GENERAL HISTORY. 



[87 



abuse, was not such as might 

 have been expected, it cannot be 

 doubted, tliat sahitary effects will 

 result from the manner in which 

 it has been brought into public 

 notice. 



In the historical matter of the 

 last year, notice was taken of the 

 alarm excited in Jamaica, by a 

 bill relative to tiie registiy and 

 regulation of slaves, introduced 

 to parliament at the close of the 

 last session by Mi'. Wilberforce. 

 The subjectoccasioned some warm 

 and copious debate in the present 

 parliament, the acrimony of which 

 was aggravated by the calami- 

 tous insurrection w'nich took 

 place in Barbadoes. 



The topic first engaged the atten- 

 tion of parliament by a petition 

 presented to the House of Com- 

 mons, May 2'2d, by Mr. Hnrf 

 Davis, from the West India plan- 

 ters, and mercliants residing at 

 Bristol. The petitioners set forth, 

 that they had htawd with great 

 alarm of the notice given of a bill 

 about to be introduced to that 

 House, for enforcing throughout 

 the British colonies in the West 

 Indies, a general registry of slaves, 

 disclosing in its details a spirit 

 of interference with the local le- 

 gislation of the colonies, which, 

 from considerations of justice and 

 policy, could not be too anxiously 

 deprecated — that eiuleavours have 

 long been made to inculcate the 

 belief, that t\\s statutes for the 

 abolition of the Slave Trade had 

 been rcnderetl non-etfective, by the 

 bad faith and illicit condu.'t of the 

 colonist^, but that their legisla- 

 tures expre^slydenied the imputa- 

 tion, and ciiallenged the assertors 

 to the i)roof. The petition con- 

 cluded with praying, that the bill 



in question might not pass into a 

 law, and that the petitionei"s 

 might be heard against it by 

 their counsel or agent. 



It was affirmed by Mr, Prothe- 

 roe, that several of the petition- 

 ers were, to his knowledge, de- 

 cided advocates for the abolition 

 of the Slave Trade ; and that the 

 merchants of Bristol were well 

 known to have voluntarily aban- 

 doned that trade before it was 

 abolished by the legislature. 



Lord Castlcreagh rose, to ask 

 Mr. ^Mlberforce, whetheihe pro- 

 posed to bring forward any mea- 

 sure with respect to the registry 

 of Slaves during the present ses- 

 sion ; because, if such w as his 

 intention, he would urge certain 

 considerations, which, he hoped, 

 would induce him to waive his 

 purpose. He then alluded to the 

 negociations pending with cer- 

 tain foreign powers relative to 

 the Slave Trade; and he also 

 suggested to his lion, friend, 

 whether his system was not much 

 more likely to be effective, if 

 aided by the co-operation of the 

 lodal legislatures. Touching on 

 the right of parliament to legis- 

 late for the colonies, he said, that 

 nothing short of absolute neces- 

 sity should urge the assertion of 

 that right, especially on a mea- 

 sure proposing to subject them 

 to taxation without their will. 



Mr. Wilberforce, though he en- 

 tertained no sanguine hopes from 

 the assistance of the colonial au- 

 thorities, would, however, make 

 one concession to the advice of 

 his noble friend. But he still 

 felt the propriety of some dis- 

 cu'i.^ion on the merits of the mea- 

 sure he had in contemplation, 

 and for that purpose should 



shortly 



