Part 26 (1/2)

By this time a large packet, for which I had sent, from England arrived.

It consisted of above a thousand of the plan and section of a slave-s.h.i.+p, with an explanation in French. It contained, also, about five hundred coloured engravings, made from two views, which Mr.

Wadstrom had taken in Africa. The first of these represented the town of Joal, and the king's military on horseback returning to it, after having executed the great pillage, with their slaves. The other represented the village of Bain; from whence ruffians were forcing a poor woman and her children to sell them to a s.h.i.+p, which was then lying in the Roads. Both these scenes Mr. Wadstrom had witnessed. I had collected, also, by this time, one thousand of my Essays on the _Impolicy of the Slave Trade_, which had been translated into the French language. These I now wished to distribute, as preparatory to the motion of Mirabeau, among the National a.s.sembly. This distribution was afterwards undertaken and effected by the Archbishop of Aix, the Bishop of Chartres, the Marquis de la Fayette, the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, the Comte de Mirabeau, Monsieur Necker, the Marquis de Condorcet, Messieurs Petion de Villeneuve, Berga.s.se, Claviere and Brissot, and by the Marchioness de la Fayette, Madame Necker, and Madame de Poivre, the latter of whom was the widow of the late intendant of the Isle of France.

This distribution had not been long begun, before I witnessed its effects. The virtuous Abbe Gregoire, and several members of the National a.s.sembly, called upon me. The section of the slave-s.h.i.+p, it appeared, had been the means of drawing them towards me. They wished for more accurate information concerning it. Indeed, it made its impression upon all who saw it. The Bishop of Chartres once told me, that, when he first espoused our cause, he did it at once; for it seemed obvious to him that no one could, under the Christian dispensation, hold another as his slave; and it was no less obvious, where such an unnatural state existed, that there would be great abuses; but that, nevertheless, he had not given credit to all the tales which had been related of the Slave Trade, till he had seen this plate; after which there was nothing so barbarous which might not readily be believed. The Archbishop of Aix, when I first showed him the same plate, was so struck with horror, that he could scarcely speak: and when Mirabeau first saw it, he was so impressed by it, that he ordered a mechanic to make a model of it in wood, at a considerable expense. This model he kept afterwards in his dining-room. It was a s.h.i.+p in miniature, about a yard long, and little wooden men and women, which were painted black to represent the slaves, were seen stowed in their proper places.

But while the distribution of these different articles thus contributed to make us many friends, it called forth the extraordinary exertions of our enemies. The merchants and others interested in the continuance of the Slave Trade wrote letters to the Archbishop of Aix, beseeching him not to ruin France; which he would inevitably do, if, as then president, he were to grant a day for hearing the question of the abolition. Offers of money were made to Mirabeau from the same quarter, if he would totally abandon his motion. An attempt was made to establish a colonial committee, consisting of such planters as were members of the National a.s.sembly, upon whom it should devolve to consider and report upon all matters relating to the Colonies, before they could be determined there.

Books were circulated in abundance in opposition to mine. Resort was again had to the public papers, as the means of raising a hue and cry against the principles of the Friends of the Negroes. I was again denounced as a spy; and as one sent by the English minister to bribe members in the a.s.sembly to do that in a time of public agitation, which in the settled state of France they could never have been prevailed upon to accomplish. And as a proof that this was my errand, it was requested of every Frenchman to put to himself the following question, ”How it happened that England, which had considered the subject coolly and deliberately for eighteen months, and this in a state of internal peace and quietness, had not abolished the Slave Trade?”

The clamour which was now made against the abolition pervaded all Paris, and reached the ears of the king; Mr. Necker had a long conversation with him upon it; the latter sent for me immediately. He informed me that His Majesty was desirous of making himself master of the question, and had expressed a wish to see my _Essay on the Impolicy of the Slave Trade_; he desired to have two copies of it, one in French, and the other in English, and he would then take his choice as to which of them he would read; he (Mr. Necker) was to present them. He would take with him, also, at the same time, the beautiful specimens of the manufactures of the Africans, which I had lent to Madame Necker out of the cabinet of Monsieur Geoffroy de Villeneuve and others; as to the section of the slave-s.h.i.+p, he thought it would affect His Majesty too much, as he was then indisposed. All these articles, except the latter, were at length presented; the king bestowed a good deal of time upon the specimens; he admired them, but particularly those in gold. He expressed his surprise at the state of some of the arts in Africa. He sent them back on the same day on which he had examined them, and commissioned Mr. Necker to return me his thanks, and to say that he had been highly gratified with what he had seen; and with respect to the _Essay on the Impolicy of the Slave Trade_, that he would read it with all the seriousness which such a subject deserved.

