The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-10 00:00:00

CAPTURE OF THE SLAVER

FLOR DE LOANDO.

From Lieutenant Armitage, who, as then first mate
of her Majesty's ship Rover, was put in charge of the
captured slaver the Flor de Loando in the harbour of
Rio de Janeiro, we have learned some further particu-
lars relating to the proceedings in the case of that
vessel, and to slavery and the slave-trade in the Brazils
generally.

The Flor de Loando was captured on the 11th of
April, 1838, with 289 slaves on board, the miserable
remnant of 400 with whom she sailed from the coast
of Africa. She was taken into Rio, where, of course,
it was a matter of the most urgent necessity, if the
lives of the Africans were to be regarded, that they
should be immediately removed from their confined
and unwholesome situation. But this could not be
allowed till the vessel was condemned, and it was
not allowed for a single hour ; so that these liberated (!)
negroes were still confined to the pestiferous slave-ship,
and doomed to a prolongation of the sufferings of the
voyage. For what length of time do our readers
imagine? Why, such of them as live continue there
to the present hour ! Vexatious delays, not without
suspicion of bribery, were interposed (as was believed,
by the Brazilian minister) to prevent the condemnation
of the ship at Rio. At length it was determined that
she must be tried and condemned at Sierra Leone ; the
voyage was begun, and nothing but the springing of a
leak prevented the wretched remnant of her cargo
from having to endure a second passage across the
Atlantic in a slave-ship. The crew are then
sent to England, under charge of Lieutenant
Armitage. on their way to Sierra Leone.
A writ of habeas corpus is issued for them, at the in-
stance of the Portuguese or some other ambassador, a
flaw is found in the proceedings, and the wretches are
glad enough to escape! Lieutenant Armitage is now
to take his papers to Sierra Leone, that the ship may be
condemned. When this has been done, he will have to
go again to the Brazils, and then such of the Africans
as shall be alive may be liberated !—the probability
being that not one will have survived. Up to the 16th
of September, when Lieutenant Armitage left Rio, 11l
had died since the capture, out of 400 leaving only 169,
and these in a deplorable condition. Such is the
effect of British endeavours to put down the
slave-trade ! It is thus we aggravate the suffer-
ins we profess our desire to cure, and become a
laughing-stock to the wretches whose crimes we are
trying to suppress. If the Flor de Loando bad not
been taken by a British cruizer, but had landed her
cargo undisturbed, half of them might have been
saved ; the interposition of British humanity completes
the murder of the whole. The .Rover and her prize
in the harbour of Rio have been the standing jest of the
Brazilians for nearly a twelve month past. This case
certainly ought to be noticed in Parliament, and we
hope some member of the Legislature will speedily
move for the production of the papers which relate to
it. At Havannah there is a British hulk, to which '
the Africans from captured slavers are removed pend-
ing tne trial of the vessels ; and another should oto
vinusly be stationed at Rio. We have reason to think
that the Foreign-office would do its duty in this matter ;
i
but there s a deep sleep at the Admiralty. Perhaps a
gentle hint from my Lord Brougham, or some other
member of the Imperial Parliament, may awaken them.
We have been much gratified to learn that Mr.
Ouseley, the British Ambassador to the Brazils, has
acted a faithful part in this melancholy business, as have
also some of the British residents at Rio, among whom
the names of Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Tross are to be
mentioned with particular honour. Lieutenant Armi
tage assures us that the bulk of the Brazilian po-
pulation are deeply averse to slavery and the slave-
trade ; the party by which they are promoted and
carried on being the ‘• high Portuguese party,"
not great in number, but large in capital and
wealth. He adds, that the British merchants,
with few exceptions (although they often deny it),
supply the slavers with the goods which they carry to
Africa for the purchase of slaves : and that the works
of the British Mining Companies are now being wrought
by slaves. The last is a very serious item, and we call
the attention of the shareholders of the .Brazilian
Mining Companies to it, When these Companies were
formed, it was fully understood that slaves were not to
be employed ; but slaves are now employed, and em-
ployed, not only by English capital, but by English
ladies and gentlemen to dig their gold I Well may the
Brazilians scoff at English abhorrence of slavery !
British Emancipator.