The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-03-02 00:00:00

such seat magnitude, and of so much leiicacy, that they than,* f
it could not be safely handled by an individual, but that it sly '4 i,
be intrusted to the management of his Majesty's Goredellety •
This proposal was consented to upon curidition that the quietism
should be immediately attended to; and. the matter oaa
accordingly !eft in the hands of Government. Upon that ,
occasion the Right Honourable Gentleman expressed his view,
oa the subject or- slavery in a full and candid manner, and
meat certainly be (11r. F. Buxton) . did not perceive any
difference whatever between the sentiments of the Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman and his own upon that object. (neer.
hear.) He told the House distinctly and most fairly that the *pint
and principles both of the British Constitution and of the Christian
Religion were In favour of the abolition of that most unquestioned
evil, and he said that it was the duty of the Government to intro.
duce some efficient measures to mitigate and finally to do sway with
such unquestioned evil ; and be accordingly moved a series of Re-
solutions, which were adopted by the Honer. The purport of these
Resolutions, he might say. wet to pledge this House, and not per..
soma out of the House, to the immediate amelioration of slavers,
and in ea effectual a manner as Should gradually lead to the part:cipation on the part of the negro slave in all the rights of a Britio,
subject. In point of fact irwas to be an Immediate atoeUntration
stud a final abolition of slavery. In strict compliance with the reso-
lution proposed by himself, and of those which were substituted
for it by the Right Honourable Gentleman, an Order in Council
was issued, intended in the first plate to be enforced in the liolonies
over which the Crown had immediate control ; but it the same
time it was expected to operate as an example to the colonies White
were under the control of a local legislature. That Order 'in
,Comeil tontaiued some very excellfot regulations. The first .its
hafpurtance was, that negro evidence was to be received oadit net,.
Joao regulatkats ; the second stated that the of the nm.
',4llU'le brendiallOiget and eeleboutil is a legalloseatacy r the Mot •••
directed that religious and moral Instruction should be given to ti.
inearo; fourth was far the abolition of the whip as a 'Ursula, t
Zahn
,to labeti and that the application of that punishment as Of time'. C
should be lished altogether; by the fifth, Sunday-markets weir
abolished ; by the sixth, the property of the negroes gles w be 'st.
spected. The seventh, which was a very important mulatto ~
directed that the negro should have the power to appropriate that
property in the purchase of his own redemption, or that of his iii.
mediate relatives- The only question that remained was how these
regulations were to be put in practice. No doubt whatever ass
expressed as to the Government meeting with the cordial co-opera.
don of the colonial legislatures. But the Right Honourable Geo.
eleman, in the conclusion of his speech, stated that if he shesuid
have to encounter soy opposition or resistance on the part of those.
11egislaturee of a contumacious nature, he should then feel it his
duty to come down to Parliament and demand that power which
would enable Government to exercise a vigorous coercion towards
these colonies that were thus refractory. 'J hey had had the prin-
ciples of Parliament laid down, and the regulations to be adopted
laid down in that Order of Council; he thought therefore
1 nothlbg was more unequivocal than that which this country
required on the part of the colonial legislatures—either the
adoption or the rejection of those regulations ; and be also thought
that nothing was more unequivocal on the part of the colonies than
that to every one of those regulations rejection had been made. lie
wished to state to the House barely the facts of the case. In the first
place lie would sae, witatever'efforts had been attempted, that gates
rally speaking nothing whatever had been done. In some of the c do-
nieasoniething had been attempted,but nothing had been really done,
for wherever aarythieg had been attempted tobetionettlecoloniatshad
always coupled their measures with something else. which his Ma.
jest y'a Government felt it necessary to reject. He would jeststre
what had been attempted. In Tobago they had altered, to a ...re
trifling extent indeed, the law of evidence; but there was one im-
portant measure which they had certainly effected, and that was by
changing the market day from Sunday to Thursday. He believed.
that this was the only colony in which that salutary regulation had
been adopted. In Berbic.e ejlio had agreed that when a negro slave
, was sold lie should be sold with his family. But he must stets
also that this concession bad been coupled with demands of the
re-enactment of varioue rules of the old system which his Ma-
jesty's Government felt called upon to disallow and therefore the
regulation had fallen to the ground. In Barbi:does they had :.t-
-' tempted to alter the law of evidence. He thought there was no
part of the colonistl system more objectionable than this, anti that
therefore no part required correction more; and he telmitted that
so far this colony had certainly done something; but he must ray
. what it was that they had not done at Barbadoes; sod. in stating
this, the House would see how little in fact had been done in puma.
lance of the recommendation M: Parliament and of the Government.
They had not abolished the driviog system; they had not abolished
the flogging of women with the whip ; they had not abolished tau ' I
arbitrary power of the master ; they had not legalized the marriage
of the negro ; they had not permitted him to purchase his redeum-
r then ; and they had not permitted him to he sold only with hie ta.
wily. This net alasefaiewebodoes was seeempiered math tkeptiende
that made it necessary to be rejected by his Majesty's Government.
In the island of Jamaica it was true two insignificant Acts had
passed with no advantage to the negro, but with a direct tut canoe°
to the master. In that colony nothing whatever had been den: wen
regard to the mitigation of the state of the negro. In AiVeritto.
