idah,
many came from thence, who were reduced to slavery in a different manner.
The king of Dahomey, whose life (with the wars and customs of the Dahomans)
he said he was then writing, and who was a very despotic prince, made no
scruple of seizing his own subjects, and of selling them, if he was in want
of any of the articles which the slave-vessels would afford him. The
history of this prince's life he lent me afterwards to read, while it was
yet in manuscript, in which I observed that he had recorded all the facts
now mentioned. Indeed he made no hesitation to state them, either when we
were by ourselves, or when others were in company with us. He repeated them
at one time in the presence both of Mr. Cruden and of Mr. Coupland. The
latter was then a slave-merchant at Liverpool. He seemed to be fired at the
relation of these circumstances. Unable to restrain himself longer, he
entered into a defence of the trade, both as to the humanity and the policy
of it. But Mr. Norris took up his arguments in both these cases, and
answered them in a solid manner.

With respect to the Slave-trade, as it affected the health of our seamen,
Mr. Norris admitted it to be destructive. But I did not stand in need of
this information, as I knew this pare of the subject, in consequence of my
familiarity with the muster-rolls, better than himself.

He admitted it also to be true, that they were too frequently ill-treated
in this trade. A day or two after our conversation on this latter subject
he brought me the manuscript journal of a voyage to Africa, which had been
kept by a mate, with whom he was then acquainted. He brought it to me to
read, as it might throw some light upon the subject on which we had talked
last. In this manuscript various instances of cruel usage towards seamen
were put down, from which it appeared that the mate, who wrote it, had not
escaped himself.

At the last interview we had he seemed to be so satisfied of the
inhumanity, injustice, and impolicy of the trade, that he made me a
voluntary offer of certain clauses, which he had been thinking of, and
which, he believed, if put into an act of parliament, would judiciously
effect its abolition. The offer of these clauses I embraced eagerly. He
dictated them, and I wrote. I wrote them in a small book which I had then
in pocket. They were these:

No vessel under a heavy penalty to supply foreigners with slaves.

Every vessel to pay to government a tax for a register