REPORT.
The SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to Inquire into the State of the British Possessions on the West Coast of Africa, more especially with reference to their present Relations with the neighbouring Native Tribes, and who were empowered to Report their Observations, together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before them, to The House;——Have considered the Matters to them referred, and have agreed to the following REPORT:
YOUR COMMITTEE, previous to reporting the result of their Inquiries into the subject which has been submitted to them by Your Honourable House, think it desirable to state the circumstances which led to their appointment. In the course of the Year 1839 information was communicated to the Marquis of Normanby, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, that a Spanish Slaver, the Dos Amigos, had, a short time previous to seizure, been allowed to trade freely at Cape Coast, a British Settlement on the Gold Coast, and had been supplied there by a British Merchant, a Magistrate, with some of the Goods, not Equipments, requisite for carrying on her unlawful Traffic. This information led to further inquiry, in the course of which it appeared that such practices were not unusual, and that Captain Maclean, the Governor, appointed by the Committee of Merchants in London, on whom the charge of the Settlements of the Gold Coast had been devolved by Parliament, in the Year 1828, did not consider himself entitled to interfere with the Traffic of any Vessel of a friendly Nation, whatever her purpose, coming to purchase Goods, in themselves lawful, within the waters of a British Settlement. In consequence of this information, Lord John Russell, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, concurring with his predecessor, gave strong Instructions for the discontinuance of this practice, and for the punishment of it as illegal, expressed his opinion that it was desirable the Government of these Settlements should be resumed by the Crown, and instructed Dr. Madden, a gentleman who had formerly been employed as a Stipendiary Magistrate in the West Indies, and subsequently in the Mixed Commission at Havana, to proceed as Commissioner to the Gold Coast, and the other British Settlements on the West Coast of Africa, for the purpose of investigating these and other matters connected with the administration and condition of these Settlements. He was at the same time instructed to inquire into, and report upon, the Prospects of Emigration from Sierra Leone to the British West India Colonies.
The Reports which were the result of this gentleman’s inquiries, involving materially the interests of Humanity and of Commerce, and impeaching gravely the character of individuals engaged in the British Trade with Africa, in a manner which seemed to call for further investigation before any conclusion could be fairly come to upon the questions at issue, have been laid before Your Committee, have in fact formed the basis of their proceedings, and are published with this Report; but in publishing them, Your Committee beg to state, that while they do full justice to the value of much of the information contained in them, and to the zeal and diligence of Dr. Madden, they do not concur in all his conclusions, or intend to warrant the accuracy of his statements. His inquiries were conducted over a vast surface of Coast in a short period, and under circumstances of considerable interruption from health disordered by the climate, and in many instances he apparently found himself compelled to take his information from third parties, the accuracy of whose statements and the correctness of whose opinions he had not the opportunity of testing.
In many of his recommendations they concur; on some, and those of no slight importance, they have come to an opposite opinion; but thinking it would be more convenient that they should give their own conclusions upon the whole subject submitted to them in a consecutive form, rather than in the shape of a commentary upon his Reports, they beg to submit the following statement and recommendations to The House, as the conclusions at which they have themselves arrived.
GOLD COAST.
In the first place, then, we recommend that the Government of the British Forts upon the Gold Coast be resumed by the Crown, and that all dependance on the Government of Sierra Leone should cease.
We fully admit the merits of that Administration, whether we look to the Officer employed, Captain Maclean, or to the Committee under whom he has acted, which, with the miserable pittance of between 3,500l. and 4,000l. a year, has exercised, from the four ill-provided Forts of Dixcove, Cape Coast, Annamaboe, and British Accra, manned by a few ill-paid black soldiers, a very wholesome influence over a Coast not much less than 150 miles in extent, and to a considerable distance inland; preventing within that range external Slave Trade, maintaining Peace and Security, and exercising a useful though irregular Jurisdiction, among the neighbouring Tribes, and much mitigating and in some cases extinguishing some of the most atrocious practices which had prevailed among them unchecked before. We would give full weight to the doubts which Captain Maclean entertained as to his authority, until specifically so instructed, to prevent vessels, suspected of being intended for the Slave Trade, but not having Slaves on board, from trafficking in lawful goods within his jurisdiction; and we do not infer from that circumstance, that the Government of these Forts had any partiality for an abominable Traffic, which, on the contrary, they have done much to check; but we think it desirable, for the sake of enlarging the sphere of usefulness of these Settlements, and of giving greater confidence in the character and impartiality of their Government, that it should be rendered completely independent of all connexion with Commerce, by a direct emanation of authority from the Crown, and that it should be placed, with increased resources, in direct and immediate communication with the general Government of the Empire.
