ant, and dangerous. It was said by the opponents
of the measure, that Congress could not regulate the matter, as the
States had the reserved authority to have slavery, and were,
therefore, competent to say who should be free and who bond. It was
suggested, farther along in the debate, that Congress might order such
slaves into such States as prohibited slavery, where they could be
bound out for a term of years. After a great many able speeches the
House refused to strike out the forfeiture clause by a vote of
sixty-three to thirty-six. When the act was called up for final
passage, it was amended by inserting a clause imposing a fine of
$20,000, upon all persons concerned in fitting out a vessel for the
slave-trade; and likewise a fine of $5,000, and forfeiture of the
vessel for taking on board any Negro or Mulatto, or any person of
color, in any foreign port with the intention of selling them in the
United States.

During these efforts at restriction the slave population was growing
daily. The census of 1810 showed that within a decade the slave
population had sprung from 893,041, in 1800, to 1,191,364,--an
increase of 33 per cent. The following table exhibits this remarkable
fact:

CENSUS OF 1810.--SLAVE POPULATION.

District of Columbia 5,395
Rhode Island 108
Connecticut 310
Pennsylvania 795
Delaware 4,177
New Jersey 10,851
New York 15,017
Louisiana 34,660
Tennessee 44,535
Kentucky 80,561
Georgia 105,218
Maryland 111,502
North Carolina 168,824
South Carolina 196,365
Virginia 392,518
Mississippi Territory 17,088
Indiana Territory 237
Louisiana Territory 3,011
Illinois Territory 168
Michigan Territory 24

On the 10th of December, 1817, Mississippi applied for admission into
the Union with a slave constitution. The provisions relating to
slavery dispensed with grand juries in the indictment of slaves, and
trial by jury was allowed only in trial of capital cases.

During the session of 1817-8, Congress was besieged by a large number
of memorials praying for more specific legislation against the
slave-trade. During the session the old fugitive-sla