BRITISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA.—OBSERVATIONS.

HC Deb 09 June 1871 vol 206 cc1806-23

MR. M'ARTHUR

rose to call the attention of the House to the state of affairs on the West Coast of Africa, with especial reference to the administration of justice and the necessity of reforming the same; of establishing some form of local and municipal self-government and of revising the system of taxation; further, to urge the importance of relieving the minds of British subjects at the Gambia from the apprehension of their transference to a foreign Power. His object in calling the attention of the House to this subject was a desire only to promote the interests of those Settlements, and to secure to the inhabitants the advantages of British protection and British law—for a very general feeling of dissatisfaction prevailed throughout the whole of these Settlements. Since 1866 Petitions had been forwarded to the Colonial Office almost every year, complaining of certain grievances, and of the acts of certain officials; but those Petitions, he was sorry to say, had not had the desired effect, for the Petitions were, if not treated with contempt, at least taken no notice of, and the grievances still remained; and the consequence was a want of confidence in the administration of justice, and the prevalence of a feeling of sullen discontent which might break out at any moment in insubordination and outrage. He would first bring be- fore the House the state of affairs in Sierra Leone. The Settlement of Sierra Leone was formed by the British Government for the avowed object of suppressing the slave trade and promoting the religious and moral improvement of the Natives. The slaves captured by men-of-war were taken there from time to time and settled upon lands set apart for their own use; the population, therefore, consisted chiefly of liberated Africans from different parts of the continent, and speaking different dialects. The Church of England and the Wesleyans had undertaken missions among those people; the results had been highly satisfactory; and by those means the character of the population had been improved, and trade was rapidly extending, as was shown by the exports and imports having increased from £264,938 in 1854 to £581,485 in 1867. It was to be regretted that with this state of things there should have been found certain drawbacks that had had the effect of retarding the onward progress of the Settlement and the social and moral elevation of the people. These drawbacks were to be found chiefly in the action of the Colonial Office and the changes that had been effected. In 1865 the Settlements were placed under one Governor General. Before that Sierra Leone had a single Supreme Court Judge, who tried all civil cases by a jury of twelve. There was, besides, a Queen's Advocate, who was Public Prosecutor; a local Court of Appeal, composed of the Governor and Council. This system worked admirably. A similar system prevailed at the Gambia and at Cape Coast. In 1866 this state of things was changed. In an evil hour there was appointed to the Governor Generalship of Sierra Leone Major Blackall, who had roused the hostility of the African race in the West Indies. Dominica petitioned the Colonial Office for his recall, and he was unfortunately transferred to Sierra Leone. Under his auspices, by means of an obedient and facile Legislative Council, composed of salaried officials, and sitting with closed doors, there was passed an ordinance which rendered every verdict delivered in civil actions subject to the revisal of four gentlemen appointed by the Executive, who were invested with the power to reduce verdicts to the nominal sum of one farthing. This was the first blow directed against trial by jury in civil actions. The result had been the withdrawal of it altogether. So that, with commerce and civilization advancing, this great constitutional privilege had been withdrawn from the African race in Sierra Leone. The next step in this retrograde policy was the appointment of Mr. Justice Huggins as an additional Supreme Court Judge; then followed the abolition of the local Court of Appeal, leave being given to parties aggrieved by any decision of the Supreme Court to appeal directly to the Queen in Council, but only in a matter involving £300 and upwards. Now, this privilege really amounted to nothing, as most, if not all the cases brought for trial in the Supreme Court were below £300; so that instead of having, as before, the local Court of Appeal, there was now really no redress to parties who might feel they had been hardly or unjustly dealt with. Moreover, as the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone was the Court of Appeal for the inhabitants of the Gambia, Cape Coast, and Lagos, the result was that these Settlements had no Court of Appeal at all. The feeling of the people now was that they had lost all faith in the Supreme Court at Sierra Leone, and they would almost suffer any wrong rather than carry their appeals there; and with reference to that feeling he would recommend to the notice of the House the case of Findley against White, as justifying the existence of that feeling. Another evil sorely felt was the delay in the administration of justice; judgment was not given sometimes