網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

measure or martial enterprise, that decide upon the fate of many others, and which disappear like a number of tributary streams in a great river. By the principal point being thus held up to notice, the reader will feel much pleasure in the perusal, and will be somewhat in the situation of a person upon the top of an elevated mountain, which affords an extended view of the circumjacent country.

RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

don to Constantinople; and so we might go on, and fill pages enumerating distances, rivers, lakes, capes, and bays, with comparative estimates of size, power, and po pulation.-New York Sun.

HAUNTED GROUND.
BY MISS M. P. AIRD.

There is no sentiment of the human soul so potent in its influence on the character of man as his religious belief. It is deep-all-pervading and all-controlling. The field of its vision is the indefinable expanse of heaven, compre-Is there no spot where fond regret o'er light departed sighs— hending the depths of the unseen world, with all the existences and states of being revealed, or imagined to be there. The range of its sympathies is limited only by the universe, with its peopled realms-and by the ages of eternity. Assuming Christianity as our standard, and its objects of contemplation as a material of sentiment, we can easily see there is enough in it to stimulate the human mind to action, that mounts superior to those low things appertaining to the speck which we call earth. When God, by his precepts and sanctions, by his counsels and promises, takes possession of the soul of man, it developes and displays qualities above the empire of other hopes and fears. Allied to the throne above, it looks down on thrones below; and though commanded to respect them, yet pays a higher deference to its allegiance in heavenWhether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than to God, judge ye.'

EDUCATION.

Thelwal thought it very unfair to influence a child's mind by inculcating any opinions before it had come to years of discretion to choose for itself. I showed him my garden, and told him it was my botanical garden. How so?' said he; it is covered with weeds.' 'Oh,' I replied, 'that is only because it has not come to its age of discretion and choice. The weeds, you see, have taken the liberty to grow, and I thought it unfair in me to prejudice the soil towards roses and strawberries.'-Coleridge.

PERUVIAN MODE OF APPLYING GUANO.

Opposite to the Ports of Pisco and Chincha, lie a number of small islands, noted for their large deposits of guano, or huanu, as Dr Tschudi corrects the orthography of the word. The doctor gives some very interesting particulars concerning this efficacious manure, which, although but recently adopted in Europe, appears to have been used in Peru as far back as the time of the first Incas. The Peruvians use it chiefly for the maize and potato fields: their manner of employing it is peculiar, and but little known in Europe. A few weeks after the seeds have begun to germinate, a small hole is made beside each plant, filled with huanu, and covered up with earth. The effect of the process is incredibly rapid. In a very few days the plants attain double their previous height. When the operation is repeated, but with a smaller quantity of huanu, the farmer may reckon upon a crop at least threefold that which he would obtain from an unmanured soil. Of the white huanu, which is much stronger than the darkcoloured, less must be used, and the field must be watered sconer, or for a longer time, or the roots will be destroyed. When the land is tolerably good, seven hundred and fifty to nine hundred pounds of huanu are reckoned sufficient for a surface of fourteen thousand square feet; with poor soil, a thousand or twelve hundred pounds are required.

EXTENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

The United States have a frontier line of more than 10,000 miles. We have a line of sea coast of 4000 miles, and a lake coast of 12,000 miles. One of our rivers is twice the size of the Danube, the largest river in Europe. The Ohio is 600 miles longer than the Rhine, and the Hudson has a navigation 120 miles longer than the Thames. The single state of Virginia is a third larger than England. Ohio contains 2,120,000 acres more than Scotland. From Maine to Ohio is farther than from Lon

