that in the more interior parts of the country, where they never heard of the Slave Trade, that in addition to the other blessings they enjoyed, wars were feldom or ever known among them. Mr. Parke, however, was of a different opinion; he knew from his own feeing, that in the most interior and moft civilized parts of Africa, wars were very frequent among the different and neighbouring nations. He had feen the King of Caffan preparing to wage war with his neighbour the King of Cartha. He had afterwards been in the capital of the King of Cartha, when he gained a confiderable victory over his adverfary, and he deliberately ordered the throats of all his prifoners to be cut. Here the Slave Trade was not known or heard of, and it certainly was unfortunate for the poor prisoners that it was not, for instead of having their throats cut, they would have been fent to the Weft Indies. He by no means, he faid, intended to go into the abstract queftion, how far, or whether a man conquering another and taking him prifoner had any right. to reduce him to a state of flavery. He was not then arguing against an abstract principle, but a practical good and he put it to every Gentleman who heard him, whether if he had his choice, he would have his throat cut or be fent to the West Indies? The Honourable Gentleman had faid there were now fufficient flaves in the West India Islands to furnish the planters, and to enable them to carry on the cultivation of the feveral colonies without any further affiftance from the coast of Africa. He begged leave, however, to contradict the ftatement and af fertion of the Honourable Gentleman, who fpoke undoubtedly, from very indifferent information, and what ought not to be depended on. He had had a perfonal and local knowledge of the Weft India Islands for upwards of twelve years, and he knew that this was not the cafe. The proportion of the fexes in the generality of the islands was as five males to three females. To this was to be added the fuperftitious but mifchievous custom which they brought with them from Africa, of polygamy, which was a very great detriment to population. Time would therefore be abfolutely neceflary for thefe two purposes---the giving the planters time, by means of acts of affembly, laying certain taxes on the importation of males, or giving bounties on that of females, which might encourage and produce a more equal proportion of the fexes, or, if poffible, a majority of females, as well as by every means that can be properly adopted to counteract or do away the pernicious but rooted cuftom of polygamy. The Honourable Gentleman had treated with confiderable afperity the idea held forth by the people of Jamaica, that the Slave Trade ought not to be abolified till the greater part of the land land which was now barren was put into a ftate of cultivation. He, by no means, faw this in the fame point of view with the Honourable Gentleman; on the contrary, he was firmly perfuaded, that the greatest part of the land in the island of Jamaica, ought to be cultivated before the entire abolition of the Slave Trade was fuffered to take place, or the most fatal confequences were to be apprehended. Look to what had been the fate of St. Vincents. The lands of that ifland had been fuffered to lie wafte and uncultivated, and they became the refuge of the Caribs. The Maroons in Jamaica were owing to the fame caufe. If you fuffer,' faid Mr. Edwards, the land in Jamaica to lie wafte in fo great a proportion, they will always prove nurseries to run-away negroes; and Maroons and Caribs will never be wanting in abundance.' He hoped, however, and could not but fuppofe, that the lands belonging to the Caribs, would, ere long, be again let out. The Honourable Gentleman had faid, that the best confequences had already refulted from the abolition of the Slave Trade by the French. He knew the contrary to be the cafe. In the island of St. Domingo what had been the confequence? Exactly the misfortunes which he had before described as a natural confequence to the abolition of the Slave Trade. The French had, under the auspices of Monf. Robespierre, passed a decree for the emancipation of the negroes. No fooner was this made known to them, and they were told they were no longer flaves, but citizens, than great bodies of them in the fouthern part of the island, threw down their hoes, or tools of labour, fled to the mountains, and had ever fince been in one continued scene of anarchy and confufion. He would not, he said, be induced on any account, to fuppofe or fufpect, that the Honourable Gentleman would be one of thofe who wish to adopt French principles, or French conduct. He could not, however, avoid affuring him, that, by bringing in this Bill, he will only teach the negroes that they are treated with injustice and inhumanity, and by this leffon will pretty plainly tell them to rife upon and murder their masters, and then plant the tree of liberty upon their graves--that tree of which it had been fublimely faid, "that its roots were fteeped in blood, and that its branches distilled poifon." There might be fanatics in this kingdom who would be prompted to preach up thefe doctrines; however, he fincerely hoped there were none of them in that Houfe. But he would now conclude, by affuring the Honourable Gentleman, that if the Weft India planters were to be doomed to fall, he should fee they would not fall without a fruggle. Fully impreffed as he was with those fentiments, Mr. Edwards faid he should give his decided negative to the Motion. Mr. Mr. Wilberforce rofe to explain. The inftances of injuftice and barbarity which he had adduced, and which were contradicted by the Honourable Gentleman who just fat down, he had ample proofs of now in his poffeffion, by which he could fully fubftantiate their authenticity. Thefe inftances related to the cropping the ears and other wife mutilating the limbs of negro flaves. An a, he faid, had been patt for feverely punithing thefe fhocking barbarities when committed by the malters of flaves; but there appeared but little difpofition on the part of the colonial judges of councils to infit that punishment to the full rigour which the Act prescribed. But the Honourable Gentleman had infifted that the cafes of cruelty which he had adduced had not taken place after the Act had paffed, but long before the paffing of it, and at a period when, without any fuch Act being in force, crueltics of that nature had been punished by the councils. To this however he could confidently reply, that what he had advanced was ftubborn matter of fact, in proof of which he read the Records of the Councils and the words of the Act itself, which acknowledged the frequent perpetration of the atrocities alluded to. From thefe Records it appeared that the Act for preventing and punishing the mutilating the limbs, &c. of negroe flaves, had palfed on Dec. 18, 1783, and that the inftances of cruelty