The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition - Thomas Clarkson
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He would say a few words relative to the numerous petitions which were
then on the table of the House. They had shown, in an extraordinary
manner, the opinion of the people. He did not wish to turn this into a
constitutional question; but he would observe, that it was of the utmost
consequence to the maintenance of the constitution of this country, that
the reputation of parliament should be maintained. But nothing could
prejudice its character so much, as a vote, which should lead the people
to believe that the legislative body was the more corrupt part of it,
and that it was slow to adopt moral principles.
It had been often insinuated that parliament, by interfering in this
trade, departed from its proper functions; No idea could be more absurd;
for, was it not its duty to correct abuses? and what abuses were greater
than robbery and murder? He was, indeed, anxious for the abolition. He
desired it, as a commercial man, on account of the commercial character
of the country. He desired it for the reputation of parliament, on which
so materially depended the preservation of our happy constitution; but
most of all he prayed for it for the sake of those eternal principle's
of justice, which it was the duty of nations, as well as of individuals,
to support.
Colonel Tarleton repeated his arguments of the last year. In addition to
these he inveighed bitterly against the abolitionists, as a junto of
secretaries, sophists, enthusiasts, and fanatics. He condemned the
abolition as useless, unless other nations would take it up. He brought
to the recollection of the House the barbarous scenes which had taken
place it in St. Domingo, all of which, he said, had originated in the
discussion of this question. He described the alarms, in which the
inhabitants of our own islands were kept, lest similar scenes should
occur from the same cause. He ridiculed the petitions on the table.
Itinerant clergymen, mendicant physicians, and others, had extorted
signatures from the sick, the indigent, and the traveller. School-boys
were invited to sign them, under the promise of a holiday. He had
letters to produce, which would prove all these things though he was not
authorized to give up the names of those who had written them.
Mr. Montagu said, that, in the last session, he had simply entered his
protest against the trade; but now He could be no longer silent; and as
there were many, who had conceived regulation to be more desirable than
abolition, he would himself to that subject.
Regulation, as it related to the manner of procuring slaves, was utterly
impossible; for how could we know the case of each individual, whom we
forced away into bondage? Could we establish tribunals all along the
coast, and in every ship, to find it out? What judges could we get for
such an office? But, if this could not be done upon the coast, how could
we ascertain the justness of the captivity of by far the greatest
number, who were brought from immense distances inland?
He would not dwell upon the proof of the inefficiency of regulations, as
to the Middle Passage. His honourable friend, Mr. Wilberforce, had
shown, that, however the mortality might have been lessened in some
ships by the regulations of Sir William Dolben, yet, wherever a
contagious disorder broke out, the greatest part of the cargo was swept
away. But what regulations by the British parliament could prevent these
contagions, or remove them suddenly, when they appeared?
Neither would regulations be effectual, as they related to the
protection of the slaves in the West Indies. It might, perhaps, be
enacted, as Mr. Vaughan had suggested, that their punishments should be
moderate; and that the number of lashes should be limited. But the
colonial legislatures had already done as much, as the magic of words
alone could do, upon this subject; yet the evidence upon the table
clearly proved, that the only protection of slaves was in the clemency
of their masters. Any barbarity might be exercised with impunity,
provided no White person were to see it, though it happened in the sight
of a thousand slaves. Besides, by splitting the offence, and inflicting
the punishment at intervals, the law could be evaded, although the fact
was within the reach of the evidence of a White man. Of this evasion
Captain Cook, of the 89th regiment, had given a shocking instance; and
Chief Justice Ottley had candidly confessed, that "he could devise no
method of bringing a master, so offending, to justice, while the
evidence of the slave continued inadmissible." But perhaps councils of
protection, and guardians of the slaves, might be appointed. This,
again, was an expedient which sounded well, but which would be nugatory
and absurd. What person would risk the comfort of his life by the
exercise of so invidious an interference? But supposing that one or two
individuals could be found, who would sacrifice all their time, and the
friendship of their associates, for the good of the slaves; what could
they effect? Could they be in all places at once? But even if acts of
barbarity should be related to them, how were they to come at the proof
of them?