My correspondence with the Comte de Mirabeau was now drawing near to its close. I had sent him a letter every other day for a whole month, which contained from sixteen to twenty pages; he usually acknowledged the receipt of each; hence many of his letters came into my possession: these were always interesting, on account of the richness of the expressions they contained. Mirabeau even in his ordinary discourse was eloquent; it was his peculiar talent to use such words, that they who heard them were almost led to believe that he had taken great pains to cull them for the occasion. But this his ordinary language was the language also of his letters; and as they show a power of expression, by which the reader may judge of the character of the eloquence of one, who was then undoubtedly the greatest orator in France, I have thought it not improper to submit one of them to his perusal in the annexed note[A]. I could have wished, as far as it relates to myself, that it had been less complimentary. It must be observed, however, that I had already written to him more than two hundred pages with my own hand; and as this was done at no small expense, time, and trouble, and solely to qualify him for the office of doing good, he could not but set some value upon my labours.

[Footnote A: Je fais toujours mille remercimens plus empresses et plus affectueux a Monsieur Clarkson pour la vertueuse profusion de ses lumieres, de ses recherches, et de ses travaux. Comme ma motion, et tous ses developpemens sont entierement prets, j'attends avec une vive impatience ses nouvelles lettres, afin d'achever de cla.s.ser les faits et les raisonnemens de Monsieur Clarkson, et, cette deduction entierement finie, de commencer a manoeuvrer en tactique le succes douteux de cette perilleuse proposition. J'aurai l'honneur de le recevoir Dimanche depuis onze heures, et meme dix du matin jusqu'a midi, non seulement avec un vif plaisir, mais avec une sensible reconnaissance. 25_th__Decembre_, 1789.]

When our correspondence was over, I had some conversation with him relative to fixing a day for the motion. But he judged it prudent, previously to this, to sound some of the members of the a.s.sembly on the subject of it. This he did, but he was greatly disappointed at the result; there was not one member, out of all those with whom he conversed, who had not been canva.s.sed by the planters' committee; and though most of them had been proof against all its intrigues and artifices, yet many of them hesitated respecting the abolition at that moment. There was a fear in some that they should injure the revolution by adopting it; others, who had no such fears, wished for the concurrence of England in the measure, and suggested the propriety of a deputation there for that purpose previously to the discussion of the question in France. While others maintained that, as England had done nothing, after having had it so long under consideration, it was fair to presume that she judged it impolitic to abandon the Slave Trade; but if France were to give it up, and England to continue it, how would humanity be the gainer?

While the Comte de Mirabeau was continuing his canva.s.s among the members of the National a.s.sembly, relative to his motion, attempts were again made in the public papers to mislead them; emanc.i.p.ation was now stated to be the object of the friends of the negroes. This charge I repelled, by addressing myself to Monsieur Beauvet. I explained to him the views of the different societies which had taken up the cause of the Africans; and I desired him to show my letter to the planters. I was obliged also to answer publicly a letter by Monsieur Mosneron de Laung. This writer professed to detail the substance of the privy council report. He had the injustice to a.s.sert that three things had been distinctly proved there: First, that slavery had always existed in Africa; Secondly, that the natives were a b.l.o.o.d.y people, addicted to human sacrifice, and other barbarous customs; and, Thirdly, that their soil was incapable of producing any proper articles for commerce. From these premises he argued, as if they had been established by the unanimous and uncontradicted testimony of the witnesses; and he drew the conclusion, that not only had England done nothing in consequence, but that she never would do anything which should affect the existence of this trade.

But these letters had only just made their appearance in the public papers, when I was summoned to England; parliament, it appeared, had met, and I was immediately to leave Paris. Among those of whom I had but just time to take leave, were the deputies of colour. At this, my last conference with them, I recommended moderation and forbearance, as the best gifts I could leave them; and I entreated them rather to give up their seats in the a.s.sembly, than on that account to bring misery on their country; for that with patience their cause would ultimately triumph. They replied, that I had prescribed to them a most difficult task; they were afraid that neither the conduct of the white colonists nor of the National a.s.sembly could be much longer borne; they thanked me, however, for my advice. One of them gave me a trinket, by which I might remember him; and as for himself, he said he should never forget one, who had taken such a deep interest in the welfare of his mother[A].

