The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-16 00:00:00

TIIE SLAVE TRADE TREATY.

The following is the treaty concluded at Wash-
ington, April 7, 1862, between the Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and
the United States of America for the suppression of
the African slave trade :
The United States of America and her Majesty
the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, being desirous to render more effectual
the means hitherto adopted for the suppression of
the slave trade carried on upon the coast of Africa,
have deemed it expedient to conclude a treaty of
that purpose, and have named as their plenipoten-
tiaries, that is to say—the President of the United
States of America, William H. Seward, Secretary
of State of America, and her Majesty the Queen of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Right Hon. Richard Bickerton Pemell Lord
Lyons, a Peer of the United Kingdom, a Knight
Grand Cross of her Most Honourable Order of the
Bath, and her Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to the United States of America,
who, after having communicated to each other their
respective full powers found in good and due form,
have agreed upon and concluded the following
articles :

ARTICLE I. The two high contracting parties
mutually consent that those ships of their respec-
tive navies, which shall be provided with special
instructions for that purpose as hereinafter men-
tioned, may visit such merchant vessels of the two
nations as may upon reasonable grounds be sus-
pected of being engaged in the African slave trade,
or of having been fitted out for that purpose, or of
having during the voyage on which they are met
by the said cruisers been engaged in the African
slave trade contrary to the provisions of this treaty;
and that such cruisers may detain and send, or carry
away, such vessels, in order that they may be
brought to trial in the manner hereinafter agreed
upon.

as little delay atd inconvenience as possible the ves-
sels which may be detained according to the tenor
of the first article of this treaty, there shall be
established, as soon as may be practicable, three
mixed courts of justice, formed by au equAl number
of individuals of the two nations named for this
purpose by their respective Governments. These
courts shall reside, one at Sierra Leone, one at the
Cape of Good Hope, and one at New York. But
each of the two high contracting parties reserves
to itself the right of changing, at its pleasure, the
place of residence of the court or courts held within
its own territories. These courts shall judge the
causes submitted to them according to the provi-
sions of the present treaty, and according to the re-
gulations and instructions which are annexed to
the present treaty, and which are considered an
integral part thereof, and there shall be no appeal
from their decision.

In order to fix the reciprocal right of search in
such manner as shall be adapted to the attainment
of the object of this treaty, and, at the same time,
avoid doubts, disputes, and complaints, the said
right of search shall be understood in the manner
and according to the rules following :-
1. It shall never be exercised except by vessels of
war authorised expressly for that object, according
to the stipulation of this treaty.
2. The right of search shall in no case be exer-
cised with respect to a vessel of the navy of either
of the two Powers, but shall be exercised only as
regards merchant vessels ; and it shall not be exer-
cised by a vessel of war of either contracting party
within the limits of a settlement or port, nor within
the territorial waters of the other party.
3. Whenever a merchant vessel is searched by a
man-of-war, the commander of the said ship shall,
in the act of so doing, exhibit to the commander of
the merchant vessel the special instructions by
which he is duly authorised to search, and shall de-
liver to such commander a certificate, signed by
himself, stating his rank in the naval service of his
country, and the name of the vessel he commands,
and also declaring that the only object of the search
is to ascertain whether the vessel is employed in the
African slave trade, or is fitted up for the said trade.
When the search is made by an officer of the cruiser
who is not the commander, such officer shall exhi-
bit to the captain of the merchant vessel a copy of
the before-mentioned special instructions, signed by
the commander of the cruiser ; and he shall, in like
manner, deliver a certificate, signed by himself,
stating his rank in the navy, the name of the com-
manner by whose orders he proceeds to make search,
that of the cruiser in which he sails, and the object
of the search as above described. It it appears
from the search that the papers of the vessel are in
regular order, and that it is employed in lawful
objects, the officer shall enter in the log book of the
vessel that the search has been made in pursuance
of the aforesaid special instructions, and the vessel
shall be left at liberty to pursue its voyage. The
rank of the officer who makes the search must not
be less than that of lieutenant in the navy, unless
the command, either by reason of death or other
cause is at the time held by an officer of inferior
rank.

