Further progress to the middle of May.--Petitions begin to be sent to
parliament.--The king orders the privy council to inquire into the
Slave Trade.--Author called up to town; his interviews with Mr. Pitt,
and with Mr.(afterwards Lord) Grenville.--Liverpool delegates examined
first; these prejudice the council; this prejudice at length
counteracted.--Labours of the committee in the interim.--Public
anxious for the introduction of the question into parliament.--Message
of Mr. Pitt to the committee concerning it.--Day fixed for the
motion.--Substance of the debate which followed.--Discussion of the
general question deferred till the next sessions.
By this time the nature of the Slave Trade had, in consequence of the
labours of the committee and of their several correspondents, become
generally known throughout the kingdom. It had excited a general
attention, and there was among the people a general feeling in behalf of
the wrongs of Africa. This feeling had also, as may be collected from
what has been already mentioned, broken out into language: for not only
had the traffic become the general subject of conversation, but public
meetings had taken place, in which it had been discussed, and of which
the result was, that an application to parliament had been resolved upon
in many places concerning it. By the middle of February not fewer than
thirty-five petitions had been delivered to the Commons, and it was
known that others were on their way to the same house.
This ferment in the public mind, which had shown itself in the public
prints even before the petitions had been resolved upon, had excited the
attention of government. To coincide with the wishes of the people on
this subject, appeared to those in authority to be a desirable thing. To
abolish the trade, replete as it was with misery, was desirable also;
but it was so connected with the interest of individuals, and so
interwoven with the commerce and revenue of the country, that a hasty
abolition of it without a previous inquiry appeared to them to be likely
to be productive of as much misery as good. The king, therefore, by an
order of council dated February the eleventh, 1788, directed that a
committee of Privy Council should sit as a board of trade, "to take into
their consideration the present state of the African Trade, particularly
as far as related to the practice and manner of purchasing or obtaining
slaves on the coast of Africa, and the importation and sale thereof,
either in the British colonies and settlements, or in the foreign
colonies and settlements in America or the West-Indies; and also as far
as related to the effects and consequences of the trade both in Africa
and in the said colonies and settlements, and to the general commerce of
this kingdom; and that they should report to him in council the result
of their inquiries, with such observations as they might have to offer
thereupon."
Of this order of council Mr. Wilberforce, who had attended to this great
subject, as far as his health would permit, since I left him, had
received notice; but he was then too ill himself to take any measures
concerning it. He therefore wrote to me, and begged of me to repair to
London immediately, in order to get such evidence ready as we might
think it eligible to introduce when the council sat. At that time, as
appears from the former chapter, I had finished the additions to my
_Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species_, and I had now
proceeded about half way in that of the Impolicy of it. This summons,
however, I obeyed, and returned to town on the fourteenth of February,
from which day to the twenty-fourth of May I shall now give the history
of our proceedings.
My first business in London was to hold a conversation with Mr. Pitt
previously to the meeting of the council, and to try to interest him, as
the first minister of state, in our favour. For this purpose Mr.
Wilberforce had opened the way for me, and an interview took place. We
were in free conversation together for a considerable time, during which
we went through most of the branches of the subject. Mr. Pitt appeared
to me to have but little knowledge of it. He had also his doubts, which
he expressed openly, on many points. He was at a loss to conceive how
private interest should not always restrain the master of the slave from
abusing him. This matter I explained to him as well as I could; and if
he was not entirely satisfied with my interpretation of it, he was at
least induced to believe that cruel practices were more probable than he
had imagined. A second circumstance, of the truth of which he doubted,
was the mortality and usage of seamen in this trade; and a third was the
statement by which so much had been made of the riches of Africa, and of
the genius and abilities of her people; for he seemed at a loss to
comprehend, if these things were so, how it happened that they should
not have been more generally noticed before. I promised to satisfy him
upon these points, and an interview was fixed for this purpose the next
day.
At the time appointed, I went with my books, papers, and African
productions. Mr. Pitt examined the former himself. He turned over leaf
after leaf, in which the copies of the muster-rolls were contained, with
great patience; and when he had looked over above a hundred pages
accurately, and found the name of every seaman inserted, his former
abode or service, the time of his entry, and what had become of him,
either by death, discharge, or desertion, he expressed his surprise at
the great pains which had been taken in this branch of the inquiry; and
confessed, with some emotion, that his doubts were wholly removed with
respect to the destructive nature of this employ; and he said, moreover,
that the facts contained in these documents, if they had been but fairly
copied, could never be disproved. He was equally astonished at the
various woods and other productions of Africa, but most of all at the
manufactures of the natives in cotton, leather, gold, and iron, which
were laid before him. These he handled and examined over and over again.
Many sublime thoughts seemed to rush in upon him at once at the sight of
these, some of which he expressed with observations becoming a great and
a dignified mind. He thanked me for the light I had given him on many of
the branches of this great question. And I went away under a certain
conviction that I had left him much impressed in our favour.
My next visit was to Mr. (afterwards Lord) Grenville. I called upon him
at the request of Mr. Wilberforce, who had previously written to him
from Bath, as he had promised to attend the meetings of the privy
council during the examinations which were to take place. I found, in
the course of our conversation, that Mr. Grenville had not then more
knowledge of the subject than Mr. Pitt; but I found him differently
circumstanced in other respects, for I perceived in him a warm feeling
in behalf of the injured Africans, and that he had no doubt of the
possibility of all the barbarities which had been alleged against this
traffic. I showed him all my papers and some of my natural productions,
which he examined. I was with him the next day, and once again
afterwards, so that the subject was considered in all its parts. The
effect of this interview with him was of course different from that upon
the minister. In the former case I had removed doubts, and given birth
to an interest in favour of our cause. But I had here only increased an
interest, which had already been excited, I had only enlarged the mass
of feeling, or added zeal to zeal, or confirmed resolutions and
reasonings. Disposed in this manner originally himself, and strengthened
by the documents with which I had furnished him, Mr. Grenville
contracted an enmity to the Slave Trade, which was never afterwards
diminished[A].
[Footnote A: I have not mentioned the difference between these two
eminent persons, with a view of drawing any invidious comparisons, but
because, as these statements are true, such persons as have a high
opinion of the late Mr. Pitt's judgment, may see that this great man did
not espouse the cause hastily, or merely as a matter of feeling, but
upon the conviction of his own mind.]
