the Committee will bear in mind the whole of this tranfaction, which thews (if any thing can fhew it) the dreadful nature of the Slave Trade; its cruelty, its perfidy, its effects on Africa, and on the minds of those who carry it on. But that to which I particularly wish to point your attention, is the nature of the Chieftain's application coupled with the Captain's declaration that he had often given them fire-arms before: whence you may collect, that thefe ravages are customary things, the regular mode of doing bufinefs in the Slave Trade. Remember too, that these transactions were carrying on at the very time our inquiry was going forward, and whilft our Opponents witneffes were ftrenuoufly denying not only the actual, but even the poffible, exiftence of any fuch depredations.

There is however another inftance yet behind, which in fome refpects furpaffes in enormity even that I have just now ftated. Gentlemen may perhaps recollect fome instances in our Evidence wherein, when the Natives have perfifted in afking too much for their Slaves, a Captain has fired on their towns, and used other compulsory means to bring them down to more reasonable terms. If a few lives fhould be loft in this mode of adjufting the bargain, it does not much fignify; human life is appreciated but at a low rate in Africa.

Now, Sir, it will aftonifh the House to hear of a recent tranfaction of this fort, exceeding all the former in magnitude and enormity. This happened no longer ago than last August, after all our arguments and difcuffions, when, if ever, you would think the Slave Captains would have been on their good behaviour. Six Britifh fhips, three belonging to Liverpool, three to Bristol, were anchored off the Town of Calabar. Gentlemen will recollect the place,-it was the scene of a dreadful maffacre about twenty years before. The Captains of these fix veffels thinking the Natives afked too much for their Slaves, and having in vain endeavoured to prevail on them to moderate their conditions, held a confultation how they should proceed, and agreed to fire upon the town, unless their terms fhould be complied with. They one evening notified their determination, and acquainted the Traders that if they should continue obftinate, they would put it in execution the next morning. In this inftance they kept their word. They brought 66 guns to bear upon the Town, and fired on it for two or three hours; not a fingle fhot was returned.—

A canoe

A canoe then came off to offer terms of accommodation, ftating that much execution had been done, which was indeed the lefs to be wondered, because the guns had been pointed by old men-of-war feamen. How difhonourable an exercise of their fkill! The parties ftill not agreeing, whilft the poor people, taking advantage of this ceflation, were feen on all fides making their efcape into the woods, or paddling off in their boats, fome one way, fome another, the firing recommenced; more damage was done, and the obftinate Natives were at length forced into fubmiffion. There are no certain accounts of their lofs; report faid 50 were killed; but fome were afterwards seen in the agonies of death, by those who were sent on fhore to buy Slaves, and others were lying badly wounded. The affair however ended, as it ought; and I have no doubt we may have the fatisfaction to think many of the Liverpool and Bristol Owners are fome hundred pounds the richer for this tranfaction. One circumftance I muft add, which I had before omitted, though for my Country's fake I would gladly fupprefs it; and I recommend it in particular to the confideration of those who have urged it as an argument for our carrying on the Slave Trade, that it would be taken up by other nations if we were to defift from it. A French ship was at the fame time in the Calabar River, the Captain of which could not be prevailed on, by the British Captains, to join in their enterprize. He bought at the high price; and they were obliged to fufpend their bloody purpose until he had failed away with his cargo. Sir, it fhocks me more than all the reft to be obliged to fay, that I fear these matters are not altogether unknown at Briftol; and yet I hear thefe very Captains are furnished with fresh births, as if they had raised their eftimation by this inftance of their activity. Yes, Sir, at this very moment, whilft we are fitting here, and talking of Abolition, in contempt of our debates, in defiance of our inquiries, nay, as if they thought hereby to recommend themselves to the sanction and countenance of a British House of Commons.Excufe my warmth;-it is impoffible for any one, who has the feelings of a man, not to lose his temper in fpeaking of fuch proceedings. The House being here clamorous for the names, Mr. W. ftated them: The Thomas, of Bristol, Capt. Phillips; Wafp, of ditto, Capt. Hutchenson; Recovery, of ditto, Capt. Kimber; the Martha, of Liverpool, Captain Houfton; the Betfey, of ditto, Capt. Doyle;

B 4

the

the Amachree, of ditto, Capt.

I am not quite cer

tain of the name, but I believe Captain Lee.

I think, Sir, I have already laid enough to the charge of this detefted traffic; yet believe me if I were fo difpofed, I could add much more of a fimilar nature; but I will pass it over, just only fuggefting one new topic on which I might enlarge, that I mean, of our faining the Commercial Honour of Great Britain, by defcending to every petty fraud in our dealings with the Natives.

