The Sun.
London, England, 1822-05-18 00:00:00

if they had not directly sanctioned the mal-practices which were
suffered to exist in the gaol, became implicated by their con-
nivance.—(llear ! )—JIe hoped, therefore, his Hon, Friend
(Alderman Wood) would persevere in cling for an inquiry
into their conduct. He should be sorry for any occurrence
which could have the elect of prejudicing the case of any man
befoye trial ; but he thought the justice of the case required
farther proceedings.—(Hear, hear !)
Mr. PEEL submitted to the lion. Bart. whether he had not
upon his own shewing said enough to-establish the-inexpedien-
cy of any proceeding at this moment against the magistracy.—
An inquiry. respecting them at this moment might disclose
facts, possibly implicating the conduct of the gaoler, and neces-
sarily, in such an event, putting him upon his trial with a
weight of prejuilice pteviously established against hini.-=( II ear.)
Sir FRANCIS BIT RDETI' said; that • the • inquiry- might
also operate another way; for, if it implicated the condiitt--of
the Magistrates, that circumstance might become the gaoler's
defence and justification.—(Hear.)
Sir THOMAS LETHBR/DGE said, that the -discussions
which had already taken place must necessarily prejudice the
gaoler's case, without their being stiliniore generally provoked.
Mr. Serg9ant ONSLOVIT rose to order, and submitted - whe-
ther this conversation ought to be protracted, to the postpone-
ment of the regular business.--(Hear.)—The subject was here
dropped.

MANSLAUGHTER BILL.
On the motion, of the Hon. H. G. KENNET, the Man-
slaughter Bill went through a committee.—Report on Monday.
RECOGNIZANCES BILL.
On the motion- of Mr. N. CAI.
the Recognizances
Bill went through a Committee. The Report was received,
and ordered to be taken into further consideration on' Friday
next, and to be printed. .
ST. LUKE'S.
Mr. Secretary PEEL presented a Petition against die' Bills
which had lately been introduced 'by Iris:Right lion... Friend
(Mr. Canning),
.called the Roman Catholic Peers' Bill. It
cam from
e fro'the Minister,- Churchwardens, and inhabitants, in
vestry assembled,. of the parish of St. Luke.,4Conthiueil
laugiuer: )
ROMAN CATHOLIC PEERS' BILL.
Mr.
CANNING molted the.third reading of:this Bill.
The Bill was read a third time without a division.
The question "that this Bill do pass" was in the same way
carried in the affirmative.
Mr. CANNING said, in consequence of the suggestions of
some friends of his, he had thought proper to alter the title of
\the Bill; and he• should move that it be as follows A Bill
to provide that Peers of the United' Kingdom,. being other-
wise duly qualified,smay exercise the right of sitting in Parlia-
ment without taking the oath, or making the declaration herein
recited." • •
The title was agreed to, also without a division ; but to the
question, as well as upon the two preceding ones, several voices
replied " No." After the Bill had gone through all these

stages,
Mr. PEEL rose. He hoped he might be allowed to state,
that as he considered the sense of the House to have been fully
taken upon this important measure, and as every thing con-
nected with it appeared to have been already fully argued and
discussed, it die not seem that any object could be gained by
his pressing Hon. Members to another division. (Hear.) This
was his impression in not addressing the House on the present
occasion. (Hear.) He trusted that he should be distinctly under-
stood as adopting this course only because he felt it to be of no
use, after two divisions had already been tried, to .go on to a
third : and he did hope that his silence in this instance would
be attributed to that cause alone, as he must now leave the
Bill in the hands of another branch of the Legislature. (Hear.)
Mr; CANNING could not do justice to his own feelings,
OT to the conduct which had been pursued by his Right Hon.
Friend (Mr. Peel), Wile did not declare that the course he had
pursued upon this occasion-reflected on him the highest credit.
—(Cheers.)—Entertaining the strong sentiments which his
Right Hon. Friend was known to cherish upon this subject, it
was impossible that he could have acted in a more candid, a
more liberal, or a more handsome manner. It remained only
for hine(Mr. Canning) to say, that next to the gratification he
should have felt in having the Right lion. Gentleman for a
supporter, it had been his highest pleasure to meet him as an
Opponent—(Wear, hear !))
Sir THOMAS LETH-BRIDGE could not arrest the pro-
gress of the Bill in this House ; but he might 'at. least be al-
lowed to thank God that there were three estates of this realm,
this King, the Lords, and the Commons.—(Hear, hear !)
