"[45]
The actual importation was small,[46] and almost entirely unrestricted
before the Revolution, save by a few light, general duty acts. In 1774
the further importation of slaves was prohibited, because "the increase
of slaves in this Colony is injurious to the poor and inconvenient." The
law prohibited importation under any pretext by a penalty of L100 per
slave.[47] This was re-enacted in 1784, and provisions were made for the
abolition of slavery.[48] In 1788 participation in the trade was
forbidden, and the penalty placed at L50 for each slave and L500 for
each ship engaged.[49]
22. ~General Character of these Restrictions.~ Enough has already been
said to show, in the main, the character of the opposition to the
slave-trade in New England. The system of slavery had, on this soil and
amid these surroundings, no economic justification, and the small number
of Negroes here furnished no political arguments against them. The
opposition to the importation was therefore from the first based solely
on moral grounds, with some social arguments. As to the carrying trade,
however, the case was different. Here, too, a feeble moral opposition
was early aroused, but it was swept away by the immense economic
advantages of the slave traffic to a thrifty seafaring community of
traders. This trade no moral suasion, not even the strong "Liberty" cry
of the Revolution, was able wholly to suppress, until the closing of the
West Indian and Southern markets cut off the demand for slaves.
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