After one of these handsome entertainments, where we had been attended by negro slaves, I observed a cloud upon the brow of my young friend, for which I could not account, till he confessed, that the sight of men, who were the property of their fellow creatures, and subject to every indignity, excited such painful reflections, that he could not banish them from his mind. I endeavoured to soothe him, by representing that their treatment here is gentle, compared with that exercised in the southern states, and in the West Indies; though the efforts that have been made for the abolition of slavery, have improved their condition every where.

It is indeed to be regretted, that men, so ardent in the love of liberty for themselves as the Amerieans are, should continue, in any degree, to tolerate the slave trade. Many amongst them, how. ever, have used every endeavour to abolish it, particularly Anthony Benezet. He was born at St. Quintin, in Picardy, in 1712. France, at this time, suffered from religious persecution; which drove the parents of Benezet to England, where he embraced the doctrines of the Quakers. He went to America in 1736, and settled at Philadelphia, in a commercial line of business; but that employment being unsuitable to his turn of mind, he quitted it for the instruction of youth, and undertook the management of a school, belonging to the society whose principles he had adopted. From

that

that period, he devoted the chief part of his life to public instruction, to the relief of the poor, and the defence of the unhappy negroes.

The amiable Benezet was warmed with universal philanthropy: he felt a brotherly affection for all men, of all countries, and of all colours. Not contented with persuasion; he composed many books, in which he collected authorities from Scripture and other writings, to discourage and condemn the slave-trade and slavery. The first influence of his works was perceived amongst the Quakers. Many of them determined to emancipate their slaves; and the society since has been very active in promoting the abolition. Benezet knew that instruction was necessary for those blacks whose liberty he had procured; and finding few willing to undertake a task, that prejudice had rendered contemptible, he determined to devote his own time to the glorious occupation of enlightening the ignorant and neglected, and his little fortune to the establishment of a school for the negroes. The influence of a good example is powerful. Those who had not courage to begin, cheerfully assisted the work; and the school now enjoys a revenue of two hundred pounds per annum. This good man died in 1784; honoured by the tears of the blacks, and the regret of every friend to humanity. John Woolman, also a member of the same society, remarkable for the simplicity of his manners, and his opposition to the slave-trade,

!

united with Benezet and others, in application to the British government for the abolition. Their efforts were ineffectual. America, after gaining her independence, has listened, more favourably, to the cause of humanity. Most of the northern and middle states have proscribed, for ever, the importation of slaves; in some others, this prohibition is limited to a certain time. Georgia is the only state that continues to receive transported slaves. Rhode Island had a great traffic in slaves, but has totally prohibited it. The abolition, and amendment in the condition of the negroes, certainly advance, though by slow degrees; and it is to be devoutly wished, that in time these improvements will extend to all parts of the world, where slavery prevails. It will be interesting to you, my dear brother, to know the steps that have procured these advantages. In 1780, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania abolished slavery for ever; compelled the owners of slaves to have them registered; declared their children free at the age of twenty-eight; placed them, while under that age, on the footing of hired servants; and assured to them the privilege of trial by jury. But this was not sufficient to secure to them all the intended advantages: by a second act it was ordained, that no negro could be sent into a neighbouring state without his consent; that all vessels and cargoes employed in the slave trade should be confiscated; and that all stealers of negroes should be condemned

demned to the public works. The little state of Delaware followed this noble example. New York has sanctioned nearly the same regulations in their favour as Pennsylvania. A society, connected with one in London, and others in the American states, formed for the express purpose of promoting the abolition, has greatly ameliorated their condition, in all respects; especially by affording numbers of them a degree of instruction in religion, and the useful arts of reading and writing, which they acquire with as much facility as white men brought up in the same manner. From this information we may encourage the hope, that the time approaches when their shackles shall be removed, and they shall participate with the other races of mankind, in the common benefits of liberty and independence: that instead of the treatment of beasts of burthen, they shall be considered as rational beings, and co-heirs with us of immortality: that a conscientious care of educating their children in the great duties of Christianity, will produce a happy change from the vices in which, from ignorance and a combination of unfavourable circumstances, they now live, to the practice of religion and morality, and entitle them to rank on an equality with their fellow-creatures. Besides these public acts in favour of the negroes, many individuals have generously given liberty to their slaves; amongst others that have fallen under my notice, I shall mention the instance of Messrs. David and John

John Barclay, respectable merchants in London, who received, as an equivalent for a debt, a plantation in Jamaica, stocked with thirty-two slaves. They immediately resolved to set these negroes free; and that they might effectually enable them afterwards to provide for themselves, the surviving brother, David, sent an agent from England to manage the business, and convey them to Philadelphia, having first supplied them with all necessaries; where, under the fostering hand of his friends in that city, with the assistance of the Abolition Society, they were apprenticed to mechanic trades, and the children sent to school to be properly instructed. This benevolent act was rewarded with extraordinary success. Except two, these liberated slaves prospered, and became useful members of the community.

Many of those who are free, gain a great deal of money; as I conclude, from a ball given among themselves, at which we were present, where, though all of a sooty black, thè company was well dressed, came in coaches, and were regaled with a good supper and variety of refreshments. There is another species of bondage practised here, that rouses the indignation of an Englishman. Numbers of European labourers and mechanics, in hopes of making a fortune, emigrate to America; and having no money to pay for their passage, or settle themselves, on their arrival, in any profitable employment, consent to be sold, by the captain or

owner