Mr. Ames (of Mass.,) joined the gentleman last up.  No one could suppose him favorable to slavery, he detested it from his soul, but he had some doubts whether imposing a duty on the importation, would not have the appearance of countenancing the practice; it was certainly a subject of some delicacy, and no one appeared to be prepared for the discussion, he therefore hoped the motion would be withdrawn.

Mr. Livermore.  Was not against the principle of the motion, but in the present case he conceived it improper.  If negroes were goods, wares, or merchandise, they came within the title of the bill; if they were not, the bill would be inconsistent:  but if they are goods, wares or merchandise, the 5 per cent ad valorum, will embrace the importation; and the duty of 5 per cent is nearly equal to 10 dollars per head, so there is no occasion to add it even on the score of revenue.

Mr. Jackson (of Ga.,) said it was the fashion of the day, to favor the liberty of slaves; he would not go into a discussion of the subject, but he believed it was capable of demonstration that they were better off in their present situation, than they would be if they were manumitted; what are they to do if they are discharged?  Work for a living?  Experience has shewn us they will not.  Examine what is become of those in Maryland, many of them have been set free in that State; did they turn themselves to industry and useful pursuits?  No, they turn out common pickpockets, petty larceny villains; and is this mercy, forsooth, to turn them into a way in which they must lose their lives,—­for where they are thrown upon the world, void of property and connections, they cannot get their living but by pilfering.  What is to be done for compensation?  Will Virginia set all her negroes free?  Will they give up the money they cost them, and to whom?  When this practice comes to be tried there, the sound of liberty will lose those charms which make it grateful to the ravished ear.

But our slaves are not in a worse situation than they were on the coast of Africa; it is not uncommon there for the parents to sell their children in peace; and in war the whole are taken and made slaves together.  In these cases it is only a change of one slavery for another; and are they not better here, where they have a master bound by the ties of interest and law to provide for their support and comfort in old age, or infirmity, in which, if they were free, they would sink under the pressure of woe for want of assistance.

He would say nothing of the partiality of such a tax, it was admitted by the avowed friends of the measure; Georgia in particular would be oppressed.  On this account it would be the most odious tax Congress could impose.

Mr. Schureman (of N.J.) hoped the gentleman would withdraw his motion, because the present was not the time or place for introducing the business; he thought it had better be brought forward in the House, as a distinct proposition.  If the gentleman persisted in having the question determined, he would move the previous question if he was supported.