3 FEBRUARY 1838, Page 3

tachatcti /fit atc'tbing tn Varriament.

(ATTAIRS Or CANADA, The Canada Bill was " reported," with the amendments, on Saturday. ' On Mealy, Lord JonN RUSSELL moved that it be read a third time. ...410Mr. LEADER presented several petitions from parishes in the Metro- polis against the bill ; and then

Sir GEORGE SINCLAIR addressed the House. He said that no bill had ever been introduced into Parliament to which, in its progress through the Committee, so much had been added, or from which so much bad been taken away. Lord John Russell's acquiescence in Mr. Ellice's suggestions had surprised nobody

Without pretending to the gift of second sight, be had at once felt persuaded that the noble lord would give the preference to second thoughts. 'This result was anticipated by all the gentlemen who sat around him, as soon as they heard the very first sentence of Mr. Ellice's very able, lucid, and useful 'speech—so useful to the country, anal at the same time so use- ful to the Government. He knew not whether his right honourable fa lend was in the habit of killing two birds with one stone, but he had certainly attained two objects in one speech. He hall both shown his patriotism and served his Party. Sir George Sinclair did not for one moment imagine, after Mr. El- lice's disclaimer, that he had communicated his views beforehand to Lord John Russell; but his own sagacity anal experience must have convinced him that such a complimentary precaution would be quite superfluous ; and, with- out any assurance from the noble lord's own mouth, he must have known that be was rendering a most essential service to the Government,—extricating them from a notable dilemma, and sparing to them the danger and mortifiartion of a defeat which was probable in this Home and inevitable elsewhere. This pro. position must have come like a godsend upon the astonished mind of the noble lord. He must have felt that-

" Quaid uproot' Divfim prumittere nem° Audebat, volventla dies en attain' ultra."

1 If a fire had occurred in Downing Street, and Mr. Ellice, without giving any previous intimation, had opportunely hurried with an enormous engine to the noble lord's dwelling, and succeeded in extinguishing the flames, he would be just as certain that he was renaming to the noble lord an invaluable service, as if he had given previous notice of his intention.

With great reluctance he supported the bill : the gross misconduct of Ministers had rendered it necessary. He bad a high respect for Lord Durham's talents and expt Hence, and was only alarmed by the praises bestowed on him by the philosophical Radicals, or Radical philoso- phers.— "I myself, Sir, wish to speak with unaffected esteem of the ability and the honesty of these gentlemen, however much I may differ from their views ; but

in the Morning Chronicle of this day I find them \atakigde ihed. They form but a very small section of the Radical Ilefortneri'Lgut eir I•bject seems to be to form a still smaller eection, by their intolerance and insufferable self. conceit.' (" Hear, hear ! wed laughter.) Such, Sir, is the language used by the leading Ministerial organ, in reference to the very men without whose gratuitous assistance iterpatrone could never have climbed into place, and with- out the continuance of whose powerful aid they would soon relapse into intig- nificance."

He could not avoid noticing a subject of still greater importance even than that which was before the House ; a subject which involved not only the intelests of the Colonies, but the welfare of the Mother Country, und the stability of British institutions-

