HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
against the trade, were of indigent 
persons. But surely truth and po- 
verty were not inconsistencies, Re- 
spectable names had also been ad- 
duced in favour of the slave trade; 
but they could only speak to the 
treatment of the negroes in the 
West Indies, and not of the trade 
carried on in Africa for the pro- 
curing of them; whereas the evi- 
dence of numbers of those who re- 
probated it, was particular and posi- 
tive respecting the facts which they 
stated. The methods used for the 
obtaining of slaves in Africa, had 
ever been represented in such wise, 
as to convince any reasonable man 
of their fairness and equity. Those 
who endeavoured to palliate this 
shameful business, alleged that the 
slaves purchased by our traders,were 
sold for the crimes and misdemean- 
ors they had committed in their own 
country ; but when we adverted, 
said Mr. Fox, to the numbers thus 
sold off the coast, could such an 
allegation deserve the least credit? 
No Jess than 80,000 were annually 
exported from Africa :—could it 
be believed that all these were con- 
victs? In the preceding session, the 
humanity of the British nation was 
flattered with a prospect of some 
mitigation of these enormities: 
but it proved a deception; the 
business remained unaltered, and 
villanies of the blackest die still 
continued to be practised as usual 
in the course of this scandalous 
commerce. 
In corroboration of what he as- 
serted, Mr. Fox produced instances 
to shew, that in the purchase of in- 
dividuals in Africa, the masters of 
ships bought, indiscriminately, all 
that were brought on board for 
sale,—the bringers themselves, in 
their turn, not excepted, when sub- 
[151 
jected by accidents to be sold. It 
was not in the power of our pur= 
chasers to distinguish between the 
guilty andthe innocent. Whatso- 
ever was offered was accepted ; and 
no questions asked, but about the 
price. Thus, humanity and justice 
were entirely discarded from these 
transactions; and no attention was 
paid to any other object than the 
strength, health, and age, of the 
individuals offered for sale. 
Mr. Pitt, on this occasion, de- 
clared himself explicitly for an im- 
mediate stop to the trade, if it were 
at all to be abolished. It had been 
productive of great evils, for which 
we could not atone too speedily. 
Having acted a principal part in 
this shameful commerce, we ought — 
the more readily to give it up; and 
as to the danger of its falling into 
the hands of others, the trials ought 
to be made, whether they would 
venture to attempt what the Bri- 
tish nation thought it the universal 
duty of European nations to aban- 
don. He acknowledged the state 
of barbarism in which the natives 
of Africa were kept, by this cri- 
minal commerce; and reminded 
the House of the calculations that 
had been produced ‘before it, to 
prove the practicability of support- 
ing a due population in the West 
Indies, without further recourse to 
importations from Africa. 
When the House divided on the 
question, it was carried by a ma- 
jority of sixty-eight, that a gradual 
abolition only should take place at 
present. 
The immediate abolition of the 
slave trade being rejected, tiie next 
object of discussion was the period 
at which its total cessation was to 
take place. On the 23d of April, 
the House resolved itself into a 
[ZL] 4: committee, 