It appeared, then, that no regulations could be effectual until the
slaves were admitted to give their evidence; but to admit them to this
privilege in their present state, would be to endanger the safety and
property of their masters. Mr. Vaughan had, however, recommended this
measure with limitations, but it would produce nothing but discontent;
for how were the slaves to be persuaded that it was fit they should be
admitted to speak the truth, and then be disbelieved and disregarded?
What a fermentation would such conduct naturally excite in men dismissed
with injuries unredressed, though abundantly proved, in their
apprehension, by their testimony? In fact, no regulations would do.
There was no cure for these evils, but in the abolition of the Slave
Trade. He called upon the planters to concur with his honourable friend,
Mr. Wilberforce, in this great measure. He wished them to consider the
progress which the opinion of the injustice of this trade was making in
the nation at large, as manifested by the petitions; which had almost
obstructed the proceedings of the House by their perpetual introduction.
It was impossible for them to stifle this great question. As for
himself, he would renew his profession of last year, that he would never
cease, but with life, to promote so glorious an end.
Mr. Whitbread said, that even if he could conceive, that the trade was,
as some had asserted it to be, founded on principles of humanity; that
the Africans were rescued from death in their own country; that, upon
being carried to the West Indies, they were put under kind masters; that
their labour there was easy; that at evening they returned cheerful to
their homes; that in sickness they were attended with care; and that
their old age was rendered comfortable; even then he would vote for the
abolition of the Slave Trade, inasmuch as he was convinced that that
which was fundamentally wrong, no practice could justify.
No eloquence could persuade him, that the Africans were torn from their
country and their dearest connexions, merely that they might lead a
happier life; or that they could be placed under the uncontrolled
dominion of others without suffering. Arbitrary power would spoil the
hearts of the best; hence would arise tyranny on the one side, and a
sense of injury on the other. Hence the passions would be let loose, and
a state of perpetual enmity would follow.
He needed only to go to the accounts of those who defended the system of
slavery, to show that it was cruel. He was forcibly struck last year by
an expression of an honourable member, an advocate for the trade, who,
when he came to speak of the slaves, on selling off the stock of a
plantation, said that they fetched less than the common price, because
they were damaged. Damaged! What! Were they goods and chattels? What an
idea was this to hold out of our fellow-creatures! We might imagine how
slaves were treated, if they could be spoken of in such a manner.
Perhaps these unhappy people had lingered out the best part of their
lives in the service of their master. Able then to do but little, they
were sold for little! and the remaining substance of their sinews was to
be pressed out by another, yet more hardened than the former, and who
had made a calculation of their vitals accordingly.
As another proof, he would mention a passage in a pamphlet, in which the
author, describing the happy situation of the slaves, observed, that a
good negro never wanted a character; a bad one could always be detected
by his weals and scars. What was this but to say, that there were
instruments in use which left indelible marks, behind them; and who
would say that these were used justly?
An honourable gentleman, Mr. Vaughan, had said, that setting aside
slavery, the slaves were better off than the poor in this country. But
what was it that we wished to abolish! Was it not the Slave Trade, which
would destroy in time the cruel distinction he had mentioned? The same
honourable gentleman had also expressed his admiration of their
resignation; but might it not be that resignation which was the
consequence of despair?
Colonel Tarleton had insinuated that the petitions on the table had been
obtained in an objectionable manner. He had the honour to present one
from his constituents, which he would venture to say had originated with
themselves, and that there did not exist more respectable names in the
kingdom than those of the persons who had signed it. He had also
asserted, that there was a strong similitude in their tenour and
substance, as if they had been manufactured by the same persons. This
was by no means to be wondered at. There was surely but one plain tale
to tell, and it was not surprising that it had been clothed in nearly
the same expressions. There was but one boon to ask, and that was--the
abolition of this wicked trade.
