_Continuation from July 1791 to July 1792--Author travels round the kingdom
again--Object of his journey--People begin to leave off the use of
sugar--to form committees--and to send petitions to Parliament--Motion made
in the House of Commons for the immediate abolition of the trade--Debates
upon it--Abolition resolved upon, but not to commence till 1796--Resolution
taken to the Lords--Latter determine upon hearing evidence--Evidence at
length introduced--Further hearing of it postponed to the next session._
The defeat which we had just sustained, was a matter of great triumph to
our opponents. When they considered the majority in the House of Commons in
their favour, they viewed the resolutions of the committee, which have been
detailed, as the last spiteful effort of a vanquished and dying animal, and
they supposed that they had consigned the question to eternal sleep. The
committee, however, were too deeply attached to the cause, vanquished as
they were, to desert it; and they knew also too well the barometer of
public feeling, and the occasion of its fluctuations, to despair. In the
year 1787 the members of the House of Commons, as well as the people, were
enthusiastic in behalf of the abolition of the trade. In the year 1788 the
fair enthusiasm of the former began to fade. In 1789 it died. In 1790
prejudice started up as a noxious weed in its place. In 1791 this prejudice
arrived at its growth. But to what were these changes owing?--To delay;
during which the mind, having been gradually led to the question as a
commercial, had been gradually taken from it as a moral object. But it was
possible to restore the mind to its proper place. Add to which, that the
nation had never deserted the cause during this whole period.
It is much to the honour of the English people, that they should have
continued to feel for the existence of an evil which was so far removed
from their sight. But at this moment their feelings began to be
insupportable. Many of them resolved, as soon as parliament had rejected
the bill, to abstain from the use of West Indian produce. In this state of
things a pamphlet, written by William Bell Crafton, of Tewksbury, and
called "A Sketch of the Evidence, with a Recommendation on the Subject to
the Serious Attention of People in general," made its appearance; and
another followed it, written by William Fox, of London, "On the Propriety
of abstaining from West India Sugar and Rum." These pamphlets took the same
ground. They inculcated abstinence from these articles as a moral duty;
they inculcated it as a peaceable and constitutional measure; and they laid
before the reader a truth, which was sufficiently obvious, that if each
would abstain, the people would have a complete remedy for this enormous
evil in their own power.
While these things were going on, it devolved upon me to arrange all the
evidence on the part of the abolition under proper heads, and to abridge it
into one volume. It was intended that a copy of this should be sent into
different towns of the kingdom, that all might know, if possible, the
horrors (as far as the evidence contained them) of this execrable trade;
and as it was possible that these copies might lie in the places where they
were sent, without a due attention to their contents, I resolved, with the
approbation of the committee, to take a journey, and for no other purpose
than personally to recommend that they might be read.
The books, having been printed, were dispatched before me. Of this tour I
shall give the reader no other account than that of the progress of the
remedy, which the people were then taking into their own hands. And first I
may observe, that there was no town, through which I passed, in which there
was not some one individual who had left off the use of sugar. In the
smaller towns there were from ten to fifty by estimation, and in the larger
from two to five hundred, who had made this sacrifice to virtue. These were
of all ranks and parties. Rich and poor, churchmen and dissenters, had
adopted the measure. Even grocers had left off trading in the article, in
some places. In gentlemen's families, where the master had set the example,
the servants had often voluntarily followed it; and even children, who were
capable of understanding the history of the sufferings of the Africans,
excluded, with the most virtuous resolution, the sweets, to which they had
been accustomed, from their lips. By the best computation I was able to
make from notes taken down in my journey, no fewer than three hundred
thousand persons had abandoned the use of sugar.
Having travelled over Wales, and two thirds of England, I found it would be
impossible to visit Scotland on the same errand. I had already, by moving
upwards and downwards in parallel lines, and by intersecting these in the
same manner, passed over six thousand miles. By the best calculation I
could make, I had yet two thousand to perform. By means of almost incessant
journeyings night and day, I had suffered much in my health. My strength
was failing daily. I wrote therefore to the committee on this subject; and
they communicated immediately with Dr. Dickson, who, on being applied to,
visited Scotland in my stead. He consulted first with the committee at
Edinburgh relative to the circulation of the Abridgement of the Evidence.
He then pursued his journey, and, in conjunction with the unwearied efforts
of Mr. Campbel Haliburton, rendered essential service to the cause for this
part of the kingdom.
On my return to London I found that the committee had taken into their own
body T.F. Forster, B.M. Forster, and James West, esquires, as members; and
that they had elected Hercules Ross, esquire, an honorary and corresponding
member, in consequence of the handsome manner in which he had come forward
as an evidence, and of the peculiar benefit which had resulted from his
testimony to the cause.
The effects of the two journeys by Dr. Dickson and myself were soon
visible. The people could not bear the facts, which had been disclosed to
them by the Abridgement of the Evidence. They were not satisfied, many of
them, with the mere abstinence from sugar; but began to form committees to
correspond with that of London. The first of these appeared at Newcastle
upon Tyne, so early as the month of October. It consisted of the Reverend
William Turner as chairman, and of Robert Ormston, William Batson, Henry
Taylor, Ralph Bainbridge, George Brown, Hadwen Bragg, David Sutton, Anthony
Clapham, George Richardson, and Edward Prowit. It received a valuable
addition afterwards by the admission of many others. The second was
established at Nottingham. The Reverend Jeremiah Bigsby became the
president, and the Rev. G. Walker and J. Smith, and Mess. Dennison, Evans,
Watson, Hart, Storer, Bott, Hawkesley, Pennington, Wright, Frith, Hall, and
Wakefield, the committee. The third was formed at Glasgow, under the
patronage of David Dale, Scott Moncrieff, Robert Graham, Professor Millar,
and others. Other committees started up in their turn. At length public
meetings began to take place, and after this petitions to be sent to
parliament; and these so generally, that there was not a day for three
months, Sundays excepted, in which five or six were not resolved upon in
some places or other in the kingdom.
