SIR, No. 72.-Viscount Palmerston to Mr. Hudson. I HEREWITH transmit to you an extract from a despatch received at the Admiralty, dated the 27th of May last, from Rear-Admiral Reynolds, commanding the Brazil station, forwarding a report from Commander Crofton, of Her Majesty's steam-vessel Rifleman, on the same station, of the particulars of an attack made on the 16th of May last, by a body of piratical ruffians, upon the crew of the cutter of the Rifleman, whilst they were seeking shelter from bad weather, under the lee of a small island to the eastward of the Island of Moela, near Santos, in which affair one of the crew of the Rifleman was shot dead. I have to instruct you to state to the Brazilian Government, that Her Majesty's Government have learnt with great regret, this outrage committed on the crew of a boat belonging to the British Navy, and more especially the wanton murder of a sailor in Her Majesty's service; and that Her Majesty's Government expect and demand that the Brazilian Government shall, without loss of time, take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of bringing to justice the persons who were guilty of these most criminal acts. You will further state, that Her Majesty's Government also expect that the Brazilian Government will take, without delay, effectual measures for rooting out from the Brazilian coast, and from the islands off that coast, the barracoons and other arrangements which are established there for purposes of Slave Trade. You will add, that Her Majesty's Government consider themselves fully entitled by the engagements of the Brazilian Crown in regard to the Slave Trade, to make this demand, but that they deem it right at the same time, to say that if the Brazilian Government shall neglect to employ their own means to disperse the bands of pirates who collect in these barracoons and in other similar Slave Trade establishments, Her Majesty's Government cannot permit the valuable lives of Her Majesty's officers and sailors to continue to be exposed to the attacks of such miscreants, and that the Admiral commanding on the station will be authorized to have recourse to such measures as may be necessary for securing the ships, the boats, and the crews under his command, from future insults and outrages of this kind. I am, &c. J. Hudson, Esq. PALMERSTON. No. 73.-Mr. Hudson to Viscount Palmerston.-(Received Sept. 18.) WITH reference to my despatch of the 9th of March, inclosing the copy of a note which, in obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I had addressed to the Brazilian Government, upon the subject of visits made to Brazilian ships by Her Majesty's vessels of war at Bahia, I have now the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship the reply which Senhor Paulino has thought proper to give to that note. His Excellency states that those acts of Her Majesty's cruizers excite a national spirit in favour of Slave Trade, and give greater power to the slave-dealers. With regard to the former assertion, I have the honour to inclose to your Lordship a selection which I have made from some of the newspapers published in Brazil against Slave Trade. There are other Brazilian publications I know which have adopted, as part of their political creed, the same great principle, namely, the suppression of the Slave Trade; but as they have not yet reached me, and as I think that those which I have the honour to inclose will go far to disprove Senhor Paulino's assertion, I do not think it necessary to wait till I have made an entire collection, but forward the inclosed collection at once to your Lordship. With regard to the other assertion of Senhor Paulino, that efforts for the suppression of Slave Trade on this coast give greater power to the slave-dealer, recent events have proved that it was the apathy of the Brazilian Government and the laxity of the Brazilian authorities which gave power to the pirates and adventurers, who have settled themselves in this capital and on points on this coast where, with impunity, they carried on their trade of buying and selling human flesh. In my other despatches of this date, I have had the honour to detail the effect which the recent efforts of Her Majesty's squadron in the suppression of Slave Trade have produced upon the menstealers. I have, &c. Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. JAMES HUDSON. (Inclosure.)-Senhor Paulino de Souza to Mr. Hudson. (Translation.) Department of Foreign Affairs, THE Undersigned, &c., duly received the note which, on the 9th of March of this year, Mr. Hudson, &c., addressed to him, respecting the note of the 3rd of last September, which treats of acts practised by ships of war of Her Majesty against Brazilian vessels, not only near the coast, but also at the entrance and within the bar of the capital of the province of Bahia, declaring that his Government regretted that the proceedings of the British cruizers on the coast of Brazil furnished ground of complaint on the part of the Imperial Government; but that those proceedings could not cease until it adopted the necessary measures to fulfil the stipulations of the Treaty for the total suppression of the African Slave Trade in Brazil; Mr. Hudson then shows that his Government did not intend, when it gave instructions to its cruizers to employ the means necessary to put down that traffic, to attack the honour and dignity of the Brazilian Crown. In reply to the above note of Mr. Hudson, the Undersigned has the honour to state to him, that the Imperial Government on its part, also much regrets that the Government of Her Britannic Majesty is of opinion that such proceedings are the best suited to suppress the Slave Trade; when, on the contrary, they excite a national spirit and give greater power to the slave-dealers, and the more so, because the Imperial Government, not being able to admit that foreign ships should practise such acts within the ports of the empire, has to fulfil its duty, opposing itself upon every occasion that it can do so, let the consequences be what they may, which it is right to point out, to the well-being of the relations of the 2 countries. The Undersigned, &c. J. Hudson, Esq. PAULINO J. S. DE SOUZA. No. 75.-Mr. Hudson to Viscount Palmerston.