A report having gone abroad that the committee of privy council would
only examine those who were interested in the continuance of the trade,
I found it necessary to call upon Mr. Pitt again, and to inform him of
it, when I received an assurance that every person whom I chose to send
to the council in behalf of the committee should be heard. This gave
rise to a conversation relative to those witnesses whom we had to
produce on the side of the abolition. And here I was obliged to disclose
our weakness in this respect. I owned with sorrow that, though I had
obtained specimens and official documents in abundance to prove many
important points, yet I had found it difficult to prevail upon persons
to be publicly examined on this subject. The only persons we could then
count upon, were Mr. Ramsay, Mr. H. Gandy, Mr. Falconbridge, Mr. Newton,
and the Dean of Middleham. There was one, however, who would be a host
of himself, if we could but gain him. I then mentioned Mr. Norris. I
told Mr. Pitt the nature[A] and value of the testimony which he had
given me at Liverpool, and the great zeal he had discovered to serve the
cause. I doubted, however, if he would come to London for this purpose,
even if I wrote to him; for he was intimate with almost all the owners
of slave-vessels in Liverpool, and, living among these, he would not
like to incur their resentment by taking a prominent part against them.
I therefore entreated Mr. Pitt to send him a summons of council to
attend, hoping that Mr. Norris would then be pleased to come up, as he
would be enabled to reply to his friends that his appearance had not
been voluntary. Mr. Pitt, however, informed me, that a summons from a
committee of privy council, sitting as a board, was not binding upon the
subject; and therefore that I had no other means left, but of writing to
him, and he desired me to do this by the first post.
[Footnote A: See his evidence, Chap. XVII.]
This letter I accordingly wrote, and sent it to my friend William
Rathbone, who was to deliver it in person, and to use his own influence
at the same time; but I received for answer, that Mr. Norris was then in
London. Upon this I tried to find him out, to entreat him to consent to
an examination before the council. At length I found his address; but
before I could see him, I was told by the Bishop of London that he had
come up as a Liverpool delegate in support of the Slave Trade.
Astonished at this information, I made the bishop acquainted with the
case, and asked him how it became me to act; for I was fearful lest, by
exposing Mr. Norris, I should violate the rights of hospitality on the
one hand, and by not exposing him that I should not do my duty to the
cause I had undertaken on the other. His advice was, that I should see
him, and ask him to explain the reasons of his conduct. I called upon
him for this purpose, but he was out. He sent me, however, a letter soon
afterwards, which was full of flattery; and in which, after having paid
high compliments to the general force of my arguments, and the general
justice and humanity of my sentiments on this great question, which had
made a deep impression upon his mind, he had found occasion to differ
from me, since we had last parted, on particular points, and that he had
therefore less reluctantly yielded to the call of becoming a
delegate,--though notwithstanding he would gladly have declined the
office if he could have done it with propriety.
At length the council began their examinations. Mr. Norris, Lieutenant
Matthews, of the navy, who had just left a slave employ in Africa, and
Mr. James Penny, formerly a slave captain, and then interested as a
merchant in the trade, (which three were the delegates from Liverpool,)
took possession of the ground first. Mr. Miles, Mr. Weuves, and others,
followed them on the same side. The evidence which they gave, as
previously concerted between themselves, may be shortly represented
thus:--They denied that kidnapping either did or could take place in
Africa, or that wars were made there for the purpose of procuring
slaves. Having done away these wicked practices from their system, they
maintained positions which were less exceptionable, as that the natives
of Africa generally became slaves in consequence of having been made
prisoners in just wars, or in consequence of their various crimes. They
then gave a melancholy picture of the despotism and barbarity of some of
the African princes, among whom the custom of sacrificing their own
subjects prevailed. But, of all others, that which was afforded by Mr.
Norris on this ground was the most frightful. The King of Dahomey, he
said, sported with the lives of his people in the most wanton manner. He
had seen at the gates of his palace two piles of heads, like those of
shot in an arsenal. Within the palace, the heads of persons, newly put
to death, were strewed at the distance of a few yards in the passage,
which led to his apartment. This custom of human sacrifice by the King
of Dahomey was not on one occasion only, but on many; such as on the
reception of messengers from neighbouring states, or of white merchants,
or on days of ceremonial. But the great carnage was once a year, when
the poll-tax was paid by his subjects. A thousand persons, at least,
were sacrificed annually on these different occasions. The great men,
too, of the country, cut off a few heads on festival-days. From all
these particulars the humanity of the Slave Trade was inferred, because
it took away the inhabitants of Africa into lands where no such
barbarities were known. But the humanity of it was insisted upon by
positive circumstances also; namely, that a great number of the slaves
were prisoners of war, and that in former times all such were put to
death, whereas now they were saved: so that there was a great accession
of happiness to Africa since the introduction of the trade.
These statements, and those of others on the same side of the question,
had a great effect, as may easily be conceived, upon the feelings of
those of the council who were present. Some of them began immediately to
be prejudiced against us. There were others who even thought that it was
almost unnecessary to proceed in the inquiry, for that the trade was
actually a blessing. They had little doubt that all our assertions
concerning it would be found false. The Bishop of London himself was so
impressed by these unexpected accounts, that he asked me if
Falconbridge, whose pamphlet had been previously sent by the committee
to every member of the council, was worthy of belief, and if he would
substantiate publicly what he had thus written: but these impressions
unfortunately were not confined to those who had been present at the
examinations. These could not help communicating them to others. Hence,
in all the higher circles (some of which I sometimes used to frequent) I
had the mortification to hear of nothing but the Liverpool evidence, and
of our own credulity, and of the impositions which had been practised
upon us: of these reports the planters and merchants did not fail to
avail themselves. They boasted that they would soon do away all the idle
tales which had been invented against them. They desired the public only
to suspend their judgment till the privy council report should be out,
when they would see the folly and wickedness of all our allegations. A
little more evidence, and all would be over. On the 22nd of March,
though the committee council had not then held its sittings more than a
month, and these only twice or thrice a week, the following paragraph
was seen in a morning paper:--"The report of the committee of privy
council will be ready in a few days. After due examination it appears
that the major part of the complaints against this trade are
ill-founded. Some regulations, however, are expected to take place,
which may serve in a certain degree to appease the cause of humanity."