Of the enthusiasm of the nation at this time none can form an opinion but
they who witnessed it. There never was perhaps a season when so much
virtuous feeling pervaded all ranks. Great pains were taken by interested
persons in many places to prevent public meetings. But no efforts could
avail. The current ran with such strength and rapidity, that it was
impossible to stem it. In the city of London a remarkable instance
occurred. The livery had been long waiting for the common council to begin
a petition. But the lord mayor and several of the aldermen stifled it. The
former, indignant at this conduct, insisted upon a common hall. A day was
appointed; and, though the notice given of it was short, the assemblage was
greater than had ever been remembered on any former occasion. Scarcely a
liveryman was absent, unless sick, or previously engaged. The petition,
when introduced, was opposed by those who had prevented it in the common
council. But their voices were drowned amidst groans and hissings. It was
shortly after carried; and it had not been signed more than half an hour,
before it was within the walls of the House of Commons. The reason of this
extraordinary dispatch was, that it had been kept back by intrigue so late,
that the very hour, in which it was delivered to the House, was that in
which Mr. Wilberforce was to make his new motion.
And as no petitions were ever more respectable than those presented on this
occasion, as far as they breathed the voice of the people, and as far as
they were founded on a knowledge of the object which they solicited, so
none were ever more numerous, as far as we have any record of such
transactions. Not fewer than three hundred and ten were presented from
England; one hundred and eighty-seven from Scotland; and twenty from Wales.
Two other petitions also for the abolition came from England, but they were
too late for delivery. On the other side of the question, one was presented
from the town of Reading for regulation, in opposition to that for
abolition from the same place. There were also four against abolition. The
first of these was from certain persons at Derby in opposition to the other
from that town. The second was from Stephen Fuller, esquire, as agent for
Jamaica. The third from J. Dawson, esquire, a slave-merchant at Liverpool.
And the fourth from the merchants, planters, mortgagees, annuitants, and
others concerned in the West Indian colonies. Taking in all these
statements, the account stood thus. For regulation there was one; against
all abolition there were four; and for the total abolition of the trade
five hundred and nineteen.
On the second of April Mr. Wilberforce moved the order of the day; which
having been agreed to, Sir William Dolben was put into the chair.
He then began by soliciting the candid attention of the West Indians to
what he was going to deliver to the House. However others might have
censured them indiscriminately, he had always himself made a distinction
between them and their system. It was the latter only, which he reprobated.
If aristocracy had been thought a worse form of government than monarchy,
because the people had many tyrants instead of one, how objectionable must
be that form of it, which existed in our colonies! Arbitrary power could be
bought there by any one, who could buy a slave. The fierceness of it was
doubtless restrained by an elevation of mind in many, as arising from a
consciousness of superior rank and consequence: but, alas! it was too often
exercised there by the base and vulgar. The more liberal too of the
planters were not resident upon their estates. Hence a promiscuous censure
of them would be unjust, though their system would undoubtedly be odious.
As for the cure of this monstrous evil, he had shown, last year, that
internal regulations would not produce it. These could have no effect,
while the evidence of slaves was inadmissible. What would be the situation
of the bulk of the people of this country, if only gentlemen of five
hundred a-year were admitted as evidences in our courts of law? Neither was
the cure of it in the emancipation of the slaves. He did not deny that he
wished them this latter blessing. But, alas, in their present degraded
state, they were unfit for it! Liberty was the child of reason and order.
It was indeed a plant of celestial growth, but the soil must be prepared
for its reception. He, who would see it flourish and bring forth its proper
fruit, must not think it sufficient to let it shoot in unrestrained
licentiousness. But if this inestimable blessing was ever to be imparted to
them, the cause must be removed, which obstructed its introduction. In
short, no effectual remedy could be found but in the abolition of the
Slave-trade.
He then took a copious view of the advantages, which would arise both to
the master and to the slave, if this traffic were done away; and having
recapitulated and answered the different objections to such a measure, he
went to that part of the subject, in which he described himself to be most
interested.
He had shown, he said, last year, that Africa was exposed to all the
horrors of war; and that most of these wars had their origin in the
Slave-trade. It was then said, in reply, that the natural barbarity of the
natives was alone sufficient to render their country a scene of carnage.
This was triumphantly instanced in the king of Dahomey. But his honourable
friend Lord Muncaster, then in the House, had proved in his interesting
publication, which had appeared since, called Historical Sketches of the
Slave-trade and of its Effects in Africa, addressed to the People of Great
Britain, that the very cruelties of this king, on which so much stress had
been laid, were committed by him in a war, which had been undertaken
expressly to punish an adjacent people for having stolen some of his
subjects and sold them for slaves.
He had shown also last year, that kings were induced to seize and sell
their subjects, and individuals each other, in consequence of the existence
of the Slave-trade.
He had shown also, that the administration of justice was perverted, so as
to become a fertile source of supply to this inhuman traffic; that every
crime was punished by slavery; that false accusations were made, to procure
convicts; and that even the judges had a profit on the convictions.
He had shown again, that many acts of violence were perpetrated by the
Europeans themselves. But he would now relate others, which had happened
since. The captain of an English vessel, lying in the river Cameroons, sent
his boat with three sailors and a slave to get water. A Black trader seized
the latter, and took him away. He alleged in his defence, that the captain
owed him goods to a greater amount than the value of the slave; and that he
would not pay him.
This being told on board, the captain, and a part of his crew, who were
compelled to blacken their naked bodies that they might appear like the
natives, went on shore at midnight, armed with muskets and cutlasses. They
fired on the trader's dwelling, and killed three of his children on the
spot. The trader, being badly wounded, died while they were dragging him to
the boat; and his wife, being wounded also, died in half an hour after she
was on board the ship. Resistance having been made to these violent
proceedings, some of the sailors were wounded, and one was killed. Some
weeks after this affray, a chieftain of the name of Quarmo went on board
the same vessel to borrow some cutlasses and muskets. He was going, he
said, into the country to make war; and the captain should have half of his
booty. So well understood were the practices of the trade, that his request
was granted. Quarmo, however, and his associates, finding things favourable
to their design, suddenly seized the captain, threw him overboard, hauled
him into their canoe, and dragged him to the shore; where another party of
the natives, lying in ambush, seized such of the crew as were absent from
the ship. But how did these savages behave, when they had these different
persons in their power? Did they not instantly retaliate by murdering them
all? No--they only obliged the captain to give an order on the vessel to
pay his debts. This fact came out only two months ago in a trial in the
court of common pleas--not in a trial for piracy and murder--but in the
trial of a civil suit, instituted by some of the poor sailors, to whom the
owners refused their wages, because the natives, on account of the
villanous conduct of their captain, had kept them from their vessel by
detaining them as prisoners on shore. This instance, he said, proved the
dreadful nature of the Slave-trade, its cruelty, its perfidy, and its
effect on the Africans as well as on the Europeans, who carried it on. The
cool manner, in which the transaction was conducted on both sides, showed
that these practices were not novel. It showed also the manner of doing
business in the trade. It must be remembered too, that these transactions
were carrying on at the very time when the inquiry concerning this trade
was going forward in Parliament, and whilst the witnesses of his opponents
were strenuously denying not only the actual, but the possible, existence
of any such depredations.
