THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. vii advance the interests of the Free States, and at the same time to strengthen and extend the interests of the Slave States. We can trace their policy in history. We now realize the result. "With all their pretensions, the leading slaveholders never lost sight, for one moment, of perpetuating its existence and its power. "Truly and respectfully yours, "JOSIAH QUINCY.” Mr. WASHBURN spoke with interest of the letter which had just been read, remarkable as coming from a gentleman of such experience, and at so advanced a period of life. He then gave several historical facts which had come to his knowledge when writing his "History of Leicester," corroborating the statement of Mr. Livermore respecting the common practice of using negroes as soldiers during the war of the American Revolution. The vote thanking Mr. Livermore for his paper, and committing the manuscript to him, to be printed in the manner most agreeable to him, was unanimously adopted. RICHARD FROTHINGHAM, Secretary pro tem. NOTE TO THE THIRD EDITION. THIS historical paper is reprinted from the volume of "Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society" for the year 1862-63. It was there printed, with a few alterations, from the original edition which had been issued for private distribution. These alterations are the following: 1. The extract from the Message of Jefferson Davis is now printed from the "National Intelligencer" of 7 May, 1861, where it purports to be printed in an authentic form. In the first edition there were some errors and omissions in this document, as taken at second hand from the "New Orleans Picayune" of an earlier date. 2. The first paragraph on Dr. Franklin's opinions has been modified by the omission of a statement found to be not correct. The truth of what remains is independent of it. 3. In speaking of the practice of receiving free negrocs as soldiers at the commencement of the Revolution, it was not quite correct to state so broadly that they were "enrolled in the militia." The word The word "militia" was inadvertently used as synonymous with "army." The language of the paragraph has been so altered as to secure verbal accuracy. 4. A sentence affirming the exemption, in Massachusetts, of "Scotchmen," as well as "negroes," from training in 1656, is omitted; and two or three specific laws are cited, showing the vacillating policy which was pursued on the subject of employing negroes as soldiers in the early legislation of this Colony. b 5. The extract from Mr. Sabine's "American Loyalists" is printed from the author's copy, corrected for a second edition of that work. The only important alteration in this extract is the substitution of "other States" for "New England" in the passage relating to the number of soldiers sent to the aid of South Carolina. 6. Only one important addition has been made. Extracts are given from the writings of John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, showing his opinions, contrasted with those of Chief Justice Taney, his latest suc cessor. Since the publication of the first edition, my attention has been directed to numerous facts and documents illustrating the subject, which I have not used. Many of these ought to be published. It was at one time my purpose to incorporate them in the second edition of this Research; but I found that by so doing I should swell it considerably beyond the customary limits allotted by the Historical Society to such publications. I therefore reserve them for some possible future use. If the requisite leisure can be gained from pressing duties, perhaps these new materials may hereafter be combined with those here presented in preparing a more elaborate and complete history of the subject. G. L. DANA HILL, CAMBRIDGE, NOTE TO THE FIRST EDITION. In the reading of the following paper before the Massachusetts Historical Society, many of the documents now printed were necessarily omitted, or but briefly alluded to. In order to make room for these without unduly increasing the size of this pamphlet, some of the remarks in the original paper have been left out. Though the special object of this research was to ascertain the views of the Founders of our Republic, it has been thought pertinent, in relation to the employment of negroes as soldiers, to present also some evidence of the opinions and practice of contemporary British officers in America. Many appropriate documents, equally illustrative of the whole subject, have been passed by; but it is believed that what are given will suffice to show impartially the general state of public sentiment at the time when our Government was established. BOSTON, October, 1862. G. L. |