t they, whom you
allow to be robbed of all things but life, may not unnecessarily and
wantonly be deprived of life also. To the honour, to the wisdom, to the
feelings of the house I now make my appeal, perfectly confident that you
will not tolerate, as senators, a traffic, which, as men, you shudder to
contemplate, and that you will not take upon yourselves the responsibility
of this waste of existence. To the memory of former parliaments the horrors
of this traffic will be an eternal reproach; yet former parliaments have
not known, as you on the clearest evidence now know, the dreadful nature of
this trade. Should you reject this bill, no exertions of yours to rescue
from oppression the suffering inhabitants of your Eastern empire; no
records of the prosperous state to which, after along and unsuccessful war,
you have restored your native land; no proofs, however splendid, that,
under your guidance, Great Britain has recovered her rank, and is again the
arbitress of nations, will save your names from the stigma of everlasting
dishonour. The broad mantle of this one infamy will cover with substantial
blackness the radiance of your glory, and change to feelings of abhorrence
the present admiration of the world.--But pardon the supposition of so
impossible an event. I believe that justice and mercy may be considered as
the attributes of your character, and that you will not tarnish their
lustre on this occasion."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer rose next; and after having made some
important observations on the evidence (which took up much time), he
declared himself most unequivocally in favour of the motion made by the
honourable baronet. He was convinced that the regulation proposed would not
tend to the Abolition of the trade; but if it even went so far, he had no
hesitation openly and boldly to declare, that if it could not be carried on
in a manner different from that stated by the members for Liverpool, he
would retract what he had said on a former day against going into the
general question; and, waiving every other discussion than what had that
day taken place, he would give his vote for the utter annihilation of it at
once. It was a trade, which it was shocking to humanity to hear detailed.
If it were to be carried on as proposed by the petitioners, it would,
besides its own intrinsic baseness, be contrary to every humane and
Christian principle, and to every sentiment that ought to inspire the
breast of man, and