But not to take up any more of your time on this part of the fubject, I muft pafs on to another, which originally ftruck my mind as being more horrid than all the reft, and which I think ftill retains its fuperiority; I mean the fituation of the Slaves on board fhip, or what is commonly called the Middle Paffage. I will fpare the Committee, however, the detail of all thofe perfections in cruelty which it exhibits: but two or three inftances I muft mention, because they are of a recent date, and ftill more because they will tend to convince those who are inclined rather to regulate than abolish the Slave Trade, that fo long as it is fuffered to exift, the evils of the Middle Paffage must exist also, though in refpect of them, more than any other clafs, regulation might have been deemed effectual. We were told, I remember, in an early stage of our inquiry, that formerly indeed the Negroes were but ill accommodated during their conveyance, and perhaps there was now and then a confiderable mortality; but fuch had been the improvements of late years, that they were now quite comfortable and happy. Yet it was no longer ago thau in the year 1788, that Mr. Ifaac Wilfon, whose intelligent and candid manner of giving his evidence, could not but imprefs the Committee with a high opinion of him, was doomed to witnefs fcenes as deeply diftreffing as almost ever occurred in the annals of the Slave Trade. I will not condemn the Committee to listen to the particulars of his dreadful tale, but for the prefent will content myfelf with pointing your attention to the mortality. His fhip was a veffel of 370 tons, and fhe had on board 602 Slaves, a number greater than we at prefent allow, but rather lefs I think, than what was afferted by the Slave Merchants to be neceflary in order to carry on their trade to any tolerable profit. Out of these 602 the loft 155. I will mention the mortality alfo of three

.or

or four more veffels which were in company with her, and belonged to the fame owner. One of them bought 450, and buried 200; another bought 466, and buried 73; another bought 546, and buried 158; befides 155 from his own fhip, his number being 602; and from the whole four after the landing of their Cargoes there died 220. He fell in with another veffel which loft 352, the number she had bought was not specified. To these actual deaths during and immediately after the voyage, add the subsequent loss in what is called the feafoning, and confider that this lofs would be greater than ordinary in Cargoes landed in fo fickly a state. Why, Sir, were fuch a mortality general, it would in a few months depopulate the earth. We asked the Surgeon the caufes of thefe exceflive loffes, particularly on board his own fhip, where he had it in his power to ascertain them; the subftance of his reply was this:-that most of the Slaves appeared to labour under a fixed dejection and melancholy, interrupted now and then by lamentations and plaintive songs, expreffive of their concern for the lofs of their relations and friends, and native country. So powerfully did this operate, that many attempted various ways of destroying themfelves; fome endeavoured to drown themselves, and three actually effected it; others obftinately refused to take sustenance, and when the whip and other violent means were ufed to compel them to eat, they looked up in the face of the officer who unwillingly executed this painful task, and said in their own language prefently we shall be no more." Their ftate of mind produced a general languor and debility, which were increased in many inftances by an unconquerable abftinence from food, arifing partly from fickness, partly, to use the language of Slave Captains, from "fulkinefs." The e caufes naturally produced the flux, the contagion spread, numbers were daily carried off, and the disorder aided by so many powerful auxiliaries refifted all the force of medicine. And it is worth while to remark, that these grievous sufferings appear to have been in no degree owing either to want of care on the part of the owner, or to any negligence or harshness of the Captain. When Mr. Wilfon was queftioned if the hip was well fitted; as well, says he, as most vessels are, and the Crew and Slaves as well treated as in most ships; and he afterwards fpeaks of his Captain in ftill ftronger terms, being a man of tenderness and humanity.

Τ

The fhip in which Mr. Claxton the Surgeon failed, fince the Regulating Act, afforded a repetition of all the fame horrid circumftances I have before alluded to. Suicide, in various ways, was attempted and effected, and the fame barbarous expedients were reforted to, in order to compel them to con tinue an existence too painful to be endured: the mortality alfo was as great. And yet here also it appears to have been in no degree the fault of the Captain, who is reprefented as having felt for the Slaves in their wretched fituation. If fuch was the ftate of things under Captains who had ftill the feelings of their nature, what muft it be under those of a contrary defcription? It would be a curious fpeculation to confider what would be the conduct towards his Cargo of fuch a man as one of the fix I lately spoke of: it would be curious to trace fuch an one in idea through all the opportunities the Middle Paffage would afford him of difplaying the predominant features of his character.

Unhappily, Sir, it is not left for us here to form our own conjectures! Of the conduct of one of them at least, I have heard incidents which furpaís all my imagination could have conceived. One of thein I would relate, if it were not almost too fhocking for defcription; and yet I feel it my duty, in the fituation in which I ftand, not to fuffer myfelf to pay too much attention to what has been well called fqueamishnefs on the part of the Committee. If it be too bad for me to recite, or for you to hear, it was not thought too bad for one of those unhappy creatures to fuffer, of whom I have this night the honour to be the Advocate. There was a poor girl on board, about fifteen years of age, who had unfortunately contracted a disorder, which produced effects that rendered her a peculiar object of commiferation. In this fituation the poor girl being quite naked, bent down in a ftooping pofture, wifhing out of modefty to conceal her infitmity: the Captain ordered her to walk upright, and when she could not, or would not obey, he hoifted her up, naked as she was, by the wrifts, with her feet a little diftance from the deck; and whilft fhe there hung, a fpectacle to the whole crew, he flogged her with a whip with his own hands. He then hung her up in a fimilar way by both legs, and lastly by one leg; till at length having thus exhaufted the efforts of his favage invention, he released her from her torments. The poor

unhappy