But another instance happened only in August last. Six British ships, the
Thomas, Captain Phillips; the Wasp, Captain Hutchinson; the Recovery,
Captain Kimber, of Bristol; and the Martha, Captain Houston; the Betsey,
Captain Doyle; and the Amachree, (he believed,) Captain Lee, of Liverpool;
were anchored off the town of Calabàr. This place was the scene of a
dreadful massacre about twenty years before. The captains of these vessels,
thinking that the natives asked too much for their slaves, held a
consultation, how they should proceed; and agreed to fire upon the town
unless their own terms were complied with. On a certain evening they
notified their determination to the traders; and told them, that, if they
continued obstinate, they would put it into execution the next morning. In
this they kept their word. They brought sixty-six guns to bear upon the
town; and fired on it for three hours. Not a shot was returned. A canoe
then went off to offer terms of accommodation. The parties however not
agreeing, the firing recommenced; more damage was done; and the natives
were forced into submission. There were no certain accounts of their loss.
Report said that fifty were killed; but some were seen lying badly wounded,
and others in the agonies of death, by those who went afterwards on shore.
He would now say a few words relative to the Middle Passage, principally to
show, that regulation could not effect a cure of the evil there. Mr. Isaac
Wilson had stated in his evidence, that the ship, in which he sailed, only
three years ago, was of three hundred and seventy tons; and that she
carried six hundred and two slaves. Of these she lost one hundred and
fifty-five. There were three or four other vessels in company with her, and
which belonged to the same owners. One of these carried four hundred and
fifty, and buried two hundred; another carried four hundred and sixty-six,
and buried seventy-three; another five hundred and forty-six, and buried
one hundred and fifty-eight; and from the four together, after the landing
of their cargoes, two hundred and twenty died. He fell in with another
vessel, which had lost three hundred and sixty-two; but the number, which
had been bought, was not specified. Now if to these actual deaths, during
and immediately after the voyage, we were to add the subsequent loss in the
seasoning, and to consider that this would be greater than ordinary in
cargoes which were landed in such a sickly state, we should find a
mortality, which, if it were only general for a few months, would entirely
depopulate the globe.
But he would advert to what Mr. Wilson said, when examined, as a surgeon,
as to the causes of these losses, and particularly on board his own ship,
where he had the means of ascertaining them. The substance of his reply was
this--That most of the slaves laboured under a fixed melancholy, which now
and then broke out into lamentations and plaintive songs, expressive of the
loss of their relations, friends, and country. So powerfully did this
sorrow operate, that many of them attempted in various ways to destroy
themselves, and three actually effected it. Others obstinately refused to
take sustenance; and when the whip and other violent means were used to
compel them to eat, they looked up in the face of the officer, who
unwillingly executed this painful task, and said with a smile, in their own
language, "Presently we shall be no more." This, their unhappy state of
mind, produced a general languor and debility, which were increased in many
instances by an unconquerable aversion to food, arising partly from
sickness, and partly, to use the language of the slave-captains, from
sulkiness. These causes naturally produced the flux. The contagion spread;
several were carried off daily; and the disorder, aided by so many powerful
auxiliaries, resisted the power of medicine. And it was worth while to
remark, that these grievous sufferings were not owing either to want of
care on the part of the owners, or to any negligence or harshness of the
captain; for Mr. Wilson declared, that his ship was as well fitted out, and
the crew and slaves as well treated, as any body could reasonably expect.
He would now go to another ship. That, in which Mr. Claxton sailed as a
surgeon, afforded a repetition of all the horrid circumstances which had
been described. Suicide was attempted, and effected; and the same barbarous
expedients were adopted to compel the slaves to continue an existence,
which they considered as too painful to be endured. The mortality also was
as great. And yet here again the captain was in no wise to blame. But this
vessel had sailed since the regulating act. Nay, even in the last year the
deaths on shipboard would be found to have been between ten and eleven per
cent. on the whole number exported. In truth, the House could not reach the
cause of this mortality by all their regulations. Until they could cure a
broken heart--until they could legislate for the affections, and bind by
their statutes the passions and feelings of the mind, their labour would be
in vain.
Such were the evils of the Passage. But evils were conspicuous every where,
in this trade. Never was there indeed a system so replete with wickedness
and cruelty. To whatever part of it we turned our eyes, whether to Africa,
the Middle Passage, or the West Indies, we could find no comfort, no
satisfaction, no relief. It was the gracious ordinance of Providence, both
in the natural and moral world, that good should often arise out of evil.
Hurricanes cleared the air; and the propagation of truth was promoted by
persecution. Pride, vanity, and profusion contributed often, in their
remoter consequences, to the happiness of mankind. In common, what was in
itself evil and vicious was permitted to carry along with it some
circumstances of palliation. The Arab was hospitable; the robber brave. We
did not necessarily find cruelty associated with fraud, or meanness with
injustice. But here the case was far otherwise. It was the prerogative of
this detested traffic to separate from evil its concomitant good, and to
reconcile discordant mischiefs. It robbed war of its generosity; it
deprived peace of its security: we saw in it the vices of polished society,
without its knowledge or its comforts; and the evils of barbarism without
its simplicity. No age, no sex, no rank, no condition was exempt from the
fatal influence of this wide-wasting calamity. Thus it attained to the
fullest measure of pure, unmixed, unsophisticated wickedness; and, scorning
all competition and comparison, it stood without a rival in the secure,
undisputed, possession of its detestable preeminence.
