Government a competent portion of territory in the country of
Louisana, to be appropriated to the residence of _such people of
color as have been, or shall be, emancipated, or may hereafter become
dangerous to the public safety,"_ &c.--[See African Repository, June,
1832, and November, 1833.]



The Legislature of Virginia having failed in all their attempts to
find a suitable Botany Bay, to which the free people of color,
convicts, and other dangerous persons could be banished, passed in
1805 a law prohibiting emancipation, except on the condition that
the emancipated should leave the State; or, if remaining in the State
more than twelve months, should be sold by the overseers of the poor
for the benefit of the Literary Fund.

Here we see another consequence of the attempt of slaves to obtain
their freedom, viz., an increased persecution of the free people of
color, a law to prevent their increase, and a desire to banish all of
them from the State. The conspiracy of Gen. Gabriel and his
coadjutors was, therefore, the occasion, if not the cause, of the
formation, in 1817, of the Colonization Society, whose great object
was, by removing all disturbing causes, to make slavery secure,
lucrative, and perpetual. Another noticeable fact, made manifest by
the intended insurrection, is the state of fearful insecurity in
which the residents of a slaveholding community must feel that they
are living. The late assertion of Gov. Wise, that "We, the
Virginians, are in no danger from our slaves or the colored people,"--
or that of Senator Mason, "We can take care of ourselves,"--or that
of Miles, of South Carolina, "We are impregnable,"--betrays the depth