the Supreme Judicial Court in 1783. His defence was, that the black was his slave, and that the beating, etc. , was the necessary restraint and correction of the master. This was answered by citing the aforesaid clause in the declaration of rights. The judges and jury were of opinion that he had no right to imprison or beat the negro. He was found guilty and fined 40 shillings. This decision put an end to the idea of slavery in Massachusetts. "[635]

There are two things in the above that throw considerable uncertaintyabout the subject as to the precise date of the end of slavery in theCommonwealth. First, the suit referred to was tried in 1783, threeyears after the adoption of the new Constitution. Second, the gooddoctor does not say that the decision sealed the fate of slavery, butonly that it "was a mortal wound to slavery in Massachusetts. "

From 1785-1790, there was a wonderful change in the public opinion ofthe Middle and Eastern States on the subject of slavery. Most of themhad passed laws providing for gradual emancipation. The Friends of NewYork, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania began to organize a crusade againstdomestic slavery. In the fall of 1789, while the Congressional debateswere still fresh in the minds of the people, the venerable Dr. Benjamin Franklin, as president of the "Pennsylvania Society forPromoting the Abolition of Slavery, " etc. , issued the followingletter:--

 "AN ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC. 

 _From the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of Free Negroes unlawfully held in Bondage_. 

 It is with peculiar satisfaction we assure, the friends of humanity, that, in prosecuting the design of our association, our endeavors have proved successful, far beyond our most sanguine expectations. 

 "Encouraged by this success, and by the daily progress of that luminous and benign spirit of liberty which is diffusing itself throughout the world, and humbly hoping for the continuance of the divine blessing on our labors, we have ventured to make an important addition to our original plan; and do therefore earnestly solicit the support and assistance of all who can feel the tender emotions of sympathy and compassion, or relish the exalted pleasure of beneficence. 

 "Slavery is such an atrocious debasement of human nature, that its very extirpation, if not performed with solicitous care, may sometimes open a source of serious evils. 

 "The unhappy man, who has long been treated as a brute animal, too frequently sinks beneath the common standard of the human species. The galling chains that bind his body do also fetter his intellectual faculties, and impair the social affections of his heart. Accustomed to move like a mere machine, by the will of a master, reflection is suspended; he has not the power of choice; and reason and conscience have but little influence over his conduct, because he is chiefly governed by the passion of fear. He is poor and friendless; perhaps worn out by extreme labor, age, and disease. 

 "Under such circumstances, freedom may often prove a misfortune to himself, and prejudicial to society. 

 "Attention to emancipated black people, it is therefore to be hoped, will become a branch of our national police; but, as far as we contribute to promote this emancipation, so far that attention is evidently a serious duty incumbent on us, and which we mean to discharge to the best of our judgement and abilities. 

 "To instruct, to advise, to qualify those who have been restored to freedom, for the exercise and enjoyment of civil liberty; to promote in them habits of industry; to furnish them with employments suited to their age, sex, talents, and other circumstances; and to procure their children an education calculated for their future situation in life, --these are the great outlines of the annexed plan which we have adopted, and which we conceive will essentially promote the public good, and the happiness of these our hitherto too much neglected fellow-creatures. 

 "A plan so extensive cannot be carried into execution without considerable pecuniary resources, beyond the present ordinary funds of the Society. We hope much from the generosity of enlightened and benevolent freemen, and will gratefully receive any donations or subscriptions for this purpose which may be made to our Treasurer, James Starr, or to James Pemberton, Chairman of our Committee of Correspondence. 

 "Signed by order of the Society, "B. FRANKLIN, _President_. 

 "Philadelphia, 9th of November, 1789. "

And as his last public act, Franklin gave his signature to thesubjoined memorial to the United States Congress:--

 "The memorial respectfully showeth, --

 "That, from a regard for the happiness of mankind, an association was formed several years since in this State, by a number of her citizens, of various religious denominations, for promoting the abolition of slavery, and for the relief of those unlawfully held in bondage. A just and acute conception of the true principles of liberty, as it spread through the land, produced accessions to their numbers, many friends to their cause, and a legislative co-operation with their views, which, by the blessing of Divine Providence, have been successfully directed to the relieving from bondage a large number of their fellow-creatures of the African race. They have also the satisfaction to observe, that, in consequence of that spirit of philanthropy and genuine liberty which is generally diffusing its beneficial influence, similar institutions are forming at home and abroad. 

 "That mankind are all formed by the same Almighty Being, alike objects of his care, and equally designed for the enjoyment of happiness, the Christian religion teaches us to believe, and the political creed of Americans fully coincides with the position. Your memorialists, particularly engaged in attending to the distresses arising from slavery, believe it their indispensable duty to present this subject to your notice. They have observed, with real satisfaction, that many important and salutary powers are vested in you for 'promoting the welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to the people of the United States'; and as they conceive that these blessings ought rightfully to be administered, without distinction of color, to all descriptions of people, so they indulge themselves in the pleasing expectation, that nothing which can be done for the relief of the unhappy objects of their care, will be either omitted or delayed. 

 "From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the portion, and is still the birth-right, of all men; and influenced by the strong ties of humanity, and the principles of their institution, your memorialists conceive themselves bound to use all justifiable endeavors to loosen the bands of slavery, and promote a general enjoyment of the blessings of freedom. Under these impressions, they earnestly entreat your serious attention to the subject of slavery; that you will be pleased to countenance the restoration of liberty to those unhappy men, who alone, in this land of freedom, are degraded into perpetual bondage, and who, amidst the general joy of surrounding freemen, are groaning in servile subjection; that you will devise means for removing this inconsistency from the character of the American people; that you will promote mercy and justice towards this distressed race; and that you will step to the very verge of the power vested in you for discouraging every species of traffic in the persons of our fellow-men. 

 "BENJ. FRANKLIN, _President_. 

 "PHILADELPHIA, February 3, 1790. "

The session of Congress held in 1790 was stormy. The slavery questioncame back to haunt the members. On the 12th of February, the memorialfrom the Pennsylvania society was read. It provoked fresh discussion, and greatly angered many of the Southern members. As soon as itsreading was completed, the "Quaker Memorial, " that had been read theday previous, was called up; and Mr. Hartley moved its commitment. Along and spirited debate ensued. It was charged that the memorial was"a mischievous attempt, an improper interference, at the best, an actof imprudence;" and that it "would sound an alarm and blow the trumpetof sedition through the Southern States. " Mr. Scott of Pennsylvaniareplied by saying, "I cannot entertain a doubt that the memorial isstrictly agreeable to the Constitution. It respects a part of the dutyparticularly assigned to us by that instrument. " Mr. Sherman was infavor of the commitment of the memorial, and gave his reasons _inextenso_. Mr. Smith of South Carolina said, "Notwithstanding all thecalmness with which some gentlemen have viewed the subject, they willfind that the mere discussion of it will create alarm. We have beentold that, if so, we should have avoided discussion by saying nothing. But it was not for that purpose we were sent here. We look upon thismeasure as an attack upon property; it is, therefore, our duty tooppose it by every means in our power. When we entered into apolitical connection with the other States, this property was there. It had been acquired under a former government conformably to the lawsand constitution, and every attempt to deprive us of it must be in thenature of an _ex post facto_ law, and, as such, forbidden by ourpolitical compact. " Following the unwise and undignified example setby the gentlemen who had preceded him on that side of the question, heslurred the Quakers. "His constituents wanted no lessons in religionand morality, and least of all from such teachers. "

Madison, Gerry, Boudinot, and Page favored commitment. Upon thequestion to commit, the yeas and nays being demanded, the referencewas made by a vote of forty-three to eleven. Of the latter, six werefrom Georgia and South Carolina, two from Virginia, two from Maryland, and one from New York. A special committee was announced, to whom thememorial was referred, consisting of one member from each of thefollowing States: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. At the end of a month, thecommittee made the following report to Congress:--

 "1st. That the general government was expressly restrained, until the year 1808, from prohibiting the importation of any persons whom any of the existing states might till that time think proper to admit. 2d. That, by a fair construction of the constitution, congress was equally restrained from interfering to emancipate slaves within the states, such slaves having been born there, or having been imported within the period mentioned. 3d. That congress had no power to interfere in the internal regulation of particular states relative to the instruction of slaves in the principles of morality and religion, to their comfortable clothing, accommodation, and subsistence, to the regulation of marriages or the violation of marital rights, to the separation of children and parents, to a comfortable provision in cases of age or infirmity, or to the seizure, transportation, and sale of free negroes; but entertained the fullest confidence in the wisdom and humanity of the state legislature that, from time to time, they would revise their laws, and promote these and all other measures tending to the happiness of the slaves. The fourth asserted that congress had authority to levy a tax of ten dollars, should they see fit to exact it, upon every person imported under the special permission of any of the states. The fifth declared the authority of congress to interdict or to regulate the African slave-trade, so far as it might be carried on by citizens of the United States for the supply of foreign countries, and also to provide for the humane treatment of slaves while on their passage to any ports of the United States into which they might be admitted. The sixth asserted the right of congress to prohibit foreigners from fitting out vessels in the United States to be employed in the supply of foreign countries with slaves from Africa. The seventh expressed an intention on the part of congress to exercise their authority to its full extent to promote the humane objects aimed at in the Quaker's memorial. "

Mr. Tucker took the floor against the report of the committee, and, after a bitter speech upon the unconstitutionality of meddling withthe slavery question in any manner, moved a substitute for the whole, in which he pronounced the recommendations of the committee "asunconstitutional, and tending to injure some of the States of theUnion. " Mr. Jackson seconded the motion in a rather intemperatespeech, which was replied to by Mr. Vining. The substitute of Mr. Tucker was declared out of order. Mr. Benson moved to recommit inhopes of getting rid of the subject, but the motion was overwhelminglyvoted down. The report was taken up article by article. The threefirst resolutions (those relating to the authority of Congress overslavery in the States) were adopted; while the second and third weremerged into one, stripped of its objectionable features. But on thefourth the debate was carried to a high pitch. This one related to theten-dollar tax. Mr. Tucker moved to amend by striking out the fourthresolution. Considerable discussion followed; and, upon the questionbeing put, it was carried by one vote. The fifth resolution, affirming the power of Congress to regulate the slave-trade, drew thefire of Jackson, Smith, and Tucker. Mr. Madison offered to modify itsomewhat. It was argued by the opponents of this resolution, thatCongress, under the plea of regulating the trade, might prohibit itentirely. Mr. Vining of Delaware, somewhat out of patience with thedemands of the Southern members, told those gentlemen very plainlythat they ought to be satisfied with the changes already made togratify them; that they should show some respect to the committee;that all the States from Virginia to New Hampshire had passed lawsprohibiting the slave-trade; and then delivered an eloquent defence ofthe Quakers. The resolution, as modified by Mr. Madison, carried. 

The sixth resolution, relating to the foreign slave-trade carried onfrom ports of the United States, received considerable attention. Mr. Scott made an elaborate speech upon it, in which he claimed, that, ifit were a question as to the power of Congress to regulate the foreignslave-trade, he had no doubts as to the authority of that body. "Idesire, " said that gentleman, "that the world should know, I desirethat those people in the gallery, about whom so much has been said, should know, that there is at least one member on this floor whobelieves that Congress have ample powers to do all they have askedrespecting the African slave-trade. Nor do I doubt that Congress will, whenever necessity or policy dictates the measure, exercise thosepowers. " Mr. Jackson attempted to reply. He started out with a laboredargument showing the divine origin of slavery, quoting Scriptures;showed that the Greeks and Romans had held slaves, etc. He wasfollowed and supported by Smith of South Carolina. Boudinot obtainedthe floor, and, after defending the Quakers and praising Franklin, declared that there was nothing unreasonable in the memorial; that itsimply requested them "to go to the utmost verge of the Constitution, "and not beyond it. Further debate was had, when the sixth resolutionwas adopted. 

The seventh resolution, pledging Congress to exert their full powersfor the restriction of the slave-trade--and, as some understood it, todiscountenance slavery--was struck out. The committee then arose andreported the resolutions to the house. The next day, the 23d March, 1790, after some preliminary business was disposed of, a motion wasmade to take up the report of the committee. Ames, Madison, and othersthought the matter, having occupied so much of the time of the house, should be left where it was; or rather, as Mr. Madison expressed it, simply entered on the Journals as a matter of public record. Aftersome little discussion, this motion prevailed by a vote of twenty-nineto twenty-five. The entry was accordingly made as follows:--

 "That the migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, can not be prohibited by congress prior to the year 1808. 

 "That congress have no right to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them, in any of the states, it remaining with the several states alone to provide any regulations therein which humanity and true policy require. 

 "That congress have authority to restrain the citizens of the United States from carrying on the African slave-trade for the purpose of supplying foreigners with slaves, and of providing by proper regulations for the humane treatment, during their passage, of slaves imported by the said citizens into the said states admitting such importation. 

 "That congress have also authority to prohibit foreigners from fitting out vessels in any port of the United States for transporting persons from Africa to any foreign port. "

The census of 1790 gave the slave population of the States asfollows:--

 SLAVE POPULATION. --CENSUS OF 1790. 

 Connecticut 2, 759 Delaware 8, 887 Georgia 29, 264 Kentucky 11, 830 Maryland 103, 036 New Hampshire 158 New Jersey 11, 423 New York 21, 324 North Carolina 100, 572 Pennsylvania 3, 737 Rhode Island 952 South Carolina 107, 094 Vermont 17 Virginia 293, 427 Territory south of Ohio 3, 417

 Aggregate, 697, 897. 

Vermont was admitted into the Union on the 18th of February, 1791; andthe first article of the Bill of Rights declared that "no male personborn in this country, or brought from over sea, ought to be bound bylaw to serve any person as a servant, slave, or apprentice after hearrives at the age of twenty-one years, nor female, in like manner, after she arrives at the age of twenty-one years, unless they arebound by their own consent after they arrive at such age, or are boundby law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like. "This provision was contained in the first Constitution of that State, and, therefore, it was the first one to abolish and prohibit slaveryin North America. 

On the 4th of February, 1791, Kentucky was admitted into the Union byAct of Congress, though it had no Constitution. But the next year aConstitution was framed. By it the Legislature was denied the right toemancipate slaves without the consent of the owner, nor without payingthe full price of the slaves before emancipating them; nor could anylaws be passed prohibiting emigrants from other states from bringingwith them persons deemed slaves by the laws of any other states in theUnion, so long as such persons should be continued as slaves inKentucky. The Legislature had power to prohibit the bringing into thestate slaves for the purpose of sale. Masters were required to treattheir slaves with humanity, to properly feed and clothe them, and toabstain from inflicting any punishment extending to life and limb. Laws could be passed granting owners the right to emancipate theirslaves, but requiring security that the slaves thus emancipated shouldnot become a charge upon the county. 

During the session of Congress in 1791, the Pennsylvania Society forthe Abolition of Slavery presented another memorial, calling uponCongress to exercise the powers they had been declared to possess bythe report of the committee which had been spread upon the Journals ofthe house. Thus emboldened, other anti-slavery societies, of RhodeIsland, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and a few local societies ofMaryland, presented memorials praying for the suppression of slaveryin the United States. They were referred to a select committee; and, as they made no report, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the nextyear, called the attention of Congress to the subject. On the 24th ofNovember, 1792, a Mr. Warner Mifflin, an anti-slavery Quaker fromDelaware, addressed a memorial to Congress on the general subject ofslavery, which was read and laid upon the table without debate. On the26th of November, Mr. Stute of North Carolina offered some sharpremarks upon the presumption of the Quaker, and moved that thepetition be returned to the petitioner, and that the clerk beinstructed to erase the entry from the Journal. This provoked a heateddiscussion; but at length the petition was returned to the author, and the motion to erase the record from the Journal was withdrawn bythe mover. 

In 1793 a law was passed providing for the return of fugitives fromjustice and from service, "In case of the escape out of any state orterritory of any person held to service or labor under the lawsthereof, the person to whom such labor was due, his agent, orattorney, might seize the fugitive and carry him before any UnitedStates judge, or before any magistrate of the city, town, or county inwhich the arrest was made; and such judge or magistrate, on proof tohis satisfaction, either oral or by affidavit before any othermagistrate, that the person seized was really a fugitive, and did owelabor as alleged, was to grant a certificate to that effect to theclaimant, this certificate to serve as sufficient warrant for theremoval of the fugitive to the state whence he had fled. Any personobstructing in any way such seizure or removal, or harboring orconcealing any fugitive after notice, was liable to a penalty of $500, to be recovered by the claimant. "

In 1794 an anti-slavery convention was held in Philadelphia, in whichnearly all of the abolition societies of the country were represented. A memorial, carefully avoiding constitutional objections, was drawnand addressed to Congress to do whatever they could toward thesuppression of the slave-trade. This memorial, with several otherpetitions, was referred to a special committee. In due time theyreported a bill, which passed without much opposition. It was thefirst act of the government toward repressing the slave-trade, and wasas mild as a summer's day. On Wednesday, the 7th of January, 1795, another meeting was held in Philadelphia, the second, to consideranti-slavery measures. The Act of Congress was read. 

 "_An Act to prohibit the carrying on the Slave-trade from the United States to any foreign place or country. _

 "SECTION I. BE _it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled_, That no citizen or citizens of the United States, or foreigner, or any other person coming into, or residing within the same, shall, for himself or any other person whatsoever, either as master, factor or owner, build, fit, equip, load or otherwise prepare any ship or vessel, within any port or place of the said United States, nor shall cause any ship or vessel to sail from any port or place within the same, for the purpose of carrying on any trade or traffic in slaves, to any foreign country; or for the purpose of procuring, from any foreign kingdom, place or country, the inhabitants of such kingdom, place or country, to be transported to any foreign country, port or place whatever, to be sold or disposed of, as slaves: And if any ship or vessel shall be so fitted out, as aforesaid, for the said purposes, or shall be caused to sail, so as aforesaid, every such ship or vessel, her tackle, furniture, apparel and other appurtenances, shall be forfeited to the United States; and shall be liable to be seized, prosecuted and condemned, in any of the circuit courts or district court for the district, where the said ship or vessel may be found and seized. 

 "SECTION II. _And be it further enacted_, That all and every person, so building, fitting out, equipping, loading, or otherwise preparing, or sending away, any ship or vessel, knowing, or intending, that the same shall be employed in such trade or business, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, or any ways aiding or abetting therein, shall severally forfeit and pay the sum of two thousand dollars, one moiety thereof, to the use of the United States, and the other moiety thereof, to the use of him or her, who shall sue for and prosecute the same. 

 "SECTION III. _And be it further enacted_, That the owner, master or factor of each and every foreign ship or vessel, clearing out for any of the coasts or kingdoms of Africa, or suspected to be intended for the slave-trade, and the suspicion being declared to the officer of the customs, by any citizen, on oath or affirmation, and such information being to the satisfaction of the said officer, shall first give bond with sufficient sureties, to the Treasurer of the United States, that none of the natives of Africa, or any other foreign country or place, shall be taken on board the said ship or vessel, to be transported, or sold as slaves, in any other foreign port or place whatever, within nine months thereafter. 

