The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition - Thomas Clarkson
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On waiting upon Mr. Necker, at his own request, he gave me the pleasing
intelligence, that the committee of finances, which was then composed of
members of the National Assembly, had resolved, though they had not yet
promulgated their resolution, upon a total abolition of all the bounties
then in existence in favour of the Slave Trade.
The Deputies of Colour now began to visit me at my own hotel. They
informed me, that they had been admitted, since they had seen me, into
the National Assembly. On stating their claims, the president assured
them, that they might take courage; for that the assembly knew no
distinction between Blacks and Whites, but considered all men as having
equal rights. This speech of the president, they said, had roused all
the White Colonists in Paris. Some of these had openly insulted them.
They had held also a meeting on the subject of this speech; at which
they had worked themselves up so as to become quite furious. Nothing but
intrigue was now going forward among them to put off the consideration
of the claims of the free People of Colour. They, the deputies, had been
flattered by the prospect of a hearing no less than six times; and, when
the day arrived, something had constantly occurred to prevent it.
At a subsequent interview, they appeared to be quite disheartened; and
to be grievously disappointed as to the object of their mission. They
were now sure, that they should never be able to make head against the
intrigues and plots of the White Colonists. Day after day had been fixed
as before for the hearing of their cause. Day after day it had been
deferred in like manner. They were now weary with waiting. One of them,
Oge, could not contain himself, but broke out with great warmth--"I
begin," says he, "not to care whether the National Assembly will admit
us or not. But let it beware of the consequences. We will no longer
continue to be beheld in a degraded light. Dispatches shall go directly
to St. Domingo; and we will soon follow them. We can produce as good
soldiers on our estates, as those in France. Our own arms shall make us
independent and respectable. If we are once forced to desperate
measures, it will be in vain that thousands will be sent across the
Atlantic to bring us back to our former state." On hearing this, I
entreated the deputies, to wait with patience. I observed to them, that
in a great revolution, like that of France, things, but more
particularly such as might be thought external, could not be discussed
either so soon or so rapidly as men full of enthusiasm would wish.
France would first take care of herself. She would then, I had no doubt,
extend her care to her Colonies. Was not this a reasonable conclusion,
when they, the deputies, had almost all the first men in the Assembly in
their favour? I entreated them therefore to wait patiently; as well as
upon another consideration, which was, that by an imprudent conduct they
might not only ruin their own cause in France, but bring indescribable
misery upon their native land.
By this time a large packet, for which I had sent, from England arrived.
It consisted of above a thousand of the plan and section of a
slave-ship, with an explanation in French. It contained, also, about
five hundred coloured engravings, made from two views, which Mr.
Wadstrom had taken in Africa. The first of these represented the town of
Joal, and the king's military on horseback returning to it, after having
executed the great pillage, with their slaves. The other represented the
village of Bain; from whence ruffians were forcing a poor woman and her
children to sell them to a ship, which was then lying in the Roads. Both
these scenes Mr. Wadstrom had witnessed. I had collected, also, by this
time, one thousand of my Essays on the _Impolicy of the Slave Trade_,
which had been translated into the French language. These I now wished
to distribute, as preparatory to the motion of Mirabeau, among the
National Assembly. This distribution was afterwards undertaken and
effected by the Archbishop of Aix, the Bishop of Chartres, the Marquis
de la Fayette, the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, the Comte de Mirabeau,
Monsieur Necker, the Marquis de Condorcet, Messieurs Petion de
Villeneuve, Bergasse, Claviere and Brissot, and by the Marchioness de la
Fayette, Madame Necker, and Madame de Poivre, the latter of whom was the
widow of the late intendant of the Isle of France.
This distribution had not been long begun, before I witnessed its
effects. The virtuous Abbe Gregoire, and several members of the National
Assembly, called upon me. The section of the slave-ship, it appeared,
had been the means of drawing them towards me. They wished for more
accurate information concerning it. Indeed, it made its impression upon
all who saw it. The Bishop of Chartres once told me, that, when he first
espoused our cause, he did it at once; for it seemed obvious to him that
no one could, under the Christian dispensation, hold another as his
slave; and it was no less obvious, where such an unnatural state
existed, that there would be great abuses; but that, nevertheless, he
had not given credit to all the tales which had been related of the
Slave Trade, till he had seen this plate; after which there was nothing
so barbarous which might not readily be believed. The Archbishop of Aix,
when I first showed him the same plate, was so struck with horror, that
he could scarcely speak: and when Mirabeau first saw it, he was so
impressed by it, that he ordered a mechanic to make a model of it in
wood, at a considerable expense. This model he kept afterwards in his
dining-room. It was a ship in miniature, about a yard long, and little
wooden men and women, which were painted black to represent the slaves,
were seen stowed in their proper places.
