those who bought them." This
ordinance is quoted (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, XII, p. 511), and its
language ascribed to a (nonexistent) "wise and humane statute of Upper
Canada of May 31, 1798"--a curious mistake, perhaps in copying or
printing.

There does not seem to have been any distinction in status or rights
or anything but race between the Panis and the other slaves. I do not
know of an account of the numbers of slaves in Canada at the time; in
Detroit, March 31, 1779, there were 60 male and 78 female slaves in a
population of about 2,550 (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, X, p. 326); Nov. 1,
1780, 79 male and 96 female slaves in a somewhat smaller population
(_Mich. Hist. Coll._, XIII, p. 53); in 1778, 127 in a population of
2,144 (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, IX, p. 469); 85 in 1773, 179 in 1782
(_Mich. Hist. Coll._, VII, p. 524); 78 male and 101 female (_Mich.
Hist. Coll._, XIII, p. 54). The Ordinance of Congress July 13, 1787,
forbidding slavery "northwest of the Ohio River" (passed with but one
dissenting voice, that of a Delegate from New York) was quite
disregarded in Detroit (_Mich. Hist. Coll._, I, 415); and indeed
Detroit and the neighboring country remained British (de facto) until
August, 1796, and part of Upper Canada from 1791 till that date.

[10] This Act (1790) 30 Geo. III, c. 27, was intended to encourage
"new settlers in His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in America"
and applied to all "subjects of the United States." It allowed an
importation into any of the Bahama, Bermuda or Somers Islands, the
Province of Quebec (then including all Canada), Nova Scotia and every
other British territory in North America. It allowed the importation
by such American subjects of "negros, household furniture, utensils of
husbandry or cloathing free of duty," the "household furniture,
utensils of husbandry and cloathing" not to exceed in value L50 for
every white person in the family and L2 for each negro, any sale of
negro or goods within a year of the importation to be void.

[11] The Royal Proclamation is dated 7th October, 1763; it will be
found in Shortt & Doughty, _Documents relating to the Constitutional
History of Canada_ published by the _Archives of Canada_, Ottawa,
1907, pp. 119 sqq. The Proclamation fixes the western boundary of the
(Province or) Government at a line drawn from the south end of Lake
Nipissing to where the present international boundary crosses the
River St. Lawrence.

The Quebec Act is (1774) 14 Geo. I