But, after all this, wonderful to relate, this execrable traffic had been
defended on the ground of benevolence! It had been said, that the slaves
were captives and convicts, who, if we were not to carry them away, would
be sacrificed, and many of them at the funerals of people of rank,
according to the savage custom of Africa. He had shown, however, that our
supplies of slaves were obtained from other quarters than these. But he
would wave this consideration for the present. Had it not been acknowledged
by his opponents, that the custom of ransoming slaves prevailed in Africa?
With respect to human sacrifices, he did not deny, that there might have
been some instances of these; but they had not been proved to be more
frequent than amongst other barbarous nations; and, where they existed,
being acts of religion, they would not be dispensed with for the sake of
commercial gain. In fact, they had nothing to do with the Slave-trade; only
perhaps, if it were abolished, they might, by means of the civilization
which would follow, be done away.
But, exclusively of these sacrifices, it had been asserted, that it was
kindness to the inhabitants to take them away from their own country. But
what said the historians of Africa, long before the question of the
abolition was started? "Axim," says Bosman, "is cultivated, and abounds
with numerous large and beautiful villages: its inhabitants are
industriously employed in trade, fishing, or agriculture."--"The
inhabitants of Adom always expose large quantities of corn to sale, besides
what they want for their own use."--"The people of Acron husband their
grounds and time so well, that every year produces a plentiful harvest."
Speaking of the Fetu country, he says, "Frequently, when walking through
it, I have seen it abound with fine well built and populous towns,
agreeably enriched with vast quantities of corn and cattle, palm-wine and
oil. The inhabitants all apply themselves without distinction to
agriculture; some sow corn; others press oil, and draw wine from the
palm-trees."
Smith, who was sent out by the royal African company in 1726, assures us,
"that the discerning natives account it their greatest unhappiness, that
they were ever visited by the Europeans. They say that we Christians
introduced the traffic of slaves; and that before our coming they lived in
peace. But, say they, it is observable, wherever Christianity comes, there
come swords and guns and powder and ball with it."
"The Europeans," says Bruce, "are far from desiring to act as peace-makers
among them. It would be too contrary to their interests; for the only
object of their wars is to carry off slaves; and, as these form the
principal part of their traffic, they would be apprehensive of drying up
the source of it, were they to encourage the people to live well together."
"The neighbourhood of the Damel and Tin keep them perpetually at war, the
benefit of which accrues to the Company, who buy all the prisoners made on
either side; and the more there are to sell, the greater is their profit;
for the only end of their armaments is to make captives, to sell them to
the White traders."
Artus, of Dantzic, says that in his time, "those liable to pay fines were
banished till the fine was paid; when they returned to their houses and
possessions."
Bosman affirms "that formerly all crimes in Africa were compensated by fine
or restitution, and, where restitution was impracticable, by corporal
punishment."
Moore says, "Since this trade has been used, all punishments have been
changed into slavery. There being an advantage in such condemnation, they
strain the crimes very hard, in order to get the benefit of selling the
criminal. Not only murder, theft, and adultery, are punished by selling the
criminal for a slave, but every trifling crime is punished in the same
manner."
Loyer affirms that "the King of Sain, on the least pretence, sells his
subjects for European goods. He is so tyrannically severe, that he makes a
whole village responsible for the fault of one inhabitant; and on the least
offence sells them all for slaves."
Such, he said, were the testimonies, not of persons whom he had summoned;
not of friends of the abolition: but of men who were themselves, many of
them, engaged in the Slave-trade. Other testimonies might be added; but
these were sufficient to refute the assertions of his opponents, and to
show the kind services we had done to Africa by the introduction of this
trade.
He would just touch upon the argument, so often repeated, that other
nations would carry on the Slave-trade, if we abandoned it. But how did we
know this? Had not Denmark given a noble example to the contrary? She had
consented to abolish the trade in ten years; and had she not done this,
even though we, after an investigation for nearly five years, had ourselves
hung back? But what might not be expected, if we were to take up the cause
in earnest; if we were to proclaim to all nations the injustice of the
trade, and to solicit their concurrence in the abolition of it! He hoped
the representatives of the nation would not be less just than the people.
The latter had stepped forward, and expressed their sense more generally by
petitions, than in any instance in which they had ever before interfered.
To see this great cause thus triumphing over distinctions and prejudices
was a noble spectacle. Whatever might be said of our political divisions,
such a sight had taught us, that there were subjects still beyond the reach
of party; that there was a point of elevation, where we ascended above the
jarring of the discordant elements, which ruffled and agitated the vale
below. In our ordinary atmosphere clouds and vapours obscured the air, and
we were the sport of a thousand conflicting winds and adverse currents; but
here we moved in a higher region, where all was pure and clear, and free
from perturbation and discomposure.
"As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm;
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
Here then, on this august eminence, he hoped we should build the Temple of
Benevolence; that we should lay its foundation deep in Truth and Justice;
and that we should inscribe upon its gates, "Peace and Goodwill to Men."
Here we should offer the first-fruits of our benevolence, and endeavour to
compensate, if possible, for the injuries we had brought upon our
fellow-men.
He would only now observe, that his conviction of the indispensable
necessity of immediately abolishing this trade remained as strong as ever.
Let those who talked of allowing three or four years to the continuance of
it, reflect on the disgraceful scenes which had passed last year. As for
himself, he would wash his hands of the blood which would be spilled in
this horrid interval. He could not, however, but believe, that the hour was
come, when we should put a final period to the existence of this cruel
traffic. Should he unhappily be mistaken, he would never desert the cause;
but to the last moment of his life he would exert his utmost powers in its
support. He would now move, "That it is the opinion of this committee, that
the trade carried on by British subjects for the purpose of obtaining
slaves on the coast of Africa, ought to be abolished."
Mr. Baillie was in hopes that the friends of the abolition would have been
contented with the innocent blood which had been already shed. The great
island of St. Domingo had been torn to pieces by insurrections. The most
dreadful barbarities had been perpetrated there. In the year 1789 the
imports into it exceeded five millions sterling. The exports from it in the
same year amounted to six millions; and the trade employed three hundred
thousand tons of shipping, and thirty thousand seamen. This fine island,
thus advantageously situated, had been lost in consequence of the agitation
of the question or the Slave-trade. Surely so much mischief ought to have
satisfied those who supported it; but they required the total destruction
of all the West Indian colonies, belonging to Great Britain, to complete
the ruin.
