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IMPOST-TAX.--IMPOST-LAW REPEALED, MAY, 1732.--AN ACT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 time
of the formation of the colonial government there, in May, 1647, down
to the close of the eighteenth century. Like her sister colonies, she
early took the poison of the slave-traffic into her commercial life,
and found it a most difficult political task to rid herself of it. The
institution of slavery was never established by statute in this
colony; but it was so firmly rooted five years after the establishment
of the government, that it required the positive and explicit
prohibition of law to destroy it. On the 19th of May, 1652, the
General Court passed the following Act against slavery. It is the
earliest positive prohibition against slavery in the records of modern
nations.
"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 public
sentiment to give it practical force in the colony. It was never
repealed, and yet slavery flourished under it for a century and a
half. Mr. Bancroft says, "The law was not enforced, but the principle
lived among the people."[451] No doubt the principle lived among the
people; but, practically, they did but little towards emancipating
their slaves until the Revolutionary War cloud broke over their homes.
There is more in the statement Mr. Bancroft makes than the casual
reader is likely to discern.
The men who founded Rhode Island, or Providence Plantation as it was
called early, were of the highest type of Christian gentlemen. They
held advanced ideas on civil government and religious liberty. They
realized, to the full, the enormity of the sinfulness of slavery; but
while they hesitated to strike down what many men pronounced a
necessary social evil, it grew to be an institution that governed more
than it could be governed. The institution was established. Slaves
were upon the farms, in the towns, and in the families, of those who
could afford to buy them. The population of the colony was small; and
to manumit the slaves in whom much money was invested, or to suddenly
cut off the supply from without, was more than the colonists felt able
to perform. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
For a half-century there was nothing done by the General Court to
check or suppress the slave-trade, though the Act of 1652 remained the
law of the colony. The trade was not extensive. No vessels from Africa
touched at Newport or Providence. The source of supply was Barbadoes;
and, occasionally, some came by land from other colonies. Little was
said for or against slavery during this period. It was a question
difficult to handle. The sentiment against it was almost unanimous. It
was an evil; but how to get rid of it, was the most important thing to
be considered. During this period of perplexity, there was an ominous
silence on slavery. The conservatism of the colonists produced the
opposite in the Negro population. They began to think and talk about
their "rights." The Act of 1652 had begun to bear fruit. At the
expiration of ten years' service, slaves began to demand their
freedom-papers. This set the entire Negro class in a state of
expectancy. Their eagerness for liberty was interpreted by the more
timid among the whites as the signal for disorder. A demand was made
for legislation that would curtail the personal liberties of the
Negroes 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 the
New-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 and
free Indians from walking the streets after nine o'clock. In this
particular this bill had no equal in any of the other colonies. This
act seemed to be aimed with remarkable precision at the Negroes as a
class, both bond and free. The influence of free Negroes upon the
slaves had not been in harmony with the condition of the latter; and
the above Act was intended as a reminder, in part, to free Negroes
and Indians. It went to show that there was but little meaning in the
word "free," when placed before a Negro's name. No such restriction
could have been placed upon the personal rights of a white colonist;
for, under the democratical government of the colony, a subject was
greater than the government. No law could stand that was inimical to
his rights as a freeman. But the free Negro had no remedy at law. He
was literally between two conditions, bondage and freedom.
Attention has been called to the fact, that the Act of 1652 was never
enforced. In April, 1708, an Act, laying an impost-tax upon slaves
imported into the colony, was passed which really gave legal sanction
to 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," cannot
be found.[455] But, from the one quoted above, it is to be inferred
that two objects were aimed at, viz.: First, under the codes of
Massachusetts and Virginia, a drawback was allowed to an importer of a
Negro 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 not
only willing to levy an impost-tax upon all slaves imported, but, in
her greed for "blood money," even denied the importer the mean
privilege, in exporting his slave, of drawing his rebate! The
consistency of Rhode Island must have been a jewel that the other
colonies did not covet.
