[40] A man dying intestate left slaves, who became thus the property of the city; they were freed, and the town made the above resolve, May 17, 1774, in town meeting: Staples, Annals of Providence (1843), p. 236.
[41] R.I. Col. Rec., VII. 251–2.
[42] Bartlett's Index, p. 329; Arnold, History of Rhode Island, II. 444; R.I. Col. Rec., VIII. 618.
[43] R.I. Col. Rec., X. 7–8; Arnold, History of Rhode Island, II. 506.
[44] Bartlett's Index, p. 333; Narragansett Historical Register, II. 298–9. The number of slaves in Rhode Island has been estimated as follows:—
| In | 1708, | 426. | R.I. Col. Rec., IV. 59. |
| " | 1730, | 1,648. | R.I. Hist. Tracts, No. 19, pt. 2, p. 99. |
| " | 1749, | 3,077. | Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, I. 281. |
| " | 1756, | 4,697. | Ibid. |
| " | 1774, | 3,761. | R.I. Col. Rec., VII. 253. |
[45] Fowler, Local Law, etc., p. 124.
[46] The number of slaves in Connecticut has been estimated as follows:—
| In | 1680, | 30. | Conn. Col. Rec., III. 298. |
| " | 1730, | 700. | Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, I. 259. |
| " | 1756, | 3,636. | Fowler, Local Law, etc., p. 140. |
| " | 1762, | 4,590. | Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, I. 260. |
| " | 1774, | 6,562. | Fowler, Local Law, etc., p. 140. |
| " | 1782, | 6,281. | Fowler, Local Law, etc., p. 140. |
| " | 1800, | 5,281. | Ibid., p. 141. |
[47] Conn. Col. Rec., XIV 329. Fowler (pp. 125–6) says that the law was passed in 1769, as does Sanford (p. 252). I find no proof of this. There was in Connecticut the same Biblical legislation on the trade as in Massachusetts. Cf. Laws of Connecticut (repr. 1865), p. 9; also Col. Rec., I. 77. For general duty acts, see Col. Rec., V 405; VIII. 22; IX. 283; XIII. 72, 125.