But while they, who were interested, had produced this outcry against
us, in consequence of what had fallen from their own witnesses in the
course of their examinations, they had increased it considerably by the
industrious circulation of a most artful pamphlet among persons of rank
and fortune at the west end of the metropolis, which was called,
_Scriptural Researches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade_. This they
had procured to be written by R. Harris, who was then clerk in a
slave-house in Liverpool, but had been formerly a clergyman and a
Jesuit. As they had maintained in the first instance, as has been
already shown, the humanity of the traffic, so, by means of this
pamphlet they asserted its consistency with revealed religion. That such
a book should have made converts in such an age is surprising; and yet
many, who ought to have known better, were carried away by it; and we
had now absolutely to contend, and almost degrade ourselves by doing so,
against the double argument of the humanity and the holiness of the
trade.
By these means, but particularly by the former, the current of opinion
in particular circles ran against us for the first month, and so strong,
that it was impossible for us to stem it at once; but as some of the
council recovered from their panic, and their good sense became less
biassed by their feelings, and they were in a state to hear reason,
their prejudices began to subside. It began now to be understood among
them, that almost all the witnesses were concerned in the continuance of
the trade. It began to be known also, (for Mr. Pitt and the Bishop of
London took care that it should be circulated,) that Mr. Norris had but
a short time before furnished me at Liverpool with information, all of
which he had concealed[A] from the council, but all of which made for
the abolition of it. Mr. Devaynes also, a respectable member of
parliament, who had been in Africa, and who had been appealed to by Mr.
Norris, when examined before the privy council, in behalf of his
extraordinary facts, was unable, when summoned, to confirm them to the
desired extent. From this evidence the council collected, that human
sacrifices were not made on the arrival of White traders, as had been
asserted; that there was no poll-tax in Dahomey at all; and that Mr.
Norris must have been mistaken on these points, for he must have been
there at the time of the ceremony of watering the graves, when about
sixty persons suffered. This latter custom moreover appeared to have
been a religious superstition of the country, such as at Otaheite, or in
Britain in the time of the Druids, and to have had nothing to do with
the Slave Trade[B]. With respect to prisoners of war, Mr. Devaynes
allowed that the old, the lame, and the wounded, were often put to death
on the spot; but this was to save the trouble of bringing them away. The
young and the healthy were driven off for sale; but if they were not
sold when offered, they were not killed, but reserved for another
market, or became house-slaves to the conquerors. Mr. Devaynes also
maintained, contrary to the allegations of the others, that a great
number of persons were kidnapped in order to be sold to the ships; and
that the government, where this happened, was not strong enough to
prevent it. But besides these drawbacks from the weight of the testimony
which had been given, it began to be perceived by some of the lords of
the council, that the cruel superstitions which had been described,
obtained only in one or two countries in Africa, and these of
insignificant extent; whereas at the time, when their minds were carried
away, as it were by their feelings, they had supposed them to attach to
the whole of that vast continent. They perceived also, that there were
circumstances related in the evidence by the delegates themselves, by
means of which, if they were true, the inhumanity of the trade might be
established, and this to their own disgrace. They had all confessed that
such slaves, as the White traders refused to buy, were put to death; and
yet that these traders, knowing that this would be the case, had the
barbarity uniformly to reject those whom it did not suit them to
purchase. Mr. Matthews had rejected one of this description himself,
whom he saw afterwards destroyed. Mr. Penny had known the refuse thrown
down Melimba rock. Mr. Norris himself, when certain prisoners of war
were offered to him for sale, declined buying them because they appeared
unhealthy; and though the king then told him that he would put them to
death, he could not be prevailed upon to take them but left them to
their hard fate; and he had the boldness to state afterwards, that it
was his belief that many of them actually suffered.
[Footnote A: This was also the case with another witness, Mr. Weuves. He
had given me accounts, before any stir was made about the Slave Trade,
relative to it, all of which he kept back when he was examined there.]
[Footnote B: Being a religion custom, it would still have gone on,
though the Slave Trade had been abolished: nor could the merchants at
any time have bought off a single victim.]
These considerations had the effect of diminishing the prejudices of
some of the council on this great question: and when this was perceived
to be the case, it was the opinion of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Grenville, and the
Bishop of London, that we should send three or four of our own evidences
for examination, who might help to restore matters to an equilibrium.
Accordingly, Mr. Falconbridge, and some others, all of whom were to
speak to the African part of the subject, were introduced. These
produced a certain weight in the opposite scale. But soon after these
had been examined, Dr. Andrew Spaarman, professor of physic, and
inspector of the museum of the royal academy at Stockholm, and his
companion, C.B. Wadstrom, chief director of the assay-office there,
arrived in England. These gentlemen had been lately sent to Africa by
the late king of Sweden, to make discoveries in botany, mineralogy, and
other departments of science. For this purpose the Swedish ambassador at
Paris had procured them permission from the French government to visit
the countries bordering on the Senegal, and had insured them protection
there. They had been conveyed to the place of their destination, where
they had remained from August 1787, to the end of January 1788; but
meeting with obstacles which they had not foreseen, they had left it,
and had returned to Havre de Grace, from whence they had just arrived in
London, on their way home. It so happened, that by means of George
Harrison, one of our committee, I fell in unexpectedly with these
gentlemen. I had not long been with them, before I perceived the great
treasure I had found. They gave me many beautiful specimens of African
produce. They showed me their journals, which they had regularly kept
from day to day. In these I had the pleasure of seeing a number of
circumstances minuted down, all relating to the Slave Trade, and even
drawings on the same subject. I obtained a more accurate and
satisfactory knowledge of the manners and customs of the Africans from
these, than from all the persons put together whom I had yet seen. I was
anxious, therefore, to take them before the committee of council, to
which they were pleased to consent; and as Dr. Spaarman was to leave
London in a few days, I procured him an introduction first. His evidence
went to show, that the natives of Africa lived in a fruitful and
luxuriant country, which supplied all their wants, and that they would
be a happy people, if it were not for the existence of the Slave Trade.
