SLAVE-TRADE. 



interelt in concealing the truth. Thefe, though few, were 

 highly refpeftable ; and their evidence, when called before 

 the council, contributed to counteraA that of the Liver- 

 pool delegates, and others, and to turn the tide, which had 

 run fo itrong againft the abolitionifts, in their favour. The 

 inquiry which had been thus fet on foot, continued through 

 February, March, April, and a part of May. During 

 this time the petitions from the people to parliament had in- 

 creafed to one hundred and three. The committee alfo had 

 circulated many new books throughout the kingdom, writ- 

 ten by eye-witneflcs of the feveral fafts they contained, and 

 all contributing to give new information, and to add new 

 horror to the trade. Mr. Wilberforce alfo had been pre- 

 paring to introduce the fubjeA into parliament ; but at 

 the time vifhen his motion was expefted, he was too ill to 

 make it. Indeed|hi3 life was defpaired of. Under thefe cir- 

 cumltances, his friend, Mr. Pitt, then chancellor of the ex- 

 chequer and prime minifter, undertook to fupply his place. 

 On the 9th of May he opened the bufinefs in the houfe of 

 commons, and concluded by a motion, " that this houfe will, 

 early in the next feflion of parliament, proceed to take into 

 confideration the circumftances of the flave-trade complained 

 of in the petitions, and what may be fit to be done there- 

 upon." A difcuffion took place in confequence, during 

 which there waj an apparent enthufiafm in the houfe in be- 

 half of the injured Africans. The members for Liverpool, 

 however, denied the exiltence of any of the cruelties com- 

 plained of ; but they did not oppofe the motion, and there- 

 fore it was unanimoufly agreed to. This pledge having been 

 given by parliament, the public feemed fatisfied with it, and 

 of courfe nothing more was expefted in that feflion ; when, 

 on the 2ift of May, fir William Dolben fuddenly rofe up 

 in the houfe of commons, and moved for leave to bring in a 

 bill on the fubjeft of the flave-trade. As the trade, he faid, 

 was evidently allowed to go on till the next feflion, he 

 thought it was the duty of the houfe to take care that it 

 fhould be carried on with as much humanity as poflible in the 

 interim. His great objeft, therefore, was to alleviate the 

 fufferings of the poor Africans in their tranfportation, by 

 allowing them more room, which might be done by regu- 

 lating the number to be carried by the tonnage of the vefl'el. 

 Leave was accordingly given ; but the merchants of Liver- 

 pool determined to oppofe the bill in every ftage. They 

 difpatched immediately to London thofe very perfons to be 

 examined before the houfe, whom they had before fent for 

 examination to the privy-council. When counfel had clofed 

 their cafe, a debate enfued, in which the ftatements of thefe 

 witnefles were expofed, greatly to their mortification, and 

 the bill paffed by a majority of fifty-five to five. It was 

 then carried to the lords. Here a ftill more determined op- 

 pofition was begun, and carried on in fuch a manner, and 

 with fo much apparent fuccefs (the houfe being very thin at 

 that feafon), as to alarm the abolitionifts, not only for the 

 fate of the bill itfelf, but for that of their great queftion 

 the enfuing year. At length it paffed the upper houfe, as 

 through an ordeal of fire, and received the king's afTent, 

 on July II. During all this time, the privy-council conti- 

 nued their examinations. Mr. Clarkfon underwent an ex- 

 amination among others. It was at this time that he brought 

 out his powerful ellay on the impolicy of the flave-trade. 

 This was circulated in great numbers by the committee, 

 upon whom too much praife cannot be bellowed for their 

 labours. From July 1787 to July 1788, the time we are 

 now come to, they had held fifty-one long committees : they 

 had held as many more fub-committees : they had diftributed 

 \S»efide8 16,526 reports, debates in parliament, and other 



matters) 51,432 pamphlets or books. They had roufed 

 the feelings of the whole Englifh nation, and had attrafted 

 the notice of fome of the moft diftinguiftied perfons in 

 France and Germany. 



The feflion of 1788 was no fooner over, than Mr. Clark- 

 fon undertook a journey to all the fea-ports of the kingdom 

 lying between Kent and Cornwall. His objeft'was to find 

 out, if poflible, new witnefles to ftrengtlien the good caufe. 

 He met with confidcrable fuccefs in his journey, and he 

 formed committees, auxiliary to that of London, as he 

 went along. On his return to London he was again exa- 

 mined by the privy-council, to whom he fliewed, by way 

 of evidence, his coUeftion of African curiofities, confiiling 

 of produce and manufaftures, which he had now completed. 

 He introduced alfo to their lordfliips, for examination, all 

 the new witnefles he had difcovercd, and whofe teftimony 

 was of the highell value. The committee, in the mean time, 

 had been indefatigable. They had direfted their corre- 

 fpondence to new parts of the kingdom, as well as of 

 North America. They had addrefied the rulers of Spain, 

 Portugal, and Sweden, in behalf of their inftitution, and 

 had opened a communication with Germany on the fame 

 fubjeci. They had printed and circulated no k-fs than five 

 new works to promote their caufe, and, befides, that famous 

 engraving of the feftion of the flave-fhip (where the bodies of 

 the negroes were feen packed in the different parts of it), 

 which afterwards excited fuch univerfal fympathy in the 

 country, and which caufed fuch an univerfal abhorrence of 

 the trade. About this time, that is, on the 19th of March, 

 1789, Mr. Wilberforce, who was then but jufl: recovered 

 from his long and fevere illnefs, moved in the commons, 

 that the houfe (hould on Thurfday, the 29th of April, take 

 into confideration its own refolution of the lalt feflion. 

 This motion was agreed to, but it became immediately the 

 fignal to all thofe who fuppofed themfelves interefted in the 

 continuance of the trade, fuch as planters, mortgagees, 

 merchants, manufafturers, and others, to begin a tremen- 

 dous oppofition. Meetings were called, and frightful re- 

 folutions entered into. The public papers were filled with 

 them. Here, as well as in pamphlets, the moft bitter in- 

 veftives were poured forth againft the abolitionifts. Eman- 

 cipation was induftrioufly confounded with abohtion. Com- 

 penfation was demanded to a moft monftrous degree. The cry, 

 indeed, was fuch, that many began to be ftaggered about 

 the propriety of the total abolition of the trade. At this 

 time Mr. Pitt, his majefty's chancellor of the exchequer, 

 laid the privy-council report, confifting of the examinations 

 before-mentioned, which came out in the fliape of a large 

 folio volume in print, upon the table of the houfe of 

 commons, and mcved, in order that members might have 

 time to become acquainted with the evidence it contained, 

 that the confideration of the flave-trade, which ftood, by 

 Mr. Wilberforce's motion, for the 29th of April, (hould 

 be poftponed to the 1 2th of May. This was agreed to. 

 On the day appointed, Mr. Wilberforce rofe, and in a 

 fpeech of three hours and a half, introduced the great 

 queftion into parhament. He reafoned entirely from the 

 evidence contained in the report juil mentioned, and deduced 

 from it twelve grand propofitions, which he read, and then 

 laid them upon the table. Thefe propofitions contained 

 the whole queftion. He wifhed them to be argued at a 

 future day. Upon th's, great oppofition was manifeiled 

 by the members for Liverpool and others, and a warm 

 debate took place, when it was agreed that they fliould be 

 taken into confideration on the 21ft of May. When the 

 day arrived, feveral petitions were prefented to the hoi.fe, 



4 by 



