The Press. — London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

0nit04444 4 g ritls which we have course which her iursued. It is true (ties now existing attack ; but then England to fulfil her treaty obligations, Portugal must show that she has a good cause—that she is in the right and her adversary in the wrong—for England cannot support her in wrong. We believe it will be found that Portugal, in the present instance, did not call upon England for assistance; but, even if she had, the whole question of the conduct of this country towards Portugal and France, on the late demands made by the latter upon the former, must have turned upon which of the two na tions was in the right. As far as the case has hitherto been disclosed, we confess that it appears to us that France, according to the law of nations, was right, and Portugal was wrong. We do not mean to say that slave-trading can, under any circumstances, be otherwise than an outrageous wrong, but it is a crime of which the sovereign independent State can alone, according to inter national law, be the judge. If France, or Por tugal, or any other country, chooses to give its national sanction to this wickedness, however lunch other States may lament and condemn it, they cannot take cognizance of it. The national LATEST EDITION. the national crime against the inter _ another State. One of the first acts present Government after coming into admit this law, in dealing with the States, on this very subject. Portuguese case stands thus : A French negroes on board, enters waters :uguese harbour which, as it is t not open to foreign ships. On vessel is an agent of the French proving beyond all denial that ..go, whatever was its nature, was under legalized sanction of the French autho- The Portuguese affirmed that the vessel board a cargo of slaves. The French charge, and said that it was a cargo of labourers. Let it be admitted that the were right in their affirmation, and Fr inch were wrong in denying it ; that (e case in the most favourable way trtugal. Had, then, Portugal a right to Jesse' and its cargo, and to confiscate bee use of its being an illegal traffic ? not, unless Portugal, which is not had any express treaty with France slave-trading vessels to be seized. was, therefore, in the wrong when she confiscated the vessel, for the mere in closed waters could not have justi extreme a step as seizure; and, being was not for England to support her a violation of the law of nations. appears to us that there was one course open which she might have taken, and hope, she will take should such case arise. The vessel was in Portuguese id consequently the negroes on board for Portugal now, like England, does recognize any man as a slave within her territory. Had, therefore, the Portuguese autho rities taken measures for liberating the cargo, if the negroes chose to go, instead of seizing the vessel, over which they had no jurisdiction, we believe they would have acted in strict conformity with international law. In such a course Por tugal would have been entitled to British protec tion,—and confident do we feel that had she been entitled to such protection, our present Ministers would not have denied it. Out of this unpleasant and at one time some what hazardous difficulty between the two countries there has been educed at least one result that must give great satisfaction to all friends of humanity, and especially to us who have sacrificed so much to put a stop to the slave traffic. The facts which have been made public have convinced the Emperor of the FRENCH of the difficulty of conducting the engagement of negro labour on principles of true freedom of action, and of the danger of apparent emigration lapsing into actual slave trade. With his usual prompti tude he has given instructions to Prince NAPOLEON, the Minister of Algeria and the Colonies, in a letter, which will be found in another portion of our impression of to-day, to institute a definite examination into the circumstances of the recruit ment of African labour ; and he has emphatically declared "that he will not on any terms have a " slave trade in disguise." This is eminently satisfactory ; and we trust that the French Government will take such order with this sus picious trafficking in negro labour as to prevent the recurrence of these hazardous complications and the neutralization of the efforts which we are so continuously making for the emancipation and progress of the coloured races. URDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1858 STAMPED ....SIXPENCE. UNSTAMPED..FIVEPENCE. There is one other point connected with this slave-trading question on which we are anxious, and which we trust will be settled in a satisfactory way. We refer to the right of search • not the right of overhauling and ascertaining the nature of the cargo, and dealing with it—with that, as we have said, England has nothing to do—but we mean the right to ascertain whether or no a suspicious vessel is, or is not, sailing under false colours. This ri ght, we are convinced, is one which is possessed by every independent nation, not to be used vexatiously, but to be used when it can be shown that there are good and reason able grounds for suspecting that a vessel is not what she pretends to be. If a vessel be engaged in acts of piracy on the high