thus be obliged to postpone till next session, keeping in view, however, the necessity of the immediate adoption of that part of it which regarded the balancing of the accounts every year, in the same manner with mercantile houses. Any delay, however, he assured the house should proceed, not from an idea of abandoning the plan, but from a wish and expectation of being able to bring it to greater perfection.

After a debate in which several members took a part, the motion was put and carried. Lord Henry Petty then moved for a variety of lists of accounts not yet delivered by accountants, nor proceeded upon in the office of the commis sioners of audit; which were ordered accordingly.

On the 10th of June Mr. secretary Fox rose, agreeably to notice, to submit to the house a resolution declaratory of their sense of the injustice, inhumanity, and impolicy, of the slave trade. Before, however, he went into any statement of the grounds on which he .with confidence looked for the almost unanimous countenance of the house in this measure, he felt himself called on to state in a few words, his own apology for being the person by whom such a motion should be made. This subject had been repeatedly brought forward, year after year, for the last sixteen or seventeen years, by a respect able member of that house, than whom no man, either from his talents, eloquence, zeal in the cause, or from the estimation in which he was held in that house, or in the country, could be better qualified for the task. In such hands he had found the business, and there he would willingly have left it. His own opinion was, 1906.

that it would have been better that this honourable friend of his had made the present motion, or such other motion as he would have wished on the subject, as to which he could not have doubted that he should have had the support of him (Mr. Fox) and his friends. A strong opinion, however, had prevailed with his honourable friend, and with those with whom he was connected, that, all circumstances considered, it would be better that the business should originate with him (Mr. Fox.) He had yielded his own opinion on this subject to that of his honourable friend, and those who acted with him; and, however certain persons might be inclined to consider and to represent it as a fanciful theory, he had no hesitation in declaring, that he should esteem his political life of thirty or forty years well spent, if he should be so fortunate as to compass the end to which his present motion was directed. He could not, at the outset of the business, help observing that he was happy to say, that whatever difficulties had occurred in that house, with respect to the abolition of the slave trade, the opinion of the house, he should not say unanimous, but as nearly so as well could be recorded by resolutions of the house itself, was, that the slave trade was contrary to justice, humanity, and sound policy. As had been well remarked by a great man, now no more, but whose opinions, wherever justice or any moral feeling was interested, would long be remembered with pride and veneration, (Mr. Burke,) it was not a traffic in the labour of man, but in man himself, and was calculated to keep down and debase humanity. He should not enter into the arguments adduced

by some gentlemen who had supported the trade, who alleged that the crime (if crime it was) was not imputable to those who embarked in the trade from this country; that the persons whom they carried off were slaves before, condemned as such on account of offences committed by them. Such argument, he said, was only adding hypocrisy to the lust of gain, and attempting to vindicate what was contrary to nature. Supposing the persons alluded to to have been legally rendered slaves, was' the British government to sanction, and British ships and seamen to conduct, the police of African monarchs? Such an idea, he submitted, was only one of the many instances, how far the lust of gain could pervert human reason. The house having been uniformly of opinion, and having so often declared that opinion, that the trade should be abolished; and yet having taken no step to that effect for the last fifteen years, he presumed, would think itself called on, if from no other motive, from respect to its own character and reputation, now to do something to effect what had so often been declared to be its opinion. If he recollected well, the period when the question of the abolition was first agitated, was the year 1791. In the commencement of the year 1792, it was much considered through the country, where it excited warm feelings among the great bulk of the people. It was tried in that house, and the question for the gradual abolition was carried. The question as to the period was then put, that it be abolished in one year, then in two years, both of which were rejected, but the proposition for abolishing it in the third year was adopted.

