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injustice, and oppression, as regarded the individuals concerned, and involving the great national question whether or not this country had a right under treaties, to trade with that part of the African coast, or whether this country held the right on sufferance, and at the will and pleasure of another power. If this country had that right-and he believed it was unquestioned-he thought this country was bound to show its feeling, as well on account of the importance of the trade itself, as because the establishment of commercial relations with that part of the world, and the interchange of their produce for British manufactures, furnished the best means of introducing into that country, the blessings of civilization, and of putting

an end to the sinful traffic which was there carried on. He felt confident that the extension of those relations in all directions, and their maintenance by all lawful means, would do more to put down the horrors of that traffic than all the attempts which might be made to bring minor and weaker states, for to them the attempts were limited, under the operation of acts of the British Parliament. The case of the petitioners would, he believed, be best and most briefly told in their own words, and he would therefore, with the permission of the House, read that part of the petition. The petitioners stated, that

"They have been for some years engaged in carrying on a trade in gum at the British port of Portendic, on the western coast of Africa. That this article is one of great importance to many of the staple manufactures of Great Britain, and that the English trade therein, at the said port of Portendic, has been observed for more than a century with great and increasing jealousy by the French merchants established in the Senegal. That a tribe of Moors, denominated the Trazars, is supposed to exercise considerable influence over the direction of this trade, in the interior of that part of Africa where the gum is principally produced. That the French thought fit to declare war against this tribe in the year 1832; and that under the pretext of carrying on the said war, the Governor of the Senegal caused a report to be circulated, towards the close of the year 1833, that he intended to blockade the coast of Portendic. That your petitioners, astonished at so extraordinary a menace, sought for protection against it from his late Majesty's Government, in consequence of which, the British Ambassador at Paris (Earl Granville) was instructed to inquire whether any such intention existed on the part of the Government of France, when

a reply was given that they had no such inten. ion. That, notwithstanding this solemn pledge, the Governor of the Senegal despatched two ships-of-war in July, 1834, to the said British Bay of Portendic, where two

English merchant vessels, the Governor Temple, and the Industry, chartered by two of your petitioners, were then engaged in carrying on the gum trade with the Moors; that these two vessels were ordered by the French commander to quit the bay, without taking in the cargoes of gum prepared for them on the shore; that the English captains refused to

obey this order, whereupon one of the French ships anchored close to the coast, and commenced firing upon the Moors with grape and round shot; that the English flag was placed upon the gum collected on the shore intended for embarkation; that the flag was fired upon by the French; that the two merchant vessels were captured, taken to the Senegal, and not restored until much of the benefit of the voyage was lost to the charterers; and that after upbraiding the two supercargoes in the most insolent language, the said commander ordered them on board his ship, where he detained them for several days as prisoners. That an official proclamation having been previously issued, the said British coast of Portendic, was actually blockaded by the French on the 15th of February, 1835, and an adequate force stationed in the bay to maintain the said blockade, which was continued without intermis. sion for more than six months. That the Eliza, belonging to one of your petitioners, which had arrived at Portendic a fortnight behad landed and disposed of part of her out.

fore the commencement of the blockade, and

ward cargo, and was prepared to ship from the shore the gum bargained for in exchange, was violently boarded, taken possession of, and conveyed out of the harbour by the French marine, leaving the gum on the beach; and that subsequently several other vessels belonging to your petitioners, which were proceeding to that place with cargoes of dry goods, in order to procure gum in exchange, were driven away by the blockading force. That the practical result of these proceedings has been, in the first place, to inflict actual losses on your petitioners to the amount of 100,000l.; and in the second place, to cause in the intercourse between the English and the Moorish dealers in gum, a derangement which has not been since found susceptible of any permanent remedy, and that the trade may be said to have passed from your petitioners almost wholly into French hands. That your petitioners lost no time in preferring claims against the Government of France for indemnity for the heavy losses which they have sustained by reason of the outrages herein stated; and that her Majesty's Government, and the law officers of the Crown, having taken the said claims into consideration, have found them, after the most minute examination, to be valid and just in every respect. That the claims of

your petitioners for redress, having been for-insult given by firing at the British flng

warded by her Majesty's principal Secretary the confiscation of property covered by