But while the distribution of these different articles thus contributed
to make us many friends, it called forth the extraordinary exertions of
our enemies. The merchants and others interested in the continuance of
the Slave Trade wrote letters to the Archbishop of Aix, beseeching him
not to ruin France; which he would inevitably do, if, as then president,
he were to grant a day for hearing the question of the abolition. Offers
of money were made to Mirabeau from the same quarter, if he would
totally abandon his motion. An attempt was made to establish a colonial
committee, consisting of such planters as were members of the National
Assembly, upon whom it should devolve to consider and report upon all
matters relating to the Colonies, before they could be determined there.
Books were circulated in abundance in opposition to mine. Resort was
again had to the public papers, as the means of raising a hue and cry
against the principles of the Friends of the Negroes. I was again
denounced as a spy; and as one sent by the English minister to bribe
members in the Assembly to do that in a time of public agitation, which
in the settled state of France they could never have been prevailed upon
to accomplish. And as a proof that this was my errand, it was requested
of every Frenchman to put to himself the following question, "How it
happened that England, which had considered the subject coolly and
deliberately for eighteen months, and this in a state of internal peace
and quietness, had not abolished the Slave Trade?"
The clamour which was now made against the abolition pervaded all Paris,
and reached the ears of the king; Mr. Necker had a long conversation
with him upon it; the latter sent for me immediately. He informed me
that His Majesty was desirous of making himself master of the question,
and had expressed a wish to see my _Essay on the Impolicy of the Slave
Trade_; he desired to have two copies of it, one in French, and the
other in English, and he would then take his choice as to which of them
he would read; he (Mr. Necker) was to present them. He would take with
him, also, at the same time, the beautiful specimens of the manufactures
of the Africans, which I had lent to Madame Necker out of the cabinet of
Monsieur Geoffroy de Villeneuve and others; as to the section of the
slave-ship, he thought it would affect His Majesty too much, as he was
then indisposed. All these articles, except the latter, were at length
presented; the king bestowed a good deal of time upon the specimens; he
admired them, but particularly those in gold. He expressed his surprise
at the state of some of the arts in Africa. He sent them back on the
same day on which he had examined them, and commissioned Mr. Necker to
return me his thanks, and to say that he had been highly gratified with
what he had seen; and with respect to the _Essay on the Impolicy of the
Slave Trade_, that he would read it with all the seriousness which such
a subject deserved.
My correspondence with the Comte de Mirabeau was now drawing near to its
close. I had sent him a letter every other day for a whole month, which
contained from sixteen to twenty pages; he usually acknowledged the
receipt of each; hence many of his letters came into my possession:
these were always interesting, on account of the richness of the
expressions they contained. Mirabeau even in his ordinary discourse was
eloquent; it was his peculiar talent to use such words, that they who
heard them were almost led to believe that he had taken great pains to
cull them for the occasion. But this his ordinary language was the
language also of his letters; and as they show a power of expression, by
which the reader may judge of the character of the eloquence of one, who
was then undoubtedly the greatest orator in France, I have thought it
not improper to submit one of them to his perusal in the annexed
note[A]. I could have wished, as far as it relates to myself, that it
had been less complimentary. It must be observed, however, that I had
already written to him more than two hundred pages with my own hand; and
as this was done at no small expense, time, and trouble, and solely to
qualify him for the office of doing good, he could not but set some
value upon my labours.
[Footnote A: Je fais toujours mille remercimens plus empresses et plus
affectueux a Monsieur Clarkson pour la vertueuse profusion de ses
lumieres, de ses recherches, et de ses travaux. Comme ma motion, et tous
ses developpemens sont entierement prets, j'attends avec une vive
impatience ses nouvelles lettres, afin d'achever de classer les faits et
les raisonnemens de Monsieur Clarkson, et, cette deduction entierement
finie, de commencer a manoeuvrer en tactique le succes douteux de cette
perilleuse proposition. J'aurai l'honneur de le recevoir Dimanche depuis
onze heures, et meme dix du matin jusqu'a midi, non seulement avec un
vif plaisir, mais avec une sensible reconnaissance. 25_th__Decembre_,
1789.]
