EULOGY
ON
WILBERFOBCE
EULOOI
o»
WILLIAM WILBERFOllCE, ESQ,.
DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST
07
THE PEOPLE OF COLOUR
or
Tlie City of FJ iladi lpliia,
IN THE
SECOND AFRICAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCIT,
ON THE
Sixth Day of December, 1833.
27 WIIililAM WHIPIE2.
PHILADELPHIA:
Printed liv William P. Gibbons,
Sixth Sf Cherry Sts.
Tribute to Wilbcrforcc in Philadelphia.
At an adjourned meeting of the coloured citizens of the city and county of Phi*
ladelphia, held on Tuesday evening the l£th inst. to make a demonstration of
our regard and gratitude to the memory of that venerable and distinguished phi¬
lanthropist William Wilbehfouce, Esq.—in consequence of the indisposition
of the chairman, Mr Forten,) the meeting was organized by choosing Jari.es
M'Crummel, President, Thomas Butler and Frederick A. Hinton, Vice Presi¬
dents, and John B. L)upee and Jacob White Secretaries.
The President opened the meeting in a few pertinent remarks, and the follow¬
ing preamble and resolutions were presented, with a few observations by Mr F.
A Hinton ; and after some hig^y appropriate remarks from Mr Robert Purvis,
and several other gentlemen, were unanimously adopted :—
Whereas, it has pleased infinite Goodness to r. move from mutability this our
sincere friend and benefactor—it therefore becomes us, who were a portion of
the objects of his solicitude, to pay that tribute of respect and gratitude which
his noble exertions in our behalf woald -inculcate.
Resolved, In testimony of the foregoing that our ' whole peop^,' more par¬
ticularly that portion we represent, be recommended to set apart a day for ihe
special purpose, not only of commemorating the disinterested labours of that
great and good man, William Wilberforce, Esq but the noble and dignified course
which he so eminently and availingly advocated,—viz: the g orious cause of
Freedom.
Resolved, That a committee of seven persons be appointed to make such ar¬
rangements as may be deemed expedient to carry into operatiofc the foregoing
resolution — embracing mainly the delivery of an appropriate eul&gium.
The following gentlemen were appointed: Messrs Jacob C W hite, Joseph
Cassey, F. A. Hinton, Robert Purvis, James M'Crummell, Abraham Williams
and Samuel D. Potts.
On motion, Reselved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published is
all the papers friendly to the great cause of humanity.
JAMES M'CRLTMMELX, President
Thomas Butler, J y Presidents
Fred. A« )
Jno. B. Dupee, ) Sppretar:G,
Jacob White, \
M£. WILLIAM WHIPPED.
Dear Sir—By the unanimous voice of the committee of seven, appointed to
carry into effect the measures adopted at an adjourned meeting of the coloured
citizens of Philadelphia county, held on the 1st inst. to commemorate the life
-and character of the late William Wilberfoece, Esq., you were selected, and
iT
tre, a sub-committee, authorized to solicit your services in the delivery of an ap¬
propriate eulogy, in commemoration of that illustrious philanthropist.
We have the honour, dear sir, to be your obedient servants,
ROBERT PURVIS,
F. A. HINTON,
Oct. 3rd, 1833. JACOB C. WHITE*
Messrs. ROBERT PURVIS, JACOB C. WHITE, F. A. HINTON.
Gentlemen—I respectfully acknowledge the receipt of your polite invitation
of the 3d ulti:no in b shall" of the co nmittee you represent, "authorized to solicit
my services in the delivery o? an appropriate address, on the character of the
kte William Wilber force, Esq." Having concluded to accept the same, I
hive, therefore, in behak'of yourselves and the committee you represent, the
honour to be your most obedient and very humble servant,
WILLIAM WHIPPER.
Philada., Nov. 11, 1833.
EUXOGT.
Friends and Fellow Citizens—To duly awaken and
justly impress upon the feelings of an audience, the inestima¬
ble worth of an individual whose purity of life and upright¬
ness of character has imperishably enrolled his name in the
archives of nations, as one of the greatest earthly benefactors,
is a duty of such magnitude, that those who can call to their
aid the most powerful of human requisites might well in their ap¬
peal, ask for indulgenc2. In contemplating the history of man¬
kind in all ages, we are naturally led to the brow of a scenery
that presents so many varied hues, so intermixed and inter¬
woven with vice and virtue that, while there is much to ad¬
mire there is more to lament that the philosopher who could
only ir.ve causes for their effects, while he admired the hand
that adorned the picture, might frequently regret that mate¬
rials could have been found to produce the colouring.
The most pleasing history that can command our attention
is that which depicts the ancient splendour of Africa, when
the sunbeams of science and civilization were illumining that
vast continent, and imparting their benign influence to the
then dark and barbarous regions of the world. The most
horrible, that which exhibits her downfall, carrying with it
such heart-rending consequences that human nature sickens
at the recital, and a Christian world might well exhibit her
lamentations in mourning and regret that she could point
either to the history of nations, or to that quarter of the globe
that would prove that she had once existed.
But the rise and fall of other nations has taught us that in¬
valuable example that an overruling Providence, in his wise
[ « 3
dispensation of affairs, has suffered governments as well ai
individuals to perform their different revolutions. So that
when she who was the first to rise and demonstrate the value
of a regular cultivation of the arts, sciences, and civilization,
was the first to fall into degradation, barbarism, and super¬
stition, it was then only left her for to pourtray the folly of na¬
tional arrogance, and exhibit the destructibility of govern¬
mental pride. But, my fellow citizens, we have not met to
commiserate the unfortunate condition of mankind, or to
lament the fate of governments. We have met to pay a tri¬
bute of respect to one of the best men that ever graced the
earth, or ornamented history. With talents of the highest
order, and whose labours have been the most indefatigable
in defence of human rights for upwards of forty years, both
in and out of Parliament, twenty years of which were spent
in appealing to and persuading Parliament to pass a law that
would change the slave trade from a national commerce to
a national piracy. To achieve this, he doubtless encountered
more difficulties, disappointments and persecutions than per¬
haps has fallen to the lot of any individual of his day, in the
prosecution of the most righteous enterprise.
The eloquent and forcible appeals that he then made in be¬
half of poor unfortunate Africa, and her much injured sons
{although the voice that spoke them into existence, like the
spirit that moved it, has quit this terrestrial ball,) have not
yet ceased to re-echo over the land, but fall on the ear
wherever forcibly uttered, with the same convincing power.
His speeches, though prepared for and directed towards the
members of Parliament, were destined to meet the views of
a more numerous and more enlightened assemblage—I mean
posterity. His acts are now before the world to receive the
meed of praise to which they are so richly entitled.
Doubtless no man ever lived who urged the passage of a
law with a more honest zeal, or with such a torrent of
awakening eloquence as that which he used in beseeching
Parliament to quit her merciless invasions on poor, defence¬
less Africa. In one of his speeches, said to be the most pow¬
erful ever delivered in St Stephens, ha uses the following
C 7 j
language; Would you be acquainted with the character of
the slave trade, look to the continent of Africa, and there
you will behold such a scene of horrors, as no tongue can
express, no imagination represent to itself. One mode adopt¬
ed by the petty chieftains of that country is, that of commit¬
ting depredations upon each others' territories. This cir¬
cumstance gives a peculiar character to the wars in Africa.