I found, however, notwithstanding all I said, that there was a spirit of dissatisfaction in them, which nothing but a redress of their grievances could subdue; and that, if the planters should persevere in their intrigues, and the National a.s.sembly in delay, a fire would be lighted up in St. Domingo, which could not easily be extinguished. This was afterwards realized: for Oge, in about three months from this time, left his companions, to report to his const.i.tuents in St. Domingo the state of their mission; when hearing, on his arrival in that island, of the outrageous conduct of the whites of the committee of Aquin, who had begun a persecution of the people of colour, for no other reason than that they had dared to seek the common privileges of citizens, and of the murder of Ferrand and Labadie, he imprudently armed his slaves. With a small but faithful band he rushed upon superior numbers, and was defeated; taking refuge at length in the Spanish part of St. Domingo, he was given up, and his enemies, to strike terror into the people of colour, broke him upon the wheel. From this time reconciliation between the parties became impossible; a b.l.o.o.d.y war commenced, and with it all those horrors which it has been our lot so frequently to deplore. It must be remembered, however, that the Slave Trade, by means of the cruel distinctions it occasioned, was the original cause; and though the revolution of France afforded the occasion, it was an occasion which would have been prevented, if it had not been for the intrigues and injustice of the whites.

[Footnote A: Africa.]

Another upon whom I had time to call was the amiable bishop of Chartres.

When I left him, the Abbe Sieyes, who was with him, desired to walk with me to my hotel; he there presented me with a set of his works, which he sent for while he staid with me; and, on parting, he made use of this complimentary expression, in allusion, I suppose, to the cause I had undertaken,--”I am pleased to have been acquainted with the friend of man.”

It was necessary that I should see the Comte de Mirabeau and the Marquis de la Fayette before I left Paris, I had written to each of them to communicate the intelligence of my departure, as soon as I received it.

The comte, it appeared had nearly canva.s.sed the a.s.sembly; he could count upon three hundred members, who, for the sake of justice, and without any consideration of policy or of consequences, would support his motion. But alas! what proportion did this number bear to twelve hundred! About five hundred more would support him, but only on one condition, which was, if England would give an unequivocal proof of her intention to abolish the trade. The knowledge of these circ.u.mstances, he said, had induced him to write a letter to Mr. Pitt. In this he had explained how far he could proceed without his a.s.sistance, and how far with it. He had frankly developed to him the mind and temper of the a.s.sembly on this subject; but his answer must be immediate, for the white colonists were daily gaining such an influence there, that he forsaw that it would be impossible to carry the measure, if it were long delayed. On taking leave of him he desired me to be the bearer of the letter, and to present it to Mr. Pitt.

On conversing with the Marquis de la Fayette, he lamented deeply the unexpected turn which the cause of the Negroes had lately taken in the a.s.sembly. It was entirely owing to the daily intrigues of the White Colonists. He feared they would ruin everything. If the Deputies of Colour had been heard on their arrival, their rights would have been acknowledged. But now there was little probability that they would obtain them. He foresaw nothing but desolation in St. Domingo. With respect to the abolition of the Slave Trade, it might be yet carried; but not unless England would concur in the measure. On this topic he enlarged with much feeling. He hoped the day was near at hand, when two great nations, which had been hitherto distinguished only for their hostility, one toward the other, would unite in so sublime a measure; and that they would follow up their union by another, still more lovely, for the preservation of eternal and universal peace. Thus their future rivals.h.i.+ps might have the extraordinary merit of being rivals.h.i.+ps in good. Thus the revolution of France, through the mighty aid of England, might become the source of civilization, of freedom, and of happiness to the whole world. No other nations were sufficiently enlightened for such an union, but all other nations might be benefited by it.

The last person whom I saw was Brissot. He accompanied me to my carriage. With him, therefore, I shall end my French account; and I shall end it in no way so satisfactory to myself, as in a very concise vindication of his character, from actual knowledge, against the attacks of those who have endeavoured to disparage it; but who never knew him.

Justice and truth, I am convinced, demand some little declaration on this subject at my hands. Brissot then was a man of plain and modest appearance. His habits, contrary to those of his countrymen in general, were domestic. In his own family he set an amiable example, both as a husband and as a father. On all occasions he was a faithful friend. He was particularly watchful over his private conduct. From the simplicity of his appearance, and the severity of his morals, he was called ”The Quaker;” at least in all the circles which I frequented. He was a man of deep feeling. He was charitable to the poor as far as a slender income permitted him. But his benevolence went beyond the usual bounds. He was no patriot in the ordinary acceptation of the word; for he took the habitable globe as his country and wished to consider every foreigner as his brother.

I left France, as it may be easily imagined, much disappointed, that my labours, which had been of nearly six months continuance, should have had no better success; nor did I see, in looking forward, any circ.u.mstances that were consoling with respect to the issue of them there; for it was impossible that Mr. Pitt, even if he had been inclined to write to Mirabeau, circ.u.mstanced as matters then were with respect to the hearing of evidence, could have given him a promise, at least of a speedy abolition; and, unless his answer had been immediate, it would have arrived, seeing that the French planters were daily profiting by their intrigues, too late to be effectual.