We recommend, further, the reoccupation of several of the Forts, such as Apollonia, Winnebah, and Whydah, abandoned in 1828, when the Government was handed over to the Committee of Merchants, and the reconstruction of others, on however small a scale, on other similar points. In some cases the climate will be found to be not worse, in others better, than on other parts of the coast of Africa; but this evil may be very much mitigated, if not entirely removed, by the employment of such Europeans only as are already inured to a tropical climate, and of British Subjects of African descent, who, we believe, may now be found, either within our African Settlements or our West India Colonies, fitted for almost every branch and grade of service[4]; and we look upon such Establishments as of high importance, not for the extension of Territory, but of that control over the Slave Trade, and wholesome moral influence over the neighbouring Chiefs, which we have described as having been exercised by the existing Forts, and which is much needed at those places to which we have particularly alluded, as well as others.
The Judicial Authority at present existing in the Forts is not altogether in a satisfactory condition; it resides in the Governor and Council, who act as Magistrates, and whose instructions limit them to the administration of British Law, and that, as far as the Natives are concerned, strictly and exclusively within the Forts themselves; but practically, and necessarily, and usefully, these directions having been disregarded, a kind of irregular jurisdiction has grown up, extending itself far beyond the limits of the Forts by the voluntary submission of the Natives themselves, whether Chiefs or Traders, to British Equity; and its decisions, owing to the moral influence, partly of our acknowledged power, and partly of the respect which has been inspired by the fairness with which it has been exercised by Captain Maclean and the Magistrates at the other Forts, have generally, we might almost say, uniformly, been carried into effect without the interposition of force. The value of this interposition of an enlightened, though irregular, authority, (which has extended, in some cases and with advantage to humanity, even to an interference in capital cases,) is borne witness to, not only by parties connected with the Government of the Settlements, who might be suspected of a bias in its favour, but also by the Wesleyan Missionaries, and even by Dr. Madden, who, objecting to its undefined extent, and to the manner in which, in some respects, it has been carried out, yet still bears high testimony to its practical value, to its acknowledged equity, and to its superiority over the barbarous customs which it tends to supersede. Even the duration of imprisonment, of which he complains, has been usually adjudged to offences which would have incurred a severer penalty in most civilised countries, and would certainly, if left to the arbitrary decision of native chiefs, or to the “wild justice” of private revenge, have been punished by death, and that frequently of the most cruel kind. Still, however, it is desirable that this jurisdiction should be better defined and understood, and that a Judicial Officer should be placed at the disposal of the Governor, to assist, or supersede, partially or entirely, his judicial functions, and those now exercised by the Council and the several Commandants in their magisterial capacity; but we would recommend, that while he follows in his decisions the general principles, he be not restricted to the technicalities of British Law, and that altogether he should be allowed a large discretion.
[4] The gentleman lately Acting Governor of Sierra Leone, and the Queen’s Advocate there, are both gentlemen of colour: and it appears that an Akoo, lately a liberated African, is now on his way to England, to be ordained a clergyman of the Church of England, having been instructed in Greek under the care of the Church Missionary Society established in the same colony.