But this is not all. No means of procuring slaves is left
untouched. Even the administration of justice itself is made
a fertile source of supply to this inhuman traffic. O, sir, these
things are too bad to be longer endured; I cannot persuade
myself that a British House of Commons will give its sanc¬
tion to the continuance of this inhuman traffic. Never was
there indeed a system so big with cruelty. To whatever
part of it you direct your view the eye finds no relief. Hurri¬
canes clear the air, and persecution promotes the propaga¬
tion of truth. But here it is otherwise. It is the prerogative
of this detested traffic to rob war of its generosity, and peace
of its security. You have the vices of polished society with¬
out its knowledge or its comforts, and the evils of barbarism
without its simplicity. No age, sex, or rank is exempt from
the influence of this wide wasting calamity. It attains to the
fullest measure of pure, unmixed wickedness; and scorning
all competition or comparison, it stands in the unddputed
possession of its own detestable pre-eminence."
The same honest zeal that characterized his youthful la¬
bours in defence of the mothpr country and her native sons,,
has accompanied him through a long and useful life, in assist¬
ing to remove from the British dominions the corroding stain
of domestic slavery, and preparing the way for their ultimate
enjoyment of civil and religious liberty in the land of. their
birth. So if man in the most laudable pursuit for the benefit
of his fellow man can do aught that demands respect, we are
justly bound to reverence his memory. He is now no more..
If the grave holds the mortal remains of a man the fruit of
whose toil is a treasure, and whom the dictates of duty bid
us worship, that man was William Wilbkrforce. A name
that should descend to posterity clothed with more of the
t 8 }
ever-green laurels that ornament human greatness, than all
the heroes of Grecian and Roman fables."
To celebrate his acts and to reverence his memory is to
render homage to the cause of religion, morality and public
as well as private virtue. To extend his fame is to enrich
and embellish the cause he advocated. We, who enjoy the
benefits, owe to posterity a history of the man who stood
foremost in achieving them. As bodies and matter fly for¬
ward in proportion to the projectile force received, so in pro¬
portion to our exertions will the beneficial results of that free¬
dom he laboured to establish, be felt, circulated, and enjoyed.
It is therefore lamentable to me, and it should be to you, and
the glorious cause he so eminently adorned, that he who
stands as your representative on the present occasion, is in¬
adequate to the task of fully developing those refulgent vir¬
tues that would delineate his character in all those glowing
colours that ornament the great actions of his life.
Through all the different vicissitudes of his life he was the
same inflexible original, always ready to brave the utmost
inconvenience, to aid the oppressed and promote the cause of
liberty. If the wandering stoic, in search of matter to esta¬
blish his theory, should doubt that the passage of a law to
abolish the slave trade in Great Britain was a work of such
difficulty as to bring into requisition such eminent talents, ar¬
dent zeal and untiring industry, let him inquire at the halls of
legislation—let him examine the parliamentary journals of
the house of commons, from its first introduction by Mr.
Pitt, on the 9th of May, 1788, until its final passage, when
introduced by Mr. Fox, on the 10th of June, 1800; he may
then divine that peace is the end of all things ; but that to
attain it, the black and tempestuous clouds of war, with her
red lightnings may flash, her thunders roll, her seas rage and
foam with an angry fury, until the hurricanes of impetuous
wrath may direct us to the foreboding of an awful destruc¬
tion—if he shall then suppose that the system of morality was
then based on such proud principles us not only to advocate
the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, but promote the
cause of public as well as private virtue—let the reign of
l * i
Elizabeth, James and Charles answer; let the desolating
wars that dethroned kiilgs and princes of the eighteenth cen¬
tury answer; let the history of the church, and the horrors
of the inquisition speak aloud; let poor, unfortunate Africa,
whose tribes, towns and cities became a theatre of blood and
carnage to feed the hand of the ruthless destroyer of the best
prospects of civilized man, utter forth her lamentations; let the
ships freighted with human victims, stuffed and crammed in the
middle passage, wafted forward by the winds of heaven, whose
<captives received scaicely any other ventilation than that
produced by the messenger of death, preparing food for the
monsters of the deep, reappear in all their real and imagina¬
tive forms; let the monsters of the deep, that daily and nightly
followed these vessels of crime from one shore to the other,
offer up their dead, and let their departed spectres, on what¬
ever sea may have borne these vessels of crime and pollution,
or on whatever land slavery may have existed, stand forth
and testify to the guilt of these transgressors of the rights of
man and the laws of heaven; let the slave markets, of what¬
ever country or nation, bow with humility at the merited in¬
dignation" heaped on them so liberally by a virtuous poste¬
rity ; let public opinion, during this scene of outrage and
cruelty, be taken as a criterion to form our judgment of pub¬
lic morals, and we might justly be inclined to believe that
the progressive extension of the human species ought to have
been earnestly deprecated by the wise and good—that nature
should have stood still in her socket, the planets cease to
revolve on their axis, and all creation become inanimate at
the " obduracy of civilized man," and that no more human
beings, should have been born, either heirs to tyrannical
power, or doomed to suffer oppression.
It was in times like these, when corruption and cruelty
spread forth its withering influence over land and sea, and
ushered forth their noxious exhalations, (like the upas of Java,)
blasting the fairest fruits of creation, and poisoning with their
pestiferous odour the noblest productions of the animal king¬
dom, that the light of heaven witfr its virtuous fragrance first
beamed forth its delectable smiles on young Wilberforce.
P5
t » 1
We do not, however, find that any extraordinary circum¬
stances attended the birth of this great man that might in¬
duce his relatives, or the most sanguine of his friends, to
believe that he was a child of great promise. Although he
descended from an opulent and ancient parentage, and his
ancestors can be traced to the profession of distinguished
situations in public life, yet neither his birth nor education
seemed calculated to render him the occupant of that distin¬
guished situation he afterwards held in the literary and poli¬
tical world. Bui his was not a mind that loitered around
scholastic refinements. The bent of his genius was of a no-
Mar cast. He possessed an insatiable thirst for useful know¬
ledge, that new acquisitions strengthened and enlarged, until
by his philanthropic and Christian benevolence, he was capa¬
ble of forwarding the many noble enterprizes that redounded
to the happiness of his country, and entailed on mankind the
greatest blessings.
Among his many great achievments, the " abolition of the
slave" may be justly marked down as the greatest effort of his
life, and in that history that records his deeds of glory, it will
illumine the brightest page, and on that monument that may
be built to his honour, or erected to his memory, it will be
placed the topmost stone, and stand as a crown.
In his successful advocacy and prosecution of that noble
enterprize, we must ascribe to him all that human exertions
could command or conceive. The highest intellectual en¬
dowments, the most unflinching fortitude, the most ardent
zeal, and untiring industry—a mind the most skillful in pene¬
tration, framed to conceive, with a heart to approve, and a
will to act; the most happy method of associating his ideas,
and gifted by nature with an impassioned eloquence, that
never exerts itself but to command, convince and subdue.
He at once with a majestic air, undaunted by dangers, threw
the torch of light, justice and truth, into the strong holds of
slavery, sophism and deceit, and, as it were, with the " grasp
of a strong arm" he pulled down the most impregnable of its
fences.
His successes, great as they were, cannot be wholly attri-
L " 3
buted to his own exertions. He was assisted by an alliance
of kindred spirits, who faithfully struggled in the same great
cause. The philanthropist* to whom posterity will no doubt
assign the place next to JVilbcrforcc, or probably regard him
as his e^ual, miy justly be regardai as the greatest living
philanthropist on the globe. If we form our judgment either
from the extent of his exertions, his numberless privations,
the multiplicity of his writings, the depth of his researches, or
the length of his labours, we may challenge the world to pro¬
duce, either from the living record or all history, his superior.
While Wilbcrforce was wielding the torch in the house of
commons, scorching the abominations of that sinful policy, he
coolly and deliberately fed the " vestal fire" that kept alive
the flame. The one gathered the materials, the other dis¬
posed of them. While the one was painting the horrors of
that detestable traffic with a blaze of eloquence that ought to
■"move the rude and inanimate parts of nature with horror
.$.nd indignation at the recital of so enormous an action," the
other was awakening the attention of the nation to its duty
by the eloquence of his pen. In their respective situations
they occupied, it not only required the highest effcrt of hu¬
man genius, but tl e'r united action, to elevate at so early a
period the fabric of human wisdom so high that the nation
might walk in the path of justice and humanity.