 "SECTION IV. _And be it further enacted_, That if any citizen or citizens of the United States shall, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, take on board, receive or transport any such persons, as above described, in this act, for the purpose of selling them as slaves, as aforesaid, he or they shall forfeit and pay, for each and every person, so received on board, transported, or sold as aforesaid, the sum of two hundred dollars, to be recovered in any court of the United States proper to try the same; the one moiety thereof, to the use of the United States, and the other moiety to the use of such person or persons, who shall sue for and prosecute the same. 

 "FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, _Speaker of the House of Representatives_. 

 "JOHN ADAMS, _Vice-President of the United States, and President of the Senate_. 

 "Approved--March the twenty-second, 1794. G'o: WASHINGTON, _President of the United States_. "

In 1797 Congress again found themselves confronted by the dark problemof slavery, that would not down at their bidding. The Yearly Meetingof the Quakers of Philadelphia sent a memorial to Congress, complaining that about one hundred and thirty-four Negroes, and otherswhom they knew not of, having been lawfully emancipated, wereafterwards reduced to bondage by an _ex post facto_ law passed byNorth Carolina, in 1777, for that cruel purpose. After considerabledebate, the memorial went to a committee, who subsequently reportedthat the matter complained of was purely of judicial cognizance, andthat Congress had no authority in the premises. 

During the same session a bill was introduced creating all thatportion of the late British Province of West Florida, within thejurisdiction of the United States, into a government to be called theMississippi Territory. It was to be conducted in all respects like theterritory north-west of the Ohio, with the single exception thatslavery should not be prohibited. During the discussion of thissection of the bill, Mr. Thatcher of Massachusetts moved to amend bystriking out the exception as to slavery, so as to make it conform tothe ideas expressed by Mr. Jefferson a few years before in referenceto the Western Territory. But, after a warm debate, Mr. Thatcher'smotion was lost, having received only twelve votes. An amendment ofMr. Harper of South Carolina, offered a few days later, prohibitingthe introduction of slaves into the new Mississippi Territory, fromwithout the limits of the United States, carried without opposition. 

Georgia revised her Constitution in 1798, and prohibited theimportation of slaves "from Africa or any foreign place. " Herslave-code was greatly moderated. Any person maliciously killing ordismembering a slave was to suffer the same punishment as if the acthad been committed upon a free white person, except in case ofinsurrection, or "unless such death should happen by accident, ingiving such slave moderate correction. " But, like Kentucky, theGeorgia constitution forbade the emancipation of slaves without theconsent of the individual owner; and encouraged emigrants to bringslaves into the State. 

In 1799, after three failures, the Legislature of New York passed abill for the gradual extinction of slavery. It provided that allpersons in slavery at the time of the passage of the bill shouldremain in bondage for life, but all their children, born after thefourth day of July next following, were to be free, but were requiredto remain under the direction of the owner of their parents, malesuntil twenty-eight, and females until twenty-five. Exportation ofslaves was disallowed; and if the attempt were made, and the partiesapprehended, the slaves were to be free _instanter_. Persons movinginto the State were not allowed to bring slaves, except they hadowned them for a year previous to coming into the State. 

In 1799 Kentucky revised her Constitution to meet the wants of agrowing State. An attempt was made to secure a provision providing forgradual emancipation. It was supported by Henry Clay, who, as a younglawyer and promising orator, began on that occasion a brilliantpolitical career that lasted for a half-century. But not even hismagic eloquence could secure the passage of the humane amendment, andin regard to the question of slavery the Constitution received nochange. 

As the shadows gathered about the expiring days of the eighteenthcentury, it was clear to be seen that slavery, as an institution, hadrooted itself into the political and legal life of the AmericanRepublic. An estate prolific of evil, fraught with danger to the newgovernment, abhorred and rejected at first, was at length adopted withgreat political sagacity and deliberateness, and then guarded by thesolemn forms of constitutional law and legislative enactments. 

FOOTNOTES:

[627] St. Clair Papers, vol. I. P. 120. 

[628] The clause "three fifths of all other persons" refers to Negroslaves. The Italics are our own. The Negro is referred to as _person_all through the Constitution. 

[629] Madison Papers, Elliot, vol. V. Pp. 392, 393. 

[630] Ibid. , vol. V pp. 391, 392. 

[631] Madison Papers, Elliot, vol. V. Pp. 457-461. 

[632] Madison Papers, Elliot, vol. V. Pp. 477, 478. 

[633] Examine Hildreth and the Secret Debates on the subject of the"compromises. "

[634] Travels, etc. , vol. Ii. P. 166. 

[635] M. H. S. Coll. , 5th Series, III. , p. 403. 

APPENDIX. 

Part I. 

_PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS_. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE UNITY OF MANKIND. 

In Acts xvii. 26 the apostle says, "And God hath made of one blood allnations of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determinedthe times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. " InMark xvi. 15, 16, is recorded that remarkable command of our Saviour, "GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel TO EVERY CREATURE. Hethat believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believethnot shall be damned. " (See also Matt. Xxviii. 18, 20. ) Now there is avery close connection between the statement here made by the apostle, and the command here given by our Lord Jesus Christ; for it was inobedience to this command that the apostle was at that time at Athens. There, amid the proud and conceited philosophers of Greece, in thecentre of their resplendent capital, surrounded on every hand by theirnoblest works of art and their proudest monuments of learning, theapostle proclaims the equality of ALL MEN, their common origin, guilt, and danger, and their universal obligations to receive and embrace thegospel. The Athenians, like other ancient nations, and like them, too, in opposition to their own mythology, regarded themselves as apeculiar and distinct race, created upon the very soil which theyinhabited, and pre-eminently elevated above the barbarians of theearth, --as they regarded the other races of men. Paul, however, as aninspired and infallible teacher, authoritatively declares that "Godwho made the world and all things therein, " "hath made of one blood, "and caused to descend from one original pair the whole species of men, who are now by His providential direction so propagated as to inhabit"all the face of the earth, " having marked out in his eternal andunerring counsel the determinate periods for their inhabiting, and theboundaries of the regions they should inhabit. 

The apostle in this passage refers very evidently to the record of theearly colonization and settling of the earth contained in the books ofMoses. Some Greek copies preserve only the word [Greek: enos], leavingout [Greek: aimatos], a reading which the vulgar Latin follows. TheArabic version, to explain both, has _ex homine_, or as De Dieurenders it, _ex Adamo uno_, there being but the difference of oneletter in the Eastern languages between _dam_ and _adam_, the onedenoting blood, and the other man. But if we take this passage as ourmore ordinary copies read it, [Greek: exenos aimatos], it is stillequally plain that the meaning is not that all mankind were made ofthe same uniform matter, as the author of the work styled Pre-Adamitesweakly imagined, for on that ground, not only mankind, but the wholeworld might be said to be _ex henos haimatos_, i. E. , of the sameblood, since all things in the world were at first formed out of thesame matter. The word _[Greek: aima]_ therefore must be here renderedin the same sense as that in which it occurs in the best Greekauthors--_the stock out of which men come_ Thus Homer says, --

"_[Greek: Ei eteon g emos esti kai aimtos êmeteroio]_". 

In like manner those who are near relations, are called by Sophocles_[Greek: oi pros aimatos]_. And hence the term _consanguinity_, employed to denote nearness of relation. Virgil uses _sanguis_ in thesame sense. 

"_Trojano a sanguine duci_. "

So that the apostle's meaning is, that however men now are dispersedin their habitations, and however much they differ in language andcustoms from each other, yet they were all originally of the samestock, and derived their succession from the first man whom Godcreated, that is, from Adam, from which name the Hebrew word forblood--i. E. --_dam_--is a derivative. 

Neither can it be conceived on what account Adam in the Scripture iscalled "the first man, " and said to be "made a living soul, " and "ofthe earth earthy, " unless it is to denote that he was absolutely thefirst of his kind, and was, therefore, designed to be the standard andmeasure of all the races of men. And thus when our Saviour would traceup all things to the beginning, he illustrates his doctrine by quotingthose words which were pronounced after Eve was formed. "But from thebeginning of the creation, God made them male and female, for thiscause shall a man leave father and mother and cleave unto his wife"Now nothing can be more plain and incontrovertible than that those ofwhom these words were spoken, were the first male and female whichwere made in "the beginning of the creation. " It is equally evidentthat these words were spoken of Adam and Eve for "Adam said, This isnow bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; therefore shall a manleave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife" Ifthe Scriptures then of the New Testament be true, it is most plain andevident that all mankind are descended from Adam. [636]

 * * * * *

THE CURSE OF CANAAN. 

It is not necessary--nay, it is not admissible--to take the words ofNoah, as to Shem and Japheth, as _prophetic_ We shall presently seethat, as prophetic, they have failed. Let us not, in expoundingScripture, introduce the _supernatural_ when the _natural_ isadequate. Noah had now known the peculiarities of his sons longenough, and well enough, to be able to make some probable conjectureas to their future course, and then success or failure in life. It iswhat parents do now a-days. They say of one son, He will succeed, --heis so dutiful, so economical, so industrious. They say of another, This one will make a good lawyer--he is so sharp in an argument. Ofanother, they say, We will educate him for the ministry, for he hassuitable qualifications While of another they may be constrained topredict that he will not succeed, because he is indolent, and selfish, and sensual. Does it require special inspiration for a father, havingordinary common sense, to discover the peculiar talents anddispositions of his children, and to predict the probable future ofeach of them? Some times they hit it sometimes they miss it. Shall itnot be conceded to Noah that he could make as probable a conjecture, as to his sons, as your father made as to you, or as you thinkyourselves competent to make for either of your sons? Noah made agood hit. What he said as to the future of his sons, and of theirposterity, has turned out, in some respects, as he said it would, but_not exactly_, --not so exactly as to authorize our calling his wordsan inspired prophecy, as we shall presently show. 

But, if we set out to establish or to justify slavery upon these wordsof Noah, on the assumption GOD _spake_ by Noah as to the curse andblessings here recorded, we have a right to expect to find the factsof history to correspond. If the facts of history do not correspondwith these words of Noah, then God did not speak them by Noah as hisown. Let us face this matter. It is said, by those who interpret thecurse of Canaan as divine authority for slavery, that God _has herebyordained that the descendants of Ham shall be slaves_. The descendantsof Shem are not, of course, doomed to that curse. Now, upon thesupposition that these are the words of God, and not the denunciationsof an irritated father just awaking from his drunkenness, we ought notto find any of _Canaan's descendants out of a condition of slavery, nor any of the descendants of Shem in it_. If we do, then either theseare not God's words, or God's words have not come true. 

But it is a fact that not all of Ham's entire descendants, nor even ofCanaan's descendants (on whom _alone_, and not _at all on Ham_, nor onhis three other sons, Noah's curse fell), are now, _nor ever havebeen_, as a whole, in a state of bondage. The Canaanites were notslaves, but free and powerful tribes, when the Hebrews entered theirterritory. The Carthaginians, it is generally admitted, were descendedfrom Canaan. They certainly were free and powerful when, in frequentwars, they contended, often with success, against the formidableRomans. If the curse of Noah was intended for all the descendants ofHam, it signally failed in the case of the first military heromentioned in the Bible, who was the founder of a world-renowned cityand empire. I refer to Nimrod, who was a son of Cush, the oldest sonof Ham. Of this Nimrod the record is, "He began to be a mighty one inthe earth: he was a mighty hunter before the Lord: and the beginningof his Kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in theland of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur and buildedNineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen, between Ninevehand Calah; the same is a great city. " This is Bible authority, informing us that the grandson of Ham (Nimrod, the son of Cush) was amighty man--_the great man_ of the world, in his day--the founder ofthe Babylonian empire, and the ancestor of the founder of the city ofNineveh, one of the grandest cities of the ancient world. We are notled to conclude, from these wonderful achievements by the posterity ofCush (who was the progenitor of the Negroes), that this line of Ham'sdescendants was so _weak in intellect_ as to be unable to set up andmaintain a government. [637]

FOOTNOTES

[636] The Unity of the Human Races, pp. 14-17. 

[637] Curse of Canaan, pp. 5-7. By Rev. C. H. Edgar. 

 * * * * *

CHAPTER III. 

NEGRO CIVILIZATION. 

DR. WISEMAN has also shown that both Aristotle and Herodotus describethe Egyptians--to whom Homer, Lycurgus, Solon, Pythagoras, and Platoresorted for wisdom--as having the black skin, the crooked legs, thedistorted feet and the woolly hair of the Negro, from which we do notwish, or feel it necessary to infer that the Egyptians were Negroes, but _first_ that the ideas of degradation and _not-human_, associatedwith the dark-colored African races of people _now_, were not attachedto them at an early period of their history; and _secondly_, thatwhile depicted as Negroes, the Egyptians were regarded by theseprofound ancients--the one a naturalist and the other a historian--asone of the branches of the human family, and as identified with anation of whose descent from Ham there is no question. [638] Egyptianantiquity, not claiming priority of social existence for itself, oftenpointed to the regions of Habesh, or high African Ethiopia, andsometimes to the North, for the seat of the gods and demigods, becauseboth were the intermediate stations of the progenitor tribes. [639]

There is, therefore, every reason to believe that the primitiveEgyptians were conformed much more to the African than to the Europeanform and physiognomy, and therefore that there was a time whenlearning, commerce, arts, manufactures, etc. , were all associated witha form and character of the human race now regarded as the evidenceonly of degradation and barbarous ignorance. 

But why question this fact when we can refer to the ancient and onceglorious kingdoms of Meroe, Nubia, and Ethiopia, and to the prowessand skill of other ancient and interior African Nations? And among theexisting nations of interior Africa, there is seen a manifolddiversity as regards the blackest races. The characteristics of themost truly Negro race are not found in _all_, nor to the same degreein _many_. 

Clapperton and other travellers among the Negro tribes of interiorAfrica, attest the superiority of the pure Negroes above the mixedraces around them, in all moral characteristics, and describe alsolarge and populous kingdoms with numerous towns, well cultivatedfields, and various manufactures, such as weaving, dyeing, tanning, working in iron and other metals, and in pottery. [640]

From the facts we have adduced it seems to follow, that one of theearliest races of men of whose existence, civilization andphysiognomy, we have any remaining proofs, were dark or black colored. "We must, " says Prichard, "for the present look upon the black racesas the aborigines of Kelænonesia, or Oceanica, --that is as theimmemorial and primitive inhabitants. There is no reason to doubt thatthey were spread over the Austral island long before the same or thecontiguous regions were approached by the Malayo-Polynesians. Wecannot say definitely how far back this will carry us, but as thedistant colonizations of the Polynesians probably happened before theisland of Java received arts and civilization from Hindustan, it mustbe supposed to have preceded by some ages the Javan era of BataraGuru, and therefore to have happened before the Christian era. "

The Negro race is known to have existed 3, 345 years, says Dr. Morton, 268 years later than the earliest notice of the white race, of whichwe have distinct mention B. C. 2200. This makes the existence of aNegro race certain about 842 years after the flood, according to theHebrew chronology, or 1650 years after the flood, according to theSeptuagint chronology, which may very possibly have been the originalHebrew chronology. There is thus ample time given for themultiplication and diffusion of man over the earth, and for theformation--either by natural or supernatural causes, in combinationwith the anomalous and altogether extraordinary condition of theearth--of all the various races of men. 

It is also apparent from the architecture, and other historicalevidences of their character, that dark or black races, with more orless of the Negro physiognomy, were in the earliest period of theirknown history cultivated and intelligent, having kingdoms, arts, andmanufactures. And Mr. Pickering assures us that there is no fact toshow that Negro slavery is not of modern origin. The degradation ofthis race of men therefore, must be regarded as the result of externalcauses, and not of natural, inherent and original incapacity. [641]

FOOTNOTES:

[638] See Dr. Wiseman's Lectures on the connection between Science andRevealed Religion, Am. Ed. , pp. 95-98

[639] See Nat. Hist. Human Species p. 373. 

[640] See British Encyclopædia, vol. Ii. Pp. 237, 238

[641] Tiedeman, on the Brain of the Negro, in the Phil. Trans. , 1838, p. 497

 * * * * *

CHAPTER VI. 

NEGRO TYPE. 

It has often been said that, independently of the woolly hair and thecomplexion of the Negroes, there are sufficient differences betweenthem and the rest of mankind to mark them as a very peculiar tribe. This is true, and yet the principal differences are perhaps not soconstant as many persons imagine. In our West Indian colonies verymany Negroes, especially females, are seen, whose figures strikeEuropeans as remarkably beautiful. This would not be the case if theydeviated much from the idea prevalent in Europe, or from the Europeanstandard of beauty. Yet the slaves in the colonies, particularly inthose of England, were brought from the west coast of intertropicalAfrica, where the peculiarities of figure, which in our eyesconstitute deformity in the Negro, are chiefly prevalent. The blackpeople imported into the French and to some of the Portuguesecolonies, from the eastern coast of the African continent, and fromCongo, are much better made. The most degraded and savage nations arethe ugliest. Among the most improved and the partially civilized, asthe Ashantees, and other interior States, the figure and the featuresof the native people approach much more to the European. The ugliestNegro tribes are confined to the equatorial countries; and on bothsides of the equator, as we advance towards the temperate zones, thepersons of the inhabitants are most handsome and well formed. 

In a later period of this work I shall cite authors who have provedthat many races belonging to this department of mankind are noted forthe beauty of their features, and their fine stature and proportions. Adanson has made this observation of the Negroes on the Senegal. Hethus describes the men. "Leur taille est pour l'ordinaire au-dessus dela mediocre, bien prise et sans défaut. Ils sont forts, robustes, etd'un tempérament propre à la fatigue. Ils ont les yeux noirs et bienfendus, peu de barbe, les traits du visage assez agréables. " They arecomplete Negroes, for it is added that their complexion is of a fineblack, that their hair is black, frizzled, cottony, and of extremefineness. The women are said to be of nearly equal stature with themen, and equally well made. "Leur visage est d'une douceur extrême. Elles ont les yeux noirs, bien fendus, la bouche et les lèvrespetites, et les traits du visage bien proportionnés. Il s'en trouveplusieurs d'une beauté parfaite. " Mr. Rankin, a highly intelligenttraveller, who reports accurately and without prejudice the results ofhis personal observation, has recently given a similar testimony inregard to some of the numerous tribes of northern Negro-land, whofrequent the English colony of Sierra Leone. In the skull of the moreimproved and civilized nations among the woolly-haired blacks ofAfrica, there is comparatively slight deviation from the form whichmay be looked upon as the common type of the human head. We areassured, for example, by M. Golberry, that the Ioloffs, whose colouris a deep transparent black, and who have woolly hair, are robust andwell made, and have regular features. Their countenances, he says, areingenuous, and inspire confidence: they are honest, hospitable, generous, and faithful. The women are mild, very pretty, well made, and of agreeable manners. On the other side of the equinoctial line, the Congo Negroes, as Pigafetta declares, have not thick lips or uglyfeatures; except in colour they are very like the Portuguese. Kafirsin South Africa frequently resemble Europeans, as many late travellershave declared. It has been the opinion of many that the Kafirs oughtto be separated from the Negroes as a distinct branch of the humanfamily. This has been proved to be an error. In the conformation ofthe skull, which is the leading character, the Kafirs associatethemselves with the great majority of woolly African nations. [642]

THE NEGROES. 

