Mr. Barkamprefaced his motion on this subject with a speech of some length. He congratulated the friends of humanity on the death-blow which, in his opinion, this traffic had received by the Declaration of the Congress. In this situation, it became our duty, he said, not to relax in our efforts for its destruction, but to show that as we had been its roost early, so were we its most sincere and zealous 658 enemies. It was a well known fact, that at the present moment a large British capital was employed in British ships in-this trade, to which practice there was now a much stronger temptation than at any former period, the price of slaves being from 250 to 400l. each. He wished, by the Bill for which he was about to more, to make the act of thus employing capital as penal as any other relative to the trade now prohibited by law, namely, to make it felony. Nor did he see any reason why insuring ships engaged in a slave-trade voyage, should not be deemed equally criminal. Adverting to the difficulty which would exist in proving the fact of capital being specifically so employed, he meant in the Bill to prevent the subjects of this country from lending money on the security of foreign property belonging to countries in which the Slave-trade had not been abolished. Finally, the I hon. gentleman moved, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prohibit British subjects, or persons resident in the United Kingdom, from lending capital, or doing other acts, to assist the carrying on of the Slave-trade to colonies belonging to foreign states, or persons residing in this country, from lending capital, or committing other acts, the tendency of which was to assist in carrying on the Slave-trade of foreign colonies."
§ Mr. A. Brownementioned a proof of disinterestedness given by the legislature of Antigua. As soon as they found that in consequence of the Treaty of Paris the Slave-trade would be revived in the French islands, and that a facility would thus be given to elude the laws in the British colonies, the two Houses of that island came to a Resolution, declaring their willingness to concur in any laws which might be thought necessary to be introduced there for the more effectual discovery and punishment of those who violated the Abolition Act.
§ After a few words from Mr. Wilberforce, leave was given to bring in. the Bill.