The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-22 00:00:00

ME CHARLES ET GEORGES AFFAIR.

The documents relating to the seizure of the
Charles et Georges were issued with the Parliamen-
tary papers yesterday. The main point of interest
now is, of course, what part our Government took
in its correspondence with Portugal and with France.
The documents are of considerable length, and we
select all that bear on these two questions.

THE EARL OF MALMESBURY TO MR. HOWARD.

Foreign-office, Oct. 15, 1858.

Sir,—Her Majesty's Government have read with much
concern' your despatches referring to the dispute between
France and Portugal, and cannot but regret that the French
Government, without first attempting to obtain their object
by diplomatic means, have at once sent an imposing force to
menace the port of Lisbon.
As far as they are at present informed, it appears to her
Majesty's Government that, on the one hand, the French
captain and delegate on board the Charles et Georges vio-
lated the municipal laws of Portugal by anchoring at a for-
bidden point within Portuguese waters, and being there
found with a cargo of negroes, who had all the appearance
of being slaves, and a portion of whom stated themselves to
have been abducted from a dependency of Portugal ; on the
other hand, that the French captain and delegate had ob-
tained from the Sheik of Matabane a permission to engage
and export labourers of his tribe; and that in a decument
(which was published in The Sun of the 12th inst.) the con-
tract declares itself " to have been made and passed at the
Court of the said Sheik." The document runs thus :

" It is agreed and understood that you hire yourself for
five years to go to the Isle of Bourbon, in the ship.

Captain

. You are hired at the rate of two

piastres per month during the whole period of your engage-
ment.

" As soon as the engagement shall be terminated, you will
be free either to remain in Bourbon, or to return to your
country. The present contract is made and passed at the
Court of the Sheik of the Matabane tribe, in the presence of
the Sheik Ali, of the agents Ali Mouro, Sidi Sidi, the inter-
preter of the ship, and the captain, and signed by wit-
nesses in the presence of the above-hired labourers, after
having been read by the interpreter."
You are aware that her Majesty's Government have never
altered their opinion as to the analogous nature of- the
French scheme for exporting negroes with that of avowed
slave trade. It is not, however, with a view to support
that opinion, fortified by the present case, that I address
you, but in the hope that a suggestion may be accepted
which may solve this question of national honour.
If the above statement is correct, it appears to her Ma-
jesty's Government that Portugal, without any sacrifice of
her dignity and rights, may admit that the French delegate
and captaii, when negotiating for labourers with the Sheik
of Matabane, believed him to be an independent chief, and
were ignorant of his being a dependent subject of the Por-
tuguese Government ; for their contract speaks of him as of
an independent ruler, having a court of his own. Should
the Portuguese Government see the transaction in this
light, it appears to her Majesty's Government to be con-
sistent with a wise indulgence to drop the prosecution of a
case which originated in an error, and which might, if im-
prudently urged against France, be the cause of the gravest
complications.
Such a course on the part of the Portuguese Govern-
ment would be accompanied by a note distinctly recapitu-
lating the details of the municipal law of Portugal on tho
Mozambique coast, and to what extent the Portuguese de-
pendencies are claimed to extend.
You will take the earliest opportunity
,of expressing to the
Portuguese Government the view which her Majesty's Go-
vernment takes of this case, and urge upon them the policy
and wisdom of accepting the advice which I have the honour
to tender through her Majesty's Minister at the Court of
Lisbon. I am, &c.,
(Signed) MALMESBURY.
[Lord Malmesbury addressed at the same time to the
French Government a despatch, which is almost word for
word a copy of the above. The closing words are altered to
" which I had the honour to tender through her Majesty's
Minister at the Court of Lisbon." But there is no other
alteration.]
THE MARQUIS DE LOULE TO MR. HOWARD.
(Translation.

Palace, Oct. 21, 1858,

In the presence of the demands presented by the French

Government for the release of the vessel Charles-et-Georges
you will understand how great is the desire I have to hear
the enlightened opinion of the representative ofyournation,
our most ancient and faithful ally, on the subject.
I hope that you will not hesitate to give to the explana-
tions which I have had the honour of hearing from you,
the necessary compliment, informing me what is, in your
judgment, the best decision to adopt.
The good relations which have so long subsisted between
the two countries make me hope that you will not hesitate
to satisfy, in this respect, the wishes of the Portuguese
Government.—l avail, &c.,
(Signed) Marquis DE LOULE.
TILE EARL OF MALMESRURT TO MR. HOWARD.
Foreign-office, Nov. 16, 1858.
Sir,—ln the speech made by the King of Portugal on
opening the session of the Cortes on the 4th inst., his most
faithful Majesty is reported, in all the English newspapers,
to have said, with reference to the case of the Charles-et-

Georges :
"14 Government, having exhausted the resources, in
which the letter of treaties authorised it to have confidence,
was obliged to cede to the peremptory exaction of the de-
livery of that vessel and the liberation of the captain."
The reference thus made to the "letter of treaties," ren-
ders it incumbent on her Majesty's Governinent to inquire
what interpretation the words in italics are intended to bear.
Her Majesty's Government are not aware that any treaty
has been appealed to by Portugal in this case ; and they
can only suppose that Portugal referred to the protocol of
Paris of the 14th of April, 1856. That protocol, however,
only forms part of the proceedings consequent on the treaty
of Paris of the 30th of March, 1856, and is not embodied in
any treaty.

