The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-05-31 00:00:00

That they had no right was clehr, and certainly he could not
uitaerstaud upon what principle they could justify their inter- i
Terence in the property of others, uniess they meant to compen-
sate them for the loss which they were about to occasion.
(Hear.) .If government wanted support, he was sure that the
voice of the nation would be raised to sustain them in giving a
inure just and equitable compensation to the West India pro-
prietors than that which was now proposed to be given to them.
(Hear, hear.) The object of the West India proprietors was
investigation; but they were met by secret enemies, who by
every species of coutilvauce attempted to gain their point.
(Hear.) Amongst. other methods, they have been enabled to
exact piedges at the hustings in respect to slave emancipation—
pledges which were alike disgraceful to those • who proposed
them, and those who gave them. (Hear.) But these piedges
were, in many instances, given under the influence of Tatse
statements relating to slavery. Under such circumstances he
contended that these pledges ought not to be kept; on the con-
trary, they ought to be given to the winds, (hear,) and such,
he trusted, would be the conduct of those who hastily. and in-
considerately gave pledges without knowing the extent to which
they had committed themselves. (Hear.)
Mr. G. F. YOUNG said that he had no intention, when he
entered the room, of addressing that great and important meet-
ing ; but if an apology were required for doing so, he trusted that
the fact of being the representative of one of the most impor-
tant sea ports in the kingdom, in addition to his tilling the
highly responsible situation of chairman of the Shipowners'
Society, would be a sufficient one--(hear, hear)—and connected
as he thus was with the maritime marine of this country, lie
thought he should be wanting to himself and to those great in-
terests which he represented, if he allowed this resolution to
pass without making a few observations respecting it—(Hear).
In the resolution proposed to the meeting, it was stated that
210,000 tons of British shipping were employed in the West
India trade, but the fact was, as was proved by papers before
Parliament, the amount of tonnage employed in the West
India trade extended to between 260,000 and 270,000 tons of
British shipping. (Hear, hear, hear). It waS argued. by some
that although our shipping might be affected for a time by the
settlement of this great question, in the end they would not
suffer, for other branches of trade would be open to them,
and what they lost in one respect they would gain by another.
Nuw, every one who had paid attention to the operation of our
navigation laws for some years past, would see the absurdity of
this argument (hear) ; for, whenever the principle of recipro-
city took place between foreign and British ships, in respect to
the amount of duty to be paid,. the result of the arrangement
was a serious injury to British shipping. (Hear). For instance
in the article of cotton, that great staple traffic of this country,
the tonnage inwards of that article was three-fourths 'in vessels
connected with the United States, and one-fourth in the ship-
ping of this country (hear); and the value in dollars to the
United States was exported nine-tenths in American vessels,
and one-tenth in English. (Hear, hear). Under these circum-
stances it was absurd to talk of our shipping being able to make
up in another trade the loss which they were sure to sutler by
tire destruction of that to which the attention of the meeting
was more immediately called. And one cause of this state of
things was this,,, that foreign ships could be managed at a
cheaper rate than. British ( hear); a circumstance which arose
out of the great and weighty restrictions to which the British
shipowner was subjected by the laws relating to British ship-
ping. (Hear). He therefore thought that the most disastrous
consequences would flow to the British shipping from.its course
being turned aside in relation to the West Indies. (Hear.)
On the question of negro slavery-he entertained 'strong_ opis
nions, but when efforts were made at the -hustings to induce
him to pledge himself on the subject, he indignantly rejected
the attempt. He had ever expressed his opinions ou this sub-
ject. He had not shrunk from the avowal of them in Parliament,
nor would he now, let the consequences be what they might
to his own personal interests. He had all along based his
views Of the extinction, of slavery upon the principles laid
down in the resolutions of 1823, and by them he would be
guided. (Hoar, hear, hear). He was one of those whO
thought that slavery ought no longer to exist; but the question
was, how was this to be effected ? In his opinion it could,only
be done fairly by a due and proper compensation being awarded
to the proprietors of slaves. (Hear.) When the question -was
asked, what right had one man to hold possession of another in-
dividual ? his reply would be, that if the question were put to
him by the slave he should not know how to answer it; but when
the public, who were themselves the robbers, and who had put
the effect of their rubbery into their pockets--when they put the
question, he would say, in reply, .‘ Before you talk of takiug
from me that which I have properly bought, return me the, pur-
chase-money which I have advanced. If you do this, I will
then argue the question as to what right I may or may not have
in w
a ofellow
oldonbley say
(Loud cries of bear, hear.) In conclusion
he
that if the government dared to he honest
(hear, hear), they would have been able to have meted out such
a measure of justice to the West India proprietors as would,
while pleased them, be received with satisfaction by the coun-
try. (Hear.)
- -

