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AN ADDRESS TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE BRITISH SETTLEMENTS, ON THE SLAVERY OF THE NEGROES IN AMERICA.

THE SECOND EDITION.

To which is added, A VINDICATION of the ADDRESS, in Answer to a Pamphlet entitled, "SLAVERY not forbidden in Scripture; OR, A Defence of the West India Planters."

By a PENNSYLVANIAN.

Ah! Why will men forget that they are Brethren?
—Why delight
In human sacrifice?—why burst the ties
Of Nature, that should knit their Souls together
In One soft band of Amity and Love ?
—Was it for this
Thy breath divine, kindled within his breast,
The vital flame?—For this, was thy fair Image
Stampt on his Soul with god-like lineaments?
For this, dominion given him absolute
O'er all thy works, only that he might reign
Supreme in woe?—
—O! better far,
Still had he slept in uncreated Night,
Is this the Lot of Being!
PROTEUS.

PHILADELPHIA: Printed and Sold by JOHN DUNLAP. M, DCC, LXXIII.

AN ADDRESS, &c. …
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AN ADDRESS, &c.

SO much hath been said upon the subject of Slave-Keeping, that an Apology may be required for this Address. The only one I shall offer is, that the Evil still conti­nues. This may in part be owing to the great attachment we have to our own Interest, and in part, to the subject not being fully exhausted. The design of the following address is to sum up the leading arguments against it, several of which have not been urged by any of those Authors who have written upon it.

Without entering into the History of the facts which relate to the Slave Trade, I shall proceed to combat the principal arguments which are used to support it.

I need hardly say any thing in favour of the Intellects of the Negroes, or of their capaci­ties for virtue and happiness, although these have been supposed, by some, to be inferior to [Page 2] those of the inhabitants of Europe. The ac­counts which travellers give us of their ingenu­ity, humanity, and strong attachment to their parents, relations, friends and country, show us that they are equal to the Europeans, when we allow for the diversity of temper and geni­us which is occasioned by climate. We have many well-attested anecdotes of as sublime and disinterested virtue among them as ever adorned a Roman or a Christian character. But we are to distinguish between an Afri­can in his own country, and an African in a state of slavery in America. Slavery is so foreign to the human mind, that the moral faculties, as well as those of the understanding are debased, and rendered torpid by it. All the vices which are charged upon the Negroes in the southern colonies and the West-Indies, such as Idleness, Treachery, Theft, and the like, are the genuine offspring of slavery, and serve as an argument to prove that they were not intended for it.

Nor let it be said, in the present Age, that their black color (as it is commonly called) ei­ther [Page 3] subjects them to, or qualifies them for sla­very . The vulgar notion of their being de­scended from Cain, who was supposed to have been marked with this color, is too absurd to need a refutation.—Without enquiring into the Cause of this blackness, I shall only add up­on this subject, that so far from being a curse, it subjects the Negroes to no inconveniencies, [Page 4] but on the contrary qualifies them for that part of the Globe in which providence has placed them. The ravages of heat, diseases and time, appear less in their faces than in a white one; and when we exclude variety of color from our ideas of Beauty, they may be said to possess e­very thing necessary to constitute it in com­mon with the white people. ‡.

It has been urged by the inhabitants of the Sugar Islands and South Carolina, that it would be impossible to carry on the manufactories of Sugar, Rice, and Indigo, without negro slaves. No manufactory can ever be of consequence enough to society to admit the least violation of the Laws of justice or humanity. But I am far from thinking the arguments used in favour of employing Negroes for the cultivation of these articles, should have any Weight.—M. Le Poivre, late envoy from the king of France, to [Page 5] the king of Cochin-China, and now intendant of the isles of Bourbon and Mauritius, in his observations upon the manners and arts of the various nations in Africa and Asia, speaking of the culture of sugar in Cochin-China, has the following remarks.—"It is worthy ob­servation too, that the sugar cane is there cul­tivated by freemen, and all the process of pre­paration and refining, the work of free hands. Compare then the price of the Cochin-Chinese production with the same commodity which is cultivated and prepared by the wretched slaves of our European colonies, and judge if, to procure sugar from our colonies, it was ne­cessary to authorize by law the slavery of the unhappy Africans transported to America. § From what I have observed at Cochin-China, I cannot entertain a doubt, but that our West­India colonies, had they been distributed, with­out reservation amongst a free people, would [Page 6] have produced double the quantity that is now procured from the labour of the unfortunate negroes."

"What advantage, then, has accrued to Eu­rope, civilized as it is, and thoroughly vers­ed in the laws of nature, and the rights of mankind, by legally authorizing in our colo­nies, the daily outrages against human nature, permitting them to debase man almost below the level of the beasts of the field? These sla­vish laws have proved as opposite to its interest, as they are to its honour, and to the laws of humanity. This remark I have often made."

"Liberty and property form the basis of abundance, and good agriculture: I never ob­served it to flourish where those rights of man­kind were not firmly established. The earth, which multiplies her productious with a kind of profusion, under the hands of the free-born labourer, seems to shrink into barrenness un­der the sweat of the slave. Such is the will of the great Author of our Nature, who has cre­ated man free, and assigned to him the earth, that he might cultivate his possession with the [Page 7] sweat of his brow; but still should enjoy his Liberty." Now if the plantations in the isl­ands and the southern colonies were more li­mited, and freemen only employed in working them, the general product would be greater, al­though the profits to individuals would be less,—a circumstance this, which by diminishing o­pulence in a few, would suppress Luxury and Vice, and promote that equal distribution of pro­perty, which appears best calculated to pro­mote the welfare of Society.— * I know it has been said by some, that none but the na­tives of warm climates could undergo the [Page 8] `excessive heat and labor of the West-India isl­ands. But this argument is founded upon an error; for the reverse of this is true. I have been informed by good authority, that one Eu­ropean who escapes the first or second year, will do twice the work, and live twice the num­ber of years that an ordinary Negro man will do nor need we be surpriz'd at this, when we hear that such is the natural fertility of soil, and so numerous the spontaneous fruits of the earth in the interior parts of Africa, that the natives live in plenty at the expence of little or no labor, which, in warm climates, has ever been found to be incompatible with long life and happiness. Future ages, therefore, when they read the accounts of the Slave Trade (—if they do not regard them as fabulous) — will be at a loss which to condemn most, our folly or our Guilt, in abetting this direct vio­lation of the Laws of nature and Religion.