for one, two, or three years. If only one-half that was alleged was true, Mr. Justice Huggins was unfit for the position he held. One complaint against him was the cruel punishments he had inflicted on some of the unfortunate Natives. One person had been condemned for larceny to six years' imprisonment and nine whippings—but after the second whipping he died; for the number of stripes not being mentioned in the sentence, it was left to the officials to administer as many as they thought proper. Such proceedings were calculated to bring the courts of justice into contempt. They produced dissatisfaction, and would provoke hostilities which would lead to a repetition of the tragedy of Jamaica, if they were not put an end to. The prisons in Sierra Leone were in a most disgraceful state; no demarcation was drawn between the various classes of criminals, all were huddled together, and the lock-ups were consequently sinks of impurity and immorality. He had now to direct the attention of the House to the taxation of the colony. Under the land and house tax, which pressed very heavily on the poorer classes, by the manner in which the taxation was enacted it resulted that taxation was levied to the extent of 10½ and 16⅔ per cent, without the people having any voice in the imposition of it; and if the party failed to pay the tax he had to work three days for every shilling on the public roads, and to find his own provisions besides. He had now to direct the attention of the House to the state of education. This was at a very low ebb so far as the authorities were concerned. Out of a Revenue of from £70,000 to £80,000, £36,000 was spent in official salaries and pensions, and only £400 on education. It had been suggested that there should be introduced into the colony a system of undenominational education, including a strict conscience clause; and that view was in accordance with the opinion of a large and influential body of Natives. It was also considered desirable that in each of the colonies there should be, in addition to common schools, one high class school giving a superior education to those who were to take a leading part in the affairs of the colony. All these should be paid for out of revenue and be free to all—it was not fair to ask the missionary societies in this country to bear the burden. He was glad to find that Sir Arthur Kennedy had introduced the principle of competitive examination, and hoped that principle would be carried out in its integrity. There was another question which had introduced great heart-burnings into the Settlement—he meant the grants made to the local or Native pastorate. Much dissatisfaction had been caused by the introduction of concurrent endowment; and it appeared strange that it should have been established there, while it was being discontinued in Jamaica. £500 had been given by the Legislative Council for the Native pastors of the Church Missionary Society, and £150 for the Roman Catholics; and the Wesleyans were informed that any representations they might make on the subject would receive favourable notice; but, on consideration, they objected to receive such assistance, on the ground that it was calculated to excite religious strife, and prove injurious to those habits of self-reliance which it ought to be the object of the Government to form and cherish. In that idea they were borne out by the respective opinions of the three unofficial Members of the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council was composed of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, the Commander of the Forces, the Chief Justice, and the Queen's Advocate, and three unofficial Members nominated by the Governor. Practically, therefore, the Governor was himself the Council. The revenue, as already stated, was £70,000 a-year. Would it be believed that all this money was voted in one brief sitting of three hours, without discussion, and without any Estimates being first placed in the hands of the Members? It might be supposed that with such large revenues proper attention would be paid to the sanitary condition of these colonies; but the prisons and other places were in a disgraceful state. In Sierra Leone there had been recently some improvement in that respect; but in the case of the Cape Coast Colony, which had been under British rule for 40 years, and had a revenue of about £30,000, and £20,000 in the Government chest, the town and the adjacent roads were like a vast privy and dunghill, and the accumulation of filth had swept away many valuable lives. At Lagos there had been great improvement; but for the last three or four years there had been no Returns of the exports—a remark which also applied to Sierra Leone. He had now to call the attention of the House to the state of affairs at the Gambia; and hoped the Under Secretary for the Colonies would state what were the intentions of the Government with regard to that Settlement—whether they meant to carry out the policy indicated by the Postmaster General when he filled the post of Under Secretary for the Colonies, and which was anything but advantageous to the colony. In 1867 the imports and exports of that colony amounted to £143,150. The revenue was about £22,000, and £14,000 was spent in salaries and pensions. No attempt had been