friend's ingenuity, and that of the hon. gentleman had been exercised upon this passage, could have for a moment mistaken its meaning? Here then the question, in all fairness and justice, ought to end. All parties were agreed that the Slave trade ought to be terminated. There are two ways of terminating it; by this House, or by the colonial legislatures. The colonial legislatures tell you plainly they will not terminate it. What remains, but for this House to exercise its own power-always, in his mind, the best, but now clearly proved to be the only medium through which the termination of the trade could be effected?

But" No," said his right hon. friend; "you mistake this matter: you misconstrue the words of the assembly of Jamaica. They are not to be taken in their direct and obvious sense. These colonists are never to be understood precisely as they speak. When they say not with a view to the termination of the trade, they mean, "with a view to the termination of the trade." Indeed! This did appear at first sight no small variation from the obvious meaning of the text. And it must be allowed that, if the assembly of Jamaica spoke out honestly, his right hon. friend interpreted freely. There was nothing in truth, which he more admired among the many great, and statesmanlike qualities of his right hon. friend's mind, than the boldness and decision with which he was in the habit of meeting every question. There was no quirk, no gloss, no subterfuge. He always spoke his meaning plainly, and openly, and undisguisedly. But, surely those qualities which his right hon. friend so eminently possessed himself, ought to have disinclined him to become the champion of an assembly, which had (if this interpretation was true), acted in a manner so directly the reverse of what he himself approved and practised-an assembly which (if his right hon. friend's interpretation was true), spoke one thing, and meant another; which misrepresented its own proceedings, and disavowed its own objects: which averred itself to be shaping its course towards one quarter, while it was steering directly to another.

This would surely be singular enough, if it were upon a matter of mere curiosity and speculation that his right hon. friend had thus indulged his ingenuity. But when he gravely recommended to the House of Commons to act upon such an

interpretation-when he desired them to believe that the assembly of Jamaicawere sincerely pursuing an object, which they solemnly disavowed-when he insisted upon their forbearing to employ the means which they undoubtedly had in their power, and forbearing, in the confi dence that the object would be better attained through those, who utterly disclaim any intention, who utterly deny the propriety of pursuing it; surely; when such a line of conduct was recommended to the House, even by such high authority as his right hon. friend, the House would pause awhile to question the reasonableness of a plan, so remote from all the common principles of human conduct and so contrary to all the ordinary practice of human life.

But, perhaps, it was not intended that they should believe the assembly of Jamaica to be sincere in their intention of terminating the Slave trade, at the moment when they professed their resolution to continue and maintain it ;-perhaps it was only meant that, by taking such measures as they were now taking, that is, by raising the salaries of their clergy, and limiting the age of their new negroes, the assembly of Jamaica will, in spite of themselves, gradually bring to a termination the trade, which they declare themselves so bent upon maintaining: and the House was therefore called upon to give credit, not to the good intention of the assembly, but to the tendency of their actions to counterwork their ill intentions; not to the ardour with which they would labour for the extinction of the trade, and the judgment with which they would devise means for that end; but to their illcontrivance and impolicy in selecting such measures for the continuance of the trade, as would in the result lead, not only without their concurrence, but against their wish to its abolition. Now, if this were what the House was to understand to be recommended by his right hon. friend, he could not forbear asking, whether this really was a line of policy which could be adopted with prudence, or with any hope. or expectation of success, by men looking steadily to an object, and anxious for the attainment of it? Would any one in private life, who had a favourite purpose to execute, which he had the choice of, either to execute himself, or through another person, prefer trusting the execution of it to that other person, after an avowal that he had no desire to execute it

would, under all circumstances, continue to do so. And he had as little doubt that it was not by obeying their local and transitory prejudices, nor by yielding to their temporary passions, but by consulting and securing their permanent interest, honour and happiness, that Great Britain would best deserve, and most effectually secure, their connexion and attachment.

other. "The right of obtaining labourers from Africa." The right! He had learnt, indeed, by painful experience of what had of late years passed in the world, to assocrate the word right, with ideas very different from those which, in old times, it was calculated to convey. He had learnt to regard the mention of rights as prefatory to bloody, destructive, and desolating doctrines, hostile to the happiness and to the freedom of mankind. Such had been the lesson which he had learnt from the rights of man. But never, even in the practical application of that detested and pernicious doctrine, never he believed, had the word right been so shamefully affixed to murder, to devastation, to the invasion of public independence, to the pollution and destruction of private happiness, to gross and unpalliated injustice, to the spreading of misery and mourning over the earth, to the massacre of innocent individuals, and to the extermination of unoffending nations; never before was the word right so prostituted and misapplied, as when the right to trade in man's blood was asserted by the enlightened government of a civilized country. It was not wonderful that the slavery of Africa should be described in a term con. secrated to French freedom.

6

"But it was the right to import labourers"-gentle words! Not slaves, not for the world, not to trade in slaves,' but to import labourers; "The right to import labourers from Africa is secured to your majesty's faithful subjects in this colony, by several British acts of parliament," &c. They then proceeded to state in the next paragraph, that they "have the utmost reliance on his majesty's paternal goodness, that this right should remain inviolate as long as they should remain faithful to his majesty, and true to the allegiance which they owe to the imperial crown of Great Britain." He quoted this passage particularly for the purpose of disclaiming any intention of countenancing the implication which the House had been so justly cautioned not to entertain, that the allegiance of the assembly was made dependent on the continuance of the Slave trade. He believed no such thing. He would have wished indeed, that the two subjects had not been coupled so closely in words; but he had no doubt of the loyalty of the colonial assemblies. They had given ample and honourable proofs of their affection for this country. He had no doubt that they [VOL. XXXIV.]

