A. 1791. of which they could know as little, as a king, who lived in his capital, could anfwer for what was carrying on in the moft difant part of his dominions. An honourable baronet, Sir George Young, and many others, had faid, they faw the flaves treated in a manner they were fure their owners would have refented if it had been known to them: another honourable gentleman, Mr. Orde, had animadverted, in the strongeft terms, on the mifconduct of managers; the very changes of them, which were confeffed by almost all planters, were an irrefragable proof of this mifconduct. The fact was, that in general they fought to eablifh their characters, which, as Mr. Ottley fuggefts, is generally determined by this confideration, the producing large crops at a fmall immediate expence, too little confidering how far the flaves might fnffer from ill-treatment and exceffive labour. Mr. Long had noticed, and feverely condemned this practice; and even the managers themselves had acknowledged it to be their leading principle. But, if from these caufes, the flaves were fuch grievous fufferers, even when they belonged to opulent and worthy men, what muft their ftate be, fubject to the fevere exactions of want or avarice, and to the capricious cruelty of vulgar and unfeeling tyrants? the fad and humiliating effects were but too abundant in the pages of the evidence, and he had rather refer to them there, than undergo the painful task of reciting them.

But, in addition to all he had already faid, concerning the caufes which had prevented the keeping up the flock of flaves by breeding, he must maintain, that it was incontestably proved that the object had never been feriously attended to. Here alfo, he need only appeal to the teftimony of the most refpectable witneffes, who not only formed the opinion as an infallible conclufion from what they faw with their own eyes, but who learnt it from the exprefs declaration of the managers and overfeers themfelves. But this was confirmed by the teftimony of their opponents, alfo. Mark the ftate of this controverfy! the advocates for the abolition alledged, that the increafe of the produce was more attended to than the keeping up the ftock: the reverse of the propofition was' maintained by the planters. Now, it was natural to imagine that inen would be always beft informed on thofe fubjects with which their minds had been moft converfant. Yet it was likewife evident, most univerfally, that the owners and managers, when afked concerning planting and the produce of their eflates, are perfectly at home: when afked concerning their proportion of males and females, the number of infants, and other fuch particulars, they know little or nothing about the matter. Even medical men were perfect adepts in the art of planting; but when asked the latter queftions, con

nected

nected with breeding and rearing, they seemed quite amazed, and could give no information.

Here it became neceffary to remind the Committee, that in oppofition to his statement of the condition and treatment of the negroes, many very refpectable witneffes had been called, and, in particular, feveral perfons who had ferved in the islands in high profeffional fituations. He knew what was due to their worth and characters; and he trufted that they would do him the juftice not to think him guilty of the fmallest degree of perfonal difrefpect, whilft in the difcharge. of a duty which was indifpenfable to the talk he had undertaken, he fhould freely canvas their declarations. In the first place, he must enter a general protest against their teftimony. He had formerly itated, that an Admiral's vifit to a plantation must make a holiday, and cold afford no adequate idea of the general fituation of the flaves. This, indeed, might reafonably be imagined; but the Committee was now told as much by one of the party. "I have often," fays Mr. Rofs, "had the honour of attending both Gover"nors and Admirals upon tours in the island of Jamaica; in "the course of which, the eftates generally vifited belonged "to gentlemen of diftinction, where we were entertained "with every mark of refpect, and whofe eftates in general "might be confidered in high order and good management; "and it is not likely, even upon gcing into the fields 66 or works where the negroes were employed, but that at"tention would be paid by the white people and drivers, not "to harrow up the feelings of strangers of diftinction, by "the exercife of the whip, or the inflicting of punishments "at that particular time; and even if there were any difguft"ing objects, it is natural to fuppofe that they would be ❝removed upon fuch occafions." In fact, thefe gentlemen afforded many proofs of their being under the influence of prejudice. Two or three he would mention: they, many of them, declared that the abolition would be ruinous to the Weft Indies. Now, every perfon will acknowledge, that this must depend upon the practicability of keeping up the ftock, without African fupplies: yet, when asked as to this circumstance, their answer is, They know nothing about it! Hence it appeared, they had formed a conclufion without premises, a fuperftructure without a foundation, which, of courfe, muft fall to the ground. Another point worthy of obfervation was, that their evidence often extended through a long feries of years. No defect, no ill treatment, is remarked, in any portion of the time, nor is there any distinction of periods. The flaves are uniformly well cloathed, fo well fed, fo well treated, that nothing can exceed it: yet, almost in the fame breath, you are told of their amended fituation, Dd 2 and

and that they are now far better off than they were formerly. One of them, to whom his country is under high obligations, in proof that the negroes enjoy the protection of laws, mentions a master's having been fentenced to death for the murder of his own flave; but the recollection of the refpectable perfonage muft furely have failed him here; for the fact is, that the murder of a flave was not then a capital crime. But it was lefs extraordinary, that the noble perfon alluded to, fhould be mistaken on a fubject not within his own province, when others were misinformed on it, to whom it more immediately belon: ed. Of this there were repeated inftances. A very refpectable governor being afked, whether a matter was liable to be punished capitally for the murder of his own flave, replied, "he never entertained a doubt of it himself, nor ever heard a doubt of it expreffed by any fenfible or "reasonable man;" yet, had he looked into the ftatute-book of his own Ifland, he would have found, that the wilful murder of a flave was punithable only by a fine of about 801. fteling. This however was a heavier penalty than that inflicted by the Barbadoes law; for 1, 1. fterling was there the amount of it. In fact, their opponents' witneffes, by attempting to prove too much, had proved nothing. The flaves were faid to be in a better ftate than the peasantry of this country, whom, to ufe the emphatic language of Mr. Rofs, he would not "infult with a comparison;" and thofe very circumftances had been infifted on as proofs of the affertion, by which it was moft palpably refuted.