In associating the name of Clarkson with the subject of our
eulogy, it is not our intention to seek among the living those
virtuous ornaments intended to adorn the character of the il¬
lustrious dead, nor to pass by the exertions of many other
distinguished men, who aided in the accomplishment of the
same glorious purpose. But on account of the relative posi¬
tion they stood to each other, during that remarkable contest,
that it is impossible to associate the virtues of the one, with¬
out estimating the valuable influence those virtues received
from the other. On that great subject their souls were
Siametrically knit, and it would be as pardonable a de¬
reliction of duty to neglect the kindred of body as mind.
♦The venerable Thomas Clarkson*
t It j
Having now established the relationship that existed between
them, we shall again pass onward to notice those sublime-
traits of character that enrich and encircle the name of Mr.
Wilberforce, and leave that of Clarkson, which must soon, ac¬
cording to the calendar of nature, be Enrolled among the vir¬
tuous dead, for nations to mourn his loss, and nations to
sound his praise.
Perhaps, like the elder Adams and Jefferson, (whose quali¬
fications bear a strong similarity to Wilberforce and Clark-
son,) some distinguished statesman* alike renowned for his
patriotism and public virtues with that of our distinguished
fellow citizen, who ascended the stage, and united and as¬
sociated their patriotic virtues in an eloquent eulogium, like
him they may be called upon to perform the same devotional
exercise. If that should ever take place, and if the most Im¬
pressive description of human kindness, exalted and merito¬
rious actions, can inculcate into theufeelkigs-of an assemblage
those hallowed feelings that eject forth respirations of adora¬
tion for the Creator and love for the creature, it will be or*
that occasion.
Of the early life and character of Mr. Wilberforce we
know but little; and if we did, neither time nor prudence
would allow of that description at present. We must neces¬
sarily leave that, as well as many other of his important acts
and legislative duties, for his biographer, and pass on to no¬
tice that portion of his life that he lived for Africa—for us—
for Christianity, humanity and virtue.
Were it not for his great efforts in abolishing slavery and
the slave trade, he could never have been particularly dear
to us. We should not now have been called upon by the
strongest impulse of duty to render to his memory a tribute
of gratitude as our benefactor-r-encircle his name with a
halo of glory—spread garlands around his grave, or transmit
to posterity those noble deeds performed by the man we loved
and adored.
Many great men and valuable christians have paid the
* The Hon. John Sergeant.
[ IS ]
debt of nature; and while we could sympathize with their
sufferings, we have seldom been left heirs to such a devo¬
tional respect; if it should again be our lot, I feel satisfied
(that as soon as our sensibilities are duly awakened) that
gratitude, as an inherent property of our nature, will be libe¬
rally bestowed.
It may be proper to take some notice of his birth and fa¬
mily. His ancestors for many years were successfully en¬
gaged in trade at Hull, in East Yorkshire, England. His
great grandfather was a Mr. William YVilberforce was once
the governor of Beverley, (in the same borough,) in the year
1670. The grandson of this gentleman married Sarah, the
daughter of Mr. John Thornton, in the year 1711. There
were two sons and two daughters, the issue of this marriage.
William the elder died without issue in the year 1780. Ro¬
bert the younger married Miss Elizabeth Bird, the aunt of
the present Bishops of Winchester and Chester. The late
Mr. William Wilberforce was the only son of Mr. Robert
Wilberforce. There were two daughters, Elizabeth and Sa¬
rah.
Mr. Wilberforce was born at Hull on the 24th day of Au¬
gust, 1759. "He went to St. Johns College, Cambrige, as a
fellow commoner, at the usual age, and there formed an in¬
timacy with Mr. Pitt, which remained unbroken till his
death." Mr. Wilberforce did not obtain academical ho¬
nours, and such honours were rarely sought at that time by
those who wore a fellow commoner's gown; but he was dis¬
tinguished as a man of elegant attainments and acknowledged
classical taste. Dr. Milner, the late President of Queen's
College, was in the same University, and was another inti¬
mate of Mr. Wilberforce, and accompanied him and Mr. Pitt
in a tour to Nice. We mention this fact, "that his first se¬
rious impressions of religion were derived from his conversa¬
tions with Dr. Milner during their journey. And to him must
be awarded the high destinction of having led Mr. Wilber-
force's mind into the paths of pleasantness and peace."
Mr. Wilberforce appears to have early imbibed the idea
that the great object of living is to live well. " The great
principle of life, it is said, is to resist putrefaction, and to a
t M J
certain extent maintain a temperature different from that of
surrounding bodies." The fulfilment of these objects appears
to have been his peculiar aim, and became early adopted into
the standard of his life. To resist vice must have been a
common energy of his nature. That he must have been early
loved and admired, will be sufficiently understood by his
having attained his majority at the age of twenty-two, and is
found representing his native town in the councils of the na¬
tion, at an age when the youthful pulsations generally beat
with folly and extravagance, rather than savour of that
sound and serious reflection so necessary to guide the mind
into a systematic train of thought, calculated to render it ca¬
pable of relie ving the wants and regulating the burthens of
their fellow citizens. Even at this early period we find him
performing the solemn duty of administering the oaths to
members. In 17S3, he seconded an address of thanks on
peace. The same year we find him opposing Mr. Fox's
India bill, and in 1785, he spoke in favour of a reform in Par¬
liament. The following year he succeeded in carrying through
the Commons, a bill for amending the criminal law, but it
was thrown out in the Lord's, on account of its imperfection
in form.
Such was the calmness of his disposition, the extent cf his
kindness, that it was painful to men who frequently indulged
in sarcastic virulence themselves to see others use it to him.
In 1787, in a debate on the commercial relations with France,
Mr. Burke having provoked Mr. Wilberforce into some acri¬
mony of retort, when "Mr. Pitt checked him for his impru¬
dence, by telling him that it was as far beyond his powers as
his wishes, to contend with such a man as Burke in abuse
and personality."
Having noticed his early career, we now, with pride, ap¬
proach that field of successful labour whose harvest has re¬
stored to the sons of Africa their inherent rights and natural
privileges. It was in the year 1787, that Mr. Clark sen call¬
ed on Mr. Wilberforce, and requested him to present the
subject to Parliament—a request that he heartily accepted.
It was in the year 1788, that Mr. Wilberforce first gave no¬
tice that it was shortly his intention to bring the question be-
I 15 ]
fore the House of Commons for the abolition of the slaves
trade, but indisposition prevented him. Accordingly on the
9th of May in the same year, Mr. Pitt introduced it for him.
Such was the estimation in which his talents were then held,
(he being only 29 years of age) that Mr. Pitt expressed his
conviction that the "question could not have been confided
to abler hands."
It is a fact worthy of notice, that Mr. Wilberforce, who
was the great champion of that question for twenty years in
Parliament, and the general who led them on to victory, and
won the laurels, neither introduced it at first, nor at the time
of its final passage. But we find Messrs. Pitt and Fox, who
Were warm opponents to each other on almost all questions,
united on this, and the latter one introducing the question for
the last time, followed the example of his predecessor, Mr.
Pitt, in calling the attention of the house to the subject by in¬
troducing it with the following eloquent eulogium on the
character of Mr. Wilberforce: He said " that no man, either
from his talents, eloquence, zeal in the cause, or from the es¬
timation he was then held in that house, and the country,
could be better qualified for the task."
