The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition - Thomas Clarkson
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But upon whom did the cruelties, thus arising out of the prosecution of
this barbarous traffic, fall? Upon a people with feeling and intellect
like ourselves. One witness had spoken of the acuteness of their
understandings; another, of the extent of their memories; a third, of
their genius for commerce: a fourth, of their proficiency in
manufactures at home. Many had admired their gentle and peaceable
disposition, their cheerfulness, and their hospitality. Even they who
were nominally slaves, in Africa lived a happy life. A witness against
the abolition had described them as sitting and eating with their
masters in the true style of patriarchal simplicity and comfort. Were
these, then, a people incapable of civilization? The argument that they
were an inferior species had been proved to be false.
He would now go to a new part of the subject. An opinion had gone forth
that the abolition of the trade would be the ruin of the West India
Islands. He trusted he should prove that the direct contrary was the
truth; though, had he been unable to do this, it would have made no
difference as to his own vote. In examining, however, this opinion; he
should exclude the subject of the cultivation of new lands by fresh
importations of slaves. The impolicy of this measure, apart from its
inhumanity, was indisputably clear. Let the committee consider the
dreadful mortality which attended it. Let them look to the evidence of
Mr. Woolrich, and there see a contrast drawn between the slow, but sure,
progress of cultivation carried on in the natural way, and the attempt
to force improvements, which, however flattering the prospect at first,
soon produced a load of debt, and inextricable embarrassments. He might
even appeal to the statements of the West Indians themselves, who
allowed that more than twenty millions were owing to the people of this
country, to show that no system could involve them so deeply as that on
which they had hitherto gone. But he would refer them to the accounts of
Mr. Irving, as contained in the evidence. Waving, then, the
consideration of this part of the subject, the opinion in question must
have arisen from a notion, that the stock of slaves, now in the islands,
could not be kept up by propagation; but that it was necessary, from
time to time, to recruit them with imported Africans. In direct
refutation of this position he should prove: First, that, in the
condition and treatment of the Negroes, there were causes sufficient to
afford us reason to expect a considerable decrease, but particularly
that their increase had not been a serious object of attention:
Secondly, that this decrease was in fact, notwithstanding, very
trifling; or rather, he believed, he might declare it had now actually
ceased: and, Thirdly, he should urge many direct and collateral facts
and arguments, constituting on the whole an irresistible proof, that
even a rapid increase might henceforth be expected.
He wished to treat the West Indians with all possible candour: but he
was obliged to confess, in arguing upon these points, that whatever
splendid instances there might be of kindness towards their slaves,
there were some evils of almost universal operation, which were
necessarily connected with the system of slavery. Above all, the state
of degradation to which they were reduced, deserved to be noticed, as it
produced an utter inattention to them as moral agents; they were kept at
work under the whip like cattle; they were left totally ignorant of
morality and religion; there was no regular marriage among them; hence
promiscuous intercourse, early prostitution, and excessive drinking,
were material causes of their decrease. With respect to the instruction
of the slaves in the principles of religion, the happiest effects had
resulted, particularly in Antigua, where, under the Moravians and
Methodists, they had so far profited, that the planters themselves
confessed their value as property had been raised one-third by their
increased habits of regularity and industry.
Whatever might have been said to the contrary, it was plainly to be
inferred from the evidence that the slaves were not protected by law.
Colonial statutes had indeed been passed, but they were a dead letter;
since, however ill they were treated, they were not considered as having
a right to redress. An instance of astonishing cruelty by a Jew had been
mentioned by Mr. Ross; it was but justice to say, that the man was held
in detestation for it, but yet no one had ever thought of calling him to
a legal account. Mr. Ross conceived a master had a right to punish his
slave in whatever manner he might think proper; the same was declared by
numberless other witnesses. Some instances indeed had lately occurred of
convictions. A master had wantonly cut the mouth of a child, of six
months old, almost from ear to ear. But did not the verdict of the jury
show, that the doctrine of calling masters to an account was entirely
novel, as it only pronounced him "Guilty, subject to the opinion of the
court, if immoderate correction of a slave by his master be a crime
indictable!" The court determined in the affirmative; and what was the
punishment of this barbarous act?--A fine of forty shillings currency,
equivalent to about twenty-five shillings sterling.