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At that time the greatest enemy to the abolition did not wish to postpone the measure beyond the year 1800. Yet now we were in the year 1806, and no step towards this just, humane, and politic measure, as the house declared it, had been adopted. In this situation, had not the country and the civilized world to reproach them with their conduct, in allowing matters to come to a situation much more remote than even the enemies of the abolition had calculated on? Denmark had fixed on that year as the period when they should abolish the trade, and they had been made the subject of ridicule among us for the great distance to which they had postponed it. How far they had given cause for such ridicule on our part, he should not say. They had already abolished the trade, at least among their own subjects; and they had shown, if they could not among others, they could at least prevent the commission of crimes and infamy among themselves. He had at one time hoped that a bill for the total abolition of the slave trade might have passed through both houses of parliament, and have received the royal assent this session. A number of circumstances, however, rendered any such expectation highly improbable. It might, indeed, pass this house; but if introduced into the house of lords at such a period of the session, they would have, not a pretence, but a fair reason for saying that they could not carry it through What alternative then remained, but either to pass by in total silence a measure which for the last seventeen or eighteen years had every year oc cupied the attention of the house, or to adopt the plan he now proposed-to pledge the house to the

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abolition of the trade, not at a given period, but at an early period? For this purpose, his proposition should be to leave two things open the mode and the time. He should, however, state, that for his own part, after having considered the subject, for the last eighteen years, with every possible attention, he could conceive no practical mode of effecting the abofition but by a direct law. As to the time, in the same way as happened in the year 1792, there might be many opinions on this subject. Some might think the first of January next the proper period; others, one more remote. To all persons of this description he left the period of time at which the abolition should take place, open; but declaring, at the same time, that it was impossible that any thing could shake him in the opinion of the necessity of an immediate abolition. The different proceedings held in the course of the motions for abolition of the slave trade were then read; and Mr. Fox concluded by moving a resolution, that the house, conceiving the African slave trade to be contrary to justice, humanity, and sound policy, will, as early as possible, take such effectual measures for its abolition as may seem to them to be the most proper.

Sir Ralph Milbank had been uniformly of opinion that the slave trade was a ruinous and destructive traffic; that it was contrary to every principle of sound policy, justice, and humanity, as had been stated by the honourable secretary in a much-mère able manner than he could do. He was happy to say that the majority of his constituents concurred with him in these sentiments. He was persuaded that the cultivation of the colonies

could be very well carried on without any fresh importation of slaves, and concluded by seconding the motion.

General Tarleton felt some astonishment at the manner in which, and the time when, the right honourable gentleman had thought proper to bring forward this resolution. It was wholly uncalled for by any part of the country, and introduced seemingly for no other purpose than to show that he had the power to carry his point. The house had certainly expressed sentiments inimical to the trade, and favourable to its abolition'; which, however, it had never thought proper to follow up by any efficient measure. But the former resolutions were brought forward in periods of profound peace, when they were not preg. nant with any such danger as at present, when the country was involved in an arduous war, and plunged in a situation more critical than at any former period of its history. Why the right honourable gentleman should have chosen such a moment for bringing forward the motion, was to him most astonishing, nor could he account for it upon any other principle than that of gratifying, for certain political purposes, the inclinations of an honourable member below him (Mr. Wilberforce), who was so extremely zealous upon this subject, that he never could hear the slave trade mentioned without starting as if he saw a ghost, and exclaiming "Abolition ! abolition!" It was therefore most probable, that the right honourable gentleman had a view to cultivate a new coalition in that house for the remainder of the session. But before the house should proceed to adopt the resolution now 02 propose

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proposed, he felt it his duty to call their attention to the situation of Liverpool-a town which, from a miserable fishing hamlet of about 150 huts, had within a century risen to be the second town, in point of commercial wealth and consequence, in the British dominions, entirely by the African trade. He begged to impress on the recollection of the house what the situation of Liverpool was, when the right honourable gentle. man and his colleagues came into power. It was eminent for the prosperity of its commerce, its wealth, its loyalty-for the important aid it furnished to the British marine, by affording at all times a numerous supply of seamen, through its African and West Indian trade. It was equally distinguished for its spirit, in fitting out private ships of war, and by contributing annually three millions sterling in revenue to the public purse. But what measures of advantage had Liverpool experienced since the present ministers came into power? Why, the restriction bill upon the African trade, by which the enterprising spirit of its merchants was paralysed, their trade diminished, the value of their shipping considerably reduced, and disputes excited between them and the planters. But if the mercantile interests of the country were to be thus crushedif that commerce, which yielded so great a portion of the public revenue, was to be impoverishedwhat must be the natural consequence? But one of two alternatives; either the minister must resort to the landed interest entirely for the supplies necessary to carry on the war, or he must be driven to an ignominious peace. If the right honourable gentleman seri