made latterly to develop the trade of that colony, or to take advantage of the magnificent River Gambia, which was navigable for 400 miles, for opening up trade with the interior. In the case of Bathurst, such was the indifference to the interests of the colonists, that an application having been made that one of the gunboats might go for three days up the river, in order to impress on the Natives that Bathurst was under British rule, permission was refused, unless the coals which would be required for the trip were paid for. Yet £4,125 was now being spent out of the local revenue in enlarging and embellishing the Governor's house. The present position of affairs with regard to the Gambia was most unsatisfactory. Sir Arthur Kennedy intimated a short time ago that it was still the intention of the Government to hand that colony over to France, although that was contrary to the wishes of the whole population. That state of things was paralyzing trade, and rendering everything insecure. The colonists had neither soldiers to protect them, nor arms for their own defence, and there was an agitation prevailing among some of the Native tribes which might break out in open rebellion. The inhabitants of the Gambia wanted no money from the British Government; they were quite willing to bear their own expenses, and they had sent a Petition to the Colonial Office against the handing over to the French Government of four Settlements containing a population of 20,000 British subjects without their being consulted. Last year the right hon. Gentleman the Postmaster General stated that there were only 40 Europeans in the place; but the same argument might be adduced to give up all our West African Settlements. During the last 10 years there had been great improvement in trade and in agriculture; the English language was the leading language that was spoken, and the inhabitants had, with one voice, protested against being deprived of British nationality. Although that subject was not an inviting one, he hoped it would be carefully considered. What he would urge upon the Government was that they should see that justice was fairly administered in every Settlement, that trial by jury should be established both for civil and criminal cases, and that municipal councils should be established, which would give the inhabitants a voice in the expenditure. Let the Supreme Court, as a Court of Appeal, be duly constituted by the addition of a third Judge, and let the Judges go on circuit to all the Settlements as they did in this country. Let the expense of this Court, as well as the steamer for the Governor General, be borne in fair proportion by all the Settlements. Let no grants be given for ecclesiastical purposes, but let the Natives be instructed in the duty of supporting their own pastors. Let grants be given freely for educating the people. Let the Government especially call the attention of the local authorities to the improvement of the sanitary condition of each colony, and, above all, let it endeavour to place men in the various official positions who will feel some sympathy for the African race, and who will set an example worthy of respect and imitation. They were proud of the constitutional freedom which they enjoyed in this happy land— Spread it, then, And let it circulate through every vein Of this vast empire—that where Britain's power is felt Mankind may learn to feel her mercy too. They had already expended a large amount of money in putting down the slave trade; they had succeeded in effecting this object on the entire West Coast of Africa. Let them now, by every means in their power, carry to the many tribes brought under their influence the blessings of Christianity and civilization. Those West African Settlements might appear to them small and insignificant, but who could tell the influence for good they were destined to exert over that great continent? They had now no other Power to look to for sympathy or support but us. Let us show that we are not regardless of them. Be it ours to give effect to those noble words uttered by Lord Palmerston— As long as England remains pre-eminent on the ocean of human affairs, there are none, be they ever so unfortunate—none, be their condition ever so desperate and forlorn—who do not turn with a look of hope to the light that beams from here. They may be beyond the reach of our power—still our moral sympathy and our influence can support them under their reverses and hold out to them, in the midst of their difficulties, the hope of better days. But if by the assaults of her enemies, or the errors of her sons, England should fail or her star lose its lustre, with her would fall the hopes of the Africans, whether on their own continent or on the vast regions of America; and they would for a time, at least, be buried in despair. I know no nation that is now ready to supply our place. He thanked the House for the kind attention it had given him. This might not be one of the most interesting of questions but still there were thousands and tens of thousands of their fellow-subjects in that far-off land who would read the debate with great interest, and to whom it would convey the hope that their grievances would be redressed, and that the House of Commons would endeavour to do justice to Africa.

