Mr. Baringbegged leave to claim the 220 attention of the House to a petition of very considerable importance. The parties who were now petitioning the House, were the Board of Council and House of Assembly of Antigua, an island with which he had no connexion; but the petition had been put into his hands, and he thought, from the information it contained, and the facts stated in it, that it well deserved the attention of those who interested themselves on the subject of negro slavery. Though the petition was most respectfully worded, so far as regarded that House, yet, undoubtedly, it contained some strong expressions, indicative of the feelings of the petitioners towards the class of persons in this country, by whom they alleged their conduct and motives to have been very much misrepresented; and from whose proceedings they apprehend great danger to their property, and even to their lives. If gentlemen found that the expressions of the petitioners were stronger than might be desirable—and certainly they were much more so than he could wish— they should recollect that some indulgence ought to be shown to persons in their situation, who had no very nice measure of language meted out to them, in the remarks that were made in that House, and elsewhere, for the purpose of holding up their conduct to the country as extremely censurable. Under these circumstances, and imagining their lives and properties to have been endangered by the course adopted in this country, they assuredly bad some claim to indulgence, if they expressed themselves warmly. Ever since he had had a seat in parliament, he had been a zealous friend, first to the abolition of the trade, and next to the amelioration of the condition of the slaves; he therefore need hardly state to the House, that he was no party to those expressions to which he had adverted, respecting the individuals who were at present employed in producing hostile feelings throughout the country towards the system of the West-India planters. They were actuated, he believed, by the most conscientious motives; their feelings were most enthusiastic in carrying their object, into effect; and he could not but say, that, to the extent to which they had hitherto gone, the country was very much indebted to them. He must further observe, that the petitioners set forth, that they believed the negro population of Antigua to be in a better state, and in a more improved 221 moral condition, than any other negro population in the West Indies. Now, when they stated this fact, he thought they must be sensible, that much of that improvement in the condition of the slaves had arisen from the attention paid to the subject in this country, and to the exertions of the persons whose conduct they arraigned. There were passages in this petition which seemed to him to be so perfectly true and just respecting the conduct of the planters, and which tended so clearly to relieve them from much of the obloquy that had been cast on them from time to time, that he could not avoid requesting the attention of the House to them. The petitioners pointed out, what was perfectly known to all those who had considered the subject, that the slave trade was originally promoted by this country, not with a view particularly to the settlements in those West India islands, but as a desirable and profitable branch of traffic. It was sustained and supported on its own exclusive merits, as a proper object of national traffic, without any reference to those islands. The petitioners pointed out what was very generally known, that when the Assiento treaty was concluded in 1713, it was avowed, in the face of Europe and the world, that one of the great objects to be obtained by this country under that treaty was, the right of carrying on an extensive trade in slaves; not for the purpose of supplying the islands in the West Indies with slaves, but for the gain and lucre of the trade itself—for the purpose of supplying with slaves places in which the British colonists had no interest whatever. The petitioners stated, that this was a traffic which did not originate in the views of the West-India planters, but was promoted by this country in every possible manner. It had been held up as honourable as well as profitable to the country; and it had been defended, in the face of Europe, without any reference whatever to the interests of those persons who were now pointed out to the world as the only sinners—as the individuals who alone had since reaped the benefits that flowed from it. The petitioners not only stated this fact for the consideration of parliament, but they called to the recollection of the House, this strong circumstance, not only that it was a trade thus originating and thus encouraged by this country, but that, for a considerable length of time, it was so encouraged, even in opposition to the 222 wishes and the interference of some of the colonies, who were anxious to prevent it from being carried on to such an extent. After speaking of the treaty of 1713, by which this country stipulated to supply the Spanish colonies with 144,000 slaves in a certain number of years, the petitioners went on to state, that, from that time, almost to the present, the history of this country was full of provisions for the encouragement of this trade, while the colonies, during the whole period, took no active share in the transaction. They merely purchased what the British merchant brought them: they merely did what the British government desired them to do. The colonies first marked that trade with their disapprobation in 1760, when the legislature of South Carolina, then a British colony, passed an act to restrict it or put