He maintainer of an opinion contrary to my own judgment. I am bound in
duty to maintain those arguments which are most useful to Captain
Knowles, as far as is consistent with truth; and if his conduct has been
agreeable to the laws throughout, I am under a further indispensable
duty to support it.' Much reference was made to the ancient laws of
villenage, or semi-slavery, in Britain. Mr Dunning maintained, that
these were testimony that a slave was not an utter anomaly in the
country. The class of villeins had disappeared, and the law regarding
them was abolished in the reign of Charles II. But he maintained, that
there was nothing in that circumstance to prohibit others from
establishing a claim upon separate grounds. He said: 'If the statute of
Charles II. ever be repealed, the law of villenage revives in its full
force.' It was stated that there were in Britain 15,000 negroes in the
same position with Somerset. They had come over as domestics during the
temporary sojourn of their owner-masters, intending to go back again.
Then it was observed, that many of the slaves were in ships or in
colonies which had not special laws for the support of slavery; and by
the disfranchisement of these, British subjects would lose many
millions' worth of property, which they believed themselves justly to
possess. British justice, however, has held at all times the question of
human liberty to be superior to considerations of mere expediency. If
the question be, who gains or loses most, there never can be a doubt
that the man whose freedom has been reft from him has the greatest of
all claims
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