us practice
of slave-holding is become almost general in those parts. At New-York,
for instance, the infringement on civil or domestic liberty is become
notorious, notwithstanding the political controversies of the
inhabitants in praise of liberty; but no panegyric on this subject
(howsoever elegant in itself) can be graceful or edifying from the mouth
or pen of one of those provincials, because men who do not scruple to
detain others in slavery, have but a very partial and unjust claim to
the protection of the laws of liberty; and indeed it too plainly appears
that they have no real regard for liberty, farther than their own
private interests are concerned; and (consequently) that they have so
little detestation of despotism and tyranny, that they do not scruple to
exercise them whenever their caprice excites them, or their private
interest seems to require an exertion of their power over their
miserable slaves.

Every petty planter, who avails himself of the service of slaves, is an
arbitrary monarch, or rather a lawless Bashaw in his own territories,
notwithstanding that the imaginary freedom of the province wherein he
resides, may seem to forbid the observation.

The boasted liberty of our American colonies, therefore, has so little
right to that sacred name, that it seems to differ from the arbitrary
power of despotic monarchs only in one circumstance, viz. that it is a
_many-headed monster of tyranny_, which entirely subverts our most
excellent constitution; because liberty and slavery are so opposite to
each other, that they cannot subsist in the same community. "_Political
liberty (in mild or well regulated governments) makes civil liberty
valuable; and whosoever is deprived of the latter, is deprived also of
the former_." This observation of the learned Montesquieu, I hope
sufficiently justifies my censure of the Americans for their notorious
violation of civil liberty;--The New-York Journal, or, The General
Advertiser, for Thursday, 22d October, 1767, gives notice by
advertisement, of no less than eight different persons who have escaped
from slavery, or are put up to public sale for that horrid purpose.

That I may demonstrate the indecency of such proceedings in a free
country, I shall take the liberty of laying some of these advertisements
before my readers, by way of example.

"_To be SOLD for want of Employment_, A likely strong active Negroe man,
of about 24 years of age, this country born, (_N.B._ A