The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1844-07-23 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY. After several clauses in the Metropolis Improvements' Bill, Lord PALMERSTON rose to move for some returns relative to the slave trade, and expressed himself desirous of making some general observations upon that traffic, although be understood that the particular returns he asked for would not be refused by the Government. He believed that few were aware of the cruelties which the slave trade still caused, or of the vast numbers of negroes annually transported even now from the coast of Africa to the islands and continent of America. Mr. Bandinell, in his accurate work, compiled from official documents, represented those numbers as amounting in some former years to 130,000 negroes per annum ; Sir F. Buxton estimated them at 150,000. Let any man imagine that he saw that vast body of men moving to their frightful doom, and what would his feelings become, if he should be :told that this was no single sight, but that a like spectacle was repeated every year ? Moreover, such was the waste .of life in providing for and accomplishing this great transport of human beings, that for every individual so landed, three must be calculated to have perished. To procure .these slaves, the undertakers of the adventure were accustomed to fire some peaceful village in the night, and seize the startled and flying inhabitants. The caverns where they sought refuge were besieged ; the springs and wells were occupied ; and the fugitives were thus forced to come in and surrender. The children were then murdered, to save the expense of maintaining them when torn from their parents; and the adults were marched hundreds of miles over the burning and stony desert to the place of ernbarcation. Multitudes perished on this journey.; and the path of the caravan was marked by thousands orbleaching skeletons. The purchaser on the coast selected the strong alone ; the weakly and exhausted he rejected, and these last were put out of the way or left to perish. Then came the horrors of the voyage. Whatever the numbers which the vessel would probably carry, the trader took care to exceed them by a third or a fourth ; as a tnercbant, sending a hogshead of Madeira to mellow by a long vastage, added a quarter cask to make good waste.inevitante. Day after day the dead—too often living if also,smittenwith disease, and therefore likely to prove unprofitable—were thrown overboard. In the hold where the negroes were crowded the stowage was so stinted, that all were obliged to lie length, with less room to each captive than a man occtapattieetwin his coffin. In fine weather, the grating of the Lem were ayswereopen ; but, if rough weather came, h f necessarily closed, and the state of the hold below became one o actual suffocation.saffoca%lna!' an A third of the negroer, were found, umi sat h these had of one ship with another, to perish on the voyage. It wase the British Govern_mmeandte,towbeezeteibnyg the duty' of atrocities. Treaties had been been accomplished. Between France and England mutual sacrifices had been made in the concession o e o_ t En or te right of maritime visitation. England, in rtu ff th the services rendered by her to Spainhd b aeined a treaty from that country. With respect to Portugal, powers had been obtained which were equivalent to the articles of a treaty. The effect of these various arrangements with the European states had been a great diminution in the numbers of negroes transferred from Africa to the plantations of America. These improvements were the result of the efforts of the late Government. It remained for the present ministers to effect the same object with the United States; but then slat rvolt had boa a Ectiotade