The result of the first attempt was that they only succeed¬
ed in getting a resolution passed pledging the House, that in
its next session, it would consider the subject of the " slave
trade." The agitation of the question by the passage of a
resolution to consider the same at the next session, threw the
enemies of the measure on the alert, who exerted themselves
as much as possible to defeat it.
The time having arrived for the discussion of the subject,
and Mr. Wilberforce having recovered from his indisposition,
on the 12th of May, 1789, moved the order of the day for the
House to take into consideration the petitions that 1 ad been
presented against the slave trade. And on moving that the
evidence adduced on the slave trade be referred to a com¬
mittee, he prefaced his motion with a speech of three hours
and a half in length, opening the horrible attrocities of the
trade, and its effects on Africa, the planters and the nation,
with so much force, and power, that Mr. Burke, who follow¬
ed, in support of the motion, bestows on it the. following elab*
[ 16 ]
orate panegyric : " that it was masterly, impressive, and elo*
quent. He had laid down his principles so admirably, aud
with so much order and force, that his speech had equalled
any thing he had ever heard in modern oratory, and that
perhaps it had never been excelled in ancient times."
Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox, and Lord Grenville followed in its sup¬
port ; the latter in noticing the speech of his honourable
friend, Mr. Wilberforce, characterizes it as as the " most
masterly, impressive and eloquent speech he ever heard;
while it did honour to him, it entitled him to the thanks of the
House, of the people of England, all Europe, and the latest
posterity."
It would be doing injustice to the memory of departed
worth, not to notice that Messrs. Pitt, Fox, Burke, Grenville
and William Smith, stood by and faithfully supported Mr.
Wilberforce in all his motions and movements with regard to
the measure; and we might exhaust language, and fail to be*
stow on him a higher encomium on either his talents or his
virtues, than when we say they chose him as their leader.
Men whose talents and legislative knowledge lighted up all
Europe with their fame. They were a brilliant constellation
of intellectual geniuses, that bedizzened almost every star
that came within their orbit. Yet we find these converging
and encircling around Mr. Wilberforce, attracted by his in¬
imitable powers, receiving his radiant light and emitting it
forth, like the planetary system around our sun.
But a short interval of time succeeded, until the discussion
of the question was again attempted; but the opponents of
the measure successfully resisted it, by conjuring up the " im¬
aginary evils" that w7ould arise to the merchants and planters,
and called for further evidence, which ended in the passage of
Sir William Dolben's bill for the regulation of the trade.
Mr. Wilberforce, early in 1790, again revived the subject,
and was similarly defeated. But on the 18th of April of the
same year, he again succeeded in getting up a discussion of
the subject, which he opened with such power, and poured
forth such a flood of light upon the subject, that the admirers
of his former memorable speech of the 12th of May, declared
that it was far surpassed by his late effort; that the long do*-
C 17 ]
lays of his opponents had given him time to recruit both in
energy and materials. This speech is said to have been a pow¬
erful effort. He was followed by Messrs. Pitt, Fox, [and
Smith, but was again defeated by a majority of 75.
To a man of ordinary abilities, this would have been truly
discouraging, but to him who had pledged his life to the cause,
defeat only led him to change positions, exhibit a broader front,
and prepare to discharge a volley of truth from a more pow-
ful battery.
On the 3d of April 1792, he again moved the abolition, but
was opposed with more virulence than ever.
Many of the opponents were talented, and interested ; and
all that sophistry and evasion could command, were levelled
against the cause and its advocates. We learn by this discus¬
sion, to the credit of our own country, that those epithets,
" fanatic, incendiary," &c. are of foreign extraction. If we
trace their derivation, we shall be able to find that they have
ever been used by the advocates of slavery, in the place of ar¬
guments, so when they appear on our soil, they are clothed in
borrowed livery. The resolution was opposed by Messrs.
Dundas, Bailey, Vaughn, Col. Thornton, and Mr. Grosvenor.
To give you a sample of their arguments, it may be proper to
cite to you a few remarks that fell from the latter gentleman.
He said, the slave trade was certainly not an amiable trade.
Neither was that of a butcher, yet it was a necessary one.
There was grent reason to doubt the propriety of the present
motion. He had twenty reasons for disapproving it; the first
was that it was impossible: he need not, therefore give the rest.
Parliament might indeed relinquish the trade; but to whom 1
To foreigners, who would continue it, without the humane re¬
gulations, that were applied it to by his countrymen.
The motion was again lost, and the motion of Mr. Dundas
for the gradual abolition of the trade, was carried by a ma--
jority of sixty-eight.
On the 25th of April, the house having again resumed the
consideration of the subject, Mr. Dundas having brought in his
bill, moved "that it should be unlawful to import any African
negroes into any of the British Colonies, in ships owned or
laavigated by British subjects, at any time after the 1st of Janr-
[ is ]
ary, 1800," which was warmly discussed, and an amendment
was offered, to substitute 1793 in its stead, which was lost by
a division, by a majority of forty.
Sir Edward Knatchbull, finding that there was a disposition
In the house to bring the subject to a conclusion, chose a mid¬
dle passage, and accordingly moved "that the year 1796 be
substituted in the room of 1800, which was carried by a ma¬
jority of nineteen.
During the years 1784-5-6-7-8, and 9, Mr. Wilberforce
agitated the question by nine distinct motions. Although only
a part of these motions were for the total abolition of the trade,
yet they all so materially affected it, that had he have been
successful, each would have shorn off its asperity and barba¬
rity, so that its advocates would have nothing left to cherish
their inhuman appetites, nor sufficient interest to have sustain¬
ed them in supporting the odious traffic.
The first was a bill to " prohibit the supply of slaves to fo¬
reign colonies," which was carried in the lower house, but was
thrown out in the Lords, by a majority of 45 to 4. The next
was a motion " to promote a pacific relation with France,"
which he again repeated, but with the same ill success.
Mr. Wilberforce, never wearied in well doing, even when
the most gloomy prospects surrounded his efforts, he was cool¬
ly calculating new projects of victory—raising new fortifica¬
tions for defence, and feeling the pulsations of his enemies in
new veins. Accordingly, on the 26th of February 1795, he
again brought forward his original motion for the abolition of
the trade, but as usual, it was unsuccessful; and on motion of
Mr. Dundas, it was postponed for six months. On the 18th
of February the following year, it met with the same fate.
In the same year he again asked leave to bring in a " bill to
abolish the slave trade for a limited time," which was carried
on the third reading by a majority of 45; but in the next stage,
after a speech from Mr. Dundas, it was lost by a majority of
four. Mr. Wilberforce having felt elated by the effect of an
address having been presented to the crown, for the protection
of colonial interests, was determined to occupy the advantages
it might present, for the final adjustment of the question. In
Jhe year 1798, he again renewed his motion, but on a division
L 19 ]
of the house, there were found eighty-three for it, and eighty-
seven against it.
Mr. Wilberforce remained undismayed by these different
disappointments, and on the success of his next movement, he
calculated on the influence that the acquisition of Mr. Canning
Would bring to the cause. In 1799 he again brought up his
motion, which was warmly supported by all his former col¬
leagues, with the addition of Mr. Canning, and to their as¬
tonishment, on a division of the house, it was lost by a majo¬
rity of eight.
There were two other attempts made to carry the measure
partially, one for the " prohibition of foreign slaves," the other
for making " a certain portion of Africa sacred to liberty."
The question now having been so long and powerfully agitated,
Mr. Wilberforce, like a skilful physician, " thought it impru¬
dent longer to press the abolition as an annual measure, but
to allow members time to digest the eloquence that had so long
and faithfully been bestowed upon it for so many years, think¬
ing that probably some new circumstances might favour its
introduction."
Accordingly, nothing more was done until the year 1804,
except moving for certain papers, during which time he as¬
sured the house that he should again agitate the question at a
future session.
