620 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



responded with the grandeur of his 

 exterior. The superiority of his 

 understanding confirmed the im- 

 pression which the dignity of his de- 

 meanor made on all ; and though, 

 by the tenets of his religious faith, 

 he abstained from all the honours 

 of public trust, to which he was fre- 

 quently invited by his fellow citi- 

 zens, yet his influence was justly 

 great on all the public questions of 

 the day: his examination at the bar 

 of the House of Commons, and his 

 advice on the subject of the Ameri- 

 can dispute, were so clear, so intel- 

 ligent, and so wise, that, though not 

 followed, lord North publicly ac- 

 knowledged he had derived more 

 information from him than from all 

 others on the east of Temple-bar. It 

 was the revolution that determined 

 liim to wind up his extensive con- 

 cerns, and to retire; but not as busy 

 men generally retire — to the indul- 

 gence of mere personal luxury. His 

 benevolent heart continued active 

 in his retreat. He distributed his 

 ample fortune in the most sublime 

 ways. Instead of making all those 

 persons whom he loved dependent 

 on his future bounty, as expectants 

 at his death, he became, himself, 

 the executor of his own will, and by 

 the most magnificent aid to all his 

 relatives, he not only laid the foun- 

 dation, but lived to sec the maturi- 

 ty, of all those establishments which 

 now give such importance to his fa- 

 mily. Nor was it merely to his re- 

 lations that this seasonable friend- 

 ship was given, but to the young 

 men, whom he had bred in his mer- 

 cantile house, and of whose virtu- 

 ousdispositionshe approved. Some 

 of the most eminent merchants in 

 the city ofLondon are proud to ac- 

 knowledge thegratitudethe3^oweto 

 David Barclay, for the means of 

 their first introduction into life, and 



for the benefits of his counsel and 

 countenance in their early stages of 

 it. It is a proof of the sagacity of 

 his patronage that he had very few 

 occasions to repent of the protection 

 he had conferred. And the uninter- 

 rupted happiness he enjoyed for 

 many years, in the midst of the nu- 

 merous connections he had reared, 

 held out a lively example, and a 

 lessontoothers, of the value of a just 

 and well directed beneficence. His 

 virtue wasnot limited to hisrelatives, 

 to his friends, to his sect, to his 

 country, or to the colour of his spe- 

 cies — he was a man of the warmest 

 affections, and therefore loved his fa • 

 mily and friends — he was a patriot, 

 and therefore preferred his own 

 country to all others ; but he was a 

 Christian, and felt for the human 

 race. No man, therefore, was ever 

 more active than David Barclay, in 

 promoting whatever might amelio- 

 rate the condition of man — largely 

 endowed by providence with the 

 means, he felt it to be his duty to set 

 great examples; and when an argu- 

 ment was set up against the eman- 

 cipation of the negroes from slavery, 

 " that they were too ignorant and 

 too barbarous for freedom," he re- 

 solved, at his own expense, to de- 

 monstrate the fallacy of the impu- 

 tation. Having had an estate in Ja- 

 maica fall to him, he determined, at 

 the expense of 10,000/. to emanci- 

 pate the whole gang (as they are 

 termed) of slaves. He did this with 

 his usual prudence as well as gene- 

 rosity. He sent out an agent to Ja- 

 maica, and made him hire a vessel, 

 in which they were all transported 

 to America, where the little com- 

 munity was established in various 

 handicraft trades; the members of 

 it prospered under the blessing of 

 his care, and lived to show that the 

 black skin inclosed hearts as full of 



gratitude, 



