28 o HISTORY OF THE [book vi. 
to expect from so distant a quarter an adequate 
supply to a vast and various demand, coming sud* 
denly and unexpectedly. Many of the sugar 
islands too had suffered dreadfully under two tre¬ 
mendous hurricanes, irul780 and 1781, in conse¬ 
quence whereof (had it not been for the casual as¬ 
sistance obtained from prize-vessels) one half of 
their negroes must absolutely have perished of hun¬ 
ger. Should similar visitations occur, the most 
dreadful apprehensions would be realized ; and I 
am sorry to add, that realized they were! 
I have now before me a report of a committee 
of the assembly of Jamaica on the subject of the 
slave trade, wherein the loss of negroes in that 
island, in consequence of those awful concussions 
of nature, and the want of supplies from America, 
is incidentally stated. It is a document of the best 
authority; and the following extract from it, while 
it abundantly acquits the West Indian merchants 
and planters from the charge of turbulence and fac¬ 
tion, which on this occasion was illiberally brought 
against them, will, I hope, serve as an awful lesson 
tp future ministers, how they suffer the selfishness 
of party, and the prejudice of personal resentment, 
to have an influence in the national councils. 
“ We shall now (say the committee) point out 
the principal causes to which this mortality of our 
slaves is justly chargeable. It is but too well known 
to the house, that in the several years 1780, 1781, 
1784, 1785, and 1786, it pleased Divine Providence 