" Are her Majesty's Ministers entitled in point of influence, or competent it

point of ability, to preside over the destinies of this .great empire? are they t actuated in their general policy by the principles of Justice, firmness, discern- ' ment, and consisteuey ? do their bond jifle pattisans constitute even a nu- merical preponderance within these walls ? do they themselves command I the respect or enjoy the goed-will of our constituents out of aluors?-1-deny all these propositions. If a call of the Ileuse were to take place tosmorrow, and ' every Member on answering to his name woe obliged to lay his hand upon his heart, and to declare upon oath whether he has or has not confidence in the statesmanlike wisdom and political integrity of the Government, I feel per- suaded that a very large majority would be compelled to answer that question in the negative. With raril to the sentiments of the IL itish nation, the respectable, intelligent, isn'd religious classes, throughout the length and breadth of the land, are lost in astonishment when they consider the general conduct of her M ijesty's Ministers—at the suddenness with which they trim, and at the shabbiness with which they truckle. (('heers ) Their tortuous and vacillating nut se, their %feelings Point] on the one day and their backings. out on the next, are viewed not only by every straightforward Conservative with disgust, but by every honest Radical with indignation. Take, for in. stance, their proceedings with regard to C nada. oh iii are so strictly in keep- ing ith their vittual abandonment of the Apptopta ttion-clause or the artful suspension of the English Church.rates Bill. They were repeatedly warned by both sides of the House in the cons se of last se—ion, that by their uncertain and fluctuating st ,don they watild nenher satisly the lot al, nor cows firm the wavering, lair nvetawe the disatf, eted ; thcy woe assured that, in order to carry their own me I•an es into tfcrt, S li ri j em.e of fan cc wan in- dispensable, and yet they were contented to pi rsi.t in a set of feeble and meagre n.solations, sittheiently offensive to prov,ke resentment, sufficiently tame to encourage resistanee. 'fliey seem to have inverted the old ;Adage, as if they deemed care more expedient than prevention. 'rimy are at this moment only preparing the armanient 011011 might to hive relehed Canada, or the adjacent provinces at le est, four months t.g.t. The Gavel nment has now reached the nadir of le litical ignominy, mill is presenting to the world such 3 spectacle as was Inver before exhiinted by liritish statesmen —that of a M distinguilied by these striking, and anomalous eleiracteristies—otfiee ssiwiatt power, support without conhtlence, metension without t dent, and profession without performance. They ean neither manage the affairs of the country nor carry thiough the littsine,s of this House without the superintendence and advice of a light honourable friend near me, who is not more conspicuous for his immeasurable superiority in all those inteVectual endowments which adorn the character of the statesman and ittenre the teliect of this country,. than for the unparalleled forbearance and ahnost chivalrous tnagnanimity telth which he conducts his opposition to the very politicians from whom, whenAe himself was in office, he ru..,er obtained even common juoice. Sir. I am trite aware that, froin hie hriiliant position in the world. my tight honourable friend may be an indifferent to the patronage sind e luinents of office as his antagonists are tenacious of its influence and advantages ; that the neeeptanee of power involves ahlinst as great I satoiftee on hie pelt as the forfeiture of plane upon theirs; hut I how that he will no lovcr red' sat;-fi-fl with correcting blunders and preventing inischirf—that he will soon he placed at the head of an 'Administration whielt will at ail events pursue a straightforward and glide course. The country will then eease to endure the miefortone and submit to the mortification of bein;, misgoverned Ity a selfish and slippery Cabinet, who feebly maintain their ":,•liotioil by the th-creditilble ex pidient of plating two parties against each ether, of each of which thee stand epially in dread, and by le. .11 of which they are erptalfy despised." ((heers.) Sir Hanna' VERNEY contended that the comlnet of Afinistere towards Canada heft been discreet. fie re' ieed at the success which had attended the British arms ; arid trusted that Lord Durham would be enahlt d to hind the North American Colonies in one strong band of union, freedorn, and prosperity.

Mr. HUME strongly disapproved of the measures of Government towards Canada ; but asset ed Sir George Si eclair that he and the Members it ii whom he acted very intodi pm eferred the Whigs to the Tories, lie denied thot the majority of the people of England were adverse to the 'west lit Govertimetit. A very large majority of the people approved of the liberal and enlightened measures which Minis- ters had brought before Parliament. Ile considered that the Tories had caused the revolcin Canada ; for they had made violent speeches, calling Papineau a mischievous demagogue— It wan this that • ,itefl the Canadians, and drove them to revolt. Let the

Government velar, e fatal Resolutions of last year, and time necessity of adopt- ing any me Ism re 0 arbitrary and despotir charaeter would at once be avoided.

Ile con•idertal dial to- first act of the Government ought to be to remove Lord Glenelg, than whom a more incompetent Minister never existed ; every despatch, every proceeding, showed the imbecility, the vacillation, the weakness, the total want of maoagement that existed on the pot of that noble lord. Instead of sending out Lord Durham a an arbitrary dictator to act under the orders of Lord Glenelg, he thought t. ct Lied Ditrham ought to take Lord Glenelg's place in the Cabinet. It aso be far better to try what Lord Durham's vigo.. roars intellect could do as Colonial Minister—it would he far better to try the effect of his Liberal policy than to press this hill of pains and penalties, which would only be adding to the long catalogue of injury and oppression under which the Canadas already laboured. With these feelings upon the subject, he should move as an amendment that the bill be read a third time that day six months.

Mr. WARBURTON seconded the amendment.

