lly on account of
the saltpetre, which it furnished for making gunpowder. Out of nearly three
millions of pounds in weight of the latter article, which had been exported
in a year from this country, one half had been sent to Africa alone; for
the purposes, doubtless, of maintaining peace, and encouraging civilization
among its various tribes! Four or five thousand persons were said also to
depend for their bread in manufacturing guns for the African trade; and
these, it was pretended, could not make guns of another sort.--But where
lay the difficulty?--One of the witnesses had unravelled it. He had seen
the Negros maimed by the bursting of these guns. They killed more from the
butt than from the muzzle. Another had stated, that on the sea-coast the
natives were afraid to fire a trade-gun.

In the West Indian commerce two hundred and forty thousand tons of shipping
were stated to be employed. But here deception intruded itself again. This
statement included every vessel, great and small, which went from the
British West Indies to America, and to the foreign islands; and, what was
yet more unfair, all the repeated voyages of each throughout the year. The
shipping, which could only fairly be brought into this account, did but
just exceed half that which had been mentioned.

In a similar manner had the islands themselves been overrated. Their value
had been computed, for the information of the privy council, at thirty-six
millions; but the planters had estimated them at seventy. The truth,
however, might possibly lie between these extremes. He by no means wished
to depreciate their importance; but he did not like that such palpable
misrepresentations should go unnoticed.

An honourable member (Colonel Tarleton) had disclaimed every attempt to
interest the feelings of those present, but had desired to call them to
reason and accounts. He also desired (though it was a question of feeling,
if any one ever was,) to draw the attention of the committee to reason and
accounts--to the voice of reason instead of that of prejudice, and to
accounts in the place of idle apprehensions. The result, he doubted not,
would be a full persuasion, that policy and justice were inseparable upon
this, as upon every other occasion.

The same gentleman had enlarged on the injustice of depriving the Liverpool
merchants of a business, on which were founded their honour and their
fortunes. On what part of it they founded their honour he could not
c