44r alttrofulio.
The annual meeting of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was held on Saturday, the anniversary of the abolition of the slave- trade, at the Freemasons' Tavern, with more than usual impressiveness. Lord Brougham occupied the chair. Mr. Charles Buxton and two dis- tinguished foreigners spoke on the occasion. The report complained of the flagitious conduct of Spain-20,000 negroes were imported into Cuba last year ; and condemned the French scheme of " compulsory free emigration. ' Lord Brougham made an animated speech on the subject, going back to old times, reviving the history of slave-trade abolition, and telling the meeting, that although he made it a rule not to attend public meetings, yet that he could not refuse to be there that day, since attempts are making on both sides of the Atlantic to revive the slave- trade. He referred to the prejudices still prevailing in the Free States of the American Union against men of colour, and described the social and political disabilities under which they suffer.
"There is one subject upon which I must be permitted to arty a few words : I mean the scheme of what is called free emigration from the coast of Africa. It is the grossest abuse of language to talk of free emigration from the coast of Africa. I lately had occasion to see some most respectable and gallant officers who had served in the French navy during the Crimean war, and who had lately been on the coast of Africa as superintendents of the shipment of those so-called free negroes. I found from them that the mortality on board the vessels—with all the excellent regulations of the French Government—on a thirty days' voyage from Africa to Guadeloupe and Martinique, was as much as 10 per cent in thirty days. On my asking how the men were obtained, I learned that every one of them were slaves, pur- chased for the purpose of being taken on board the French ships. They were slaves, brought up to the coast from the interior, and then liberated, in order to be put on board under indentures, which those poor negroes, being no doubt excellent French scholars, were supposed to understand the exact nature of, binding them to service for a number of years. Then came that melancholy shipwreck which occasioned so much additional loss of life to the poor negroes, and nearly the whole of—I am ashamed to use the word —the cargo' perished. Now it is said, and falsely, that we in England have no ground of complaint against this, because we ourselves supply our colonies with coolies from India and China, and if we do this, the French and Spaniards have an equal right to take negroes from Africa. But the shipment of negroes from the coast of Africa does not amount to one in a hundred of the number which is required for Cuba alone. That is the place to which, ninety-nine hundredths of the men are sent, and my inform- ants told me that unless we can thoroughly blockade the coast of Cuba it will be in vain to expect to put an end to the system. I agree with those who think that the better course to take is not to trust to any blockade of the Cuban coast—that is almost impossible, owing to the nature of the coast and the coral reefs which abound—but to do all we can in concert with the French Government in order to obtain the emancipation of the slaves in Cuba itself. Such a course will have this additional advantage—that while it would directly put an end to the slave-trade it would greatly benefit the aegroes of Cuba and their masters, and it would wholly put an end to spe- culation among our country-folk in North America, who have a great long- ing to be able to carry into effect the scheme of obtaining possession of Cuba and adding it to the United States. The instant that emancipation of the slaves takes place there would be an end to all such speculation, root and branch, for the great object of those who entertain the notion is to obtain increased preponderance of the Slave States in the Union. rent.) The weight which this country ought to have with the
vernmeut of Spain, joined with that of France, brought to bear upon that Government, would, I am convinced, if so employed, soon succeed in obtaining this great advantage to our cause." It is a delusion to suppose that our coolie importations are a parallel to the slave-trade. It is conducted under regulations. " But the grand difference of this coolie emigration is, that they come from a different sort of country— British officers can prevent them from being kidnapped—and no contra- band form is used in getting them on board the ships. But from the Afri- can coast these native Africans are obtained from slave-trading princes, who hunt down the slaves for the purpose of capturing and then selling them as what are called free emigrants. (Cheery.) But slavery is not
only described by many of its present advocates as a very ancient institution, but I see that one of the American statesmen has lately stated in the As- sembly of the United States that the slave-trade as well as slavery is a vary ancient practice, and that in former times, and in almost all parts of the world, it was carried on. It is ancient no doubt. But there is another more ancient practice not altogether unconnected with slave-trading. I mean the practice of murder—and of the worst sort of murder, fratricidal. murder ; for it does so happen that the first man that was born murdered the second, and that second born was his brother. I do not think that the antiquity of this practice is any palliation of murder of this kind. Eman- cipation has been held forth as having been a complete failure. The state- ment already made by your worthy secretary shows that there is no founda- tion for that statement. I find that Mr. Governor Hineks writing from Barbadoes, in the present year, says, that there is one estate which during the time of slavery was worked by 230 slaves, and which was sold for 15,0001. Since emancipation it has been worked by 60 free labourers and 30 children, and it has produced three times the quantity of sugar which it formerly did, and was sold last year for 30,0001. (Cheers.) It might be the case that in some of the West India islands there was a want of hands, but a noble friend of mine, Lord Douglas, who owns large property in Tobago, went over a short time since to look into the matter for himself. He set to work and introduced plough husbandry and cattle. He had his prejudices against so doing like other people, but these have been entirely removed by the results which have followed. The utmost exertions are, is my opinion, still necessary, for the purpose of preventing that falsely called system of free emigration from the coast of Africa. It is neither more nor less than a revival of the African slave-trade."
