The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-31 00:00:00

paid it upon terms. They agreed to pay 20,000,0001. upon having I last meeting.—(Cheers:) - And upon What pretence was it introduced ?

an adequate and satisfactory arrangement made in the colonies
to work out the Emancipation Bill. That Bill was perfectly in-
telligible to every body. Could there be any ditlicuay or doubt
about the 20,000,000/. not being paid until an adequate and satisfac-
tory arrangement was made for giving to the negroes the advantages of
the British Act of Parlia:nent ? The money was paid—that was the
first fact. Had there been an adequate arrangement made to give the
negroes the benefit of emancipation ? Had there been a satisfactory ar.
rangement ? There was neither the one nor the other.—(Hear, hear.)

A satisfactory meant something more than an adequate arrangement,
and everybody knew that neither an adequate nor a satisfactory arrange.
ment had been made.—(Hear, hear.) The money was paid, and why ?
He had heard it stated that this was attributed to the Noble Lord the
Member for North Lancashire (Lord Stanley) ; but any one would
easily imagine that it was to be shared between him and the Cabinet ;
and he had beets told that the proposal of the payment of the 20,000,000/.
was to be attributed to a Noble and Learned Lord who had taken so ac-
tive a part latterly on the subject. Certainly if the Cabinet acted on that
Noble and Learned Lord's advice, he had placed himself in a position
not the most enviable when he accused others of doing that in which he
was himself a principal actor.—(Hear, hear) The people, therefore,
stood in this predicament—they gave 20,000,0001. for having the Act
carried out. The money ought not to have beets paid until the carry-
ing out of the Act was secured. The money was paid ; and now, for
the first time, a Bill is brought its to carry out the conditions and
particulars of the Act of Emancipation.—(Hear, hear, hear.) It can-
not be denied that those conditions had not been carried out. If they
had, there would have been no necessity for this Bill at all, and the very
bringing in of the Bill was a demonstration that they had not worked
out the Act of 1833, that the arrangements under that Act had not
been completed, and that the value of the 20,000,000/. had not been
go/en to the people. He thought that this was perfectly clear from the
speech of Sir Lionel Smith to the Legislative Assembly of Jamaica, in
which hedistinctiy stated that in some instances the situation of the ne
gro was worse under the present system than before the ;,saatacipation,
Act. They bad it, therefore, perfectly plain that kisses. people, had been
defrauded of twenty millions, and the only thtni proposed was Ily h WOW
Act of Parliament to endeavoste to. gad fei thg PCOPIP the value
1 their
money. Bet enuld they ree..over. the four years that h"
Whftt OCP,P,934ati9n geanti %hey give to the tessoPle dgone by ?
ClVkeo. tonne %he paYllaen% I the twenty re." - •ur theperiod that had
ittge of the woe% dovitsg that tes-'
_ sod,
aga....ss,iigotns, and what for the stiffer_
as
:11:, feet.
'illt,resd come out the provisions of the Act ?
-, and had been admitted on all sides, which were
et considerable tss:, orta
P nee to enable them to arrive at a proper conclu-
fac'ts, were eosseoletory enough, as related to the planters ;
for in
• every discussion before the present they had heard repeated
Complaints of the poverty and the distress of the planters,
of their failing fortunes, of their increasing incumbrances, and
their diminished profits. They had always come before the House in
the situation of persons complaining that their property had been di-
mlnished in value, and they implored the House not to take steps towards
the emancipation of the negroes, as the effect would be to accumulate
misfortunes upon them, Rut now the scene was altered, and concomi-
tant with tho progress of the emancipation of the negroes was the pros-
perity of the planters themselves.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Baronet
(Sir George Grey) read triumphantly a return of the imports and exports
of the colonies, which showed that the imports had greatly increased,
and consequently showing an increased consumption of all articles in
the colonies. This fact, therefore, proved the increased internal pros.
perity of the colonies.—(Hear, hear.) They had, then, in the first
place, this fact, that the planters themselves had benefited by the
emancipation, They had also another fact, borne out by entire evidence
in all the discussions in which the negroes had been involved; that there
was not the least well-grounded cause for saying that the negroes had not
conducted themselves in the manner in which their warmest advocates
prophesied they would do, and shown themselves perfectly fitted fel
entire liberty.--.(dear, hear.) Those facts were of the greatest ilnpurt.
