England's Support

Last week in class we discussed the idea that if England had supported the Confederacy in the war,then they would have made a fool of themselves. This is entirely due to the fact that they had outlawed the slave trade there years before and if they ended up supporting the South, who's primary purpose was keeping slavery going in the United States, they would have looked ridiculous. Now the question I pose is, if England had supported the South, would there have been any stipulations, such as, they would demand gradual emancipation or eventual outlawing of slavery? Is there any signs of this in history?