INHABITANTS. 1,53 



The rising free generation are quite a superior order 

 of beings to their ancestors, and exhibit a readiness of 

 perception and adaptation rarely shown by the pre- 

 ceding race. They enjoy a freer intercourse with the 

 white people, and observe enough of their habits and 

 manners to acquire the ideas and modes of thinking 

 which are peculiar to civilized society. 



It will therefore be obvious that the people of 

 colour in Bermuda stand on entirely different ground 

 from those in the free States of America. Instead of 

 being a redundant portion of the community, they 

 fill a place of the utmost importance. They will, in 

 fact, constitute the bone and sinew of society ; and 

 nothing but the want of intelligence can prevent 

 them from assuming the rank of the labouring classes 

 among the white population of the islands. What 

 ^ their position in society may eventually be, it is im- 

 possible to predict ; but should the fostering care of 

 the colonial government be secured for them, and 

 should the means of education and religious know- 

 ledge be adequately supplied, I see no obstacle in 

 the way of their advancement. 



The annexed tables give the census of 1843 and of 

 1851 ; but at the present time, the population is not 

 less than 12,000, a little more than half of whom are 

 of coloured or mixed race. Before the Emancipation 



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