When our correspondence was over, I had some conversation with him
relative to fixing a day for the motion. But he judged it prudent,
previously to this, to sound some of the members of the Assembly on the
subject of it. This he did, but he was greatly disappointed at the
result; there was not one member, out of all those with whom he
conversed, who had not been canvassed by the planters' committee; and
though most of them had been proof against all its intrigues and
artifices, yet many of them hesitated respecting the abolition at that
moment. There was a fear in some that they should injure the revolution
by adopting it; others, who had no such fears, wished for the
concurrence of England in the measure, and suggested the propriety of a
deputation there for that purpose previously to the discussion of the
question in France. While others maintained that, as England had done
nothing, after having had it so long under consideration, it was fair to
presume that she judged it impolitic to abandon the Slave Trade; but if
France were to give it up, and England to continue it, how would
humanity be the gainer?
While the Comte de Mirabeau was continuing his canvass among the members
of the National Assembly, relative to his motion, attempts were again
made in the public papers to mislead them; emancipation was now stated
to be the object of the friends of the negroes. This charge I repelled,
by addressing myself to Monsieur Beauvet. I explained to him the views
of the different societies which had taken up the cause of the Africans;
and I desired him to show my letter to the planters. I was obliged also
to answer publicly a letter by Monsieur Mosneron de Laung. This writer
professed to detail the substance of the privy council report. He had
the injustice to assert that three things had been distinctly proved
there: First, that slavery had always existed in Africa; Secondly, that
the natives were a bloody people, addicted to human sacrifice, and other
barbarous customs; and, Thirdly, that their soil was incapable of
producing any proper articles for commerce. From these premises he
argued, as if they had been established by the unanimous and
uncontradicted testimony of the witnesses; and he drew the conclusion,
that not only had England done nothing in consequence, but that she
never would do anything which should affect the existence of this trade.
But these letters had only just made their appearance in the public
papers, when I was summoned to England; parliament, it appeared, had
met, and I was immediately to leave Paris. Among those of whom I had but
just time to take leave, were the deputies of colour. At this, my last
conference with them, I recommended moderation and forbearance, as the
best gifts I could leave them; and I entreated them rather to give up
their seats in the Assembly, than on that account to bring misery on
their country; for that with patience their cause would ultimately
triumph. They replied, that I had prescribed to them a most difficult
task; they were afraid that neither the conduct of the white colonists
nor of the National Assembly could be much longer borne; they thanked
me, however, for my advice. One of them gave me a trinket, by which I
might remember him; and as for himself, he said he should never forget
one, who had taken such a deep interest in the welfare of his mother[A].
I found, however, notwithstanding all I said, that there was a spirit of
dissatisfaction in them, which nothing but a redress of their grievances
could subdue; and that, if the planters should persevere in their
intrigues, and the National Assembly in delay, a fire would be lighted
up in St. Domingo, which could not easily be extinguished. This was
afterwards realized: for Oge, in about three months from this time, left
his companions, to report to his constituents in St. Domingo the state
of their mission; when hearing, on his arrival in that island, of the
outrageous conduct of the whites of the committee of Aquin, who had
begun a persecution of the people of colour, for no other reason than
that they had dared to seek the common privileges of citizens, and of
the murder of Ferrand and Labadie, he imprudently armed his slaves. With
a small but faithful band he rushed upon superior numbers, and was
defeated; taking refuge at length in the Spanish part of St. Domingo, he
was given up, and his enemies, to strike terror into the people of
colour, broke him upon the wheel. From this time reconciliation between
the parties became impossible; a bloody war commenced, and with it all
those horrors which it has been our lot so frequently to deplore. It
must be remembered, however, that the Slave Trade, by means of the cruel
distinctions it occasioned, was the original cause; and though the
revolution of France afforded the occasion, it was an occasion which
would have been prevented, if it had not been for the intrigues and
injustice of the whites.
[Footnote A: Africa.]
Another upon whom I had time to call was the amiable bishop of Chartres.
