He quoted a passage from Lord Sheffield's pamphlet;
and insisted that the separation of families in the West Indies, there
complained of by himself, ought to have compelled him to take the contrary
side of the question.
Mr. Wilberforce made a short reply to some arguments in the course of the
debate; after which, at half past three in the morning, the House divided.
There appeared for Mr. Wilberforce's motion eighty-eight, and against it
one hundred and sixty-three; so that it was lost by a majority of
seventy-five votes.
By this unfavourable division the great contest, in which we had been so
long engaged, was decided. We were obliged to give way to superior numbers.
Our fall, however, grievous as it was, was rendered more tolerable by the
circumstance of having been prepared to expect it. It was rendered more
tolerable also by other considerations; for we had the pleasure of knowing,
that we had several of the most distinguished characters in the kingdom,
and almost all the splendid talents of the House of Commons[A], in our
favour. We knew too, that the question had not been carried against us
either by evidence or by argument; but that we were the victims of the
accidents and circumstances of the times.
Pages:
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304