Star.
London, England, 1817-07-11 00:00:00

bLAVE TRADE.

Lord GRENVILLE said he rose to submit to
the consideration of their Lordships a subject of the
must interesting nature. The present was a peou-1
liarly proper time. It was proper to wait the result
of what might be done by Government for the object
in view, viz. the effectual and total abolition of the
Slave Trade. But it appeared, that towards this
object nothing had been done, and it appeared
to him that House would ill perform its duty, if it
did siot express its regret, now the Session was at its
close, that no efficient steps bad been taken to repress
those who stall violated the obligations of humanity
and of law, in carrying on this abominable traffic.—
He well remembered how often the abolitionists had
been told, before their success, that even the ma-
sate of abolition by Parliament would be abortive—
English capital and English subjects would alone be
withdrawn from it, and that the subjects of other
mations would continue engaged in it with as much
activity as ever. His answer iIICP was, and he would
repeat it now, that though only a single slave less wes
torn from the shores of Africa—though only a Lingle
drop of blood less was shed—still it. was our duty to
purify the stational honour in the eyes of GOD Mid
•tuan, and leave bloodshed upon the Lands, and
curses poured forth upon the heads of those who still
persisted tit this Weer of iiihunida guilt and shame,
equally destitute ut read %Wont as of /crumbs:. but