• 'WEST INDIA AND AMERICAN TRADE.
Mr. F. ROBINSON moved the second reading of the West
India and Amezican Trade Bill.
Sir W. CURTIS opposed the second reading of this Bill.
WhO called for such a measure ?—(Hearehear !I—He knew of
none bu L. such as acted from motives that were entirely interested.
He, should oppose theßill at every stage, on account of its decid-
ed interference with those Navigation and Revenue Laws under
which the kingdom had flourished (linings° long aperiod. What
ground, what cause, was laid for any such enactments ? None,
surely, that could justify it compatibly with the commercial
interests of Great Britain. The only advantage that could
accrue from it must be to America ; because it would allow her
ships to load at ports in our West India Colonies, add to sail
directly for the United States.
Mr. Serjeant ONSLOW conceived, that upon every ground
of, justice, policy, and humanity, the country was bound to
thank his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Robinson) for bringing for-
ward this Bill. It was a sufficient answer to the queries of the
Hon. Baronet to say, that since the period at which the existing
laws were framed, the country had acquired bth
.result of
two "itticcessful wars, a large addition of extensive, valuable,
and important Colonies.
The Bill was then read a second tune • and the House, on
the motion of Mr. F. ROBINSON, agreed to go into a om-
mittee upon it on Friday next.
COLONIAL TRADE BILL.
Mr. F. ROBINSON moved the second reading of the Colo-
nial Trade Bill. e
Mr. BUXTON said, that a pledge had been given by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the subject should undergo
the Consideration of a Committee, and he wished that pledge to
be fulfilled before the House proceeded further in the business..
He-cOntended ;hat the difference between tire prices of East,
and West India sugars was such as to impose a tax of one mil-
lion on the consumer for the benefit of tho Weft India Planter.
—The East India Merchants told them that if an ad valorem
duty were imposed upon sugar, it would have the effect, by in-
creasing the consumption, of lowering the sugars,
_which now
cost 60. to 3d. per lb. If the difference then amounted to 3d. per
lb., the amount of the tax at present imposed was 16,000,0001.
But even take it at 8, or even 4,000,0001. the subject was so im-
portant that no determination ought to be come to until it had
been submitted to the consideration of a Committee. But
that was not the most important view of the question. The
trade of the East Indies had increased in a great degree:—
Take the cotton branch for instance. In 1792 the cotton im-
ported had only amounted to 1001bs. ; in 1813 it increased to
100,0001bs. ; in 1820 to 1,000,0001'05. ; and though no Parlia-
mentary return had since been made, yet he believed that it
now amounted to-2,000,00011a5. and he saw ne liMit to its ex-
tent. There was a great difference in the return upon different
irticlei:-• -The return upon sugar was more favourable Than
any "other teturlie All that he could say was, that the subject
Was highly'deserving of the attention of a Committee, and he
should wish to know when the pledge given to that effect by
the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be fulfilled ?
Mr. ROBINSON said, that the -Act passed last year would
expire the next, and the consequence would be, that if a pro-
posal were made to renew it, the whole subject would then un-
dergo an investigation. For his own part, he did not see that
it necessarily followed that the adoption of the present Bill
would have the effect which the lion. Gentleman had ascribed
to it, viz. that of imposing a duty on East India sugars. That
question stood upon distinct grounds, and its consideration by
Parliament was not affected by the present Bill. .He.conceived
that the removal of the restriction on the commerce between
our Colonies and Europe was a measure of policy naturally
arising out of the Bill which had just been assented to; there-
fore it was not necessary, in adopting this Bill, to clog it with
conditions regarding the' duty on corresponding articles in
another quarter.
Mr. BRIGHT said that the expression of necessary conse-
quence used by the Right Hon. Gentleman was a very strong
one ; and he thought the Right lion. Gentleman would do
well to inform them, not whether it followed as .a necessary
consequence that a duty would be imposed on East India
Sugars, but whether there was any probability of such a mea-
sure. It behoved the Government to set. the West India mer-
chants at ease on those points, and no longer to perplex them
with doubtful expressions, ,
Mr. WILLIAMS thought that no restriction ought to be
imposed on the importation of Sugar from India.
Mr. ELLIS said, that the only character on which this Bill
would be opposed was that of hostility to the West India Colo-
nies. The whole question reduced itself to this, what were the
natural claims of the West India Colonies, and whether the East
India Traders had any grounds to similar claims ? Nlt was right
that the West India Colonies should have some compensation for
the restrictions which had been imposed upon them by the
mother country, for her own benefit and for the encouragement
of her navigation, restrictions which had throughout been bene-
ficial to the mother country, and burdensome to the colonies.
