The Press. — London, England, 1853-10-15 00:00:00

r - 4 It is notorious that of late the slave trade to COW has rapidly increased. Three years ago it was all but, extinguished in that quarter, but during the tine first months of 1mr):1 w learn upon {oud Wit) , that between nine and ten thousand slaves were landed in the island. The atrocious mime of the Lady 8,0,1 k, in which it. is said that no less than thirteen hundred Africans were carried off from a Por tuguese colony by a peribli. oils stratagem o f the master of that ship,ealled forth, towards the dose of the session, the just deminerations of Lord BUM.% II AM. The mild explanations of Lord l't..%ltrslos, in reply, were eminently Annie teristic of our present Foreign Secretary. A British Minister who, after the experience of the last four months, still parade his belief in the just intentions of Ibe Emperor of ItusalA, is a fit apologist low the present Govetmor of Cuba. That personage has lately expressed, through his official journal at the Havannalt, great in diguation at, the eomments which have been made upon him in England, both in Parlia ment and in the presF. General CANEno appears to think that his high office ought to place hint above suspicion. But in this he is grossly mistaken, if the conclusions of the parliamentary committee whielt has just finished its labours are at all to be relied upon. We learn from its report that a parti cipation in the profits of the slave thole has been the rule with the Captains General of Cuba flout time immemorial. There have been of late some honourable exceptions, but these only prove the !prevalence of the custom. It appears that, up to the year ltclu, the Governor of Cuba received half it doubloon for every slave landed in the island. General VArana, who assumed that post in 1:74 it I, for the first time in the histo r y of the colony, refused to share, directly or indirectly, in the profits of this vile traffic. lint his example has been fllowed by only one of his successors. General CONeIIA became Governor in 1t.430, and he immediately made known his determi nation nut to accept of any fees trout the slave dealers. He also took active measures for the suppress' of the traffic ; but what Was the result? lie was removed from his post before he hail held it a twelvemonth, and the com mittee inform us that " it was generally under " stood that his meal was owing to the " measures which he had taken to put down " the slave trade.- It is well known, indeed, that persons of vely high rank in Madrid are directly interested in the traffic, and it is they, and not the authori ties of Cuba, who are practically responsible for its perpetuation. The example of Brazil has proved to the satisfaction of the civilised world that any eountry may put down the slave trade Which honestly determines to do so. Five years IWO there were imported into the Brazilian territories an unusual average of 60,000 Africans. ill IKII it is believed that the number landed did not reach 700. The traffic in that quarter, indeed, may be said to be extinguished ; and, without undervaluing the important services of our own cruisers. we are bound to admit that this result is mainly attributable to the Vigorous measures adopted anti eontinued during the last. three years by the Emperor of BaAzit.. We cannot for a moment doubt that a similar line of policy would be equally successful in Cuba. The question is. how are we to induce Spain to adopt it We have bribed her handsomely to put down this inhuman traffic, and she has solemnly engaged to do mo at least. a score of times during the last thirty years. But, while receiving our money with one hand, she clutches the gold of the slave-dealer in the other, and is thus doubly rewarded for her scandalous conduct. It appears from the report of the committee that. since the year ikiS we have paid to Spain the sum of 1,134,179/. to induce her to abandon the slave trade. But the futility of this policy is now abundantly apparent, and it is time that a ditYerent system were attempted. Ou the subject of Cuba we have also this week Mr. EVERI,:TTM u rinous reply ‘4, the manly despatch of Lord JOHN IlussEt 1.. ill whivh, us our readers will remember, his THE PRESS. Lordship sustained the principles of inter national law agt.inst the encroachments to which they are subjected by the incompetence of the United States' Government to restrain the piratical inclinations of their citizens. The only approach to an argument which we van find on the part of Mr. EvEaErr is this : that. England herself, with her dense population, her press, post-office, and police, has not, within her narrow limits, been able to prevent expeditions intended to invade friendly (-iambics being organised in her ports and, therefore, ean•America, with her immense territorial extent, her boundless wastes, her sea coast of hundreds of leagues, thinly sprinkled with a population not, numerically, equal to that of England, be justly blamed for not preventing " a small steamer, disguised its " trading vessel, from slipping oft from an " outport in the night on an unlawful pur " pose"? The charge against the American Government is, not that it failed in stopping the expedition after doing its utmost to pre vent it—no one reproaches them with their difficulties—the charge is, that subscriptions were raised, volunteers enrolled, and meetings held in New Orleans and elsewhere, to pro mote that expedition ; that these things were done, not in the dark, but in the broad noon day ; that they were as notorious at the time as anything else is that is prominently bla zoned and proclaimed in the newspapers ; that the American Government, knowing all this, and possessing the power, never at tempted, in good faith, to stop the expedition — never, in tact, interfered at all until the ex pedition had signally failed, and then inter fered to—save the piratical citizens from pu nishment justly deserved. In England, expeditions against the law of nations have been secretly organised, and by our Government detected and stopped. The expedition of FLORES, and