Star. — London, England, 1824-04-15 00:00:00

• in the .• at Curm * Pratvgfortbs vital repeal of lake, .ftntsq the Salt Dutiesltgred tov.lsbiti as the table. Mr. LAIRSTOK ptwented a Petition from the Tanners of Dar lint" against the Hides and Skins Doty.—Laid on the table. Mr. CORTE'S presented a Petition from the ‘VI.oI Growers Iludleigh, in the County of Sussex, against the Reduction of the Dudes on Foreign Woul....Lsid on the table. Lord LOWTHER presented Petitions from the County[ Cinftbodand, praying for the Abolition of Slavery. • .Sr T. ACLA ND presented Petition:. from Kingsbrklp sod • -11111kaford, In Doren, and Keswick, in the County of Cumberland, tbp Abolition tti Slavery.—Ordered-to be printed. HIDES AND SKINS. Mr. LUSHINGTON said he rose, in consequence of a notice which lte.had given, to move for leave to bring in a Sig to reveal .certain Acts (the 39th and 40th of • :GM* III.) relating to Hides and Skins. 1-1 is re tsons foil having them repealed were simply these. Upon the be* consideration which he had given the measure, he satisfied that the Acts at present in existence, which • '`extended to no less than ftrty-five pages, wet° qaite tjinecessary, exttemely vesailus, and utterly unjust. - - 1 - letkaibted not that he should be able to make otti that the Acts deserved all these epithets, and that they aught to be removed from the Statute Book. With • itspect to their being unnecessary, he should offer a few. words. It was very unreasonable to suprove that a man Weald injure his own property. The law had been in trodueed at •the expense of the butchers. P...thaps the Hoosevisere not aware that a butcher in firyigg the skin was liable to a fine of from 2s. 6dt. to ss. for any hole he cut in the skin; and the law had 'lnokfunjustly given a considerable part of the money to the inspector. The effect of the law had been, instead of obtainin: . v, the ob ject for which it was introduced, namely, a better desei ip tiers of leather, that skins were now actually sold by u , eishr, whether they were good or bad. The inspection had this effect—it took from the butchers that which was thei: own property. The vexation with which this was attended was next to be spoken of. In the country, butchers weir obliged to carry all their hities to an ap pointed place for inspection, under a penalty of .54 and in many cases they were compelled to carry them six, seven, or eight miles. They were obliged to attend the iaspection, and were frequently subjected to a penalty such ap he 'Lid named. Thus it would be seen that a considerable expense was incurred in addition to the inconveniency and tine, which was often imposed. He would next offer a few remarks on the i::idstice of these laws. The tanning interest at Liverpool got a law passed, by which they were to have the appointment of inspectors, and the butchers had no influence whatever in that appointment. There was also an absurdity in the law itself, for the London butcher who cut the skin was only fined Id. whilst the butcher at Caciterbury, who cut the skin in i tying, was fined 6d. An Act was passed in the 15th George 111. by which the butchers in London were entitled to have a voice in the appoint ment of the inspector; but in the country there was no such privilege enjoyed. Feeling that the laws were unnecessary and oppressive, he trusted there would be no objection to his bringing in a Bill to repeal them. Mr. JAMES, in seconding the motion, said, the laws were so absurd on the subject that he could not suppose there would be any opposition to the introduction of a Bill to repeal them. Mr. MABERLY was averse to the measure of the Houourable Gentleman, because it was pai tial, and not general in its operation. It took away many inconve niences, which at present distressed the country dealers, but left thelondon dealers entirely without relief. Ile admi.t.e.l that the exiting laws wanted considerable al %elation but before that alteration was made, he con ceived ;hat an inquiry ought to take place before a Committee. Mr. HUSKISSON said, he concurred in all the ge neral principles which his Honourable Friend (Mr. Lushingtiin) had laid down as to the impolicy of inter fering with the internal concerns of any trade or manu facture. He believed, however, that the Acts which his Honourable Friend wished to repeal were not intro duced to the House as public, but as private Acts, and therefore could not be dealt with as if they had been of the former description. He suggested, in