verfity; and, without recriminating his adverfaries, without retaliating their injuries, he extenuates in fome measure the guilt of a crime, which, by the interpofition of Providence, had proved fubfervient to a happy iffue (z).

XVII. EVERY feature of this moft amiable Character is fo perfectly finished, fo exactly conformable to the model of the ftricteft virtue, that the whole Piece is one of the completeft portraits of righteousness and humanity, that has ever been exhibited to the World in any ftage of religion. Christianity itself can produce but few exemplars, that will contend with him for fuperiority; efpecially, when it is confidered, that Jofeph's innocence and virtue, from his youth to his decrepit old age, retained, in the very heart of infidelity itself, the fame uniform luftre and firmness, though befet at different periods by fuch ftrong temptations to infidelity and vice, as are the infeparable attendants of extreme adverfity and profperity. In a word: every ftep of Jofeph's conduct in every stage of his life met the approbation of God, and was especially directed by his protecting hand; for, in the language of the infpired Writer, The Lord was with him: and that which be did, the Lord made it to profper (a).

XVIII. Now, if we examine the history of this eminent Perfonage, as defcribed in the Sacred Records, we shall foon find a fecond very remarkable inftance of the licitnefs of the SLAVE-TRADE, as practifed, not only without control, but under the vifible protection of God, by one of the stricteft profeffors of the Religion of Nature, the laws and principles of which were the invariable rule of his conduct: a man in high favour with the Almighty, the framer of those very principles and laws; and who, in the infcrutable or

(x) Gen. c. 37. 23-28. Ibid. 45. I—II,

(a) Gen. 39. 23.

der

der of his fatherly Providence, chofe him the inftrument and promoter of his glory (b), imparted him the divine spirit of his wifdom (c), led him, as it were, by the hand, in every step of his life (d), and profpered whatever he undertook (e). An inftance, attended with circumstances of that fingular nature and tendency, as feems not only to fix the fubject of the prefent Controversy in the beft point of view, but to afcertain, beyond the power of reply, the inherent lawfulnefs of the SLAVE-TRADE.

XIX. THE fact, with all its attending circumftances, is thus defcribed in the XLVIIth Chapter of the Book of GENESIS.

13. And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very fore: fo that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reafon of the famine.

14. And Jofeph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought; and Jofeph brought the money into Pharaoh's houfe. 15. And when the money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Jofeph, and faid: give us bread; for why fhould we die in thy prefence? for the money faileth. 16. And Jofeph faid: give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. 17. And they brought their cattle unto Jofeph: and Jofeph gave them bread in exchange for horfes, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the affes; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle, for that year.

18. When

(b) Pf. 105. 16-24.

(c) Gen. c. 40. 43. (d) Gen. 39. 21-23. (e) Gen. 39. 23.

18. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and faid unto him: we will not hide it from my Lord, how that our money is spent ; my Lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the fight of my Lord, but our bodies and our lands.

19. Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be fervants unto Pharaoh: and give us feed, that we may live and not die, that the land be not defolate.

20. And Jofeph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh for the Egyptians fold every man his field; because the famine prevailed over them: fo the land became Pharaoh's.

21. And as for the people, he removed them to cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt, even unto the other end thereof.

22. Only the land of the Priefts bought he not; for the Priests had a portion affigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they fold not their lands.

23. Then Jofeph faid unto the people: behold, I have bought you this day, and your land, for Pharaoh : lo, here is feed for you, and ye fhall fow the land. 24. And it fhall come to país in the encrease, that ye fhall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts fhall be your own, for feed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your housholds, and for food for your little ones.

25. And they said: thou haft faved our lives: let us find grace in the fight of my Lord, and we will be Pharaoh's fervants.

26. And Jofeph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh fhould have the fifth

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part;

part; except the land of the Priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

XX. THE tranfactions related in this portion of Joseph's history, afford us a confiderable number of very pertinent reflections on the SLAVE-TRADE: the following appear to me very remarkable.

1. Here is a whole Nation of free and independent Africans, one only defcription of men excepted, inhabiting the richeft, the most populous, and the most civilized part of Africa, or, perhaps, of any other part of the Globe at that period, all made SLAVES in one day by a moft explicit, deliberate, and formal contract.

2. Allowing, the Kingdom of Egypt at that time to have extended no farther than it does at prefent; that is, 600 miles from North to South, and 250 from East to West, it must have contained, on the most moderate computation, as many inhabitants, at least, as the Kingdom of Great Britain does at this present time; Egypt was then the Emporium of the whole world, where all arts and fciences, commerce, agriculture, and polity flourished in a degree of perfection and refinement, fuperior, perhaps, to that of any part of Europe in our days. Accordingly, the number of Africans purchased by Jofeph in one day, at the very moderate price of one year's maintenance per head, including their land, amounted, at least, to seven or eight millions of perfons: a number not unequal, perhaps, to all the purchases of the kind ever made by English Merchants fince the commencement of the GUINEA-TRADE.

3. The happy condition of these Africans, prior to Jofeph's purchase, is a circumftance worth obferving: it differed in every respect from that of most of their prefent countrymen purchased by our European Merchants. The latter are generally Slaves, or Cap

D

tives,

tives, in their native land; the former were all free and independent fubjects: thofe, when purchased by our African Merchants are in a ftate of abfolute indigence and poverty; whereas the latter were all people of property, and, indeed, of landed property; for it is very particularly fpecified in the fcriptural account, that the Egyptians fold every man his field; that is, his landed estate.

4. The circumstance of transporting Slaves from their native foil into a diftant Country, is alfo very obvious in the conduct of Jofeph, fubfequent to the purchase he had made; for, as for the people, fays the Scripture, he removed them to cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt, even unto the other end thereof: by which expedient he deprived them of every profpect of ever re-enjoying their refpective paternal Eftates, and the places of their nativity. And is it not more than probable, that, in the execution of fo extensive a plan, as removing fo many millions of inhabitants of every age, fex, condition, and rank, infants at the breaft, young children, old and decrepit people, infirm and delicate, from one end of the borders of fo extenfive a Country as Egypt, even unto the other end thereof, many must have inevitably perished in paffing through the fcorching fands of a Country defolate with famine, and parched up, as it were, by an uninterrupted drought of fix confecutive years, whatever wife regulations we may naturally fuppofe were made by Jofeph to accommodate fuch an extraordinary number of Slaves?

5. This numerous multitude of free and independent Africans, become now by contract menial Slaves to Pharaoh, are immediately fent by Jofeph to cultivate their Master's Eftates throughout all Egypt, for the land became Pharaoh's: fo, that we may confider them with the utmost propriety, as fo many Slaves, tranfported

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