Had the East Indies been subject to the same restrictions?
He might ask whether the East India Proprietors lived in Eng-
land expending their money in this country, and encouraging
its manufactures and its prosperity—he might ask that, but he
would waive the question. But it was well.toconsider whether
the East India trade had ever been subject to the same restric-
tions. He would ask whether the trade between the East In-
dies And Europe had been confined to British ships ? He be-
-1 lieved that it had not—he believed that the East Indies had

carried on its trade as an independent country. But when
the Bill had passed last Session relative to the East Indies,
had any outcry been raised on the part of the West India pro-
prietors ? The fact was, that there was no parallel in the
situation of the two countries—the East Ilidies had been sub-
ject to no restriction, and they therefore had no claim to those
privileges which were now proposed to be conferred on
the West Indies as a compensation for the sacrifices for-
merly made by the colonies. If they went into the question
. of expediency, that question would. embrace a subject of no less
magnitude than that of a dissolution of all our Colonial regu-
lations. It would lead them to a comparison between the re-
lative value of our West Indian Colonies and our East Indian

mpEire; •
Mr. T. WILSON maintahied, that the view of the question
taken by the Gentleman who had last spoken had been calcu-
lated to mislead the Holm.'
Mr. BUXTON explained—Lire again requested an answer
to his question whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer intend-
ed to redeem the pledge which he had given last Session.
The CHANCELLOR of the-EXCHEQUER replied in a
tone so low that we could not collect his observations.
Mr. MONEY thought this was not so much a question as
to the conflicting interests ofehe East and West India Traders,
as one which affected all the subjects of this country, who
were generally injured by monopolies. The duty on cotton in
India, for instance, amounted almost to a prohibition, while
the natives were compelled to take our cotton manufactures.
He hoped that in the consideration of this subject; some re-
gard would be had for the natives of the East Indies. • ,
Mr. W. SMITH said, he hirriolicietiltrfeeling• whatever
towards the West India Traders. Indeed, he thought the preeenf
question was not entirely between the East and West India in-
tercets and he thought it somewhat unwise in the West to force
theMiselvesagaiust the Eastindia traders. The duties in ques-
tion would, he wassatisfied, ultimately come out of the pockets
of the consutners in Great Britain; and would operate as a tax
Of feom•one to two millions. The monopoly which was-spoken
of had in the first instance been Mutual. The present Bill.
would affect the interests of the Sugar Refiners of London,
who were from 160 to 150 in number, and were an important
pail of the public. It might be said that the interests of indi-.
viduale neuet yield to general convenience ; but in ascertaining
the extent of Aleut convenience, some estimate should be made
of the individual sacrifice, for Without- a knowledge of that, a
true opinion- could not be formed as to themreposed convenience.
He had-seen it stated that the West` inaiana paid on sugar sent
to this country a sum -of 3;500,01101:-a--yeare-- Surely-this-was
taking the West Italian Colonies, and not the article. If they
could get the sugar from the 'East Indies at ss. less than from
the West Indies, by placing an advance of five shillings on
that sugar the consumer would pay it. But he wished to see
the Mother Country maintain her agreements with her Colo-
nies. In 1753, a Petition was presented to the Legislature,
frond certain persons in Great. Britain, praying that the West
India Planters might be forced to cultivate those islands more
extensively, in order that the people of England might have
sugar at a cheaper rate, as the planters found it to their interest
to send less sugar to the market than was wanted. Upon this
Petition it was remarkable that nothing was done beyond ap-
pointing a Committee of Inquiry. The effect of this Bill was
to throw open* the trade on the xene side, but not on the other.
There was no reciprocity in giving all on one side, and receiv-
ing none on the other. If they were to act on the principle of
free trade, there must be an abandonment of restrictions on
both sides. Nor did he think that this country. could at this
moment afford to allow the colonies to send their productions
all over the world, whilst it was restricted_ to certain ports. Let
this country be permitted to do the same, and he would offer
no opposition. Each country ought to have the monopoly of
the other. Ile had no hesitation in saying that in those Colo-
nies a quantity of human life had been swallowed up, which
ought not to. have been swallowed up. The ground upon which
he opposed this measure was purely English:
Mr: BARHAM said, .that he and all parties in the colonies
considered thatthis country should possess the monopoly entire.
