shall not be wanting to vindicate the honour of our character, and the consistency of our proceedings." Mr. Addington said, that had he then had the honour of a seat in that House, he should have voted for the resolution of 1792, because he detested the trade, and thought it ought to be abolished, but that it should be abolished gradually. It struck him, that it might be abolished by an improvement in sir W. Dolben's bill, by making a rapid increase in the proportion of the tonnage of ships, carrying slaves, so that it might become impossible to carry on the traffic. Mr. Barham said, no man was more anxious to alleviate the distresses of any condition of humanity than himself. But before he could give his consent to the motion, he must be convinced that the stale assertions respecting the sufferings of the negroes in the West India Islands were true. So far was this from being the fact, that he would affirm, that the slaves in the West Indies were better fed and cloathed, and enjoyed more of the comforts of life, than the generality of the labouring class throughout Europe. If the fact, however, were otherwise, no time could be more unhappily chosen than the present, to introduce the motion before the House. The motion, if carried, would create universal rebellion in the islands. It was a remarkable fact, in the teeth of those who pictured the miseries of the negroes in such deep colours, that none could be more averse to the abolition of slavery in the islands than the slaves themselves. If the measure was abruptly adopted, that part of our territory must be lost. Mr. Wilberforce observed, that the arguments in favour of his motion had been so ably and eloquently urged, that he would not take up much of the time of the House in availing himself of the right of reply. It was impossible for him, however, to forbear touching shortly on a few topics which required some farther illustration. The papers on the table showed that the number of slaves imported into the islands during the last four or five years, was much greater than the average importation. If, therefore, it was to be considered as a benefit, that they might glut themselves with slaves, this was a benefit which they had enjoyed in a greater degree than parliament had intended. If in 1792 the ablest men in the House thought that they had slaves sufficient to keep up their population, how much more must they now have sufficient for that purpose! He would next advert to the worn-out topic, that other nations would take up the trade if we relinquished it. Since the time when it was first urged, had not the Danes announced a future abolition? Had not the French emancipated their slaves in the West India islands, and of course indirectly abolished the slave trade? Did not the Dutch seem likely to adopt the same system; and above all, had not the Americans prohibited the carrying on the slave trade for the supply of foreign nations; and had not every individual state, except perhaps Georgia, either abolished or suspended the slave trade, even for their own sup. ply? And yet, in the face of all these facts, this argument was brought for ward with as much confidence as ever. This wretched pretext he supposed would never cease to be urged, whilst there remained a single nation upon earth, by which the slave trade was carried on. Much had been said concerning the calumnies circulated against the West Indians. Every great cause would have warm and over eager adherents; but he appealed to the House, whether he had not himself uniformly abstained from every thing of that nature. But what he had always insisted on was, the various evils necessarily attendant on a state of slavery, and that degradation to which the negroes were reduced below the dignity of moral agents. "Are not the slaves," said an hon. gentleman, "well fed and sufficiently cloathed and lodged?" What then, were these the only claims of a rational being? Were the feelings of the heart nothing? Was intellectual and moral improvement nothing? Where, too, were family endearment and social intercourse, and the consciousness of independence and willing services and grateful returns, and, above all, the cultivation of knowledge, and the light of religious truth, and the hope full of immortality? So far, then, from thanking the hon. gentleman, on the part of the slaves, for his feeding and cloathing and lodging, which were talked of, he must protest against the manner in which they were mentioned, as degrading man to the level of brutes, and insulting the higher properties of our nature.-An hon. friend of his had expressed his wish, that this motion had been suspended till the termination of the war. There was something not a little provoking in the dry, calm way in which gen tlemen were apt to speak of the suffer-ordered, that the said committee be a seings of others. Suspended! Was the lect committee. A committee was acwork of death suspended in Africa? Were cordingly appointed, who were to have all the miseries of that devoted country power to send for persons, papers, and resuspended? Had they not been going cords; and all who came to the committee on as he had shown, even in an aggra- were to have voices. On the 19th of vated degree? He therefore could not December it was ordered, that the comfeel himself at liberty to suspend his mo-mittee have power to report the Evidence, tion, or for a moment to delay his endea- as it shall appear to them, to the House. vours to rescue that much injured country from the oppression under which it groaned. What man who believed in a superintending providence, and a moral governor of the world, could dare to lend his aid, in the present circumstances of this country, to the support of a system, which, even