354 REMARKS ON 



that has invariably attended them. That such 

 has been the case, is, I believe, admitted and 

 regretted by all ; and Africa still remains unci- 

 vilised and unknown, within six weeks' sail of 

 Great Britain, a disgrace and reproach to the 

 civilised world. 



I consider it therefore my duty to state, as far 

 as my ability enables me, the means by which, 

 under Divine Providence, the civilisation of 

 Africa might, in my opinion, be advanced, the 

 happiness of her people increased, and the dis- 

 grace that attaches to my country diminished ; 

 and if in doing so I attribute more consequence 

 to the extension and security of legitimate com- 

 merce than has generally been allowed by those 

 who have taken an interest in the subject, it is 

 because I believe it to be the great, if not the 

 only means, in our power of civilising the 

 world. 



I propose briefly to show the importance of 

 the present trade with Africa, the injury done 

 to it by the slave-trade, and the increase that 

 might naturally be expected on its extinction ; 

 the insufficiency and cruelty of the means at pre- 

 sent employed in suppressing it ; and to prove 

 that it is the interest as well as the duty of Great 



