The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-06-13 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Colonel VEREKER brought tip a Petition from
certain Merchants and others of the City of Limer-
ick, against the Report of the Committee on the
Corn Laws so la as relates to Ireland. Ordered to
lie on die Table. _ - •
The rrish MunufaChow FIM wet mad- a a.%
toad time, and ordmd to be committed to-morrow.
Mr. FOSTER said, be rose to give notice that
he should to-morrow move for lean to bring in a
Bill to regulate the Irsh Linen Manufaeture, and
to prevent fraucli.iu bleaching Linen, &c.
He also begged leave to mention another objet
he meant to bring forward. A Biil had passed
that House two years ago, relative to the Corn Laws,
which will expire on the rst of July. Now, though
there was a Committee sitting at present on that very
subjekt, be should be sorry the Bill he alluded to •
should be suffered to drop. He therefore gave no-
tice, that he would to-morrow move fot leave to
bring in a Bill, to continue, for a time to be limited,
the aforesaid Acts.

Mr. SHAW moved the Order of the Day, for the
second reading of the insolvent Debtors Bill :which.
bei g read, he said he sould have no doubt but the
House would be ready to second him in carrying
the present Bill through the House, as, at the pre-
sent moment, there were in Ireland, in particular, a
great number of our unfertunate fellow creatures,
suffering the privation of liberty, as well as all those
comforts resulting from social happiness, which. to
those who had families in particular, were the near-
est and dearest to their hearts. He was sure it was
unnecessary for Lim to press the matter upon the
House, as he wits well aware they were as sensible
of the invaluable blessing of liberty as he could be,
and as feelingly alive to the sufferings of their bre-
thren in. pristortune. He noderstood also, that in
both countries, there were a great hsaay Officers,
both of the Army and Navy, now in confinment.who
bad often shed their blood in defence of their coun-
try, and who were willing and desirous once more
to risk their lives in that glorious cause, if by this
Bill they should be enabled so to do. He would
not therefore detain the House any further at pre-
sent than merely to move that the said Bill should
then be read a second time.

Mr. Alderman COMBE said, he now felt him-
self as happy In rising to second the motion for the
second reading, as he had done in moving that the
Bill might be extended to England as well aslreland.
Mr. KERR said, he did not rise for the purpose
of objetcling to the second reading of the Bill, but
to express a hope that the lion. Mover of it would
take care to have a clause in it to guard against
fraudulent Debtors, and particularly to protedt
landlords against fraudulent tenants. He had late•
ly had considerable trouble with one of hi.: tenants.
and he wished to prevent other landlords, as well
as himself, front being hereafter used in the same
manner.

Mr. SHAW said, that he would certainly wish
the Bill to contain every provision that was thought
necessary to defeat the purposes of frandulent per-
sons of every description, his aim being to liberate
arifertimate debtors only.
'fhe Bill was then read i second time, and order-
ed to be committed on Thursday se'ennight.
Mr. MANNING moved, that there be laid before
the Hc'use an account ut all Imports from the West
Indies into Great Britain for the last three years
eliding in IBo3.—Ordered.

'MC' Report of the Attorneys' Indemnity Biil
was brought up and agreed to, and the Bill ordered
to be read a third time tu.mbrrow.
sLAN't TRADE.
Mr. Fut LER moved the Order of the Day for the
House to resolve into a Committee of the whole
I louse, oa the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave
Irade.

On the question, that the Speaker eh leave the
Cb.iir—

Mr. MANNIRG rose, and said, that he could
not suffer the Bill to go into a Committee, without
mentioning the claims of a neat number of persons,
who, in consequence of different Proclamations, is.
sued by His Majesty, in, and !ince the year 1764,
had advanced considerable sums of money, and
vested the s tole in CrJW:I La it!., in the different
Islands. He hoped that suen persons, or their re-
presentatives, would have their money returned, or
that they would be otherwise indemnified.
Mr. FULLER rose for the purpose of opposing
the Speaker's }raving the Chair. He contended, that
a great many of the stories which had been circu-
lated on the subject of the Slave Trade, were great
exaggerations, for the purpose of misleading the
public mind, and making an impression on the
score of humanity, which, if funs only were stated,
could not be effedted. Ile insisted on it, that our
agreeing to an Abolition of del Trade, at the pre-
sent moment, would he attended with the gr.e.itect
cruelty to the Negroes—for, whilst we retained the
Trade, as we now did, in our hands, we had the
power to regulate it in such roan ter as we thought
proper—and every Gentleman knew how much it
had been modified and improved within the last J
or 10 years. Besidei this, it had been acknoss lodged,
since the introduaion of the present Bill, that Des-
salines had made overtures to the Goeernrneot, le-
spedling a commerce of this kind, which he meant
to carry oa. These cooid he LO doubt, but the

