The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (1808), Volume IClarkson, Thomas
History
The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (1808), Volume I
Clarkson, Thomas
Slave trade -- Africa
parliamentary proceedings of Great Britain the envy and the admiration of
the world. An inquiry there was better than an inquiry in any other place,
however respectable the persons before and by whom it was carried on.
There, all that could be said for the abolition or against it might be
said. In that house, every relative fact would have been produced, no
information would have been withheld, no circumstance would have been
omitted, which was necessary for elucidation; nothing would have been kept
back. He was sorry therefore that the consideration of the question, but
more particularly where so much human suffering was concerned, should be
put off to another session, when it was obvious that no advantage could be
gained by the delay.
He then adverted to the secrecy, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had
observed relative to his own opinion on this important subject. Why did he
refuse to give it? Had Mr. Wilberforce been present, the house would have
had a great advantage in this respect, because doubtless he would have
stated in what view he saw the subject, and in a general way described the
nature of the project he meant to propose. But now they were kept in the
dark as to the nature of any plan, till the next session. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer had indeed said, that it had been a very general opinion that
the African Slave-trade should be abolished. He had said again, that others
had not gone so far, but had given, it as their opinion, that it required
to be revised and regulated. But why did he not give his own sentiments
boldly to the world on this great question? As for himself, he (Mr. Fox)
had no scruple to declare at the outset, that the Slave-trade ought not to
be regulated, but destroyed. To this opinion his mind was made up; and he
was persuaded that, the more the subject was considered, the more his
opinion would gain ground; and it would be admitted, that to consider it in
any other manner, or on any other principles than those of humanity and
justice, would be idle and absurd. If there were any such men, and he did
not know but that there were those, who, led away by local and interested
considerations, thought the Slave-trade might still continue under certain
modifications, these were the dupes of error, and mistook what they thought
their interest, for what he would undertake to convince them was their
loss. Let such men only hear the case further, and they would find the
result to be, that a cold-hearted policy was folly, when it opposed the
great principles of humanity and justice.
He concluded by saying that he would not oppose the resolution, if other
members thought it best to postpone the consideration of the subject; but
he should have been better pleased, if it had been discussed sooner; and he
certainly reserved to himself the right of voting for any question upon it
that should be brought forward by any other member in the course of the
present session.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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