“ The evidence for Africa and the Middle Passage, on the side of the Petitioners of Great Britain, is given by persons, who have been to almost all the conspicuous parts of Africa, from the River Senegal to Angola. Many of them have had great opportunities of information, from having been resident on shore, or having been up and down the different rivers, or from having made each of them several voyages. ”

“ Grenada, 1788—"Whereas the laws heretofore made for the protection of slaves have been found insufficient; And whereas humanity and the interest of the colony require that salutary and adequate regulations and provisions should be adopted for rendering their servitude as limited and easy as possible, and for promoting the increase of their population, as the most likely means of removing, in the course of time, the necessity of further importations of negroes from Africa ”

“ We have no right to suppose that persons of their character had any intention of misleading the publick in a question of so much importance to the interests of mankind; but we may suppose, that in their situation they had little or no opportunity of observing the treatment of the slaves ”

“ The clauses, preambles, and advertisements just cited will, it is presumed, without any farther extracts, bring additional conviction to the mind of the reader, that the Admirals could have known little or nothing about the treatment of the slaves during their residence in the islands: for they shew, first, that the slaves have been insufficiently fed, lodged, and clothed; that they have been under the power of the master and overseer to an unreasonable degree; that they have been often turned adrift, when incapable of labour, "to beg, steal, or starve;" ”

“ Barbadoes—"An Act to prevent distempered, maimed, and worn out negroes, from infesting the towns, streets, and highways of this island." Passed Jan. 18, 1785.
"Whereas it has, for some time past, been the cruel practice of some persons possessing negroes, who, from their old age and infirmities, are incapable of further service to their inhuman owners, to drive them from their plantations to beg, steal, or starve, which said unhappy objects are daily infesting the publick streets of the several towns in this island," &c. The penalty to such owner is 5l. currency, or about 3l. ”

“ The estates visited, belonging to persons of distinction, might be supposed under the best management, Besides all possible care would be taken to keep every disgusting object from view, and on no account by the exercise of the whip or other punishments, to harrow up the feelings of persons of such distinction. ”

“ Among those not branded is "a woman with a wooden leg." One man is distinguished by having "both ears cropt" and another by "his nose and ears being cut off."—In the Jamaica Daily Advertiser of Feb. 11, 1791, we find six runaways advertised by one owner, viz. two men and four women, besides a girl child of one of the latter. Both the men and two of the women are of one family, being an old woman, her brother, her son, and her grand nephew (marked R D C) and who absented themselves at different times.— An advertisement in the Jamaica Daily Advertiser of Feb. ”

“ The member (Mr. Gray) who introduced the above, premised, "That to his own certain knowledge, very unnatural punishments were often inflicted on negroes; and that, in several instances, he had been obliged to interpose as a magistrate, to prevent actual rebellion from such inhuman treatment."
In the Jamaica paper, called the Gazette of St. Jago de la Vega, dated October 11, 1787, we number 97 runaway slaves advertised, viz. ”