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The book which now appears before the public may be of interest in relation to a question which the late agitation of the subject of slavery has raised in many thoughtful minds, viz. — Are the race at present held as slaves capable of freedom, self-government, and progress. The author is a coloured young man, born and reared in the city of Philadelphia. This city, standing as it does on the frontier between free and slave territory, has accumulated naturally a large population of the mixed and African race. Being one of the nearest free cities of any considerable size to the slave territory, it has naturally been a resort of escaping fugitives, or of emancipated slaves. In this city they form a large class — have increased in numbers, wealth, and standing — they constitute a peculiar society of their own, presenting many social peculiarities worthy of interest and attention. The representations of their positions as to wealth and education are reliable, the incidents related are mostly true ones, woven together by a slight web of fiction. From the Preface by Harriet Beecher Stowe