But whatever might be the general credit which he was willing to give to the legislature of Jamaica for its readiness to acknowledge the paternal and superintending care of the British parliament; when he heard such acts of that legislature as were now on the table of the House, quoted as substantial proofs of their intention to carry into effect the declared opi nion of the British parliament, that measures ought to be taken for the termination of the Slave trade (an intention which the legislature of Jamaica itself unequivocally disclaimed), he could not refrain from expressing a sentiment both of astonishment and indignation. "Never mind their declarations," said the hon. gentleman, the agent for Jamaica, "look to their acts." He looked to their acts; and what did he find? A better maintenance secured to their parochial clergy-good. What has this to do with the termination of the Slave trade? But what more? An act imposing a duty amounting to prohi bition upon the importation of slaves above 25 years old. This too was good, and he thanked the hon. gentleman for calling upon him to examine it; but it was good, only as it proved the utter falsehood and futility of almost every argument upon which the propriety of the Slave trade had ever been attempted to be defended, and the impossibility of abolishing it attempted to be proved, from the first discussion of the subject up to the present hour.

First, then, here is a duty amounting to a prohibition. So it was possible to prohibit then? And all the arguments that the House had been in the habit of hearing, how vain and fruitless it would be to endeavour to establish Custom-house regulations, which should restrict the trade, or prevent contraband importation,-all these arguments were overthrown from their foundation by a single phrase of the legislative assembly of Jamaica. would it be said, that though to prohibit importation altogether would be impossible, to limit it within certain bounds, taking the age of the negroes for your rule, would be very easy and prac[2 N]

But

any country attain to the degree of prosperity which such an establishment would argue, without having long, long before it reached that height, disused and abjured the practice of importing annual cargoes of misery and discontent, of outnumbering the civilized population of the country by crowds of savage and injured spirits, watching only the opportunity of rebellion and revenge. Away then with all apprehension of the incompetency of the British parliament to rescue the British name from the disgrace. Could the assembly of Jamaica prohibit the delivery of the cargo at the ports of Jamaica? And could not the parliament of Great Britain forbid its freight in the ships of Great Britain?

That in all the steps to be taken for the termination of the trade, the co-operation of the colonial assemblies was highly desirable, he frankly avowed: and he would even gladly purchase it at the price of some concession. He would state fairly what he should have considered as a serious manifestation on the part of the colonial assemblies of a desire to do something substantial towards bringing on the termination of the trade. If he had found in the papers upon the table, instead of a professed resolution to resist the termination of the trade; if he had found a law, prohibiting the cultivation of any new land in the island, beyond what was already cultivated, and another law, expressly limiting the amount of the annual importation of negroes to the amount of the annual decrease in their population he should then have owned that he be lieved the colonial legislatures to be in earnest. And though he could not bring himself to say, that so often as the question was put to him, whether or no he would with his own good will allow an other slave ship to sail to the coast of Africa; whether he would allow another cargo, another individual human being to be dragged from that country? though he could not say that, to that question so put to him, he could ever answer otherwise than by a flat negative; yet he would own, that had he seen the two regulations which he had mentioned solemnly enacted, and begun to be fairly acted upon by the colonial legislatures, he should very much have wished that question to be suspended, until the efficacy of those two measures towards rendering the continuance of the trade unnecessary had been allowed a trial.

He wished not to be misunderstood on these points. By allowing now new land to be brought into cultivation by slaves, he did not mean to tie down the planter to the actual spot which he was now working, or to prevent his removing from one estate, which might become effete and worn out, to another, with the same gang of negroes. What he meant to restrict was, the taking an additional quantity of land into cultivation, and thereby creating a new necessity for an increased importation of slaves. With regard to the annual decrease in the population, he had heard it said formerly that it was impossible to ascertain it. But the papers upon the table gave a direct contradiction to that, as they did to most of the other old arguments in favour of the Slave trade: for among other regulations he saw one for this specific purpose, of obtaining a correct account of the annual increase or decrease of slave population upon each estate. A tax was paid too for each slave. What could be ascertained for one purpose, was equally to be ascertained for another. Another point was, the compensation to the owners of uncultivated lands, for the advantage which they gave up in restricting themselves from additional cultivation. This compensation, he had no hesitation to say, ought to be liberally adjusted, and cheerfully given. By these two regulations, sincerely adopted, he had little doubt that more would be done than by any other mode that the colonial legislatures could adopt towards making the trade unnecessary: but till these were adopted, all pretence of putting an end to the trade, was an attempt to impose upon the understanding of the House. Every additional acre that was brought into cultivation was not the continuance of the existing Slave trade, but the opening of a new one. Every negro that was imported beyond the population necessary for keeping up the present rate of cultivation, was the victim of a trade begun now, under all the aggravation of a pretended conviction of its injustice, and a pretended desire to put an end to it. The discovery of a new island, and the ravage of a hitherto untouched coast, would not be more completely and substantially the beginning of a fresh trade in slaves, the source and fountain of new horrors, and outrages and calamities. Let no man who was not ready to subscribe heartily to these two regulations, expect to gain a moment's credit, by his profession, that he wished