order to pre vent a protracted discussion on a subject which was not easily intelligible to the House, that the best course v ould be to refer the Acts to a Committee up stairs, when the Bill arrived at a proper stage for that purpose. Knowing that the rumour of the intended repeal of those laws had created a considerable sensation through out the country, he was apprehensive, if tire course he pointed out were not adopted, that a large portion of valuable time would be lost in discussing the question on the presentation of various Petitions, which, he had no doubt, would be forwarded to the House. _ _ Mr. LUSEIINGTON said, his object was to avoid, as much as pos , ible, giving the House any trouble that could be prevented. He believed that the Bill to which I . Right Honourable Friend alluded was brought in as a public, not as a private measure. It was, however, referred to a Select Committee; but no evidence was taken before that Committee. His opinion was, that the case was so perfectly clear, that • did not require the production of evidence. lle could see no reason why evidence should be adduceu as to the prOpriety of repealing the Act, when none was brought forward to skew the propriety of the measure Allen t was enacted. General GASCOYNE opposed the motion. Gentle men complained that it was very hard to call on the butcher to pay a penalty, if he injured a hide in re moving it from the carcass. Now he conceived no thin;; could be more just than that the person who twin mined the error should be the sufferer. He denied that the Honourable Gentleman had adduced any sufficient season fo:. the repeal of those laws. When the 39th and 40th of George 111, were brought in, an inquiry was in stituted up stairs; and it was but fair, before the pro posed repeal was carried into- effect, that a similar in quiry should be instituted. Some few places, of little note, had called for a repeal of those Acts; la ) ; he had not seen a single petition from any considerable town in 'favour of the measure. Oa the coatrary, he kr.cw that Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Wormter, and Bristol, were decidedly against the repeal. Sir R. FERGUSON was surprised to hear the gal lant General deny that the Honourable Member had adduced no argument in favour of the repeal. W as i t , he asked, nothing to relieve a man froM the payment of a penalty, because he happened to cot his own pr:perty in an improper manner ? Would not the gallant Gene ral think it very hard, if, having cut a hole in his pan. taloons, he was liable to be fined fur it ?—(Laughter). As the Act at present stood, the tanner was pointed out as the only person who did nut know his nun interest. The risltt of judging was vested in other hands. )1. r J MARTIN said th e quevtion was, whether in the fit 3t instance the subject should be referred to a Select Committee, to consider of the propriety of bt inn ing in this Bill, or whether the measure should be m troduced at °not, and, at the regular stage, referred to I a Committee? The former was the preferable mode.' One point ought not tope last sight or—narnely,thlt they had no remonstrance from the butchers on this subject. Mr. BRIGHPiaId, the idea of abolishing one half of those laws, and leaving the other half on the statute bOok. teas really nonsensical. There ought to be only one law on the subject throughout the country. He thought the subject ought to he considered in a Select Committee before the Bill was brought in. He was not at all interested in the question. He wanted nothing 'but justice; and therefoie he was in favour of a full con sideration cf the subject. Mr. LLTSHINGTON said he wished, in repealing this Bill, to take the same course which was pursued when it was enacted. If he found that the Select Committee to which the subject was referred did not send for per sons, papers, and records, he thought it was too mach to proceed with an examination of that kind now. If evidence were gone into, and Counsel were heard, the investigation would not terminate this year. • Mr. CURWEN was in favour of the repeal. The Act particularly alluded to was, in his opinion, an abo minable one. It operated against the interests of par • titular individuals, without benefiting any person. He recommended, however, that when the Bill arrived At the proper stage, it should be referred to a Committee. Mr. CURTEIS condemned the existing sy , tem, as extremely vexatious. The Acts appeared to him to be most preposterous. It was a very great hardship on an individual to be compelled, as was often the case, to send skint ten tp 20 miles to he inspected, which skins were, perhaps/ obliged to be sent as many miles In an opposite direction to be manufactured. The machine' y of these laws,oas also objectionable. Even a pig c. not he skin4,l - witliout the intervention or an inspector —(A Ile was sorry.to descend to such minute matte's; bat* they legislated on such trifles. s it was necessary .to 'speak of them r -(Hear). • Lord CLIFTON was of opinion that the Hon. Mem ber was fully justified in moviug for the repeal of those laws.