Excerpt from American Colonization Society: Extracts From the North American Review, the Reports of the Society, the African Repository, &C Let the scheme of colonization next be considered as affecting the Slave Trade. And it will be seen, that its benefits, in regard to the suppression of this traffic, are scarcely less important, than those ai-x ready enumerated. In 1808, the earliest time provided by the con stitution, the slave trade was prohibited in the United States, and laws were enacted inflicting severe penalties of fines, imprisonments and forfeitures on those, who should participate in this guilty traffic. Ten years afterwards this law was improved, by throwing on the defendant the burden of proof, that the colored person introduced by him into the country was lawfully brought in. The laws were still found to be imperfect, as they neither atl'orded a sufiicient check to the trade by American citizens on the coast of Africa, nor provided any means of redeeming and restoring to their country the unfortu nate victims, who might, in violation of the laws, be introduced into fiie states. To correct these imperfections. The act of March 3d, 1819, already mentioned, was passed, authorising the president to station public vessels on the coast of Africa, make such arrange ments as he should deem expedient to rescue and Support recaptur ed negroes, and appoint agents to reside there, and receive such pera sons of color, as should be sent from this country, or be taken by our cruisers from slave vessels on the coast. One act more was wanting to mark this wicked traffic with its true character, and this act was passed by congress, May 15th, 1820, wherein it is declared, that cv ery person proved to be engaged in the slave trade is guilty of pira cy, and shall be punished with death. The glory of taking this no ble stand against the long cherished, guilty customs of the whole world, and of asserting the claims of humanity on the broad princi ples of nature and right, was reserved for the American congress. Ltis a bright page in the records of time, and the event will be hail ed in all coming ages as a memorable epoch in the history of the human race. It has already gained the spontaneous applause of cv ery benevolent heart, not more in this country than in Europe. Let it pot be forgotten. That this step was first recommended by a com mitten of congress acting on a memorial of the colonization society.this arable law, in connexion with that of 1819, would seem be' little else than a dead letter, without the existence of an A erican colony on the coast of Africa. Where are the agents to be ationed? What security will they have for their persons How are cy.to preserve the dignity of public agents of the American gov ament, orin what manner can they discharge the duties of their lice, in opposition to the interests of the people, whose protection ey claim? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.