Nay, tell me not-oh, tell me not-all places are the same;
The gifted rose would smell as sweet by any other name;
That to the wandering child of earth there is no holy ground,
Dear as our own the stranger hearth, alike each churchyard mound.
Is all the earth to thee all one-all common ground to me?
Loves not the Gael his highland home-the Greek his own blue sea?
Is there a heart, however lone-howe'er with grief oppress'd,
But something hath to call its own-somewhere it loves to rest?
No hallow'd ground we ne'er forget, enwreathed with tenderest ties?!
No stony couch, where angel-dreams reveal'd a glimpse of heaven,
Whence still a lingering glory streams to pilgrims sorrow-riven?
No hearth more than its neighbour dear-no razed, no ruin'd cot-
Where passing memory drops a tear and strews forget-me-not?
Are there no spirit-homes where we a lifetime would remain,
That with our souls a sympathy and fellowship retain?
No fadeless Eden of the heart where God has walk'd with men,
From which we ling'ringly depart, and visit oft again-
No spot to which we lightlier tread, though distant wish it near,
Where we have bent us o'er the dead, or wiped away a tear-
Where joy has pour'd her glory-cloud like dayspring on our way,
Or lonely sorrow lowly bowd, and pray'd her tears away?
Thy dripping rock, Mount Ararat, where ebb'd a world's grief,
When mercy stayed the waters dark and waved her olive-leaf,
A green isle was to Noah's eye, when on thy weeping brow
His altar smoked, and o'er the sky arose the covenant bow.
Yes, dear unto the Switzer's soul the fatherland of Tell,
As is unto the exiled Pole where Kosciusko fell;
The wandering Jew, whene'er he prays, turns to his ancient shrine,
And longs to rest, where er he strays, in lovely Palestine.
Though change, all devastating change, with dark sirocco wing,
Tears from our grasp, where'er we range, each loved and lovely thing,
Yet deep heart-teachings spirit breathes, outgrowing wintry death,
Affection with our nature wreaths and mingles with our breath;
These old home-teachings, ne'er forgot-these old familiar ties-
Irradiate many a lonely spot with tender memories.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Oh, memory like ivy creeps round many a wither'd tree;
Though leafless nature o'er it weeps, it may be green to me!
That picture, though a tarnish'd thing to thee, to me may bear
Life hues, with many a silken string of feeling broider d there.
What music in a name is found-what sweet affections blend-
What tender feelings cluster round the dwelling of a friend,
Where we have heard a voice more kind, one of more gentle tone,
Than stirs the crowd-a kindred mind, an echo of our own!
It may be a remember'd look, a tearful word, that burns,
And breathes on mem'ry's blotted book to tell it ne'er returns,
Where thought around some old grey wall her household pictures
hung,
Love's broken strings, now scatter'd, all with treasured pearls
The shadow of our early home from which we wept to part,
Where things familiar had grown as of ourselves a part-
Twined round with first affection's ties, the loves of other years—
These unforgotten sympathies that wing our soul to tears;
The lost, the dead, departed hours-no tears, no spirit rain,
Like faded flowers, no summer showers revives their bloom again.
Our footsteps o'er the buried past may leave on earth no trace;
Yet deep heart-mouldings there are cast, no time can e'er efface
Till spirit o'er her marble pours and thought her book unseals,
Life's hues, 'mid memory's picture store, time's lava-tide conceals,
And, lighting up the chambers dark of haunted imagery,
The broken idols of the heart 'mid ruin'd temples lie,
Heart-graved with many wanderings that ne'er in distance fade. |
A mass of changeful journeyings, deep-toned with light and shade,
Where penitence has pour'd her tear, and praise her anthem loud,
And list ning heaven has bowed her ear or lit her altar cloud;
Where God his purple feast has spread, his chosen gather'd round
Though worshipp'd are the breathing stones that tell the mighty's
To break and eat the sacred bread, call that not common ground.
birth,

Where genius sung triumphant songs unto the listening earth;
Oh, mournful, dark Gethsemane, my spirit clings to thee!
My spirit-home is Calvary-a throne of love to me;
As on the lone Ægean isle, ne'er seen on sea or shore,
A glory, a celestial smile, Jerusalem lingers o'er;
Emanuel's words are breathing yet by Kedron's shady rill;
Round Tabor's brow, and Olivet, that glory radiates still:
The soul of worship wanders o'er each tear-imprinted step;
Truth graven on thy vine-clad shore, oh, blue Genesaret!
Where God with God a man was found, and died upon a tree-
The holiest spot in haunted ground, earth's greenest spot to me!