4. The reciprocal right of search and detention
shall be exercised only within the distance of 200
miles from the coast of Africa and to the southward
of the 32d parallel of north latitude, and within 30
leagues from the coast of the island of Cuba.
ART. 11. In order to regulate the mode of carry-
ing the provisions of the preceding article into exe-
cution it is agreed-
1. That all the ships of the navies of the two na-
tions which shall he hereafter employed to prevent
the African slave trade shall be furnished by their
respective Governments with a copy of the present
treaty, of the instructions for cruisers annexed
thereto (marked A), and of the regulations for the
mixed courts of justice annexed thereto (marked B),
which annexes respectively shall be considered as
integral parts of the present treaty:
2. That each of the high contracting parties shall
from time to time communicate to the other the

names of the several ships furnished with such in-
structions, the force of each, and the names of the
several commanders. The said commanders shall
hold the rank of captain in the navy, or at least that
of lieutenant, it being nevertheless understood that
the instructions originally issued to an officer hold.
ing the rank of lieutenant of the navy or other su-
nerior rank shall, in case of his death or temporary
absence, be sufficient to authorise the officer on whom
the command of the vessel has devolved to make
the search, although such officer may not hold the
aforesaid rank in the service.

3. That if at any time the commander of a cruiser
of either of the two nations shall suspect that any
merchant vessel under the escort or convoy of any

ship or ships of war of the other nation curies

ART. V, In case the commanding officer of any
of the ships of the service of either country duly
commissioned, according to the provisions of the
first article of this treaty, shall deviate from the
stipulations or from the instructions annexed to it,
any one wronged thereby shall be entitled to repara-
tion. In such case the Government to which such
commander or officer may belong binds itself to
cause inquiry to be made into the subject of the
complaint, and to inflict upon the said officer a
punishment proportionate to any wilful transgres-
sion which he may be proved to have committed.
ART. VI. It is hereby further mutually agreed
that every American or British merchant vessel
which shall be searched by virtue of the present
treaty maylawfully be detained, and sent or brought
before the mixed courts of justice established in
pursuance of the provision thereof, if in her equip-
ment there shall be found any of the things herein-
after mentioned, namely,-
1. Hatches or bulkheads in the hold or on deck
in greater Lumber than are necessary for vessels
engaged in lawful trade.
2. Division of bulkheads in the hold or on deck
in greater number than are necessary for vessels
engaged in lawful trade.
3. Spar planks fitted for laying down a second
or slave deck.
4. Shackles, bolts, or handcuffs.

5. A larger quantity of water in casks or in tanks
than is requisite for the consumption of the crew
of the vessel as a merchant vessel.

6. An extraordinary number of water casks or
other vessels for holding liquid, unless the master
shall produce a certificate from the custom-house at
the place from which he cleared outward, stating
that a sufficient security had been given by the
owners of such vessel that such extra quantity of
casks, or of other vessels, should be used only to
hold palm oil, or for other purposes of lawful com-
merce.

7. A greater number of mess-tubs or kids than
requisite for the use of the crow of the vessel as a
merchant vessel.

8. A boiler or other cooking apparatus of an un-
usual size, and larger or capable of being made
larger than requisite for the use of the crew of the
vessel as a merchant vessel, or more than one boiler
or other cooking apparatus of the ordinary size.
9. An extraordinary quantity of rice of the flour
of Brazil, of manioc or cassada, commonly called
farina, of maize, or of Indian corn, or of any other
article of food whatever, beyond the probable wants
of the crew, unless such rice, &c., or other article
of food be entered on the manifest as part of the
cargo for trade.
10. A quantity of mats or matting greater than
is necessary for the use of the crew of the vessel, as
a merchant vessel, unless such be entered on the
manifest as part of the cargo for trade. If it be
proved that any one or more of the articles above
specified is, or are, on board, or have been on board
during the voyage on which the vessel was cap-
tured, that fact shall be considered as prima facie
evidence that the vessel was employed in the Afri-
can slave trade, and she shall in consequence be con-
demned, and declared lawful prize, unless the mas-
ter or owners shall furnish clear and incontrovertible
evidence, proving, to the satisfaction of the mixed
court of justice, that at the time of her detention or
capture the vessel was employed in a lawful under-
taking, and that such of the different articles above
specified as were found on board at the time of de-
tention, or as may have been embarked during the
voyage on which she was engaged when captured,
were indispensablQ for the lawful object of her
voyage.

ART. VII. If any one of the articles specified in
the preceding article as grounds for condemnation
should be found on board a merchant vessel, or
should be proved to have been on board during the
voyage on which she was captured, no compensation
for losses, damages, or expenses consequent upon
the detention of such vessel shall in any case be
granted either to the master, the owner, or any
other person interested in the equipment or in the
lading, even though she should not be condemned
by the mixed court of justice.
ART. VIII. It is agreed by the high contracting
parties, that in all cases in which a vessel shall be
detained under this treaty by their respective
cruisers as having been engaged in the African
slave trade, or as having been fitted out for the
purposes thereof, and shall consequently be ad-
judged and condemned by one of the mixed courts
of justice to be established as aforesaid, the said
vessel shall immediately after its condemnation be
broken up entirely, and shall be sold in separate
parts after having been so broken up, unless either
of the two Governments should wish to purchase
her for the use of its navy, a: a price to be fixed by
a competent person to be chosen for that purpose by
the mixed court of justice, in which case the Go-
vernment whose cruiser shall have detained the con-
demned vessel shall have the first option of pur-
chase.