Sir ROBERT Teems reminded Ministers that the great difficulty of the Canadian question began from the moment that•the revolt was suppressed-- They 11■111 so deal with a ers.eled in religion, divided in blood, and divided imi all the pursuits of civil life. A great mistake was made, as he con-. ceived, when at the first unnexatiun of Canada to the Crown tif England so much prominence was given to the religion of time conquered people ; and, above all, so little attention W

Alderman Trioateson enlarged upon the great ediromereial benefits which the Canihlians derived from their connexion e ith Englatiel. He cousidered the revolt to be uniustilirible, at t' same that he ven- surer] Ministers for their neglect to prevent an ouilneak of which they bad been frequently warned.

Mr. Gaote would enter his protest ag..!rict the third reading of the bill, though well aware how %may:alit. e that prore!t filliSt be. One observation of Sir Ilubett highs should be well INA to heart by every Member of the House— Ile had said %cheer this rebellion should have been put down, that at that moment the real and greatest difficulties of rin. Govern nod would commence. That vras his opinion too, and it was because lie entert dried tha. opinion, and strongly ewer rained it, that he was the more strenowis in his op,. –ition to the preseat L'il ; awl because also it was his op' , th,ot while the bill would re. 1110Ve • vf the ex 'sting difficulties, it would l add very much to smile, and those the most serious eel them. He foresaw no consoodarce Ilk, l■ to arise from this bill so llll nitwit and inevitable as the multiplication of disc rs•it and irri- tation thimighout the province in the minds of tool. of those, pe. hum, who as yet had taken no part in the revolt, and that of tie most de and de- plorable kiwi. He tem in the bill no ronedy proposed for any of the evils that now constituted the grievances of the Canadians, while he saw in it one great grievance added to time already existing, of which even those who hut hitlita en abstained from taking port in these matters could hardly fail to feel the wrig1 t and the burden. The alterations made in the bill since the sec I 'eliding woe Dot of a new lie to snake much alteration in his opirlion. His opinion WAN pro- nounevd upon it when the preamble still remained as Ow noble lord miginally intioduced it ; and it was for those gentlemen who brul been wedded to the hill on account of the preamble, and who were inclined to pardon the severe mea- sures which the bill ',self sanctioned, in consequencr of the beautiful phraseir put forth in the preinible—it was for them to express the rivet they nmst feel at missing so impottant a oar t of its features ; but for hi- part his ..lueetion was founded on the nature ed. the enacting clauses, and those clauses re wiitied still unaltered, or, if any thing, they were rather aggravated. Rut if til. • clause% in themselves appeared to him severe, objectionable, and calculated to raeare a strong sense of anger and discontent in the minds of %how who woe to be sub- ject to them, he would say that the nature of these clauses was extremely getup vated, alien they %ear taken in conjuuction with the aiweehrs uttered in this

House by those by wh they were supported. For the term' of those spee•elies

led him to foresee only one consequence from the hut:pens of the Canadian Constitution, which was this—that instead of that genuine and faithful repre- sentation of the people, which was now the most important element of the Cii- nadian constitution, (for we should not have that element iestoied to its present state,) we should bate the representation of the people cut clown, alit idged, and reduced tel a name. It would he a name and a shadow, instead of a substance and a reality. When he recollected too the suggestion of Sir George Sinclair, in which he dwelt upon the necessity of taising the qualifivation of the electors of Lower Canada, coupling that with the declarations made by certain influen• tial Members on the NIiniaterial side if the House, and more especially by Mr. Ellice and Mr. Bulwer insisting, as they did, upon the greats ignotance and in. capacity of the Canadian people, he could not misinterptet these indication,. He could not &ow any other inference except that the present representation of the people—large acid faithful—will be exchanged for one neither large nor faithful ; but will be made the represeutiation of a part of the people instead of a representation of the whole. He at any late would not lend his hand to the destruction of the representative institution, which at least had the merit of faithfully tepresenting the people of Canada, in the present state of precarious- ness and uncertainty as to what he should get in its place.

