didly told me, that when the island was taken by the Spaniards, his ancestors would not furrender themselves, but refolved to be free, or perish; and held out so long in the woods, that having killed several of the English, and tired the rest, a treaty of peace was concluded upon; since which time they have been loyal subjects. Different parties of them traverse the island, and go armed; they take up runaway negroes and bring them to their masters, for every one of which they are paid at a certain rate per mile.

When king Cudjo dies, his eldest fon or Captain Davy fucceeds him. - He had on a red coat, red breeches, a gold-laced hat, shoes, and no stockings; his wife had nothing on but an Oznabrig frock.

Some writers, in support of the African iniquitous trade, have endeavoured to perfuade that vast numbers of the negroes imported from that coaft partake of the brute creation; under the pretext that the species of the Oran-outang, or wild man of the woods, frequently copulate with the women. And to confirm this, says a very ludicrous writer, "Not long fince a cargo of them arrived in Jamaica, whose hands had little or no balls to the thumb, and whose nails were more of the claw kind than otherwise." This is a most abfurd affertion-a notorious falsehood: for I. have seen thousands and tens of thousands of both Africans and Creole negroes, not one of whom came under this denomination; nor was there

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the smallest analogy between them and such mon sters. The same writer again observes very wantonly, "In this cafe the colonists in the West Indies are instrumental in humanizing the descendants of the offspring of even brutes." I say that the colonies in the West Indies, for the fake of two luxuries which all the world might well dispense without, which are sugar and rum, I fay, that for the sake of these and some other trifling articles of commerce, they are instrumental in murdering about fifty thousand human beings yearly, "God's own images, though cut on ebony." This is very obvious from the numbers imported into the West Indies; for if slaves were treated well, there would be an increase instead of a decrease; nor would there be any encouragement at all for the African trade: this has been confirmed by some few humane masters who refided on their estates. It is supposed that about one hundred thousand flaves ate yearly exported from Africa; several of these poor wretches, when they get fickly on the Guinea coast, are thrown over-board alive to save insurance; and from their being stowed so close together, about fixteen thousand are computed to die during their voyage; about thirty thousand more die in the seasoning, and the rest wither out their existance, as I shall hereafter mention.

But to return to my subject: I will admit, with Brooks's Natural History, that there are vast numbers and various kinds of baboons refem

bling bling men in Africa, that they at times attack and defeat armed men, that they are lafcivious and fond of women, and that it may sometimes happen when an odd one of the latter gets astray in the woods, that she may be overpowered and debauched by those satyrs; but I am well convinced from good authority, and my own-knowledge of the black sex, that they have the greatest aversion to them; hence I conceive it novel of those who strive to perfuade that conceptions so frequent take place from embraces of this kind, even admitting the organs of generation in the human and brute creation to be the fame, which cannot be; for though there may be some fimilitudes, those who have studied the secrets of nature, point out vast difference; besides, it is well known that blacks are in stature as tall and comely as whites, and as exquifitely formed in every respect; and though some may be more deformed than others, it is cruel and illiberal to infinuate the least suggestion of their partaking of the brute creation. How many white deformed, stupid, ignorant, indolent, lazy, idle savages, baboons and fatyrs in human form, are there in Great Britain and Ireland? who, in my humble opinion, are as justly entitled to be dragged from their parents and friends, from bogs, heath and furs, shipped off, and doomed to eternal flavery, as the unhappy sons and daughters of Africa.

Others think themselves justified in countenancing this abominable trade in human blood, because

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because slavery is mentioned in several parts • of the Old Testament: by the laws of Moses the Ifraelites purchased slaves from the heathens, they bartered and fold each others prifoners of war as they now do in Africa. Were we to practice the barbarities practised in days of yore, instead of poor blacks our fslaves now would be French, Spaniards, Dutch, and Americans; it is those chriftians would be obliged to handle hoes, bills, and axes, and to cultivate our colonies, and in retaliation their colonies would be cultivated by Britons; or were we to act like Joseph's treacherous brethren, when a brother our flesh and blood offended us, we would tumble him into a pit or well, or fell him to any remorseless stranger; or were we to imitate our first father and mother, instead of gaudy drefs, breeches and petticoats, we should wear only the leaves of trees to hide our nakedness, and would be in the fame innocent state as blacks were before they were corrupted by our first christian vifitors to their coafts; for they were as harmless as lambs till christians, like serpents, beguiled them; when versed in their damnable deceptious stratagems, avarice, pride, and cruelty induced them to form themselves into petty kings, and then encouraged by christians to war with each other, by whom they are supplied with instruments of death, and spirituous liquors to inflame and fet them mad, to kill and kidnap, and fell each other, for these and fome paulty trinkets.

There

There is not a word of flavery mentioned in the gospel; no, we are therein commanded to live in brotherly love, and to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us. It is no way strange to me that foreign nations/carry on this trade without feeling or remorse, when the people themselves are in a manner slaves in their despotic governments to tyrants; but that Britons, throughout whose laws the very spirit of liberty is infused, should mingle in the horrid commerce, is a matter of no small amazement. Is it because the unhappy lot of a negroe is to be born in a country to which the polite arts and sciences have not yet extended, that he and his pofterity should be doomed to perpetual bondage? or is it because the excessive heat of the climate turned his skin dark, that he should be bought and fold like an ox or a horse, and not treated so well?-these are weak apologies for the Slave Trade; for Britons once bore the name of savages, and enslaved and fold each other; and as itpleased God, out of his great goodness, to enlighten them, they should have compassion for their black fellow creatures; and instead of taking advantage of their weakness, and torturing them, they should exert every means to bring them from their state of darkness and barbarism to light and understanding. Experience teaches us that in process of time our defcendants, if they went naked in hot climates, would change their colour; this is evidently evinced by even those who

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