A History of Slavery and its Abolition/Section 16
SECT. XVI. STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM OF NEGROES IN ENGLAND.
It has been a general observation, that the greatest darkness immediately precedes sun-rise, and the excessive aboundings of misery and oppression are generally the precursors of relief and deliverance. It was so in the case of the oppressed Israelites in Egypt, and it was so in that of the oppressed Africans. It had been a common practice with planters, merchants, and others, resident in the West Indies, when they occasionally came to England, to bring with them negro slaves to act as servants during their stay. It was perfectly natural that persons thus circumstanced should compare their own condition of slavery and hardship with the freedom and comfort enjoyed by servants in England. Such a comparison would, of course, make them very unwilling to return to the islands, and in consequence many of them absconded. The masters advertised, or otherwise searched for them, and, when found, they were seized and carried away by force.
There was a notion prevalent, that such proceedings were not sanctioned by the English laws, but that all persons who were baptized became free. The former idea was, after a long struggle, established: no English law did sanction the bringing of slaves into England; but the latter idea was unfounded: British liberty belongs to men as men, not as professing christians. However, while that sentiment prevailed, the negroes were anxious, as soon as they arrived in England, to obtain baptism, and, if possible, got such persons as godfathers, or witnesses of their baptism, as were likely to plead their cause, maintain their freedom, and resist any forcible attempt to send them out of the kingdom. As this resistance increased, the planters and others were greatly perplexed, being unwilling to lose their slaves, and afraid to run the risk of either taking them away by force, or appealing to a public tribunal for a decision. They applied to the Attorney and Solicitor-General for the time being, and obtained their opinion, that a slave coming from the West Indies to Great Britain or Ireland, either with or without his master, did not become free, nor could baptism bestow freedom upon him, or in any way affect his temporal condition or his master's right.[1] They also concluded that a master might legally compel his slave to return to the plantations. This was in the year 1729. The planters and merchants, emboldened by this decision, of course made it as public as possible, and adopted every means to render it effectual. The London papers abounded with advertisements of slaves who had absconded, with descriptions of their persons, and rewards offered for their apprehension; and sometimes they were advertised for sale by auction, either by themselves, or together with horses, carriages, and harness. So totally unprotected were they, that persons wholly unconnected decoyed or seized them in the streets, and sold them to captains of West India ships. Thus was England for a time disgraced as the seat both of slavery and a slave-trade! It may just be remarked here, that there is nothing so barbarous and atrocious, but that human nature may be familiarized to it by habit and opportunity. It was indignantly denied by the advocates of slavery that negroes were kidnapped in Africa; but when human beings were a marketable commodity, they were kidnapped even in England. Another plea was, that the black-skinned negro was of an inferior race, upon the level with brutes; and that to enslave him, was not to enslave a man. But when kidnapping was found to be a profitable trade, those who engaged in it scrupled not at the colour of skin, but often seized children or unwary persons of European birth and complexion, and consigned them to the same slavery as the negroes. In the family of the writer of these pages, a boy of nine or ten years old was thus stolen and conveyed to Virginia, where for many years he worked as a slave, without the means of informing his distressed family of his condition; nor was this an uncommon case in those days.
In the year 1765, an African slave, named Jonathan Strong, was brought from Barbadoes by his master, who treated him very cruelly, particularly by beating his head with a pistol, which occasioned the head to swell, and afterwards produced a disorder in the eyes, and threatened blindness. To this an ague and fever succeeded, and lameness in both his legs. In this deplorable condition he was turned adrift by his cruel master. The poor destitute creature was happily directed to Mr. William Sharp, a humane and benevolent surgeon, who devoted a portion of his time to gratuitous attention on the diseased poor.
In process of time he was cured; but while attending on his medical benefactor, he was introduced to one who was to become the instrument of imparting a yet more valuable and extended benefit. Mr. Granville Sharp, (see p. 193,) was brother to Mr. Sharp, the surgeon; and becoming interested in the case of Strong, he supplied his wants, and on his recovery got him a situation in the family of an apothecary, to carry out medicines. While thus employed, his old master happened to see him, and observing that he now appeared healthy and robust, determined to repossess him. Accordingly, having found out his residence, he employed two men to kidnap him; one of them was keeper of the Poultry Compter, (a prison so called), and the other an officer under the Lord Mayor, but neither had any legal warrant for what they were doing. They sent for him, under some false pretext, to a public house, where they seized him and conveyed him to the Poultry Compter, and there he was sold by his master for thirty pounds. In this distress Strong sent to those who had been his godfathers, and entreated their protection. They went to the prison, but were refused admittance. He then sent to Mr. Granville Sharp, who also went, but was refused access to the prisoner. He, however, insisted on seeing him, and charged the keeper of the prison at his peril to deliver him up, until he had been carried before a magistrate. Mr. Sharp also waited on the Lord Mayor, and obtained from him an appointment to hear the case. At the time appointed Mr. Sharp attended, also a notary-public, and the captain of a ship which was to have conveyed him to Jamaica. These were on behalf of the purchaser. After a long discussion, in which the opinion of the lawyers above-mentioned was pleaded in favour of the detention of Strong, Mr. Sharp made some observations on the case, by which the lawyers present were staggered, but on the whole seemed rather disposed to retain the prisoner; but the Lord Mayor discharged him, on account of his having been taken up without a warrant. But no sooner was the poor African thus discharged, than the captain laid hold on him, and said aloud, Then I seize you as my slave." On this Mr. Sharp promptly laid his hand on the shoulder of the captain, and said to him, I charge you, in the name of the king, with an assault upon the person of Jonathan Strong, and all these are my witnesses." At this charge, made in presence of the Lord Mayor and others, the captain was greatly intimidated, and, fearing a prosecution, let go his prisoner, who departed under the protection of Mr. Sharp.