—The House then divided. when there ap ; eared For the motion, 52 I Against it,C Majority, 46. New CHURCHES. When strangers were re-admkted to Or gallery, Mr. HUME was moving for the particulars of the expenditure of ijno,oops. under the Acts for building New Churches. _ . Mr. LEICESTEI seconded the mot' Nr. HUME also moved for a return of the number of Churches and Chapels which belonged to the Erablishment in England and Wales up to 1824, and the number of License► which had been granted in each diocese for places of worship ap tat the same period. —Both motions were agreed to. SETTLEMENTS IN SUMATRA. Mr. HUME said he should best consult the conve nience of the House in saying as little as possible upon the motion on this subject. During the last twenty years it was known that great exertions had been made in Sumatra to raise plantations for spice and nutmeg, in order to render us independent of the Dutch settle ments in Molucca. Great advantages had resulted from this enterprising spirit. But a large expense had at the present moment been laid out on those planta tions for supplying the demands of Great Britain. His complaint was, that the East India Company had agreed to give up the colony to the Dutch, without allowing to the individuals who might be affected by this change any compensation whatever. All that we knew of the Dutch went to prove that if they got possession of these settlements they would be put down and ultimately ruined. Again, he had to complain of a violent breach of faith with regard to the natives on that part of the coast. By the treaty concluded in 1818, it was stipu lated that the Company held possession of that coast for the natives. It this were the case, it wouid be a viola tion of private rights and of national good faith, if the native inces were not reinstated in the possession of these settlements; for he was sure that the people would he coittented to live under them. The Honour able Member concluded by moving— ]. That a Return be made of the quantity of Nutmegs, Cloves, and Mace imported by the East India Company each year, from 1796, stating the average sale of each year ; and also a Return of the quantity exported from Great Britain from the same period. 2. That there be laid on the table of the House Copies of the Treaties between the East India Company and the Native Chiefs of Sumatra. Mr. C. WYNN said, that he was at a loss to under stand how the Honourable Member could presume bad faith on the part of the East India Company, and found an argument upon it in the. absence of the Treaties. Until these documents were laid before the House, he would refrain from any remaiks upon them. Mr. BRIGHT thought it of great importance to have discussions on East India affairs, as these were so wrapt up, that it was impossible otherwise to come in contact with them. After a few words from Mr. WitsN, the motions were put and carried. Mr. HUSK ISSON moved for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the 17. w between Principal and Factor. The Right Honourable Gentleman stated, that although the Motion was of great import ance tt; the commercial policy of the country, yet he hoped the House would delay giving their opinions upon it till the second reading of the Bill.—Leave granted. Mr. KENNEDY moved that the Report of the Scotch Jurors Bill be brought up; but only twelve Members being present, the HoUSe adjourned till to-morrow. THE EVENING STAR. LONDON. THURSDAY, APRIL IS, 1824. THE FUNDS. STOCK EXCHANGE. TWELVE O'CLOCK. Consuls opened this morning at 96i, j, fur the Account, and for Money 96. t, with little or no business doing. FOREIGN FUNDS. Very little business doing in the Market this morning, except in settling the accounts, it being Settling-day fur all Foreign Securities. Current Prices :—New Spanish 161, Old 171 1, Russian 97, Milan 34s 85, Mexican Scrip 101, Austrian 1661, Greek Ito 14 dis. Alliance Shares 156 16, Colombian 931 I, New Prussian 9si to 09, Old 971 to 99, Colombian Scrip 41, ortuguese 95} to 36, French Scrip 16/ 17. AUSTRIAN FUNDS. VILVNA, A . rau. I.