Mr. Dundas, upon whom the task of introducing a bill for the gradual abolition of the Slave-trade now devolved, rose to offer the outlines of a plan for that purpose.  He intended, he said, immediately to abolish that part of the trade, by which we supplied foreigners with slaves.  The other part of it was to be continued seven years from the first of January next.  He grounded the necessity of its continuance till this time upon the documents of the Negro-population in the different islands.  In many of these, slaves were imported, but they were re-exported nearly in equal numbers.  Now all these he considered to be in a state to go on without future supplies from Africa.  Jamaica and the ceded islands retained almost all the slaves imported into them.  This he considered as a proof that these had not attained the same desirable state; and it was therefore necessary, that the trade should be continued longer on this account.

It was his intention, however, to provide proper punishments, while it lasted, for abuses both in Africa and the Middle Passage.  He would take care, as far as he could, that none but young slaves should be brought from the Coast of Africa.  He would encourage establishments there for a new species of traffic.  Foreign nations should be invited to concur in the abolition.  He should propose a praedial rather than a personal service for the West Indies, and institutions, by which the slaves there should be instructed in religious duties.  He concluded by reading several resolutions, which he would leave to the future consideration of the House.

Mr. Pitt then rose.  He deprecated the resolutions altogether.  He denied also the inferences, which Mr. Dundas had drawn from the West-Indian documents relative to the Negro-population.  He had looked over his own calculations from the same documents again and again, and he would submit them, with all their data, if it should be necessary, to the House.

Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. Fox held the same language.  They contended also, that Mr. Dundas had now proved, a thousand times more strongly than ever, the necessity of immediate abolition.  All the resolutions he had read were operative against his own reasoning.  The latter observed, that the Slave-traders were in future only to be allowed to steal innocent children from their disconsolate parents.

After a few observations by Lord Sheffield, Mr. Drake, Colonel Tarleton, and Mr. Rolle, the House adjourned.

On the twenty-fifth of April it resumed the consideration of the subject.  Mr. Dundas then went over his former resolutions, and concluded by moving, “that it should not be lawful to import any African Negros into any British colonies, in ships owned or navigated by British subjects, at any time after the first of January 1800.”