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lawfulness of the traffick in slaves. SAMUEL SEWALL, form-
erly chief justice of the province, publickly protested against
it, and wrote a pamphlet, entitled, "Joseph sold, a memo-
rial." Others disliked it from prudential considerations.
Many conscientious persons, who would by no means have
engaged directly in the trade to Africa, yet, when negroes
were brought hither, had no scruple to buy them ; because
they supposed that an education in "a land of gospel-light"
was preferable to one in "heathenish darkness." They
contended that the buying them, and holding them in servi-
tude, might be justified by the example of Abraham, and
other good men of antiquity ; and as his servants were cir-
cumcised, theirs were baptized. Labouring people, of the
white complexion, complained of the blacks as intruders ;
and the vulgar reprobated them as the "seed of Cain," and
wished them back to their own country.

Not much, however, was said in a publick and formal
manner, till we began to feel the weight of oppression from
"our mother country," as Britain was then called. The
inconsistency of pleading for our own rights and liberties,
whilst we encouraged the subjugation of others, was very
apparent ; and from that time, both slavery and the slave-
trade began to be discountenanced. The principal cause
was publick opinion ; and the present generation, at an early
stage of life, imbibed that opinion, which has "grown with
their growth, and strengthened with their strength."

I shall say more of this, in answer to the 5th query, and
will then particularly relate the means by which the trade
was prohibited.

Query 4. The state of slavery in Massachusetts, when
slaves were most numerous ? their number when most
numerous ? their proportion to the number of white persons,
at that period ?

We never had any thing like a census before the year 1763 ;
and then, being an unpopular measure, it was not very ac-
curately taken. There was another in 1776, and a third in
1784 ; in all of these, the number of whites stands distin-
guished from the number of blacks thus.