the Legislature refused to do any thing further; and
here the dreams of conquest vanished. The city of New York was thrown
on the defensive. The forts were repaired, and every thing put in
readiness for an emergency. Like a sick man the colonists started at
every rumor. On account of bad faith the Iroquois were disposed to
mischief.

In the feeble condition of the colonial government, the Negro grew
restless. At the first, as previously shown, the slaves were very few,
but now, in 1712, were quite numerous. The Negro, the Quaker, and the
Papist were a trinity of evils that the colonists most dreaded. The
Negro had been badly treated; and an attempt on his part to cast off
the yoke was not improbable, in the mind of the master-class. The
fears of the colonists were at length realized. A Negro riot broke
out. A house was burned, and a number of white persons killed; and,
had it not been for the prompt and efficient aid of the troops, the
city of New York would have been reduced to ashes.

Now, what was the condition of the slaves in the Christian colony of
New York? They had no family relations: for a long time they lived
together by common consent. They had no property, no schools, and,
neglected in life, were abandoned to burial in a common ditch after
death. They dared not lift their hand to strike a Christian or a Jew.
Their testimony was excluded by the courts, and the power of their
masters over their bodies extended sometimes to life and limb. This
condition of affairs yielded its bitter fruit at length.

"Here we see the effects of that blind and wicked policy
which induced England to pamper her merchants and increase
her revenues, by positive instructions to the governours of
her colonies, strictly enjoining them (for the good of the
African company, and for the emoluments expected from the
assiento contract), to fix upon America a vast negro
population, torn from their homes and brought hither by
force. New York was at this time filled with negroes; every
householder who could afford to keep servants, was
surrounded by blacks, some pampered in indolence, all
carefully kept in ignorance, and considered, erroneously, as
creatures whom the white could not do without, yet lived in
dread of. They were feared, from their numbers, and from a
consciousness, however stifled, that they were injured and
might seek revenge or a better condition."