arm°, The planter was benefited. The experiment had Meer made,
and the liege bad most satisfactorily responded to the experiment, Could
there be any doubt, after the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Sir
E. Sugden), that the regulations of the Ail, and the conditions on
which the money was paid, and %h 0 apprenticeship created, had been
violated by the planters g---(Cheers) No man could doubt it, They
had, then, a violation of the engagements under which the planters had
received the public money. It had been said that there was in this case
a contract, and he was sorry to find the Right Hon. Gentleman gave
countenance to it, although he most admit that the Right Hon. Gotitle-
man did not argue on the terms of a contract, but referred to a quasi
contract rather than a real one. If there was any weak part in the
Right Hon, Gentleman's able speech, this was the weakest, in which he
endeavoured to describe what he supposed to be a contract between this
country and the planters, The onty objection started to entire ernaoisis
pation was, that it would he a violation of a contract. But there must
be a contract hofare it could be violated, and he asked, was there any
contract on this subject ? The first person who, appeared to suggest the
idea of a contract was Lord Gleneig, but when he did so, he apologised
fur calling it a contreet., as WOulti be seen in his despatch of the lath
June, 1835. In edeleesaing the Legislative Assembly of Jamaica, wish.
ing to lindtlee theta to give to the apprentices the benefit of the law, he
stated " that there might be said to exist a solemn contract." It must
beremarked that Lord Glenelg did not call it a contract, he apologised for
using the word. The Right lion. Gent. (Sir E. Sugden) did not define what
he called a contract, There was an Act of the Supreme Legislature legis-
lating of its own authority, and regulating the condition slits owm sub.
jeers. There was nothing of a contract or a bargain. There were no
parties to the contract, and there was no subject.matter for a contract,
to act upon. Did the lielhle Lord (Lord Stanley) when he brought in
the Rill attire that any arrangement had been entered into with the Le-
gislatere of the islands ? Did he state that he was holding out terms or
offering conditions on entering into a bargain 7 He said, directly and
emphatically, the reverse. In Its speech made on introducing the pro.
position on the 14th of May, 183.9., that Noble Lord distinctly stated
that on every occasion the British Parliament had endeavoured to per-
suade the Legislative Assemblies, especially that of Jamaica, to enter
into arrangements for mitigating the horrors of slavery, and it was the
confident expectation of the House that measures would be concerted
by the Colonial Legislature! which would carry into effect the wishes of
Parliament. "It was thought that the friendly warning of Parliament
would be sufficient to Induce the colonists to attend to its wishes. That
warning, however, that admonitory voice, has gone forth, and for years
and years been, I am sorry to say, unheeded and disregarded by all
the Colonial Legislatures ; they have allowed it to be lost
upon them, they have done nothing to further and accomplish
that great measure which the mother country, eleven years ago de-
clared to be so just and so desired. But the voice of warning has been
found to speak in vain—the tongue of honest and affectionate counsel
has not been heeded, I will not deny that if we look to the measure%
agreed upon try the Colonial Legislatures since the period I have alluded
to, seine iMprovernent may be found in points affecting the physical
condition of the slaves ; but I do assert boldly, end without fear of con-
tradiction even from themselves, that essthing has been done of that
nature, extent, or character which may fairly be characterised as a
step toward the ultimate extermination of the system. I therefore
now cell upon the House to take the matter at once into its own
hands." There was no compact, therefore, with the Legislatures.—
(Hear, hear.) But it might be said, that if there was no contract with
the Colonial Legislature there might have been one with the planters,
and that they entered into a bargain with the Goverument of the day,
whirls was sanctioned by Parliament, and which, Sieving the force of a
contract, could not, on the one side, be violated without at least demon.
strafing that it had been violated on the other. There had, indeed,
been a meeting between Government and the planters; and what was
the result? Mr, Stanley, then Secretary for the Colonies, said, "He
did not wish to speak in the language of complaint; but he
must say it was impossible to negotiate with a body such as the
West India deputation, which attended to hear proposals with au.
thority to object to them, but without authority to offer any suggestion,
or propose any modification in a plan which they rejected. He stated to
the Deputation distinctly, that it was the intention of Government to
carry into effect safely, and if possible with their concurrence, a COM,
plete extinction of slavery, and that such extinction must form the basis
of any plan on which Ministers would consent to act. The Deputation
declared they had no power or authority to propose any plan. Four of
the number did, in their individual capacity, offer to his notice a plan,
to which he should nut have alluded, but that he found it had sine° been
given to the public. The proposal was, that a grant should be made to
the colonists of 44,000,0001. sterling; that the colonial proprietors
should enjoy all existing rights over the eaves for a period of one-and-
forty years ; and that that ono.and.forty years was to be estimated holm
the time the 44,000,0001. could be patd out of the wages of the slaves,
with four per cent. interest, and one per cent. sinking fund." As he
said before there was no contract with the Legislatures, and it was clear
there was no contract with the planters. There was nothing iit the na.
tore of a contract. The principle was asserted that ilegto slavery
should be extinguished. The extinction of slavery was the prin-
ciple asserted, and upon thet principle they legislated.--(Hear.)