It had been said by another, (Mr. Baillie,) that the horrible
insurrections in St. Domingo arose from the discussion of the question
of the Slave Trade. He denied the assertion; and maintained that they
were the effect of the trade itself. There was a point of endurance,
beyond which human nature could not go, at which the mind of man rose by
its native elasticity with a spring and violence proportioned to the
degree to which it had been depressed. The calamities in St. Domingo
proceeded from the Slave Trade alone; and, if it were continued, similar
evils were to be apprehended in our own islands. The cruelties which the
slaves had perpetrated in that unfortunate colony they had learnt from
their masters. Had not an African eyes? Had he not ears? Had he not
organs, senses, and passions? If you pricked him, would he not feel the
puncture, and bleed? If you poisoned him, would he not die? and, if you
wronged him, would he not revenge? But he had said sufficient, for he
feared he could not better the instruction.
Mr. Milbank would only just observe, that the policy of the measure of
the abolition was as great as its justice was undeniable. Where slavery
existed, everything was out of its natural place. All improvement was at
an end; there must also, from the nature of the human heart, be
oppression. He warned the planters against the danger of fresh
importations, and invited their concurrence in the measure.
Mr. Dundas (afterwards Viscount Melville) declared that he had always
been a warm friend to the abolition of the Slave Trade, though he
differed from Mr. Wilberforce as to the mode of effecting it.
The abolitionists, and those on the opposite side of the question, had,
both of them, gone into extremes. The former were for the immediate and
abrupt annihilation of the trade; the latter considered it as
essentially necessary to the existence of the West Indian islands, and
therefore laid it down that it was to be continued for ever. Such was
the vast distance between the parties. He would now address himself to
each.
He would say first, that he agreed with his honourable friend, Mr.
Wilberforce, in very material points. He believed the trade was not
founded in policy; that the continuation of it was not essential to the
preservation of our trade with the West Indian islands; and that the
slaves were not only to be maintained, but increased there, by natural
population. He agreed, too, as to the propriety of the abolition. But
when his honourable friend talked of direct and abrupt abolition, he
would submit it to him, whether he did not run counter to the prejudices
of those who were most deeply interested in the question; and whether,
if he could obtain his object without wounding these, it would not be
better to do it? Did he not also forget the sacred attention which
parliament had ever shown to the private interests and patrimonial
rights of individuals?
Whatever idea men might then have of the African trade, certain it was
that they, who had connected themselves with it, had done it under the
sanction of parliament. It might also be well worth while to consider,
(though the conduct of other nations ought not to deter us from doing
our duty,) whether British subjects in the West Indies might not be
supplied with slaves under neutral flags. Now he believed it was
possible to avoid these objections, and at the same time to act in
harmony with the prejudices which had been mentioned. This might be done
by regulations, by which we should effect the end much more speedily
than by the way proposed. By regulations, he meant such as would
increase the breed of the slaves in the West Indies; such as would
ensure a moral education to their children; and such as would even in
time extinguish hereditary slavery. The extinction, however, of this was
not to be effected by allowing the son of an African slave to obtain his
freedom on the death of his parent. Such a son should be considered as
born free; he should then be educated at the expense of the person
importing his parents; and, when arrived at such a degree of strength as
might qualify him to labour, he should work for a term of years for the
payment of the expense of his education and maintenance. It was
impossible to emancipate the existing slaves at once; nor would such an
emancipation be of any immediate benefit to themselves; but this
observation would not apply to their descendants, if trained and
educated in the manner he had proposed.
He would now address himself to those who adopted the opposite extreme;
and he thought he should not assume too much when he said, that if both
slavery and the Slave Trade could be abolished with safety to their
property, it deeply concerned their interests to do it. Such a measure,
also, would only be consistent with the principles of the British
constitution. It was surely strange that we, who were ourselves free,
should carry on a Slave Trade with Africa, and that we should never
think of introducing cultivation into the West Indies by free labourers.