Printed and published by JAMES HOGG, 122 Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh; to whom all communications are to be addressed
Sold also by J. JOHNSTONE, Edinburgh; J. M'LEOD, Glasgow ; W.
CURRY, jun. & Co., Ireland; R. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, London;
W. M'COMB, Belfast; G. & R. KING, Aberdeen; R. WALKER
Dundee; G. PHILIP, Liverpool; FINLAY & CHARLTON, Newcastle;
WRIGHTSON & WEBB, Birmingham; A. HEYWOOD and J. AINS
WORTH, Manchester; G. CULLINGWORTH, Leeds; and all Book-
sellers. C. MACKENZIE & Co., Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[ocr errors]
[graphic]

No. 91.

EDINBURGH, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1846.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THOMAS CLARKSON.

THOMAS CLARKSON was born at Wisbeach, in Cambridgeshire, on the 28th of March, 1760. Of his early boyhood little is known. When, however, he had reached his twelfth year, that spirit of enthusiasm in favour of the injured and oppressed African, which led ultimately to such magnificent and beneficial results, was enkindled within his youthful bosom. It had its origin in the following circumstance: Our readers are familiar with the lines of Cowper, in which he exclaims

'Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs Inhale our air, that moment they are free; They touch our country and their shackles fall.' They refer to what follows: An individual of the name of Somerset, a negro, was in the year 1772 seized in one of the most public streets of London by a man who claimed him as his property. He had been one of his slaves in a West India plantation, and having come over with him to England, had recently left his service without permission. The negro struggled hard to get off, but was ultimately, by superior force, secured and lodged in prison. Mr Granville Sharpe, the strenuous advocate of freedom, hearing of the case, brought it before the Lord Mayor, and an order for Somerset's liberation was immediately procured. Setting the Lord Mayor at defiance, however, the enraged planter again seized his victim and tore him from Mr Sharpe. An action for assault was the consequence, and the case being tried, final reference was made to the twelve judges, who, after solemn deliberation, decided that after a man sets foot on the English territory he becomes immediately free. This circumstance at once aroused the energies of the juvenile philanthropist. In his youthful musings he often brooded over the wrongs of the negro race, and the perusal of a work on slavery, published by Sharpe about two years thereafter, strengthened at once his detestation of the abominable traffic and his love to the injured slave.

Clarkson was designed by his parents for the church, and Cambridge was the city where he received his education. In the year 1785, Dr Peckhard, vice-chancellor of the university, proposed as a prize essay to the senior bachelors a Latin dissertation on the question, 'Is it lawful to make men slaves against their will?' Clarkson had taken his degree the previous year, and had also carried off one of the prizes. We need not describe the enthusiasm with which he entered the lists as a competitor, nor the strenuous efforts he employed at once to gratify his ambition for honourable distinction, and to give expression and utter

PRICE 14d.

ance to the benevolent tendencies of his heart. He has done it himself, and that at once so graphically and touchingly, that we cannot forbear quoting his own words. After due preparation, he says, I began my work, but no one can tell the severe trial the writing of it proved to me. I had expected pleasure from the invention of the arguments, from the arrangement of them, from the putting of them together, and from the thought in the interim that I was engaged in an innocent contest for literary honour. But all my pleasure was damped by the facts that were now continually before me; it was but one gloomy subject from morning to night. In the daytime I was uneasy; in the night I had little rest; I sometimes never closed my eyelids for grief. It became now not so much a trial for academical reputation as for the production of a work which might be useful to injured Africa; and keeping this idea in my mind, even after the perusal of Benezet, I always slept with a candle in my room, that I might rise out of bed and put down such thoughts as might occur to me in the night, conceiving that no arguments of any moment should be lost in so great a cause.' His efforts were crowned with the most triumphant success. Transmitting his essay to the vice-chancellor, it was pronounced decidedly the best, and to young Clarkson the first prize was accordingly adjudged. The spark enkindled by the case of Somerset was now a flame blazing intensely within our hero's breast. He could not rest either by day or night. He would retire into remote solitudes, and hurry into the recesses of deep woods, that there he might meditate on the subject, and if possible gain mental repose; all, however, in vain. A voice seemed to call aloud, Are these things true?' and a uniform response was returned, They are, they are.' He felt as if nature itself reproached him for not doing something. And yet, without influence, with limited means, and few connexions, what could he singly achieve? Often he contemplated an endeavour to arouse the sympathies of the benevolent, of those who had seats in Parliament, and great riches, and widely extended connexions, which might enable them, had they the will, to take up the cause; but it looked so like one of the feigned labours of IIercules, that he dreaded he would be laughed at, and his understanding suspected if he made any such proposal. At last a sudden thought took possession of his soul, the first that had given him the most partial relief. He could translate his Latin dissertation, revise, and, if necessary, enlarge it, and then wait the result. Decision and performance, in the case of men such as Clarkson, are nearly the same. He accordingly set to work, and speedily accomplished his task.

