The National Register. — London, England, 1811-04-07 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. measure would render per colonial possessions more secure, by sending thither persons interested in those places, and-render - fog the present military establishment unnecessary. By intro. dosing new modes of cultivation, .by, a new class of men, the colonies would be otherwise highly henefitted. As soon as the imported Chinese should become efficient la, bourers, they would liberate great part of the Negro pc:Tula:ion for the service of the state. Should any Gentlemen 'think that he was too sanguine in the expected advantages from the meat sure, they might make such ded uc ti ons as t h e i r different view; should dictate; enough of benefit would still lonian to induce the House to examine the subject. He begged now to enter upon a histoy of his plan. Sixteen years ago he began to per, calve that the Negro population in t h e W est I n di a Wands was not able to sustain itself; and he thought that the redundant population of our East India possessions might be matle it.ibscre vient to fill the deficieocy. He knew that to transplant any aurplus of the iiincloo and Mahoniedan .clasees of 'population would be difficult ' • hut, in the course of his inquielos, he became acquainted with a Gentleman who hail conceived the smile idea.. The Chinese, he learnt, were capable cif labour in the West Itidie4, . and did emigrate. In Prince of Wales Island. they had been introduced with advantage. The Gentleman to whom he had alluded had been in the West Indies, and had retained a cone viction that the plan would succeed, Thus encouraged,. he • %lr. Barham) had communicated his sentiments to Mr. Wind - barn, whose name would never be 'mentioned in that House without a tribute of respeot.—(Hens! j—Mr. Windham cousie derad the plan to he practicable, and entered warmly into views. Soon after, his expectatione from it were iocreaaeal by the intelligent communications of a Gentleman who had been both in the West and East Indies. He had been induced then r to refer the plan to the Beard of Trade, by whopa it was favour ably received, as well as by many individuals in Mr. Windham'A • administration : but a powerful counteraction from same unex plained quarter prevented its adoption; the opposition from persons in power did not appear in an open shape, and he could not say who was to blame. Thine the . matter rested. As no other person be disposed to collect such a mase o f facts and documents as was necessary to agitate the proposition with effect, he felt irresistibly impelled toalischarge front his mind the foundation and materials of the plan. The circuit:lr stances of the moment furnished an excitement. There was rumour of the capture of Batavia. Should this prove founded, ' one doubt of the practicability of the plan would. be removed. Two hundred thousand, with their wives and families had setthd in Batavia; and they might be removed without much difficulty. He had information, documents, and proofs. to offer to the Committee, which, he trusted, would show, that the adoptlen of the plan was desirable and practicable. But there was one vital point to be insisted on, a positive condi tion-athat the person so to he imported should continue abso lutely free ; diet nothing bordering on a new kind of sle very should be introduced or tolerated, so as to give any persons a property in the Chinese emigrants. Like European settlers, they might bind themselves, indeed, for a limited time, to a particular employ; but the means of return, after a e expi ration of their apprenticeship, should be secure d to them: they should not be the slaves of necessity. Another essential point seemed to be, that the transported emigrants should be fittieg for settlers. No Chinese ought to be carried to the West Indies without a wife and family. The third stipulation would com prise two conditions.—To try whether the Chinese Were cape . ble of the labour performed by the negroes, they should not be put to cultivate new ground, but should take up the labour of slaves on ground already planted. Then two years would he long enough to decide the experiment. In conversations with well intormed persons, be had endeavoured to discover en what points objections to the plan would- &idly turn, from what causes failure might be apprehended. Ile had not met with any solid objections, but svutild name one or two. First, per sons interested in the .Coluoies might object, that the introdaction of such a class as the Chinese might unsettle the • •negroes, or take away their opinion of the sueeriority-of burp peons. The effect. he should argue, would operate otherwiaa. ; Nothing WAS so likely to reconcile negfees to their condition as to see a superior class engaged in the same occupations: Then, again, how could it lessen. their- opinion of the soperiority of Europeans, when the Emigrants would nut be regarded -as k,ur op e A-us if-they were inistalten for Europeans, it would tend to security, as an aadihonal force introduced. He Imagined . another possible objection from those persons •who had promoted the abolition of the Stave Trade....