LORD BROUGHAMsaid, he wished to call the attention of the noble Earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to what he 2180 believed must be an involuntary omission in the recent Convention with the United States. That Convention was in many respects the most important event that had occurred during the period of his sixty years' warfare against the African Slave Trade, inasmuch as it conceded the right of search to our cruisers. Since the Slave Trade had been made a crime of great atrocity by an Act which he had had the happiness of passing through Parliament fifty-one years since, nothing had happened that was more gratifying to him than the recent Convention, whereby the Northern States of America, to their great honour, yielded the right of search, without which the former laws were almost nullities. That concession would, he hoped, speedily put an end to the atrocious traffic. But he observed that the right of search conceded was within so many leagues of the coast of Africa and within thirty leagues of the coast of Cuba; but the island of Porto Rico was more than thirty leagues distant from Cuba, and the consequence would be, if the right of search remained limited to a space of thirty leagues from the Cuban coast, that slavers would land their cargoes at Porto Rico and send the slaves over to Cuba at their leisure. He must say that nothing could be more fair than the conduct of the American Government upon this question had been since the present unhappy disruption took place. He would ask the noble Earl whether he thought it would be possible to arrange some modification of the Convention which should include Porto Rico within the limits of the right of search. Before he resumed his seat he would also ask whether the Government intended to take any steps with respect to an American vessel recently fitted out at Liverpool, and afterwards captured with 600 slaves on board. He was informed that the brother of the captain (taken on board on the coast) was ostensibly a shipping agent in Liverpool.
§ EARL RUSSELLI thank my noble and learned Friend for calling my attention to the subject which he first mentioned; but as I received no notice that my noble and learned Friend would refer to the subject, he cannot expect me at once to enter into the details as to what has been done or what can be done. I can only assure him that the United States Government are thoroughly in earnest to suppress the Slave Trade; and if it be necessary for that object to in- 2181 clude Porto Rico as well as Cuba, there is no doubt the United States Government will listen to any suggestion of the kind with every inclination to adopt it if necessary. With regard to the other point to which my noble and learned Friend alluded, I inquired specially as to what could be done in the case to which he referred with the view to a prosecution, and I was informed that that which would have been highly penal had the vessel been British was not readied by the law as it now stands in respect to a foreign vessel. I will communicate, however, more in detail to my noble and learned Friend the manner in which that case has been viewed, and I am sure, that if any amendment of the law is required in this matter, my noble and learned Friend would be the best person to introduce such an amendment to your Lordships.
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, that if it should be found, on consideration, that a declaratory Act was necessary to make the offence to which he had referred penal, he should be disposed to bring in such a measure, though he was clearly of opinion that the words of the Act of 1811 were sufficient.