which he had exemplified, had been committed during the month of June 1784, pofterior to the paffing of the faid Act. The other inftance, that of a mafter cutting the mouth of a child, his own child, from ear to ear, was equally eafy to be fubftantiated. With refpect to this inftance, the Honourable Gentleman had fet up a plea, that the perfon who committed it was known to be labouring under mental derangement at the time it was perpetrated. Of this, however, there appeared no proof. For no idea had ever gune abroad that the perfon in queftion was a madman; no allegation of infanity had ever been brought against him, or pleaded in his favour. Even the verdict of the Jury who fat on his trial, proved that no fuch plea was ever fet up in his defence. Mr. Bryan Edwards confuffed that he had flated the facts in the manner mentioned by the Honourable Gentleman, but he did not ftate them fo with any intention of misleading the Houfe. He had indeed made a flight intake as to the precife date of the Act: but as the papers which he spoke from were in the hands of every Gentleman, it was not very probable, nor was it fair to infinuate, that he deliberately intended to impofe upon the House. As to the ftate of mental alienation with which he said the mafter of the negro child had been afflicted, it was notorious to all the country, and to the Judges and Jury who No. 22. 5G fat fat on his trial, though no allegation of infanity had been specifi cally brought against him. Mr. Wilberforce faid that the cafe in question had been feveral times related to him by various perfons of the strictest honour and veracity, but that he had never heard a fyllable of the explanation now given to it. He muft, therefore, beg leave to fuppofe that the Honourable Gentleman was as much mistaken in this inftance, as he was in the other. Mr. Canning faid, that if there ever hung any doubt or hefitation upon his mind with regard to the propriety of the vote which he fhould give on the prefent question, that doubt, or that hefitation, was now completely done away, and his opinion on the fubject was now fully confirmed by the laft fpeech he had heard, that of Mr. B. Edwards. Indeed, as far as he had turned his attention to the Slave Trade, he had uniformly been convinced of the beneficial effects that must result from its abolition. The fame fentiments which prevailed on this fubject in his breaft, muft likewife, he believed, fway the feelings of every youthful mind whofe fenfibility remained unblunted; but were he to look for the real fentiments of thofe who countenanced this trade in the fpeeches they delivered in its fupport, he muft, however, reluctantly regard them as the effufions of a heart very differently organized. This obfervation it was not his intention to apply to the Honourable Gentleman who spoke laft; the fentiments which he reprobated had been expreffed in this Houfe before that Honourable Gentleman had a feat in it; and of his humanity he could not be fufpected to speak difadvantageoufly, as there appeared in his various works, which did equal honour to his head and heart, frequent and forcible fentiments of the most refined humanity. In his fpeech, however, of this night, it was with forrow he perceived that this fentiment was far from being predominant. In this fpeech the Honourable Gentleman had laid down two propofitions, which he, Mr. Canning, was very anxious fhould be minutely attended to, and clearly understood by the Houfe; for if there were those who entertained any doubt refpecting the propriety of an immediate abolition of the Slave Trade; fuch would do well to confider whether, by acceding to these propofitions, they were not going to vote nothing fhort of a complete perpetuity of that trade. And, indeed, what was the drift of thele propofitions? Did they not hold out to us, that as long as there was a market for flaves, there would be found buyers; that as long as Africa would furnish negroes, there would not be wanting other countries to purchase them. Not only has the Honourable Gentleman explained how this was the cafe; but he has, moreover, explained and infifted why it fhould be the cafe. This he ex plained plained and enforced by papers which appeared to be almost exclufively in his own poffeffion, and from which he drew a very pathetic picture of the interior of Africa; which, though it bore no little appearance of being overcharged, could not, however, fail of being powerfully affecting, had not the Honourable Gentleman attempted to glofs it over with a few ftrokes of pleafantry. He there holds out to our indignation, the wanton cruelty of fome African Prince, who, after the gaining of a battle, deliberately, and in cold blood, iffued an order for cutting the throats of all the captives. This fpecimen of the cruelties to which the miferable Africans were expofed, was feemingly, in the opinion of the Honourable Geutleman, fome apology for the continuance of the Slave Trade; and, under that perfuafion, he, with an air of impreflive and emphatic triumph, put this question to the House, whether, placing themselves in the condition of that unfortunate people, they would not prefer being fent to the Weft Indies, to having their throats thus barbarously cut at home? However forcible the Honourable Gentleman might think this appeal to the feelings of the House, the fpecies of argument it held out, he muft, at leaft, confefs to be rather general. "And for my part," continued Mr. Canning, "were the queftion put home to me, whether I would finish my being in my native land, or be fent in flavery to the Weft Indies, where I might, at the cruel caprice of a tyrant mafter, be ignominioufly maimed and miferably mangled; where my ears might be cropped, or my limbs mutilated: fo that this mercilefs mafter, for his inhuman fport, fhould pay a fine of 500l. much rather, I fay, would I perish at home, and that in the fhocking manner fo strongly defcribed by the Honourable Gentleman, than yield up my liberty, and expofe my perfon to fuch cruel and outrageous indignities." Neither could he eafily perceive the force of the argument which this picture was introduced to illuftrate; for did the Honourable Gentleman intend to affert, that when the number of the fexes was equalifed among the negroes in the West Indies, that the King of Caffan would ceafe to indulge in this atrocious operation? And did not this mode of reafoning go equally to. prove that what was now well would be always well, and that this argument might be brought in juftification of the Slave Trade, both now and after the period alluded to. This was, in his mind, an attempt to justify the continuance of this abominable traffic, even after his fuppofed neceffity fhould ceafe to exift. Nothing could be more foreign to his inclination than any defire to place the arguments of the Honourable Gentleman in an unfair light; he wifhed on the contrary to give them all 5 G 2 che |