this eras not the mile atlveta-ge s:e die is ee from the
abolition on our part. With our Leeds bloodless, .
and our national characteostainlises—with our repen-
' tamer, and our eeperatloe for the past, we might cell
upon other nationt to fhllow our example. Our first
; deity was to proscribe this irrlium.,o system of rob.
bevy, torture, and death, as far as our own subjects
'could be concerned • our next, to persuade, to re-
monstrate with other nations. He would not detain
the House by adverting to various Addresses on this
subject by Parliement—to the sentiments on it ex.
pressed to the Throne, and neyechoed from the Exe-
I entire Government. It was ratifying that the la-
j bouts of the friends of humanity and of the Legisla-
' cure bad not been in vain-J.-much had been done ;
but much still remained ; and the success that had
been partially obtained Would act as a stimulus to
labour still for the ultimltte and complete execution
of their iutention. E.iertion, :and that alone, would
secure the end el view. Their success would be pro-
.l _ pott.one to the efforts they made, and the surest
course they could pursue, was to declare, that until
African sly/cry slia:lito longer exist—tp.til it shall
be 'Omen only in the mires of blood and crime which
it shall have left behind, whilst it expired itself—the
labours of the British n at;en, the British legislature,
and the British Government, should never cease.—
This was the way to ensure success. It was thus the
concurrence of Portugal, and France, with the aboli.
thin, had been obtained. But though Governments
had concurred, crime had not yet ceased. He should
produce judicial proceedings, from which it would
appear that the ineuman traffic was still carried on ;
that French capital, Ditch capital, and, till lately,
American capital had been largely vested in it.—
' It teas carried on under the Portuguese and Spanish
flag with increased activity—with aggravated litho.
menity, airier the attempt to put it down. All the
pledges which our Government had obtained from
foreign Powers, obtained by honourable but impor-
tant sactitices, were in practice eludei. This was
A most proper object upon uhich to Add, ess the
Throne, and recommend not only negocietion, but
meat serious re pretentation, backed by our sacrifices
' for this object, and our power to foreign Courts.
Let the house look to the condition and exteet of
the Spanish Colonies in America. Was it p esible
Ito suppose that the Spene.h Colonial want of slaves
could be greater, or raffle' must not be infinitely
loner than before the abolition? Yet the Spanish
importation of shires had been increased enormously:
wtly iras this ? because foreign capfull was embarked
tinder the Spanish flag—because it was sump:eel to
fial up the void of guilt and misery which we had
lett when we withdrew. It would appear as it there
was a design to defeat us. There was one pen. of
Africa to which we hid given, to a certain extent,
the blessings of trade and civilizatien, for which
much had already been done; but much greater
hopes were still entertained. Would it be supposed
that this was the precise pan of the African coast
chiefly selected by the Spanish Slave traders, as if to
frustrate our hopes, to thwart our efforts, to deprive
us of the meetly of repairing in some degree the
wrongs of Africa, infl.cted by ourselves. Now as to
the manner in which this odious traffic was carried
on. Dad the Portuguese and Spaniards conSne them.
selves to the cruelty of former times? No, they ex•
ceeded, as it studiously, all example of formeratrocity.
They reached a pitch of revolting barbarity, which
human creatures could hardly be supposed to heat
without honer, it it were not proved that Portuguese
and Spanish Slave Trade's had been capable of the
perpetration without remorse. He was obliged to
state to their Lordship* some part of these revolting
details, and he would state them from the deposition of
a British Officer in a Court of Justice, upon his oath.
That on the 15th of Febt uary last, he went on board
the San Joseph, as Prise Master, and continued on
board her some days after her arrival in Simon's bay,
which was on the 19th of the said month ; that be
remained on board until the slaves were landed by
virtue of a decree from the Court, and was actually
superintending and assisting in their disembarkation;
that when he first went on board, he was informed
that the said vessel had left Mozambique only twen
ty.two days, at which time every person on board
WAS in good health, and that thirteen of the slaves
had died during that period; that between the cap-
ture and their arrival in Simon's Bay, the survivors
were all of them sickly and weak, and nearly one
hundred of them afflicted with the Aux; that medical
aid was afforded to those who required it ; that the
brig appears to have been built for a privateer. and
for last sailing, not for stowage; that the slaves were
all stowed together, perfectly naked, and nothing
but rough unplased planks to crouch down upon, in
a hold situated over their water and provisions, the
place being little more than two feet in height, and
the space allowed to each slave being so small, that
it was impossible for them to avoid touching and
pressing upon those immediately surrounding. The
greatest part of them were fastened, some three toga-
tiler, by one leg each, in heavy iron shackles, a very
large proportion of them having the flux. That they
were compelled to perform their natural evacuations
under these dreadful circumstances, without being
able to move, and to remain amidst their own excre-
ment, which could not be cleared away until the said
slaves were disembarked; that between the 19th and
teeth days of their being landed, thirteen more died,
notwithstanding good provisions, medical aid, and
kind treatment, and thirty more died between the
24th of February and the 16th of March instant, all
occasioned, as he in his conscience verily believes and
is firmly persuaded, by the cruel and inhuman treat-
ment of the Portuguese owners; that more than 100
of them were, at the time of their landing, just like
skeletons covered with skin, and moving by slow'
machinery, hardly maintaining the appearance of ani-
mated human beings; that the reniainder were all of
them enervated, and in a sickly state. He says that
the pilot, upon being asked by Captain. Baker, bowl
many, he supposed, would have reached the place of
their destination alive ? replied, about half the num-
ber that were embarked. He lastly says, that he
'weer SAW brute beasts treated with such cruelty as
the slaves on board the ship Sao Joaquins."—This
exceeded all former horrors—even the deep-dyed
steers of multiplied atrocity which the consideration
of this subject had SO often presented to his imagine-
tiou before, vanished before the cold calculating her-
tor Qt the assertion, that halt the cargo Plight be
brought to the place of destination alive. lie we. j
56111 to be obliged to make a statement so reooltitiv
SO tiat House. Who could hear even of such honorsl