The Negroes inhabit Africa from the southern margin of the Sahara asfar as the territory of the Hottentots and Bushmen, and from theAtlantic to the Indian Ocean, although the extreme east of theirdomain has been wrested from them by intrusive Hamites and Semites. Most negroes have high and narrow skulls. According to Welcker theaverage percentage of width begins at 68 and rises to 78. Thevariations are so great that, among eighteen heads from EquatorialAfrica, Barnard Davis found no less than four brachyrephals. In themajority dolichocephalism is combined with a prominence of the upperjaw and an oblique position of the teeth, yet there are whole nationswhich are purely mesognathous. It is to be regretted that in theopinion of certain mistaken ethnologists, the negro was the ideal ofevery thing barbarous and beast-like. They endeavoured to deny him anycapability of improvement, and even disputed his position as a man. The negro was said to have an oval skull, a flat forehead, snout-likejaws, swollen lips, a broad flat nose, short crimped hair, falselycalled wool, long arms, meagre thighs, calfless legs, highly elongatedheels, and flat feet. No single tribe, however, possesses all thesedeformities. The colour of the skin passes through every gradation, from ebony black, as in the Joloffers, to the light tint of themulattoes, as in the Wakilema, and Barth even describescopper-coloured negroes in Marghi. As to the skull in many tribes, asin the above mentioned Joloffers, the jaws are not prominent, and thelips are not swollen. In some tribes the nose is pointed, straight, orhooked; even "Grecian profiles" are spoken of, and travellers say withsurprise that they cannot perceive anything of the so-called negrotype among the negroes. 

According to Paul Broca, the upper limbs of the negro arecomparatively much shorter than the lower, and therefore less ape-likethan in Europeans, and, although in the length of the femur the negromay approximate to the proportions of the ape, he differs from them bythe shortness of the humerus more than is the case with Europeans. Undoubtedly narrow and more or less high skulls are prevalent amongthe negroes. But the only persistent character which can be adduced ascommon to all is greater or less darkness of skin, that is to say, yellow, copper-red, olive, or dark brown, passing into ebony black. The colour is always browner than that of Southern Europe. The hair isgenerally short, elliptic in section, often split longitudinally, andmuch crimped. That of the negroes of South Africa, especially of theKaffirs and Betshuans, is matted into tufts, although not in the samedegree as that of the Hottentots. The hair is black, and in old agewhite, but there are also negroes with red hair, red eye-brows, andeye-lashes, and among the Monbuttoo, on the Uelle, Schweinfurth evendiscovered negroes with ashy fair hair. Hair on the body and beardsexist, though not abundantly; whiskers are rare although not quiteunknown. 

The negroes form but a single race, for the predominant as well as theconstant characters recur in Southern as well as in Central Africa, and it was therefore a mistake to separate the Bantu negroes into apeculiar race. But, according to language, the South Africans can wellbe separated, as a great family, from the Soudan negroes. [643]

FOOTNOTES:

[642] Prichard's Physical History of Mankind, vol. I. Pp. 247-249. 

 * * * * *

THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL CHARACTER TO CLIMATE. 

We shall now find, on comparing these several departments with eachother, that marked differences of physical character, and particularlyof complexion, distinguished the human races which respectivelyinhabit them, and that these differences are successive or bygradations. 

First, Among the people of level countries within the Mediterraneanregion, including Spaniards, Italians, Greeks, Moors, and theMediterranean islanders, black hair with dark eyes is almostuniversal, scarcely, one person in some hundreds presenting anexception to this remark with this colour of the hair and eyes isconjoined a complexion of brownish white, which the French call thecolour of brunettes. We must observe, that throughout all the zonesinto which we have divided the European region, similar complexions tothis of the Mediterranean countries are occasionally seen Thequalities, indeed, of climate are not so diverse, but that even thesame plants are found sporadically, in the North of Europe as in theAlps and Pyrenees. But if we make a comparison between the prevalentcolours of great numbers, we can easily trace a succession of shadesor of different hues. 

Secondly, In the southernmost of the three zones, to the northward ofthe Pyreno-Alpine line, namely, in the latitude of France, theprevalent colour of the hair is a chestnut brown, to which thecomplexion and the colour of the eyes bear a certain relation. 

Thirdly, In the northern parts of Germany, England, in Denmark, Finland and a great part of Russia, the xanthous variety, stronglymarked, is prevalent The Danes have always been known as a people offlorid complexion, blue eyes, and yellow hair The Hollanders weretermed by Silius Italicus, "Auricomi Batavi, " the golden hairedBatavians, and Linnæus has defined the Finns as a tribe distinguishedby "capillis flavis prolixis. "

Fourthly, In the northern division we find the Norwegians and Swedesto be generally tall, white haired men, with light gray eyescharacters so frequent to the northward of the Baltic, that Linnæushas specified them in a definition of the inhabitants of SwedishGothland. We have then to the northward of Mount Atlas, four wellmarked varieties of human complexion succeeding each other, and inexact accordance with the gradations of latitude and of climate fromsouth to north. The people are thus far nearly white in the colour oftheir skin, but in the more southerly of the three regions abovedefined, with a mixture of brown, or of the complexion of brunettes, or such as we term swarthy or sallow persons. 

Fifthly, In the next region, to the southward of Atlas, the nativeinhabitants, are the "gentes sub fusci coloris" of Leo, and theimmigrant Arabs in the same country are, as we have seen by abundanttestimonies, of a similar high brown hue, but varying between that anda perfect black. 

Sixthly, With the tropic and the latitude of the Senegal, begins theregion of predominant and almost universal black, and this continues, if we confine ourselves to the low and plain countries, through allinter tropical Africa. 

Seventhly, Beyond this is the country of copper coloured and redpeople, who, in Kafirland, are the majority, while in inter-tropicalAfrica there are but few such tribes, and those in countries ofmountainous elevation. 

Lastly, Towards the Cape are the tawny Hottentots, scarcely darkerthan the Mongoles, whom they resemble in many other particularsbesides colour. 

It has long been well known, that as travellers ascend mountains, inwhatever region, they find the vegetation at every successive levelaltering its character, and assuming a more northern aspect, thusindicating that the state of the atmosphere, temperature and physicalagencies in general, assimilate as we approach alpine regions, to thepeculiarities locally connected with high latitudes. If therefore, complexions and other bodily qualities belonging to races of mendepend upon climate and external conditions, we should expect to findthem varying in reference to elevation of surface, and if they shouldbe found actually to undergo such variations, this will be a strongargument that these external characters do, in fact, depend upon localconditions. Now, if we inquire respecting the physical characters ofthe tribes inhabiting high tracts within either of the regions abovemarked out, we shall find that they coincide with those which prevailin the level or low parts of more northern tracts. The Swiss, in thehigh mountains above the plains of Lombardy, have sandy or brown hair. What a contrast presents itself to the traveller who descends into theMilanese, where the peasants have black hair and eyes, withstrongly-marked Italian and almost Oriental features. In the higherparts of the Biscayan country, instead of the swarthy complexion andblack hair of the Castilians, the natives have a fair complexion withlight-blue eyes and flaxen or auburn hair. And in Atlantica, while theBerbers of the plains are of brown complexion with black hair, we haveseen that the Shuluh mountaineers are fair, and that the inhabitantsof the high tracts of Mons Aurasius are completely xanthous, havingred or yellow hair and blue eyes, which fancifully, and without theshadow of any proof, they have been conjectured to have derived fromthe Vandal troops of Genseric. 

Even in the inter-tropical region, high elevations of surface, as theyproduce a cooler climate, seem to occasion the appearance of lightcomplexions. In the high parts of Senegambia, which front theAtlantic, and are cooled by winds from the Western Ocean, where, infact, the temperature is known to be moderate and even cool at times, the light copper-coloured Frelahs are found surrounded on every sideby Negro nations inhabiting lower districts; and nearly in the sameparallel, but at the opposite side of Africa, are the high plains ofEnarea and Kaffa, where the inhabitants are said to be fairer than thenatives of southern Europe. The Galla and the Abyssinians themselvesare, in proportion to the elevation of the country inhabited by them, fairer than the natives of low countries; and lest an exception shouldbe taken to a comparison of straight-haired races with woolly Negroesor Shungalla, they bear the same comparison with the Danakil, Hazorta, and the Bishari tribes, resembling them in their hair and features, who inhabit the low tracts between the mountains of Tigre and theshores of the Red Sea, and who are equally or nearly as black asNegroes. 

We may find occasion to observe that an equally decided relationexists between local conditions and the existence of other charactersof human races in Africa. Those races who have the Negro character inan exaggerated degree, and who may be said to approach to deformity inperson--the ugliest blacks with depressed foreheads, flat noses, crooked legs--are in many instances inhabitants of low countries, often of swampy tracts near the sea-coast, where many of them, as thePapels, have scarcely any other means of subsistence than shell fish, and the accidental gifts of the sea. In many places similar Negrotribes occupy thick forests in the hollows beneath high chains ofmountains, the summits of which are inhabited by Abyssinian orEthiopian races. The high table-lands of Africa are chiefly, as far asthey are known, the abode or the wandering places of tribes of thischaracter, or of nations who, like the Kafirs, recede veryconsiderably from the Negro type. The Mandingos are, indeed, a Negrorace inhabiting a high region; but they have neither the depressedforehead nor the projecting features considered as characteristic ofthe Negro race. [644]

FOOTNOTES:

[643] Peschel, The Races of Man, pp. 462-464. 

 * * * * *

CHAPTER VII. 

CITIES OF AFRICA. 

_Carthage_. The foundation of this celebrated city is ascribed toElissa, a Tyrian princess, better known as Dido; it may therefore befixed at the year of the world 3158; when Joash was king of Judah; 98years before the building of Rome, and 846 years before Christ. Theking of Tyre, father of the famous Jezebel, called in ScriptureEthbaal, was her great grandfather. She married her near relationAcerbas, also called Sicharbas, or Sichæus, an extremely rich prince, Pygmalion, king of Tyre, was her brother. Pygmalion put Sichæus todeath in order that he might have an opportunity to seize his immensetreasures, but Dido eluded her brother's cruel avarice, by secretlyconveying away her deceased husband's possessions. With a large trainof followers she left her country, and after wandering some time, landed on the coast of the Mediterranean, in Africa, and located hersettlement at the bottom of the gulf, on a peninsula, near the spotwhere Tunis now stands. Many of the neighboring people, allured by theprospect of gain, repaired thither to sell to those foreigners thenecessities of life, and soon became incorporated with them. Thepeople thus gathered from different places soon grew very numerous. And the citizens of Utica, an African city about fifteen milesdistant, considering them as their countrymen, as descended from thesame common stock, advised them to build a city where they hadsettled. The other natives of the country, from their natural esteemand respect for strangers, likewise encouraged them to the sameobject. Thus all things conspiring with Dido's views, she built hercity, which was appointed to pay in annual tribute to the Africans forthe ground it stood upon, and called it Carthage--a name that in thePhoenician and Hebrew languages, [which have a great affinity, ]signifies the "New City. " It is said that in digging the foundation, ahorse's head was found, which was thought to be a good omen, and apresage of the future warlike genius of that people. Carthage had thesame language and national character as its parent state--Tyre. Itbecame at length, particularly at the period of the Punic War, one ofthe most splendid cities in the world, and had under its dominion 300cities bordering upon the Mediterranean. From the small beginning wehave described, Carthage increased till her population numbered700, 000, and the number of her temples and other public buildings wasimmense. Her dominion was not long confined to Africa. Her ambitiousinhabitants extended their conquest into Europe, by invading Sardinia, seizing a great part of Sicily, and subduing almost all of Spain. Having sent powerful colonies everywhere, they enjoyed the empire ofthe seas for more than six hundred years and formed a State which wasable to dispute pre-eminence with the greatest empire of the world, bytheir wealth, their commerce, their numerous armies, their formidablefleets, and above all by the courage and ability of their commanders, and she extended her commerce over every part of the known world. Acolony of Phoenicians or Ethiopians, known in Scripture as Canaanites, settled in Carthage. The Carthaginians settled in Spain and Portugal. The first inhabitants of Spain were the Celts, a people of Gaul, afterthem the Phoenicians possessed themselves of the most southern partsof the country, and may well be supposed to have been the firstcivilizers of this kingdom, and the founders of the most ancientcities. After these, followed the Grecians, then the Carthaginians. 

Portugal was anciently called Lusitania, and inhabited by tribes ofwandering people, till it became subject to the Carthaginians andPhoenicians, who were dispossessed by the Romans 250 years beforeChrist. (ROLLIN. )

The Carthaginians were masters of all the coast which lies on theMediterranean, and all the country as far as the river Iberus. Theirdominions, at the time when Hannibal the Great set out for Italy, allthe coast of Africa from the Aræ Phileanorum, by the great Syrtis, tothe pillars of Hercules was subject to the Carthaginians, who hadmaintained three great wars against the Romans. But the Romans finallyprevailed by carrying the war into Africa, and the last Punic warterminated with the overthrow of Carthage (NEPOS, _in Vita Annibalis_, liv. )

The celebrated Cyrene was a very powerful city, situated on theMediterranean, towards the greater Syrtis, in Africa, and had beenbuilt by Battus, the Lacedæmonian. (ROLLIN. )

_Cyrene_--(Acts xi. 20. ) A province and city of Libya. There wasanciently a Phoenician colony called Cyrenaica, or "Libya, aboutCyrene. " (Acts ii. 10. ). 

_Cyrene_--A country west of Egypt, and the birthplace of Callimachusthe poet, Eratosthenes the historian, and Simon who bore the Saviour'scross. Many Jews from hence were at the Pentecost, and were convertedunder Peter's sermon (Acts ii. ). The region, now under the Turkishpower, and has become almost a desert. It is now called Cairoan. Someof the Cyrenians were among the earliest Christians (Acts xi. 20); andone of them, it is supposed, was a preacher at Antioch (Acts xiii. 1). We find also, that among the most violent opposers of Christianitywere the Cyrenians, who had a synagogue at Jerusalem, as had those ofmany other nations. It is said there were four hundred and eightysynagogues in Jerusalem. 

_Lybia_, or Libya (Acts ii. 10), was anciently among the Greeks, ageneral name for Africa, but properly it embraced only so much ofAfrica as lay west of Egypt, on the southern coast of theMediterranean. Profane geographers call it Libya Cyrenaica, becauseCyrene was its capitol. It was the country of the Lubims (2 Chron. Xii. 3), or Lehabims, of the Old Testament, from which it is supposedto have derived its name. 

The ancient city of Cyrene is now called Cyreune, Cairoan, or Cayranand lies in the dominion of Tripoli. This district of the earth haslately occasioned much interest among Italian and French geographers. Great numbers of Jews resided here (Matt. Xxvii. 32). 

_Libya_, a part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, famous for its armedchariots and horses (2 Chron. Xvi. 8). 

_Ophir_, the son of Joktan, gave name to a country in Africa, famousfor gold, which was renowned even in the time of Job (Job xxi. 24, xxviii. 16); and from the time of David to the time of Jehoshaphat theHebrews traded with it, and Uzziah revived this trade when he madehimself master of Elath, a noted port on the Red Sea. In Solomon'stime, the Hebrew fleet took up three years in their voyage to Ophir, and brought home gold, apes, peacocks, spices, ivory, ebony andalmug-trees (1 Kings ix. 28, x. 11, xxii. 48, 2 Chron. Ix. 10). 

_Tarshish_ (Isa. Xxiii. 1), or Tharsish (1 Kings x. 22). It issupposed that some place of this name existed on the eastern coast ofAfrica or among the southern ports of Asia, with which the ships ofHiram and Solomon traded in gold and silver, ivory, and apes andpeacocks (2 Chron. Ix. 21). It is said that once in every three yearsthese ships completed a voyage, and brought home their merchandise. Hence, it is inferred, the place with which they traded must have beendistant from Judea. 

The vessels given by Hiram to Solomon, and those built by Jehoshaphat, to go to Tarshish, were all launched at Eziongeber, it the northernextremity of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, now called the Gulf ofAhaba (2 Chron xx. 36). The name of Tarshish was from one of the sonsof Javan (Gen. X. 4). 

_Phut_ (Gen. X. 6), or Put (Nah. Iii. 9), was the third son of Ham, and his descendants, sometimes called Libyans, are supposed to be theMauritanians, or Moors of modern times. They served the Egyptians andTyrians as soldiers (Jer. Xlvi. 9; Ezek. Xxvii. 10, xxx. 5, xxxviii. 5). 

_Pul_. A district in Africa, thought by Bochart to be an island in theNile, not far from Syene (Isa. Lxvi. 19). 

_Seba_ (Isa. Xliii. 3) A peninsular district of African Ethiopia, deriving its name from the eldest son of Cush (Gen. X. 7), who issupposed to have been the progenitor of the Ethiopians. It is calledSeba by the Hebrews. 

FOOTNOTES:

[644] Prichard. Vol. Ii pp. 334-338. 

CITIES OF ETHIOPIA

_Ethiopian_ is a name derived from the "land of Ethiopia, " the firstsettled country before the flood. "The second river that went out ofEden, to water the garden, or earth, was Gihon; the same thatencompasseth the whole land, or country, of _Ethiopia_" (Gen. Ii. 13). Here Adam and his posterity built their tents and tilled the ground(Gen. Iii. 23, 24). 

The first city was Enoch, built before the flood in the land of Nod onthe east of Eden, --a country now called Arabia. Cain the son of Adam, went out of Eden and dwelt in the land of Nod. We suppose, accordingto an ancient custom he married his sister and she bare Enoch. AndCain built a city and called the name of the city after the name ofhis son, Enoch, (Gen. Iv. 16, 17). We know there must have been morethan Cain and his son Enoch in the land of Nod to build a city but whowere they?... (MALCOM'S _Bible Dictionary_. )

The first great city described in ancient and sacred history was builtby the Cushites, or Ethiopians. They surrounded it with walls which, according to Rollin, were eighty-seven feet in thickness, threehundred and fifty feet in height and four hundred and eighty furlongsin circumference. And even this stupendous work they shortly aftereclipsed by another, of which Diodorus says, "Never did any city comeup to the greatness and magnificence of this. "

It is a fact well attested by history, that the Ethiopians once boresway, not only in all Africa, but over almost all Asia; and it is saidthat even two continents, could not afford field enough for theexpansion of their energies. 