The honourable gentleman, who had just spoken, had dwelt, upon the
enormities of the Slave-trade. He was far from denying, that many acts of
inhumanity might accompany it; but as human nature was much the same every
where, it would be unreasonable to expect among African traders, or the
inhabitants of our islands, a degree of perfection in morals, which was not
to be found in Great Britain itself. Would any man estimate the character
of the English nation by what was to be read in the records of the Old
Bailey? He himself, however, had lived sixteen years in the West Indies,
and he could bear testimony to the general good usage of the slaves.
Before the agitation of this impolitic question the slaves were contented
with their situation. There was a mutual confidence between them and their
masters: and this continued to be the case till the new doctrines were
broached. But now depots of arms were necessary on every estate; and the
scene was totally reversed. Nor was their religious then inferior to their
civil state. When the English took possession of Grenada, where his
property lay, they found them baptized and instructed in the principles of
the Roman Catholic faith. The priests of that persuasion had indeed been
indefatigable in their vocation; so that imported Africans generally
obtained within twelve months a tolerable idea of their religious duties.
He had seen the slaves there go through the public mass in a manner, and
with a fervency, which would have done credit to more civilized societies.
But the case was now altered; for, except where the Moravians had been,
there was no trace in our islands of an attention to their religious
interests.
It had been said, that their punishments were severe. There might be
instances of cruelty; but these were not general. Many of them were
undoubtedly ill disposed; though not more, according to their number, on a
plantation, than in a regiment, or in a ship's crew. Had we never heard of
seamen being flogged from ship to ship, or of soldiers dying in the very
act of punishment? Had we not also heard, even in this country of boasted
liberty, of seamen being seized, and carried away, when returning from
distant voyages, after an absence of many years; and this without even
being allowed to see their wives and families? As to distressed objects, he
maintained, that there was more wretchedness and poverty in St. Giles's,
than in all the West Indian islands belonging to Great Britain.
He would now speak of the African and West Indian trades. The imports and
exports of these amounted to upwards of ten millions annually; and they
gave employment to three hundred thousand tons of shipping, and to about
twenty-five thousand seamen. These trades had been sanctioned by our
ancestors in parliament. The acts for this purpose might be classed under
three heads. First, they were such as declared the colonies and the trade
thereof advantageous to Great Britain, and therefore entitled to her
protection. Secondly, such as authorised, protected, and encouraged the
trade to Africa, as advantageous in itself, and necessary to the welfare
and existence of the sugar colonies: and, Thirdly, such as promoted and
secured loans of money to the proprietors of the said colonies, either from
British subjects or from foreigners. These acts[A], he apprehended, ought
to satisfy every person of the legality and usefulness of these trades.
They were enacted in reigns distinguished for the production of great and
enlightened characters. We heard then of no wild and destructive doctrines
like the present. These were reserved for this age of novelty and
innovation. But he must remind the House, that the inhabitants of our
islands had as good a right to the protection of their property, as the
inhabitants of Great Britain. Nor could it be diminished in any shape
without full compensation. The proprietors of lands in the ceded islands,
which were purchased of government under specific conditions of settlement,
ought to be indemnified. They also (of whom he was one) who had purchased
the territory granted by the crown to General Monkton in the Island of St.
Vincent, ought to be indemnified also. The sale of this had gone on
briskly, till it was known, that a plan was in agitation for the abolition
of the Slave-trade. Since that period the original purchasers had done
little or nothing, and they had many hundred acres on hand, which would be
of no value, if the present question was carried. In fact, they had a right
to compensation. The planters generally spent their estates in this
country. They generally educated their children in it. They had never been
found seditious or rebellious; and they demanded of the Parliament of Great
Britain that protection, which, upon the principles of good faith, it was
in duty bound to afford them in common with the rest of his majesty's loyal
subjects.
[Footnote A: Here he quoted them specifically.]
Mr. Vaughan stated that, being a West Indian by birth and connected with
the islands, he could speak from his own knowledge. In the early part of
his life he was strongly in favour of the abolition of the Slave-trade. He
had been educated by Dr. Priestley and the father of Mrs. Barbauld; who
were both of them friends to that question. Their sentiments he had
imbibed: but, although bred at the feet of Gamaliel, he resolved to judge
for himself, and he left England for Jamaica.
He found the situation of the slaves much better than he had imagined.
Setting aside liberty, they were as well off as the poor in Europe. They
had little want of clothes or fuel: they had a house and garden found them;
were never imprisoned for debts; nor deterred from marrying through fear of
being unable to support a family; their orphans and widows were taken care
of, as they themselves were when old and disabled; they had medical
attendance without expense; they had private property, which no master ever
took front them; and they were resigned to their situation, and looked for
nothing beyond it. Perhaps persons might have been prejudiced by living in
the towns, to which slaves were often sent for punishment; and where there
were many small proprietors; or by seeing no Negro otherwise than as
belonging to the labouring poor; but they appeared to him to want nothing
but liberty; and it was only occasionally that they were abused.
There were two prejudices with respect to the colonies, which he would
notice. The first was, that cruel usage occasioned the inequality of births
and deaths among the slaves. But did cruelty cause the excess of deaths
above births in the city of London? No--this excess had other causes. So it
had among the slaves. Of these more males were imported than females: they
were dissolute too in their morals; they had also diseases peculiar to
themselves. But in those islands where they nearly kept up their numbers,
there was this difficulty, that the equality was preserved by the increase
on one estate compensating for the decrease on another. These estates,
however, would not interchange their numbers; whereas, where freedom
prevailed, the free labourers circulated from one employer to another, and
appeared wherever they were wanted.
The second was, that all chastisement of the slaves was cruelty. But this
was not true. Their owners generally withdrew them from public justice; so
that they, who would have been publicly executed elsewhere, were often kept
alive by their masters, and were found punished again and again for
repeating their faults. Distributive justice occasioned many punishments;
as one slave was to be protected against every other slave: and, when one
pilfered from another, then the master interfered. These punishments were
to be distinguished from such as arose from enforcing labour, or from the
cruelty of their owners. Indeed he had gone over the islands, and he had
seen but little ill usage. He had seen none on the estate where he resided.