But there are some who have gone so far as to say that Slavery is not repugnant to the Ge­nius of Christianity, and that it is not forbid­den in any part of the Scripture. Natural [Page 9] and Revealed Religion always speak the same things, although the latter delivers its precepts with a louder and more distinct voice than the former. If it could be proved that no testimo­ny was to be found in the Bible against a prac­tice so pregnant with evils of the most destruc­tive tendency to society, it would be sufficient to overthrow its divine Original. We read it is true of Abraham's having slaves born in his house; and we have reason to believe, that part of the riches of the patriarchs consisted in them; but we can no more infer the lawfulness of the practice, from the short account which the Jewish historian gives us of these facts, than we can vindicate telling a lie, because Rahab is not condemned for it in the account which is given of her deceiving the king of Jericho. We read that some of the same men indulged themselves in a plurality of wives, with­out any strictures being made upon their con­duct for it; and yet no one will pretend to say, that this is not forbidden in many parts of the [Page 10] Old Testament *. But we are told the Jews kept the Heathens in perpetual bondage ‡. The De­sign of providence in permitting this evil, was probably to prevent the Jews from marrying a­mongst strangers, to which their intercourse with them upon any other footing than that of slaves, would naturally have inclined them ‖. Had this taken place—their national religion would have been corrupted—they would have con­tracted all their vices †, and the intention of Providence in keeping them a distant people, in order to accomplish the promise made to Abra­ham, that "in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed," would have been de­feated; [Page 11] so that the descent of the Messiah from Abraham, could not have been traced, and the divine commission of the Son of God, would have wanted one of its most powerful argument [...] to support [...]. But with regard to their own countrymen, it is plain, perpetual slavery was not tolerated. Hence, at the end of seven years or in the year of the jubilee, all the Hebrew slaves were set at liberty †, and it was held un­lawful to detain them in servitude longer than that time, except by their own Consent. ‡ But if, in the partial Revelation which God [Page 12] made, of his will to the Jews, we find such testimonies against slavery, what may we not expect from the Gospel, the Design of which was to abolish all distinctions of name and coun­ty. While the Jews thought they complied with the precepts of the law, in confining the love of their neighbour "to the children of their own people," Christ commands us to look up­on all mankind even our Enemies § as our neighbours and brethren, and "in all things, to do unto them whatever we would wish they should do unto us." He tells us further that his "Kingdom is not of this World," and therefore constantly avoids saying any thing that might interfere directly with the Roman or Jewish Governments: and although he does not call upon masters to emancipate their slaves, or slaves to assert that Liberty wherewith God and Nature had made them free, yet there is scarcely a parable or a sermon in the whole his­tory of his life, but what contains the strongest arguments against Slavery. Every prohibition [Page 13] of Covetousness—Intemperance—Pride—Un­cleanness—Theft—and Murder, which he de­livered,—every lesson of meekness, humility, forbearance, Charity, Self-denial, and brother­ly-love, which he taught, are levelled against this evil;—for Slavery, while it includes all the former Vices, necessarily excludes the prac­tice of all the latter Virtues, both from the Master and the Slave.—Let such, therefore, who vindicate the traffic of buying and selling; Souls, seek some modern System of Religion to support it, and not presume to sanctify their crimes by attempting to reconcile it to the sub­lime and perfect Religion of the Great Author of Christianity. *

[Page 14]There are some amongst us who cannot help allowing the force of our last argument, but plead as a motive for importing and keeping slaves, that they become acquainted with the principles of the religion of our country.—This is like justifying a highway robbery because part [Page 15] of the money acquired in this manner was ap­propriated to some religious use.—Christianity will never be propagated by any other methods than those employed by Christ and his Apostles. Slavery is an engine as little fitted for that pur­pose as Fire or the Sword. A Christian Slave is a contradiction in terms. § But if we enquire into the methods employed for converting the Negroes to Christianity, we shall find the means suited to the end proposed. In many places Sunday is appropriated to work for themselves, reading and writing are discouraged among them. A belief is even inculcated amongst some, that they have no Souls. In a word,—Every attempt to instruct or convert them, has [Page 16] been constantly opposed by their masters. Nor has the example of their christian masters any tendency to prejudice them in favor of our reli­gion. How often do they betray, in their sud­den transports of anger and resentment, (againsst which there is no restraint provided towards their Negroes) the most violent degrees of pas­sion and fury!—What luxury—what ingrati­tude to the supreme being—what impiety in their ordinary conversation do some of them discover in the presence of their slaves! I say nothing of the dissolution of marriage vows, or the entire abolition of matrimony, which the frequent sale of them introduces, and which are directly contrary to the laws of nature and the principles of christianity. Would to Heaven I could here conceal the shocking violations of chastity, which some of them are obliged to un­dergo without daring to complain. Husbands have been forced to prostitute their wives, and mothers their daughters to gratify the bru­tal lust of a master. This—all—this is prac­tised—Blush—ye impure and hardened wretches, while I repeat it—by men who call themselves christians!

[Page 17]But further—It has been said that we do a kindness to the Negroes by bringing them to America, as we thereby save their lives, which had been forfeited by their being conquered in war *. Let such as prefer or inflict slavery ra­ther than Death, disown their being descended from or connected with our mother countries.—But it will be found upon enquiry, that many are stolen or seduced from their friends who have never been conquered; and it is plain, from the testimony of historians and travellers, [Page 18] that wars were uncommon among them, until the christians who began the slave trades stirred up the different nations to fight against each other. Sooner let them imbrue their hands in each others blood, or condemn one another to perpetual slavery, than the name of one christi­an, or one American, be stained by the perpe­tration of such enormous crimes.

Nor let it be urged that by treating slaves well, we render their situation happier in this Country, than it was in their own.—Slavery and Vice are connected together, and the latter is always a source of misery. Besides, by the greatest humanity we can show them, we only lessen, but do not remove the crime, for the injustice of it continues the same. The laws of retribution are so strongly inculcated by the moral governor of the world, that even the ox is entitled to his reward for "treading the Corn." How great then must be the amount of that injustice, which deprives so many of our fellow creatures of the Just reward of their [...].

But it will be asked here, What steps shall we take to remedy this Evil, and what shall [Page 19] we do with those Slaves we have already in this Country? This is indeed a most diffi­cult question.' But let every man contrive to answer it for himself. —

The first thing I would recommend to put a stop to slavery in this country, is to leave off im­porting slaves. For this purpose let our assem­blies unite in petitioning the king and parlia­ment to dissolve the African committee of merchants: It is by them that the trade is chiefly carried on to America. We have the more reason to expect relief from an application at this juncture, as by a late decision in favor of a Virginia slave in Westminster-Hall, the Cla­mors of the whole nation are raised against them. Let such of our countrymen as engage in the slave trade, be shunned as the greatest enemies to our country, and let the vessels which bring the slaves to us, be avoided as if they bore in them the Seeds of that forbidden fruit, whose baneful taste destroyed both the natural and moral world.— As for the Ne­groes among us, who, from having acquired all the low vices of slavery, or who from age or [Page 20] infirmities are unfit to be set at liberty, I would propose, for the good of society, that they should continue the property of those with whom they grew old, or from whom they contracted those vices and infirmities. But let the young Negroes be educated in the principles of virtue and religion—let them be taught to read, and write—and afterwards instructed in some business, whereby they may be able to maintain themselves. Let laws be made to limit the time of their servitude, and to entitle them to all the privileges of free-born British subjects. At any rate let Retribution be to done God and to Society *

[Page 21]And now my countrymen, What shall I add more to rouse up your Indignation against Slave­keeping. Consider the many complicated crimes it involves in it. Think of the bloody Wars which are fomented by it, among the African nations, or if these are too common to affect you, [Page 22] think of the pangs which attend the dissolution of the ties of nature in those who are stolen from their relations. Think of the many thousands who perish by sickness, melancholy, and suicide, in their voyages to America. Pursue the poor devoted victims to one of the West India islands, and see them exposed there to public sale. Hear their cries, and see their looks of tenderness at each other, upon being seperated.—Mothers are torn from their Daughters, and Brothers from Brothers, without the liberty of a parting em­brace. Their master's name is now marked up­on their breasts with a red hot iron. But let us pursue them into a Sugar Field: and behold a scene still more affecting than this—See! the poor wretches with what reluctance they take their instruments of labor into their hands,—Some of them, overcome with heat and sick­ness, seek to refresh themselves by a little rest.—But, behold an Overseer approaches them—In vain they sue for pity.—He lifts up his Whip, while streams of Blood follow every stroke. Neither age nor sex are spared.—Me­thinks one of them is woman far advanced in her pregnancy.—At a little distance from these [Page 23] behold a man, who from his countenance and deportment appears as if he was descended from illustrious ancestors—Yes—He is the son of a Prince, and was torn by a stratagem, from an amiable wife and two young children.—Mark his sullen looks!—now he bids defiance to the tyranny of his Master, and in an instant—plunges a Knife into his Heart.—But let us re­turn from this Scene, and see the various modes of arbitrary punishments inflicted upon them by their masters. Behold one covered with stripes, into which melted wax is poured—another tied down to a block or a stake—a third suspended in the air by his thumbs—a fourth—I can­not relate it.—Where now is Law or Justice?—Let us fly to them to step in for their relief.—Alas!—The one is silent, and the other denounces more terrible, punishments upon them. Let us attend the place appointed for inflicting the penalties of the law. See here one without a limb, whose only crime was an attempt to regain his Liberty.—another led to a Gallows for stealing a mor­sel of Bread, to which his labor gave him a bet­ter [Page 24] title than his master—a third famishing on a gibbet—a fourth, in a flame of Fire! his shrieks pierce the very heavens.—O! God! where is thy Vengeance!—O! Humanity—Justice—Liberty—Religion!—Where,—where are ye fled.—

This is no exaggerated Picture. It is taken from real Life.—Before I conclude I shall take the liberty of addressing several Classes of my countrymen in behalf of our Brethren (for by that name may we now call them) who are in a state of Slavery amongst us.