The slaves were but ill off in point of medical care. Sometimes four or
five, and even eight or nine thousand of them, were under the care of
one medical man; which, dispersed on different and distant estates, was
a greater number than he could possibly attend to.
It was also in evidence that they were in general under-fed; they were
supported partly by the produce of their own provision-ground, and
partly by an allowance of flour and grain from their masters. In one of
the islands, where provision-ground did not answer one year in three,
the allowance to a working Negro was but from five to nine pints of
grain per week: in Dominica, where it never failed, from six to seven
quarts: in Nevis and St. Christopher's, where there was no
provision-ground, it was but eleven pints. Add to this, that it might be
still less, as the circumstances of their masters might become
embarrassed, and in this case both an abridgment of their food and an
increase of their labour would follow.
But the great cause of the decrease of the slaves was in the
non-residence of the planters. Sir George Yonge, and many others, had
said, they had seen the slaves treated in a manner which their owners
would have resented if they had known it. Mr. Orde spoke in the
strongest terms of the misconduct of managers. The fact was, that these
in general sought to establish their characters by producing large crops
at a small immediate expense; too little considering how far the slaves
might suffer from ill-treatment and excessive labour. The pursuit of
such a system was a criterion for judging of their characters, as both
Mr. Long and Mr. Ottley had confessed.
But he must contend, in addition to this, that the object of keeping up
the stock of slaves by breeding had never been seriously attended to.
For this he might appeal both to his own witnesses and to those of his
opponents, but he would only notice one fact. It was remarkable that,
when owners and managers were asked about the produce of their estates,
they were quite at home as to the answer; but when they were asked about
the proportion of their male and female slaves, and their infants, they
knew little about the matter. Even medical men were adepts in the art of
planting, but when they were asked the latter questions, as connected
with breeding and rearing, they seemed quite amazed, and could give no
information upon the subject of them.
Persons, however, of great respectability had been called as witnesses
who had not seen the treatment of the Negroes as he had now described
it. He knew what was due to their characters, but yet he must enter a
general protest against their testimony. "I have often," says Mr. Ross,
"attended both governors and admirals upon tours in the island of
Jamaica, but it was not likely that these should see much distress upon
these occasions. The white people and drivers would take care not to
harrow up the feelings of strangers of distinction by the exercise of
the whip, or the infliction of punishments, at that particular time;
and, even if there were any disgusting objects, it was natural to
suppose that they would then remove them." But in truth these gentlemen
had given proofs that they were under the influence of prejudice. Some
of them had declared the abolition would ruin the West Indies; but this,
it was obvious, must depend upon the practicability of keeping up the
stock without African supplies; and yet, when they were questioned upon
this point, they knew nothing about it; hence they had formed a
conclusion without premises. Their evidence, too, extended through a
long series of years; they had never seen one instance of ill-treatment
in the time, and yet, in the same breath, they talked of the amended
situation of the slaves, and that they were now far better off than
formerly. One of them, to whom his country owed much, stated that a
master had been sentenced to death for the murder of his own slave; but
his recollection must have failed him, for the murder of a slave was not
then a capital crime. A respectable governor also had delivered an
opinion to the same effect; but, had he looked into the statute-book of
the island, he would have found his error.
It had been said that the slaves were in a better state than the
peasantry of this country; but when the question was put to Mr. Ross,
did he not answer, "that he would not insult the latter by a
comparison!"
It had been said again, that the Negroes were happier as slaves than
they would be if they were to be made free. But how was this
reconcilable with facts? If a Negro under extraordinary circumstances
had saved money enough, did he not always purchase his release from this
situation of superior happiness by the sacrifice of his last shilling?
Was it not also notorious, that the greatest reward which a master
thought he could bestow upon his slave for long and faithful services
was his freedom.
