In 1790, a census of the United States was made by order
of the federal government ; the schedule sent out on that oc-
casion contained three columns for free whites of several
descriptions, which, in the state of Massachusetts and district
of Maine, amounted to 469,326 ; a fourth for "all other free
persons," and a fifth for "slaves." There being none put
into the last column, it became necessary to put the blacks
with the Indians, into the fourth column, and the amount
was 6001. Of this number, I supposed the blacks were up-
wards of 4000 ; and of the remaining 2000, many were a
mixed breed, between Indians and blacks. If we reckon
the blacks at 5000, their proportion to the whites at that
time was as 1 to 93.

I am inclined to think that slaves were more numerous
before 1763, than at that time, because, in the two preceed-
ing wars, many of them enlisted either into the army or on
board vessels of war, with a view to procure their freedom.
One of my informants, PRINCE HALL, a very intelligent
black man, aged fifty-seven years, thinks that slaves were
most numerous about the year 1745. What their propor-
tion was to the whites, at that time, I have no means to
ascertain ; but I think it could not have been more than
1 to 40. I do not make use of bills of mortality in estimat-
ing their number in proportion to the whites ; because the
blacks were always more sickly and died in greater propor-
tion.

The winter here was always unfavourable to the African
constitution. For this reason, white labourers were prefer-
able to blacks ; and as whites were more numerous, there
was not much encouragement to the importation of blacks,
nor were they ever so prolific here as the whites. In the
maritime towns, blacks were more numerous than in the
country ; and I suppose Boston generally contained nearly
one fourth part of the whole number of them. Excepting
such tradesmen as rope-makers, anchor-smiths, and ship-
carpenters, who employ a great many hands, scarcely any
family had more than two ; some not more than one ; and
many none at all. In the country towns, I have never heard
of more than three or four on a farm, except in one instance,
where the number was sixteen, and this was a distinguished
singularity. The greater number of husbandmen preferred
white to black labourers.