fects, which invariably operated in one way-the laws of nature could not be reverfed. Indeed when he viewed the present state of the western world, he could not forbear expreffing his aftonishment at seeing Gentlemen come down with fentiments unchanged upon this fubject, while every thing is changing in the very places and property which they are fo anxious to protect.-He had obferved, that it was eleven or twelve years fince he firft brought this fubject before the Houfe; in that time no lefs than 200,000 flaves had been imported, and not furely for the pretended purpose of keeping up ftock, but rather for the cultivation of new diftricts, and to force the revenues and productions of old. The increased difproportion in this way occasioned between the blacks and whites, increased the common danger by increafing the number of blacks beyond all bounds of fafety. Instead of narrowing the trade, the colonists ftill went on in adding daily to the number of flaves imported. Gentlemen would recollect the circumftance of a colony of blacks in a neighbouring ifland (St. Domingo) in which there were more blacks than in all the other islands put together, and where the flaves were employed as weekly labourers ;-under their directors, and with arms in their hands, fhould they form a coalefcence with their brethren, no man could tell where the ruin would stop. Gentlemen, fo far from importing flaves, fhould improve the condition of those they have, fhould make them their friends; for, should the event of an union take place between their brethren and them, the scene would be dreadful. With fuch an example before their eyes, would Gentlemen pretend that while in one ifland the blacks, being free, were peaceable, that on another, being flaves, they would always continue quiet? We had the difference, in effect, before our eyes; and should our colonies ftill go on importing flaves, he must fear it would bring on our ruin. For his part he was anxious to wash his hands of the ruin and blood which fuch blindness was provoking; he was not prepared to fay when this ruin would come upon them, but come it muft, or there was no reading in the heart, and deriving experience and knowledge from the obfervation of men and things. To thofe who dwelt upon the regulations of the colonial affemblies, he recommended it to read the Code Noire of France established one hundred years ago; they would find there that the directions for the management of the flaves were as full as thofe that were now brought forward. If they were not fatisfied with this, let them look into the Spanish code, and they would read this direction in it-That if any flave fhould have faved enough to purchafe his freedom, he might claim his manumiffion; and if his mafter fhould afk an unreafonable price, he might appeal to two perfons, who fhould act as appraifers, and fet a value upon him. Let them look alfo at the Directorio of Portugal, and they would find greater pains taken in these colonial affemblies. He did think, therefore, that Gentlemen ought to withdraw their complacency for these regulations. He had never accufed the Weft India merchants, as a general body, of exceffes and inhumanity in their treatment of the negroes: he was acquainted with many of them, who deplored the practice, and were forry that they poffeffed fuch a fpecies of property. They had indeed directed their flaves to be treated well, but being abfentees, their good intentions were but in too many inftances frustrated. In individual cafes it had however been but too plain that acts of the moft fhocking cruelty were committed. This was not the ground, however, of his oppofition to the friends of the traffic, nor the ground on which he brought forward his motion. It was the intereft of the great continent of Africa for which he ftood forward, the miferies of which were fanctioned by the British Parliament. He prayed the Houfe might put an end to it. He had fhewn they might now do fo with fafety and advantage, and that they would do it if they had any regard to juftice, good po licy, to moral obligation, to truth, and to humanity. He had fhewn also that at the prefent period particularly fomething ought to be done. It was demanded by the peril of the crifis, as it was a claim of fuffering humanity on every man who had not fuppreffed in his mind every liberal fentiment, every honourable feeling, all tendernefs for diftrefs and all reverence of religion. Let it not be fupposed that he obftinately refifted every change, whether good or bad. This was not an ideal theory, but a practical good to be done to a vast nation of our fellow creatures. Yet after all he could not expect to produce any change, to work any conviction in the minds of those who had fhewn themselves fo obftinately adverfe to every fucceflive motion he had made, men who were dead to every moral fhame, every religious obligation, dealers in human blood, who even carried on the trade while this difcuffion was going on. It was ridiculous to expect that the regulations of the affembly of Jamaica, or any other colonial affembly would produce the abolition of the Slave Trade. As a proof of this opinion, he referred the Houfe to the declaration of the affembly of Jamaica which he had noticed before. He concluded by faying, faying, that he would now make his ufual motion for leave to bring in a Bill to abolish the Slave Trade. The Speaker faid, that the ufual practice was to move for a Committee on all queftions that related to trade. Mr. Wilberforce fignified his readiness to follow the usual mode. The Speaker-" A motion having been made for leave to bring in a Bill to abolish the Slave Trade, a motion has been fince made and feconded, that the Houfe do refolve itself into a Committee on the fame. The queftion I have to put is, that this House do resolve itself into the faid Committee. Sir William Young rofe.