His mind was now fully awakened to the magnitude of the abuses which existed with respect to African slaves in this country, and he looked anxiously around on every part, to prevent any accumulation of the evil, against which he had been contending. Two letters, written by him in this and the following year, will prove the vigilance which he began openly to demonstrate.

"Sir,

To Mr. Alderman Beckford.

(Enclosing a MS. copy of "Remarks on the Injustice of Slavery.")

17th May, 1768.

"A copy of an advertisement was put into my hands this morning, which had been inserted in the Daily Advertiser of yesterday, for apprehending a poor wretched Negro boy, whereby a reward was offered to whoever will bring him, or any tidings of him, to Mr. Beckford, in Pall Mall. Now, Sir, as I have a very great esteem for the name of Beckford, on account of your steady and independent behaviour on all public occasions, and because I believe you to be a sincere well-wisher to the true interests, constitution, and liberties of this kingdom, I have made bold (on a supposition that Mr. Beckford in Pall Mall may be a relation of yours) to send you the enclosed remarks, concerning the tenure of Negro Slaves in England.

"I am thoroughly persuaded that the holding of slaves in this island may be productive of very bad consequences, especially as it seems at this time a very growing evil.--I am apprehensive that you are at present of a very different opinion, and, what is worse, I cannot at all flatter myself (notwithstanding all my pains-taking) that what I have written is so far conclusive as to move your assent. Nevertheless, I hope at least that you may be thereby induced to consider the subject more seriously than you have hitherto done; and on this only I rely, for I have not the least doubt, from your general character, that, howsoever we may differ in opinion, you will, notwithstanding, most certainly discard all motives of private interest, which might be liable to

1758. In the year, the plaintiff left the family, with the consent of Mr. Newton; and in the year 1766 they sent away the plaintiff's wife, Mary, without his consent.-Upon the whole, if the Court should be of opinion that she did not continue the Negro servant of the defendant, they will find a verdict for the plaintiff."

The farther remarks on the trial are so sensible, so strong, and so calm, that they will be inserted in the Appendix.

affect the point in question, if, on a strict examination, they should appear to be repugnant to equity and justice. Mincing Lane, 17th May, 1768.

"With the greatest respect," &c. &c.

To the Right Honourable Lord Camden, Lord High Chancellor of England. "My Lord, "28th November, 1769-Old Jewry. "The enclosed advertisement (a) was inserted in the Public Advertiser' of this day; and, as I humbly conceive that the frequency of such publications must tend very much to extinguish those benevolent and humane principles which ought to adorn a Christian nation, I hope your Lordship will pardon the liberty I now take, in laying the same before you, together with a printed remonstrance, which contains my reasons more at large.

By the high office with which your Lordship is most worthily invested, you are certainly the constitutional guardian even of the meanest of his Majesty's subjects, when oppressed; and therefore I am thoroughly persuaded that your Lordship will take such notice of this notorious breach of the laws of nature, humanity, and equity, and also of the established law, custom, and constitution of England, as will be most consistent with that strict and unshaken regard for all these which has always been a distinguished part of your Lordship's character.

“With all imaginable respect and esteem," &c. &c.

(a) Public Advertiser, Tuesday, 28th November, 1769.

To be sold, a Black Girl, the property of J. B— eleven years of age, who is extremely handy, works at her needle tolerably, and speaks English perfectly well; is of an excellent temper, and willing disposition.

Inquire of Mr. Owen, at the Angel Inn, behind St. Clement's church, in the Strand."

The reader may perceive, from the dates of these letters, that it was within the same period that Mr. Sharp addressed the Archbishop of Canterbury in the solemn manner before noticed.

