other parts of the memorial which related to him, either directly or by obvious implication, is exceedingly strange. It seemed an occasion for downright, unequivocal denial; and, considering the colour of the insinuation that had been made, the most fastidious observer might even have pardoned a little warmth and vehemence in the manner of meeting it. Besides, this was not the first time that the noble Lord had heard of these things. He had been pretty bluntly attacked in print, more than once, upon the score of Mr Tweddell's property. He had lost his temper when applied to by Dr Clarke for an account of it. He had been involved in a correspondence about it with the nearest of kin, who had put the most minute and harassing questions respecting it. The official communication, therefore, of the memorial, containing the charges embodied, seemed to present a favourable opportunity at least for broadly affirming that they were utterly unfounded from beginning to end; instead of this, we only find a suggestion to the Company that they should call for proofs of one of the statements. Nor is this a case in which distance of time and imperfect recollection can be held of much avail-for the things, plainly insinuated at least, if not directly alleged, are such as, we hope and trust, the noble person must know himself to be, and to have always been, incapable of, without any effort of memory. The details he may have forgotten; but, when the question is, whether he kept possession of another man's property, and whether, during the last fifteen years, he has appropriated it to his own use-we answer for him-no; and deny the charge, if it were dated fifty years back. It is to be lamented that he did not adopt this course himself, and follow it up by instituting such a rigorous examination, both of his recollection and his repositories, as might set the controversy at rest, by producing the valuable remains so anxiously sought af ter, or at length explaining the manner and causes of their disappearance.

We most earnestly hope, that the merits of this question being now fairly brought before the publick, the general interest excited by it may have such an effect on his Lordship's feelings, should the statements in these pages have failed to persuade him, that some reparation is due to himself, as well as to the literary world. That no legal measures have been instituted for bringing the matter to a final settlement, we can hardly regret, if the object shall be accomplished in this more amicable way. What the ultimate result may be, we presume not to conjecture, because we know not the whole of the case; much, in all probability, remains to be disclosed on Lord Elgin's part. The only thing which may safely be asserted is, that things cannot rest where they now are; and this we do very confidently affirm.

In the mean time, we cannot close this volume, without expressing our regret that the Editor should have used in several parts of his long Appendix, language with respect to this noble person, of an extremely scurrilous nature. We cannot quote it, nor allude to it more particularly. What his writings want in precision, clearness, and arrangement, in all the constituent parts of luminous and powerful statement, cannot be supplied by the insertion of mere abuse. An excuse may perhaps be sought in the wounded feelings of so near a relative,-and unquestionably this consideration has its weight: But feelings may be regulated, if they cannot be stifled; otherwise they seem to disqualify those, whom they overpower, from discharging publis duties.

ART. II. Reasons for Establishing a Registry of Slaves in the British Colonies: Being a Report of a Committee of the African Institution. Published by Order of that Society. 8vo. pp. 118. Hatchard. London, 1815.

WE ought regularly to have devoted this article to the consi

deration of the Annual Report of the African Institution, and the other publications more immediately connected with it. But the subject announced in the title is of such great importance, and so urgently pressed upon our attention by its approaching discussion in Parliament, that we are obliged to interrupt the usual course of our proceeding, and devote ourselves, for the present, exclusively to the question of Registry. We have more than once had occasion to notice it generally, and to express the hope, entertained by us in common with all who have well studied West Indian affairs, that it might speedily be brought forward in the Legislature. This proceeding has now been begun, and we trust the next Session will witness its completion.

Although the tract before us appears in the shape of a Report, it is, of course, like all such productions, substantially the work of an individual. It is fit on every account that we mention his name. His recent conduct in retiring from Parliament, upon grounds of a nature purely conscientious; his great and powerful services in the cause of the Abolition, but more especially in reference to the subject of the present Report; and the modesty which has always prompted him to withhold his name from his many admirable publications upon colonial questions, render it a duty peculiarly incumbent upon us, in this place, to commemorate Mr Stephen. We have every reason to believe

that the plan of a Slave Registry, now adopted in the conquered islands, originated with him; and that he unremittingly watched over its execution. The extension of the plan to the old settlements, is likewise his proposal; and it is understood that he has performed the task of unfolding its grounds in this Report. Had he continued a member of the legislature, in all probability he would have brought forward the measure, which, after his honourable retirement, has been introduced by Mr Wilberforce: And we have no doubt, that when the bill passes into a law, Mr Stephen's name will, in common parlance, be annexed to it. This is an honour richly due to him; for no man ever laboured or sacrificed more in behalf of a measure adopted by him from principle alone. It is also worthy of his acceptance ;-it is a simple but dignified tribute, almost the only one reserved by the practice of the country, for civil worth ;-it carries a statesman's name down to after ages, inscribed upon the lasting columns which he has reared to prop the publick weal;-and bestows upon him, in his own day, honours which a patriot may accept, and a sage may prize.

