SLAVE-TRADE. 



t?ie cfuehy and wickednefs of it into public notice. He 

 tried, at his own expence, the famous cafe of Somerfet, and 

 feveral others, in our courts of law. He was, in faft, the 

 firft labourer in the caufe. He began to be the public ad- 

 vocate of the opprefTed Africans in 1765, and was waiting 

 for opportunities for farther exertion in 1787, the partieular 

 epoch before-mentioned. 



The fecond clafs coiififts of the Quakers in England. This 

 cilimable fociety palTed a public cenfure upon the traffic at 

 cheir yearly meeting in London, in 1727. This they fol- 

 lowed up, by other refolutions as a body, in 1758, 1761, 

 1763, and 1772, when they had become principalled againil 

 it as againil a crime of the deepelt dye. Tn 1783 they pe- 

 titioned parliament againft its continuance. In this year 

 certain members of the fociety thought it their duty to make 

 their fellow countrymen at large acquainted with the hor- 

 rible nature of it : thefe were, Thomas Knowles, George 

 Harrifon, Samuel Hoare, John Lloyd, Jofeph Woods, and 

 WiUiam Dillwyn. They formed themfelves into a committee 

 in London for this purpofe; they wrote and circulated books ; 

 they conveyed alfo information on the fubjeft through the 

 London and country newfpapers. It was not known, how- 

 ever, from whom the information came, as their names were 

 concealed from the public. In this manner they continued 

 to work their way from 1783 to 1787. 



The third clafs confiils of the Quakers and others in 

 North America. The Quakers there entertained the fame 

 opinion as their brethren in England on this fubjeft. In 

 1696 and in 171 1, they condemned, m a religious body, 

 this cruel traffic; and in 1754, 1755, I774> 1776, and 

 1 778, they not only pafTed refolutions againil it, as far as 

 their own members were concerned, but alfo againil flavery 

 itfelf. In procefs of time, however, individuals rofe up out 

 of this benevolent body, and became public labourers in the 

 caufe of the unhappy Africans. The two principal of 

 thefe were John Woolman and Anthony Benezet. The 

 former travelled many hundred miles on foot, to converfe 

 with planters, and others, on the iniquity of holding their 

 fellow creatures in bondage ; and the latter laboured for 

 years in colleAing information concerning Africa and the 

 llave-trade, and in handing it to the world. At this time 

 other people, of other religious denominations, came for- 

 ward in North America, and contributed to increafe ihe 

 odium which the Quakers had been the firll to excite there 

 againil the traffic ; when, in 1774, James Pemberton, a 

 pious Quaker in Pennfylvania, and Dr. Rufli, an eminent 

 phyfician, and a man of weight among the Prefbyterians in 

 the fame province, formed a committee, in which perfons of 

 diflerent religious fcfts joined for the purpofe of abolilhing 

 both the (lave-trade and flavery on their own continent. 

 This committee was obliged to fufpend its operations during 

 the war with Great Britain, bnt afterwards refumed its func- 

 tions. In 1787 it added confiderably to its numbers, and 

 took in, among others, the celebrated Dr. Franklin, who 

 was its fiill prefidcnt in its renovated Hate. 



It will be proper to Hop here, and to interrupt the thread 

 of the hillory for a moment. It has appeared, from what 

 has been faid above, firll, that Mr. Granville Sharp, the 

 moll confpicuous member of the firll of the clalles now 

 mentioned, was alive in 1787, and then waiting for an op- 

 portunity of exerting himfelf fartlier in behalf of the in- 

 jured Africans ; fecondly, that of the fecond clafs, William 

 Dillwyn was one of a committee for the fame objeft in the 

 fame year ; and, thirdly, thac James Pemberton was alfo 

 alive in the very fame year, and a very conipicuons member 

 of the third. Now it happened that William Dillwyn, who 

 liad been born and long relident in America, had been 111 ha- 



bits of intimate friendlhip with James Pemberton ; and that 

 in confequence of his acquaintance alfo with the venerable 

 Anthony Benezet, he had been introduced, by means of a 

 letter from him, upon coming to England, to Mr. Gran- 

 ville Sharp. Here then we find that a member of the fe- 

 cond clafs was accidentally known to a member of the firll, 

 and alfo to a member of the third : thus we fee how eafily 

 William Dillwyn might be made the medium through whom 

 the members of all the claffes might be eafily united, if a fit 

 occafion Ihould offer. 



