The National Register. — London, England, 1815-12-31 00:00:00

44 i THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Our film!, Constitution anti Una. PUBLISHED AT NO 8\), CHANCERY-LANE, LONDON. No. 419. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31. 1815. PRICE 9!d. PUL 'ICAL DISQI .........0..... ISITION. On the ABOLITION of die SLAVE Trade by Louts XVIII. on the Registry of SLAVES, and the threatened REBEL. LION of JAMAICA AN event most gratifying to the friends of humanity was publicly announced last week, on the indisputable autho rity of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of France and of England. The Slave Trade is formally abolished by the legitimate government of France. How it happened that the ability and eloquence of Lord Castlereagh was so lung baffled on this point in 1814, and was obliged at last to re. tire contented with a sort of doubtful truce for five years, we may well remember. Circumstances are now changed; Mr. lFilberforee and Mr. Clarkson have both published pamphlets on the subject, which have been translated into French, and, having been licenced by the censors of the press, have been circulated in France at the expence of the Government, or perhaps of the African society in En g. land. There is such a reiolution in the opinion of the slave•traders and anti•abolitionists in France, that the ' King is now quite at liberty to gratify the feelings of his Own heart, and to put an end,, as far as respects French. men, to the most diabolical of all traffics, the bartering for a few trinkets, a little gunpowder, or a quantity of brandy, the lives, the liberty, and happiness of thousands of human beings annually torn from their homes, their families and connexions, and their very country, to pass into perpetual bondage, they and their issue, for all time to come. In this change, the good King of France expressly de_ Glares, that he was not guided by the consideration that the rebel goveriment l in the short interval that was allowed for the display of its tyranny, had begun its career by this very act unsolicited and without hesitation. No—every thing which that Government could have dune, however wise and virtuous in appearance, must necessarily be bad in reality, and undeserving of all imitation, because it must proceed from dark and sinister views quite opposite from its pro fessions. This is probably very true ; but we, who profess to see less into the hearts of men, and not at all into those of kings, have made it a rule to consider all actions as good and worthy of imitation which produce a good effect; and thoirld iatheehave preferred the avowal of a principle di rectly the reverse of this ; namely, to copy in others every thing which is obviously good, ‘vithout enquiring into the motive, as to which we are so likely to be deceived by preju dices. There is an old maxim of apprdved wisdom, which tells us, that it is good to take warning of rot. VII.Na, CGGC27III. ~~. ~. t ,1 . Indeed, if we wish to discover and to amend our fault', it 19 more likely that we shall learn them from our avowed ad versaries than our professed fri:uds ; and as a general prin ciple we recommend to all who set out in search of good to imitate the bee, which culls from every flower all the sweets that it can find, and overlooks not even the most noxious weed in the search. To be plain, we dislike the maxim of doing in all things the reverse of any one man, especially if he be avowedly a man of great talents ; for in that case we surrender our judgments entirely, and form to our elves a bad model expressly on the rule of acting by contraries. As for the other idle principk, of prying into h arts rather than examining conduct, it 's assuming too much o. the Divinity, and thinking not only that we are ‘• of Goa," — that our power is " from God," —but that we possess the very attributes of God himself, and that all hearts be open to us; than which nothing can be more v .in and impious. How liable it is to palpable error may be seen in this, that Mr. Pitt, though he poke many years for the abolition of the Slave Trade, was supposed very falsely to have no hear; in the cause, merely on account of the delay which his colleagues managed to produce; and England was. in 1814, accused by the French of mean views of self interest in proposing the abolition, with the hope that the energies of t hQ French colonies would hereafter be crippled by the want of slaves. We have said enough against this erroneous test of human conduct, by imputtn4 motives opposite to the very action; and, leaving the French Government to deal as it can with its former slaves in St. Domingo, will nut violate our own rules by casting the slightf st suspicion on the motives of the good King of France. Still we shall never shrink from examining his conduct ; and Ave sincerely declare that we hail with unmixed joy and exultation this certain good, which Lord Castlereagh has effected in his late negociations. May it soothe his anguish amidst the restless anxieties of a states_ man's life, and add an inexhaustible sweet to the cup of h 7 s enjoyments ! The subject of the slave trade, that is to.say,,of its aboli. tion, of tae immediate improvement of the situation of our black brethren in the West Indies, and the destruction of slavery altogether, by &be means through which positive slavery has been nearly ,abolished ja. uropt, namely, through the influence ofthe Christian religion, alone l operat_ ing upon tn,asier,and.slave, has for many years occupied our thoughts. We.were roused to , it in early life by .tho labours 4/4', iThetioreemidi - 01arAsois, • by the eloquence of .Pitt ) Ffk ,For, apa.Bulif. spit by die no less pra4vivortity