It is manifest, that so material an alteration in the law as is here contemplated, ought not to be attempted without the fullest examination of its grounds, its nature, and its probable consequences. The object of the work before us is to facilitate this investigation, by an ample statement of the reasons which have convinced the Committee of the African Institution, that the measure in question, is not only desireable, but essentially necessary; and that the change will be not only safe, but beneficial. In a critical point of view, we should not easily praise it too highly. A more distinct, argumentative, and eloquent tract, has rarely appeared upon any political question. But our attention is principally drawn to the subject matter; and we hasten to lay the substance of the reasoning before the reader.

The Report begins with a description of the fatal effects which may be expected to arise from an illicit importation of slaves into the colonies since the law has made the traffic a crime. With respect to the voyage, it is plain, that negroes carried clandestinely are, on that very account, in a much worse predicament than if the trade were permitted. The contraband commerce is driven with tenfold greediness; and without any of the regulations which were enforced to mitigate the horrors of the middle passage. The utmost lading that can be stowed into a vessel will always be risked; and the supply of provisions be as scanty as that of space for the wretched cargo. The slave trader, too, is a person of a worse description, if possible, than in times when the law strangely lent its sanction to his crimes; so that

the very worst of the worst parts of society are now alone engaged in these enormities. Nor does this rest upon conjecture. It is (observe the Committee) fully attested by experience. -The contraband slave traders of America notoriously crowd their ships beyond any example to be found in the same commerce while it was allowed by their laws. Several shocking instances of this inhumanity have come under the cognizance of our prize courts. The same dreadful distinctions also have marked the cases of ships under Portuguese and Spanish colours, which have been proved, or reasonably presumed, to * belong to British or American smugglers. p. 3.

But this topic is slightly touched upon in the very judicious statement now before us, and with much propriety; for it is a necessary consequence of the abolition, and was indeed one of the arguments urged against it from the beginning, by those who denied the possibility of effectually stopping the trade. Abolitionists, therefore, having carried their measure, cannot dwell much upon the increase of evil that has in some sense flowed from the measure itself; they can only urge this as an additional reason for all such supplementary arrangements as are likely to give it full efficacy. They must not-neither do they-deny that a vast amount of the traffic has been destroyed; they only contend, that what remains, being of a peculiarly malignant description, for the very reason that it is left in spite of the law, new means should be devised for enabling the law to reach this remnant likewise.

The effects of the illicit traffic on the condition of the slaves in the colonies, presents more important matter of consideration. The emancipation of those unfortunate beings has never formed any part of the views entertained by the Abolitionists. They have constantly been charged with indulging in such prospects; they have uniformly, peremptorily, and in the end successfully, repelled the charge. Not that any one, attached to the cause of humanity and justice, ever shut his eyes to the ultimate liberty of the negro race, as the result of an improved system of management; or even saw, without infinite pain, the impossibility of hastening so desireable a consummation by direct legislative interference. But, unprepared for freedom as the unhappy victims of our oppression and rapacity now are, the attempts to bestow it on them at once, could only lead to their own augmented misery, and involve both master and slave in one common ruin. A gradual improvement in their condition could alone prepare the way for restoring them to liberty; and this improve ment was confidently expected to flow from the abolition of the

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slave trade. Such expectations were not founded upon untried theories, but upon all the experience recorded in history. The lot of domestic slavery in Rome was not materially softened, until the universal extension of the empire, precluding new conquests, cut off the supply of slaves. The laws came in, to complete and consolidate what private interest had begun; and the mild spirit of the Christian religion, without any direct precept, hastened the progress of a reformation, already commenced, as the Report observes, before the promulgation of that system. It thus happened, that at the dissolution of the empire, almost all the domestic slaves had become free, and those employed in country work had attained the condition of adscripti gleba. The progress was nearly the same in modern times; the extinction of villeinage in gross, and the final emancipation of the lower orders, having followed by slow degrees the cessation of the warlike customs which used formerly to supply the slave markets. In like manner the colonies in America, where the supply of negroes has been, from various circumstances, the most scanty, are those which have been most remarkable for a mild treatment of their slaves. It was with good reason, then, that the friends of humanity expected, from the shutting of the slave market, an attention to the comforts, the health, the preservation at least, of the stock already in the colonies; an adoption of the breeding system, when buying should be no longer practicable; such a gradual melioration of their condition, as no direct interference between a master and his slaves can effect, but which is absolutely necessary, as it is morally certain to prepare them for the ultimate possession of the freedom so long withheld from them. But it is equally clear, that these hopes are founded entirely in the real and complete extinction of the traffic; and that, as long as any access is left open to the market, however narrow and precarious, the breeding system will be neglected. They who calculate upon a mere rise of price as sufficient, and from thence would expect salutary reforms in the management of plantations, neglect some of the most important circumstances which crept into the question. They forget the situation of almost all planters, speculators, or in debt, or non-resident;— speulators, who must by all means make speedy profits, and, regarding the sugar trade as a lottery, care not whether they pay a little more for their tickets, as long as there are any to be had for money, and as long as the prizes are in the wheel;-debtors, who have not the entire controul of their own property, but are compelled to work out of it, at all risks, as much as will satisfy the immediate demands of their creditors;--non-residents, who must leave the management of their estates to persons on the