[370] Mr. Madison stated in the Convention of Virginia in which the Constitution was ratified, that "this clause was expressly inserted, to enable owners of slaves to reclaim them." (Elliot's Debates, III. 453.)
[371] August 29. Elliot, V. 492.
[372] I am not aware of any more positive evidence than that above given in the text, that this clause of the Constitution was expressly made in the Convention a condition of assent by any of the States.
[373] In 1790, the slaves numbered 697,897, and the whites 3,172,464. In 1850, the slaves had increased to 3,204,313, and the whites to 19,533,068.
[374] Elliot, V. 332, 333.
[375] First draft of the Constitution, Art. XVIII. Elliot, V. 381.
[376] Constitution, Art. IV. § 4.
[377] Elliot, V. 157.
[378] Elliot, V. 376.
[379] Elliot, V. 530-532.