-(Received Sept. 18.) I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship the copies of letters which have passed between the Commander-in-chief of Her Majesty's naval forces on this station, the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and myself, upon the subject of a most treacherous attack and cold-blooded assassination of a seaman of Her Majesty's vessel Rifleman, Commander Crofton, by a gang of those cut-throats the slave-dealers, who are a pest to this country and a disgrace to this century. Your Lordship will perceive, from the inclosed papers, that the crew of one of the boats of Her Majesty's ship Rifleman, having been forced by stress of weather to take shelter on a promontory near Moela, in the province of St. Paul's, were surprised, when engaged in the very harmless occupation of drying their clothes, by a large body of slave-dealers, who, without parley, fired into them, killing one, and perforating the clothes of other seamen with shot. This dastardly and disgraceful attack happened precisely on that part of the coast of St. Paul's to which I had called the attention of the Brazilian Government so long ago as February last, as being in the hands of the slave-dealers, who there established themselves in force, setting at defiance the laws and the authorities of this country. The chief leader of this gang of assassins is named Valencio Augusto Teixeira Leomil, a Portuguese by birth, in the employment of Antonio Ferreira da Silva, proprietor of the slave-dealing establishment at Perrequé, and being well known, I described his person and his name to Senhor Paulino, the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs; but the police of Santos, who, like most other. Brazilian authorities, begin to find out that they can shake off the yoke of the slave-dealers, had already got upon the assassin's track, and had arrested him, although he offered 400 milreis (507.) as a bribe to the officers of justice to let him escape. Her Majesty's steamer Rifleman having been despatched with the mail to the River Plate, I have requested of the Brazilian Government that the assassin Valencio may be remanded, until those of her crew who were present at the affair may have an opportunity of identifying him. I have, &c. Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. JAMES HUDSON. (Inclosure.)-Senhor Paulino de Souza to Mr. Hudson. (Translation.) Department of Foreign Affairs, Rio de Janeiro, June 26, 1850.. I ACKNOWLEDGE the receipt of the note which on the 16th instant Mr. Hudson, &c., addressed to me, transmitting the copy of an official letter from the Commander of the steamer Rifleman, reporting to the Rear-Admiral commanding-in-chief the naval forces of Her Majesty on this station, that the crew of one of the boats of that steamer having been forced by stress of weather to land about 6 miles to the eastward of Moela, in the province of St. Paul's, were surprised by a large number of persons armed, who fired upon them and killed 1 of the seamen, and continued to fire upon them during the time that the seamen were retiring to their boat. In reply to this note, I have the honour to acquaint Mr. Hudson that the deputy district judge of the 6th district of the province of St. Paul's having communicated on the 23rd of May last past to the Imperial Government, the above occurrence, orders were immediately transmitted to him as well as to the President of the same province, copies of which orders are annexed, marked Nos. 1 and 2. The same President having made a like communication on the 29th of May, the recommendations already made were again repeated on the 4th of this month. I now transmit to Mr. Hudson the inclosed copy, which I have received from the President of St. Paul's, and from which it will be seen that the chief of police of that province had proceeded to Santos in order personally to take cognizance of this affair, the result of which I will communicate to Mr. Hudson in due time. J. Hudson, Esq. I avail, &c. PAULINO J. S. DE SOUZA. Rio de Janeiro, July 27, 1850. No. 85.-Mr. Hudson to Viscount Palmerston.-(Received Sept. 18.) (Extract.) Ox the 13th May, 2 Senators, Senhor Hollanda Cavalcanti and Senhor Candido Baptista d'Oliveira, each presented to the Brazilian Senate a project respecting Slave Trade. The project of Senhor Hollanda Cavalcanti is simply to legalize Slave Trade; it will therefore require no comment from myself. The project of Senhor Candido Baptista aimed at an alteration of the Brazilian law against Slave Trade, of the 7th November, 1831. A law which is part and parcel of the Treaty of 1826, between Great Britain and Brazil for the suppression of Slave Trade. It is to be presumed that a Brazilian legislator in the position of Senhor Candido Baptista, is aware of that fact, and I am consequently unable to account to your Lordship for so extraordinary a step on the part of a Senator who enjoys so high a reputation in Brazil. The 2 projects, such as they are, were referred to a Committee chosen by the Senate, who drew up a report upon them, from which your Lordship will perceive that the Committee express an opinion that repressive measures against Slave Trade have failed. It is to be presumed that the Committee allude to the efforts of Her Majesty's Government to suppress Slave Trade on the coast of Africa; because, although Brazil is as much bound as is Great Britain to repress Slave Trade, she has calmly looked on, permitting those hives of slave-dealers and other miscreants to swarm upon her shores, trampling her own law under foot, and setting right as well as decency at defiance. This report of the Committee of the Senate is dated the 1st instant. Recent events which have occurred since that report was published, prove beyond dispute, that if the Brazilian Government of the day determined to put down Slave Trade, that traffic would cease to exist as soon as the determination to repress it became known. If, therefore, I differ in opinion with the Senators who have signed that report, it is because I am convinced that Slave Trade must cease when Brazilian authorities enforce Brazilian law against establishments such as those at Perrequé, Sombrio, and Cotinga, where, protected by batteries, and encouraged by magistrates, we have seen depôts of African slaves established, and ships openly fitted for Slave Trade, go to and return from Africa with their illicit cargoes. The measures of repression of which the Committee of the Senate speak, are as binding upon Brazil as upon Great Britain; and if these Senators had instituted an inquiry as to how far Brazil has fulfilled her share of the contract, I imagine that their candour would have forced them to a very different avowal. The Committee of the Senate do not discountenance the idea of legalizing Slave Trade, which idea forms the basis of the Senator Hollanda Cavalcanti's project; on the contrary, they do not only approve |