The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition - Thomas Clarkson
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But while they, who were interested, had produced this outcry against
us, in consequence of what had fallen from their own witnesses in the
course of their examinations, they had increased it considerably by the
industrious circulation of a most artful pamphlet among persons of rank
and fortune at the west end of the metropolis, which was called,
_Scriptural Researches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade_. This they
had procured to be written by R. Harris, who was then clerk in a
slave-house in Liverpool, but had been formerly a clergyman and a
Jesuit. As they had maintained in the first instance, as has been
already shown, the humanity of the traffic, so, by means of this
pamphlet they asserted its consistency with revealed religion. That such
a book should have made converts in such an age is surprising; and yet
many, who ought to have known better, were carried away by it; and we
had now absolutely to contend, and almost degrade ourselves by doing so,
against the double argument of the humanity and the holiness of the
trade.
By these means, but particularly by the former, the current of opinion
in particular circles ran against us for the first month, and so strong,
that it was impossible for us to stem it at once; but as some of the
council recovered from their panic, and their good sense became less
biassed by their feelings, and they were in a state to hear reason,
their prejudices began to subside. It began now to be understood among
them, that almost all the witnesses were concerned in the continuance of
the trade. It began to be known also, (for Mr. Pitt and the Bishop of
London took care that it should be circulated,) that Mr. Norris had but
a short time before furnished me at Liverpool with information, all of
which he had concealed[A] from the council, but all of which made for
the abolition of it. Mr. Devaynes also, a respectable member of
parliament, who had been in Africa, and who had been appealed to by Mr.
Norris, when examined before the privy council, in behalf of his
extraordinary facts, was unable, when summoned, to confirm them to the
desired extent. From this evidence the council collected, that human
sacrifices were not made on the arrival of White traders, as had been
asserted; that there was no poll-tax in Dahomey at all; and that Mr.
Norris must have been mistaken on these points, for he must have been
there at the time of the ceremony of watering the graves, when about
sixty persons suffered. This latter custom moreover appeared to have
been a religious superstition of the country, such as at Otaheite, or in
Britain in the time of the Druids, and to have had nothing to do with
the Slave Trade[B]. With respect to prisoners of war, Mr. Devaynes
allowed that the old, the lame, and the wounded, were often put to death
on the spot; but this was to save the trouble of bringing them away. The
young and the healthy were driven off for sale; but if they were not
sold when offered, they were not killed, but reserved for another
market, or became house-slaves to the conquerors. Mr. Devaynes also
maintained, contrary to the allegations of the others, that a great
number of persons were kidnapped in order to be sold to the ships; and
that the government, where this happened, was not strong enough to
prevent it. But besides these drawbacks from the weight of the testimony
which had been given, it began to be perceived by some of the lords of
the council, that the cruel superstitions which had been described,
obtained only in one or two countries in Africa, and these of
insignificant extent; whereas at the time, when their minds were carried
away, as it were by their feelings, they had supposed them to attach to
the whole of that vast continent. They perceived also, that there were
circumstances related in the evidence by the delegates themselves, by
means of which, if they were true, the inhumanity of the trade might be
established, and this to their own disgrace. They had all confessed that
such slaves, as the White traders refused to buy, were put to death; and
yet that these traders, knowing that this would be the case, had the
barbarity uniformly to reject those whom it did not suit them to
purchase. Mr. Matthews had rejected one of this description himself,
whom he saw afterwards destroyed. Mr. Penny had known the refuse thrown
down Melimba rock. Mr. Norris himself, when certain prisoners of war
were offered to him for sale, declined buying them because they appeared
unhealthy; and though the king then told him that he would put them to
death, he could not be prevailed upon to take them but left them to
their hard fate; and he had the boldness to state afterwards, that it
was his belief that many of them actually suffered.
[Footnote A: This was also the case with another witness, Mr. Weuves. He
had given me accounts, before any stir was made about the Slave Trade,
relative to it, all of which he kept back when he was examined there.]
[Footnote B: Being a religion custom, it would still have gone on,
though the Slave Trade had been abolished: nor could the merchants at
any time have bought off a single victim.]
These considerations had the effect of diminishing the prejudices of
some of the council on this great question: and when this was perceived
to be the case, it was the opinion of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Grenville, and the
Bishop of London, that we should send three or four of our own evidences
for examination, who might help to restore matters to an equilibrium.
