your money that pays the African butcher. You, therefore, ire principally guilty of all these frauds, robberies, and murders. You are the spring that puts all the rest in motion. They would not stir a step without you: therefore, the blood of all these wretches who die before their time lies upon your head. 'The blood of thy brother crieth against thee from the earth.' Oh! whatever it costs, put a stop to its cry before it be too late; instantly, at any price, were it the half of your goods, deliver thyself from blood guiltiness! Thy hands, thy bed, thy furniture, thy house, and thy lands, at present are stained with blood. Surely it is enough; accumulate no more guilt; spill no more the blood of the innocent. Do not hire another to shed blood; do not pay him for doing it. Whether you are a Christian or not, show yourself a man. Be not more savage than a lion or a bear!"
Similar earnest appeals were made by other distinguished Christians and philanthropists. In 1785, Thomas Clarkson took the field against the traffic in human beings, and devoted to the sacred cause of human rights all the energies of his intellect, and sympathies of his heart.
While pursuing his studies at Cambridge University, "The Slave Trade" was given to him as a theme for a prize essay. Having, the year before, gained the first prize for a Latin dissertation, he was anxious to sustain his literary reputation, and secure, if possible, fresh laurels. He entered upon the investigation with great ardor; visited London, and read with avidity works bearing upon the subject. The horrible facts that passed in review before him so deeply affected his mind, that he lost sight of the
