"In 1790, Virginia, with 70,000 square miles of territory, contained a population of 749,308. New York, upon a surface of 45,658 square miles, contained a population of 344,120. This statement exhibits in favor of Virginia a difference of 24,242 square miles of territory, and 408,188 in population, which is the _double_ of New York, and 68,600 more. In 1830, after a race of forty years, Virginia is found to contain 1,211,405 souls, and New York 1,918,608, which exhibits a difference in favor of New York of 607,203. The increase on the part of Virginia will be perceived to be 463,187, starting from a basis more than double as large as that of New York. The increase of New York, upon a basis of 340,120, has been 1,578,391 human beings. Virginia has increased in a ratio of 61 per cent., and New York in that of 566 per cent. "The total amount of property in Virginia under the assessment of 1838, was $211,930,508. The aggregate value of real and personal property in New York, in 1839, was $654,000,000, exhibiting an excess in New York over Virginia of capital of $442,069,492. "Statesmen may differ about policy, or the means to be employed in the promotion of the public good, but surely they ought to be agreed as to what prosperity means. I think there can be no dispute that New York is a greater, richer, a more prosperous and powerful State than Virginia. What has occasioned the difference?... There is but one explanation of the facts I have shown. The clog that has stayed the march of her people, the incubus that has weighed down her enterprise, strangled her commerce, kept sealed her exhaustless fountains of mineral wealth, and paralyzed her arts, manufactures and improvement, is NEGRO SLAVERY." These statements were made before the results of the last census were known. By the census of 1840, it appears that in the ten preceding years, The population of Virginia has increased 28,392 In the same time the population of N. Y. increased 710,413 The rate of increase in Virginia was 2.3 per cent. " " New York, 33.7 " Virginia has 12.5 free inhabitants to a square mile. New York 52.7 " " " " In 1790, Massachusetts, with Maine, had but 378,717 inhabitants, " Maryland, 319,728 " In 1840, Massachusetts alone, 737,699 " " Maryland, 469,232 " Now let it be recollected that Maryland is nearly _double_ the size of Massachusetts. In the last there are 98.8 free inhabitants to the square mile; in the former only 27.2.