Accordingly, Mr. Falconbridge, and some others, all of whom were to
speak to the African part of the subject, were introduced. These
produced a certain weight in the opposite scale. But soon after these
had been examined, Dr. Andrew Spaarman, professor of physic, and
inspector of the museum of the royal academy at Stockholm, and his
companion, C.B. Wadstrom, chief director of the assay-office there,
arrived in England. These gentlemen had been lately sent to Africa by
the late king of Sweden, to make discoveries in botany, mineralogy, and
other departments of science. For this purpose the Swedish ambassador at
Paris had procured them permission from the French government to visit
the countries bordering on the Senegal, and had insured them protection
there. They had been conveyed to the place of their destination, where
they had remained from August 1787, to the end of January 1788; but
meeting with obstacles which they had not foreseen, they had left it,
and had returned to Havre de Grace, from whence they had just arrived in
London, on their way home. It so happened, that by means of George
Harrison, one of our committee, I fell in unexpectedly with these
gentlemen. I had not long been with them, before I perceived the great
treasure I had found. They gave me many beautiful specimens of African
produce. They showed me their journals, which they had regularly kept
from day to day. In these I had the pleasure of seeing a number of
circumstances minuted down, all relating to the Slave Trade, and even
drawings on the same subject. I obtained a more accurate and
satisfactory knowledge of the manners and customs of the Africans from
these, than from all the persons put together whom I had yet seen. I was
anxious, therefore, to take them before the committee of council, to
which they were pleased to consent; and as Dr. Spaarman was to leave
London in a few days, I procured him an introduction first. His evidence
went to show, that the natives of Africa lived in a fruitful and
luxuriant country, which supplied all their wants, and that they would
be a happy people, if it were not for the existence of the Slave Trade.
He instanced wars which he knew to have been made by the Moors upon the
Negroes, (for they were entered upon wholly at the instigation of the
White traders,) for the purpose of getting slaves, and he had the pain
of seeing the unhappy captives brought in on such occasions, and some of
them in a wounded state. Among them, were many women and children, and
the women were in great affliction. He saw also the king of Barbesin
send out his parties on expeditions of a similar kind, and he saw them
return with slaves. The king had been made intoxicated on purpose, by
the French agents, or he would never have consented to the measure. He
stated also, that in consequence of the temptations held out by
slave-vessels coming upon the coast, the natives seized one another in
the night, when they found opportunity; and even invited others to their
houses, whom they treacherously detained, and sold at these times; so
that every enormity was practised in Africa, in consequence of the
existence of the trade. These specific instances made a proper
impression upon the lords of the council in their turn; for Dr. Spaarman
was a man of high character; he possessed the confidence of his
sovereign; he had no interest whatever in giving his evidence on this
subject, either on one or the other side; his means of information too
had been large; he had also recorded the facts which had come before
him, and he had his journal, written in the French language, to produce.
The tide, therefore, which had run so strongly against us, began now to
turn a little in our favour.
While these examinations were going on, petitions continued to be sent
to the House of Commons, from various parts of the kingdom. No less than
one hundred and three were presented in this session. The city of
London, though she was drawn the other way by the cries of commercial
interest, made a sacrifice to humanity and justice: the two universities
applauded her conduct by their own example. Large manufacturing towns,
and whole counties, expressed their sentiments and wishes in a similar
manner. The Established Church in separate dioceses, and the Quakers and
other dissenters, as separate religious bodies, joined in one voice upon
this occasion.
The committee, in the interim, were not unmindful of the great work they
had undertaken, and they continued to forward it in its different
departments. They kept up a communication by letter with most of the
worthy persons, who have been mentioned to have written to them, but
particularly with Brissot and Claviere; from whom they had the
satisfaction of learning, that a society had at length been established
at Paris, for the abolition of the Slave Trade in France. The learned
Marquis de Condorcet had become the president of it. The virtuous Duc de
la Rochefoucauld and the Marquis de la Fayette had sanctioned it by
enrolling their names as the two first members. Petion, who was placed
afterwards among the mayors of Paris, followed. Women also were not
thought unworthy of being honorary and assistant members of this humane
institution; and among these were found the amiable Marchioness of la
Fayette, Madame de Poivre, widow of the late intendant of the Isle of
France, and Madame Necker, wife of the first minister of state.
