306 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



It may probably be estimated that there are now on 

 the continent and islands of America, near ten millions 

 of the descendants of the African race, including those of 

 mixed blood in which the negro predominates, viz : 



In the United States, 3,500,000 



British Colonies, 900,000 



Hayti, 700,000 



Spanish, French, &c., West Indies, 1,200,000 



The free States of South America, which 



were formerly Spanish Colonies, 1,000,000 



Making 9,800,000 ; of whom between 5 and 6,000,000 are 

 now in a state of slavery. 



The ultimate destiny of this mass of human beings, is 

 a matter of deep concern to the civilized world. 



Hayti is the only region where they have attempted 

 self-government, and the evident retrograde movement of 

 that community from civilization toward their native 

 state of barbarism, is such as to hold out no hope to the 

 philanthropist, who would desire to see this vast number 

 of the colored race living in a state of independence, civ- 

 ilization and happiness, unconnected with the whites. 



This shows an alarming and rapid increase of slaves 

 in the United States since the formation of the Union. 

 And at the same ratio of increase for the next fifty years, 

 which we have witnessed for the past fifty, will give to 

 the country a slave population of 9,000,000, which will be 

 an increase of over 8,000,000 in a century. With these 

 facts and figures before them, it does not surprise me 

 that southern statesmen should be so anxious to obtain 

 an outlet for the surplus into Texas. Even now, it is 

 evident that slave labor is unprofitable in most of the 

 States of the Union, because of the quantity of the prod- 

 ucts of the planting States annually produced beyond the 

 demand for them. Hence the call for conventions of 

 planters, to agree to prohibit by force the production of 

 an over-supply of cotton, as by the present prices they 

 cannot live — that is in the style of luxury to which they 



