The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-25 00:00:00

THE SUN,

Lord's assurance that the Committee would very soon
report to the Houso, he would consent to a short post-
ponement of his notice.
The motion for the adjournment of the House at its
rising until Mondav, was then agreed to.
PROPERTY TAX BILL.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved
the second reading of this Bill (which was one of the
dropped orders of Thursday).
Mr. HUME said he should not oppose the Bill in its
present stage ; but on the motion fur going into Com-
mittee he should certainly propose to send it up stairs to
a Select Committee.
Mr. OSBORNE asked if the Right Hon. the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer had taken into consideration, as
he had promised to do, the question of making a deduc-
tion from the assessment of house property, in respect of
insurance from fire?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
had done so; and, after the fullest consideration he
could give the subject, he thought the best course would
be to pursue the course adopted in 1845, and ask the
House to continue the Bill for three years as it stood,
without attempting to introduce matters that might be
supposed by some Hon. Members to be improvements.
Whatever he could do by any arrangement of the
schedules he was perfectly ready to undertake; but not
to introduce alterations in the Bill itself.
The Bill was then read a second time, and the Com-
mittee fixed for Monday.
COURSE OF PROCEEDING WITH THE GO-I
VERNMENT MEASURES.
Lord J. RUSSELL--Sir, in moving order of the
day for the House to go into Committee of Supply, I
will take the opportunity of stating the course which we
propose to pursue with respect to the fatalness Govern-
ment has brought before the House, and of submitting
to the House some general considerations on that
subject. With regard to the business now before
the House, I propose to take to-night the estimates and
the vote of men for the army. There is likewise a vote
of money on account in the navy and the ordnance,
which it will be necessary to take in a very short time.
My Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer proposes on Monday to proceed with the Income-
tax Bill, as he has already stated •, and we propose to go
through with that Bill on the days on which the Go-
vernment has precedence. After that Bill I propose to
proceed with the Committee on the Bill fur removing
Jewish disabilities, and then to take the third reading
of that Bill. Next, my Noble Friend the Chief Com-
missioner of Woods and Forests will propose that the
House should go into Committee on the Health of Towns
Bill. The Hon. Barnonet opposite (Sir W. Verner) has
asked me with reseed to two other Bills—the Landlord
and Tenant (Ireland) Bill, and the Diplomatic Relations
with Rome Bill. Of these we propose to take first the
Landlordand Tenant (Ireland) Bill. I have been informed
that a considerable wish has been expressed, if the House
should consent to the second reading of that Bill, to
refer it to a Select Committee; and, if that shall appear
to be the general wish of the House on a subject of such
great intricacy and difficulty, on which the Government
themselves have had the greatest difficulty in deciding
on the different provisions of the Bill, I can have no oh':
jection, if there appears a chance of improving the Bill
by any inquiry before a Select Committee, to take that
ceurse.—([lsar, hear.) There will probably be a good
deal of discussion on the second reading of that Bill.
Having stated so much with regard to the business of
the House, and as the Easter recess is approaching, it is
not necessary, perhaps, that I should fix any other time
fur the other Government business. There is the 1)i.
plomatic Relations with Rome Bill; there is also a Bill
which has met the concurrence of the House of Lords,
and has come to this House—the Encumbered Estates
Bill—which we think a very important measure. Now
Sir, I wish to make a 'statement with regard to the
general business of the House, so far as legislation is
concerned ; and I do so at this time—first, because
it is an early period of the session; and, in the next
piece,
.because I have every reason to thank the House
for the attention it has given to the business which has
been brought before it by the Government: fur I do not
know of any instance in which the Government has
wished to press business forward in which the House
has not immediately fairly dealt with and disposed of it
according to our wish.—(Elear, hear) Therefore, what
I am about to say will be as i:hout any sort of complaint
either against the House or against any individual
Member. My Noble Friend the Member fur Bath (Lord
Duncan) has to-night given an instance of his wish to
accommodate the Gil-emu-lent business by not b. inging
forward a motion which he lied placed on the paper (re-
ferring to a motion on the subject of tho Crown Lands
~hick Lord Duncan had withdrawn at a previous
period of the evenine;s And I should also be very
glad if another Honourable Member (Mr. 11.
