to take from
us the means of procuring them! He was sure, from the
unsuitableness of the motion to the business now before the
house, and the want of time to consider it, the gentleman's
candor would induce him to withdraw it. Should it ever be
brought forward again, he hoped it would comprehend the
white slaves as well as the black, imported from all the
jails of Europe; wretches convicted of the most flagrant
crimes, who were brought in and sold without any duty
whatever. They ought to be taxed equally with Africans, and
he had no doubt of the equal constitutionality and propriety
of such a course."

Mr. Parker of Virginia obtained the floor again, and proceeded to
reply to the remarks offered upon his amendment by Sherman, Jackson,
and Smith. He declared,--

"That, having introduced the motion on mature reflection, he
did not like to withdraw it. The gentleman from Connecticut
had said that human beings ought not to be enumerated with
goods, wares, and merchandise. Yet he believed they were
looked upon by African traders in that light. He hoped
Congress would do all in their power to restore to human
nature its inherent privileges; to wipe off, if possible,
the stigma under which America labored; to do away with the
inconsistence in our principles justly charged upon us; and
to show, by our actions, the pure beneficence of the
doctrine held out to the world in our Declaration of
Independence."

Mr. Ames of Massachusetts

"Detested slavery from his soul; but he had some doubts
whether imposing a duty on their importation would not have
an appearance of countenancing the practice."

Mr. Madison made an eloquent speech in support of Mr. Parker's
amendment. He said,--

"The confounding men with merchandise might be easily
avoided by altering the title of the bill; it was, in fact,
the very object of the motion to prevent men, so far as the
power of Congress extended, from being confounded with
merchandise. The clause in the Constitution allowing a tax
to be imposed, though the traffic could not be prohibited
for twenty years, was inserted, he believed, for the very
purpose of enabling Congress to give some testimony of the
sense of America with respect to the African trade. By
expressing a national disapprobation of that trade, it i