The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-12-29 00:00:00

41
charge. Mr. Wallace
on the aide of Stewart.

this latter gentleman appeared
remembered the enerty with wine,, on a irawiner
cause, he had professed himself ready it,
in any Court of England, " tlint no properly could
exist its w slave." Mr. Sharks 00111011 thiS
conduct will probably have little weight with Inset.
yers; hut it should not be withheld from tlw public. •
After noticing the phossige in the trio' wr
in which 000000 hsd made this remarkable tower-
bon, he says, " And yet, alter so solemn a decla-
ration, he appeared on the side of the slavesholder
the very next year ! This is an ab 00000 inable prac-
tice of lawyers, to ontlertike causes opposite to their
own avaaaal optninns or law and contains justice !"
Dr. Johosoo, however, has defended this practice
i with much plausibility.
The expectation of all toirties war WOW railed 10
I the ultimo !olds, soil (pi the 2C,1 of June, 1772,
Lord Mansfield pro 11111 l tures!, t hat " tracing the
Isuhj-ct to natural principles, the rlaim of slowly
never CIWII be supported. The power claimed never
was in use here, ur acknowlerigoil by the law.

Upon the whole, we e t say the csn•e re.
turned • is sufficient by the law, and theref•tte
the man moil he dochargerl." The judgment
111114 proooteticerl by his Lordship has •stshlishrd
the ttttt ,as declared by Mr. Serjeai►t Da►'c, that
as soon as any stare sets feet on isegfide greeted,
he 6ee•stees free.
Thu• ended the memorable cause of Somerset ;
tu►d•had it not I►reu for the perseverance -of Mr.
Sharp. nue lea (-44 yr the Editor. us fur's, it could
be hal deuced by the opinino of one of the best *U-
teri, ou N, Blacksiotie) would have left in doubt
whether our Cosioitut did or did not secure the
liberty of all her subjects.
The respectable hotly of Quakers, in North
America, had for many years atirtul•trtl to alleviate
the condition of •laves in itirlir pravisices ; red %hell
the verdicts obtailied in favour of negroes In
England reached them, they sought to co-operate
wills Sharp in his laborious etriirta. Oil the me.
motable da• which termi►iated the cause, he re.

ceived the first offer of a ernrespondenee
fur the sole purpose of forwarding the etn.ineinwion
of other slaves. but lending. in its progress. to enrol
the mime 4.f Granville Sharp in the politivol strife
between Gttiii Britain and her Colonies. 'Fit
einrropondent wee Anthony Benrzet, a Quaker
North America. *14,4 had r.tabliaha7l a freer school

Ins the estoration of blacks, hail written treatises
in their favour. and embraced every opportunity
of pleading in their behalf t.
lit this letter, the wordier Queaker informs him.
that theserious Dissenters, and particularly the
Presbytetians, wished to see an end of the slave
trade, and many to slavery itself. That the people
of New England bud enacted a kW Dearly etas u•
11114 to i s prohibition. proposing that all negroes
burn in the country should be free at a certain
age ; that ten thousand persona iii Maryland
and Virginia would Juin in petition to Par-
liament against any further importation ; and he
eariitst ly eiii rests him by the mercies qf Lad, that
an application may be sande to the K lug Will Par-
liament ; by share mercies to rehich each of us ere
long—and we karat not hew soon —nri:;ht rev or, who a
we shall remember with the greatest jay or grief,
that mercy is promised to the merciful."
In Mr. Sharp's reply lie tells " that the
British Parliament. lie apprehended, ha.l no right
to interfere with the toleration of slavery in the
Colonies, and that our hiethren there could wit he
too much upon Coeir guard in this point respecting
the dignity awl independence of their own assein.
blies ; the petition, therefor, should be addressed
only to the or the lint.; in Comicil."
This doctrine was Slot new to the Arwricatis : it
was precisely the same in fact which they had for
two years openly maintained during the contests
occasioned by our Ministry to iinpose 'menial taxes
on the Colonies. ]lit it had hitherto been acted
on only us far as it reputed the impositioor of duties,
for raising a oevoine. tit this instance, its winch
Granville Sharp b eeeee gill it to their view, though it
110041 MI the a. me basin. it appeauril in a sirs; and
more enlarged light. The strength anal clearness
with which his oicittoo was expressed, was highly
agreeable to the temper of the Colotatts, and they
accepted WIIII
the WNW of thus prllielpltS they sturdily maintain-
ed. Copies of his Inters were rankly circalatrd,
and the method hr proposed adopted us the true
constitutiotial rule tel ptoeeedusg is all OAKUM.
stances of the Slase Trade.
To a mail disposed by nature to contemplate
boldly the most abornae sower' of truth, and
rmiliently endowed with faculties for thin 'purpose,
sitfficirat option hoot Ikea given to lead him fin-
ward in the track of holism' liberty with the same
ardour with which he had sought in Englopli at a.
tote-books fur the dricore ul individual free-
dom, he now turopil to inseatigate ihr ...weal and
political rights of 'taboos iu general ; the
itninr-
diate motive was still the love of the English cha-
racter. The duty of au Englishman (say les notes)
In monition the just limits of law according to this
Constitution, c pellet: sue iu the year 1774 to
publish a Declaration of the people's right to a
slime io the Legislaiuse, which is the fundamental
principle of the Punish Constitution. Of this De-
elarati eeee he writes in a eeeee her memorandum. July
27, 1774, that he had given to Dr. Frasskliu 250
copies, winch were sent to Anisettea the same day,
and were reprinted in many provinces within the
year.
Daring the whole course of these tramactions,
Mr. Sharp laad cootinned in the I ble esuploy.
ment of a clerk in ordinary in the Ordnance-office,
where the duties of his department appear to have
been piiiictitariy performed. as no the death of the
isecond clerk he succeeded to the place, and acted
es assistant to the Secretory Mi. Boilpliespion. Oa
his promotion lie received an adilitiosial allowance.

• Tiw itilll7l to the wcit of /sakes corpus, dating that
Somerset was kept by osier of his shyster, with Midst tourist
kiss to Jamaica, there to he
f He was dereemied from a Freed' fatally, possessed of
coraiderable tortoise to Eraser, which they left ON armrest
of their relapse, forteitirg their tolertitasect, sod *aisles
their ishotaintre by ordstatry. Artits, Pars zd, at his
death, left hoe whole failure to the etitool, to which he bad
denoted ►w time aril minds. He wee oeivereally respected,
sot tray by his owe sect, but by oil who !maw hiss.
(To is costisna..)


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