Page:Newton's Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade.pdf/33

28 declares, that He is satisfied. So that, if a rich man seduces the wife of a poor man, he has it in his power to change places with him; or he may send for every article in his house, one by one, till he says, "I have enough." The only alternative, is personal slavery.

I suppose, bribery and influence may have their effects in Guinea, as they have in some other countries; but their laws, in the main, are wise and good, and, upon the whole, they have considerable operation; and therefore, I believe, many of the Slaves purchased in Sherbro, and probably upon the whole Windward Coast, are convicts, who have forfeited their liberty, by breaking the laws of their country.

But, I apprehend, that the neighbourhood of our ships, and the desire of our goods, are motives, which often push the rigour of the laws to an extreme, which would not be exacted, if they were left to themselves.

But Slaves are the staple article of the traffic; and thought a considerable number have been born near the sea, I believe the bulk of them are brought from far. I have reason to think, that some travel more than a thousand miles,