The new correspondents, who voluntarily offered their services to the
committee, during the first part of the period now under consideration,
were S. Whitcomb, Esq., of Gloucester; the Rev. D. Watson, of Middleton
Tyas, Yorkshire; John Murlin, Esq., of High Wycomb; Charles Collins,
Esq., of Swansea; Henry Tudor, Esq., of Sheffield; the Rev. John Hare,
of Lincoln; Samuel Tooker, Esq., of Moorgate, near Rotherham; the Rev.
G. Walker, and Francis Wakefield, Esq., of Nottingham; the Rev. Mr.
Hepworth, of Burton-upon-Trent; the Rev. H. Dannett, of St. John's,
Liverpool; the Rev. Dr. Oglander, of New College, Oxford; the Rev. H.
Coulthurst, of Sidney College, Cambridge; R. Selfe, Esq., of
Cirencester; Morris Birkbeck, of Hanford, Dorsetshire; William Jepson,
of Lancaster; B. Kaye, of Leeds: John Patison, Esq., of Paisley; J.E.
Dolben, Esq., of Northamptonshire; the Rev. Mr. Smith, of Wendover; John
Wilkinson, Esq., of Woodford; Samuel Milford, Esq., of Exeter; Peter
Lunel, Esq., treasurer of the committee at Bristol; James Pemberton, of
Philadelphia; and the president of the Society at New York.
The letters from new correspondents during the latter part of this
period, were the following:--
One from Alexander Alison, Esq., of Edinburgh, in which he expressed it
to be his duty to attempt to awaken the inhabitants of Scotland to a
knowledge of the monstrous evil of the Slave Trade, and to form a
committee there, to act in union with that of London, in carrying the
great object of their institution into effect.
Another from Elhanan Winchester, offering the committee one hundred of
his sermons, which he had preached against the Slave Trade, in Fairfax
county, in Virginia, so early as in the year 1774.
Another from Dr. Frossard, of Lyons, in which he offered his services
for the South of France, and desired different publications to be sent
him, that he might be better qualified to take a part in the promotion
of the cause.
Another from Professor Bruns, of Helmstadt, in Germany, in which he
desired to know the particulars relative to the institution of the
committee, as many thousands upon the continent were then beginning to
feel for the sufferings of the oppressed African race.
Another from Rev. James Manning, of Exeter, in which he stated himself
to be authorized by the dissenting ministers of Devon and Cornwall, to
express their high approbation of the conduct of the committee, and to
offer their services in the promotion of this great work of humanity and
religion.
Another from William Senhouse, Esq., of the island of Barbados. In this
he gave the particulars of two estates, one of them his own, and the
other belonging to a nobleman, upon each of which the slaves, in
consequence of humane treatment, had increased by natural population
only. Another effect of this humane treatment had been, that these
slaves were among the most orderly and tractable in that island. From
these and other instances he argued, that if the planters would, all of
them, take proper care of their slaves, their humanity would be repaid
in a few years, by a valuable increase in their property, and they would
never want supplies from a traffic, which had been so justly condemned.
Two others, the one from Travers Hartley, and the other from Alexander
Jaffray, Esqrs., both of Dublin, were read. These gentlemen sent certain
resolutions, which had been agreed upon by the chamber of commerce and
by the guild of merchants there, relative to the abolition of the Slave
Trade. They rejoiced, in the name of those whom they represented, that
Ireland had been unspotted by a traffic, which they held in such deep
abhorrence; and promised, if it should be abolished in England, to take
the post active measures to prevent it from finding an asylum in the
ports of that kingdom.
The letters of William Senhouse, and of Travers Hartley, and of
Alexander Jaffray, Esqrs., were ordered to be presented to the committee
of privy council, and copies of them to be left there.
The business of the committee having almost daily increased within this
period, Dr. Baker and Bennet Langton, Esq., who were the two first to
assist me in my early labours, and who have been mentioned among the
forerunners and coadjutors of the cause, were elected members of it. Dr.
Kippis also was added to the list.