it down. That measure was, however, rejected with indignation by the governor, who declared that it was a beneficial trade for the mother country. The petitioners stated, that they had before them the instructions given by the government at home to sir George Thomas on that occasion. In 1765, the attempt was renewed ineffectually. The legislature of Jamaica made two efforts to restrict the trade in slaves; but the governor informed them, that he could not, consistently with his instructions, give his assent to those measures. The House ought to understand clearly what the conduct of the colonies had been. This trade had been forced on them by the mother country, as a fair trade, contrary to their wishes. In 1774 the colonies tried once more to get rid of it; and the House of assembly of Jamaica actually passed two bills to put down the trade. But Great Britain opposed those efforts. Liverpool and Bristol resisted the proposed alteration; and it was referred to the Board of Trade, by whom it was utterly rejected. The gentlemen who composed that board declared, in their report, that they could not think of disturbing or discouraging that trade. This was at so late a period as the year 1774. If there were any abomination or inhumanity, they must look upon it as their own work: it was the child of the British parliament, and of Great Britain; and it was a little hard, because parliament and the people found their moral sense improved, to throw the whole connexion of their sins upon the colonies. He would not trouble the House with any further observations on 223 the petition. He only requested that the attention of the House should be given to it when printed; because, if properly considered, it did show that the parties were entitled to consideration. "You have altered your views,"—such was the argument of these colonists—"you are bound to give us an indemnity, whom you have constrained to adopt that slavery which you will now no longer tolerate." This he thought a very reasonable proposition on the part of the Antigua legislature. Knowing the wishes of the people of this country, though they protested against the idea of ever cultivating those islands by free labour, yet if the government of Great Britain chose to make the experiment, they would give up the island for the purpose on reasonable compensation. They offered the opportunity of purchasing their property on equitable conditions, and pointed out several advantages favourable to such an experiment. The advance of the negro mind was greater there than in any other island: so that the experiment could be made no where with greater advantage. He was decidedly of opinion, that the experiment, if made, should not be on any considerable scale, and that one of the smaller islands was for that purpose much to be preferred. From all he knew of Antigua, the negro population was highly improved. Their moral and religious information were higher than in any other European settlement in those seas, and very much higher than that of the free blacks of any settlement.
§ Mr. Manningcorroborated the statement of the hon. member for Taunton relative to the state of the negro slaves in the island of Antigua. Of all the colonies, this had proceeded most rapidly in the amelioration of the condition of the slave population.
The petition was then read. It purported to be, the Memorial of the Board of Council and House of Assembly of the Island of Antigua, and set forth,
"That year after year the memorialists have represented the distressed situation of that colony, produced by the continuation of the War duties on their staple commodities during a period of twelve years' peace, in utter disregard of the pledge given at the time of the augmentation of those duties by the ministers of the day, that such duties should cease on the return of peace and tranquillity; that, although no notice has been hitherto taken 224 of the just claims of the memorialists to relief, they trusted the time would yet arrive when they should be allowed to participate in the prosperity enjoyed by all other classes of his majesty's empire; but so far from such expectations having been realized, the memorialists find that accumulated burthens, and measures tending still further to their oppression and ruin, have lately taken place; the sense of these grievances, however, is lost in the astonishment with which the memorialists view the malignant feelings excited against them by certain dangerous demagogues and interested persons, acting to suit their own immediate purposes, in coalition with the canting pretenders of the day to religion, who, not content with usurping the rights of the established church, seek also to invade the private property of his majesty's loyal West-Indian subjects, many of whose ancestors sought in those climates formerly a refuge from puritanical persecution, and having lost their all, supporting the royal cause against the disciples of hypocrisy in the time of the unfortunate Charles, were content to seek an asylum under the Tropics, and to leave their hard-earned acquisitions as a poor equivalent to their children; this inheritance, guaranteed by the Imperial Parliament for more than 150 years, the memorialists now see placed in jeopardy; they are weary of refuting the never-ending calumnies propagated by designing individuals against them, fully convinced that the ultimate object in view is not the welfare of the negro, but to tamper with his feelings, to rouse him to the destruction of the colonist; the memorialists have seen in a notorious Review such abominable intentions openly avowed, and the invitation actually given to the commission of innumerable