-He gave credit to the Honourable Member for purity of motive, but the colonies had been already much agitated by fuch difcuffions, and he was fearful the worst confequences would enfue from so often bringing forward fuch a fubject. He read a letter which he had received from a friend of his in the Weft Indies, who stated, among other things, that the effect of the lan guage ufed by certain Gentlemen, would be to deluge the Iflands with blood, and that the minds of the flaves were already inflamed with French principles, and by French brigands. The motion of the Honourable Gentleman, as read from newspapers, had a strong tendency to inflame the difcontents of the negroes. He had received accounts from abroad informing him that all of them had turned politicians, fince this new fyftem had been fent among the colonies. This he imputed not fo much to the speeches of the Honourable Gentleman as to the colouring they received from those papers in which they were published. What then must be the effect which a repetition of fuch language, even without aggravation, would have on such men. Here the Honourable Member vindicated the conduct of the Colonial Affemblies in general, and inftanced Tobago, as being an Island once in the poffeflion of France, and inhabited by Frenchmen, but which had returned to the dominion of England at the commencement of the prefent war, in confequence of the difference of treatment to the blacks, who had indeed been entrusted with arms, and who joined their masters to drive out the French. He himself had fome property in this Island, but it was not with him a question of individual property, but whether French principles were to be allowed univerfally to prevail. He alluded to the candid manner in which the motion was brought forward in 1797, and notwithstanding the proceedings in fome Iflands, he looked for the beft effects from the measures which had fubfequently been taken. The general affembly of St. Kitt's, compofed compofed of delegates from all the Leeward Islands, had declared their hope that the trade might finally be put a stop to. One fource of the distress of the negroes was the dif treffes of their mafters, but the act of the affembly of St. Kitt's was calculated to make more ample provifion for them. The negroes always received indulgencies beyond the fpirit of any legiflative colonial act, for they were allowed portions of rum, &c. which no act could preferibe. With refpect to the ftate of education among the flaves, he could affure the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Wilberforce), that he was misinformed, for the Rev. Mr. Thompson had affured him that in the island of Antigua the blacks were good Chriftians. The Honourable Gentleman had changed his mode of attack. It was now the colonial assemblies, formerly the overfeers, &c. Yet the effect of the exertions. and regulations of the colonial affemblies had been to make many good Chriftians among the blacks, a circumftance at which the Honourable Gentleman would furely rejoice.— In the Island of Grenada a dangerous revolt of the negroes had only lately been fuppreffed, and therefore it was confidered dangerous at once to make great reforms. St. Vincent's equally wifhed to ameliorate the condition of the flaves, and only the abfence of its Governor (Bentick) had occafioned any delay. He compared the tate of those Iflands that were under the British with thofe under the French Government, and pointed out the comparatively fuperior condition of the one to the other. He infifted that ftrictly the connection was fuch as that between a master and a labourer, not between a flave and a planter. Barbadoes and Dominica had fhewn the fame zeal, and though it appeared that the import to the former Island was large, the fact was that all veffels neceffarily touched there as the most Wefterly of the Leeward Iflands, and made an entry of their cargoes. There was no official account upon the table of the proceedings of the affembly of Tobago, but an official copy had been received by the agent for the Ifland, and the language of that body evinced the moft unequivocal difpofition to concur in the fentiments and wifhes of those who wifhed to fee an abolition effected in the only way it could be done, through the colonial legislatures. In this Ifland the negro was amply protected, every man there trusted his flave with arms: and fuch was the refult of kindness on the one fide, and the sense of it on the other, that it was owing to their affistance that the French could make no impreflion on it. The Colonies themselves, he No. 26. infifted, 6 M infifted, were difpofed, to do every thing poffible for the amelioration of the negroes, without the interference of this country. He vindicated his own confiftency, and obferved that for the last eleven years his opinion remained the fame, namely, that the trade had ill effects, but that the beft mode of removing them would be by a gradual abolition. At that time he fuggefted the propriety of having fome eftablishment on the coaft of Africa, to prevent the abufes which exifted in the mode of obtaining flaves. The Parliament of Great Britain had been truly the benefactor of the colonies, by attending to the civilization of the coaft, and adopting the measure of a gradual abolition.Already we had Confuls at Algiers, Tunis, &c. and he thought the hardships of the middle paffage might be miti gated by appointing Confuls on the Coaft of Africa. If a limitation of only one flave to every three tons was made, he would agree to it ; to any thing in fhort he would agree, that might tend to a gradual abolition; but could not accede to any propofal fuddenly to change all the property of the West Indies, to convert their revenues into mere life annuities, by a measure which would operate as a foreclofure of every mortgage. He then referred to the Addrefs to the Planters, in which they were called upon in language which he thought muft neceffarily excite fome little irritation; for it could not be denied that an unqualified abolition of the African Slave Trade muft be neceffarily attend with the emancipation of all the negroes in the West Indies. Where then particular attention had been paid to the morals and comforts of the flaves, he thought they fhould be left to the humanity which had been fo confpicuous in their favour. But what was the cafe now? After the planters had received the addrefs of this Houfe, and exprefied by their conduct the utmost eagerness to comply with its terms, this House proceeded as if they had done nothing. With regard to the conduct of the assembly of Jamaica, he wished the Houfe to confider the particular fituation of that island when his Majefty's addrefs reached them. He wished the House alfo to confider the value of that colony from the returns on their table, and the lofs which muft arife to the parent country were all fecurity for property loofened by the immediate abolition of the trade, and the emancipation of the negroes. Let the House fhew that moderation becoming the Legiflature of a great Country.Let them confider exifting circumftances. An army of blacks under Touffaint in a neighbouring Island, and the principles |