In the first place let MAGISTRATES both su­preme and inferior, exert the authority they are invested with, in suppressing this evil. Let them discountenance it by their example, and show a readiness to concur in every measure proposed to remedy it.

Let LEGISLATORS, reflect upon the trust re­posed in them. Let their laws be made after the Spirit of Religion—Liberty—and our most excellent English Constitution. You cannot show your attachment to your King, or your love to your country better, than by suppressing an evil which endangers the dominions of the [Page 25] former, and will in Time destroy the liberty of the latter. * Population, and the accession of strangers, in which the Riches of all coun­tries consist, can only flourish in proportion as slavery is discouraged. Extend the privileges we enjoy, to every human creature born amongst us, and let not the Journals of our Assemblies be disgraced with the records of laws, which allow exclusive privileges to men of one color in preference to another.

Ye men of SENSE and VIRTUE—Ye ADVOCATES [Page 26] for American Liberty, rouse up and espouse; the cause of Humanity and general Li­berty. Bear a testimony against a vice which de­grades human nature, and dissolves that univer­sal tie of benevolence which should connect all the children of men together in one great Fa­mily.—The plant of liberty is of so tender a Nature, that it cannot thrive long in the neigh­bourhood of slavery. Remember the eyes of all Europe are fixed upon you, to preserve an a­sylum for freedom in this country, after the last pillars of it are fallen in every other quarter of the Globe.

But chiefly—ye MINISTERS OF THE GOS­PEL, whose dominion over the principles and actions of men is so universally acknowledged and felt,—Ye who estimate the worth of your fellow creatures by their Immortality, and there­fore must look upon all mankind as equal,—let your zeal keep pace with your opportunities to put a stop to slavery. While you enforce the duties of "tithe and cummin," neglect not the weightier laws of justice and humanity. Slavery is an Hydra sin, and includes in it every violation of the precepts of the Law and the [Page 27] Gospel. In vain will you command your flocks to offer up the incence of Faith and Charity, while they continue to mingle the Sweat and blood of Negro slaves with their sacrifices.—If the Blood of Able cried aloud for vengeance;—If, under the Jewish dispensation, Cities of refuge could not screen the deliberate murderer—if even manslaughter required sacrifices to expiate it,—and if a single murder so seldom escapes with impunity in any civilized country, what may you not say against that trade, or those manufactures—or Laws, § which destroy the lives of so many thousands of our fellow creatures every year?—If in the Old Testa­ment "God swears by his holiness, and by the excellency of Jacob, that the Earth shall trem­ble and every one mourn that dwelleth therein [Page 28] for the iniquity of those who oppress the poor and crush the needy," who buy the poor with silver, and the needy with a pair of shoes, ‖ what judgments may you not denounce upon those who continue to perpetrate these crimes, after the more full discovery which God has made of the law of Equity in the New-Testa­ment. Put them in mind of the Rod which was held over them a few years ago in the Stamp, and Revenue Acts. Remember that national crimes require national punishments, and with­out declaring what punishment awaits this evil, you may venture to assure them, that it cannot pass with impunity, unless God shall cease to be just or merciful.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

THE foregoing Address was written in a few Hours, at the particular Request of a worthy Citizen, in order to promote and accompany a Petition to the Honourable Assembly of Pennsylvania, to pro­cure an Increase of the Duty upon Negro Slaves imported into the Province. The only Condition upon which the Author complied with this Request, was, that his Name should be concealed;—such Subjects being foreign to his ordinary Studies, and Business: By some Accident it was discovered; and he now thinks himself called upon to defend what he has ad­vanced. Although the Sword was unsheathed and put into his Hand without being called for, yet in so good a Cause, he hopes he is not altogether unprepared to wield it. He has nothing to Hope or Fear from any Quarter, by publishing his Sentiments more fully upon this Subjects.

The following Observations upon the ‘Defence of the West-India Planters,’ though a Work of more Leisure than the Address, are not so complete as they might have been, had not the Author been afraid of trespassing too much upon the Patience of his Readers.

PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEM. I5, I773.

A VINDICATION OF THE …
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A VINDICATION OF THE ADDRESS, To the INHABITANTS of the BRITISH SETTLEMENTS, on the SLAVERY of the NEGROES in AMERICA, in An­swer to a PAMPHLET entitled, "SLAVERY NOT FORBIDDEN BY SCRIPTURE; Or a DEFENCE of the WEST-INDIA PLANTERS from the ASPERSIONS thrown out against them by the AUTHOR of the ADDRESS."

Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still SLAVERY thou art a bitter Draught; and though thousands in all Ages have been made to drink of thee thou art no less bitter on that Ac­count.—'Tis thou thrice sweet, and gracious Goddess LI­BERTY, whom all in public or in private Worship; whose Taste is grateful, and ever will be so, till Nature her­self shall change.—No tint of Words can spot thy snowy Mantle, or chemic Power turn thy Scepter into Iron. STERN.

BY A PENNSYLVANIAN.

PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP in MARKET-STREET. M, DCC, LXXIII.

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A VINDICATION, &c.

THERE is no Subject so sacred that has not sometimes been exposed to Oblo­quy. The immortality of the Soul, the Obliga­tions of Morality, and even the Existence of a Supreme Being, have all in their Turns been treated as unworthy of Belief. On the other Hand, there is no Subject so subversive of the Happiness of Mankind, but what has had its Advocates.—Adultery—Perjury,—and even Suicide, have all been defended as lawful. Posterity will hardly believe that human Inge­nuity could rise higher, and that a Man had lived, who had undertaken to defend SLAVERY. Should they seek his Name or Country, how will they be surprized to hear that he was des­cended from a Briton;—that he lived under the Protection of British Laws:—And that he was still connected with Great Britain. The Person I mean is the Author of a Pamphlet, entitled ‘Slavery not forbidden by Scripture, [Page 4] or a Defence of the West-India Planters,’ &c. and who calls himself a WEST-INDIAN.

