miles from us
in the former state on the Wabash, and they were sure to be ready to
assist him on his journey by forwarding him on to other friends who held
their principles. At that time what was called "the underground
railway" was not regularly established, but there were a large number of
persons in the northern states, including all the members of the Society
of Friends, who objected to slavery as much as my father did, and were
always ready to assist fugitives running away from their cruel
taskmasters. The movement in England in favour of the abolition of the
slave-trade had been commenced by Wilberforce in 1787. From that time
the British emancipists gained strength, and in 1792 resolutions for the
abolition of the slave-trade were carried in the House of Commons. The
following year, however, the House did not confirm its former vote, and
though Wilberforce annually brought forward a motion, for seven years it
was regularly lost until in 1799 a bill was carried limiting the traffic
to a certain extent of coast. It was not, however, until 1807 that a
bill for the total abolition of the British slave-trade received the
royal assent. At first a penalty in money was alone inflicted on
British subjects captured on board slave-ships, but in 1811 an act
carried by Lord Brougham made slave-dealing felony. This being found an
inadequate check, in 1824 the slave-trade was declared to be piracy and
the punishment death. This was enforced until 1837, when the punishment
for trading in slaves was changed to transportation for life. Other
nations imitated England in prohibiting their subjects from trafficking
in slaves; the United States of North America and Brazil making the
traffic piracy, and punishable with death. All, with one exception, the
United States, agreed to permit their ships to be searched at sea by the
vessels of other nations. Unhappily, however, the profits on the trade
were so enormous, that the traffic in slaves continued to be carried on
from the coast of Africa to the Brazils, Cuba, and the more southern of
the United States in spite of the activity of the British cruisers. Of
course it will be understood that there is a wide distinction between
the abolition of the slave-trade, and the abolition of slavery. Great
Britain abolished slavery in her colonies in 1833, at the same time
slavery existed, with all its abominations, in the more southern of the
United States, as well as in the Brazils and