The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-12 00:00:00

WEST AFRICAN MAILS.

SLAVE TRADE REVIVED.—GREAT SHIPMENT
OF SLAVES FROM WYDAH.
LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.
The Royal Mail steamship Ethiope, Lowry com-
mander, arrived here this morning with the West
African mails, 32 passengers, and 3,100 ozs. of gold,
and £2,700 in specie. Her dates are Benin, Oct. 8;
Fernando Po, Sept. 28; Cameroons, Oct. 1; Old
Calabar, 3 ; Brass River, 7 ; Nun, 7 ; Bonny, 7;
Lagos, 10 ; Accra, 12 ; Cape Coast Castle, 14 ; Cape
Palmas, 16 ; Sierra Leone, 21; Bathurst, 25 ; Tene-
riffe, 31; Madeira, Nov. 2.
The intelligence from Sierra Leone is of a rather
interesting nature. The Euryalus, with Prince
Alfred on board, reached that port on the 12th ult.,
and at 4 p.m. that same day, his Royal Highness
landed amidst great enthusiasm. The Prince was
met on the landing wharf by the Governor of the
colony, the members of the council, the clergy of all
denominations, the officers of the garrison, &c., the
troops forming a guard. of honour. The whole way
from the wharf to tie Government-house was lined
with the children of the various schools, who to the
number of 1,000, dressed in white surplices, sang
the Natieenal Anthem as the Prince passed on
his way. The vehicle in which his Royal Highness
was conveyed was a small pony phaeton driven by
the Governor.
On arriving at the Government House, the
Prince was introduced to the Council, when
the Hon. Chief Justice O'Carr read an address,
in which the following passage occurs :—" It
is to the British navy we are indebted for the se-
curity which trade enjoys on this coast, for were
the squadron cruising in these waters withdrawn,
these seas would be immediately infested with
pirates. Legitimate commerce would be destroyed,
and the slave trade, now circumscribed and limited,
would again be renewed, and become widely ex-
tended along the coast, with all its attendant
horrors."
After a courteous reply from his Royal Highness,
23 liberated Africans of the colony and their de-
scendants presented an address, thanking the
Prince, and through him the Queen, for the deep
interest taken by England in the suppression of
the slave trade.
A beex containing £lOO of native gold was next
offered to the Prince, but his Royal Highness de-
clined accepting more than one ring as a souvenir
of his visit to Sierra Leone.
During his stay at the Government-house no less
than 24 kings and princes were presented to his
Royal Highness. After a cold collation the
Prince embarked on board the Euryalus, and left
Sierra Leone the same night.
The slave trade on the coast between Cape St.
Paul and Lagos had undergone a " revival." The
West African Herald gives prominence to a state-
ment which, if correct, speaks badly of the vigilance
of the British cruisers on the coast :—" We are not
at present able to arrive at a correct estimate of
the numbers, but we have reason to believe that
between the first day of January this year and
the last day of August last, not less than
12,000 Africans from the . places we have
named (Cape St. Paul, Lagos, and South Coast)
have been carried across the ocean in spite of
the cruisers. Of what has been going on in this
way to the windward we do not at present speak,
for we have really no information on this point.
For the truth of the following information we can
vouch :—On the 12th of August last a large screw
steamer left Wydah (the great seaport town of the
kingdom of Dahomey) with 1,200 slaves, and got off
clear. Whilst embarking the unfortunates 18 were
drowned in their chains in the surf by the upsetting
of the canoes: This slave steamer was 18 days
from Havannah to Wydah. Our informant was in
Wydah when this occurred, and saw the slaves
shipped. He says further in reference to this mat-
ter that the greater part of these slaves were the
produce of the King of Dahomey's late excursions.
Since Gezo (the late king) died, Badahung has made
14 slave hunting expeditions. When I was at
Wydah all the paths were closed, and legal trade
had quite stopped on account of these wars. At
this very moment while I am writing, all the
