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reflect on his words ; lie had revolved y them over and over again in his « aind , but he could not prevail on himself to retract them 5 because the more he considered the subject in discussion , the more did he believe that if , after reading all the evidence on the table , and attending to the debates any gentleman could continue to oppose the abolition of the slave trade , and could thus avow himself , after a full knowledge of the subject , an abettor of this shameful traffic in
human flesh , it could only be from some hardness of heart , or some such difficulty of understanding as he really knew not how to account for . , 34 . Instances of Cruelty to Slaves ( April 19 , 178 U )
Mr . Fox then proceeded to the situation of the slaves , when brought to the West Indies . It had been said , indeed , that they were taken from a worse state to a better . The House , he knew , could not wish to hear
recitals of crueltv , nor did he like to dwell upon them . It was their duty , however , in the present case , to open their ears to them , and the House , exclaimed Mr . Fox , shall hear them
An honurable gentleman before him had quoted some instances , and he would now quote two more . The first was iu a French island ; but was declared by witnesses of unimpeachable credit . A slave , under hard
usage , urged by . the first impulse of nature , had run away and attempted to get his liberty . To prevent his repeating the offence , the planner-sent for his . surgeon , and said to him , " Cut off this man ' s leg / 1 The
snrgecn , who had more humanity than Siis master , refused . " You refuse , ' said the planter , " then whafc you decline as an act of friendship to me , I will compel you to do as an act of duty . " Upon this , the planter broke the poor man ' s leg . " There now , ' ' said he to the surgeon , " you must
cut otf his leg , or the man will die . " We might console ourselves , perhaps , that this was in a French island , but in the English there was no great difference j and the next instance he should state was in an island of our owij . A gentleman ( Mr . Ross , as appeared in evidence , ) while he was walking along , heard the shrieks of a female , issuing from a barn or outhouse 5 and a , s tjiey were much too
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violent to-be excited by any ordinary punishment , he was prompted to < tO near , and see what could be the matter . On looking in , he perceived a young female , tied tip to a beam by her wrists , entirely naked , and in the
act of involuntarily writhing and swinging , while the author of her torture was standing below her , with alighted torch in his hand , which he applied to all the parts of her body
ss it approached him . What crime this miserable wretch had perpetrated he knew not ; but that wns of little consequence , as the human mind could not conceive a crime , in any degree , warranting such a punishment .
S& . Emancipation of the Negroes . ( April 19 , 1791 . ) With regard to the emancipation of the Negroes already in slavery , his own doubts of the efficacy of an act of the British legislature for this purpose was a reason for not entering into it . He himself did not think
such a measure could be suddenly ventured upon ; and though every man had a ri <> ht to freedom , vet it should be observed , that men inured to slavery all their lives felt certainly less degraded by it than those who were born to independence . It
might be dangerous to give freedom at once to a man used to slavery , on the same ground as , in the case of a man who had never seen day-light , there might be danger of blinding him , if you you were to expose him all at once to the glare of the sun .
36 . African Minds on a level with European . ( April 19 , 1791 •) Mr . Fox condemned the arrogance of the notion , that all the inhabitants of Africa had minds inferior to ourselves . How did we know that such
was the case ? Why might there not be men in Africa , of as fine feelings as ourselves , of as enlarged understanding's , and as manly in their minds as any of us ? He then mentioned the case of an African captain , who heard in the nii / ht some violent
groan ings , which had caused a disturbance in his ship . There was among his slaves one person of considerable consequence , a mail once high in military station , with a mind not insensible to the eminence of his rank , who having been taken captive in battle , was sold to the slave ships ,
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Hf 6 Charles James Fox .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1815, page 676, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1766/page/12/
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