HC Deb 19 April 1872 vol 210 cc1550-73
MR. T. HUGHES

, in rising to call attention to the incidents of the Civil War in Cuba in connection with the question of Slavery, and to move— That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty that She will be graciously pleased to urge upon the Spanish Government the fulfilment, without further delay, of those Treaty obligations in respect to the Slave Population of Cuba which have been so long neglected, said, that the treatment of what were called the "inferior" races by this and other Christian nations was becoming every year a more and more important question. He would remind the House that it was referred to in the opening paragraph in the Queen's Speech of this Session, in connection with the martyrdom of an English Bishop. Since then Motions had been made and discussions had arisen with respect to the Pacific, the East Coast of Africa, China, Australia, and the West Indies. He had heard it remarked that these matters did not interest the House of Commons, and that the country objected to the expense of the Squadron maintained for the suppression of the Slave Trade on the West Coast of Africa. He should consider it a great misfortune if those statements were true, because the anti-slavery work of this country during the last 50 years had been the noblest part of the nation's work. He was old enough to remember the time when children were trained in the habits of abstaining from slave-grown sugar and subscribing pence for slave emancipation. Of late a good deal of ridicule of a rather thin kind had been expended on these and similar customs; but indifference to such ridicule about matters in which we took a deep interest was one of our most useful national characteristics. In his judgment, such habits were the best antidote against national selfishness and isolation, and kept the nation's head clear, its heart warm, and its nerves strung to meet any serious crisis with wisdom and daring. The Pacific Islanders Bill, which would save us from implication in the Coolie Trade, encouraged him to hope that the state of things in Cuba and Spain would command attention of the Government at this time. That position was exceptional and peculiar in this respect—that, in every other country which had declared for emancipation, the movement came from without, and abolition was forced on the Colonies. Now, in this case of Cuba, it was the Colonies of Spain which desired emancipation, and the planters united with the slaves in demanding it, while the Central Government refused to grant it. To the honour of Spain, be it said, the public opinion of the country, both in metropolis and provinces, favoured the abolition of the Slave Trade, and, according to a despatch of Mr. Trumbull to Lord Palmerston, the same state of things existed 40 years ago. Even in the present year, when the greater part of Cuba was in rebellion, great meetings had been held in Barcelona, Leon, Salamanca, Badajoz, Madrid, and other large towns of Spain, calling on the Government to carry out the principle of the Revolution of 1868, and to emancipate the slaves in the Spanish Colonies. These meetings also returned thanks to the deputies from Porto Rico, who had come over with the scheme of emancipation, and to the 69 Spanish journals which had not received the subventions of the slave party. To go back to the Spanish Revolution of 1868. When it broke out, the Provisional Government of General Prim issued a proclamation abolishing slavery in the Colonies, and it was received with great enthusiasm in Cuba; but, unfortunately, there was delay. There were three members of that Provisional Government who had been Captains General in Cuba or Porto Rico, and who did not command colonial confidence. Consequently, two months after the Revolution in Spain the Revolution in Cuba broke out, and that was followed by the formation of a Government and an Assembly for those parts of the island under revolutionary government. On the 11th of March, 1869, the Cuban Revolutionary Government declared slavery abolished in the island; and the immediate effect of that was to free 100,000 slaves belonging to Members of the Assembly or their sympathizers, and to leave another 100,000 slaves still within the districts occupied by the Spanish troops. Of these the Government of Spain took possession, and worked them for its own benefit, their earnings in 1871 being 15,000,000 reals. The Cuban proclamation was met by a Spanish proclamation, requiring that every man above the age of 15, in the disturbed districts, who was found absent from his home should be summarily shot, and that houses unoccupied and without a white flag should be burned. He trusted to hear that the British Government had remonstrated against that proclamation, as the American Government had remonstrated, in strong language. Since that time the government of the island, unfortunately, had been allowed by the authorities to get into the hands of those Spaniards who were known as the Cuban Volunteers, and those troops were the very worst kind of irregulars. They did not do the fighting, but remained behind and tyrannized over the whole population in the rear of the troops. From the evidence of Spanish officers, who loathed the atrocities committed by them, it appeared that these Volunteers numbered more than 60,000 well-armed Spaniards, who wished to exterminate the Cubans. He did not mean to dwell on these atrocities, and would only therefore refer to the terrible murder of the medical students at Havannah last December, full details of which had appeared in The Times. On the morning of the 23rd of December last, 44 medical students, most of them sons of Cubans who sympathized with the Revolution, dismissed from lecture on account of the illness of the Professor, entered a cemetery and injured the tomb of a Volunteer officer who had been connected with some of the worst doings in that terrible war. They broke a glass case, scattered about the immortelles it contained, and scribbled doggrel verses on the tomb. On this becoming known in the city, the Volunteers called on Captain General Crispo to have all the students tried by court-martial. The 44 students were arrested, and a regular court-martial appointed to try them; but the Volunteers put pressure on the Captain General, and forced him to bring them before a tribunal composed partly of Volunteer officers. The sentence was that eight of them should be shot, and that 30 of the remainder should be sent to the chain-gangs in penal servitude. On the Monday morning the eight young Cubans were shot, and 30 of the students still remained in the chain-gangs. The reason the remaining six other students escaped was, he believed, because they were connected with English or American families. The Captain General, who had now returned to Spain, justified his conduct on the ground that, if he had not consented to the execution of the eight students, the whole of the 44 would undoubtedly have been butchered by the Volunteers. To show the powerlessness of the Government of Spain to deal with this question, he might mention that early in February, when the news had reached Spain, and been considered in that country, 77 Members of the Cortes went to the young King and asked him to release the 30 prisoners. He believed that the King, without leaving the Council Chamber, telegraphed to Cuba that they must be at once released; but the Captain General replied that he dared not release them, because if he did they would certainly be murdered, and probably rivers of blood would flow in the island. It had been said that the rebellion was almost at an end, and was likely to be speedily suppressed; but 30,000 troops were about to be