seas, and is sailing under any national flag, then any other vessel has a perfect right to as certain whether that flag is lawfully hoisted : if it be, the remedy for the ill done is not against the vessel and her crew, but against the State to which she belongs, which, by giving the vessel a right to bear the flag, has made itself responsible for the acts done under it ; but if the flag is un lawfully hoisted, then are the commander and crew answerable for the misdemeanours com mitted. It is monstrous to argue that outrages may be committed, and that the injured party has not the right to ascertain who can be made accountable for them; for, consider for a mo ment the consequences which must result from a contrary doctrine. Let us suppose a powerful vessel belonging to the Riff pirates, in the Eng lish channel, hoisting the stripes and stars of the United States, and robbing and sinking some British merchantmen. The British authorities would then have no right to ascertain whether these pirates were sailing under false colours ; the only remedy would be to demand indemnifi cation at Washington for outrages for which the United States were no more responsible than Great Britain. But again. A British ship sees a vessel sailing under the American flag, having the appearance of a slaver. The British ship bears down upon, examines her papers, and finds them correct and showing that she is not sailing under false colours : accordingly she is let go ; no attempt is made to detain her. But if it be that the British ship has no right to do this by the law of nations, but is bound to accept the flag as proof; it follows that every ship of every nation may hoist any flag it pleases, without any other ship having a right to question it. Be it so. Then may the British ship hoist the stripes and stars, and it may bear down upon the slaver, imprison the captain and crew, and give over the vessel to the slaves, and the United States Government would have no complaint whatever to address to the British Government ; for, if any were made, the answer would of course be, " The outrage was " committed under your flag ; you will not allow " us to question any vessel that hoists it as to the " right to do so. It is your affair, not ours ; your " doctrine relieves us from all responsibility." But again. If it be law, it deprives every nation of all control over vessels. Let false flag be hoisted, and all and annihilated. Can there monstrous doctrine ? We say, therefore, in ascertaining the real character vessel, we arrogate no excl.- ' We do not set ourselves police. We only claim which we recognize in ev, • /7 ". ...------ • No. 2.89.—V0L. VI. LONDON, SATUF flag protects the n (E) 1121 rtss. ference of another of the present C power was to adn United States, on The Portuguese LONDON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1858. vessel, with neg in a Portuguese alleged, is not board the vessel FOREIGN EVENTS AND FOREIGN Government, pre POLICY. the cargo, whate the legalized sa THE great difference between the present rities. The Port and the late administrators of our Foreign had on board a Policy appears to be this—the late were in denied the charge the habit of arbitrarily adapting' the law o f free labourers. Portuguese were nations to what would fit their policy ; the pre- that the French sent deem it their duty to adapt their policy is stating the cas to the law of nations. When the present for Portugal. I Government consult their law officers, they do so seize the vessel with a view to obtain an honest and correct ex - them, because o Assuredly not, position of international law, and, having obtained pretended, had a such exposition, they conform their measures permitting slave to it; the late Government first settled the Portugal was, t course which they would adopt, and then ex- seized and . confi anchorage in do pected their law advisers to lay down the prin- fled so extreme ciples which would justify it. Such evidently wrong, it was n was the course pursued in the affair at Canton, in what was avi for nothing short of' strong pressure could ever It appears to have induced astute lawyers to be responsible for to Portugal whi , the untenable doctrines which were then pro- anotherwhich we hop case an pounded as the law of nations. waters, and col Now, we are very confident that, when the were free; for not . recognize recent Portuguese and French affair comes to be territory. had thoroughly sifted, the remarks which we have rities taken mea just made will account for the course which her the negroes cho Majesty's Government have pursued. It is true vessel, over whi believe .. they wo we are bound by ancient treaties now existing with internatiot to defend Portugal from foreign attack ; but then tugal would hai before Portugal can call upon England to fulfil tion,—and confi her treaty obligations, Portugal must show that entitled to such she has a good cause—that she is in the right and would not have her adversary in the wrong—for England cannot Out of this support her in wrong. what hazardou countries there its own vessels. Let all nationality is cast 9E ere be conceivedxfporiLk J✓• it 13 . exercising tl ' haracter of ;14 0, flusive right tC4) up as an excits . .7.-7,:,„..- • ..v r 4 .-w. for ourselv • .4 Nir , - very other S " '?"111A...*:4,14,10:4