The resolution was then put by the chair, and agreed to unaie
nimously by the meeting.
Lord Cotyti.LE, in rising to propose the 2d resolution, ob-
served that like his hon. and gallant friend (Sir B. Martin) he
had no interest, direct or indirect, in the West India colonies,
but feeling strongly the injustice of the course which his Majes-
ty's ministers were pursuing with regard to this great and im-
portant question,
he should not shrink from the performance of
what he conceived to be his duty, and had therefore consented
to propose the 2d resolution. NWllen he considered the vast in-
terests that were involved in this question, both as regarded the
colonies and.mether country, he might well feel diffident of his
own ability to do that question instice. He should, therefore,
refrain from using any arguments in support of the West India
interest, because he felt that it would be much better advocated
by others than himself. He was not ignorant, however, of the
West India colonies,
_for his professional duties had given him
a knowledge on the subject, having been stationed in that part of
the world for some years, and experience told him that the out-
cry raised against West India property was founded on false
reasoning and gross injustice. (Hear, hear.). He was old
enough to remember when the slave trade was carried on in
British ships, and he rejoiced as much as any man in the
aboli-
tion of that trade. He wished with all his heart to see it gene-
rally abolished in every quarter of the world. On the subject of
emancipation, however, it appeared to him that a forced and
morbid humanity had taken possession of the public mind, which
precluded the possibility of viewing the subject in a calm, rea-
sonable, and rational manner. He considered that the measure
proposed by government would throw the important trade of sugar
into the hands of foreign nations, to the total destruction of our
own trade in thatarticle. The people of England, he contended,
could no more do without sugar than they could without beer or
tobacco. Deprived of our West India possessions we would be
obliged to resort fora supply of sugar to theßrazils, a country in
which slavery was carried on in a much more odious form than
it ever existed in the West Indian Islands. (Hear, hear.)—
He remembered when a boy having frequently got under the
sterns of slave ships that had just arrived with their cargoes of
human beings from the coast of Africa, and he remembered
hearing the songs of the poor slaves who appeared contented
with their lot, having, he- supposed, no very high idea of the
blessings of freedom. He had seen the pour Africans landed
from their floating prisons hi a state of misery that it was im-
possible to describe. He mentioned this circumstance, because
he felt assured that the measure proposed by government would
have the effect of renewing that inhuman traffic, for it was rea-
sonable to suppose, that other nations would resort to the same
trade under the proposed change in our West India possessions.
But what, he would ask, would be the consequence of the mea-
sure as regarded the people at large? He would not ask whose
interests were involved ih that measure, but whose interests
would not be involved in it. He contended that the measure
concerned every class of his Majesty's subjects. He should
not now advert to the injury which our naval service was likely
to experience if unfortunately the plan of government Should
be -carried into effect, for that part of the subject had been so
ably touched upon by his gallant friend and brother officer (Sir
B. 'Martin) as to resider unnecessary any observations which he
might feel disposed to make upon.that part of the question. He
would just observe, however, that with the destruction of our
West India possessions our national superiority as a maritime
nation would be destroyed also, unless, indeed, the power of
steam could be made available, which he contended could not
be the case with regard to large fleets of ships. He had once
the singular good fortune of conducting a fleet of 370 sail from
,
the West Indies to various ports of the United Kingdom and
this single circumstance would be sufficient to show the great
naval superiority of England over other nations. Having wit-
nessed this superiority on many trying occasions, he might well
deplore the prospects which were now presented. (Hear.)
He could not, however, but indulge a hope that when his Ma-
jesty's ministers had learned what had passed at that meeting;
and read the sentiments which were there delivered, they would
be inclined to look upon the question in a different light, and
consider that it would not vet be too late to retrace their steps.
(Hear.) He could not help observing that the plan proposed
by his Majesty's ministers was totally at variance with the mea-
sure of their predecessors in office. He blamed his :Majesty's
government for not having sought information from those who
could best afford it to them. They seemed to act in a confi-
dence of their own abilities, and would receive neither informa-
tion nor advice. To them might be applied the well known
lines—