[ocr errors]

6

Meanwhile, a variety of separate external agencies had been long at work directly favourable to the ultimate ac

that nothing remained for him but to procure as many coadjutors as he could.' His great object now was to secure the greatest number possible of introductions to such persons as from their learning, station, or wealth, could advance | by their influence the cause in which he had embarked. | He had long known Mr Bennet Langton, a gentleman of an ancient family and respectable fortune in Lincolnshire, but ; then a resident in Queen Square, Westminster, who numbered among his acquaintances the most illustrious men of the age, Johnson, Hanway, Edmund Burke, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Langton had also numerous friends both in the Houses of Peers and of Commons, and enjoyed the personal intimacy of George III. Besides the honour of such ac quaintances, he was himself a man of talents and learning, and his moral worth added increased lustre to his intellectual renown. Clarkson thought that if his work gained the sanction of such a friend, no unimportant measure would be accomplished. And so it proved. The mind of Langton was deeply moved by a perusal of Clarkson's essay. As a friend to morality and religion, he detested the crimes of the slaveholders, and as a friend to humanity he lamented over the miseries of the oppressed Africans. He gave every encouragement to the philanthropist, and remained through life a zealous and active coadjutor in the cause. Clarkson's book was subsequently the means of introducing him to the well-known Dr Baker, who was also brought over by a perusal, and at once made a voluntary offer of his services in any way that might appear most eligible to Clarkson himself. Lord and Lady Scarsdale were thereafter added to the catalogue of those who offered him their influence and support. Spending a month at Teston Hall, the seat of the excellent and accomplished Mr Ramsay, he made the gratifying discovery that in Beilby Porteous, then Bishop of Chester, and the distinguished Sir Charles Middleton, he might count upon two most devoted and determined friends. While residing at Teston Hall, Clarkson, one evening during tea, carried away by the enthusiasm of his feelings, when doubts were expressed as to who should venture to give himself publicly to the work, exclaimed in a loud voice, I am ready to devote myself to the cause.' The eyes of the whole company beamed with joy at this unexpected burst of lofty emotion, and Sir Charles Middleton rising immediately, assured him that should he require information relative to Africa, he, as comptroller of the navy, would allow him free access to his office, where he might procure any extracts he chose from the journals of ships of war or any other papers.

