The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (1808), Vol. I by Thomas Clarkson

T >> Thomas Clarkson >> The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (1808), Vol. I

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On the fifth of July, the commitee opened a correspondence, by means of
William Dillwyn, with the societies of Philadelphia and New York, of whose
institution an account has been given. At this sitting a due sense was
signified of the services of Mr. Ramsay, and a desire of his friendly
communications when convenient.

The two next meetings were principally occupied in making out lists of the
names of persons in the country, to whom the commitee should send their
publications for distribution. For this purpose every member was to bring
in an account of those whom he knew personally, and whom he believed not
only to be willing, but qualified on account of their judgment and the
weight of their character, to take an useful part in the work, which was to
be assigned to them. It is a remarkable circumstance, that, when the lists
were arranged, the commitee, few as they were, found they had friends in no
less then thirty-nine counties[A], in each of which there were several, so
that a knowledge of their institution could now be soon diffusively spread.

[Footnote A: The Quakers by means of their discipline have a greater
personal knowledge of each other, than the members of any other religious
society. But two-thirds of the commitee were Quakers, and hence the
circumstance is explained. Hence also nine-tenths of our first coadjutors
were Quakers.]

The commitee, having now fixed upon their correspondents, ordered five
hundred of the circular letters, which have been before mentioned, and five
thousand of the Summary Views, an account of which has been given also, to
be printed.

On account of the increase of business, which was expected in consequence
of the circulation of the preceding publications, Robert Barclay, John
Vickris Taylor, and Josiah Wedgwood esquire, were added to the commitee;
and it was then resolved, that any three members might call a meeting when
necessary.

On the twenty-seventh of August, the new correspondents began to make their
appearance. This sitting was distinguished by the receipt of letters from
two celebrated persons. The first was from Brissot, dated Paris, August the
eighteenth, who, it may be recollected, was an active member of the
National Convention of France, and who suffered in the persecution of
Robespiere. The second was from Mr. John Wesley, whose useful labours as a
minister of the gospel are so well known to our countrymen.

Brissot, in this letter, congratulated the members of the commitee, on
having come together for so laudable an object. He offered his own
assistance towards the promotion of it. He desired also that his valuable
friend Claviere (who suffered also under Robespiere) might be joined to
him, and that both might be acknowledged by the commitee as associates in
what he called this heavenly work. He purposed to translate and circulate
through France, such publications as they might send him from time to time,
and to appoint bankers in Paris, who might receive subscriptions and remit
them to London for the good of their common cause. In the mean time, if his
own countrymen should be found to take an interest in this great cause, it
was not improbable that a commitee might be formed in Paris, to endeavour
to secure the attainment of the same object from the government in France.

The thanks of the commitee were voted to Brissot for this disinterested
offer of his services, and he was elected an honorary and corresponding
member. In reply, however, to his letter it was stated, that, as the
commitee had no doubt of procuring from the generosity of their own nation
sufficient funds for effecting the object of their institution, they
declined the acceptance of any pecuniary aid from the people of France, but
recommended him to attempt the formation of a commitee in his own country,
and to inform them of his progress, and to make to them such other
communications as he might deem necessary upon the subject from time to
time.

Mr. Wesley, whose letter was read next, informed the commitee of the great
satisfaction which he also had experienced, when he heard of their
formation. He conceived that their design, while it would destroy the
Slave-trade, would also strike at the root of the shocking abomination of
slavery also. He desired to forewarn them that they must expect
difficulties and great opposition from those who were interested in the
system; that these were a powerful body; and that they would raise all
their forces, when they perceived their craft to be in danger. They would
employ hireling writers, who would have neither justice nor mercy. But the
commitee were not to be dismayed by such treatment, nor even if some of
those, who professed good-will towards them, should turn against them. As
for himself, he would do all he could to promote the object of their
institution. He would reprint a new and large edition of his Thought on
Slavery, and circulate, it among his friends in England and Ireland, to
whom he would add a few words in favour of their design. And then he
concluded in these words: "I commend you to Him, who is able to carry you
through all opposition, and support you under all discouragements."

