retire to reft, unfatigued, and with hearts at eafe; that in the morning, they rife, invigorated by reft, and alert with chearfulness, to pursue an occupation that is mild and easy; were he convinced, that in sickness they are attended with care and skill, and that their old age is rendered comfortable by the enjoyment of peace and plenty, and that they lay them down to fleep the fleep of death, in calmnefs and refignation; were I convinced, that these were circumftances that exifted in truth, and are fubftantiated by fact, even then, I would vote that the Slave Trade be abolished; inafmuch, as I am convinced, that that which is in principle fundamentally wrong, no practice whatever can render right and pardonable. No argument can prove, nor any eloquence perfuade me, that man is torn from his native country, and his deareft connections, for the purpose of nourish ment, and that he is delivered into the hands of man, in order to warrant his fafety, and procure his protection. Who will affert, that man, when delivered into the hands of man, will not be ill treated? Who will fay, that he shall not suffer? It is the known effect of power upon the human heart, and it must neceffarily happen, that not only those who were originally good, by being poffeffed of arbitrary power become bad, but that many exercise a greater degree of cruelty than they would otherwise have imagined, from the mere circumftance of their being enabled to do so with impunity. When man is fubject to the dominion of his fellow creature, there muft, on the one hand, be tyranny, and on the other, a deep fenfe of injury: it is the quality of defpotifm to corrupt the heart, and deaden the finer feelings of nature. Of the hardened and cruel among mankind, there are already too great a number, and to permit perfons of that de fcription, to poffefs power over their fellow creatures, is to fuffer an evil that is dangerous and unjuftifiable indeed. I beg leave to obferve, that expreffions have fallen from fome of thofe who have contended for the humanity of the Slave Trade, that convince me, that barbarities exift in that traffic that are dif graceful to human nature. I have heard it afferted in this Houfe, I do not impute it invidiously to any one, but it was an expreffion that forcibly ftruck my mind; I mean an expref fion of an Honourable Gentleman in his place in the last feffion of Parliament, on the difcuffion of the Sierra Leone bufinefs who, when he came to speak of the flaves, in an account of the felling off the stock of a plantation, faid, that the flaves fetched lefs than their common price, because they were damaged !— Damaged! Does not this imply that the flave had spent the best part of his life in the fervice of a master, who parts with him for a small compensation, and leaves him to linger out the remainder. of his miferable existence with a mafter, perhaps of more fevere manners, a harfher nature, and in all probability not lefs arbitrary in his difpofition? I cannot but mention a paffage that, I discovered in the perusal of a pamphlet published in the defence of the Slave Trade, the author of which, defcribing the happy fituation of the negroes, among other felicitous circumstances obferves, that a good negro wants no character, for his fervices. may be feen, as it were, and his value appreciated, by the marks he bore of chains, galls, and lafhes. What is that, but to fay that fuch inftruments of torture are made ufe of, and that lafhes are inflicted that leave indelible marks? And who will fay, that they were juftly inflicted? An Honourable Gentleman, who this evening spoke for the first time in this Houfe (Mr. Vaughan) has faid, that he heartily wifhed for the Abolition of the trade, and yet has argued in favour of its continuance. That gentleman has declared, that upon going over to the Weft Indies, he was furprized to find the flaves in fo good a fituation; but he has alfo obferved, that they are all poor and degraded, and putting flavery and cruelty out of the queftion, are better off than the poor of this country. What is it, we want to abolish? It is cruelty and flavery that we wish to abolish, and thereby to do away that dreadful diftinction which degrades their condition, and reduces them below the level of their fellow creatures. The Honourable Gentleman has expreffed his admiration of their refignation; but is it not that fort of refignation which is the confequence of defpair? He has alfo faid, that one of the overfeers afked a flave, who was idle, "What do you think your master bought you for? Did he not buy you to labour?" and that the flave thereupon directly began to work. Had the negro ufed any reply, what would have been the argument in answer, but those wails and fears which he could not have refifted?-With respect to the affertion that the commerce of the country would be materially affected by an Abolition of the Slave Trade, as the fubject has been so ably discused, I will not detain the Committee upon that point. Nothing has paffed to alter my opinion on the fubject; but as an Honourable Friend of mine (Colonel Tarlton) who has made a very able defence of the trade, has afferted that the Petitions which have been prefented from all parts of the kingdom, do not contain the general opinion of the people, or speak their fentiments, but that they have been obtained by artifice, and were undeserving of credit; I muft beg leave to obferve, that my Honourable Friend has adduced rather unfatisfactory evidence to prove, that the Petitions do not speak the voice of the country. I have had the honour to present a petition from my constituents, and I will venture to fay, that there does not exist more respectable name in the kingdom than thofe of the