[40] A man dying intestate left slaves, who became thus the
property of the city; they were freed, and the town made the
above resolve, May 17, 1774, in town meeting: Staples, _Annals
of Providence_ (1843), p. 236.

[41] _R.I. Col. Rec._, VII. 251-2.

[42] _Bartlett's Index_, p. 329; Arnold, _History of Rhode
Island_, II. 444; _R.I. Col. Rec._, VIII. 618.

[43] _R.I. Col. Rec._, X. 7-8; Arnold, _History of Rhode
Island_, II. 506.

[44] _Bartlett's Index_, p. 333; _Narragansett Historical
Register_, II. 298-9. The number of slaves in Rhode Island has
been estimated as follows:--

In 1708, 426. _R.I. Col. Rec._, IV. 59.
" 1730, 1,648. _R.I. Hist. Tracts_, No. 19, pt. 2, p. 99.
" 1749, 3,077. Williams, _History of the Negro Race in America_,
I. 281.
" 1756, 4,697. _Ibid._
" 1774, 3,761. _R.I. Col. Rec._, VII. 253.

[45] Fowler, _Local Law_, etc., p. 124.

[46] The number of slaves in Connecticut has been estimated as
follows:--

In 1680, 30. _Conn. Col. Rec._, III. 298.