ived an education as if to become qualified to
unite with others, in the year 1787, for this important object, must have
appeared from the history of his labours, as detailed in several of the
preceding pages. The same may be said of Mr. Ramsay; for it has already
appeared that he lived in the island of St. Christopher, where he made his
observations, and studied the laws, relative to the treatment of slaves,
for nineteen years.

That Granville Sharp acted on grounds distinct from those in any of the
other classes is certain. For he knew nothing at this time either of the
Quakers in England or of those in America, any more than that they existed
by name. Had it not been for the case of Jonathan Strong, he might never
have attached himself to the cause. A similar account may be given of Mr.
Ramsay; for, if it had not been for what he had seen in the island of St.
Christopher, he had never embarked in it. It was from scenes, which he had
witnessed there, that he began to feel on the subject. These feelings he
communicated to others on his return to England, and these urged him into
action.

With respect to the second class, the reader will recollect that it
consisted of the Quakers in England: first, of George Fox; then of the
Quakers as a body; then of individuals belonging to that body, who formed
themselves into a commitee, independently of it, for the promotion of the
object in question. This commitee, it may be remembered, consisted of six
persons, of whom one was William Dillwyn.

That William Dillwyn became fitted for the station, which he was afterwards
to take, will be seen shortly. He was born in America, and was a pupil of
the venerable Benezet, who took pains very early to interest his feelings
on this great subject. Benezet employed him occasionally, I mean in a
friendly manner, as his amanuensis, to copy his manuscripts for
publication, as well as several of his letters written in behalf of the
cause. This gave his scholar an insight into the subject, who, living
besides in the land where both the Slave-trade and slavery were
established, obtained an additional knowledge of them, so as to be able to
refute many of those objections, to which others for want of local
observation could never have replied.

In the year 1772 Anthony Benezet introduced William Dillwyn by letter to
several of the principal people of Carolina, with whom he had himself
before corresponded on the sufferings of the poor Africans, an