[52] Allinson, Acts of Assembly, pp. 315–6.
[53] N.J. Archives, VI. 222.
[54] Acts of the 10th General Assembly, May 2, 1786. There are two estimates of the number of slaves in this colony:—
| In | 1738, | 3,981. | American Annals, | II. 127. |
| " | 1754, | 4,606. | " | II. 143. |
Chapter IV
THE TRADING COLONIES.
| 16. Character of these Colonies. |
| 17. New England and the Slave-Trade. |
| 18. Restrictions in New Hampshire. |
| 19. Restrictions in Massachusetts. |
| 20. Restrictions in Rhode Island. |
| 21. Restrictions in Connecticut. |
| 22. General Character of these Restrictions. |
16. Character of these Colonies. The rigorous climate of New England, the character of her settlers, and their pronounced political views gave slavery an even slighter basis here than in the Middle colonies. The significance of New England in the African slave-trade does not therefore lie in the fact that she early discountenanced the system of slavery and stopped importation; but rather in the fact that her citizens, being the traders of the New World, early took part in the carrying slave-trade and furnished slaves to the other colonies. An inquiry, therefore, into the efforts of the New England colonies to suppress the slave-trade would fall naturally into two parts: first, and chiefly, an investigation of the efforts to stop the participation of citizens in the carrying slave-trade; secondly, an examination of the efforts made to banish the slave-trade from New England soil.