On the fourth, eleventh, and eighteenth of September, the commitee were
employed variously. Among other things they voted their thanks to Mr.
Leigh, a clergyman of the established church, for the offer of his services
for the county of Norfolk. They ordered also one thousand of the circular
letters to be additionally printed.

At one of these meetings a resolution was made, that Granville Sharp,
esquire, be appointed chairman. This appointment, though now first formally
made in the minute book, was always understood to have taken place; but the
modesty of Mr. Sharp was such, that, though repeatedly pressed, he would
never consent to take the chair, and he generally refrained from coming
into the room till after he knew it to be taken. Nor could he be prevailed
upon, even after this resolution, to alter his conduct: for though he
continued to sign the papers, which were handed to him by virtue of holding
this office, he never was once seated as the chairman during the twenty
years in which he attended at these meetings. I thought it not improper to
mention this trait in his character. Conscious that he engaged in the cause
of his fellow-creatures solely upon the sense of his duty as a Christian,
he seems to have supposed either that he had done nothing extraordinary to
merit such a distinction, or to have been fearful lest the acceptance of it
should bring a stain upon the motive, on which alone he undertook it.

[Illustration]

On the second and sixteenth of October two sittings took place; at the
latter of which a sub-commitee, which had been appointed for the purpose,
brought in a design for a seal. An African was seen, (as in the figure[A],)
in chains in a supplicating posture, kneeling with one knee upon the
ground, and with both his hands lifted up to Heaven, and round the seal was
observed the following motto, as if he was uttering the words himself--"Am
I not a Man and a Brother?" The design having been approved of, a seal was
ordered to be engraved from it. I may mention here, that this seal, simple
as the design was, was made to contribute largely, as will be shown in its
proper place, towards turning the attention of our countrymen to the case
of the injured Africans, and of procuring a warm interest in their favour.

[Footnote A: The figure is rather larger than that in the seal.]

On the thirtieth of October several letters were read; one of these was
from Brissot and Claviere conjointly. In this they acknowledged the
satisfaction they had received on being considered as associates in the
humane work of the abolition of the Slave-trade, and correspondents in
France for the promotion of it. They declared it to be their intention to
attempt the establishment of a commitee there on the same principles as
that in England: but, in consequence of the different constitutions of the
two governments, they gave the commitee reason to suppose that their
proceedings must be different, as well as slower than those in England, for
the same object.

A second letter was read from Mr. John Wesley. He said that he had now read
the publications, which the commitee had sent him, and that he took, if
possible, a still deeper interest in their cause. He exhorted them to more
than ordinary diligence and perseverance; to be prepared for opposition; to
be cautious about the manner of procuring information and evidence, that no
stain might fall upon their character; and to take care that the question
should be argued as well upon the consideration of interest as of humanity
and justice, the former of which he feared would have more weight than the
latter; and he recommended them and their glorious concern, as before, to
the protection of Him who was able to support them.

Letters were read from Dr. Price, approving the institution of the
commitee; from Charles Lloyd of Birmingham, stating the interest which the
inhabitants of that town were taking in it; and from William Russell,
esquire, of the same place, stating the same circumstance, and that he
would cooperate with the former in calling a public meeting, and in doing
whatever else was necessary for the promotion of so good a cause. A letter
was read also from Manchester, signed conjointly by George Barton, Thomas
Cooper, John Ferriar, Thomas Walker, Thomas Phillips, Thomas Butterworth
Bayley, and George Lloyd, esquires, promising their assistance for that
place. Two others were read from John Kerrich, esquire, of Harleston, and
from Joshua Grigby, esquire, of Drinkston, each tendering their services,
one for the county of Norfolk, and the other for the county of Suffolk. The
latter concluded by saying, "With respect to myself, in no possible
instance of my public conduct can I receive so much sincere satisfaction,
as I shall by the vote I will most assuredly give in parliament, in support
of this most worthy effort to suppress a traffic, which is contrary to all
the feelings of humanity, and the laws of our religion."

A letter was read also at this sitting from major Cartwright, of Marnham,
in which he offered his own services, in conjunction with those of the
reverend John Charlesworth, of Ossington, for the county of Nottingham.

"I congratulate you," says he in this letter, "on the happy prospect of
some considerable step at least being taken towards the abolition of a
traffic, which is not only impious in itself, but of all others tends most
to vitiate the human mind.