"They found their way into Europe, and built a city on the westerncoast of Spain, called by them Iberian Ethiopia. " "And, " says adistinguished writer, "wherever they went, they were rewarded fortheir _wisdom_. "

THE TOWER OF BABEL--Nimrod, the son of Cush, an Ethiopian, attemptedto build the Tower of Babel (Gen. X. 8-10 xi. 4-9). One hundred andtwo years after the flood, in the land of Shinar--an extensive andfertile plain, lying between Mesopotamia on the west and Persia on theeast, and watered by the Euphrates, --mankind being all of onelanguage, one color, and one religion, --they agree to erect a tower ofprodigious extent and height. Their design was not to securethemselves against a second deluge, or they would have built theirtower on a high mountain, but to get themselves a famous character, and to prevent their dispersion by the erection of a monument whichshould be visible from a great distance. No quarries being found inthat alluvial soil, they made bricks for stone, and used slime formortar. Their haughty and rebellious attempt displeased the Lord; andafter they had worked, it is said, twenty-two years, he confoundedtheir language. This effectually stopped the building, procured it thename of _Babel_, or _Confusion_, and obliged some of the offspring ofNoah to disperse themselves and replenish the world. The tower ofBabel was in sight from the great city of Babylon. Nimrod was a hunterand monarch of vast ambition. When he rose to be king of Babylon here-peopled Babel, which had been desolate since the confusion oftongues, but did not dare to attempt the finishing of the tower. TheScriptures inform us, he became "mighty upon earth;" but the extent ofhis conquests is not known. (MALCOM'S _Bible Dictionary_. )

The private houses, in most of the ancient cities, were simple inexternal appearance, but exhibited, in the interior, all the splendorand elegance of refined luxury. The floors were of marble; alabasterand gilding were displayed on every side. In every great house therewere several fountains, playing in magnificent basins. The smallesthouse had three pipes, --one for the kitchen, another for the garden, and a third for washing. The same magnificence was displayed in themosques, churches, and coffee houses. The environs presented, at allseasons of the year, a pleasing verdure, and contained extensiveseries of gardens and villas. 

THE GREAT AND SPLENDID CITY OF BABYLON. --This city was founded byNimrod, about 2, 247 years B. C. , in the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, andmade the capital of his kingdom. It was probably an inconsiderableplace, until it was enlarged and embellished by Semiramis; it thenbecame the most magnificent city in the world, surpassing even Ninevehin glory. The circumference of both these cities was the same, but thewalls which surrounded Babylon were twice as broad as the walls ofNineveh, and having a hundred brass gates. The city of Babylon stoodon the river Euphrates, by which it was divided into two parts, eastern and western; and these were connected by a cedar bridge ofwonderful construction, uniting the two divisions. Quays of beautifulmarble adorned the banks of the river; and on one bank stood themagnificent Temple of Belus, and on the other the Queen's Palace. These two edifices were connected by a passage under the bed of theriver. This city was at least forty-five miles in circumference; andwould, of course, include eight cities as large as London and itsappendages. It was laid out in six hundred and twenty five squares, formed by the intersection of twenty-five streets at right angles Thewalls, which were of brick, were three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet broad. A trench surrounded the city, the sidesof which were lined with brick and waterproof cement. This city wasfamous for its hanging gardens, constructed by one of its kings, toplease his queen. She was a Persian, and was desirous of seeingmeadows on mountains, as in her own country. She prevailed on him toraise artificial gardens, adorned with meadows and trees. For thispurpose, vaulted arches were raised from the ground, one aboveanother, to an almost inconceivable height, and of a magnificence andstrength sufficient to support the vast weight of the whole gardenBabylon was a great commercial city, and traded to all parts of theearth then known, in all kinds of merchandise, and she likewise tradedin slaves, and the souls of men. For her sins she has been blottedfrom existence, --even her location is a matter of supposition. Greatwas Babylon of old; in merchandise did she trade, and in souls. Forher sins she thus became blotted from the sight of men. 

 * * * * *

THE ETHIOPIAN KINGS OF EGYPT. 

1. _Menes_ was the first king of Egypt. We have accounts of but one ofhis successors--Timans, during the first period, a space of more thantwo centuries. 

2. _Shishak_ was king of Ethiopia, and doubtless of Egypt. After hisdeath

3. _Zerah_ the son of Judah became king of Ethiopia, and made himselfmaster of Egypt and Libya; and intending to add Judea to his dominionsmade war upon Asa king of Judea. His army consisted of a million ofmen, and three hundred chariots of war (2 Chron. Xiv. 9). 

4. _Sabachus_, an Ethiopian, king of Ethiopia, being encouraged by anoracle, entered Egypt with a numerous army, and possessed himself ofthe country. He reigned with great clemency and justice. It isbelieved, that this Sabachus was the same with Solomon, whose aid wasimplored by Hosea king of Israel, against Salmanaser king of Assyria. 

5. _Sethon_ reigned fourteen years. He is the same with Sabachus, orSavechus the son of Sabacan or Saul the Ethiopian who reigned so longover Egypt. 

6. _Tharaca_, an Ethiopian, joined Sethon, with an Ethiopian army torelieve Jerusalem. After the death of Sethon, who had filled theEgyptian throne fourteen years, Tharaca ascended the throne andreigned eight years over Egypt. 

7. _Sesach_ or Shishak was the king of Egypt to whom Jeroboam fled toavoid death at the hands of king Solomon. Jeroboam was entertainedtill the death of Solomon, when he returned to Judea and was made kingof Israel. (2 Chron. Xi. And xii. )

This Sesach, in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam marchedagainst Jerusalem, because the Jews had transgressed against the Lord. He came with twelve hundred chariots of war, and sixty thousandhorses. He had brought numberless multitudes of people, who were allLibyans, Troglodytes, and Ethiopians. He seized upon all the strongestcities of Judah, and advanced as far as Jerusalem. Then the king, andthe princes of Israel, having humbled themselves, and implored theprotection of the God of Israel, he told them, by his prophetShemaiah, that, because they humbled themselves, he would not utterlydestroy them, as they had deserved but that they should be theservants of Sesach, in order _that they might know_ the difference of_his service, and the service of the kingdoms of the country_. Sesachretired from Jerusalem, after having plundered the treasures of thehouse of the Lord, and of the king's house, he carried off every thingwith him, _and even also the three hundred shields of gold whichSalomon had made_. 

The following are the kings of Egypt mentioned in Scripture by thecommon appellation of Pharaoh:--

8. _Psammetichus_. --As this prince owed his preservation to theIonians and Carians, he settled them in Egypt, from which allforeigners hitherto had been excluded; and, by assigning themsufficient lands and fixed revenues, he made them forget their nativecountry. By his order, Egyptian children were put under their care tolearn the Greek tongue; and on this occasion, and by this means, theEgyptians began to have a correspondence with the Greeks, and, fromthat era, the Egyptian history, which till then had been intermixedwith pompous fables, by the artifice of the priests, begins, accordingto Herodotus, to speak with greater truth and certainty. 

As soon as Psammetichus was settled on the throne, he engaged in a waragainst the king of Assyria, on account of the limits of the twoempires. This war was of long continuance. Ever since Syria had beenconquered by the Assyrians, Palestine, being the only country thatseparated the two kingdoms, was the subject of continual discord; asafterwards it was between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ. They wereperpetually contending for it, and it was alternately won by thestronger. Psammetichus, seeing himself the peaceable possessor of allEgypt, and having restored the ancient form of government, thought ithigh time for him to look to his frontiers, and to secure them againstthe Assyrian, his neighbour, whose power increased daily. For thispurpose he entered Palestine at the head of an army. 

Perhaps we are to refer to the beginning of this war, an incidentrelated by Diodorus; that the Egyptians, provoked to see the Greeksposted on the right wing by the king himself in preference to them, quitted the service, being upwards of two hundred thousand men, andretired into Ethiopia, where they met with an advantageous settlement

Be this as it will, Psammetichus entered Palestine, where his careerwas stopped by Azotus, one of the principal cities of the country, which gave him so much trouble, that he was forced to besiege ittwenty nine years before he could take it. This is the longest siegementioned in ancient history. Psammetichus died in the 24th year ofthe reign of Josiah king of Judah; and was succeeded by his son Nechoaor Necho--in Scriptures frequently called Pharaoh Necho. 

9. _Nechao_ or _Pharaoh-Necho_ reigned sixteen years king of Egypt, (2Chron. Xxxv. 20, ) whose expeditions are often mentioned in profanehistory

The Babylonians and Medes having destroyed Nineveh, and with it theempire of the Assyrians, were thereby become so formidable, that theydrew upon themselves the jealousy of all their neighbours. Nechao, alarmed at the danger, advanced to the Euphrates, at the head of apowerful army, in order to check their progress. Josiah, king ofJudah, so famous for his uncommon piety, observing that he took hisroute through Judea, resolved to oppose his passage. With this view heraised all the forces of his kingdom, and posted himself in the valleyof Megiddo (a city on this side of Jordan, belonging to the tribe ofManasseh, and called Magdolus by Herodotus). Nechao informed him by aherald, that his enterprise was not designed against him; that he hadother enemies in view, and that he had undertaken this war in the nameof God, who was with him; that for this reason he advised Josiah notto concern himself with this war for fear it otherwise should turn tohis disadvantage. However, Josiah was not moved by these reasons; hewas sensible that the bare march of so powerful an army through Judeawould entirely ruin it. And besides, he feared that the victor, afterthe defeat of the Babylonians, would fall upon him and dispossess himof part of his dominions. He therefore marched to engage Nechao; andwas not only overthrown by him, but unfortunately received a wound ofwhich he died at Jerusalem, whither he had ordered himself to becarried. 

Nechao, animated by this victory, continued his march and advancedtowards the Euphrates. He defeated the Babylonians; took Carchemish, alarge city in that country; and securing to himself the possession ofit by a strong garrison, returned to his own kingdom after having beenabsent three months. 

Being informed in his march homeward, that Jehoaz had caused himselfto be proclaimed king at Jerusalem, without first asking his consent, he commanded him to meet him at Riblah in Syria. The unhappy princewas no sooner arrived there than he was put in chains by Nechao'sorder, and sent prisoner to Egypt, where he died. From thence, pursuing his march, he came to Jerusalem, where he gave the sceptre toEliakim (called by him Jehoiakim), another of Josiah's sons, in theroom of his brother; and imposed an annual tribute on the land, of ahundred talents of silver, and one talent of gold. This being done, hereturned in triumph to Egypt. 

Herodotus, mentioning this king's expedition, and the victory gainedby him at Magdolus, (as he calls it, ) says that he afterwards took thecity Cadytis, which he represents as situated in the mountains ofPalestine, and equal in extent to Sardis, the capital at that time notonly of Lydia, but of all Asia Minor. This description can suit onlyJerusalem, which was situated in the manner above described, and wasthen the only city in those parts that could be compared to Sardis. Itappears besides, from Scripture, that Nechao, after his victory, madehimself master of this capital of Judea; for he was there in person, when he gave the crown to Jehoiakim. The very name Cadytis, which inHebrew, signifies the holy, points clearly to the city of Jerusalem, as is proved by the learned dean Prideaux. 

10. _Psammis_. --His reign was but of six years' duration, and historyhas left us nothing memorable concerning him, except that he made anexpedition into Ethiopia. 

11. _Apries_. --In Scripture he is called Pharaoh-Hophra; and, succeeding his father Psammis, reigned twenty-five years. 

During the first year of his reign, he was as happy as any of hispredecessors. He carried his arms into Cyprus; besieged the city ofSidon by sea and land; took it, and made himself master of allPhoenicia and Palestine. 

So rapid a success elated his heart to a prodigious degree, and, asHerodotus informs us, swelled him with so much pride and infatuation, that he boasted it was not in the power of the gods themselves todethrone him; so great was the idea he had formed to himself of thefirm establishment of his own power. It was with a view to thesearrogant conceits, that Ezekiel put the vain and impious wordsfollowing into his mouth: _My river is mine own, and I have made itfor myself_. But the true God proved to him afterwards that he had amaster, and that he was a mere man; and he had threatened him longbefore, by his prophets, with all the calamities he was resolved tobring upon him, in order to punish him for his pride. 

12. _Amasis_. --After the death of Apries, Amasis became peaceablepossessor of Egypt, and reigned over it forty years. He was, accordingto Plato, a native of the city of Sais. 

As he was but of mean extraction, he met with no respect, and wascontemned by his subjects in the beginning of his reign. He was notinsensible of this; but nevertheless thought it his interest to subduetheir tempers by an artful carriage, and to win their affection bygentleness and reason. He had a golden cistern, in which himself, andthose persons who were admitted to his table, used to wash their feet, he melted it down, and had it cast into a statue, and then exposed thenew god to public worship. The people hastened in crowds to pay theiradorations to the statue. The king, having assembled the people, informed them of the vile uses to which this statue had once been put, which nevertheless was now the object of their religious prostrations;the application was easy, and had the desired success; the peoplethenceforward paid the king all the respect that is due to majesty. 

He always used to devote the whole morning to public affairs, in orderto receive petitions, give audience, pronounce sentences, and hold hiscouncils; the rest of the day was given to pleasure, and as Amasis, inhours of diversion, was extremely gay, and seemed to carry his mirthbeyond due bounds, his courtiers took the liberty to represent to himthe unsuitableness of such a behaviour; when he answered that it wasimpossible for the mind to be always serious and intent upon business, as for a bow to continue always bent. 

It was this king who obliged the inhabitants of every town to entertheir names in a book kept by the magistrates for that purpose, withtheir profession and manner of living. Solon inserted this customamong his laws. 

He built many magnificent temples, especially at Sais the place of hisbirth. Herodotus admired especially a chapel there, formed of onesingle stone, and which was twenty-one cubits in front, fourteen indepth, and eight in height; its dimensions within were not quite solarge; it had been brought from Elephantina, and two thousand men wereemployed three years in conveying it along the Nile. 

_Amasis_ had a great esteem for the Greeks. He granted them largeprivileges; and permitted such of them as were desirous of settling inEgypt to live in the city of Naucratis, so famous for its harbour. When the rebuilding of the temple of Delphi, which had been burnt, wasdebated on, and the expense was computed at three hundred talents, Amasis furnished the Delphians with a very considerable sum towardsdischarging their quota, which was the fourth part of the wholecharge. 

He made an alliance with the Cyrenians, and married a wife from amongthem. He is the only king of Egypt who conquered the island of Cyprus, and made it tributary. Under his reign Pythagorus came into Egypt, being recommended to that monarch by the famous Polycrates, tyrant ofSamos, who had contracted a friendship with Amasis, and will bementioned hereafter. Pythagoras, during his stay in Egypt, wasinitiated in all the mysteries of the country, and instructed by thepriests in whatever was most abstruse and important in their religion. It was here he imbibed his doctrine of the metempsychosis, ortransmigration of souls. 

In the expedition in which Cyrus conquered so great a part of theworld, Egypt doubtless was subdued, like the rest of the provinces, and Xenophon positively declares this in the beginning of hisCyropædia, or institution of that prince. Probably, after that theforty years of desolation, which had been foretold by the prophet, were expired, Egypt beginning gradually to recover itself, Amasisshook off the yoke, and recovered his liberty. 

Accordingly we find, that one of the first cares of Cambyses, the sonof Cyrus, after he had ascended the throne, was to carry his arms intoEgypt. On his arrival there, Amasis was just dead, and succeeded byhis son Psammetus. 

13. _Rameses Miamun_, according to Archbishop Usher, was the name ofthis king, who is called Pharaoh in Scripture. He reigned sixty-sixyears, and oppressed the Israelites in a most grievous manner. _He setover them taskmasters, to afflict them with their burdens, and theybuilt for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithon and Raamses. And theEgyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigour, and they madetheir lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and inall manner of service in the field; all their service wherein theymade them serve, was with rigour_. This king had two sons, Amenophisand Busiris. 

14. _Amenophis_, the eldest, succeeded him. He was the Pharaoh underwhose reign the Israelites departed out of Egypt, and who was drownedin his passage through the Red Sea. Archbishop Usher says, thatAmenophis left two sons, one called Sesothis, or Seaostris, and theother Armais. The Greeks call him Belus, and his two sons, Egyptus andDanaus. 

15. _Sesostris_ was not only one of the most powerful kings of Egypt, but one of the greatest conquerors that antiquity boasts of. He was atan advanced age sent by his father against the Arabians, in orderthat, by fighting with them, he might acquire military knowledge. Herethe young prince learned to bear hunger and thirst, and subdued anation which till then had never been conquered. The youth educatedwith him, attended him in all his campaigns. 

Accustomed by this conquest to martial toils he was next sent by hisfather to try his fortune westward. He invaded Libya, and subdued thegreatest part of that vast continent. 

His army consisted of six hundred thousand foot, and twenty thousandhorse, besides twenty thousand armed chariots. 

He invaded Ethiopia, and obliged the nations of it to furnish himannually with a certain quantity of ebony, ivory, and gold. 

He had fitted out a fleet of four hundred sail, and ordering it tosail to the Red Sea, made himself master of the isles and cities lyingon the coast of that sea. After having spread desolation through theworld for nine years, he returned, laden with the spoils of thevanquished nations. A hundred famous temples, raised as so manymonuments of gratitude to the tutelar gods of all the cities, were thefirst, as well as the most illustrious testimonies of his victories. 

16. _Pheron_ succeeded Sesostris in his kingdom, but not in his glory. He probably reigned fifty years. 

17. _Proteus_ was son of Memphis, and according to Herodotus, musthave succeeded the first--since Proteus lived at the time of the siegeof Troy, which, according to Usher, was taken An. Mun. 2820. 

18. _Rhampsinitus_ who was richer than any of his predecessors, builta treasury. Till the reign of this king, there had been some shadow atleast of justice and moderation in Egypt; but, in the two followingreigns, violence and cruelty usurped their place. 

19, 20. Cheops and Cephrenus, reigned in all one hundred and sixyears. Cheops reigned fifty years, and his brother Cephrenus fifty-sixyears after him. They kept the temples closed during the whole time oftheir long reign; and forbid the offerings of sacrifice under theseverest penalties. They oppressed their subjects. 

21. _Mycerinus_ the son of Cheops, reigned but seven years. He openedthe temples; restored the sacrifices; and did all in his power tocomfort his subjects, and make them forget their past miseries. 

22. _Asychis_ one of the kings of Egypt. He valued himself for havingsurpassed all his predecessors, by building a pyramid of brick, moremagnificent, than any hitherto seen. 

23. _Busiris_, built the famous city of Thebes, and made it the seatof his empire. This prince is not to be confounded with Busirus, soinfamous for his cruelties. 

24. _Osymandyas_, raised many magnificent edifices, in which wereexhibited sculptures and paintings of exquisite beauty. 

25. _Uchoreus_, one of the successors of Osymandyas, built the city ofMemphis. This city was 150 furlongs, or more than seven leagues incircumference, and stood at the point of the Delta, in that part wherethe Nile divides itself into several branches or streams. A city soadvantageously situated, and so strongly fortified, became soon theusual residence of the Egyptian kings. 

26. _Thethmosis_ or _Amosis_, having expelled the Shepherd kings, reigned in Lower Egypt. [645]

FOOTNOTES:

[645] Rollin, vol. I. Pp. 129-147. 

 * * * * *

CHAPTER VIII. 

AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 

In the language of the Kafirs, for example, not only the cases but thenumbers and genders of nouns are formed entirely by prefixes, analogous to articles. The prefixes vary according to number, genderand case, while the nouns remain unaltered except by a merely euphonicchange of the initial letters. Thus, in Coptic, from _sheri_, a son, comes the plural _neu-sheri_, the sons; from _sori_, accusation, _hau-sori_, accusations. Analogous to this we have in the Kafir _ama_marking the plural, as _amakosah_ the plural of _kosah_, _amahashe_the plural of _ihashe_, _insana_ the plural of _usana_. The Kafir hasa great variety of similar prefixes; they are equally numerous in thelanguage of Kongo, in which, as in the Coptic and the Kafir, thegenders, numbers, and cases of nouns are almost solely distinguishedby similar prefixes. 