" A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still."
•
This was not a question of party feeling, for it involved the inte-
rests of all; and he therefore regretted the course which his
Majesty's ministers had pursued, in not seeking for information
to guide them in their plans. lie contended that the evidence
upon which the government had acted with regard to this ques-
tion was not only erparte, but in every respect it was absolutely
untrue, and had another committee been appointed, the greater
part of that evidence would have been disproved. The noble-lord
proceeded to observe that he gave notice in the Muse of Lords
for the renewal of that committee, and his motion on the subject
stood for the 26th Feb. last. llad that motion come on, his task
would have been easy, for he would have had nothing to do but
to require the clerk at the table to read the report of the com-
mittee. When the day arrived he was prepared to proceed with
his motion, but he was asked to postpone it, which he did to
another day, anctori-tho arrival of that day he was again asked
for a further postponement, to which he consented, because he
was urged by those who had a natural interest in the question.
'l'hc consequence was, that' he could not again renew his motion
agreeably to the forms of the house, and he was obliged to with-
draw sine die. A change in the colonial departnAnt soon after
and the new Secretary gave notice in the House of
took Commons
his intention to bring forward the question, and
after stating his plan, he proposed to postpone the further con-
sideration of the subject to the 30th of the present month. Mr.
Stanley in thus hurrying the question forward gave no time to
the West India interest to adopt the course which they proposed
pursuing. He stated thus much in justification of the course
which he himself had adopted, and while be gave every credit to
the committee of gentlemen who were appointed to act on the
occasion on behalf of the West India interest for their great zeal
in the cause, he was compelled to observe that they had not acted
with that sound discretion which was expected from them. In
consenting to postpone the question they wished no doubt to
meet the views of his Majesty's ministers, and felt that it would
be wrong, by throwing impediments in their way, to embarrass
the government, which, God knew, was sufficiently embarrassed
already. (Hear, hear.) He trusted that the West India cause
would-not be damaged by a desire to meet the wishes of govern-
ment. He contended that whatever attention his Majesty's
ministers might give to the subject, it was equally the uuty of
the West India proprietors to consider the question with at least
an equal degree of attention. He considered it very unjust and
cruel that the West India interest should be singled out for the
first act of injustice and oppression. (Cheers.) He would say
that the plan of spoliation proposed by
Ministers was arbitrary
and unjust, and a disgrace to a free country. (Cheers.) 1-luma-
nity was the specious pretext put forth by-those who advocated
slave emancipation, but he would say that much of that huma-
nity was made up of cant, hypocrisy, and self-interest. (Hear.)
The persons who were so loud in denouncing slavery were like
the men described by the poet. They were willing
- - - - - -

" To compound the sins they felt inclined to,
By damning those they had no mind to."
(Cheers.) The noble lord concluded by moving the second
resolution.

Admiral Sir,R. STOPFORD rose to second the resolution, and
in doing so he observed that he was not prepared to litter a
libel against all former governments since the American war,
by accusing them of neglecting to support the West India
interest. Having served in alleet of 30 ships appointed to
protect the West Indies, he could not suppose for a moment
that his :Majesty's preseirt government were willing to withdraw