ance_, knowing my friend Wilberforce to be a mere
utopian philanthropist on a subject which a little needs the
practical politician.

On the 9th of May following, Mr. Pitt, taking the question into his own
hands, moved a resolution pledging the House to the consideration of the
Slave Trade in the ensuing session. Upon this, Sir William Young
remarks:

The Slave Trade, obviously from the debate on Friday last, will
be made an election tool to work at the Dissenters with, and
gain the hurra' of the lower people. When Pitt shall come
forward to unite humanity and justice with policy and the public
necessities, and produce early next session some measures of
legislation for the colonies, and of regulation in the trade, I
foresee the clamour will be "What! regulate rapine and murder!
and legislate slavery in the British dominions!" and all of the
measure, as to the abolition of the trade which is wisely put
by, will be artfully taken up to discredit what is humanely
done. And this is the mischief of leaving such business to the
good and brilliant, but little-wise or solid Wilberforce, who
did not know, that in a business of such extent as to the
interests of the public, their feelings should not have been
excited to go beyond the mode or degree of practicable remedy to
the evil; that to give hopes of something is to render the full
accomplishment more grateful; and that to anticipate the most
that can be done, is to render the doing less thankless, and as
nothing. Adopting the strongest wishes for the full abolition of
slavery and the Slave Trade, was it not folly in the extreme to
throw out the idea of full abolition previous to investigation
of how far it was possible to go, and where a stop of necessity
must be made. Wilberforce hath everywhere canvassed addresses
for total abolition!

These passages, collected from the Correspondence, possess some
historical value from their immediate bearing upon the state and action
of opinion, at the time when this question was originally introduced
into Parliament. Wilberforce was confessedly not considered a practical
politician, and his support was regarded by Pitt with apprehension. His
sincerity was admitted by everybody, but there seems to have been a
strange want of confidence in his judgment. By agitating the country for
total abolition, before the public had had a