USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Narragansett > South county studies of some eighteenth century persons, places & conditions in that portion of Rhode Island called Narragansett > Part 14
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The first act of the General Assembly referring to domestic servitude, and which bears the early date of May 18, 1652, should be familiar to all who are inter- ested in shielding the good name of their native State from any unjust aspersions that may be affixed to her history.
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"Whereas, there is a common course practiced among Englishmen, to buy negroes, to that end they may have them for service or slaves forever, for the preventing of such practices among us, let it be or- dered that no blacke mankind or white, being forced to convenant, bond, or otherwise serve any man or his assigns longer than ten years, or until they come to bee twentie-four years of age, if they bee taken in under fourteen, from the time of their cominge within the limits of this Collonie, and at the end or terme of ten yeares to sett them free, as the manner is with the Eng- lish servants, and that man that will not let them goe free, or shall sell them away elsewhere, to that end that they may bee enslaved to others for a longer time, he or they shall forfeit to the Collonie forty pounds." (The attentive reader needs no reminder of the fact that the stipulated fine was, in that age and country, a sum of much greater comparative value than at present, and its forfeiture a penalty probably sufficient to deter any colonist from the prohibited transgression.)
In this memorable enactment, who does not recog- nize the lofty spirit, the true manhood, so character- istic of the best days of the English Commonwealth and its noble Republican defenders? There is no forced assumption of strenuous virtue in the brief and plainly worded document. Its originators utter no pharisaical condemnation of the customs adopted in other colonies; they simply say: let such practices be put away from us. Let no black mankind, or white, be suffered to serve any master for a longer season than is the manner of English servants, from the time of their first coming within the liberties of this Colony. Could the provisions
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of this wise and humane law, worthy of a more en- lightened age, have been generally enforced, they would naturally have been succeeded, in the progress of civ- ilization, by still better forms of legislation, and Rhode Island might have presented the proudest example to her sister colonies, and to the world. Had the will of these early law-givers ruled our past, the history of our State would afford fewer pages darkened by the gloom of injustice and inhumanity. But they were merely commissioned to govern Providence Plantations and Warwick, and their authority could not be extended to other parts of the Colony, which was then, and long afterward, in an unhappy, distracted state, for want of a strong central government. Poor little Rhode Island! always the Cinderella of the colonial family-what leisure or opportunity had she for the inception and achievement of a thoughtful and judicious reform? Denied admittance into the celebrated "Union " of 1643, because of her spirited refusal to submit to the jurisdiction of Plymouth, she was thus thrown upon her own unaided resources for protection against the ever dreaded savage foe, from whom she was com- pelled to endure many assaults that were provoked by the harshness or temerity of her neighbors. The fiercely disputed claim of Connecticut to the Narragansett country kept her in perpetual rancor with that Colony, always the bête noir of the early Rhode Islander, and the long hostility was maintained on both sides with that unscrupulous energy by which a border warfare is invariably marked. Her stately sister, Massachusetts, calmly insisted upon certain fancied rights of govern- ment over Newport and Providence, even attempting
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to introduce her own code of laws into the latter town, which naturally proved somewhat restive under St. Botolph's officious patronage. The Saints of Plymouth, too, were not averse to share in spoiling the Philistines of the Plantations, and laid claim to Shawomet, now Warwick. As for heretical Rhode Island, her only pa- tron saint was His graceless Majesty, King Charles II, of unblessed memory. Yet the tyrannical monarch was the best and earliest and truest friend of our State in a time of helplessness and need, and her historians have never forgotten the debt of gratitude justly due his name. To have been the friend of America, in her season of adversity and gloom; and, in after years, to share her hour of triumph - what a lofty privilege was that for nation or sovereign! What arich and abundant harvest was to be reaped from that brief and unnoted seed-time! Has the Republic ever proved ungrateful? Do not the long and tried friendship with France and the cordial and catholic amity extended to Russia show that Americans have not ceased to remember
" Where was our friend when the world was our foe."