You will accordingly ask, confidentially, the Marquis de
Louie to favour her Majesty's Government with the exact
meaning of the words in question.—l am, &0.,

(Signed) MA LMESBURY.
[The Portuguese Government state, in reply, that the re•
ference only referred to the Protocol of Paris, 1856.]

The correspondence is closed with the following docu•
ment :

Mn. HOWARD TO THE EARL OF MALNIESBURY.

(Extract)

Lisbon, Nov. 22, 1858.

In execution of the instructions contained in your lord-
ship's despatch to me of the 6th inst., received on the 14th
instant, I inquired of the Marquis de Louie, why, in the
official statement relative to the case of the Charles-et-
Georges, published in the Diario do Governo of the sth
ultimo, no mention is made of the tender of the good offices
of England, and I recapitulated what had passed between
his Excellency and myself on that subject.
His Excellency assured me that it was not from any want
of appreciation on the part of the Portuguese Government
of the friendly conduct of her Majesty's Government that
they had omitted to make such mention, but because they
had thought it desirable to make their statement as concise
as possible, and to confine themselves in it to referring to
the principal points of their discussions with France.
His Excellency readily confirmed the statements made in
my communications to him, namely, that her Majesty's
Government had offered their good offices before they had
even been requested by Portugal ; that the only request for
assistance which had been made by the Portuguese Govern-
ment of her Majesty's Government was for their geed offices,
in order to bring about an amicable settlement of the ques-
tion, and that he had charged me to convey to your lordship
the thanks of the Portuguese Government for the tender and
for the employment of the good offices of her Majesty's
Government, and likewise to Earl Cowley for his exertions
to induce the French Government to consent to a mediation
of the dispute.

PUBLIC PETITIONS.—The number of petitions
presented to the House of Commons up.to the llth inst.
inclusive, was 241. Of these the greater number were for
the repeal of duty on paper, and amounted to 107; while
the total number of petitions for Parliamentary reform only
amounted
to 15, and for universal suffrage five. There
were 29 petitions for the removal of restrictions on free and
grammar schools.

RAILWAY COMMUNICATION BBTWEEN GARSTON
AND LIVERPOOL.—The Toxteth" Board of Health have
adopted a petition against the bill which has been intro-
duced for the purpose of forming a line of railway, between
Garston and Liverpool, and thus opening a complete rail-
way route, via the Great Northern, to London. The
distance between Garston and Liverpool (seven miles) is at
present accomplished by omnibuses.

. - -
REAL ESTATE INTESTACY BILL.—Mr. L. Ring's
Bill " for the Better Settling" (of) "the Real Estates of
Intestates" has been printed. The preamble affirms the
expediency of assimilating the law of succession to real
estate in cases of persons dying intestate to that of succes-
sion to personal estate; and it is enacted that in cases of
persons dying intestate all real estate shall be included in
the grant of administration. The meaning of this is simply
that the law of succesion to the whole of a (real) estate by
right of primogeniture is abolished, and a parity of right on
the part of all the heirs established.
THE ROYAL STEAM NAVY —A return, moved for
by Sir C. Wood, M.P., the late First Lord of the Admi-
ralty, shows that since 1547 down to 1858, 354 is the grand
total of steam vessels added to the navy; 21 of these were
" converted" and 100 were built outright. Some were pur-
chased (123 in the year 1856 alone). The steam navy
actually afloat on the Ist of January last consisted of 431
vessels, 319 screw and 112 paddle ; 32 screws were in pro-
gress of building or "conversion." The steam navy actu-
ally afloat is thus classified :—Ships of the line, 33 screws ;
frigates, 19 screws and 9 paddles ; blockships, 9 screws ;
mortar-ships, 4 screws ; corvettes and sloops, 38 screws and
35 paddles ; small vessels, 3 screws and 24 paddles; gun
" vessels," 26 screws ; gun " boats," 161 screws ; floating
batteries, 8 screws ; tenders, &c,; 4 screws and 38 paddles ;
troop and store ships, 13 screws and 2 paddles; and yachts,
1 screw and 4 paddles. We observe that the Admiralty in-
clude in the grand totals the number of ships that are only
being built or converted. Thus, only 33 screw liners are
afloat and 28 frigates ; but the Government claim a total
of 49 liners (i.e., 33 afloat and 16 in building), and 34 frigates
(i.e., 28 afloat and 6 in progress of building). The total
number of vessels afloat includes 319 screws and 112 pad-
dles, making a total of 431 afloat and 32 in progress of
building or conversion,