§ 5. Mr. LINFIELDasked the Under-Secretary of Sate for Foreign Affairs whether, seeing that the treaties upon the slave trade, dated 1842, 1862, and 1863, made between this country and the United States of America, regarding the slave trade on the high seas, were denounced last year upon the initiative of His Majesty's Government, and in view of the admitted recrudescence of slavery in certain parts of the world, other treaties will be substituted for them before the denunciation takes effect in April next?
§ Mr. McNEILLIt is not the case that there has been any recrudescence of the slave trade on the high seas. The answer to the question is in the negative.
§ Mr. CHARLES ROBERTSHas the hon. Gentleman seen the statement of the First Lord of the Admiralty that there has been a recrudescence of slavery?
§ Mr. McNEILLI have not seen any statement given in those terms.
§ 6. Mr. TREVELYANasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the slave trade treaties between Great Britain and the Governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Hayti, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden were denounced upon the initiative of His Majesty's Government; if so, for what reasons; and whether, before effect is given to these denunciations, it is proposed to substitute other anti-slavery treaties?
§ Mr. McNEILLHis Majesty's Government denounced the treaties in accordance 469 with their general policy of abolishing all obsolete instruments, the state of affairs which they were designed to meet no longer existing since slave trading has happily been long extinct so far as the signatories to the treaties are concerned. There is no occasion therefore to replace the treaties by similar ones.