This abridgement was made by the different
friends of the cause. William Burgh, Esq., of York; Thomas Babington,
Esq., of Rothley Temple; the Rev. Thomas Gisborne, of Yoxall Lodge; Mr.
Campbell Haliburton, of Edinburgh; George Harrison, with one or two
others of the committee, and myself, were employed upon it. The greater
share, however, of the labour, fell upon Dr. Dickson. That no
misrepresentation of any person's testimony might be made, Matthew
Montagu, Esq., and the Honourable E.J. Elliott, members of Parliament,
undertook to compare the abridged manuscripts with the original text,
and to strike out or correct whatever they thought to be erroneous, and
to insert whatever they thought to have been omitted. The committee for
the abolition, when the work was finished, printed it at their own
expense, Mr. Wilberforce then presented it to the House of Commons, as a
faithful abridgement of the whole evidence. Having been received as
such, under the guarantee of Mr. Montague and Mr. Elliott, the committee
sent it to every individual member of that House.
The book having been thus presented, and a day fixed for the final
determination of the question, our feelings became almost insupportable;
for we had the mortification to find, that our cause was going down in
estimation, where it was then most important that it should have
increased in favour.
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