slaves, he would now answer two objections which he had frequently heard
stated. The first of these was, that the abolition of the Slave Trade
would operate to the total ruin of our navy, and to the increase of that
of our rivals. For an answer to these assertions, he referred to what he
considered to be the most valuable part of the report, and for which the
House and the country were indebted to the indefatigable exertions of
Mr. Clarkson. By the report it appeared, that, instead of the Slave
Trade being a nursery for British seamen, it was their grave. It
appeared that more seamen died in that trade in one year than in the
whole remaining trade of the country in two. Out of 910 sailors in it,
216 died in the year, while upon a fair average of the same number of
men employed in the trades to the East and West Indies, Petersburgh,
Newfoundland, and Greenland, no more than eighty-seven died. It appeared
also, that out of 3170, who had left Liverpool in the slave-ships in the
year 1787, only 1428 had returned. And here, while he lamented the loss
which the country thus annually sustained in her seamen, he had
additionally to lament the barbarous usage which they experienced, and
which this trade, by its natural tendency to harden the heart,
exclusively produced. He would just read an extract of a letter from
Governor Parrey, of Barbados, to Lord Sydney, one of the secretaries of
state. The Governor declared he could no longer contain himself on
account of the ill treatment, which the British sailors endured at the
hands of their savage captains. These were obliged to have their vessels
strongly manned, not only on account of the unhealthiness of the climate
of Africa, but of the necessity of guarding the slaves, and preventing
and suppressing insurrections; and when they arrived in the West Indies,
and were out of all danger from the latter, they quarrelled with their
men on the most frivolous pretences, on purpose to discharge them, and
thus save the payment of supernumerary wages home. Thus many were left
in a diseased and deplorable state; either to perish by sickness, or to
enter into foreign service; great numbers of whom were for ever lost to
their country. The Governor concluded by declaring, that the enormities
attendant on this trade were so great, as to demand the immediate
interference of the legislature.
The next objection to the abolition was, that if we were to relinquish
the Slave Trade, our rivals, the French, would take it up; so that,
while we should suffer by the measure, the evil would still go on, and
this even to its former extent. This was, indeed, a very weak argument;
and, if it would defend the continuance of the Slave Trade, might
equally be urged in favour of robbery, murder, and every species of
wickedness, which, if we did not practise, others would commit. But
suppose, for the sake of argument, that they were to take it up, what
good would it do them? What advantages, for instance, would they derive
from this pestilential commerce to their marine? Should not we, on the
other hand, be benefited by this change? Would they not be obliged to
come to us, in consequence of the cheapness of our manufactures, for
what they wanted for the African market? But he would not calumniate the
French nation so much as to suppose that they would carry on the trade,
if we were to relinquish it. He believed, on the other hand, that they
would abolish it also. Mr. Necker, the minister of France, was a man of
religious principle; and, in his work upon the administration of the
finances, had recorded his abhorrence of this trade. He was happy also
to relate an anecdote of the king of France, which proved that he was a
friend to the abolition; for, being petitioned to dissolve a society,
formed at Paris, for the annihilation of the Slave Trade, his majesty
answered, that he would not, and was happy to hear that so humane an
association was formed in his dominions. And here, having mentioned the
society in Paris, he could not help paying a due compliment to that
established in London for the same purpose, which had laboured with the
greatest assiduity to make this important subject understood, and which
had conducted itself with so much judgment and moderation as to have
interested men of all religions, and to have united them in their cause.
There was another topic which he would submit to the notice of the
House, before he concluded. They were perhaps not aware that a fair and
honourable trade might be substituted in the natural productions of
Africa, so that our connexion with that continent in the way of
commercial advantage need not be lost. The natives had already made some
advances in it; and if they had not appeared so forward in raising and
collecting their own produce for sale as in some other countries, it was
to be imputed to the Slave Trade: but remove the cause, and Africa would
soon emerge from her present ignorant and indolent state. Civilization
would go on with her as well as with other nations. Europe, three or
four centuries ago, was in many parts as barbarous as Africa at present,
and chargeable with as bad practices. For what would be said, if, so
late as the middle of the thirteenth century, he could find a parallel
there for the Slave Trade?--Yes. This parallel was to be found even in
England. The people of Bristol, in the reign of Henry the Seventh, had a
regular market for children, which were bought by the Irish: but the
latter having experienced a general calamity, which they imputed as a
judgment from Heaven on account of this wicked traffic, abolished it.
The only thing, therefore, which he had to solicit of the House, was to
show that they were now as enlightened as the Irish were four centuries
back, by refusing to buy the children of other nations. He hoped they
would do it. He hoped, too, they would do it in an unqualified manner.
Nothing less than a total abolition of the trade would do away the evils
complained of. The legislature of Jamaica, indeed, had thought that
regulations might answer the purpose. Their report had recommended, that
no person should be kidnapped, or permitted to be made a slave, contrary
to the customs of Africa. But might he not be reduced to this state very
unjustly, and yet by no means contrary to the African laws? Besides, how
could we distinguish between those who were justly or unjustly reduced
to it? Could we discover them by their physiognomy?--But if we could,
who would believe that the British captains would be influenced by any
regulations; made in this country, to refuse to purchase those who had
not been fairly, honestly? and uprightly enslaved? They who were offered
to us for sale, were brought, some of them, three or four thousand
miles, and exchanged like cattle from one hand to another, till they
reached the coast. But who could return these to their homes, or make
them compensation for their sufferings during their long journeyings? He
would now conclude by begging pardon of the House for having detained
them so long. He could indeed have expressed his own conviction in fewer
words. He needed only to have made one or two short statements, and to
have quoted the commandment, "Thou shalt do no murder." But he thought
it his duty to lay the whole of the case, and the whole of its guilt,
before them. They would see now that no mitigations, no palliatives,
would either be efficient or admissible. Nothing short of an absolute
abolition could be adopted. This they owed to Africa: they owed it, too,
to their own moral characters. And he hoped they would follow up the
principle of one of the repentant African captains, who had gone before
the committee of privy council as a voluntary witness, and that they
would make Africa all the atonement in their power for the multifarious
injuries she had received at the hands of British subjects. With respect
to these injuries, their enormity and extent, it might be alleged in
their excuse, that they were not fully acquainted with them till that
moment, and therefore not answerable for their former existence: but now
they could no longer plead ignorance concerning them. They had seen them
brought directly before their eyes, and they must decide for themselves,
and must justify to the world and their own consciences the facts and
principles upon which their decision was formed.