by its advocates, was confessed to be contrary to the rights of human nature, and the laws of God? He conjured the House in an exigency like the present, not to insult the forbearance of Heaven, and practically disclaim every hope of the divine favour. Debate on Mr. William Smith's Resolutions respecting the Loan.] On the 15th of December 1795, Mr. William Smith moved, "That a Committee be appointed to inquire into the circumstances of the Negotiation of the late Loan." Mr. Pitt agreed to the Motion, and thanked the hon. gentleman for bringing it forward. Mr. Smith next moved, "That the said committee be a committee of the whole House." To this Mr. Pitt objected, because it would occasion a total interruption of public business. He was willing that it should be an open committee, and that all should have Voices who at tended it. Mr. Sheridan disapproved of any other committee than a committee of the whole House, because it would defeat inquiry. If they were sent to scramble up stairs, a few gentlemen in the confidence of the minister might attend, though others would not; and thus they would have a partial report. The House divided: Yeas, 19; Noes, 56. It was then February 9, 1796. Mr. William Smith made the following Report: "The SELECT COMMITTEE, appointed to inquire into the Circumstances of the Negotiation of the late LOAN; and who were impowered to report the Evidence, as it should appear to them, to the House; "Have proceeded to inquire into the matter to them referred; and have determined to report the Evidence in the form in which it has been taken, except, that they have forborne to insert in their report the lists of the persons among whom the contractors or subscribers appear to have distributed portions of their respective shares of the Loan; because it has been represented that the disclosure of the names in those lists may,in some instances, be prejudicial to the mercantile interests of the parties; and because, on inspection of the lists, as well as from the examination of the parties, your committee see no ground to suppose, that any interference took place on the part of any persons connected with government in the distribution of any part of the Loan." [Here follows the voluminous body of Evidence taken before the said committee, a copy of which will be found in the Commons Journals, Vol. 51, pp. 310-360]. Feb. 22. The said Report being again read, Mr. William Smith said, that before he came to the immediate discussion of the loan, he begged leave to offer a word or two upon the Report, which, as the House would see, was pretty voluminous, owing to the repetition of similar questions and answers relative to persons upon the list of subscribers. It might appear extraordinary to those who had formerly remarked, that he completely exonerated the chancellor of the exchequer from any charge of personal corruption, that he should enter into that examination; but to remove every kind of pejudice on that score, he assured the House that that examination right hon. gentleman that no other public loan for this country should be made until the period fixed for the last payment of the preceding loan should have elapsed. Now, Mr. Boyd asserted in his letter, that which litigious people sometimes avail themselves, for the mere purpose of giving trouble; it was a right which was founded on justice and the nature of things, recognized by constant practice and public opinion, and which he could not relinquish without evident loss," That this might appear perfectly clear, at that moment still floating in the market the value of five millions of money in scrip, which remained to be converted into stock." Now, Mr. Smith said, he could show as many mistakes, in point of confusion in these passages, as there were misstatements in point of fact, notwith was not instituted by him, but by another the 23rd of November. On the 23rd of hon. gentleman then present. There was November, however, the open competione view in which he considered the busi-tion was announced, when Mr. Boyd beness, which would prevent him from fixing gan to be alarmed: and on the 24th he any such charge on ministers. Had it been had an interview, when he stated his claim necessary for them to have had recourse more particularly, and afterwards put it to corruption, with the power in their down in writing. The validity of the hands, they would not have acted so clum-claim was founded on a promise of the sily, as to have made the negotiation of a loan the instrument of their venality. They would not have had recourse to means that would subject them to exposure, when they had an establishment, whose gigantic influence surpassed all for-" this was not one of those rights of mer example. With respect to the loan, nothing was more distant from his mind than to accuse ministers of corruption. But where there were such enormous profits on a loan, it mustbe admitted, that those who were favoured would be apt to support and abet a war, from the profits of which they derived such enormous advantages. This he begged to be consi-" he begged leave to state that there was dered as a general observation, as he did not wish to cast the slightest imputation on any of the contributors to the loan, among whom there were several who were incapable of being influenced by any mean or sordid motive. He mentioned however, as a most extraordinary coincidence, that among those per-standing the palpable care and pains sons who signed the requisition for the bestowed in writing it. In the first place, meeting at Grocers'-hall, and addressed it was an extraordinary assertion of the the House in favour of the Treason and contractor to say, that his claim was a Sedition bills, a sum of not less than right founded