tended, that, though they might have some claim to protection when the colonial system was flourishing in full vigour, they had none now that it was relaxed.

The motion was resisted by Mr. Ellice, and Mr. Marryatt, who ar gued, that the West-Indian colonies, though freed from some restrictions, were still fettered by many regulations imposed with a view to the benefit of Great Britain, and therefore had a right to some protection in the home market. They remained subject to all the restrictions regarding the supply of British manufactures. By the intercourse bill of last year, the trade was limited strictly to some articles before permitted to be imported. Nothing was lost to the British manufacturer in point of protection-nothing gained to the West-Indian planters in point of restriction. The protection to the farmers, and provision-merchants of Ireland was the same as formerly -that of the British fisheries remained untouched, and the British ship-owners were still allowed the exclusive carrying trade restrictions which were extremely onerous to the West-Indian planter, and for which he had a title to compensating privileges. The result, it was further argued, of an equalization of duties would be a great fall in the price of sugar, and the ruin of our colonies and all the population depending upon them.

:

Mr. Ricardo, on the contrary, contended, that the effect of the proposed alteration would be, not to lower the price of sugars to any considerable amount, but to prevent them from rising above their value.

Mr. Huskisson opposed the motion. He agreed with Mr.

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Ricardo, that, so long as a surplus of West-Indian sugar was annually imported into this country, the price of it in the market must be regulated by the markets of the world: and the East-Indians were now contending for a measure, which either would not alter the quantity of sugar imported: or if it did, would be injurious in the end to the growers of it. had already the continent of Europe and the United States to which their sugar might be sent, and the largest export from the East Indies to all parts of the world (excluding England) in any one year, was about 4,000 tons, and (including England) about 11,000 tons. would ask, what prevented those countries of Europe, which had no colonies of their own, from having been supplied before now with this cheap East-Indian sugar: It was notorious that France had supplied those countries from St. Domingo; and the real fact was, that, on a comparison of the prices, it was found that the supply from the East Indies would not have come cheaper into the European market. He admitted that, considering the question abstractedly, and without reference to the state of things which had grown out of the colonial policy of this country for the last century-the only point was, where, as consumers, could we get our sugars at the cheapest rate? But he denied that the question ought to be so abstractedly considered. It was to be looked at with reference to a number of complicated circumstances; and far was he from agreeing that the House might press hard upon a West-Indian, because that WestIndian happened to be an owner of slaves. That the West-Indian

away with that extra five shilling duty altogether.

The motion was rejected by a majority of 161 to 34.

On the 15th of May, the question of Slavery was brought before parliament, by Mr. F. Buxton, who moved as a resolution "That the state of slavery is repugnant to the principles of the British Constitution, and of the Christian religion, and that it ought to be abolished gradually throughout the British colonies, with as much expedition as may be found consistent with a due regard to the wellbeing of the parties concerned." The extinction of slavery, which he declared to be his object, was to be effected by ordaining that all negro children born after a certain day, should be free. The operation of this one principle would be, that slavery would burn itself down into its socket and go out. "At present," said he, "we have in our colonies, a certain body of slaves. This will be reduced by all casualties; but it will not be replenished and re-inforced by any new recruits. The number is now about a million. Next year, that number will be somewhat abated. In ten years time, it will be visibly diminished. In twenty or thirty years', time, all the young, the vigorous, and those rising into life, will be free; and the slaves will be those who have passed the meridian of their days who are declining into age-the old and the decrepid. Every year, then, will make a considerable change; every child born will increase the one body-every slave dying will reduce the other. A few years further and you will find, only here and there, scattered over the face of the country, a remnant of slavery. A very few years further,

he too will have followed his brethren, and slavery will be no more." This course had been adoptedin New York, Ceylon, Bencoolen, Saint Helena and Colombia. In had been successful every where, and would be equally successful in our West-Indian islands.

"This," said Mr. Buxton, "is the main point. It secures, a distant, indeed, but a certain extinction of slavery. And I give notice to his majesty's ministers-I give notice to the gentlemen connected with the West Indies, that if they concede every thing else, but withhold this, we shall not relax in our exertions. The public voice is with us; and I, for one, will never fail to call upon the public, loudly to express their opinion, till justice has so far prevailed as to pronounce that every child is entitled to liberty."

With respect to the existing slaves, he admitted that he could not call for their emancipation; but the only reason was, that they were unfit for the enjoyment of freedom. If he deemed them ripe for deliverance, his moderation, he confessed, would be but small. That night, for once and for ever, he should propose to strike off their chains; nor would he wait one moment, from the conception that the masters had the least shadow of a title to their persons. But the slave was not ripe for liberty; and all that could be done for him was to mitigate the severities of his condition. The improvements which Mr. Buxton called for, and which he had previously communicated to the government, were that the slaves should be attached to the island, and, under modifications, to the soil-that they should cease to be chattels in the eye of the law

that their testimony should be received, quantum valeat-that, when any one laid in his claim to the services of a negro, the onus probandi should rest on the claim ant-that all obstructions to manumissions should be removed that the provisions of the Spanish law (fixing by competent authority the value of the slave, and allowing him to purchase a day at a time,) should be introduced that no governor, judge, or attorney-general should be a slave-owner-that an effectual provision should be made for the religious instruction of the slaves-that marriage should be enforced and sanctioned-that the Sunday should be devoted by the slave to repose and religious instruction; and that other time should be allotted for the cultivation of his provision-grounds that some (but what, he could not say) measures should be taken, to restrain the authority of the master in punishing his untried slave, and that some substitute should be found for the driving-system. Such was the substance of Mr. F. Buxton's speech. These topics, however, were intermingled with abundant declamation against slavery-logical and scriptural demonstrations of its unreasonableness and pictures of the cruelties with which it once was, or still might be polluted.

Mr. Canning, after deprecating the introduction of the many declamatory topics, and particularly of the delineations of cruelties that had long ceased, into the discussion of so fearful a question, contended, that the proposed resolution proceeded upon a principle, which, though true in one sense, was not true in the meaning in which it was here used. The British constitution and the Chris

tian religion were, in their spirit, unfavourable to slavery, and had a natural influence hostile to it: but neither that constitution nor that religion prohibited slavery. The name of Christianity, he thought, ought not to be thus used, unless we were prepared to act in a much more summary manner, than even Mr. Buxton had proposed. If the existence of slavery were repugnant to the principles of the British constitution and of the Christian religion, how could he consent to pause even for an instant, or to allow any considerations of pru dence to intervene between him and his object? How could he propose to divide slaves into two classes; one of which was to be made free directly, while he left the other to the gradual extinction of their state of suffering? But if the British constitution did not, in its necessary operation, go to extinguish slavery in every colony, it was evident that the hon. gentleman's proposition was not to be understood in the precise sense which he gave to it; and if the Christian religion did not require the instant and unqualified abolition of slavery, it was equally clear that the hon. member had mis-stated in his resolution the principle upon which he himself was satisfied to act. But while Mr. Canning contended against the literal sense, and too positive language, of Mr. Buxton's reso lution; and while he declared his unwillingness to adopt it as the basis of our proceedings; he begged not to be misunderstood as quar relling with the intention of the mover. He admitted as fully as the hon. gentleman himself, that the spirit both of the British constitution and of the Christian re