It had been said again, that Negroes, when made free, never returned to
their own country. But was not the reason obvious? If they could even
reach their own homes in safety, their kindred and connexions might be
dead. But would they subject themselves to be kidnapped again; to be
hurried once more on board a slave-ship, and again to endure and survive
the horrors of the passage? Yet the love of their native country had
been proved beyond a doubt; many of the witnesses had heard them talk of
it in terms of the strongest affection. Acts of suicide, too, were
frequent in the islands, under the notion that these afforded them the
readiest means of getting home. Conformably with this, Captain Wilson
had maintained that the funerals, which in Africa were accompanied with
lamentations and cries of sorrow, were attended, in the West Indies with
every mark of joy.
He had now, he said, made good his first proposition--that in the
condition of the slaves there were causes, which should lead us to
expect, that there would be a considerable decrease among them. This
decrease in the island of Jamaica was but trifling, or, rather, it had
ceased some years ago; and if there was a decrease, it was only on the
imported slaves. It appeared from the privy council report, that from
1698 to 1730 the decrease was three and a-half per cent.; from 1730 to
1755 it was two and a-half per cent.; from 1755 to 1768 it was lessened
to one and three-quarters; and from 1768 to 1788 it was not more than
one per cent. This last decrease was not greater than could be accounted
for from hurricanes and consequent famines, and from the number of
imported Africans who perished in the seasoning. The latter was a cause
of mortality, which, it was evident, would cease with the importations.
This conclusion was confirmed in part by Dr. Anderson, who, in his
testimony to the Assembly of Jamaica, affirmed that there was a
considerable increase on the properties of the island, and particularly
in the parish in which he resided.
He would now proceed to establish his second proposition, that from
henceforth a very considerable increase might be expected. This he might
support by a close reasoning upon the preceding facts; but the testimony
of his opponents furnished him with sufficient evidence. He could show,
that wherever the slaves were treated better than ordinary, there was
uniformly an increase in their number. Look at the estates of Mr.
Willock, Mr. Ottley, Sir Ralph Payne, and others. In short, he should
weary the committee, if he were to enumerate the instances of
plantations, which were stated in the evidence to have kept up their
numbers only from a little variation in their treatment. A remedy also
had been lately found for a disorder, by which vast numbers of infants
had been formerly swept away. Mr. Long, also, had laid it down, that
whenever the slaves should bear a certain proportion to the produce,
they might be expected to keep up their numbers; but this proportion
they now exceeded. The Assembly of Jamaica had given it also as their
opinion, "that when once the sexes should become nearly equal in point
of number, there was no reason to suppose, that the increase of the
Negroes by generation would fall short of the natural increase of the
labouring poor in Great Britain." But the inequality, here spoken of,
could only exist in the case of the African Negroes, of whom more males
were imported than females; and this inequality would be done away soon
after the trade should cease.
But the increase of the Negroes, where their treatment was better than
ordinary, was confirmed in the evidence by instances in various parts of
the world. From one end of the continent of America to the other, their
increase had been undeniably established; and this to a prodigious
extent, though they had to contend with the severe cold of the winter,
and in some parts with noxious exhalations in the summer. This was the
case, also, in the settlement of Bencoolen in the East Indies. It
appeared from the evidence of Mr. Botham, that a number of Negroes, who
had been imported there in the same disproportion of the sexes as in
West Indian cargoes, and who lived under the same disadvantages, as in
the islands, of promiscuous intercourse and general prostitution, began,
after they had been settled a short time, annually to increase.
But to return to the West Indies.--A slave-ship had been, many years
ago, wrecked near St. Vincent's. The slaves on board, who escaped to the
island, were without necessaries; and, besides, were obliged to maintain
a war with the native Caribbs: yet they soon multiplied to an
astonishing number; and, according to Mr. Ottley, they were now on the
increase. From Sir John Dalrymple's evidence it appeared that the
domestic slaves in Jamaica, who were less worked than those in the
field, increased; and from Mr. Long, that the free Blacks and Mulattoes
there increased also.