in justice and the nature of 800,000l. was divided, from which they things, and recognized by constant pracderived a profit of not less than 90,000l. tice and public opinion. Could Mr. To enter into the negotiation itself, every Boyd imagine the right hon. gentleman'so one agreed with the right hon. gentleman, ignorant of the practice of bargaining for that a fair and open competition ought loans, after having been so long in the haalways to be encouraged. Now it would bit of it? But in order to show this was appear, from the testimony of every per- the case, the contractor asserted, that son in the report, that in last autumn, a there was at that moment still floating in competition was invariably persisted in the market the value of five millions of notwithstanding some allusions to a claim money in scrip, which remained to be of preference addressed by Mr. Boyd to converted into stock. Now, not to say the right hon. gentleman in the month of that not one syllable of this was true, it October, and that an open competition was the most extraordinary claim he ever was formally announced in November by heard of, as would appear by the whole of the governor of the bank. After this, it Mr. Boyd's evidence. He then recapituwould be natural to inquire how and why lated the state of the market on the 24th it was abandoned. It appeared to have November, to show that instead of five been abandoned on the ground of a claim millions of scrip of the preceding loan made by Boyd and Co. upon the right of remaining, there was not more than preference, and although this right had 2,300,000. upon which the greatest loss been claimed in a short conversation be- would have been 445,7181., the whole of tween Mr. Boyd and the right hon. gen-which, he contended, ought to have been gentleman in October, the right hon. gen- given up rather than enter into a negotiatleman was then determined to admit no tion, which has been of greater loss to claim whatever. Thus it rested till after the public.-He observed that Mr. Boyd maintained a separate right from the other contributors, which he was not able to prove in any part of his evidence, and the only grounds on which he claimed it were, the risk, trouble, and duty of the original contractors. He was at a loss to find what the duty of the original contractor was, unless it was to see that the minister fulfilled his contract; and with respect to the trouble, the only trouble he knew was the selection of such of his friends, upon whom he meant to confer the favour of putting their names down to his list of subscribers, and accepting or rejecting the solicitations of other people. He found no trouble in providing this loan of eighteen millions, for the whole capital was not sufficient to meet the numerous solicitations of his friends to shower down his benefits upon them. He had the trouble, to be sure, of waiting upon the chancellor of the exchequer: but he supposed he did not think much of that, since he thereby had the power to choose how much of the contract he would keep himself, and how much he would divide among his friends, according to the advantages that were likely to arise from the bargain. As to the risk, there was only risk in one point, namely, that if the loan fell below 10 per cent. discount, the contractors would be obliged to fulfil their engagement when the contributors would be released if they had made the first payment; for Mr. Giles, the deputy-governor of the bank, being asked, Is not all risk to the contractors from the subscribers at an end when that deposit has been paid?" replied, "Certainly not, for if the loan was to fall under 10 per cent., which is generally the amount of the first payment, the contractors would undoubtedly be responsible to the public." He had known it fall 6 per cent., but the risk was then not worth mentioning. And here, if, by any unforeseen accident, the loan should fall to such an enormous discount as would ruin the contractor and his friends, could it be imagined that the country would insist on the bargain? Certainly not. If it did, they would not be able to pay, neither if they could, was it a clear point that they could be obliged. Such was the superstructure on which Mr. Boyd built his claims to a right of preference. He next came to the negotiation of a loan. The negotiation of a loan threw down the price of the existing funds, as soon as it was talked of. Mr. Boyd himself said, that the first payment of a new loan was commonly more than was necessary; while Mr. Giles and Mr. Mellish were both of opinion, that the knowledge that a loan to any given extent was coming into the market, affected the price of the existing funds.He desired the House to compare, in what manner the holders of scrip were affected upon the negotiation of a new loan before the last payment of the old loan, as it applied to the answer given by Mr. Boyd. In 1794, when the chancellor of the exchequer bargained for a new loan with Mr. Boyd, he bargained for it a month previous to the last payment of Messrs. Morgan and Angerstein, who were the contractors for the preceding loan, and in December 1794, the funds were materially affected by the first payment of the new loan. Did Mr. Boyd then think such a conduct improper, and contrary to justice, to constant practice, and public opinion? Certainly not. Did the chancellor of the exchequer think it improper? Certainly not. But how contrary was the conduct of the contractors at that period to that of Mr. Boyd on the present occasion! They felt no alarm, nor did they make any objection to it; and the reason was, because they considered their loan as wound up. In the present instance we must recollect also that three parties met as competitors, and consequently