"The Kafir language is distinguished by one peculiarity whichimmediately strikes a student whose views of language have been formedupon the examples afforded by the inflected languages of ancient andmodern Europe. With the exception of a change of termination in theablative case of the noun, and five changes of which the verb issusceptible in its principal tenses, the whole business of declension, conjugation, &c. , is carried on by prefixes, and by the changes whichtake place in the initial letters or syllables of words subjected togrammatical government. "[646]

Resources are not yet in existence for instituting a generalcomparison of the languages of Africa. Many years will probably elapsebefore it will be possible to produce such an analysis of theselanguages, investigated in their grammatical structure, as it isdesirable to possess, or even to compare them by extensive collectionsof well-arranged vocabularies, after the manner of Klaproth's AsiaPolyglotta. Sufficient data however are extant, and I trust that Ihave adduced evidence to render it extremely probable that a principleof analogy in structure prevails extensively among the native idiomsof Africa. They are probably allied, not in the manner or degree inwhich Semitic or Indo-European idioms resemble each other, but bystrong analogies in their general principles of structure, which maybe compared to those discoverable between the individual members oftwo other great classes of languages, by no means connected amongthemselves by what is called family relation. I allude to themonosyllabic and the polysynthetic languages, the former prevalent inEastern Asia, the latter throughout the vast regions of the New World. If we have sufficient evidence for constituting such a class ofdialects under the title of African languages, we have likewisereason--and it is equal in degree--for associating in this class thelanguage of the ancient Egyptians. [647]

That the written _Abyssinian_ language, which we call _Ethiopick_, isa dialect of old _Chaldean_, and sister of _Arabick_ and _Hebrew_; weknow with certainty, not only from the great multitude of identicalwords, but (which is a far stronger proof) from the similargrammatical arrangement of the several idioms: we know at the sametime, that it is written like all the _Indian_ characters, from theleft hand to the right, and that the vowels are annexed, as inDevanagari, to the consonants; with which they form a syllabick systemextremely clear and convenient, but disposed in a less artificialorder than the system of letters now exhibited in the _Sanscrit_grammars; whence it may justly be inferred, that the order contrivedby PANINI or his disciples is comparatively modern; and I have nodoubt, from a cursory examination of many old inscriptions on pillarsand in caves, which have obligingly been sent to me from all parts ofIndia, that the _Nagari_ and _Ethiopean_ letters had at first asimilar form. It has long been my opinion, that the _Abyssinians_ ofthe _Arabian_ stock, having no symbols of their own to representarticulate sounds, borrowed those of the black pagans, whom the_Greeks_ call _Troglodytes_, from their primeval habitations innatural caverns, or in mountains excavated by their own labour: theywere probably the first inhabitants of _Africa_, where they became intime the builders of magnificent cities, the founders of seminariesfor the advancement of science and philosophy, and the inventors (ifthey were not rather the importers) of symbolical characters. Ibelieve on the whole, that the _Ethiops_ of _Meroe_ were the samepeople with the first _Egyptians_, and consequently, as it mighteasily be shown, with the original _Hindus_. To the ardent andintrepid MR. BRUCE, whose travels are to my taste, uniformallyagreeable and satisfactory, though he thinks very differently from meon the language and genius of the Arabs, we are indebted for moreimportant, and, I believe, more accurate information concerning thenations established near the _Nile_, from its fountains to its mouths, than all _Europe_ united could before have supplied; but, since he hasnot been at the pains to compare the seven languages, of which he hasexhibited a specimen, and since I have not leisure to make thecomparison, I must be satisfied with observing, on his authority, thatthe dialects of the _Gafots_ and the _Gallas_, the _Agows_ of bothraces, and the _Falashas_, who must originally have used a _Chaldean_idiom, were never preserved in writing, and the _Amharick_ only inmodern times: they must, therefore, have been for ages in fluctuation, and can lead, perhaps, to no certain conclusion as to the origin ofthe several tribes who anciently spoke them. It is very remarkable, asMR. BRUCE and MR. BRYAN have proved, that the _Greeks_ gave theappellation of _Indians_ both to the southern nations of _Africk_ andto the people, among whom we now live; nor is it less observable, that, according to EPHORUS, quoted by STRABO, they called all thesouthern nations in the world _Ethiopians_, thus using _Indian_ and_Ethiop_ as convertible terms: but we must leave the gymnosophists ofEthiopia, who seemed to have professed the doctrines of BUDDHA, andenter the great _Indian_ ocean, of which their _Asiatick_ and_African_ brethren were probably the first navigators. [648]

FOOTNOTES:

[646] Kafir Grammar, p. 3. 

[647] Prichard, vol. Ii. Pp. 216, 217. 

 * * * * *

SHERBRO MISSION-DISTRICT, WESTERN AFRICA. 

Western Africa is one of the most difficult mission-fields in theentire heathen world. The low condition of the people, civilly, socially, and religiously, and the deadly climate to foreigners, makeit indeed a hard field to cultivate. I am fully prepared to indorsewhat Rev. F. Fletcher, in charge of Wesleyan District, Gold Coast, wrote a few months ago in the following language: "The Lord's work inwestern Africa is as wonderful as it is deadly. In the last fortyyears more than 120 missionaries have fallen victims to that climate;but to-day the converts to Christianity number at least 30, 000, manyof whom are true Christians. In this district we have 6, 000 churchmembers, and though they are poor, last year they gave over 5, 000dollars for evangelistic and educational work. 

"_Sherbro Mission_ now has four stations and chapels and over fortyappointments, 112 church members, 164 seekers of religion, 75 acres ofclear land, with carpenter, blacksmith, and tailor shops, in and uponwhich, twenty five boys are taught to labor, and where eleven girlsare taught to do all ordinary house work and sewing, with its four dayand Sunday schools, 212 in the former and more than that number in thelatter, and with an influence for good that now reaches the wholeSherbro tribe, embracing a country at least fifty miles square andcontaining about 15, 000 people. The seed sown is taking deep rootthere, and the harvest is rapidly ripening, when thousands of soulswill be garnered for heaven. Surely we ought to thank God for pastsuccess and resolve to do much more for that needy country in thefuture. 

"We now have Revs. Corner, Wilberforce, Evans, and their wives, allexcellent missionaries, from America; then Revs. Sawyer, Hero, Pratt, and their wives, Mrs. Lucy Caulker, and other native laborers, all ofwhom are doing us good service. With these six ordained ministers, andtwice that number of teachers and helpers, who are devoting all theirtime to the mission, the work is going forward gloriously. Still, there should be new stations opened and more laborers sent outimmediately. "[649]

FOOTNOTES:

[648] Asiatic Researches, vol. Iii. Pp. 4, 5. 

[649] Twenty fifth Annual Report, United Brethren, 1881. 

 * * * * *

Part II

_SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES. _

CHAPTER XV. 

CONDITION OF SLAVES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 

The following memorandum in Judge Sewall's letter book was calledforth by Samuel Smith, murderer of his Negro slave at Sandwich. Itillustrates the deplorable condition of servants at that time inMassachusetts, and shows Judge Sewall to have been a man of greathumanity. 

 "The poorest Boys and Girls in this Province, such as are of the lowest Condition; whether they be English, or Indians, or Ethiopians: They have the same Right to Religion and Life, that the Richest Heirs have. 

 "And they who go about to deprive them of this Right, they attempt the bombarding of HEAVEN, and the Shells they throw, will fall down upon their own heads. 

 "Mr. Justice Davenport, Sir, upon your desire, I have sent you these _Quotations_, and my _own Sentiment_. I pray GOD, the Giver and Guardian of Life, to give his gracious Direction to you, and the other Justices, and take leave, who am your brother and most humble servant, "SAMUEL SEWALL. 

 "BOSTON, July 20, 1719. 

 "I inclosed also the _selling of Joseph_, and my Extract out of the _Athenian Oracle_. 

 "To Addington Davenport, Esq. , etc. , going to Judge Sam'l Smith of Sandwitch, for killing his Negro. "[650]

_Petition of Slaves in Boston_. 

On the 23d of June, 1773, the following petition was presented to theGeneral Court of Massachusetts, which was read, and referred to thenext session:--

 PETITION OF SLAVES IN BOSTON. 

 PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

 _To His Excellency, Thomas Hutchinson, Esq. , Governor_--

 "To the Honorable, His Majesty's Council, and to the Honorable House of Representatives, in general court assembled at Boston, the 6th day of January, 1773:--The humble petition of many slaves living in the town of Boston, and other towns in the province, is this, namely:--

 That Your Excellency and Honors, and the Honorable the Representatives, would be pleased to take their unhappy state and condition under your wise and just consideration. 

 We desire to bless God, who loves mankind, who sent his Son to die for their salvation, and who is no respecter of persons, that he hath lately put it into the hearts of multitudes, on both sides of the water, to bear our burthens, some of whom are men of great note and influence, who have pleaded our cause with arguments, which we hope will have their weight with this Honorable Court. 

 We presume not to dictate to Your Excellency and Honors, being willing to rest our cause on your humanity and justice, yet would beg leave to say a word or two on the subject. 

 Although some of the negroes are vicious, (who, doubtless, may be punished and restrained by the same laws which are in force against others of the King's subjects, ) there are many others of a quite different character, and who, if made free, would soon be able, as well as willing, to bear a part in the public charges. Many of them, of good natural parts, are discreet, sober, honest and industrious; and may it not be said of many, that they are virtuous and religious, although their condition is in itself so unfriendly to religion, and every moral virtue, except _patience_? How many of that number have there been and now are, in this province, who had every day of their lives embittered with this most intolerable reflection, that, let their behavior be what it will, neither they nor their children, to all generations, shall ever be able to do or to possess and enjoy any thing--no, not even _life itself_--but in a manner as the _beasts_ that perish!

 We have no property! we have no wives! we have no children! we have no city! no country! But we have a Father in heaven, and we are determined, as far as his grace shall enable us, and as far as our degraded condition and contemptuous life will admit, to keep all his commandments; especially will we be obedient to our masters, so long as God, in his, sovereign providence, shall _suffer_ us to be holden in bondage. 

 It would be impudent, if not presumptuous, in us to suggest to Your Excellency and Honors, any law or laws proper to be made in relation to our unhappy state, which although our greatest unhappiness, is not our _fault_; and this gives us great encouragement to pray and hope for such relief as is consistent with your wisdom, justice and goodness. 

 We think ourselves very happy, that we may thus address the great and general court of this province, which great and good court is to us the best judge, under God, of what is wise, just and good. 

 We humbly beg leave to add but this one thing more we pray for such relief only, which by no possibility can ever be productive of the least wrong or injury to our masters, but to us will be as life from the dead. [651]

FOOTNOTES:

[650] Slavery in Mass. , pp 96, 97. 

[651] Neil, pp. 39-41. 

 * * * * *

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE COLONY OF NEW YORK. 

1693, August 21st--All Indians, Negroes, and others not "listed in themilitia, " are ordered to work on the fortification for repairing thesame, to be under the command of the captains of the wards theyinhabit. And £100 to be raised for the fortifications. 

1722, February 20th. --A law passed by the common council of New York, "restraining slaves, negroes, and Indians from gaming with moneys. " Iffound gaming with any sort of money, "copper pennies, copperhalfpence, or copper farthings, " they shall be publickly whipped atthe publick whipping-post of this city, at the discretion of themayor, recorder, and aldermen, or any one of them, unless the ownerpay to the church wardens for the poor, 3s. 

1731, November 18th--If more than three negro, mulatto, or Indianslaves assemble on Sunday and play or make noise, (or at any othertime at any place from their master's service, ) they are to bepublickly whipped fifteen lashes at the publick whipping-post. 

 * * * * *

NEW YORK. 

Negro slavery, a favorite measure with England, was rapidly extendingits baneful influence in the colonies. The American Register, of 1769, gives the number of negroes brought in slavery from the coast ofAfrica, between Cape Blanco and the river Congo, by different nationsin one year, thus: Great Britain, 53, 100; British Americans, 6, 300;France, 23, 520; Holland, 11, 300; Portugal, 1, 700; Denmark, 1, 200;in all, 104, 100, bought by barter for European and Indianmanufacturers, --£15 sterling being the average price given for eachnegro. Thus we see that more than one half of the wretches who werekidnapped, or torn by force from their homes by the agents of Europeanmerchants (for such those who supply the market must be considered), were sacrificed to the cupidity of the merchants of Great Britain; thetraffic encouraged by the government at the same time that the boastis sounded through the world, that the moment a slave touches thesacred soil, governed by those who encourage the slavemakers, andinhabited by those who revel in the profits derived from murder, he isfree. Somerset, the negro, is liberated by the court of king's bench, in 1772, and the world is filled with the fame of English justice andhumanity! James Grahame tells us that Somerset's case was not thefirst in which the judges of Great Britain counteracted in one or twocases the practical inhumanity of the government and the people: hesays, that in 1762, his grandfather, Thomas Grahame, judge of theadmiralty court of Glasgow, liberated a negro slave imported intoScotland. 

It was in vain that the colonists of America protested against thepractice of slave dealing. The governors appointed by England wereinstructed to encourage it, and when the assemblies enacted laws toprohibit the inhuman traffic, they were annulled by the vetoes of thegovernors. With such encouragement, the reckless and avaricious amongthe colonists engaged in the trade, and the slaves were purchased whenbrought to the colonies by those who were blind to the evil, orpreferred present ease or profit to all future good. Paley, themoralist, thought the American Revolution was designed by Providence, to put an end to the slave trade, and to show that a nationencouraging it was not fit to be intrusted with the government ofextensive colonies. But the planter of the Southern States havediscovered, since made free by that revolution, that slavery is noevil; and better moralists than Paley, that the increase of slaves, and their extension over new regions, is the duty of every gooddemocrat. The men who lived in 1773, to whom America owes her liberty, did not think so. 

Although resistance to the English policy of increasing the number ofnegro slaves in America agitated many minds in the colonies, opposition to the system of taxation was the principal source ofaction; and this opposition now centered in a determination to bafflethe designs of Great Britain in respect to the duties on tea. Seventeen millions of pounds of tea were now accumulated in thewarehouses of the East-India Company. The government was determined, for reasons I have before given, to assist this mercantile company, aswell as the African merchants, at the expense of the colonists ofAmerica. The East-India Company were now authorized to export theirtea free of all duty. Thus the venders being enabled to offer itcheaper than hitherto to the colonists, it was expected that it wouldfind a welcome market. But the Americans saw the ultimate intent ofthe whole scheme, and their disgust towards the mother country wasproportionably increased. 

INDEX. 

 Abbott, Granville S. , verses by, 111. 

 Adams, Abigail, views on slavery, 227. 

 Adams, John, views on slavery, 203; letter to Jonathan Sewall on emancipation, 207. 

 Adams, Samuel, urges the consideration of the memorial of Massachusetts Negroes, 234. 

 Adgai, see Crowther. 

 Africa, described, 14; Negro tribes, 24, 25; Negro kingdoms, 26, 28, 31; natives engage in the slave-trade, 27; laws, 30, 56, 57; religion, 30, 81-84, 89, 90; war between the different tribes, 35-39; war with England, 41-43; patriarchal government, 50, 54, 55; villages described, 51, 52; architecture, 51-53; women reign in, 55, 56; marriage, 57, 58; polygamy, 58; status of the natives, 58, 59; warfare, 61, 62; agriculture, 62, 63; mechanic arts, 63-65; languages, 66-70, 90, 459; literature, 75-80; colony founded at Sierra Leone, 86, 87; and Liberia, 95, 97; first emigrants to, 97; republican government established, 100; first constitution abolishing slavery in Liberia, 103-105; weaker tribes chief source of slavery, 109, 120; early Christianity in, 111; earliest commerce for slaves between America and, 115; slaves from Angola, 134; shipload of slaves from Sierra Leone sold at Hispaniola, 138; number of Negroes stolen from annually, 237; slaves from, sold at Barbadoes, 259; cities of, described, 450; number of slaves brought from, 463. See Negroes. 

 African Company, their charter abolished, 41: see Royal African Company. 

 Akwasi Osai, king of Ashantee, invades Dahomey, 35; his defeat and death, 36. 

 Alexander, James, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151, 158, 166. 

 Alricks, Peter, resident of New York 1657, 250. 

 Amasis, king of Egypt, 457. 

 Amenophis, king of Egypt, 458. 

 America, introduction of Negro slaves, 116; colonies declare independence, 412; slavery in, 461; slaves imported to British America, 463. 

 American Colonization Society locate a colony at Monrovia, 97. 

 American Revolution, service of Negroes in the army of the, 324, 334, 337, 342, 353, 362; slavery during the, 402. 

 Ames, Edward B. , remarks in favor of the government of Liberia, 99. 

 Angola, Africa, slaves imported from, 134. 

 Anne, queen of England, encourages the slave-trade, 140. 

 Anti-slavery societies, memorials to Congress, 437; convention held at Philadelphia, 438. 

 Apoko, Osai, king of Ashantee, 36. 

 Appleton, Nathaniel, defends the doctrine of freedom for all, 204; author of "Consideration on Slavery, " 218. 

 Apries, king of Egypt, 456. 

 Argall, Samuel, engaged in the slave-trade, 116, 117. 

 Ashantee Empire, described, 34; wars of, 35, 37-39; revolt in, 36; troubles with England, 41, 42; massacre of women, 42; government, 44. 

 Asia, idols with Negro features in, 17; traces of the race, 18. 

 Asychis, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Attucks, Crispus, advertised as a runaway slave, 330; figures in the Boston Massacre, 330; his death and funeral, 331; letter to Gov. Hutchinson, 332. 

 Aviia, tribe in Africa, 51. 

 Aviro, Alfonso de, discovers Benin in Africa, 26. 

 Babel, the tower of, built by an Ethiopian, 453. 

 Babylon, description of, 454. 

 Bancroft, George, views on slavery, 206. 

 Banneker, Benjamin, astronomer and philosopher, 386; farmer and inventor, 387; mathematician, 388; his first calculation of an eclipse, 389; letter to George Ellicott, 389; character of, 390; his business transactions, 391; verses addressed to, 392; letter to Mrs. Mason, 392; his first almanac, 393; letter to Thomas Jefferson, 394; accompanies commissioners to run the lines of District of Columbia, 397; his habits of studying the heavenly bodies, 397; his death, 398. 

 Baptist missionaries in Liberia, 101. 

 Barbadoes, Negro slaves exchanged for Indians, 174; a slave-market for New-England traders, 181; Rhode Island supplied with slaves from, 269. 

 Barrère, Peter, treatise on the color of the skin, 19. 

 Barton, Col. William, captures Gen. Prescott, 366. 

 Bates, John, a slave-trader, 269. 

 Belknap, Jeremy, remarks on the slave-trials in Massachusetts, 232. 