Mr. Wilberforce having concluded his speech, which lasted three hours
and a half, read, and laid on the table of the House, as subjects for
their future discussion, twelve propositions which he had deduced from
the evidence contained in the privy council report, and of which the
following is the abridged substance:--
1. That the number of slaves annually carried from the coast of Africa,
in British vessels, was about 38,000, of which, on an average, 22,500
were carried to the British islands, and that of the latter only 17,500
were retained there.
2. That these slaves, according to the evidence on the table, consisted,
first, of prisoners of war; secondly, of free persons sold for debt, or
on account of real or imputed crimes, particularly adultery and
witchcraft; in which cases they were frequently sold with their whole
families, and sometimes for the profit of those by whom they were
condemned; thirdly, of domestic slaves sold for the profit of their
masters, in some places at the will of the masters, and in others, on
being condemned by them for real or imputed crimes; fourthly, of persons
made slaves by various acts of oppression, violence, or fraud, committed
either by the princes and chiefs of those countries on their subjects,
or by private individuals on each other; or, lastly, by Europeans
engaged in this traffic.
3. That the trade so carried on, had necessarily a tendency to occasion
frequent and cruel wars among the natives; to produce unjust convictions
and punishments for pretended or aggravated crimes; to encourage acts of
oppression, violence, and fraud, and to obstruct the natural course of
civilization and improvement in those countries!
4. That Africa in its present state furnished several valuable articles
of commerce, which were partly peculiar to itself, but that it was
adapted to the production of others, with which we were now either
wholly or in great part supplied by foreign nations. That an extensive
commerce with Africa might be substituted in these commodities, so as to
afford a return for as many articles as had annually been carried
thither in British vessels: and, lastly, that such a commerce might
reasonably be expected to increase, by the progress of civilization
there.
5. That the Slave Trade was peculiarly destructive to the seamen
employed in it; and that the mortality there had been much greater than
in any British vessels employed upon the same coast in any other service
or trade.
6. That the mode of transporting the slaves from Africa to the West
Indies necessarily exposed them to many and grievous sufferings, for
which no regulations could provide an adequate remedy; and that in
consequence thereof a large proportion had annually perished during the
voyage.
7. That a large proportion had also perished in the harbours in the West
Indies, from the diseases contracted in the voyage, and the treatment of
the same, previously to their being sold; and that this loss amounted to
four and a half percent of the imported slaves.
8. That the loss of the newly-imported slaves, within the three first
years after their importation, bore a large proportion to the whole
number imported.
9. That the natural increase of population among the slaves in the
islands appeared to have been impeded principally by the following
causes:--First, by the inequality of the sexes in the importations from
Africa. Secondly, by the general dissoluteness of manners among the
slaves, and the want of proper regulations for the encouragement of
marriages, and of rearing children among them. Thirdly, by the
particular diseases which were prevalent among them, and which were, in
some instances, to be attributed to too severe labour, or rigorous
treatment; and in others to insufficient or improper food. Fourthly, by
those diseases, which affected a large proportion of negro-children in
their infancy, and by those to which the negroes, newly imported from
Africa, had been found to be particularly liable.
10. That the whole number of the slaves in the island of Jamaica, in
1768, was about 167,000, in 1774, about 193,000, and in 1787, about
256,000: that by comparing these numbers with the numbers imported and
retained in the said island during all these years, and making proper
allowances, the annual excess of deaths above births was in the
proportion of about seven-eighths per cent.; that in the first six years
of this period it was in the proportion of rather more than one on every
hundred; that in the last thirteen years of the same it was in the
proportion of about three-fifths on every hundred; and that a number of
slaves, amounting to fifteen thousand, perished during the latter
period, in consequence of repeated hurricanes, and of the want of
foreign supplies of provisions.
11. That the whole number of slaves in the island of Barbados was, in
the year, 1764, about 70,706; in 1774, about 74,874; in 1780, about
68,270; in 1781, after the hurricane, about 63,248, and in 1786, about
62,115; that, by comparing these numbers with the number imported into
this island, (not allowing for any re-exportation,) the annual excess of
deaths above births in the ten years, from 1764 to 1774, was in, the
proportion of about five on every hundred; that in the seven years, from
1774 to 1780, it was in the proportion of about one and one-third on
every hundred; that between the years 1780 and 1781 there had been a
decrease in the number of slaves, of about 5000; that in the six years,
from 1781 to 1786, the excess of deaths was in the proportion of rather
less than seven-eighths on every hundred; that in the four years, from,
1783 to 1786, it was in the proportion of rather less than one-third on
every hundred; and that during the whole period, there was no doubt that
some had been exported from the island, but considerably more in the
first part of this period than in the last.
12. That the accounts from the Leeward Islands, and from Dominica,
Grenada, and St. Vincent's, did not furnish sufficient grounds for
comparing the state of population in the said islands, at different
periods, with the number of slaves, which had been from time to time
imported there, and exported therefrom; but that from the evidence which
had been received, respecting the present state of these islands, as
well as that of Jamaica and Barbados, and from a consideration of the
means of obviating the causes, which had hitherto operated to impede the
natural increase of the slaves, and of lessening the demand for manual
labour, without diminishing the profit of the planters, no considerable
or permanent inconvenience would result from discontinuing the further
importation of African slaves.
These propositions having been laid upon the table of the House, Lord
Penrhyn rose in behalf of the planters; and next, after him, Mr.
Gascoyne, (both members for Liverpool,) in behalf of the merchants
concerned in the latter place. They both predicted the ruin and misery
which would inevitably follow the abolition of the trade. The former
said, that no less than seventy millions were mortgaged upon lands in
the West Indies, all of which would be lost. Mr. Wilberforce, therefore,
should have made a motion to pledge the House to the repayment of this
sum, before he had brought forward his propositions. Compensation ought
to have been agreed upon as a previous necessary measure. The latter
said, that in consequence of the bill of last year, many ships were laid
up, and many seamen out of employ. His constituents had large capitals
engaged in the trade, and, if it were to be wholly done away, they would
suffer from not knowing where to employ them: they both joined in
asserting, that Mr. Wilberforce had made so many misrepresentations in
all the branches of this subject, that no reliance whatever was to be
placed on the picture, which he had chosen to exhibit. They should
speak, however, more fully to this point when the propositions were
discussed.