complishment of Clarkson's wishes. The case of Somer-opening under Providence for support, and he now thought set; the forcible abstraction of a negro and his recovery by force after the vessel which carried him away had put out to sea; the writings of Granville Sharpe, and the well known private opinions of many of the most eminent men of the day, had recently directed towards the important subject of slavery the attention of a considerable proportion of the thinking public. But this was not all. While others were reading, writing, musing, the Quakers of England were acting on the subject. While others were timidly uttering the language of sedition, that most magnanimous class of British subjects were positively in the field, armed and harnessed for the war. They had long been declared rebels, indeed, but their bearing never looked so martial and aggressive as now. So far back as the year 1727, and still more strongly in the year 1758, these noble philanthropists, at their yearly meeting, and in their collective capacity, fervently warned all their members to avoid being in any way concerned in this unrighteous commerce. At their yearly meeting in 1764, they proceeded to exclude from membership all such as should be found directly concerned in this practice, and in 1765 declared it to be criminal to abet the trade in any manner, directly or indirectly. From this time there appears to have been such an increasing zeal on this subject amongst the whole body of English Quakers, as to have impelled the society to step out of its ordinary course in behalf of their injured fellow-men. Accordingly, in the month of June, 1783, the Friends collectively petitioned the House of Commons against the continuance of this traffic, and afterwards, both collectively and individually, exerted themselves by the press, by private correspondence, and by personal journeys, to enlighten the minds of men concerning it, especially those of the rising generation. At last a number of Quaker families in London, who often met together and conversed upon the subject, perceiving, as facts came out in conversation, that there was a growing knowledge and hatred of the slave trade, and that the temper of the times was fast ripening towards its abolition, came to the resolution of forming a permanent union to further the glorious cause. Six individuals, therefore, organised themselves into a society, and resolved from time to time to meet and act. "To promote this object, they thought it proper that the public mind should be enlightened respecting it. They had recourse, therefore, to the public papers, and they appointed their members in turn to write in these; and to see that their productions were inserted, they kept regular minutes for this purpose.' At this time the existence of such a society was not generally known; but God's thoughts to the African were thoughts of compassion, and He saw, and seeing approved, and approving sent Thomas Clarkson into their hall of assembly. Clarkson, in order to get his essay printed, had to visit London. There he became acquainted with William Dillwyn, one of the six friends, who introduced him to the society. They cheered Clarkson on, extolled his essay, and entreated him to hasten its publication. Thus, by a providential concurrence of unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, the great work was commenced, the blessed consequences of which it is impossible yet to calculate. The person who introduced Clarkson to Dillwyn was Philips the bookseller, who had undertaken to publish his essay. To Granville Sharpe also, who by the way was a distant relation of Clarkson's by the father's side, he was at the same time introduced by the good offices of the same praiseworthy individual.

Clarkson's work was published in the month of June, 1786. It was his primary intention to wait to see how the world would receive it, or what disposition there would be on the part of the public to favour his measures for the abolition of the slave trade, before advancing a step further in the matter. But the conversation he had held with William Dillwyn continued to make such an impression on his mind that he thought there could be now no occasion to wait for such a purpose. It seemed now only necessary to go forward; others, he found, had already begun the work. He had been thrown suddenly among these, as into a new world of friends. He believed also that a way was

The first thing Clarkson did on his return to London was to pay a visit to his esteemed friend Dillwyn, and inform him of the pledge he had publicly given to devote himself from henceforward exclusively to the work of emancipation. Dillwyn received the news with a joy he sought not to conceal, and calling upon Philips and a few other friends, it was resolved that all possible efforts should at once be employed to give as extensive circulation as possible to Mr Clarkson's essay. All the remaining copies were ac cordingly for this purpose placed in the hands of individuals favourable to the cause. Among his distributors he had the honour of numbering Mr Langton, Dr Baker, Lord and Lady Scarsdale, Sir Charles and Lady Middleton, Sir Herbert Mackworth, M.P., Lord Newhaven, Lord Balgonie, Lord Hawke, and last though not least, Beilby | Porteous, Bishop of Chester. After this he began to qualify himself for the important work by obtaining more extensive information. As he had previously obtained the principal part of his knowledge from reading, I thought, says he, I ought now to see what could be seen, and to know from living persons what could be known on the subject. With respect to the first of these points, the river Thames presented itself as at hand. Ships were going | occasionally from the port of London to Africa, and why could I not get on board them and examine for myself? After diligent inquiry, I heard of one which had just arrived. I found her to be a little wood-vessel, called the Lively, Captain Williamson, or one which traded to Africa in the natural productions of the country, such as ivory,

bees-wax, Malaguetta pepper, palm-oil, and dyewoods. I obtained specimens of some of these, so that I now became possessed of some of those things of which I had only read before. On conversing with the mate, he showed me one or two pieces of the cloth made by the natives, and from their own cotton. I prevailed upon him to sell me a piece of each. Here new feelings arose, and particularly when I considered that persons of so much apparent ingenuity, and capable of such beautiful work as the Africans, should be made slaves, and reduced to a level with the brute creation. My reflections on the better use which might be made of Africa by the substitution of another trade, and on the better use of her inhabitants, served greatly to animate and to sustain me amidst the labour of my pursuits. The next vessel I boarded was the Fly, Captain Colley. Here I found myself for the first time on the deck of a slave-vessel. The sight of the rooms below, and of the gratings above, and of the barricade across the deck, and the explanation of the uses of all these, filled me both with melancholy and horror. I found soon afterwards a fire of indignation kindling within me. I had now scarce patience to talk with those on board. I had not the coolness this first time to go leisurely over the places that were open to me. I got away quickly. But that which I thought I saw horrible in this vessel had the same effect upon me as that which I thought I had seen agreeable in the other, namely, to animate and to invigorate me in my pursuit.'