He contended, that if the Executive Government had wisely exerci- sed the prerogative, and reformed the Legislative Council, there would have been no revolt, and the House would not have been called upon to sanction this destructive measure— Had that power been used, harmony would have been restored, and the con- stitutiomil government of Lower Canada would have gone on prosperously up to ibis hour. They might easily foresee the difficulties which would open when this suspension of the constitution should have been once brought into °pm- tion, hearing, as they Inal done already, an honourable gentleman who was a stanch supporter of the measure, proposing to her Majesty's Ministers to sad- dle the colony with an established church. A very pleasant prospect it was Co be called upon to sanction the annihilation of one of the few representative asecriblies which orally did reptesent the people, and put in its place a well paid established church. The same reasons which led him to wish to improve there reinesentatiae institutions in this country, which imperfectly and unfaith- fully represented the people, and by so improving them to make them the faithful representatives of the people, induced him to be strenuous in preserving this Canadian Assembly, which did really and ttuly represent the people ; and lie should therefore be found on his side maintaining a strong Conservative of conduct when the thing to be preserved was the most valuable jewel a people could posaffily possess. He doubted and mistrusted the pea Government to restore this Assembly, and he did not feel confident a even their wish to do it. But most certainly, when be observed that during,the progress of the bill Lord John Russell had been compelled to abandon the pre- amble for the purpose of conciliating the support of the Member fur Tamwotth, Ire knew that whatever new constitution it might be deemed proper to give to Canada it would "Abe only what the noble load himself might approve uf, but what the right honourable baronet would also approve of; and having heard that rieht honourable baronet accused by honoureble Members in that House of entA.aining a distinct hatred of all representative institutions—though in the present instance he did not conceive that the right honourable baronet was deserving of that reproach more than the noble bold himself—he could not help appealing to 'immutable gentlemen who supported this bill to say what ground they had for believing that they should ever get back such a constitution as that now existing when it should be once destroyed, seeing that it could only

be done with the approbation of a right honourable gentleman who was op. posed to all represeota6ve constitutions? In spite, therefore, of the great volume of debati which bed been poured out upon this question, be had beard nothing to alter theconviction he eutea Ward when he first delivered his opinion upon it.

He feared that they bad sown injustice, and that they would reap trouble and calamity. Whatever the present grievances of the Canadian people might be, (they seemed to be almost on all hands admitted, as well as tkes necessity of re-

dressing them,) he felt that by this measure they were abotelleadd one more of se serious a kind, that the people of Canada would be led to entertain feelings of discontent and irritation, which it would be exceedingly difficult feral; i party, however good their intention, ever hereafter to eradicate or subdue. '

Mr. WARBURTON expressed his entire' ctagurrence with all Ntr , Grote's observations. He would still conterg Ott as, at no remote' period, the sway of England over Canada mu tif cease, it was the policy,' of this country to treat the colony with the consideration due to its future greatness— Ile knew it was a humiliating thing, and unfavourable to national pride and us. tional vanity, to think of the necessity of contracting the limits of empire, and to part with what was fancied to be among the most valuable of the national pos. sessions. He said fancied to be so, because it did appear to him as iationalts' talk of the moon as belonging to ourselves, as to talk of a great and extensive' territory three thousand miles away from the Mother Country as being a put' of our empire. But he really thought, if they looked at the great, and glorioul, and godlike work of establishing a great and free republic out of the incoherent elements such as the provinces of Canada were, they would feel that it was an object worthy the ambition of a great and powerful nation. It was a great net fur a state like this to accomplish. He believed that the people of this country would reflect on this; and that they now felt that it was a greater,h,ocen,ounrayto . have raised a mighty republic like that of the United States, than to have sub. e

jugated India. If the people regarded the honour of ' d up audit ■

free and great state, and would then consider what lj forming our North American colonies might be if zaisdii9n a similar nits. ner, they would have a great and important object before them, 1111 the further. Alice of which all confliction of party feeling would cease, and there would as longer be called for measures of severity towards provinces that were now alien. toed and discontented. He hoped that these considerations would reconcile the people of this country to that separation which either now or at an early period must take place, and that they would have their attention fixed upon the neees arty that must soon arise for such a separation. He trusted that the glory of having been the parent of a great, an extensive, and a free state, would be coo. eidered a sufficient reparation to them for the apparent sacrifice of the national. honour. Condemning it, as he did—hoping, however, that it would not bin any of those melancholy results which he anticipated from it—he would and himself of the present opportunity of passing his last malediction on this ult. fortunate bill.

Mr. BORTHWICK said, that as the Canadians now knew by experi. ence that their late leaders were not to be trusted, it would be adum tageous and practicable to introduce the real principles of the British constitution among them.

The House divided—

For the third reading 110 For Mr. Hume's amendment 8

Tory and Truckling majority —1-02 On the question that the bill "do now pass," Sir EDWARD SUGIBI observed, that Sir Robert Peel's prediction would be verified, sli Lord Glenelg's instructions would not be carried into effect; for Lool Duthurn was not authorized by the bill to summon a Convention: Lord Durham had only the exercise of the prerogative at his con, mend, and he would be a bold man who would use it in calling a co vention.

Sir GEORGE GREY replied, that the bill did not prevent Loid Durham from calling together a body of persons to give hint advice; and Lord Glenelg's instructions went no further than this.

