The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-07 00:00:00

Cation of a petition from Mr. C. Beamish that day, respecting
the removal of that gentleman from the Navy Pay-office. At
the request of the lreasurer of the Navy, however, he would
postpone it till to-morrow.
Sir R. 'INGLIS presented a petition from the clergy of the
arehdeaconry of Rochester, against the Irish Church Tempo-
ralities Bill.
Petitions were presented for the abolition of negro slavery
from Wickham, Marlow, Stratford, Hythe, and other places,
by Mr. Shawe ; from two places in the county of Hants, by
Lord Palmerston : from parishes in Oxfordshire, by Lord Nor-
reys ; from Netherton, Granby, and Sutton, by Major Hanley;
from several places in the county of Dumfries, by General
Sharpe ; from Devonshire and Lincolnshire, by Mr. Wilks;
from the county of Fife, 'by Sir R. Ferguson; from several
places in Lincolnshire, by Mr. A. ,Pelham; and from New
Ross, by Mr. Lambert.

Tb:e S'peaker retired at a quarter-past two.
INHABITED HOUSE DULY.
Mr. HUME gave notice, that in consequence of a request
made to him by a numerous body of his constituents, he should
move, before going into a committee of supply on Friday, the
13th of June, that the whole of the inhabited house duty be
repealed.
Mr. GOULBURN presented a petition from the clergy of the
archdeaconry orWiltshire against any diminution in the number
of the Irish 'bishops.

COLONIAL SLAVERY.
On the motion that the order of the day be now read for the
louse resolving itself into a committee on this subject,

PORTUGAL.

Colonel Evs Ns availed himself of the opportunity to put a
question to Lord Palmerston upon the state of our relations
with Portugal. The arrangement which had happily been com-
pleted by toe government as to Belgium relieved him from the
embarrassment which he had previously felt, and he thought
that the time was now come which required that our connexions
with Portugal should be restored, and that the recognition of
Donna -Maria should immediately take place. He now asked
the noble lord whether there was any prospect of that recogni-
tion being made by the King of England, and his ally, the
King of the French ?
Lord PALMERSTON, in reply, said that the house must be
aware that Donna Maria had been acknowledged Queen of
Portugal de jurernot only by the present administration, but
also by that which preceded it in office. In the correspondence
which had taken place between the Marquis de Barbacena, the
Mat quis de Palmella, and the British government, there was a
complete recognition of Donna Maria as the de jure Queen of
Portugal. The question of the hon. and gallant officer applied,
not to whether we should continue to recognise the right of
Donna Maria, which we had already recognised,—not to whether
we should assist her in acknowledging her title to the throne of
Portugal, but to whether she had at present succeeded in esta-
blishing herself in possession of the dominions belonging of
right to her crown. His Majesty's government had not seen
any reason to depart from the line of neutrality which they had
adopted, and which they had rigidly and strictly observed, with
respect to the contest now raging in Portugal. As to the other
part of the question which the lion. and gallant officer had
raised, the house would see, that although the authority of
Donna Maria was acknowledged iu the Azores, and in Oporto,
and in a small district around that town, it could not be said
that that circumstance made her the actual and reigning So-
vereign of Portugal. Whenever events should place her in that
situation, it must be evident that those who had willingly ac-
knowledged her right would not be reluctant to acknowledge
the fact. He trusted that the fact would follow the right.=
(Hear, hear.)

FACTORY COMMISSION.
Lord ASHLEY asked the noble lord (Althorp) whether the
commissioners, who were to institute a full, free, and open ex-
amination, had any right given them in their instruct►ons to
exclude from their sittings a short-hand writer specially sworn
to confidence ?

Lord ALTUORP'S answer was, as usual, nearly inaudible. We
understood him to say, that the commission having been im-
partially appointed, he had no doubt that the evidence would
be taken correctly by the commissioners, and would be
,by. them
fairly laid before -the house. The only reason why any objec-
tion had been made to the admission of a short hand writer at
the examination of the witnesses was a conviction that it would
be injurious to let the evidence come out piecemeal. The com-
missioners, in his opinion, ought to be left free from all exter-
nal pressure ; and in the present excitement upon this subject,
if publicity were given to the evidence, it would he difficult for
them to obtain any insight into the real situation of the children.

