The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-08-22

Icy and .iutiice of the abolition of the nav,
trade.
\ The Solicitor General gave his cordial fup
port to the motion of his Right honorable
Friend tthe iecretary Of ftatr,) though he confrf
ted he would feel more fatisfaetion in Iupport.
ing motion for ieave,to bring in a Bill TO aho-
li'b the lave, trade. Though the relolutiou did
not go as far as he wilhed, yet,hs was.ready to
fu2port it hecauie the Houfe would land plydg-
I, ed to take the meafure into confederation. If
| gentlemen thought the rsioiutioa too narrow in
It's ooJsSt, u was competent to them to .fubmit
4 nior+ enlarged motion. He did not fee any
| necehty for debating the que.fion at any CONF.
aeranie length, becaute nothing could he urged
'hibpPort ct the Fave trade but argn,T ents al
ready refuted, and attentions without the Dia-
dow OF foundation. He conidered the country
to- ttand. with tcipe6 to this meafure in mon
diisracefu condition. Itwou,d be remember
lea, that the Houfe had refolvej, inl792, to in-
| quJre INT o, the oppre!fous aud crusites f,id to
have been then praetiied in the colonies. Ac-
| cordtnely committee had been appointed 70
co9iider the fubjeet, which reported that tbs
t'yitetn Purfued in the Wet India plantations,
as well as on the Coat of Africa, WAS "A fccgs of
IraPine, cruelty, and murder. After all, this
had been aicertained, yet the country had ,fince
| fufered the importation Of s,oeo,ooo nayes
from Africa. In orderto get rd,ofthe accunn-
lated quit and barbarous cruelty which hung
over The country, in conicquence of this abomi-
lfabie- tratiic, he would endeayour. to acouit
tntnieif from any flare of it,, by, giving the,
meaiure OF abolition his mot cordial vote and
rapport.
| General GAscoYNE declared, that notwtli-
Handing the attention which he had paid to the
ipeech OF; the Right honourable fecretary (Fox1
| iie fill entertained his former opinion on the.
iahjeet. OF all other tincsfor effecling fuch
hea'ute,. this was the mott improper, when
taxes and the. other .inew, of war were 70 much
wanted; The.Hcnfe n,cma ..em :.,:,r.t ~:
iu5JSct, which mutt comfortably diminii!r ting
Rubiic refources, and injure not only the indi.
Vidaais concerned in this trade, but the who'll
empire; The-Right honorable gentleman (the
i9hcltor esneraO had reprefcnted the fave trade
AS iyItem OF ra pine and murder Ia IonI sry of
teor ! brnr but was it ;ait to make ,fueh
comments on meature WHICH had received the
ianetion OF the Legislature from, the ting of Eli
zdbeth, and thesapprobatioa. of Our ancettors |?
| ( Langbigg IN -,7any parts Of tkebonje.J. The
honourlble general then proceeded to vndicate
the fave trade from fcripiare, and quoted for
that purpote the 18th chapter of Levitcus, verf-
| es IS ana 40, in which the faler Of bondfmen
aud bondfwotnen was fet forth, aud dremrd
coniitent with all law human and divine. TIE
honourabe general concluded with ex,refing
his dfapprobaton OF the Reloution propofed to
| the Houte for its concurrence.
mir. Wilberforce adver.edtot the fpeech of the
Honorable General (Gaicoyne) which he con-
| idered in fome, parts of it AS an infringement
upon the ftrit orders of the Hsufo 1t was, he
contended, the glory of that religions, which I he
Hon. General had not treated in the mot f-ri-
Gus point view, to forbid the, praGtice by tel
ling us, that wrought to afl upon the principles
\ Of love. and kindneS TO each other, and of good
will TO all men. The Honorable Gentleman
then noticed the adore is to his Maiefly, moved
in 1877, for the. purpofe' of inviting the Colonies
80 agree IN the Abolition. So far was that adj
drets from producing tie dslired eff-ts, that the
Ahembes OF the dItteren. ihauds refuied to &C
cede 10 the invitation, dec arng that they conf
| dered the trade AS their birth right His Noble
Friend was n fulfilled, therefore, in taking of
the wilingRefS iD the Colonies TO cooperate in
| the Abolition. With iefpeGt to The airerton
that the fame Inherent impratlc ABILITY was
found TO exit f'om'l792 to the prefent moment,
it was true that intersf would ever be cool,
fSSdy, and lafingptinciple, which muft get tn
better OF feelings OF humanity and compun9-
| on. 1heright hon. fecretary (Mr Fax) was
entitled to the thanks of his country for h1ying
1 brought the fahject forward. He belle we'd his
whites nP0nit were in union with his own, but
he thouid have rather preferred bill than the
mode which was prOpoied, as the delay in ar
r'vina at the deiired point would moi be attend
- Nitt w 'bnhy 'itCOUNCUlGHCCS. IL ISHt ieinen
| were on the ipot where the evils complained of
exit, they would not fuffsr the continuance of
tho trade. All that could in reality he urged
againtt the Abolition was, that it appeared to be
carricd'on too tardy. II never was deiigned
by Providence that the Guefion of policy fllould
| be connected with traffic 70 infamous. As: 20
the population, and the means Of increaiinr Il,
If Nature was left to herief, 0Ie would take
care that population fhouid be promoted. Let
the negroes be well fed, and their moral i'm
provemeut attended to, and they would increafe
and multiply without the necefIi;y of referring
to dnties other than moral ones. Ii was only
by the Abolition of the Trade the fyftem of
breeding would be attended with fuccefs.
| The Chancellor of the Exchequer wfbed
ihortly TO tate his opinion on this fubieet, as be
bad not before had an opportunity Of doing TO-
a Bill for the Abolition would have given him
more iatisfaetion, but as that could not be ex-
peeted, he perfectly cOncurred in the reio.u.ion
OF his Right Honorable Friend, which was,
that after 1t had been decided in I7o2, that the
traffic hould be given up in17o6, we thouid
now in 1905, PATS a vote pIedgug the Houie to
proceed in the buiGeis as loon as poliible, #
could not be indecorous 10 fcGd fucll Refoluii-
on to the other Houie, as we do not affirm that
their opinion was contrary to our own, as far as
this Reiulution went. As TO his own opinion
of the traffic, he WAS perfectly fatsfed that it
was contrary TO every principle Of Juice, Of
humanity, and found policy. 1t began in rob-
berry, in rapiue and murder, and the crurltes