The latter declaration called up Mr. Wilberforce again, who observed
that he had no intention of misrepresenting any fact: he did not know
that he had done it in any one instance; but, if he had, it would be
easy to convict him out of the report upon the table.
Mr. Burke then rose. He would not, he said, detain the committee long:
indeed, he was not able, weary and indisposed as he then felt himself,
even if he had an inclination to do it; but as on account of his other
parliamentary duty, he might not have it in his power to attend the
business now before them in its course, he would take that opportunity
of stating his opinion upon it.
And, first, the House, the nation, and all Europe were under great
obligations to Mr. Wilberforce for having brought this important subject
forward. He had done it in a manner the most masterly, impressive, and
eloquent. He had laid down his principles so admirably, and with so much
order and force, that his speech had equalled anything he had ever heard
in modern oratory, and perhaps it had not been excelled by anything to
be found in ancient times. As to the Slave Trade itself, there could not
be two opinions about it, where men were not interested. A trade begun
in savage war, prosecuted with unheard-of barbarity, continued during
the transportation with the most loathsome imprisonment, and ending in
perpetual exile and slavery, was a trade so horrid in all in
circumstances, that it; was impossible to produce a single argument in
its favour. On the ground of prudence, nothing could be said in defence
of it, nor could it be justified by necessity. It was necessity alone
that could be brought to justify inhumanity; but no case of necessity
could be made out strong enough to justify this monstrous traffic. It
was therefore the duty of the House to put an end to it, and this
without further delay. This conviction, that it became them to do it
immediately, made him regret (and it was the only thing he regretted in
the admirable speech he had heard) that his honourable friend should
have introduced propositions on this subject. He could have wished that
the business had been brought to a conclusion at once, without voting
the propositions which had been read to them. He was not over fond of
abstract propositions; they were seldom necessary, and often occasioned
great difficulty, embarrassment, and delay. There was, besides, no
occasion whatever to assign detailed reasons for a vote, which nature
herself dictated, and which religion enforced. If it should happen that
the propositions were not carried in that House or the other, such a
complication of mischiefs might follow, as might occasion them heartily
to lament that they were ever introduced. If the ultimate resolution
should happen to be lost, he was afraid the propositions would pass as
waste paper, if not be injurious to the cause at a future time.
And now, as the House must bring this matter to an issue, he would beg
their attention to a particular point. He entreated them to look further
than the present moment, and to ask themselves if they had fortified
their minds sufficiently to bear the consequences which might arise from
the abolition of the Slave Trade, supposing they should decide upon it.
When they abandoned it, other foreign powers might take it up, and
clandestinely supply our islands with slaves. Had they virtue enough to
see another country reaping profits, which they themselves had given up;
and to abstain from that envy natural to rivals, and firmly to adhere to
their determination? If so, let them thankfully proceed to vote the
immediate abolition of the Slave Trade. But if they should repent of
their virtue, (and he had known miserable instances of such repentance,)
all hopes of future reformation of this enormous evil would be lost.
They would go back to a trade they had abandoned with redoubled
attachment, and would adhere to it with a degree of avidity and
shameless ardour, to their own humiliation, and to the degradation and
disgrace of the nation in the eyes of all Europe. These were
considerations worth regarding, before they took a decisive step in a
business, in which they ought not to move with any other determination
than to abide by the consequences at all hazards. The honourable
gentleman (who to his eternal honour had introduced this great subject
to their notice) had, in his eloquent oration, knocked at every door,
and appealed to every passion, well knowing that mankind were governed
by their sympathies. But there were other passions to be regarded; men
were always ready to obey their sympathies when it cost them nothing;
but were they prepared to pay the price of their virtue on this great
occasion? This was the question. If they were, they would do themselves
immortal honour, and would have the satisfaction of having done away a
commerce, which, while it was productive of misery not to be described,
most of all hardened the heart and vitiated the human character.
With respect to the consequences mentioned by the two members for
Liverpool, he had a word or two to offer upon them. Lord Penrhyn had
talked of millions to be lost and paid for; but seeing no probability of
any loss ultimately, he could see no necessity for compensation. He
believed on the other hand, that the planters would be great gainers by
those wholesome regulations, which they would be obliged to make, if the
Slave Trade were abolished. He did not however flatter them with the
idea that this gain would be immediate. Perhaps they might experience
inconveniences at first, and even some loss. But what then? With their
loss, their virtue would be the greater. And in this light he hoped the
House would consider the matter; for, if they were called upon to do an
act of virtuous energy and heroism, they ought to think it right to
submit to temporary disadvantages for the sake of truth, justice,
humanity, and the prospect of greater happiness.
The other member, Mr. Gascoyne, had said that his constituents, if the
trade were abolished, could not employ their capitals elsewhere. But
whether they could or not, it was the duty of that House, if they put
them into a traffic which was shocking to humanity and disgraceful to
the nation, to change their application, and not to allow them to be
used to a barbarous purpose. He believed, however, that the merchants of
Liverpool would find no difficulty on this head. All capitals required
active motion; it was in their nature not to remain passive and
unemployed; they would soon turn them into other channels. This they had
done themselves during the American war; for the Slave Trade was almost
wholly lost, and yet they had their ships employed, either as transports
in the service of government or in other ways.
And as he now called upon the House not to allow any conjectural losses
to become impediments in the way of the abolition of the Slave Trade, so
he called upon them to beware how they suffered any representations of
the happiness of the state of slavery in our islands to influence them
against so glorious a measure. Admiral Barrington had said in his
testimony, that he had often envied the condition of the slaves there.
But surely, the honourable admiral must have meant, that, as he had
often toiled like a slave in the defence of his country, (as his many
gallant actions had proved,) so he envied the day when he was to toil in
a similar manner in the same cause. If, however, his words were to be
taken literally, his sensations could only be accounted for by his
having seen the negroes in the hour of their sports, when a sense of the
misery of their condition was neither felt by themselves not visible to
others. But their appearance on such occasions did by no means disprove
their low and abject state. Nothing made a happy slave but a degraded
man. In proportion as the mind grows callous to its degradation, and all
sense of manly pride is lost, the slave feels comfort. In fact, he is no
longer a man. If he were to define a man, he would say with Shakespeare,
Man is a being holding large discourse,
Looking before and after.
But, a slave was incapable of looking before and after; he had no motive
to do it; he was a mere passive instrument in the hands of others to be
used at their discretion. Though living, he was, dead as to all
voluntary agency; though moving amidst the creation with an erect form,
and with the shape and semblance of a human being, he was a nullity as a
man.
