spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."

Here then, on this august eminence, he hoped we should build the Temple of
Benevolence; that we should lay its foundation deep in Truth and Justice;
and that we should inscribe upon its gates, "Peace and Goodwill to Men."
Here we should offer the first-fruits of our benevolence, and endeavour to
compensate, if possible, for the injuries we had brought upon our
fellow-men.

He would only now observe, that his conviction of the indispensable
necessity of immediately abolishing this trade remained as strong as ever.
Let those who talked of allowing three or four years to the continuance of
it, reflect on the disgraceful scenes which had passed last year. As for
himself, he would wash his hands of the blood which would be spilled in
this horrid interval. He could not, however, but believe, that the hour was
come, when we should put a final period to the existence of this cruel
traffic. Should he unhappily be mistaken, he would never desert the cause;
but to the last moment of his life he would exert his utmost powers in its
support. He would now move, "That it is the opinion of this committee, that
the trade carried on by British subjects for the purpose of obtaining
slaves on the coast of Africa, ought to be abolished."

Mr. Baillie was in hopes that the friends of the abolition would have been
contented with the innocent blood which had been already shed. The great
island of St. Domingo had been torn to pieces by insurrections. The most
dreadful barbarities had been perpetrated there. In the year 1789 the
imports into it exceeded five millions sterling. The exports from it in the
same year amounted to six millions; and the trade employed three hundred
thousand tons of shipping, and thirty thousand seamen. This fine island,
thus advantageously situated, had been lost in consequence of the agitation
of the question or the Slave-trade. Surely so much mischief ought to have
satisfied those who supported it; but they required the total destruction
of all the West Indian colonies, belonging to Great Britain, to complete
the ruin.

The honourable gentleman, who had just spoken, had dwelt, upon the
enormities of the Slave-trade. He was far from denying, that many acts of
inhumanity might accompany it; but as human nature was much the same every
where, it would be unreasonable to expect among African traders, or the
inhabitants of our islands, a degree of perfection in morals, w