The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-06 00:00:00

EVE N ING Stl N

those goods might afterwards be used in the slave-
trade—yet, supposing they were of a kind which
might be used in the innocent corninerae of Africa,
although they might be used in the slave trade, he
mast state it as his opinion that that did net aneeint to
slave trading. Whether it was conies-. entilecl to tip-
. proved—whether it was a proper manner of employing,
capital, was quite a different question ; but whatever
might be the opinions entertained on that head, in his
opinion such couduct (lid not amount to an act of slave
trading. If the goods sent out were of such a descrip-
tion that it could be by no means doubtful whether they
were to be used in the slave trade or not—if, for instance,
a person wore to send out to a slave factory a cargo of
fetters, or of any other articles which could only be used
in the slave trade, he did not mean to say positively that
• such an act =minted to an act of absolute slave trading,
butt it was certainly an act of a very doubtful -character.
But if either one kind of (-roods or the other, if either
• .goods which might lawfully' be employed in carry-
' tag on the innocent commerce of Africa, or
goods concerning which there could be no ambiguity,
were exported, and the price of such goods were made
to depend, as the petitioners had asserted it had been
made to depend in many instances by contract, on the
:slave trade in which such goods were to be employed,
they he would state it deciddly as his opinion that that
was an act of slave trading, and that any party so ex-
porting',such goods, under such a contract, was guilty of
felony according to the English law. There was an-
. other consideration, and one more important and exten-
. _tier? in its application. It was the act of holding pro-
perty in foreign colonies, cultivated, if plantation, or
worked, if mines, by the labour of slaves ; and of being,
'as holders of. such property, parties to the purchase of
slaves. Then the question arose, did the slave abolition
law affect those-parties? There seemed to be an opinion
—he did not undertake to say how. ehat opinion arose—
that this was a dealing in slaves to which the abolition
. law did not apply. That opinion seemed to have been
held by a, number of respectable persons ; it appeared
to have begn extensively acted upon ; and had induced
many to invest their capital to a large amount in such
PropeiVe and others to lend their capital to a large
amount. But he thought, when their Lordships came
to the law, they would not have any reason to entertain
Very grave doubt as to the illegality of those proceed-
ings. It was clear, indeed, that holding such property
was lawful, as the Act of 1833 did not prohibit Bri-
tish subjects front holding slaves in foreign countrie§,
in the same way as the previous law for the abolition
of the slave trade forbade them to be engaged in that
trade. The question was, had it been lawful, since the
Law for the abolition of the slave trade, to purchase
shtvee or to sell them in a foreign country ? He had
been, he believed, misrepresented—indeed, he was sure
he had been misrepresented—as having said that it was
lawful so to do. He was sure he `had been so mis-
represented, for he had received letters from per-
sons who were themselves engaged in such transactions,
or who had friends who were so engaged, com-
plaining that they were amused of acting un-
- lawfully, and asking whether he had not said
that these things were not contrary to the law ?
His opinion wai that it was not legal—he had never a
doubt about it—and he would state the grounds of his
opinion. A very great change took place in 1834, in
the abolition law, as then existing. • The Noble Lord
opposite would recollect that law, werein both Houses of
Parliament concurred in treating the slave trade as a
crime. It was by that law declared (if committed
within the Admiralty jurisdiction), that slavery, or the
seizing of slaves, should be punishable by fourteen years'
transportation, and a lesser punishment was inflicted
when committed out of the Admiralty jurisdiction. The
first section of the Act having declared all such slave
proceedings to be unlawful, they are declared felony by
the 10th section, and transportation is the penalty de-
creed, except in the special cases afterwards mentioned
et" Provided that if any such person should deal, trade,
purchase, sell, barter, or transfer, or contract to deal
for, trade, purchase, &c., any slave, or person intended
to be dealt with as a slave, he should be taken to be
guilty of felony ; and if convicted of being guilty of a
felony, that he should suffer fourteen years' imprison-
ment." The 13th section provided that " nothing herein-
before contained shall be taken to prevent any person
dealing, trading, purchasing, selling, bartering, or
transferring, or contracting to deal for, trade, purcase,
, - &c., any slave or slaves, lawfully being within any is-
e• land, colony, dominion, fort, or factory, belonging to
ae its possession of his Majesty, with the true intent of
employing such slave or slaves in such colony in which
he may be at the time?' And then came the 14th section,
which gave the power to remove, by land or sea, any slave
or slaves from one part of any such colony in possession
of his Majesty to any part of any such colony inposses-
sion of his Majesty, either by land or sea ; but if that
other part of the colony happen to be another island,
theiV being several islands in his Majesty's dominions,
then such person shall only be allowed to transfer the
skive from any island to another, being first licensed,
and having obtained from the Governor of the colony a
preof that the slave is only intended to be removed from
au estate, the property of such owner, to another part
of the property of the same owner. The 13th and 14th
motions referred to these special cases in which felony
was riot committed. It .was upon those grounds that
he was at a loss to know on what view of the law those
partit; had been advised to proceed, who had embarked
in those speculations, and become owners of slaves by
purchase, or, which came to the same thing, had, by
flair agents, purchased, sold , transferred, or removed