Mr. Pitt thanked his honourable friend Mr. Wilberforce for having at
length introduced this great and important subject to the consideration
of the House. He thanked him also for the perspicuous, forcible, and
masterly manner in which he had treated it. He was sure that no argument
compatible with any idea of justice could be assigned for the
continuation of the Slave Trade. And at the same time that he was
willing to listen with candour and attention to everything that could be
urged on the other side of the question, he was sure that the
principles, from which his opinion was deduced, were unalterable. He had
examined the subject with the anxiety which became him, where the
happiness and interests of so many thousands were concerned, and with
the minuteness which would be expected of him, on account of, the
responsible situation which he held; and he averred that it was
sophistry, obscurity of ideas, and vagueness of reasoning, which alone
could have hitherto prevented all mankind (those immediately interested
in the question excepted) from agreeing in one and the same opinion upon
the subject. With respect to the propriety of introducing the individual
propositions which had been offered, he differed with Mr. Burke, and he
thanked his honourable friend Mr. Wilberforce for having chosen the only
way in which it could be made obvious to the worlds that they were
warranted on every ground of reason and of fact in coming to that vote,
which he trusted would be the end of their proceeding. The grounds for
the attainment of this end were distinctly stated in the propositions.
Let the propositions be brought before the House, one by one, and argued
from the evidence, and it would then be seen that they were such as no
one, who was not deaf to the language of reason, could deny. Let them be
once entered upon the journals of that House, and it was almost
impossible they should fail. The abolition must be voted; as to the mode
of it, or how it should be effected, they were not at present to discuss
it; but he trusted it would be such as would not invite foreign powers
to supply our islands with slaves by a clandestine trade. After a debt,
founded on the immutable principles of justice, was found to be due, it
was impossible but the country had means to cause it to be paid. Should
such an illicit proceeding be attempted; the only language which it
became us to adopt, was, that Great Britain had resources to enable her
to protect her islands, and to prevent that traffic from being
clandestinely carried on by them, which she had thought fit from a
regard to her character to abandon. It was highly becoming Great Britain
to take the lead of other nations in such a virtuous and magnificent
measure, and he could not but have confidence that they would he
inclined to share the honour with us, or be pleased to follow us as
their example. If we were disposed to set about this glorious work in
earnest, they might he invited to concur with us by a negotiation to be
immediately opened for that purpose. He would only now observe, before
he sat down, in answer to certain ideas thrown out, that he could by no
means acquiesce in any compensation for losses which might be sustained
by the people of Liverpool or by others in any other part of the
kingdom, in the execution of this just and necessary undertaking.
Sir William Yonge said, he wanted no inducement to concur with the
honourable mover of the propositions, provided the latter could be
fairly established, and no serious mischiefs were to arise from the
abolition. But he was apprehensive, that many evils might follow in the
case of any sudden or unlooked-for decrease in the slaves. They might be
destroyed by hurricanes. They might be swept off by many fatal
disorders. In these cases, the owners of them would not be able to fill
up their places, and they who had lent money upon the lands, where the
losses had happened, would foreclose their mortgages. He was fearful,
also, that a clandestine trade would be carried on, and then the
sufferings of the Africans, crammed up in small vessels, which would be
obliged to be hovering about from day to day, to watch an opportunity of
landing, would be ten times greater than any which they now experienced
in the legal trade. He was glad, however, as the matter was to be
discussed, that it had been brought forward in the shape of distinct
propositions, to be grounded upon the evidence in the privy council
report.
Mr. Fox observed that he did not like, where he agreed as to the
substance of a measure, to differ with respect to the form of it. If,
however, he differed in any thing in the present case, it was with a
view rather to forward the business than to injure it, or to throw
anything like an obstacle in its way. Nothing like either should come
from him. What he thought was, that all the propositions were not
necessary to be voted previously to the ultimate decision, though some
of them undoubtedly were. He considered them as of two classes: the one,
alleging the grounds upon which it was proper to proceed to the
abolition; such as that the trade was productive of inexpressible
misery, in various ways, to the innocent natives of Africa; that it was
the grave of our seamen, and so on; the other merely answering
objections which might be started, and where there might be a difference
of opinion. He was, however, glad that the propositions were likely to
be entered upon the journals; since, if, from any misfortune, the
business should be deferred, it might succeed another year. Sure he was
that it could not fail to succeed sooner or later. He highly approved of
what Mr. Pitt had said relative to the language it became us to hold out
to foreign powers, in case of a clandestine trade. With respect,
however, to the assertion of Sir William Yonge that a clandestine trade
in slaves would be worse than a legal one, he could not admit it. Such a
trade, if it existed at all, ought only to be clandestine. A trade in
human flesh and sinews was so scandalous, that it ought not openly to be
carried on by any government whatever, and much less by that of a
Christian country. With regard to the regulation of the Slave Trade, he
knew of no such thing as a regulation of robbery and murder. There was
no medium. The legislature must either abolish it, or plead guilty of
all the wickedness which had been shown to attend it. He would now say a
word or two with respect to the conduct of foreign nations on this
subject. It was possible that these, when they heard that the matter had
been discussed in that House, might follow the example, or they might go
before us and set one themselves. If this were to happen, though we
might be the losers, humanity would be the gainer. He himself had been
thought sometimes to use expressions relative to France, which were too
harsh, and as if he could only treat her as the enemy of this country.
Politically speaking, France was our rival. But he well knew the
distinction between political enmity and illiberal prejudice. If there
was any great and enlightened nation in Europe, it was France, which was
as likely as any country upon the face of the globe to catch a spark
from the light of our fire, and to act upon the present subject with
warmth and enthusiasm. France had often been improperly stimulated by
her ambition; and he had no doubt but that, in the present instance, she
would readily follow its honourable dictates.
Mr. (afterwards Lord) Grenville would not detain the house by going into
a question which had been so ably argued; but he should not do justice
to his feelings, if he did not express publicly to his honourable
friend, Mr. Wilberforce, the pleasure he had received from one of the
most masterly and eloquent speeches he had ever heard; a speech which,
while it did honour to him, entitled him to the thanks of the House, of
the people of England, of all Europe, and of the latest posterity. He
approved of the propositions as the best mode of bringing this great
question to a happy issue. He was pleased, also, with the language which
had been held out with respect to foreign nations, and with our
determination to assert our right of preventing our colonies from
carrying on any trade which we had thought it our duty to abandon.
