Page:Newton's Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade.pdf/16

Rh hand. And if what is taken from the casks or bottles, that are for sale, be supplied with water, they are as full as they were before. The Blacks, who buy the liquor, are the losers by the adulteration; but often the people, who cheat them, are the greatest sufferers.

The article of Women, likewise, contributes largely to the loss of our Seamen. When they are on shore, they often, from their known, thoughtless imprudence, involve themselves, on this account, in quarrels with the Natives, and, if not killed upon the spot, are frequently poisoned. On ship-board, they may be restrained, and in some ships they are; but such restraint is far from being general. It depends upon the disposition, and attention, of the Captain. When I was in the trade, I knew several commanders of African ships, who were prudent, respectable men, and who maintained a proper discipline and regularity in their vessels; but there were too many of a different character. In some ships, perhaps in the most, the license allowed, in this particular, was almost unlimited. Moral turpitude was seldom considered, but they who took care to do the ship's business, might, in other respects, do what they pleased. These excesses, if they do not induce fevers, at least, render the constitution