ON THE SLAVE TRADE,

READING in the newspapers the speech of Mr. Jackfon in congrefs, againft meddling with the affair of flavery, or attempting to mend the condition of flaves, it put me in mind of a fimilar fpeech, made about one hundred years fince, by Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim, a member of the Divan of Algiers, which may be feen in Martin's account of his confulfhip, 1687. It was against granting the petition of the fect called Erika, or Purifts, who prayed for the abolition of piracy and flavery as being unjust.-Mr. Jackson does not quote it; perhaps he has not feen it. If, therefore, fome of its reafonings are to be found in his eloquent fpeech, it may only fhew that men's interefts operate, and are operated on, with furprising fimilarity, in all countries and climates, whenever they are under fimilar circumfrances. The African speech, as tranflated, is as follows:

"Alla Bifmillah, &c. God is great, and Ma, homet is his prophet.

"Have thefe Erika considered the confequen, ces of granting their petition? If we cease our cruifes against the Chriftians, how fhall we be furnished with the commodities their countries produce, and which are fo neceffary for us? If we forbear to make flaves of their people, who, in this hot climate, are to cultivate our lands? Who are to perform the common labours of our city, and of our families? Muft we not then be our own flaves? And is there not more compaffion and more favour due to us Muffulmen, than to thofe Chriftian dogs?-We have now above fifty thousand flaves in and near Algiers. This

number,

number, if not kept up by fresh fupplies, will foon diminish, and be gradually annihilated. If, then, we cease taking and plundering the infidel fhips, and making flaves of the feamen and paffengers, our lands will become of no value, for want of cultivation; the rents of houfes in the city will fink one half; and the revenues of government, arifing from the fhare of prizes, muft be totally deftroyed. And for what? To gratify the whim of a whimsical fect, who would have us not only forbear making more flaves, but even manumit those we have. But who is to indemnify their mafters for the lofs? Will the ftate do it; Is our treasury fufficient? Will the Erika do it? Can they do it? Or would they, to do what they think juftice to the flaves, do a greater injuftice to the owners? And if we fet our flaves free, what is to be done with them? Few of them will return to their native countries; they know too well the greater hardfhips they must there be fubject to. They will not embrace our holy religion: they will not adopt our manners: our people will not pollute themselves by intermarrying with them. Muft we maintain them as beggars in our ftreets? or fuffer our properties to be the prey of their pillage? for men accustomed to flavery will not work for a livelihood, when not compelled. And what is there fo pitiable in their prefent condition? Were they not flaves in their own countries? Are not Spain, Portugal, France, and the Italian states, governed by defpots, who hold all their fubjects in flavery, without exception? Even England treats her failors as flaves, for they are, whenever the government pleases, feized and confined in fhips of war, condemned not only to work, but to fight for fmall wages, or a mere fubfiftence, not better than our flaves are allowed by us. Is their condition then made

worfe

worse by their falling into our hands?. No; they have only exchanged one flavery for another; and I may fay a better: for here they are brought into a land where the fun of Islamism gives forth its light, and fhines in full fplendour, and they have an opportunity of making themselves acquainted with the true doctrine, and thereby faving their immortal fouls. Those who remain at home, have not that happiness. Sending the flaves home, then, would be fending them out of light into darkness.

"I repeat the question, what is to be done with them? I have heard it fuggefted, that they may be planted in the wildernefs, where there is plenty of land for them to fubfift on, and where they may flourish as a free ftate.-But they are, I doubt, too little disposed to labour without compulfion, as well as too ignorant to establish good government: and the wild Arabs would foon moleft and destroy, or again enflave them. While serving us, we take care to provide them with every thing; and they are treated with humanity. The labourers in their own countries are, as I am informed, worfe fed, lodged, and clothed. The condition of most of them is therefore already mended, and requires no farther improvement. Here their lives are in fafety. They are not liable to be impreffed for foldiers, and forced to cut one another's Chriftian throats, as in the wars of their own countries. If fome of the religious mad bigots, who now tease us with their filly petitions, have, in a fit of blind zeal, freed their flaves, it was not generofity, it was not humanity that moved them to the action; it was from the confcious burthen of a load of fins, and hope, from the fuppofed merits of fo good a work, to be excufed from damnation-How grossly are they mistaken, in imagining

imagining flavery to be disavowed by the Alcoran! Are not the two precepts, to quote no more, "Mafters, treat your flaves with kindnefs-Slaves, ferve your masters with cheerfulness and fidelity," clear proofs to the contrary? Nor can the plundering of infidels be in that facred book forbidden? fince it is well known from it that God has given the world, and all that it contains, to his faithful Muffulmen, who are to enjoy it, of right, as faft as they can conquer it. Let us then hear no more of this deteftable propofition, the manumiffion of Christian flaves, the adoption of which would, by depreciating our lands and houses, and thereby depriving fo many good citizens of their properties, create univerfal difcontent, and provoke infurrections, to the endangering of government, and producing gcneral confufion. I have, therefore, no doubt that this wife council will prefer the comfort and happiness of a whole nation of true believers, to the whim of a few Erika, and dismiss their petition.'

The refult was, as Martin tells us, that the Divan came to this refolution: "That the doctrine, "that the plundering and enflaving the Chriftians. "is unjust, is at beft problematical; but that it "is the intereft of this state to continue the prac"tice, is clear; therefore, let the petition be rejected."And it was rejected accordingly. And fince like motives are apt to produce, in the minds of men, like opinions and refolutions, may we not venture to predict, from this account, that the petitions to the parliament of England for abolishing the flave trade, to fay nothing of other legiflatures, and the debates upon them, will have a fimilar conclufion.

3

March 23, 1790.

HISTORICUS.

OBSER

OBSERVATIONS ON WAR.

BY the original law of nations, war and extirpation were the punishment of injury. Humanizing by degrees, it admitted flavery inftead of death: a farther ftep was, the exchange of prifoners inftead of flavery: another, to refpect more the property of private perfons under conqueft, and be content with acquired dominion. Why fhould not this law of nations go on improving? Ages have intervened between its feveral fteps. but as knowledge of late increases rapidly, why fhould not thofe fteps be quickened? Why fhould it not be agreed to, as the future law of nations, that in any war hereafter the following defcription of men should be undisturbed, have the protection of both fides, and be permitted to follow their employments in fecurity? viz.

1. Cultivators of the earth, because they labour for the fubfiftence of mankind.

2. Fishermen, for the fame reafon.

3. Merchants and traders in unarmed fhips, who accommodate different nations by communicating and exchanging the neceffaries and conveniencies of life:

4. Artifts and mechanics, inhabiting and working in open towns.

It is hardly neceffary to add, that the hospitals of enemies fhould be unmolefted-they ought to be affifted. It is for the intereft of humanity in general, that the occafions of war, and the inducements to it, fhould be diminifhed. If rapine be abolished, one of the encouragements to war is taken away; and peace therefore more likely to continue and be lafting.

The