"Although procrastination is generally pernicious in cases depending upon
the feelings of the heart, I should almost fear that, without very uncommon
exertions, you will scarcely be prepared early in the next sessions for
bringing the business into parliament with the greatest advantage. But be
that as it may, let the best use be made of the intermediate time; and
then, if there be a superintending Providence, which governs every thing in
the moral world, there is every reason to hope for a blessing on this
particular work."

The last letter was from Robert Boucher Nickolls, dean of Middleham in
Yorkshire. In this he stated that he was a native of the West Indies, and
had travelled on the continent of America. He then offered some important
information to the commitee, as his mite towards the abolition of the
Slave-trade, and as an encouragement to them to persevere. He attempted to
prove that the natural increase of the Negros already in the West Indian
Islands would be fully adequate to the cultivation of them without any
fresh supplies from Africa, and that such natural increase would be secured
by humane treatment. With this view he instanced the two estates of Mr. Mac
Mahon and of Dr. Mapp in the island of Barbadoes. The first required
continual supplies of new slaves, in consequence of the severe and cruel
usage adopted upon it. The latter overflowed with labourers in consequence
of a system of kindness, so that it almost peopled another estate. Having
related these instances, he cited others in North America, where, though
the climate was less favourable to the constitution of the Africans, but
their treatment better, they increased also. He combated, from his own
personal knowledge, the argument that, self-interest was always sufficient
to ensure good usage, and maintained that there was only one way of
securing it, which was the entire abolition of the Slave-trade. He showed
in what manner the latter measure would operate to the desired end. He then
dilated on the injustice and inconsistency of this trade, and supported the
policy of the abolition of it, both to the planter, the merchant, and the
nation.

This letter of the Dean of Middleham, which was a little Essay, of itself,
was deemed of so much importance by the commitee, but particularly as it
was the result of local knowledge, that they not only passed a resolution
of thanks to him for it, but desired his permission to print it.

The commitee sat again on the thirteenth and twenty-second of November. At
the first of these sittings, a letter was read from Henry Grimston,
esquire, of Whitwell Hall, near York, offering his services for the
promotion of the cause in his own county. At the second, the Dean of
Middleham's answer was received. He acquiesced in the request of the
commitee; when five thousand of his letters were ordered immediately to be
printed.

On the twenty-second a letter was read from Mr. James Mackenzie, of the
town of Cambridge, desiring to forward the object of the institution there.
Two letters were read also, one from the late Mr. Jones, tutor of Trinity
College, and the other from Mr. William Frend, fellow of Jesus College. It
appeared from these that the gentlemen of the University of Cambridge were
beginning to take a lively interest in the abolition of the Slave-trade,
among whom Dr. Watson, the bishop of Llandaff, was particularly
conspicuous. At this commitee two thousand new Summary Views were ordered
to be printed, and the circular letter to be prefixed to each.

CHAPTER XXI.

_Labours of the commitee continued to February 1788--commitee elect new
members--vote thanks to Falconbridge and others--receive letters from Grove
and others--circulate numerous publications--make a report--send circular
letters to corporate bodies--release Negros unjustly detained--find new
correspondents in Archdeacon Paley--the Marquis de la Fayette--Bishop of
Cloyne--Bishop of Peterborough--and in many others._

The labours of the commitee, during my absence, were as I have now
explained them; but as I was obliged, almost immediately on joining them,
to retire into the country to begin my new work, I must give an account of
their further services till I joined them again, or till the middle of
February 1788.

During sittings which were held from the middle of December 1787 to the
eighteenth of January 1788, the business of the commitee had so increased,
that it was found proper to make an addition to their number. Accordingly
James Martin and William Morton Pitt, esquires, members of parliament, and
Robert Hunter, and Joseph Snath, esquires, were chosen members of it.

The knowledge also of the institution of the society had spread to such an
extent, and the eagerness among individuals to see the publications of the
commitee had been so great, that the press was kept almost constantly going
during the time now mentioned. No fewer than three thousand lists of the
subscribers, with a circular letter prefixed to them, explaining the object
of the institution, were ordered to be printed within this period, to which
are to be added fifteen hundred of Benezet's Account of Guinea, three
thousand of the Dean of Middleham's Letters, five thousand Summary Views,
and two thousand of a new edition of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human
Species, which I had enlarged before the last of these sittings from
materials collected in my late tour.