But there was an instance which militated against these facts (and the
only one in the evidence), which he would now examine. Sir Archibald
Campbell had heard that the Maroons in Jamaica, in the year 1739,
amounted to three thousand men fit to carry arms. This supposed their
whole number to have been about twelve thousand; but in the year 1782,
after a real muster by himself, he found, to his great astonishment,
that the fighting men did not then amount to three hundred. Now the fact
was, that Sir Archibald Campbell's first position was founded upon
rumour only, and was not true; for, according to Mr. Long, the Maroons
were actually numbered in 1749, when they amounted to about six hundred
and sixty in all, having only a hundred and fifty men fit to carry arms.
Hence, if when mustered by Sir Archibald Campbell he found three hundred
fighting men, they must from 1749 to 1782 have actually doubled their
population.
Was it possible, after these instances, to suppose that the Negroes
could not keep up their numbers, if their natural increase were made a
subject of attention? The reverse was proved by sound reasoning. It had
been confirmed by unquestionable facts. It had been shown, that they had
increased in every situation, where there was the slightest circumstance
in their favour. Where there had been any decrease, it was stated to be
trifling; though no attention appeared to have been paid to the subject.
This decrease had been gradually lessening; and, whenever a single cause
of it had been removed (many still remaining), it had altogether ceased.
Surely these circumstances formed a body of proof which was
irresistible.
He would now speak of the consequences of the abolition of the Slave
Trade in other points of view; and first, as to its effects upon our
marine. An abstract of the Bristol and Liverpool muster-rolls had been
just laid before the House. It appeared from this, that in three hundred
and fifty slave-vessels, having on board twelve thousand two hundred and
sixty-three persons, two thousand six hundred and forty-three were lost
in twelve months; whereas in four hundred and sixty-two West Indiamen,
having on board seven thousand six hundred and forty persons, one
hundred and eighteen only were lost in seven months. This rather
exceeded the losses stated by Mr. Clarkson. For their barbarous usage on
board these ships, and for their sickly and abject state in the West
Indies, he would appeal to Governor Parry's letter; to the evidence of
Mr. Ross; to the assertion of Mr. B. Edwards, an opponent; and to the
testimony of Captains Sir George Yonge and Thompson, of the Royal Navy.
He would appeal, also, to what Captain Hall, of the Navy, had given in
evidence. This gentleman, after the action of the 12th of April,
impressed thirty hands from a slave-vessel, whom he selected with the
utmost care from a crew of seventy; and he was reprimanded by his
admiral, though they could scarcely get men to bring home the prizes,
for introducing such wretches to communicate disorders to the fleet.
Captain Smith of the Navy had also declared, that when employed to board
Guineamen to impress sailors, although he had examined near twenty
vessels, he never was able to get more than two men, who were fit for
service; and these turned out such inhuman fellows, although good
seamen, that he was obliged to dismiss them from the ship.
But he hoped the committee would attend to the latter part of the
assertion of Captain Smith. Yes: this trade, while it injured the
constitutions of our sailors, debased their morals. Of this, indeed,
there was a barbarous illustration in the evidence. A slave-ship had
struck on some shoals, called the Morant Keys, a few leagues from the
east end of Jamaica. The crew landed in their boats, with arms and
provisions, leaving the slaves on board in their irons. This happened in
the night. When morning came, it was discovered that the Negroes had
broken their shackles, and were busy in making rafts; upon which
afterwards they placed the women and children. The men attended upon the
latter, swimming by their side, whilst they drifted to the island where
the crew were. But what was the sequel? From an apprehension that the
Negroes would consume the water and provisions, which had been landed,
the crew resolved to destroy them as they approached the shore. They
killed between three and four hundred. Out of the whole cargo only
thirty-three were saved, who, on being brought to Kingston, were sold.
It would, however, be to no purpose, he said, to relieve the Slave Trade
from this act of barbarity. The story of the Morant Keys was paralleled
by that of Captain Collingwood; and were you to get rid of these,
another, and another, would still present itself, to prove the barbarous
effects of this trade on the moral character.
