warrant, to the Poultry Compter, where he was sold by his master to John Kerr for thirty pounds.

*

"Strong, in this situation, sent, as was usual, to his godfathers, John London and Stephen Nail, for their protection. They went, but were refused admittance to him. At length he sent for Mr. Granville Sharp. The latter went, but they still refused access to the prisoner. He insisted, however, upon seeing him, and charged the keeper of the prison at his peril to deliver him up till he had been carried before a magistrate

own members, failed to make any of his maintenance might be avoidextensive impression on the nation. ed. In this miserable condition he This, however, was accomplished applied to Mr. William Sharp, a by the labours of Mr. Granville surgeon, for advice, under whose Sharp, one of those enlightened benevolent and skilful care he was philanthropists, who break the con restored to health. During his retinuity of human selfishness and covery, Mr. Granville Sharp, a brocrime, and attach a character of dis- ther of the surgeon, supplied him tinguished honour to the and afterwards proin with age money, which they live. cured him a situation. Here his In the early part of the 18th cen- master happened to see him, and tury the planters and merchants determined on repossessing him. were accustomed to bring slaves For this purpose he caused him to from the colonies in the capacity of be seized by some of the city offiservants, and subsequently to re-cers, who conveyed him, without turn them at their pleasure to the West Indies. A notion became extensively prevalent amongst this class, that the English law did not sanction their masters in returning them to bondage, if they had submitted during their residence in England to the Christian rite of baptism. They consequently solicited, with much importunity, the performance of this rite, and then absconded. This state of things involved the planters and merchants in much perplexity, and induced them, in 1729, to solicit the opinion of York and Talbot, the Attorney and Solicitor General. This opinion was unfavourable to the negroes, and they were, in consequence, seized and openly forced on board the vessels which were destined to convey them to the land of slavery. Public feeling was thus outraged, and the means of deliverance for the oppressed unexpectedly prepared. Mr. Sharp took an active part in the struggles of that period. He first appeared before the public as the friend of the African in the case of Jonathan Strong, who was brought to England in

1765.

"Mr. Sharp, immediately upon this, waited

upon Sir Robert Kite, the then lord-mayor, and entreated him to send for Strong, and to hear his case. A day was accordingly appointed. Mr. Sharp attended, and also William M'Bean, a notary-public, and David Laird, captain of the ship Thames, which was to have conveyed Strong to Jamaica, in behalf of the purchaser, John Kerr. A long York and Talbot was quoted. Mr. Sharp conversation ensued, in which the opinion of made his observations. Certain lawyers, who were present, seemed to be staggered at the case, but inclined rather to recommit the prisoner.

The lord-mayor, however, discharged Strong, as he had been taken up without a warrant.

"As soon as this determination was made

known, the parties began to move off. Captain Laird, however, who kept close to Strong, laid hold of him before he had quitted the room, and said aloud, Then I now seize him as my slave.' Upon this, Mr. Sharp put his hand upon Laird's shoulder, and pronounced these words: I charge you, in the name of the king, with an assault upon the person of Jonathan Strong, and all these

This slave, having been barbarously used by his master, Mr. David Lisle, became so emaciated by ague, fever, and lameness, as to be utterly useless, and was consequently permitted to go whither he pleased in order that the expense p.69.

* Clarkson's History of the Abolition, vol.i.

are my witnesses.' Laird was greatly intimidated by this charge, made in the presence of the lord-mayor and others, and fearing a prosecution, let his prisoner go, leaving him to be conveyed away by Mr. Sharp."*

Several other cases of a similar nature subsequently occurred, in all of which Mr. S. took a prominent part. But the legal question was yet unsettled: no broad principle to which the future protection of the African might be entrusted, had been admitted, and it was, therefore, determined, in the case of James Somerset, to try the general question, "Whether a slave, by coming into England, became free." In order that the law might be fully ascertained the case was argued at three different sittings, in 1772, and the pleadings submitted to the opinion of the judges. The result of the trial is well known. To the honour of the British constitution it was declared-That as soon as ever any slave set his foot on English territory, he became free. This was an important and influential step. It contained the germ of subsequent measures, and gave promise to outraged humanity of more complete vindication.