It is to be remembered that our compulsory authority is strictly limited, both by our title and by the instructions of the Colonial Office to the British Forts, within which no one but the Governor, his Suite, and the Garrison reside; and that the Magistrates are strictly prohibited from exercising jurisdiction even over the Natives and Districts immediately under the influence and protection of the Forts. All jurisdiction over the Natives beyond that point must, therefore, be considered as optional, and should be made the subject of distinct agreement, as to its nature and limits, with the Native Chiefs, and it should be accommodated to the condition of the several Tribes, and to the completeness of the control over them, which by vicinage or otherwise we are enabled to exercise. Their relation to the English Crown should be, not the allegiance of subjects, to which we have no right to pretend, and which it would entail an inconvenient responsibility to possess, but the deference of weaker powers to a stronger and more enlightened neighbour, whose protection and counsel they seek, and to whom they are bound by certain definite obligations.
These obligations should be varied and extended from time to time, and should always at least include (as many of the Treaties now in existence on that Coast already do) the abolition of the external Slave Trade, the prohibition of human sacrifices, and other barbarous customs, such as kidnapping, under the name of “panyarring,” and should keep in view the gradual introduction of further improvements, as the people become more fitted to admit them.
In this arrangement we should find the solution of our difficulty in regard to Domestic Slavery, and a modification of it under the name of “pawns,” which has prevailed within these settlements, not actually within the Forts, but within their influence, and even in the hands of British subjects. To them indeed they have been already prohibited; but although the system of pawns, which is properly an engagement of service voluntarily entered into for debt, and terminable at any time by the payment of the debt, is one which “does not seem abstractedly unjust or unreasonable[5],” yet as liable to much abuse, and much resembling slavery, it should be the object of our policy to get rid of it, even among the Natives; and in the places more immediately within the influence of British authority, we believe there will be no difficulty in limiting it at once, both in extent and duration, and probably, ere long, in abolishing it, by arrangements such as we have above suggested. Some caution, however, must be exercised in this matter on account of the close intermixture of Dutch and Danish with the British settlements, though perhaps it might be possible to induce them to co-operate in such arrangements as might be thought desirable for the improvement of the neighbouring Tribes; and great facility and advantage would certainly arise from such co-operation, if it could be secured.
[5] Despatch of Sir G. Grey, 4. Dec. 1837.
With regard to the judicial arrangements, a plan has been suggested by which a Supreme Judicial Officer might be placed at Ascension, at Fernando Po, where no authority of any kind exists, and one is much needed, or at some other Island off the Coast, visiting, with the aid of a steamer, the various Settlements on the Gold Coast periodically, as well as the Trading Stations in the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and exercising in the latter a very wholesome influence in the adjustment of disputes with the Natives, which, for want of such interposition, occasionally lead to consequences injurious to the British character and to the interests of Commerce. But Your Committee are aware that difficulties might arise in carrying out this suggestion, more especially on account of the necessity for prompt decision in most cases in which the Natives are concerned; and therefore are not prepared at present to do more than call attention to the suggestion.
We would here acknowledge the great services rendered to religion and civilisation on this Coast by the Wesleyan body; they have even established a friendly communication with the barbarous court of Ashantee, which promises results important in every way; and, indeed, little in the way of religious instruction would have been done without them. But we should recommend that further provision should be made for these objects, by the appointment of a Colonial Chaplain, and by encouragement to schools of a higher class than any which are found there at present; to which, among others, the neighbouring Chiefs should be invited to send their sons to receive an education which might fit them to be of benefit to their own people directly, if they returned to their families, or indirectly, if they remained, by entering into connection with British interests. Some officer also should be appointed, whose duty should be to take care of the effects of intestate persons, to verify the character of vessels entering the ports, and to attend generally to the fiscal regulations of the Settlements.
We beg also to call attention to the suggestion, that we should endeavour to secure the co-operation of our Dutch and Danish neighbours, in licensing the canoes which ply along that coast, as they seem to afford considerable facilities to such Slave Trade as still exists along the Leeward Coast.
The Military also should be somewhat increased in number; and their condition, as recommended by Dr. Madden, should be improved.