Amens could make a point of entering
and o powers. who had ships, and were
powers, might do the same ; by which the Nri7:l
would be exposed to pie various inconvenieocsasa
distresses, and eruelties, whiCh those several power*•
might think proper to treat thein With; and thitt
c6untry would suffer a very great diminution of r*-
venue. and of richev,i in consequence of so verges.
tensive and lucrative a branch of trade, being than
thrown away by us, and driven into other char netai
As to the Negroes themselves, when they wired
the West-Indies, they were let into a paruci
of the several estates on which it was their ,
live. in consequence of the purchase made of the*.
He knew, by experience, that their treatment was le.;
nient, and their provisions wboleiome—ther had
particular privileges of having a certain portion of
land allotted to them, and certain hours allowed to
cultivate the same, for their own use and benefit.
Wkat they raised on it more than they wanted thee!
selves. they sold—and the profits were their own.; se
that...iikcAltalla periods of time. many of then wag
able to ptirchase their freedom. He had an instance
on his own estate lately, where a Negro, who bet
rived with twenty years, had saved the sum Of •
2001. and chearfiilly paid him so much for his free-
dom, which he now enjoyed. and applied to his awA
use and benefit, the SAM{ as any White Man in the
Island.

Mr. FRANCIS said, be Iris afraid that tacmaar
of the stories related of the bard usage of the
grow in the West-Indies were founded is fall, the_
he had no doubt whatever but those who hid
the good fortune to be the Slaves to the goo. G.
were treated with that degree of humanity aost
was consonant w his liheril and enligh
Still, however, it was slavery to which inns
forcibly brought from the *country ist ther
were born, and where they bad left all their seams,
and dearest connections. He observed, that
the story which the Hon. Gent. had just relpte4e3
the negro nh6 had lived with him for 20 yeaat
having paid hiro 2001. which he bidearned.inbtsert
vice, to set him free,' strewed, that howesorAxce
his condition is a slave might have bred, ter coast-
Quence Of being under so a Mister, his being
so ready to pay the whoW darlings and satin of
20 years servitude, streWed the idea he had ofgs Isiti
situation as a slave, and his extreme desire to emana
cipate 'himself ftoiss it: From every consideration
he was able to give the subjea, he should ih-reforts
wish the present Bill to proceed, and as sacs should
vote that the Speaker do now leave the Chair.

Mr. ELI.IS went at considerable bength into the
question, in the course of which he v .rat over a
ri
great
deal of the ground which had so repeatedly
trodden before. He denied the truth of those state.
mints which went to accuse the IlliFieton 01
Slaves the West Indies of min; them ill. by
working them to excess, and not giving thens a surs
ficiency of good and wholesome food. He insisted
that the Proprietors knew their own interne' far
better than to be guilty of such folly, and that they
stood in ho need of the Abolition of the Trade to
teach them either their interests of their duty as
Masters. Respeaing the trade itself, whatever de-
gree of criminality was attached to it in the com-
mencement, it was by no means to be attributed to
the present Proprietors in the West Indies ; it ori-
ginated in England, was fostered and encouraged
there, and the English were alone annterable for
the consequences. They had held oat every en.
couran'ement to the \Vest India Proprietors to culti-
vate the soil, from which this country had derived
an immense revenue and abundant richest and nose,
when so very extensive a capital had been sunk and
vested in that property, he thought it extremely
hard that the House should thus precipitately insist
on the Abolition of the Trade, and leave the Islands
to the chance of keeping up the nurhbers necessary
for working the land by their natural prodnce.with.
out having ascertained whether that was likely to
be sufficient for the purpose or not. He denied the
irlerences that had been drawn, and the assertions
made by many who had spoken and written on the
subjea, that the expence of providing rrs . es to
work a plantation was less than to rake them at the
land. He kicw from erpt rience, and the very best
information, th it the can.rary was the case. It was.
he said, exceedingly difficult to separate the two
questions of Emancipation and Abolition. In all
the discussions which had vet taken place on the
subjea, thy had continually been confounded even 1;
by enlightened and well informed minds. Could it
then be wondered at, if they should be confounded
by the negroes themselves; and was it not to bit
feared, that such an idea, with the example of St.
Domingo, so immediately before their e,yess should
produce the most injurious consequences ? He svhboll
the House, therefore, to pause, before they
any farther, and, as such, should oppose the Spelt=
leaving the chair.
Mr. DEVERE LI. contended, that the Hoofs
could not entertain this BiU, without haying pin.
vionsly obtained the consent of His Majesty; because
it went immediately to area a duty which His
Majesty derived from the importation of negeos,
into the West Indies ; and it was for the purpose of
shewing this fel to the House that he had, on a
former day, moved for certain papers relative to
those ditties. He thought that polioy and prudence
ought to have dilated to the House, the necassity
of being cautious how they proceeded in this *sea.
sure ; and he thought it necessary to inforift the
I louse .f a circurnrance that should serve still snare
to incteise that cartinn; that was an unfortunate
ditret er.ce wi;ich csi .ted between the present Cofere
nor and the }louse of Assembly in the Lind of
.I.tmaic.i, and which made it a matter of uncertainty.
whether he should ever meet the Assembly again.
Mr. COCKS said, he never had, until this sal-
ment, opened his mouth on the subj:3 of the Slav
Trade ; but he hid Away; voted in favour of the
Abolition. He had always felt that, on every prin.
ci fle of reason and justice, which could opc:are on
the mind of mar., r, .t a word eau!! b: said is favour
of the continuance of such a Trade. i-ie mast,