Page:A Dissuasion from the Slave Trade.djvu/32

 Traders take to civilize and teach them the Christian religion, by importing one hundred thousand of them yearly into Virginia and other Southern Provinces, together with the West-India islands, where they are kept in greater darkness than before, as they are not allowed to worship on the Sabbath; but are employed in worldly business on that day, which is a scandal to the Rulers of the British Colonies and Islands where such things are practised. It is subversive of the Christian religion not to allow those ignorant people the benefit of it, who make up more than two thirds of the inhabitants of the before mentioned places. It is expressly against the laws of ; for he gave Paul and other Apostles commission to go and preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, and tongue; but instead of that, where the gospel is preached throughout the British Colonies, and where these people might expect to receive the light of it; I say, instead of that, they are kept from divine worship on Sundays, and never once in their lifetime admitted to church, but obliged to cultivate their small piece of ground allowed them by their Masters.

last part of the verse runs thus, And