A scheme for an establishment such as we have been proposing, will be found in the evidence of Mr. Hutton, one of the Council of the Committee of African Merchants, who now govern these settlements. To the details we do not pretend to give our sanction; but we beg to call attention to it, as showing that all the objects which we have been recommending may be attained at an expense far short of that which was incurred for these settlements when they protected instead of, as now, controlling the Slave Trade, or even when they were last under the direct management of the Crown. Indeed in itself it is of but trifling amount when compared with the objects to be attained, and we are confident that the increased expense will be well repaid, both directly by the diminished necessity for naval force upon the Leeward Station, and indirectly by the increase of commerce, which will be the certain consequence of extended influence over very important nations, including the kingdoms of Dahomey and Ashantee, of an improving population, and of the continued and still more complete suppression of the Slave Trade on that Coast, once infamous as the principal scene of its operations.
GAMBIA.
For the purposes of trade and useful communication of every kind with the interior of Africa, the Settlement in the Gambia seems to possess advantages far beyond those of any other British Settlement on the Coast of Africa. It has that which in all countries, but more especially in Africa, where no means of land carriage exist, save the backs of slaves, is of the highest value, the command of a noble river, navigable for vessels of considerable tonnage for several hundred miles into the interior; and it would appear as if a little fiscal encouragement to its products and those of its vicinity,—together with the employment of Steamers, which we would earnestly recommend, both for the suppression of the Slave Trade at the mouths of the neighbouring Rivers and for keeping up communication, both commercial and official, with the Settlement of Macarthy’s Island, (which is itself nearly 200 miles up the river) and with the countries still higher up,—would draw out untold resources for a useful and honourable commerce, and even restore to us some portion of the gum trade which we have lately lost.
As in the case of the Gold Coast, we recommend the entire separation of this Government from that of Sierra Leone. The dependence, which has hitherto existed, has been the cause of great inconvenience, and seems to possess no advantage. The Laws of the Settlement have been enacted by those who are little acquainted with its concerns. Their Gaol has depended for clearance on the uncertain arrival of a Chief Justice from a distance of 500 miles, and by a voyage of above 20 days; and in the case of the death of one Chief Justice, two years elapsed before a criminal, confined under a charge of murder could be brought to trial, and then, owing to the delay, the witnesses had returned to Europe, and no evidence could be found. Even if a regular Steam Communication were established, though the amount of the evil would undoubtedly be thus diminished, yet still the uncertainty of life in such a climate should not be forgotten; and we would recommend the appointment of a distinct Judicial Officer in each Settlement, who should have authority to act in case of vacancy in either.
The Governor should have the assistance of a Council; but under the circumstances of the Settlement, we recommend that he should have full power to act on his own responsibility, and even contrary to their advice; every Member of the Council, including the Governor, in such cases, as in India, recording the reasons of his opinion for the information of the Government at home.
We would earnestly recommend to consideration the propriety of reestablishing the former British Settlement on the Island of Bulama. Its climate is certainly unhealthy; but we are not aware that it is more so than that of Sierra Leone or of some other places on the Coast. It might be principally, if not entirely occupied, by British subjects of Negro race; and its position, both for checking the Slave Trade of Bissao and its neighbourhood, and for drawing out the legitimate resources of several noble rivers, would be invaluable.
We would also suggest the erection of small Blockhouses, whether up the Gambia itself, or along the Coast, as at Cestos and the Gallinas, on points where British commerce is superseding the Slave Trade, as they would protect the lawful trade, and prevent the re-appearance of the Slave Trade where it has been extinguished, or is dying away.
SIERRA LEONE.
In regard to the machinery by which this Colony is governed, Your Committee have no specific recommendation to offer.
In the course of their investigations, questions have arisen connected with its past management and administration, more especially on the subject of the party spirit of a peculiar nature, which is alleged to have acted injuriously in regard to it both on the Colonial Office at home and on the internal transactions of the Colony itself; questions mixed up with topics of a personal nature, and which, in spite of the facilities for a full investigation which were offered by the Colonial Office, Your Committee would have found it impossible, within their limited time, even if it had been their proper province, to follow out. On these points, therefore, not having the means either of forming themselves a satisfactory opinion, or furnishing The House with the means of forming one, they have thought it due, not less to the questions themselves than to the individuals concerned, not to report the Evidence; and they are the more induced to pursue this course, in that they are thus not prejudging any inquiry into this subject, if in a future Session it should be the pleasure of The House to engage in it.