After this our indefatigable philanthropist waited in person upon a great many members of Parliament and other persons of influence, and at last he had the happiness of being introduced to the celebrated Wilberforce himself. That illustrious individual received the young enthusiast with the utmost cordiality, told him frankly that the subject had often already employed his thoughts, and that it lay near his heart; professed his willingness to afford him all requisite assistance, and, on parting, requested him to call again soon that they might deliberate more at leisure on the important subject. The labour that now devolved upon Clarkson, while collecting evidence relative to the evils of slavery, was immense. He was seldom engaged less than sixteen hours a-day. When I left Teston,' says he, to begin the pursuit as an object of my life, I promised my friend Mr Ramsay a weekly account of my progress. At the end of the first week my letter to him contained little more than a sheet of paper; at the end of the second it contained three; at the end of the third six; and at the end of the fourth I found it would be so voluminous that I was obliged to decline writing it.' Nor were these prodigious efforts suffered to lose their reward. The subject was now fairly taken up by the renowned Wilberforce and many members besides of both houses of the British legislature; and at last, at a dinner given by Mr Langton, at which Wilberforce, Wyndham, and other members of the Commons, besides Clarkson himself, were present, a kind of pledge was given by Mr Wilberforce, that, provided he had the prospect of adequate support, he would agree to move in his place in the House of Commons that slavery be made the subject of parliamentary investigation. He also gave permission to Clarkson to make this his resolution known to his city friends. The news overwhelmed them with joy, and speedily thereafter a general committee of twelve individuals was appointed, 'for the purpose of procuring such information and evidence, and publishing the same, as might tend to the abolition of the slave trade, and for directing the application of such monies as have been already or may be hereafter collected for the above purpose.' Notice of the formation of the committee was sent to Wilberforce, and for many a long year he and they, as is well known, went hand in hand in carrying out their beneficent designs. At the next meeting of the committee, the treasurer reported that the subscription already received amounted to £136. It was also, after considerable discussion, agreed that they should style themselves the Committee instituted in June, 1787, for effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Clarkson also came boldly forward and volunteered his services, provided no other person would be found willing to under

take the dangerous task, to pay a visit to Bristol, Liverpool, and other places, to collect farther light upon the subject of slavery, with the view of laying it before Parliament. On the 4th of June, the magnanimous offer was accepted by the committee, and that very evening the heroic philanthropist prepared to set out on his dangerous errand. Before leaving he took an affectionate farewell of Wilberforce, who was then ill and in bed; he was scarce able to speak from weakness, but he held out his hand to the noble adventurer, and wished him success. Proceeding to the ports of Bristol and Liverpool, Clarkson met with many friends who were favourable to the cause in which he had embarked, and at a great expense of labour collected a mass of most valuable information; but his indefatigable and incessant toils endangered his health. Nor was this all. The planters and African traders, as had been foreseen, exerted themselves in every possible way to accomplish their own projects and baffle his. They calumniated his character, impugned his motives, and threatened to dismiss from their service any who dared to furnish him with information. When the object of his visit had become known at Liverpool, attempts were made upon his valuable life, which was on more than one occasion exposed to imminent danger, for he narrowly escaped being pushed from the pierhead by some persons who seemed determined to effect his destruction.' In addition to Bristol and Liverpool, Mr Clarkson successively visited Bridgewater, Monmouth, Gloucester, and Chester, at which places, though he found a few friends, he had to encounter as well the indignant fury of a host of foes.

Meanwhile, during his absence, the committee had attended regularly at their posts. They dispersed, in the first place, 500 circular letters, giving an account of their institution, in London and its neighbourhood; they opened a correspondence with the societies of Philadelphia and New York; they made out lists of persons in the country to whom their publications should be sent for distribution; and performed an almost incredible amount of labour. The Quakers were the first to notice these circulars, their reply to which evinces matchless liberality of spirit. We have also,' say they, 'thankfully to believe there is a growing attention in many not of our religious society to the subject of negro slavery, and that the minds of the people are more and more enlarged to consider it as an aggregate of every species of evil, and to see the utter inconsistency of upholding it by the authority of any nation whatever, especially of such as punish with loss of life crimes whose magnitude bears scarce any proportion to this complicated iniquity.'