without recoiling, like the officer who had been a wit-
nets to them ? Who could resist the impulse of hor-
ror and indignation at the infliction of such comp Is
cated.cruelties, even upon any creature that breatLed
and lived and moved—upon the lowest being in the
chain of animal uature. Now what was it he asked
of their Lordships ? Nothing precipitate, or even de-
cisive--he would only have Foreign Governments in.
ducel to inform themselves (GOD forbid they knew)
the cruelties they permitted. We had, in some
degree, redeemed Our character ; but we still owed to
Africa a large measure of retribution, by humaiiiiy,
by kindness, by protection, by giving to her our cosi•
lization and our trade, and shielding her with our
power. He entreated the House to interfere for this
purpose with foreign powers—to employ the iniluence
we had gained by the recent events in Europe—the
influence of our power and our character—the in-
fluence of various concurring circumstances cf the
present times, and to complete our own atocentent
to Africa, by abolishing all over the globe a system!
of guilt and horror, the most iniquitous, the most
base that ever blackened the annals of mankind. It
was posserle that we might be anked what int-rest we
had at stake ? Such a question would not be isked
in this country—it might be asked by other nations :
we might answer, the interests of Humanity. But it
was not that alone—we might insist upon the neces-
sity of protecting our triter. He would tell their
Lordships, that this system went to destroy our West
India trade—a system of armed defence—marked by
acts of hostility and piracy—armed vessels, Ins pur
poses of commerce, in time of peace—(irear, hear.)
We did not permit it without very particular secure.
ties. But here were no letters of marque, no sanc•
tion of their Government, yet their vessels were fully
armed and equipped for naval battle. Three such
ships had gone bolds under the flag of Spain. Were
we to tolerate such practices ? They would not stop
there : they would not be contented with destroying
our West India trade—with coming to acts of hostile
vi .fence with our flag in those seas—with rephisiging
the coast of Africa, now partially civilized by us,
into wretchedness and barbarism ! No.—The result
would be a general system of warfare, or rather pi-
racy, on every sea, We must, therefore, stop this
pit atical system of armatnent —disowned by Spain.
by Portugal, by America—for the purpose of protect.
'rig peaceful and lawful commerce, even tho' wholly
unconnected with the horrors of the Slave Trade.
He did not mean to suggest any particular course.— '
He would leave that to the Executive Government,
guided by circumstances, and using its good offices,
that is to say its power and influence, as lately in the
case of Spain and Portugal, to protect Europe and
the World from a new war. Something must be done
.-vsit to check this system of armed piratical defiance,
pen force should ke employed if persuasion should
fail. He had but one observation snore to make.
He understood Spain had made pecuniary claims for
irregular captures of slave ships by our navy, when
the sums claimed would conic before the House, he
should require evidence not only of irregularity but
of the fact that the irregularity was not the result of
the practices of the ships of Spain. The Noble Lord
then moved an Address to the Prince Regent, recapi-
tulating several of the leading Roints in his speech,
and pointing chiefly to the necessity of inducing
foreign Courts wholly to abandon and restrain their
subjects from carrying on the Slave Trade.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL would not have
thought it necessary to trouble their Lordships with
a word on the question, did he not tliink that some
inference which was not just might be drawn from
his silence. At present, therefore, he would only ob-
serve, toat he gave his hearty assent to the Address
moved by the Noble Lord. Whatever feelings alight
be entertained on the subject, he could assure their
Lordships that he bad never entertained but one opi-
nion, which war, that the abolition to be made effect-
tual for the purposes of humanity must be total ; that
it must not only be the work of Great Britain, but of
every commercial country. From the moment. then,
that Great Britain adopted the abolition, it became
with us a matter of duty, humanity, and policy, to
endeavour to prevail on other countries to concur
with us in the same system. If, however, their Lord.
ships looked back to the circumstances under which
this trade had been carried on, and above all, to die
prejudices which had prevailed on the subject—pre-
judices which it had been endeavoured to mock upon
in a way to raise doubts as to the conduct of this
country in the abolition—they must be convinced
that much had been done at the same time he was
ready to acknowledge that much remained to be
done, as to rendering the abolition with respect
to other nations effectual. This, however, was cer-
tain, that whatever evasions might have been at any
time practised, the Government of this country could
be charged with none on the subject of negotiations
for the abolition of this traffic. Prudential considera-
tions, as it might be supposed. would induce him to
refrain from entering into explanation as to the exist-
ing state of the negoiations. Ile would ask in the
mean time on the part of Government. only that fair
confidence which their conduct with regard to this
question deserved. He could not at present with
propriety state the progress of negotiations which had
taken place, as they had not been brought to that
point which would warrant their disclosure. While,
however, he wished to avoid detached explanations, he
hoped soon to have it in his power to communicate
to their Lordships a satisfactory result. If no un-
foreseen circumstance should arise, he thought he
should be able to give a full explanation of all that
had passed respecting the negotiations by the coot-
' mencement of the next session of Parliament. In the
mean time he hoped that this declaration would be
satisfactory to-their Lordships. With regard•to the
Address which had been moved by the Noble Baron,
it had, as be bad already declared, his most perfect
concurrence.

The motion for the Address was then put, and
agreed to unanimously.