-- 'Their concurrence in the plan might be. converted into an ad -misstep that the negro population Gould not ,sustatti Surely having attained their bject, they will not .adhera to an -argument unjustified by experience, fur which they have now no use. No constothintmeasura to restore the Slave Trizele will be built upim that,admission. Another antieiaaated objection :Night be, that the experiment had Noun tried, and had faUe-.1; . - the Chinese emigrants to Trinidad had done no good, and had All gone back.. That esveriment, he ,should contend, had not been fairly tried. The p&Tsons carried over were not of the proper class. instead of being husbandnien, they were fnbabi tants. of populous cities; they were engaged but for a year, en gaged to no particular occupation ; on arriving at Trinicl;id, they were turned into the woods, and were not. a.ccoinpanied from china by a single female Of their intion. He should leave the mode of executing the plan to the Committee. The peen niary aid required was nothing. The project wanted only the assistance and regulation a the Legislature. He concluded, by moving, that a Committee be appointed to examine the expe diency and practicability of supplying the West India Isiands, with free laboUyers' from the East, and report their opinion thereupon. After some observations from Mr. Brown, Mr. Wilb,.:rforce, Mr. Stevens,, mil Mr. Outc4inson, the Motion was agreed to waanimously.—Adjourned. E 461 INDIA COMPANY. A motion was made by the CHAN C E Lim It of the FxcuEgur pin.l agreed to, t‘ That.notice be given to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, that on the 10th of April, Ibl4, Alit: sum of I,f i Q7„541. with all arrears, &c. thereon, being the remainder of the capit:ti stbelt of the Coinßan7, due from tb public, 411:III boredt.ernesi and paid oiTa4reeabie to tiw powci . ai recierni:i.ion contained ia tPe last of the said Acts." ritIDAY, • A Petition was presoned from the :t.hip Owners in the Lie of Thanet, against the tons:ruction of Wet Locks there. Ordert Li to lie on the table. Mr. kViinar - oN presented an Account of the Sums of .\ Torr.. granted by Parliament to the colony of Leone, ar.d tt.r date of the appointment of the Judge of that coiuny. Order. d to lie on the table. Mr. BRAGOE. BATHURST pre;ented a Petition from cert;:in Merchants ut' Bristol praying for-the e-htension tiee laws to the Island of Trinidad, which, atter a tew tv.,rds from Mr. rvlarryatt and the Chancellor of the Llchequer, was ordortd to he on the table. Mr. TAYLOR gave notice that on Tuesday the 7th of Msyr be would renew his motion respeoing Lhancery. BRIST::LI_COAI, TRADE. The House then resolved itself into a Committ4 e on the Goal Trade in tho Bristol Channel. Mr. 1 - lExav Smisru moved two Resolutions.—That all Coals in Culm carried to the Severn East of Holmes billnd should be fr.e from Duty, as at Newport; and.tu impose certain Duties on those conveyed by Canals, &c. inland. Mr. CHARLES MORGAN moved an Ain€.ndment, calculatArd t 3 do away the intirt stn,stance of the Resolutions. After a long debate, in which the Chancellor of the 'Exclw. quer, Mr. Bragge Bathurst, Mr. 11. Smith, Mr. Ruse, and others joined, the Resolutions were withdrawn, and the Chair man ktt the (lair. Mr. SmIT u (hen stated, that on the 25th instant it:. should move the Repeal of the Exemption granted to Newport respect ing PRINTERS' REGULATION ,BILL. The House having resolved itself into a Committee op the Printers' RegulAtion Bill, The AT•ro N it G k;1+; FR Ar. rose. He had material objections to the aim of the proposed Bill, which would effectually &teat the purpose fur which the Act was made. A pen4lty of only one pamphlet would be no check on the publication of offensive papers,because that the private sale wouid more than conspen sate all the penalty which the present Bill would allow to te ntoin. Mr. MARTIN said, when the Act for which the present Bill proposed an amendment, was made; whatever penalties awaited on the prima and publisher vf paMpblets without naifies pre fiXed before,the Act, remained equally liable to the sameiiiker it was enacted: If she Act NitiS made to defeat the printing and publishing framed by Seditious meetings, why.the mate; re inained just as it was before, in regard to the publishers. the Hon. Gentleman certainly could not.wish to make the printing and th.! publiAting of oll , nisive pamphlets two distinct crimes. The trade of the printers was put under heavy restrictions, which. would gu.t.d against any -attempt at 41:eption ; the printing pre:4.es !hid all to be rezistervd, llnd the type .tuakri - 1 thenr.eivet were under regulations. .1 - '.is aim wa.: to have the' pentoty stiptll . 4t(cl, for, 45 it now was, a *.urn of twenty thotn...:.nd pounds 'be affixed tur a fine . as well as tweory. :inch a heavy-penahy ought not to remain at the mercy of justice, it ought to be regulated. Afar some finther observations from the 'ehantellor of the Exchequer, Lord Folkestone, and Mr. 'Martin, the Attorney- Gentral acceded to a proposal that the utmost penalty shouid Lot be more than SLlOL.which resolution was agreed to. _ A • '~~~~ :.., MOE 11 - I