It would be curious to see the Guinea captain attempting at the
same instant to publish his proclamation of liberty, and to advertise his sale
of slaves.
But let us suppose all these moral difficulties got over. The ocean remains. You
cannot pump this dry; and as long as it continues in its present bed, so long
all the causes which weaken authority by distance will continue.
"Ye gods, annihilate but space and time,
And make two lovers happy!"
was a pious and passionate prayer; but just as reasonable as many of the serious
wishes of grave and solemn politicians.
If then, Sir, it seems almost desperate to think of any alterative course for
changing the moral causes, and not quite easy to remove the natural, which
produce prejudices irreconcilable to the late exercise of our authority--but
that the spirit infallibly will continue, and, continuing, will produce such
effects as now embarrass us--the second mode under consideration is to prosecute
that spirit in its overt acts as criminal.
At this proposition I must pause a moment. The thing seems a great deal too big
for my ideas of jurisprudence.
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