Aldermen Newnham, Sawbridge, and Watson, though they wished well to the
cause of humanity, could not, as representatives of the city of London,
give their concurrence to a measure which would injure it so essentially
as the abolition of the Slave Trade. This trade might undoubtedly be put
under wholesome regulations, and made productive of great commercial
advantages; but, if it were abolished, it would render the city of
London one scene of bankruptcy and ruin. It became the house to take
care, while they were giving way to the goodness of their hearts, that
they did not contribute to the ruin of the mercantile interests of their
country.
Mr. Martin stated that he was so well satisfied with the speech of the
honourable gentleman who had introduced the propositions, and with the
language held out by other distinguished members on this subject, that
he felt himself more proud than ever of being an Englishman. He hoped
and believed that the melancholy predictions of the worthy aldermen
would not prove true, and that the citizens of London would have too
much public spirit to wish that a great national object (which
comprehended the great duties of humanity and justice) should be set
aside, merely out of consideration to their own private interests.
Mr. Dempster expected, notwithstanding all he had heard, that the first
proposition submitted to them would have been to make good out of the
public purse all the losses individuals were liable to sustain from an
abolition of the Slave Trade. This ought to have been, as Lord Penrhyn
had observed, a preliminary measure. He did not like to be generous out
of the pockets of others. They were to abolish the trade, it was said,
out of a principle of humanity. Undoubtedly they owed humanity to all
mankind; but they also owed justice to those who were interested in the
event of the question, and had embarked their fortunes on the faith of
parliament. In fact he did not like to see men introducing even their
schemes of benevolence to the detriment of other people; and much less
did he like to see them going to the colonies, as it were upon their
estates, and prescribing rules to them for their management. With
respect to his own speculative opinion, as it regarded cultivation, he
had no objection to give it. He was sure that sugar could be raised
cheaper by free-men than by slaves. This the practice in China
abundantly proved; but yet neither he, nor any other person, had a right
to force a system upon others. As to the trade itself, by which the
present labourers were supplied, it had been considered by that House as
so valuable that they had preferred it to all others, and had annually
voted a considerable sum towards carrying it on. They had hitherto
deemed it an essential nursery for our seamen. Had it really been such
as had been represented, our ancestors would scarcely have encouraged
it; and therefore, upon these and other considerations, he could not
help thinking that they would be wanting in their duty if they abolished
it altogether.
Mr. William Smith would not detain the House long at that late hour upon
this important subject; but he could not help testifying the great
satisfaction he felt at the manner, in which the honourable gentleman
who opened the debate (if it could be so called) had treated it. He
approved of the propositions as the best mode of bringing the decision
to a happy issue. He gave Mr. Fox great credit for the open and manly
way in which he had manifested his abhorrence of this trade, and for the
support he meant to give to the total and unqualified abolition of it;
for he was satisfied, that the more it was inquired into, the more it
would be found that nothing short of abolition would cure the evil. With
respect to certain assertions of the members for Liverpool, and certain
melancholy predictions about the consequences of such an event, which
others had held out, he desired to lay in his claim for observation upon
them when the great question should come before the House.
Soon after this the House broke up; and the discussion of the
propositions, which was the next parliamentary measure intended, was
postponed to a future day, which was sufficiently distant to give all
the parties concerned, time to make the necessary preparations for it.
Of this interval the committee for the abolition availed themselves, to
thank Mr. Wilberforce for the very able and satisfactory manner in which
he had stated to the House his propositions for the abolition of the
Slave Trade, and for the unparalleled assiduity and perseverance with
which he had all along endeavoured to accomplish this object, as well as
to take measures themselves for the further promotion of it. Their
opponents availed themselves of this interval also. But that which now
embarrassed them, was the evidence contained in the privy council
report. They had no idea, considering the number of witnesses they had
sent to be examined, that this evidence, when duly weighed, could by
right reasoning have given birth to the sentiments which had been
displayed in the speeches of the most distinguished members of the House
of Commons, or to the contents of the propositions which had been laid
upon their table. They were thunderstruck as it were by their own
weakness; and from this time they were determined, if possible, to get
rid of it as a standard for decision, or to interpose, every
parliamentary delay in their power.
On the 21st of May, the subject came again before the attention of the
House. It was ushered in, as was expected, by petitions collected in the
interim, and which were expressive of the frightful consequences which
would attend the abolition of the Slave Trade. Alderman Newnham
presented one from certain merchants in London; Alderman Watson another
from certain merchants, mortgagees, and creditors of the sugar-islands;
Lord Maitland, another from the planters of Antigua; Mr. Blackburne,
another from certain manufacturers of Manchester; Mr. Gascoyne, another
from the corporation of Liverpool; and Lord Penrhyn, others from
different interested bodies in the same town.
Mr. Wilberforce then moved the order of the day for the House to go into
a committee of the whole house on the report of the privy council, and
the several matters of evidence already upon the table relative to the
Slave Trade.
Mr. Alderman Sawbridge immediately arose, and asked Mr. Wilberforce if
he meant to adduce any other evidence, besides that in the privy council
report, in behalf of his propositions, or to admit other witnesses, if
such could be found, to invalidate them. Mr. Wilberforce replied, that
he was quite satisfied with the report on the table. It would establish
all his propositions. He should call no witnesses himself; as to
permission to others to call them, that must be determined by the House.