We are now approaching a new period, and a fruitful era
in the history of this long delayed, though important question.
While it promised to England and all Europe the greatest
blessings, it presented to Africa an opening dawn that might
radiate her whole realm with a bright refulgency, whose beam¬
ing rays seemed to speak in the language of the poet—
" O ye winds and waves,
Waft the glad tidings to the land of slaves ;
Proclaim on Guinea's coast by Gambia's side,
As far as Niger rolls his eastern tide,
That thy sons shall no longer be driven
So far from happiness and Heaven."
In this interval of space, Mr. Wilberforce, although so often
defeated, had sufficiently learned the encampments and bul¬
warks of the enemy, to understand what materials were ne¬
cessary to be obtained to carry the citadel. He lost no time,
[ 20 ]
and prepared accordingly, having learned the fact, (that ought
to throw the whole world in amazement) that one point they
meant to establish, was the natural inferiority of the African
—his incapability of holding and enjoying civil and religious
liberty, and that they were not legitimate heirs to the rights of
man. To defeat this point, Mr. Wilberforce and his friends
that were in conjunction with him, found it necessary to es¬
tablish a college at Clapham, a village in Surrey, about four
leagues south of London, for the education of African pupils.
It may seem somewhat astonishing, yet it is not less true,
that in so enlightened a period of the world, such doctrines
should have been either believed or advocated in England, (at
a time when she could challenge the world to produce as many
eminent philosophers and statesmen,) that the intellectual quality
of mankind, was regulated by the laws of lights und shades.
Yet we may be somewhat awakened from our revery when
we reflect that we so often find some men the dupes of mea¬
sures, while others arc borne forward by interested motives to
complete the execution of some plan that may promote their
evil designs. For such is the character of many politicians,
when they assume the doctrine of expediency, that they re¬
sort to dazzling speculations, in defence of opinions which
can never be sustained by reason, or advocated by reasonable
men, to give them the colouring of virtue, and thus insure the
execution of designs, at once inhuman and impious. That this
must have been the situation of the opponents to the " abolition
of the slave trade" is so self-evident that it needs no illustration.
To have established the fact that Africa was once the cradle
of science-—the seat of civilization—and her sons its early vo¬
taries and boasted cultivators, who in their search after wis¬
dom had scanned the " azure pathway of the heavens," and
laid the foundation of some of the most abstruse sciences, they
might only have referred to the Ptolemian age, or to that
mammoth receptacle of their collected wisdom, the Alexan¬
drian Library, that by the decree of Omar, was consumed by
fire, with all its philosophical treasures. The light of its con¬
flagration was followed by an age of darkness; and its in¬
censed smoke appears in its fall to have brought down bar¬
barism and superstition. Let history mourn the event.
[ 21 ]
Or when we approach more modern times, we find that tfieS
National Institute of France have examined the ancient col¬
lege of La-Marcbe, where African pupils were educated, de¬
clared that there existed no difference between them and the
Europeans, except the colour of their skins.
Europe, previous to that period, had been a nursery for the
improvement of African intellect, yet it appears that the doc¬
trine of African inferiority was so well grounded, that not only
Mr. Wilberforce and his associates had to establish a collese
o
for their instruction, so that in advocating their cause they
might plead for the rights of human beings, but the celebrated
Abbe Gregoire felt called upon to write a work, entitled "An
inquiry concerning the intellectual and moral faculties of Ne¬
groes," to prove that they were not of the brute creation.
We now approach the year 1804, as fixed by Mr. Wilber¬
force for again bringing the question before the house. His
reasons and prospects for now agitating the question was on
the account of the union that had taken place between Eng¬
land and Ireland, and his knowledge that the Irish members
were favorable to the abolition. Therefore he recorded it to
the credit of the Irish name, and to the honour of their coun¬
try, that they were four, centuries in advance of England in
that national purity which bestows on mankind the enjoy¬
ment of those rights and privileges granted by his Creator.
As early as the reign of Henry VII. tney were engaged in a
domestic traffic in human beings ; but having experienced a
general calamity, which they imputed as a judgment from
heaven on account of its wickedness they abolished it.
On the 30th of March Mr. Wilberforce asked leave to re¬
new his bill for the abolition of the slave trade within a limited
time. The sublimity of his speech on this occasion surpassed all
his former eloquence. A warm debate ensued, both sides hav¬
ing recruited in resources as well as members, it was truly
animated, which terminated in favor of the abolitionists, by a
majority of 124 to 49. The bill was now sent up to the house
of lords, but the discussion was postponed to the next year.
In 1805, Mr. Wilberforce again renewed his motion for the
for the former year, but it met with the same vigorous opposi¬
tion, and was finally lost by a majority of seven.
t 22 ]
Mr. Wilberforce never again introduced the question. He
now found that it was necessary to prepare for the next ses¬
sion of parliament, when it was generally believed the bill
Would become a law.
Mr. Wilberforce having now like a towering eagle in its
serial flight, been faithfully supported by Messrs. Pitt and
Fox, for a period of nineteen years, their soaring spirits could
in prospect see the most triumphant success. Amidst this
scene of enjoyment they were interrupted by the death of
Mr. Pitt, in January 1806, who, like Moses of old, had as¬
cended Pisgah's top, but was not permitted to enjoy the pro¬
mised land, and in him fell not only a powerful advocate, but
the right wing of the E pluribus unum.
On the death of Mr. Pitt, Lord Grenville and Mr. Fox
were called to the ministry; the former was a fit substitute for
Mr. Pitt, both as a minister of the crown and the cause.
Thus was Mr. Wilberforce again ready to take his flight, and
after calculating on the effect of ministerial influence he ad¬
vised Mr. Fox to bring forward the question, which he did
on the 10th of June, 1806, enforced by a very able speech,
which after some considerable debate it was finally carried
by a majority of 114 to 15.
Mr. Wilberforce, immediately after the division, moved an
address to his majesty, which was carried without a division.
The resolutions of the lower house, together with the address,
were sent to the lords, which with the efforts of Lord Gren¬
ville were carried by a majority of 100 to 36.
Thus passed both houses of the legislature a bill that for its
value, whether we regard the interest of Africa, Europe, or
the world, is unequalled in legislation, and one which Mr.
Fox regarded as the highest glory of his administration. But
how often are the " pleasures of life illusory." Before the bill
had received the royal sanction, Mr. Fox was numbered with
the dead, and in him fell a giant of abolition, and the left
wing of the golden eagle, when he had barely reached the
shores of victory, before a friend could greet him at the end
of his pilgrimage, his spirit had fled to join that of its de¬
parted associate.
Although the bill had passed both houses of the legislature,
[ 23 ]
a circumstance took place which threw great terror into the
ranks of the abolitionists, and caused them much to fear, that
at the moment when they had expected that it would receive
the royal sanction, they might have to perform the whole
work over again. The reason of this was his majesty being
displeased with the introduction of the Roman Catholic's bill
into the house of commons, had signified his intention of dis¬
placing the ministry; therefore all their exertions were put
into requisition to have the bill adopted in detail, and to have
it printed ; accordingly, on the 24th of March, 1807, the whole
was completed. And on the next day at 11 o'clock in the
morning, his majesty's message was delivered to the minis¬
ters of the crown, that they were to wait upon him and deli¬
ver up the seals of their offices.
The commission for the royal assent to this bill, among
others had been obtained. And Mr. Clarkson relates that
" the commission was opened by Lord Chancellor Erskine,
who was accompanied by Lords Holland and Auckland; and
as the clock struck twelve, just when the sun was in its me¬
ridian splendour to witness this august act, of the establish¬
ment of magna charta for Africa in Britain, and to sanction
it by its most glorious beams, it was completed."