That such a measure would tend to their interest he had no doubt. Did
not all of them agree with Mr. Long, that the great danger in the West
Indies arose from the importation of the African slaves there? Mr. Long
had asserted, that all the insurrections there arose from these. If this
statement was true, how directly it bore upon the present question! But
we were told, also, by the same author, that the Slave Trade gave rise
to robbery, murder, and all kinds of depredations on the coast of
Africa. Had this been answered? No: except indeed it had been said that
the slaves were such as had been condemned for crimes. Well, then, the
imported Africans consisted of all the convicts, rogues, thieves, and
vagabonds in Africa. But would the West Indians choose to depend on
fresh supplies of these for the cultivation of their lands, and the
security of their islands, when it was also found that every
insurrection had arisen from them? It was plain the safety of the
islands was concerned in this question. There would be danger so long as
the trade lasted. The planters were, by these importations, creating the
engines of their own destruction. Surely they would act more to their
own interest if they would concur in extinguishing the trade, than by
standing up for its continuance.
He would now ask them, what right they had to suppose that Africa would
for ever remain in a state of barbarism. If once an enlightened prince
were to rise up there, his first act would be to annihilate the Slave
Trade. If the light of heaven were ever to descend upon that continent,
it would directly occasion its downfall. It was their interest then to
contrive a mode of supplying labour, without trusting to precarious
importations from that quarter. They might rest assured that the trade
could not continue. He did not allude to the voice of the people in the
petitions then lying on the table of the House; but he knew certainly,
that an idea not only of the injustice, but of the impolicy, of this
trade had been long entertained by men of the most enlightened
understandings in this country. Was it then a prudent thing for them to
rest on this commerce for the further improvement of their property?
There was a species of slavery, prevailing only a few years ago, in the
collieries in certain boroughs in Scotland. Emancipation there was
thought a duty by parliament: but what an opposition there was to the
measure! Nothing but ruin would be the consequence of it! After several
years struggle the bill was Carried. Within a year after, the ruin so
much talked of vanished in smoke, and there was an end of the business.
It had also been contended that Sir William Dolben's bill would be the
ruin of Liverpool: and yet one of its representatives had allowed, that
this bill had been of benefit to the owners of the slave-vessels there.
Was he then asking too much of the West Indians, to request a candid
consideration of the real ground of their alarms? He would conclude by
stating, that he meant to propose a middle way of proceeding. If there
was a number of members in the House, who thought with him, that this
trade ought to be ultimately abolished, but yet by moderate measures,
which should neither invade the property nor the prejudices of
individuals, he wished them to unite, and they might then reduce the
question to its proper limits.
Mr. Addington, the speaker, (now Viscount Sidmouth,) professed himself
to be one of those moderate persons called upon by Mr. Dundas. He wished
to see some middle measure suggested. The fear of doing injury to the
property of others, had hitherto prevented him from giving an opinion
against a system, the continuance of which he could not countenance.
He utterly abhorred the Slave Trade. A noble and learned lord, who had
now retired from the bench, said on a certain occasion, that he pitied
the loyalty of that man, who imagined that any epithet could aggravate
the crime of treason. So he himself knew of no language which could
aggravate the crime of the Slave Trade. It was sufficient for every
purpose of crimination, to assert, that man thereby was bought; and
sold, or that he was made subject to the despotism of man. But though he
thus acknowledged the justice due to a whole continent on the one side,
he confessed there were opposing claims of justice on the other. The
case of the West Indians deserved a tender consideration also.
He doubted, if we were to relinquish the Slave Trade alone, whether it
might not be carried on still more barbarously than at present; and
whether, if we were to stop it altogether, the islands could keep up
their present stocks. It had been asserted that they could. But he,
thought that the stopping of the imputations could not be depended upon
for this purpose, so much as a plan for providing them with more
females.
With the mode suggested by his right honourable friend, Mr. Dundas, he
was pleased, though he, did not wholly agree to it. He could not grant
liberty to the children born in the islands. He thought, also, that the
trade ought to be permitted for ten or twelve years longer, under such
arrangements as should introduce a kind of management among the slaves
there, favourable to their interests, and of course to their future
happiness. One species of regulation which he should propose, would be
greater encouragement to the importation of females than of males, by
means of a bounty on the former till their numbers should be found
equal. Rewards also might be given to those slaves who should raise a
certain number of children; and to those who should devise means of
lightening negro-labour. If the plan of his honourable friend should
comprehend these regulations, he would heartily concur in it. He wished
to see the Slave Trade abolished. Indeed it did not deserve the name of
a trade. It was not a trade, and ought not to be allowed. He was
satisfied, that in a few years it would cease to be the reproach of this
nation and the torment of Africa. But under regulations like these, it
would cease without any material injury to the interests of others.
