the force of which they were fufceptible; because, by his endeavour, if fuccefsful, to do away that apparent force, it would leflen the horror he muft feel at the confequences, should the motion of his Honourable Friend be unfortunately loft. But next to the argument, that there was greater cruelty in leaving the Africans at home, than in fending them to the West Indies, the Honourable Gentleman proceeded to urge another, namely, the neceffity of continuing the Slave Trade as long as there remained uncultivated lands in our Weft India Iflands, and the impropriety of fo much as difcuffing the queftion of its abolition, until this object had been accomplished. He could not pretend to ftrengthen what he had to observe, by speaking from any local knowledge; but he had learnt from the moft undoubted authority that a third of the lands in the islands ftill remain uncultivated; and that a quantity of land was to be granted out to the Caribs in the Ifland of St. Vincents. This latter part of the information, he trufted, was not true. But to return to the former; was it not afferted that as long as there should remain one fingle acre of land to be cultivated, fo long would a fresh importation of negro flaves be found neceflary? But here he muft entreat the Houfe to paufe, and seriously to confider if it has taken such a length of time to cultivate the portion of land which is now brought to that state; how much time muft ftill remain to elapfe before the remainder be duly cultivated. This may make no impreffion on the minds of those who look to the bleffings which Africa is to derive from the continuance of the Slave Trade, &c.---but he who is difpofed to vote for its immediate abolition, from a conviction of the iniquities that attend it, would do well to fee how he can quiet his confcience if he forbears to concur in the propriety of abolishing it, until the remaining uncultivated land be brought into a state of perfect cultivation. He may as well confent to its not being abolished at all, and allow the impropriety of ever bringing such a queftion under difcuffion. But Gentlemen who would view the fubject in the light in which he faw it, could not hesitate for a moment about the vote they should give, efpecially if they duly attended to the manner in which it was argued by the Coryphæus of its partizans; for it was deliberately pronounced by him, and by them, that the Slave Trade must be continued as long as there remained any land in our islands uncultivated, or as long as it proved a blefsing to the subjects of the King of Caffan. On this he would only obferve, that thofe who did not diftinctly difclaim these two grounds for fupporting the further continuance of this trade, could never perfuade him that they had ever been fincere in their wishes for its abolition. This was the only obfervation. with which he would now trouble the House. Mr. Mr. H. Thornton faid, that in all the arguments he had heard ufed on this important fubject, he was torry to fay that those Gentlemen who were immediately from, or particularly connected with, the Weft Indies, had always taken up the matter upon the point of expediency and convenience to the people of that country, and not upon the humanity and juftice which had always been the basis of the conduct of that Houfe. The Honourable Genaleman who had spoken fo very lately (Mr. B. Edwards), had produced a variety of arguments upon the fubject, which moft undoubtedly deferved every degree of attention. He had mentioned the journey and obfervations of a very refpectable and ingenious Gentleman, Mr. Mungo Parke. He had the plea fure, he faid, of a perfonal knowledge of that Gentleman, to whom he paid fome compliments; but he believed Mr. Edwards was the only perfon who had been favoured with a fight of his journals. He had, himself, however, received information from another quarter, which he had the fame reafon for giving implicit belief to, as Mr. Edwards could have for the other, and yet in many inftances they differed. The information he alluded to came from a gentleman of the moft refpectable character, who had been in Africa feveral years, had been confiderably into the interior of the country, and this gentleman was at prefent Governor of the Sierra Leona Company. He had, in his account, quoted feveral paffages from his Journal, by which it appeared, that in the country of Mandingo, the nefarious practice of kidnapping was known, and too fuccefsfully employed for the entrapping of flaves---the dread of this iniquitous practice never permitted the miferable inhabitants of Mandingo fecurely to lay down at night, and mothers were there under the neceffity of collecting their children every night, and of watch-. ing over them to prevent their being kidnapped---Such was their continual dread of the approach of the Slave Traders. He could moreover, from the continual intelligence he was in the habit of receiving from Africa, moft folemnly affure the House of the iniquitous means to which recourfe was had in order to procure flaves. Amongst other things, he ftated, that there were four principal means by which men were feized and condemned to be fent to the Weft Indies as flaves; these were wars, crimes, kidnappings, and debts. That the wars were entered into chiefly for the procuring of prifoners for that purpofe, though he would not deny, that they fometimes might have their origin in other motives; yet the principal caufe of their continuance for any length of time, was the chance of the prifoners to fell for flaves. As to crimes, the utmost care had been taken, and most minute inquiry made by the Sierra Leona Company, and they found, that scarcely one perfon in a hundred was condemned for a crime on on any principle of juftice. Of this there were abundant proofs, which, if required, he would readily bring forward. Of the iniquity of the judges who pronounced on thofe fuppofed crimes, is was alfo eafy to adduce proofs---they only fought fome flight pretence for felling a man and his family for flaves; and thofe fellers of flaves were themfelves both judge and jury in their trial. The mode of felling them to the Slave Traders, on account of the debts they owed, was a very extenfive one. He mentioned an inftance of a man of that country who came over to England, got educated fo far as to read, write, and account, went back again, and, by lending his money to the chiefs of diftricts and towns, he contrived in a few years to get fo many into his debt, as to depopulate whole neighbourhoods, by which he amaffed a very large fortune. He then adverted to the interior of Africa, and quoted the authority of a Gentleman of the name of Watt, who had lived many years in the Weft Indies, and, from long habit, had imbibed the ftrongeft prejudices in favour of the Slave Trade, After coming to England, he was induced, from curiolity, from the various accounts he had heard here refpecting the Slave Trade, to vifit