It was indeed a time for England, for Africa, and the
friends of humanity all over the wTorld to rejoice, at one of
the most glorious victories ever recorded in the history of
legislation—a victory achieved without blood-stained ban¬
ners. Unlike the revolution of France, it was not the " ille¬
gitimate offspring of a bloody night." It was the overthrow
of public opinion by the triumph of reason. It was placed on
a permanent basis, because a virtuous posterity would vindi¬
cate and sustain its adoption. It left the enemies of the mea¬
sure without a temple to erect their hopes for further inva¬
sions on Africa. It marked for tyrants a moral and legisla¬
tive boundary, and left them no charter to protect them from
the omnipotence of the law, and without a panoply to shield
their degrading infamy from the curse of time.
To its friends all was hope and rejoicing. The valiant
band who had so faithfully sustained this great cause could
look with pride on Mr. Wilberforce, who was the leader of
t: 24 ]
the mighty phalanx—the director of their mighty'genius—the
general who won the victory and wears its laurels.
As a government measure, the triumph might have been
given to Lord Grenville, but it was fairly given to Mr.
Wilberforce. He was hailed with enthusiastic acclamations
on reentering the house after his success, and the country
reechoed it from shore to shore. Thus, in the language of
the poet—
" When Wilberforce, the minister of grace,
The new Las Cassas of a ruined race,
With angel might opposed the rage of hell,
And fought like Michael till the dragon fell."
The contest now being over Mr. Wilberforce's fame shone
forth like a towering monument associating in itself the no¬
blest qualities, and bearing for its inscription the incompara¬
ble motto of Virtue, Liberty and Independence, an object for
tyrants to fear, Christians to admire, and nations to love.
On the following year he was returned for Yorkshire, al¬
though a subscription of £100,000 sterling was necessary to
secure his election. It is said that such was the warmth of
the friends of humanity in his support that double that amount
was secured. He continued in Parliament until the year
1825, when he retired into private life, to share those convi¬
vial joys that domestic life affords, that are sought for in vain
in the tempestuous billows that distract the affairs of men in
the full tide of public life. It is not our intention to refer
either to the course he pursued or the measures he advocated
during this part of his parliamentary career; suffice it to say,
that he was considered the father of the House, and that the
greatest indulgences were extended to him as a national
benefactor.
Having now faintly noticed that great act, the recollection
oFwhich inspires us with a solemn regard for his exertions
in behalf of " the poor and oppressed," we shall pass on to
notice those peculiar and distinguishing traits of character
that endeared him to his associates. Mr. Wilberforce not
only distinctly understood, but unerringly practised the seve¬
ral duties of man as an individual, a member of society, a
guardian of national interests, a lover of his God, and a pro¬
moter of religion.
E 25 ]
About the year 1797, a time when his mind was deeply
absorbed in the slave trade, he became the author of a cele¬
brated work, entitled "A popular view of Christianity," that
secured for him a valuable reputation in the religious world,
not only for the intrinsic elegance of its style, but for the cor¬
rectness of its principles; probably the best eulogium that
can be pronounced upon it is, when we say that it has gone
through forty editions, and been translated into different lan¬
guages, and has been adopted into almost every library iri
this country, and Europe. This itself entitles him to another
claim on public gratitude, viz. that of being a defender of the
faith, and protector of the established church. There can be
little doubt but that he was induced to write this work with
the hope that the extension of the doctrines would aid the
cause of abolition. The public mind at that period had be¬
come so corrupted with the metaphysical speculations of in¬
fidel and deistical theorists, that a book containing the simple
doctrines of Christianity as practised in the established church,
could scarcely have gained admittance into families in the
higher walks of life under a less respectable recommenda¬
tion. Notwithstanding the abundance of his labours, the
multiplied claims the public made on his time and talents,
that sufficient time was scarcely left for his body to receive
that relaxation so necessary to prepare it to encounter new
trials and meet new difficulties. He appeared determined to
occupy every situation that could be filled with honour, or
enable him to shed an illustrious example to those around
him. We therefore find that, in the same year, he became
united in wedlock to Miss Barbara Spooner, the daughter of
an opulent banker at Birmingham, with whom he lived in the
utmost harmony and conjugal fidelity until his death. They
were blest with four sons and two daughters, all of which
under their parental care, and the protection of Him whom
he daily supplicated, grew up to maturity. The former with
their mother have survived their venerable head. The latter, for
whom he cherished the most fond and endearing hopes, and
with whom his affections were indissolubly united, by all the
ties that can unite the relation of father and child, or parents
and their offspring, have, as if it were, to test his Christian vir-
tues, or the reality of that offering that he had so often sLnd
solemnly dedicated to the God he loved and served, have
been summoned in the bloom of youth from the presence of
their parents, their earthly affections and fond endearments*
by the destroying hand of time, to become the tenants of an
early grave. The elder died four years ago, unmarried. The
younger was married to the Rev. J. James, and survived her
marriage less than twelve months. Grievous as was this af¬
flicting dispensation, the morning of her decease found him
at church performing his usual devotion. It is said that she
bore so strongly the impress of her father's beautiful mind
that he never recovered her loss.
If we follow him in domestic life, we find in him all those
virtues that form an endearing husband, an affectionate pa¬
rent, a social companion, a kind and benevolent neighbour—
not only seeking the happiness of those around him, but ex¬
tending the same illustrious example to society that distin-
guishea him as a Christian, a legislator and a lawgiver.
If we call into being those pecuniary considerations that
the world calls wealth, Mr. Wilberforce having descended
from an opulent parentage was born an heir to no personal
wants that fancy might invent or fortune purchase ; yet we
find that these birthright enjoyments were to trivial for the
nobleness of his nature. His capacious mind soon quit the
vain pleasures of the domestic hearth, where the abundance
of nature lay treasured at his bidding, and engaged in an ex¬
tensive field of speculation, where the corruption of his coun¬
try had to be purchased by the enlargement of his genius and
the fruit of his industry.
Mr. Wilberforce possessed a combination of good qualities
calculated to render him agreeable in all his different situa¬
tions of life. He was so uniforrrj and unassuming in all his
domestic acts, that he seemed almost invariably to adapt him¬
self to the peculiar habits and dispositions of the company
with whom he was associated. With children he was ani¬
mated and playful—with statesmen he was a counsellor—
with the aged and infirm he was a consoler—in short, he ap¬
peared at home in the society of all, and by all he was gene¬
rally loved and esteemed. He was small of stature, and na-
t 27 ]
ture appears not to have adorned his features for personal
admiration. He was happy in conversation, and when his
■countenance was animated it was truly striking. His me¬
mory was richly stored with classical illusions; a natural
poetry of mind constantly displayed itself; a melodious ca¬
dence marked every thought, and every expression of the
thought. He was seldom impassioned, and not often ener¬
getic ; his tones were mellifluous and persuasive, exactly ac¬
cording to the sentiment they conveyed. It may be said of
his eloquence, while it delighted and awakened the imagina¬
tion, it convinced the heart. It did not awe it into obedience,
but peacefully and intuitively led the senses of the audience
in the train of the orator.
In the natural power of eloquence there is something truly
mysterious. If language be an emanation from God, eloquence
when advocating the cause of truth and justice, must breathe
forth divinity. In every age it has only had to call forth its
powers, command, and it was done. If we look back into the re¬
trospective vale, when the creator spoke and said, " Let us
make man," or when most noble Festus trembled before the
towering eloquence of Paul, or to the history of Greece and
Rome, it has always possessed the same irresistible power.
Probably we may look in vain in modern times to find it pos¬
sessing so much of its primitive powers and original excellence,
as when it was called into action to extinguish the slave trade.
