The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-03 00:00:00

QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE.

Mr. WHITTLE preparing to bring on a resolution rela-
tive to the election of Mr. Williams for East Surrey, it
called up Dr. FLETCHER who protested against frittering
away the time of the Convention in these affairs of persona;
altercation.

Mr. DUNCAN then moved that the Convention do adjourn
until to-morrow.

Mr. HARTWELL seconded this, which was passed un•
animously.

RINT.

Upon which Mr. ROGERS stated that he had received.
by the hands of Mr. Richardson, from Caine, 201. ; Pa.
diham, 51. ; Arthur Calling, 31.; Eccles, 31.
Upon which the Chairman dissolved the meeting.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, MAY 2.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his scat on the
Woolsack at Five o'Clock.
Messengers from the House of Commons brought up
several Bills to which the concurrence of their Lordships
was desired.
The Duke of CLEVELAND presented petitions from
Durham in favour of a system of penny-postage.
Petitions to the same effect were presented by Lord Hathcr-
ton, from Hereford and Norfolk; by Earl Fitzcvilliam,
from Hythe, and a parish in Yorkshire ; by Lord Falk-
land, from Melton Regis; and by Lord Brougham, from
Birmingham, Liverpool, Gutter-lane, Chcapside, Car-
rington, Chesterfield, Mile.end Mechanics' Institute,
Linlithgow, Sandwich, parishes in Nottingham, Ilford,
in Essex, Bromley, in Essex, Bradford, Gloucester, Hud-
dersfield, Norwich Mechanics' Institute, West Riding of
Yorkshire, from Newington, in Surrey, Otterden, in
Devon, and several other places.
AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.
_ . . _ _

