These in their fright seemed to have
lost the right use of their eyes, or to have looked through a magnifying
glass. With these the argument of emancipation, which they would have
rejected at another time as ridiculous, obtained now easy credit. The
massacres too and the ruin, though only conjectural, they admitted also.
Hence some of them deserted our cause wholly, while others, wishing to do
justice as far as they could to the slaves on the one hand, and to their
own countrymen on the other, adopted a middle line of conduct, and would go
no further than the regulation of the trade.
While these preparations were making by our opponents to prejudice the
minds of those, who were to be the judges in this contest, Mr. Pitt
presented the privy council report at the bar of the House of Commons; and
as it was a large folio volume, and contained the evidence upon which the
question was to be decided, it was necessary that time should be given to
the members to peruse it. Accordingly the twelfth of May was appointed,
instead of the twenty-third of April, for the discussion of the question.
This postponement of the discussion of the question gave time to all
parties to prepare themselves further.
Pages:
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45