William IV of the United Kingdom

“ From the British officers employed in that war, I understand these Maroons, notwithstanding constant intercourse of more than a century with christians, to be totally void of all religion whatsoever; to be completely savage and barbarous, and to go entirely naked, with the exception of short trowsers. Neither have they, though surrounded by the British plantations, shewn any degree of cultivation excepting by the provisions which they grow for their own use. During this Maroon War, my Lords, the slaves on the island of Jamaica remained quiet, peaceable, loyal, and affectionate. ”

“ It has been frequently, my Lords, mentioned, whenever this question has been agitated in this House—the riches and flourishing state of the West Indies. I admit it, and rejoice at the fact; and may therefore fairly assert, that in a free country, where, thank God, every thing is to be attained by individuals, it cannot be supposed that a West India proprietor pays less attention to the education of his child than any other British subject; and indeed, your Lordships know, that the great schools of Eton, Westminster, Harrow, and Winchester, are full of the sons of the West Indians. ”

“ The French, previous to the revolution, during the last peace, supplied their own islands with Negroes, from the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. I beg leave, my Lords, to impress upon your memories a few stubborn facts. The Portuguese and native merchants in India, carry on at this time the Slave Trade through Bombay. Since that period, a tax has been laid upon the importation of Negroes into that place by British merchants. I am the last man in the world, my Lords, to detract from the merits of those concerned in the management of this business ”

“ How far it is maintained and supported by the Slave Traffic, which, for two hundred years, the natives of Europe have carried on with the natives of the coast, it is neither within my province, nor in my power to explain. If my sentiments should be required concerning the effect which a discontinuance of that commerce would produce on the manners of the natives, I should have no hesitation in observing, that in the present unenlightened state of their minds, my opinion is, the effect would neither be so extensive nor beneficial, as many wise and worthy persons fondly expect. ”

“ I have heard that the staple commodity of Africa is Slaves. Every other article of Commerce, even including ivory, is very small; and many of these articles, it has been satisfactorily proved at your Lordships Bar, have lain upon the hands of the merchants of this country at a considerable loss. It has been stated by Mr. Macaulay, and likewise by Mr. Dawes, that the Grumattes, or domestic Slaves, who attend the caravans of Slaves down to the coast, must be in great numbers, in order to carry back the different British Manufactures bartered for a ton of ivory. ”

“ Whenever a famine arises in any country where cultivation is little known, the consequences must indeed be fatal; and during dearths, Mr. Park mentions several instances of the natives selling themselves for food.
As for crimes being the cause of Slavery in Africa, it is, my Lords, even no more than the law of this country; for what are the Convicts that are annually transported to Botany Bay but Slaves? The last cause of Slavery in Africa, and which Mr. Stevens has, with his usual candour and close argument, dwelt largely upon, is the crime of Witchcraft. ”

“ Now, my Lords, though this country has been for many centuries under the benign influence of Christianity, it is a fact well ascertained, that at the close of the last century, people were tried and convicted of Witchcraft, Can your Lordships, therefore, be astonished, that the wild, ferocious, and ignorant African, unenlightened by the Christian Religion, should frequently consider persons conversant with, and consequently guilty of a communication with evil spirits? ”

“ It is not my most distant intention to throw any censure upon the Noble Secretary of State, whose general conduct, during the present critical situation of Europe, has been such as to prove his affection to the King and country. To him I impute no blame upon the subject of the Petition in favour of the Bill; but far differently do I think of those Gentlemen who drew it.—When the Bill was first brought up to this House, my Lords, I own I did not conceive it possible for its supporters to defend the measure, but upon the general grounds of Abolition ”

“ In case the Abolition should unfortunately take place, the English Planter, more active and more fertile at expedients of commerce than any other, would inevitably, upon those estates that increase in Negro population, turn Slave-breeder, and then supply different states and different islands. ”

“ They therein state, that between 1780 and 1787, from the dreadful effects of hurricanes, and their disagreeable consequences, such as famine and disease, that notwithstanding the annual importation of Negroes from the coast of Africa into Jamaica, at the time of presenting the Address, the Negro population was 15,000 short of what it was in 1780. It is true, that upon some estates, the Negro population may and does increase; and it is equally clear, that upon many others it rapidly diminishes: consequently the planters are obliged to purchase Slaves annually. ”