He instanced wars which he knew to have been made by the Moors upon the
Negroes, (for they were entered upon wholly at the instigation of the
White traders,) for the purpose of getting slaves, and he had the pain
of seeing the unhappy captives brought in on such occasions, and some of
them in a wounded state. Among them, were many women and children, and
the women were in great affliction. He saw also the king of Barbesin
send out his parties on expeditions of a similar kind, and he saw them
return with slaves. The king had been made intoxicated on purpose, by
the French agents, or he would never have consented to the measure. He
stated also, that in consequence of the temptations held out by
slave-vessels coming upon the coast, the natives seized one another in
the night, when they found opportunity; and even invited others to their
houses, whom they treacherously detained, and sold at these times; so
that every enormity was practised in Africa, in consequence of the
existence of the trade. These specific instances made a proper
impression upon the lords of the council in their turn; for Dr. Spaarman
was a man of high character; he possessed the confidence of his
sovereign; he had no interest whatever in giving his evidence on this
subject, either on one or the other side; his means of information too
had been large; he had also recorded the facts which had come before
him, and he had his journal, written in the French language, to produce.
The tide, therefore, which had run so strongly against us, began now to
turn a little in our favour.
While these examinations were going on, petitions continued to be sent
to the House of Commons, from various parts of the kingdom. No less than
one hundred and three were presented in this session. The city of
London, though she was drawn the other way by the cries of commercial
interest, made a sacrifice to humanity and justice: the two universities
applauded her conduct by their own example. Large manufacturing towns,
and whole counties, expressed their sentiments and wishes in a similar
manner. The Established Church in separate dioceses, and the Quakers and
other dissenters, as separate religious bodies, joined in one voice upon
this occasion.
The committee, in the interim, were not unmindful of the great work they
had undertaken, and they continued to forward it in its different
departments. They kept up a communication by letter with most of the
worthy persons, who have been mentioned to have written to them, but
particularly with Brissot and Claviere; from whom they had the
satisfaction of learning, that a society had at length been established
at Paris, for the abolition of the Slave Trade in France. The learned
Marquis de Condorcet had become the president of it. The virtuous Duc de
la Rochefoucauld and the Marquis de la Fayette had sanctioned it by
enrolling their names as the two first members. Petion, who was placed
afterwards among the mayors of Paris, followed. Women also were not
thought unworthy of being honorary and assistant members of this humane
institution; and among these were found the amiable Marchioness of la
Fayette, Madame de Poivre, widow of the late intendant of the Isle of
France, and Madame Necker, wife of the first minister of state.
The new correspondents, who voluntarily offered their services to the
committee, during the first part of the period now under consideration,
were S. Whitcomb, Esq., of Gloucester; the Rev. D. Watson, of Middleton
Tyas, Yorkshire; John Murlin, Esq., of High Wycomb; Charles Collins,
Esq., of Swansea; Henry Tudor, Esq., of Sheffield; the Rev. John Hare,
of Lincoln; Samuel Tooker, Esq., of Moorgate, near Rotherham; the Rev.
G. Walker, and Francis Wakefield, Esq., of Nottingham; the Rev. Mr.
Hepworth, of Burton-upon-Trent; the Rev. H. Dannett, of St. John's,
Liverpool; the Rev. Dr. Oglander, of New College, Oxford; the Rev. H.
Coulthurst, of Sidney College, Cambridge; R. Selfe, Esq., of
Cirencester; Morris Birkbeck, of Hanford, Dorsetshire; William Jepson,
of Lancaster; B. Kaye, of Leeds: John Patison, Esq., of Paisley; J.E.
Dolben, Esq., of Northamptonshire; the Rev. Mr. Smith, of Wendover; John
Wilkinson, Esq., of Woodford; Samuel Milford, Esq., of Exeter; Peter
Lunel, Esq., treasurer of the committee at Bristol; James Pemberton, of
Philadelphia; and the president of the Society at New York.
The letters from new correspondents during the latter part of this
period, were the following:--
One from Alexander Alison, Esq., of Edinburgh, in which he expressed it
to be his duty to attempt to awaken the inhabitants of Scotland to a
knowledge of the monstrous evil of the Slave Trade, and to form a
committee there, to act in union with that of London, in carrying the
great object of their institution into effect.
Another from Elhanan Winchester, offering the committee one hundred of
his sermons, which he had preached against the Slave Trade, in Fairfax
county, in Virginia, so early as in the year 1774.
Another from Dr. Frossard, of Lyons, in which he offered his services
for the South of France, and desired different publications to be sent
him, that he might be better qualified to take a part in the promotion
of the cause.
Another from Professor Bruns, of Helmstadt, in Germany, in which he
desired to know the particulars relative to the institution of the
committee, as many thousands upon the continent were then beginning to
feel for the sufferings of the oppressed African race.
Another from Rev. James Manning, of Exeter, in which he stated himself
to be authorized by the dissenting ministers of Devon and Cornwall, to
express their high approbation of the conduct of the committee, and to
offer their services in the promotion of this great work of humanity and
religion.
Another from William Senhouse, Esq., of the island of Barbados. In this
he gave the particulars of two estates, one of them his own, and the
other belonging to a nobleman, upon each of which the slaves, in
consequence of humane treatment, had increased by natural population
only. Another effect of this humane treatment had been, that these
slaves were among the most orderly and tractable in that island. From
these and other instances he argued, that if the planters would, all of
them, take proper care of their slaves, their humanity would be repaid
in a few years, by a valuable increase in their property, and they would
never want supplies from a traffic, which had been so justly condemned.
Two others, the one from Travers Hartley, and the other from Alexander
Jaffray, Esqrs., both of Dublin, were read. These gentlemen sent certain
resolutions, which had been agreed upon by the chamber of commerce and
by the guild of merchants there, relative to the abolition of the Slave
Trade. They rejoiced, in the name of those whom they represented, that
Ireland had been unspotted by a traffic, which they held in such deep
abhorrence; and promised, if it should be abolished in England, to take
the post active measures to prevent it from finding an asylum in the
ports of that kingdom.
The letters of William Senhouse, and of Travers Hartley, and of
Alexander Jaffray, Esqrs., were ordered to be presented to the committee
of privy council, and copies of them to be left there.
