The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-27 00:00:00

GALWAY CONTRACT.

Mr. GREGORY postponed a motion of which he had
given notice, as to renewing postal communication between
Galway and America.
THE SLAVE TRADE.
Mr. BUXTON rose to call attention to the subject of
the slave trade, and to the necessity of appointing a consul
at Mozambique. He was anxious that the house and the
Government should not overlook the increase of the Cuban
slave trade, and the importance of supplementing the
exertions of the naval force on the African coast by other
measures, especially by the reappointment of a consul at
Mozambique. Last year, he said, we captured twenty
slave ships, and yet the traffic in slaves was flourish-
ing. More than a twelvemonth ago Lord John Rua-
sell (now Lord Russell) advocated the introduction of Chi-
nese and coolies into Cuba. Although that kind of immi-
gration was originally abused, the Chinese, owing to their
perseverance and determination of character, had secured
for themselves good treatment, and were now earning good
wages. If more free labour were introduced, it would aid
in the good work of abolishing, not only the slave trade, but
slavery itself. Every endeavour should be made to drive at
the slave trade from Wydah. We ought to exert ourselves
to introduce and assist Portugal to do all that in her lay to
aid in suppressing the slave trade. The most effectual way
to assist Portugal in suppressing the slave trade on the east
coast, would be by appointing consuls on the coast. There
were some objections, such as that the coast was unhealthy,
and that it was a detestable place to live in. It was also
said that Dr. Livingstone was appointed a consul ; but his
post was far distant, and indeed he was so engaged in ex-
ploring the interior, that his services as a consul could not
be very valuable. He believed that the Government of
Portugal sincerely wished to put down the slave trade, as
its continuance was opposed to Portuguese interests, and
they would be glad to suppress the slave trade to the ad-
vantage of legitimate trade.
Mr. CAVE expressed his regret that they had not the
advantage of the presence of the noble lord the Secretary for
the Foreign Department. Yet he thought the time was
most appropriate, coming so shortly after the letter of the
Emperor of the French on this question. He approved of
the late treaty, but it appeared to him that we were giving
a great deal to France, and receiving very little. He hoped
that, while we had conceded so much to France, we had ob-
tained from that country some modification as to the law of
search. Some speakers were very hard upon Spain, but
Spain hardly received a single slave that did not come under
the flag of one of the great maritime Powers. The flag of
America was much disgraced in this way, and that of
France was not wholly unstained.
Mr. H. BERKELEY urged the necessity of appointing
a consul at Mozambique.
Sir J. PAKINGT ON contended that there was no dimi •
ration of the slave trade on the Mozambique coast, and even
that it was particularly on that part of the coast that the
trade was carried on. He thought a consul ought to be
appointed at Mozambique.
Mr. DODSON thought that before appointing a consul
in a permanent station on the coast, we ought to wait for
the result of the expedition of Dr. Livingstone.
Mr. GREGORY expressed his satisfaction at the course
which the Emperor of the French had taken in putting an
end to slavery in the island of Reunion, and hoped that he
would be induced to enter into some arrangement with the
Government of this country, and assist in putting down
slavery. From the present state of conflict between the
Northern and Southern States of America, he believed that
good would result to the cause of freedom. At the present
moment he thought that both the Northern and Southern
States ought to be in complete accord with the Government
of this country, in its desire to suppress this atrocious and
detestable traffic. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. FORSTER was favourable to the appointment of a
consul at Mozambique, and as considerable benefit had re-
sulted from having a similar officer on the west coast of
Africa, he was induced to believe that much good would
arise from such a step as that which had been suggested by
the hon. member who had brought forward this subject. So
far as America was concerned, it should be borne in mind
that the Government of Mr. Buchanan and some of his pre-
decessors had been greatly influenced by Southern influence;
and since that influence had ceased to be felt there appeared
to be increased activity on the part of the American cruisers
in the performance of their duties. He looked with con-
siderable apprehension upon the proposal which had been
made to encourage Coolie immigration into Cuba, as he
feared that those labourers would be exposed to great op-
pression and acts of cruelty for which it would be difficult to
obtain redress. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HOPE said that, in his opinion, the only mode of
putting an end to the slave trade was by making it more
profitable to employ free labour. With this view he recom-
mended that immigration into our own colonies should be
extensively encouraged, and in order to give assistance to
this plan he suggested the imposition of a differential duty,
the proceeds of which should be applied as an emigration
fund for the benefit of our colonies. By means of a differen-
tial duty on the sugar produced in the Spanish colonies the
noble lord at the head of the Government might not only
obtain the means of providing a greater supply of labour,
but possibly of compelling Spain to act more honestly in
this matter than she had hitherto done. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. KINNAIRD said that for some time past almost the
whole of the slave trade had been carried en by vessels bear-
ing the American flag. He cordially supported the propo-
sition of the appointment of the consul at Mozambique, and
hoped that the noble lord at the head of the Government
would lose no time in having a British representative at that
part. A consul on that part of the east coast of Africa
would be useful not merely in aiding the suppression of this
immoral traffic, but of assisting in establishing commercial
relations in that part of the world, which would be of great
advantage to this country.
Lord PALMERSTON said that the house and the coun-
t
were under obligations to hishon. friend who had brought
forward this motion, because it was a subject of the deepest
interest, and •
was impossible that the House of Commons
strongly
could too often or too
express its opinions on the
continuance of that abominable
system of the slave trade.
The truth was, that the abolition
could
oblition of the slave trade, though
it might be brought abo
the exercise of force, as had
been the case in Brazil,
eogres:
of not be wholly extin-
guished, except by the
progress
the
Goopinion—enlightened
opinion—acting
not
only vernt.:n
li whichent
it was
but upon
g
the minds of the people of those nations
carried on. (Hear.) Of late years he regretted to
that there had been something in the nature of a relapsesay
on the part of our neighbours on the other side of the Cha-
nel. Not many years ago France put an end to slavery in
her colonies, and there was reason to hope that there was
no danger of any relapse. But the first symptoms of re-
lapse was shown when the French Government, under M.
Guizot, refused to recognise that principle of the right of
search contained in the treaty negotiated by Lord Aber-
deen. That was an indication of a retrograde
opinion on that question. Then came the system of the
Regis, for obtaining a supply of labour in the French
colonies; ; but that was nothing more nor less than nch
slave
trade in its purest and simplest forms ; at least, so far as
the acquisition of the slaves wait. Slave trade, in one re-
spect, it was not; it was slave trade in the beginning, but
not in the end. Because, when those unhappy creatures
were landed in the French colonies, where slavery did not
exist, they were placed under the system of what was
termed apprenticeship, which, though disguised by other
names, was really a state of slavery. The manner in which

the slaves were at first obtained was precisely the same as
that which was resorted to in order to obtain negrocs for
Cuba or any other slave-holding country. It was said that
ransams were paid for them, that documents were signed
with every appearance of legal formality. But the labourers
were obtained by the persons who sold them to France, by
all manner of force and violence. The system was the re-
sult of the asct.n.ency obtained in French councils by the
colonial interests, and for a long time the French Govern-
ment was deaf to all remonstrances addressed to it by the
Government of this country, pointing out that this was
really slave-trade, and contrary to every principle which
the French Government had openly promulgated, and de-
termined to abide by. (Rear.) At last the French Govern-
ment determined to put an end, to this state of things, pro-
vided any other means could be found by which additional
labour could be procured for the colonies. The only means
\
by which we could as.ist in that matter was by allowing
them to procure coolies from possessions in India, and the
question was whether we should do so, on the condition of
,' the French Governmentputting an end to the Regis com-