The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-08-13 00:00:00

TILE SLAVE TRADE.

The Eighteenth Repel of the Directors of the African
Institution has been publisher]. It contains a concise view
of the progress made towards the suppression of the Po-
reiga.Slsve.tratle.

"TUC NETLIERLANDI.—The Dutch Government, not-
withstanding the treaty sigtml at Bruisers, on the 31st
of Decemlx•r, Ig2l, appeals wholly intlitferent, if not
seemly adverse to the abolition of the horribly traffic.
Much of the correspondence between our Government and
the Court of the Netherlan.!s, is occupied with rental-
'trances respecting the supineness of the Government of
'Surinam, in preventing the fraudulent introduction of
slaves into that colony."

" now made the law of Spain, that all
Captains, Mastas, and Pilots of Spanish vesse!s, who pur-
chase Xegrocs on Oro col.•• of Atrial, or introtluc.• them
into any part of the Spanish monarchy, or are foetid with
slaves on board their vessels, shall lose their vessels. and
be sentenced to ten yeats' hard labour on the public works.
It is to be regretted that these penalties should be so limited
in their operation. Thev 'bught to extent to all Spanish
swideets engaged in the Slave Trade, as principals or agents.
The letters of the British Commissioners at the liavannah,
however, clearly chew, that, notwithstaniiing this law, no-
thing has been effectually done to prevent the importation
of slaves into the island of Cuba."

" Port-f.s:o A 1.111)11111g. the year 1592, thirteen Portu-
guese slave-ships, having on board upwards of 1,700 slaves,
were comlemell at Sierra Leone, for trading in slaves north
of the Line. Some of the caws inept% ed perjuries without
end, and atrocities of the most outrageous and revolting
kind, and implicated in the guilt attending them Portuguese
fhlictionaries on the coast of Africa of the very highest
class ; anti all of the cases afforded proofs of the most re-
prehensible disregard, on the part of the Brazilian autho-
rities, of the stipulations of the treaties with this country.
The licence granted to these ships permitted them, While
their e.estination was declared to be to Africa south of the
Line, to visit St. Thomas's, Cameroon, Calabar, &c. n filch
I no motive could be assigned for their visiting, but that of
carrying on an illicit slave-trade. Nay, the authorities in
Brazil appear to have concurred with the contrabandists, in
giving fictitious names to places north of the Line, borrow-
ed from places south of the Line, for the purpose of de-
ceiving the British cruizrs and the mixes{ Commission
I Courts. The name of Molembo, a place south of the Line,
to which the Portuguese Slave-trade is still permitted, has
been transferred, for this profligate purpose, to a place
near ()Man, in the Bight of Benin.
I "In the case of one vessel, the Conde de Villa Flor,
taken with 17t1 slaves on board, it was fully proved, ' that
the Governor of llissao was himself an interested ibartici-
pator in the illegal embarkation of slaves, a certain num-
ber of the slaves being his property ; some of them being
entered in the memoranda as chipped and received from
his official residence—as if all dee' ncy was cast off from
, the Government of the settlement.' Such is the strong,
but most appropriate, language of the Judge of the Mixed
Commission Court. The examinations in this case de-
velop the most complicated tissue of fraudulent expedients
for defeating the ends of justice ;—among them fabricated
log-books, exhibiting a voyage from the Brazils to Ca-
benda, by way of the Cape de ‘'ertls, when the real
destination was Ilissao : and schedules pointing out the
bribes by which the connivance of the Judge Governor,
&c. was to he secured at the port of discharge in the
Brazils. This vessel had already made several very suc-
cessful and gainful voyages under the shelter of these in-
genious expedients. The owner, in one of his letters,
declared his intention of putting an end, by this voyage,
to his course of slave-trading, as, ' provided,' he says,
that it were the pleasure of the Almighty that every
thing should be placed in safety, they would have reaped
a good harvest' In consequence, it may be presumed, of
his capture on this occasion, which prevented his gathering
the fruits he hail anticipated, be appears, by the Sierra
Leone Gazette, to have returned to the coast in the sue-
ceding year, and to have successfully effected another
voyage.
" The Portugese schooner boat, San Jose Xalasa, be-
longing to a lady of Prir.ce's Island, the daughter of Gomez,
formerly the Governor, and still a member of the governing
Junta of that ishind, though only of the burden of seven
tons, was sent to Calabar for thee*. Thirty slaves were
purchased, and, having been put on board the boat, it
made sail he Prince's Island. But tiresome proved tedi-
ous, provisions began to fail, and the allowance of food was
reduced to one yam daily for two slaves. At last the pro-
visions and water wholly failed. Ten slaves polished ; and
the whole must have shared their fate, had not the vessel
got back to Calabar, after having been six weeks at sea.
The surviving slaves were in the moat deplorable state of
emaciation and wretchedness. Nor was this to be wonder-
' ed at ; for, besides their privations, they were manacled to-
gether, and cooped up in a vessel of only seven tons bur-
then ; having no shelter but what could be afforded by the
space between the water casks and the deck, a space of
seven inches!