They determined to extinguish negro slavery, and the Noble Lend
the Member for North Lancashire—so far from thinking that the
planters were entitled to have their negroes purchased by this
nation, what was his original proposal ? His first proposal was to lend
15,000,0001. to the planters to enable them to get through their present
difficulties. It was but a loan they were to get, both the principal and
interest, and it had no connection with the purchase of the negro popu-
lation. And now when they heard of compacts, and of the violation of
contracts, he would call back the attention of the people to the determi-
nation which then animated them to obtain extinction of slavery, a
determination which might be lulled for a particular period into a tran-
quillity which should give no manifestation of its existence, but never-
theless a determination which was not dead but only slept, and which
would rise again imperatively to demand that negro slavery should bp
utterly extinguished, not in name but in teality.—(Loud cheers.) The
Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire, in speaking of the de-
termination of the people, used these words:—" There is a growing
determination on the part of the people of this country to put an end to
slavery, which no one can deny or wisely despise; a determination the
more absolute and the less resistible, because founded in sincere religi.
ous feelings, and in a solemn conviction that things wrong in prin.
ciple cannot be good in practice, and that determination is expressed
in a voice so potential that no Minist' r can venture to disregard
it." He (Mr. O'Connell) said now that that voice was so strong
that no Minister could venture to disregard it.—(Loud cheers.)
The voice spoke emphatically from one end of Great Britain to the
other ; it spoke from the inmost recesses of Ireland ; and that voice was
so potential, that no Minister could venture long to disregard it ; and
after the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Sir E. Sugden),
and after the powerful manner in which he had put the violation of the
terms upon which we paid the '20,000,0001., after the informations that
had been spread amongst the people by the Anti-slavery Societies—the
Government might get a majority against this motion, but it was sub.
stantially carried in that House.—(Cheers) He hoped that on this sub-
ject the House would not exhibit another instance of a want of sym-
pathy between them and the people. 'The people understood that they
had given value for emancipation. The bringing in of an Act of Par-
liament was a confession that they had not got a return.—(Bear, heat.)
It was impossible to say that they had. For four years the Government
had brought in no Act for enforcing the Emancipation Act. Why did
they do so now ? In November last the delegates from the Antislavery
Societies waited upon Government, and urged them to pass some
legislative measure. Government refuset to bring in any legislalive WO4,
sure then, but they were bringing one in now ; and why Was it to pro-
tect the negro ? No; but it was to prevent their having a resolution of that
House in favour of the negro, and to make it an excuse to some to vote
against the motion, and holding out hopes that something would be (WU.
But the negro must have the protection of a vote of that lieu% and of
an Act of the Legislature. The House must respond to the voice of the
people at large. He had endeavoured to show that there was nothing
of what they could call a cm-strut in this case, that there could be no
parties to such a contract, and that no value had been received for the
0,00,001. that had been paid. The planters had no right to resist
the voice of the people in legislating; they did stet want their assent,
and they did not ask it. But the 15,(10e,(1003 of loan were converted
bounty foe the extinetion of slavery;'l; this
given iuponinto a grant of 20,000,0003. ts e p
be people
this large
consented
sumtowgaisve h
isolations which the Legislature had enforced or intended to enforce.
One of the conditions was, that the planter should have the benefit of
the services of the negroes for six years. lilt Fowell Buxton, than
whom no man ever rendered theater service to the cause of humanity
—than whom oo man had written his name on the page of humanity
in brighter letters—(Laughter)—endeavoured to abolish aptwentlee-
ship altogether; and he (Mr. O'Connell) rep:Minh:red the prophetic
words of the Noble Lord the "eleinleer roe Northumberland (Viscount
Howick) Vl4-11 declared on that occasion that the only sails?
f,wtory and saris course was immediate emancipation. This 140010
Lord was, however, overruled; and if the etosy so true thet
the casting-voice that overruled
',A im t'he cabinet was that
of a Noble Lord elsgythev, it affoided a-strange contrast to that. Nol,,ts,
sen 4 %-e,erSteg Lord's present exertions.—(Hear, ;wag.) 11 nAight Ltt
saint tiAant hq was stqofig in ro4ing cnIS iNkA• .tits had attended anti-
st'avery meettpe; felt tithlnly xe.Ar4, .-krnl no diflbrence of political opinions
1t ct p lc polluted ouch meetings except the last.—(Cheers) He had
met Whigs and Tories, Orangemen and Roman Catholics, and ;,sl.l ai
the same arena, struggling for a purpose that wag creditable to their
common humanity ; and he must say that political difneren ce, party
zeal, or party attack had never milled in 'their proceedings until tin;