Alas! alas! we had carried on a
trade with them from this civilized and enlightened country, which, instead
of diffusing knowledge, had been a check to every laudable pursuit. We had
carried a poison into their country, which spread its contagious effects
from one end of it to the other, and which penetrated to its very centre,
corrupting every part to which it reached. We had there subverted the whole
order of nature; we had aggravated every natural barbarity, and furnished
to every man motives for committing, under the name of trade, acts of
perpetual hostility and perfidy against his neighbour. Thus had the
perversion of British commerce carried misery instead of happiness to one
whole quarter of the globe. False to the very principles of trade,
misguided in our policy, unmindful of our duty, what almost irreparable
mischief had we done to that continent! How should we hope to obtain
forgiveness from Heaven, if we refused to use those means, which the mercy
of Providence had still reserved to us for wiping away the guilt and shame,
with which we were now covered? If we refused even this degree of
compensation, how aggravated would be our guilt! Should we delay, then, to
repair these incalculable injuries? We ought to count the days, nay the
very hours, which intervened to delay the accomplishment of such a work.
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