About the middle of December, Clarkson returned, and laid before the committee a detailed account of his perilous mission. By this time,' says he, the nature of the slave trade had, in consequence of the labours of the committee and of their several correspondents, become generally known throughout the kingdom. It had excited a general attention, and there was among the people a general feeling in behalf of the wrongs of Africa.' Public meetings were convened in all parts of Britain, to petition Parliament for the abolition of slavery. The attention of government, which had previously been attracted by the bold, unqualified language of many of the newspapers, was now completely excited. To abolish slavery seemed desirable; but the abominable system was so interwoven with the commerce and revenue of the country that they scarce knew how to act. The king, by an order in council dated February 11, 1788, directed that a committee of Privy Council should sit to deliberate in a case so confessedly momentous. Mr Wilberforce had received notice of this order, but he was then too ill to take any measures concerning it. Clarkson, who was then in the country preparing a work on the slavery and commerce of the human species, was written to by the noble invalid. Obedient to the summons, he threw aside his pen, and came to the city at once. He had an interview, soon after his arrival, with Pitt, who expressed himself favourable to the cause. To Fox also, a still more decided foe to African slavery, he was about the same time introduced.

6

The 9th of May was now specified as the day when this important subject was to be mentioned in the House of Commons for the first time. They met accordingly. Mr Pitt rose, and after a long speech concluded with the following motion: That the house will, early next session of Parliament, proceed to take into consideration the circumstances of the slave trade.' Mr Fox was against delay, so was Mr Burke, but, after a long discussion, Pitt's resolution was agreed to unanimously. Matters had now become serious. The gauntlet had been thrown down and accepted. The combatants had taken their stations, and the contest was to be renewed, which was to be decided soon on the great theatre of the nation. The committee, by the very act of their institution, had pronounced the slave trade to be criminal. They, on the other hand, who were concerned in it, had denied the charge. It became the one to prove, and the other to refute it, or to fall in the ensuing session.' The consequence was, that Clarkson set out anew on the perilous and often dismal task of collecting farther evidence. He at this time visited the seaport towns of Poole and Plymouth, where he found the utmost difficulty in procuring witnesses, whatever they might disclose in private, willing to come forward and offer public testimony to the evils of slavery.

On his return to London, he found his brother, then a young officer in the navy, and, knowing him to feel as keenly as he did himself in the great cause, despatched him to Havre de Grace, the greatest slave port in France, where he might collect evidence, sufficient to counteract any false statement that might be made, in that quarter. He himself, at the same time, in order to obtain all the information possible, set out for Paris. France was at that time in a state of anarchy and commotion, and our adventurer was strongly advised to travel under an assumed name. But to this he would not listen: putting his trust in God, he resolved to perform his duty not only perseveringly but fearlessly. At Paris he met a most cordial reception from Lafayette, Condorcet, and Brissot. He also secured the friendship of Mirabeau. He left France, however, much disappointed; his success fell far short of his hopes; and after parting with Brissot, and finding himself alone in his carriage, he burst into an agony

of tears.

No sooner had Clarkson returned from France, in which he had travelled many thousand miles, than a dispute arose between the abolitionists and the planters as to the mode in which slaves were procured. The former boldly asserted that they were kidnapped; the latter that they were purchased at fairs. As but few Europeans were permitted to sail up the African rivers, it was exceedingly difficult to procure authentic evidence on this point. At length Clarkson accidentally met a friend, who informed him, that not a twelvemonth before, he had conversed with a common sailor who had been engaged in the trade. Overjoyed by the news, Clarkson, with his characteristic earnestness, started at once in search of him. Romance furnishes nothing equal to what ensued. He boarded all the ships of war lying in ordinary at Deptford, and examined the different persons in each. From Deptford he proceeded to Woolwich, where he did the same. Thence he has tened to Chatham, and then down the Medway to Sheerness. He had now boarded above one hundred and sixty vessels of war, but could get no intelligence of the sailor. From Chatham he set off for Portsmouth, but he did not succeed there either. Plymouth was now his only hope, and it was 300 miles distant. To Plymouth, however, he determined to go. The first day he boarded forty vessels; but no person answering the description of his sailor was to be found. During the night he was feverish and uneasy. Ile arose with the dawn, entered a boat, and pushed off for the roads. After boarding sixteen vessels unsuccessfully, which made fifty-six since his arrival, he had yet another to visit, on entering the captain's cabin of which Clarkson might have called out Eureka! for he had captured the real Simon Pure at last; and, dragging Jack along with him, he entered London in triumph. Meanwhile Mr Wilberforce, early in the session, had