de- spatched to the island in the present year, and, according to the latest returns, there were 59,000 rank and file of the Spanish Army there already. The Volunteers, too, were nearly 60,000 in number; and of the Spanish Fleet there were altogether 50 vessels, carrying 206 guns, on the coast of Cuba. Did that look as if it were likely that the present state of things would be brought to a speedy end? The loss of life both to the Spaniards and the Cubans during the three years of strife, moreover, had been perfectly frightful. At a great meeting held last February in the Circus at Madrid, under the presidency of Senor Zorilla, the ex-Minister for the Colonies stated that of the 110,000 Spanish troops who left for Cuba, 50,000 had died in the island. He now came to the special question of slavery. During the four years of this rebellion, besides the injuries inflicted on the negro slaves, a new form of slavery had been established. He referred to the slavery of the Chinese coolies. Up to the middle of last year, or even later, the rule which obtained was that every Chinaman imported into the island should bind himself to serve for eight years, for $4¼ a month, at the end of which term he could return home. But in December last the Captain General Valmazeda issued an edict, to the effect that a second term of eight years' compulsory service should be imposed on every Chinaman in service in the island, and on his refusing to accept this second term of servitude the coolie became a slave and the property of the Government. Senor Felix Ferra, who succeeded as acting Captain General, issued another edict only a few weeks since, which practically established the absolute slavery of every Chinaman in Cuba. It prohibited every Chinaman from leaving the island, from moving from place to place, except in company with his master, and from obtaining naturalization, or permits of residence in the island. In addition to these lamentable facts, from a letter which he had received from an Englishman living in Havannah, the question of slavery in Cuba was spoken of as becoming more and more important, because the slaveowners were going to import slaves, or coolie labourers, as they were called, on a large scale. The writer declared that there ought to be a Consul or Commissioner in Cuba to look after the condition of the Chinese. That was an observation which it was desirable should attract the attention of the noble Lord the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Now he was in a condition to prove that a new kind of slavery was being established in Cuba, and that two influential companies had been formed in Havannah for the special purpose of importing Chinese. Advertisements had been published in the latest Cuban journals, stating that four vessels belonging to those societies, with 1,900 of these unfortunate slaves on board, were actually on their way to Cuba, and one of the societies offered 850 and the other society offered 950 for sale. But it might be said, supposing all this to be true, what right had any other nation to interfere? He should say that this country had most undoubtedly a right, and was, indeed, bound to remonstrate on this state of things. One reason for interference on the part of England was, that Spain was pouring Cuban refugees, who were utterly destitute, into the West Indian Islands, leaving them there dependent on the charity of the inhabitants. That was one reason justifying the interference of England; but, in addition, there was a still stronger reason for English interference, for Spain was bound by treaties which explicitly gave England the right of appealing to the Spanish Government, and of strongly pressing the appeal on this subject. In 1817 a treaty was made between Spain and England, by which it was declared that the Slave Trade carried on with certain parts of Africa should be abolished in 1820, and His Britannic Majesty engaged to pay £400,000 as compensation for the loss of the said traffic. That treaty proved to be insufficient for the purpose in view, being limited to a certain portion of the coast of Africa; and in 1835 a new treaty was entered into, the 1st clause of which enacted that the Slave Trade should be declared by Spain to be totally and finally abolished in all parts of the world. It might be said that those treaties only applied to the Slave Trade. They certainly did not apply to the negroes in slavery in Cuba at the time of their conclusion; but they applied to every other negro afterwards landed there, and the lowest estimate of the number of slaves imported since the date of those treaties put it at five or six times the amount previously living in Cuba. Therefore it was quite clear the greater part of the negro population now living in that island must have been imported since 1820, or must be the descendants of slaves imported since that date. But the fact was, that both the treaties had been neglected by the Spanish Government. Over and over again the late Lord Palmerston had applied to the Court of Spain, peremptorily insisting on the fulfilment of these engagements; but the state of things had not been altered. The question then arose—What could Her Majesty's Government do in the case as it stood at present? It was now said that Spain herself was almost in a state of revolution, and that it would be an act of unfriendliness to press, at the present time, upon the Government of that country claims founded on those treaties. But he (Mr. Hughes) felt strongly that the time would inevitably come when such claims must be pressed, and he believed, indeed, that that time had already arrived; nor could he think that by doing so the British Government would commit an act of unfriendliness, or imperil the throne of the young King Amadeus by taking this course. On the contrary, it was his conviction that that throne would be better secured if a little pressure from the English Government led him to declare the emancipation of the slaves in Cuba. This matter, however, did not rest alone with the Spanish Government or with the English Government. Other Powers had already intervened to a certain extent, and what had occurred in Cuba had evoked the sternest protests from the United States, protests made in his (Mr. Hughes's) belief with a loyal view of obtaining emancipation for the slaves, and not for any ulterior purpose. It therefore could not be an unfriendly thing to urge the young King of Spain to proclaim emancipation at once, and he believed most sincerely that if emancipation were proclaimed, it would give by far the best chance of terminating the Rebellion in Cuba without separating the island from the Spanish Crown. He thought, accordingly, that our Government should press at once, and firmly, for the fulfilment of Spain's treaty obligations, and should insist that all negroes not native born who were now in the Island of Cuba, and all the children of negroes who were not in the island in 1820, should be at once emancipated, and that care should be taken that a new slave trade, as horrible in its details as any which had ever existed, should not be suffered to grow up in the island. In view of so terrible a contingency, the delivery of such remonstrances could not possibly be intrusted to a fitter man than to our present Ambassador in Spain. The Spanish Government should also be urged to allow the appointment of our Consul General, or some other competent person, as a Commissioner for the Chinese on the island; and he was certain that nothing but some such arrangement as that would put a stop to the new slave trade from China, which had been in operation since the beginning of last year. The hon. and learned Gentleman concluded by moving the Address.