The citizens of this State may claim with just pride an honorable share in the merit of a recent graceful and appropriate national act. The unanimous order for the restoration of the monument erected by the King of France, late in seventeen hundred, in the cemetery of the chief church of our island city, in memory of a brave and faithful commander, was a fitting tribute from the representatives of the American people to the services and renown of a noble, gallant, and chiv- alrous ally. The words of a Rhode Island Senator are
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recorded in the national archives, and have become as imperishable a part of history as the spontaneous testimony of gratitude which they elicited- a grati- tude that, in the felicitous expression of the Marquis de Noailles, has proved more enduring than the tomb of Egyptian granite placed over the remains of the Chevalier de Ternay.
Considering the many obstacles existing, in colonial times, to the formation of a firm government, it would not be surprising if internal affairs should not have re- ceived the closest or most judicious attention. The late Judge Durfee, in that glowing and animated apothe- osis of his native State, comprised in the discourse de- livered by him before the Rhode Island Historical So- ciety in the year 1847, finds, in our primitive scheme of government by a union of separate sovereignties, the first outline of the plan upon which the early confed- eration of the States was subsequently formed. But it will doubtless be admitted that the system was a very imperfect one, and, in both instances, gave rise to many of those vexations, perplexities, and delays, which so often awaken the varying emotions of sympathy, im- patience, or indignation in the interested reader of our Revolutionary history. With the question of conflicting authority pending between Williams and Coddington; with the powerful Gorton, whose influence over his fol- lowers was far greater than that of any nominal gov- ernor, long established at Warwick; with the exten- sive Narragansett country, comprising a third part of the Colony, erected, by His Majesty's especial com- mand, into a separate dependency, to be called the King's Province, and ruled only by King's Commis-
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sioners ; from all these varying and uncertain elements, how should unity of sentiment and action be attained as a natural result? The attention of the fathers was often drawn aside from those subjects which should properly have claimed their thoughts, to the vast and bewildering variety of theological opinions of which this little territory was the centre and stronghold. Anne Hutchinson and her disciples, whose "pernicious doc- trines" had thrown the stable Colony of the Bay into dire confusion and dismay, had sought a refuge in hos- pitable Newport, while the avaricious and unworthy among the inhabitants of these towns were suffered to evade or openly transgress the statute law, in the inter- ests of trade. Thus the usage of negro slavery gradu- ally gained ground, without greatly alarming the con- sciences of our good ancestors, whose minds were fixed upon questions deemed by them to be of far greater moment. In those days the full force of human intellect was directed toward the solution of speculative doc- trines of polemic philosophy. Doubtless certain mental qualities were thus provided with an excellent train- ing, which has had its especial share in the develop- ment of the New England character; but did it open the way to broad views, or tend to increase the power of the benevolent feelings? Alas! while the founders of New England hesitated between the comparative mer- its of the Calvinistic gospel, as expounded by Edwards or Hopkins; while they jealously strove to eradicate the fatal errors of Quakerism or Familism, the common every-day interests of the race were strangely forgotten, and a more dangerous evil than any of those so much dreaded was fast approaching an unheeded maturity.
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That Mistress Hutchinson was a grave and virtuous gentlewoman of remarkable mental endowment, a kind, charitable, and beneficent neighbor, a warm and faith- ful friend, -all this could profit her nothing while she wilfully clung to her "thirty erroneous and heretical opinions," even presuming to advocate them in the dread presence of reverend dignitaries. Persecution and banishment from her native colony and her home must inevitably follow in due course. Remembering these facts, and reflecting upon the hard fortunes of Williams, Gorton, and other so-called "firebrands," by whom their gloomy contemporaries were so greatly shocked and alarmed, we can but conclude that we should at least hesitate before dealing very severely with a recent some- what startling assertion, that "practical Christianity, as a reality, began only with the nineteenth century." Its author probably would not deny that very much still remains to be accomplished by an age which has in- augurated and assumed responsibilities so solemn and so momentous.