Africa, and he actually, in the course of his journey and refidence there, was made a complete convert, and became one of the moft fteady deteftors of that bloody and inhuman traffic. This Gentleman (Mr. Thornton faid) had explored a great way into the interior of the country, and he gave a very different account of the difpofition' of prifoners taken in war: the able-bodied men, he faid, were fold for flaves, and only the old men, women, and children were put to death. But thefe, he faid, were by no means the only mischiefs and evils which resulted to the unfortunate natives from this cruel trade. A communication had lately taken place between the Sierra Leona Company and the people of the interior, for the natural products and manufactures of both countries which might fuit the other, and in all likelihood confiderable benefits might hereafter accrue to both countries from fuch a fource of commerce. The Slave Traders had, however, formed a combination against this measure; they had difperfed themselves in all parts of the country, and reprefented the Company as their greatest enemies; that they wanted to defraud, plunder, and enflave them; and their fuggeftions and mifreprefentations had fuch an effect, that a grand palaver, as it is called, was held; and it was owing entirely to the good fense, fober judgment, and humane difpofition, of the inhabitants of that country, that any treaty had been entered into between them and the Company. This was done, neverthelefs; but in bringing down their goods to the Company's fet tlement, tlement, they had been fired upon by perfons unfeen and unknown; and it was still a doubt whether the manoeuvres of the Slave Traders would not yet defeat every attempt at a more humane and more Chriftian-like trade than that of human flefh. He then read several other strong statements, all tending to fhew the evil tendency of this traffic, and concluded by giving his affent to the motion. Mr. Sewel (Agent for the Ilands) oppofed the Motion. He thought it productive of no fmall danger, as, if adopted, it would go to unfettle the legal tenures by which the proprietors of Weft India eftates held their poffeffions. He would afk, was the Houfe prepared to take fuch a step without, at the fame time, offering them adequate compenfation? Such a measure would be unjuft, without, at the fame time, granting a compenfation to thofe who hold grants in the Weft Indies, of the Crown. He objected to the motion alfo as it would materially affect the trade with the Weft Indies. Nor was it fair to charge the colonies with an unwillingness to fulfil the defire of the Houfe for meliorating the condition of the flaves, and gradually abolishing the trade. He believed the Honourable Member would find the penalty of 500l. impofed by the Colonial Aflembly on thofe who cut off the ear of a flave, to be greater than fome penalties to be found in the old ftatute books of this kingdom for fimilar offences. Thefe Affemblies had alfo enacted penalties on those who were wanting in humanity, by not providing a fufficient quantity of provifion for their flaves. He faw but little force in what the Honourable Mover had fuggefted of danger to the colonies from the capture of flave ships, and from the circumstance of fresh flaves being entrusted with arms by the enemy. The fmall number of flaves thus captured, even if armed against us, could not avail, confidering the efficient force we have in the iflands. He objected alfo to the motion, as it went to counteract the addrefs of laft feffion, in which his Majefty was requested to recommend to the colonies to adopt fuch measures as feemed good to them, in order to meliorate the condition of the flaves. And he farther objected to it, because it did not go to propofe any redrefs to the grievances and loffes of thofe whole property would be immediately affected by fuch a meafure. He thought the motion likewife was brought forward very unreafonably, at the very time when the Colonial Affemblies were actually devifing means to meliorate the condition of the flaves. He particularly referred to the means taken for their moral and religious inftruction, and the expence of fupporting the clergy and miffionaries in Jamaica, &c. for fuch purposes. Mr. Mr. Canning rofe to explain. He faid he had been charged with unfairnefs in the courfe of the debate: he could not conceive how unfairnefs could be imputed to him; for referring to papers produced at the defire of the merchants themfelves. He here read the Act of the Council and Aflembly of St. Chriftopher's, impofing a penalty of 500l. for the offence of mutilating or difmembering a negro flave. Mr. Wilberforce explained. He faid the Refolutions of the Council and Affembly had been laid on the table, upon the motion of their friends, as proofs of new regulations; whereas he meant to fhew, from the violations of thefe regulations, or their not being acted upon, that none were really intended to be practifed. Colonel Gafoigne confidered this as a queftion of great importance to the commercial intereft of this country. The Honourable Gentleman who made the motion did no lefs than call upon the House to refcind its former refolution; and he would afk, where was either the confiftency or prudence of this dereliction? Millions of lofs to the revenue of this country would immediately follow this motion, if adopted. It was made too at a time too momentous and critical to attempt to put into prac tice any fpeculative reforms, and he was furprised that any Gentlemen who were alive to this apprehenfion in other instances, fhould not be more upon their guard in the prefent inftance. The Houfe fhould confider whether it would indemnify thofe who would be fufferers, and the risk it run of irritating the colonies by fuch proceedings, and of throwing the Weft India trade into the hands of our enemies. Mr. Buxton thought there never was a time when the true lovers of liberty fhould diftinguish themselves from the promoters of licentioufnefs. The prefent queftion ftood on fuch folid grounds as to claim all true lovers of liberty for its advocates. A regard to the intereft of the country, and the fafety of the colonies alfo required the abolition of the Slave Trade; nor could it be fuppofed that the negroes in our colonies could be long continued in a state of flavery, when at the fame time they faw thofe in our enemies colonies emancipated? prefent Motion did not go this length, but merely to stop the fresh importations of flaves from Africa; and he thought it would redound to the honour of that Houfe, in a conftitutional way, to put an end to the horrors of flavery. Mr. Hobhoufe thought the Honourable Mover of this quef tion fo far from meriting blame, that he was to be commended for his laudable perfeverance in bringing forward fo important a meature. In the correspondence with the Colonial Affemblies, which had been laid before the Houfe, he profeffed he could |