In regard to the future, much will depend on the decision which shall be come to as to several points which have been under our consideration; such as the continuance at Sierra Leone of the Courts for Adjudication of Prizes taken in the Slave Trade, the disposal of the rescued Slaves, and the question of Emigration from Africa generally.
Now it is hardly necessary to remind the House of The Resolution come to by a Committee which sat upon this subject in 1830, which distinctly condemned the location of the Mixed Commission Court at Sierra Leone as highly inconvenient for the purpose, on the ground of its situation, not only at so great a distance as 800 or 1,000 miles from the places where the Slaves to be adjudicated were then principally captured, but also so far to windward, that captured ships were sometimes eight or nine weeks, and on an average upwards of five weeks, on their passage from the place of capture to Sierra Leone, occasioning a loss of the captured Slaves amounting to from one-sixth to half of the whole number, whilst the survivors were generally landed in a miserable state of weakness and disease. Such undoubtedly was the case then, and had been the case then for many years, and has been still the case, though in a somewhat less degree, since the Report of that Committee. We regret that means should not have been taken earlier to remedy this crying evil. As the Slave Trade however now exists, that evil is no doubt much diminished. By the provision introduced into our more recent Slave Trade Treaties, the Cruizers of the contracting parties are authorised to seize Vessels merely on the evidence of their equipment, without making it necessary to wait till Slaves are actually on board, and thus a much smaller number of Slaves is brought for adjudication and exposed to this kind of middle passage. Moreover the exertions and improved quality and system of our Cruizers, the depressed condition of the sugar-planters of Cuba and Brazil, the extension of legitimate traffic, and other causes, have succeeded in diminishing altogether the amount of Slave Trade; and the scene of its greatest activity, North of the Line, lies now within a moderate distance of Sierra Leone, or to the windward of it. The reasons, therefore, for removing the Courts of Adjudication from that Colony are not what they were. If, however, one place of adjudication only is still to be assigned, and only one place of release, to the wretched victims of the Slave Dealer, we believe that Ascension, or one of the Portuguese Islands, would on the whole be best adapted for that purpose, as being more convenient than Sierra Leone to the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and to the Portuguese Settlements South of the Line, now the principal seats of the existing Slave Trade, and (owing to the set of winds and currents in that direction) as being easy of access even from the farthest extremities of the Windward Coast, where any Slave Trade is carried on. We are aware, however, that these are arrangements which can only be made in conjunction with Foreign Powers, and that they involve many considerations which have not been fully before us. They are, however, of high importance to the interests of humanity, and we cannot do less than invite the best attention of Her Majesty’s Government to the subject.
The next point we have alluded to, that of the place and manner of locating the Africans who are liberated from the captured Slave Ships, is so closely connected with the question of Emigration from Africa generally, that this seems to be the proper opportunity for discussing that important subject. Before, however, they go further, Your Committee desire to say a few words as to the point of view from which they have felt it their special duty to look at it. On another Committee has been devolved the charge of examining it in its bearings on the prosperity of the West Indies: we consider it our peculiar duty to look at it as affecting the interests of Africa only, whether of its Natives generally, or specially of those who come into our hands and under our protection in the course of our attempts to put down the Slave Trade. Now, the investigation alluded to as devolved upon another Committee of Your honourable House, is no doubt one of the highest importance, even to the interests of the African himself; inasmuch as we have it on the highest authority, that the diminished supply of Sugar from our West India Colonies, consequent on Emancipation, gave an extraordinary stimulus to the Slave Trade for the supply of Cuba and Brazil; and the best aid for its discouragement, and the best chance for its total extinction, would undoubtedly be the diminution of inducement to carry it on, which would arise from the production of Sugar by Free Labour in the British Colonies on lower terms. But, as more immediately within our province, we have thought it our duty to confine our inquiries upon this subject to three points: 1st. Whether, indeed, there are any considerable materials for a free Emigration from Africa to the West Indies; 2dly. Whether it would be desirable for the African to make the change; and, 3rdly. Whether it could be carried on, and how, without reasonable apprehension, or even a possibility of creating or encouraging a new Slave Trade.