ously meant to proceed with the proposed measure, he could only say, that his constituents would feel themselves justified in coming forward in the most respectful manner, to solicit from parliament, that to which they would conceive themselves justly entitled; namely, compensation for the losses they would sustain, in consequence of a measure that would deprive them of a trade which they had followed from the time of queen Elizabeth, under the sanction of parliamentary protection. necessary consequence of the measure must be bankruptcies without number; the emigration of useful artisans, with their capitals, to America, and the loss to this country for ever of many useful artificers.

Mr. Francis said, the honourable gentleman's constituents would certainly be at liberty to come to that house for compensation, in case the slave trade should be abolished; but he did not know that he should consent to take the money out of his own pocket, or that of the public, for compensating men for the abolition of an iniquitous traffic, so contrary to every principle of humanity. He should regard such petitions, as he did others from different parts of the country, inveighing vehemently against measures in contemplation which the petitioners conceived to be ruinous, but which they afterwards found to be the very reverse. The house already stood pledged, by a resolution of the 16th of May, 1792, to the abolition of the slave trade at a definite time, and yet this resolution had never been acted upon; he could not therefore see the use of the house again pledging itself to a similar resolution for a distant day, which would pass for nothing with

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the public, unless something were done immediately.

Lord Castlereagh opposed theresolution, because it pledged the house generally to a resolution, for a purpose wholly indefinite as to time and mode. If, in point of fact, the trade could be abolished at once, why not do it immediately, instead of proposing a resolution in general terms upon the subject, which, in its present form, was wholly unintelligible? The house had formerly come to a definite resolution, which had never been followed up; and why? Obviously because it was found impracticable to realize the theories of those who led the house into that resolution. With respect to the principle of the slave trade, no man more sincerely wished than he did, that it were practicable now, or at any proximate period, to remove a grievance so calamitous, from the lot of humanity. As to effecting any thing like a general abolition of this traffic, he really feared it was not to be accomplished by parliament; for were the most peremptory bill that could be shaped, to pass that night upon the subject, to preclude all British ships and capitals from being employed in the African trade, even for the supply of our own colonies, he did not see any other purpose such a bill would answer, than to involve us in disputes with those colonies, and to risk their ultimate loss, by forcing them to resort to other nations, who would certainly take up the trade as a source of wealth, the moment it was relinquished by this country. The solicitor general rose to state shortly his sentiments. He should have much more cordially supported a motion for leave to bring in a bill for the immediate abolition of this abominable traffic: yet

still, he thought the motion ought to be supported, as pledging the house to take the most speedy and practicable means to abolish it. Surely, if it were the sense of the house to adopt, in the present ses. sion, any measure more prompt and efficient for the purpose, this resolution would oppose no impediment to a purpose so desirable. It was not his wish, at this moment, to enter into a general discussion upon the slave trade; for what could there be offered to the house in vindication of a commerce so detestable, but arguments already refuted, and assertions long since disproved? It was hardly fair to say the house had not done any thing in pursuance of its former resolution; for in the session before last it had passed a bill for the purpose, which was rejected in the other house of parliament, and another was brought in last session, which miscarried owing to the accident of a thin house, and a concerted plan to defeat the measure.

He knew well that sometimes corrupt systems were long continued in nations that had not courage to inquire into them; but that was not the case in this country. with respect to this system, because there had been no want of courage to inquire into it; and after the opinion expressed by the committee, who in 1792 had investigated the subject with the most patient deliberation-whose opinions, and the evidence upon which they were founded, stand recorded on the journals of the house-and who solemnly declared, that this most atrocious traffic had been, and continued to be, carried on in the most wanton and barbarous manner, could any argument be necessary now to prove the propriety of its abolition? Or could the

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house