The business of the committee having almost daily increased within this
period, Dr. Baker and Bennet Langton, Esq., who were the two first to
assist me in my early labours, and who have been mentioned among the
forerunners and coadjutors of the cause, were elected members of it. Dr.
Kippis also was added to the list.
The honorary and corresponding members, elected within the same period,
were the Dean of Middleham; T.W. Coke, Esq., member of parliament, of
Holkham, in Norfolk; and the Rev. William Leigh, who has been before
mentioned, of Little Plumstead, in the same county. The latter had
published several valuable letters in the public papers, under the
signature of Africanus: these had excited great notice, and done much
good. The worthy author had now collected them into a publication, and
had offered the profits of it to the committee. Hence this mark of their
respect was conferred upon him.
The committee ordered a new edition of three thousand of the Dean of
Middleham's Letters to be printed. Having approved of a manuscript,
written by James Field Stanfield, a mariner, containing observations
upon a voyage which he had lately made to the coast of Africa for
slaves, they ordered three thousand of these to be printed also. By this
time, the subject having been much talked of, and many doubts and
difficulties having been thrown in the way of the abolition, by persons
interested in the continuance of the trade, Mr. Ramsay, who has been
often so honourably mentioned, put down upon paper all the objections
which were then handed about, and also those answers to each, which he
was qualified, from his superior knowledge of the subject, to suggest.
This he did, that the members of the legislature might see the more
intricate parts of the question unravelled, and that they might not be
imposed upon by the spurious arguments which were then in circulation
concerning it. Observing also the poisonous effect which _The Scriptural
Researches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade_ had produced upon the
minds of many, he wrote an answer on scriptural grounds to that
pamphlet. These works were sent to the press, and three thousand copies
of each of them were ordered to be struck off.
The committee, in their arrangement of the distribution of their books,
ordered NEWTON'S _Thoughts_, and RAMSAY'S _Objections and Answers_, to
be sent to each member of both houses of parliament.
They appointed also three sub-committees for different purposes: one to
draw up such facts and arguments respecting the Slave Trade, with a view
of being translated into other languages, as should give foreigners a
suitable knowledge of the subject; another to prepare an answer to
certain false reports which had been spread relative to the object of
their institution, and to procure an insertion of it in the daily
papers; and a third to draw up rules for the government of the society.
By the latter end of the month of March, there was an anxious
expectation in the public, notwithstanding the privy council had taken
up the subject, that some notice should be taken, in the lower house of
parliament, of the numerous petitions which had been presented there.
There was the same expectation in many of the members of it themselves.
Lord Penrhyn, one of the representatives for Liverpool, and a planter
also, had anticipated this notice, by moving for such papers relative to
ships employed, goods exported, produce imported, and duties upon the
same, as would show the vast value of the trade, which it was in
contemplation to abolish. But at this time Mr. Wilberforce was ill, and
unable to gratify the expectations which had been thus apparent. The
committee, therefore, who partook of the anxiety of the public, knew not
what to do. They saw that two-thirds of the session had already passed.
They saw no hope of Mr. Wilberforce's recovery for some time. Rumours
too were afloat, that other members, of whose plans they knew nothing,
and who might even make emancipation their object, would introduce the
business into the house. Thus situated, they waited, as patiently as
they could, till the 8th of April[A], when they resolved to write to Mr.
Wilberforce, to explain to him their fears and wishes, and to submit it
to his consideration, whether, if he were unable himself, he would
appoint some one in whom he could confide, to make some motion in
parliament on the subject.
[Footnote A: Brissot attended in person at this committee in his way to
America, which it was then an object with him to visit.]
But the public expectation became now daily more visible. The
inhabitants of Manchester, many of whom had signed the petition for that
place, became impatient, and they appointed Thomas Walker and Thomas
Cooper, Esquires, as their delegates, to proceed to London to
communicate with the committee on this subject, to assist them in their
deliberations upon it, and to give their attendance while it was under
discussion by the legislature.
At the time of the arrival of the delegates, who were received as such
by the committee, a letter came from Bath, in which it was stated that
Mr. Wilberforce's health was in such a precarious state, that his
physicians dared not allow him to read any letter which related to the
subject of the Slave Trade.
The committee were now again at a loss how to act, when they were
relieved from this doubtful situation by a message from Mr. Pitt, who
desired a conference with their chairman. Mr. Sharp accordingly went,
and on his return made the following report: "He had a full
opportunity," he said, "of explaining to Mr. Pitt that the desire of the
committee went to the entire abolition of the Slave Trade. Mr. Pitt
assured him that his heart was with the committee as to this object, and
that he considered himself pledged to Mr. Wilberforce, that the cause
should not sustain any injury from his indisposition; but at the same
time observed, that the subject was of great political importance, and
it was requisite to proceed in it with temper and prudence. He did not
apprehend, as the examinations before the privy council would yet take
up some time, that the subject could be fully investigated in the
present session of parliament; but said he would consider whether the
forms of the house would admit of any measures that would be obligatory
on them to take it up early in the ensuing session."
In about a week after this conference, Mr. Morton Pitt was deputed by
the minister to write to the committee, to say that he had found
precedents for such a motion as he conceived to be proper, and that he
would submit it to the House of Commons in a few days.
At the next meeting, which was on the 6th of May, and at which Major
Cartwright and the Manchester delegates assisted, Mr. Morton Pitt
attended as a member of the committee, and said that the minister had
fixed his motion for the 9th. It was then resolved, that deputations
should be sent to some of the leading members of parliament, to request
their support of the approaching motion. I was included in one of these,
and in that which was to wait upon Mr. Fox. We were received by him in a
friendly manner. On putting the question to him, which related to the
object of our mission, Mr. Fox paused for a little while, as if in the
act of deliberation; when he assured us unequivocally, and in language
which could not be misunderstood, that he would support the object of
the committee to its fullest extent, being convinced that there was no
remedy for the evil, but in the total abolition of the trade.
At length, the 9th, or the day fixed upon, arrived, when this important
subject was to be mentioned in the House of Commons for the first
time[A], with a view to the public discussion of it. It is impossible
for me to give, within the narrow limits of this work, all that was then
said upon it; and yet as the debate which ensued was the first which
took place upon it, I should feel inexcusable if I were not to take some
notice of it.
