Time marches on, slowly

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — As ­cannons and mortars roared, 20 ­Africans, in the grip of the Revolutionary War, made an impassioned plea to their state government to abolish slavery for the sake of justice and humanity.… 

Their eloquence linking a slave’s freedom to the ideals upon which the revolution was based was ­denied in the New Hampshire ­General Assembly. Lawmakers ­instead pledged to address the Nov. 12, 1779, petition at a more convenient time. 

That time has come, some 233 years later, as the New Hampshire House of Representatives prepares for a vote Wednesday… 

Boston Globe