The whip, the stocks, and confinement, were all the modes of punishment he
had observed in other places. Some slaves belonging to his father were
peculiarly well off. They saved money, and spent it in their own way.
But, notwithstanding all he had said, he allowed that there was room for
improvement; and particularly for instilling into the slaves the principles
of religion. Where this should be realized, there would be less punishment,
more work, more marriages, more issue, and more attachment to masters.
Other improvements would be the establishment of medical societies; the
introduction of task-work; and grants of premiums and honorary distinctions
both to fathers and mothers, according to the number of children which they
should rear. Besides this, Negro evidence should be allowed in the courts
of law, it being left to the discretion of the court or jury to take or
reject it, according to the nature of the case. Cruel masters also should
be kept in order in various ways. They should be liable to have their
slaves taken from them, and put in trust. Every instrument of punishment
should be banished, except the whip. The number of lashes should be
limited; and the punishment should not be repeated till after intervals.
These and other improvements should be immediately adopted by the planters.
The character of the exemplary among them was hurt by being confounded with
that of lower and baser men. He concluded by stating, that the owners of
slaves were entitled to compensation, if, by means of the abolition, they
should not be able to find labourers for the cultivation of their lands[A].
[Footnote A: Mr. Vaughan declared in a future stage of the debate, that he
wished to see a prudent termination both of the Slave-trade and of slavery;
and that, though he was the eldest son of his father, he never would, on
any consideration, become the owner of a slave.]
Mr. Henry Thornton conceived, that the two last speakers had not spoken to
the point. The first had described the happy state of the slaves in the
West Indies. The latter had made similar representations; but yet had
allowed, that much improvement might be made in their condition. But this
had nothing to do with the question then before them. The manner of
procuring slaves in Africa was the great evil to be remedied. Africa was to
be stripped of its inhabitants to supply a population for the West Indies.
There was a Dutch proverb, which said, "My son, get money, honestly if you
can--but get money:" or, in other words, "Get slaves, honestly if you
can--but get slaves." This was the real grievance; and the two honourable
gentlemen, by confining their observations to the West Indies, had entirely
overlooked it.
Though this evil had been fully proved, he could not avoid stating to the
House some new facts, which had come to his knowledge as a director of the
Sierra Leone Company, and which would still further establish it. The
consideration, that they had taken place since the discussion of the last
year on this subject, obliged him to relate them.
Mr. Falconbridge, agent to the Company, sitting one evening in Sierra
Leone, heard a shout, and immediately afterwards the report of a gun.
Fearing an attack, he armed forty of the settlers, and rushed with them to
the place from whence the noise came. He found a poor wretch, who had been
crossing from a neighbouring village, in the possession of a party of
kidnappers, who were tying his hands. Mr. Falconbridge, however, dared not
rescue him, lest, in the defenceless state of his own town, retaliation
might be made upon him.
At another time a young woman, living half a mile off, was sold, without
any criminal charge, to one of the slave-ships. She was well acquainted
with the agent's wife, and had been with her only the day before. Her cries
were heard; but it was impossible to relieve her.
At another time a young lad, one of the free settlers who went from
England, was caught by a neighbouring chief, as he was straggling alone
from home, and sold for a slave. The pretext was, that some one in the town
of Sierra Leone had committed an offence. Hence the first person belonging
to it, who could be seized, was to be punished. Happily the free settlers
saw him in his chains; and they recovered him, before he was conveyed to
the ship.
To mark still more forcibly the scenes of misery, to which the Slave-trade
gave birth, he would mention a case stated to him in a letter by King
Naimbanna. It had happened to this respectable person, in no less than
three instances, to have some branches of his family kidnapped, and carried
off to the West Indies. At one time three young men, Corpro, Banna, and
Marbrour, were decoyed on board a Danish slave-ship, under pretence of
buying something, and were taken away. At another time another relation
piloted a vessel down the river. He begged to be put on shore, when he came
opposite to his own town; but he was pressed to pilot her to the river's
mouth. The captain then pleaded the impracticability of putting him on
shore; carried him to Jamaica; and sold him for a slave. Fortunately,
however, by means of a letter, which was conveyed there, the man, by the
assistance of the governor, was sent back to Sierra Leone. At another time
another relation was also kidnapped. But he had not the good fortune, like
the former, to return.
He would mention one other instance. A son had sold his own father, for
whom he obtained a considerable price: for, as the father was rich in
domestic slaves, it was not doubted that he would offer largely for his
ransom. The old man accordingly gave twenty-two of these in exchange for
himself. The rest, however, being from that time filled with apprehensions
of being on some ground or other sold to the slave-ships, fled to the
mountains of Sierra Leone, where they now dragged on a miserable existence.
The son himself was sold, in his turn, soon after. In short, the whole of
that unhappy peninsula, as he learnt from eye-witnesses, had been desolated
by the trade in slaves. Towns were seen standing without inhabitants all
over the coast; in several of which the agent of the Company had been.
There was nothing but distrust among the inhabitants. Every one, if he
stirred from home, felt himself obliged to be armed.
Such was the nature of the Slave-trade. It had unfortunately obtained the
name of a trade; and many had been deceived by the appellation. But it was
war, and not trade. It was a mass of crimes, and not commerce. It was that
which prevented the introduction of a trade in Africa; for it was only by
clearing and cultivating the lands, that the climate could be made healthy
for settlements; but this wicked traffic, by dispersing the inhabitants,
and causing the lands to remain uncultivated, made the coast unhealthy to
Europeans. He had found, in attempting to establish a colony there, that it
was an obstacle, which opposed itself to him in innumerable ways; it
created more embarrassments than all the natural impediments of the
country; and it was more hard to contend with, than any difficulties of
climate, soil, or natural disposition of the people.
We would say a few words relative to the numerous petitions, which were
then on the table of the House. They had shown, in an extraordinary manner,
the opinion of the people. He did not wish to turn this into a
constitutional question; but he would observe, that it was of the utmost
consequence to the maintenance of the constitution of this country, that
the reputation of Parliament should be maintained. But nothing could
prejudice its character so much, as a vote, which should lead the people to
believe, that the legislative body was the more corrupt part of it, and
that it was slow to adopt moral principles.