MR. R. N. FOWLER

pointed out out that as these were Crown Colonies, and, therefore, not self-governing, some questions might properly be brought under the notice of the House in connection with them which Parliament need not discuss with reference to Canada, or the Australian colonies. He proposed to confine his remarks to the Gold Coast and the Gambia. His hon. Friend the Member for Lambeth (Mr. M'Arthur) had alluded to the sanitary condition of the Gold Coast. A colonial paper described the principal town of the colony as one vast dunghill, and expressed the most fearful apprehensions as to the probable results of an outbreak of cholera, which, dreadful as it was in England, would be far worse in a tropical climate; and, if the authorities there were not sufficiently alive to the exigencies of the case, no doubt the colonial authorities here would urge them to do their duty. In Crown colonies which had no municipal institutions, and which were ruled by officials appointed in England, the Government was practically despotic, the only appeal of the people subject to it being to the House of Commons, and that was a sufficient justification for the course taken to-night by his hon. Friend who, he thought, was entitled to the thanks of the House for bringing the subject under their notice. Under the circumstances, it was the Imperial authorities who were open to censure for the state of things which had been described. In support of the allegation that arbitrary authority had been greatly abused on the Gold Coast, he would quote from The West African Herald of February last, a statement respecting an absconding convict who was recaptured, flogged, put to shot-drill, fainted, and died a shocking death in hospital. The inquest disclosed a severity of prison discipline amounting to inhuman cruelty, and resulted in the suspension of two of the prison officers. Another case he would mention was that of Mr. Joseph Lovell, for 30 years a merchant on the Gold Coast, who for two years was involved in a dispute with the Deputy Collector of Customs at Cape Coast Castle. In one matter there was a bill of costs against him of £4 10s; in another there was one in his favour of £4 9s. 6d.; he naturally thought he might put one Bill against the other; but, instead of the sixpence, he was compelled to pay the amount of the bill against him, after having been apprehended under warrant and lodged in a felon's prison, being immured in a cell where the thermometer stood at 87°. There was another case, in which a woman was condemned to two days' imprisonment for contempt of Court, and where the Judge had, unknown to the gaoler, gone to the prison, and ordered the matron to shave the woman's hair off. Last year his hon. and gallant Friend near him the Member for Stamford (Sir John Hay) brought under the notice of the House the proposed cession of Gambia to France, which was not effected, not because of any change of opinion on the part of the Government, but because on the very day attention was called to the matter, France declared war against Germany, and by the Law of Nations the negotiations came to an end. The people of the Gambia were Wesleyans, and as Protestants naturally preferred connection with this country rather than with France; and those who held it was wrong to transfer Alsace and Lorraine to Germany could not assert that it was right to cede the Gambia to France against the will of the people. He would call attention to the fact that Mr. Jackson, the chief magistrate, held a variety of appointments in the Gambia, such as coroner and police magistrate, which was a plan open to serious objection, and arrangements should be made to obviate such a scandal. He was also Chief Justice, and, as such, he had tried for murder a man whom he had twice preliminarily committed for trial. He thought it was monstrous that one man should hold three such offices, and held that it was the duty of the Colonial Office to direct their attention to such cases with a view to put an end to the existence of such evils. He hoped the interest of these colonies, which were intimately connected with the welfare of the African race, would always command the attention of the House.