—Metalliques 96. Bk. Sh. 1039. 2-5. I'IZ ICE orsTecKs AT ONE O'CLOCK. Bank Stock 245 1 / 4 % 3 per tent. Reduced 95 3 / 8 3 / 4 es. div. 3 per Cent. Consols 9634 1 / 8 -3% per Cts. 102 1 / 4 1 / 4 4 per Cents. Old 100 3 / 8 -4 per Cents. New 106% 1 / 4 4 per Cents Assented 102 1 / 4 1 4 India Stock 3001 % —India Bonds 80s. 815.785. South Sea Stock 108% id 4 3 / 4 Excliequei 1;i11. (£1,0c)0) 465. 48s. 45s 465. Do. Small 465. 481.455. 465. Consols for Acct. 06% %. The late hour at which the Trial of Mr. Sutra the Missionary was delivered yesterday, prevented oar doing more than barely allude to it. In another part of our Paper, to-day, we have given the commencement of the proceedings, the charges, the address of the JUDGE ADVOCATE, and the verdict of the Court Martial. The evidence is rather of a general than a particular nature; and it will be seen horn the opening speech of the JUDGE-ADVOCATE, that Mr. SMITH was charged with having interfered with the complaints of the negroes from his first arrival in the Colony ; and that " his opinion of the onpression under which they labour, brought him to that point, that he considered it neces sary to expound to them such parts of the Gospel en tirely relative to the oppressed state in which he con sidered them to be." In a colony ss here the slave po pulation is ten times that of the white, any attempt to pervert the Scriptures in a way to render the former discontented, or to select passages which might have that tendency, would be highly culpable. The office of a Missionary is, however, one of great delicacy : he is AM object of suspicion to the masters, andof almost adora tion with the slaves, who would readily catch at any ex pression, whether in Scripture or from the preacher, that might increase the hope of total emancipation. , The first evidence for the pro-ecution is Mr. S.MITII'S own Journal, commencing in March, 1817: as the pas sages were culled by the prosecutor, it is fair to sup pose that he selected such as he thought would support the charges. These extracts principally relate to the conduct of the slaves—their earnestness for religious in struction—their domestic quarrels—and complaints of ill-treatment. To the latter Mr. SMPTH appears to have been very sensitive; and in one memorandum he allades to what may probably be the result. Under date of March 22d, 1819, he observes, not to any person in the Colony or in England, but in his own Journal— " While writing this, my very heart Butters at hearing the almost incessant cracking of the whip. Having just finished reading Mr. Walker's Letters on the West Indies, I have thought much of the treatment of the negroes, and likewise the state of their minds. It appears to me Very probable, that ere long they will resent the in• juries done to them. I should think it my duty to state my opinion respecting this to some of the rulers of the Colony, but am fearful., from the conduct of the fiscal in this late affair, of the negroes being worked on Sunday, that they would be more solicitous to silence me, by requiring me to criminate some individual, than to redress the wrongs done to the slsves, by diligently watching the conduct of the planters themselves, mad bringing them to justice (without the intervention of Missionaries), when they detect such abuses of the law as so frequently take place." The Journal contains several complaints of the treat ment of the Negroes, and the neglect of a Petition he had presented to the Governor, who is accused of 44 setting his face against the moral and religious improvement of the negro slaves." In another part of hi.. Journal he says, 11 the rigour of negro slavery, I believe, can never be mitigated ; the system must be abolished." These passages are certainly evidence of the private opinions of Mr. Smern as to negro slavery, and had they been promulgated to the slaves, might have been productive of serious injury. There is, however, one entry in this Journal which speaks more in favour of the cautious conduct of Mr. SMITH than all the other passages can do against him. The entry is dated Au gust 8, 1817, and runs thus : " A great number of people at chapel. From Genesis, xv. 1. Having passed over the latter part of Chapter 13, as containing a promise of deliverance fr,inithese two words