I had but just arrived in England, when Mr. Wilberforce made a new motion in the House of Commons on the subject of the Slave Trade. In referring to the transactions of the last session, he found that twenty-eight days had been allotted to the hearing of witnesses against the abolition, and that eleven persons only had been examined in that time. If the examinations were to go on in the same manner, they might be made to last for years. He resolved, therefore, to move, that, instead of hearing evidence in future in the house at large, members should hear it in an open committee above stairs; which committee should sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the house itself. This motion he made; and in doing it he took an opportunity of correcting an erroneous report; which was, that he had changed his mind on this great subject.

This was, he said, so far from being the case, that the more he contemplated the trade, the more enormous he found it, and the more he felt himself compelled to persevere in endeavours for its abolition.

One would have thought that a motion, so reasonable and so const.i.tutional, would have met with the approbation of all; but it was vehemently opposed by Mr. Gascoyne, Alderman Newnham, and others. The plea set up was, that there was no precedent for referring a question of such importance to a committee. It was now obvious, that the real object of our opponents in abandoning decision by the privy council evidence was delay. Unable to meet us there, they were glad to fly to any measure, which should enable them to put off the evil day. This charge was fixed upon them in unequivocal language by Mr. Fox; who observed besides, that if the members of the house should then resolve to hear evidence in a committee of the whole house as before, it would amount to a resolution, that the question of the abolition of the Slave Trade should be put by, or at least that it should never be decided by them.

After a long debate, the motion of Mr. Wilberforce was voted without a division; and the examination of witnesses proceeded in behalf of those who were interested in the continuance of the trade.

This measure having been resolved upon, by which despatch in the examinations was promoted, I was alarmed lest we should be called upon for our own evidence, before we were fully prepared. The time which I had originally allotted for the discovery of new witnesses, had been taken up, if not wasted, in France. In looking over the names of the sixteen, who were to have been examined by the committee of privy council, if there had been time, one had died, and eight, who were sea-faring people, were out of the kingdom. It was time, therefore, to stir immediately in this business. Happily, on looking over my letters, which I found on my arrival in England, the names of several had been handed to me, with the places of their abode, who could give me information on the subject of our question. All these I visited with the utmost despatch. I was absent only three weeks. I had travelled a thousand miles in this time, had conversed with seventeen persons, and had prevailed upon three to be examined.

I had scarcely returned with the addition of these witnesses to my list, when I found it necessary to go out again upon the same errand. This second journey arose in part from the following circ.u.mstances. There was a matter in dispute relative to the mode of obtaining slaves in the rivers of Calabar and Bonny. It was usual, when the slave-s.h.i.+ps lay there, for a number of canoes to go into the inland country. These went in a fleet. There might be from thirty to forty armed natives in each of them. Every canoe, also, had a four or a six-pounder (cannon) fastened to her bow. Equipped in this manner they departed; and they were usually absent from eight to fourteen days. It was said that they went to fairs, which were held on the banks of these rivers, and at which there was a regular show of slaves. On their return they usually brought down from eight hundred to a thousand of these for the s.h.i.+ps. These lay at the bottom of the canoes; their arms and legs having been first bound by the ropes of the country. Now the question was, how the people, thus going up these rivers, obtained their slaves?

It was certainly a very suspicious circ.u.mstance, that such a number of persons should go out upon these occasions; and that they should be armed in such a manner. We presumed, therefore, that, though they might buy many of the slaves, whom they brought down, at the fairs which have been mentioned, they obtained others by violence, as opportunity offered. This inference we pressed upon our opponents, and called upon them to show what circ.u.mstances made such warlike preparations necessary on these excursions. To this they replied readily, ”The people in the canoes,” said they, ”pa.s.s through the territories of different petty princes; to each of whom, on entering his territory, they pay a tribute or toll. This tribute has been long fixed; but attempts frequently have been made to raise it. They who follow the trade cannot afford to submit to these unreasonable demands; and therefore they arm themselves in case of any determination on the part of these petty princes to enforce them.” This answer we never judged to be satisfactory. We tried therefore, to throw light upon the subject, by inquiring if the natives who went upon these expeditions usually took with them as many goods as would amount to the number of the slaves they were accustomed to bring back with them. But we could get no direct answer, from any actual knowledge, to this question. All had seen the canoes go out and return; but no one had seen them loaded, or had been on board them. It appeared, however, from circ.u.mstantial evidence, that though the natives on these occasions might take some articles of trade with them, it was impossible from appearances that they could take them in the proportion mentioned.

We maintained, then, our inference as before; but it was still uniformly denied.

How then were we to decide this important question? for it was said that no white man was ever permitted by the natives to go up in these canoes.