He had letters to produce, which would prove all
these things, though he was not authorized to give up the names of those
who had written them.
Mr. Montagu said, that, in the last session, he had simply entered his
protest against the trade; but now he could be no longer silent; and as
there were many, who had conceived regulation to be more desirable than
abolition, he would confine himself to that subject.
Regulation, as it related to the manner of procuring slaves, was utterly
impossible: for how could we know the case of each individual, whom we
forced away into bondage? Could we establish tribunals all along the coast,
and in every ship, to find it out? What judges could we get for such an
office? But, if this could not be done upon the coast, how could we
ascertain the justness of the captivity of by far the greatest number, who
were brought from immense distances inland?
He would not dwell upon the proof of the inefficiency of regulations, as to
the Middle Passage. His honourable friend Mr. Wilberforce had shown, that,
however the mortality might have been lessened in some ships by the
regulations of Sir William Dolben, yet, wherever a contagious disorder
broke out, the greatest part of the cargo was swept away.
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