No! dear as freedom is,--and in my heart's
Just estimation priz'd above all price,--
I had much rather be myself the slave,
And wear the bonds, than fasten them on him.
We have no Slaves at home--then why abroad?
And they themselves once ferried o'er the wave
That parts us, are emancipate and loos'd.
Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free;
They touch our country, and their shackles fall[A].
That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud
And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then,
And let it circulate through every vein
Of all your empire--that where Britain's pow'r
Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too."
[Footnote A: Expressions used in the great trial, when Mr. Sharp obtained
the verdict in favour of Somerset.]
CHAPTER IV.
_Second class of forerunners and coadjutors, up to May 1787, consists of
the Quakers in England--of George Fox, and others--of the body of the
Quakers assembled at the yearly meeting in 1727--and at various other
times--Quakers, as a body, petition Parliament--and circulate books on the
subject--Individuals among them become labourers and associate in behalf of
the Africans--Dilwyn--Harrison--and others--This the first association
ever formed in England for the purpose.
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