The French Colonies.
The Times, 1824-07-21T00:00:00

In t.he French Chamber of Depare- on Saturday last, the artic,e oftbe coloniesforned thes ibject of debate. From the report, sith which the papers of Sunday are nierly filled, it appears that the Prench planters are not only no less hostile to any sugg4us for ameliorating the condition oftbe negres than some of our .rOrSitJ are, but thatthey are protected in their violenec bytheloaD AuthoG. rities and the Government at home. On the vote for 2Mar.iqaue being proposed, Benjamin Constant objected to theappropria-ion of 70,000 francs for that colony. The ground of his opposition was mal-administration, by which the colony was rendered of no value to France, and In the course of his speech he brought forward charges of oppression and injustice against the Courts and the Gover. nor of the island. A few copies of a pamaphlet recommend. ing the amelioration of the condition of the West India slaves, which was published in Paris, having reached Mar. tiniqRe. was made a pretext for the persecution of al 'persons sup. posed to be fhvolrable to the view of the subject taken by the au- thor. The enemies of ameioration addressed a remonstrance to the Governor, in which they decisred that the inhabitants of War. tinique were determined at all risks to maintain the existing legis. lation. The Governer, instead of ihdignzntly rejecting thisdefiance, replied that thediattrbers of tranquillity who had clandestirnly in- troduced certain pamphlets shauld be prosecutec A generai search was ordered, and, besides the pacaphlet already mentioned, some copies of a speech, by M. L4isnede Villeveque, on colonial-slavez7, which the Chamber of Deputies had ordered to be ptinted, were found. In consequence of these discoveries, 1,500 persons were ar- rcsted, of whom 37 were sentenced to transportation, and three to the gallisfer life. The sentence was immediately executed without a:llpwing the parties an appeal, their application fiar reference to te e Court of Cassation having be:n refused by the clerk. One of the persons ordered to be transported was a man of 70, who, in his despair, was onthepointof committingsuicide. His casewasthought hard, and by the way of mitigation, his son was, transported in his stead ! Another individual wr, transported instead of his brother t The persons thus severely dealt with, M. B& Constant stated to be men of property, transported at the itSstigatlon of. their cre.liton. The printing of Mh. B. Constant's speech was moved, but opposed by AL. Dadon and others. M. Duldon de.ended the Government of Mattinique. He observed, that pampphlets and speeches which were harmless in Parls, might become firebrands in the colonie. The speech alluded to, which was delivered at the close of a sitting, was scareely heard, and was onlr ordered to be printed in consequence of one of those votes of courtesy which were but too comnton. This IV. Dudon farther insinuated that the African Society had its inD struments, not only in the British House of Commons, but in the Chamber of Deputies The Marine-Minister stated that a conspi- ration,the raniifications of which were very extensive,had been formed in Martinique. M. Clermont-Tonnerrecontradictedthestatementthat a son had been tranenorted instead of a father, and a brother instead of a brother. With regard to the appeal, the parties were not enti. tled to it, except under the sanction of the Gove-nor, obtained within 24 hours after their sentence. The Govemors of the Freach colonies have always had the power of banishing or ransporting, not merely persons of colour, but whites. The Government had been pleased to grant a relaxation of the law with respect to the men sen- tenced to the galies, and who are now at Brest. Though they hed no legal right to a re-onsideratien of the jud.gment pronounced against them, the Court of Cassation had admitted their appeaL The motion for printin s. B. Consant's speech was rejected. THEI FAENfeH COLOZAIES.