ART. IX. The captain, master, pilot, and crew of
any vessel condemned by the mixed courts of jus-
flee shall be punished according to the laws of the
country to which such vessel belongs, as shall also
the owner or owners, and the persons interested in
her equipment or cargo, unless they prove that they
had no participation with the enterprise.
For this purpose the two high contracting parties
agree that in so far as it may not be attended with
grievous expense and inconvenience, the master and
crew of any vessel which may be condemned by a
sentence of one of the mixed courts of justice, as
well as any other persons found on board the vessel,
shall be sent and delivered up to the jurisdiction of
the nation under whose flag the condemned vessel
was sailing at the time of capture; and that the wit-
nesses and proofs necessary to establish the guilt of
such master, crew, or other persons shall also be
sent with them. The same course shall be pursued
with regard to subjects or citizens of either con-
tracting party who may be found by a cruiser of
the other on board a vessel of any third power, or on
board a vessel sailing without flag or papers which
may be condemned by any competent court for
having engaged in the African slave trade.
ART. X. The negroes who are found on board of
a vessel condemned by the mixed courts of justice,
in conformity with the stipulations of this treaty,
shall be placed at the disposal of the Government
whose cruiser has made the capture. They shall be
immediately set at liberty, and shall remain free—
the Government to whom they have been delivered
guaranteeing their liberty.
ART. XI. The acts or instruments annexed to
this treaty, and what it is mutually agreed shall
form an integral part thereof, are as follows :
(a) Instructions for the ships of the navies of both
nations deatined to prevent the African slave trade.
(b) Regulations for the mixed courts of justice.
ART. XII. The present treaty shall be ratified,
and the ratifications theyeet shall he exchanged in
Loudon in six months from this date, or sooner
if possible, It shall continue and remain in full
force for the term of 10 years from the day of ex-
change of the ratification, and further until the
teind es
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spar
in-
tention to terminate the same; each of the con-
tracting parties reserving to itself the right of giv-
ing such notice to the other at the end of the said
term of 10 years. And it is hereby agreed between
shall altogether cease and
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determine.
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negrees on board, or has been engaged in the Afri-
can slave trade, or is fitted out for the purpose
thereat the commander of the cruiser shall commu-
nicate
his suspicions to the commander of the con-
voy,en who, ace°rn .
panmd by the commander of the
cruiser, shall
proceed to the search of the suspected
vessel; a i case the suspicions appear well
founded, according tothe
the said vessel shall be conducted or sent to one of
the places where
the
mixed
courts of justice are
stationed, in order that it may there be adjudicated
upon.
that
4. It is further mutually agreed the com-
manders of the ships of the two navies
respectively,
who shall be employed on thin service shall adhere
strictly to the exact tenor of the i
aforesaid nstruc-

tions.
ART. 111. As the two preceding articles are en-
tirely reciprocal, the two high contracting parties
engage mutually to make good any losses Which
their respective subjects or citizens may incur by
any arbitrary and illegal detention of their ye.,
sels, it being understood that this indemnity shall
be borne by the Government whose cruiser shall
have been guilty of such arbitrary and
illegal de-
tention, and that the search and detention of ves-
sels specified in the first article of this treat shall be
effected only by ships which may form part of the
two navies respectively, and by such of those ships
only lzs are provided with the special instructions
annexed to the present treaty in pursuance of the
provisions thereof. The indemnification for the
damages of which this article treats shall be made
within the term of one year, reckoning from the
day in which the mixed court ofjustice pronounces
its sentence.
ART. IV. In order to bring to adjudication with,

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, EVENINCI MAY 16, 1862

tiaries have signed the present treaty, and have'
thereunto affixed the seal of their arms.
Done at Washington on the 7th day of April, in
the year of our Lord 1862.
W`,l. 14. SEWARD.
LYONS.

department. The old system of leaving prisoners
for months untried still to some extent prevails,
and, unless roused to action by association with some
energetic men from the north, it is not very clear
how an improvement will be brought about by
judges brought up under and accustomed to the old
system.