whites and headmen of Wydah are in Dahomey,
whither they have gone in obedience to Badahung's
orders to do honour to his custom,' which is being
carried on in tremendous style. Thousands of people
are being sacrificed (decapitated and afterwards cut
in pieces), and thousands are being kept for slaves."
The writer then describes the manner by which
the slave merchants on the coast elude the cruisers,
and their movements. When a slaver is ex-
pected certain flags are displayed, denoting whe-
ther the coast is clear or not, and whether she can
anchor with safety. The time of arrival of
these ships is usually calculated with great accu-
racy. The slaves are kept in the Bush till the day
draws near. If the slave ship arrives, and the
moment is propitious, a cargo of human beings is
shipped in an incredibly short time—sometimes two
hours. The writer states it as his opinion, founded
on correct observation, that an effectual stop could
be put to the slave trade by the extension of British
stations along the coast between Lagos, St. Paul's,
and the south and windward coasts.
A message is said to have been sent by the King
of Dahomey, through the captain of a vessel loading
at Wydah, to the merchants of Lagos, telling them
that they should clear out of Abbeokuta, as he in-
tended to plunder that place in the next dry
season.
The Cameroon River was very unhealthy, and
trade was very dull and languid. The Lotty Sleigh
and Saunders were to sail next springs. The
commander of the brig Commerce, loading for Liver-
pool, had fallen a victim to the endemic.
The news from Fernando Po states that the
rains this season were very heavy, and that trade
was anything but brisk. The American war
steamer Tempter, and her Majesty's ship Ranger
sailed for Lagos on the 28th Sept., and the Spanish
war ship for Cadiz on the 10th Oct.
From Old Calabar the news is of the same dis-
tressing nature. The river continued unhealthy,
and the trade in consequence was exceedingly
dull. The ships Dorothy, Tapley, Paramatta, Clan
Gregor, Araminta, and Gartsherrie were in the
river.
The intelligence from Bonny reports the river as
being very healthy, and the shipping free from
disease. Trade, however, was very doll. The
Valleyfield, Media, St. Andrew, Mississippi, Albro,
Ellerslie, Ellen Grant, Star of the Sea, Flora
M'lver, Ferozepore, were in the river. The Faith
sailed September 30, and Runnymede October 4,
for Liverpool.
The Niger expedition steamer Sunbeam was at
the Nun River on the 7th October, ready to pro-
ceed to the confluence. The latest news from the
confluence states that Dr. Baikie and the rest of
the exploring party were quite well.
ller Majesty's ships Alecto, Buffalo, and Brune
were at Lagos in October, and desired to be re-
ported all well. The American brig Laurette
shipped from Wydah, on the 28th September, 000
slaves, and got clear away, and a few days after the
American barque Buckeye shipped an immense
number of slaves, end likewise got clear off.
At Benin trade was moderate; the place was
healthy. Said Muschid, Austin and Allen, and the
screw steamer Fideliter were in the river.
Cape Coast Castle was very healthy, and trade
good. On the 14th October the Ethiope spoke,
four miles east from Cape Three Points, the Burgo-
maister Hoffman, who desired to be reported.
Advices from Cape Palmas to October 16 state
that the royal mail steamship Athenian arrived
there that morning, all well, and proceeded same
evening to the leeward. The brig Commerce was

in port.
The news from Sierra Leone is of a gratifying
nature. Trade was moderate, and the colony was
very healthy. The rains had ceased, and a plen-
tiful supply of ground nuts was anticipated. Her
Majesty'6 ships Prometheus and Lynx were in port.
The latter vessel reports two slavers having been
captured off the Congo River by the United States
steamers, Jacinto and Mchican. The San Jacinto
was cruising down the coast, not expecting to fall
in with a slaver; but when off the Congo, she gave
chase to and. boarded the Storm King, which had
on board 619 slaves. The captain of the Storm
King having given information that another slave