England can
fight, if necessary, against a traffic which injures the free man, but she
might abstain from abusing those who do not share her opinions. The
anti-slavery party has hitherto acted rather from sentiment than from
reason; and Mr. Buckle was right in determining that morality must be
ruled by, and not rule, intellect. We have one point in our favour. The
_dies atra_ between 1810-20, when a man could not speak what he thought
upon the subject of slavery, ended as the last slave left the West African
coast; and yet I doubt whether the day is yet come when we can draw upon
the great labour-bank of Africa and establish that much-wanted
institution, the black _ouvrier libre_.
There are several classes interested in pitting black man against white
man. An unscrupulous missionary will, for his own ends, preach resistance
to time-honoured customs and privileges which Niger has himself accepted.
An unworthy lawyer will urge litigation; a dishonest judge or
police-magistrate will make popularity at the expense of equity and
honour; a weak-minded official will fear the murmurs, the complaints, and
the memorials of those under him, and the tomahawking which awaits him
from the little army of negrophiles at home.
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