THE Author of this Defence begins, by pleading in behalf of the Slavery of the Negroes in the West Indies, ‘the imperfections of all human Institutions *.’ This must be ac­knowledged by every Body, but is by no means an Apology for our not doing every thing that lies in our Power to Remedy them. Shall Judges descend from their Benches, and cease to distribute Justice, because Fraud and Violence still prevail in Society? Shall Physicians cease to relieve the Pains of the Sick, because the Body must at last pay the Tribute to Mortality? Shall the Clergy cease to incul­cate the Duties of Religion, because they can­not put an entire stop to the progress of Vice and Infidelity?—

IMPROVEMENTS of all kinds in So­ciety are progressive. It is impossible to review the Constitution and Laws of Great Britain, without admiring the gradual Improvements which have been made in both: Many of [Page 5] which at their first Proposal were no Doubt treated as visionary and impracticable. The abolition of domestic Slavery is not an Utopian Scheme. It was abolished by Constantine the first Christian Emperor throughout the Roman Empire. It ceased in many parts of Europe after the Reformation. It is unknown in Bri­tain. It's Foundations are now shaking in Spain and Portugal. It begins to loose Ground in America. The Assembly of Virginia have petitioned for a Law to prevent the future im­portation of Negroes amongst them. The Assembly of Pennsylvania have imposed a Duty of twenty Pounds Currency upon every Negro, imported into the Province. The inhabitants of the Province of Massachusetts Bay have in­structed their Representatives to enact Laws to restrain it. Reason and Humanity with res­pect to Negro Slavery, have at last awaken­ed in the West-Indies, and many respectable Planters now wish to extricate themselves from it. With such Success and Prospects, I venture once more to take up my Pen in behalf of the poor Africans. Great Events have often been brought about by slender Means. Permanent [Page 6] changes in Government are seldom produced suddenly. It shall be our Business to collect Materials:—The next Generation we hope, will behold and admire the finished TEMPLE OF AFRICAN LIBERTY IN AMERICA.

THE Author of the Defence in the next place attempts to prove that Slavery is not for­bidden by Moses, the Jewish Lawgiver *; with­out repeating the Reason mentioned in the Ad­dress, for the distinction which was made be­tween Hebrew and Heathen-Slaves; and which is not overthrown by our Author's Appeal to the Power of the Supreme Being, I shall re­mark here, that Providence never employs ex­traordinary Means to accomplish an End, when ordinary ones will do. Where there is no Legal Impediment, we find that differences of Nation—Religion, or even Color, cannot prevent People from marrying amongst each other § That the Jews should continue a [Page 7] distinct People at this Time, under so many Circumstances unfavourable to it, cannot be equalled by any similar Case in History; and therefore has always been looked upon as a standing Miracle.—But again, we are not to set up a few detached Texts of Scripture against the whole Tenor of the Jewish Law. It is not thus we interpret our English Laws, or Acts of Parliament. Can it be supposed that the Supreme Being could deliver a System of Laws that should contradict each other, or favour Injustice and Violence? This would be to degrade him below a Lycurgus, or a Jus­tinian *, or even Mahomet himself †. I shall [Page 8] only add further upon this Head, that although the chief Design of rendering the Slavery or the Heathens perpetual, was to prevent the Jews from intermarrying with them, yet this Evil like the Divorces spoken of by our Savi­our *, was permitted amongst them, upon the Account of the ‘Hardness of their Hearts. From the beginning it was not so.’—That is, the same Law of Nature, which in the Begin­ing of the World forbid Divorces, upon tri­fling Occasions, likewise forbid Slavery. But The depravity of the Jews, and in particular their proneness to mix with, and adopt the Cus­toms of other Nations, rendered a Dispensation from the Rigor of the Moral Law necessary, not only with respect to the keeping of Slaves, but to other things, equally repugnant to its Perfection, and Purity §. But the same Plea [Page 9] cannot be made under the Christian Dispensa­tion. Every seeming imperfection which was accommodated to the State of Knowledge, and Society amongst the Jews, was abolished by Christianity; instead of "an Eye for an Eye, or a Tooth for a Tooth," we are commanded "not to resist Evil, but to him that smiteth on the right cheek, to turn the other also." Can it be believed that this divine Lawgiver, who inculcated such Patience of Injuries, could ap­prove of an Evil; which involved in it every thing that was destructive to the Happiness of Individuals and Society? * Although he reproved Vice in all its shapes, yet (I repeat it again) he maintained a regard to the Roman and Jewish Governments. This appears plain from his ordering Tribute to be paid to Caesar. It appear likewise from his Behaviour to the Woman caught in Adultery. Had he condemned her, he would have offended against the Roman, and had he acquitted her, he would have abro­gated [Page 10] that Part of the Jewish Law which related to that Crime. He only commands her to "go and sin no more."

The Author of the Defence employs several Pages to shew the Loss that would arise to the Planters, and to Great-Britain, from the Ma­numission of the Negroes in the West-Indies ‡. I am far from recommending such a Step to the Planters—It would be as prejudicial to the Slaves as to their Masters. Men used to Slave­ry, such as prevails in the Southern Colonies and West-Indies, are ever afterwards unfit for Liberty. The first Thing proposed was to leave of importing them. The Evil after this would in some Measure remedy itself. As to the loss Britain would sustain, it should not be mentioned. It hath been proved by Mons. Le Poivre, that she would derive not only Re­putation, but immense Riches from it. Many Families in Algiers would perhaps suffer a few temporary Inconveniences, and the Revenues of that State be lessened, by their calling home their piratical Ships.—But will any Man pre­tend, upon this Account, to vindicate their [Page 11] flagrant Violations of the Laws of Nature and Nations?—If political Advantages can justify the Infringement of the Laws of Justice and Humanity, then let us cease to look with Hor­ror upon the Massacre of the Protestants in France and Ireland—of the English at Am­boyna—and of the Jews in Spain. It cannot be repeated too often, that the Obligations of Morality are alike binding upon Communities and Individuals; and History as well as daily Observation shew us, that they both promote their true Interest in Proportion as they comply with them. The Extract from Mons. Le Poivre, in the Address, may serve as a full Answer to the common Objections of dividing the Lands in the West-Indies among a Number of Free­men, and effectually Refutes all the Arguments adduced from the Expence of Cattle, Sugar­works, and the speedy Fermentation of the Cane Juice. *

[Page 12]OUR Author attempts to palliate the Account given of the Severity of the Punishments inflict­ed upon the Negroes †. To such as know the Weakness, and Depravity of Human Nature, no Accounts of the Cruelty of these Punish­ments will appear exaggerated. Invest the proud—passionate—ambitious, and covetous Creature Man, with an absolute Dominion (such as is held in the West-Indies) over the Lordly independant Creature Man, and we may venture from what we know of Human Nature, to tell what will be the Consequence. It is true, as our Author remarks *, most of the Na­tives of the West Indies are educated in Bri­tain, in the Principles of Liberty and Humani­ty; but why are they sent from Home to be educated?—Why do Parents give up the most sacred Charge heaven can deposit in their Hands, the Formation of the Minds of their Children, to Strangers? Why is the Love of their native Country (so necessary in Hu­man Societies) to be weakned, or destroy­ed by a foreign Education? It is because it is so difficult for them to improve in Learn­ing [Page 13] or Virtue at Home, where they are ex­posed to Vice from, every Quarter, and where they breathe nothing but the polluted Atmosphere of Slavery *. But have all the Plan­ters in the West Indies been educated in the Principle of Liberty and Humanity? Or do those who have had a British Education always reside at their Estates, or look after their Negroes? Perhaps they may in some Cases disapprove of their Punishments, these being inflicted by Overseers or their Dependants; yet they are generally too far removed from them to prevent, or regulate them.

IT is to no Purpose to urge here that Self Interest leads the Planters to treat their Slaves well. † There are many things which appear true in Speculation, which are false in Practice. The Head is as apt to mistake its real Interest, as the Heart its real Happiness. It would be [Page 14] the Interest of every Man to live agreeable to the Rules of Reason and Morality; but, how few in this Respect pursue their true Interest? It would be the Interest of Great Britain to give over attempting to tax her Colonies: It would be her Interest likewise to abolish Slavery in every Part of her Dominions; but how has she sacrificed her Interest in these Respects, to the Party or private Considerations of a few weak, or bad Men.

I SHALL not leave the Account I have giv­en of the cruel Treatment of the Slaves in the West-Indies to rest upon my own Authority.

