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12

AN

ADDRESS

ON THE

PROGRESS OF THE ABOLITION CAUSE;

DELIVERED BEFORE THE

Africau Abolition Freehold Society of Boston,

JULY 16, 1832.

BY WM. LLOYD GARRISON.

Published by Request.

BOSTON:

PRINTED BY GARRISON AND KNAPP.

1832.

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NEARLY four hundred years have passed away, since Africa was first invaded by a band of European kidnappers, who, taking possession of several parts of its coast, seized by force, or obtained by bribery and barter, a considerable number of the confiding but hapless natives. From that time to the present hour, the slave trade has gradually increased until its enormity and extent are such as to shock the sensibilities of the civilized world, and to inspire one common sentiment of indignation and horror among all classes of men. The flame of the first African habitation that was burnt has never been extinguished, but has spread from house to house, from village to village, from river to river, until the entire coast is wrapt in one general blaze, and the light of the conflagration is seen all over the world. Scarcely had the first bereaved family uttered its shrieks of despair, ere another and another and another was torn asunder by the unpitying kidnapper; and the bereavement has continued to spread, with the rapidity and fatality of the pestilence, until scarcely a tribe, or a village, or a household, is left to rejoice in the safety of its members. The groan of the first heart-broken mother, extorted by the loss of her stolen child, has penetrated throughout that vast continent, and found an echo in every heart, until wailing and lamentation are heard from border to border. The drops of blood which flowed from the heart of the first African victim, and stained the threshold of his peaceful cottage, have since been augmented to a deluge, which reddens the earth of three continents. The first piratical vessel which haunted the African coast, has been succeeded by the ships of all civilized nations, commanded by demons in human shape, who have

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carried slaughter and desolation in their train. The first petty quarrel, instigated by the bribes of the Europeans, which was waged between the nations in order to obtain victims for sale, has grown to such a pitch as to cause every man's hand to be turned against his brother, and wars and rumors of war to alarm and depopulate the land. The first poor sable victim, suffocated in the narrow hold of the slave ship, whose body was thrown into the deep, has since found a multitude of companions.

'There are, gloomy ocean! a brotherless clan,

Who traverse thy banishing waves,

The poor disinherited outcasts of man,

Whom avarice coins into slaves!

From the homes of their kindred, their forefathers' graves,

Love, friendship, and conjugal bliss,

They are dragg'd on the hoary abyss ;

The shark hears their shrieks, and, ascending to-day,

Demands of the spoiler his share of the prey.

Then joy to the tempest that whelms them beneath,
And makes their destruction its sport;

But wo to the winds that propitiously breathe,
And waft them in safety to port,—

Where the vultures and vampires of mammon resort,
Where Columbia exultingly drains

Her life-blood from Africa's veins ;

Where the image of God is accounted as base,

And the image of Cæsar set up in its place!'

The Abbe Raynal (a celebrated friend of the colored race) computed that at the time of his writing, (in 1777,) 9,000,000 of slaves had been consumed by the Europeans; add 6,000,000 at least since, for upwards of 100,000 victims are kidnapped annually, and the total number is 15,000,000—more than the present population of the United States. 'Recollecting, then, that for one slave procured, ten at least are slaughtered, that one fifth die in the passage, and a third in the seasoning, and the unexaggerated computation will turn out, that the infernal voracity of European and American avarice has been glutted with the murder of three hundred millions of our fellow creaturesa number exceeding one third of the present population of the globe!'

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I cannot muster fortitude enough-and I dare not wound your sensibility, even if I could control my own feelings—to give you a minute account of the cruelties of the slave trade. Suffice it to say, that these cruelties are greater now than at any former period. As specimens of the cool hardiness and inhumanity of those who engage in this traffic, I will read the following authentic letters which I find inserted in a British anti-slavery periodical. The first is a translation of the letter of instructions from M. La Roche, owner, to Henry Mornet, Captain of the cutter Les Deux Sœurs :

'ST. PIERRE, 3d August, 1824.

'Sir,-You will repair direct to the coast of Africa, to trade there in billets of ebony wood;—the cargo which I give you being well chosen, and as advantageous as possible, I hope that you will bring back one at your return, that will answer our expectations. I do not wish to have billets either too large or too small, and particularly sound.

You will return to Martinique, Pointe des Salines, taking care not to pass Pointe Dunkerque, so as to expose yourself to the sight of the marine.

You will land the things with which you may be loaded. At your arrival, you will find orders for you to follow in the continuation of your voyage. Wishing you a fortunate and quick return, I am your devoted servant,

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Extract of a letter from L. Dutoco and Co. to Messrs. Barnaffe and Laviere, Point a Petre, Guadaloupe :

ST. JAGO DE CUBA, 12th Dec. 1824.

'You know, gentlemen, that the advantage which our market offers for the disposal of ebony, gives it a great preference over any other of our colonies, and it strikes us that it would suit you to send to it a few more shipments of that sort. We have received this year a great many cargoes of that article, on account of the merchants of Nantes, and towards the end of January, we expect here other ships that have sailed from the last mentioned port. All our sales have been attended with favorable results; the longest credit is fourteen months. It is always difficult enough to get cash; but by making sacrifices, one may always succeed in covering the amount of the fitting out: we must, however, tell you, that our town is one of those where the payments are most punctual, and our last account sales have left a capital of more than half cash, and half at 12 months' credit. The last cargo sold here was that of the Harriet, of Nantes ; 328 logs were disposed of on their landing (those that were damaged excepted,) at $225 each, payable part in cash, and part at eight, and part at twenty months? credit. This merchandise was of a very ordinary nature, and had suffered much by getting rid of the article at once, you make a much better thing of it. Hitherto the vessels have made the little bay of Uragua Grande, situated six leagues a head of the Moro; it is a spot where the landing is easily and conveniently effected.'

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