MR. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN

said, he was sure the hon. Member for Lambeth (Mr. M'Arthur) required no apology for bringing forward that subject and making his interesting statement to the House. Those West African Settlements had from time to time attracted considerable attention in this country, and not the less so, because England, held them not for her own advantage or aggrandizement, but from motives of a character essentially high and pure. Founded, as was the first of these Settlements, for slave-trading purposes, that had long since been atoned for by years of labour and heaps of treasure in money, and in lives more precious than money, expended with a view to the extirpation of the slave trade, and the introduction of civilization and Christianity among the Native tribes. The political advantage to England derivable from these colonies was very small, and they had involved her in several very expensive wars. Her occupation of them was rather in discharge of a moral obligation than any self-seeking policy for Imperial interests. Their climate was dangerous to European life during a great part of the year, and the management of their internal affairs also occasioned no small expense to this country; but, while he said that, he must not be considered as advocating the relinquishment of these colonies. Great Britain held them more for their own sake than for hers. She had no other object than to govern them in a manner to advance their welfare—to make her rule as acceptable to the people as possible. If any error could be pointed out in her present administration, or any blot in her system, the Government would be most anxious to repair the one and wipe out the other with the slightest possible delay. Referring to the apprehensions which were entertained about the cession of Gambia to France, a few words would dispose of that subject. The arguments in favour of the cession of Gambia to France, or rather its exchange for certain territories which would be more convenient to us, was very ably stated by his predecessor; but there never was any idea of ceding Gambia to France or any other country without previous discussion and obtaining the consent and concurrence of the House. The trade of the Colony, comparatively small as it was, was chiefly in French hands; the British population was very small—the great French Colony of Senegal was less than 200, whilst Sierra Leone was 500 miles distant; and if the material advantage of England was the only point to consider, it was probable that the arguments in favour of the transfer might be found to preponderate. But he guarded himself against being supposed to state his own opinion one way or the other, the possible value of Gambia as a coaling station in time of war—the determined opposition to the transfer evinced by a large portion of the population—and the unanimous Report of the Committee of 1865 against our total withdrawal from any of our West African Settlements or engagements appeared to him to be points which must have been deeply considered before any transfer could have been effected. However, he need not argue this question, because the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War had put an end to the transfer, and no other country was likely to desire it. He did not say anything that should bind any future Government under different circumstances; but he might freely say that it was not the intention of the Government to propose any renewal of the negotiations for the transfer of Gambia to France. At the same time the House must not forget that the Committee of 1865 adopted as one of its resolutions that the Settlement of Gambia should be reduced by the abandonment of Macarthy's Island, with respect to which the Government must hold itself entirely free. With regard to the defensive condition of Gambia, there was no doubt that it was not so good as might be desired, but within the last three weeks rockets and other ammunition had been sent there. Some cases had been mentioned relating to the administration of justice; and he could no doubt have given satisfactory explanations respecting them if he had been previously informed that the attention of the House would be called to them. The case of Mr. Lovell, on the Gold Coast, had been alluded to, and the hon. Gentleman the Member for Penryn (Mr. R. N. Fowler) intimated to him last night that attention would be called to it, otherwise it never would have entered into his mind that it would have been brought forward as a case of oppression. Mr. Lovell declined to pay the money, which was evidently due from him, and defied the sheriff's officer. He claimed as a set-off, some costs against the Government, the payment of which the administrator would not sanction for sufficient reasons. A warrant was issued, and then Mr. Lovell tendered the amount, but, refusing to pay 5s. for the warrant, was taken to prison. The thermometer might have been at 87°, but the prison was clean, and after a few hours' detention somebody paid the 5s., and Mr. Lovell was released. To put forward such a matter as a case of oppression was an absurdity on the part of those who instructed the hon. Gentleman. It was stated by the hon. Member who made the present Motion that memorials sent to the Colonial Office had not received their due effect; but he could state that every disposition was shown at the Colonial Office to attend to any complaints on the part of the memorialists. Nevertheless, some memorials had not a due effect there, because on investigation their allegations were not found to be supported by evidence. Two of the grounds on which the hon. Member based his accusation against the present system were taxation and concurrent endowment, both of which points were touched on by the Wesleyan Missionary Society, in the memorial they sent from Sierra Leone. No one could doubt the value of the exertions of this estimable body of Christians, who had effected much for these settlements, but even their statements turned out not to be wholly accurate. They began by stating that they had great claims to consideration, because they paid the greatest part of the colonial revenue. They called attention to the new system of taxation recently adopted, protested against concurrent endowment and the neglect of their schools in the colonial grant, and complained of the establishment of a Church college at Cape Coast, with a grant of £1,000. With regard to the statement that they paid the largest portion of taxation, that on inquiry turned out to be a mistake; and, though the objection to concurrent endowment was fair enough on the part of those who objected to all endowments, yet in some cases religious equality was best secured by concurrent endowment, and in others by no endowment at all, according to the feelings of the population; and the grant to the native pastorate, which was called an endowment, was a grant to the only purely African institution upon the coast, whilst so great had been the good effected by these native pastors that the governor had stated that the lessening of their influence would entail a larger expenditure for magistrates and police. The refusal of the Wesleyans to accept a grant was no reason why the efforts of other religious bodies should be neutralized by want of support from the State; and with respect to schools, all other bodies except the Wesleyans agreed to the regulations under which grants for schools should be given. The Church college, which the memorialists alluded to, was never intended to be founded, and had never been heard of except in their memorial. The particular tax to which the memorialists objected—namely, the house tax—was not a new tax, as it