The devout turn of mind disclosed in that letter, and the zealous reverence of the sacred Scriptures, which had before excited his controversy with Dr. Kennicott, were manifested also about this

H

time, in a correspondence into which he entered with the eminent Physician and Quaker, Dr. Fothergill, on the subject of religious worship. Dr. Fothergill, from a general sense of respect for Mr. Sharp's character, and a desire to assist his benevolent purposes with regard to the Negro slaves, had sent him some important suggestions in their favour, with many expressions of his approbation of the tract against Slavery. He at the same time requested his acceptance of a copy of Barclay's Apology for the Quakers, of which work he had just published a very handsome edition, " and which," he says, "has at least the merit of being printed by Baskerville.” "The sentiments it contains," he adds, " are humane, and will be so far agreeable to you." Mr. Sharp began to read and to examine. His natural earnestness of investigation soon again animated his study. The rights of human freedom, graciously imparted by the Creator, had already called him forth to useful labour; the return of pure obedience and worship from the creature, now became with him an object of equal solicitude. The result of his researches was the production of a work in reply, which, previous to its intended publication, he sent in MS. to Dr. Fothergill, according to his custom *. The Doctor, however, did not immediately accept his advances in the same kind part in which they were designed, and an intercourse of

2

It was entitled "An Apology for an Apology," &c. This work, I believe, was never printed, probably from Mr. Sharp's perceiving that he was in danger of unprofitably offending those whom he could not hope to convince.It is just to notice, in this instance, a proof, confirmed by numerous subsequent ones, of the real and constant motive by which he was actuated, in the publication of his various writings. They were, uniformly, either handed about in manuscript, or presented gratuitously in print to those whose interest he conceived to be any way involved in them, or to whom he thought they might be acceptable; but were rarely offered to the public, and never with any view of emolument from their sale; so decidedly was the hope of doing good the sole object in every action of his life.

This was particularly his mode of proceeding in all matters of a controversial nature, wishing always that those persons whose opinions he opposed should be the first to be made acquainted with his sentiments, and have time to consider his arguments, before they were publicly stated. Indeed, if they produced any effect on the mind of his opponent, he either remained satisfied, or obtained his permission to make them known for the good of others.

It was not till 1807 that he printed a Letter in answer to some of the " Leading Principles and Doctrines of the People called Quakers;" and even that Letter, as the title-page expressed, was printed only for private communication.

letters was commenced, altogether of the most interesting and important nature. Two letters in particular, (one from each party), present a most striking example of that temper and Christian benevolence, which in argument appear to adorn none but the brightest and wisest minds*.

Mr. Sharp's acquaintance with Dr. Fothergill began on that occa sion; and it will be seen, in the events that succeeded, how justly both these excellent disciples of an equal Master had learned to appreciate the difference between opinions and personal worth.

See Correspondence.

CHAP. II.

printed in his tract on He had the gratifica

AT no great distance of time from the preceding events, the powerful weight of Mr. Sharp's arguments, Slavery, was again felt in our courts of law. tion of witnessing their influence on the occasion of a trial in defence of another Negro, whom he (as his MS. Notes state), “at the request and at the expense of Mrs. Banks, mother of Mr. Banks, the Traveller*, had released, by writ of Habeas Corpus, from on board a ship then under sail in the Downs."

As this case was of considerable importance to the general interests of the Negro cause, it will be necessary to relate some previous circumstances of the transaction.-An African, of the name of Thomas Lewis, had formerly been a slave in the possession of a Mr. Stapylton, who now resided at Chelsea. Stapylton, with the aid of two watermen, whom he had hired for that purpose, in a dark night seized the person of Lewis, and, after a struggle, dragged him on his back into the water, and thence into a boat lying in the Thames, where, having first tied his legs, they endeavoured to gag him, by thrusting a stick into his mouth; and then, rowing down to a ship bound for Jamaica, whose commander was previously engaged in the wicked conspiracy, they put him on board, to be sold for a slave on his arrival in the island.—This treacherous act, how warily soever it had been contrived, had not escaped notice in the adjoining mansion, which Lewis knew to be inhabited by Mrs. Banks's family. His cries, on his way to the boat, reached the ears of some of the servants, who immediately ran out to give assistance; but they did not venture to attempt his rescue, because the ruffians pretended to have a warrant from the Lord Mayor for his apprehension. They, however, The Right Hon, Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. G. C. B.