on the Lord Mayor, and obtained from him an appointment to hear the case. At the time appointed Mr. Sharp attended, also a notary-public, and the captain of a ship which was to have conveyed him to Jamaica. These were on behalf of the purchaser. After a long discussion, in which the opinion of the lawyers above-mentioned was pleaded in favour of the detention of Strong, Mr. Sharp made some observations on the case, by which the lawyers present were staggered, but on the whole seemed rather disposed to retain the prisoner; but the Lord Mayor discharged him, on account of his having been taken up without a warrant. But no sooner was the poor African thus discharged, than the captain laid hold on him, and said aloud, "Then I seize you as my slave." On this Mr. Sharp promptly laid his hand on the shoulder of the captain, and said to him, " I charge you, in the name of the king, with an assault upon the person of Jonathan Strong, and all these are my witnesses." At this charge, made in presence of the Lord Mayor and others, the captain was greatly intimidated, and, fearing a prosecution, let go his prisoner, who departed under the protection of Mr. Sharp. In This interesting case awakened the inquiries of Mr. Sharp to ascertain the law of the land on the subject. He applied to many lawyers for their opinions, among others, to the celebrated Judge Blackstone, but could not obtain satisfaction. fact, the opinion already alluded to (p. 207) had been made so extensively known, and so widely acted upon, and was considered of such high authority, that few persons dared think for themselves, so far as to question its correctness. Of that few Mr. Sharp was one, and finding that he was not likely to gain satisfactory information from others, he determined to rely on his own industry, and devote two or three years to the study of the English law, that he might be the better qualified to advocate the cause of the miserable people whose case had so powerfully excited his compassion. This was indeed an heroic sacrifice, and in due time it met its reward. In 1769 Mr. Sharp published the result of his inquiries, in "A Representation of the Injustice and dangerous Tendency of tolerating Slavery in England." In this work he clearly refuted the long established opinion, producing against the decision of Lord Chief Justice Holt, many years before, that a slave on coming to England became free. He also refuted it from the ancient law of villeinage in England, and by the axiom of the British constitution "That every man in England is free to sue for and defend his rights, and that force cannot be used without a legal process." This valuable book was widely distributed, especially among the lawyers; thus awakening inquiry and extending knowledge on the subject, and affording an opportunity of acknowledging or of refuting the doctrines it contained. While this work was in progress, other cases occurred of putting the law of the subject to a practical test. An African slave, named Hylas, prosecuted a person for having kidnapped his wife and sent her to the West Indies. The result of the trial was, that the offender was compelled to bring back the woman to her husband within a given time. In 1770, Thomas Lewis, an African, was seized by two watermen, in a dark night, and dragged to a boat lying in the Thames. There he was gagged, tied with a cord, and conveyed to a ship bound for Jamaica, where he was to be sold as a slave. This base action took place near the garden of a humane lady, (Mrs. Banks, mother of Sir Joseph Banks, the celebrated traveller and naturalist.) Her servants, hearing the cries of the unfortunate man, hastened to his assistance, but the boat was gone. On informing their mistress of the circumstance, she sent for Mr. Sharp, who by this time was generally known as the friend of the helpless Africans, and putting the cause into his hands, declared her willingness to bear the expense of bringing the delinquents to justice. With great difficulty Mr. Sharp obtained legal authority for bringing back Lewis from Gravesend, just as the vessel was on the point of sailing. An action was then commenced against the person who had employed the two watermen, who defended it on the plea that Lewis was his slave, and as such his property. It was decided that our law admits of no such property. It would be impossible to detail the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Sharp, or the number of victims he rescued from the holds of vessels, and other places of confinement and concealment, some when they were just on the point of sailing, and when an hour or two would have borne them for ever from the shores of liberty. Still, however, the mind of the good man was not at rest. It was not enough for him, that many individual instances of rescue occurred. He was anxious to have the question settled on the broad ground, "Whether a slave, by coming into England, became free ?" An opportunity soon occurred of trying this great question. James So merset, an African slave, was brought to England by his master in 1769; some time afterwards he left his master, who took an opportunity of seizing him, and conveyed him on board a ship to be taken to Jamaica as a slave. In order to give time and opportunity fully to ascertain the law of the case, it was argued at three different sittings, in January, February, and May, 1772, and the opinion of the judges was taken upon the pleadings. The great and glorious result of the trial was That As Soon As Any Slave Set His Foot Upon English Territory He Became free."* What a triumph for the benevolent Sharp and other friends, who began to rally round the standard of humanity! The counsellors who pleaded this cause were Davy, Glynn, Hargrave, Mansfield, and Alleyne; and they deserve to be enrolled in the list of benefactors to the great cause, for by their arguments and eloquence, multitudes were enlightened and interested; but by the labours of Sharp they were instructed and benefited, and he must be regarded as the chief instrument in achieving this noble triumph. He too was but an instrument, Divine Providence was the agent; and Sharp was among the first to say, *This decision is alluded to in those beautiful lines of Cowper, in the Task. "Slaves cannot breathe in England: if their lungs Imbibe our air, that moment they are free. They touch our country, and their shackles fall. Of all your empire. That where Britain's power "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." From this time the poor African ceased to be hunted in our streets as a beast of prey; and our papers were no longer polluted with advertisements for the apprehension of men, whose only offence had been that of using their native right, and quitting the service of oppression; or for the sale of man as the property of his fellow-man. SECT. XVII. PRELIMINARY STEPS TOWARDS THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. It Is interesting to observe, that, in any pursuit, persons usually advance much further than they originally proposed. In the career of wickedness and cruelty, men perpetrate deeds of which they would formerly have said with indignation, " Is thy servant a dog, that he should do these things?" is peculiarly applicable to the slave-trader and slave-owner. In the cause of humanity and benevolence, advances equally unanticipated are made. When Sharp had established the right of the negro to freedom on British ground, he did not rest there, though that probably was all he at first contemplated. Immediately after the decision in the case of Somerset, Mr. Sharp felt it his duty to write to Lord North, then prime minister, warning him, in the most earnest manner, to abolish immediately both the trade and the slavery of the human species in the British dominions, as utterly irreconcileable with the principles of the British constitution, as well as of the christian religion. When great works are to be effected, the hand of |