The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-08-07
sLAyERYIN NEW YORK STATE

for a little historic study. Judge a. j.
Northrop lives at Syracuse, n. Y. He
has been going through the records
concerning African slavery in his state.
The University of New York has is
sued a State Library Bulletin" and he
is the author of it. In some sense he
holds that negro slavery was
a National institution" The New
York Times Saturday Review"
examining this particular Bulletin" on
slavery says that slavery existed in all
the thirteen original colonies at the
time of the revolution, and in nearly
all of them for some time after the es-
Establishment of the republic. indian
slavery is said to ave prevailed at an
early period in New York and was
doubtless among the influences which
paved the way for the entrance of At
rican slavery, which, in it's turn, was
first introduced in this country in Vir-
ginia in 1919.
Negro slaves were introduced in the
Dutch colony of New Netherland in
1926 land slavery was not finally exter-
minated by legislative act until 1927.
In the north slavery was always COM
paratively Improbable" Read that
again and cut it out and preserve it.
1t is ~ruc history. Judge Nor
thrOp is, mark you, examining into the
slavery" of his own state. 1t will be
seen from the following how the New
Workers regarded slavery and used the
slaves. He writes:
Except as an institution to be regu-
lated somewhat in the interests of hu-
mainly, slavery was regarded in about
the same light as the relation of the
owner and his cattle. The slave was
an article Of merchandise, pure and
simple, a staple like rum, molasses,
or hardware; n therefore certain
trade regulations were established in
respect to him., and his Importation,
like hat of other property. was subject
to the payment of certain duties for
revenue"
That is informing. 1t will be seen
how the African Jared at the hands of
the progenetors of the people of the
great state. The judge says that 1.-The
early records ndee exhibit a curious
if not appalling insensibility as to the
moral questions involved in the slave
DIdUe dIlu SldNe uululIS. " IhC
revolution the existence of any such
question was scarcely anywhere per-
vceiyed."
He treats under three heads of how
the negro Jared under the Dutch, un-
der the English, and under the state
government from 1776 to 1927. Old re-
cords and old laws furnish the authOri-
- ~ ~ T--- NTiaIa1nnc
wrote this of the house servants me
groes:) The Angola slaves are thiev-
ish, lazy and useless trash" Governor
Stuyvesant in 1929 wrote that about
fourteen to sixteen days before the ar
rival of the (English) frigates, there
arrived and came in the ship Gideon
between three aud four hundred half
starved negroes and negresses." Tha
is a side-light on how the north treated
the stolen negroes in Africa and trans
ported them into slavery. The "Satur-
day Review" says: THE English were
the extensively engaged in the slave
trade. Their Royal African Company
was a counterpart of the Dutch West
Indian Company. Unlike the Dutch,
IIIc EIlSEASIl "SLS UNI " AAAASN ~
with slave trading" So stealing ne
groes then was regarded as both a hu-
name and religious act it appears
1t was ~''piously" done you see. 1t is
added: The idea prevailed that ne
groes being pagans, could justly be
held in slavery" The British attorney
general held his as others did. Judge
n. SAYS:
LAS late as 1917, when the last i'm
portant act in regard to slavery was
passed in New York, which substanti-
ally abolished slavery after July 4,
1927, it was enacted that the marriage
of slaves should be valid, provided that
nothing in this section contained shall
be deemed or construed to manumit
any such slave or slaves. "
We learn further, and it helps to bet
ter understand matters in the north in
the way back:
For o~ffenses for which white per-
sons were fined negroes were whipped
in public; for murders and other seri-
u crimes they We're sometimes
burned. a woman was burned al the
stake as lately as 170S.
I'm the summer of 1112, occurred the
Conspiracy of Slaves" in the City o1
New York, which caused great fear and
CONSERVATION and inspired the white
to acts and legislation more cruel thai
had ever before been adopted or con.
templated."
OF the c~onspirators six killed them.
selves, and five or six were wounded
and twenty-one were hanged. In ia.
there was another negro instruction
Fourteen negroes were executed. whel
the negroes were disorderly or dan.
gerous cup there" they were deal
with sternly and promptly. AS late a
17SS, the legislature of Ney
York enacted that all negroe
should continue in slavery tina
runaway slaves should not be har
bored and other slaves should no
be traded with. and owners should b
liable for negro "thefts" and IL a ne
gro should strike a white man he shoul
be imprisoned. We quote from tn