was introduced in 1854. It did not produce a very large revenue; but it was satisfactory in its collection, and it would be beneficial to extend it as far as possible, because it tended to give the people an interest in self-government, and developed industrial habits. With regard to the administration of justice, there was a magistrate in every one of the four Settlements, and the Court of Appeal in Sierra Leone was constituted by the two Judges to whom the hon. Gentleman had alluded. His hon. Friend had alluded to what he called the abolition of trial by jury in the colony. Now, it should be remembered that they were dealing with a Settlement in which there was a large coloured and a small white population, and they could not apply the same principles in respect of the mode of administering justice in a case in which most of the population were coloured, as they could in a case in which most of the population were white. It had been found that in criminal cases no difficulty had been felt. The juries consisted of coloured persons, and the decision of two-thirds of the jury was taken as the verdict. But while there was no difficulty in a criminal case, in civil cases justice had frequently miscarried. It had been shown, after full inquuy, that the juries frequently came into Court having made up their minds before the cases were called on, and it was therefore that in civil cases the present system was adopted. The case of Mr. Justice Huggins had been alluded to. It was not true, as had been alleged in the complaints made against him, that he had not been called to the Bar. As to his having given unlaw- fully severe punishments, the only foundation for this was, that the Judge had supposed that an Act of 7 & 8 Geo. III. had not been repealed by one of the present reign, which imposed milder punishments for certain offences. The Colonial Office had, however, since sent out an ordinance which would remove any misapprehension upon this subject, and the sentences which had been imposed under a misapprehension had been remitted. His hon. Friend had charged the prison officials with national antipathy against the Native race. He regretted his hon. Friend had done so, as their business ought to be, as far as possible, to allay the prejudices of race, and he was sorry that his hon. Friend should have countenanced what he could not but regard as a mistaken idea. It was quite a mistake to suppose that the officials had any antipathy to the Native race. On the contrary, it was their earnest desire to reconcile the differences of race, and, as far as possible, promote the welfare of all the population, without reference to colour. The climate and the low salaries paid rendered it difficult to procure efficient public servants, and certainly it was highly desirable that those who were out there should not be hastily condemned. Efforts were being made to improve the system of education. It was difficult to establish municipal and local government in such places, and an experiment of municipal government which had been tried on the Gold Coast had broken down in 1860, and had not been revived. As to the want of sanitary regulations, he had not had sufficient notice that that would be brought forward; but he would make inquiries into the matter, and he had already instituted an inquiry in reference to the alleged want of prison accommodation. The case of a woman who was alleged to have had her hair cut off when in prison had been inquired into in anticipation, for having noticed the circumstance in one of the colonial papers, he caused a despatch to be written for an investigation into the statement, but sufficient time had not yet elapsed to receive an answer. Many of the complaints that were made were found upon examination to be by no means of the importance that was attributed to them. There had of late years been a decided improvement in the state of these colonies. It had been said that since all of them were placed under one government, in accordance with the Report of the Committee of 1865, there had been a great increase of expenditure, and that the Settlements were not so prosperous as before; but he found that whereas in 1864 the revenue of the four Settlements was £91,231, against an expenditure of £103,235; the revenue estimated last year was £152,207, and the expenditure £149,330. In 1864 the value of the imports was £524,000, and of the exports £570,600; whereas, in 1868, the imports had increased to £988,000, and the exports to £1,161,000. These figures gave some hope that the Settlements were improving, and that our philanthropy, self-sacrifice, and good intentions could not have been entirely thrown away upon them. The time might come when they would be great and prosperous and advantageous to this country; but, at all events, they had accomplished the object for which they were established. The slave trade was crushed out, human sacrifice had diminished, and there could be no doubt that civilization was progressing in that part of the world. He had now finished the task imposed upon him by the speech of his hon. Friend the Member for Lambeth. He was grateful to his hon. Friend for having given him an opportunity of addressing the House upon West African affairs. If those affairs were among the most interesting, they were certainly not among the most easy matters with the conduct of which the Colonial Office was charged. It was not easy to manage small Settlements, surrounded by barbarous or semi-barbarous tribes. The laws, the habits, the usages of European States could not be applied with facility to communities which had not yet attained to European civilization. Misunderstandings would sometimes arise; misrepresentations would often be made; and after the facts he had laid before the House, he must ask his hon. Friend to concede that, if Governors of colonies were sometimes wrong, and officials made mistakes, newspaper editors were not always correct, and even missionaries were not infallible. But the policy of this country was clear. She had gained immensely herself from the blessings of Christianity and civilization, and she wished to extend those blessings to every country which owned her sovereignty. It was the wish of the Govern- ment that equal justice should be administered to Her Majesty's subjects in every part of the world; it was their desire that taxation should be fairly and impartially levied; it was their hope that the native population of West Africa might be gradually trained and taught the lessons of self-government, which had been acquired by more civilized nations with real advantage to themselves. But to place these Settlements in a condition such as all must desire to see them must be a work of time. Time and patience were required for this as for every other considerable undertaking. Meanwhile England, recognizing her moral obligation to maintain those Settlements, had endeavoured, and would endeavour, to discharge her duty towards them; and although from time to time shortcomings might be pointed out, there would be, on the part of the Government, no indisposition to apply remedies to such evils as upon investigation might be found to exist; whilst, at the same time, they would cherish a confident hope that such evils would become less and less; that the motives which had actuated, and still did actuate, the conduct of English statesmen towards those Settlements, would become more and more appreciated in the Settlements themselves; and that the result of that conduct would be found in the gradual advance of the Native tribes in civilization and Christianity, and in the permanent establishment of peace, happiness, and prosperity throughout Her Majesty's West African possessions.