Now, as to the first point, we may briefly say, that on the Gold Coast few materials for a perfectly free Emigration, or for Emigration of any kind, appear to exist. The devastations of the Slave Trade, and of the wars connected with it, though it has now ceased there entirely for nine or ten years, are yet too recent to allow of the existence of any very crowded Population, or any adventurous habits; and all, save the Chiefs and a few dwellers on the coasts, who have engaged in the various pursuits of commerce under the protection of the British, the Dutch, and Danish settlements, are Slaves, though their Slavery, like that of Africa generally, is not, as to labour, of a very grievous kind. As we proceed up the Coast, we fall in, between Cape Palmas and Cape Mount, with a very singular race of men, consisting of many small tribes, known commonly by the collective name of Kroomen, scattered along a considerable range of shore; much given, though not exclusively, to maritime pursuits; forming part of the crew of every English man-of-war and merchantman on the coast; known by a distinctive external mark, and neither taken as Slaves themselves, nor making Slaves of others. Their numbers are uncertain, but are undoubtedly considerable, and seem to be increasing, and their confidence in the English character is ascertained. But it seems doubtful whether permission for large numbers to leave their shores could be obtained without some present to their Chiefs; and their attachment to their own country, and their present habits of migrating only for a period, and without their families, make it also doubtful whether they would ever become permanent settlers elsewhere, or indeed remain away from home for a longer period than two or three years. Upon this point we would refer, in addition to other Evidence, to that which was given before us by two or three of these men themselves.
Passing by Sierra Leone for the moment, we come to the British Settlement of the Gambia, and here we find about 1,500 Liberated Africans, whom the British Government has removed thither from Sierra Leone, from whom of course not much emigration could be expected, though some, for they have little employment there. But we find there a periodical Migration from a considerable distance up the River in two tribes of Serawoolies and Tilliebunkas, who come in numbers to do all the severe labour of the Settlement, and having saved their earnings return to their homes, apparently free to come and go without restraint or obligation of any kind. Their case may be considered as somewhat resembling that of the Kroomen, and as offering materials for a temporary Emigration in the first instance, though possibly hereafter, on further experience, for one of a more permanent character. We now return to Sierra Leone, and here we find the Liberated Africans and their descendants, in number from 40,000 to 50,000, a body of Kroomen, in numbers which are variously stated from 1,000 to 5,000, who, like the Serawoolies in the Gambia, do all the hard labour of the Colony, and between 1,000 and 2,000 of a mixed population, who, like the Kroomen, have come into the Colony of their own accord. We have also to deal here with those who may hereafter be the subjects of adjudication on their release from Slave Ships, or who may hereafter come into the Colony, if it should be permitted, for the purpose of Emigration. These are the materials for Emigration to the West Indies which have presented themselves, and progressively, if it were permitted, encouraged, and successful, they would probably prove to be considerable.
The next question is, whether it would be a desirable change for these people to be in the West Indies rather than in Africa. Now for this object we desired that statements might be prepared for us, founded principally on Official Documents, acquainting us with the state of things, the condition of society, the temporal, the moral and religious advantages which would be enjoyed in three of our principal Colonies, to which we beg to refer in our Appendix, but from which we insert here a few Extracts, as sufficient for the present occasion.
JAMAICA.
“Of the actual condition of the labouring population of Jamaica, and consequently the condition which would be accessible to the African immigrants, Sir C. Metcalfe gives the following description, in his dispatch to Lord Stanley of the 1st November, 1841:
“With respect to the labouring population, formerly slaves, but now perfectly free, and more independent than the same class in other free countries, I venture to say, that in no country in the world can the labouring population be more abundantly provided with the necessaries and comforts of life, more at their ease, or more secure from oppression than in Jamaica; and I may add, that ministers of the Gospel for their religious instruction, and schools for the education of their children, are established in all parts of the island, with a tendency to constant increase, although the present reduction of the Mico schools is a temporary drawback.”