There are no regular gaol deliveries in this coun-
try, and the length of the period of detention before
a prisoner is brought to trial is a matter of the ut-
most uncertainty. To some extent this uncertainty
is inevitable, from the system adopted, which is this
—when a person is committed to prison on any accu-
sation, a " Juge d'lnstruction" is appointed by the
Procuratore-General to instruct or collect evidence
in the case. This evidence is all documentary, and
the collecting it may occupy, according to circum-
stances, two, three, or in fact almost any number of
months. When, finally, this evidence is completed
and sent back to the Prccuratore •Generale, he, if he
considers it sufficient, refers to the judges to fix a
time for the public trial ; and no limit would appear
to be assigned to the time within which the judges
must fix the trial.

As an instance of the delay which can occur, I
mention the case of Count de Cristen. This gentle.
man was arrested on the 7th September, 1861. I
am informed that theinstruction was completed and
sent back to the Procuratore-Generalein December,
and though I have reason to believe my French
colleagae has made not less than ten or twelve
strenuous applications to urge on De Cristen's trial,
up to this time no day has been fixed, and he is
still in prison untried.
Clearly, some radical change is wanted when a
case of this kind can occur. lam informed, indeed,
that an entire change in the judicial procedure
will commence with the month of May ; if so, it
appears all the more to be regretted that no North-
ern Italian judges have been nominated, who, being
cognisant of the system to be introduced, might ma-
terially assist in bringing it into working order.—
I have, &c.,

(Signed) EDW. WALTER BONHAM.

L.IW IN2ELLIGENCE.—May 15.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.

Sittings at Nisi Prius after Term at Westminster,
before Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Common
Juries.

PLEDGE V. FIELD-SLANDER.

This was an action for slander. The defendant
pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Hawkins, Q C., and Mr. Byron were counsel
for the plaintiff; and Mr. Addison for defendant.
The plaintiff is an auctioneer at Sandgate, and
defendant is a builder of the same place. Both are
members of the local board of health, and the slan-
der arose out of certain local matters. Plaintiff, in
1856, was appointed clerk, surveyor, and collector
of rates to the board, which offices he held till 1857,
and after that he had been an ordinary member of
the board. In Oct., 1861, there was a meetingof the
board, when a squabble took place between plain-
tiff and Dr. Gidley, another member of the board, re-
lative to the latter erecting some stables, which the
plaintiff called livery stables, and asserted that the
doctor was a livery stable keeper. The defendant,
it appeared, interfered, and addressing Dr. Gidley,
said, " Never mind, you are not a thief, as he (plain-
tiff) is. You are not a robber." Application was
afterwards made to defendant to apologise and re-
tract, but he declined, and on a subsequent occasion
the defendant said to plaintiff's attorney at the Folke-
stone Railway station, "I am not going to apolo-
gise to a man that you and I know to be a thief,
and has stolen money belonging to the board, for
which he ought to have been punished long ago."
The defendant had brought the action for the vin-
dication of his character, and not for the purpose of
obtaining vindictive damages.
The plaintiff was called and deposed to the above
facts. He added that shortly after he resigned his
offices a summons was taken out by the defendant,
charging the plaintiff with not having rendered
proper accounts to the local board of health.
The defendant's counsel interposed and said it
was a mistake. The defendant never took out a
summons against the plaintiff.
The original summons and information in the.
defendant's name was put in and read.
Plaintiff further deposed that he appeared before
the magistrates at Hythe, in obedience to the sum-
mons. It was dismissed with costs. Defendant
had frequently called him a thief since 1857.
Several witnesses were called on behalf of the
plaintiff. They said that party polities ran high at
Sandgate, especially with regard to the water
question.
The defendant called no witnesses.

Mr. Addison, for the defendant, asked why, if
this action had been brought for the vindication of
character only, it had not been tried in Kent instead
of in Middlesex. The words complained of were
mere vituperation and idle abuse—that they did
not refer to the plaintiff, but to the question before
the board relative to water to be supplied free of
expence to the Wesleyan Independent chapel, and
the water to be used in the erection of Dr. Gidley's
stables. He admitted the word " thief " was used,
but not the words " as he is," meaning the plaintiff.
He denied that the defendant meant to impute dis-
honesty to the plaintiff in reference to money mat-
ters connected with the local board of health.
The Lord Chief Justice said there could not be a
doubt that the words complained of had been spoken,
and if they were not intended to convey the imputa-
tion alleged by the plaintff, the defendant ought to
have gone into the witness-box and have explained
the matter.
Ti.e jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff—
damages, £2OO.