Those associate virtues that were blended in the subject of
our eulogy, together with his Christian benevolence, and ex¬
alted kindness that breathed through his words and actions,
were well calculated to inspire his opponents with a regard
for the honesty of his motives, and when his emphatic tones
were mellowed with the milk of Christianity, we feel not as¬
tonished that among even the dazzling lights of his cotempo-
raries, he was considered the brightest of the train.
We now follow him down to the present year. Mr. Wil-
berforce having spent a long and useful life; undergone exces¬
sive toils, and acquired for himself an extensive fame among
all nations, for his advocacy in behalf of abolition, kept be¬
holding his country wiping from her dominions the internal
guilt of that horrible system, seemed willing to retire in peace,
L *8 r]
and not again suffer his quiet to be disturbed by the turmoil#
of life. But his labours of love were not yet finished, another
great work was yet to be performed, which may no doubt be
said his last public act, viz: his protest against the American
Colonization Society. That institution having appeared before
him in its giant form, he recognized in its interior his old ad¬
versary, that arch enemy of liberty, with whom he had spent
his whole life contending against. That Protean disciple of
his Satanic majesty stood upon the altar clad in the livery of
the sanctuary—the ermine of the bench, and the robe of the
statesman. Notwithstanding he loved the colony of Liberia,
and the civilization of Africa, but to use the language of the
o o
" protest," he saw that to the cause of liberty throughout the
world, it was a total obstruction—he raised his dying hand and
smote the monster.
My friends, if this were the only benefit he had ever confer¬
red on either Africa or her descendants, we should sound forth
his praise. When he might have peacefully slept in blissful
security, enjoying a fame as enduring as time, he risked it all
against the popularity of an institution, almost incorporated
with the pride and patriotism of one of the greatest republics
on the globe, to save us from its grasp, and from that monster
that had withered the influence and prospects of his own be¬
loved country.
Having now closed his public career of half a century, with
an act that was immediately connected with our interests;
and having undergone the vicissitudes of upwards of seventy
years, he could in retrospection look back at the overthrow
of public opinion; at the re-establishment of religion and mo¬
rality on the ruins of vice and absolute degeneracy. He
looked forward to the promise given to the righteous—" well
done, good and faithful servant," thou shalt enter into the joy
of thy Lord, and quietly closed his eyes in death on the 29th
day of Jnly last, when his noble spirit took its flight to receive
those blessings prepared from the. foundation.
To mourn over the event, would be to desire that heaven
should be deprived of one of her richest jewels, and that our
benefactor should have still lingered out a few more short
years, subject to the endurance of all those pains and diseases
[ S9 ]
that belong to the infirmity of age. Yet we discover that itl
the demise of our friends, that the common feelings of our
nature, in the abundance of their affection,overflow our senses,
and frequently drown our better judgment in the flood.
Death always brings a solemnity, over which the feelings
of our nature weeps, on whomsoever his cold and icy hand is
laid; sorrow must be the consequence—the " peace of some
living being must be slain." Though the grave be open to
receive the humblest of God's creatures, yet there is some
one to shed tears upon it—a wife is bereft of a beloved hus¬
band—a mother of a darling babe—a sister of a kind and de¬
voted brother—some child fatherless—some friend friendless
■—some small circle of gaiety repressed—some house of joy
converted into a house of mourning.
In the present instance, a wife is deprived of one of the
most amiable of husbands—four sons one of the kindest of
fathers—the friends of liberty and of man, a bold and intrepid
champion—the nation, one of her proudest ornaments.—Let
Us pour forth our sympathies for the family and friends of the
departed. If we have tears to shed, let us mingle them with
theirs, and pour forth the noblest feelings of gratitude for
departed worth; and let us resign ourselves to the will of that
Providence " that giveth and taketh," and return him thanks
for preserving him so long to plead the cause of his poor and
oppressed brethren.
With us the shock of his death cannot be so sensibly felt;
to him we were not united by that social intercourse that
warms and endears the personal affections, and frequently
terminates in forming the holiest relations of life.
Ours were not of that cast. He having lived out the days
allotted to man, and usefully employed them in erecting a
structure of liberty that stands an honourable memento of his
labours, we have fixed our aspirations of love on the fruit of
his exertions. Though the mortal remains of Mr. Wilber-
force may be entombed within the narrow precincts of the
grave, the theme of our admiration still lives, and will con¬
tinue to live, an object for philanthropists to admire and ty¬
rants to fear—so that with us he can never die. The fabric
of liberty may fall; but if it should, the crashing ruins would
[ 30 ]
cry out, in the spirit of its founder, to the friends of humanity
all over the world, to erect another temple on its foundation,
and dedicate it as a trophy to Christianity; and inscribe on
its immeasurable front the indestructible name of William,
Wilberforce. And the historian that shall record the event
will not only associate his name with the spirit of liberty, but
when songs may be sung to their honour, the minstrel will
■dedicate his lays,
To offer them notes of adoration and praise.
Thus terminated the earthly career of one, that the exer¬
cise of language in all its boasted strength will fail to do him
honour. As a Christian he stood like the church upon the
rock of ages—as a philanthropist he shone like the sun of li¬
berty (with its healing rays) lighting up the dark chasms of
slavery and oppression—as a man, he concentrated in him¬
self those refulgent virtues that rendered him a model for the
world; and after having " fought the good fight, finished his
course, and kept the faith," he with that spirit of humility
that characterized his whole life, desired to be interred pri¬
vately, with those becoming ceremonials that exhibit Chris¬
tian meekness.
Although this was his dying request, the pride of Britons
could not consent that he whose life had been spent in their
service, and who had achieved for his country so much na¬
tional good, should be buried without national honours. She
decreed that the remains of the champion of liberty, who had
exposed the iniquity of the slave trade, and overthrew the
temple of immorality, should be deposited in Westminster
Abbey, along with Granville Sharpe, who had interpreted the
British constitution, by which the ground on which they
" trod became holy, and was consecrated to the genius" of
universal liberty—with the illustrious Newton, the immortal
Bacon, and the collected wisdom of the nation, and beside
his esteemed compatriots and coworkers in the same glori¬
ous cause, Messrs. Pitt and Fox. Thus again, after a period
of twenty-seven years, has that celebrated triumvirate been
united, whose matchless eloquence, like an unconquerable
torrent in its roaming flood, swept the inhuman traffic from
Britain's coast.
t 81 J
Mr. Wilberforce was not only^spared to accomplish tfie>
noble work, but was to have the pleasure of examining its
operations, as if that he were to be the messenger that should
bear to departed spirits the rewards of their toil, and the
blessed and happy influence of those exertions on the great
family of mankind. It must have been to him a theme of
pride, not only to see that the slave trade was abolished by
other nations, but that under no national flag could kidnapped
slaves be brought into the ports of the world, without being
subject to the laws of piracy.
It must have gladdened his heart in his dying moments to
see domestic slavery about being swept from the dominions
of his country, and that their free coloured population were
advancing in education and refinement, and occupying dis¬
tinguished situations of public trust; and that the Republic of
Hayti had taken her stand among the nations of the earth;
and that when he cast his eyes across the broad Atlantic sea,
(to the United States,) he could there see the happy influence
of those principles that he so long cherished, had swrept from
half her territory the yoke of the bondsman; and that they,
too, were, by their rapid improvements in the blessings of
education and public spirit, fit subjects to enjoy the boon of
heaven.
Having seen all this, like good old Simeon he was satisfied
" to depart in peace," and put on immortality, to enjoy the
regions of glory. Unlike the patriotic Emmet, let his epitaph
be written. " Let it not be left to other men and other times
to do justice to his character," for those who know his mo¬
tives dare assert them; for the same redeeming spirit is
abroad in our own land that accomplished the destruction of
slavery and the slave trade. Let it not only be written in in-
effacable letters on tables of stone, but let us imprint his worth
on our memories, and inscribe on the portals of his fame
" peace and good will to men."
