COMMERCE. 
511 
West India colonies has, since that era, been 
greatly ameliorated. It is true that a very great 
increase has taken place in the Spanish and Portu- 
guese slave-trade, so that the whole annual amount 
is said not to be very materially diminished. This 
increase, however, would probably have taken 
place in any event. Some consolation may even 
be found in considering, that the Spanish slave- 
code is conceived in a spirit of humanity not 
observable in that of any other European nation. 
We may instance the enactment, by which two 
persons of different plantations marrying, are di- 
rected, by exchange, to be placed under the same 
master. The introduction even, by whatever 
means, of a new race to people the vast solitudes 
of Maranan and the La Plata, may be viewed as 
in some respects not altogether adverse to the 
interests of society. 
The number of slaves conveyed across the Afri- 
can desert have, on a rude calculation, been sup- 
posed to amount to 20,000 ; but I suspect this 
estimate to be much exaggerated. Of the Euro- 
pean slave-trade, the following estimate was given 
in 1788 by Mr Norris :— 
Gambia, 700 
Isles de Los, - - . - 1500 
Carried forward, 2200 
9S 
