And, first, before he could vote for the abolition, he wished to be
convinced, that, whilst Britain were to lose, Africa would gain. As for
himself, he hated a traffic in men, and joyfully anticipated its
termination at no distant period under a wise system of regulation: but he
considered the present measure as crude and indolent; and as precluding
better and wiser measures, which were already in train. A British
Parliament should attain not only the best ends, but by the wisest means.
Great Britain might abandon her share of this trade, but she could not
abolish it. Parliament was not an assembly of delegates from the powers of
Europe, but of a single nation. It could not therefore suppress the trade;
but would eventually aggravate those miseries incident to it, which every
enlightened man must acknowledge, and every good man must deplore. He
wished the traffic for ever closed. But other nations were only waiting for
our decision, to seize the part we should leave them. The new projects of
these would be intemperate; and, in the zeal of rivalship, the present
evils of comparatively sober dealing would be aggravated beyond all
estimate in this new and heated auction of bidders for life and limb.
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