perfons who have figned that Petition. It has been faid by my Honourable Friend, that there is a strong fimilitude in their tenor and fubftance. That is a circumftance, by no means to be wondered at. There is but one plain tale to tell, and it is not furprizing that it has been told in nearly the fame manner and expreffions. There is but one boon to afk, and that is the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The Petitions contain the fentiments of the people in genera', and neither can they be invalidated, nor the evidence on the table be difproved, by the epiftle of a quaker at Warrington, or the letter of a Chester school-boy. The Honourable Gentleman who has brought forward the queftion, has been accused of enthusiasın : I am as warm an advocate for the Abolition of the Slave Trade as the Honourable mover of the queftion; but neither of them have started an idea of the Slaves being emancipated; they are as yet unfit for fuch a bleffing. It is not for the emancipation of the Slaves, but for an Abolition of the Slave Trade, that they have contended. Is that a proof of enthufiafm or fanaticifm, or is it a proof of a calm and rational investigation? That measures may be adopted for a gradual emancipation, as a Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Pitt) last year suggested, is, I am persuaded, the wish of every confiderate man, and is the object that we have in view. An Honourable Gentleman has faid fomething 93762 about - O 2 about two great orators, and men of distinguished abilities, having united their talents on the occafion, and who have given greater credit to the Honourable Gentleman who made the motion, by acceding to his opinion on the subject, than he merits. I do not believe, that the eloquence of the Honourable Gentleman has prevailed upon them to acquiefce in his opinion, but that the naked truth and fimple juftice of the subject, have induced them to fupport the queftion; and if any thing could yield additional weight to that of the conviction I entertain, that the traffic is inhuman and impolitic, it would be the circumftance of the two gentlemen in queftion, men of fuch eminent talents and brilliant abilities, and who are in habits of oppofition to each other, uniting on the occafion, and contending for the Abolition of the trade; convinced as I am that that union is the confequence of the clearness of their minds, and the irrefiftible force of truth.-I truft, that thofe are not to be found who exult in the calamities that have recently occured in St. Domingo. If fuch men exift, in my mind they merit exclufion from society, and ought to be driven from civilized life. For my own part, I disclaim all exultation on the subject. An Honourable Gentleman has declared, that thofe calamities are the firft fruits of aft year's Debate on the Slave Trade. I deny the affertion, and contend that they are the effect of the Trade itself. There is point of endurance, beyond which human nature cannot go, at which the mind of man rifes by its native elasticity with a fpring and violence proportioned to the degree to which it has been depreffed. The calamities in St. Domingo are the effect of the Slave Trade, and proceeded from no other caufe; and if the trade continues, fimilar evils are to be apprehended in our Weft India Islands. The cruelties practifed by the blacks in St. Domingo they have learned from their oppreffive masters:-"Hath not an African eyes? Hath not an African hands, or"gans, dimenfions, fenfes, paffions? Is he not fed with the fame food, hurt with the fame weapons, fubject to the fame "difeafes, healed by the fame means, warmed and cooled by ล the fame fummer and winter as we are? If you prick him, «does he not bleed? If you tickle him, does he not laugh? If you poifon him, does he not die? And if you wrong him, "fhall "fhall he not revenge? If he is like you in the reft, he will re« semble you in that. If an African wrong a white man, wha " is his humility ?--Revenge. If a white man wrong an African, what should his fufferance be by our example? Why, re venge. The cruelty you teach him, he will execute.--But "I fear it is not poffible to better the instruction." Mr. VAUGHAN in reply to Mr. Whitbread. Perhaps I may not have expreffed myself clearly, but I did not profefs to speak as a Planter or Merchant, but as a Member of Parliament, and to give an independent opinion; even though, in some points, it may feem to make against the Colonists, who might not thank me now, but would hereafter. Mr. MILBANK. With regard to the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the policy of the measure is as great as its juftice is undeniable. Where flavery prevails, every operation that is performed, is done in a rude and unworkmanlike manner, and no substitute for manual labour, no artificial means of expediting work, alleviating its trouble, and shortening the time of finishing it, is introduced or thought of, Where flavery exists, there must be oppreffion, and in my opinion the Planters are bound to thank those who have warned them of the more than probable dangers that muft one day enfue from the refentment of their Slaves, against those whom they cannot but regard with an inimical eye, and confider as their tyrants. I fhall therefore certainly vote for the Motion. MR. DUNDAS. When this question was agitated in the House last year, I happened to be prevented by indifpofition from giving any vote or public opinion upon it. My honourable friends, however, with whom I may be fuppofed to have the most intercourfe, have very well known that I have long entertained the fame opinion with them as to the Abolition of the Slave Trade, though I have differed from them as to the mode of effecting it. I have |