Mr. WAKLEY said, it appeared that Lord Durham would not r Canada till the end of April or the beginning of May, and that, in

mean while, Sir John Colborne would exercise the powers conferred by the bill. He therefore deemed it necessary to call attention to the ' massacres committed by the British troops under Sir John Colboron command— I

In the Morning Chronicle of that morning he found it stated, that Cole/ Maitland "detached the Grenadiers, 1st and 2d companies, to favourable pa. tions to intercept any of the rebels attempting to escape from the churcland which answered effectually, at' upon the taking of that building a numbed the rebels fell under the fire of part of those companies ; " and it was added, that they afterwards set fire to the church itself. This statement was recast from Sir John Colborne, and was published in a supplement to the Lola Gazette of Friday last. He would ask, what description °Pierce could hoe been employed against the Queen's troops when only one of them was wounded?, and yet they set a watch round the church to destroy any who tried to effect hit

escape. Was such conduct as this to be borne? was it to be tolerated? Wm

this a Christian land ? did we live under a Christian Government ? Was it io such scenes as these that we could boast of the religious institutions of this

country? In his opinion, it cast a stigma on tbe character of the whole country,

and could it give rise to any thing but deep indignation ? He did not say that such conduct received tbe sanction of the Government, but as it had taken place it behoved Ministers tellep forward at once, and in a bold and energetic manner, and to tell Sir John Colborne that he had gone beyond his duty of simpli maintaining the laws, when he indulged in vengeance. Again, he found frod

the accounts from Upper Canada that Indians were engaged in the war. Wm

t chosen for this duty because of their known cruelty in their conductor Did the Government sanction the marching or conveyance in eteaneboato I Indians in company with one of the regiments assisting Sir Faces • d? It was the custom of some honourable Members to say that Ulm e exciting language held by honourable Members which induced the Cans 1 diens to revolt ; but he must say that the revolt was caused by the conduetof the Imperial Legislature, which had abolished the Canadian Constitution, or had completely neutralized its powers, and by theme acts seemed almost to hare driven the Cansdians to the necessity of revolt. He again protested egiiLil the bill. As the insurrection had been put down, he held it as an unnectiorY and unconstitutional proceeding, and as placing a blot on the English legisli• tion which it would take years to wipe out. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that Mr. Wakley entirely misunderstood the passages be had quoted from Colonel Maitland's and Sir John Col- borne's despatches— , The fact was, that the circumstances referred to were only the usual occur. rences of war. There were many persons in the church ; it was fortified alld made a place ofiriffence, from which the British troops were fired spoof ant according to the laws of war, it was destroyed ; and if troops marching throng

a village were fired upoii the usual measures of war were taken. If those who had surrendere4 and lad down their arms bad not received quarter, then indeed the honourable Member's observations would have been plat; but he did not,

find any such statement in the despatch. But not only should those whodIa lay down their arms be received as prisoners, but it was necessary that the best means should be taken to prevent the others from retiring as a.body in arichs, and from taking up another position from which they might again attack t.e troops. Mr. Wakley had said that there could not be much resistance, as oolf, one soldier had been wounded ; but this only showed how little discipline ha'

free

a used to enable men to cope with the British empire, as well as the extent el the rashness and the guilt of the persons who had induced the Canadians to molt. With regard to the Indians, he could only observe that they were not employed as a regular military for ee i some had attended Sir Francis Head, but the circumstance was of a totally different nature from what had been stated. All the troops had been removed from one province, and the militia was called nt to meet several petsons who were collected on the road to Toronto, and who had commenced the outrages by murdering a military officer who had retired from the service after having greatly distinguished himself in war, who wan eying with his family, and who was murdered on his road to the city. When persons were thus attacked, it was impossible but that all the inhabitants, British, 'Canadian, and Indian, should unite to put down the insurrection, acting, as they did, under fear of their lives and property.

The bill then passed ; and the House adjourned, on the motion of Lord John Russell, till Friday. The bill was taken to the House of Peers on Wednesday, and read

a first time. On Thursday, Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Mr. Roe • bock, praying to be heard at the bar against the bill. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE thought there could be no inconvenience in hearing Mr. Roebuck. ABERDEEN had no objection to hear Mr. Roebuck, but did. f.)sv he could be recognized as agent for the Asst mbly

ill

of Lower amide. Lord BROUGHAM suggested, that Mr. Roebuck ought to be heard on the matter of his petition, and not as agent for tlre Assembly. 1 mally, it was agreed to put off the decision of the House till the next day.