sickly; that 60 of them had already died, and several were ill and likely to die, when the captain proposed to James Kelsall, the mate, and others, to throw several of them overboard, stating that if they died a natural death, the loss would fall upon the thrown into the sea, it would fall upon the owners of the ship, but that, if they were underwriters.' He selected accordingly 132 of the most sickly of the slaves. Fifty-four of these were immediately thrown overboard, and 42 were made to be partakers of their fate on the succeeding day. In the course of three days afterwards the remaining 26 were brought upon deck to complete the number of victims. The first 16 submitted to be thrown into the sea; but the rest, with a noble resolution, would not suffer the officers to touch them, but leaped after their companions and shared their fate.

upon

this atrocious and unparalleled act of wicked“The plea, which was set up in behalf o ness, was, that the captain discovered, when he made the proposal, that he had only 200 gallons of water on board, and that he had missed his port. It was proved, however, in answer to this, that no one had been put short allowance; and that, as if Providence had determined to afford an unequivocal proof of the guilt, a shower of rain fell and continued for three days immediately after the second lot of slaves had been destroyed, by means of which they might have filled many of their vessels with water and thus have prevented all necessity for the destruction of the third.

"Mr. Sharp was present at this trial, and From this period public attention procured the attendance of a short-handwas increasingly drawn to the ques-writer to take down the facts, which should These he tion. It became the topic of gene- come out in the course of it. He commural conversation. Its nature was gave to the public afterwards. nicated them also, with a copy of the trial, inquired into, and a conviction per- to the Lords of the Admiralty, as the guarpetually deepening of its inhuman dians of justice upon the seas, and to the and diabolical character, was ob- Duke of Portland, as principal minister of tained. The public abhorrence was state. No notice however was taken by any greatly strengthened by a circum- of these, of the information which had been stance which occurred in 1783.

"In this year, certain underwriters desired to be heard against Gregson and others of Liverpool, in the case of the ship Zong, captain Collingwood, alleging that the captain and officers of the said vessel threw

overboard 132 slaves alive into the sea, in order to defraud them, by claiming the value of the said slaves, as if they bad been lost in a natural way. In the course of the trial, which afterwards came on, it appeared, that the slaves on board the Zong were very

Clarkson's History of the Abolition, p.95.

thus sent them.

"But though nothing was done by the persons then in power, in consequence of the murder of so many innocent individuals, yet the publication of an account of it by Mr. Sharp in the newspapers, made such an impression upon others, that new coadjntors rose up."

Two years after this, 1785, Mr. Thomas Clarkson was led to direct his attention to the subject, and the result of his inquiries was an entire

* It appeared that they filled six.

arguments of any moment should be lost in so great a cause. Having at length finished this painful task I sent my Essay to the vicehonoured as before with the first prize. chancellor, and soon afterwards found myself

As it is usual to read these essays publicly in the senate-house soon after the prize is adjudged, I was called to Cambridge for this purpose. I went and performed my office. On returning however to London, thoughts. I became at times very seriously the subject of it almost wholly engrossed my affected while upon the road. I stopped my horse occasionally, and dismounted and walked. I frequently tried to persuade my

self in these intervals that the contents of
The more

my Essay could not be true.
however I reflected upon them, or rather
upon the authorities on which they were
founded, the more I gave them credit.
Coming in sight of Wades Mill in Hertford-
shire, I sat down disconsolate on the turf
by the roadside and held my horse.
Here a
thought came into my mind, that if the

contents of the Essay were true, it was time
some person should see these calamities to
their end. Agitated in this manner I reached
home. This was in the summer of 1785."

