‘v'( a72 . )
.‘China, they muft be natiy.es of the cpuntry; and among them, it is
well known, that there is po.-clafs. o f people ^ho/are in,that $}egi;adi$g
iituation. ;■ '$ * a J,
g Cpfain dalles of, criminals, "are pnnifhed w^tbTWitude for a ftated
«£eriodf or.fof hfe,_ according||o^e nature ..of their qffcnces j |nd ttav
are employed in Aemore labopiouVrar^of,,public /Wrks. ?But if
t^is[i^ flaverX>J:heu^h3ppy!Conj^s^who'!h^eballa4 ^n the Thames,
aye £aves. There i s i n d e n t , in, C ^ a ^ .^ e lp a i^ th is
that <$es j i t * pr^rail^in .England' "wKidKis,
their b g qg hired for any; fervke th ^ ^ r£ „£ ^ p ^ ” o Q p fo r n ^ ig :
and this.frequently happens,'as t h e f e - ma £ h e Bad^a^ cheaper
rite-than ordinary labourer-. ‘I'his regulation, Ti6weu.r, has' one
;gppd'effed; that it Generates government fron/itljfjjex,pqri/do£'maintaining
fuch unhappy perfons ^wijhoijtleffgnng, the/igor or^ilgrace-pf
the punilhment. But I re-aifertthatllaverybywhich ImeanjtheRower
which one man 'obtains over another, by j purchase,-- or inheritance, i as
dn-our Weft India iflands, is not known in China. IndeaL lomL *ol
the Chipefe.yi the interior* parts o f the country, were, yvith^ifficulty,
made:to comprehend the nature ©£ /uclya c h ^ n ^ e r^ ^ f tS e .j, and
when I illuftrated the_mattfer, by explaining the /rtuat'ip^cS^negro
b oj, called E^amin, whom Sir George Staunton* had purchased' ad|
Batavia, they expreffed the ftrongeft marks of difguii: and^hhp^nL.
This corrveffation took place at Jehol,inTartary. But at Ca^nTwRere
the .cammpmcation wiljh Ewropeans gives the* merphantsF -a ,lcpow- ’
ledge o f what isipafling in our quarter o f the globe,. poor .BepjanHn
was the capfe ,of fome obfervations on his condition, tha^aftonilhed
me when I heard, arid will, I .beliqve, furprife the reader when, he
peirufes them. The boy beirtg in a Ihqp with me in the -fuburhsmf"
Canton, fbme penple who had meyer before-been a black, were very
curious in making inquiries concerning him; when the merchant, to
whom* the warehmife belong^expfeffed his' ftir^rife; in broken
Englifh, that the Britilh nation'fliopld fuffer a traffic, fo dilgraceful to
that-' humanity which they were jfo ready to prOfefs: and on my informing
forming him that our -parliament'intended ,tq a^pliffi it, he furprifed
me with the following extraordinary anfwer, which I give in his own
words:— “ -»Ayes- aye,r, black many in Englifti country, have got end5
“ fkft chop, good mapdafin Wftlfctee*. that have'doi^;,much godd
“ for !ailau hlack-iev man^ rmuchulpng. tjrhp^ailau mfnhpakie chin,
e£| chin, hee, ' bqcaufe have,, ’gdt -m’©te f fift plgqp tin’k, than
/f^Sjuch Englift^f merchant-mferf j '.becaufe ^he merchant-map tinkee-
“ for 'cateh'htidney, no'liijfeel^q^'^popr*,hlauki?j- man: Jo£h, no
“ likS: fo .fifhionr” it1 'p k meanipg/of th©fe exp%^h|p.t&'% Vf^WS; *?
“ Aye/in England, ;fheshlapk- men haye; got an ud\i|ljiie"and friefid,
“ (Mp Wilberforce^-j, whoj has, ,|or aygdpfideiubla; time, hup don rig
“ them lerviee; and'all good people,aa,well as the black-s, adore the Gba-
“ ractegllf’st'gentleman, whole thoughtsImebeen dnedtt It »tmelioraU
“ the condition o f tirofe .rfien j ^anipht like teyr- .Well I$dia jplanters,
‘ ‘ or merchants, who, f|),^^je}€'o%e, p f gain,.vVvo,ti’ld’ p^x^ong- ,the mifery
■ *. h f fo large #pprfeionft of his fellpw-creaiyres as the jjAf'tican flavesr,
“ But God canpot ipproye ofjfuc^a gsa^^qv” -, y
That fome, r general,'knpyy.Iedge o f ftle^polkics - pf Europe
ohfaipe'd?“’ By^ fH^ tte^dayins^tapd* merc^ahts , in the port
might ho naturally expe^ed, Jrom their continual copmuni'catkg.^ith
the Wives of. almoft every Eurape*|h country; and jis^ many, 'pi thorp
underftand the EmQp^ftf.lainguagpsy they ni|iy^» j^erhaps^ lonjc^pics
read the; Gazettes fhat • are,puUhhed ,in our .quartu ot_ th^ghdic^'But
that the queftion of the flav^ trade^^,vagjtat^^^|ihje Bjitifh Jarlia-
rnpnt,, fhould,»be knowntriihe fuhui bs ol ^C’ljgUyi, mayhftMfefeme
.reader^ ys it a f t o n i lh e d ,mL ._ rh IlvitA p unpkaiing^ty
Mr* Wilberfoice tp hetirilbrmed,, that, _,joi the atm^zcal uhioh he
'dpfplayed in behalf of *t|ie natidm 'of* the lenaVe.of the firfl
pity o f Europe,, he ihould receive, the eulpglum qf^a vihineKmer-
chant beneath the wallsjpfan Asiatic city.
'There are frequent feftivals in China,- and. we-faw at Macao, the
principal o f them which celebrates the beglhtpng of the^'New-Year.
. ’ N n * According