that to Sicily, were, we believe, the latest instances of our good faith and respect for the international law. It will surprise no one to learn that Mr. EvEam's last charge against England— intended as a home-thrust—is made on the authority of Mr. COBDEN, who doubtless pre fers peace with foreigners, for this among other reasons, that it provides a free circula tion for his libels on his countrymen. MR. COBDEN AND THE PEACE CONFERENCE AT EDINBURGH. " SEEING is believing ; but feeling bath no fellow," says the old proverb. But we say that in believing Mr. COWEN has no fellow. Mr. COBDEN not only believes that no glim mering dream of invading England ever flashed through the mind of ordinary men, but that NAPOLEON the First only gave it passing thought—never seriously meditated it," merely cast a look at us and went away." This island was then the only nation un trodden by a foreign foe—Loudou the only capital uncaptured by an enemy. What did NAPOLEON see when he " merely cast a look at us"? Did he see Quakers sitting on the white cliffs, blandly and placidly smiling at him and his vast army : or did his eye rest on a living wall of armed men placed, like a rampart, round the land? Why, we had SOO,OOO men under .n•tns when NAPOLEON " cast a look at us." Yet it was not that which deterred him from attempting his intended invasion. " I do •• not ask you," he writes to VILLENEuvE, " to " gain a victory ; all I ask is, fight a battle: lose your ships, if it must be so : but shat - ter and cripple those of the enemy, that the •• Channel may be at my command for twenty •, four hours." The whole navy of France was the price NAI , OI.EoN was willing to pay for a Aimee of lauding an army in England. But even that—fi•r which he was willing to pay so dearly, that he might play his desperate east —was denied to him ; and then, indeed, " he went :away." Mr. Contwx takes credit to himself that he has not " triumphed " in the House of Com mons by exulting in the success of his peace eontt•renees. Meek man ! Malice might sug gest. that he has adopted a prudent course, for his own credit's sake, not to boast of his SATURDAY, success when the sea is covered with fleets, the land with camps, and Europe is on th e brink of war. ARCTIC DISCOVERY. Tuz arrival of Capt. I soLzsiELu from Beechey Island supplies us with much welcome Intel= ligence from the Arctic Regions. The search for FRANKLIN had still proved fruitless ; but the gallant M'CLunv., for whose safety serious misgivings were entertained, has been found, with his crew, in safety. In his last letters to England he announced his fixed resolve to push his way to the eastward from Behring's Straits, take his chance of wintering in the pack wherever he might be caught by the ice, and attempt to reach Melville Island by his parties, if he failed with his ship. He has successfully accomplished his daring enter prise, and has at last discovered the long sought for North-West Passage. His ship, the Investigator, parted company from COLLINSON, in the Enterprise, oth August. 1850, and, when last seen, was steering north of Cape Barrow, under a press of canvas, and with a stiff breeze. On doubling the Cape he followed the American coast till he reached Cape Parry. Here the sea being open, he struck to the north, found land about sixty miles off, and, between this laud to the west, and other laud (forming a continuation with Wollaston and Victoria Land) to the east, discovered a channel leading directly into Barrow's Strait. Beset by ice, M'CLunE win tered in the midst of the pack. With the opening of the ice in Jul)) , 1852, lie attained his farthest position north in the channel he had discovered. Only a barrier of ice separated him from Barrow's Strait, but he was unable to push through it. Probably some peculiar circumstances favour an accu mulation of ice in this direction, as PARRY had vainly endeavoured to find an opening when running along its northern bank. Ultimately M'CLuitv. took up a secure position on the south side of Banks's Land, and hence connnu• nicated with Melville Island. His meeting with KELLETT on the coast of PARav's first great discovery is one of the most remarkable incidents in the whole record of Arctic adventure. At last parties from the east and the west had met, and British ves sels in good order from Baffin's Bay on one side, and Behring's Straits on the other, were within 170 miles of each other. This is the crowning exploit of that series of Polar voy ages, commenced five and thirty years ago, to round the North American continent, which have done immortal honour to our navy, and been fruitful in noble examples of heroic daring, sustained exertion, skilful seamanship, and unshaken fortitude under the severest trials and privations. It is impossible not to admire this continued contest of " man with the elements' might " in regions where the ele ments are most irresistible. Our triumphs are the more precious as the field of exertion has been all our own. The chart of Arctic dis covery is one of the proudest illustrations of our maritime greatness. The only serious misfortune announced in these accounts is the death of the generous French lieutenant, M. BELLoT. He volunteered to command the party sent from the North Star to apprise Sir E. BELCHER of the arrival of INOLEFIELD in the Phanix, and sank through a fissure in the ice over which he was travellim.• At the date of BELCHER'S last despatch (July 26, 1N53) he was proceeding down Wellington Channel with the view of return ing home. He has established a connection between this sea and Jones's Sound, both leading into a Polar ocean, composed, he thinks, in great part of islets and sandbanks. From his close examination of the adjacent shores, without discovering the slightest trace of FRANKLIN, it is unlikely that his lost sinus ever took that direction. With greater proba bility we may suppose that he fulfilled his in structions (as those who knew him best said he would do) and proceeded past Cape Walker to the south-west in search of that strait which both himself and the late Sir Jots