This interesting case awakened the inquiries of Mr. Sharp to ascertain the law of the land on the subject. He applied to many lawyers for their opinions, among others, to the celebrated Judge Blackstone, but could not obtain satisfaction. In fact, the opinion already alluded to (p. 207) had been made so extensively known, and so widely acted upon, and was considered of such high authority, that few persons dared think for themselves, so far as to question its correctness. Of that few Mr. Sharp was one, and finding that he was not likely to gain satisfactory information from others, he determined to rely on his own industry, and devote two or three years to the study of the English law, that he might be the better qualified to advocate the cause of the miserable people whose case had so powerfully excited his compassion. This was indeed an heroic sacrifice, and in due time it met its reward.
In 1769 Mr. Sharp published the result of his inquiries, in "A Representation of the Injustice and dangerous Tendency of tolerating Slavery in England." In this work he clearly refuted the long established opinion, producing against the decision of Lord Chief Justice Holt, many years before, that a slave on coming to England became free. He also refuted it from the ancient law of villeinage in England, and by the axiom of the British constitution "That every man in England is free to sue for and defend his rights, and that force cannot be used without a legal process." This valuable book was widely distributed, especially among the lawyers; thus awakening inquiry and extending knowledge on the subject, and affording an opportunity of acknowledging or of refuting the doctrines it contained.
While this work was in progress, other cases occurred of putting the law of the subject to a practical test. An African slave, named Hylas, prosecuted a person for having kidnapped his wife and sent her to the West Indies. The result of the trial was, that the offender was compelled to bring back the woman to her husband within a given time. In 1770, Thomas Lewis, an African, was seized by two watermen, in a dark night, and dragged to a boat lying in the Thames. There he was gagged, tied with a cord, and conveyed to a ship hound for Jamaica, where he was to be sold as a slave. This base action took place near the garden of a humane lady, (Mrs. Banks, mother of Sir Joseph Banks, the celebrated traveller and naturalist.) Her servants, hearing the cries of the unfortunate man, hastened to his assistance, but the boat was gone. On informing their mistress of the circumstance, she sent for Mr. Sharp, who by this time was generally known as the friend of the helpless Africans, and putting the cause into his hands, declared her willingness to bear the expense of bringing the delinquents to justice. With great difficulty Mr. Sharp obtained legal authority for bringing back Lewis from Gravesend, just as the vessel was on the point of sailing. An action was then commenced against the person who had employed the two watermen, who defended it on the plea that Lewis was his slave, and as such his property. It was decided that our law admits of no such property. It would be impossible to detail the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Sharp, or the number of victims he rescued from the holds of vessels, and other places of confinement and concealment, some when they were just on the point of sailing, and when an hour or two would have borne them for ever from the shores of liberty. Still, however, the mind of the good man was not at rest. It was not enough for him, that many individual instances of rescue occurred. He was anxious to have the question settled on the broad ground, "Whether a slave, by coming into England, became free?" An opportunity soon occurred of trying this great question. James Somerset, an African slave, was brought to England by his master in 1769; some time afterwards he left his master, who took an opportunity of seizing him, and conveyed him on board a ship to be taken to Jamaica as a slave. In order to give time and opportunity fully to ascertain the law of the case, it was argued at three different sittings, in January, February, and May, 1772, and the opinion of the judges was taken upon the pleadings. The great and glorious result of the trial was That as soon as any slave set his foot upon English territory he became free."[2] What a triumph for the benevolent Sharp and other friends, who began to rally round the standard of humanity! The counsellors who pleaded this cause were Davy, Glynn, Hargrave, Mansfield, and Alleyne; and they deserve to be enrolled in the list of benefactors to the great cause, for by their arguments and eloquence, multitudes were enlightened and interested; but by the labours of Sharp they were instructed and benefited, and he must be regarded as the chief instrument in achieving this noble triumph. He too was but an instrument. Divine Providence was the agent; and Sharp was among the first to say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake."
From this time the poor African ceased to he hunted in our streets as a beast of prey; and our papers were no longer polluted with advertisements for the apprehension of men, whose only offence had been that of using their native right, and quitting the service of oppression; or for the sale of man as the property of his fellow-man.
- ↑ True enough, because the master never had a right.
- ↑ This decision is alluded to in those beautiful lines of
Cowper, in the Task.
"Slaves cannot breathe in England: if their lungs
Imbibe our air, that moment they are free.
They touch our country, and their shackles fall.
That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud
And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then,
And let it circulate through every vein
Of all your empire. That where Britain's power
Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too."Happily, this apostrophe is now realized.