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
From the 2nd of June to the 17th the house continued to hear the
evidence at intervals, but the members for Liverpool took every
opportunity of occasioning delay. They had recourse twice to counting
out the house; and at another time, though complaint had been made of
their attempts to procrastinate, they opposed the resuming of their own
evidence with the same view; and this merely for the frivolous reason,
that, though there was then a suitable opportunity, notice had not been
previously given. But in this proceeding, other members feeling
indignant at their conduct, they were overruled.
The witnesses brought by the Liverpool merchants against this humane
bill were the same as they had before sent for examination to the privy
council, namely, Mr. Norris, Lieutenant Matthews, and others. On the
other side of the question it was not deemed expedient to bring any. It
was soon perceived that it would be possible to refute the former out of
their own mouths, and to do this seemed more eligible than to proceed in
the other way. Mr. Pitt, however, took care to send Captain Parrey, of
the Royal Navy, to Liverpool, that he might take the tonnage and
internal dimensions of several slave-vessels, which were then there,
supposing that these, when known, would enable the house to detect any
misrepresentations, which the delegates from that town might be disposed
to make upon this subject.
It was the object of the witnesses, when examined, to prove two things:
first, that regulations were unnecessary, because the present mode of
the transportation was sufficiently convenient for the objects of it,
and was well adapted to preserve their comfort and their health. They
had sufficient room, sufficient air, and sufficient provisions. When
upon deck, they made merry and amused themselves with dancing. As to the
mortality, or the loss of them by death in the course of their passage,
it was trifling. In short, the voyage from Africa to the West Indies
"was one of the happiest periods of a Negro's life."
Secondly, that if the merchants were hindered from taking less that two
full sized, or three smaller Africans, to a ton, then the restrictions
would operate not as the regulation, but as the utter ruin of the trade.
Hence the present bill, under the specious mask of a temporary
interference, sought nothing less than its abolition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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