 Benin, a kingdom in Africa, supplies America with slaves, 26; discovered by the Portuguese and colonized, 26; the king contracts to Christianize his subjects for a white wife, 27; the kingdom divided, and slave-trade suppressed, 28. 

 Berkeley, Sir William, opposed to education and printing, 132. 

 Bermuda Islands, slaves placed on Warwick's plantation, 118, 119; Pequod Indians exchanged for Negroes at, 173. 

 Bernard, John, governor of the Bermudas, 118. 

 Beverley, Robert, correction of his History of Virginia, 116. 

 Bill, Jacob, a slave-trader, 269. 

 Billing, Joseph, sued by his slave Amos Newport, 229. 

 Blumenbach, Jean Frederic, opinion in regard to the color of the skin, 19. 

 Blyden, Edward W. , defines the term "Negro, " 12; president of Liberia College, 102. 

 Board of Trade, circular to the governors of the English colonies, relative to Negro slaves, 267; reply of Gov. Cranston of Rhode Island, 269. 

 Bolzius, Henry, favors the introduction of slavery into Georgia, 321. 

 Boombo, a Negro chief of Liberia, 106. 

 Borden, Cuff, a Negro slave in Massachusetts, sued for trespass and ordered to be sold to satisfy judgment, 278. 

 Boston, a slave-trader from, 181; Negro prohibited from employment in manufacturing hoops, 196; number of slaves in, 205; instructs the representatives to vote against the slave-trade, 221; Negroes charged with firing the town, 226; articles for the regulation of Negroes passed, 226; massacre in, 1770, 330; Negroes on Castle Island, 376, 378. 

 Bowditch, Thomas Edward, commissioner to treat with the Ashantees, 39. 

 Bradley, Richard, attorney-general of New York, prosecutes the Negroes, 166. 

 Bradstreet, Ann, frees her slave, 207. 

 Brazil, slaves sold to the Dutch, 136. 

 Brewster, Capt. Edward, banished by Capt. Argall, 117. 

 Brewster, Thomas, a slave-trader, 269. 

 Bristol County, Mass. , a slave ordered to be sold, to satisfy judgment against him for trespass, 278. 

 British army, Negroes in the, 87. 

 Brown, John, reproved by Virginia committee of 1775 for purchasing slaves, 328. 

 Brown, Joseph, effect of climate on man, 46. 

 Bruce, James, discovers the ruins of the city of Meroe, 6. 

 Bunker Hill, Negroes in the battle of, 363. 

 Burgess, Ebenezer, missionary to Monrovia, 97. 

 Burton, Mary, testifies in the Negro plot at New York, 1741, 147, 148, 150, 158, 160, 162-164, 167, 168; recompensed by the government, 170. 

 Busiris, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Butler, Nathaniel, commissioner for Virginia Company, 118. 

 Cade, Elizabeth, a witness in the Somersett case, 205. 

 Calanee, image of Buddha at, 17. 

 Caldwell, Jonas, killed at the Boston Massacre, 331. 

 Campbell, Sir Neill, determines the war with Ashantees, 43. 

 Canaan, the curse of, 444. 

 Canada, expedition from New York against, 143. 

 Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, 6. 

 Carey, Lot, vice-agent of Liberia, 101. 

 Carey, Peggy, implicated with Negro plot in New York, 1741, 147; trial, 152; found guilty, 152; her evidence, 153; sentenced to be hanged, 158. 

 Carr, Patrick, wounded at the Boston Massacre, 331. 

 Cartel, Edwin, a slave-trader, 269. 

 Carthage, description of, 452. 

 Castle Island, Boston, Negroes sent to the barracks at, 376; list of the same, 378. 

 Cepharenus, king of Egypt, 458, Ceylon, image of Buddha at, 17. 

 Chaillu, Paul B. Du, description of the Obongos, 46; of the villages of Mandji and Ishogo, 51, 52. 

 Chambers, John, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151, 158, 166. 

 Charles V. , grants a patent to import Negroes to America, 115. 

 Charleston, S. C. , slave-market at, 299, Negroes from, recaptured, 376; list of, 378; claimed by owners, 379. 

 Charlestown, Mass. , Negro slaves executed at, in 1755, 226. 

 Chastellux, Marquis de, describes the bravery of Col. Greene's Negro regiment at the battle of Rhode Island, 368. 

 Cheops, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Chibbu, Kudjoh, captured by the English, 42. 

 Chisholm, Major J, services in Ashantee mentioned, 41, 42. 

 Christy, David, describes the colony of Liberia, 107. 

 Cintra, Piedro de, discoverer of Sierra Leone, 85. 

 Clinton, Sir Henry, proclamation concerning fugitive Negroes, 1779, 357. 

 Codman, John, poisoned by his slave, 226. 

 Coleman, Elihu, author of "Testimony against making Slaves of Men, " 318. 

 Coney Island, N. Y. , slave captured at, 343. 

 Congo Empire, Shinga queen of, 55. 

 Congress, see United-States Congress. 

 Connecticut, slavery in, 252-261; Negro slaves introduced, 252; number of Negroes in 1680, 253; purchase and treatment of slaves and free persons, 253; persons manumitting slaves, to maintain them, 254; commerce with slaves prohibited, 255; punishment of insubordinate slaves, 256; social conduct regulated, 257; punished for using profane language, 258; number of slaves in 1730, 259; Indian slaves prohibited, 250; Indian and Negro slavery legalized, 259; limited rights of free Negroes, 259; Negro population in 1762, 260; importation of slaves prohibited, 261; number of slaves in 1715, 325; enlistment of Negroes prohibited, 343; enlisted, 345; a Colored company recruited by David Humphreys, 361; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Continental army, condition of the, 334; Negroes in the, 337; Negro regiment raised for the, 342; number of men supplied to the, 353; return of Negroes in 1778, 362. 

 Continental Congress, prohibits the importation of Negroes, 325; debate on the discharge of Negroes from the army, 335; action on the enlistment of Negroes, 355; resolution to establish courts to decide cases of captured slaves, 370; action of the, relative to Negroes captured at sea, 373; discussion on the, Western territory, 415, 416; last meeting, 416. 

 Cooke, Nicholas, governor of Rhode Island, letters to Washington on the enlistment of Negroes, 346, 349. 

 Cornwallis, Lord, proclamation offering protection to fugitive Negroes, 358. 

 Cox, Melville B. , missionary to Monrovia, 98. 

 Cranston, Samuel, letter to the board of trade, relative to Negro slaves in Rhode Island, 269. 

 Croker, John, testimony in the Negro plot at New York, 168. 

 Crowther, Negro sold into slavery, 32; set at liberty by the English, 33; fitted for the ministry, returns to Africa as a missionary, 33. 

 Cuffe, John, sketch of, 202. 

 Cuffe, Paul, a distinguished Negro, 202. 

 Cush, ancestor of the Negro race, 10; meaning of the term, 13. 

 Cushing, Nathan, his opinion, 1783, relative to the South-Carolina Negroes, 381. 

 Cuvier, Baron, varieties of the human form, 3. 

 Cyrene, Africa, mentioned, 5; described, 452. 

 Dahomey, a Negro kingdom of Africa, described, 28; women serve in the army, 29; laws, 30; invaded by King Akwasi, 35. 

 Dalton, Richard, his slave reads Greek, 202. 

 Davis, Hugh, a white servant, flogged in Virginia, for consorting with a Negro woman, 121. 

 Deane, Thomas, mentioned, 196. 

 Delaware, slavery in, 249-251; settled by Danes and Swedes, 249; slavery not allowed by the Swedes, 249; conveyed to William Penn, 249; granted a separate government, 249; slavery introduced, 249; first legislation on slavery, 250; law for the regulation of servants, 250; act restraining manumission of slaves, 250; number of slaves in 1715, 325; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Denmark, engaged in the slave-trade, 463. 

 Denny, Thomas, representative of Leicester, Mass. , instructed to vote against slavery, 225. 

 Derham, James, a Negro physician of New Orleans, 400. 

 Desbrosses, Elias, testimony in the Negro plot in New York, 1741, 165. 

 "Desire, " ship built for the slave-trade, 174. 

 Dodge, Caleb, of Beverly, Mass. , sued by his slave, 231. 

 Dorsey, Charles W. , character of Banneker, the Negro astronomer, 390. 

 Duchet, Sir Lionel, engaged in the slave-trade, 138. 

 Dummer, William, proclamation against Negroes of Boston, 226. 

 Dunmore, Lord, proclamation in regard to fugitive Negroes, 336; condemned by the Virginia convention, 341; his failure to enlist Negroes, 342. 

 Dupuis, M. , appointed English consul to the court of Ashantee, 40. 

 Dutch man-of-war lands the first Negroes in Virginia, 118; engage in the slave-trade, 124; import slaves to New Netherlands, 135; encourage the trade, 136; settlement on the Delaware, 312. 

 Earl, John, his connection with the Negro plot at New York, 163. 

 East Greenwich, R. I. , bridge built at, by Negro impost-tax, 275. 

 Egmont, Earl of, opposed to slavery in Georgia, 319. 

 Egypt, first settlers of, 6, 10; Negro and Mulatto races in, 14; slavery in, 17; Negro civilization imitated by, 22; the Ethiopian kings of, 454. 

 Elizabeth, Queen, of England, encourages the slave-trade, 138. 

 Elizabeth, N. J. , police regulations, 286. 

 England, suppresses the slave-trade, 28, 31; sends agricultural implements, machinery, and missionaries to Africa, 32; conduct in the Ashantee war, 38, 41, 42; treaty with Ashantee, 42; founds a colony in Sierra Leone, 86; all slaves declared free on reaching British soil, 86; declares slave-trade piracy, 87; establishes a mission at Sierra Leone, 89; women sent to Virginia, 119; laws relating to slavery, 125; sanctions the slave-trade, 138-140, 463; courts decide in 1677 that a Negro slave is property, 190; slavery recognized in, 203; agrees to furnish Negroes to the West Indies, 236; treaty with United States, 382. 

 Enoch, description of the city of, 453. 

 Ethiopia, war with Cæsar, 6; natives same race as Egyptians, 6; meaning of, 13; cities of, described, 453; kings rule Egypt, 454. 

 Fairfax, Va. , meeting at, in 1774, pass resolutions against slavery, 327. 

 "Fanny, " brig, arrives at Norfolk, Va. , with slaves, 328. 

 Federal Constitution, proceedings of convention to frame the, 417. 

 Ferguson, Dr. , describes character of the inhabitants of Sierra Leone, 90-93. 

 Folger, Elisha, captain of ship "Friendship, " sued for recovery of a slave, 231. 

 Forbes, Archibald, mentions Africans nine feet in height, 59. 

 Fox, George, views concerning slaves, 313. 

 France engaged in the slave-trade, 463. 

 Franklin, Benjamin, letter to Dean Woodward on the abolition of slavery, 327; address to the public on the abolition of slavery, 431. 

 Friends, see Quakers. 

 Fuller, Thomas, a Negro mathematician, 399. 

 Gage, Thomas, refuses to sign the bill to prevent the importation of Negroes into Massachusetts, 235, 237. 

 Gates, Gen. Horatio, his order not to enlist Negroes, 334. 

 George III. In 1751 repeals the act declaring slaves real estate, 125. 

 Georgia, slavery in, 316-323; colony of, established, 316; slavery prohibited in, 316, 317; discussion in regard to the admission of slavery, 318-322; clandestine importation of Negroes, 320; slavery established, 322; history of slavery, 322; number of slaves in 1715, 325; importation of slaves prohibited, 440; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Germantown, Penn. , memorial of Quakers against slavery in 1688, 313. 

 Glasgow, Scotland, a slave liberated in 1762, 463. 

 Goddard, Benjamin, protests against enlisting Negroes in Grafton, Mass. , 352. 

 Godfrey family of South Carolina, killed by a Negro mob, 299. 

 Gordon, William, letter on the emancipation of slaves, 402; deposed as chaplain of the legislature of Massachusetts, 409. 

 Grafton, Mass. , protest in 1778 against the enlistment of Negroes, 352. 

 Grahame, Judge Thomas, liberates Negro slave in Glasgow, Scotland, 463. 

 Gray, Samuel, killed at the Boston Massacre, 331. 

 Greece, Negro civilization imitated by, 22. 

 Greene, Col. Christopher, commands a Negro regiment in 1778 at battle of Rhode Island, 368; his death, 369. 

 Greene, Gen. Nathanael, letters to Washington on the raising of a Negro regiment, 342; on the enlistment of Negroes, the British army, 359; at battle of Rhode Island, 368. 

 Greenleaf, Richard, sued by his slave, 204, 231. 

 Guerard, Benjamin, governor of South Carolina, letter to Gov. Hancock relative to slaves recaptured from the British, 380. 

 Guyot, Arnold H. , opinion on the diversity of the human race, 20. 

 Habersham, James, favors slavery in Georgia, 318, 321. 

 Ham, the progenitor of the Negro race, 8; family of, 9, 11; founder of the Babylonian empire, 9. 

 Hamilton, Alexander, letter to John Jay on the enlistment of Negroes, 354; opinion in regard to slaves captured by the British, 381. 

 Hamilton, Dr. , his connection with the Negro plot at New York, 160. 

 Hancock, John, letter on the condition of the South-Carolina Negroes recaptured from the British, 378. 

 "Hannibal, " sloop, Negroes captured from, 372. 

 Harcourt, Col. William, captures Gen. Charles Lee, 366. 

 Harper, ----, one of the founders of the colony at Cape Palmas, Liberia, 95. 

 Harris, Rev. Samuel, describes bravery of Negro regiment at battle of Rhode Island, 369. 

 Hawkins, Sir John, a slave-trader, 138. 

 "Hazard, " armed vessel, recaptures Negroes, 376. 

 Hendrick, Cæsar, a slave, sues for his freedom, 204, 231. 

 Hessian officer, letter on the employment of Negroes in the army, 343. 

 Hillgroue, Nicholas, engaged in the slave-trade, 269. 

 Hispaniola, slaves from Sierra Leone sold at, 138. 

 Hobby, Mr. , Negro in the army claimed by, 384. 

 Hogg, Robert, a merchant of New York, robbed by Negroes, 145. 

 Holbrook, Felix, petition of, for freedom, 133. 

 Holland, growth of slavery in New Netherlands, 134; children of manumitted Negroes held as slaves to serve the government of, 135; slaves exchanged for tobacco, 136; engaged in the slave-trade, 463. 

 Holt, Lord, his opinion that slavery was unknown to English law, 203. 

 Hopkins, John H. , views of slavery, 7, 8. 

 Hopkins, Samuel, necessity of employing the Negroes in the American army, 338. 

 Horsmanden, Daniel, one of the judges in the trial of the Negro plot at New York, 1741, 148. 

 Hotham, Sir Charles, testimony in regard to the abolishment of slavery in Liberia, 105, 106. 

 Hughson, John, his tavern at New York a resort for Negroes, 147; his connection with the Negro plot, 147; trial, 152, 157; sentenced to be hanged, 158; executed, 161. 

 Hughson, Sarah, her connection with the New York Negro plot, 152; trial, 157; respited, 164; testimony, 165, 166, 168. 

 Human race, the unity of, 443. 

 Humphreys, David, recruits a company of colored infantry in Connecticut, 361. 

 Hutchinson, a commissioner to treat with king of Ashantee, 39. 

 Hutchinson, Gov. Thomas, refuses to sign bill to prevent the importation of slaves from Africa, 223. 

 Indians, taxable, 122, 123; not treated as slaves, 123; declared slaves, 124, 125; denied the right to appear as witnesses, 129; act to baptize, 141; proclamation against the harboring, 141; alarmed on seeing a Negro, 173; exchanged for Negroes, 173; sent to Bermudas, 173; held in perpetual bondage, 178; marriage with Negroes, 180; introduction of, as slaves, prohibited in Massachusetts, 186; importation of, prohibited, 259, 311, 314; slavery of, legalized, 259. 

 Ishogo villages in Africa described, 52. 

 Jacksonburgh, S. C. , Negro insurrection at, 299. 

 Jamaica, slaves from, sold in Virginia, 328. 

 James, Gov. , commissioner to treat with king of Ashantee, 39. 

 James City, Va. , buildings destroyed, 126. 

 Jameson, David, volunteers to prosecute the negroes in New York, 151. 

 Japan, negro idols in, 17. 

 Jefferson, Thomas, author of instructions to the Virginia delegation in Congress, 1774, on the abolition of slavery, 328; letters to Dr. Gordon relative to the treatment of Negroes in Cornwallis's army, 358; to Benjamin Banneker, 396; his recommendation in regard to slavery in the Western Territory, 416. 

 Jeffries, John P. , declares there are no reliable data of the Negro race, 15. 

 Johnson, David, accused of conspiracy in New York, 163. 

 Jones, William, his genealogy of Noah, 11. 

 Joseph, the selling of, a memorial by Samuel Sewall, 210; answered by John Saffin, 214. 

 Josselyn, John, describes attempt to breed slaves in Massachusetts, 174. 

 Kane, William, accused of conspiracy in New York, 162; testimony of, in the Negro plot, 162-164, 168. 

 Kench, Thomas, letters to the General Assembly of Massachusetts on the enlistment of Negroes, 350, 351. 

 Kendall, Capt. Miles, deputy governor of Virginia, receives Negro slaves in exchange for supplies, 118; dispossessed of the same, returns to England to seek equity, 118; portion of the Negroes allotted to him, 118; none of which he receives, 119. 

 Kentucky, admitted into the Union, 437; constitution revised, 441. 

 Keyser, Elizur, emancipates his slave, 207. 

 Knowls, John, confines James Sommersett on board his ship "Mary and Ann, " 205. 

 Knox, Thomas, South Carolina, recaptured slaves delivered to, 377. 

 Kudjoh Osai, king of Ashantee, 36. 

 Kwamina Osai, succeeds his father Kudjoh as king of Ashantee, 36. 

 "Lady Gage, " a prize-ship with Negroes, 376. 

 Laing, Capt. , his services in Ashantee, 42. 

 Latrobe, J. H. B. , one of the founders of the colony at Cape Palmas, Liberia, 95. 

 Laurens, Henry, letter to Washington on arming of the Negroes of South Carolina, 353. 

 Laurens, John, endeavors to raise Negro troops in South Carolina, 356; sails for France, 359; letters to Washington on his return, urging the enlistment of Negroes, 360. 

 Lawrence, Major Samuel, commands a company of Negro soldiers, 366. 

 Lechmere, Richard, sued by his slave, 230. 

 Lee, Gen. Charles, captured by the British, 366. 

 Leicester, Mass. , representative of, instructed to vote against slavery, 225. 

 Liberia, founded by Colored people from Maryland, 95; population, 95, 97, 102; refuge for Colored people, 96; native tribes, 97, 98; Christian mission founded, 98; government, 99; a republic, 100; school and college established, 100; churches, 101; trade, 103; first constitution, 103; slavery and slave-trade abolished, 104; treaty with England in regard to slavery, 104; testimony of officers of the Royal Navy in regard to the slave-trade at, 105; revolt in, subdued, 106, 107. 

 Lincoln, Gen. Benjamin, letter to Gov. Rutledge of South Carolina, on the enlistment of Negroes, 359. 

