essay to compensate, by the zeal of their piety, for its insincerity and selfishness. Such men are seen daily; but, though as remarkable for their intolerance as their zeal though bitter in their denunciation of those vices which they cherished while they could, and those pleasures which they followed until they ceased to please—yet we have never found one so fortunate as to persuade the public to admire or respect that sanctity "Which doth but skin and film the ulcerous part, It remains to be seen, how far the world will respect the sincerity of a nation that surpassed all others in the slave traffic, until that traffic ceased to be profitable to her; and then, when constrained to reform, becomes outrageous in her sanctity, and abusive in her censures of others, even when the offences which she denounces, were, in fact, perpetrated, not by those whom she presumes to rebuke, but by herself alone. It must not be supposed, because the government of Great Britain found it expedient to abolish the slave trade, that the English people abandoned it. On the contrary, the English themselves have afforded us ample proofs of the extent of their illicit commerce in slaves since the passage of the act of abolition. The Report of the London African Institution, of 1809, states, that the slave merchants had succeeded in eluding the provisions of the act. The report of 1810 says: "It has been discovered that, in defiance of all the penalties imposed by the act of Parliament, vessels under foreign flags have been fitted out in the ports of Liverpool and London, for the purpose of carrying slaves from Africa to the Spanisk and Portuguese settlements in America." The report proceeds to state, that persons of high consideration were implicated in this illicit traffic. The report of 1810 states, that "accounts from various quarters concur with certain judicial proceedings which have taken place in this country, to prove that a very considerable trade in slaves has been carried on of late, and a large portion of it by means of the capital and credit of British subjects." "There is a large class of contraband slave ships fitted out, chiefly in London or Liverpool, destined to the coast of Africa." The report of 1812 estimates the amount of this illicit commerce at from 70,000 to 80,000 slaves during the year 1810. The reports of 1813-14 reaffirm the same facts, and in addition, complain of a new branch of trade opened by the British between Egypt and Malta. It also describes the condition of the slaves in several of the new British conquests as wretched in the extreme; and while it denounces the slave trade on the north coast of Africa, complains of the exportation of British arms and gunpowder to that continent. In 1815, Mr. Barham stated in Parliament, that "it was a well known fact, that a large British capital was employed in British ships, in the slave trade." In 1818, Lord Castlereagh said, that "in numberless instances, he was sorry to say, it had come to his knowledge, that British subjects were indirectly and largely engaged in the slave trade." The report of the African Institution for 1815, affirmed that 20,000 negroes had been yearly smuggled into the English colonies. The commerce thus extensively but illicitly carried on, though checked by the recent act of abolition, is no doubt still prosecuted with the colonies of other European nations, and will probably be continued so long as it proves profitable. England, at least, will never be entitled to praise for its termination. In the act referred to, by which slavery was abolished in the English colonies, we can see nothing inconsistent with the spirit always exhibited by the British government. Wholly unmindful, not only of the interests, but of the rights of her colonies, she has robbed them of a property, the legitimacy of which she recognised for centuries. She thrust-forced a slave population upon them, notwithstanding their remonstrances, and did so, not because she conceived such a population valuable to the colonies, but because the traffic was "beneficial to the mother country." Having exhausted this source of gain, and persuaded herself that her colonies would, if slavery were abolished, afford an outlet for her surplus population, she does not scruple to rifle her own subjects, throw the colonies into confusion, and endanger the lives, as she has violated the rights, of the planters of the West Indies. That this policy has been adopted under the momentary sway of ignorant fanaticism may be conceded; but fanaticism would never have controlled the policy of Britain, had it not appealed to her avarice, and, by captivating but hollow representations of the superiority of free labour, persuaded her that the measure would render the colonies more valuable to the mistress country. The profits realized by Great Britain in the slave trade may well enable her to afford a few millions of compensation to the plundered planters, and the increased revenue expected from the colonies will, it is expected, amply justify this investment. Great Britain has not, however, upon all occasions, found her system of colonial wrong and exaction to answer her expectations. The time has not yet arrived to write the history of West India abolition, but the system has sufficiently developed itself to enable us to predict, with confidence, loss to the mother country-ruin to the colonies. CHAPTER VII. Condition of Slaves in the United States. THE extent of slavery in the different slave-holding states of this union, may be seen by the following table, digested from the census of 1830. 257,863 7,921 315,401 323,322 518,185 296,806 2,486 217,531 220,017 516,823 North, 81,173 422 44,130 44,552 125,725 South, 109,233 1,150 73,419 74,569 183,802 District of Columbia, Arkansaw, 114,795 569 25,091 25,660 140,455 687,917 215,589 681,906 140,455 39,868 25,671 141 4,576 4,717 30,388 18,375 844 15,501 16,345 34,720 The states in which slavery prevails, have been distinguished for their affluence. Notwithstanding the policy of the national government has borne heavily upon the South, notwithstanding the occasional depression of her staples, and the proverbially unfortunate pecuniary habits of her citizens, that portion of the union may still be regarded as pecu liarly favoured. The slave-labour of the South has thus far practically disproved the theories of the North; and demonstrated that the institution of slavery, whatever objections may be alleged against it, is not calculated to diminish the national wealth, or retard the national prosperity. It will be seen hereafter, that the South pays nearly one-third of the revenue of the government; and of the one hundred millions of dollars annual exports sent from the country, nine-tenths are raised by the South. Of the productiveness of slave-labour, who can, after a knowledge of these facts, affect a doubt? The North, as well as the South, is enriched by that labour; and should any disastrous occurrences disturb the institutions of the South, not only the whites and negroes of the slave-holding states would sink into poverty and suffering, but the decayed manufactures, shrunken commerce, and ruined prosperity of the North, would show how near and vital is the connexion of the different sections of our common country. Every country must have its labourers, men who are willing to be directed by the mind and capital of others, and to undergo, in consideration of support, the physical toil requisite for the attainment of the goods of life. In the North, this labour is done by the poor; in the South, by the negro. In both, the labourer is forced to endure the privations of his condition in life. In the North, not only is his toil severe, but poverty and anxiety attend him in his humble path in life. His family must be sustained; his wife attended in sickness; his children supported in youth. His means are often inadequate to his wants. He is bowed down by the consciousness of inequality, and haunted by the fear of the prison. Incertitude and anxiety are with him each hour of his life; and when sickness or age steals upon him, it often finds him without resources or hope. Thus is he dogged through life by poverty, |