The Washington union., 1857-06-09
THE SLAVE TRADE IN CUBA AND THE CooLY
TRADE IN THE MAURITIUs.

The Liverpool papers publish a letter received
from jamaica, dated April "a, in which it is stated
that no less than 25000 wretched slaves are annr-
ally imported into Cuba with the connivance of the
Spanish government and captaingeneral, who pocket
doueeur Of two $32) for each slave brought;
and considering the misery and the cruelty of this
traffic, the British government are committing gross
injustice and neglect to their own colonies and de-
tendencies by not putting greater force to cruise
in the around Cuba and binding Spain, even by
bockadng her ports in Cuba to keep her treaty with
the British as to the importation of slaves"
We are at loss to conceive how the importation
of African slaves into Cuba, which deprecate and
condemn both as Illegal and nhuman, can operate
gross injustice and neglect to their colonies and
dependencies is the colonies and dependencies
of Great Britan-unless it that the chief prod
uct of the island sugar, may in competition
with that produced in the British West Indies or in
the Island of Maurtius. Ii is a fact long since dem
onstrated that since the emancipation of the negroes
in the British West Indies agriculture has languished
their staple products have dwndled down to total
cessation of EXPORTS in places, and in Others to
nsulhcicncy for home consumption. On
this point the extracts from Mr. Davy's book the
British West lndes which we published in our issue
of the 5th instant leave nothing more to be said If
the writer intended the remark for the ar-growing
colony of Mauritius he must have penned the SEN
tence in vein of cruel irony, for the barbarous
treatment to which India coolies, the almost excu-
sive sugar-raising labor that island have been
and still are subjected by the colonists has on re-
peated ccasons, been brought to the notice of the
home authorities. On this subject the Madras Athe
neun, of September Z, 1856, says For some time
past the insane way, to use mild expression, i'll
which the Mauritians have treated the Indian coolies
that have been sent to that colony has attracted
siderable attention in this country Ship-loads of
ernigrants arrive near Port Louis rumor gets
abroad that sickness is board; the inhabitants
work themselves into state of phrensy, call down
imprecatons on the head of their governor; the ship
is warned off, has to cruise about in dangerous nav
igation and the poor natives fresh from their fields
perish in consequence of protracted close eonfine-
ment. The supreme government has taken the mat
ter up, and bill has been introduced into the legis
lave council enabling the governor general to sus-
pend emigration into any colony where the coolies are
not properly treated Possibly this measure may
nave ACT
reasonable beings at any rate it win reveal to them
their dependence on the Indian-labor market"
The charge of barbarity towards the cody slaves
contained in the above passages is thus met by the
Overland Commercial Gazette published at Port
Louis, Mauritius .With the exception of the insin.
nations about our phrensy, we cannot deny what is
advanced-vesses have been compelled to keep at
sea with immigrants (coolies) on board and the i'm
migrants landed at Gabriel Island on one unfortunate
occasion were so badly provided for as to cause
large mortality"
To show the dependence" of the sugar-growers
of Mauritius on the India labor market" we have
compiled the following table from latest files Of
Mauritus papers,
Tubular statement shoeig the quantity Of sugar exported from
Hdttu The number Of coolies introduced, and The number
remaining The sI0ad each gear from lS43 to 1855.