The last section of the Act of 1703 was directed against "house
keepers," who were to be fined for entertaining Negro or Indian
slaves after nine o'clock. In 1708 another Act was passed,
supplemental to the one of 1703, and added stripes as a penalty for
non-payment of fines. Many white persons in the larger towns had grown
rather friendly towards the slaves; and, even where they did not speak
out in public against the enslavement of human beings, their hearts
led them to the performance of many little deeds of kindness. They
discovered many noble attributes in the Negro character, and were not
backward in expressing their admiration. When summoned before a
justice, and fined for entertaining Negroes after nine o'clock, they
paid the penalty with a willingness and alacrity that alarmed the
slave-holding caste. This was regarded as treason. Some could not pay
the 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 the
British colonies in North America during the first century of their
existence received no encouragement from Parliament. From the
beginning, the plantations in this new world in the West were regarded
as the hotbeds in which slavery would thrive, and bring forth abundant
fruit, to the great gain of the English government. All the
appointments made by the crown were expected to be in harmony with the
plans to be carried out in the colonies. From the settlement of
Jamestown down to the breaking out of the war, and the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, not a single one of the royal governors
ever suffered his sense of duty to the crowned heads to be warped by
local views on "the right of slavery." The Board of Trade was
untiring in its attention to the colonies. And no subject occupied
greater space in the correspondence of that colossal institution than
slavery. The following circular letter, addressed to the governors of
the colonies, is worthy of reproduction here, rather than in the
Appendix. It is a magnificent window, that lets the light in upon a
dark subject. It gives a very fair idea of the profound concern that
the 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 human
beings; and although the House of Commons was too busy to give
attention to "a matter of so great weight," the "Board of Trade" felt
that it was "absolutely necessary that a trade so beneficial to the
kingdom should be carried on to the greatest advantage." England never
gave out a more cruel document than the above circular letter. To read
it now, under the glaring light of the nineteenth century, will almost
cause the English-speaking people of the world to doubt even "the
truth of history." Slavery did not exist at sufferance. It was a crime
against 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 as
their 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 the
colony; that in 1696 fourteen had been sold to the colonists for
between thirty pounds and thirty-five pounds apiece; that this was the
only time a vessel direct from the coast of Africa had touched in this
colony; that the supply of Negro slaves came from Barbadoes, and that
the colonists who would purchase slaves were supplied by the offspring
of those already in the plantation; and that the colonists preferred
white servants to black slaves. The best that can be said of Gov.
Cranston's letter is, it was very respectful in tone. The following
table was one of the enclosures of the letter. It is given in full on
account 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 to
slave-dealers an air of importance and respectability. The institution
was not near so bad as it had been thought to be; the royal family
were interested in its growth; it was a gainful enterprise; and, more
than all, as a matter touching the conscience, the Bible and universal
practice had sanctified the institution. To attempt to repeal the Act
of 1652 would have been an occasion unwisely furnished for
anti-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 the
colony.
The experiment of levying an impost-tax upon Negro slaves imported
into the colony had proved an enriching success. After 1709 the
slave-trade became rather brisk. As the population increased, public
improvements became necessary,--there were new public buildings in
demand, roads to be repaired, bridges to be built, and the poor and
afflicted to be provided for. To do all this, taxes had to be levied
upon the freeholders. A happy thought struck the leaders of the
government. If men _would_ import slaves, and the freemen of the
colony _would_ buy them, they should pay a tax as a penalty for their
sin.[461] And the people easily accommodated their views to the state
of the public treasury.
Attention has been called already to the impost Act of 1708. On the
27th of February, 1712, the General Assembly passed "_An Act for
preventing clandestine importations and exportations of passengers,
or negroes, or Indian slaves into or out of this colony_," etc. The
Act is quite lengthy. It required masters of vessels to report to the
governor the names and number of all passengers landed into the
colony, and not to carry away any person without a pass or permission
from the governor, upon pain of a fine of fifty pounds current money
of New England. Persons desiring to leave the colony had to give
public notice for ten days in the most public place in the colony; and
it specifies the duties of naval officers, and closes with the
following in reference to Negro slaves, calling attention to the
impost 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 marvellous
caution taken by the good Christians of Rhode Island to get every cent
due them on account of the slave trade, which their prohibition did
not prohibit. It was a carefully drawn bill for those days.
