85 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



mass of human calamity, still prac- 

 tised, and even encouraged, by Bri- 

 tons. When these wretched crea- 

 t.ircs arrived at their place of destina- 

 tion, they were not only doomed to 

 slavery for life, but the same fate 

 was entailed upon their po:itcrity for , 

 ever! Nor Mas their treatment, un- 

 der this severe destiny, such as was 

 calculated to soften the cruelty of 

 their fate, or, indeed, worthy the 

 name and condition of man. The 

 principal argument made use of by 

 the parti'/ans of the trade, was, that 

 the negro was no better than a spe- 

 cies. of brute, and all who were wil- 

 ling to consider them as men, were 

 stigmatised as enthusiasts, and their 

 pleadings in favour ^' their fellow 

 creatures set down as mere cant and 

 jargon. Another prominent argu- 

 ment useil to defend this sort of deal- 

 ing in human llesh, was the assertion, 

 thattlie African was, by nature, in- 

 capable of civilization, and merely 

 on a level with the brute. Such is the 

 assertion which i\ir. Long has deli- 

 berately placed in his History of 

 Jamaica. He had said, that the 

 blacks had no moral sentiment, no 

 feelings of thcbeantics ofnature, and 

 that " an Ouran Outang husband 

 1\'0uld not disgrace a negro wo- 

 man!" Such were the assertions in 

 books that were called histories ; 

 but they were assertions most oppo- 

 .site to the fact. When, indeed, 

 they were obliged to shelter them- 

 selves in tho" woods,' and morasses, 

 from our \iolenec and cruel tv, it 

 vas not to be expected, that their 

 Tillages were to be built in the most 

 beautiful sihiations. At the first 

 discovery of America, the Europeans 

 ■were unwilling to acknowledge the 

 Americans to be men ; but the pope, 

 in the year 1 5o7, issued a bull, in 

 ■which he acknowledged the Ameri- 



cans to be real men, and admitted 

 them lo the privileges of such! Our 

 historians appear now to entertain 

 the same doubt about the Africans. 

 In St. Domingo, however, they have 

 lately shewn, that they are not only 

 men, but men who are capable of 

 courage, discipline, and resolution, 

 and not to be conquered in war, 

 even by the most warlike Euro- 

 peans. It has been often known, 

 and is mentioned by the French 

 voyagers, that, when an African 

 prince cannot make a sufficient 

 number of prisoners, from his ene- 

 mies, to satisfy the demands of the 

 European merchants, he will make 

 no scru])!e of selling his own sub- 

 jects. Jn Africa, slavery was quite 

 mild, in comparison of what it was 

 in tlic West-Indies. It was not ea- 

 SV) in Africa, to distinguish the slave 

 from the master, as both enjoyed 

 nearly the same comforts. As to the 

 arguments that were attempted to be 

 draMn from scripture, in support of 

 the slave trade, he considered them 

 as most profane : and that it was 

 abominable to say, tiiat religion 

 countenanced such inhumanities as 

 had been proved to proceed from its 

 practice. The theories in support 

 of these cruelties had been found 

 fallacious ; for, though it had been 

 formerly contended, l)y the body of 

 West-India planters, that regulating 

 the manner of carrying over thu 

 slaves, would transfer the trade to 

 other countries, e.\i)erien re shewed, 

 tliat, after these regulations had been 

 cnacled, the trade, so far from being 

 ruined, or transferred to other 

 countries, was positively increased ; 

 so that those wJio were so com- 

 pletely wrong, in their former cal- 

 culations, might equally be wrong 

 in the clamour, they would probably 

 raise, against the bill he should pro- 

 pose 