The thanks of the commitee were voted during this period to Mr. Alexander
Falconbridge, for the assistance he had given me in my inquiries into the
nature of the Slave-trade.

As Mr. Falconbridge had but lately returned from Africa, and as facts and
circumstances, which had taken place but a little time ago, were less
liable to objections (inasmuch as they proved the present state of things)
than those which had happened in earlier times, he was prevailed upon to
write an account of what he had seen during the four voyages he had made to
that continent; and accordingly, within the period which has been
mentioned, he began his work.

The commitee, during these sittings, kept up a correspondence with those
gentlemen who were mentioned in the last chapter to have addressed them.
But, besides these, they found other voluntary correspondents in the
following persons, Capel Lofft, esquire, of Troston, and the reverend R.
Brome of Ipswich, both in the county of Suffolk. These made an earnest
tender of their services for those parts of the county in which they
resided. Similar offers were made by Mr. Hammond of Stanton, near St. Ives,
in the county of Huntingdon, by Thomas Parker, esquire, of Beverley, and by
William Grove, esquire, of Litchfield, for their respective towns and
neighbourhoods.

A letter was received also within this period from the society established
at Philadelphia, accompanied with documents in proof of the good effects of
the manumission of slaves, and with specimens of writing and drawing by the
same. In this letter the society congratulated the commitee in London on
its formation, and professed its readiness to cooperate in any way in which
it could be made useful.

During these sittings, a letter was also read from Dr. Bathurst, now bishop
of Norwich, dated Oxford, December the seventeenth, in which he offered his
services in the promotion of the cause.

Another was read, which stated that Dr. Horne, president of Magdalen
College in the same university, and afterwards bishop of the same see as
the former, highly favoured it.

Another was read from Mr. Lambert, fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in
which he signified to the commitee the great desire he had to promote the
object of their institution. He had drawn up a number of queries relative
to the state of the unhappy slaves in the islands, which he had transmitted
to a friend, who had resided in them, to answer. These answers he purposed
to forward to the commitee on their arrival.

Another was read from Dr. Hinchliffe, bishop of Peterborough, in which he
testified his hearty approbation of the institution, and of the design of
it, and his determination to support the object of it in parliament. He
gave in at the same time a plan, which he called Thoughts on the Means of
Abolishing the Slave-trade in Great Britain and in our West Indian Islands,
for the consideration of the commitee.

At the last of these sittings, the commitee thought it right to make a
report to the public relative to the state and progress of their cause; but
as this was composed from materials, which the reader has now in his
possession, it may not be necessary to produce it.

On the twenty-second and twenty-ninth of January, and on the fifth and
twelfth of February, 1788, sittings were also held. During these, the
business still increasing, John Maitland, esquire, was elected a member of
the commitee.

As the correspondents of the commitee were now numerous, and as these
solicited publications for the use of those who applied to them, as well as
of those to whom they wished to give a knowledge of the subject, the press
was kept in constant employ during this period also. Five thousand two
hundred and fifty additional Reports were ordered to be printed, and also
three thousand of Falconbridge's Account of the Slave-trade, the manuscript
of which was now finished. At this time, Mr. Newton, rector of St. Mary
Woolnoth in London, who had been in his youth to the coast of Africa, but
who had now become a serious and useful divine, felt it his duty to write
his Thoughts on the African Slave-trade. The commitee, having obtained
permission, printed three thousand copies of these also.

During these sittings, the chairman was requested to have frequent
communication with Dr. Porteus, bishop of London, as he had expressed his
desire of becoming useful to the institution.

A circular letter also, with the report before mentioned, was ordered to be
sent to the mayors of several corporate towns.

