The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839)Clarkson, Thomas
History
The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839)
Clarkson, Thomas
Slave trade -- Africa
to the line, which I should pursue in the case of remaining in the place
of my abode and in my former habits, I determined never to start the
subject of the abolition myself--never to abandon it when started--never
to defend it but in a serious and dignified manner--and never to
discover any signs of irritation, whatever provocation might be given
me. By this determination I abided rigidly. The King's Arms became now
daily the place for discussion on this subject. Many tried to insult me,
but to no purpose. In all these discussions I found the great advantage
of having brought Mr. Falconbridge with me from Bristol; for he was
always at the table; and when my opponents, with a disdainful look,
tried to ridicule my knowledge, among those present, by asking me if I
had ever been on the coast of Africa myself, he used generally to reply,
"But I have. I know all your proceedings there, and that his statements
are true." These and other words put in by him, who was an athletic and
resolute-looking man, were of great service to me. All disinterested
persons, of whom there were four or five daily in the room, were
uniformly convinced by our arguments, and took our part, and some of
them very warmly. Day after day we beat our opponents out of the field,
as many of the company acknowledged, to their no small notification, in
their presence. Thus, while we served the cause by discovering all that
could be said against it, we served it by giving numerous individuals
proper ideas concerning it, and of interesting them in our favour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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