COLONIAL SLAVERY.
The house then resolved itself into the proposed committee,

In the committee,
Mr. O'CONNELL opened the debate, and concluded his speech
by saying that the British legislature, by putting an end to slavery
in the colonies, would not only do good to their own country,
but would prove themselves to be the benefactors of the human
race over the whole world. (Hear, hear.) Let the freedom of
the negro be proclaimed in the first instance, and let the ques-
tion of compensation be afterwards considered, when a proper
case was made out for Parliament to legislate upon. He called
on the house at once to give liberty to their fellow-creatures--
he called on them to throw aside all interested, all selfish feel-
ings—he called on them to take this step firmly and boldly—
he called on them "to be just and fear not." (Hear, hear.)
Lord DALMENY said that, much as he admired the eloquence
of the learned member for Dublin, he could not agree in the
propriety of his conclusions. The learned mewber called.for
immediate emancipation. Now, he contended that the slaves
were at present unfit for such a change. That alteration could
only be safely made by degrees, education and instruction hav-
ing been first disseminated amongst the negroes. They ought
to take into consideration the mental inferiority of the negroes,
and to adopt ouch measures as would best suit their situation.
Were men who had long been debased by slavery fitted; on the
moment, to enjoy unrestricted liberty? He thought not; and,
in his opinion, they ought to beware of legislating rashly on
such an important subject. He should support the amendment.
Lord SANDON said he had never defended the system
of slavery, but still he was of opinion that, in dealing with
this subject, they ought to proceed cautiously. (Hear, hear.)
In his view of the case slavery wherever it existed was a great
scourge; it demoralized the owner more than it did the slave.
(Hear, hear.) He believed, with respect to the physical
question, namely, the decrease of the black population in con-
sequence of over-labour, that much exaggeration had been sent
forth. Now, mark the inconsistency of those who advanced
this argument as a reason for granting emancipation. They
said. " If you grant wages to the slaves, they will give you one-
third more labour." If that were true, how could it be asserted

