Since my last letter, I have visited New Jersey, the eastern parts of Pennsylvania, and Delaware. With the exception of Maine, Illinois, and Indiana, (quite new slates,) I have now seen something of all those communities, which in common parlance, are called the “free states,” in contradistinction to those which still encourage the existence of domestic slavery. As respects this material point of policy, the confederation is nearly equally divided in the number of states, thirteen having virtually gotten rid of slavery, and eleven still adhering to the system. The difference between the white population, however, is vastly more in favour of the “free states.” We shall not be far out of the way in stating the whole of the white population of the United States at a little more than ten millions. Of this number near, if not quite, seven millions are contained in the thirteen northern, middle, and north western states.

This portion of the Union is governed by the same policy, and its inhabitants seek their prosperity in the same sources of wealth and in the same spirit of improvement. More than half of them are either natives of New England, or are descended from those who were born in that district of the country. Together, the states I have named cover a surface of little less than 300,000 square miles.

I closed my last with the sentiments of my American friend, on the subject of La Fayette. I confess that the time was, when my feelings had not entirely escaped the prejudice which is so common among certain people in Europe, on the subject of the character of this distinguished individual. The French Revolution led to so many excesses, that, under a disgust of its abuses, the world has been a little too apt to confound persons, in judging of its characters and events. It is now time, however, to begin to consider, whether its sacrifices have been made without a sufficient object. If the consciousness of civil rights, and the general intelligence which are beginning to diffuse themselves throughout Christendom, are remembered, it will be generally admitted, I believe, that France has not suffered in vain. If any man can be said to have foreseen, and to have hoped for these very results, on which the kingdom, no less than the enlightened of all Europe, is beginning to felicitate itself, it really seems to me, it must be La Fayette. That he failed to stem the torrent of disorder, was the fault of the times, or, perhaps, the fault of those whose previous abuses had produced so terrible a re-action. It was fortunate for Napoleon himself, that his destinies did not call him into the arena an hour sooner than they did.

You can scarcely expect a very minute description of what I have seen in my southern tour. Still I may put a few general facts before your eyes, in a new, and, perhaps, not uninteresting manner.

The eleven slave holding states of this confederation contain about 489,000 square miles of territory. If Arkansas and the Floridas (not yet states) shall be included, they will swell the amount to about 600,000, or something less than double the extent of the whole thirteen northern, or free states, including Michigan, which, together, cover a surface of 334,000 square miles. Thus, you see, that about one half of the whole computed territory of the United States is so far settled, as to have arrived at the point of establishing the state or territorial governments. But there is no probability that any other community will be speedily formed, on this side of the Rocky, Mountains, of sufficient importance to aspire to the possession of a separate government. The Prairies, and the deserts of the west, present natural obstacles to the further progress of the population in that quarter, and climate opposes a serious reason to the comfortable existence of man towards the northwest. That all these regions will, in time, come to have a population of their own, is certain; but, in a country where there is still so much room for the employment of men, that day is necessarily distant.

I have just witnessed one of the most imposing ceremonies of this government; I allude to the inauguration of the president of the United States. It took place about noon, on the 4th of March, when the power of the late incumbent ceased, and that of his successor commenced. It was simple in its forms, but it may possess sufficient interest to amuse a few leisure minutes.

Every body was in the capitol by the appointed hour. As it is altogether a ceremony of convention (with the exception of the oath of office), such persons were admitted to be spectators, as the officers who controlled the proceedings chose. But in a country like this, exclusion must proceed on a principle, and on such a principle, too, as shall satisfy the reason of the community. In the first place, the galleries of the hall of the house of representatives were thrown open to every body, a measure that in itself served to commence with a system of equality. The floor of the house was next occupied, as a matter of course, by the senators and representatives. The foreign ministers and their suites, the officers of the government, including those of the army and navy, ex-members of congress, and citizens of eminence from distant states, and finally strangers, who were deemed worthy of attention, composed the rest of the assembly.

If I have said nothing for a long time, concerning your distinguished countryman, it has not been for want of materials. The éclat which attends his passage through the country, is as brilliant as it was the day he landed; but were I to attempt to give you a continuous history of the ceremonies and pageants that grow out of his visit, my letters would be filled with nothing else. One of the former has, however, just occurred here, which may have a particular interest. I shall, therefore, attempt to describe a few of its outlines. Before proceeding to this task, permit me to mention one circumstance, that has struck me with peculiar force, and which I beg you will communicate to our friend the Abbate, when next you write to him.

At Philadelphia, after a triumphal entry in which something like twenty thousand of the militia were under arms, the citizens of all classes, according to custom, paid visits of congratulation to their guest, who received them in that famous hall, which has become celebrated for being the place where the separation of a portion of this continent from Europe was first solemnly declared. Among the thousands who crowded around the venerable Frenchman, were all the clergy of the city. They were more than sixty in number, and at their head appeared the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, with the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church at his side.