the value of the existing funds must have been more depressed than if there had been but one contractor. No person would presume to deny this, nor was there any immediate pressure for the first payment; for although the terms were concluded upon the 25th of November, the subscribers were not called upon to make good their first payment till the 10th of December following; near a fortnight therefore intervened. It might be alleged that the public service wanted money; but it was evident from this that it did not press for it immediately: and thence another consideration was to be deduced-it was always customary to bargain for a loan only two or three days before the opening of the budget, and it had often happened that an interview did not take place between the chancellor of the exchequer and the contractors till the very day before that on which the budget was to open, and it had been usually the practice to require the first payment in two, three, or four days after at the farthest. Now, what was the longest period for the minister to have waited before he had it in his power to bargain for a new | advantages to the public might have been loan, conformably with his former engage improved. He next touched upon the ment? The utmost period would have bills antedated from Hamburgh, but been till the 15th of January: or if he had drawn upon unstamped paper in London been urgent for money, he might have on the treasury, by Mr. Boyd, jun. What come to parliament, and obtained a vote degree of preference might arise from this of credit. Suppose it could not have accommodation, it was not for him to debeen done by a vote of credit, it might by termine. Mr. Boyd had positively denied a short loan of two or three millions. that he formed any claim to the present loan, from the accommodation he had given to government in that instance. Other gentlemen, however, who were examined as to that particular, admitted that at least in that transaction, there was nothing likely to preclude or weaken Mr. Boyd's claims. Mr. Smith then proceeded to examine the mode of concluding the bargain between the minister and Mr. Boyd. From its privacy, it was of all others the most suspicious. It involved a responsibility, which no minister, except for particular reasons, could wish to undertake; since he subjected himself to the imputation of having acted unfairly for the public, if he granted too favourable terms to the contractor; or ungenerously to the contractor if he took any undue advantage for the public at his expense. The goodness of the terms became the next subject of consideration. Now he acknowledged that the terms were to be relatively viewed. It would often happen that the terms of a loan would be good at one time for the contractor, and at another for the public; but we had authority that the terms were fair for both, when the bonus was a little under or a little over 4 per cent. The terms when the last loan came out were 74 premium, It was at six before the opening of the budget, at 5 at the first negotiation, and immediately after it rose to 6. Mr. Boyd himself stated the bonus to be 61. 15s. 9d. per cent., and therefore it was not surprising that he should call it a bad bargain for the public, when the calculator made it so much above the usual rate. In every way he estimated the public loss at a very considerable sum; for by the bringing down of the king's message on the day after the opening of the budget, the right hon. gentleman caused an advance of profit upon the loan of 900,000l. Whether the purport of that message was foreseen on the 25th of November he could not tell, but he blamed the right hon. gentleman, because he had no occasion to have settled the terms of the loan before the 5th of December, and on that day he might possibly have ascertained whether such a message would have been brought down or not; for Mr. Smith knew to a certainty that on Monday the 7th, when the budget was opened a person in a public coffeehouse informed the company that a mes sage would be sent down to the House that day, containing his majesty's recognition of the French republic; and when he was afterwards informed that no such circumstance had happened, he seemed surprised, and attributed it to some odd "Multosque per annos, accident. The next day, however, ve- "Multa virum volvens durando secula vincit." rified his declaration. If, therefore, the Mr. Smith next remarked upon the bad circumstance of the message was so pub- effect of loans, such as the present, on a lic, it must evidently have been for some commercial country. They held out the days before in the contemplation of mi- hope of sudden and immense gains; they nisters. He did not make any imputa-induced men to forsake the sober tract of tions of corruption, but he thought the slowly productive industry for the more [VOL. XXXII.] [3 D] Having gone through the detail of facts, he proceeded to draw one or two general conclusions. When he considered the amount of the late loans, the liquidation of the public debt appeared to be practically impossible. We had lately added to the mass no less a sum than forty-eight millions. If such had been the effect of so short a period of war, when we considered how much Europe had been engaged in wars since the beginning of this century, and how little prospect there was that they would in future be discontinued, any prospect of the liquidation of the immense load of public debt must appear to be altogether impracticable, or at least to be removed to an indefinite period. The expense of one year's warfare had completely undone the effect of twelve years of peace. Under such united disadvantages, he feared it might be said of the national debt with the most literal accuracy, |