6

risen up in the House of Commons and requested that the resolution be read, by which the House stood pledged to take the slave trade into consideration during that session. As the day fixed for the final determination of the ques tion approached, the feelings of Clarkson became almost insupportable; for he had the mortification to find his cause going down in estimation where it was then most important it should have increased in favour. The planters and merchants had taken advantage of the long delay to prejudice the minds of many of the members of the House of Commons. Massacre, ruin, and indemnification were the watchword. Then the St Domingo revolution, and the rising of the slaves in many of the islands, increased the panic. All the predictions of the planters, it was said, had now become verified. The horrible measures were now realising at home.' Thus, by a combination of malign influences, the current seemed turned against the good cause, and in this unfavourable frame of mind many members of Parliament entered the house on the day fixed for the discussion. Mr Wilberforce having opened up the question, a brilliant debate ensued, but the motion was lost by a majority of seventy-five votes. Our fate, says Clarkson, however grievous it was, was rendered more tolerable by the circumstance of having been led to expect it. It was rendered more tolerable, also, by other considerations, for we had the pleasure of knowing that we had several of the most distinguished characters in the kingdom, and almost all the splendid talents of the House of Commons in our favour.' Soon after the defeat the Committee for Abolition held a meeting. It was highly impressive; the looks of all bespeaking the feelings of their hearts. Thanks were voted to the illustrious minority of the House of Commons, to Wilberforce, Pitt, and Fox, and it then adjourned. For the three subsequent years Clarkson toiled incessantly to promote his favourite cause; för seven years he had maintained a correspondence with 400 persons annually, and had travelled upwards of 35,000 miles in search of evidence, performing a great part of these journeys in the night; but now, in 1793, being only thirtythree years of age, his physical and mental powers began to give way, so terrible had been his labours, his excitements so intense. As far as I myself,' says he,' was concernol all exertion was then over. The nervous system was al most shattered to pieces. Both my memory and my hear ing failed me, sudden dizziness seized my head, a confusel singing in the ears followed me wherever I went; on going to bed the very stairs seemed to dance up and down under me, so that misplacing my foot I sometimes fell. Talking, too, if it continued but half an hour, exhausted me so that profuse perspiration followed; and the same effect was produced even by an active exertion of the mind for the like time.' These disorders doubtless arose from his unparalleled exertions in the cause.

Mr Clarkson accordingly retired for some years, and by devoting himself to agricultural pursuits, effected by slow degrees the recovery of his health. When a change of ministry took place in 1806, Fox and Granville introduced again the abolition question, and were triumphantly svecessful in clearing away the guilt of the slave trade from the national character, all participation by British subjects in that unhallowed traffic being thenceforth declared illegal. We hear little more of Mr Clarkson till the year 1818, when the Emperor of Russia and other distinguished individuals met at Paris. Mr Clarkson drew up an address to that monarch, and requested an interview. which was readily granted. Soon after a meeting of the European sovereigns took place at Aix-la-Chapelle. The Emperor, after recognising Mr Clarkson, led him into a room and helped him to a chair. He also expressed his cordial approbation of Mr Clarkson's address to the sove reigns, and promised to deliver with his own hands those to the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia.

Slavery, however, still existed, and although, from the state of his health, Mr Clarkson was prevented from labouring so strenuously in the cause as hitherto, still he continued to feel as anxiously as ever on the subject; and great as were the services of others in the cause, it is be

[ocr errors]
« 上一頁繼續 »