This question and this answer gave birth immediately to great disputes
upon the subject. Aldermen Sawbridge, Newnham, and Watson; Lords Penrhyn
and Maitland; Messrs. Gascoyne, Marsham, and others, spoke against the
admission of the evidence which had been laid upon the table. They
contended that it was insufficient, defective, and contradictory; that
it was _ex parte_ evidence; that it had been manufactured by ministers;
that it was founded chiefly on hearsay, and that the greatest part of it
was false; that it had undergone no cross-examination; that it was
unconstitutional; and that, if they admitted it, they would establish a
dangerous precedent, and abandon their rights. It was urged on the other
hand by Mr. Courtenay, that it could not be _ex parte_ evidence, because
it contained testimony on both sides of the question. The circumstance,
also, of its being contradictory, which had been alleged against it,
proved that it was the result of an impartial examination. Mr. Fox
observed, that it was perfectly admissible. He called upon those, who
took the other side of the question, to say why, if it was really
inadmissible, they had not opposed it at first. It had now been a long
time on the table, and no fault had been found with it. The truth was,
it did not suit them; and they were determined by a side-wind, as it
were, to put an end to the inquiry. Mr. Pitt observed, that, if
parliament had previously resolved to receive no evidence on a given
subject but from the privy council, such a resolution, indeed, would
strike at the root of the privileges of the House of Commons; but it was
absurd to suppose that the House could upon no occasion receive
evidence, taken where it was most convenient to take it, and subject
throughout to new investigation, if any one doubted its validity. The
report of the privy council consisted, first, of calculations and
accounts from the public offices; and, next, of written documents on the
subject: both of which were just as authentic as if they had been laid
upon the table of that House. The remaining part of it consisted of the
testimony of living witnesses, all of whose names were published; so
that if any one doubted their veracity, it was open to him to re-examine
all or each of them. It had been said by adversaries that the report on
the table was a weak and imperfect report, but would not these have the
advantage of its weakness and imperfection? It was strange, when his
honourable friend, Mr. Wilberforce, had said, "Weak and imperfect as the
report may be thought to be, I think it strong enough to bear me out in
all my propositions," that they, who objected to it, should have no
better reason to give than this, "We object, because the ground of
evidence on which you rest is too weak to support your cause." Unless it
were meant to say (and the meaning seemed to be but thinly disguised)
that the House ought to abandon the inquiry, he saw no reason whatever
for not going immediately into a committee; and he wished gentlemen to
consider whether it became the dignity of their proceedings to obstruct
the progress of an inquiry, which the House had pledged itself to
undertake. Their conduct, indeed, seemed extraordinary on this occasion.
It was certainly singular that; while the report had been five weeks
upon the table, no argument had been brought against its sufficiency;
but that on the moment when the House was expected to come to an
ultimate vote upon the subject, it should be thought defective,
contradictory, unconstitutional, and otherwise objectionable. These
objections, he was satisfied, neither did nor could originate with the
country gentlemen; but they were brought forward; for purposes not now
to be concealed, by the avowed enemies of this noble cause.
In the course of the discussion which arose upon this subject, every
opportunity was taken to impress the House with the dreadful
consequences of the abolition! Mr. Heriniker read a long letter from the
King of Dahomey to George the First, which had been found among the
papers of James, first Duke of Chandos, and which had remained in the
family till that time. In this, the King of Dahomey boasted of his
victory over the King of Ardrah and how he had ornamented the pavement
and walls of his palace with the heads of the vanquished. These
cruelties, Mr. Henniker said, were not imputable to the Slave Trade.
They showed the Africans to be naturally a savage people, and that we
did them a great kindness by taking them from their country. Alderman
Sawbridge maintained that, if the abolition passed, the Africans who
could not be sold as slaves would be butchered at home; while those who
had been carried, to our islands would be no longer under control. Hence
insurrections, and the manifold evils which belonged to them. Alderman
Newnham was certain that the abolition would be the ruin of the trade of
the country. It would affect even the landed interest and the funds. It
would be impossible to collect money to diminish the national debt.
Every man in the kingdom would feel the abolition come home to hit.
Alderman Watson maintained the same argument, and pronounced the trade
under discussion to be a merciful and humane trade.
Compensation was also insisted upon by Mr. Drake, Alderman Newnham, Mr.
Senniker, Mr. Cruger, and others. This was resisted by Mr. Burke; who
said, that compensation in such a case would be contrary to every
principle of legislation. Government gave encouragement to any branch of
commerce while it was regarded as conducive to the welfare of the
community; or compatible with humanity and justice; but they were
competent to withdraw their countenance from it, when it was found to be
immoral, and injurious, and disgraceful to the state: They who engaged
in it knew the terms under which they were placed, and adopted it with
all the risks with which it was accompanied; and of consequence it was
but just, that they should be prepared to abide by the loss which might
accrue, when the public should think it right no longer to support it.
But such a trade as this it was impossible any longer to support. Indeed
it was not a trade. It was a system of robbery. It was a system, too,
injurious to the welfare of other nations. How could Africa ever be
civilized under it? While we continued to purchase the natives, they
must remain in a state of barbarism. It was impossible to civilize
slaves. It was contrary to the system of human nature. There was no
country placed under such disadvantageous circumstances, into which the
shadow of improvement had ever been introduced.
Great pains were taken to impress the house with the propriety of
regulation. Sir Grey Cooper; Aldermen Sawbridge, Watson, and Newnham;
Mr. Marsham, and Mr. Cruger, contended strenuously for it instead of
abolition. It was also stated, that the merchants would consent to any
regulation of the trade which might be offered to them.
In the course of the debate much warmth of temper was manifested on both
sides. The expression of Mr. Fox in a former debate, "that the Slave
Trade could not be regulated, because there could be no regulation of
robbery and murder," was brought up, and construed by planters in the
house as a charge of these crimes upon themselves. Mr. Fox, however,
would not retract the expression. He repeated it. He had no notion,
however, that any individual would have taken it to himself. If it
contained any reflection at all, it was on the whole parliament, who had
sanctioned such a trade. Mr. Molyneux rose up, and animadverted severely
on the character of Mr. Ramsay, one of the evidences in the privy
council report, during his residence in the West Indies. This called up
Sir William Dolben and Sir Charles Middleton in his defence, the latter
of whom bore honourable testimony to his virtues from an intimate
acquaintance with him, and a residence in the same village with him, for
twenty years. Mr. Molyneux spoke also in angry terms of the measure of
abolition. To annihilate the trade, he said, and to make no compensation
on account of it, was an act of swindling. Mr. Macnamara called the
measure hypocritical, fanatic, and methodistical. Mr. Pitt was so
irritated at the insidious attempt to set aside the privy council
report, when no complaint had been alleged against it before, that he
was quite off his guard, and he thought it right afterwards to apologize
for the warmth into which he had been betrayed. The Speaker, too, was
obliged frequently to interfere. On this occasion no less than thirty
members spoke. And there had probably been few seasons, when so much
disorder had been discoverable in that house.
The result of the debate was, a permission to those interested in the
continuance of the Slave Trade to bring counsel to the bar on the 26th
of May, and then to introduce such witnesses, as might throw further
light on the propositions in the shortest time: for Mr. Pitt only
acquiesced in this new measure on a supposition, "that there would be no
unnecessary delay, as he could by no means submit to the ultimate
procrastination of so important a business." He even hoped (and in this
hope he was joined by Mr. Fox) that those concerned would endeavour to
bring the whole of the evidence they meant to offer at the first
examination.