MR. GILPIN

, in seconding the Motion, said, he was doing no more than asking the Government to continue in the path which Lord Palmerston during all his life had so steadfastly adhered to, for there was in the Foreign Office, and in this country generally, a strong desire to see slavery abolished, and the engagements which Spain had entered into fulfilled; and he hoped the House would that night give authority to the Government to say to Spain, in terms that could not be misunderstood—"We are tired, after the sum of money we have paid you for the abolition of slavery, of seeing the present state of things going on, and we must press upon you the fulfilment of the engagement which you entered into with us." We, moreover, undoubtedly had a right to ask Spain to fulfil her contract with us, if we could satisfy ourselves that the Cuban insurrection had grown out of the question of slavery. The fact was, we had been living in a fool's Paradise, deluding ourselves into the belief that slavery was abolished throughout the length and breadth of the world, while there never was a time when slavery, under varied names, was so rampant as it was at this moment. The question was one in which, fortunately, party politics had no share; for while one side of the House could point to its Wilber-force, the other could claim its Clarkson and its Buxton. He believed that the insurrection or rebellion in Cuba had for its chief object the emancipation of the slaves, and that if the Spanish Government at the outset had decreed freedom, the outbreak would have been but a very small one, if it had occurred at all. Some thought it would be unfriendly to Spain to make representations on the subject; but our experience showed it would be the most friendly course we could pursue, especially as the withdrawal of Spanish soldiers would be a distinct gain to Spain. The rejection of the Motion would not, however, express the true feeling of the House, and he was sure it enlisted the sympathies of the Under Secretary, whatever view he might take of the question officially; and he (Mr. Gilpin) would express a hope that the discussion would revive something of that old anti-slavery feeling in the country which formed one of the best reminiscences of his younger days, and which was one of the finest characteristics of our better nature.

Amendment proposed, To leave out from the word "That" to the end of the Question, in order to add the words "an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty that She will be graciously pleased to urge upon the Spanish Government the fulfilment, without further delay, of those Treaty obligations in respect to the Slave Population of Cuba which have been so long neglected,"—(Mr. Thomas Hughes,) —instead thereof.

Question proposed, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question."

