THE SLAVE QUESTION. 
411 
•which cannot be exported ; humanity shudders at it, 
but such account will be exacted by an all-seeing God. 
The excess must he charged to our attempt to sup- 
press the trade by the strong hand, and proves it to be 
an enormous fallacy and an aggravation of the evil. 
The advocates for the continuance of the present 
system of marine police, persuade themselves that it is 
effectual; but it is to be feared that they are dazzled 
by partial successes, which, as compared with the 
result of a number of years, will be found to be only 
fluctuations. — The increased efforts are defeated by 
increased artifices. — Like an attempt to stop the 
torrent from a mountain, we go on, hoping that the 
barrier may be raised sufficiently high, but it is over- 
leaped by every accession of flood. We are blinded 
to the truth by a conviction of the purity of our in- 
tentions, and the hopes of ultimate success. Our un- 
compromising philanthropy will not let us see that we 
are doing “ evil, that good may result.” But how 
great the evil ! and how problematical the result ! Let 
us imagine an allegorical picture of the subject. Two 
of the actors are demons ; a third would be thought to 
counteract their diabolical machinations, but he con- 
spires unwittingly to the same end. They are the 
Purveyor, the Dealer, and the Suppressor. The two 
last preside each over a gulph of torture, — they rival 
one another in stimulating the first to provide ■victims ; 
— their only contention, which shall obtain out of 
the increasing supply the greatest number for his par- 