Baillie), who has given a notice with respect
to the subject of our squadron on the African
coast, would follow the course which has just now been
taken by the Hon. Member for Montrose (Mr. Hume),
on a subject which is Dearly akin to that. My Noble
Friend the Member for King's Lynn (Lord G. Bentinck)
has stated that the Committee over which ho presides,
on the production of sugar and coffee, is about to enter
into deliberation, for the purpose of making some report
to the House; whereupon the lion. Member for Montrose
has very properly deferred his motion on that subject.—
(Hear, hear.) But I do think there are other reasons
why the House, if it wishes that matters of legislation
should be deliberately considered, at a time when there
is a full attendance of Members, should not interpose
other questions on those days which are devoted by the
orders of the House to the business of Government.—
(Hear.) I beg to submit to the House that there have
bean, in the course of the last thirty years, very great
changes in die mode of conducting the business of the
House, both by the Government, and by individual
Members. I remember at that time, when I first entertai
the House, it was not usual for the Government to under-
take generally the subjscl: of legislation; the Government
generally confined itself to those measures which pro-
perly beb riged to the business of administration, and to
any particular subjects which required their pressing at-
tention. At the same time I think there were at that
period two Government days in the week; and though
notices had precedence on other days, the orders of the
day could come on on any day of the week; so that the
basin, ss of the Government proceeded at a more rapid
pace than it does now. Two great changes have taken
place—and they may be both changes for the better—
but they are certainly somewhat inconsistent and
incompatible with each other. The one is, that
for many years past—that is, since the passing
of the Reform Bill—it has been thought to be
fur the eonvenience of the public that upon
every subject on which an alteration of the law was
required, Government should prepare a Bill on that
subject, and undertake the passing of it through Par-
liament. The other great change is, that measures of all
kinds are more discussed in Parliament, a greater num-
ber of Members take part in their discussion, and a far
greater number of mations are made by individual Mem-
bers than formerly was the case. The consequence is,
that suljects of leg!slation of very great irn,ortance are
brought into this House ; but it is found impossible by
any Government—it has been sn found by preceding
Governments as well as the present—to bring them on
at a time when they can receive a fair delibesoeion; and
they are frequently put off till quite the end of the ses-
sion, when very few Members remain. I know it is
constantly said—and sai I, I think, without much
roilection—that there are important measures which
have not been pressed forward. But if the House will
consider what is the nature of its own orders, they will
sus how impossible it is for Government to press for-
ward measure, and obtain the time necessary for their
discussion. There are only two days in the week
reserved for Government business; considering holidays
aid adjourned debates, that gives about eight days
in a month. Now, it seems a great while to say that
four months of the cession are gone, and that several
Mils have not ) et been brought under discussion ; but
when we come to the number of dsys, we find there
have been about 30 days, and no more, on which the
Government business could coene under discussion. I urn
not making any complaint of this, nor asking fur an ad.
ditional number of days ; I only wish the matter to be
before the House, in order that they may consider it.
If they think it desirable that Bills should be brought in
and pressed forwaNl more rapidly than they are now,
probably some mode way be found of aecomplishing
that object ; but if they are satisfied with the present
mode of conducting the busineea at least they should
reflect that it will be impossible to press forward Bills
for the general purposes of legislation at an early
period of the session. In the present year there are im
portant questions which must come under consideration.
Tile Income-tax Bill will expire in April next. The Mu-
tiny Bill must be renewed: The estimates in Committees
of Supply and the question of the income-tax will pro-
bably take up about two months of the days which Go-
vernment has to dispose of. I think that to night it is
desirable that the Hon. Member for Inverness-shire (Mr.
H. Baillie) should not press his motion, but should allow
us to dispose of this night for the purposes of the Go-
vernment business.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to any
alteration I do not ask any such at present; I only hope
that Hon. Gentlemen will turn the matter over in their
minds, and perhaps some proposition may be made here-
after which will meet the wishes of the House. I will
now move that the order of the day be read.—(Hear.)