It had been often insinuated that Parliament, by interfering in this trade,
departed from its proper functions. No idea could be more absurd: for, was
it not its duty to correct abuses? and what abuses were greater than
robbery and murder? He was indeed anxious for the abolition. He desired it,
as a commercial man, on account of the commercial character of the country.
He desired it for the reputation of Parliament, on which so materially
depended the preservation of our happy constitution: but most of all he
prayed for it for the sake of those eternal principles of justice, which it
was the duty of nations, as well as of individuals, to support.
Colonel Tarleton repeated his arguments of the last year. In addition to
these he inveighed bitterly against the abolitionists, as a junto of
sectaries, sophists, enthusiasts, and fanatics. He condemned the abolition
as useless, unless other nations would take it up. He brought to the
recollection of the House the barbarous scenes which had taken place in St.
Domingo, all of which, he said, had originated in the discussion of this
question. He described the alarms, in which the inhabitants of our own
islands were kept, lest similar scenes should occur from the same cause. He
ridiculed the petitions on the table. Itinerant clergymen, mendicant
physicians, and others, had extorted signatures from the sick, the
indigent, and the traveller. School-boys were invited to sign them, under
the promise of a holiday. He had letters to produce, which would prove all
these things, though he was not authorized to give up the names of those
who had written them.
Mr. Montagu said, that, in the last session, he had simply entered his
protest against the trade; but now he could be no longer silent; and as
there were many, who had conceived regulation to be more desirable than
abolition, he would confine himself to that subject.
Regulation, as it related to the manner of procuring slaves, was utterly
impossible: for how could we know the case of each individual, whom we
forced away into bondage? Could we establish tribunals all along the coast,
and in every ship, to find it out? What judges could we get for such an
office? But, if this could not be done upon the coast, how could we
ascertain the justness of the captivity of by far the greatest number, who
were brought from immense distances inland?
He would not dwell upon the proof of the inefficiency of regulations, as to
the Middle Passage. His honourable friend Mr. Wilberforce had shown, that,
however the mortality might have been lessened in some ships by the
regulations of Sir William Dolben, yet, wherever a contagious disorder
broke out, the greatest part of the cargo was swept away. But what
regulations by the British Parliament could prevent these contagions, or
remove them suddenly, when they appeared?
Neither would regulations be effectual, as they related to the protection
of the slaves in the West Indies. It might perhaps be enacted, as Mr.
Vaughan had suggested, that their punishments should be moderate; and that
the number of lashes should be limited. But the colonial legislatures had
already done as much, as the magic of words alone could do, upon this
subject: yet the evidence upon the table clearly proved, that the only
protection of slaves was in the clemency of their masters. Any barbarity
might be exercised with impunity, provided no White person were to see it,
though it happened in the sight of a thousand slaves. Besides, by splitting
the offence, and inflicting the punishment at intervals, the law could be
evaded, although the fact was within the reach of the evidence of a White
man. Of this evasion, Captain Cook, of the eighty-ninth regiment, had given
a shocking instance: and Chief Justice Ottley had candidly confessed, that
"he could devise no method of bringing a master, so offending, to justice,
while the evidence of the slave continued inadmissible." But perhaps
councils of protection, and guardians of the slaves, might be appointed.
This again was an expedient, which sounded well; but which would be
nugatory and absurd. What person would risk the comfort of his life by the
exercise of so invidious an interference? But supposing that one or two
individuals could be found, who would sacrifice all their time, and the
friendship of their associates, for the good of the slaves; what could they
effect? Could they be in all places at once? But even if acts of barbarity
should be related to them, how were they to come at the proof of them?
It appeared then that no regulations could be effectual until the slaves
were admitted to give their evidence: but to admit them to this privilege
in their present state would be to endanger the safety and property of
their masters. Mr. Vaughan had, however, recommended this measure with
limitations, but it would produce nothing but discontent; for how were the
slaves to be persuaded, that it was fit they should be admitted to speak
the truth, and then be disbelieved and disregarded? What a fermentation
would such a conduct naturally excite in men dismissed with injuries
unredressed, though abundantly proved, in their apprehension, by their
testimony! In fact, no regulations would do. There was no cure for these
evils, but in the abolition of the Slave-trade. He called upon the planters
to concur with his honourable friend Mr. Wilberforce in this great measure.
He wished them to consider the progress, which the opinion of the injustice
of this trade was making in the nation at large, as manifested by the
petitions; which had almost obstructed the proceedings of the House by
their perpetual introduction. It was impossible for them to stifle this
great question. As for himself, he would renew his profession of last year,
that he would never cease, but with life, to promote so glorious an end.
Mr. Whitbread said, that even if he could conceive, that the trade was, as
some had asserted it to be, founded on principles of humanity; that the
Africans were rescued from death in their own country; that, upon being
carried to the West Indies, they were put under kind masters; that their
labour there was easy; that at evening they returned cheerful to their
homes; that in sickness they were attended with care; and that their old
age was rendered comfortable; even then he would vote for the abolition of
the Slave-trade; inasmuch as he was convinced, that that, which was
fundamentally wrong, no practice could justify.
No eloquence could persuade him, that the Africans were torn from their
country and their dearest connections, merely that they might lead a
happier life; or that they could be placed under the uncontrolled dominion
of others without suffering. Arbitrary power would spoil the hearts of the
best. Hence would arise tyranny on the one side, and a sense of injury on
the other. Hence the passions would be let loose, and a state of perpetual
enmity would follow.
He needed only to go to the accounts of those who defended the system of
slavery, to show that it was cruel. He was forcibly struck last year by an
expression of an honourable member, an advocate for the trade, who, when
he came to speak of the slaves, on selling off the stock of a plantation,
said, that they fetched less than the common price, because they were
damaged.--Damaged!--What! were they goods and chattels? What an idea was
this to hold out of our fellow-creatures. We might imagine how slaves were
treated, if they could be spoken of in such a manner. Perhaps these unhappy
people had lingered out the best part of their lives in the service of
their master. Able then to do but little, they were sold for little! and
the remaining substance of their sinews was to be pressed out by another,
yet more hardened than the former, and who had made a calculation of their
vitals accordingly.