murders; in this crisis the memorialists call upon the House to protect them from destruction; they need not remind the Imperial Parliament that Great Britain established the slave-trade in the reign of queen Elizabeth, who personally took a share in it; the colonies did not then exist; Great Britain encouraged it in the successive reigns of Charles 1st. Charles 2nd. and James 2nd., by every means that could be devised; but it was William 3rd. who outdid them all; with lord Somers for his minister, he declared the slave-trade to be highly beneficial to the nation; and that this was not meant merely as beneficial to the nation through the medium of the colonial prosperity, is 225 demonstrated by the Assiento treaty in 1713, with which the colonies had nothing to do, and in which Great Britain binds herself to supply 144,000 slaves, at the rate of 4,800 per annum to the Spanish colonies; from that time, till within a few years of the present time, our history is full of the various measures and grants which passed for the encouragement and protection of the trade; the colonies all this time took no share in it themselves, merely purchasing what the British merchants brought them, and doing therein what the British government invited them to do by every means in their power; the memorialists take leave to remind the House that the colonies first marked this slave-trade with disapprobation, and sought to confine it within narrower bounds; in 1760, South Carolina, then a British colony, passed an act to prohibit further importation, but Great Britain rejected this act with indignation, and declared that the slave-trade was beneficial and necessary to the mother country; the governor who passed it was reprimanded, and a circular was sent to all other governors, warning them against a similar offence; the memorialists have now before them the copy of the royal instructions given to sir George Thomas to the same effect; the colonies, however, in 1765 repeated the offence, and a bill was twice read in the Assembly of Jamaica for the same purpose, of limiting the importation of slaves, when Great Britain stopped it, through the governor of that island, who sent for the assembly, and told them that, consistently with his instructions, he could not give his assent, upon which the bill was dropped; the colonies, in 1774, tried once more, and the assembly of Jamaica actually passed two bills to restrict the trade, but Great Britain again resisted the restriction; Bristol and Liverpool petitioned against it; the matter was referred to the Board of Trade, and that Board reported against it; the colonies, by the agent of Jamaica, remonstrated against that report, and pleaded against it on the grounds of justice and humanity; but Great Britain, by the mouth of the earl of Dartmouth, then President of the Board, answered by the following declaration: 'We cannot allow the colonies to check or discourage in any degree a traffic so beneficial to the nation;' and this was in 1774; the imposition of slavery therefore being the act and deed of the British nation, and as 226 that nation has called on its legislature to adopt speedy and decisive measures for the abolition of slavery in our colonies, the memorialists pray the House will take care that the abolition is effected, not by depriving others of the property which the British nation has constituted such for its own benefit, but by paying the costs of the abolition, a measure which can alone entitle it to any credit in the eyes of the world for that high claim to humanity so advocated by a numerous portion of our fellow-subjects, whose sincerity can thus alone be established; in whatever manner this can be contrived, the risk of the experiment, in common justice, should fall on the nation at large; and, previous to a complete diminution of the value of their property by a course of progressive enactments, all tending to this injurious result, under the present system pursued, compensation should take place, and be the basis of any future propositions; it will be too late to make an estimation when a ruinous result has arrived, for the cause; may then be disputed; the memorialists cannot be expected to abide by such a condition; one mode of extrication from these difficulties, and that simple and apparent, remains to the British nation; let the nation at once assume to it self mil colonial property, and make moderate but just compensation to the proprietors for the whole: it then can do that on its own account which is now required of the proprietors; if there be risk, it will be incurred, as it ought, by the nation demanding the change; if there be loss, it will fall, as it ought, on the nation at large; and if there be gain, it will be, as it ought to be, the gain of those incurring the risk; if, however, such a plan be deemed of too great a magnitude to be at once adopted, the memorialists, willing to show their sincerity, and that they are prepared to do all in their power to terminate slavery, offer to the consideration of the House the purchase of all property in the island of Antigua, for a fair and equitable consideration of the interest of private property; that colony being, from its local advantages, and the advanced slate of the negro mind, in moral and religious instruction, peculiarly adapted for the trial of the cultivation of sugar by free labour, which theory, although the memorialists deny the possibility of, and cannot consent to be made the victims of, any such experiment, they are fully warranted in as- 227 serting cannot be attempted under more favourable auspices in any other island in the West-Indian Archipelago."
§ Ordered to lie on the table.