Section I. — Preliminary Remarks

One of the many difficulties which an advocate of the unfortunate slaves has to encounter, is that of determining what part of the premises he has to reason upon may be safely assumed; and what part of them it may be necessary or expedient to prove; or rather to prove anew; for on the one hand he may be thought needlessly to trespass on the patience of his readers; and on the other hand maybe prejudiced by doubts that may have been produced in their minds through stale and often refuted, but boldly reiterated falsehoods.

If in any part of the case, I might now be relieved from this difficulty, it would seem to be the odious practice of driving; for though an account of it, which I published near twentyeight years ago, was then boldly denied by the colonial party, and was arraigned of falsehood and calumny, even by some respectable colonial proprietors in their parliamentary places, it has been since so clearly confirmed by many of the planters themselves, and their partizans, that its veracity might be supposed to be placed quite beyond the reach of contradiction or doubt. The practice too has become, if we except some idle glosses on its actual nature, a subject not only of avowal, but of tenacious defence, by the colonial assemblies, and their controversial champions in this country.