 Livingstone, David, describes African wars, 50, 51; status of the Africans, 58, 59; skilful in the mechanic arts, 63, 64. 

 Locke, John, constitution prepared by, adopted in North Carolina, 302; local governments of the South organised on his plan, 414. 

 Lodge, Abraham, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151. 

 Lodge, Sir Thomas, a slave-trader, 138. 

 Lowell, John, sues for the freedom of a slave in Newburyport, Mass. , 231. 

 Lybia, Africa, description of, 452. 

 MacBrair, R. M. , author of a Mandingo grammar, 70. 

 McCarthy, Charles, appointed governor-general of Western Africa, 41; war with the Ashantees, 41; his defeat and death, 42. 

 Madison, James, letter to Joseph Jones, on the arming of the Negroes, 359. 

 Mahoney, Lieut. , his description of a Negro idol at Calanee, 17. 

 Mandji, a village in Africa described, 51. 

 Mankind, unity of, 1, 7, 108, 443; varieties of, 3. 

 Mansfield, Lord, decision in the case of the Negro Sommersett, 85, 205. 

 Marlow, John, affidavit in the Sommersett case, 206. 

 Maryland, appropriates money for the colony at Cape Palmas, 96; slaves purchased to evade tax, 128; slavery in, 238-248; under the laws of Virginia, 238; first legislation on slavery, 238; population of, 238; slavery established by statute, 240; Act passed encouraging the importation of Negroes and slaves, 241; impost on Negroes, slaves, and white persons imported into, 241; duties on rum and wine, 243; treatment of slaves and papists, 243; convicts imported into, 243; convict trade condemned, 244; defended, 244; slave-code, 246; rights of slaves, 246; law against manumission of slaves, 246; Negro population, 246, 247; white population, 247; increase of slavery, 247; number of slaves in 1715, 325; Negroes enlist in the army, 352; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Maryland Colonization Society, found colony of Negroes at Cape Palmas, Liberia, 95. 

 Mason, George, author of the Virginia resolutions of 1774 against slavery, 327. 

 Mason, Susanna, addresses a poetical letter to Benjamin Banneker, 392. 

 Massachusetts, slavery in, 172-237; earliest mention of the Negro in, 173; Moore's history of slavery in, 173; Pequod War the cause of slavery, 173; slaves imported to, 174; ship "Desire" arrives with slaves, 174, 176; slavery established, 175; first statute establishing slavery, 177; made hereditary, 179; kidnapped Negroes, 180, 182; number of slaves, 183, 184; tax on slaves, 185; Negro population, 185; introduction of Indian slaves prohibited, 186; Negroes rated with cattle, 187, 188, 196; denied baptism, 189; Act in relation to marriage of Negro slaves, 191, 192; slave-marriage ceremony, 192; condition of free Negro, 194, 196; Act to abolish slavery, 204; slave awarded a verdict against his master, 204; emancipation of slaves, 205; legislation favoring the importation of white servants, and prohibiting the clandestine bringing-in of Negroes, 208; importation of Negroes not as profitable as white servants, 208, 209; prohibitory legislation against slavery, 220; proclamation against Negroes, 226; slaves executed, 226; transported and exchanged for small Negroes, 226; slaves sue for freedom, 228-232; Negroes petition for freedom, 233; bill passed for the suppression of the slave-trade, 234, 235; vetoed by Gov. Gage, 235; number of slaves in, 325; emancipation of slaves, 329; enlistment of Negroes and emancipation of slaves prohibited, 329; enlistment of Negroes opposed, 334, 351; mode of enlisting Negroes, 352; Negroes serve with white troops, 352; number of men furnished to the army, 353; act relative to captured Negroes, 370; sale of captured Negroes prohibited, 371; armed vessels from, recapture Negroes, 376; act relative to prisoners of war, 379; slaves petition for freedom, 404; act against slavery, 405; extinction of slavery, 429; lawsuits brought by slaves, 430; condition of slaves, 461. 

 Maverick, Samuel, attempts to breed slaves in Massachusetts, 174. 

 Maverick, Samuel, mortally wounded at the Boston Massacre, 331. 

 Mede, Joseph, his statement in regard to Ham corrected, 10. 

 Medford, Mass. , representative of, instructed to vote against slavery, 225. 

 Melville, John, his sermon on Simon mentioned, 6. 

 Menes, first king of Egypt, 454. 

 Meroe, Egypt, capital of African Ethiopia and chief city of the Negroes, 6. 

 Methodist Episcopal Church, establishes a mission in Liberia, 98, 100. 

 Methodist Missionary Society appropriate money for the mission at Monrovia, 98. 

 Mifflin, Warner, presents a memorial to Congress in 1792 for the abolition of slavery, 437. 

 Mills, James, missionary to Monrovia, 97; death, 97. 

 Missah Kwanta, son of the king of Ashantee, sent to England as a hostage, 43. 

 Mississippi, slavery in Territory of, prohibited, 1797, 440. 

 Monroe, James, town of Monrovia named in honor of, 97. 

 Monrovia, Africa, founded, 97; population, 97; Christian mission established, 98, 99. 

 Moore, George H. , his history of slavery in Massachusetts commended, 173; mentioned, 180, 183; remarks on the bill to prohibit the importation of slaves from Africa, 224. 

 Morton, Samuel G. , the sphinx a shrine of the Negro, 17. 

 Murphy, Edward, accused of conspiracy in New York, 163. 

 Murray, Joseph, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151, 158, 166. 

 Mycerinus, king of Egypt, 458. 

 "Nautilus, " ship arrives at Sierra Leone with colony of Negroes, 86. 

 Nechao, king of Egypt, 455. 

 Negro plot in New York City, 1741, 143-170. 

 Negroes, members of the human family, 1, 5; descendants of Ham, 3, 8; represented in pictures of the crucifixion of Christ, 5; an Ethiopian eunuch becomes a Christian, 6; same race as Egyptian, 6; Cush an ancestor, 10; use of the term "Negro, " 12, 13; antiquity of the race, 14-19; early military service, 15; figured in a Theban tomb, 15, 16; political and social condition, 16; the Sphinx a shrine of, 17; idols, 17, 18; origin of color and hair, 19-21; primitive civilization, 22; decline, 24; kingdoms, 26, 28, 31; engage in the slave trade, 27; women in the army, 29; laws, religion, 30; different tribes at war, 30-40; war with England, 41-43; the Negro type, 45-48; physical and mental character affected by climate, 46, 47, 385, 448; longevity, 46; slaves the lower class, 47; habits, 48; susceptible to Christianity, 48; idiosyncrasies of the, 50; patriarchal government, 50, 54; villages, 51, 52; pursuits 51; architecture, 51, 53; women as rulers, 55, 56; priests, 55; laws, 56, 57; marriage, 57, 58; status, 58, 59; nine feet in height, 59; beauty of the, 60, 61; warfare, 61, 62; agriculture, 62, 63; mechanic arts, 63-65; languages, 66-70, 90; literature, 75-80; religion, 81-84, 89, 90; free, leave for England, 86; colony of, at Sierra Leone, 86; serve in the British army, 87; their condition in America, 96; found colony at Liberia, 95; first importance of, 109; military abilities, 110; early Christianity, 111; earliest importation to America, 115; in Virginia, 116, 118; number of, in Virginia, 119, 120; prohibition against, 121; tax on female, 122, 123; law of Virginia declares them slaves, 123, 124; repeal of the Act declaring them real estate, 125; duty on slaves in Virginia, 126-128; traffic encouraged in Virginia, 128; no political or military rights in Virginia, 128, 129; denied the right to appear as witnesses, 129; revolt of free, in Virginia, 130; pay taxes, 131; in the military service, 131; intermarriage of, prohibited, 131; denied education, 133; children of manumitted, made slaves, 135, 136; not allowed to hold real estate in New York, 142; earliest mention of, in Massachusetts, 173; held in perpetual bondage, 178; condition of free, in Massachusetts, 194, 196; importation of, not so profitable as white servants, 208; Act encouraging the importation of, into Maryland, 241; condition of free, in Maryland, 247; limited lights of free, 259, 308, 315; prohibited the use of the streets in Rhode Island, 264; military employment of, 324; excluded from the Continental Army, 335; allowed to re-enlist, 337; in Virginia join the British Army, 339; cautioned against joining the latter, 340; serve in the army with white troops in Massachusetts, 352; efforts to enlist in South Carolina, 351; company of, enlisted in Connecticut, 361; return of, in the army, 1778, 362; as soldiers, 1775-1783, 363; at the battle of Bunker Hill, 363; at battle of Rhode Island, 368; valor of, 369; sale of two captured, prohibited in Massachusetts, 371; disposal of recaptured, 374, 376; education of, prohibited, 385. 

 Newburyport, Mass, a slave sues for freedom, 231

 New England Negroes leave for England, 86; engaged in the slave trade, 174, 180; see Massachusetts. 

 New Hampshire, Massachusetts exercises authority over, 309; slavery in, 309-311; Negro slave emancipated, 309; instruction against importation of slaves, 309; conduct of servants regulated, 319; ill treatment of slaves, 311; importation of Indian servants prohibited, 311; ill treatment of servants and slaves prohibited, 311; duration of slaves in, 311; number of slaves in, 325; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 New Jersey, slavery in, 282-288; Act in regard to slaves, 282; the colony divided, with separate governments, 283; entertaining of fugitive servants, or trading with Negroes, prohibited, 283; Negroes and other slaves allowed trial by a jury, 283; publicity in judicial proceedings, 285; rights of government of surrendered to the queen, 285; conduct of slaves regulated, 285; impost tax on imported Negroes, 286, 287; trials of slaves regulated, 286; security required for manumitted slaves, 287; slaves prohibited from joining the militia, 288; population, 1738-45, 288; number of slaves in, 325; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 New Netherlands, see New York. 

 Newport, Amos, a slave, sues for his freedom, 229. 

 Newport, R. I. , Negroes and Indians prohibited the use of the streets, 264; Negro slaves arrive, 269; part of them sold, 269; vessels fitted out for the slave-trade, 269; streets repaired from the impost-tax on Negroes, 273, 275. 

 New York, slavery in, 134-171; slaves imported from Brazil, 146; laws relative to slavery, 139; slaves the property of West-India Company, 139; supply of slaves, 140; Act for regulating slaves, 140; Act to baptize slaves, 141; expedition against Canada, 143; governor of, claims jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, 312; number of slaves in, 325; Act for raising Negro troops, 352; Negro soldiers promised freedom, 411; slave population in 1790, 436; bill for the gradual extinction of slavery, 440; laws in regard to slaves, 463. 

 New York City, settled by the Dutch, 134; growth of slavery under the Holland government, 134; children of manumitted Negroes made slaves, 135, 136; slaves imported from Brazil, 136; captured by the English, 138; laws on slavery, 139; identical with Massachusetts, 139; Gov. Dongan arrives, 139; General Assembly meet, 139; proclamation against the harboring of slaves, 141; slaves forbidden the streets after nightfall, 141; slave-market erected, 142; Negro riot, 143; Negro plot, 144-171; house of Robert Hogg robbed, 145; population, 145; fire at Fort George, 145; fires in, 146; crew of Spanish vessel adjudged slaves, 146; charged with firing houses, 146; house of John Hughson, resort for Negroes, 147; act against entertaining slaves, 148; council meet, request governor to offer reward for incendiaries, 149; Negroes deny all knowledge of the fires and plot, 149; Supreme Court convened, 149; trial of Negroes, 149; Negroes hanged, 154; fast observed in, 154; Negroes arrested, 155; chained to a stake, and burned, 157; proclamation granting freedom to conspirators who would confess, 159; Spanish Negroes sentenced to be hung, 161; Hughson executed, 161; Negroes hanged, 161, 169; thanksgiving, 169; Rev. John Ury executed, 169; arrests for conspiracy, 170; first session of Congress held at, in 1789, 426. 

 Nicoll, Benjamin, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151. 

 Nineveh, the city of, founded, 9-10. 

 Noddle's Island, Mass. , slaves on, 176. 

 Non-Importation Act passed by Congress, 325. 

 Norfolk, Va. , arrival of slaves at, 328. 

 North Carolina, slaves purchased in, to evade the tax, 128; slavery in, 302-308; situation of, favorable to the slave-trade, 302; the Locke Constitution adopted, 302; William Sayle commissioned governor, 303; Negro slaves eligible to membership in the church, 304; Church of England established in, 304; rights of Negroes controlled by their masters, 304; act respecting conspiracies, 305; form of trying Negroes, 307; ill treatment of Negroes, 307; emancipation of slaves prohibited, 307; limited rights of free Negroes, 308; number of slaves in, 325; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Nott, John C. , antiquity of the Negro, 15; his social condition, 16. 

 Oates, Titus, his connection with the Popish plot, 144. 

 Obongos of Africa described, 46. 

 Ockote, Osai, king of Ashantee, his war with the English, 43. 

 Oglethorpe, John, first governor of Georgia, opposed to slavery, 316. 

 Ophir, Africa, description of, 452. 

 Opoko, Osai, king of Ashantee, 35. 

 Osymandyas, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Otis, James, speech in favor of freedom to the Negroes, 203. 

 Parsons, Theophilus, his opinion on the existence of slavery in Massachusetts, 179, 180; decision in the case of Winchendon _vs. _ Hatfield, 232. 

 Pastorius, Francis Daniel, his memorial against slavery, 1688, 313. 

 Payne, John, missionary bishop of Africa, 100. 

 Pendleton, Edmund, letter to Richard Lee on the slaves of Virginia joining the British army, 339. 

 Penn, William, Delaware conveyed to, 249; grants the privilege of separate government, 249; introduces bill for the regulation of servants, 314; opposed to slavery, 314. 

 Pennsylvania, slavery in, 312-315; government organized, 312; Swedes and Dutch settlement, 312; governor of New York claims jurisdiction over, 312; first laws of, 312; memorial against slavery, 313; Penn presents bill for the better regulation of servants, 314; tax on imported slaves, 314; importation of Negroes and Indians prohibited, 314; petition for the freedom of slaves denied, 314; rights of the Negroes, 315; tax on Negroes and Mulatto slaves, 315; fears for the conduct of the slaves, 315; number of slaves in, 325; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Pennsylvania Society for promoting the abolition of slavery, address of the, 1789, 431. 

 Pequod Indians captured in war exchanged for Negroes, 173; as slaves, 177. 

 Peters, John, married to Phillis Wheatley, 200. 

 Peters, Phillis, see Wheatley, Phillis. 

 Pheron, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Philadelphia, Federal Convention meet at, 417; Anti-slavery Convention held at, 438; see Pennsylvania. 

 Phut, Africa, description of, 452. 

 Pickering, Timothy, representative of Salem, Mass. , instructed to vote against the importation of slaves, 220. 

 Pinny, J. B. , missionary to Liberia, 100. 

 Pitcairn, John, killed at Bunker Hill by a Negro soldier, 364. 

 Plant, Matthias, missionary of the Propagation Society in Mass. , 189. 

 Po, Fernando, locates Portuguese colony in Africa, 26. 

 Poor, Salem, a Negro soldier, his bravery at Bunker Hill, 365. 

 Popish plot in England concocted by Titus Gates, 144. 

 Portugal, engages in the slave-trade, 26, 31, 463; locates colony at Benin, Africa, 26, 27. 

 Prescott, Richard, captured by Lieut. -Col. Barton, 366. 

 Presbyterian Board of Missions establish missions in Liberia, 100. 

 Price, Arthur, arrested for theft in New York, 152; testimony in the Negro plot, 152, 154. 

 Prichard, John C. , varieties of the human race, 4. 

 Prince, a Negro, assists in the capture of Gen. Prescott, 367. 

 Protestant Episcopal Church establishes first mission at Sierra Leone, 89; in Liberia, 100. 

 Proteus, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Psammetichus, king of Egypt, 455. 

 Psammis, king of Egypt, 456. 

 Pul, Africa, description of, 452. 

 Quakers, opposed to slavery, 218; memorial of, against slavery in Pennsylvania, 313; the friends of the Negroes, 315; memorial to Congress relative to slavery, 439. 

 Rameses, Miamun, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Raffles, T. Stanford, his researches on the Negro race, 19. 

 Reade, W. Winwood, describes patriarchal government of Africa, 55; beauty of the Negro, 60, 61; people of Sierra Leone, 87. 

 Revere, Paul, Negroes placed in his charge at Castle Island, Mass. , 377. 

 Rhampsinitus, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Rhode Island, slavery in, 262-281; colonial government, 262; Act of 1652 to abolish slavery not enforced, 262; Negroes and Indians prohibited the use of the streets, 264; impost-tax on slaves, 265; entertainment of slaves prohibited, 266; Negro slaves sold in, 269; supply of Negroes from Barbadoes, 269; vessels fitted out for the slave-trade, 269; value of Negro slaves, 269; list of militia-men, including white and black servants, 270; clandestine importations and exportations of passengers, Negroes, or Indian slaves prohibited, 371; masters of vessels required to report the names and number of passengers, 272, 274; penalties for violating the impost-tax law on slaves, 272; portion of the impost-tax on imported Negroes appropriated to repair streets of Newport, 273; disposition of the money raised by impost-tax, 275; slaves imported into, 276; impost-tax repealed, 277; manumission of aged and helpless slaves regulated, 277; Negro slaves rated as chattel property, 278; masters of vessels prohibited from carrying slaves out of, 278; importation of Negroes prohibited, 280; population from 1730-1774, 281; number of slaves in, 325; act emancipating slaves on joining the army, 347; protest against the enlistment of slaves, 348; Negro troops engaged in the battle of, 368; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 Ricketts, Capt. , services in the Ashantee war, 42. 

 Roberts, J. J. , president of Liberia, proclamation regarding passports, 106. 

 Rockwell, Charles, describes Liberia, 96. 

 Roman Catholics denied the right to appear as witnesses in Virginia, 129; treatment of, in Maryland, 243; denounced by Oates, 144; suspected in New York, 160, 162, 164, 167. 

 Rome, Negro civilization imitated by, 22. 

 Rommes, John, charged with burglary at New York, 148; accused of being in the Negro plot, 153. 

 Royal African Company, charter abolished, 41; ordered to send supply of slaves to New York, 140; has sole right to trade on the coast of Africa, 316. 

 Royall, Jacob, imports Negro slaves into Rhode Island, 276. 

 Ruffin, Robert, a slave of, declared free for revealing plot of free Negroes in Virginia, 130. 

 Rush, Benjamin, his opinion of James Derham the Negro physician, 401. 

 Ryase, Andrew, accused of conspiracy in New York, 163. 

 Sabachus, king of Ethiopia, 454. 

 Saffin, John, reply to Judge Sewall's tract, "The Selling of Joseph, " 214. 

 St. George's Bay Company organized, 86; succeeded by the Sierra Leone Company, 86. 

 Salem, Mass, representative of, instructed to vote against the importation of slaves, 220, 224; Negro conspiracy, 227; slaves sent to, 209, 376; petition of slaves in, 462; Negroes captured at sea advertised for sale, 372. 

 Salem, Peter, a Negro soldier, his bravery at Bunker Hill, 364. 

