The Sun.
London, England, 1828-03-06 00:00:00

colonists. He wished for conciliation and not to threaten,
but if the assemblies continued refractory he thought the
heat means of inducing them to acknowledge the propriety
of the view taken by that Home on the subject, would be
those which he had suggested.
Mr. Secretary HUSKISSON said it was not my inten-
tion to come down to the House to-day; but having re-
ceived a letter from the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, the
Member for Winchelsea, that he intended to put certain_
questions to me on the state of slavery with respect to the
Colonies, I have attended, although at some inconvenience.
• I have no objection whatever to answering the question
put to me by the Hon Member for Surrey, who has just
sat down ; but as the Hon. and Learned Member (Mr.
Brougham) will be in the House, in all probability, in a
short time, I think it better to postpone what I have to
say until he appears.
After some observations from Mr. W. SMITH, Mr.
BARING, and Dr. Lt'SHINCTON,
Mr. BROUGHAM (who had just entered the House)
said that it was well known that the resolutions upon
the subject had been fully entered into by both Houses of
Parliament respecting the question of Colonial Slavery, and
that repeated communications had been made to the Colo-
nial Government, that certain measures would he proposed
if they should not he rendered unnecessary by measures
adopted by the Colonial Legislature. He did not wish to
go into the particulars of the measure meant to be adopted,
and he now merely wished to ask the Right Hon. Se-
cretary whether what has been done, or what has taken
place, in the Colonial Assemblies has appeared to his Majesty's
Government so satisfactory as to preclude the necessity of
acting in this country upon the pledges contained in the
resolutions of both Houses of Parliament.
Mr. HUSKISSON said the only answer he could give
was, that ample information on the subject bad been
laid on the table of the House. Since the passing
of the resolutions of 1823, stating the measures recom-
mended, and what has been done by the Colonial As-
semblies pursuant to those regulations, it could not be
doubted, that in the resolutions which passed through
both Houses of Parliament in 1823, it was contemplated
ultimately to raise the slave in the Colonies to the posses-
sion of the civil rights enjoyed by the other citizens of
the Colony but to take care that this transition from
slavery to freedom should be effectetl in such a manner
as not to interfere with the rights of private property.
It was to be regretted that the resolutions of the Legisla-
ture could not be carried into effect as soon as was desir-
able; but by hastily attempting to carry those resolutions
into effect, the colonies would be thrown into irretrievable
confusion, without doing any service tothe slaves, or in any
way promoting the wishes of the Legislature. Whilst he had
the honour to hold a place in his Majesty's Councils, he
would feel it his duty, as it was the duty of every one pre-
siding over the Colonial department, to give their earnest
and constant labour, gradually and steadily to advance the
objects contemplated by the resolutions of the Legislature,
always bearing in view that they were bound not to inter-
fere with the interests of private property, and not un-
necessarily to injure the fortunes of those whose pro.
perty was unfortunately invested in human beings.
—The Honourable Member for Callington talked of
the expence of keeping up a police to put down the slave
traffic in all parts of the world. Whether we were right
or wrong the expence was a very proper subject for the
consideration of the Committee of Finance. He coasidered
it very important that the country should be put in posses-
sion of the sums which were appropriated to this, in his
mind, necessary work. The expence was very great,
and the loss of life considerable, in putting down this
traffic, and carrying into effect the provisions of treaties to
which other powers were parties, and which perhaps they
ought to have assisted in carrying into effect. He grieved to
say, that great as were the exertions which had
been made, the success had not been commensurate with
our wishes, or with those exertions. That west kind of
smuggling trade—he meant the slave traffic, was still cane
vied on, he regretted to say, to a great extent. It was a mere
question of profit with those who pursued this traffic—
they hail no consideration for the duties they owed the
State, or the duties they owed humanity.—(Hear, hear.)
The temptation, therefore, was very great, and as long as
it continued, so this traffic would be carried en with more
misery to the slaves than was ever inflicted on them when
the traffic was carried on under the protection of the laws.
Ile would lay the information alluded to before the House as
soon ne possible, and it would then be for them to consider
whether any thing further ought to he done. At all events
it was the bounden duty of the Government to carry into
effect the resolutions of the Legislature.
Mr. BROUGHAM was not perfectly satisfied with the
answer of the Right Honourable Secretary. , The question
was, whether what had been done was satisfactory to
Government. He was not satisfied with what had been
done. If any progress had been done it was impercep-
tible. He thought the Colonies were moving- so slow that
it was a "stand still," and if the Government did not con-
cur with him in this opinice, he would bring the subject
before the House, immediately after the Easter recess. He
admitted that there was no necessity rashly and needlessly
to interfere with the local legislatures, or to precipitate
proceedings. He would, however, observe, that from the
time when Mr. Pitt and even Mr. Dundas, who was op-
posed to abolition, proclaimed in the House that there was
no doubt, and could be no doubt, that sooner or later
the slaves in the colonies must be free, no man could doubt
that sooner or later Parliament must be pledged to make
them free. There were two modes of proceeding with the
abolition—the perfectly slow, and the reasonably quick.
Hitherto, he was sorry to ray, but be would say it what-
ever risk he might run of giving offence to the colonies,
hitherto they seemed to have adopted rather the former
than the latter course. All the objects of amelioration
were ellssed under twenty different heads, of which nine
were extremely important, bat in those nine important se-
parate heads or chapters, not a single coleny had taken a
single step. Taking the two principal colonies, Barbadoes
and Jamaica, which,contained a population of 400,00 C or
500,000 persons, they would find, that out of the 20 heads
of amelioration to all of which the House was equally
pledged, neither of those colonies had affected to take a
single step in 16 out of the 20.—(Hear.)—The case then,
as it :appeared to him, stood thus, with respect to exertion.
Some of the Colonies had taken partial steps, but there
were nine heads not touched by any of the Colonies, and
16 not touched by either of the two great Colonies of Bar.
badoes and Jamaica. It was, he thought, quite impossible,
in any view of the ease, that the House would allow an-
other (he believed the sixth) year to elapse without some at-
tempt to advance the progress of its even enactments. That
all amelioration should be conducted with regard to the
claims of private property he was ready to allow, though
he could not say with en Hon. Friend of his, that he