THE Rev. Mr. Godwyn a Clergyman of the Church of England, in relating the Dif­ficulties he met with, in endeavouring to in­struct the Negroes in Barbadoes, in the princi­ples of Christianity, informs us, that "they treat their Negroes with far less Humanity, than they do their Cattle, for they do not Starve their Horses, nor pinch the Cow by whose Milk they are sustained. The more innocent and laborious are worked to Death. They are [Page 15] tormented and whipped almost, and sometimes quite to Death, even for slight miscariages."

SIR HANS SLOAN (who resided many years in Jamaica) in his Introduction to the Na­tural History of that Island, gives the following account of the Punishments inflicted on the Negroes. "For Rebellion, the Punishment is burning them, by nailing them down on the Ground, with crooked Sticks on every Limb, and then applying the Fire by Degrees from the Feet and Hands, burning them gradually upon the Head, whereby their Pains are extra­vagant. For Crimes of a less Nature Castra­tion or chopping off half the Foot with an Axe. For Negligence they are usually Whipp­ed by the Overseers with Lance-wood Switch­es. After they are whipped 'till they are raw, some put on their Skins Pepper and Salt to make them smart; at other Times their Mas­ters will drop Melted Wax on their Skins, and use several very exquisite Torments."—I could here add the Testimonies of many Gen­tlemen of Character who have witnessed Tor­tures (if possible) more cruel than these, in several of the Islands, and who are ready if re­quired [Page 16] to give in their Names. But for the Ho­nour of Human Nature I shall suppress them. Let not our Author after this, be offended at the harshest Epithets that can be given to those who inflict these Punishments. If he is, let him defend the West-India Planters from the Aspersions of Dr. Campbell, who speaking of the Negroes in the West Indies, says, "They endure a Slavery more complete, and attended with far worse Circumstances, than what any People in their Condition suffer, in any other Part of the World; or have suffered, in any other Period of Time §." Let him defend them from the Aspersions of Huberus, who in his De­fence of the necessity of a mild Slavery in some Countries adds, "I speak only of that kind of Slavery which was in Use amongst civilized Nations—not of that which prevails amongst BARBARIANS, or which the Africans en­dure in America ‖." Let him defend them from the Aspersions of Dr. Adam Smith, who speaking of the Contempt of Death and Torture which prevails amongst Savage Nations, has [Page 17] the following Passage, "There is not a Negro from the Coast of Africa, who does not in this Respect possess a Degree of Magnanimi­ty, which the Soul of his fordid Master is too often scarce capable of conceiving. Fortune never exerted more cruelly her Empire over Mankind, than when she subjected those Na­tions of Heroes, to the Refuse of the Jails of Europe, to Wretches who possess the Virtues neither of the Countries which they come from, nor of those they go to, and whose Levity, Bru­tality, and Baseness, so justly expose them to the Contempt of the Vanquished. *" Here I must turn Advocate for the first Inhabitants of the West-India Islands. Many of them fled from religious and civil Persecution. Most of them were descended from the first Families in Great Britain. The first Settlers in Barbadoes in a particular manner, who fled from the Ty­ranny of Cromwell, carried with them some of the purest Blood in the Nation. But what a Change has Negro-slavery made in some of their Posterity!—to be mistaken by a most [Page 18] ingenious Writer, from their "Levity, Brutality, and Basenes"—for "the Refuse of the Jails of Europe."—In a Word, if our Author means to defend the Slave Trade, or the West-India Planters to any purpose, let him defend them from the Aspersions of Montesquieu, Franklin, Wallis, Hutchinson, Sharp, Hargrave, War­burton, and Forster, who have all employed their Talents against them. The flashes of their Eloquence have long been seen at a Distance. I shall think myself Happy if I have served as an Instrument of conducting them to those Piles of Iniquity, which Slavery has raised in the British Settlements in America.

THE Author of the Defence endeavours to palliate the Severity of the penal Laws which relate to Slaves in the West-Indies by saying, that they may appear "harsh at first Sight *". We shall mention a few of them, extracted from the laws of Jamaica, and see whether they do [Page 19] not appear harsh upon a closer Examination. "If a Slave strike a White-Man, two Justices with three Freeholders, may punish him with Death, provided such Offence was not com­mitted by his Master's Order, or in a legal Defence of his Goods." What a Door is here opened for Injuries of all kinds against the Slaves!—Even Self Preservation, the first Law of Nature, which often shews itself in Instinct, anticedent to the slower Operations of Reason, is here suspended by the Law of the Land *. "Killing a Slave found stealing, or running away in the Night, shall be no Damage." "Runaway Slaves may have a Foot cut off by order of two Justices and three Freeholdes."

[Page 20]"Persons wilfully killing Slaves shall for the first time be guilty of Felony, and the second Murder ‡". Where are the Laws in any other civilized Country which make a distinction be­tween a first and second Murder?—The diffi­culty of proving this Crime (so much com­plained of in other Countries) is encreased, by a Negro not being suffered to be a Witness in their Courts. The small number of White People here, renders it extremely difficult to prove this or any other Crime by their Evidence.

I HOPE it will not be thought that I am about to desert the Cause of Humanity, when I maintain with the Author of the Defence, that these severe Laws, and arbitrary Punishments are "absolutely necessary to the Safety and good Government of the Islands *." Despotic Governments always require severe Laws. It is the same in Domestic Slavery: The natural Love of Liberty which is common to all Men, and the Love of Ease which is peculiar to the Inhabitants of Warm Climates, can only be [Page 21] overcome by severe Laws and Punishments. While Slaves are employed in a Climate and Labor, and treated with an Inhumanity, unknown to former Ages—While every Nerve must be kept stretched, and every Pore constantly open—While the Ideas of Liberty are kept up in the Minds of any of them, by the yearly Importation of Cargoes from Africa—While they are denied so many of the Necessaries and Comforts of Life, and lastly while their Propor­tion is so much greater than that of the white Peo­ple, nothing but the Whip, melted Wax, Brine, the Gallows, the Stake, and the Gibbet, will long prevent Insurrections among them *. Even [Page 22] these art often ineffectual for that Purpose. In spite of them all, Human Nature is now [Page 23] aiming to regain her Dignity, amongst the Slaves, in the Brasils, Surinam, and Chili, who have at last asserted their Liberty *. Are not these Insurrections the beginnings of universal Retribution and Vengance upon European Ty­ranny, in America? and is it not high time for [Page 24] Britain to change her Conduct, and to adopt some safe and equitable means of abolishing Slavery in her Colonies.?

THE Author of the Defence endeavours to strengthen his Cause by degrading the Genius and Manners of the Africans, below the ordina­ry rank of human Creatures †. Few Travellers possess Abilities, Introductions, or Languages, proper to acquire a complete knowledge of Na­tional Characters. Nations often differ widely in the compass of a few Years, and even the same Nation is different, in different parts of the same Kingdom. How widely do the Manners of the Chinese differ according to Du Haldt, and the Author of Lord Anson's Voyage round the World. The one describes the interior parts of the Country, the other, a Sea-port town. Human Nature is the same in all Ages and Countries; and all the difference we perceive in its Cha­racters in respect to Virtue and Vice, Know­ledge and Ignorance, may be accounted for from Climate, Country, Degrees of Civilizati­on, [Page 25] form of Government, or other accidental causes, "Mankind (says that Citizen of the World Mr. Baretti) are of one great Family, and he is not a Friend to that Family, who con­tributes his Mite towards keeping it in Discord, by partial and false Representations. It is the Devil's Business to spread such erronious Noti­ons, that Men may not consider themselves as Brothers, but contemn and hate each other."