If this measure. was an invasion of the monopoly, it was not alone
'for the interest of the colonies. He did not know whether the
Bill would do them any good or not; but if it should, he thought
it very hard to refuse a measure from which some relief might
arise. As to the Dutch colonies, lie was one of a deputation
who remonstrated with the Minister on the subject, and pointed
out the evils that were likely to arise,, so, that the colonies could
not be charged with disregarding the measure proposed with re-
spect to them. He foresaw the consequences, and every thing
he foresaw happened. The only object of the Planters now was
`Merely a sustenance to 'enable them to support those who were
employed-by them. This surely was not asking toomuch. Ile
could not help remarking the quarter from which this cry for
free trade came, front the East Indies where, till lately, a Bri-
tish subject could not place his foot without permission. It was
impossible that East India sugar could be admitted into their
markets without ruining !the Colonies, from which the, supply
usually came. With respect to the amount of 1,500,0001., •an
advantage was said to be-derived by, the West India Colonies
from the nature of their connexion with the mother country.-
1-le did not see where it was, for they had nothing. if, how-
'ever, there were no remedy but a revival of the Slave Trade for
the existing
,distress, he would say, let ruin come, if it cannot be
avoided without a measure so odious. If there were any proposal
for reviving that trade, he should be the first to oppose it.--,
(Hear !)—He would not, however, legislate on the subject,
unless it could be proved that there were sufficient grounds for it.
Mr. ELI4CE gave his support to the Bill, because it was
an approach to the principles of free trade from the streights
of restriction. He found nothing in the speech of his Hon.
Friend the Member for Norwich (bar. W. Smith), with respect
to this Bill„but .general arguments against our Colonial sys-
tem. However he might agree in his view in that respect, he
thought it was too late now to revise that system. Too much
British, capital was entrusted upon the faith of, it. He (Mr, E.)
could not join 'the Hon. Baronet the Member for London (Sir
W. Curtis), in thinking that this measure was likely to injure
our navigation interests. He apprehended nothing on that
score. Nor did he think the sugar bakers had any thing to
fear. He was as great an advocate for free trade as any. man
in that House, if practiceble. The actual charges imposed
upon a ship in the West Indies, in Trinidad, were in all 891.
This was upon one ship of three hundred tons, and these
charges were increased in 1820 to 1501. upon a ship of 350 tons.
Ire knew that a reformation had taken place, but much yet re-
mained to be done, and he wished the.lion. Member for Lon-
don would impress this upon the minds of his Majesty's Mi-
nisters, and so far assist them in their efforts in favour of the
shipping interest. He had that day seen the master of a ship
trading with America, and froin him he learned that the Ame-
rican Government's charges upon a vessel of 260 tons amount-
ed in all to 23 dollars-, and in shame be it said, our Consul's fee
upon
,that vessel amounted to 20 dollars. If it were wished
that we should be a great naval power, our ships must be
placed 'on an equal footing with foreign countries. Whilst
tai y Were debating on a question of this kind, he really thought
they ought to take into their consideration whether it was pos
sible to afford relief to the Colonies, He assured the House
that any relief that could be afforded would not be misplaced,.
for they Were in a state of the greatest distress. As much as
was said about the condition of the agriculturists of this coun-
ery, it did not equal • the picture that could be, drawn of the
West Indian Colonists—their case was more hopeless than that
of the agriculturists of Great Britain. 'Amongst -the islands
that were most in need of succour was St. Lucie. That island
had a population of about 15,000. In 1814 it produced about
seven or eight thousand hogsheads of sugar, and whilst under
the dominion of the French it paid but owe tax, viz. 8001. for
its Governor. Since it had been in our hands we had sent out a
succession of Governors. ' One of these had been cashiered for
unlawful exactions on the people, and under all of them the
most exorbitant fees were exacted. The Governor had un,
controlled authority, if he were to except the Secretary of State.
The state of the colonists, therefore, might easily be conceived,
not daring to make any complaint. Nor could it be considered
that it would have any effect if they did, for it could scarcely be
expected_ to find its way to the higher powers at home.: With
regard to the revenue of the island 120,0001. was considered the
return from good prices. It happened, however, that in 1817
the island was, visited by a hurricane. Two years before this
it had been taxed for the maintenance of a Civil Government,
and then_it was taxed to build up again what was overthrown.
