He thought the bill not explicit enough as to its objects; and fome of its claufes appeared to be contradictory. Mr H. Thornton answered. No monopoly of trade, he faid, was intended. After the establishment of the Company, British subjects, in general, would be just as much at liberty to trade to Sierra Leona, to wood, and to water, and to refit there, as they are at prefent. He remarked that those who opposed this establishment, as a monopoly, did it only to preferve another. The Weft India merchants had oppofed the bill on this ground, that if the new Company fhould turn their attention to the rearing of fugar, it might interfere with their monopoly of that article in the Weft Indies. It was not eafy for those who began a bufinefs, of the nature here propofed, to ftate precifely what the circumstances they were not yet fufficiently acquainted with, might render expedient for them; this was the reason of that want of abfolute precifion of which they complained. He remarked, that all parties had agreed in deploring the ignorance and barba rity of the African nations; and had held this circumftance up to view, as the chief reafon of their wishing to continue the flave trade, that the oppreffed natives might thus be wrefted from the merciless gripe of their cruel owners. On their own grounds, therefore, they ought to fupport the prefent bill, which had, for its principal object, the civilization, and humanizing thefe merciless barbarians. The planters also maintained, that fugar could not be reared without negroes, and not even by negroes, if they were not flaves; but as the propofed Company were abfolutely precluded from having any flaves, it ought to follow, that if the planters truly fpoke their fentiments, they could be under no apprehenfions of being rivalled, in the cultivation of fugar, by this Company. These contradictory grounds of oppofition clearly fhowed, that there was no just foundation for the apprehenfions they had expreffed. Mr Cawthorne explained. Sir William Young approved of the bill; and fhewed, that in fo doing, he was confiftent with the conduct he had adopted with refpect to the flave bufinefs. He com plained that his fentiments had been mifrepresented elfewhere; alluding to the refolutions of the West India merchants, out of that House. Mr Buxton, in a warm and animated fpeech, ftrongly regretted that indifpofition had prevented him from giving, on a former day, his most decided oppofition to the flave trade. He highly approved of the prefent bill; as by it, he trusted, would be laid a foundation, for effectually abolishing that most miferable trade, by introducing peace and civilization among the hitherto hoftile tribes in Africa. Mr Burrard concurred in opinion with the last speaker. Mr Stanley (attorney-general for the Leeward Islands, and agent for Nevis) objected to the bill. He complained that gentlemen used fuch harsh language, with respect to thofe who favoured the flave trade; he vindicated the character of the planters from the imputations thrown out against them; maintained the importation of flaves was abfolutely neceffary for the exiflence of the West India iflands; he afferted his own claim to philanthropy; and, at length, paling to the fubject of the prefent bill, he doubted of the legality of the title the King claimed, to grant any right to the territory in question. Mr John Thomas Stanley fpoke in favour of the bill. The friends of the flave trade had pretended, that Africa could not be cultivated; yet they now took the alarm when it was propofed, only to attempt to cultivate a very small patch of that extenfive, barren region, as they called it. Mr Thornton faid, that he was happy to support the bill brought in by his Honourable relation; because it was calculated to relieve the miferable Africans, by opening a door to a more honourable and profitable trade than that by flaves. Mr Alderman Watson denied that the Weft India merchants had opposed the bill. The merchants, he believed, were not against the paffing of the bill, the principle of which was the cultivation of mankind, and to find a vent for our manufactures; both of them laudable objects. He was one of those who thought that Africa could not be cultivated; but if there were men adventrous enough to undertake it, why prevent them from trying the experiment? He should therefore vote for the bill. Mr Hippefley laid, the experiment had already been made without fuccefs. He faid he had been upon the coast, and represented it as altogether unfit for cultivation. Mr Devaynes gave a very different account of the coun try; from his own knowledge, he could fay it was one of the finest countries of the world for cultivation. Cotton could be raised with great facility; coffee was already produced there in great perfection; fugar grows naturally, and can now be bought from the negroes for twopence halfpenny the pound. Here the question being loudly called for, and the Houfe divided on the motion, "That this bill be now read a third time," when there appeared, Ayes 87,-Noes 9; majority in favour of the bill 78. The bill was then read a third time, and paffed without farther oppofition. Nor did it afterwards meet with any oppofition in the House of Peers, where it was finally paffed on Friday the 3d June, without any amendment. A farther account of the proceedings of the Sierra Leona Company will be given in our next. REMARKS ON THE BRITISH DRAMA. Continued from p. 144. Vol. V. THE INTRIGUING CHAMBERMAID— -By Fielding. THE part of Trick is, as ufual, outrè; yet the fingular queernels of a Clive, made it laughable to an audience guided more by the performance of actors, than the merit of plays. The other parts of this piece are fo flat, that no art or grimace of acting can enliven, or make them entertaining to any audience. POLLY HONEYCOMB-By Colman. THIS Polly is a fad flut. The whole is very bad as ufual. Affecting natural character and converfation, the writer falls into mere flatnefs and infipidity. What inundations of nonfense are difcharged upon this unfortunate country, in the fhape of prologues and farces, &c.! THE BRAVE IRISHMAN-By Sheridan. HERE is a most wretched attempt to imitate, or rather transform Moliere's play of Monfieur Pourceaugnac. It is an affront on common fenfe to publish fuch trumpery as efteemed pieces. And bad as my opinion is of London tafte, I can hardly think this "Brave Irishman" could efcape damnation the first night. THE AUTHOR-By Foote. THERE is here the best modern prologue which I have feen. Foote has a visible fuperiority, when he chufes to exert it, over the herd in this Collection, in his formation of character, in humour, and in ease and propriety of expreffion. Intermixed with this merit, there is a good deal of ludicrous outrè, intended, as I fuppofe, to fuit the prevailing taste of the multitude who fill the houses, and are beft diverted with mere grimace. THE KING AND THE MILLER OF MANSFIELD- -By DodЛley. THERE is a very good meaning, and fomething pleafing in this piece. The defign and plot of it are worthy even of a Shakespeare's genius. His execution would have been precious indeed. But quantum mutatis! THE PADLOCK-By Bickerfaff. POOR enough. Yet there are worse things in this Collection of " the most esteemed Farces." THE PLAIN DEALER-Altered from Wycherly. THE dramatic talent of this age has been chiefly employed in bungling good old plays, on pretence of amending them, and this is a notable inftance of it. [To be continued.] THE BEE, OR LITERARY WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER, FOR WEDNESDAY, December 28, 1791. To the Editor of the Bee. GLEANINGS OF BIOGRAPHY. Memorandums of Thomson the Poet and his Affociates, communicated by Mr. Robertfen of Richmond in Surrey, late Surgeon to the Houshold at Kew, 0ber 17th, 1791. "Minutula tamen funt, quæ fi non hunc, alium fcire juvet. HAVE Quere. AVE you any objections, Sir, to my taking down memorandums to a converfation. Anfwer. Not in the leaft. I will procure you pen, ink, and paper immediately. 2. I understand, Sir, you knew Thomson long. A. I became acquainted with him in the year 1726, when he published his poem of winter. He lived oppofite to me in Lancafter court in the Strand. I went to the East Indies foon after, which caufed a chafm in our acquaintance; but on my return, our intinay was ftrengthened, and continued to the hour of VOL. VI. N 11 T 1 |