SLAVE TRADE—COAST OF AFRICA.
Mr. BAILLIE said he felt it his duty to proceed with
his motion. This was not a question to be referred to
a Committee of Inquiry, but one on which every lion.
Member was competent to decide. The Government
sought to solve all their difficulties by the magic name
of a Committee; but it was for the House to dispel the
delusion which had so long prevailed in the country as
to the slave trade, and to let it be known that all the
valuable lives which had been sacrificed, and all the
treasure that had been squandered, so far from attaining
the object in view, had positively augmented the horrors
of the slave trade. These facts proved that it would:be
highly criminal for any Minister, be he who he might,
to persist in such a course. The formation of an addi-
tional treaty with the republic of the Equador, an-
nounced ia her Majesty'a Speech, was but a con-
tinuance of that system of delusion which had been so
long practised on the country. Our squadron on the
African coast had proved totally unavailing; and it was.
the opinion of eminent naval authorities that the whole
cei;satstbeofstGitioicoloenitnitioeskeitleuxpenatn.
entiaytiovfe 1
blockadegltlLd NV(n lda
The late Government hed, in 1845, announced a great
addition to the efficiency of the bh clizdo. This consisted
in the mutual right of search, about which both France
and the United States were peculiarly sensitive. Though
the late Government had settled that question most
amicably, it was not fair that the people of this country
should be saddled v. ith the cost of a squadron which was
nearly useless. He should show that the slave trade, so
far from being suppressed, had increased, and that the
supply of slaves to the markets of Cuba and Brazil bad
been quite equal to the demand, note ithstanding all our
attempts to prevent it. Sir F. Buxton, shortly before
his death, had published all the evidence that
could be obtained on the slave trade ; ho had been
accused of exaggeration, but so far from that, he had

understated the case. He had made the candid avowal
that all his efforts to suppress the slave trade had only
augmented it in a tenfold degree.—(Hear.) Ile declared
that Great Britian had expended upwards of a million
and a quarter, besides the annual cost of supporting her
squadron—in all, about fifteen millions sterling ; num-
bers of valuable lives had been sacrificed ; and yet the
traffic had not been diminished, but the numbers ex
ported had increased, being as two to one compared
with what they were in 1807, while the loss of life had
been twenty-five per cent. He would be prepared to
show that Sir F. Buxton had understated both the
amount of money which had been spent and the increase
in the loss of human life. As far as he could ascertain
from Parliamentary returns the total amount of money
spent by this country between 1803 and 1647 was
49,905,705/., including the 20,000,0001. paid to the West
India planters. If to this sum be added the amount paid
for the increased price of sugar, rum, and molasses, the
total would amount to 82,387,1304 Now with regard to
the loss of life Sir F. Buxton had stated the increase at
25 per cent., but he believed it was at least 33 per cent.
Mr. Cliff had estimated the loss of life on the passage at
one-third, and that was also the calculation of the mer-
chants at Havannah. Papers which had been presented
to the House of Lords in 1799 showed that the mor-
tality in 1791, three years after the passing of the Slave.
trade Carrying Regulation Act, was only 8, per cent. In
1803 he believed the loss was still less. Were they,
therefore, to continue a system on an idea of mistaken
philanthropy which had been attended with suoh disas-
trious results, both in loss of money and loss of life ?
It was shown from official returns, which were quoted in
Sir Fowell Buxton's work, that 49,643 slaves were im-
ported annually into Rio Janeiro between the years
1827 and 1830, and that there were landed on
the entire coast of Brazil no less than 78,331
slaves annually.—(Hear, hear.) Sixty thousand
were landed in Havannah alone, besides those which
were landed in other places. If the trade had remained per-
fectly free he did not think that Cuba and the Brazils
could absorb greater numbers.—(Hear, hear.) So much
with regard to the question up to 1840. From that time
up to 1846 it would be shown that the number of slaves
imported depended on the demand for their produce in
the markets of Europe. It had been said by the-Noble
Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, that only 3,000
slaves were imported in 1846. That might be true, be-
cause at that time a great blow had been struck at the
slave trade by the measure of the late Government,
which admitted free-labour sugar into the markets of
this ceuntry.—(Hear, hear.) The house of Drake and
Co , of Havannah, had petitioned the Spanish
Government, in consequence of that measure, for
a total extinction of the slave trade in Cuba.