partly erased, but per_ fectly Itgiblel the land of Canaan, I was apprehensive the negroes might put such a construction upon it as I would not wish; for I tell them that some ol the promises, &c. which are made to Abra ham and others, will apply to the, Christian state. It is easier to make a urongimprecsion upon their sthuls than a right one." This is strong evidence of Mr. SnITH'S prudence and good sense ; not only in his observation as to the ne groes, that it is easier to make a wrong impression upon their minds than a right one, but in the omission to which he alludes. Had he selected for his text, or even read the following verses, which occur towards the end of the 13th Chapter of Genesis, them might have been some cause for fear, on the part of the owners, that he was not taking the best means of inculcating religious instruction—cc And the LORD said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, lift up sow thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, North ward, and Southward, and Eastward, and Westward , for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever."—" Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee." These passages Mr. SMITH omitted, lest, as he had told them that some of the promises made to Abram applied to the Christian state, the negroes should con sider these as one of that class. The oral evidence for the prosecution occupied a period of eleven days, and fills twenty-seven folio pages. The evidence principally relates to conversations Mr. SMITH had held on the subject of negro slavery. One man, EDWARD BOND, swore that he said, " Negroes could du as well in the West Indies without white people as with them; and WILLIAM *WATT deposed that Mr. Shama said, " they would not better their situation until something took place, such as had been done in St. Domingo" This conversation he stated took place with some whites, and not with the negroes. Several of the Negro witnesses deposed to Mr. SMITH u t having censured their being employed on the Sabbath Day, except in cases of a fire taking place, or a water dam breaking down, though it does not appear that he advised them to refuse ; " Tell your master," says he, "that Sunday is the Lotto's Day." One Ne gro, Azor, swore that Mr. SMITH said they were fools or working on a Sunday, for the sake of a few lathes. Another negro, Bristol, deposed that Mr. Smyrn told them, that if they ran; away, they must not let their master catch them again, for he would punish them.— '1 This was denied by another negro for the defence. The evidence so far only relates to the general con duct of Mr. SMITH ; and that which affects the mole immediate point, the insurtection, is ratite! circutastan- Cal chart positive. On Sanjay, the 17th of Atari', Mr. SMITH preached to a large congregation, takin g fot his text the 19th chapter of St. Luke, beginning a l the 41st verse. It does not appear from the evidence how much of the chapter was read, nor does it appear to us half so likely to be interpreted by the negroes their favour as the passages in Genesis which 3lr. Sumo omitted on that account. But if M. did read the passages which were the most liaHe to b z consulted in favour of emancipation, they ap; car to lrave been lost on the negroes who gave evidence him. Bristol, a negro, and one of the strongest witnescf:, against Mr. SMITH, gives the fo:lowing ev:dtrce a. to his conduct on the Sunday previous to tie revoa, "I was at Bethel Chapel the day before the revolt hrol:: out; I was at both services. At the forenoon serr;ce-i believe Mr. Smith read something abbot Jastra upon the city of Jerusalem and vvtecing. Ater sa a vice I did not go straight home; we stopped close la the chapel a little while, wirer we 1- eard Jack a n a Joseph talking about the paper which had conic front home ; that the people wet e all to be made free. Erna. nuel told Quamina he had better go and ask Mr. Smith ' about iy and when Qtldttlllll,l was going into , M 7, Smith's house, I went in with him ; and when we went, Quamina asked Mr. Smith if any freedom had come out for them in a paper? Ile told hiti a :No; but that diet e was a good law come out, bet there as no fres.- , doni come out for them. Ile said, ' You must wait little, and the Governor or your inasteis will tell yoa about it. Quamina then said. Jack and Joseph were speaking very much about it ; he said, they (Jack and Joseph) wanted to take it by to: ce. Mr. Smith said,' You had better tell them to Nutt, and not to be foolish. How do you mean that they should take it by force? They cannot do anything with the white people, because the soldiers will be more strong than you; therefore you had better wait.' He said, . 