The honorary and corresponding members, elected within the same period,
were the Dean of Middleham; T.W. Coke, Esq., member of parliament, of
Holkham, in Norfolk; and the Rev. William Leigh, who has been before
mentioned, of Little Plumstead, in the same county. The latter had
published several valuable letters in the public papers, under the
signature of Africanus: these had excited great notice, and done much
good. The worthy author had now collected them into a publication, and
had offered the profits of it to the committee. Hence this mark of their
respect was conferred upon him.
The committee ordered a new edition of three thousand of the Dean of
Middleham's Letters to be printed. Having approved of a manuscript,
written by James Field Stanfield, a mariner, containing observations
upon a voyage which he had lately made to the coast of Africa for
slaves, they ordered three thousand of these to be printed also. By this
time, the subject having been much talked of, and many doubts and
difficulties having been thrown in the way of the abolition, by persons
interested in the continuance of the trade, Mr. Ramsay, who has been
often so honourably mentioned, put down upon paper all the objections
which were then handed about, and also those answers to each, which he
was qualified, from his superior knowledge of the subject, to suggest.
This he did, that the members of the legislature might see the more
intricate parts of the question unravelled, and that they might not be
imposed upon by the spurious arguments which were then in circulation
concerning it. Observing also the poisonous effect which _The Scriptural
Researches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade_ had produced upon the
minds of many, he wrote an answer on scriptural grounds to that
pamphlet. These works were sent to the press, and three thousand copies
of each of them were ordered to be struck off.
The committee, in their arrangement of the distribution of their books,
ordered NEWTON'S _Thoughts_, and RAMSAY'S _Objections and Answers_, to
be sent to each member of both houses of parliament.
They appointed also three sub-committees for different purposes: one to
draw up such facts and arguments respecting the Slave Trade, with a view
of being translated into other languages, as should give foreigners a
suitable knowledge of the subject; another to prepare an answer to
certain false reports which had been spread relative to the object of
their institution, and to procure an insertion of it in the daily
papers; and a third to draw up rules for the government of the society.
By the latter end of the month of March, there was an anxious
expectation in the public, notwithstanding the privy council had taken
up the subject, that some notice should be taken, in the lower house of
parliament, of the numerous petitions which had been presented there.
There was the same expectation in many of the members of it themselves.
Lord Penrhyn, one of the representatives for Liverpool, and a planter
also, had anticipated this notice, by moving for such papers relative to
ships employed, goods exported, produce imported, and duties upon the
same, as would show the vast value of the trade, which it was in
contemplation to abolish. But at this time Mr. Wilberforce was ill, and
unable to gratify the expectations which had been thus apparent. The
committee, therefore, who partook of the anxiety of the public, knew not
what to do. They saw that two-thirds of the session had already passed.
They saw no hope of Mr. Wilberforce's recovery for some time. Rumours
too were afloat, that other members, of whose plans they knew nothing,
and who might even make emancipation their object, would introduce the
business into the house. Thus situated, they waited, as patiently as
they could, till the 8th of April[A], when they resolved to write to Mr.
Wilberforce, to explain to him their fears and wishes, and to submit it
to his consideration, whether, if he were unable himself, he would
appoint some one in whom he could confide, to make some motion in
parliament on the subject.
[Footnote A: Brissot attended in person at this committee in his way to
America, which it was then an object with him to visit.]
But the public expectation became now daily more visible. The
inhabitants of Manchester, many of whom had signed the petition for that
place, became impatient, and they appointed Thomas Walker and Thomas
Cooper, Esquires, as their delegates, to proceed to London to
communicate with the committee on this subject, to assist them in their
deliberations upon it, and to give their attendance while it was under
discussion by the legislature.
At the time of the arrival of the delegates, who were received as such
by the committee, a letter came from Bath, in which it was stated that
Mr. Wilberforce's health was in such a precarious state, that his
physicians dared not allow him to read any letter which related to the
subject of the Slave Trade.
The committee were now again at a loss how to act, when they were
relieved from this doubtful situation by a message from Mr. Pitt, who
desired a conference with their chairman. Mr. Sharp accordingly went,
and on his return made the following report: "He had a full
opportunity," he said, "of explaining to Mr. Pitt that the desire of the
committee went to the entire abolition of the Slave Trade. Mr. Pitt
assured him that his heart was with the committee as to this object, and
that he considered himself pledged to Mr. Wilberforce, that the cause
should not sustain any injury from his indisposition; but at the same
time observed, that the subject was of great political importance, and
it was requisite to proceed in it with temper and prudence. He did not
apprehend, as the examinations before the privy council would yet take
up some time, that the subject could be fully investigated in the
present session of parliament; but said he would consider whether the
forms of the house would admit of any measures that would be obligatory
on them to take it up early in the ensuing session."