[Footnote A: David Hartley made a motion some years before in the same
house, as has been shown in a former part of this work; but this was
only to establish a proposition, That the Slave Trade was contrary to
the Laws of God and the Rights of Man.]
Mr. Pitt rose. He said he intended to move a resolution relative to a
subject which was of more importance than any which had ever been
agitated in that house. This honour he should not have had, but for a
circumstance which he could not but deeply regret, the severe
indisposition of his friend Mr. Wilberforce, in whose hands every
measure which belonged to justice, humanity, and the national interest,
was peculiarly well placed. The subject in question was no less than
that of the Slave Trade. It was obvious from the great number of
petitions which had been presented concerning it, how much it had
engaged the public attention, and consequently how much it deserved the
serious notice of that house, and how much it became their duty to take
some measure concerning it. But whatever was done on such a subject,
every one would agree, ought to be done with the maturest deliberation.
Two opinions had prevailed without doors, as appeared from the language
of the different petitions. It had been pretty generally thought that
the African Slave Trade ought to be abolished. There were others,
however, who thought that it only stood in need of regulations. But all
had agreed that it ought not to remain as it stood at present. But that
measure which it might be the most proper to take, could only be
discovered by a cool, patient, and diligent examination of the subject
in all its circumstances, relations, and consequences. This had induced
him to form an opinion that the present was not the proper time for
discussing it; for the session was now far advanced, and there was also
a want of proper materials for the full information of the house. It
would, he thought, be better discussed, when it might produce some
useful debate, and when that inquiry which had been instituted by His
Majesty's Ministers, (he meant the examination by a committee of privy
council,) should be brought to such a state of maturity as to make it
fit that the result of it should be laid before the house. That inquiry,
he trusted, would facilitate their investigation, and enable them the
better to proceed to a decision which should be equally founded on
principles of humanity, justice, and sound policy. As there was not a
probability of reaching so desirable an end in the present state of the
business, he meant to move a resolution to pledge the house to the
discussion of the question early in the next session. If by that time
his honourable friend should be recovered, which he hoped would be the
case, then he (Mr. Wilberforce) would take the lead in it; but should it
unfortunately happen otherwise, then he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) pledged himself to bring forward some proposition concerning
it. The house, however, would observe, that he had studiously avoided
giving any opinion of his own on this great subject. He thought it wiser
to defer this till the time of the discussion should arrive. He
concluded with moving, after having read the names of the places from
whence the different petitions had come, "That this house will, early in
the next session of parliament, proceed to take into consideration the
circumstances of the Slave Trade complained of in the said petitions,
and what may be fit to be done thereupon."
Mr. Fox began by observing, that he had long taken an interest in this
great subject, which he had also minutely examined, and that it was his
intention to have brought something forward himself in parliament
respecting it; but when he heard that Mr. Wilberforce had resolved to
take it up, he was unaffectedly rejoiced, not only knowing the purity of
his principles and character, but because, from a variety of
considerations as to the situations in which different men stood in the
house, there was something that made him honestly think it was better
that the business should be in the hands of that gentleman than in his
own. Having premised this, he said that, as so many petitions, and these
signed by such numbers of persons of the most respectable character, had
been presented, he was sorry that it had been found impossible that the
subject of them could be taken up this year, and more particularly as he
was not able to see, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer had done, that
there were circumstances, which might happen by the next year, which
would make it more advisable and advantageous to take it up then, than
it would have been to enter upon it in the present session. For
certainly there could be no information laid before the house, through
the medium of the lords of the council, which could not more
advantageously have been obtained by themselves, had they instituted a
similar inquiry. It was their duty to advise the king, and not to ask
his advice. This the constitution had laid down as one of its most
essential principles; and though in the present instance he saw no cause
for blame, because he was persuaded His Majesty's Ministers had not
acted with any ill intention, it was still a principle never to be
departed from, because it never could be departed from without
establishing a precedent which might lead to very serious abuses. He
lamented that the privy council, who had received no petitions from the
people on the subject, should have instituted an inquiry, and that the
House of Commons, the table of which had been loaded with petitions from
various parts of the kingdom, should not have instituted any inquiry at
all. He hoped these petitions would have a fair discussion in that
house, independently of any information that could be given to it by His
Majesty's Ministers. He urged again the superior advantage of an inquiry
into such a subject carried on within those walls over any inquiry
carried on by the lords of the council. In inquiries carried on in that
house, they had the benefit of every circumstance of publicity; which
was a most material benefit indeed, and that which of all others made
the manner of conducting the parliamentary proceedings of Great Britain
the envy and the admiration of the world. An inquiry there was better
than an inquiry in any other place, however respectable the persons
before and by whom it was carried on. There, all that could be said for
the abolition or against it might be said. In that house every relative
fact would have been produced, no information would have been withheld,
no circumstance would have been omitted, which was necessary for
elucidation; nothing would have been kept back. He was sorry, therefore,
that the consideration of the question, but more particularly where so
much human suffering was concerned, should be put off to another
session, when it was obvious that no advantage could be gained by the
delay.
He then adverted to the secrecy which the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had observed relative to his own opinion on this important subject. Why
did he refuse to give it? Had Mr. Wilberforce been present, the house
would have had a great advantage in this respect, because doubtless he
would have stated in what view he saw the subject, and in a general way
described the nature of the project he meant to propose. But now they
were kept in the dark as to the nature of any plan, till the next
session. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had indeed said, that it had
been a very general opinion that the African Slave Trade should be
abolished. He had said again, that others had not gone so far, but had
given it as their opinion, that it required to be revised and regulated.
But why did he not give his own sentiments boldly to the world on this
great question? As for himself, he (Mr. Fox) had no scruple to declare
at the outset, that the Slave Trade ought not to be regulated, but
destroyed. To this opinion his mind was made up; and he was persuaded
that, the more the subject was considered, the more his opinion would
gain ground; and it would be admitted, that to consider it in any other
manner, or on any other principles than those of humanity and justice,
would be idle and absurd. If there were any such men, and he did not
know but that there were those, who, led away by local and interested
considerations, thought the Slave Trade might still continue under
certain modifications, these were the dupes of error, and mistook what
they thought their interest, for what he would undertake to convince
them was their loss. Let such men only hear the case further, and they
would find the result to be, that a cold-hearted policy was folly when
it opposed the great principles of humanity and justice.