THE SLAVE TRADE.

--Oil Monday, Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition frem .Leede,

with about 17,000 signatures, praying for the immediate abolition of slevery in the West Indies. He took the opportunity of calling the

attention of the House to the extent of the slave trade, and the cir- cumstanees of aggravated aruelty with which it seas conducted at the present times-

fle had not to show to their Lordships that negro slavery, much as they had pid Ion the boon, was nevertheless not abolished ; he had not to show that the yoke of slavery was less light than it was in 1833—no; what he had to all their attention to was, that the slave trade, in all its infanty, was at the present moment going on, and flourishing, and extending to a most lamentable

eerie. What he wished to call their Lordship' attention to was the fact, that that cruel and disgraceful traffic, which had been denounced by the voice of every enlightened nation throughout Europe, had become, under the clone.),

sad preposterous course which they had adopted, more and more flourishing, more and more extensive, that daily more and more cruelties were practised ; that. in fact, to eupply the market those who were embarked in this accursed brae they were tearing out the hawels of the African continent. He meant set to speak of the policy with respect to thie subject which had been pursued by Ministers, or by their predecessors, nor would he say any thing as to the pains

which had been taken to put en end to this system ; but he would lay hefire their Lordelrips a statement of facts, and he would say that he did not 11101/ of those facts himself till within the lent forty•eight hours, otherwiee lie should not have slept on his pillow one night without calling the attention of Parliament and of the country to this most enormous and scandalous abuse.

He would state the consequences of the measures adopted by Eng- land and the United Suites for the abolition of the slave trade— The Wan was, he believed, to confine the right of capture to slave vessels sa the coast, whether belonging to Britieh or American subjeets (Afterward, French, S,,anish, and Portuguese were included). The plan w Is to confine tIe right of se itch and seizure, and bringing into port for condemnation, ships taken in thri employ meta, to the cruise' a of the linded States and his Ma. jest)'s vessels of war. That was the plan. But the boon behl out in order to quicken the diligence of the counnanders was, not only that they should share in the proceeds of each vessel captured and condemned as a prize, but that a eet min stint of money per head—and therefore called head-money—should be paid for emit sieve taken. That was granted for the purpose of quiekening the diligence and zeal of the cruisers in the performance of this exeellent office— the capture and emancipation of these itufortunate shaves. Now, it must be admitted, at first sight, that this additional inducement to the capture of slaves would seem likely to produce a beneficial effect. But let their Lordships mark how this additional inducement had operand. It did not relax the diligence of those who commanded the cruisers against the desperate miscreants to whose hands this haftr of murder and felony was intrusted—it did not relax their vigilance in capturing slave-ships; but it had this effect —that for the purpose of obtaining the largest possible sum of head.nioney, the cruiser had a direct and evident interest in not capturing the slave vessel (how strong and powerful saver the proof might be that she was fitted out for and engaged in that ne- hrious traffic) till she bad got into port and got her " cargo"— he supposed he flush so call it—of human beings on board—till she was reatly to insult the highways of tuitions, and to proceed with that trade of piracy, murder, and robbery in which she was engaged. So that it was the interest, the clear in- terest of the cm triter that the slave-ship avid have these unhappy beings on board—that she should have completed her cargo of slaves—that she should sail with that cargo from the African court—anal that till then she should not be captured ; nnich less was her commander to be prevented from cominitting the crime of taking those unfortunate creatures on board by a prematdre in- terference. Nu; the cruiser was to wait until the criminal act was completed, because until it was completed the right to head-money could not attach to the Capture. The vessel then goes out, fitted up with all the horrible means of carrying on its felonious traffic. It had abundance of chains and fetters for the intended victims of avarice; it had guns, which hardly ever fired twice w' out bursting ; for such articles did the natives sell their wives and childredrand often their neighbours, when they could succeed in entrapping them. Thur fitted, the vessel goes out on her voyage. He (lid not charge the officers'of the Cruisers with giving any encouragement to the slave-ships ; but he did say that no step was taken by the authorities on the coast, no step was taken by the Cruisers, to prevent the cargo, as the miserable captives were called, boom being put on board.

