in English slave-traders is greater that in all other English trading vessels put together." a

So odious did this service become that seamen could usually be obtained for it only by fraudulent means through crimps and land- lords of sailors" boarding-houses, though two months" wages (instead of the usual month's pay) were offered in advance.

Upon the whole, it seems to be sufficiently established that the usual rate of mortality among seamen was not less than 25 per cent. for each voyage; that is, during one year, for the rule of the African slave-trade was one round voyage each year.

As to the mortality among the slaves, there seems no good reason why we should not adopt the rate of loss shown in the statement of the "African Company" as the average on 60,000 slaves shipped in their vessels, namely, 23 2/3 per cent.

But even to this terrible mortality a material item may have to be added:

Among the documents in the Lords" Report is a report presented December 12, 1788, by a committee of the Jamaica House of Assembly to that house.

This committee, desiring to avert the inferences as to ill- treatment of slaves, liable to be drawn from the great decrease of the slave population of the island, made inquiry "as to the number of new negroes that have perished in the harbors of this island between the time of their being reported at the customhouse and the day of sale, all which are reported in official books and returns as negroes actually imported." They found, from the examination of a negro factor (Mr. Lindo), that "out of 7,873 negroes consigned to him in the years 1786, 1787, and 1788, and reported at the customhouse, 363 died in the harbor of Kingston before the day of sale." b This gives a mortality of about 4 2/3 per cent. on shipboard after entry and before landing.

It does not clearly appear from the table of the African Company whether by "negroes delivered" they mean those entered as arrived in the books of the office, or those actually offered for sale. If the former, then we have 4 2/3 per cent. to add to 23 2/3 per cent. furnished in the African Company's table; making an aggregate of 28 1/3 per cent. as the average mortality incident to the passage.

It does not clearly appear from the table of the African Company whether by "negroes delivered" they mean those entered as arrived in the books of the office, or those actually offered for sale. If the former, then we have 4 2/3 per cent. to add to 23 2/3 per cent. furnished in the African Company's table; making an aggregate of 28 1/3 per cent. as the average mortality incident to the passage.

What shall we say of the estimates of those slave-dealers who would have us believe that the entire average mortality among slaves on the terrible middle passage amounted to but one-fifth of the mortality among the crews of slavers, and only to about the percentage which by official documents we find to have taken place after the close of the voyage during a few days" delay in harbor previous to disembarkation?

On the whole, whether this loss in harbor is to be added to the African Company's estimate or not, it may be confidently assumed that the mortality among slaves imported from the Eastern to the Western Hemisphere, estimated from the time of shipping to that of landing, did not fall short of from 20 to 25 per cent. Lest we exaggerate, however, let us put it as 20 per cent. only c.

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a Lords of Council Report, Part II, Sheet F 3.

b Lords of Council Report, Part III, Sheet R.

c It may not be wholly unnecessary to remind the reader, if he be not familiar with the calculation of percentages, that if 20 per cent. of the negroes received on board be the number lost on the middle passage, while we must deduct that percentage from the total shipped to ascertain the number landed in the colonies, we must add not 20 but 25 per cent. to the number landed if we wish to obtain the number shipped. Thus, if the number of negroes shipped be 100, we obtain the

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