Baron Linstant de Pradine, the Haytian Minister, moved, and Pro- fessor Kachenoffsky of Cracow seconded the adoption of the report, which was carried unanimously. Other resolutions were also carried. The re- solutions declared the duty of abolishing slavery throughout the world; expressed unqualified gratification at the emancipation of the Russian serfs ; vindicated the conduct of the negroes in the West Indies ; and ex- pressed approval of immigration on terms that should leave the immi- grant free to select his own master, to fix his own conditions of service, and to obtain the market value of his labour.
The members of the Oriental Club feted Sir Archdale Wilson of Delhi on Wednesday. Major-General Sir Robert Vivian presided over the sumptuous feast, and Indian notables mustered strongly. Sir Archdale Wilson made a simple speech, in the course of which he emphatically stated that, at the capture of Delhi not a single woman or child was ill- used either by the European or Native soldiers. The toast of " the East India Company" having been given, Sir Frederick Currie answered for that body ; whose days, he said, and repeated, are " numbered." The extinction of the body is a question of months, perhaps weeks. Better servants or a more efficient administration no Government could ever have.
As a testimony to the memory of the late Lord Dudley Stuart his friends have subscribed 14001., and have determined to expend it in re- building the North-west Nightly Refuge for the Homeless Poor. On Tuesday the Earl of Carlisle presided over the inauguration of the work. A host of friends of Lord Dudley Stuart were present.
The annual gathering of the charity children of London in the nave of St. Paul's, took place on Wednesday. There were present nearly 6000 children. The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Salisbury, and the collection was quite equal to that on previous occasions.
The House of Lords, sitting as a Committee of Privileges, gave judgment on Tuesday in " the great Shrewsbury case." There were several claimants to the title of Earl of Shrewsbury, but all exceptEarl Talbot had withdrawn. Lord Cranworth, and after him Lord St. Leonardo, Lord Brougham, and Lord Wensleydale, concurred in deciding that Earl Talbot was the nearest male descendant of the first Earl, and therefore entitled to the title and dignity of Earl of Shrewsbury. This decision does not carry with it any property. Very large estates were secured to the title by the Act of Settle- ment of 1719. The late Earl, considering that he had a right to dispose of those estates, had made the infant son of the Duke of Norfolk his devisee. But the House was not called upon to decide to whom the estates belonged.
The form of swearing-in the Chancellor of the Exchequer was performed in the Court of Exchequer on Saturday. Mr. Disraeli presented himself in his robes of office. The oaths having been administered and taken in due form, the Chancellor took his seat, and called on the bar to move. Mr. Edwin James, as the senior barrister present, accordingly moved, pro formic, that the ceremony just observed should be entered in the records of the court. The Chancellor having granted the application, withdrew, bowing to the Court and bar.
A Jewish witness summoned to the Insolvent Debtors Court on Satur- day, declined to onive evidence on his Sabbath. Commissioner Phillips re- spected his scruple, and adjourned the case till Monday.
Mr. Francis Pellatt, Principal Military Storekeeper of Woolwich Arsenal, died on Wednesday, from the results of an accident on Monday evening, when his carriage was overturned near the Arsenal gates as he was return- ing home. Mrs. Pellatt was also much bruised.
Previous page