The peaceful days of the Colony came at last and found slavery accepted as the universal custom. By evasion of law, and in defiance of opinion, it had finally acquired a sort of sanction from the influence of time and habit, and more especially from the considerate treatment generally received by the slaves. It is believed that there were but few exceptions to the prevailing rule of kindness to old servants, which is so eminently English a sentiment, and which was recognized by the early settlers of this State, and their descendants, as an obligation imposed by all the mandates of honor and humanity.
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The Legislature, however, was not to be deterred from the passage of the very creditable act of July, 1715, prohibiting the importation of Indian slaves. This law was continued in force and reënacted in 1766. Those Indians who, up to this time, had been held in servitude were probably the survivors of the great bat- tle of the Narragansett fort. They had been sold, not for life, but for a term of years. It was customary for New England authorities to sell their captives, even into West Indian slavery, but Rhode Island may right- fully receive a complete exoneration from the guilt of this charge. So highly honorable a phase of her history may in some partial measure redeem her less upright conduct toward another unhappy and more defence- less race.
In 1722, or perhaps earlier, Dr. MacSparran, rector of the Narragansett Church, in conformity with the instructions of the Venerable Society, to whose enlight- ened and judicious benevolence the country has owed so much, began a course of religious teaching among the slaves, obtaining their attendance to the number of seventy every Sunday morning. His example, com- mended by the excellent Berkeley, always a sincere friend to the best interests of America, was speedily followed by Mr. Honeyman, rector of Trinity Church, Newport, and by other Anglican missionaries. From religious to secular education, the transition was nat- urally effected with comparative facility. Accordingly, we find that in 1737, George Taylor, the Society's schoolmaster at Providence, admits two black children to his school of more than twenty pupils. "This, with Mr. Taylor's good life and conversation, comes attested L 202 ]
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by Dr. MacSparran." Twenty-six years later the Rev- erend Marmaduke Browne reports from Newport to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts that he has opened a school for the instruction of negro children, to consist of fifteen of each sex, which is to be under his own inspection, and he trusts will answer the intentions of the charitable persons therein concerned. It is evident that the elevating influences to which the slaves were thus admitted were extremely efficacious in improving their general condition, and in preparing the minds of their masters for the scheme of gradual emancipation, which was afterwards to be introduced and adopted. Says the Bishop of London, in his Pastoral Letter of 1725, addressed to the "Masters and Mistresses of Families in the English Plantations": "Let me beseech you to consider your slaves as men and women, who have the same frame and faculties with yourselves, souls capable of happiness, and reason and understanding to receive instruction in order to it."
In June, 1774, the importation of negroes was strictly forbidden, by special enactment. The language of the preamble indicates the prevalence of republican ideas among the people of Rhode Island, who, in these early and ominous days of the long contest opening before them, were yet firmly resolved that the wards of the State should enjoy the same liberty for which its citi- zens were preparing to contend in the field. It runs thus: "Whereas, the inhabitants of America are gen- erally engaged in the preservation of their own rights and liberties, among which that of personal freedom must be considered as the greatest, and as those who are desirous of enjoying all the advantages of liberty
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themselves, should be willing to extend personal liberty to others." All slaves thereafter brought into the State were to be free, with the usual exceptions in favor of persons travelling through the country, or coming from other British dependencies to reside here. Citizens were forbidden to bring slaves within the colonial limits, without giving bond to remove them in a year.