" On the separation of Brazil from the mother country,
Mr. Canning lost no time in representing to the Portu-
guese Government, that there could now remain no pre-
tence for refusing entirely to abolish the Slave Trade.
It bad been prolonged by Portugal solely for the sake of
Brazil ; and it now only remained to prohibit it entirely,
under the Portuguese flag, to the south as well as to the
north of the Line. To this application, however, the most
peremptory negative was given • and a threat was even held
out, that if Great Britain 'basil(' proceed on this principle,
Portugal would at once consider all her treaties with Great
Britain as null and void. The necessity of continuing the
traffic was also maintained, on a ground which until now
had never been urged, or even heard of, and which is un-
founded in point of fac.; namely, that the Slave Trade is
required for supplying, not Brazil, which, it is now dis-
covered, (lima not need them, but its other African and
Asiatic possessions, with labourers.
" In the year 1422, it appears that 29,216 slaves were
imported into Rio de Janeiro alone, from the coast of Africa.
The number embarked had been 31,240,-3,481 having
died on the passage. In one vessel, containing 492 Slims,
191 had died ; in another, containing 631, '213 had died ;
in a third, containing 418, 216 had died, &c. &c.
"The number imported into Bahia, in the same year,
was upwards of 8,000.

" FaaNer.—The largest chapter in this calamitous detail
must be given, it is to be feared, to France. The remon-
strances to that power lave been frequently and urgently,
but unavailingly, renewed by Sir Charles Stuart, our Mi-
nister at Paris.

" The replies of the French Minister to these remon-
strances are particularly deserving of notice. They will
be fouttil to be any thing but satisfactory. In October,
18'2'2, M. de Villele remarks :---‘ I.'p to the present time,
the King's Government had imagined that it had suffi-
ciently proved the firm resolution it bad always enter-
' tamed, of repressing that odious traffic. The severity
wI. .
nch it has displayed, whenever it has been possible to
bring it to conviction, would appear to remove all doubt
on this subject. In this respect, I shall therefore abstain
from enlarging upon the refutation of allegations, which I
1 repeat, arc already sufficiently disproved, no less by its
actions, than by its well-known resolutions. I do not deny
that certain avaricious speculators may have risked such
expeditions in defiance of the laws; but these are only in-
I fractions, such as no Goveinment can altogether prevent ;
and perhaps it might not be impossible for me to distover,
even in England itself, more or less recent instances of this
nature. The King's Government 1131 been neither less ac-
tive, nor less severe, than the English Government, in de-
tecting and punishing them. The measures which it has
taken in this respect are such as it has judged necessary to
ensure, in the most effectual manner, the execution of its
own arrangements, with regard to an object, the import-
ance of which it duly appreciates.'
" A few observations Deem to be called for by the state-
ments of M. de Vilele.
" No one will deny, that in England there Is a deep and
general feeling adverse to the Slave Trade ; that not only
naval and revenue officers, but private individuals also,
have a powerful motive to vigilance in the large rewards
they receive for the discovery of slave-trading transactions;
an:l that voluntary associations exist for the suppression of
this traffic, composed of men little likely to slumber over
the infraction of the abolition laws. If, then, under these
circumstances, the French Government has been neither
less active nor less sincere than the. English Government,
h me has it happene,l that not one instance of slave-trading
under the English ilia,: should have been detected during
; the last ten y ars, whilst the instances of French slave-
trading s!,ou'd have been absolutely innumerable? How