of State to the Government of France, such redress has been refused by the French upon various pretexts, all of which have been pronounced unsatisfactory by the law officers of the Crown. That in answer to the repeated applications made by your petitioners to the said Secretary of State, requesting that he would obtain from France the indemnity to which he admits they are entitled, his Lordship has stated that he has done and is doing everything in his power in order to obtain such redress for your petitioners. That nevertheless, year after year passes over without such redress, or even any promise of it, being procured from France, and that thus the losses inflicted upon your petitioners in the years 1834 and 1835 have been very seriously aggravated, not to mention the further injuries which they have since sustained by the almost total termination of their trade at Portendic. That, under these circumstances, your petitioners appeal to your Lordships for protection, and trust that you will take such steps as may seem most meet, in order to procure for your petitioners indemnity for past injuries, as well as security for their future trade. That your petitioners are far from soliciting the adoption of any measures which might affect the amicable relations now so happily subsisting between England and France; but at the same time, they humbly conceive that the treatment which they have received from the authorities of France, is such as cannot be tolerated without compromising the honour of her Majesty's Crown, and exposing the rights of her subjects to frequent violation in every quarter of the globe."

The various statements contained in this petition had been brought under the consideration of another assembly last year, and in the early part of the present Session by the right hon. and learned Member for the Tower Hamlets. That right

that flag-the capture of British vessels, and the imprisonment of British subjects. The unjustifiable character of the whole of the transactions from first to last, was recorded by the solemn opinions of the law officers of the Crown on the case itself, and the right of the parties aggrieved to claim compensation and redress; all these facts had been admitted by the noble Viscount at the head of the Foreign Department, who stated further, that so convinced was he of the correctness of the statement, and the importance of the matter to the country at large, that he was then using his exertions to bring the French Government to a sense of what was due, not to this country alone, but on the principle of self-respect as due to France herself. He was sorry to say that these efforts appeared to have been totally without success. For five years these unfortunate gentlemen, the petitioners, had to complain of grievous injuries inflicted upon them by acts of an ally of their sovereign, and for five years this country had lost the advantage of a trade which furnished an article indispensable to her manufactures, which trade, by force of arms, had been monopolized and usurped by France, upon whom England had now to depend for the supply of an article she could not do without, and which she was compelled to take from the French on their own terms, and at their own price. This, however, was a narrow and paltry view of the question which involved the national honour and national rights. He hoped he should not witness any interruption of the good understand

hon. Member founded upon them a mo-ing which existed between France and

tion for the production of papers, which motion, however, was withdrawn on the assurance given by the noble Viscount who was at the head of Foreign Affairs, that the Government of this country was at that time negotiating with France on the subject of these transactions, and that the production of the papers moved for, might be prejudicial to that negotiation. The noble Viscount, at the same time, unequivocally admitted all the facts contained in this, or rather a similar petition-he admitted the undoubted right of British subjects to trade on the western coast of Africa-he admitted the violent interruptions which had been given to that trade by the naval forces of France the

England, on which depended mainly the happiness of the civilized world; but he was not anxious to purchase that good understanding at the expense of national character or national honour. He hoped that her Majesty's Government would use that earnest and serious tone in this matter, which was never misunderstood by the party in the wrong, when perseveringly employed by those in the right. assured their Lordships that he was not influenced by any party feeling in taking upon himself to present this petition; in fact, it was a case into which party feeling could not enter. It had been twice brought before the other House by one of the most strenuous supporters of her

He

Majesty's Government, the learned Mem| ber for the Tower Hamlets, and he was satisfied that the terms of condemnation employed by that learned person, were not too strong. He repeated, that he earnestly hoped the noble Viscount would take the subject into his serious consideration. The noble Viscount might depend upon it, that the great commercial community of this country would not suffer the matter to stand as it did; unless some decisive step was taken, they would not be satisfied.

Viscount Melbourne said, their Lordships must have seen from the statements of the noble Lord, and also from the allegations of the petition, which he believed could not be denied, that this was plainly a matter for grave and serious consideration. It was unquestionably such a matter as might lead to that which the noble Lord had so much deprecated, unless some means were found to bring about an amicabie termination of the disputes. It was the opinion of the Government, that her Majesty's subjects in that part of the globe where the transactions complained of had taken place, had suffered injury, and that there had been a violation, if not of a treaty, at least of those rights of commerce which belonged to her Majesty's subjects. He could assure the noble Lord that there had been no lack of interference or remonstrance on the part of the Government with those free and easy Ministers to whom he had referred, though he seemed to insinuate that nothing had been done. There was no difference of opinion amongst the members of the Government upon this subject, nor had there been any throughout the whole course of the negotiations which had

SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE.] Viscount Melbourne, having first moved, that the Address to her Majesty on the Slave-trade, agreed to by their Lordships on Friday, the 2nd instant, and her Majesty's gracious Answer thereto, be read, rose to move the second reading of the Slave-Trade Suppression Bill, and said, that, deeply impressed as he was with the great importance of this measure in every point of view, whether considered politically, or with reference to the great measure which it was intended to forward, he at the same time apprehended that he should not be compelled to intrude upon the patience of their Lordships for any very great length of time. The solemn act of their Lordships, to which he had recalled their attention by moving that their address to the Throne be read, the circumstances under which this bill had been introduced, and the present state of the question, rendered it unnecessary for him to enter into a long statemant of the reasons upon which it was founded, or of the grounds on which he hoped for their Lordships' approbation of it. They would perceive, that every provision of this bill, and the powers which were requested to be conferred by it, were stated in a very clear, and simple, and distinct manner in the preamble, and in the several clauses thereof. The objects were simply these: - that those persons who should be em. ployed under the authority of her Majesty, for the detention and seizure of vessels engaged in the slave-trade, should be protected against the consequences of executing the orders given to them, by indemnifying them against all suits or actions brought against them; and that power should be given to the Vice-Ad

taken place. It was felt that great injus-miralty Courts of the colonies to adjudi

tice had been done by the agents of France in that part of the world, and he was sorry to say that they had not viewed it in that light, but that they had taken rather an opposite view of it. The noble Lord might rely upon it that the matter had been pressed upon the attention of the French Government in the most earnest and solemn manner, and that it would still be so pressed upon them, and he could not but hope that when the principles stated by the noble Lord came to be duly considered, due reparation would be made to her Majesty's subjects for the injuries they had suffered. Petition to lie on the Table,

1

cate upon the cases of all vessels so captured, in the same way as if they were British ships. Those were the principal features of the bill. Their Lordships were aware of the general object which it was intended to assist and carry out; and it was not necessary for him to make many observations upon that head. Their Lordships knew that this country had been now more than fifty years engaged in that which was unquestionably a very difficult, but at the same time, a very noble and honourable and praiseworthy task, and one which he thought would, hereafter, be the principal glory of Britain-that of attempting to abolish the African slavetrade, and to extinguish that condition of slavery which had unfortunately grown up in many parts of the globe in consequence of that trade. After labouring for this end for many years, when peace was restored to the world, we had endeavoured to induce other nations to unite in the same honourable cause, and to combine their efforts with ours for the same glorious object. Their Lordships were aware of the zeal and energy displayed in this cause, and of the sacrifices made in it by this country; they knew that it was a cause which was deeply entwined and interwoven with the moral and religious feelings of the people, and that the general desire of the nation was for the extinction of this traffic. But when he came to consider the result of the exertions and sacrifices which had thus been made, he feared that what was stated in many quarters was too true, and that, indeed, it was a fact which was so strongly pressed upon their attention, that we had succeeded in a very limited degree in our object, and that the slave-trade was still carried on under certain flags which were allowed to shelter and protect it. He would not enter into particulars here; he would not stay to inquire whether the slave-trade were now as extensive as when measures for its suppression were first set on foot, or whether it had increased, as was al leged by some persons who had paid great attention to the subject, and possessed much information upon it. Suffice it to say, that it was impossible to doubt that the slave-trade was still carried on to a great extent, and prevailed in many parts of the globe, and that many thousand persons were yearly brought from their native shores to be subjected to that wretched state, which was injurious both to him that suffered, and to him that caused the suffering. Although there might be some doubt with respect to the greatness of the amount of the traffic alleged by some persons, there could be no doubt that its amount at present was great. But there was another point upon which he must touch. It was said that we had, by the measures which we had taken to put down the slave-trade, aggravated the evils which its victims had felt under it; and the horrors of the system had been depicted, in the course of the last Session, by his noble and learned Friend who sat on his right (Lord Brougham), with a force which must have left a strong

impression upon their Lordships' minds, and in language which he believed it was hardly necessary for him to repeat, in order to convince their Lordships of the deep sufferings and horrid cruelties inflicted by the furtive attempts which were made to elude all the vigilance of those who were engaged in putting down the slave-trade. It was felt and agreed on all hands, that this contraband system should not be permitted to continue, that every effort should be made to put a stop to it, and that the Legislature was in duty bound to carry out the great and good work which the nation had begun. But, unfortunately, they had to deal with cupidity- that blinding vice, which would allow the individual to regard nothing when in the pursuit of gain, but that one object, that thirst for gold which made men disregard every horror and misery to which others might be subjected while in pursuit of their own gratification. Such was the passion which had unfortunately defeated us, and deprived us of that success which we had anticipated, and which he still hoped to see realized. Amongst the nations under whose flag the slave-trade was now carried on, he was sorry to say that Portugal was pre-eminent. A greater part, he might say, but certainly a large proportion of the traffic, was sanctioned by the Portuguese flag. Their Lordships well knew how the matter stood with respect to Portugal, which, by more than one treaty, had undertaken to put an end to the slave-trade. It was not his wish to use any strong language upon this occasion, because he trusted that their Lordships would so enter into the matter, and act in so decisive a manner, as would render more strong language superfluous and unnecessary. But he would call their Lordships' attention to the last note presented by Lord Howard de Walden to the Portuguese Government, in which the case with respect to the conduct of Portugal was stated in a perspi cuous manner. Lord Howard de Walden states that Portugal

