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the manner in which it had been opposed; no one argument, of folid weight, having, in his opinion, been adduced aga`nft it. He spoke of the inadequacy of the colonial laws for the protection of the flaves, and the feverity of their punishment. They were ordered to receive thirty nine lafhes, from a cart whip, for the ordinary offences: but how dreadfully fevere and difproportionate was this punishment? They were deprived of the right of felf-defence against any white man; and the fyftem, in the Weft Indies, was totally repugnant to the principles of our conftitution.

The measure had policy on its fide; for the true interest of every nation confifted in adhering to justice: and, though other countries fhould retain the trade, yet, founded, as it was, in falfe policy and complete injustice, there could be no cause to regret our relinquishing it to other hands.

Colonel Phipps rofe, and obferved, that it had been afferted Colonel that this was a queftion in which the rights of humanity, and Phipps. the laws of nature were concerned. He could not agree to confider it in that light; nor did he think that those perfons who had formed their opinions on the fame ground with. himself, were at all deferving of the harsh expreffions used the preceding evening. Sure he was, that he was not lefs fenfible to feelings for the rest of mankind, than any other honourable gentleman.

Colonel Phipps then described the nature of the Governments of Africa, from whence the negroes, who were the ohjects of the flave trade, were originally procured. The African Governments, he faid, were not like thofe of Europe: they were neither limited monarchies, aristocracies, nor democracies. They were founded, in abfolute defpotifm, and every subject was an actual flave. The great men of the country were flaves to the Governor, their dependants were flaves to thofe great men, and so on, downwards. All their cuftoms, in like manner, were different from thofe of other countries. The prifoners of war too were fubject to flavery, and fuch being the cafe, he faw no more cruelty in difpoting of them to our merchants, than to thofe of any other nation. The life of any fubject of another Prince was forfeitable, if he were taken captive in war. Criminals alfo, in cales of adultery and witchcraft, were fubject to flavery in Africa.

He obferved, that it had been faid, in debate, that there were no laws in the West Indies for the protection of the flaves. He begged leave to deny the fact. There were feveral laws in being in the Colonies, though he was ready to admit that farther regulations were neceffary, and he was ready to go, in this refpect, as far as ever humanity might require. He had paffed ten months in Jamaica, where, he

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declared,

Mr. Pitt.

declared, he never had feen any fuch acts of cruelty as were now talked of. Such feverities as he had feen, had not been exer ifed by planters, or mafters, or overfeers, or any other whites; but all the cruelties which he had obferved, were committed by the blacks. The dreadful ftories, read and recited to the Committee, no more ought to fix a general ftigma on the planters, than the ftory of Mrs. Brownrigg, which had been mentioned in the courfe of the debate, ought to ftamp this polifhed metropolis with the general brand of murder. There was once a haberdasher's wife (Mrs. Nairne) who locked up her apprentice girl, and ftarved her to death; but did ever any body think of abolishing haberdashery on this account? and he really thought this a parallel cafe. He was perfuaded that the negroes in the Weft Indies were, in general, chearful and happy. They were fond of ornaments; and he appealed to the obfervation of every gentleman, whether it was the characteristic of miferable perfons to fhew a fondness for finery? On the contrary, he asked, if it did not imply a chearful, contented mind, when people were defirous of decorating the body.

If, as he trufted would be the cafe, the honourable gentleman fhould lofe his motion, he was fure his humanity need not be at an end; for it would induce him to employ himfelf in devifing the means of providing, as comfortably as poffible, for the accommodation of the negroes, by fome provident regulations.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt declared, that from the first hour of his having had the honour to fit in Parliament, down to the prefent, among all the queftions, whether political or perfonal, in which it had been his fortune to take a fhare, there never had been one in which his heart was fo deeply interested as the prefent; both on account of the serious principles which it involved, and the important confequences connected with it. He obfe: ved, that however forcibly he might appeal to the natural and unerring feelings of every man u on this fubject, and however ftrong an argument he might, therefore, draw, even from this confideration, yet this was not the ground on which he was about to reft the determination of the prefent question.

The prefent was not a mere queftion of eling; it was not for the fake of exercifing humanity, as had been often falfely imagined, that the abolition of the trade in flaves was preffed upon the Committee; but it was quite another principle, which ought, in his own opinion, to dete mire their minds. The main argument infifted on was, that the flare trade was founded in injustice; "and it is therefore," faid Mr. Fitt, fuch a trade, as it is impoffible for me to fapport, unless gentlemen will, in the first place, prove to

"me,

"me, that there are no laws of morality binding upon na❝tions, and that it is no duty of a Legislature to restrain its "fubjects from invading the happiness of other countries, "and from violating the fundamental principles of juftice."

He obferved, that many gentlemen, however, who oppofed the motion, had brought forward, on the prefent occafion, a plea of impracticability. Several of them had even expreffed a defire to fee the flave trade abolished, if it were not for fome neceffity for continuing it, which they conceived. to exist; nay, almoft every one, he believed, and in particular an honourable Baronet (Sir William Young) and another honourable gentleman (Mr. Stanley, agent for the islands) appeared to wish, that the farther importation of flaves might cease, provided it could be made out that the population of the Weft Indies could be, by any means, maintained without it.

Mr. Pitt propofed, therefore, with the permiffion of the House, to apply himself particularly to this fubject; for as this appeared to operate, in the minds of fo many gentlemen, as the chief objection, he trufted, that, by fhowing this argument to be groundlefs, and the whole idea of impracticability, as it was now urged, to be entirely a misconception, he fhould be able thus to clear away every obftacle whatever; fo that, having no ground, either of juftice or neceffity, to ftand upon, there could be no excufe or pretence left to the Committee, for refifting the present motion.

