The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-20 00:00:00

LONDON, TvVEDNIESDAY EVEINING, MARCH 20, 1860

the coast of Africa was 90,000, in 1819 it had amounted
to 105,000, and the number centieue 1 to inereae
under circumstances of aggravated atrecitv.—(Cheers.;
The Duke of Wellington, our Minister at the Congress
of Verona, under the direction of Mr. Canning, laid
before the ussemaled representatives of the states of Eu-
rope a memorandum which Bell deserved the con
sideration of the House. It went on to ray—" 1
have the means of proving that the slave
trade has been since the year 1815, and now is carried on
to a greater extent than it had been at any forme)
period. This contraband trade ie et:ended with circum-
stances more horrible than anything known to forme'
times.. ..... It cannot be denied that all the attempts a
prevention have tended to increase the aggregate 01
human suffering and sacrifice of human life in a ratio
positively exceeding the number carried off by the elate
trade.—(Hear, hear.) The mortality was dreadful to s
degree unkuown since the attention of mankind way
first directed to the horrors of this trsffic.'
Such was the description solemnly adcleesset
to the states of Europe by two of the first men cf out
age and country, at a time when the slave trade hat'
not assumed many of those horrible characteristic,
which now belonged to it. Some efforts were then mad,
to continuo the work of suppression, and frr fio)
or sixty years efterwards Great Britain made ever)
possible effort to suppress the slave trade, by extend•
ing the means of possible repression. He had read
a letter from the Duke of Wellington describing the
horrors of the trade, and now he would read one from
Lord John Russell, in 1829, when Secretary fhr the
Colonies, address«l to the Lords of the Treasury, in
which that Noble Lord stated that the state of this trade
had of late engaged the attention of her Majesty's confi-
dential advisers, and tha t much deliberation had taken place
as to the means employed to abolish it. It went on to
state that it was impossible to avoid coming to the con-
clusion that the average number of slaves actually
carried off annually exceeded 100,000 on the western
coast of Africa alone. It also stated that the slave
trade would never be adequately controlled by any
system like that now adopted, and that it was indsi-
pensable to enter upon some new preventive principle.
But this was not all. In the following year, 1840, al
assemblage was held in Exeter Hall, over which Prince
Albert presided, who was supported by the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government, and a perfect
constellation of Lords spiritual and temporal. He hats
been accused of using strong language, and of giving a
vexatious and protracted opposition to measures on the
subject of the s'ave trade, but let him call the attention
of the House to the resolutions which le ere passed at
that meeting. The first was moved by Sir F. Buxton,
and seconded by the present Archbishop of Canterbury,
then the Bishop of Chester, and was to the following
effect:—
"Notwithstanding the measures hitherto adopted for
the suppresssion of foreign trading in slaves the traffic
lees increased, and continues to increase, under circum-
stances of aggravated hardship."
l'he second resolution was proposed by Dr. Lushing-
ton, and seconded by Archdeacon Wilberforce, now the
Bishop of Oxford, and who was chairman of the Com-
mittee in the House of Lords. It was as follows :
" That the utter failure of every attempt by treaty,
remonstrance, or naval armament, to resist the progress
of the slave trade, proves the necessity of resorting to a
preventive policy, founded on different and higher con-
siderations."—(Cheers.)
Now neither of the Committees had used stronger language
than this. Ho was surprised that those, who now defended
the system, stood forward on that occasion as its enemies.
He arrived now at the year 1840. That year was dis-
tinguished by a temporary but remarkable diminution
in the slave trade, and there were certain naval officers
who were anxious to persuade the world that that dimi-
nution was caused by their presence and performances
we the coast of Africa.—(" Hear," and a laugh.) Now
he believed that Captain Denman and Captain
Gladstone were most zealous and meritorious
:fficers, but when they claim for their plans end perfor-
mances the merit of this great reduction in the
slave trade at that period, he thought they were
labouring, in some respects, under the delusion of
the sexton, who believed that the large attendance
at a certain parish church was entirely explained
by the manner in which he tolled the church bells.
It was true that at this period Captain Denman and
Captain Gladstone were at their pests, but there were
ether and far more powerful agencies at work.—(Hear.)
He saw near him his Right Hon. Friend the First Lord
of the Admiralty, who about that period happened to be-
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he was sure he would
remember, as others rememberel, that the period to
which he was now adverting was a period of Brea:
mercantile depression. Now any mercantile depression
affects the slave trade just as much as any of the legiti-
mate branches of commerce, and that depression eas
one of the causes of the great diminution in the slave
trade.—(Hear, hear.) But there was another cause of a
remarkable character in operation at that time. At
that period both Cuba and Brazil were honest!)
engaged in attempting to prevent the importation of
slaves into these countries.—(Hear, bear.) Mr.
