injured the
constitutions of our sailors, debased their morals. Of this, indeed,
there was a barbarous illustration in the evidence. A slave-ship had
struck on some shoals, called the Morant Keys, a few leagues from the
east end of Jamaica. The crew landed in their boats, with arms and
provisions, leaving the slaves on board in their irons. This happened in
the night. When morning came, it was discovered that the Negroes had
broken their shackles, and were busy in making rafts; upon which
afterwards they placed the women and children. The men attended upon the
latter, swimming by their side, whilst they drifted to the island where
the crew were. But what was the sequel? From an apprehension that the
Negroes would consume the water and provisions, which had been landed,
the crew resolved to destroy them as they approached the shore. They
killed between three and four hundred. Out of the whole cargo only
thirty-three were saved, who, on being brought to Kingston, were sold.
It would, however, be to no purpose, he said, to relieve the Slave Trade
from this act of barbarity. The story of the Morant Keys was paralleled
by that of Captain Collingwood; and were you to get rid of these,
another, and another, would still present itself, to prove the barbarous
effects of this trade on the moral character.

But of the miseries of the trade there was no end. Whilst he had been
reading out of the evidence the story of the Morant Keys, his eye had
but glanced on the opposite page, and it met another circumstance of
horror. This related to what were called the refuse-slaves. Many people
in Kingston were accustomed to speculate in the purchase of those, who
were left after the first day's sale. They then carried them out into
the country, and retailed them. Mr. Ross declared, that he had seen
these landed in a very wretched state, sometimes in the agonies of
death, and sold as low as for a dollar, and that he had known several
expire in the piazzas of the vendue-master. The bare description
superseded the necessity of any remark. Yet these were the familiar
incidents of the Slave Trade.

But he would go back to the seamen. He would mention another cause of
mortality, by which many of them lost their lives. In looking over
Lloyd's list, no less than six vessels were cut off by the irritated
natives in one year, and the crews massacred. Such instances were not
unfrequent. In short, the history of this commerce was written
throughout i