When I left him, the Abbe Sieyes, who was with him, desired to walk with
me to my hotel; he there presented me with a set of his works, which he
sent for while he staid with me; and, on parting, he made use of this
complimentary expression, in allusion, I suppose, to the cause I had
undertaken,--"I am pleased to have been acquainted with the friend of
man."
It was necessary that I should see the Comte de Mirabeau and the Marquis
de la Fayette before I left Paris, I had written to each of them to
communicate the intelligence of my departure, as soon as I received it.
The comte, it appeared had nearly canvassed the Assembly; he could count
upon three hundred members, who, for the sake of justice, and without
any consideration of policy or of consequences, would support his
motion. But alas! what proportion did this number bear to twelve
hundred! About five hundred more would support him, but only on one
condition, which was, if England would give an unequivocal proof of her
intention to abolish the trade. The knowledge of these circumstances, he
said, had induced him to write a letter to Mr. Pitt. In this he had
explained how far he could proceed without his assistance, and how far
with it. He had frankly developed to him the mind and temper of the
Assembly on this subject; but his answer must be immediate, for the
white colonists were daily gaining such an influence there, that he
forsaw that it would be impossible to carry the measure, if it were long
delayed. On taking leave of him he desired me to be the bearer of the
letter, and to present it to Mr. Pitt.
On conversing with the Marquis de la Fayette, he lamented deeply the
unexpected turn which the cause of the Negroes had lately taken in the
Assembly. It was entirely owing to the daily intrigues of the White
Colonists. He feared they would ruin everything. If the Deputies of
Colour had been heard on their arrival, their rights would have been
acknowledged. But now there was little probability that they would
obtain them. He foresaw nothing but desolation in St. Domingo. With
respect to the abolition of the Slave Trade, it might be yet carried;
but not unless England would concur in the measure. On this topic he
enlarged with much feeling. He hoped the day was near at hand, when two
great nations, which had been hitherto distinguished only for their
hostility, one toward the other, would unite in so sublime a measure;
and that they would follow up their union by another, still more lovely,
for the preservation of eternal and universal peace. Thus their future
rivalships might have the extraordinary merit of being rivalships in
good. Thus the revolution of France, through the mighty aid of England,
might become the source of civilization, of freedom, and of happiness to
the whole world. No other nations were sufficiently enlightened for such
an union, but all other nations might be benefited by it.
The last person whom I saw was Brissot. He accompanied me to my
carriage. With him, therefore, I shall end my French account; and I
shall end it in no way so satisfactory to myself, as in a very concise
vindication of his character, from actual knowledge, against the attacks
of those who have endeavoured to disparage it; but who never knew him.
Justice and truth, I am convinced, demand some little declaration on
this subject at my hands. Brissot then was a man of plain and modest
appearance. His habits, contrary to those of his countrymen in general,
were domestic. In his own family he set an amiable example, both as a
husband and as a father. On all occasions he was a faithful friend. He
was particularly watchful over his private conduct. From the simplicity
of his appearance, and the severity of his morals, he was called "The
Quaker;" at least in all the circles which I frequented. He was a man of
deep feeling. He was charitable to the poor as far as a slender income
permitted him. But his benevolence went beyond the usual bounds. He was
no patriot in the ordinary acceptation of the word; for he took the
habitable globe as his country and wished to consider every foreigner as
his brother.
I left France, as it may be easily imagined, much disappointed, that my
labours, which had been of nearly six months continuance, should have
had no better success; nor did I see, in looking forward, any
circumstances that were consoling with respect to the issue of them
there; for it was impossible that Mr. Pitt, even if he had been inclined
to write to Mirabeau, circumstanced as matters then were with respect to
the hearing of evidence, could have given him a promise, at least of a
speedy abolition; and, unless his answer had been immediate, it would
have arrived, seeing that the French planters were daily profiting by
their intrigues, too late to be effectual.
I had but just arrived in England, when Mr. Wilberforce made a new
motion in the House of Commons on the subject of the Slave Trade. In
referring to the transactions of the last session, he found that
twenty-eight days had been allotted to the hearing of witnesses against
the abolition, and that eleven persons only had been examined in that
time. If the examinations were to go on in the same manner, they might
be made to last for years. He resolved, therefore, to move, that,
instead of hearing evidence in future in the house at large, members
should hear it in an open committee above stairs; which committee should
sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the house itself. This motion he
made; and in doing it he took an opportunity of correcting an erroneous
report; which was, that he had changed his mind on this great subject.