Mr. Fox said, that after what had fallen from the two last speakers, he
could remain no longer silent. Something so mischievous had come out,
and something so like a foundation had been laid for preserving, not
only for years to come, but for ever, this detestable traffic, that he
should feel himself wanting in his duty, if he were not to deprecate all
such deceptions and delusions upon the country.
The honourable gentlemen had called themselves moderate men: but upon
this subject he neither felt, nor desired to feel, anything like a
sentiment of moderation. Their speeches had reminded him of a passage in
MIDDLETON'S _Life of Cicero_. The translation of it was defective,
though it would equally suit his purpose. He says, "To enter into a
man's house, and kill him, his wife, and family, in the night, is
certainly a most heinous crime, and deserving of death; but to break
open his house, to murder him, his wife, and all his children in the
night, may be still very right, provided it be done with moderation."
Now, was there anything more absurd in this passage, than to say, that
the Slave Trade might be carried on with moderation; for, if you could
not rob or murder a single man with moderation, with what moderation
could you pillage and wound a whole nation? In fact, the question of the
abolition was simply a question of justice. It was only, whether we
should authorize by law, respecting Africa, the commission of crimes,
for which, in this country, we should forfeit our lives: notwithstanding
which, it was to be treated, in the opinion of these honourable
gentlemen, with moderation.
Mr. Addington had proposed to cure the disproportion of the sexes in the
islands, by a bounty on the importation of females; or, in other words,
by offering a premium to any crew of ruffians, who would tear them from
their native country. He would let loose a banditti against the most
weak and defenceless of the sex. He would occasion these to kill
fathers, husbands, and brothers, to get possession of their relatives,
the females, who, after this carnage, were to be reserved for--slavery.
He should like to see the man, who would pen such a moderate clause for
a British parliament.
Mr. Dundas had proposed to abolish the Slave Trade, by bettering the
state of the slaves in the islands, and particularly that of their
offspring. His plan, with respect to the latter, was not a little
curious. They were to become free, when born; and then they were to be
educated, at the expense of those to whom their fathers belonged. But it
was clear, that they could not be educated for nothing. In order,
therefore, to repay this expense, they were to be slaves for ten or
fifteen years. In short, they were to have an education, which was to
qualify them to become freemen; and after they had been so educated,
they were to become slaves. But as this free education might possibly
unfit them for submitting to slavery; so, after they had been made to
bow under the yoke for ten or fifteen years, they might then, perhaps,
be equally unfit to become free; and therefore, might be retained as
slaves for a few years longer, if not for their whole lives. He never
heard of a scheme so moderate, and yet so absurd and visionary.
The same honourable gentleman had observed, that the conduct of other
nations should not hinder us from doing, our duty; but yet neutrals
would furnish, our islands with slaves. What was the inference from this
moderate assertion, but that we might as well supply them ourselves? He
hoped, if we were yet to be supplied, it would never be by Englishmen.
We ought no longer to be concerned in such a crime.
An adversary, Mr. Baillie, had said, that it would not be fair to take
the character of this country from the records of the Old Bailey. He did
not at all wonder, when the subject of the Slave Trade was mentioned,
that the Old Bailey naturally occurred to his recollection. The facts,
which had been described in the evidence, were associated in all our
minds with the ideas of criminal justice. But Mr. Baillie had forgot the
essential difference between the two cases. When we learnt from these
records, that crimes were committed in this country, we learnt also,
that they were punished with transportation and death. But the crimes
committed in the Slave Trade were passed over with impunity. Nay, the
perpetrators were even sent out again to commit others.