88 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



several gross absurdities in tlio ctI- 

 dence, which was laid before the 

 privy council, in its support. 



General Tarletoit vehemently op- 

 posed the motion, as one that would 

 go to deprive the country of a valu- 

 able part of its commerce aud re- 

 sources. 



]\Ir Manning moved, that the 

 other orders of tlie day be read, as 

 he conceived it contrary to justice, 

 to admit a motion which attacked 

 private property, without declaring, 

 at the same time, that a full indem- 

 nity should be given for every pe- 

 cuniary loss that might be sustained 

 by its adoption. 



Mr. Addington considered tlie 

 question of abolition to be rather 

 a question of practicability, than a 

 question of expedieticy. lie consi- 

 dered, that it would be, at present, 

 entirely irapractlcaiilc to carry into 

 execution a bill founded on such re- 

 solutions as Mr. Wilberforce had 

 described. He should, therefore, 

 oppose the motion. 



The chancellor of the Exchequer 

 (Mr. Pitt) declared, that, if the 

 question was for the immedi«ite abo- 

 lition, it should have liis siipport, as 

 he thought, the tirst moment for 

 suppressing that inhuman, trafllc 

 was the best. Jleshould, however, 

 give his support ♦;> any measure that 

 went even to a gradual abolition. As 

 to what was said by the last speaker, 

 aboutthepracticab^ity ofeve 1 a grn. 

 dual abolition, as tliat honourable 

 gentlemen (Mr. Addington) had as- 

 signed, no reason for iiis opinion, if 

 was not necessary for him to repeat 

 the reasons that had been adduced, 

 to shew that it was practicable. 



Mr. Fox was surj rised, that, so 

 many years after it hud been re- 

 solved, that it bhould be abolished, 

 we were now arguing, whether it 



were practicable to abolish it or 

 not ! lie considered, that the ho- 

 nour and character of the nation, a3 

 well as the consistency of parlia- 

 ment, were pledged on the carrying 

 into elfect the resolution of 1792. 

 The acquisition of Trinidad, made 

 the present time the most proper for 

 the abolition; as, if it were allow- 

 ed, that the trade was in itself an 

 evil, which ought not to be permit- 

 ted to exist, it was more peculiarly 

 necessary to interfere, when that 

 evil was likely to be extended. Af. 

 ter the solemn resolution, for the 

 abolition of the slave trade, it would 

 appear, to all Europe, that we only 

 loved talking about morality, hu- 

 manity, and justice, if we hesitated 

 to carry it into effect. 



After some farther conversation, 

 the house divided, when Mr. VViU 

 berforce's motion, for a committee, 

 was carried by a majority of 75, 

 tiie noes being 49. 



On the .5th of June, the chancel- 

 lor of the exchequer (Mr. I'ift.) 

 brou-iht forward his plan for the 

 military defence of the country. — 

 lie began, by stating, that he felt 

 considerable pleasure, in (inding 

 that the house was almost unuii- 

 mously agreed, that it was, at pre- 

 sent, a matter of the first necessity, 

 to consider the means of providing 

 not only for our internal security, 

 bnt for the increasing our regular 

 army, and gaining such a disposable 

 force as \\ ould enable us to interfere 

 with effect, in ca.se any favourable 

 op])ortMnitics should occur on the 

 continent of Europe. The first ob- 

 ject of his plan was, to remove the 

 dilliculties which now stand in tha 

 way of recruiting for the regular 

 army, by destroying the competi- 

 tion which exists between those who 

 recruit for limited serve, aud those 



who 