He concluded by saying that he would not oppose the resolution, if other
members thought it best to postpone the consideration of the subject;
but he should have been better pleased if it had been discussed sooner;
and he certainly reserved to himself the right of voting for any
question upon it that should be brought forward by any other member in
the course of the present session.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that nothing he had heard had
satisfied him of the propriety of departing from the rule he had laid
down for himself, of not offering, but of studiously avoiding to offer,
any opinion upon the subject till the time should arrive when it could
be fully argued. He thought that no discussion which could take place
that session, could lead to any useful measure, and therefore, he had
wished not to argue it till the whole of it could be argued. A day would
come, when every member would have an opportunity of stating his
opinion; and he wished it might be discussed with a proper spirit on all
sides, on fair and liberal principles, and without any shackles from
local and interested considerations.
With regard to the inquiries instituted before the committee of privy
council, he was sure, as soon as it became obvious that the subject must
undergo a discussion, it was the duty of His Majesty's Ministers to set
those inquiries on foot, which should best enable them to judge in what
manner they could meet or offer any proposition respecting the Slave
Trade. And although such previous examinations by no means went to
deprive that house of its undoubted right to institute those inquiries;
or to preclude them, they would be found greatly to facilitate them.
But, exclusive of this consideration, it would have been utterly
impossible to have come to any discussion of the subject, that could
have been brought to a conclusion in the course of the present session.
Did the inquiry then before the privy council prove a loss of time? So
far from it, that, upon the whole, time had been gained by it. He had
moved the resolution, therefore, to pledge the house to bring on the
discussion early in the next session, when they would have a full
opportunity of considering every part of the subject: first, whether the
whole of the trade ought to be abolished; and, if so, how and when. If
it should be thought that the trade should only be put under certain
regulations, what those regulations ought to be, and when they should
take place. These were questions which must be considered; and therefore
he had made his resolution as wide as possible, that there might be room
for all necessary considerations to be taken in. He repeated his
declaration, that he would reserve his sentiments till the day of
discussion should arrive; and again declared, that he earnestly wished
to avoid an anticipation of the debate upon the subject. But if such
debate was likely to take place, he would withdraw his motion, and offer
it another day.
A few words then passed between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox in reply to each
other; after which Lord Penrhyn rose. He said there were two classes of
men, the African merchants, and the planters, both of whose characters
had been grossly calumniated. These wished that an inquiry might be
instituted, and this immediately, conscious that the more their conduct
was examined the less they would be found to merit the opprobrium with
which they had been loaded. The charges against the Slave Trade were
either true or false. If they were true, it ought to be abolished; but
if upon inquiry they were found to be without foundation, justice ought
to be done to the reputation of those who were concerned in it. He then
said a few words, by which he signified, that, after all, it might not
be an improper measure to make regulations in the trade.
Mr. Burke said, the noble lord, who was a man of honour himself, had
reasoned from his own conduct, and, being conscious of his own
integrity, was naturally led to imagine that other men were equally just
and honourable. Undoubtedly the merchants and planters had a right to
call for an investigation of their conduct, and their doing so did them
great credit. The Slave Trade also ought equally to be inquired into.
Neither did he deny that it was right his Majesty's ministers should
inquire into its merits for themselves. They had done their duty; but
that House, who had the petitions of the people on their table,
neglected it, by having so long deferred an inquiry of their own. If
that House wished to preserve their functions, their understandings,
their honour, and their dignity, he advised them to beware of committees
of privy council. If they suffered their business to be done by such
means, they were abdicating their trust and character, and making way
for an entire abolition of their functions, which they were parting with
one after another, Thus:--
Star after star goes out, and all is night.
If they neglected the petitions of their constituents, they must fall,
and the privy-counsel be instituted in their stead. What would be the
consequence? His Majesty's Ministers, instead of consulting them, and
giving them the opportunity of exercising their functions of
deliberation and legislation, would modify the measures of government
elsewhere, and bring down the edicts of the privy council to them to
register. Mr. Burke said, he was one of those who wished for the
abolition of the Slave Trade. He thought it ought to be abolished, on
principles of humanity and justice. If, however, opposition of interests
should render its total abolition impossible, it ought to be regulated,
and that immediately. They need not send to the West Indies to know the
opinions of the planters on the subject. They were to consider first of
all, and abstractedly from all political, personal, and local
considerations, that the Slave Trade was directly contrary to the
principles of humanity and justice, and to the spirit of the British
constitution; and that the state of slavery, which followed it, however
mitigated, was a state so improper, so degrading, and so ruinous to the
feelings and capacities of human nature, that it ought not to be
suffered to exist. He deprecated delay in this business, as well for the
sake of planters as of the slaves.
Mr. Gascoyne, the other member for Liverpool, said he had no objection
that the discussion should stand over to the next session of parliament,
provided it could not come on in the present, because he was persuaded
it would ultimately be found that his constituents, who were more
immediately concerned in the trade, and who had been so shamefully
calumniated, were men of respectable character. He hoped the privy
council would print their Report when they had brought their inquiries
to a conclusion, and that they would lay it before the House and the
public, in order to enable all concerned to form a judgment of what was
proper to be done relative to the subject next session. With respect,
however, to the total abolition of the Slave Trade, he must confess that
such a measure was both unnecessary, visionary, and impracticable; but
he wished some alterations or modifications to be adopted. He hoped
that, when the House came to go into the general question, they would
not forget the trade, commerce, and navigation of the country.
Mr. Rolle said, he had received instruction from his constituents to
inquire if the grievances, which had been alleged to result from the
Slave Trade, were well founded; and, if it appear that they were, to
assist in applying a remedy. He was glad the discussion had been put off
till next session, as it would give all of them an opportunity of
considering the subject with more mature deliberation.
Mr. Martin desired to say a few words only. He put the case, that,
supposing the slaves were treated ever so humanely, when they were
carried to the West Indies, what compensation could be made them for
being torn from their nearest relations, and from everything that was
dear to them in life? He hoped no political advantage, no national
expediency, would be allowed to weigh in the scale against the eternal
rules of moral rectitude. As for himself, he had no hesitation to
declare, in this early stage of the business, that he should think
himself a wicked wretch if he did not do everything in his power to put
a stop to the Slave Trade.
