1799: | 
the Black Poor in London,”’ in which the 
late excellent Jonas Hanway prefided, the 
firft embarkation took place in December 
1786: before Mr. Wadjlrom fet out from 
Sweden on his African expedition*. Ship- 
ping, provifions, arms, tools, &c. were 
generoufly furnifhed by the Britifh Gevern- 
ment; and Mr. Sharp provided the colo- 
nifts with many additional comforts at his 
own expencef, a {mall part of the merit 
of a man, the labours ot whole life have 
been devoted to the caufe of the oppreffed 
Africans; and through whole inftrumen- 
tality, the Courts of Law, both in England 
and Scotland, many years ago, came to 
folemn decifions, importing, that the in- 
ftant a flave, of whatever colour, and whe- 
ther baptized or not, fets his foot on Bri- 
tifh ground, he-becomes i/o facto freet.— 
Miis Williams would have been correét, if 
fhe had ftated that the Bulama undertaking 
may be faid-to have taken its rife from 
that of Sierra Leone; and that, through 
the exertions and addrefs of Mr. Wad- 
itrom, when he lived in Manchefter, about 
30001. was fubfcribed towards the efta-— 
blifhment of the former§. 
While on this fubject, I cannot but ob- 
ferye, that in fuch noble attempts, the bar- 
barifm of Africa anticipated the boafted 
civility of Europe. For we find that, in 
1726, Trudo Audati, King of Dahomy 
and Whidah, whofe atrocities the Slave- 
mongers have, as ufual, taken care to 
magnify into pretexts for their odious traf- 
fic|], authorifed one Lambe, a Guinea 
trader, to propofe to the Britifh Govern- 
ment the eftablifhment of a colony in his 
country. The propoiition was actually 
made, with diplomatic formality and ad- 
drefs, to George II. and was referred by 
His Majelty to the Lords of Trade. But 
their Lordfhips foon difcovered that the 
fincerity of Trudo was but ill reprefented 
by that of his envoy, who impudently at- 

* Eflay on Colonization, Introduétion, 
p- 1; and Part ii. p. 220. 
+ Id. Part i. p. 220. 
“ft ‘* So repugnant is Slavery to the Britifb 
genius that when, about, 250 years ayo, a law 
was made in England condemning idle vaga- 
bonds to this condition, THE SPIRIT OF 
THE NATION could not bear it; and it was 
foon after repealed’? Elements of Moral 
Science, by the learned and benevolent Dr. 
Beattie, vol. ii. p. 165. He here alludes to 
AG i. Edward VI. c. 3. anno 1547.—See 
Blackftone’s Commentaries. 
§ Effay on Colonization, Part ii. p. §2, 
33. ; 
| See Lord Muncafter’s Sketches of the 
Ki ftory of the Slave-Trade. 
Strigfures on Mis Williams's Memoirs of Wadftrom. 
_ kingdoms. 
863 
tempted to practice on them, tricks fimilar 
to thofe’ which he had found to fucceed 
with the African Chiefs in bartering his 
adulterated brandy and other trafh for 
human flefh and blood. The curious par- 
‘ticulars are related by Smith and Suel- 
grave. But to return, 
2dly, Miis Williams has been mifin- 
formed refpeéting the time when the Eflay 
on Colonization was publificd; this 
is the only performance Mr. Wacitrom 
was concerned in, which eniwers her de- 
fcription.—The dates of iis hiltery are 
thefe. It was begun on Ay 1794- 
Notwithftanding what, 1 find, Mr, Wad- 
_ftrom had intimated*, he had,prepared no 
materials, nov fo much as laid a ;:lan, for 
fuch a work; and he propofed to me no- 
thing more than a few pages of letter- 
prefs notes, to accompany and illuftrate a 
map, which he then called ‘* A Colonial 
Map,” and which is inferted in the work, 
under the lefs abfurd title of «¢ A Nautical 
Map.” On the sth of November follow- 
ing, the 193 and 194 pages of the firft part 
were committed to the prefst. After 

* In ‘¢ Obfervations on the Slave-Trade,”” 
&c. p.54.—A pamphlet which I have en-_ 
deavoured to forget. The reafon will pre- 
fently appear. 
+ The 5th of November is a day much to 
be remembered by all ranks of men in thefe 
It is the anniverfary of two great 
national deliverances—namely, from the 
Gun-- powder Plot, and from the domina- 
tion of the Stuarts. The real compiler, 
therefore, diftinguifhed the word (day, p.194) 
with italicks; and he there contrafted the ab- 
horrence of the Slave-Trade, exprefled by 
Louis XI. of France, and the renowned Eli- 
zabeth of England, with the encouragement 
which that traffic received, and the partici-. 
pation of infamous gains which it promifed, to 
Charles II. and James I. But, in juiice to 
thofe infatuated princes, he would have add- 
ed, had he then known or recolleéted the 
fat, that they fucceffively refufed the royal 
affent to an execrable Jamaica law, which 
impefed only a trifling fine and three months” 
imprifonment, for the wilful, wanten, and 
bloody-minded murder of a Slave!! (N. B. 
A fimilar ftatute difgraces the more humane 
and polifhed Colony of Barbadoes, at this 
hour). Does not this fa& render it probable, 
th.t had the murderous nature of the Slave- 
Trade been as notorioufly known then, 
28 it 
is now, thofe Britifh Princes would net have 
gibbetted their names by publicly patronifing 
Qa 
a traflic fo villainous and bloody in itielf, and 
fo outrageoufly hoftile to Chriftianity and to 
the Britith Constitution? —** a Contiru- 
tion,” fays the great Blackttona, «* which 
abbors and will not endure the exi//cxce of Slavery 
592 Withis 