But of the miseries of the trade there was no end. Whilst he had been
reading out of the evidence the story of the Morant Keys, his eye had
but glanced on the opposite page, and it met another circumstance of
horror. This related to what were called the refuse-slaves. Many people
in Kingston were accustomed to speculate in the purchase of those, who
were left after the first day's sale. They then carried them out into
the country, and retailed them. Mr. Ross declared, that he had seen
these landed in a very wretched state, sometimes in the agonies of
death, and sold as low as for a dollar, and that he had known several
expire in the piazzas of the vendue-master. The bare description
superseded the necessity of any remark. Yet these were the familiar
incidents of the Slave Trade.
But he would go back to the seamen. He would mention another cause of
mortality, by which many of them lost their lives. In looking over
Lloyd's list, no less than six vessels were cut off by the irritated
natives in one year, and the crews massacred. Such instances were not
unfrequent. In short, the history of this commerce was written
throughout in characters of blood.
He would next consider the effects of the abolition on those places
where it was chiefly carried on. But would the committee believe, after
all the noise which had been made on this subject, that the Slave Trade
composed but a thirtieth part of the export trade of Liverpool, and that
of the trade of Bristol it constituted a still less proportion? For the
effects of the abolition on the general commerce of the kingdom, he
would refer them to Mr. Irving; from whose evidence it would appear,
that the medium value of the British manufactures, exported to Africa,
amounted only to between four and five hundred thousand pounds annually.
This was but a trifling sum. Surely the superior capital, ingenuity,
application, and integrity of the British manufacturer would command new
markets for the produce of his industry, to an equal amount, when this
should be no more. One branch, however, of our manufactures, he
confessed, would suffer from the abolition; and that was the manufacture
of gunpowder; of which the nature of our connexion with Africa drew from
us as much as we exported to all the rest of the world besides.
He hastened, however, to another part of the argument. Some had said,
"We wish to put an end to the Slave Trade, but we do not approve of your
mode. Allow more time. Do not displease the legislatures of the West
India islands. It is by them that those laws must be passed, and
enforced, which will secure your object." Now he was directly at issue
with these gentlemen. He could show, that the abolition was the only
certain mode of amending the treatment of the slaves, so as to secure
their increase: and that the mode which had been offered to him, was at
once inefficacious and unsafe. In the first place, how could any laws,
made by these legislatures, be effectual, whilst the evidence of Negroes
was in no case admitted against White men? What was the answer from
Grenada? Did it not state, "that they who were capable of cruelty, would
in general be artful enough to prevent any but slaves from being
witnesses of the fact?" Hence it had arisen, that when positive laws had
been made, in some of the islands, for the protection of the slaves,
they had been found almost a dead letter. Besides, by what law would you
enter into every man's domestic concerns, and regulate the interior
economy of his house and plantation? This would be something more than a
general excise. Who would endure such a law? And yet on all these and
innumerable other minutiae must depend the protection of the slaves,
their comforts, and the probability of their increase. It was
universally allowed, that the Code Noir had been utterly neglected in
the French islands, though there was an officer appointed by the crown
to see it enforced. The provisions of the Directorio had been but of
little more avail in the Portuguese settlements, or the institution of a
Protector of the Indians, in those of the Spaniards. But what degree or
protection the slaves would enjoy might be inferred from the admission
of a gentleman, by whom this very plan of regulation had been
recommended, and who was himself no ordinary person, but a man of
discernment and legal resources. He had proposed a limitation of the
number of lashes to be given by the master or overseer for one offence.
But, after all, he candidly confessed, that his proposal was not likely
to be useful, while the evidence of slaves continued inadmissible
against their masters. But he could even bring testimony to the
inefficacy of such regulations. A wretch in Barbados had chained a Negro
girl to the floor, and flogged her till she was nearly expiring. Captain
Cook and Major Fitch, hearing her cries, broke open the door and found
her. The wretch retreated from their resentment, but cried out
exultingly, "that he had only given her thirty-nine lashes (the number
limited by law) at any one time; and that he had only inflicted this
number three times since the beginning of the night," adding, "that he
would prosecute them for breaking open his door; and that he would flog
her to death for all any one, if he pleased; and that he would give her
the fourth thirty-nine before morning."