In 1818 there was certainly a little remission, but in 1819 there
came another hurricane, and from that period to the present it
had been taxed enormously to rebuild the Governor's house
and other erections, and to pay persons without, number sent
out there in official situations from , this country. The of-
ficer Who was now there as Governor was a most meritorious
individual, and deserving of any reward that this country could
give ; but he had rather this .country paid him than that he
should be palmed upon the wretched inhabitants of this island.
Its revenue was at present reduced to' 49,0001. and its taxes
were 10,0001. It was impossible they could pay them ; anti it
would be found that it could not go on. He did think that'the
bands of the Government ought to be strengthened against the
numerous applications of persons for situations in the West
-India Colonies which they could not afford to keep up. He
knew the difficulty which his Majesty's Ministers had to get rid
of the importunities of their friends in this respect. Why would
not a veteran officer of the rank of Major do forthe Government
of that island a' well as a person of the rank of the Indian Go-
vernor? From all the persons from St. Lucie, he learned that that.
island had a growing debt, and neither they nor he knew how they
were to get rid of it. Some fitting mode of Government must be
devised for their;' for he was ready to admit with Honourable
Gentlemen on the other side, that it was obvious from experi-
ence that the English Constitution did not work well in prac-
tice in planes of that description.—(Hear hear !)—He hoped
his Riglit'Hon. Friend,- the Member for.knaresborough (Mr.
Tierney) would, as he had- frequently premised,: bring for-
ward some proposition on the subject of the Government of
all the islands; for it really was time that something should be

done. There was another consideration connected with the
general subject of the Colonies relating to the change in the
value of cur currency. He did not mean to enter into a
discussion upon abstract questions with the Honourable Mem-
ber for Portarlington ; but merelyAo give'an illustrative proof
of the evil effects of that change, in rendering the situation
of the Colonists worse than it had been. It was a fact, then,
that the Colonist who, before this change? had to pay only
1501. for 1001. which he might have to remit to this country,
i had now to pay for that 1001. at least 2271. Ile begged again
to recur to the lamentable state of the _shipping interest of this
country. Its capital was one half above diminished from what,
it formerly had been ; and its profits were reduced more than
one half. He mentioned this, that the House might see that
the statement of the Noble Marquis at the commencement of
the Session, that the agricultural interest alone was in distress,
was not the fact. He assured them the Colonial shipping in-
terest was in the same predicament; and he hoped that lion.
Gentlemen who thought so would assist in any measures for
removing their burthens brought forward in the course of the

Session.
Mr. RICARDO said he would not occupy much of the time of
the HOuse—( Hear, hear!)—But this observation he must make,
that the statement of his Hon. Friend (Mr. Ellice) respecting
the currency he could not believe to be correct. It was so ex-
traordinary, that something must be incorrect in the calculation.
But this he would reserve for another time,- and he would now
go to something else. If he wanted an argument for the freedom
of trade, it was afforded by this case, It was afforded by his
Hon: Friend, who represented the casein its true colours.. The
West Indian Islands were not suffered to dispose of their produce,
but they must send their raw sugars to this country merely to em-
ploy our shipping ; and to compensate them for this restriction
they had the monopoly of our market, for they, and they only,
were alloWeitto stipply us with sugar and other commodities of
their production. We first imposed a restriction upon one class,
and then, to compensate them, we enabled -them to prey upon
another. The whole system was fraught with so much injustice
as to require immediate revision. It had been asked who got the
1,500,0001. taken by the taxes from the West Indies ? lie an-
swered, " No one." (Hear.)—lt was a grievous burden, with-
out a corresponding advantage. He differed entirely from the
Member. for London (Mr. T. Wilson), Nilio had stated that the
consumer would not gain by taking the tax off sugar. fie Might
as well have argued that the consumer would not be bene-
fited by taking the .tax off tea. (Hear.) The producer would
always sell as cheap as he could afford, and unless a great
duty were lahlon the producer, the people of England would
enjoy the profit.—(Hear, hear!)—The- competition was ruin-
ous now to the producers. It was a competition between the
poorer lands of our. West Indies' and other countries ; and in
those .poorer lands it. was so, much human labour wasted,
without any. adequate good. There would be, he admit- .
ted, great injury done in throwing open the market of the
West Indies. It would be a destruction of vested inte-
rests.—(Hear, hear, hear !)—But the people of England.
ought to pay a tax to the West Indies—(Hear, hear ! and a
laugh), for then no labour -would be wasted. By paying the tax
directly to the. West Indies, the labour would be set free, and
employed in a more profitable manner. We should then have
the same quantity of sugar, and probably at the same price.