A case also occurred, which it may not be improper to notice. The treasurer
reported that he had been informed by the chairman, that the captain of the
Albion merchant ship, trading to the Bay of Honduras, had picked up at sea
from a Spanish ship, which had been wrecked, two black men, one named Henry
Martin Burrowes, a free native of Antigua, who had served in the royal
navy, and the other named Antonio Berrat, a Spanish Negro; that the said
captain detained these men on board his ship, then lying in the river
Thames, against their will; and that he would not give them up. Upon this
report, it was resolved that the cause of these unfortunate captives should
be espoused by the commitee. Mr. Sharp accordingly caused a writ of
habeas-corpus to be served upon them; soon after which he had the
satisfaction of reporting, that they had been delivered from the place of
their confinement.

During these sittings the following letters were read also:

One from Richard How, of Apsley, offering his services to the commitee.

Another from the reverend Christopher Wyvill, of Burton Hall in Yorkshire,
to the same effect.

Another from Archdeacon Plymley, (now Corbett,) in which he expressed the
deep interest he took in this cause of humanity and freedom, and the desire
he had of making himself useful as far as he could towards the support of
it; and he wished to know, as the clergy of the diocese of Litchfield and
Coventry were anxious to espouse it also, whether a petition to parliament
from them, as a part of the established church, would not be desirable at
the present season.

Another from Archdeacon Paley, containing his sentiments on a plan for the
abolition of the Slave-trade, and the manumission of slaves in our islands,
and offering his future services, and wishing success to the undertaking.

Another from Dr. Sharp, prebendary of Durham, inquiring into the probable
amount of the subscriptions which might be wanted, and for what purposes,
with a view of serving the cause.

Another from Dr. Woodward, bishop of Cloyne, in which he approved of the
institution of the commitee. He conceived the Slave-trade to be no less
disgraceful to the legislature and injurious to the true commercial
interests of the country, than it was productive of unmerited misery to die
unhappy objects of it, and repugnant both to the principles and the spirit
of the Christian religion. He wished to be placed among the asserters of
the liberty of his fellow-creatures, and he was therefore desirous of
subscribing largely, as well as of doing all he could, both in England and
Ireland, for the promotion of such a charitable work.

A communication was made, soon after the reading of the last letter,
through the medium of the Chevalier de Ternant, from the celebrated Marquis
de la Fayette of France. The marquis signified the singular pleasure he had
received on hearing of the formation of a commitee in England for the
abolition of the Slave-trade, and the earnest desire he had to promote the
object of it. With this view, he informed the commitee that he should
attempt the formation of a similar society in France. This he conceived to
be one of the most effectual measures he could devise for securing the
object in question; for he was of opinion, that if the two great nations of
France and England were to unite in this humane and Christian work, the
other European nations might be induced to follow the example.

The commitee, on receiving the two latter communications, resolved, that
the chairman should return their thanks to the Bishop of Cloyne, and the
Marquis de la Fayette, and the Chevalier de Ternant, and that he should
inform them, that they were enrolled among the honorary and corresponding
members of the Society.

The other letters read during these sittings were to convey information to
the commitee, that people in various parts of the kingdom had then felt
themselves so deeply interested in behalf of the injured Africans, that
they had determined either on public meetings, or had come to resolutions,
or had it in contemplation to petition parliament, for the abolition of the
Slave-trade. Information was signified to this effect by Thomas Walker,
esquire, for Manchester; by John Hoyland, William Hoyles, esquire, and the
reverend James Wilkinson, for Sheffield; by William Tuke, and William Burgh
esquire, for York; by the reverend Mr. Foster, for Colchester; by Joseph
Harford and Edmund Griffith, esquires, for Bristol; by William Bishop,
esquire, the mayor, for Maidstone; by the reverend R. Brome and the
reverend J. Wright, for Ipswich; by James Clark, esquire, the mayor, for
Coventry; by Mr. Jones, of Trinity College, for the University of
Cambridge; by Dr. Schomberg, of Magdalen College, for the University of
Oxford; by Henry Bullen, esquire, for Bury St. Edmunds; by Archdeacon
Travis, for Chester; by Mr. Hammond, for the county of Huntingdon; by John
Flint, esquire, (now Corbett,) for the town of Shrewsbury and county of
Salop; by the reverend Robert Lucas, for the town and also for the county
of Northampton; by Mr. Winchester, for the county of Stafford; by the
reverend William Leigh, for the county of Norfolk; by David Barclay, for
the county of Hertford; and by Thomas Babington, esquire, for the county of
Leicester.

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