MAJOR ARBUTHNOT

said, he was in doubt, until he had heard the speeches of the hon. Mover and Seconder of the Motion, whether it pointed to the question of slavery in Cuba simply, or to the Cuban question generally. Having been in the island during the heat of the disturbance, and in the centre of the disturbed districts, he could speak with some authority upon the state of the case, and in the first place would remark, that opinion on the Cuban question seemed to be divided into three factions—the Spanish, the Cuban, and the American. The Spanish faction did not wish to see Cuba handed over to America, or any other foreign Power, or even to become independent; because it was well known she could not maintain her position. The Cuban view was participated in by the Coloured and Creole population, and fostered by inflammatory addresses from a few rich and ambitious Cubans living in wealth in New York, who were also the prime movers in filibustering expeditions. This party sided with the Americans in their endeavours to get rid of Spain; but the union between the Americans and the Cubans ended with this—for, while the Cubans sought complete independence, the Americans knew the island must fall into their hands if the Spanish were excluded, unless they wished to see it another Mexico or St. Domingo. Much had been said of the manner in which the Rebellion had been suppressed; but information on this subject should be received with reserve. It mainly came from two sources—official correspondence between Mr. Fish and General Sickles, and the statements of American newspaper correspondents. The latter reflected great credit upon the ingenuity of the writers, but should not be trusted. As to the character of the disturbance, he objected to its being described as a state of war, and in this he was supported by General Grant, who some time since had stated that there was no absolute state of war, and no de facto political organization, and who had clearly stated as much in his Message to Congress. The conduct of Spain had not been characterized by that cruelty which some attributed to it, and but very few cases of inhumanity came under his notice. Even if the rule of the Spaniards had been harsh, it was not for us to throw stones with Jamaica fresh in our recollection, although he would be the last to say a word against that much ill-used man Governor Eyre, the victim of ill-informed sentimentality. Knowing, as we did, that a little well-timed severity would prevent great mischief, and be the means of preventing great loss of life and suffering, the policy of Spain in Cuba should not be unreservedly condemned, although, at the same time, he thought it would have been much better for all parties if a man of greater firmness and resolution had commanded at the outset. Allusion had been made to the murder of the unfortunate students at Havannah, and the hon. and learned Gentleman (Mr. T. Hughes) had shown that the general who was guilty of abetting that crime had been taken to task for it by his Government—with what result he knew not. He believed that the Spanish Government were not so much to blame in that matter, and the only reason which they—and, perhaps, Spain at large—had to blush in reference to it, was that a man holding a Spanish commission should, in order to save his own life—which would have been sacrificed if he had taken another course—have put his name to such an atrocious paper as that which was presented to him. He did not defend Spain for not acting up to her treaty obligations; but he did not quite see what the best course open to Her Majesty's Government was in that matter. It was now an accepted principle, especially among hon. Gentlemen opposite, that we ought not to interfere diplomatically in the affairs—and particularly the internal affairs—of other countries. If this had been the case of a first-class Power—which possibly Spain could not claim to be—he felt confident that we should not interfere except by the most friendly despatches, really amounting to nothing. If, as they had been told, Lord Palmerston had protested repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, he could hardly see of what avail a protest would be coming from a Government which regarded treaties as such ephemeral things, as they might be supposed to regard them from their action upon the Treaty of Paris. Even Spain might return a polite answer, but take no further notice of the protest, knowing that we had no intention of backing it up or adopting any other step in the matter. Moreover, the insurgents of Cuba had put themselves out of court in respect to sympathy. Had they risen at a moment when there existed real tyranny it would have been a different matter; but they rose when there was about to be a great change in the administration of the country, and they did not give the Spanish Government an opportunity of carrying out its reforms. He believed that those who instigated the late Rebellion in Spain also instigated the Rebellion in Cuba with the intention of hampering the then Government of Spain. In the present state of things, therefore, and until the insurrection in Cuba was at an end, he thought a protest on our part, if it was not absolutely uncalled for, could at least lead to no practical result.

MR. SERJEANT SIMON

, in reference to what had just fallen from the hon. and gallant Member (Major Arbuthnot), said, it was somewhat embarrassing that the hon. and gallant Gentleman should have imported his own personal knowledge into the discussion, because he (Mr. Serjeant Simon) would be at issue with Mm upon matters of fact as well as of opinion. Without intending any disrespect to the hon. and gallant Member opposite, he must say that his observation in regard to Cuba had been superficial, and that his information was unsound. From his(Mr. Serjeant Simon's) own personal knowledge and experience of Cuba, dating back now some 40 years, and having travelled through that island and visited most of the principal cities and towns which were the scene of the insurrection, he could assure the House that he had never found but one sentiment among the people—namely, a detestation of the Government under which they lived. It was a Government which might be described as a pure military despotism, and corrupt in every department. All the great appointments in the island emanated from the mother country; and he had heard of one high official person in Cuba—a collector of revenue—who had been thrice dismissed in consequence of peculation, and thrice replaced in his position by his influence with the Cabinet at Madrid. It was a well-known fact that Governors General who went out from Spain as poor soldiers returned as rich men, and were covered with stars, orders, and titles of every description; and he could state that ever since he was a boy there had existed among all classes in Cuba a feeling of disaffection, and a strong desire for a change in the management of their affairs. That feeling had gradually deepened into the conviction that they had no chance of achieving their freedom except by the means to which they had had recourse. The hon. and gallant Member had spoken disparagingly of the rich Cubans, who he said issued inflammatory manifestoes from New York, and fitted out filibustering expeditions. But if the leading men of a community did not take the lead in a great national movement, to whom were they to look to do so? Those Cubans at New York had been driven there by the necessities of their position, and had resorted to the only means open to them as exiles to free their countrymen from the oppression to which they were subjected under the military rule of Spain. He knew the Cubans well—they were the most hospitable, they were the gentlest of human kind; and he had a deep sympathy for their sufferings, and a high admiration for the courage and endurance they had displayed in their endeavour to establish their liberties. One of the first acts of the Provisional Government was to proclaim the freedom of the negroes. He had witnessed slavery in Cuba and other parts of the West, and was acquainted with the miseries and evils inseparable from the system. The hon. and gallant Member was hardly old enough to remember the Slave Trade; but he (Mr. Serjeant Simon) had seen a captured slaver brought into an English port. Originally she had sailed from Africa with 500 negroes on board, men and women, and chiefly young persons, but many of them had died and had been thrown overboard on the voyage. When the vessel arrived, he, with some friends, went on board, and was a witness to the misery which the survivors had endured. They had been packed in the hold and on the deck of the vessel in rows of three or four, close together, as cattle were packed in a railway truck. The posture in which the poor creatures had been placed during the greater part of the voyage was a sitting posture, their knees reaching up to their chins, and their feet in an almost perpendicular line with their knees. He heard their groans, and witnessed their agonies, in the endeavour to straighten their limbs and to walk, and should never forget the hideous spectacle. This was not an exceptional case, it was in the ordinary course of the trade. The cost of fitting out several vessels was comparatively small, and was likely to be recouped by the chance of escape, and one voyage out of three would recoup the capture of two vessels and pay a large profit upon the expedition. It was of great importance that this country should keep a sharp eye, lest a similar trade should be brought into activity from the East. It was important that Her Majesty's Government should keep their attention fixed upon the conduct of the Spanish Government with reference to the importation of Chinese and coolies into Cuba, and at least exercise that friendly admonition which might secure adequate protection to the poor emigrant, such as was afforded in English Colonies. A long period had elapsed since the horrors of the Slave Trade were depicted in that House, and the rising generation in this country were not sufficiently informed on the subject, and looked upon slavery as a thing of the past. Although he was one of those who repudiated the doctrine of intervention, he thought there would be nothing opposed to the policy they had laid down in that respect or to the comity of nations in administering friendly warning and counsel to Spain, and reminding her of her treaty obligations.