bappeus it also that, notwithstanding the multiplied proofs,
which the French Government has had, of theitatter in-
efficacy of the present laws in repressing the Slave Trade,
it should stilt refuse to affix an infamous punishment to the
crime ; while in England the crime is nsiinilated to piracy?
And haw happens it. lastly, that, while from England not'
a slave-ship can be 'hewn to have been fitted out during the'
lavt year, indeed for many years previous, it can be *hewn
that from the *tingle port of Santa no fewer than thirty
slave-ships were fitted out, in the course of only a few
months of the vear 1823, openly, and with searely an at-
tempt at concegirent, and with the full knowledge and par.'
ticipation of mull:miles in that port? The details on this
subject will he given in another place. Suffice it to say,
that slave ships ender the French flag still actually swarm
upon the African coast ; that they carry on their trade there
with perfect impunity,. being visited even by French cruisers
without molestation; and, that, in conseqence of their
munity from Dritish capture, they not only protect exten-
sive interests properly French, but shelter the criminal ad-
venturers of other nationa from detection and punishment."
%We shall give some iiiteref.tinen:tracts from the Ap-
pendix to-morrow.

COLGAIBL4.
Yesterday- we reeeivet a lc f the Caracas pipet, the
Cogombiano, to the 16th June. ltey announce the arrival at
La Guayra, on the May, of the Netherlands corvette
Eendragt, with Capt. 11. W. Quarel On board, as Commis-
sioner from the King of the Netherlands to the Colombian
Republic. U lean also, that the celebrated 3. Lancaster
had arrived at Caracas. "We behold in this event," says
the CoLanbiano, " the realisation of the liberal views which
have long animated our townsmen with respect, to public
education, as well as a strong evidence of the high appre-
ciation in which they hold the talents and merits of this
gentleman. Mr. !Lancaster tomes amongst us as an Kvited
guest ; and in this capacity has already received that eonlial
welcome which is due to our own character and 'to his.
Nothing can exceill„ the liberal 'attention with which the
Corporation has nuthifested its ism of the presence of kr.
Lancauster, and •of the important national interests con-
nected therewith. Caracas well deserves prosperity when
'she founds her pretensions thereto an the intellectual a&
vancentent of her children, and on thus honouring the wise
add good."
. . . - -

The following extract of a private letter from La Guars,
dated 19th June, contains some interesting information,
and some pertinent remarks upon the anomalous character
of our actual relations with Colcmbis, caused by delaying
the nominal recognition of her independence:—
" The only public events since my last are—the arrival
here of a Commissioner from the King of Holland; of a'
new Intendant, General Escalona, in the room of the Mar-
quis del Toro ; and of Mr. Joseph Lancaster, the great
teacher. All these several personages, we hope, will tend
to our improvement in their reapectim stations ; the first,
by establishing friendly relations between us and the King of
tfie tow Countries, (who must needs be rejoiced that we are
emancipated frcm that dependent state which his worthy an-'
cestors so long endure/1;3 the second, by being a little more
active, discreet, and conciliatory than his predecessor; and
the third, by extendingaml improving our system of national
education. Our foreign piddic functionaries go on increasing.
We have an American Consul, a British Consul, a Dutch
Cotten', and a French one, on the way from Martinique. I
see by the papers you are still discussing the propriety of ae-
knowledging our Independence; but in What an odd post-!
tion does the British Government place itself: you send
here a British Consul, who puts King George the 'Fourth's !
Anna over his door; you pass a law to admit Colombian,
ships into your ports ; and yet you tell us we are not recog-
nised as a nation, and I see that if ever our name happens!
to be mentioned in any of your Courts of Justice, the Judges
call out, We do not know any thing of the Republic of
Colombia!' I assure you that to plain unlettered men, as the
folks here very much are, all this seems very strange. We
are likely to improve much under General Escalona, for
our Intendant. lie has all the activity and vigour neces-
sary in a young Government. General Soublette, we bear,
goes to England as Consul-General. The news of the hew
loan being made has spread confidence every where, and
will do irnmente good throughout the whole Republic,
WEren once our wheels get fairly greased here, you will
find a machine in motion the power of which you have
little idea of; but we must have time."