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be fearful of trespassing at great length on the time of the House were it not that the subject was so well known, had been so often before the House, and had been so thoroughly investigated in all its points, and in all their bearings, that he hoped it would not be necessary for him to take up much of the time of the House in going into detail. At the same time the question was of such great importance, that he should be unwilling to let a discussion of it proceed, especially in this new Parliament, without stating the arguments, reasons and evidence, which ought to weigh with the House in contemplating this Bill. He was apprehensive of bringing forward too much, and much at a loss to know what parts to select, to save as much as possible the time of the House. The question, however, had recently received some very great disembarrassments; and, indeed, he was not aware at that moment that there was much disposition in any one to contest the necessity and propriety of the measure. He believed it was almost generally allowed that the traffic was fraught with cruelty and injustice, and that the results from it in Africa, were the most frightful miseries to the unhappy natives of that country. It had long been a source of encouragement to kidnapping and robbery, and had created incentives to the most barbarous murders; and, in every sense in which it could be viewed, it was a stain and a disgrace to civilized nations to continue it. From this part of the argument he was, therefore, in a great measure relieved: there was, however, one part of the question which deserved some observation, namely, that of carrying slaves to the West Indies, and it gave him great satisfaction to think, that the House had, on the present occasion, heard nothing from the Learned Counsel at the Bar, of the luxuries of the Middle Passage. These topics had now vanished, and he believed there was not a man in the House, who did not allow that the Middle Passage had been fraught with the most dreadful mischiefs. There had, he believed, been one or two individuals, who had differed from him on this subject; one of whom had even said, he was so well convinced of the propriety and policy of the Slave Trade, that he viewed it as a blessing to the Africans; and if there was no such traffic, he would himself propose to establish it. In another place it had been said, that it was justified by Scripture; but he was of opinion, that it was contrary to every principle of humanity, and every sentiment of the Christian religion. It could therefore, only be fairly said, that it existed in policy and justice, and not in humanity.

      The introduction of the Slave Trade Abolition Bill by the government of Lord Grenville in 1807 marked the culmination of two decades of campaigning by reformers, notably William Wilberforce.

      In that time, British merchants had trafficked more than 600,000 Africans as slaves. The riches to be made from the trade led to opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords from peers with sugar plantations in the Caribbean.

      The debate in the Commons lasted 10 hours, and was led by the Foreign Secretary, Howick; as Earl Grey (of tea fame) he would become Prime Minister in 1830. Wilberforce was cheered when he took his place in the House and the Bill was passed by an unexpectedly large majority of 283 to 16 votes.

      The Act prohibited the trading of slaves, but slavery itself was not abolished throughout the Empire until 1833 – after the sugar industry in the West Indies had begun its economic decline.

      This report, with its mention of the slave trade being considered a blessing by some, reveals how much attitudes have changed in the centuries since, and the scale of the struggle faced by the abolitionists. The deferential tone of parliamentary reporting has also evolved.

       THE ASSASSINATION OF SPENCER PERCEVAL

      12 May 1812

      About a quarter past five Mr. PERCEVAL [the Prime Minister] was entering the Lobby of the House of Commons, where a number of persons were standing, when a man, who had a short time previously placed himself in the recess of the door-way within the Lobby, drew out a small pistol, and shot Mr. PERCEVAL in the lower part of the left breast. The ball is supposed to have entered the heart. Mr PERCEVAL moved forwards a few faltering steps, nearly half way up the lobby, and was in the act of falling, when some persons stept forward and caught him. He was immediately carried to the room of the SPEAKER’S Secretary, to the left of the lobby, by Mr. W. SMITH, Mr. BRADSHAW and another gentleman. Mr. LYNN, the Surgeon, in Parliament-street, was immediately sent for; but on examining the wound, he considered the case utterly hopeless. All that escaped Mr. PERCEVAL’S lips previously to falling in the lobby, was “murder,” or “murdered.” He said no more afterwards. He expired in about ten or twelve minutes after receiving the fatal wound. Several Members of both Houses of Parliament went into the room while he was dying: among others, his brother, Lord ARDEN: all of them appeared greatly agitated. There was very little effusion of blood from the wound, externally. His body was subsequently removed into the SPEAKER’S House. Lord FRANCIS OSBORNE, Lord OSSULTON, and some others, were crossing the lobby at the moment of the assassination, and were very near to Mr. PERCEVAL. The deed was perpetrated so suddenly, that the man who fired the pistol was not instantly recognized by those in the lobby; but a person passing at the moment behind Mr. PERCEVAL, seized the pistol, (which was a very small one) from the hand of the assassin, who retired towards a bench to the left; he surrendered it without any resistance. Mr. GOODIFF an Officer of the House, took hold of him, and asked if he were the villain who shot the Minister. He replied “I am the unhappy man” but appeared quite undisturbed. It is said, that he added something about the want of redress of grievances from Ministers; but if he did say so, it was heard by very few. On searching him, a few pounds were found in his pockets, and some printed papers, copies of which he is said to have previously distributed among Members. He was taken to the bar of the House of Commons, and identified as the assassin. Another pistol, similar to that which he had fired was taken from his pocket in the House. All the doors of the House were then locked, and he was conveyed by the private passages up stairs to one of the apartments called the prison rooms, in the upper story, over the Committee rooms. Here he underwent an examination for some time, which was attended by Aldermen COMBE and CURTIS, and by Mr. READ, Mr. COLQUHOUN, Mr. FIELDING, and other Magistrates; and several Members of the House of Commons, Mr. WHITBREAD, Mr. WYNNE, Mr. STEPHEN, Lord CASTLEREAGH, Mr. Secretary RYDER, &c. After an examination of various witnesses, among whom were Lord OSSULTON and FRANCIS OSBORNE, General GASCOYNE, Mr. H. SUMNER, the Officers of the House, and several strangers, the man was fully committed to Newgate for trial. A hackney-coach was brought to the iron gates in Lower Palace yard; but the crowd, which was at first composed of decent people, had been gradually swelled by a concourse of pick-pockets and the lower orders, who mounted the coach, and were so exceedingly troublesome and even dangerous that it was not deemed advisable to send him to Newgate in the manner intended.

      An evangelical Christian and abolitionist, Spencer Perceval came to politics from the law and remains the only Prime Minister to have been Attorney-General – and the only one to have been murdered. Although his reputation faded fast following his untimely demise, he had been regarded as one of the Tories’ few stars after the death of Pitt the Younger.

      The main achievement of his government, which had been formed in 1809, was to keep the future Duke of Wellington’s army in the field in Portugal, a decision Perceval had taken when Chancellor. The cost of this, and of other measures needed for the war against Napoleon, led to his personal unpopularity and popular unrest. This was also stoked by Luddites opposed to the industrialisation of work.

      It was first feared that Perceval’s murder heralded a revolution. In fact, his assassin John Bellingham had long nursed an obsessive grievance against the state and its representatives. This stemmed from his ruin following imprisonment in Russia for debt. He was hastily tried and executed and, like his victim, just as swiftly forgotten by history.

       THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

      23 June 1815

      The position which I [the Duke of Wellington] took up in front of Waterloo crossed the high roads from Charleroy and Nivelle, and had its right thrown back to a ravine near Merke Braine, which was occupied; and its left extended to