(Note Q.)
The profits of this nefarious trade are so large, that mercenary men will incur any risk. At present, says the Report, 1822, speaking of the French favouring the trade, the rate of insurance does not exceed fifteen or twenty per cent, while the gains of the trade are proved to amount to from two hundred to four hundred per cent. It appears, from papers found on board Le Succès, that two hundred and forty slaves, which she landed on the island of Bourbon, cost nine thousand nine hundred and forty-three dollars; and that the proceeds of the sale of these slaves amounted to twenty-nine thousand five hundred and sixty-four dollars. And there is also an account of an outfit of fifty-three thousand francs producing a net profit of one hundred and sixty-six thousand francs.
These facts need no comment. But let not England be discouraged: she has stood alone in many a fearful struggle, when apparently sinking under the pressure of a hostile world. She has led the way in the work of mercy; let her pursue her path with unfaltering firmness, and fearlessly oppose those who dare to violate the solemn engagements they have formed with her.