away from your eyes, and we shall spend an endless eternity in finging praifes to him that fitteth upon the throne, even unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to preferve you faultless before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wife GOD our Saviour, be glory and majefty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen! A LETTER, &c. A Savannah, Jan. 23, 1740. SI lately paffed through your provinces, in my way hither, I was fenfibly touched with a fellow-feeling of the miseries of the poor negroes. Could I have preached more frequently among you, I fhould have delivered my thoughts to you in my public difcourfes: but, as bufinefs here required me to stop as little as poffible on the road, I have no other way to discharge the concern which at prefent lies upon my heart, than by fending you this letter. How you will receive it, I know not; whether you will accept it in love, or be offended with me, as the mafter of the damfel was with Paul for cafting the evil spirit out of her, when he saw the hope of his gain was gone, is uncertain: but whatever be the event, I muft inform you, in the meeknefs and gentleness of CHRIST, that I think God has a quarrel with you, for your abuse of and cruelty to the poor negroes. Whether it be lawful for chriftians to buy flaves, and thereby encourage the nations from whence they are brought to be at perpetual war with each other, I shall not take upon me to determine ; but fure I am it is finful, when bought, to use them as bad as, nay worse than brutes: and whatever particular exceptions there may be, (as I would charitably hope there are fome) I fear the generality of you that own negroes, are liable to fuch a charge; for your flaves, I believe, work as hard, if not harder, than the horses whereon you ride. Thefe, after they have done their work, are fed and taken proper care of; but many negroes, when wearied with labour in your plantations, have been obliged to grind their own corn after they return home. Your dogs are careffed and fondled at your tables; but your flaves, who are frequently ftiled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege: they are scarce permitted to pick up the crumbs which fall from their mafters tables; nay, fome, as I have been informed by an eye-witnefs, have been, upon the moft trifling provocation, cut with knives, and have had forks thrown into their flefh: not to mention what numbers have been given up to the inhuman ufage of cruel task-mafters, who by their unrelenting fcourges have ploughed upon their backs, and made long furrows, and at length brought them even to death itself. 'Tis true, I hope, there are but few fuch monfters of barbarity fuffered to fubfift amongst you: fome, I hear, have been lately executed in Virginia for killing flaves; and the laws are very fevere against fuch who at any time murder them. And perhaps it might be better for the poor creatures themfelves, to be hurried out of life, than to be made fo miferable as they generally are in it. And indeed, confidering what ufage they commonly meet with, I have wondered, that we have not more inftances of self-murder among the negroes, or that they have not more frequently rifen up in arms against their owners. Virginia has been once, and Charles-Town more than once, threatned in this way. And though I heartily pray GoD, they may never be permitted to get the upper hand; yet, should such a thing be permitted by providence, all good men must acknowledge the judgment, would be juft. For is it not the highest ingratitude, as well as cruelty, not to let your poor flaves enjoy fome fruits of their labour? When paffing along, whilft I have viewed your plantations cleared and cultivated, many fpacious houses built, and the owners of them faring fumptuously every day, my blood has frequently almoft run cold within me, to confider how many of your flaves had neither convenient food to eat, nor proper raiment to put on, notwithstanding most of the comforts you enjoy, were folely owing to their indefatigable labours. The fcripture fays, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." Does GOD take care of oxen? And will he not take care of the negroes alfo? Undoubtedly I |