On the day appointed, the house met for the purposes now specified; when
Alderman Newnham, thinking that such an important question should not be
decided but in a full assembly of the representatives of the nation,
moved for a call of the House on that day fortnight. Mr. Wilberforce
stated that he had no objection to such a measure; believing the greater
the number present the more favourable it would be to his cause. This
motion, however, produced a debate and a division, in which it appeared
that there were one hundred and fifty-eight in favour of it, and
twenty-eight against it. The business of the day now commenced. The
house went into a committee, and Sir William Dolben was put into the
chair. Mr. Serjeant Le Blanc was then called in. He made an able speech
in behalf of his clients; and introduced John Barnes, Esquire, as his
first witness, whose examination took up the remainder of the day. By
this step they who were interested in the continuance of the trade,
attained their wishes, for they had now got possession of the ground
with their evidence; and they knew they could keep it, almost as long as
they pleased, for the purposes of delay. Thus they, who boasted, when
the privy council examinations began, that they would soon do away all
the idle tales which had been invented against them, and who desired the
public only to suspend their judgment till the report should come out,
when they would see the folly and wickedness of all our allegations,
dared not abide by the evidence which they themselves had taught others
to look up to as the standard by which they were desirous of being
judged: thus they, who had advantages beyond measure in forming a body
of evidence in their own favour, abandoned that which they had
collected. And here it is impossible for me not to make a short
comparative statement on this subject, if it were only to show how
little can be made out, with the very best opportunities, against the
cause of humanity and religion. With respect to ourselves, we had almost
all our witnesses to seek. We had to travel after them for weeks
together. When we found them, we had scarcely the power of choice. We
where obliged to take them as they came. When we found them, too, we had
generally to implore them to come forward in our behalf. Of those so
implored, three out of four refused, and the plea for this refusal was a
fear lest they should injure their own interests. The merchants, on the
other hand, had their witnesses ready on the spot. They had always ships
in harbour, containing persons who had a knowledge of the subject, they
had several also from whom to choose. If one man was favourable to their
cause in three of the points belonging to it, but was unfavourable in
the fourth, he could be put aside and replaced. When they had thus
selected them, they had not to entreat, but to command their attendance.
They had no fear, again, when they thus commanded, of a refusal on the
ground of interest; because these were promoting their interest by
obliging these who employed them. Viewing these and other circumstances,
which might be thrown into this comparative statement, it was some
consolation to us to know, amidst the disappointment which this new
measure occasioned, and our apparent defeat in the eyes of the public,
that we had really beaten our opponents at their own weapons, and that,
as this was a victory in our own private feelings, so it was the presage
to us of a future triumph.
On the 29th of May, Mr. Tierney made a motion to divide the
consideration of the Slave Trade into two heads, by separating the
African from the West Indian part of the question. This he did for the
more clear discussion of the propositions, as well as to save time. This
motion, however, was overruled by Mr. Pitt.
At length, on the 9th of June, by which time it was supposed that new
light, and this in sufficient quantity, would have been thrown upon the
propositions, it appeared that only two witnesses had been fully heard.
The examinations, therefore, were continued, and they went on till the
23rd. On this day, the order for the call of the house, which had been
prolonged, standing unrepealed, there was a large attendance of members.
A motion was then made, to get rid of the business altogether, but it
failed. It was now seen, however, that it was impossible to bring the
question to a final decision in this session; for they who were
interested in it, affirmed that they had yet many important witnesses to
introduce. Alderman Newnham, therefore, by the consent of Mr.
Wilberforce, moved that "the further consideration of the subject be
deferred to the next session." On this occasion, Mr. William Smith
remarked, that though the decision on the great question was thus to be
adjourned, he hoped the examinations at least would be permitted to go
on. He had not heard any good reason why they might not be carried on
for some weeks longer. It was known that the hearing of evidence was,
at all times thinly attended. If, therefore, the few members who did
attend, were willing to give up their time a little longer, why should
other members complain of an inconvenience in the suffering of which
they took no share? He thought that by this the examination of witnesses
on the part of the merchants might be finished, and of consequence the
business brought into a very desirable state of forwardness against the
ensuing session. These observations had not the desired effect, and the
motion of Mr. Alderman Newnham was carried without a division. Thus the
great question, for the elucidation of which all the new evidences were
to be heard at the very first examination, in order that it might be
decided by the 9th of June, was, by the intrigue of our opponents,
deferred to another year.
The order of the day for going into the further consideration of the
Slave Trade having been discharged, Sir William Dolben rose to state,
that it was his intention to renew his bill of the former year, relative
to the conveyance of the unhappy Africans from their own country to the
West Indies, and to propose certain alterations in it. He made a motion
accordingly, which was adopted; and he and Mr. Wilberforce were desired
to prepare the same.
This bill he introduced soon afterwards, and it passed; but not without
opposition. It was a matter, however, of great pleasure to find that the
worthy baronet was enabled by the assistance of Captain (afterwards
Admiral) Macbride, and other naval officers in the house, to carry such
clauses, as provided in some degree for the comfort of the poor seamen
who were seduced into this wicked trade. They could not, indeed, provide
against the barbarity of their captains; but they secured them a space
under the half deck in which to sleep. They prescribed a form of
muster-rolls, which they were to see and sign in the presence of the
clearing officer. They regulated their food, both as to kind and
quantity; and they preserved them from many of the impositions to which
they had been before exposed.
From the time when Mr. Wilberforce gave his first notice this session to
the present, I had been variously employed, but more particularly in the
composition of a new work. It was soon perceived to be the object of our
opponents, to impress upon the public the preference, of regulation to
abolition. I attempted, therefore, to show the fallacy and wickedness of
this notion. I divided the evils belonging to the Slave Trade into two
kinds. These I enumerated in their order. With respect to those of the
first kind, I proved that they were never to be remedied by any acts of
the British parliament. Thus, for instance, what bill could alter the
nature of the human passions? What bill could prevent fraud and violence
in Africa, while the Slave Trade existed there? What bill could prevent
the miserable victims of the trade from rising, when on board the ships,
if they saw an opportunity, and felt a keen sense of their oppression?
Those of the second I stated to admit of a remedy, and after making
accurate calculations on the subject of each, I showed that those
merchants who were to do them away effectually, would be ruined by their
voyages. The work was called _An Essay on the Comparative Efficiency of
Regulation or Abolition as applied to the Slave Trade_.