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of January, 1815, she still 'permits her flag respect to Portugal. But he had com

to be used for supplying with slaves other places than the Trans-Atlantic possessions of Portugal. In violation of the 3rd article of the additional convention of the 28th of July, 1817, she absolutely refuses to assimilate the legislation of Portugal upon slave-trade with the legislation of Great Britain.' In violation of the 2nd article of that convention, she seeks to prevent Great Britain from putting down that slave-trade which, by that article, both Powers jointly declare to be illicitnamely the exportation of slaves in Portuguese vessels from 'ports not possessed or claimed by Portugal, in Africa,' and the importation of slaves in Portuguese vessels into 'ports not in the dominions of her most faithful Ma Majesty.' In violation of the separate ar ticle of the 11th of September, 1817, she refuses to adapt the provisions of the convention

of the 28th of July, 1817, to that altered state of circumstances which exists in consequence of the law, which has abolished the slave-trade in all the dominions of the Crown of Portugal. She has refused to sign a treaty which comprises stipulations indispensably necessary for carrying these various provisions into effect, although urged to do so by Great Britain, during a negotiation protracted for upwards of four years; but on the contrary, she insists upon stipulations which would render such a treaty as inefficacious as are her own laws. Instead of consenting to give greater power for the detention and for the condemnation of of slave-vessels, she endeavours to recede from the limited power which she granted for those purposes twenty years ago. She tries to narrow the extent of the mutual right of search, which, by the treaty of 1817, is without any limitation of geographical space, and which may now be exercised in every part of the world. She wants to abolish the mixed tribunals, established by the existing treaties, and to submit the adjudication of detained slaveships to Portuguese tribunals, from whom, in cases of this kind, guilt the most flagrant and the most clearly proved, would be certain to obtain an acquittal. She struggles for a power to cancel, at the end of a certain period, such portion of the treaty as she may dislike; that is to say, in other words, she asks for a power to revive, at the end of a certain period, the slave-trade of Portugal, in all the original plenitude of its iniquity. She demands a guarantee of her African possessions against tne dangers to which they will be exposed from a measure which the Portuguese Govern

ment itself acknowledges to be an indispensable foundation for the welfare and prosperity of those colonies; and she asserts, that propriety and decorum require these conditions, se utterly repugnant to good faith, to national nterest, and to national honour."

He nad thought it necessary to read that passage, because it contained a very clear and distinct summary of the case with

menced his observations by stating that the present position of the question,and furthermore, that the acts which they had already done, and that the votes which they had come to, rendered it unnecessary for him to go at length into the case, in order to prove what had been the conduct of Portugal in the long-protracted negotiations which had taken place between the two Governments, and how far that

conduct called for a measure of this kind. On looking back to the past proceedings of their Lordships, he found that his noble and learned Friend moved an address to the Crown upon the subject of the slavetrade, which address was agreed to by their Lordships, and at its close contained the following paragraph :

"That this House cannot refrain from expressing to her Majesty the deep concern with which they have observed, from the papers which her Majesty has caused to be laid before them, that Portugal has not yet fulfilled the engagements which she has taken towards this country, by concluding with Great Britain an adequate treaty for the suppression of the slave-trade."

That was the conclusion to which their Lordships came upon that occasion, and he need scarcely remind them that very recently they had agreed to another address to the following effect :

"That her Majesty will be graciously pleased by all means within her Majesty's power, to negotiate with the Governments of Foreign Nations, as well in America as Europe, for their concurrence in effectually putting down the traffic in slaves; and also that her Majesty will be graciously pleased to give such orders to her Majesty's cruisers as may be most efficacious in stopping the said traffic, more especially that carried on under the Portuguese and Brazilian flag, or by Brazilian or Portuguese ships; assuring her Majesty that this House will cheerfully concur with the other House of Parliament in whatever measures may be rendered necessary, if her Majesty shall be graciously pleased to comply with this prayer."

Her Majesty had complied with that prayer, and had given directions to the cruisers to take the most efficacious steps to put down this traffic. The present bill, therefore, was necessary, in order to fulfil their Lordships' own intentions and wishes as expressed in their address to the Crown upon this great and important subject.

The Duke of Wellington said, that no man could have read the papers upon this

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