This was, he said, so far from being the case, that the more he
contemplated the trade, the more enormous he found it, and the more he
felt himself compelled to persevere in endeavours for its abolition.
One would have thought that a motion, so reasonable and so
constitutional, would have met with the approbation of all; but it was
vehemently opposed by Mr. Gascoyne, Alderman Newnham, and others. The
plea set up was, that there was no precedent for referring a question of
such importance to a committee. It was now obvious, that the real object
of our opponents in abandoning decision by the privy council evidence
was delay. Unable to meet us there, they were glad to fly to any
measure, which should enable them to put off the evil day. This charge
was fixed upon them in unequivocal language by Mr. Fox; who observed
besides, that if the members of the house should then resolve to hear
evidence in a committee of the whole house as before, it would amount to
a resolution, that the question of the abolition of the Slave Trade
should be put by, or at least that it should never be decided by them.
After a long debate, the motion of Mr. Wilberforce was voted without a
division; and the examination of witnesses proceeded in behalf of those
who were interested in the continuance of the trade.
This measure having been resolved upon, by which despatch in the
examinations was promoted, I was alarmed lest we should be called upon
for our own evidence, before we were fully prepared. The time which I
had originally allotted for the discovery of new witnesses, had been
taken up, if not wasted, in France. In looking over the names of the
sixteen, who were to have been examined by the committee of privy
council, if there had been time, one had died, and eight, who were
sea-faring people, were out of the kingdom. It was time, therefore, to
stir immediately in this business. Happily, on looking over my letters,
which I found on my arrival in England, the names of several had been
handed to me, with the places of their abode, who could give me
information on the subject of our question. All these I visited with the
utmost despatch. I was absent only three weeks. I had travelled a
thousand miles in this time, had conversed with seventeen persons, and
had prevailed upon three to be examined.
I had scarcely returned with the addition of these witnesses to my list,
when I found it necessary to go out again upon the same errand. This
second journey arose in part from the following circumstances. There was
a matter in dispute relative to the mode of obtaining slaves in the
rivers of Calabar and Bonny. It was usual, when the slave-ships lay
there, for a number of canoes to go into the inland country. These went
in a fleet. There might be from thirty to forty armed natives in each of
them. Every canoe, also, had a four or a six-pounder (cannon) fastened
to her bow. Equipped in this manner they departed; and they were usually
absent from eight to fourteen days. It was said that they went to fairs,
which were held on the banks of these rivers, and at which there was a
regular show of slaves. On their return they usually brought down from
eight hundred to a thousand of these for the ships. These lay at the
bottom of the canoes; their arms and legs having been first bound by the
ropes of the country. Now the question was, how the people, thus going
up these rivers, obtained their slaves?
It was certainly a very suspicious circumstance, that such a number of
persons should go out upon these occasions; and that they should be
armed in such a manner. We presumed, therefore, that, though they might
buy many of the slaves, whom they brought down, at the fairs which have
been mentioned, they obtained others by violence, as opportunity
offered. This inference we pressed upon our opponents, and called upon
them to show what circumstances made such warlike preparations necessary
on these excursions. To this they replied readily, "The people in the
canoes," said they, "pass through the territories of different petty
princes; to each of whom, on entering his territory, they pay a tribute
or toll. This tribute has been long fixed; but attempts frequently have
been made to raise it. They who follow the trade cannot afford to submit
to these unreasonable demands; and therefore they arm themselves in case
of any determination on the part of these petty princes to enforce
them." This answer we never judged to be satisfactory. We tried
therefore, to throw light upon the subject, by inquiring if the natives
who went upon these expeditions usually took with them as many goods as
would amount to the number of the slaves they were accustomed to bring
back with them. But we could get no direct answer, from any actual
knowledge, to this question. All had seen the canoes go out and return;
but no one had seen them loaded, or had been on board them. It appeared,
however, from circumstantial evidence, that though the natives on these
occasions might take some articles of trade with them, it was impossible
from appearances that they could take them in the proportion mentioned.
We maintained, then, our inference as before; but it was still uniformly
denied.