MR. E. N. FOWLER

desired to tender his thanks to his noble Friend opposite (Viscount Enfield) for his production of the Papers which had been moved for some weeks ago, and, in passing, would remark that, in his opinion, his hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Hereford (Major Arbuthnot) had been misunderstood in the observations he had made upon the question. He (Mr. Fowler) held in his hand a statement showing the result of Census returns in Cuba, from which it appeared that there were in that island 34,025 males, and only 25 female coloured persons—a circumstance of the disparity of sexes highly suggestive as to the existence of slavery. He hoped the result of the present Motion would be to strengthen the hands of Her Majesty's Government in putting an end to the evils which afflicted that dependency of Spain.

SIR CHARLES WINGFIELD

said, he did not attach implicit credit to the assurances of the Spanish Government that there had been no importation of slaves into Cuba of late years, for from the statements of the English Consul it appeared that a cargo of slaves was landed in Cuba in 1867, and in 1868 Mr. Layard wrote that he believed the reports of slaves having been landed were not wholly destitute of foundation. The Emancipation Law passed in 1870 was inadequate and illusory, and under it the treatment of emancipados, was even worse than that of the original slaves. The most stringent edicts were inoperative when their execution was left to interested agents, and although the Emancipation enactment was framed in a manner to be as tender as possible to the slave-owners, yet our Consul General stated that it would be thwarted with all the cunning and chicanery for which the slave-owners of Cuba were so remarkable. As to the condition of the Chinese coolies in Cuba it was clear that they were abso- lutely sold on their arrival, and that Asiatic colonization in Cuba was, as Marshal Serrano said, perpetual slavery. In fact, Asiatic slavery was now taking the place of African slavery, as evidenced by the fact that the coolies in the island now numbered 50,000, and they were continually increasing. With all deference to the right hon. Member for North Staffordshire (Sir Charles Adderley), he (Sir Charles Wingfield) entirely differed in opinion with him upon this question, and held that to remedy the evil, they must strike at the source of supply, and not of demand. Macao was the great seat of the emigration trade, and within the last few days they had had placed in their hands a correspondence which revealed fresh horrors in this species of traffic. The Judge of the Mixed Commission at the Cape of Good Hope stated that the emigration was voluntary only in name, and the grossest cruelties were committed. The coolies were entrapped at Macao, terrified by threats from saying that they were unwilling to emigrate, sent on board ship under a military guard and emigration agents who played into the hands of the kidnappers, put between decks, and cannon were planted so as to sweep the decks. The emigration rules might not be bad so far as they went; but they were not carried out in good faith, for Macao was too deeply interested in the continuance of the emigration trade. If the authorities desired that no coolies should be sent away without their own consent, why did they not dispense with the armed guard? But the Portuguese Government expressed no horror, or even regret, at the tragedy of the Dolores Ugarte; but made the allegation—which seemed rather impudent—that the trade carried on from Hong Kong was quite as bad. That charge had been abundantly refuted, and it was difficult to imagine a more disrespectful reply to the remonstrances of the British Government. He would suggest to the noble Lord the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Viscount Enfield) to devise some measure, in conjunction with the Chinese Government, for stopping this emigration from Macao. He admitted the benefits of emigration when carried on as it was from Hong Kong to the United States and Australia—that was, when the Chinese went of their own accord, to push their fortunes, and were not trepanned by recruiting agents and consigned to masters like slaves; but what humanizing, civilizing, or elevating influence could they receive under a state of things in which they were driven by despair to kill their oppressors and destroy themselves. The Chinaman, therefore, who returned to his own country after such treatment imbued the minds of his countrymen with a hatred of Europeans, and associated them with kidnapping, and the cry of kidnappers was always enough to raise a Chinese mob against Europeans. He did not think we should be doing our duty if we did not take more decided measures with a Government which had shown itself so unmindful of human suffering as that of Portugal; and the remembrance of what this country had done in years gone by for the suppression of the Slave Trade, ought to incite our Government to do all they possibly could to stop this iniquitous traffic, and not to rest content with a mere polite remonstrance on our part.

