The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-23 00:00:00

the cause of free trade they were promoting
the cause of the emancipation of the African race.
One quotation more, and he had done. The quotation
he was about to allude to showed in a most emphatic
way the superiority of free labour over slave labour
whenever they were suffered to com'; into fair compe-
tition. The quotation stated that about forty years
before the book was written, little or no indigo was
exported from British India. The whole of the indigo
used in England was the produce of slave labour. A
few spirited individuals in Bengal subscribed their ca-
pital together and induced the natives to cultivate in-
digo fur the English market. They met with some
difficulties at first, but they were soon overcome.
and as the duties on indigo, the produce of the East
and of the West, were pretty nearly equal, their
effort-4 were soon crowned with success ; and such
was the effect produced, that, notwithstanding they
had a much higher rate of freight to pay, the free-
labour indigo of India had completely displaced the
slave-labour of the West; and at the present moment
there was not a single ounce of indigo imported into
Europe but what was the produce of free-labour in
India. Now that was an instance of what free trade
had done for the extinction of slavery.—(Cheers.)
It was ,n encouragement to them to persevere in their
efforts. free trade had, in this instance, caused
atno.ng 500,000 of their
the extinction of slavt:ry
fel-
low-beings in South America, and all without any
commotion—without any agitation--by the simple
and silent application of the great principle which
they were that night assembled to advocate.—
(Cheers.) Only let these be carried out to their
fullest extent, and there would be nobeing in the world
in a state of slavery. He now came to the Conven-
tion of 1840, at which their great leader, Mr. Cobden
—(Cheers)—was present. He (Mr. Thompson)
attended almost exclusively to one subject when he
was a member of that Convention, and that was the
subject of free-labour produce being used in this coun-
try. The convention took up the subject of free
labour; and they brought in a report, and upon that
report a series of resolutions were founded, to the
effect that the admission of free-labour produce into
this country would not have the effect of putting an
end to slavery and the slave trade. Two estimable and
learned gentlemen, Dr. Maddox and Mr. Turnbull,
took exception to the exclusive language of those re-
solutions, and they refused to give their sanction to
them. The Convention, however, would not listen to
their remoustrances, and they were not allowed to at-
tach an amendment to the resolutions, but the ori-
ginal resolutions were carried without any dissent.
There was, however, no consistency about that Con-
vontion, for while the Convention affirmed the reso-
lutions to which lie had referred, several members of
that Convention said that they could not contemplate
without horror she lowering of the duty on Brazilian
and Cuba produce. This was inconsistent with
the principle which they ham affirmed in passing the
resolutions to which he had refel.-7.4.A. If a principle
were a good one, then was it good to c27.!ry it out to
its fullest extent. He (Mr. Thompson) iend.l.leeted
when he was connected with the Anti-Slavery go-
eiety, that a Member of Parliament one day told him,
in the presence of thousands, that if they emancipated
the slaves they would cause them to retrograde, and
that they would go on all-fours. He said that
the would be reduced to destitution, misery,
and hopeless darkness, whereas then they were
the objects of parental care—were pampered
with luxuries from my lady's table, and were even
allowed to sleep on four-post bedsteads.—(Laughter.)
The gentleman who made that observation was the
Hon. Member who was speaking last night when the
House was counted out.—(Cheers and laughter, and
cries of " Borthwick.") They were told that if they
abolished slavery they would injure the constitution
of the slaves. They were also told that if they abo-
lished slavery they wuld deluge the Antiles with
blood, that the planters would be robbed, and their
houses fired, and that their ships would be rotting in
the harbour—they were told how many tons of ship-
ping would lie useless, and how many millions of
property would be annihilated. But their motto was—
fat justitia, ruat ccelum.—(Cheers.) They felt that if
they carried out a good principle, it would ulti-
mately do good. Some of their friends took exception
to the use of the produce of Cuba and Brazil. He
would not follow in the footsteps of Air. Wilson,
in replying to those scruples—that gentleman had
demonstrated how fallacious they were. He had
shown that in the same ratio that they took free-
labour produce they created a market in other coun-
tries for Brazilian produce. What right had they to
go to the Government on a matter so exclusively
religious as that of the guilt or no guilt of consuming
slave produce ? None. He was sure that the world
would confess that this was not a question to be sub-
mitted to such an assembly as the House of Commons.