WITHOUT availing myself of the Authorities of Smith, Adanson, Astley, Bosman, and others who speak in high Terms of the Africans, I shall allow that many of them are inferior in Virtue, Knowledge, and the love of Liberty to the Inhabitants of other parts of the World: but this may be explained from Physical causes. The different Nations of Africa are divided from each other by vast tracts of uninhabited Land. This is the reason why this quarter of the Globe has never been the seat of a wide ex­tended Empire; and hence the Natives conti­nue chiefly in a Savage or Barbarous State; for Arms (on which extensive Empire has always been founded) and the Arts of Civilization [Page 26] have generally travelled together. Moreover the Heat of the Climate in Africa, by bringing on Indolence of Mind, and Body, exposes them at all Times to Slavery, while the Fertility of the Soil renders the Want of Liberty a less Evil to them, than it is to the Inhabitants of North­ern, or less Warm and fruitful Countries †. These last Causes, have likewise fixed Slavery in Asia: but from the undivided Nature of this Country, it has not been confined as in Africa to petty Monarchies, but extended through large Em­pires: Hence the Asiatics are a civilized People.

COULD it be proved, that the Negroes are the only People in the World, who are ignorant of a Supreme Being, or that Worship Idols, it might add Weight to our Author's Argument * derived from these Facts, to shew that they are an inferior Race of Men. Human Inventions in all Ages have corrupted Natural, as well as Revealed Religion. The Natives of Peru so famous in History, were discovered in a State of the most blind Idolatry; Example of the same Kind are to be found without Number, in [Page 27] the Accounts of Travellers, of every Age and Country. In the Polite City of Athens, there were many who worshipped an "unknown God," and in Ephesus others, who lived alto­gether "without God in the World."

THE best Definition that can be given of Man is, that he is a Creature capable of Religion. Who has not heard of the Christian Church in Africa? If Christianity has made less Pro­gress, and been more corrupted in this Country than in many others, it must be ascribed among other Causes to its opposing Polygamy, a vice to which the Heat of the Climate, the early Ma­turity, and speedy Decay of the Women, and the peculiar fertility of the Soil, strongly dispos­ed them. It is owing to the less, severe Re­strain [...]s which Mahomet laid upon this Vice, that his Religion continues to prevail throughout the greatest Part of this Country. *

OUR Author's last Charge against the Ge­nius and Manners of the Africans, is founded upon their being "unacquainted with Friend­ship and Gratitude," and upon their being "se­parated [Page 28] from their nearest Relations without looking after them, or bidding them fare­well. *" Friendship and Gratitude are found­ed upon the Wants and Weaknesses of Man in a State of Society. If any of the Negroes ap­pear to be Strangers to these Virtues, it must be ascribed to their independent Mode of Life, as Savages, which exempts them from most of those Weaknesses, and artificial Wants, which are introduced by civilized Life. The Savage is indebted entirely to his Bow and Fishing Rod, for his Support. The Woods and Brooks, by satisfying chief of his Desires, raise him above the Obligations of Friendship and Gra­titude. They likewise, by precluding all com­paratives Ideas, render him a Stranger to Envy and Ambition. The seeming Indifference with which some of the Negroes part from their Re­lations, must be ascribed in like Manner to their Character as Savages; it being esteemed amongst them the highest Mark of Heroisim to bear the utmost Degrees of Pain and Misery without complaining. But this Insensibility to the Ties of Nature, Friendship, and Gratitude, [Page 29] is far from being general, amongst the Negroes. The Natives of Congo, I have been informed by a Gentleman who has witnessed the Sale of many Cargoes of Slaves in the West-Indies, always show Signs of Grief upon being parted from their Friends, and Relations. The Cor­manties are always prone to Insurrections. The Natives of Angola generally seek to destroy themselves *. The Degrees of Natural Affec­tion, Love of Liberty, and Resentment, disco­vered by the Negroes, are always proportioned to the Progress they had made in political, and domestic Happiness, in their own Country.

THE Amusements, Songs &c †. of the Ne­groes, are urged as signs of their Happiness, or Contentment in Slavery. Every one knows how often the Mind flies to these, to relieve it­self from Melancholy. Although some of their Songs, like those of civilized Nations, [Page 30] are Obscene and Warlike, yet I have been in­formed that many of them, as well as their Tunes, are of a most plantive Nature, and very expressive of their Misery.

To a Mind divested of those Prejudices with which Custom leads us to view objects, the same Follies and Vices will appear under different forms in every state of Society, not only in the Individuals of the different Ranks and Characters of Mankind, but amongst diffe­rent Nations likewise.

WHERE is the difference between an African Prince, with his face daubed with Grease, and his Head adorned with a Feather; and a moderen Macaroni with his artificial Club of Hair daubed with Powder and Poma­tum? Where is the difference between the British Senator who attempts to enslave his fellow subjects, in America, by imposing Tax­es upon them contrary to Law and Justice; and the American Patriot who reduces his African Brethren to Slavery, contrary to Justice and Humanity? Where is the difference between the sceptical Philosopher who will not allow [Page 31] those Men to be his equals Genius or Man­ners, who differ from his in a few trisling Customs; and the bigotted Christian who will not allow those Christians to partake of the merits of his Savior who mix with their wor­ship a few trisling Ceremonies? Where is the difference between the Mahometan Negro who maintains three or four Wives agreeable to the Religion of this Country; and the European Christian who keeps three or four Mistresses contrary to the Religion of his Country? Where is the difference between the Pagan Ne­gro who worship an evil Spirit, and uses a few ceremonies at a Funeral; and the supersti­tious Christian who worships God from a fear of a Devil, and connects his future Happi­ness with a Sacrament before, and a Funeral right after, his Death? Where is the diffe­rence between the African Savage, whose scanty wants are supplied by Nature; and the European Nobleman, whose numerous wants are supplied by Arts? They are both alike free from the Obligations of Friendship and Gratitude *. It would lead us too far from [Page 32] our subjet to shew in how many other In­stances, the same rural sports, the same violent and lasting Resentments, the same Arts of Address and Dissimulation, and the same want of Affection in the Union of the sexes, Mark a Resemblance between the extremes of civili­zed, and the savage Life.—Lastly; where is the difference between that civilized Nation that yearly destroys 30,000 souls by her Trade un­der the sanction of Laws; and that barbarous Nation which destroys the same number with the Sword, without the sanction of Laws? The proportion of Vice is the same in both Nations. In the latter it appears like certain Diseases in strong Constitutions upon the Ex­tremities and surface of the Body, whereas in the former it is thrown upon the Vitals. Still however, like the dreaded Worm of Africa it spreads its malignant Influence to every part of the Body, and unless it be wholly extracted, will at last end in its entire Dissolution. But supposing our Author had proved the Africans to be inferior in every thing to the Inhabitants [Page 33] of the other quarters of the Globe will his Cause derive any strength from it? Would it avail a man to plead in a Court of Justice that he defrauded his Neighbour, because he was inferior to him in Genius or Knowledge?

WAS I an arbitrary Prince in a Country whose Laws punished the lowest degree of In­feriority of Genius or Manners with perpetual Slavery, and should a Man claim a fellow sub­ject for a Slave upon the best proofs of his be­ing deficient in both,—I Would suffer the unfor­tunate Criminal to go free, and inflict upon the Prosecutor the whole penalty of the Law. This Man's Genius and Manners above all others, would render him fit for nothing but Sla­very.

I come now to enquire into the causes which have prevented the encrease of the Negroes in the West-Indies. These must be sought for, not in their "carelessness in preserving their Health †" as our Author supposes, but in their peculiar situation and manner of Life as Slaves. The Africans multiply in their own Coun­try with a Rapidity that is hardly credible, and [Page 34] from their Color and certain Customs * which Experience has taught them, they are exempted from those Diseases which prove so fatal to the Europeans that come amongst them.