VISCOUNT ENFIELD

said, his hon. and learned Friend the Member for Frome had spoken on the subject with his usual ability, and with that earnestness and generosity of purpose which always characterized everything he had to say when human suffering was in question. He could assure both him and the House that with the sentiments he had expressed and his horror of the Slave Trade he most cordially sympathized; but he wished to bring back the attention of the House to the Motion now before them, from which the last two speakers had somewhat deviated. That question was, as to what the Government were able or would be willing to do towards pressing on Spain the fulfilment of her treaty obligations for the suppression of the Slave Trade in Cuba. He need not remind the House with regard to the insurrection now going on in Cuba that so far back as 1823 there was much discontent among the Creoles, forming the greater part of the White population, against the Spanish Government. There were risings, but no actual bloodshed. The feeling of the population was hostile to Spanish rule. In October, 1868, the knowledge of what was passing in the Spanish capital precipitated matters; an insurrection broke out in Cuba, which continued to rage more or less till the present time. Although there was no subject of more political interest in Spain, and none which more divided men into political factions, there was, unfortunately, one feeling which united all, and one determination which influenced their actions, which was that they could and would put down this insurrection in Cuba; and that until it was suppressed they could not entertain any proposition with regard to the suppression of the Slave Trade. Unpalatable as these sentiments might be for us, some allowance must be made for the Spaniards under their present difficulties. We should also be acting unfairly if we did not remember what were exactly the treaty obligations of Spain. No doubt there was a treaty with ourselves so far back as 1817; but the principal treaty on which we might rely with regard to any representations it might be our duty to submit to the Spanish Government, was concluded at Madrid on the 28th of June, 1835. By that Treaty, the Spanish Government declared the Slave Trade to be thenceforward abolished in all parts of the world, and declared that Spanish subjects should not be concerned, nor the Spanish flag employed in this traffic, and they undertook to use all effectual means for carrying out their intentions. The treaty was designed for the stopping of the African Slave Trade, and to form regulations for the good treatment of negroes who might be taken out of the vessels captured by the cruisers. That treaty, however, contained no stipulations which gave this country the right of interfering in the status of slavery in the Spanish possessions, and this distinction should be borne in mind by the House—we had clearly-defined stipulations that Spain should suppress the traffic in slaves, and that the captured negroes should be treated humanely and restored to liberty and their country within a certain period; but Spain had complete liberty of action as to whether she should retain slavery as an institution in her colonies, free her slaves tomorrow, or provide for a gradual state of emancipation; and England had no treaty right to interfere. With regard to the African Slave Trade, he must allow that Spain might fairly say that her treaty obligations had been observed with good faith, for there was no authentic record of any cargo of slaves having been landed in the Spanish Dominions for the last five years. Rumours of small batches of slaves having been landed had been occasionally reported, but not confirmed. Within the last 15 years up to 1868 upwards of 40,000 slaves were annually imported into Cuba; in 1868 the return was nil, and we might now look upon the Cuban Slave Trade as over. Having said that much in her favour, he must, however, in all frankness, admit that the engagements of Spain towards this country in regard to captured negroes had not been fulfilled in the manner we could wish. By Article 4 of the Treaty of 1835 it was provided— If the cruiser which makes the capture is Spanish, the negroes shall be delivered over to the Spanish authorities of the Havannah, or of any other point of the Dominion of the Queen of Spain in which the Mixed Court of Justice is established, and the Spanish Government solemnly engages that they shall be then treated strictly according to the regulations lately promulgated and now in force at the Havannah, with respect to the treatment of emancipated negroes according to such regulations as may in future be adopted, and which have and shall always have the humane object of improving and securing honestly and faithfully to the emancipated negroes the enjoyment of their acquired liberty, good treatment, &c., in order that the said emancipated negroes may be put in a condition to earn their subsistence, whether as artizans, mechanics, or servants. Article 5 provided— That a register shall be kept of all emancipated negroes, in which shall be entered with scrupulous exactness the names given to the negroes, the names of the vessels in which they were captured, and the names of the persons to whose care they have been committed. Article 6 provided— That the register referred to in the preceding Article shall serve as a general return, which the Government or Captain General shall be bound to deliver every six months to the British and Spanish Mixed Commission, in order to show the existence of the negroes emancipated under this treaty, and the decease of such as have died. These regulations, if fairly carried out, would have insured the freedom of all captured negroes; but we could not and we must not disguise the fact that the condition of the so-called emancipados had differed little from that of the actual slaves. They had been subject to the caprice of their masters; they had had to perform the same hours of work as the slaves; they had been bought and sold—many times under the guise of being transferred to different masters—and, though entitled to their liberty, had