According to the statement of Mr. Laird, the companion of Mr. Oldfield in a journey into the interior of Africa, the cruiser did not enter the port where the slaver was to take in her cargo; for then there would be no slaves taken and no head-money to be received—

The practice of the cruiser was, that when she was informed of a slaver taking in a cargo in any particular harbour, she put out to sea to such a dill- lance as tnat she could barely keep the harbour in sight, while she herself could sot be seen from the harbour. She there watched the slaver, and gave chase the moment she came in sight. And here came an inevitable exasperation of the miseries to which the unhappy slave was subjected. It was well known that the great object in the construction and outfitting of a slave-ship is swift- ness of sailing ; to this every consideration—he would not say of humanity for the slave, for he was not so absurd as to expect any thing humane from those tmployed in this mystery of iniquity, es the slave trade had been called —bu.

His informant had witnessed acts of almost incredible atrocity—

It bad been his painful lot to witness scenes with which the most cruel re.

sobs of S1ralii.11 Ural ice in the new world would have sunk to al I levity in the comparison —scenes which he wraild defy the Moony of irri) other cowrie), to tepid, and which bad mit been exceeded 4 the great poet of Italy no has val I sr ramie. when peopling the italanal rt. tuns with ei 1.1. hie thVIll fraile tintS 6041,11k as bad notlreen sureeteeed by an us own great Ca'?) u' v.heu Nfo-ru quit, etiaill j,ingt1,itt

It ii it hap;tened mote th in nave— it was a t hif are u. not mil, equrert ore.irrience-- that rt here one of two lilts led slaves died on hoard, the con pse was left bound

to the survivor, in envied the lot that put an cud to his nmnismu us. 'Ilte mother no allowed to bring fort'. the fruit of her urr.r.1, on thu, Inure deck of the vessel, :au rounded by the ilerii■ ilig cm pses of her fellow slaves. If he were ashed to what he ascribed those era:amities, he would say, to the sy 'dear of head. inort,y on the recapture of slaves ; if he terra, railed On 11 Ills proof of their existence, he would sae, it was to be found in the testimony of most reve.lable officers in her Majeety's service. Ills wititeeees scene the C,ptails, Lieutenants; and Commodore uf the cruisers. Ile would aek (+ Inciter thre.e officers were ever etlecessful ? whether they were always vigilant whether the slavers never eseaped ? Ile found upon examination that the amount of the importa- tion if elaves into the new world was as large, as steady, as it had ever been, tied did not show the slightest diminution or appearauce of decrease. This he ktiew, that the sea risk was now become matter ot certain calculation. The premium of insurance on au /agree° elavesehip at the Havannah, the knit time he had an opportunity of seeing the returne, win only P4 per cent., which, deducting 46 per cent, for sea risk and the underwriter's profit, left the value of the slave risk insurance at only 8 per cent. He had also seen the quotations from Rio, which were much less, being only 11 per cent. in all, which, deducting Sc,, risk and underwriter's profit, would leave only 7 per cent. He knew that at one time there were in one year, 1835, eighty- five slave-ship fitted out at the Hevanitah, of which seventy-five returned safe to the a. vermeil. The number of slaves nor board warred from 175 to 765, this average giving :.16,000 imported into the Havanneli in 1830. Alter the dreadful treat- ment to which these,slavee are subjected, and wide!) he bad detailed t u their Lord- eliip., and the 1 iek which they ran of being thrown overboard in chase, there is' re, horrible tu relate, let* ita one vessel and 700 in another. fie did rent speak vaguely when he said that in one single month, the month of Be- e, ober 1836, there arrived at Rio in two vessels called the Feliciade and the Sicolo, two cargoes of slaves, the oue IMO, the other 780. III the year 1835, l,360 slaves were imported into the principal settlement of their friend and ally ire Emperor of Brazil. The greatest of all eluvesdealers were the Brazilians, the Spanish, and the Portuguese; and this country, and he might add France also, with the full knowlege of the fact, still continued quibbling with them about the construction of treaties, and endeavouring tu obtain horn those courts the right to search the ellips, suffer hug all this time these dreadful enure mits to be perpetrated, when they would not allow for one hour a common pirate to pollute the great highway of the seas, even though the flags of those nations protected him.

Lord Brougham ridiculed the feeble efforts of the British Govern- ment to induce Spain, Portugal, and the Brazils, to join with England in putting an end to the traffic in slaves, lie ardently hoped that in the first year of her reign, our youthful Queen would adore her coun- try, fortify her throve, and embellish her crown by:putting an end to the worst of crimee ever committed by mankind.