that the slave population were now over worked, and that the co
sequence was a rapid decrease of numbers ? That the slaves were
generally well treated was clear from the evidence. Mr. Tay-
lor stated that-he had in Jamaica seen them dressed in as good
broad-cloth as he wore himself, which was provided by the
master • and he further expressed his belief that they were fully
and abundantly fed over the whole island. Even those who
most strenuously argued on the decrease of the black popula-
tion in the West Indies were obliged to admit that, in a consi-
derable degree, it arose from the inequality of the numbers of the
two sexes. Considering this subject, first, with reference to
the planters, next, as it respected our own manufactures, then,
with a view to the shipping interest, and to all the industrious
classes of this country, and, finally, with reference to the fi-
nances of the country, since it involved a revenue of £8,000,000,
—looking at it in that manner, could they conceive a more
important question, or one that more loudly called for calm
consideration ? The exportable produce raised in the British
plantations last year—viz., sugar, rum, cotton, molasses, &c.—
amounted to £7:857,000. There was exported from Great Bri-
tain to the colonies goods to the amount of £2,500,000. There
were freight and freight charges to the amount of £1,600,000;
leaving a clear difference of about £3,800,000 to be spent in
this country for the benefit of various descriptions of industry.
He stated this because it nearly affected the manufactures of
this country, and formed a strong ground for giving the whole
subject mature consideration. There were employed in this
trade 330,000 tons of the best shipping—namely, 250,000 tons
employed between Great Britain and the colonies, and 80,000
tons employed between the West Indies and other territories.
Now, it was evident that it was a very serious matter to take
any step which could, by possibility, throw 330,000 tons of
shipping into the general market. (Hear, hear.) Such an
event must unavoidably lower in a very great degree the prices
of shipping. There were besides many incidental circum-
stances to 'he taken into consideration. They were to look to
the effect which the proposed measure was likely to have with
respect to their docks and warehouses. On that point the town
of Liverpool would be deeply affected. Looking at all these
interests, and taking into consideration the general commercial
transactions of the country, it did appear to him that gentle-
men would see reason to pause before they came to a final de-
cision. It was not the mere abstract question,—that of getting
rid of slavery, that they had alone to entertain; no, they were
bound to consider how they could get rid of the system without
injuring others. ( Hear, hear.) It was very right that they
should entertain feelings of humanity for some hundreds of
thousands of their fellow-creatures; but they ought not to
forget the millions in this country whose interests would be
affected by any measure which they might think proper to adopt.
That a great experiment must be now made he admitted ; but
he thought a great deal might be said as to the mode in which
that experiment should be carried inte effect. It was easy for
them to abolish the system, nothing was more easy; but how
to create a wholesome state of society amongst men who at
once stepped from a state of bondage, not only to a state of
personal freedom, but to the freedom of the British constitu-
tion—that was a problem which it was not easy to solve. They
had been told of what had taken place in Mexico. The tran-
sactions in Venezuela, 'and in the Crown colonies, had also
,been particularly referred to. But had any one instance beers
adduced, in cases Where. the negroei had been emancipated, in
which it appeared that the black population bore the same pro-
portion to the white population that it did in our colonies. In
Venezuela what was the proportion? The slaves didnotamount
to one-tenth of the population, and they were scattered over
an immense eountry. The free population consisted of 800,000,
the slave population 80,000. it was a most hazardous thing,
at a single stroke, to set free an immense black population, and
no instance could be adduced where such a transition had been
safely effected. Whose assistance, then; he would ask, was the
most necessary for carrying into effect a safe and judicious
plan of emancipation ? They. ought to have the assistance of
the proprietors themselves; and, without their acquiescence
and co-operation, he feard that nothing at once safe and
effectual would he done. He knew that it was denied that the
proprietors had any property_ in the slaves. That was arguing
on the abstract principle. But unquestionably the legislature
and the government had recognized such property. It should
be observed that questions of abstract property were often de-
bateable. Some individuals argued that the country was net
now bound to pay the national debt, because the present gener-
ation ought not to suffer for the follies of their ancestors ; but
surely Parliament, which had sanctioned that. debt, were called
on in the eye of justice to provide for it. The right of property
in man, odious and vicious as it was, had been from- the earliest
times recognized both by heathens and Christians—by barba-
rous and civilized states. The noble lord proceeded to say that,
within the last 24 hours, a proposition had been made which,
as far as could be conjectured without consulting the colonies,
would be likely to give satisfaction to the West India interest.
Several members of the house who took an interest in the
question had met at his house that morning, and agreed to pro-
pose certain modifications upon the resolutions of the right hon.
Secretary for the Colonies. They had obtained the concurrence
of the West India committee and the deputies from the colonies
in the plan, which, he trusted, would be found generally ac-
ceptable. They began by adopting the right hon. secretary's
first resolution. (Cheers.) The grant proposed by way of coin-
pensation to the West India interest was £20,000,(X5). Fur-
ther, a loan of £10,000,000 was proposed to be secured on colo-
nial property, on the condition that the colonies agreed to act
on the spirit of the resolutions. He would briefly state a few
of the grounds on which the propositions rested. And, first,
with regard to the grant of £2O,
yposyligthh6t
full
ipewcatgioetsi
0K000; the justice of such a
ocompensattheionlul• oeupl a In) et e
ie.
sv iwdee
rnet
calledfrom ao
ovteor
of their negroes as heretofore, (the wages consisting iu food,
clothing, lodging, and certain allowances), although one-
fourth part of the labourer's time was to be given up. Al the end
yearsof I 2
of
t ht
eh er colonists wine rtehet.o lose
labour
wh
of
ft hthee
timeiggrhot term the
es.x owt.etehe-
simple
entire annual produce of the West India colonies was about
£6,100,000; a fourth of this, £1,500,000, was taken away, and
to this extent the planters would be out of pocket by the change.
The gross amount of loss in 12 years would be £18,000,000, at
the end of which period the greaternumber of the planters who
were dependent on the property which they possessed in the