Ormsby, whose dispatches had been laid on the table
ef the House as our Minister at Brazil, attributed
the diminution to the exertions which were made
by the Brazilian Minister of Marine to suppress
the trade.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") At that
same period General Baldea was Governor of
Cuba. In 1843 he was recalled, and elbow,
the same time the anti-slavery Ministry of
Brazil wris voted out of office. Commerce then re-
vived, and with the revival of commerce, notwithstand-
ing the increased efficiency of our fleet, came again all
the horrors of the slave trade.—(Hear, hear.) In
1842 the number of slaves exported from Africa was as
low as 30,000; in 1843 the number rose to 55,00 U;
in 1846 to 76,000; and in 1547 to 84,000.
tie had no means of ascertaining the number imported
during the past year. He learned, however, that the
slave trade was last year, and is now, in a state of
unusual activity. Ho held in his hand a paper called " A
,Mission to the King of Asbantee," in which was contained
statement made by the Rev. Mr. Cruickabauk. dated
from the coast of Africa at the conclusion of 1348. lie
said, " It is distressing to think that our present block-
ade is no check whatever to the slave trade. It
is flourishing at this moment to such a degree
that last accounts from Brazil report more than 8,000
slaves in the market there without purchasers, and
not long ago a cargo of slaves found such a bud
market that they were given up to pay the expenses of
the freight.—(Hear.) During the whole time we have
maintained our blockade the slave trade has gone on
uninterruptedly. It seems to me to servo no other
pur-
pose but to increase the horrors of the traffic." Such
was the result after a period of thirty years, in weich
we had been engaged in this work of suppression. There
was one fact in the history of that suppression which de-
served mention. Up to 1840 the slave trade to Brazil was
perfectly free. Up to the beginning <ft ,e year 1840
we could not molest the slave trade south of the Equator.
Lord Palmerston told the Committee that up to
the beginning of 1840 the importation of slaves
into Brazil was practically unrestricted. What
was the result ? He asked not what was the
temporary, but what was the permanent result
of the change? The slave trade on the lice was now
going on with at least as great activity as ever,
in spite of the exertions of the blockade to suppress it.
He put these facts before the common sense of the
House, and he asked it whether this squadron
was worth what it cost, and whether it was
of the slightest use? In 1840 the slave trade
was free 1,000 miles below the, line, and it weuld
have been supposed that the slave traders would con-
fine themselvt s to that part where they had no
risks to fear; but no, they found by the blue-books
that the greatest amount of slave traffic was carried
on in the very cruising ground of our squadron.
Did any one ever hear tell of a rearatime
contraband trade being put down by force of arms.
What had become of the Berlin and Milan decrees? Had
every one forgotten the silk duties and the tobacco du-
ties? It was a great consolation to him (Mr. tlutt), in
examining the evidence before Parliament, to find that his
vne.vs on this subject were supported by the opinions of
all whose experience qualified theca to judge. He was
not 'about to trouble the House with an analysis
of the evidence, but the majority of witnesses in
number and in character were utterly hopeless
of suppressing the trade by means of a squa-
dron.—(dear.). It was remarkable that every one
of those who did in the course of examination
give- a different opinion to this had not been on the
African station fur some years. The most experienced
stated distinctly that no system of force could put
down this traffic in any number of years. The
Commanders-in-Chief of the African squadron
unanimously gave their evidence to the same effect.
Sir Charles Hotham, who had been appointed to
the station as the officer in the British navy
beat suited to the service, with a force highly disciplined,
and with officers under him who carried out
his orders, gave it as his opinion that
the squadron had not been of the slightest
use. The same evidence of the inefficiency
of the squadron had been given by the late Mr. Vande-
leur, who had been at the head of that department of
the Foreign-office for thirty-five years. Among
those who thought that this traffic could be put down
by a system of force there were many who thought that
the present application of it was one which needed great
alteration. Among these were thellon.Member for Derby-
shire,who had proposed a scheme of his own for the pur-
pose; and many others had been proposed, all of which
invoved an additional force and additional expense.
What was the fact? The number of vessels at present
employed in the suppression of the slave trade, excluding
packets and surveying vessels, was actually one-fourth
of' the whole British navy afloat. There were from 26
to 29 vessels on the west coast of Africa; three at the
Cape station, with the receiving ship; three, with the
receiving ship, on the east coast of South America; and
two in the West Indies; making between 39 and 40 in
all. Yet, in the opinion of certain naval officers, that
force was inadequate for the purpose; and though
700,000/. a year was expended, these officers desired
nothing but the augmentation of this expense. He was
aware it was considered a want of good breeding to tall:
about expense, and it seemed to be ruled that drafts on
the Treasury for the maintenance of the public force
should not be named in that Ifouse; noverthele .9, he
(Mr. Hutt) should be quite ready to brave the wit and
sarcasm of the Noble Lord in showing that the slave
trade cost the country 700,000/. per annum. The -Noble
Lord had told him on a former occasion that those per-
sons did not think deeply who spoke of expenses; he
(Mr. Hutt), however, believed that public extravagance
was • great evil. lie believed also that if it should
ever be the fate of this great country to fall in pieces,
it would not be by the explosion of revolutionary
violence it would fall, nor would that lamentable event
be brought about by the strife of parties or the shock of
democratic power, but by the contusion of its finances—
(Hear)—by that disregard of the national expenditure,
which, in some fatal hour, would, after sapping the
foundations of national credit, finally rive it to the cen-
tre. He hoped the Noble Lord would pardon him,
therefore, for saying that he considered 700,0001. per