The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

rbar ,
ttton

SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock.

ITALY.

TcritiN, July 13.—The Senate proceeded to-day
to the consideration of the bill for a new conven-
tion between the Government and the Savoy Rail-
way Company, inc:udinc,, the project for tunnelling
the Mont Gelds. On the discussion being declared
opened,
The late Mazzinian attempts naturally form the
staple of all discussions on Italian politics at pre-
sent ; and it is really curious and amusing to see
the efforts of certain Absolutist journals—German,
Russian, French, and Italian—to cast the onus
on the Sardinian Government, whereby they gene-
rally succeed in proving so much that they cnd by
making themselves supremely ridiculous. Accord-
ing to the3e critics, the Sardinian Government is ill-
informed by its secret agents, badly served by its
police, and is itself wanting in the essential quali-
Ves of caat:ou and prudence. If it had not
be n for the warnings of the French police
the train of the plot would never have been
discovered, and, even as it was, the town of
Genoa was only saved from destruction by ac-
cident, and not in any degree owing to the
vigilance of the authori ies, who were lost in a
dream of fancied security. All this, they say, is
the consequence of constitutional government, and
therefore, of course, they infer that constitu-
tionalism is a perpetual source of disquietude to
the neighbouring Governments, and ought forth-
with to to rooted out.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS.—(YESTERDAY.)
FRAUDULENT TRUSTEES BILL.
Thie bill wa.; read a first time on the motion of Lord
REDESDALE.

PICTURE OF THE CORONATION.
Viscount DUNGANNON called the attention of
their lordships to the propriety and desirability of a
painting of her Majesty's o.lronation being placed in the
liou.,e of Lords. The noble lird asked the noble earl
the Presi.:er•.t of the Council whether it was in contem-
plation to purcbroe for that object the original painting
of that event by Sir G. llayter.

Earl GRAN. VILLE said the Government had
octhing to do with the decoration of the Houses of
Parliament. The Commission appointed for the
purpose was composed of members of their
I,rdships house and persons versed in the fine arts,
and as he was not a member of that c)mmission he
could not give the noble lord any information.
Lord REDES'DALE said he was averse t the eapen•
diture of large sums of money in the purchase of
pictures, merely for the decoration of committee-rooms.
After a few words from the Marquis of CLANRI-
CARDE and Lnrd DUFFERIN, the subject dropped.

THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.
Lord BROUGHAM then rose to propose an address
on the sutject of the African slave trade, in connection
with the measures adopted by the French Government
with respect to the immigration of free negroes into
their colonies. His lordship said it was with great pain
and no little astonishment that he first learned the cir-
eremaancee to which it was his duty to call the attention
of the heirs. He felt thoroughly convinced that the
present Emperor of the French was opposed to any mea-
sure which would be likely to cause a revival of the
slave trade. In this opinion he was confirmed by con-
sideration of the family of the present Emperor, for it
was re-erved for his great ancestor, the first Napoleon,
to abolish the execrable slave trade in France. It was
impossiLle, therefore, to suppose that be, who plumed
himself so much on his descent from the Emperor, could
attempt any retrograde movement in respect to the slave
trade. Neither could he believe that these ministers of
religion, in whom his Imperial Majesty reposed so
much confidence, would fail to inform his Majesty of
the heinous and most sinful character of the offences
of the slave trade. When, therefore, his Ma-
jesty fohnd that her Majesty's Government, the
House of Lords, and the general public at large,
h oked upon this attempt with great doubt, the
Emperor would no doubt feel induced to resist the im-
portunities of some of his colonial suljects.. The license
which was now afforded to certain French merchants at
Marseilles to import free Africans would most undoubt-
edly lead to a revival of the slave trade. It was pro-
posed that the Africans being slaves in their own coon-
try, should be induced to emigrate to the West Indies,
that care should be taken that the contract made with
them was observed, that they should have the security of
Government offic?rs as to the contract made with them,
end their care on the voyage, as well as in the West
Indies ; that kindness should be observed to them by
their masters, and in the event of their wishing to re-
tura to Africa, the expense was to be defrayed by the
parties who took these slaves from Africa. This
was not the first time he had heard of Africans being
slaves in their own country, and the blessings which
would be conferred upon them by trausmieration to
other lands of liberty. On the contrary, if he
looked back for sixty years, he could not recol-
lect a time when these very arguments were not
used, and these same arguments put forward, by the ad-
vocates of the slave trade. The iden•ity of these argu•
ments was a most important item in the consideration of
this attempted revival of the odious trade. The noble
and learned lord proceeded to quote several extracts
from speeches made by Mr. Walton, Sir William Young,
and Mr. Thornton, during the debates cn the slave trade
in both Houses of Parliament, showing that arguments
and opinions were then put forward to show that the
removal of the negrn from Africa, where be was a slave,
to other countries, would be a blessing and great ad-
vantage to them. This unnatural connection of short-
sighted ignorance with clear-sighted interest produced
the execrable and abominable slave trade. Earl Grey
bad made an attempt somewhat similar to that which
was now under consideration, but he found that to carry
out such an attempt would be simply to suspend the
Abolition Act. Now, he bad ascertained that there
was no lack of labour in the colonies if the employ-
ers woul I only pay for it—i :they would pay the
negroes fifteen or eighteen pence per day, and there
would be an amyl: supply of labour. As to the scheme
of ransoming captives in Africa to carry them to the colo-
nies, why there could not be a stronger incentive to the
slave trade. Only let it be known to the chiefs in Africa
that every captive taken in war would be ransomed at
the coast, and there would be an endless supply of such
captives. The abolition of the infamous slave traffic in
Africa had had a most beneficial effect upon the innocent
and legitimate traffic with that part of the world, and
that was the state of things they were called upon to in-
terrupt, by sending men to purchase slaves under pre-
tence of freeing them, and of ransoming captives taken
in war. The noble lord read memorials of Mr. Fitzpatrick
and Mr. Foster, who both concurred that they might as
well revive the slave trade in its old form as in the form
now proposed by ransoming captives. He concluded by
moving "That to encourage the purchase by ransom of
captives in war on the coast of Africa has a tendency
to revive the slave trade, and that an address be pre-
sented to her Majesty praying that she will use her in-
fluence to prevent such a course.
The Earl of CLARENDON said he cordially con-
curred in all the noble and learned lord had stated. He
had done but justice to the Emperor of the French and
the French Government, who were as incapable of any
attempt to revive the slave trade as we were ourselves ;
any opinion of the noble and learned lord would have as
great weight abroad upon the subject as in this country,
and that opinion so eloquently expressed would do much
to strengthen the efforts of the Government in this coun-
try. The subject had been one of earnest consideration
by the Goverum .nt, and of anxious and earnest commu-
nication with the French Government, who had been
perfect'y frank in all their communications. As long ago
as 1853 the French Government intimated their inten
tion to purchase slaves on the west coast of Africa, and"
to make them free labourers. The English Government
at once represented to the French Government that
before slaves could bo purchased they ' must be
made. The French Government then represented
that it was impossible to import slave labour into their
colonies, because slavery had been abolished there. The
answer of the British Government to that was that other
countries where slavery had not been abolished might
adopt the same plan of obtaining slaves, and if the
French Government sanctioned these schemes with the
concurrence of the British Government, all power would
be taken out of the hands of the latter of interfering
with the slave traffic on the coast of Africa. He could
only say that the proposed system would require the
greatest caution of the French Government, and the
greatest v!gilanca on the part of this country, and
which
be
could only add that if anything should occur ,t
should have the least appearance of tending to a res o-
ration of the slave trade, the Government of this coun-
try wouldnot hesitate to interfere with the utmost vigour
in the matter.
The Earl of MALMESBURY said thatni the
au
ttthe ho-
rities on the coast of Africa differed in opion as o
practicability of the proposed plan of the French
Gc-
vernmeat with regard to the ("roomer] Sir U. Hunt-
ley bad represented to him that the &omen would be
greatly benefited by
being brought into communication
with more civilised nations, and, by their aid, millions
of acres of laud now uncultivated, might be brought into
useful eultivation.. The Croomen, he said, were ready t
emigrate if the means were provided for them. Sir H.
Huntley proposed, as a safe guard, that Croomen should
shipped at Sierra Leone only, and that they should
not be allowed to be shipped on speculation.
After some remarks fretn the Karl of lIARROWEY
and also from Lord BitOUGEAbI in reply,
The motion was agreed to.
STATUTE LAW REFORM.
The Larceny, &e., Bill, the Otlences against the Per-
son Bill, Injury to Property Bill, Forgery
Bill, Libel Bid, Coinage Offences Bill, Dee; Game, and
PsehLit Bill, and the Accessories and Abettors Bib pass-
ed through ceninittee.
REPRESENTATIVE PEERS (IRELAND) BILL.
Tt,i, bill was read a third time and passed.
CRO WDED DWELLINGS PREVENTION BILL.
The amendments to this bill were considered and
agreed to.
JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES BILL.
This bill, after a brief discussion on new clauses, was
read a third time arid passed.
REGISTRATION OF LONG LEASES (SCOT-
LAND) BILL.
The amendments to this bill were considered and
agreed to,