been in many cases compelled to take the places of deceased slaves. The Spanish Government, on the other hand, in a Memorandum, dated the 31st of March last, communicated by Senor Blas to Mr. Layard, Her Majesty's Minister at Madrid, maintained that the law of the 25th of July, 1870, in regard to emancipados was strictly fulfilled, and that the Africans in this category were in the full enjoyment of their liberty. The Spanish Minister added— It is true that the superior Civil Governor of Cuba, to avoid the vagrancy of these libertos, and to obviate the inconveniences which they might cause to the public order, has urged them to contract for employment freely, and that such contracts have been made; but it is unjust to deduce from this that they constitute a real state of slavery, for the Minister of the Colonies has taken care to warn his delegate in Cuba that, though he should not hinder the signing of contracts of the nature of the above, but should do all in his power to encourage them when they have as their object the free contracting of labour as a consequence of the prescriptions of the law of slavery, and of the state of affairs to which the same give rise, and when the conditions agreed on do not impose restrictions on those who are freed by this law, but tend to foment agriculture and industry in the spirit which guided the Constituent Cortes in dictating their first dispositions in the matter, he, the Minister of the Colonies, was, notwithstanding, decided not to allow of indirect restrictions being placed on the liberty of the emancipados. With regard to the substitution of emancipados for deceased slaves, the falsification of lists, &c., the Spanish Minister stated that— The Minister of the Colonies has no official knowledge of such facts, and is resolved to punish them with the full rigour of the law if substantiated by a proper channel, so that the respective authorities may report on them. It was perfectly true that our representations had not been crowned with the success we had hoped for; but even those who were most disappointed would admit that we had never ceased to press the subject on the Spanish Government, and that although our exertions in their behalf had not been very successful, here and there batches had been liberated and made over to the British authorities for exportation to our own colonies. But England, having secured the fulfilment of the treaty obligations with respect to the African Slave Trade, had never ceased to press forward the other duties and the other obligations of Spain towards the emancipados, the number of whom in Cuba in March last, according to a despatch from our Consul General in the Havannah, was about 6,000, and according to the law of July 25, 1870, those Africans should now be in the enjoyment of their full liberty. The 50th paragraph of the law said— All slaves belonging for any reason to the State are declared free. In the like manner those who, as emancipados, may be under the protection of the State, shall at once enter upon the full exercise of the rights of free men. Mr. Consul Dunlop reported that contracts for the services of these freedmen were still in request, and that as much as £70 per head was paid as a douceur to the authority who could procure for the applicant the free services of an emancipado. There were difficulties in making the emancipados know that they were free. They saw their follow labourers working as slaves and did not appreciate their own position; and the Spanish authorities had trouble in keeping the two classes separate; and for those reasons it would be a dangerous experiment to allow the emancipados to remain among the slave population, and to give them their full liberty. At the same time, however, the value of the free labour of the libertos or emancipados, was too great to allow of their being removed from the country. We must look to the law of 1870, which freed all children born since 1868 and all slaves over 60 years of age, as the best means for the ultimate extinction of slavery in Cuba. If that were fairly carried out—and we had no right to doubt that it would not be, especially as soon as the insurrection was suppressed—a few years would see the slave-working population of Cuba in a minority, instead of in a majority as at present, and, humanly speaking, the future total extinction of slavery might fairly be looked forward to. In Puerto Rico, the Spanish authorities had proved their good faith by liberating, under the law of June, 1870, many slaves, whose owners had neglected to register them, or had registered them falsely, believing that the returns were required for purposes of taxation. We might reasonably hope that the good example set by Puerto Rico would in a short time be followed by Cuba. Above all, we must not overlook the immense difficulties under which all Spanish authority was placed—incessant changes of Government, an insurrection of four years' standing in Cuba, the determination of the Spanish people, unanimous in this respect, to put down these risings against their authority before they would approach the abolition of slavery. Our Minister at Madrid had worked zealously, heartily, and with tact and discretion in this cause, and the Papers that would be laid on the Table would prove this. Her Majesty's Government had made representations to the Spanish Government on this subject, and would continue to make them. We must, however, he repeated, make some allowance for the great difficulties under which the Spanish Government had laboured for some years past, and we might entertain the hope that when Spain settled down under the constitutional authority of her young King she would be able to carry out faithfully those obligations into which she had entered with this country. In conclusion, he hoped his hon. Friend would not put the House to the trouble of going to a division; for, although the object of the Motion was one with which Her Majesty's Government fully sympathized, yet, on behalf of the Government, he could not consent to an Address being moved in the terms in which his hon. Friend had brought forward the subject that evening.