Lord MINT') defended the officers of the British Navy from the imputation that they allowed slave.ships to take large cargoes on board for the sake of head-money. • On the contrary, the fault of the British officers was that, in defiance of treaties which did not permit vessels to be seized on which there were _no slaves actually on board, they did every coneeleratiou, he might. say, of even the safety of the ship itself wa mei:iced. The slaver was not constructed on the principle %%Lich, with respect • to all veesele passengers, had been rendered Demerol by a bill which had !meet] the Legislature Nome years ago. She was mole in every way for raeid nh rig ; and wag only hr ii enough to give her a hold of the teeter with her oils set. There was 111/ conehteration whatever for the misery endured by the Owe., wile were pecked in between decks by absolute pressure, as if they it ere tleitil geode. Tien was one cause of the nusery thr y endured: but there w is teether, to which he ceultt not refer without a degree of horror which he kit it l,opossiirle to deeeribe, and which he was hopeless of kepi-taming on their Lottl,eip. in to true Odollfs, though he lied mule up his mind to narrate it as it hell leiter ne:etioued tar him ; and this horrible practice wee el.() to be treced up to the system of bead-roomy allowed on the recapture of slaves.

It' trying to eseape the pursuing vessel, the commander of the slaver thy. everbJard first the heaviest negroes, just as if they were so much lumber— :Ben, women, and children were ems thrown overboard without remorse, a:.4 h. monitors proportioned to the distance which the pursued ship might be ton hi,,,. The slaves were thrown over with the fetters placed on theta fire they were brought on board—fetters which were considered necessary, flue,. tor the protection of the crew against the multitudes of the slaves, and to prevent ammo, at suicide, to which the slaves were ever ready to tut if an oppitieunity presented itself on their voyage. It might be supposed ri it the,e f.tters were faetened with a padlock, which the captain could un- fit-tee et hie plelettre, and that such a mode of fastening would be alepted to f 'edit:Jet the teeepe of the slave in case of tire or of shipwreck ; but nothing of this was done. 'I here was no padlock. The fetters were rivetted by the smith before they cattle or, board: and were continued on until they were brought to the makes to be sold. A ttttt Kr objeet of the fetters was, that when it be- came neceesery to throw parties over to lighten the ship, they, when cast in, fetters and all, would have the less chance of escape. To lessen that chance, wei4lits were sr mietimes added ; for the negro, with the herculean strength whirl' he generally possessed, and from that facility of swier tttt ing which gave Lim a sort of amphibious nature, could easily, if left to hieown unfettered exer- Cor.s, support himself fii the waves until thr pursuing schooner came up, and if taken on board wind(' prove a most important witnese against those who had tarn him limn Ills native home; to prevent this the weights were added, which stele hint before aid ceuld arrive. But that was not the only de of lighten. leg the veseel. Sometimes:three human beings were pecked closely in a cask, which was thruwn over with weights attached to it ; and one slaver which was pm sued hell before the' was tier tired thrown over twelve such casks, each closely peeked with human beings. In another instance, two slave-ships which were ehased Irel had upwards of five hundred slaves on board, every one of whom net a wattry grave. Let taut tutu r Lordships imagine that this was a fancy sketeh. It was, unhappily, a detail of facts which he had received from a gal- lant rarer, who was for soll'r time a commodore on the Western African station. But he had not yet start d all. The she, ks seemed to know this scene of bloodshed ; and it was a fact which woe .'rated to him on the same good authority, that twee followed the sleet ....hip from the port, and the track of that ship could be trZed across the. Atlantic by the blood of her murdered victims hurled into the green to facilitate the escape of the vessel from its pursuers.

follow vessels into ports and up rivers, thereby rendering themselves liable to the censure of the Admiralty.

Lord BROUGHAM denied that he had charged the British officers with purposely waiting till slave.vessels were filled, with a view to in- crease their reward ; but the horrors be had described were the con- sequences of the system of bead-money. Could not the reward be proportioned to the to:lunge of the vessel?

Lord ELLENBOROCCII and Lord ASHBURTON thought Lord Brougham's suggestions worth nttention ; and Lord Ashburton said that be was sure the meddling of the British Government had hitherto augmented the amount and the cruelty of the slave trace.

Lord GLENELG admitted that there was no exaggeration in Lord Brougham's account of the horrors of the traffic ; but the Govern- anent wera not to blame. Efforts bad been oriole and would still be made, to induce the Portuguese, under whose flag the trade was chiefly carried on, to agree to some measures for putting it down effectually. At present it would be of no use to alter head-money to tonnage, as the treaties with Portugal and the Brazils contained no "equipment article " which allowed the capture of vessels evidently fitted out for the trade.

The petition was laid on the table.