This Report contains the account of the population, both white and black, slave and free, of our several West Indian islands, as received from their respective governors. We are there furnished with the actually existing number of the Slaves in Jamaica, [Sidenote: Jamaica Slaves Population.] which alone contained as many as all the other islands put together, at several different periods; the first, at the distance of almost a century; the last, in the year 1787; together with the number of Slaves imported annually, during the whole period. In order to judge whether the Black population was in an improving or declining state, the whole term was divided into four periods: The 1st beginning with 1698 and ending with 1730. The 2d ......... from 1730 to ............ 1755. The 3d ......... from 1755 to ............ 1768. The 4th ......... from 1768 to ............ 1787. And we had the satisfaction to find, from those unexceptionable documents, that, In the first period, the excess of deaths above the births, of Slaves, or their annual decrease, was 3½ p’c^t In the 2d period, it was 2½ In the 3d period, it was lessened to 1¾ And in the 4th, from 1768 to 1788, it was not more than 1 Now, it is manifest, that if the ratio of decrease had been continually lessening, as appears on the very face of the account, and if, during the whole of the last period of twenty years, the annual loss had been but 1 per cent., having been 1¾ per cent. during the former immediately preceding period of thirteen years, that loss would be somewhat more than 1 per cent. at the beginning of the last period, and somewhat less than 1 per cent. towards the end of it. But even this loss of 1 per cent. was itself accounted for, by an extraordinary series of hurricanes and consequent famines, from which it was stated that fifteen thousand Slaves lost their lives; and still more, the 1 per cent. included the loss on all the Africans who were imported during that period. This, which is termed the loss in the seasoning, has been estimated by high West Indian authorities, to be, including the loss in the harbour, between 1–4th and 1–3d of the whole number imported; by some it has been rated still higher. This mortality was supposed to be in a considerable degree occasioned by the Slaves having been commonly landed in a highly diseased state, owing in a great measure, as was supposed, to crowding, and other evils on shipboard: And the Assembly and Council of Jamaica estimated that 1½ per cent. of all the Africans imported died in the short period, probably not above a fortnight, between the ship’s entrance into port and the day of sale. Adding together the whole loss fairly to be ascribed to these various causes of mortality, of which all depending on the voyage would obviously cease with the importations,