MR. STEPHEN CAVE

said, nothing could be more satisfactory than the speech they had just heard; but he could not understand why, with the feelings the noble Lord said Her Majesty's Government entertained, he should have had any difficulty in assenting to the very moderate proposal of his hon. Friend the Member for Frome. From his own knowledge of the subject—for it was one which in former years he had brought before the House—ho could state that the position of these unfortunate people, the emancipados, was far from satisfactory. Yet as the slavers were usually Spaniards, our cruisers were considered bound to take them to Havannah, or some other Spanish port. Lord Palmerston had been so much impressed with this that, urged by a deputation of which he (Mr. Cave) formed one, he came to the resolution to treat slavers, unless they showed-a flag, as of no nationality; and as slavers very rarely carried flags or papers, from that day many cargoes of slaves for Cuba were stopped, and the ill-treatment which they would have received was exchanged for the freedom of the British Islands, and other places in which slavery had been abolished. Knowing a little of Cuba, he was a little surprised when he heard from his hon. Friend that the feelings of the people there had very much altered. When he was in the island, the slavery was of the most atrocious description; and if the Cubans wished to abolish it, they had only to take advantage of the excellent slave code which then existed, for the Spanish law was even more favourable to emancipation than any which had ever prevailed in the British Colonies, inasmuch as it enabled the slave to purchase his freedom by degrees—a day at a time—even without the consent of his master. Unfortunately, however, circumstances arose which, in consequence of making the slave of greater value, induced the masters to render the law of no avail whatever, and to defraud the slaves in many cases of the freedom they had already earned. The Act which was passed in 1846 equalizing the duty on slave-grown sugar increased the value of slaves, and from that time slavery took a fresh start. Before that time the Cubans were willing that the Slave Trade should be abolished, but the profits then became so large that it was their interest that the traffic should be kept up. It was perfectly easy for anyone who understood the subject at once to fix upon the nationality of a negro, and to say whether he was born in the island—a Creole—or whether he had been imported from Africa—a Bozal. He believed that a very large proportion of the slaves now in Cuba were entitled to their liberty under our treaty, as having been imported since its date and contrary to its provisions. Emancipados landed from captured slavers were put into a state of apprenticeship; but it was said that if there were emancipados on an estate the negro slaves never died, the one being substituted for the other. In consequence of what Lord Palmerston did, and of the alteration in our system, by which small steamers were placed on the Coast of Cuba as well as the Coast of Africa, a very great hindrance was thrown in the way of the Slave Trade, and African slaves became extremely valuable. It then entered into somebody's head to substitute a so-called free emigration of Chinese for the African Slave Trade, which gratified many people in this country who were most opposed to the Slave Trade; but the fact was the result was infinitely worse, because the immigration of free labourers into a slave country could not exist without the greatest posssible abuses. The free Asiatic labourer became degraded to the position of a slave, and from his superior organization felt it far more. A very large slave traffic was carried on from China to Cuba, and though at one time a certain kind of supervision was exercised over the embarkation, as there was none on the other side it was perfectly futile. Supervision, in order to be effectual, was required at the port of disembarkation as well of embarkation. The Chinese, therefore, had no protection whatever in Cuba, except their disposition to commit suicide. The negro might be flogged to death; he would die under the lash; but the Cubans soon found out that unless they treated the Chinese with a little more humanity they were apt to commit suicide. The late Lord Taunton gave Spain the monopoly of this traffic by refusing to allow Chinese emigration to the British West Indies, without a fixed proportion of women. But in the British West Indies, where there was a large surplus of negro women, the Chinese, after the emigration had been sanctioned by the present Lord Derby, married the negresses, and he was informed that their offspring were a very fine set of people. But in Cuba there was a great scarcity of women—as very few were brought from the Coast of Africa, and, therefore, the men were greatly in excess. Hence the many disadvantages which accompanied the immigration of one sex only. But the Chinese who were kidnapped not only committed suicide in Cuba, but their sufferings at sea were so great that they often rose on the crew, massacreing and being massacred. It was a great misfortune, not only to the British West Indies but to the Chinese themselves, that the emigration of Chinese to those islands had been stopped, and the monopoly again given to Spain, owing to the alterations made in the excellent treaty negotiated by Sir Harry Parkes, because, as everyone knew, they were well treated in those colonies, although there might have been some cases of abuse. With regard to what was to be done in this case, he must say that if we were to press, without discretion and without very considerable tact and delicacy, Spain or any other country to carry out what we considered to be her duty, we should run the risk of doing what we did in the case of Brazil—enlisting the pride of that country against us, and inducing it to delay what, if left alone, it would have done at a much earlier date. But at the same time, when we had treaty engagements, when we had absolutely paid the large sum which we paid to Spain in pursuance of that treaty, we had a right to go to Spain from time to time and repeat our remonstrances at her conduct. It seemed to him that the proposition of his hon. and learned Friend did not go beyond that, and therefore, if he divided the House, he should be very willing to support him. However, in all cases of this kind, he thought the debate did more good than the actual Motion, as showing that England had not lost her interest in this matter. In conclusion, the right hon. Gentleman paid a tribute to the zeal of Mr. Layard, the British Minister at Madrid, against slavery and the Slave Trade, and oppression generally, instancing the case of prompt action at his (Mr. Cave's) request on behalf of a British sailor who had been confined for an excessive period in gaol at Barcelona.

MR. T. HUGHES

said, as it appeared that Her Majesty's Government were pressing, and would continue to press, the necessity of fulfilling these obligations to this country upon the Spanish Government, he should not put the House to the trouble of dividing; but he hoped Her Majesty's Government would lay additional Papers on this subject before the House.

VISCOUNT ENFIELD

said, that additional Papers bearing upon the Slave Trade question should be printed during the course of the Session.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.