Must the slave importer or the captain of a slave ship be regarded as if excluded from the sphere of true charity? There was, perhaps, some excuse for the lat- ter, in the theological beliefs of his time. Not that he presumed to inquire into such matters; his business being simply to obey orders and enable his respected employers to supply their customers, among whom reverend gentlemen were not infrequently numbered. All these learned and worshipful individuals must understand questions of conscience much better than he, and (unless possessing exceptional vigor of mind and will, in which case his crime would be indeed unpardonable) he could not avoid the dim, awe-struck conviction that all these poor heathen were inevitably doomed, in a future life, to a much severer ordeal than that of mere physical suffering, unless, perchance, they might be brought to the light and knowledge of Christianity. Why, even on board those ships where the captains were far enough from being humane (which of course he always meant to be, and tried to be, when the interests of the company did not pre- vent), what were the worst sufferings of the Middle Passage compared with that fiercer trial which had been so carefully wrought out in slow detail by the par- son whose preaching he happened to hear the last time
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he was ashore? The merest shadow of a trifle! And had he not been told of late, and glad enough he was to hear it, that the shivering, fainting, exhausted child he had landed on Boston Pier, years ago, had lived, after all, to be known as "Phillis, the extraordinary negro poet," yes, lived to write, in gratitude-
"'Twas Mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That there's a God, and there's a Saviour too ; Once, I redemption neither sought nor knew."
And-and -hisemployers, the respected company- paid well-of course they did-they would not find many men who would look after other people's prop- erty as if it were their own. Come! my good fellows ! our ship is waiting for us, the wind is fair, let us sail out into blue water, and as for all these troublesome questions, let us leave them to be settled by the lands- men; they are their concerns, not ours !
Such may have been the inarticulate parley of the slave-captain with his narcotized conscience and blunted sensibilities; nor should his defence be denied what- ever degree of consideration a shrinking and averted charity may be induced to bestow. Shall a reverend his- torian of the Macedonian conqueror not only justify, but eulogize his career of terror and destruction among the peaceful and civilized nations of India, on the plea that the advantages of a true Greek culture followed in the wake of his armies, and, because the wrong- doing of a mere sea-captain presents no splendid or pic- turesque elements to command our admiration, shall he therefore be refused a hearing, nor allowed to de-
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mand whatever small amount of tolerance may be granted him if he show that he had been the means of transforming a little wandering savage into the well- taught, Christian young woman, the pride of cultivated Boston, the correspondent of Washington, who styled her "the favored of the Muses"? Ah ! when we all are summoned to appear before that Higher Tribunal, it will be no source of regret to remember that, needing mercy ourselves, we freely showed mercy to others !
As for the landsmen, to whom their officer so ve- hemently appealed, they looked to their growing gains, and were not in the least unwilling to assume the dis- puted responsibility; especially as it could be so easily and neatly transferred to Ham, or Cain, or Adam, or whatever Scriptural sinner of an eligible antiquity and a pleasingly comfortable remoteness.
By the Revolutionary Act of February, 1778, slaves were declared free upon enlisting in the Continental army, a due compensation being provided for their owners. Many availed themselves of this privilege, and served with patience, courage, and fidelity, during the war.
It has been alleged that some States abolished slavery in so guarded a manner as to give the owners an op- portunity to dispose of their slaves to the people of the south before the appointed time of manumission, thus gaining the credit of benevolence, obtaining relief from the presence of the negro population, and also profit- ing in no inconsiderable sum. A foreign traveller has pronounced this ingenious scheme a phase of "Yankee smartness," of which the Empire State did not disdain to avail herself. But no similar charge can justly be
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brought against Rhode Island. The law enacted in October, 1779, effectually prevented such a practice, by forbidding the selling of slaves out of the State, without their consent.
In February, 1784, the Abolition Act, long urged upon the people and officials of the State by Thomas Hazard, for forty years a preacher in the Friends'Meet- ing of Narragansett, and by other early advocates of universal freedom, was passed by the General Assem- bly. Moses Brown, the venerable Providence mer- chant, and a worthy member of the Society of Friends, was instrumental in procuring the enactment of this law, which was so great a triumph for the anti-slavery cause. The tenor of the preamble expresses a resolute, consistent, and generous acceptance of the final issues resulting from the agitation of the question, whose decision had so recently been referred to the fearful arbitrament of war. It is worded as follows :
"Whereas all men are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the holding of mankind in a state of slavery as private property, which has gradually obtained by unrestrained custom and the permission of laws, is repugnant to this principle and subversive of the happiness of mankind, the great end of all civil government," etc. By the provisions of the act, all future children of slaves were to enjoy complete freedom, and fitting regulations were made for their support. Also the importation as well as the sale of negroes in the State was forbidden.
