The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-11-06

impression that our ancestors were rAthsr cruel
thsn oshsI wise to their slaves Yet such IVES not
the fact. The various arbitrary laws, were prebab y
passed at moments Of excitement, and, though I'm.
became tempered, as are al laws By public lioion.
The slaves were kindly zestsd, d general rule,
and were far from being heavily ta'kei 1t would,
indeed, be difficult matter to make negro over
Of things Tey were well fed, we'll clothed and wen
treated In every way: There were NO gang Of
slaves aud great slavehoders. Most Of the slaves
acted ~ family servants, and their increase WAS
When black children were born, they were given
away, Ike puppies and kittens. The slayes were .
well conducted class, and appear to have been a.
tached to their masters Sometimes they were SOS
never thought Of any such thing. Occasionally
some one Of their number was guilty Of IN overt
act, showing what might have happened here had
the negroes been numerous and cruelty treated. Mr..
Saltonstsl, Of Hayerh,ll, had several negroes, and
among ttem high spirited girl, who, for some al
legged miEdemean0r, WAS severely ehastised. The
slave resolved upon revenge for her injury and soon
found tie means Of obtaining II. The Colonel had
on hand for service In the Indian war then raging,
. considerable store Of gunpowder This she placed
ur der the room in which her master and mistress
alept, laid long tain, and dropped coal on 1t.
She lad barely tine to escape to the farm house
before the explosion took place, shatteIing the
stately mansion into Fragments. 6altonstall and his
wife were carried on their bed considerable dis.
lance, happily escaping serious injury. Some
soldiers stationed in the house were scattered in all
direc tons, but lives were l0et. The Colonel, on
recovering from the effects Of his sudden overturn,
fastened to the farm house. and found his servants
all up, save the author Of the mischief, who was
snug in bsd, and apparently In quiet Sleep" The
fate Of this rather eccentric young woman Is not
mentioned.
The numb,r Of slaves in Massachusetts,, in the
eighteenth century, is not accurately known. They
are said to have been most numerous about l745,
when the Whites were ss forty to one Of tie blacks.
In 1854 the number Of black slaves over sixteen
years Of age was I, 448, almost one half Of whom
were owned in Boston. One authority states the
whole number Of slaves in the Province 1t about
The abolition movement began here with the at
tempt Of the BostOnians to put down slavery in 170l
already mentioned, but which came to nothing.
Judge sewell. q few years later, wrote pamphlet
After that the subj ect seems to have slumbsred for
more than half . century. In 1767, while warm
frcm their discussions with the English government
the colonists commenced action against slavery and
the slave trade. law was passed "to prevent the
unnatural and unwarrantsbls custom OF enslaving
mankind, and the Importation OF slaves into the pro
vince" It failed, principally through the opposi
ton Of the royal Governor, Bernard. A similar bill
was passed in l774, but was opposed by the royal
representatives, under Instructions, as they de.
clared.
In 1859 negro, named Jsmes, sued his master
nscnSl0 lecnm6I0, 3 W09ltny ren0ent OF Cam0r10ge
for biz freedom. The suit was decided in favor oi
the slave, two years before the decision Of the 30
merset case BY Lord Mansfield. Other cases came
up, and were decided In favor of the negroes. One
slave sued his master for damages, and recovered
The funds for carrying on these suits were raised
among the colored people.
The constitution adopted by Massachusetts, In
l7S0 declared that all men are born free and
equal" which was held TO abolish slavery by many
On this point judicial decision was had in ISL
An action was brought by negro against his late
master for foeghg him. The defence was that he
owned the regro. The Supreme Court decided thai
the constitution had sbolished slavery entirely ii,
Massachusetts,. The slave trade was abolished By
act Of the Legislature in 1888. There are some few
blacks now living in Massachusetts, who were born
slaves here. There Is, or there was recently me-
gro woman residing In this city who had been q
slave for about thirty years when the decision Of the
Supreme Court gsve her her freedom, seventythree
From these details it appears that Massachusetts
has not been 30 free from having encouraged and
upheld slavery a. some of her people have sup
posed; end on the cther that she cannot be said 70
have exhibited any particular attachment to the in
ktitutDn. She has never been much ahead OF the
sge,. and seldom behind it, on any subject How
far the fact Of her not being slave State is due to
pbysicsl rather than moral causes, win probably b<
decided by each man for himself Practically, the
question u not one Of any great importance.
AIGOMA.