He might reasonably hope, however, that gentlemen, even upon their own grounds, would not reckon any difadvantage to the plantations, which was merely fmall and temporary, to be a fufficient reason to warrant the continuance of the flave trade. It was furely not any flight degree of expediency, any small balance of profit, nor any light fhades of probability, on the one fide, rather than the other, which would determine any gentleman in the prefent queftion. He afked pardon even for the fuppofition. The House, he was fure, would not decide the question, on fuch grounds. The flave trade was an evil of fuch a magnitude, that there must be a common with in the Committee at once to put an end to it, if there were no very great and ferious obftacle. Nothing fhort of the utmoft danger, nay of ruin, to the Weft L.dian iflands, ought we to hear urged as a plea for continuing fuch a trade as this! It was a trade by which multitudes of unoffending nations were deprived of the bleffings of civilization, and had their peace and happiness invaded. It ought, therefore, to be no common expediency; it ought either to be fome pofitive neceffity, or, at leaft, fomething very like neceffity, which it became thofe gentlemen to VOL. XXIX.

PP

plead,

plead, who took upon them to defend the continuance of this trade.

He knew that the Weft Indian gentleman had used very ftrong language, on this part of the fubject, and had expreffed an alarm for the iflands that was very ferious indeed. It would be proper, however, for the Committee to confider this for themselves; for he could not help thinking, there was an over great degree of fenfibility, among thofe gentlemen, on this particular point, and that their alarm, as he hoped to prove, was excited in a way which the occafion by no means juftified. He had endeavoured carefully and impartially to examine into this himself, and he would now proceed to lay thofe reafons before the Houfe, which induced him firmly to believe, not only that no permanent mischief would follow from the abolition, but not even any fuch temporary hurt or inconvenience as could be stated to be a reafon for preventing the Houfe from agreeing to the question before them but, on the contrary, that the abolition itself would lay the foundation for the more folid improvement of all the various interefts of thofe Colonies.

In proceeding upon this fubject, he fhould apply his obfervations chiefly to Jamaica, which contained more than half the flaves in the whole Weft Indies, and, if he fhould fucceed in proving that no material detriment could arife to the population of that ifland, this would be so confiderable a part of the question, and would afford fo ftrong a prefumption with respect to the other island, it being a tolerably fair fample of the whole, that the Houfe could not any longer hesitate whether they should or should not put a stop to this most horrid trade.

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In the twenty years, ending in 1788, the annual lofs of flaves in Jamaica (that is the excess of deaths above the births) appeared to be one in one hundred; in a preceding period the lofs was greater, and in a period before that greater ftill, there having been a continual gradation in the decrease through the whole time, as appeared from an accurate examination of the particular years in each period. It might fairly be concluded, therefore, that (the average lofs of the laft period being one per cent.) the lofs in the former part it would be somewhat more, and in the latter part fomewhat Jefs than one per cent.; infomuch that it might be fairly queftioned whether, by this time, the births and deaths in Jamaica might not be stated as very nearly equal. It was to be added, that a peculiar calamity, which fwept away 15,000 perfons, had occafioned a part of the mortality in the lastinentioned period; the check to the provifion trade, occafioned by the independence of America, had also been urged, by the Weft-India gentlemen, as a cause of more than com

mon

mon depopulation in the fame time: whether this had really operated to fo great an extent as had been stated he could not exactly fay, but he was clear that this alfo was an evil which might not be expected to return, as a very confiderable culture of provifions in the iflands had now happily taken place. It was plain, then, even on thefe grounds only, nay, even if the apparent lofs had been, as fome ftatements made it, more than one per cent, the probable lofs now to be expeted must be very inconfiderable indeed.

There was, however, one circumstance to be added, which the Weft India gentlemen, in ftating this matter, had entirely overlooked, and which was fo material as clearly to reduce the probable diminution in the population of Jamaica down to nothing, fuppofing even that all the obfervations he had just been making were entirely to fail him. The circumftance he meant was this: in all the calculations he had referred to of the comparative number of births and deaths, all the negroes in the ifland were included; thofe newly-imported negroes, who died in confequence of the seasoning, imade a part, and fwelled, therefore, very materially the numher of the deaths; but as thefe extraordinary deaths would ceafe as foon as the importation ceafed, there ought to be a deduction of them made from his prefent calculation,

Now this number would make up of itfelf nearly the whole of that one per cent. which had been ftated, laying afide all the other confiderations. He particularly preffed gentlemen's attention to this circumftance; for it was undoubtedly the fact, that the complaint of being likely to want hands in Jamaica arofe from the mistake of including the prefent unnatural deaths caufed by the feasoning among the natural and perpetual causes of mortality. These deaths, being erroneoufly taken into the planters' calculations, gave occasion to the idea that the number could not be kept up. These deaths, which were caufed merely by the flave trade, furnithed the very ground, therefore, on which the continuance of the flave trade was thought neceffary, and became the very reafon for bringing over more of thofe wretched negroes, and for thus adding to this very fource of mortality.

The evidence before the Houfe as to this point was perfectly clear; for it would be found in that dreadful catalogue of deaths, in confequence of the seasoning, and the middle paffage, which the Houfe had been condemned to look into, that one half die. An annual mortality of 2,000 in Jamaica might be charged, therefore, to the importation, which, compared with the whole numbers on the island, hardly fell fhort of the whole one per cent decrease.

Joining this with all the other confiderations, Mr. Pitt then asked, Can the decrease of flaves in Jamaica be fuch

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