They said that the Engiish market being thrown
open to fr(e-labour sugar would compensate them for
any loss that might be incurred. It was in consequence
of this measure, end not from any lucre ased activity on
the part of the British squadron, that the diminution in
the number of slaves impofted in 1846 was to be attribu•
ti]. He could show that the profits realised from the
trade were so large, that it would be impossible fur any
exertions on the part of this country to put'a stop to it.
lie believed it was a maxim at the Custom-house that
no smuggling on which a profit of 33 per cent. was rea-
lised could be put a stop to. But the profits of the
slave trade were vastly more than that. He would read
to the House a statement of those profits. The price of
a slave on the coast of Aft ica was 4/. per head. If the
number of slaves amounted to 556, that would give a sum
of 2,2244 The amount of freight was 4,000 L, and the
cost of water, rice, &c., 6371. The price of a a slave in
Brazil was 60/ ; now supposing that only 371 of the 536
were landed alive, that would give 18,5501., or a net
profit, after deducting the expenses, of 11,689/, which
was Equal to 200 per cent.—(Hear, hear.) The lion.
Gentleman' quoted several statements of a simi-
lar character. All the accounts lately received
had shown that a great impulse had been given to the
slave trade by the measure of the present
Government.—([Tear, hear.) The lion. Gentlemen read
several extracts of letters which had been received by
mercantile houses in the City, which stated that the
slave trade uas annually increasing. Those statements
were fortified by the opinions of Mr. Ohifield, who said
that " it was a perfect farce to try and put down the
slave trade by their present naval force." But the Go-
vernor of Sierra Leone himself, in a letter deted October
1, 1847, stated that notwithstanding the extreme vigi-
lance of her Majesty's aquairon, the traffic in slaves was
more vigorous than ever.—(Hear, hear.) Sir Thomas
Herbert gave similar testimony. Was it to he endured
then that the Government should keep up a squadron
at a vast expense to the country for the suppression
of the slave trade whilst they passed a measure
which tended directly to encourage it?—(Hear.) They
must do one of two things—revoke their measure or call
back their squadron.—(Hear, hear.) The people of
England were taxed to support a squadron which was
not able to suppress the slave trade, but which enhanced
the price of slaees in Cuba and Brazil. The people of
England were the great consumers of their produce, and
the consequence was, that they were obliged to buy it at
a much higher price. How lons would the people of
England endure this ? Ile knew that the Government
would answer him by asking if the people of England
were prepared to depart from the course of policy which
they had now followed for several years. Bat he had
proved that it was desirable, on the ground of humanity,
that the Government should change their policy. The
way the slave trade was carried on was this: the slave-
trader contracted with the merchant to bring him 1,000
slaves, for instance, and he wrote to his agent on the
coast of Africa to send him, not 1,000 slaves, but 3,000,
calculating that the difference would be lost on the pas-
sage. lie did not believe that the people of this country
ere prepared any longer to pay for a state of things
attended with such inhumanity. If they were really
anxious to put down the slave trade, they must
withdraw their squadron from the coast of Africa,
block up the ports of Cuba and Brazil, and refuse
admittance for their produce into this country. It
was the will, and not the power, to suppress the slave
trade that was wanted. If the Government were not pre-
pared to take the responsibility of that course, let them
at least not put forward their desire to suppress the
slave trade as an excuse for persevering in a system
which had utterly failed, and brought nothing but loss
and ridicule upon the country.—(Hoar.) With regard
to their West India colonies, he believed they were well
nigh ruined, with the exception perhaps of Antigua and
Berbadoes. There were some in that House who de-
sired such a consummation. He confessed he was un-
able to join in their views. The Hon. Member for the
West 13,:d.ng (Mr. Cobden) and the free-traders thought
that their principle would bind the whole world in the
bonds of peace. They had visions of a coming golden
age, but for liimseif he preferred even the sad realities of
the present Administration to those flattering visions of
the future.—(lieur.) He supposed that assurances
weuld be given of the adoption of vigorous measures,
