About one fourth of the slaves shipped on the Afri can coast expire during the passage; and during the first ten years of their servitude in the West Indies, which is called the period of seasoning, nearly the same number perish. Front these two causes the an nual loss of negroes was computed to be 45,000. The treatment of the slaves in the West India islands va ries with the character of the proprietor; but there can be no doubt that in general it was severe and harsh, and in some instances marked with a brutality incom patible with the usages of civilized life.
Such is a brief view of that traffic which long stain ed the character of enlightened Europe. Many phi lanthropists raised their voice in favour of the unhap py Africans:—many politicians attempted to remove the stain from their country, and many Christians wept over the thought that such crimes could be to lerated in a Christian land. The miseries of the poor Africans were sung by our poets, were declaimed upon by our orators, and even discussed by our sages; but neither the song. nor the declamation, nor the argu ment mitigated their destiny. It was reserved for a band of men,—of Christian men,—entrenched in the strongholds of their faith, pure in their patriotism, and firm in their purpose, to free their religion and their country from the reproach of partaking in the odious crime. The men who took the leading part in bringing about this moral revolution, were Mr. Cranyille Sharpe, Mr. Thomas Clarkson, and Mr. 1Vilberforce, aided by many wise, and pious, and ho nourable men, whose names we cannot undertake to enumerate.* The active and persevering mind which gave life and motion to every combination, and which carried through even the drudgery of its de tails, was that of Mr. Clarkson, a man whom Provi det.ce seems to hate endowed with all the qualities w hien were demanded for so difficult a work. '['he most deep-rooted prejudices everywheie beset his pro g: CSF. The sophistry of metaphysics arrayed all its subtleties against the cause. The sordid N news Or self interest brought into the field still more formidable antagonists; hut the most alarming enemy of all was the apathy and indifference of the nation. All these difficulties he contrived to surmount. lle unmasked the man of syllogisms in his quibbles. The speculator Ile arrested behind his counter, and with the hand of Prometheus Ile pia life into the inert mass of the people.
It would be interesting to trace in detail the steps by which these grand objects were effected; but our limits will not permit us; and the subject is perhaps more suited to a chapter in the life of Mr. Clarkson, when it shall please Providence to call him to his re ward. A rapid notice however will be expected by our readers.
When Dr. Peckard became vice chancellor of the university of Cambridge in 1785, he gave out as the subject of the bachelor's prize, ".diine liccat invitos iat ,c,rtnitattdi dare? is it right to enslave others against their will:" Mr. Clarkson, who had gained the bachelor's prize of the preceding year, gained also this. His mind was turned to the subject, and at the age of twenty-four he resolved to devote himself to the cause of the negroes. His Prize Essay he was induced to publish in an enlarged form, under the title of "Au Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, particularly the Africans," which was honoured with the first prize in the university of Cambridge for the year 1735. The judicious and ex tensive distribution of this book made the great cause known; and Mr. Clarkson began with zeal to devote himself to the arduous labours which he had undertaken. By conversing with those who had been in Africa and the West Indies—by visiting the slave ships in the Thames—by an extensive correspondence with persons in Liverpool, and by repeated intercourse with members of parliament, he made himself master of the details of his subject, and lie interested influ ential persons in his cause, by the information he com municated to them. Among those who entered most ardently into his views was Mr. Wilberforce, one of the members for Yorkshire, who pledged himself to bring forward the measure of abolition in the House of Commons, and who used his influence and his ta lents in every way in which they could be subservient to Mr. Clarkson's views.
A committee of zealous and good men was formed on the 22d May 1787, to carry through the abolition of the African slave trade. Mr. Clarkson now drew up a " Summary View of the Slave Trade, and of the probable consequences of its abolition." This little work of about twelve pages, containing the substance of the question, was circulated throughout the king dom, and Mr. Clarkson set out on a journey to collect evidence and new information. About 100 petitions to parliament were presented by those who favoured the abolition: and, in consequence of Mr. Wilberforce's severe illness, Mr. Pitt introduced the question into the House of Commons, on the 9th May 1788, by a notion'' that this [louse will early next session take into consideration the circumstances of the slave trade complained in the petition, and what may be fit to be done thereupon." Pursuing the same views, Sir William Dolben, on the 2 1 st May, brought in a bill for regulating the number of slaves to be carried by the tonnage of the vessel. This bill, after a warm opposition, passed both 1louses, and received the royal assent on the Ilth of July.