The diligence of the public officers in the seaport town of Newport
was richly rewarded. The slave-trade now had the sanction and
regulation of colonial law. The demand for Negro laborers was not
affected in the least, while traders did not turn aside on account of
three pounds per head tax upon every slave sold into Rhode Island. On
the 5th of July, 1715, the General Assembly appropriated a portion of
the fund derived from the impost-tax on imported Negroes to repairing
the streets; and then strengthened and amplified the original law on
impost-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 with
great favor everywhere, especially in Newport. It had cleaned her
streets and lightened the burdens of taxation which rested so
grievously upon the freeholders. There was no voice lifted against the
iniquitous traffic, and the conscience of the colony was at rest. In
June, 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; and
they had found a panacea for the violated convictions of the wrong of
slavery in the reduction of their taxes, new bridges, and cleansed
streets. Conscience had been bribed into acquiescence, and the
iniquity thrived. There were those who still endeavored to escape the
vigilance of the naval officers, and save the three pounds on each
slave. But the diligence and liberality of the authorities were not to
be outdone by the skulking stinginess of Negro-smugglers. On the 18th
of 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 for
this impost-tax upon stolen Negroes, and the law was to be enforced
against all who sought to evade its requirements. But the Assembly had
a delicate sense of equity, as well as an inexorable opinion of the
precise demands of the law in its letter and spirit. On the 19th of
June, 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 Rhode
Island to pass a bill of relief for Col. Vaughan, and refund to him
the six pounds he had paid to land his two sucking Negro baby slaves!
In June, 1731, the naval officer, James Cranston, called the attention
of the Assembly to the case of one Mr. Royall,--who had imported
forty-five Negroes into the colony, and after a short time sold
sixteen of them into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, where there
was also an impost-tax,--and asked directions. The Assembly replied as
follows:--
"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 the
impost-law created a strong influence against it from without; and by
order of the king the entire law was repealed in May, 1732.[469]
The cruel practice of manumitting aged and helpless slaves became so
general in this plantation, that the General Assembly passed a law
regulating it, in February, 1728. It was borrowed very largely from a
similar 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 the
legality of such laws as the above, which found their way into the
statute books of all the New-England colonies. There could he no
conditional emancipation. If a slave were set at liberty, why he was
free, and, if he afterwards became a pauper, was entitled to the same
care as a white freeman. But it is not difficult to see that the
status of a free Negro was difficult of definition. When the Negro
slave grew old and infirm, his master no longer cared for him, and the
public was protected against him by law. Death was his most beneficent
friend.
In October, 1743, a widow lady named Comfort Taylor, of Bristol
County, Massachusetts Bay, sued and obtained judgment against a Negro
named Cuff Borden for two hundred pounds, and cost of suit "for a
grievous trespass." Cuff was a slave. An ordinary execution would have
gone against his person: he would have been imprisoned, and nothing
more. In view of this condition of affairs, Mrs. Taylor petitioned the
General Assembly of Rhode Island, praying that authority be granted
the 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 to
satisfy debts as other personal property.
A great many slaves availed themselves of frequent opportunities of
going away in privateers and other vessels. With but little before
them in this life, they were even willing to risk being sold into
slavery at some other place, that they might experience a change. They
made excellent seamen, and were greatly desired by masters of vessels.
This went on for a long time. The loss to the colony was great; and
the General Assembly passed the subjoined bill as a check to the
stampede 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 be
inimical to the best interests of the master class. Ignorance was the
_sine qua non_ of slavery. The civil government and ecclesiastical
establishment ground him, body and spirit, as between "the upper and
nether millstones." But the Negro was a good listener, and was not
unconscious of what was going on around him. He was neither blind nor
deaf.
The fires of the Revolutionary struggle began to melt the frozen
feelings of the colonists towards the slaves. When they began to feel
the British lion clutching at the throat of their own liberties, the
bondage of the Negro stared them in the face. They knew the Negro's
power of endurance, his personal courage, his admirable promptitude in
the performance of difficult tasks, and his desperate spirit when
pressed 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 roar
of the enemy's guns. The act of June, 1774, shows how deeply the
people 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 the
whites numbered 35,939, the Negroes 4,697. In 1774 Rhode Island
contained 9,439 families, Newport had 9,209 inhabitants. The whites in
the entire colony numbered 54,435, the Negroes, 3,761, and the
Indians, 1,482.[474] It will be observed that the Negro population
fell off between the years 1749 and 1774. It is accounted for by the
fact mentioned before,--that many ran away on ships that came into the
Province.
The Negroes received better treatment at this time than at any other
period during the existence of the colony. There was a general
relaxation of the severe laws that had been so rigidly enforced. They
took great interest in public meetings, devoured with avidity every
scrap of news regarding the movements of the Tory forces, listened
with rapt attention to the patriotic conversations of their masters,
and when the storm-cloud of war broke were as eager to fight for the
independence 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 the
United States; and yet the United-States government makes laws to
regulate the business, and collects a revenue from it. It exists by
and 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 the
Rhode-Island Collections and Records, but have not found it. It was
evidently 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 over
on the corner is to be robbed to-night at twelve o'clock. Shall I go
and rob it at ten o'clock; because, if I do not do so, another person
will, 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.