Dominica, nothing had been done. In St. Lucia. St.
Montserrat, Granada, St. Kitt's, the Virgin Isles, the Bermudas,
nothing had been done in compliance with the resolutions of this
House; nothing whigh the Government had recommended had
heen accomplished. If any thing had been done it had been dons
within these walls. (Hear, hear.) It was therefore certainly leer
that either that House must renounce the pledge which it heciatisert
to the country, or they must take the measure Into their owliftioils.
(Hear, hear.) He was very anxious on this occasion...a-Say oothing
which might give offence to any party, at the aitinetime he was
moat anxious to declare that it was his mesg,drfiberaie and arm
judgment that either Parliament must do thiteirork itself, or must
dianties it from these walls, and say it ehbuld not be none at all.
(Bear, hear.) Ile wished to avoid .saying any thing effenstive to
persons whose feelings might be interested in this question. Ile
therefore would take the liberty of using an extract of a speech
made ily the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Canning) many
years agoin that House on the question of slavery—a bleat moist
feeling and most eloquent, but which deserved the attention of this
House, not so mull for its eloquence as for the sound and coosti.
tutional principle which it enforced. The Right Hon. Gentleman
said, in the course of that speech, " Trust nut the masters of slaves
in what concerns the legislation for slaves ! However specious. the
laws they propose may appear, depend upon it they n:ust be into-
fecund in their operation. It is in the nature of things that they
must be so. Let the British Parliament do their part atomised
unbiassed ; let not the House of Commons delegate a trust to those
who cannot execute it towards the party fairly ; let it be done by an
assembly of freemen, and not by die masters of slaves." Such.tvaa
the language of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and that language be
(Mr. F. Buxton) now took the liberty to address to that House,
and to request to know what were the intentions of Coaeromeot
upon the subject.
The petitions were then brought up, and their title and prayer
read pro forma by the Clerk of the House.
Mr. Secretary CANNING begged pardon of the House, but as
he believed it was the wish of the petitioners to have the petition
1 front London and its vicinity read, he wished that it might lor
done.
The petition was then read.
Mr. Secretary CANNING rose, and said that before he
answered the call of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. F. Buxton) he was
anxious that that petition, which, from the lion. Gentleman's has -
lel selected the opportunity in presenting it of making that call, he
(Mr. Canning) presumed was considered by him to express, in the
most unobjectionable and most unexceptionable shape, the sea.
timents which it embodied, should be read in the war to which it
had been, in order that he (alr. Canning) might be able to say, in
the most unequivocal manner, that he was disposed to ogres bathe
prayer of that petition, and that he considered it to be, to use its
own unexceptionable terms, a safe and practical object. In order
to recall to the House what the state and progress of the
measures for effecting that object was now, be would take the lawny
I of requesting the Clerk to read the resolutions to which the no..
Member had referred ; the substance of winch was, he had no
doubt, in the recollection of the )louse ; but be should ;Aso wish
that the words of those resolutions should be present to Mete
minds.
'flue Clerk of ihe House then rend from die Journals of the *outs
the following entry, dated May 15, 1823 :
" Upon the following Resolution being moved by Mr. F. Bux-
ton, viz. :
That the state of slavery is repugnant to the principles oldie
British Constitution and of the Christian Religion, and thee 41
ought to be abolished gradually throughout the British colonise,
with as much expedition as may be found consistent with a due re-
gard to the well-being of the parties concerned,'
• The following amendment was proposed anti agreed to :
• That it is expedient to adopt effectual and deci....iv c meaaerea
for ameliorating the condition of the slave population of his Ma-
jeaty's Colonies.
' That through a determined and rigorous, but at the woe
time judicious and temperate, enforcement of such measures, nos
House looks forward to progressive improvement in the character of
the slave population, such as may prepare them for the pude:Spa.
non in those civil rights and privileges which are enjoyed by other
classes of his Majesty's subjects.
• That this House is anxious for the accomplishment of Mots
nurposes at the earliest period that may he consistent with the wel-
fare of the slaves themselves, the well.heing of the Colonies, and s
fair and equitable consideration of the interests of all parries con.
cerned therein.' "
Mr. Secretary CANNING was glad that the lhewse had bc-n
put in possession. not only of the Itesolutionn which were ono.
itimously adopted, but of the Resolution which was origtexlly pee.
posed, and which the unanimous Resolutions superse•led ; beesbse,
as the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. F. Buxton) commereed with stating
that her (lr. Canning) hail admitted the existence of Kittery to Im
incompatible with the spirit of the British Cooentution. and the
spirit of the Christian religion, he was desirous that the ilett‘e
almald know in what degree he assented, and in what lieeffef he
differed from the view taken of the subject by the Hon. Oeutlereen.
Undoubtolly no nu m would affirm that the Aare trade was apes.
stile with the abstract spirit of the Constitution; and still less that
it was compatible with the mild and benignant spirit of the Chrie.
tian•religion. But as the Resolution proposed by the Hun. Gent.
would hove gone, as he (Mr. ('arming) thought, to takeall des.
credit* out of the Lauds of Parliament i to call upon them to pm!,