You ask me to write freely on the subject of the literature and the arts of the United States. The subjects are so meagre as to render it a task that would require no small portion of the talents necessary to figure in either, in order to render them of interest. Still, as the request has come in so urgent a form, I shall endeavour to oblige you.

The Americans have been placed, as respects moral and intellectual advancement, different from all other infant nations. They have never been without the wants of civilization, nor have they ever been entirely without the means of a supply. Thus pictures, and books, and statuary, and every thing else which appertains to elegant life, have always been known to them in an abundance, and of a quality exactly proportioned to their cost. Books, being the cheapest, and the nation having great leisure and prodigious zest for information, are not only the most common, as you will readily suppose, but they are probably more common than among any other people. I scarcely remember ever to have entered an American dwelling, however humble, without finding fewer or more books. As they form the most essential division of the subject, not only on account of their greater frequency, but on account of their far greater importance, I shall give them the first notice in this letter.

Our passage from New York to Philadelphia, though the distance is less than ninety miles, was made, as is so usual here, by land and by water. In consequence of the unequalled facilities offered by their rivers, bays, and sounds, the Americans enjoy, in a very large portion of their country, the means of travelling that are cheap and commodious to a degree that is unknown in any other country. Of the steam-boats I have already spoken; but I do not remember to have said any thing concerning their extraordinary cheapness. The passage money is sometimes little more than nominal. I have been conveyed in a spacious, convenient, and even elegant boat, the distance of forty miles, for something less than a shilling sterling. This was certainly cheaper than common, but the price of a passage, (food included,) from New York to Albany, varies from two to four dollars, according to the style and nature of your accommodations. For the lowest sum, you travel better than in any European boat I have ever yet seen; and for the highest, if the excessive crowds be excepted, with a degree of comfort and abundance that is really next to incredible.

I think the first thing that strikes you at an American table, is the liberality with which it is supplied. The excessive abundance is a fault.

Having given so much of our attention to the subject of the sources of the national importance possessed by the Americans, it may not be without its use to devote an hour to the consideration of the manner in which they will probably be used. The points of main interest are, whether the present republican institutions of the country will remain, and whether the states will long continue to act as one people, or will submit to be divided into two or more confederacies.

The first fact that strikes an intelligent man, in considering the structure of this government, and the state of society that exists under it, is its perfectly natural formation. It is scarcely possible, I am not sure that it is possible, to conceive of a community which has attained the advantages of high civilization that is less artificial.

In order that individual efforts should be excited (without which nations must inevitably become sluggish, and finally barbarous, though dwelling in any abundance), the rights of property are respected. Beyond this the law leaves every man (the slaves in the southern states excepted) on grounds of perfect equality. This equality is, however, an equality of rights only; since talents, money, and enterprise, being left to their natural influences, produce their natural effects, and no more.

In respect to the continuation of the present republican institutions of this country, every fact, every symptom, and all reasoning is, I think, in their favour.

You inquire concerning the state of religion in the United States. I presume you ask the question in reference to its outward and visible signs, since it is not to be supposed that a layman, like myself, is sufficiently versed in its mysteries to go deeper than that which is apparent.

You know there is no establishment. Congress is prohibited by the constitution from creating one, and most (I believe all) of the state constitutions have the same provision. In point of fact, there is none whatever. The clergy, and all that pertains, therefore, to religion, are supported by voluntary contributions, or by endowments that have been made by devises, gifts, and other private means.

The first point to be considered, is the number and the nature of the sects. If the Presbyterians and Congregationalists, between whom there exist mere shades of difference in discipline and opinion, shall be considered as forming one sect, they are certainly the most numerous. It is computed that they possess near three thousand congregations. The Baptists are known to have more than two thousand. Perhaps the Methodists rank next in numbers. The Protestant Episcopal church is greatly on the increase. I find, by the Ecclesiastical Register, that it contains ten bishops, and three hundred and ninety-four clergymen. Most of the latter are settled, and many have two or three congregations under their charge.

To the Committee for African Instruction, and other Friends concerned in promoting its objects.

Although gratefully sensible of the obligations under which I am placed toward Friends, who have kindly favoured my desire to visit the Coast of Africa, I yet feel so deeply impressed with the conviction that the cause itself only, is worthy of notice in this Report, that most gladly would I lose sight of my own individual engagement in it, only to acknowledge that Infinite Mercy, by which an unworthy servant has been protected and sustained: preserved and restored from sickness by land, and delivered from the dangers of an awful storm at sea, when the waves seemed ready to overwhelm, and ourselves as at the very gate of death. And thankfully would I acknowledge also, the deep sense with which my mind has been impressed, of the little moment of all transitory sufferings or enjoyments, in comparison of the concerns which we shall feel to be of everlasting interest, in that swiftly approaching hour when we shall each have to stand as alone before our Judge.

We were favoured, after a rapid passage to Sierra Leone, with a safe and pleasant landing, on First day morning, the 9th of 12th month, 1827.