7 
136] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
its tranfactions with foreigners; and 
thefe great, and apparently inex- 
hauftible fources. of the commerce, 
wealth, power, and naval force of 
France, have in the iflue been to- 
tally ruined, by a ieries of precipi- 
fate. meafures, of rath and untried 
fchemes, adopxed without due con- 
fideration, or competent knowledge 
of the fubject, and founded upon 
the fame order of abtivaét noticns, 
and metaphyfical dreams, which had 
pat the parent country jyits 
prefent unparalleled fituation... It 
had been early and well obferved 
in the afiembly by M. Barnave, an 
able and eminent leader in the ac- 
£omplithment of the revolution, and 
who went all lengths with the ruling 
party, “ that, unfortunately, thei: 
« rights of men coyld not apply to 
« the Welt [ndies; that if they en- 
«« deavoured to make the applica- 
€ tion, they would lofe their colo- 
nies, impoverifh their trading 
and manpfacturing towns, until 
the common people, grown defpe- 
rate by the difappointment. of 
their hopes, would be ready to fell 
themfclves to the enemies of the 
revolution.”’ Indeed there can be 
no quefiion, but that confidered 
merely as a fubje& of fate policy, 
‘without any reference to philofo- 
phy, or tothe milder feelings of hu- 
manity, that the general declaration 
of the rights of man, without any 
diftin&tjon of country or colour, by 
a nation pofieffing great and ex- 
tenfive colonies cultivated by flives, 
and ftill determined to retain thefe 
colonies, under a full intention of 
reaping all the cuflomary advan- 
tages from them, without providing 
any fubftitutes for the flaves, or 
any indemnification for their own- 
ers, muft ever be deemed a rath, as 
well as a hafty and improvident 
«<< 
meafure ; but neither thefe econfl- 
derations, nor the eloquence nor 
warninys of Barnave, were at all 
capabie of refifting that democrati- 
cal rage for liberty and equality 
which now prevailed. 
A fociety had for fome time fubs 
filed in France under the title of 
Lami de Noir, oy the friends of the 
negroes, which owed its origin to 
the focieties formed in Engiand 
upon the fame principle; and like 
them iflued feveral publications in 
favour of the opprefied Africans, 
which being induitrioufly circulated 
in the Wett India Iflands, and well 
iuited to the capacities as well as to 
the likings of that people, produced 
fuch an effecl, that they are fup- 
pofed to have contributed much to 
the dreadful enormities which af- 
terwards took place in thefe colo- 
ies. Although this fociety was 
not much diftinguithed by the rank, 
abilities, or even number of its 
members, nor indeed by any thing, ~ 
but the humanity of its objeét, and 
the private virtues of feveral of the 
individuals of which it was com- 
poied, yet this being the age of 
fenument, as well as of innovation, 
and the doctrines it held out ac- 
cording with thofe favourite ones 
of univerfal liberty and general 
equality, they became {fo fafhicn- 
able, that fome names of confideras 
ble eminerice were rendered cdious, 
and their pofleflors marked out, not 
only as enemies to humanity, but 
to the new philofophy and the fyf{- 
tem formed on it in all their parts, 
for having ventured, on motives of 
policy, of general fafety, and of 
juftice to the planters, to expofe, — 
what appeared to them, their falla- 
cy, impropriety, and danger. 
The planters had made a com- 
plaint 90 the king, long before the 
5 som: 
: 
i 