4 Well, yoe had better go and tell the people, and Christians parti cularly, that they had better have nothing to do with it.' And then we came out. And then I saw a man belonging to Vigilance, of the name of Washington, re• maining at the church; I called him. Quamii a be.gan to speak to him, and asked me if I had got any money, I told him I had two bitts. He told this man, Then (giving him the two bitts) run up as fast as you can, and call down Joseph ; Mr. Smith wants to see him.' I then went honie, and I told Manuel that we had been to see Mr. Smith, and he said that there was no freedom in the paper for us, and that we must tell all the peo ple so; I told him that we had sent to call Joseph al ready. A little while after Jack and Paris came up. Manuel told them, that Mr. Smith had told them not to haie anything to do with the business, and that he (Manus:) had been telling them so during• the week, Jack and Paris said, Weil, do you have nothing to do with it; you are towardi: When Mr. smith observed to Quamina that the soldiers would be too strong for them, he said they would drive all the white people, and make them go to town. Quamina said the report was, the soldiers would not come, and would have no thing to do With it. This last, about the soldiers not coming, was said after quatnina came out from Mr. Smith. The revolt began at Success. I know Quamina, of Success; he was engaged in dt: revolt, because, I heard, they took hit:) up before the revolt began. Jack and Paris Were the leaders of the revolt; they said they would ,5o on with it, and then did so." The gist of this evidence is to prove that Mr. Smith knew of the intended revolt; and the evidence of Ma nuel, another negro, tends to the same point. This Mr. Smith, in his defence, most positively denies. Alluding to the negroes coming to speak to him after Divine Service, he says—" Their coming in was nothing un usual: it was not a circumstance to excite any particu lar notice. They seldom went away on a Sunday with out coming in to the back gallery to bid us good bye. This was the case with many of the people; and I con sidered that they came in on that occasion merely for that purpose. They were all standing together, and I went into the hall to get a glass of wine. While drink ing it, I heard Quamina and Seaton, who were talking together in a low tone of voice, use the words Ma , nager' and ' new law.' This induced me (says Mr. 'Smith) to rebuke them for talking about such things. Quamina said Oh, it is nothing particular, Sir ; we were only saying, it would be good to send our managers to town to fetch up the new law.' I immediately replied, that such conversation was improper ; that they world be fools to say anything to their managers about it, for they were not the law makers ; that if there was any thing for them they should wait patiently, and they would no doubt soon hear of it, either from the Gover nor, or from their masters ; but that if they manifested any impatience, or behaved insolently to their managers , they would lose their religions c.Ftrac . ter, and would provoke the GevernOr here, and the King and the Go vernmentKi';Very well, .Sir, e,llsay no thing. o t r home. (Yu:univa le V4 p,l e ied srould be sorry to vex outr ling ct a h nd r, th ea e c peopl h. bid e at di home." ngme n T d he .:‘, y t tl: . en went: snit rood With it:. treergnaorodn the sermon he preached on the San day prectaiing the revolt, Mr. ShflTll declares tla'a reacher the text ncr the sermon could have, nor had. in his releience to an event of which he w: a=; ignorant as any Membav of that Court;" and so far Iron) his hay t; selected it fcr :hat particular occatico, he adds, " it is a text frequently selected by Ministers; I have myself preached tiom it before, and pretty sure in the same Chapel." In conclusion of his defence, Mr. SMITH remarks ca the good effects religion has had on the negroes. "I: has," s.tid I c, " already produced a material Alteration fur die bettei t in the winds of the negroes. The love oi 1 the r the n semb • We • We gion this? but t or re; in G r the r bears w►ron. Th znerci put it was p don. did u under mensi evidei his ell Lis ing. Pottr the C, of a realm We lieve less or House to bri tious 1 butch only I hide, ' skill. and sr