As another proof, he would mention a passage in a pamphlet, in which the
author, describing the happy situation of the slaves, observed, that a good
Negro never wanted a character. A bad one could always be detected by his
weals and scars. What was this but to say, that there were instruments in
use, which left indelible marks behind them; and who would say, that these
were used justly?
An honourable gentleman, Mr. Vaughan, had said, that setting aside slavery,
the slaves were better off than the poor in this country. But what was it
that we wished to abolish? Was it not the Slave-trade, which would destroy
in time the cruel distinction he had mentioned? The same honourable
gentleman had also expressed his admiration of their resignation; but might
it not be that resignation, which was the consequence of despair?
Colonel Tarleton had insinuated, that the petitions on the table had been
obtained in an objectionable manner. He had the honour to present one from
his constituents; which he would venture to say had originated with
themselves; and that there did not exist more respectable names in the
kingdom, than those of the persons who had signed it. He had also asserted,
that there was a strong similitude in their tenour and substance, as if
they had been manufactured by the same persons. This was by no means to be
wondered at. There was surely but one plain tale to tell; and it was not
surprising, that it had been clothed in nearly the same expressions. There
was but one boon to ask, and that was--the abolition of this wicked trade.
It had been said by another, (Mr. Baillie) that the horrible insurrections
in St. Domingo arose from the discussion of the question of the
Slave-trade. He denied the assertion; and maintained that they were the
effect of the trade itself. There was a point of endurance, beyond which
human nature could not go; at which the mind of man rose by its native
elasticity with a spring and violence proportioned to the degree to which
it had been depressed. The calamities in St. Domingo proceeded from the
Slave-trade alone; and, if it were continued, similar evils were to be
apprehended in our own islands. The cruelties, which the slaves had
perpetrated in that unfortunate colony, they had learnt from their masters.
Had not an African eyes? Had he not ears? Had he not organs, senses, and
passions? If you pricked him, would he not feel the puncture and bleed? If
you poisoned him, would he not die? and, if you wronged him, would he not
revenge? But he had said sufficient; for he feared he could not better the
instruction.
Mr. Milbank would only just observe, that the policy of the measure of the
abolition was as great, as its justice was undeniable. Where slavery
existed, every thing was out of its natural place. All improvement was at
an end. There must also, from the nature of the human heart, be oppression.
He warned the planters against the danger of fresh importations, and
invited their concurrence in the measure.
Mr. Dundas (now Lord Melville) declared, that he had always been a warm
friend to the abolition of the Slave-trade, though he differed with Mr.
Wilberforce as to the mode of effecting it.
The abolitionists, and those on the opposite side of the question, had,
both of them, gone into extremes. The former were for the immediate and
abrupt annihilation of the trade. The latter considered it as essentially
necessary to the existence of the West Indian islands, and therefore laid
it down, that it was to be continued for ever. Such was the vast distance
between the parties. He would now address himself to each.
He would say first, that he agreed with his honourable friend Mr.
Wilberforce in very material points. He believed the trade was not founded
in policy; that the continuation of it was not essential to the
preservation of our trade with the West Indian islands; and that the slaves
were not only to be maintained, but increased there, by natural population.
He agreed, too, as to the propriety of the abolition. But when his
honourable friend talked of direct and abrupt abolition, he would submit it
to him, whether he did not run counter to the prejudices of those who were
most deeply interested in the question; and whether, if he could obtain his
object without wounding these, it would not be better to do it? Did he not
also forget the sacred attention, which Parliament had ever shown to the
private interests and patrimonial rights of individuals?
Whatever idea men might then have of the African trade, certain it was that
they, who had connected themselves with it, had done it under the sanction
of Parliament. It might also be well worth while to consider (though the
conduct of other nations ought not to deter us from doing our duty) whether
British subjects in the West Indies might not be supplied with slaves under
neutral flags. Now he believed it was possible to avoid these objections,
and at the same time to act in harmony with the prejudices which had been
mentioned. This might be done by regulations, by which we should effect the
end much more speedily than by the way proposed. By regulations, he meant
such as would increase the breed of the slaves in the West Indies; such as
would ensure a moral education to their children; and such as would even in
time extinguish hereditary slavery. The extinction, however, of this was
not to be effected by allowing the son of an African slave to obtain his
freedom on the death of his parent. Such a son should be considered as born
free. He should then be educated at the expense of the person importing his
parents; and, when arrived at such a degree of strength as might qualify
him to labour, he should work for a term of years for the payment of the
expense of his education and maintenance. It was impossible to emancipate
the existing slaves at once; nor would such an emancipation be of any
immediate benefit to themselves: but this observation would not apply to
their descendants, if trained and educated in the manner he had proposed.
He would now address himself to those who adopted the opposite extreme: and
he thought he should not assume too much, when he said, that if both
slavery and the Slave-trade could be abolished with safety to their
property, it deeply concerned their interests to do it. Such a measure,
also, would only be consistent with the principles of the British
Constitution. It was surely strange that we, who were ourselves free,
should carry on a Slave-trade with Africa; and that we should never think
of introducing cultivation into the West Indies by free labourers.
That such a measure would tend to their interest he had no doubt. Did not
all of them agree with Mr. Long, that the great danger in the West Indies
arose from the importation of the African slaves there? Mr. Long had
asserted, that all the insurrections there arose from these. If this
statement were true, how directly it bore upon the present question! But we
were told also, by the same author, that the Slave-trade gave rise to
robbery, murder, and all kinds of depredations on the coast of Africa. Had
this been answered? No: except indeed it had been said, that the slaves
were such as had been condemned for crimes. Well then: the imported
Africans consisted of all the convicts, rogues, thieves, and vagabonds in
Africa. But would the West Indians choose to depend on fresh supplies of
these for the cultivation of their lands, and the security of their
islands, when it was also found that every insurrection had arisen from
them? it was plain the safety of the islands was concerned in this
question. There would be danger so long as the trade lasted. The Planters
were, by these importations, creating the engines of their own destruction.
Surely they would act more to their own interest, if they would concur in
extinguishing the trade, than by standing up for its continuance.