200 



In August, 1620, the first slaves ever brought to 

 this country were landed on James river, in the 

 colony of Virginia, from a Dutch ship-of-war. 



From 1776 to 1790 the slave population in the 

 United States increased about 39 per cent. The cen- 

 sus of 1800 exhibited a slave population of 893,041 ; 

 that of 1810, 1,104,364; of 1820, 1,638,964; of 

 1830, 2,009,031 ; of 1840, 2,486,355 ; and of 1850, 

 2,959,137. 



I very recently had the pleasure of hearing George 

 Thompson, M. P. for the Tower Hamlets of London, 

 the largest constituency in England, deliver an elo- 

 quent and powerful speech in the City Hall of Wor- 

 cester. Speaking of the political institutions of Eng- 

 land, Mr. Thompson said : 



" Our system is a fetid dunghill, out of which 

 springs, with frightful luxuriance, under the warm sun 

 of every general election, all kinds of rank weeds 

 and poisonous plants. It is a stagnant reservoir of 



