But long before they attempted to emancipate the slaves, the efforts of philanthropists were directed to abolish the slave traffic, which desolated Africa, wholly prevented its advance in civiliza tion, and encouraged the maltreatment of the negroes in the colonies, by affording an unlimited supply, and making it not the planter's interest to keep up his stock in the natural way. The attention of mankind was first effectually awakened to the horror of this trade by Thomas Clarkson. His labours, with the aid of the zealous men, chiefly Quakers, who early joined him, prepared the way for Mr. Wilberforce, who brought the sub ject before parliament in 1788, and al though, after his notice, the motion, owing to his accidental illness, was first brought forward by Mr. Pitt, Mr. Wilberforce was throughout the great parliamentary leader in the cause, powerfully supported in the country by Thomas Clarkson and others, as Richard Phillips, George Har rison, William Allen, all of the Society of Friends, Mr. Stephen, who had been in the West Indies as a barrister, and Mr. Z. Macaulay, who had been governor of Sierra Leone, and had also resided in Jamaica. A bill was first carried (brought in by Sir W. Dolben) to regulate the trade until it could be abolished, and this in some degree diminished the horrors of the middle passage. But the question of abolition was repeatedly defeated, until 1804, when Mr. Wilberforce first carried the bill through the Commons ; it was thrown out in the Lords, and next year it was again lost even in the Commons. Meanwhile the capture of the foreign colonies, especially the Dutch, during the war, frightfully increased the amount of the trade, by opening these settlements to British capital ; and at one time the whole importation of slaves by British vessels amounted to nearly 60,000 yearly, of which about a third was for the supply of our old colonies. At length, in 1805, an order in council prohibited the slave trade in the conquered colonies. Next year the administration of Lord Grenville and Mr. Fox carried a bill through, pro hibiting British subjects from engaging in the trade for supplying either foreign settlements or the conquered colonies. A resolution moved by Mr. Fox, the last time he took any part in public debate, was also carried in 1806, pledging the Commons to a total abolition of the trade early next session, and this was, on Lord Grenville's motion, adopted by the Lords. Accordingly next year the General Abo lition Bill was brought in by Lord Howick (afterwards Earl Grey), and being passed by both houses, received the royal assent an the 25th of March, 1807. This Act prohibited slave-trading from and after the 1st of January, 1808 ; but as it only subjected offenders to pecuniary penalties, it was found that something more was required to put down a traffic the gains of which were so great as to cover all losses by capture. In 1810 the House of Commons, on the motion of Mr. Brougham, passed unanimously a resolu tion, pledging itself early next session effectually to prevent " such daring violations of the law ;" and he next year carried a bill making slave-trading felony, punishable by fourteen years' transporta tion, or imprisonment with hard labour. In 1824 the laws relating to the slave trade were consolidated, and it was fur ther declared to be piracy, and punishable capitally, if committed within the Admi ralty jurisdiction. In 1837 this was changed to transportation for life, by the acts diminishing the number of capital punishments. Since the Felony Act of 1811, the British colonies have entirely ceased to have any concern in this traffic. If any British subjects have engaged in it, or any British capital has been em barked in it, the offence has been com mitted in the foreign trade.
The Duke of Wellington, while am bassador at Paris, in 1814, used every effort to obtain from the restored Bourbon government a prohibition of the traffic in slaves; but the French West Indian in terest and commercial jealousy of Eng land frustrated all his attempts. The first French law abolishing the slave• trade was a decree issued by Napoleon on the 29th of March, 1815, during the Hundred Days, after his return from Elba. It prohibited any vessel from fitting out for the trade, either in the ports of France or in those of her colonies ; and the in troduction or sale in the French colonies of any negro obtained by the trade, whe ther carried on by French subjects or foreigners. The influence of Great Bri
tain was again strenuously exerted at the peace in 1815, to obtain the concurrence of foreign powers in the abolition ; and the object has been steadily kept in view by this country, and every oppbrtunity of forwarding it taken advantage of, down to the present time. The conse quence has been that now nearly all the powers in Europe and America have laws, or entered into treaties, pro the traffic.
To the General Treaty signed by the representatives of Austria, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Sweden, assembled in Congress at Vienna, on the 9th of June, 1815, was annexed, as having the same force as if textually inserted, a Declaration, signed at the same place by the Plenipotentiaries of certain of the powers, on the 8th of February preceding, to the following effect :—that, seeing several European governments had already, virtually, come to the resolution of putting a stop to the slave-trade, and that, successively, all the powers possessing colonies in different parts of the world had acknowledged, either by legislative acts, or by treaties or other formal engagements, the duty and necessity of abolishing it; and that by a separate article of the late treaty of Paris (30th May, 1814), Great Britain and France had engaged to unite their efforts at this Congress of Vienna to in duce all the powers of Christendom to proclaim its universal and definitive abo lition ; the members of the Congress now declared, in the face of Europe, that they were animated with the sincere desire of concurring in the most prompt and effectual execution of this measure by all the means at their disposal. And this Declaration was renewed by the Plenipo tentiaries of Austria, France, Great Bd.
tain, Prussia, and Russia, assembled in Congress at Verona, in resolutions in a conference held on the 28th of No vember, 1822 ; in which, however, it is admitted that, " notwithstanding this de claration, and in spite of the legislative measures which have in consequence been adopted in various countries, and of the several treaties concluded since that period between the maritime powers, this commerce, solemnly proscribed, has con tinued to this very day ; that it has gained in activity what it may have lost in extent; that it has even taken a still more odious character, and more dreadful from the nature of the means to which those who carry it on are compelled to have recourse." The following will be found, we be lieve, to be a correct and complete list of the treaties and conventions for the sup pression of the slave-trade that have been made by this country with other states since the general peace:— In 1814, with France, by Additional Articles to the Definitive Treaty of Peace signed at Paris 30th May (engaging that the slave-trade should be abolished by the French government in the course of five years) ; and with the Netherlands, by treaty of London, 13th August Its abo lition had also been stipulated in the Treaty of Kiel, concluded with Denmark on the 14th of January.
In 1815, with France, by Additional Article to Definitive Treaty signed at Paris 20th November (by which the two powers, having each already, in their re pective dominions, prohibited, without restriction, their colonies and subjects from taking any part whatever in the slave-trade, engage to renew their efforts, through their ministers at the courts of London and Paris, for its entire and defi nitive abolition); and with Portugal, by Treaty signed at Vienna 22nd (referring to Treaty of Alliance concluded at Rio de Janeiro 19th February, 1810, in which the Prince Regent of Portugal had declared his determination to adopt the most efficacious means for bringing about a gradual abolition of the slave trade ; and making it now unlawful for any of the subjects of the crown of Por tugal to purchase slaves, or to carry on the slave-trade, on any part of the coast of Africa to the northward of the equa tor).