Star.
London, England, 1818-09-05 00:00:00

:" Afit/CON .INST/TUTIO.V.
----;
- TWELFTII REPORT OF TIM DIRECTORS.
. -
The Directors will begin their Report of the prod
ceedings of thelast year,.by laying before the Omen,
zal Meeting, a brief view of what has occurred in re-,
lation to the Foreign Slave Trade. On several for,
neer occasions they have expressed their fears thae'the,
return of Peace would be attended with a great in-
crease of this trade. Theneisitation And search of
ships under foreign flags on the high seas, they ap-
prehended.would no longer be practicable, as in time
of war..l,is consequence of this imipunity from search,
not only might our own legislative provisions be ren-
de:ad a dead letter, but the abolition of the Slave
Tr.aele by other nations, prove a mere mockery of the
claims of humanity and justice.
The apprehensions which were thus expressed have
received an authentic confirmation from a recent de-
cision of the High Court of Admiralty in this coon-
v.v., in the case of a French slave ship called ie Louis.
the. Directors briefly adverted to the judgment
of Sir'W. Scott, of which an accurate report has bee;
published.j—ln consequence of this clear exposition
of thelaw of.nations on this point, it has ceased io be I
a matter of doubt, that, without some conventional
arrangement* for enforcing, by visitation and search,
in time of peace, the abolition laws of the different
States, little would be gained to the cause 0f...1mm;
nity by the various treaties which have been entered,
into, and the various enactments which- have been.
framed, on this subject. Even if a single flag enjoy.
exemption from search, it is obvious that the work of;
abolition must be very ineffectually accomplished..a?
Under the cover-of that single flag, the property isf
all other nations, and even that of British subjects.
ray find protection: for till a ship is searched, as the
',earned ,lodge hac observed, it cannot be known
whether she is a slave trader or not, or to what nation,
she really belongs; bat in the 'case of a foreign vessel
sailing ender the flag of a nation which refuses to
submit to the visitation of its ships in time of peace,
there would be no authority whatever to intrude into
it, or to demand the submission of its crew to the ne-
cessary inquiries respecting its character and objects,
aad any attempt to enforce such submission might
legallylie resisted.
'The Danes, for example;have abolished this trade ;
but a British Slave-trader sailing under a Danish
Bag would still be inaccessible to a British truizer,
who would have no right to interpose; to prevent
his
idfraction of the laws of 'his owe country; loci iinY
forcible attempt fo do so might lawfully be iepelled
by foicee--Such being die state of the la*, itis'eVi-
d=t-that, until the trine, 'shall arrive (a 'dine Aids
the Directors hope is not far distant) wn the Slave
Trade shall be declared 'piracy by the iiiiiVersal Coa-
ti/in of naHms ; and the traders in slaves be legally
considered in the light orpirates—enemies of the
stash race ; thentilyirope of its effectual '
suppression
*lit be founded on the general adoption of sortie :itch
eanientiOnal arrangement as has been alluded to.
It is with no s:nall satisfaction, therefore, that the
rirectors have to announce to the Meeting the coin-
mg:cement of sach a system. Treaties have recently
been concluded with Portugal and Spain, which con..,
tain express stipulations to this effect ; and in each of
Which the-Contracting Powers mutually consent, that,
" for the more complete attainment of their object,
`namely; 'the prevention of all illicit traffic in Slaves
ort :.are part of their respeetiVe subjects, the ships of war
of their Royal Navies, which shall he provided with
urcial itistractions for this parpoie, may visit such-
snercliant vessels of the two nations as may be sus-
rCted, itpati reasonable grounds, 'of haring Sieves
satispard, aAldred yan "illicit traffic ; and, in the
ti4e6rit only of their actUallffinding 'Slaves on board,
jug detain 'and bring away such vessels, in order
that they may be brought to trial before the Tribu-
nrisestabliShed for this purpose." . .
It is a further ground of satisfaction, Butt& ICing
iief.the Netherlands has also consented tel adopt the
same principle, with respect to search, which has
thus been sanctieried by our treaties with Spain and
Pertugal.
m,
It is of the utmost moment, 'however, as has been
already remarked, that this principle should be uni-
versally in 'order to its producing any
permanently beneficial results. If France, for ex-
ample, or the Linked States, or, in short, if any one
maritime power, should refuse its concurrence, the
hopes that have been entertained of the effectual sup-
pression of this trade would still be frustrated, and
we should be forced to look tamely on, whilst the
slave-traders of our own, or of other countries, were
securely pursuing their nefarious practices, under the
flag of the State thus withholding its concurrence :
for it might faiily be presumed, that a Government
- which should refuse to follow the precedent that has
been established, would not be very zealous in en-
forcing any municipal prohibitions it might be in;
duced (from deference to other Governments) to
frame and proinellgate on the subject. The very re,
fusel to concur in this necessary arrangement, wader
ill the circumstances of the case, would be suspi-!
*ciones it would seem 'lo indicate as 'indifference to
the claims of justice and hUmanity ; and would cer-
tainly tend to damp the expectation of any vigorous
efforts to restrain' illicit. Slave-trading on the part of
its own citizens. As to the plea that each a conces-
sion cdalli not be made withotit national degrada-
tion,
_it ought to he remembered, that the concession
is mutual ; and surely, when Great Britain consents
to lower her 'Bag in the cause of the oppressed, it
on be no ;dishonour for any other nation to follow
theetarnpre.
The Directors having this given die meeting a
general and connected view of this vita/ question of
the right of search in time of peace, will now proceed
to consider more particularly the actual state of the
different' branches of the Foreign Slave Trade; which
ray be,gomprised under the heads of 'French, Por-
tusucseotipauish, American, and Dutch.' • •
I ST.—YRENCH lii.AVE-TRADE. '
.
The'Mating.will already have observed, that die
case which has introduced the preceding, observations
on the right of search, was the case ofrarench slave
ship, commencing . her slave—voyage kale
mon& of January, 181.6, longelsersod_ when
the Members of this Institution, as well as Europp'
Marge, had been led, by the psthlic deelarations•of
the French Governmeut, to believe that the PrenCh
Shave Trade, hadbeea finally and univereally .pre
hihired. In the rousse of the trial, great stress vnia
laid en tic point by the Advocates on both sides;