To return, we come now to the fourth clafs of forerun- 

 ners. The firll in this clafs was Dr. Peckard, mailer of 

 Magdalen college, in the univerfity of Cambridge. This 

 gentleman had not only cenfured the flave-trade in the fevered 

 manner, in a fermon preached before the univerfity itfelf; 

 but when he became vice-chancellor of it, in 1785, he gave 

 out the following fubjeft for one of the bachelors' prizes, 

 " Anne liceat invitos in fervitutem dare ?" or, " Is it right 

 to make flaves of others againil their will I" At this time 

 Mr. Thomas Clarkfon, before-mentioned, who had obtained 

 the bachelor's prize of the former year, determined to be- 

 come a candidate for that of the prefent. He took prodi- 

 gious pains to make himfelf mailer of the fubjeft, as far as 

 the time would allow, both by procuring proper books, and 

 by feeing as many perfons as he could of thofe who had 

 been in iVWca, and who had become in any degree acquaint- 

 ed with the nature of the flave-trade. Having thus gained 

 a confiderable flock of necelfary information, he wrote his 

 Latin effay, and having fent it in to the vice-chancellor, he 

 foon found himfelf honoured with the firll prize. Af- 

 ter this, being then in London, he went down to Cam- 

 bridge at the time of the commencement, in order to 

 read it publicly, as is ufual, in the fenate-houfe. The 

 next day he returned towards London : he was then on 

 horfeback ; but while upon the road the fubjeft of the 

 effay entirely engrofled his thoughts ; he became at times 

 ferioufly affefted as he travelled on. He once Hopped his 

 horfe, and difmounted and fat down on a bank by the road- 

 fide. Here he tried to perfuade himfelf, that the contents 

 of the effay which he had read in the fenate-houfe the 

 day before, were not true. The more, however, he re- 

 flefted upon the authorities on which he knew them to be 

 founded, the more he gave them credit ; and the more he 

 gave them credit, the more he was convinced that it was an 

 imperious duty in fome one to endeavour to fee the fufferings 

 of the unhappy Africans to an end. Agitated in this 

 manner, he reached London. This was in the fummer of 

 1785. In the autumn of the fame year, he found himfelf 

 often fimilarly exercifed ; till at length he began to have fe- 

 rious thoughts of devoting his life to the caufe of injured 

 Africa. Being then but twenty-four years of age, he con- 

 fidered his youth and his want of knowledge of the world as 

 a great obltacle. Many other circumflances occurred to 

 difcourage him. He thought, however, that there was one 

 way, in which he might begin to be ufcful to the caufe ; 

 namely, by tranflating his Latin effay, and publifliing it in 

 Englifli. Accordingly he began the work, and having 

 finifhed it, he was looking out for a publilher, when he ac- 

 cidentally met an old friend of hii family, who belonged to 

 the relip-ious fociety of the Quakers. This gentleman, of 

 his own .iccord, alked him why he had not publilhcd his 

 prize ellay in Englifh. Many of his brethren (the Quakers), 

 he laid, were anxioufly cxpefting it. Upon tarther con- 

 verfation, this gentleman introduced Mr. Clarklon to Mr. 

 Phillips, a bookfcller in George-yard, Lombard-flreet, and 

 who was alio of the religious fociety before-mentioned ; 

 at which interview it was agreed that the latter fhould im- 

 mediately 



