1812.2
Lines
Written on Reading in the Edinburgh Review Some Remarks on the Continuation of the Slave Trade by Spain and Portugal
“M. F.”
The Morning Chronicle (September 14, 1812)

Best of Allies! Britannia tries
    To rescue, by her aid,
A land from foes and public woes,
    Where slavery's a trade.

O, Sons of Spain! may you regain
    The liberty you've lost;[1]
They will not buy the blessing high
    Who know so well its cost;

But 'twould be right, while freemen fight
    And stud your land with graves,
That you forbore to seek the shore
    Of Africa for slaves.

Notes

1. [Author's note]: "This poetical licence requires some apology; a people cannot be said to lose what they never possessed."