thiete slaves in Cuba or Brazil. It was made felony by
the 16th section, knowingly and wilfully to lende or ad-
vance money, goods or abets, employ, b ern-
pb,:ed "in accomplishing any of the objects
thereie declared, those objects being baying, selling,
or in any manner dealing in slaves. How, then, any
person could be advised to advance capital for such a
?avow he was unable to comprehend ; however, that
such advice had been given, and such a view of the law
*ken, there could not be the least shadow of a doubt,
beCause, as he had stated, a number of wealthy and-res-
pietable individuals were understood to have embarked
their capital, and advanced their money to be employed
in purchasing those foreign possessions. What then ye-
s-sae/tied to be done ? He hoped and treated that his
Friends opposite would apply early their attention
to the subject, would see whether there did exist any
i?eubt, sad if there did,- would come to Parliament as
stood as Parliament again met, to have that doubt re-
moved. If the result of the inquiry should be, as ho
confidently expected it would, that there existed no
doubt that those acts were unlawful, then the
must satisfactory course, as regarded the uncertainty
of the law, and the fairest course towards the indivi-
duals themselves, would be to notify by proclamation
what the state of the law was—to:give-the general notice
which a proclamation was likely to carry to all persons
who had got unwarily into the predicament to which he
had adverted that the sooner they removed themselves
from that predicament the better, and, at all events, to
prevent the possibility of any persons hereafter embark-
ing in the same speculations, by
.stating what the inevi-
table consequence must be of their so embarking. The
course which the Legislature had taken in dealing with
the slave trade was well worthy of their Lordships' at-
tention. In the year 1806 the first et for the suppres-
sion of the slave trade was brought in ley Sir Arthur
i'igott, who was then Attorney-Gutsral. This Bill, the
4G:h of Geo. 111., which afterwards pessed into a law,
prohibited the foreign slave trade, and the lending of
money or goods, or the embarking of capital for that
purpose. The foreign slave trade alone was then forbid-
den. The year after, Lord Grey, thee in the House
of Commons, brought in an Act which made
all slave trading by British subjects every-
lettere liable to ruinous pecuniary penalties. Nos
thing but the vow advanced period of the Session,
could prevent him from taking the course he had formerly
taken—namely, that of moving a resolution, pledging
the House, at an early period of the next Session, to
take the subject into its consideration, with a view to the
prevention of such da:ing violatione o the law. The
resolution which he had formerly moved, seas agreed to
unanimously ; and it was in consequence of that resolu-
tion, that the Felony Bill had been passe I. If their
J.osdships should have any objection to the passing of a
rsiuiiker resolution, he should be unwilling eo press the
:subject upon their attention ; or, at all events, he would
be satisfied with a declaration, upon the part of his Noble
Friend at the head of the Board of Trade, that he would
)030 no dine. upon the termination of the present Ses-
eion, in drawing- the attention Of the l.sw oilisers of the
Crown to the 4tibkicrt; and dealing with it in the manner
which, after a due inquiry into the matter, might be
isovot the most effectual for executing the law. He
t,„ ara:too(' that the Government had received a Report
wee, the auljeot from Dr. M
widen, but that there was
5,4„,„ (o,:,:aetion to laying • that Report before the House.
At.tri even`-, whether the Report were produced or
row grsnted that the Government
Ir
to ~et upon the rec omniendations it
nt
• Ikkjt'itl lie
lmitwkrail mannee they might think advis.
contained, in -t
able. lie would next call title attention of his Noble
with Inch; (Loy do Ellenborough),
"hien(' connected
to theastate of shivery and of thed istaadrealtrat.le in that part
of the wield. Hie Noble Frien • mated the other
evening, if lie (Lord Brotigh.ani)
Oat the legal exit cried' of
slavery In Al-0110-Ihad been
rather doubtful. But
all events it could not mitch longer
exist, because, by a unanimous re
cluottnioentoofinaltliltehme giltgiltprietors of slaves in the settlement,
of November, 1829, they bad resolved to liberate all
thew slaves upon the 31st of pecernbe.r,gl.oBo4dl.o..p.plotrat,up-:
peered to him that such a resolution gave A
ity for an Order in Council fur
dthsielsoutiirirteasksetotnhaott slavery
An that colony. His Noble Friend
Into his consideration ; and he wouild
ta,licovvrinheicmtendex,itittioi
call his attention to the dreadful :acat
Nlztvevy upon the Continent of India. lie
beet} t i l
eavess to a Report which he understood -had
_madea
by a hotly of Commissioners to Lord .Auckland, bid
which had noayet been published in this country.
Lord ELLEN:BOROUGH said the Report in question
hart been received in this country in April last, It had
been' then I:id before the House of Commons, and it was
in print for a vo'sasideeable time.
Lord BROUGHAM was not aware of that fact. But
be was about to read to -t•heir Lordships extracts fr'7l33
the Reports of those Comunissioners upon the conse-
quences of slavery in India. That Report described the
practices resorted to by certain gangs of individuals, for
the purpose of supplying the slave market. Those gangs
it appeared took their families with them in their expe-
ditions, and the females were employed in inveigling
travellers who might fall in their way. They intro-
duced those travellers to the gangs, and then prevailed
upon them to accompany them to some place suitable for
their designs on therm, where the parents were murdered
by the men, while the women took care of the chil-
dren. An account is there given of the examina-
tion of parties who belonged to those gangs,
One of them said that their trade was to murder tra-
vellers for the purpose of getting possession of their
children. Another of them, on being asked whether
-they were not afraid that the children would dis-
close how they were seized, and thereby bring them into
trouble, replied that they invariably murdered their vic-
tims at night, first taking the precaution to put the