would do nothing in the business of amelioration till a scale
of compensation was arranged. The House was aware
that a great quantity of shipping then concerned in that ne.
fariens traffic, and which was likely to be thrown out of
employment by the abolition, were supposed to have strong
claims upon the Government for compensation. But did
Parliament, therefore, abstain from putting an end to
that system of robbery and murder which was mildly
called the slave trade? No; they proceeded to
vindicate the character of the country in the first instance
• by casting off the odious stain, and then, and not till then,
to consider such eases of compensation as might arise.
And what was the consequence? After all the prophesies
of ruin to the shipping interests, there was only a single.
house which attempted to make out a case for compensa-
tion, and that case was not ern:med.-7( Hear, hear.)—ln
fact, it was found that the slave-ships were very capable
of making good privateer; ; they were employed in
that service, and there was not a single instance of
en application for compensation from them.—(Hear,
hear.).--One .s'oFd pop-, 90 that subject of compensations.
They had heard nothing of compensations in the silk trade,
into which the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Iluskisaen)
bad introduced so great and beneficial a change. Were
our Color,ists the only class tyho should veceive cam-
pensntion for &minified. property'!' Bat what became of our
manufacturers in such Cases? Every one remembered the

Bill, corf.monlycalled Sir Robert Peel's Bill, which inter-

fered between Master and Servant, regulating the hours of
labour, and protecting apprentices froM being over-worked
in the manufactories. That Bill had, no doubt, the effect
of lessening the manufacturer't; profit, yet no one had ever
talked of compensation to them. In the same spirit he
wodd now sav to Parliament—" Don't abstain from
doing your and as for compensation, leave
that to be settled afterwards, as ;:ircurnstanres may direct."
With respect to the heads of amelioration, there was One in
favour of which he had the opinion of the Lord Chancellor

and of other high authorities,—he alluded to the policy
of permitting slaves to give evidence in Courts of Justice.
That was one point at least, by insisting upon whitii they
could do much good to the colonies. Supposing he (Mr.
Brougham) were to bring in a Bill upon that subject, would
any one think of stating that it was a subject for compensa-
tion also? To that, as well as to many other beats, thu
principle
of compensation did not apply : in fact, it ap-
peared to him to be almost exclusively confined to corn-
pillory manumission.
Mi. W. SMITH expressed a hope that the Right Hen.
Gentleman would lay before the House a copy of his own
despatch to the Colonial Governments in the course of last
autumn. It was deserving, in all respects, of the serious
consideration of the House.

Mr. W. HORTON suggested, that as he had a motion
to bring forward on the subject in the course of to-morrow,