Although you have already been detained, and probably
too long, we must not suffer the present opportunity to escape
without awakening in ourselves that national feeling, which
true patriots we are bound to cherish.
We will now leave the shores of Britain, and review the
[ 32 J
history of our own country. She too has passed a law pro¬
hibiting the slave trade. She too has had her heroes for abo¬
lition, and at no period like the present has the boasted
sons of humanity and justice more powerfully stood forward
to advocate the rights of the oppressed descendants of Africa.
The same glorious success awaits us as the inhabitants of the
old world. We, too, have had a Benezet, a Jay, a Rush, a
Franklin, a Wistar, a Lay, a Tyson and a Livingston, as
well as many others, that time would fail us to enumerate—
men who have shone in the most important situations of pri¬
vate, as well as public life, and may be justly considered the
pride of the nation, and on whom the history of the present
generation points to as the departed fathers of the republic.
Of the living we can truly say they are as valiant a band
as ever stood by a friend or met a foe.
When we speak of America we do it with those feelings of
respect that are due to it as our country—not as the land of
our adoption, nor with the alienated breath of foreigners; but
with the instinctive love of native born citizens. We look
upon her as favoured by Providence above all others, for the
geniality of her climate and fruitfulness of her soil, and, in
the language of Dr. Rush as possessing " a compound of most
climates of the world"—a country said to be the " freest on the
globe," where not only the liberty of the press is guaranteed,
but the Christian and the infidel, the Mahometan and pagan,
the deist and the atheist, the Jew and Gentile, are not only
protected in their faith, but may propagate their doctrines un¬
molested—a country where the oppressed of all nations and
castes seek shelter from oppression, and become incorporated
into the spirit of her laws, and rally round her standard of
liberty, except those of African origin.
We admire her declaration of rights, and worship it as our
holy creed; but we mourn over its fallen spirit as we would
over some ancient ruin, whose splendour and magnificence
had attracted the gaze of an admiring world. We point not
to the graves of our relatives and immediate ancestors as the
graves of departed Africans, but as American citizens; many
of whom have fallen in battle with the revolutionary fathers
in their arduous struggle for liberty; whose blood have moist-
[ S3 ]
ened this sacred soil, and whose tomb-stones, if erected, would
not only direct us to the depositories of departed heroes, but
wrould light our path to a patriot's grave. There are yet
many of our aged fathers, who were scions of the British
colonies that have survived the struggle, and have been in¬
corporated in that bond of union that forms the national
standard, and have grown up through American liberty, but
who have never enjoyed the glorious privilege of citizenship.
They have weakened with her strength, and their heads that
are now blossomed for a future world, stand as evidence
against American cruelty, the injustice of her policy, and the
spirit of her laws.
The slave trade was not only beheld with horror by the
good and great of all nations, but its destruction was ef¬
fected by their union and co-operation. If we take into con¬
sideration who were the first forerunners and coadjutors in
effecting the abolition of the slave trade it may no doubt
awaken our state and sectional pride, to find that in this land
of Penn, and our own " city of brotherly love," the society
of Friends, those pioneers of liberty, peace, and moral reform,
were the first public body that ever associated to promote tha
cause. They preceded the yearly meeting of the Society of
Friends in London thirty-one years. Their first yearly meet¬
ing on the subject was in 1696. They again met in 1711,
1754, 1774,1776. The legislative spirit of Pennsylvania has
early adopted for her polar star, the principles of her immor¬
tal founder and celebrated lawgiver, and she continued not
only marching forward herself in the cause of freedom, but
has led the nations of the earth in her path. It is to the ex¬
ertions of the Society of Friends, and the moral influence
they inculcated, more than to any other set of people, that
we are to a.scribe that union in the religious communities, that
taught them to discard sectional prejudices, and unite them¬
selves in a body for the purpose of aiding the oppressed Af¬
ricans and their descendants. In the year 1780, they formed
a society, that was known, as it continues to be, by the name
and title of " the Pennsylvania Society for promoting the abo¬
lition of slavery, and the relief of free negroes unlawfully
held in bondageand Benjamin Franklin was chosen presi<
L 34 3
dent. Thus, the philosopher who had signed the declaration
of American independence, and " drew down the lightning
from heaven," and had aided in achieving the liberty of his
country, thought it no indignity to stand at the helm, and guide
the destinies of an institution, that had avowed for its creed,
" that it is not for us to inquire why in the creation of man¬
kind that the inhabitants were formed of different complexion;
it was sufficient to know that they were the work of an Al¬
mighty hand," and that they should enjoy the privilege of hia
creatures.
This society petitioned parliament on the subject of abolish¬
ing the slave trade, and avowed its cooperation in every mea¬
sure that might tend to its promotion; and the most happy
effects have attended its exertions. On the death of Frank¬
lin, Drs. Benjamin Rush, and Wistar have filled the presiden¬
tial chair, and it has only been vacated by the termination of
their existence. It is now filled by our learned and distinguish¬
ed fellow citizen, William Rawle, Esq.-These gentlemen have
not only been the pride and boast of our state, but they have
been distinguished cultivators of American science, and have
shed such a lustre around their professions, that they have been
styled the ornaments of the age. May the march of Penn¬
sylvania be onward; but if she should depart from the spirit
of such ancestors, she will be on the road to degeneracy.
We have made this departure from our subject, to exhibit
the happy influence the early abolitionists of our country had
in effecting the passage of a law by which the subject of our
eulogy has received unfading renown; the effect of which
has been, that the attention of nations has been taught to re¬
gard his moral worth; and that wherever his name has been
known, his praises have been uttered forth with that heart-felt
regard, to which they believed the merit of his exertions were
so richly entitled. By his life, we find there is a reward for
the righteous. By his death, we learn, that the true road to
fame is in advocating the cause of the oppressed.
My friends, of the millions who sound forth his praises,
probably there are only thousands who do him honour. Those
w o advocate slavery and perpetual servitude, are unworthy
o neeling at his sacred shrine—those who are opposed to
I 3* ]
the natural elevation of the man of colour to the rights and
privileges of free citizens, are unworthy of paying him devo¬
tion—those who have not adopted for the line of their con¬
duct towards their fellow men, the golden rule, "do unto
others as you would they should do unto you," are unfit to
utter forth his name. As well might an angel of darkness
bow down and worship the prince of light and glory, as for
men possessing such a motley of inconsistencies, to attempt
to pay tribute to his memory. But his fame is fixed, the in¬
fluence of his exertions is felt, and the news that a great and
good man is fallen, has been uttered in such pathetic strains,
that babes have caught the sound, and are beginning to lisp
forth his name, which must be transmitted to posterity en¬
robed in the mantle of Christian virtue, that nothing can
tarnish but our degeneracy. If we should fail to render our¬
selves worthy of so powerful an advocate, we shall retard
the influence of those virtues. If we shall fail to walk in those
paths of elevation, marked out for us by the laws of our
country, and the achievements of philanthropy, we shall not
only destroy the prospects of those who come after us, but
will weaken the cause of those who come forward for our
support. Let that not be our course. Let us march forward
with a firm, unvarying step, not only occupying every inch
of ground acquired by those philanthropists who are labour¬
ing in our behalf, but let the strength of our characters, by
the influence of their examples, acquire for us new territory,
and the name of William Wilberforce will not only burnish
inta brighter fame, but will serve as a lamp, the light of
whose blaze will grow broader and higher, until it shall have
not only warmed the most remote regions, by " encircling the
globe we inhabit," but, by its revolutionary power, ice, in
our ascent upwards, shall be lost in the regions of the skies.
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