LORD BROUGHAMpresented a petition in connexion with the emancipation of slaves 489 in the West Indies, and the policy of 1846 abolishing the differential duty on sugar— a policy which he should never cease to deplore and to reprobate—from a most respectable planter, merchant, and proprietor in the city of London, Mr. Alexander Stewart, who stated that he had invested large sums of money in the purchase of freeholds in Jamaica; that he had been one of the most prosperous of planters previous to the year 1846, but that now the whole of his estates and securities were absolutely unremunerative; that not one acre of his land was he able to sell or in any way dispose of; and that the entire of his property, which was the accumulation of his own industry, and to the enjoyment of which, therefore, he was entitled, had been swept away. The petitioner attributed this, in a great measure, to the policy of 1846; and he (Lord Brougham) always argued, not only that such would be its effect upon private enterprise, but that the direct, inevitable, and immediate tendency of that measure would be the almost incalculable increase of the African slave trade, He did not think, however, that the steps which we then unwisely took were now to be retraced. It was too late for that; but we might do all we could; and he doubted not that his noble Friends opposite were, one and all, zealously and resolutely bent on doing all they could to accomplish that great object, the general abolition of the slave trade, the partial abolition only of which formed no little part of the grievances of our colonial fellow subjects. It was with horror he had only lately seen it announced, as one of the ordinary articles of commercial intelligence, that a vessel had landed its cargo of human beings on the island of Cuba, and that out of her had been put on shore no fewer than 600 miserable slaves. [The Earl of CLARENDON: There were 1,100.] Eleven hundred! 600 was bad enough; that there were 1,100 only aggravated his horror. Three years ago he had called upon his noble Friend opposite to state what information he had received of the proceedings which were taking by the United States' Government against the "Cuban expedition"—against that act which they all agreed in stigmatising as piracy of the worst and foulest description—save that there was a worse still, He rejoiced to think that subsequent information reached them of the great Government of the United States having done its duty with respect to those pirates—of its having resisted the efforts of that mob urged on by 490 a base passion for mere lucre—and of its having suppressed, he believed successfully, the Cuban piracy. Upon the same view, then, seeing that Spain would have looked upon that expedition as a manifest breach of the law of nations if it had not been suppressed by the Government of the State where it had originated, might we not now say that there was a worse piracy in operation—a grosser breach of the law of nations—and that there had been a crime and a piracy committed against that law still more execrable in its nature and effects than the Cuban expedition? He meant the piracy whereby that vessel was loaded on the coast of Africa, partly with unhappy Africans seized by main force, and partly with those miserable creatures trepanned by mere fraud —whereby that Spanish slaver was loaded, and carried across the Atlantic through all the horrors of the middle passage its cargo of human beings? His noble Friend opposite knew much better than he did what was the state of our relations with Spain in regard to the African slave trade. It had been made illegal in Spain many years ago. In 1835 more effectual measures were taken for its suppression, and the introduction of slaves into the Havannah was reduced from 28,000 or 30,000 per annum to 12,000 or 14,000. Under General O'Donnell, however, it had again revived; and the question which he wished to put was, whether any steps had been taken lately by means of our consuls to ascertain with whom rested the blame of these recent transactions?
§ The EARL of CLARENDON,who spoke in a low tone, was understood to say that he was sorry to be obliged to inform his noble and learned Friend that the particular case to which he had called their Lordships' attention—although he hoped it stood singular in point of horror and atrocity—was by no means the only case which had come under the knowledge of the Government. He regretted to have to state that the slave trade was at present carried on to a considerable extent in Cuba, notwithstanding the most active and energetic remonstrances of Her Majesty's consul-general, who had used every exertion in his power to put an end to so inhuman a traffic. That officer had lately reported, with respect to the particular case which had been brought under their Lordships' notice, that such was the state of the law in the case of slaves in Cuba, that it was impossible to rescue the newly-imported negroes from the moment they had passed 491 into the hands of their new owners. It was, therefore, almost useless to denounce the authorities of the island, or to attempt to bring the case of those unfortunate negroes under the cognisance of the local tribunals. He could assure his noble and learned Friend, however, that upon this and upon all occasions the most energetic efforts would be used to remedy as far as possible a state of things so much to be deprecated, and that the most earnest remonstrances would not fail to be urged to the Spanish authorities in behalf of those miserable negroes. He must, in the first instance, observe with respect to the case which his noble and learned Friend had submitted to the notice of their Lordships, that it was the opinion of the Captain General that the cargo of slaves originally consisted of 1,300 persons; and if this should turn out to be no exaggeration—and the Captain General would have good authority for his statement—their Lordships might be enabled to form some idea of the sufferings which these miserable beings had to undergo when they were informed that the vessel into which these 1,300 slaves had been packed was one of only 400 tons burden. An attempt had been made by those unfortunate creatures to crush their oppressors and to restore themselves to liberty; but in the struggle which ensued 200 of them had been killed, so that out of the whole number only 1,100 had remained. The Captain General, contrary to the provisions of the penal law, did pursue these negroes into the estates of the persons who had purchased them, and 300 had been rescued from the rule of their masters by his exertions; but the remaining 800 were undergoing all the rigours of servitude. Communications had recently taken place between this country and the Spanish Government upon the subject of the slave trade, and the most solemn assurances had been given by the Spanish authorities that for the future the treaties should be better observed; and the late Minister for Foreign Affairs bad placed in the hands of Lord Howden a private letter from the Captain General, assuring him on his word of honour that he would now act in a manner perfectly satisfactory to the British Government. No effort would be spared by Her Majesty's Government to check this system as far as possible; and he had the satisfaction of telling their Lordships that in consequence of our cruisers having been placed on the coast of Cuba to intercept the arrival of slaves four vessels had been 492 seized, and two of them condemned by mixed courts; and by the last despatches it appeared that a fifth vessel had been taken. Remonstrances had also been addressed to the Government of the United States with respect to the important subject under their Lordships' notice, and he felt perfectly satisfied that that Government would do all that was possible to prevent the degradation of their flag. He need scarcely assure his noble and learned Friend, that upon the part of Her Majesty's Ministers no exertion should be spared to accomplish so desirable an object as the total extinction of the slave trade.
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, the power exercised over the colonial authorities in Spain was very great. Under Espartero, who was a great enemy of slavery, but little progress was made, for he was obliged to give way before the powerful influence exercised on the Colonial Office in favour of slavery.
§ LORD WHARNCLIFFEsaid, that the late Captain General of Cuba, General Coucha, who was a friend of Espartero's, exerted himself to suppress the slave trade, and he did it with so much success that he had succeeded, in the year 1851, in reducing the number of slaves imported into Cuba to 5,000. In the spring of last year, however, without notice or apparent cause, he was suddenly removed from his command. One of the last acts which he performed was the removal of the second in command in that island in consequence of his participation in acts of slavery. He was afraid there would be a much greater number of slaves imported into Cuba this year than in the year 1851 when General Concha had the command. The slave trade was no doubt carried on there with the connivance of the Government.
§ Petition ordered to lie on the table.