slavery under our consideration "a criminal and outrageous violation of the
natural rights of mankind." I am sorry that I have not room to say all that
he says on this subject. Perhaps the following beautiful extracts may
suffice:

"But notwithstanding this, we ourselves, who profess to be
Christians, and boast of the peculiar advantages we enjoy by means
of an express revelation of our duty from heaven, are in effect
these very untaught and rude heathen countries. With all our
superior light we instil into those, whom we call savage and
barbarous, the most despicable opinion of human nature. We, to the
utmost of our power, weaken and dissolve the universal tie, that
binds and unites mankind. We practise what we should exclaim
against as the utmost excess of cruelty and tyranny, if nations of
the world, differing in colour and form of government from
ourselves, were so possessed of empire, as to be able to reduce us
to a state of unmerited and brutish servitude. Of consequence we
sacrifice our reason, our humanity, our christianity, to an
unnatural sordid gain. We teach other nations to despise and
trample under foot all the obligations of social virtue. We take
the most effectual method to prevent the propagation of the gospel,
by representing it as a scheme of power and barbarous oppression,
and an enemy to the natural privileges and rights of man."

"Perhaps all that I have now offered may be of very little weight
to restrain this enormity, this aggravated iniquity. However, I
shall still have the satisfaction of having entered my private
protest against a practice, which, in my opinion, bids that God,
who is the God and Father of the Gentiles unconverted to
Christianity, most daring and bold defiance, and spurns at all the