The descendants of Thomas Hazard, of South Kings- town, have preserved a paper drawn up by him, which has lately been published, and which is entitled: "Es-
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say of an Act to prevent the slave-trade in this State, and to encourage the abolition of slavery." It proceeds thus :
"Whereas the trade to Affrica for slaves, and the transportation and selling of them into other countries, is inconsistent with the principles of justice and hu- manity, with the law of nature, and that more enlight- ened and civilized sense of freedom which has of late prevailed :
"And whereas the law of Congress in the year 1784 agreed and resolved that we will neither import nor pur- chase any slaves imported, after the first day of Decem- ber next, after which time we will wholly discontinue the slave-trade and will neither be concerned in it ourselves nor will hire our vessels, our commodities or manufactures to those that are concerned.
"Nevertheless in violation thereof a renewal of the trade to Africa has taken place.
"Therefore, etc.,"-the remainder of the document is occupied with the assignment and recital of penalties to be inflicted upon citizens who might hereafter, "di- rectly or indirectly import or transport on his or their account any of the inhabitants of that part of the world called Africa into any other country or part of the world whatsoever as slaves." The whole plan and language of this paper so closely resemble those of the Act of October, 1787, as to suggest the conjecture, if not posi- tive conclusion, that the latter was originated by the same active and illuminated mind.
During the month of June, 1790, a society was formed in Providence and incorporated by the Legislature for promoting the abolition of slavery. Many of the bestand
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ablest and most distinguished men of the State were included in this dignified body of early abolitionists.
"In conclusion," observes Judge E. R. Potter, of Kingston Village, whose report (upon anti-slavery petitions), submitted in 1840 to the Representatives of the Rhode Island Legislature, has been followed as authority for the facts detailed in the foregoing para- graphs, "it may be remarked that slaves were never subjected here to severer punishment than whites for the same offences, as has been the case in some States; and they enjoyed the protection of the laws for offences against their persons equally with the whites. And again, no law was ever passed to restrain the manumis- sion of slaves, except just so far as was necessary to prevent their becoming chargeable to the towns where they lived. A master might desire to liberate his old and useless slaves with a view of getting rid of the expense of their support, and this the law interfered to prevent; but with this exception, there never was any restraint upon the power of manumission, and our town clerks' offices contain the records of numerous manumissions by slave-owners of their own accord.
"It is believed that while slavery existed in Rhode Island, the slaves were always treated with humanity, and that they were generally rather a burden than a source of profit to their owners. And the owning of them encouraged idleness and extravagance, and has been the cause of the ruin of many formerly wealthy fami- lies among us."
The memories of our forefathers are fast vanishing within the dark strongholds of unreturning, unrelent- ing time. But few and vague are the transitory glimpses
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afforded by fancy or conjecture of the inner lives of those who have gone before us. That they hoped, suffered, loved, rejoiced, and sorrowed -it is known -it is un- known. The long-foreseen, inevitable issues of each in- dividual life - are they not traced in the wide invisi- ble annals of humanity? Have they not forever faded from the special history of a race, a nation? But the sol- emn record of their public acts yet remains. In what spirit should it be approached by us, their descendants? While dealing in strict justice with aught of unworthy or ignoble that may appear, shall we not be cheered by each slightest indication of future progress, and bless the first faint dawning of the light that now guides our steps onward to higher, and still higher pathways? Let us give thanks for the promise of national integ- rity no less than for its fulfilment. The scroll of his- tory is still darkened by many a crime, stained with many a tear; but we gather renewed constancy and courage from the immortal faith and patience of the si- lent generations, and we cherish the assured trust that coming time will bring the noblest triumph foretold in the counsels of the western world-whence universal illumination, a wiser justice, a broader charity shall prevail, and gladden the distant future of humanity.
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