Why, those who went to the Government upon this
question, to advocate the introduction of free-labour
produce into this country, were only placing an argu-
ment in the hands of the Government against them-
selves. Had Sir R. Peel not been able lately
to produce to the House of Commons a
memorial which had been addressed to him
bearing the signature of the venerated Thomas
Clarkson, he would have been deprived of the most
powerful argument which he had employed on that
occasion to resist the application which had been
made with respect to the introduction of Brazilian
produce into this country. Sir Robert Peel told his
West Indian friends—at least, if he did not tell them
by words, he did so by deeds—that he had something
to propose which would serve their purpose much
better than that which they were seeking themselves.
Ile said to them " the anti-slavery public are against
you ; they call on us, in the name of humanity, to
exclude slave produce. It is not that we have large
possessions in Demerara and in Cuba. No ; we are
perfectly disinterested ; but slave-grown produce is
stained with blood. We know that we voted against
the abolition of slavery—we know that we were
opposed to the abolition of flogging women
in the West Indies—we know that we voted
against the Whigs when they wanted to deprive
Jamaica for five years of her charter, on account of
gross contumacy and cruelty. It is true that we did
all these things—that we paid twenty millions,
Which we did not give to the slave, but to the op-
pressor—to compensate the tyrant, and not the victim.
It is true that these things are charged against us now ;
but still we must listen to the voice of humanity. We
are changed—let,us now display ourselves as the de-
scendants of Hawke and Wilberforce, who now rest
from their labours, but whose mantle has descended
upon us! And then lie (Mr. Thompson) could sup-
pose Sir Robert Peel looking over his shoulders to
his supporters behind him, and saying, " You do not
care about coffee—do you? so we will take off 25 per
cent. of the duty on coffee, but we will keep the
sugar vaht,re it is.' Thus would their humanity pass
from the coffee-pot into the sugar-basiri—(Cheers
and laughter)—and all the sweets of benevolence
would be found in a pound of Muscovado sugar. But
to return. As he said before, this cry in favour of
free-labour produce only placed an argument in the
hands of the Government. A little while, and the
Legislature would be called upon to say whether they
would form that as the basis of legislation—whether
they would or would not allow Brazilian sugar to
come into the country, and whether they would or
would ILA exclude from the hard-working man's
house the finer sugar, and send it to all other parts
of the world, refined and cheaper than the poor man
paid in this country for the worst kind of sugar. Now
suppose that to be formed as the basis of legislation.
What then? Why then, of course, future legislatures
would follow in the same path, and the principle of
free produce only being consumed here, and slave pro-
duce being excluded, would be maintained by every
Government interested in the growth of slave pro-
duce, and consequently slavery would be upheld, be-
cause when slavery ceased monopoly would cease.
The Government would, therefore, do all in their
power to promote a measure in favour of free-labour
Sugar, and in two or three years hence the advocates
for the abolition of slavery in Brazil would apply to
the Government to assist them in their object with
but very little success. The Government, it was
true, would say, Gentlemen, yours is a very
object benevolent ; we shall be willing to do every-
thing in the‘wayof negotiation and treaties to forward
it. He
(Mr. Thompson) could imagine the
Minister afterwards,
in conversation with his
colleagues, saying,
slavery, and bring our "hat' abolish Brazilian
mostst dreaded competitor
again
into the market us—it is absurd—
parish humanity, and long live our gains." He called
upon their friends to think upon these things,
and to remember that the people of this
country had rights. He would have a certain
body beware that they did not violate their
own pacific principle. An excellent friend of
his was lately reasoning with him upon this subject,
and he (Mr. T.) asked him how he could go to the
Government in a cause which he declared was a reli-
gious cause, and advanced only upon purely pacific
grounds—how he could go to the Government and
ask, for fiscal regulations, which were nothing unless
frastained by force and violence ? " Oh," said his
friend, "the violence will not be required." He (Mr.
T.) asked him if he hung a blunderbuss over his bed,
he would say, " I do not mean to fire that blunder-
buss,: it is enough for people to know that it is there."
Was that doing homage to principle—was that exalt-
ing'principle—was that trusting in principle ? No';
'the force he (Mr. T.) would use was argument.
His appeal was reason.—(Loud cheers.) The Hon.
'Gentleman sat down amidst great cheering, and there
Were loud cries for Mr. Fox.
- Mr. w. J. Fox then came forward amidst consider-
' abla cheering and said—That as the time had arrived
-at which their
be usually
ad. meetings, by a wholesome
-have been- excused )(red, he could have desired to
-bat that he would not seem sPeakint on that occasion,
PortiOir' of a sort of o • to flinch from doing a
volved'iipon them. In
garrison duty which had de-
. the absence of
pions in the great and good cause—ao many whom
Oat assembly were accustomed to see and hear from