SIR CHARLES ADDERLEY

said, that after the full and satisfactory explanation of the Under Secretary for the Colonies it would be unnecessary for him to say but a few words on the subject. It was of considerable importance that nothing should go forth from this House reflecting on Colonial Government without its being accompanied with full means of a valid answer. The hon. Member for Lambeth (Mr. M'Arthur), who had brought forward the Motion, had made an accusation against a distant Crown Government, against which there were no materials for ascertaining the possible reply. Crown colonies had a special right to appeal to this House, having no representative Assembly of their own; but while he admitted that proposition, he submitted that it was most mischievous to bring to this tri- bunal unauthenticated statements from parties on one side of a dispute.

Notice taken, that 40 Members were not present; House counted, and 40 Members being found present—

SIR CHARLES ADDERLEY

resumed—With regard to the allegation that the country wanted to get rid of all such questions, that allegation had been sufficiently answered by the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, who had just spoken. With respect to the supposed mal-administration of justice, he must say that the cases which had been brought forward had been disposed of as far as the Minister was cognizant of them; from which the rest might be judged of. They were mere ex parte statements, brought forward in such a manner that no one could answer them. It was not right to make ex parte statements relative to the administration of justice, when they were very probably the views of a defeated party of his own defeat in the presence of witnesses. The only distinct and personal allegation made against the administration of justice in West Africa was that trial by jury had been abolished; but that was only in civil cases of a small amount, and the change had been most beneficial to the poorer classes of the colony, and litigation, got up by a swarm of jobbing attorneys, had considerably diminished. A Supreme Court, with well-paid Judges, was much more satisfactory in the cause of justice than inferior Courts with a larger number of Judges. With regard to the subject of taxation, when he was in office the taxation of the colony only averaged 10s. per head of population, and that, compared with our home taxation at the rate of between £4 and £5 per head, was not, to our minds, open to serious complaint. It was said, however, the taxes were badly appropriated, and that only £400 a-year was granted for education; but the fact was that the grant represented a mere subsidy, for almost all the required money for educational purposes was provided voluntarily. The question of the exchange of the Gambia for other French possessions on the West Coast he did not consider as of immediate urgency, but thought that a time would probably come when it might be advisable to carry that exchange into effect. The English government of West Africa had been a training to self-government, and was only retained by home officials, now that our slave trade suppression was complete, till the residents could take their own affairs in hand; and he agreed with the views of the Select Committee of 1865, that government on the spot should be developed as far as possible, and made self-supporting, so that the government of England might eventually be withdrawn.

SIR JOHN HAY

said, he was sorry to hear the right hon. Gentleman (Sir Charles Adderley) suggest that a time might come when it would be advisable to hand over the Gambia to a foreign Power; and still more sorry to hear that Sir Arthur Kennedy had made a similar suggestion to the Legislative Council of the colony. Seeing how well the colony had been governed by England he hoped it would continue its present relations with England.

Notice taken, that 40 Members were not present; House counted, and 40 Members not being present,

House adjourned at a quarter before Twelve o'clock, till Monday next.