Sir William Dolben said, that he did not then wish to enter into the
discussion of the general question of the abolition of the Slave Trade,
which the Chancellor of the Exchequer was so desirous of postponing; but
he wished to say a few words on what he conceived to be a most crying
evil, and which might be immediately remedied, without infringing upon
the limits of that question. He did not allude to the sufferings of the
poor Africans in their own country, nor afterwards in the West India
islands, but to that intermediate state of tenfold misery which they
underwent in their transportation. When put on board the ships, the poor
unhappy wretches were chained to each other, hand and foot, and stowed
so close, that they were not allowed above a foot and a half for each
individual in breadth. Thus crammed together like herrings in a barrel,
they contracted putrid and fatal disorders; so that they who came to
inspect them in a morning had occasionally to pick dead slaves out of
their rows, and to unchain their carcasses from the bodies of their
wretched fellow-sufferers, to whom they had been fastened. Nor was it
merely to the slaves that the baneful effects of the contagion thus
created were confined. This contagion affected the ships' crews, and
numbers of the seamen employed in the horrid traffic perished. This
evil, he said, called aloud for a remedy, and that remedy ought to be
applied soon; otherwise no less than ten thousand lives might be lost
between this and next session. He wished therefore this grievance to be
taken into consideration, independently of the general question; and
that some regulations, such as restraining the captains from taking
above a certain number of slaves on board, according to the size of
their vessels, and obliging them to let in fresh air, and provide better
accommodation for the slaves during their passage, should be adopted.
Mr. Young wished the consideration of the whole subject to stand over to
the next session.
Sir James Johnstone, though a planter, professed himself a friend to the
abolition of the Slave Trade. He said it was highly necessary that the
House should do something respecting it; but whatever was to be done
should be done soon, as delay might be productive of bad consequences in
the islands.
Mr. L. Smith stood up a zealous advocate for the abolition of the Slave
Trade. He said that even Lord Penrhyn and Mr. Gascoyne, the members for
Liverpool, had admitted the evil of it to a certain extent; for
regulations or modifications, in which they seemed to acquiesce, were
unnecessary where abuses did not really exist.
Mr. Grigby thought it his duty to declare, that no privy council report,
or other mode of examination, could influence him. A traffic in the
persons of men was so odious, that it ought everywhere, as soon as ever
it was discovered, to be abolished.
Mr. Bastard was anxious that the House should proceed to the discussion
of the subject in the present session. The whole country, he said, had
petitioned; and was it any satisfaction to the country to be told, that
the committee of privy council were inquiring? Who knew anything of what
was doing by the committee of privy council, or what progress they were
making? The inquiry ought to have been instituted in that House, and in
the face of the public, that everybody concerned might know what was
going on. The numerous petitions of the people ought immediately to be
attended to. He reprobated delay on this occasion; and as the honourable
baronet, Sir William Dolben, had stated facts which were shocking to
humanity, he hoped he would move that a committee might be appointed to
inquire into their existence, that a remedy might be applied, if
possible, before the sailing of the next ships for Africa.
Mr. Whitbread professed himself a strenuous advocate for the total and
immediate abolition of the Slave Trade. It was contrary to nature, and
to every principle of justice, humanity, and religion.
Mr. Pelham stated, that he had very maturely considered the subject of
the Slave Trade; and had he not known that the business was in the hands
of an honourable member, (whose absence from the house, and the cause of
it, no man lamented more sincerely than he did,) he should have ventured
to propose something concerning it himself. If it should be thought that
the trade ought not to be entirely done away, the sooner it was
regulated the better. He had a plan for this purpose, which appeared to
him to be likely to produce some salutary effects. He wished to know if
any such thing would be permitted to be proposed in the course of the
present session.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said he should be happy, if he thought
the circumstances of the house were such as to enable them to proceed to
an immediate discussion of the question; but as that did not appear,
from the reasons he had before stated, to be the case, he could only
assure the honourable gentleman, that the same motives which had induced
him to propose an inquiry into the subject early in the next session of
parliament, would make him desirous of receiving any other light which
could be thrown upon it.
The question having been then put, the resolution was agreed to
unanimously. Thus ended the first debate that ever took place in the
Commons, on this important subject. This debate, though many of the
persons concerned in it abstained cautiously from entering into the
merits of the general question, became interesting, in consequence of
circumstances attending it. Several rose up at once to give relief, as
it were, to their feelings by utterance; but by so doing they were
prevented, many of them, from being heard. They who were heard, spoke
with peculiar energy, as if warmed in an extraordinary manner by the
subject. There was an apparent enthusiasm in behalf of the injured
Africans. It was supposed by some, that there was a moment, in which, if
the Chancellor of the Exchequer had moved for an immediate abolition of
the trade, he would have carried it that night; and both he and others,
who professed an attachment to the cause, were censured for not having
taken a due advantage of the disposition which was so apparent. But
independently of the inconsistency of doing this on the part of the
ministry, while the privy council were in the midst of their inquiries,
and of the improbability that the other branches of the legislature
would have concurred in so hasty a measure; what good would have accrued
to the cause, if the abolition had been then carried? Those concerned in
the cruel system would never have rested quietly under the stigma under
which they then laboured. They would have urged, that they had been
condemned unheard. The merchants would have said, that they had had no
notice of such an event, that they might prepare, a way for their
vessels in other trades. The planters would have said, that they had had
no time allowed them to provide such supplies from Africa as might
enable them to keep up their respective stocks. They would, both of
them, have called aloud for immediate indemnification. They would have
decried the policy of the measure of the abolition; and where had it
been proved? They would have demanded a reverse of it; and might they
not in cooler moments have succeeded? Whereas, by entering into a
patient discussion of the merits of the question; by bringing evidence
upon it; by reasoning upon that evidence night after night, and year
after year, and thus by disputing the ground inch as it were by inch,
the abolition of the Slave Trade stands upon a rock, upon which it never
can be shaken. Many of those who were concerned in the cruel system have
now given up their prejudices, because they became convinced in the
contest. A stigma too has been fixed upon it, which can never be erased:
and in a large record, in which the cruelty and injustice of it have
been recognised in indelible characters, its impolicy also has been
eternally enrolled.