Lord BROUGHAM asked whether her Majesty's
Government would have any objection to the
production of the correspondence that had taken
place between Lieutenant Bosanquet, of the Leveret, and
the Portuguese Minister, on the subject of the African
slave trade. He apprehended there could not be the
slightest objection to the production of these papers. He
(Lord Brougham) had been abused by the Members of the
Portuguese Parliament, most properly exercising their
privilege, as he (Lord Brougham) should exercise his;
and they had expressed the greatest indignation at his
calling it a feeble Government. Now he apprehended
that these censures arose from incorrect translations of his
speech. He had certainly alluded to the conduct of An-
tonio de Melho, Governor of Mozambique, who went out
in a slaver from the very port of Lisbon, and the vessel,
instead of retur&ng there, had carried over 600 slaves to
Rio and Cuba, for the profit of the Governor whom it had
taken out. There never had been such a gross
thing done, and yet the Governor was never pu-
r.ished for it. In fact, a duty of seven dollar; a
head was levied upon every slave-ship, and yet the
Portuguese Government called that prohibiting the slave
trade, while they were actually deriving a revenue from it.
He had been informed that six months ago a vessel was
fitted out with a double set of papers and double logs, and
when his informant went on board a sight presented itself
which, experienced as they were in the atrocities
of that execrable crime called by bad courtesy the
African slave trade, was enough to harrow up one's
feelings, and almost make the blood curdle in their veins.
The vessel had been anchored off the coast at night, and
in a tropical climate these GOO wretches were kt pt under
hatches all night. In the morning no less than 60 were
found stretched dead, easing been suffocated for want
of air, and 20 or 30 more were in so desperate a
state, that thy died before the ship was a league
from the shore.— (Hear.) Here were upwards of 80
individuals murdered, cruelly murdered, in one night by
that Government, for who did it by another did it by him•
self; 'and yet that Government levied a tax of seven dollars
per bead on every slave ship. These were the facts which
he had thought it his duty at the earliest moment
after they had come to his knowledge to lay before
their Lordships and before the face of the country, to the
useful and wholesome end that they might be inqu'red
into in the proper quarter, and that those who bonsted
they had made treaties with Portugal by which Por-
tugal had bound itself to put down the slave
trade, should demand an immediate explanation
upon the subject, He believed the facts he had stated,
were net exaggerated, and if necessary, he had no objection
to give his author's name. With these observations, he
had only to ask the Noble Lord at the head of the Admi-
ralty, if there would be any objection to the production of
Lieutenant Bosanquet's correspondence on these matters.
Lord MINT° was not e.ware that there would be any
objection. At the same time he would be glad to have
the opportunity of consultieg with his Noble Friend the
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, before he gave a decided
answer. A notice had some time since been given by his
Noble Friend of his intention to Lev some papers on the
table of the House of Commons connected with the Por-
tuguese treaty, and to found upon those papers a measure
of a vigorous character calculated to enforce our treaties
with Portugal.—( Hear, hear.) It was not at all impro-
bable that the papers now referred to might
form part of more to be produced by his Noble Friend.
Under such circumstances, the Noble Lord would
probably delay making his motion till he saw what
papers were produced by his Noble Friend. He
(the Noble Lord)
would say that as far as his recollection
served him the account of the transactions given by the
Noble and Learned Lord would be found to be pretty cor-
rect. The Noble and Learned Lord had said the slave
trade had been connived at very openly—he might have
used a stronger word than connived. The active and zea-
lous conduct of Lieutenant Bosanquet had been the sub-
ject of great complaint on the part of the Portuguese.
When those complaints had been received, the answers
sent out to them were that vs soon as Lieut. Bosanquet
returned to this country, every opportunity would be taken
to promote him for his conduct.—(Cheers.)
Lord BROUGHAM was exceedingly glad to hear the
statement which had just been made by the Noble Lord.
He hoped the measure about to be taken would in-
deed be a vigorous measure. The more vigorous it
was the better pleased with it would be be, and the more
heartily would he support it. It was useless, however, to
talk of abolishing the slave trade until they put an end to
slavery. He agreed on this subject very greatly with Mr.
Buxton. He thought a very. good encouragement might
be given to the abolition of the trade by admitting
first into the Colonies and next into this country
all sugars made by free labourers, and excluding all
that was made by slaves. There had been no English
Slave Trade since his Bill of 1811, making it a felony,
and it was more than 20 years after that, before their
Lordships abolished Slavery in the Colonies. He would
just say, that he by no means agreed in the doc-
trine that it was not right to scud armed cruizers,
to take into custody pirates, and persons who
were carrying on this horrible crime. ( Hear.)
Having stated on a former occasion his great admiration
of the conduct of the Assembly of Antiguain abolishing
slavery before they were even compelled. it was now his
painful duty to say that he found the present
House of Assembly had taken a great deal away
from the credit of their predecessors, who had acted so
admirably, and whose conduct be bad. hade a
occasionin
so much to approve of. They had d
0
their power to take away from the negro his political
rights. They had raised the qualification fromcur-
rency to 501., the effect of which was to disfranchise 2.
every
negro in the island of Antigua. This tended in no way
to give
stveeepons fidenee in Colonial Legislation. In his opi-
nion, ought to be
country refused
takentorepe torepeal that
repeal the law
tand
if the Legislature of
that t
law, their Lordships ought to interfere, and repeal it for
them. The Noble and Learned Lord concluded by mov-
ing for the production of the Act of Antigua in reference
to raising the qualification, as be had no information at
present upon the subject.
The Marquis of NORMANBY thought it would be
better that the Noble Lord should give notice of that mo-
tion, as then he should be enabled to state what course he
would pursue.
Lord BROUGHAM said that be would give notice of
that motion. The Noble and Learned Lord then pre-
sented a petition from the Jamaica Merchants in Lon-
don against the Bill introduced into the House of Commons
for suspending the Constitution of that country. The reason
why he had been entrusted with this petition, was in con-
sequence of the course he had adopted on the subject of
Canada. He was not acquainted with the merits of the
cases of the petitioner, but be must confess that the conduct
pf the Assembly of Jamaica with respect to the former Bill,
was anything but creditable to themselves. But it was
another question, whether the course they had pursued ren-
dered it necessary that their Constitution should be abo•
lished for any length of time.
Lord St. VINCENT supported the prayer of the peti-
tion. He censidered the measure one of the hardest and
most uncalled for that had ever been brought forward.
Lord NORMANBY said that when the Bill came