THREE Causes concur to check Populati­on in a Country, namely, Luxury, Debauche­ry, and Slavery. The first of these by en­creasing our wants, encreases the difficulties of supporting a Family; the second renders the Sexes unfit, while the last abates the Appetite, for propagating the Species. All these pro­duce their Effects according to their Degree, or according to their being more or less com­bined. Slavery operates differently, whether it be of a political, or domestic Nature. Po­litical Slavery in some Countries has but little influence upon Population, such as in some parts of Asia, and Africa. In others it ope­rates against it, as in Russia, and most of the states of Italy. Domestic Slavery in like man­ner [Page 35] sometimes exists under such alleviations as to have little influence upon Population. This was the case in Egypt. The Israelites multi­plied in a rapid manner during their Captivity. That they were treated with Lenity we learn from the history of Joseph. Had Masters possess­ed a right over the Lives of their Slaves, Potiphar would have avenged the dishonour Joseph was accused of attempting to bring on his Bed, and not have consigned him over to be tried, con­demned and punished by the municipal Law of the Country. Slaves encreased nearly in the same proportion as Freemen in the virtuous Ages of the Roman Empire. We read of some who owned 10,000, and others 20,000 of them. That the Romans treated their Slaves with Lenity, we learn from the testimony of Sene­ca *. It is true the Romans imported many Slaves from the Barbarous Countries they subdued, but this was in the declension of their Empire. It was not 'till this time that we read of the Er­gastula, or House of Correction for Slaves. They partook of the dissolute manners of their Mas­ters, [Page 36] and therefore foreign supplies were neces­sary to repair the waste which Debauchery had, introduced amongst them. It is true also, the right of Life was held over Slaves, and Tor­tures were inflicted upon them in criminal Ca­ses: But the same right was held by the Ro­mans over their own Children, and Tortures were inflicted in like cases upon Freemen. They were seldom put in Execution upon either, in the early Ages of the Empire. Slaves multi­plied among the antient Germans, by whom they were treated with the Familiarity of Chil­dren, according to the Testimony of Tacitus *. Slaves have multiplied moreover in the Nor­thern and Middle Colonies of America. But in the West-Indies they have never encreased by ordinary Population. We shall first prove this Fact, and then assign the reasons of it.

LIGON in his Account of Barbadoes tells us that in the year 1646 there were 20,000 Whites on that Island, besides, to use his own Words "a [...] greater number of Blacks". In the year 1676 the Negroes in Barbadoes amounted to [Page 37] above one hundred thousand *. Upon a Parli­amentary enquiry into the state of the African Trade in the year 1728 it appeared that in three years only the number of Negroes imported in­to Barbadoes, Jamaica, and Antigua amount­ed to 42,000, besides what were carried to St. Kitts, Nevis, and Monserrat. From this it appears, that the Island of Jamaica, allowing it only an equal proportion with Barbadoes and Antigua, imported 14,000 Negroes in three years. When we consider the great increase of the demand for Sugar, and the other Produce of that Island, since the year 1728, we cannot ad­mit of less than 5,000 Negroes being imported there every year since. Let us now enquire what is the present number of the Negroes in those Islands. In Barbadoes § they do not exceed [Page 38] 100,000, and in Jaimaica they do not amount to 200,000. If in the latter they have encreas­ed by a few thousands within these forty years it is not owing to ordinary Population, but to the many new Estates which have lately been settled on that Island. When we look back and estimate the numbers which have been sacrificed by this Trade, and when we look forward, and estimate the encreasing proportion which it must destroy, if it continues upon its present footing †, we would wish to forget the obliga­tions [Page 39] we owe to Justice, Humanity, Religion, and to the British name. What War, or Pes­tilence ever made such Havock with the human species? Spaniards blush at the Recital of the Massacre of the Indians in South America, and wish to blot it out of their Histories *. But Britons, once samed thro' every quarter of the Globe for their love of Justice, Humanity and Liberty,—nay more, British Americans, the descendants of those illustrious Men of whom Britain at one period of her History was not worthy,—British Americans, who a few years ago risked their all in opposing the claims of the British Parliament; these very Americans have fallen into a trade more destructive to [Page 40] their fellow Creatures than Spanish tortures, they have pursued it upwards of an hundred years, and what is more—they defend it as lawful.

HAVING proved that the Negroes in the West-Indies do not encrease by ordinary popu­lation, I come now to enquire into the Reasons of it.

OF the three Causes we mentioned which concur to check Population, the two last, name­ly, Debauchery, and Slavery, act chiefly upon the Negroes. Dr. Bancroft ascribes their De­cerase entirely to Debauchery *, but we shall [Page 41] find that Slavery (under its peculiar aggravations in the West-Indies) has a great share in destroy­ing them. The Appetite for propagating'the Spe­cies amongst the Blacks, bears no relation to the heat of the Climate, or to the degrees of the same Appetite in the White People. A greater pro­portion of Infants than in other Countries, pe­rish in their Birth *. Their Children besides being subject to all the numerous Diseases of Chil­dren in warm Countries, have one that is peculiar to them, and which arises from their peculiar Circumstances as Slaves, which proves [Page 42] fatal to Numbers *. The Want of Confidence in Fathers in the Fidelity of their Wives, and [Page 43] the Wretchedness of Mothers, have always been found to lessen that care which is the Off­spring of Natural Affection in Parents for their Children. This Disregard in Parents for their Posterity, is encreased among the Slaves in the West Indies by the Reflection of the Mi­sery they have entailed upon them;—here then we discover another Source of Accidents and Mortality among the Negro Children.

I MUST not omit taking Notice of a Disease called the Seasoning, which destroys many of the Negroes. It arises partly from their unwhole­some Diet ‡ on Shipboard, and partly from the [Page 44] Hippocondriac Disorder, which their new and wretched Manner of Life brings on them. Now when we add to all these, the hard Labor which the Negroes undergo in a Climate not intend­ed for it—their spare Diet *—and their intem­perance [Page 45] in drinking the most pernicious Liquors we may account for the immense Waste of them in the West-Indies. They all stand charged upon Slavery.

I KNOW it has been said by some, that the Cli­mate of the West-Indies destroys many of the Ne­groes. But Experience convinces us that this is not the Case. They are even exempted from the most fatal epidemic Diseases to which the White People are subject. Nor should the Mortality among the Whites be attributed entirely to the Cli­mate. The most populous Nations, and the longest lived People, have always been found in warm Countries. The Mortality of the Europeans arises from their carrying with them to the West-Indies their European Diet, and Manners. ‡ These, to­gether with that Luxury which is founded on the [Page 46] Labor of the Negroes, have prevented the Increase of White People in the Islands. The Assembly of Jamaica have in vain attempted, by Laws made for that Purpose, to encourage Artificers and Labour­ers (who constitute the greatest Body of the People in all Countries) to settle amongst them. They can never reconcile themselves to working with Slaves. It is owing to these Causes, that the Number of White People in Jamaica has not exceded 30,000 at one time, in the Course of Ninety Years. Compare this, with the Province of Pennsylvania, whose inha­bitants in the same Space of Time, from ordinary Population and the Accession of Strangers, have amounted to near 400,000 Souls. In these consist the true Riches * and Glory of Britain. "In the Multitude of People is the King's Honor, but in the Want of People is the Destruction of a Prince."

THUS we see that the Slave Trade is not only repugnant to Religion, and the true Interests of our Mother Country, but that it offers Violence to the [Page 47] oeconomy of Nature. The Air—the Sea—Heaven and Earth—all the Elements, conspire against it.