In about a week after this conference, Mr. Morton Pitt was deputed by
the minister to write to the committee, to say that he had found
precedents for such a motion as he conceived to be proper, and that he
would submit it to the House of Commons in a few days.
At the next meeting, which was on the 6th of May, and at which Major
Cartwright and the Manchester delegates assisted, Mr. Morton Pitt
attended as a member of the committee, and said that the minister had
fixed his motion for the 9th. It was then resolved, that deputations
should be sent to some of the leading members of parliament, to request
their support of the approaching motion. I was included in one of these,
and in that which was to wait upon Mr. Fox. We were received by him in a
friendly manner. On putting the question to him, which related to the
object of our mission, Mr. Fox paused for a little while, as if in the
act of deliberation; when he assured us unequivocally, and in language
which could not be misunderstood, that he would support the object of
the committee to its fullest extent, being convinced that there was no
remedy for the evil, but in the total abolition of the trade.
At length, the 9th, or the day fixed upon, arrived, when this important
subject was to be mentioned in the House of Commons for the first
time[A], with a view to the public discussion of it. It is impossible
for me to give, within the narrow limits of this work, all that was then
said upon it; and yet as the debate which ensued was the first which
took place upon it, I should feel inexcusable if I were not to take some
notice of it.
[Footnote A: David Hartley made a motion some years before in the same
house, as has been shown in a former part of this work; but this was
only to establish a proposition, That the Slave Trade was contrary to
the Laws of God and the Rights of Man.]
Mr. Pitt rose. He said he intended to move a resolution relative to a
subject which was of more importance than any which had ever been
agitated in that house. This honour he should not have had, but for a
circumstance which he could not but deeply regret, the severe
indisposition of his friend Mr. Wilberforce, in whose hands every
measure which belonged to justice, humanity, and the national interest,
was peculiarly well placed. The subject in question was no less than
that of the Slave Trade. It was obvious from the great number of
petitions which had been presented concerning it, how much it had
engaged the public attention, and consequently how much it deserved the
serious notice of that house, and how much it became their duty to take
some measure concerning it. But whatever was done on such a subject,
every one would agree, ought to be done with the maturest deliberation.
Two opinions had prevailed without doors, as appeared from the language
of the different petitions. It had been pretty generally thought that
the African Slave Trade ought to be abolished. There were others,
however, who thought that it only stood in need of regulations. But all
had agreed that it ought not to remain as it stood at present. But that
measure which it might be the most proper to take, could only be
discovered by a cool, patient, and diligent examination of the subject
in all its circumstances, relations, and consequences. This had induced
him to form an opinion that the present was not the proper time for
discussing it; for the session was now far advanced, and there was also
a want of proper materials for the full information of the house. It
would, he thought, be better discussed, when it might produce some
useful debate, and when that inquiry which had been instituted by His
Majesty's Ministers, (he meant the examination by a committee of privy
council,) should be brought to such a state of maturity as to make it
fit that the result of it should be laid before the house. That inquiry,
he trusted, would facilitate their investigation, and enable them the
better to proceed to a decision which should be equally founded on
principles of humanity, justice, and sound policy. As there was not a
probability of reaching so desirable an end in the present state of the
business, he meant to move a resolution to pledge the house to the
discussion of the question early in the next session. If by that time
his honourable friend should be recovered, which he hoped would be the
case, then he (Mr. Wilberforce) would take the lead in it; but should it
unfortunately happen otherwise, then he (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) pledged himself to bring forward some proposition concerning
it. The house, however, would observe, that he had studiously avoided
giving any opinion of his own on this great subject. He thought it wiser
to defer this till the time of the discussion should arrive. He
concluded with moving, after having read the names of the places from
whence the different petitions had come, "That this house will, early in
the next session of parliament, proceed to take into consideration the
circumstances of the Slave Trade complained of in the said petitions,
and what may be fit to be done thereupon."