Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-06-11
THE CUBAN SLAVE TRADE-DEBATE IN THE
BRITISH HOUSE OF LORDS

fon the 23d ultimo, Lord BRouGHAM in presenting a
petition in reference to the sugar duties observed that
he had with horror lately it announced as one of the
ordinary articles of commercial intelligence that vessel
had landed its cargo of human beings the island of
Cuba and that out of her had been put shore no
than six hundred miserable slaves
The Earl Of CLARENDON. There were eleven hundred 1!
Lord BRoUGHAM continued Eleven hundred Six hun
dred was bad enough; that there eleven hundred
only aggravated his horror Three years he had called
upon his noble friend opposite state what Information
he had received of the proceedings which were being
taken by the United States against the Gu
ban Expedition - against that which they all agreed
in stgmazng piracy Of the and foulest descrp-
ton. He reoiced to think that subsequent information
reached them Of that great Government of the United
States having done its duty with respect those pirates
OF its having resisted the efforts of that mob urged by
base passion for ucre and of its having suppress
ed he believed successfully the Cuban piracy Upon
same view then seeing that Spain would have looked up
that expedition manifest breach of the law of
tons if it had net been suppressed by the Government
the State where it had originated might now say
that there was worse piracy in operations grosser
breach OF the law of nationsand that there had
crime and piracy committed against that law still
In its nature and effects than the Cuban expedition He
meant that piracy whereby that vessel loaded the
coast of Africa partly with unhappy Africans seized by
main force and partly with those miserable creatures
trepanned by fraud, whereby that Spanish SLAYER
loaded and carried the Atlantic through all
the horrors of the dde passage that cargo Of human
beings? Hear. His noble friend opposite knew much
better than he did what the of relations with
Spain the subject of the African slave trade 1t had
been made Illegal in Spain many ago. In 1886 more
measures taken for the eectua suppression of
trade and the introduction of slaves into the Havana
reduced from twentyeght thousand thirty thousand
per annum to twelve thousand fourteen thousand Un-
der General ODoNNELL, however, it had again revived
and the question which he wished to put was whether
any steps had been taken lately by of consus
to ascertain with whom rested the blame of these
transactions !?
The Earl of CLARENDON said he wished it were in his
power to give satisfactory to the appeal which
his noble and learned friend had eloquenty addressed
to him but he sorry say that the particular case
to which he had referred-though he trusted it stood
sngy in point of extreme horror and atrocty-was by
means the only of the kind which had come within
the knowledge of her Maestys Government in the pre-
sent year He deepyregreed to say that the slave trade
was now carried on to very considerable with
Cuba In relation to the peculiarly fearful which
his noble and learned friend had referred Consul
General Mt Havana who exercising the most ener-
getc and zeal his endeavors to check this hor
ribe traffic, reported that under the penal laws of tile
island at all events under the Interpretation of those
laws by the local authorities it forbidden to follow
newlymported negroes into the of the propre
tors who had purchased them slaves; so that the
slaves having been conveyed the limits of
those estates secured from being rescued though
their landing might have been under the very eyes of the
authorities The horrors of the suerings endured by
the unfortunate negroes in the particular instance
brought under the notice of their lordshps might at
once be imagined when he mentioned that the vessel in
which these l30O creatures packed for their long
voyage only 400 burden On the way an attempt
made by them to liberate themselves in that at
tempt 200 of them killed. only 100 arrived
IN Cuba, of which number Consul-Genera by the
most determined and perseverng efforts, succeeded in
rescuing 300 Her Maesty's Ministers had however
received from the Spanish Government the most solemn
that hencefoth the treaty should be observed
and our Ambassador at Madrid Lord Howden had been
shown by the late Spanish Secretary for Foreign Affairs
private letter from the present Captain General of Cuba
assuring him, his word of honor that he would act in
manner that should be satisfactory to the British Gov
eminent in this respect He (Lord CLARENDON would
only add that effort the part of her Maestys Gov
eminent should be spared to check, if they could not
wholly suppress this most iniquious traffic He believed
that efforts would be more efectual than any
treaties to this most desirable end and he had the salts
faction to state that the cruisers which had placed on
the coast Of Cuba to intercept sayers had already within
the present year captured six Of these traders returning
home with their cargoes of slaves An appeal had
been addressed the subject by her Maesys Ministers
to the Government Of the United States and he felt quite
certain that that Government would do its utmost to pre-
vent its flag from being degraded in the that had
been described.
Lord WHARScLIFFE paid tribute to the efforts which
had been made by Gen. Concha the successor of Gen.
0'Donne, to check the slave trade in Cuba-eforts
which had reduced the number of slaves imported into
Cuba in the course of the year to 5000
The conversation then dropped.