dedication of himself to the interests of humanity. In that year Dr. Peckhard, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge, proposed to the senior bachelors in arts, the following question as the subject for a Latin dissertation: "Is it right to make slaves of others against their will." Mr. Clarkson was, at this time, of the order of senior bachelors, and, having obtained the prize for the best Latin dissertation the previous year, a regard to his own reputation led him to try for it again. He at once perceived that the question had a direct bearing on the African slave trade, and proceeded to London to obtain information respecting the manner in which this traffic was conducted. Hitherto he had felt no interest in the question itself. His only concern was to maintain and extend his reputation in the university. But in the course of his reading his mind underwent an entire Mr. Clarkson's mind was now too revolution. The atrocities which deeply interested in the subject to were systematically practised on the return to its ordinary occupations. African coast, harrowed up his soul, He determined on the translation of and induced a degreeof feeling scarce- his Essay, sought an interview with ly compatible with the calm discharge Mr. G. Sharp, and ultimately reof his duties. His own account of solved on abandoning the church, in the state of his mind at this period is which he had fair prospects of eminently beautiful and touching. preferment, and of devoting himself "Furnished then in this manner, I began entirely to the cause of the Africans. my work. But no person can tell the severe From this period he occupied himtrial, which the writing of it proved to me. self in calling on the leading memI had expected pleasure from the invention bers of the two houses of parliaof the arguments, from the arrangement of them, from the putting of them together, ment, in obtaining additional inforand from the thought in the interim that I was mation, and in circulating such engaged in an innocent contest for literary works as were suited to enlighten honour. But all my pleasure was damped and arouse the public mind. by the facts which were now continually Amongst other persons he called on before me. It was but one gloomy subject Mr. Wilberforce, then in the mornfrom morning to night. In the day-time I was uneasy. In the night I had little rest. ing of his day, and but little known I sometimes never closed my eye-lids for to the public, and it is gratifying to grief. It became now not so much a trial peruse his own account of the refor academical reputation, as for the pro- ception which he experienced. Litduction of a work, which might be useful to tle did Mr. C. imagine, that the injured Africa. And keeping this idea in my mind ever after the perusal of Benezet, I young senator, on whom he then

always slept with a candle in my room, that I might rise out of bed and put down such thoughts as might occur to me in the night, if I judged them valuable, conceiving that no

called, was to act so distinguished and consistent a part in the great struggle. The designs of Providence were, as yet, unrevealed; but

now the result is known, it cannot riching with the endowments of be uninteresting to look back and learning and experience young review the circumstances which have men whose piety and talent inconducted to so triumphant and glo- duced the churches to set them rious an issue.

"Among those whom I visited, was Mr. Wilberforce. On my first interview with him, he stated frankly, that the subject had often employed his thoughts, and that it was near his heart. He seemed earnest about it, and also very desirous of taking the trouble of inquiring further into it. Having read my book, which I had delivered to him in person, he sent for me. He expressed a wish that I would make him acquainted with some of my authorities for the assertions in it, which I did afterwards to his satisfaction. He asked me if I could support it by any other evidence. I told him I could.-I men

apart for the Christian ministry; with a success, which, though it may not be so great as they could wish, has yet nevertheless greatly encouraged them under the numerous difficulties they have encountered.

These difficulties were of two kinds; first, the accommodations were unfitted for the business of the college, so that much time, and often the health of the students, were sacrificed in pursuing their tioned Mr. Newton, Mr. Nisbett, and several studies, without necessary proviothers to him. He took the trouble of sion for their retirement and comsending for all these. He made memoran- fort. And, secondly, the resources dums of their conversation, and, sending for have always been inadequate to me afterwards, showed them to me. On meet the annual expenditure; so learning my intention to devote myself to that the managers of the institution the cause, he paid me many handsome comhave been cramped with perpetual pliments. He then desired me to call him often, and to acquaint him with my poverty. progress from time to time. He expressed also his willingness to afford me any assistance in his power in the prosecution of my pursuits."

(To be continued. )°

upon

STEPNEY ACADEMICAL INSTITU

TION.

To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.

Impressed with the importance of the former difficulty, the friends of the Institution resolved in 1828-9 to remove it. They therefore erected new studies, library, and chapel, and made a new arrangement of the premises, to afford convenient apartments for sleeping. The whole cost 4000l. which sum has been paid, and the erection affords for the students, and the business of the college, all that could be desired.

MY DEAR SIR, The second difficulty still remains. Will you be so kind as to permit For, although the committee have neme, through the medium of your ver admitted so many students as the valuable Miscellany, to call the at-premises would now accommodate ; tention of the churches to the pre- and in managing the business of the sent state of the Baptist College at college, the strictest regard has been Stepney? Its affairs, cannot, I am paid to economy; yet the annual exsure, be uninteresting to your read-penditure has been constantly more ers, since it has long received marks of their kind attention, both in the benevolent support of private individuals, and also in the public collections which have been made in its behalf.

than its annual income, the arrears of which, have now accumulated, until the Treasurer is 9157. in advance.

In order to reduce this deficiency it has been proposed to sell out 6001. of government stock, which was inSince the year 1810, the Commit-tended, by former friends, to constitee have pursued their object of en- tute a permanent support for the