It had been declared, alfo, that the negroes were happier as flaves, than if they were made free; and that, when made free, they never returned to Africa. There was fcarce, perhaps, in the whole courfe of the bufinefs, a more striking proof of prejudice, than was afforded by the firft of these af fertions. He allowed that a flave, who was induftrious, and in a fituation wherein he might, to advantage, difpofe of any commodities he had been able to raife for fale, could annually lay by a little money, which Mr. Wilberforce was glad to have it to fay, he believed, was never taken from him.— When the favings of many years at length had accumulated to a confiderable amount, how did they then difpofe of it? With this fum, for which they had been ftruggling during the whole courfe of their lives, they went to their masters and bought their freedom; they purchafed their release from their fituation of fuperior happin fs, by the facrifice of their Jaft fhilling and there was fcarcely any inftance mentioned of a flave's poffeffing property, which was not accompanied by that of his having thus employed it: or, when they thought the little which was left of their own lives not worth redeeming, they would purchafe the freedom of a fon, a brother,

brother, or a fifter; thus affording at once, a proof of the yalue they fet on freedom, and of difintereftedness and focial affection, which did honour to the human character. But the argument might be pushed ftill farther. It was not merely that the flaves themselves defired their freedom, ignorant perhaps of what might really contribute to their happiness, but it was by the gift of it that their mafters remunerated their long and faithful fervices, as the beft reward with which they could be recompenfed. Mr. Wilberforce would not fo calumniate the Weft Indians, as to fuppofe they meant only to mock these poor people with a real evil, for an imaginary good; nor yet that they were mocked by the laws which held forth to them this boon of freedom, as the most valuable recompence they could receive. The diffatisfaction of the flaves with their ftate of bondage would appear ftill more ftriking, when it fhould be confidered, that they who bought their own freedom, in the manner he had above defcribed, from the habits of induftry, which were included in the very idea of acquiring so much property, were likely to have smarted less than ordinary under the whip of the driver; and that they must rather be fuppofed to be influenced by the evils of their prefent ftate, than by the fweets of that to which they afpire; for their freedom, when obtained, was ftill a ftate of unprotected degradation, liable, as fufficiently appeared by the evidence, to perpetual injury and infult.

With regard alfo to their not returning to Africa, this was an argument which could hardly be urged with seriousnefs. Sinking into years, perhaps, before they had faved enough to purchafe freedom, and thus procure to themselves the opportunity, was it to be expected they fhould venture across the Atlantic? if they could even reach their homes in fafety, all their kindred and connections would be now, perhaps, no more; and when, above all, they would reasonably apprehend they might once more be kidnapped, once more hurried on board a fhip, and again forced to endure, and again furvive the horrors of the middle paffage! but this love of their native country, and their defire to return to it, was proved beyond a doubt: many of the witneffes had heard them talk of it in terms of the strongest affection. The acts of fuicide were frequent, which, under their mistaken notions, they committed as the readieft means of getting home, and under the fame notion that, by death, they were restored to their native land. Captain Wilfon affures us, that the funerals, which, in Africa, were accompanied with lamentations and cries of forrow, were attended, in the West Indies, with every mark of exultation and joy.

Mr. Wilberforce trufted that, on the whole, he had made good his firft propofition, that the caufes of decrease were fo

many

many and fo great, that this decrease might reasonably have been expected to be very confiderable. In fact, however, in the ifland of Jamaica, which, he conceived, he might take as a fair fpecimen of the whole, it was very trifling; or rather, he believed, he might affert, it had entirely ceafed fome years ago, and that the decreafe was only on the imported flaves. He would not trouble the House at prefent with any thing more than the refult of the calculations; but he was ready to enter into the detail of them whenever he fhould be defired. In the report of the Privy Council, they had the numbers imported, and the actually existing numbers during the last 90 years. From 1698 to 1730, a period of 32 years, the decrease appeared to be three and a half per cent; in the fecond period, from 1730 to 1755, the decrease was two and a half per cent; in the third period, from 1755 to 1768, it was leffened to one and three quarters; and from 1768, to 1788, at the utmost, it was not more than one per cent, which alfo must be afcribed in a great degree to an extraordinary series of hurricanes, and confequent famines, leaving a lofs that would be fully accounted for by the numbers of imported Africans who perifhed in the feafoning, a caufe of mortality which, it was evident, would ceafe with the importation. From this, and other confiderations, he felt himfelf warranted to affert, that the flaves in Jamaica were now adually increafing: nor need this furprife the Committee; for it was borne out by the pofitive teftimony of Dr. Anderfon, a phyfician of confiderable eminence, who folemnly gave in evidence, two years ago, to the Affembly of Jamaica, after enumerating the caufes of the mortality of flaves, that, notwithstanding all thefe, he believed that there was a confiderable increafe on the properties of the island, and particularly in the parish in which he refided.

Mr. Wilberforce faid, he would now proceed to fulfil his engagement, and bring forward fuch facts and reafonings as juftified his perfuafion, that the flaves must henceforth be expected to increafe, and that even rapidly. And, in the firft place, he muft draw a most important inference from the gradual leffening of the decreafe which he had already stated; for as this had uniformly kept pace with the melioration of the flaves' treatment, fo there was every reafon to hope, that as this fhould be ftill mended, the decrease would continue to leffen in proportion. This expectation was put almost beyond a doubt by the following circumftance, that wherever any one of thofe caufes, to which he had afcribed the decreate of flaves, had been either wholly, or in a great degree, removed, the decrease appeared to have been topped, though all the other caufes continued in full operation. Thus, in the cafe of feveral of their opponents' witneffes, whenever

the