The committee, also, in this interval, brought out their famous print of
the plan and section of a slave-ship, which was designed to give the
spectator an idea of the sufferings of the Africans in the Middle
Passage, and this so familiarly, that he might instantly pronounce upon
the miseries experienced there. The committee at Plymouth had been the
first to suggest the idea; but that in London had now improved it. As
this print seemed to make an instantaneous impression of horror upon all
who saw it, and as it was therefore very instrumental, in consequence of
the wide circulation given it, in serving the cause of the injured
Africans, I have given the reader a copy of it in the annexed plate, and
I will now state the ground or basis upon which it was formed.
It must be obvious that it became the committee to select some one ship,
which had been engaged in the Slave Trade, with her real dimensions, if
they meant to make a fair representation of the manner of the
transportation. When Captain Parrey, of the royal navy, returned from
Liverpool, to which place Government had sent him, he brought with him
the admeasurement of several vessels which had been so employed, and
laid them on the table of the House of Commons. At the top of his list
stood the ship Brookes. The committee, therefore, in choosing a vessel
on this occasion, made use of the ship Brookes; and this they did,
because they thought it less objectionable to take the first that came,
than any other. The vessel, then, in the plate is the vessel now
mentioned, and the following is her admeasurement as given in by Captain
Parrey.
Ft. In.
Length of the lower deck, gratings, and bulk heads included at A A 100 0
Breadth of beam on the lower deck inside, B B 25 4
Depth of hold ooo, from ceiling to ceiling 10 0
Height between decks from deck to deck 5 8
Length of the men's room, C C, on the lower deck 46 0
Breadth of the men's room, C C, on the lower deck 25 4
Length of the platform, D D, in the men's room 46 0
Breadth of the platform in the men's room, on each side 6 0
Length of the boys' room, E E 13 9
Breadth of the boys' room 25 0
Breadth of platform, F F, in boys' room 6 0
Length of women's room, G G 28 6
Breadth of women's room 23 6
Length of platform, H H, in women's room 28 6
Breadth of platform in women's room 6 0
Length of the gun-room, I I, on the lower deck 10 6
Breadth of the gun-room on the lower deck 12 0
Length of the quarter-deck, K K 33 6
Breadth of the quarter-deck 19 6
Length of the cabin, L L 14 0
Height of the cabin 6 2
Length of the half-deck, M M 16 6
Height of the half-deck 6 2
Length of the platform, N N, on the half-deck 16 6
Breadth of the platform on the half-deck 6 0
Upper deck, P P
The committee, having proceeded thus far, thought that they should now
allow certain dimensions for every man, woman, and child; and then see
how many persons, upon such dimensions and upon the admeasurements just
given, could be stowed in this vessel. They allowed, accordingly, to
every man slave 6 ft. by 1 ft. 4in. for room, to every woman 5 ft. by 1
ft. 4 in., to every boy 5 ft. by 1 ft. 2 in., and to every girl 4 ft. 6
in. by 1 ft. They then stowed them, and found them as in the annexed
plate, that is, they found, (deducting the women stowed in z of figures
6 and 7, which spaces, being half of the half-deck, were allowed by Sir
William Dolben's last bill to the seamen,) that only 450 could be stowed
in her; and the reader will find, if he should think it worthwhile to
count the figures in the plate, that, on making the deduction mentioned,
they will amount to this number.
The committee then thought it right to inquire how many slaves the act
of Sir William Dolben allowed this vessel to carry, and they found the
number to be 454; that is, they found it allowed her to carry four more
than could be put in without trespassing upon the room allotted to the
rest; for we see that the bodies of the slaves, except just at the head
of the vessel, already touch each other, and that no deduction has been
made for tubs or stanchions to support the platforms and decks.
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
Such was the picture which the committee were obliged to draw, if they
regarded mathematical accuracy, of the room allotted to the slaves in
this vessel. By this picture was exhibited the nature of the Elysium
which Mr. Norris and others had invented for them during their
transportation from their own country. By this picture were seen also
the advantages of Sir William Dolben's bill; for many, on looking at the
plate, considered the regulation itself as perfect barbarism. The
advantages, however, obtained by it were considerable; for the Brookes
was now restricted to 450 slaves, whereas it was proved that she carried
609 in a former voyage.
The committee, at the conclusion of the session of parliament, made a
suitable report. It will be unnecessary to detail this, for obvious
reasons. There was, however, one thing contained in it, which ought
not to be omitted. It stated, with appropriate concern, the death of
the first controversial writer, and of one of the most able and
indefatigable labourers in their cause. Mr. Ramsay had been for some
time indisposed. The climate of the West Indies, during a residence of
twenty years, and the agitation in which his mind had been kept for
the last four years of his life, in consequence of the virulent
attacks on his word and character by those interested in the
continuance of the trade, had contributed to undermine his
constitution. During his whole illness he was cheerful and composed;
nor did he allow it to hinder him, severe as it was, from taking any
opportunity which offered, of serving those unhappy persons for whose
injuries he had so deeply felt. A few days only before he died, I
received from him probably the last letter he ever wrote, of which the
following is an extract:
"My health has certainly taken a most alarming turn; and, if
some considerable alteration does not take place for the
better in a very little time, it will be all over with me: I
mean as to the present life. I have lost all appetite, and
suffer grievously from an almost continual pain in my
stomach, which leaves me no enjoyment of myself, but such as
I can collect from my own reflections, and the comforts of
religion. I am glad the bill for the abolition is in such
forwardness. Whether it goes through the house or not, the
discussion attending it will have a most beneficial effect.
The whole of this business I think now to be in such a train,
as to enable me to bid farewell to the present scene with the
satisfaction of not having lived in vain, and of having done
something towards the improvement of our common nature; and
this at no little expense of time and reputation. The little
I have now written is my utmost effort; yet yesterday I
thought it necessary to write an answer to a scurrilous libel
in _The Diary_ by one Scipio. On my own account he should
have remained unnoticed; but our great cause must be kept
unsullied."
Mr. Ramsay was a man of active habit, of diligence and perseverance in
his undertakings, and of extraordinary application. He was of mild and
humble manners. He possessed a strong understanding, with great
coolness and courage. Patriotism and public spirit were striking
traits in his character. In domestic life he was amiable: in the
ministry, exemplary and useful; and he died to the great regret of his
parishioners; but most of all to that of those who moved with him in
his attempts to bring about the important event of the abolition of
the Slave Trade.