arise from an examination of the witnesses by the house at large but he moved that such witnesses should be examined by a committee of the house. Upon this a debate ensued, and afterwards a division; when the original motion was carried by sixty-three against thirty-six.

On the 15th of May the lords met again. Evidence was then ordered to be summoned in behalf of those interested in the continuance of the trade. At length it was introduced; but on the fifth of June, when only seven persons had been examined, a motion was made, and carried, that the further examination should be postponed to the next session.

CHAPTER III.

CONTINUATION FROM JULY, 1792, to JULY, 1793—AUTHOR TRAVELS ROUND THE KINGDOM AGAIN-MOTION TO RENEW THE RESOLUTION OF THE LAST YEAR IN THE COMMONS-MOTION LOST-NEW MOTION IN THE COMMONS TO ABOLISH The foreign SLAVE-TRADE-MOTION LOST-PROCEEDINGS OF THE LORDS.

THE resolution adopted by the commons, that the trade should cease in 1796, was a matter of great joy to many; and several, in consequence of it, returned to the use of sugar. The committee, however, for the abolition did not view it in the same favorable light. They considered it as a political manœuvre to frustrate the accomplishment of the object. But the circumstance which

gave them the most concern, was the resolution of the lords to hear evidence. It was impossible now to say when the trade would cease. The witnesses in behalf of the merchants and planters had obtained possession of the ground; and they might keep it, if they chose, even till the year 1800, to throw light upon a measure which was to be adopted in 1796. The committee found, too, that they had again the laborious task before them of finding out new persons to give testimony in behalf of their cause; for some of their former witnesses were dead, and others were out of the kingdom; and unless they replaced these, there would be no probability of making out that strong case in the lords, which they had established in the commons. It devolved, therefore, upon me once more to travel for this purpose; but as I was then in too weak a state to bear as much fatigue as formerly, Dr. Dickson relieved me, by taking one part of the tour, namely, that to Scotland, upon himself.

These journeys we performed with considerable success; during which, the committee elected Mr. Joseph Townsend, of Baltimore, in Maryland, an honorary and corresponding member.

Parliament having met, Mr. Wilberforce, in February, 1793, moved that the house resolve itself into a committee of the whole house on Thursday next, to consider of the circumstances of the Slave-trade. This motion was opposed by Sir William Yonge, who moved that this day six months should be substituted for Thursday next.

A debate ensued; of this, however, as well as of several which followed, I shall give no account; as it would be tedious to the reader to hear a repetition of the same arguments. Suffice it to say, that the motion was lost by a majority of sixtyone to fifty-three.

This sudden refusal of the house of commons to renew their own yote of the former year gave great uneasiness to the friends of the cause. Mr. Wilberforce, however, resolved that the session should not pass without an attempt to promote it in another form; and accordingly on the fourteenth of May he moved for leave to bring in a bill to abolish that part of the Slave-trade, by which the British merchants supplied foreigners with slaves. This motion was opposed like the former; but was carried by a majority of seven. The bill was then brought in; and it passed its first and second reading with little opposition; but on the fifth of June, notwithstanding the eloquence of Mr. Pitt and of Mr. Fox, and the very able speeches of Mr. Francis, Mr. Courtenay, and others, it was lost by a majority of thirty-one to twenty-nine.

In the interval between these motions the question experienced in the lords considerable opposition. The duke of Clarence moved that the house should not proceed in the consideration of the Slave-trade till after the Easter recess. The earl of Abingdon was still more hostile afterwards. He deprecated the new philosophy. It was as full of mischief as the box of Pandora. The doc

trine of the abolition of the Slave-trade was a species of it; and he concluded by moving, that all further consideration of the subject be postponed. To the epithet then bestowed upon the abolitionists by this nobleman, the duke of Clarence added those of fanatics and hypocrites, among whom he included Mr. Wilberforce by name. All the other lords, however, who were present, manifested such a dislike to the sentiments of the earl of Abingdon, that he withdrew his motion.

After this, the hearing of evidence on the resolution of the house of commons was resumed; and seven persons were examined before the close of the session.

CHAPTER IV.

CONTINUATION FROM JULY, 1793, TO JULY, 1794-AUTHOR TRAVELS Round THE KINGDOM AGAIN-MOTION TO ABOLISH THE FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE RENEWED IN THE COMMONS-AND CARRIED-BUT LOST IN THE LORDSFURTHER PROCEEDINGS THERE-AUTHOR, on account OF HIS DECLIN ING HEALTH, OBLIGED TO RETIRE FROM THE CAUSE.

THE Committee for the abolition could not view the proceedings of both houses of parliament on this subject during the year 1793, without being alarmed for the fate of their question. The only two sources of hope, which they could discover, were in the disposition then manifested by the peers as to the conduct of the earl of Abingdon, and in their determination to proceed in the hearing of evidence. The latter circumstance, indeed,

was the more favorable, as the resolution, upon which the witnesses were to be examined, had not been renewed by the commons. These considerations, however, afforded no solid ground for the mind to rest upon. They only broke in upon it, like faint gleams of sunshine, for a moment, and then were gone. In this situation, the committee could only console themselves by the reflection, that they had done their duty. In looking, however, to their future services, one thing, and only one, seemed practicable; and this was necessary; namely, to complete the new body of evidence, which they had endeavored to form in the preceding year. The determination to do this rendered another journey on my part indispensable; and I undertook it, broken down as my constitution then was, beginning it in September, 1793, and completing it in February, 1794.

Mr. Wilberforce, in this interval, had digested his plan of operations; and accordingly, early in the session of 1794, he asked leave to renew his former bill, to abolish that part of the trade, by means of which British merchants supplied foreigners with slaves. This request was opposed by Sir William Yonge; but it was granted, on a division of the house, by a majority of sixty-three to forty votes.

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When the bill was brought in, it was opposed by the same member; upon which the house divided; and there appeared for Sir William Yonge's amendment thirty-eight votes, but against it fiftysix.