“ It is a fact, perhaps well known to every British Officer of the army and navy who has been at Gibraltar, that the Emperor of Morocco has a very large black army within his dominions, the number of which he regularly maintains by sending down armed Moors to bring away, by force, the negroes from their wives and families, without the advantage of barter, and without the most distant respect to the customs and manners of the Africans. ”

“ Can your Lordships be surprised, that with all the ingenious and logical arguments of Mr. Stevens, the learned counsel should be obliged to admit, that the Imports from the establishment of the Colony of Africa is 4000l. per annum, while their expence is 10,000l. Your Lordships will observe, that the Sierra Leone Company set out with a capital of 250,000l.; that Mr. Stevens has laboured to prove, that at present they are worth 50,000l. though I have the strongest reason to believe that they are not worth more than 30,000l. By Mr. Stevens's own account, there is an annual deficit of 6000l. ”

“ The Right of obtaining Labourers from Africa is secured to Your Majesty's faithful subjects in this colony BY several British Acts of Parliament, and by several Proclamations of Your Majesty's Royal Ancestors. They, or their predecessors, have emigrated and settled in Jamaica, under the most solemn promises of this (absolutely necessary) assistance, and they can never give up or do any act that may render doubtful their essential right. ”

“ All European nations are anxious to wrest this valuable trade out of our hands. I shall not, like some advocates for the measure, advance as an argument that the French have abolished the trade, because they have at time no settlements in the West Indies. ”

“ His conduct is distinguished by plain dealing and honest meaning; and he has too much pride of character to deviate from the paths of honour.
In all climates, where food is easily obtained, cultivation is little attended to. Mr. Park bears strong testimony to that fact. For having been in the East Indies, on mentioning to the inhabitants of the interior of Africa the advantageous uses to which the Elephant and Bullock are applied on that continent, the natives laughed at him, and observed, that the only beast of burden was the ass. ”

“ To persons so well acquainted with the history of this country as your Lordships, it would be too great presumption on my part to engage your attention, by a detailed account of the African Trade carried on by the European nations; suffice it to say, that in the year 1442, the Portuguese began it. In 1471, the Portuguese built the first forts on the Gold Coast, and had thirty-seven vessels in the trade. In 1502, the Spaniards commenced the same trade; and in 1517, Charles V. allowed the Portuguese to furnish Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, With 4000 slaves annually. ”

“ Dawes are obliged to admit, that the ivory brought down to the markets is suspended upon the backs of the Slaves for sale, and, consequently, that it cannot be brought down from the interior in any other manner: From my own experience, my Lords, amongst the Indians in North America, the use of any beast to carry burthens is equally as unknown as in Africa. ”

“ The consequences that have been so often drawn,—the tearing of the Slave from his country and family, would indeed, in this case, take effect, for the civilized and domiciliated Slave would be torn from his family and connections, to supply the deficiencies on those estates and islands where the Negro population does not increase. ”

“ Indeed, my Lords, though the civilization of Africa was professed to be, together with the Abolition of the Slave Trade, the principal object of the Sierra Leone Company, it does not appear that any great benefit can soon arise from the propagation of Christianity under the influence of this Colony ”

“ But with all deference to that high and respectable Association, I think it a matter of great national importance, seriously to consider, how far it is prudent to encourage not only the Portuguese, but even the native powers, in efforts for the improvement of navigation, and the consequent increase if seamen, in seas so remote from our home possessions. ”

“ It is a very specious, though a very fallacious argument, in support of the idea intended to be impressed upon your Lordships minds by the friends of the Bill, that the Slave Trade is not so materially an object With the natives, as that of other productions in Africa. ”

“ It would be a reflection indeed, which the Right Reverend and Learned Prelates I am sure would contradict, to say, that young men quitting these great public schools, to complete their educations at the seminaries of Oxford and Cambridge, and the universities of Scotland and Ireland, should turn out disgraceful to human nature, and destitute of heart and common feeling. ”