The Author of the Defence endeavours to shelter the West-India Planters under the Practices of some of the "firmest Supporters of Religion in England, both of the Clergy and Laity ‡." The greatest Sancti­ty of Office, and the highest attainments in Wisdom, will not always preserve Men from Vice and Error. * The Clergy of every Church are as apt to confound the Attributes of the Deity, with a few detached [Page 48] Passages in the Scriptures, as Lawyers are, to con­found Natural Equity with Acts of Parliament, of as Physicians are, to mistake the Operations of Na­ture for those of Medicine. A Planter in one of the West-India Islands who felt some uneasiness in his Mind from keeping Negro Slaves, wrote lately to a learned Divine in London, to know whether it was unlawful. The Divine wrote for answer, that the Jews had Slaves—that it was not forbidden in the New Testament—that domestic Slavery had existed in every Age and Corner of the World—and that by treating his Slaves well, he committed no Crime in keeping them. Had this Planter listened a little longer to the Voice of Heaven, speaking in his Heart, or consulted the whole Tenor of his Bible, he would have received a very different An­swer to his Question. I beg leave to add here, that the same Arguments derived from Scripture and Precedents, which establish domestic; likewise esta­blish political Slavery. The Jews, God's peculiar People, were under Bondage to the Egyptians, and unless we oppose the whole Spirit of Christianity, to a few single Precepts, St. Paul's advice to the [Page 49] Romans † is a much stronger Proof of the Lawful­ness of political Slavery, than any yet adduced from the Old or New Testament, in Favor of the Law­fulness of domestic Slavery. If domestic Slavery is agreeable to the Will and Laws of God, political Slavery is much more so.—Then it follows, that our British Constitution was obtained unjustly—King Charles the First did no wrong—Passive Obe­dience was due to Oliver Cromwell—King James the Second was the Lord's Anointed—The Revolu­tion was a Rebellion—King William was a Tyrant—The illustrious House of Hanover are Usurpers—and the Right of the British Parliament to tax the American Colonies, is unlimited and indisputable.—Ancient and modern Precedents should have no Weight in this Dispute; for political as well as do­mestic Slavery, has existed amongst civilized Na­tions in every Age, and Corner of the World. But has its Iron Sceptre been softened, by the few despotic Kings who have been wise and just, and the few Nations which have lived happily and flourished in that State? In a Word, if we reason from Ex­ample, where shall we stop? For where is the [Page 50] Error, or Vice, that has not been admitted as true, or practised as lawful, in some Age or Country? "There is a Way which seemeth right unto a Man; but the end thereof are the Ways of Death."

THE Reader will here pardon my saying a Word or two of myself. I am called upon by the Author of the Defence to answer a Question.—Should I become "an Owner of a West-India Estate by the Death of a Relation, or some other unexpected Means," he desires to know "whether I could lay my Hand on my Heart, and say, with a safe Conscience, that I would instantly free all my Slaves, and destroy my Sugar Works." Suppose I should refuse to do this, the Subject remains where it did,—I should then commit a Crime for which I should justly "loose the Esteem of Men of Sense, and of a rational Way of thinking."

AND now my West-India Friend, give me leave in my turn to ask you a few Questions. Lay your Hand upon your Heart, and tell me; would you like to be sold, for no fault, or torn against your will from your Sisters and Brothers, and carried into a, foreign Country, to be subjected to the absolute domi­nion of a Master; to be obliged to labor without intermission, to cease to make any further improve­ments [Page 51] in Virtue or Knowledge; to be fed and cloathed scantily; to be tempted by your situation to all the low Vices of Slavery, to be punished in the most cruel manner if you attempted to regain your Liberty; Would you like to be told, if you should complain of your hard fate, that the "Imperfection of Human Society" required that you should be a Slave; that Moses the Jewish Law-giver commanded it, that the Gospel did not proclaim a jubilee to Slaves *; that you had "no Genius" that Mr. Hume had said, from your Ignorance of the Religi­on, and your backwardness in acquiring the Lan­guage, and Learning of the Country you were in, you belonged to an inferior race of Men, †, that you want­ed feeling, because Resentment, and the prospect of greater Misery absorbed the Grief you would other­wise have shewed upon parting with your Family; that your Master was "educated in a Country of Liber­ty and Humanity," and that it was his "interest to treat you well"; that the Tortures inflicted upon you for attempting to regain your Liberty, "were infe­rior to those inflicted upon Damien, and the Conspi­rators against the Life of the present King of Portu­gal"; § "all Happiness was comparative"; that you were "much happier than the Peasants of Scotland, Ireland, and Poland"; * that upon the [Page 52] whole your situation was more to be envied than pi­tied, "and that you might quit the World with the certainty that your Children would be treated with the same care you had experienced yourself". †?—I anticipate your Answer to these Questions. You would not. Then Sir pause a few Minutes, and re­flect upon what you have done. You have called in question the Justice and goodness of the Supreme Being. You have charged the FATHER of Mankind with being the Author of the greatest Evils to his Children. You have aimed to establish Principles, which justify the most extensive and cruel Deprada­tions which have been made by Conquerors and Ty­rants, upon the Liberties and Lives of Mankind, and which at the same time condemn those glori­ous Events, and illustrious Men, that Britain and her Colonies, are indebted to for their Liberty and Prospe­rity. You have misrepresented the true Interests of our Mother Country. You have attempted to palliate Crimes which are founded on a Pride and Depravity of Soul, unavoidable in Masters and Slaves in the West-Indies. You have thrown a Veil over the true Causes which destroy so many Thousands of your fellow Creatures every year. You have (to use your own Words) "unworthily traduced" not "many of my valuable Friends" § but the whole of your [Page 53] own Brethren—the poor Africans. You have at­tempted to sink Creatures, formed like yourself, in the Image of God, and equally capable of Happiness both here and hereafter, below the rank of "Mon­sters and Barbarians" §, or even Brutes themselves. You have—but I forbear to add to the Re­proaches to which you have exposed yourself.— "As a Person cannot err so grosly as not to be able to make Atonement" ‖ I hope you will not fail im­mediately to ask forgiveness of your Maker, and your Country, for the Attack you have made up­on the Rights of Mankind.

PERHAPS some of my West-India Readers are waiting to see an Apology, for the Account I have given in the Address of the Punishments inflicted upon the Negroes in the West-Indies. If they are, they will certainly be mistaken. Although the Ad­dress "was written hastily," yet the most ingenious Tortures that ever were inflicted upon a West-India Slave, should not prevail upon me to acknowledge, that is was written "without sufficient Proofs of what I advanced *." The Authorities upon which I have rested all my Facts, cannot be contradicted. But I am far from applying the Account that is given of the inhuman Practices of some Masters, to [Page 54] ALL the Planters in the West-Indies. If it is un­fair to reason against the Practice of any Thing in itself lawful, from its Abuse; it is not so, to reason against Practices, in themselves unlawful, from their Abuse. The rankest Weeds, and the most delicious Fruits, often grow in the same Soil. I honour the West-Indians for their Hospitality, Generosity, and Public Spirit. I have had the Pleasure of knowing many of them, who were distinguished for their Hu­manity, and every other Virtue that could adorn human Nature. There are some Metals so pure that they receive no Rust from being exposed to the moistest Atmosphere; so there are some Dispositions naturally so good, that they cannot contract the least soile of Vice—even from Slavery.

I HAVE avoided as much as possible every Thing through the whole of this Vindication, that could draw me from my Subject to the Author of the Defence. I shall not even give him the Pain of repeating here the many unkind Insinuations and Reflections he has thrown out against me. He was perhaps warm when he wrote them—When he cools, I am persuaded he will be "sorry for his ungenerous abuse of a man who never injured him," † or any other Individual born in the West-Indies.

FINIS.

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