 Salisbury, Samuel Webster, author of an address on slavery, 1769, 218. 

 Saltonstall, Richard, petitions the General Court of Massachusetts against stealing Negroes for slaves, 181. 

 Sandwich, Mass, representative of, instructed to vote against slavery, 225. 

 Sargent, Nathaniel P. , opinion, 1783, relative to South-Carolina Negroes, 381. 

 Savage, Samuel P. , letter, 1763, in regard to South Carolina Negroes, 377. 

 Sayle, William, commissioned governor of North Carolina, 302. 

 Schultz, John, testimony in the Negro plot at New York, 1741, 463. 

 Scotland, a Negro slave liberated in 1762, 403. 

 Scott, Bishop, letter on the government of Liberia, 99. 

 "Seaflower, " ship, arrives at Newport, R. I. , from Africa, with slaves, 269. 

 Seba, Africa, description of, 452. 

 Sesach, king of Egypt, 454. 

 Sesostris, king of Egypt, 458. 

 Sethon, king of Egypt, 454. 

 Sewall, Jonathan, letter to John Adams on the emancipation of slaves, 207. 

 Sewall, Joseph, sermon on the fires in Boston, 1723, 226. 

 Sewall, Samuel, protests against rating Negroes with cattle, 187; his hatred of slavery, 210; publishes his tract "The Selling of Joseph, " 210; father of the anti-slavery movement in Massachusetts, 217; letter to Addington Davenport on the murder of Smith's slave, 1719, 461. 

 Shaftesbury, Earl of, in favor of introducing slavery into Georgia, 322. 

 Sharp, Granville, one of the founders of Sierra Leone colony, 86. 

 Sherbro, mission district, Western Africa, described, 460. 

 Shinga, queen of Congo, 55

 Shishak, king of Ethiopia, 454. 

 Shodeke, king of Yoruba, Africa, 31. 

 Siam, negro idols in, 17. 

 Sicana, chief of the Kaffir tribe, a Christian and a poet, 80. 

 Sierra Leone, sends colony to Yoruba, Africa, 32; discovered, 85; Negro colony founded, 86, 67; attacked by French squadron, 87; England takes possession of, 87; population, 88, 90; trade, 88; Christian missions at, 89, 90; languages of colony, 90; character of the inhabitants described by Gov. Ferguson, 90-93; slaves from, sold at Hispaniola, 138. 

 Sierra Leone Company, organized, 86, objects of, 87. 

 Simon, a negro, bears the cross of Jesus, 5. 

 Slavery, Hopkins's Bible views of, 7, 8; in Egypt, 17, in Africa, 25-27, Lord Manfield's decision in the Sommersett case, 85; colonization, the solution of, 97; abolished in Liberia, 104, 105; weaker tribes of Africa, chief source of, 109; introduced in Virginia, 115, 116, 118; made legal in Virginia, 123, 124; growth of, in Virginia, 133; growth in New York, 134; sanctioned by the English, 138; New York laws, 139; made legal in New York, 140; in Massachusetts, 172-237; established, 175, 179; first statute establishing, in United States, 177; sanctioned by the church and courts, 178; made hereditary in Massachusetts, 179; growth of, in Massachusetts, 183; recognized in England, 203; act to abolish in Massachusetts, 204; prohibitory legislation against, 220-225; first legislation in Maryland, 235; established by statute, 240; increased in Maryland, 247; introduced in Delaware, 249; first legislation on, 250; Indian and Negro, legalized in Connecticut, 259; in New Jersey, 282; established in South Carolina, 289; perpetual, 290, 291; in New Hampshire 309; memorial against, in Pennsylvania, 313; prohibited in Georgia, 316; Gov. Oglethorpe's opinion on, 316; discussion on the admission of, in Georgia, 318-322; established in Georgia, 322; Washington prevents resolutions against, 327; legislation against, demanded, 403; act against, in Massachusetts, 405; progress of, during the Revolution, 411; as a political and legal problem, 412; recognized under the new government of United States, 414; attempted legislation against, 415; advocated by the Southern States, 418; speeches delivered in the convention at Philadelphia on, 420; in the Federal Congress, 427; extinction of, in Massachusetts, 429; Franklin's address for the abolition of, 431; memorials to Congress for the abolition of, 432, 437; bill for the gradual extinction of, in New York, 440; firmly established, 441. 

 Slaves, social condition of white and black, 16; the lower class of negroes, 47; Lord Mansfield's decision in the Sommersett case, 85, 86; declared free on reaching British soil, 86; introduced in America, 115; first introduced in Virginia, 116, 118; on Somer Islands, 118; number of, in Virginia, 119, 120, 132, 133; prohibition against, 121; special tax on female, 122, 123; sold for tobacco, 122; laws of Virginia in regard to, 123-125; act repealed declaring them real estate, 125; duty on, 126, 127; purchased in Maryland and Carolina to evade the tax, 128; tax on sales of, in Virginia, 128; reduced, 128; repealed, 128; revived, 128; traffic in, encouraged in Virginia, 128; no political or military rights, 128, 129; laws in Virginia, 129, 130; value fixed on, when executed, 129; laws of Virginia in regard to freedom of, 130; presented to clergymen, 131; prohibition against instructing, 132; denied education, 132; introduced in New York, 134; West India Company trade in, 135; manumitted in New York, 135; children of the latter held as, 135; imported from Brazil to New York, 136; exchanged for tobacco, 136; intermarry in New York, 137; New York to have constant supply, 140; Act to regulate, 140, 141; Act to baptizse, 140; against the harboring of, 141, 148; forbidden the streets in New York, 141; Negro riot, 143; Negro plot, 144-171; executed, 154, 161; burned, 157; Negroes exchanged for Indians, 173; Indians sent to Bermudas, 173; imported from Barbadoes to Massachusetts, 174; ship "Desire" arrives with, 174, 176; attempt to breed, in Massachusetts, 174; sold in Massachusetts, 175; issue of female, the property of their master, 180; marriage of, 180, 191, 192; sold at Barbadoes and West Indies, 181; number in Massachusetts, 183, 184; tax on, 185; rated as cattle, 187, 188, 196; denied baptism, 189; marriage-ceremony, 192; verdict awarded to a slave in Massachusetts, 204; number in Boston, 205; emancipated, 206; executed in Massachusetts, 226; transported and exchanged for small negroes, 226; sue for freedom in Massachusetts, 228-232; emancipated by England, 231; slave-code of Maryland, 246; laws against manumission of, 246, 250; introduced in Connecticut, 252; purchase and treatment of, 253; persons manumitting to maintain them, 254; commerce with, prohibited, 255; importation of, prohibited, 259, 261; impost-tax on, in Rhode Island, 265; entertainment of, prohibited, 266; letter of the board of trade relative to, 267; Rhode Island supplied with, from Barbadoes, 269; slaves sold in Rhode Island, 269; value of, 269; clandestine importation and exportation of, prohibited, 271; Act relative to freeing Mulatto and Negro, in Rhode Island, 277; rated as chattel property, 278; masters of vessels prohibited from carrying Negro out of Rhode Island, 280; importation of, prohibited, 280; allowed trial by jury, in New Jersey, 283; impost-tax on, 286, 287; prohibited from joining militia, 288; regarded as chattel property in South Carolina, 292; branded, 294; life of, regarded as of little consequence, 296; education of, prohibited, 298, 300; overworking of, prohibited, 298; insurrection, 299; enlistment of, 300; masters compensated for the loss of, 301; rights of, controlled by the master in North Carolina, 304; emancipation of, prohibited, 307; New Hampshire opposed to the importation of, 309; ill treatment of, prohibited, 311; duration of, in New Hampshire, 311; tax on, imported into Pennsylvania, 314, 315; petition for freedom of, denied, 314; number of slaves in the colonies 1715 and 1775, 325; arrival of, at Virginia, from Jamaica, 328; severe treatment of, modified, 329; the Boston Massacre, 330; in the Continental army, 333, 335; excluded from the army, 335; allowed to re-enlist, 337; Lord Dunmore's proclamation freeing, 336; join the British army, 339; prohibited from enlisting in Connecticut, 343; Rhode Island emancipates, on joining the army, 347; protest against the same, 348; masters of enlisted, recompensed, 349; serve in the army with white troops, 352; Act to enlist, in New York, 352; efforts to enlist, in South Carolina, 357; treatment of, by Cornwallis, 358; exchanged for merchandise, 358; disposal of recaptured, 374, 376, 379; recaptured, sent to Boston, 376; list of recaptured, 377; held as personal property, 381, 384; education of, prohibited, 385; sale of, advertised, 403, 408; in Massachusetts petition for freedom, 404; rights of, limited in Virginia, 409; who served in the army emancipated, 410; promised their freedom in New York, 411; impost-tax on, introduced in Federal Congress, 427; lawsuits instituted by, in Massachusetts, 430; number of, in United States, 1790, 436; law for the return of fugitive, 438; introduction of, prohibited into the Mississippi Territory, 440; importation of, prohibited in Georgia, 440; condition of, in Massachusetts, 461; petition of, in Boston, 462; Massachusetts laws in regard to, 463. 

 Slave-trade, commenced at Benin, Africa, 26; natives of Africa engage in, 27; suppressed by England, 28, 31; at Yoruba, Africa, 31; declared piracy by England, 87; abolished in Liberia, 104, 105; earliest commerce for slaves between Africa and America, 115; introduced first in Virginia, 116, 118; Dutch engage in the, 124, 135; tax on the subjects of Great Britain in the, 127; encouraged in Virginia, 128; with Angola, Africa, 134; encouraged by the Dutch, 135; sanctioned by the English, 138; encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, 138; growth in New York, 140; slave-market erected in New York, 142; Indians exchanged for Negroes, 173; in New England, 174; ship "Desire" built for the, 174; arrives with cargo of slaves, 174, 176; on the coast of Guinea, 180; increased in Massachusetts, 184; abolished by England, 231; bill for the suppression of, in Massachusetts, 235; sanctioned in Rhode Island, 265, 273; vessels fitted out for the, 269; slave-market at Charleston, S. C. , 299; the situation of South Carolina favorable to the, 302; progress during the Revolution, 402; discussion in Congress on the restriction of the, 434; act against the foreign, 438. 

 Slew, Jenny, a slave, sues for her freedom, 228. 

 Smeatham, Dr. , one of the founders of the Sierra Leone colony, 86. 

 Smith, Hamilton, antiquity of the Negro race, 18. 

 Smith, Samuel, murders his Negro slave, 461. 

 Smith, William, volunteers to prosecute the Negroes in New York, 151, 158, 166. 

 Sommersett, James, a Negro slave, brought to England and abandoned by his master, 85, 205; discharged, 206. 

 Sorubiero, Margaret, connected with the New-York Negro plot, 1741, 147, 152, 153. 

 South Carolina, slaves purchased in, to evade the tax, 128; slavery in, 289-301; receives two charters from Great Britain, 289; Negro slaves in, 289; slavery legislation, 289; slavery established, 289; perpetual bondage of the Negro, 290, 291; slaves regarded as chattel property, 292; trial of slaves, 292; increase of slave population, 292; growth of the rice-trade, 292; trade with Negroes prohibited, 293; conduct of slaves regulated, 293; punishment of slaves, 294; branded, 294; life of slaves regarded as of little consequence, 296; fine for killing slaves, 296; education of slaves prohibited, 298, 300; permitted to be baptized, 298; inquiry into the treatment of slaves, 298; overworking of slaves prohibited, 298; hours of labor, 298; slave-market at Charleston, 299; Negro insurrection, 299; whites authorized to carry fire-arms, 300; enlistment of slaves, 300; Negroes admitted to the militia service, 300; masters compensated for the loss of slaves, 301; few slaves manumitted, 301; little legislation on slavery from 1754-1776, 301; effect of the threatened war with England, 301; number of slaves in 1715 and 1775, 325; efforts to raise Negro troops, 355; Negroes desert from, 355; recapture of Negroes from the British, 376; slave population, 1790, 436. 

 Spain engaged in the slave-trade, 31; her colonies in the West Indies to be furnished with Negroes, 237. 

 Stanley, Henry M. , description of a journey through Africa, 72. 

 Staten Island, N. Y. , a Negro regiment to be raised there, 342. 

 Stephens, Thomas, favors the introduction of slavery in Georgia, 319; reprimanded, 320. 

 Stewart, Charles, owner of the Negro slave James Sommersett, 205. 

 Stone, S. C. , a Negro insurrection at, 299. 

 Swain, John, suit to recover a slave, 231. 

 Swan, James, advocate of liberty for all, 204. 

 Swedes, settle on the Delaware River, 312. 

 Tacudons, king of Dahomey, 28. 

 Tarshish, Africa, description of, 452. 

 Taylor, Comfort, sues a slave for trespass, 278. 

 Teage, Collin, missionary to Liberia, 101. 

 Tembandumba, queen of the Jagas, 56. 

 Tharaca, king of Egypt, 454. 

 Thethmosis, king of Egypt, 459. 

 Thomas, John, letter to John Adams, 1775, on the employment of Negroes in the army, 337. 

 Thompson, Capt, of ship "Nautilus, " arrives at Sierra Leone with Negroes, 86. 

 Timans, second king of Egypt, 454. 

 Tutu Osai, king of Ashantee, 34. 

 "Treasurer, " ship, sails to West Indies for Negroes, 116; arrives at Virginia, 117. 

 "Tyrannicide, " armed vessel, re-captures Negroes, 376. 

 Uchoreus, king of Egypt, 459. 

 Undi, African chief, 50. 

 United States, condition of the Colored population before the war of 1861, 96; first statute establishing slavery in, 177; slave population, 1715 and 1775, 325; confederation of the, 374; treaty with England, 382; the Tory party in favor of slavery, 413; the Whigs the dominant party in the Northern States, 414; slavery recognized under the new government of the, 414; anti-slavery agitation in, 414; plan for the disposal of the Western Territory, 416; proceedings of Federal Convention, 417; slave population in 1790, 436. 

 United-States Congress, action on the disposal of recaptured Negroes, 374; first session at New York, 1789, 426; proceedings, 427; memorials to, for the abolition of slavery, 432, 437; discussion in, on the restriction of the slave-trade, 433; prohibits the introduction of slaves into the Mississippi Territory, 440. 

 Upton, Samuel and William, emancipate their father's slave, 207. 

 Ury, John, his connection with the New-York Negro plot, 1741, 160, 162, 163, 166; executed, 169. 

 Utrecht, the treaty of, to provide Negroes for the Spanish West Indies, 236. 

 Van Twiller, Wouter, charged with neglect of public affairs in New Netherlands, 249; owner of Negro slaves, 250. 

 Varick, Cæsar, charged with burglary at New York, 148. 

 Varnum, Gen. J. M. , letter to Washington on the enlistment of Negroes, 346. 

 Vaughan, Col. James, Legislature of Rhode Island refund tax on two child slaves imported by, 276. 

 Vermont, slave population, 1790; admitted into the Union, 436. 

 "Victoria, " ship, captures British privateer with Negroes, 376. 

 Virginia, slavery in, 115-133; slaves first introduced, 116; number of, 119; forced on the colony, 119; the first to purchase slaves, 119; women purchased in England and sent to, 119; number of slaves, 119, 120, 132, 133; population, 120; Assembly pass prohibition against Negroes, 121; slavery legalized, 123; Indians declared slaves, 124, 125; Assembly protest against the repeal of the Act declaring Negroes real estate, 125, 126; impose duty on slaves and servants imported, 126, 127; tax on slaves sold, 128; reduced, 128, repealed, 128; revived, 128; prohibit Catholics, Indians, and Negro slaves to appear as witnesses, 129; pass act to value slave when executed, 129; threatened revolt of the free Negroes, 130; Act in regard to the freedom of slaves, 130; number of slaves in 1715 and 1775, 325; arrival of slaves in 1775, 328; purchaser of the same reproved, 328; instructions to delegation to Congress relative to the abolition of slavery, 328; Lord Dunmore's proclamation freeing slaves, 336; Negroes join the British army, 339, 352; declaration of convention against Dunmore's proclamation, 341; number of slaves in Cornwallis's army, 358; rights of slaves limited, 409; slaves who served in the army emancipated, 410; slave population, 1790, 436. 

 Walklin, Thomas, testimony in the Sommersett case, 205. 

 Warren, Joseph, oration on human liberty, 333. 

 Warwick, Earl of, slaves on his plantation at the Bermudas, 116, 118. 

 Washburn, Emory, views on the slavery laws of Massachusetts, 179. 

 Washington, George, acknowledges verses written by Phillis Wheatley, 200, 201; presents Virginia resolutions of 1774 against slavery, 327; takes command of the army, 334; forbids the enlistment of Negroes, 334; instructed to discharge all Negroes and slaves in the army, 335; order of, against Negro enlistments, 336; letter to Congress on admitting Negroes to the army, 337; letter to Joseph Reed on Lord Dunmore's proclamation, 341; letter to Gov. Cooke, 345; letter to Henry Laurens, on the arming of the Negroes, 353; letter to John Laurens on the failure to enlist Negroes in the South, 360; letter to Sir Guy Carleton relative to Negroes, 381; to Gen. Putnam in regard to a Negro in the army claimed by his owner, 384; president of the Federal Convention, 417. 

 Watson, Capt. , arrives at Norfolk, Va. , with slaves, 328. 

 Wayne, Anthony, letter to Lieut. -Col. Meigs relative to Negroes captured by him, 375. 

 Wesleyan Methodists establish mission at Sierra Leone, 90. 

 West India Company, trade in slaves, 135; children of manumitted Negroes held as slaves by the, 135; cost of the government of New Netherland to the, 136; encourage commerce in slaves, 137; slaves in New York the property of the, 139. 

 West Indies, Negroes captured and made slaves, 117, 118; slaves sold at, 181; England furnishes Negroes to the, 237. 

 Western Territory, plan for the disposal of the, 416; slave population, 1790, 436. 

 Wheatley, Phillis, an African poetess, 197; visits England, 198; publishes her poems, 199; marries John Peters, 200; death of, 200; poem to Washington, 200; Washington's letter of acknowledgment, 201. 

 Whipple, John, sued by Jenny Slew, a slave, 228. 

 Whitefield, Rev. George, his plantation and Negroes in Georgia, 321. 

 Williams, George W. , orations on "The Footsteps of the Nation, " "Early Christianity in Africa, " 111; first colored graduate from Newton Seminary, 111; ordination poem by Rev. Dr. Abbott, 111. 

 Wilson, D. A. , principal of school at Liberia, 100. 

 Wilson, Jacob, on African languages, 67. 

 Wilkinson, Gardiner, discovers a Theban tomb with Negro scenes, 15; condition of white and black slaves, 16. 

 Willson, Capt. John, charged with exciting slaves, 226. 

 Windsor, Thomas, master of ship "Seaflower, " arrives at Newport, R. I. , with slaves from Africa, 269. 

 Winter, Sir William, a slave-trader, 138. 

 Worcester, Mass, representative instructed to vote against slavery, 220. 

 York, Duke of, conveys Delaware to William Penn, 249. 

 Yoruba, Africa, Negro kingdom, 31; slave trade stopped, 31. 

 Zerah, king of Ethiopia, 454.