province of
Pennsylvania, under the honorable Thomas Penn and Richard
Penn, esquires, true and absolute proprietaries of the said
counties and province, by and with the advice and consent of
the Representatives of the freemen of the said counties, in
General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same_,
That if any master or mistress shall, by will or otherwise,
discharge or set free any Mulatto or Negro slave or slaves;
he or she, or his or her executors or administrators, at the
next respective County Court of Quarter Sessions, shall
enter into a recognizance with sufficient sureties, to be
taken in the name of the Treasurer of the said county for
the time being, in the sum of Sixty Pounds for each slave so
set free, to indemnify the county from any charge they or
any of them may be unto the same, in case of such Negro or
Mulattoe's being sick, or otherwise rendered incapable to
support him or herself; and that until such recognizance be
given, no such Negro or Mulatto shall be deemed free."[434]

The remainder of the slave code in this colony was like unto those of
the other colonies, and therefore need not be described. Negroes had
no rights, ecclesiastical or political. They had no property, nor
could they communicate a relation of any character. They had no
religious or secular training, and none of the blessings of home life.
Goaded to the performance of the most severe tasks, their only audible
reply was an occasional growl. It sent a feeling of terror through
their inhuman masters, and occasioned them many ugly dreams.

FOOTNOTES:

[429] Dr. Stevens in his History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 288, says, "In
the Swedish and German colony, which Gustavus Adolphus planted in
Delaware, and which in many points resembled the plans of the
Trustees, negro servitude was disallowed." But he gives no authority,
I regret.

[430] See Laws of Delaware, vol. i. Appendix, pp. 1-4.

[431] Albany Records, vol. ii, p. 10.

[432] Vincent's History of Delaware, p. 159.

[433] Ibid., p. 381.

[434] Laws of Delaware, vol. i. p. 436.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT.

1646-1775.

THE FOUNDING OF CONNECTICUT, 1631-36.--NO RELIABLE DATA
GIVEN FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF SLAVES.--NEGROES WERE FIRST
INTRODUCED SOME DURING THE EARLY YEARS OF THE
COLONY.--"COMMITTEE FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN
PLANTATIONS."