He could not agree with his Hon. Friend the Member for Nor-
wich (Mr. Smith) who in d, stated that the monopolies on both
sides were good. He (Mr. Ricardo) would say, that both were
evils. Not only was each singly bad, but both were bad, and
to get rid of the one, though not of both, would be a benefit..
He saw no reason for opposing the Bill. If they once came to
act upon principles of sound reason and political wisdom, the
House of Commons would never be tormented as it was now.
Mr. MARRYATT, said, that of the 300,000 hogsheads of
sugar exported from the West Indies, only 400 were sent to
any part of the world but England. He stated this with the
exception of 400 casks to Ireland. The only mode of reducing
the price of sugar in this country was to lower the rate of duty.
As the market now stood, the West India planter must consider
Europe,as the vent for his surplus over the English market.
Last year k law passed to allow East India sugar to be sent to
this country in East India ships. It was said that those in-
terested in that trade ought to be placed on the same footing
with the West India planters. He would say so too when the
sugar growers in the East Indies ceased to manufacture for
themselves, consumed English manufactures, excluded 'other
ships fro their ports; in a word, when they were subjected to
the same colonial restrictions, he would consent .to their being
put on the same footing, but to this they had no claim while
they could not or would not submit to the regulations imposed
on the West' India 'interest. He wished such an alteration to
be made in the existing regulations as would allow rum to be
sent to the north of Europe, without incurring double charges.
=---Were this done,,a considerable market would be opened for
the. West India Merchants, and they would then take
luniber from the Baltic, instead of procuring it from AmeriCa.
Russia at present opposed our commerce, because we kept
up. the war duty of 15 per cent. on the transit of her linens.—
Were that duty withdrawn, it would benefit thiS country, and
forty thousand hogsheads of sugar would annually be exported
to the different ports of Russia. He knew that some Gentle-
men of the sister country had an idea, that. permitting foreign
linens'tonass through this country duty-free, would be injuri-
ous to their interests ; but this was merely a prejudice. Fo-
reigners could find -no difficulty in- sending their goods direct
to the ports-for _which they were, destined, -to the great distress
which had fallen on all the est India Islands: He knew it
to be the intention of some of the proprietors to make no more
rum, if some alteration did not take place, as at present it
would not pay for distillation. At present they were selling it
for one and fourpence the gallon. The freight and other.
charges amounted to 9d. per gallon ; the puncheon to put it in
was more than 3d., so that barely 4d. remained for the planter.
One Gentleman he might mention had actually resolved, if
things continued in their present state, to raise no more sugar,
and to distil no mire rum; but to divide his land among his
negroes, and let them try if they could maintain themselves.
The effect Of this he shewed would be to increase the foreign
slave trade; This it ought to be the object of Parliament to
prevent, and therefore he hoped efficient measures for relieving,
the planters wouldbe adopted. .
Mr. WILBERFORCE thought'that while the House were.
legislating for the benefit of the Colonists, some measUre
should be adopted to prevent the illicit importation of slaves
into the Colonies, andfor that purpose he should recommend
a general Registry Bill of the. Slaves of all the Islands.
Mr. BERNAL. contended that this Bill was not a boon to
the West India Colonies, but to the great body of distressed
ship-owners. He thought the present measure ought not to be
clogged with any, legislative enactment with regard to the
Registration. •.-
A MEMBER,. whose name we could not learn, disclaimed
all hostility to the West India Proprietors, but thought a
clause necessary for the registration of slaves.
Mr. MANNING- confirmed the testimony of the Hon.
Member for Sandwich (Mr. Marryatt) as to the distressed state
Of the IVest India Colonies. He supported the present Bill.
Mr. BROUGHAM contended that it was not merely enthu-
siasts who-advocated the state of the West Indians, for the fact
was, that the West India Planters were suffering more than even
the agriculturist at home. He could agree to no conditions-but
such as were founded upon sound principles ; and he trusted
that the 'West bull :arts would listen to the voice of the House
and of the' country, and so frame their internal regulations as
to prevent a catastrophe, which violent measures could not fail
to produce. They ought to redeem their pledges about the
abolition of the Slave Trade; and he hoped that at the same
time the monopoly would be given up. These things would,
however, have to be done gradually, and the black population
would have to be prepared ere they could enjoy the blessings of
emancipation.
The motion was agreed to, and the Bill ordered' to be co'
milted this day *eek. •