but he entreated the House to reflect on the dreadful
sacrifice of human life by which these repeated experi-
ments had bean attended.—([fear, hear.) He held in
his hand a statement of the deaths of officers and seamen
and of those who had been invalided in the year
1845. It appeared from this statement that the entire
charges for the squadron in that year amounted to
706,454'.—11ear)-259 deaths of officers and men had
taken place, and 271 had been invalided, making a total
of 530, which was a greater sacrifice of life than that
which had gained them some of their most brilliant naval
victories.—(ileur ) If this did not mere the House, he
celled upon them as guardians of the public purse to vote
for his motion. To the sum of 706,454/. was to he added
the expense of their establishments on the coast of
Africa, at Sierra Leone, Fernando Po, and Cape Coast
Castle, the courts, the commissions, and the expense of
maintaining the negroes who were taken, which would
meke a total of 1,200,0001. leaid yearly by this country
for a purpose which had proved worse than useless.—
(Hear, hear.) lie called upon the Hon. Member for
Finsbury and the other Members who represented large
constituencies to aid him in relieving the people of this
country from the unjust burden of the window tax
by supporting his motion—to aid him in dispelling
that delusion which so long prevailed amongst the
people by means of which they had been made to pay a
heavy penalty for the weakness and folly of their go-
vernors.—(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman concluded by
[sieving "Tint an humble address be presented to her
Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to
give directions that negotiations be entered into with fo-
reign powers to relieve this country from the engage-
ment under which it labours of maintaining squadronb
upon the coast of Africa."
Air. HUME seconded the motion, and urged that
nothing could stop the slave trade whilst profits re-
mained as great as they were at present. He contended
that we were aggravating the horrors of the slave trade,
and that we ought not to be ashamed to replace our
steps. He dissented, however, from the lion. Member
in thinking that we could use any measures of coercion
tto
odg on b
suppressra thete
whole world.
s etr ad e
But there . It wasnouseere attemptingwouraea
course
open to us—that of giving encouragement to free labour,
i:,ereverye only made cheap u
sense oftheterm and;orle
ifbetnheavtosynsett
mo of
intentionslabour
respecting the slave, he felt assured, would have infi•
nitely greater success than at present. All our consuls
were agreed that the present system was ineffectual, and
unless it 14 ere put an end to he could never anticipate a
termination to the existing slave traffic.

After a short pause,
Mr. G. THOMPSON said that, abhorring the slave-
trade, he could not hold it to be right to inflict so heavy
a burden as that imposed on this country since 1808, in
order to put down the African slave-trade. In his
judgment it was not right to seek the attainment of mo-
tives, in themselves holy, by such means as this country
had adopted. But it was not necessary for him to press
that argument, for the strong position upon the present
question was that our existing system was utterly abor-
tive. We had found nothing but insincerity among
other nations which had entered into treaty with us to
put down the traffic. Scarcely any one of these nations
over had the stipulated number of cruisers or guns upon
the coast of Africa, and the consequence was that the
burden upon us had become utterly intolerable. He was
pretty well acquainted with Sierra Leone and the sys-
tem in operation there, and he could safely declare that
that and like places had been hotb,ds of fraud
and chicanery—places full of men who profited
by the humanity of this country to carry on co-
vertly and by fraud the very system they were paid to
suppress. He had every confidence that free labour was
ervirely able to compete succesfully with :Jaye labour.
If it were not, he should doubt whether or not free labour
was the law of nature and of mankind. But all
experience proved the converse. The condition
and circumstances of India proved it, where free labour
was quite able to cultivate the soil with success. He
was therefore disposed to confine his enrts to the great
object of suppressing tie slave trade by the encourage-
ment of free labour.

Lord H. VANE thought it would be inopportune to
decide this question in any way whilst the subject was
under the consideration of a Committee. He was in-
clined, however, to agree with the arguments by which
the motion was supported, and should his opinions not