“Of the means afforded for the religious and moral instruction of the population of Jamaica, Sir C. Metcalfe, in this dispatch, makes the following statement:
“I turn from the cheerless prospects of proprietors to a more pleasing feature in the present order of things. The thriving condition of the peasantry is very striking and gratifying. I do not suppose that any peasantry in the world have so many comforts, or so much independence and enjoyment. Their behaviour is peaceable, and in some respects admirable. They are fond of attending Divine service, and are to be seen on the Lord’s day thronging to their respective churches and chapels, dressed in good clothes, and many of them riding on horseback. They send their children to school and pay for their schooling. They subscribe for the erection of churches and chapels; and in the Baptist communities they not only provide the whole expense of the religious establishment, but by the amount of their contributions afford to their ministers a very respectable support. Marriage is general among the people. Their morals are, I understand, much improved, and their sobriety is remarkable.
“For these very gratifying circumstances we are indebted to the Ministers of Religion in the Island of all denominations. Church of England, Church of Scotland, Moravians, Wesleyans, Baptists, Bishop, Clergy, and Missionaries, all exert themselves, and vie with each other in amicable rivalry to do good to their fellow-creatures. The number of Churches, Chapels, and Schools built and being built in every part of the Island, affords a most pleasing and encouraging sight. In this respect the prospects of the Island are very cheering, and the liberal support afforded to useful Institutions, and the encouragement given to Religious Teachers, without any bigoted exclusions, are creditable to the Island Legislature, and every part of the Community.”
The Reports of the Magistrates[6], which will be found in the Parliamentary Paper 1842, concur in representing the great efforts which are made in promoting Religious Instruction.
[6] Statement given in by W. Burge, Esq., Agent for Jamaica.
“The annual charge defrayed by the Colony of Jamaica, for the support of the Ministers and Schools of the Church of England, was, in 1836, 53,260l. 14s. 5d. currency, or 31,956l. 8s. 8d. sterling money, as will appear by a Paper laid before Parliament in 1837, and which will be found referred to in Evidence before the Committee of The House on the West India Colonies. Since the Year 1836 an increase has been made; and in the Years 1839 and 1840, an addition of 14,000l. sterling per annum was made to the charge. The total annual charge, therefore, defrayed by the Colony for that part of the Ecclesiastical and School Establishment, connected with the Church of England, exceeds 45,000l. sterling money. But this Establishment is still further extended by occasional Grants by the Assembly of Jamaica, by Parliamentary Grants, and by certain Religious Societies in England, and by individuals there and in Jamaica. In addition to this Establishment, very extensive means of Religious Instruction are afforded by the Presbyterian, Moravian, Wesleyan, and Baptist Missions, established in Jamaica, and those schools and places of worship are thickly spread over the Colony, and large contributions for supporting and extending these Schools are derived from Parliamentary Grants, from Grants by the Assembly of Jamaica, by charitable institutions, and by private individuals here and at Jamaica.”
BRITISH GUIANA.
“If I were not convinced that the unhappy Africans are benefited by the transfer to this colony, I should not so urgently press the continuance of the countenance of Her Majesty’s Government to that effect. I have, in my residence on this coast, seen that the Africans from Sierra Leone are far from being in the civilised state I should have anticipated; that their condition must, therefore, here be improved; how much more so then must the pure savage be raised by being brought amongst his own colour, who are in a high progressive state of civilisation[7].”
[7] Extract from the Dispatch of Governor Light to Secretary of State, dated 21 Sept. 1841, Parl. Paper, 1842, p. 85.
“Religious instruction administered at 57 places of public worship. Each parish has at least two parochial schools under the superintendence of the minister. Each missionary has a school attached to his domicile, and nearly all the principal plantations in the colony, if at a distance from the schools, maintain a school for the instruction of their labourers’ children, free of expense.
“An annual grant has been made by the colony in aid of the education of children of the labouring population in the rural districts, amounting to 13,333 dollars.”
“The average rate of wages for agricultural labourers is about 5-12ths of a dollar per task; a day’s task is understood to be seven hours, but is generally performed in four or five hours by an industrious man; any extra time or labour is paid for additional.”
“House-room, garden ground, medicine, and medical attendance, have hitherto been granted free; all other requisites are provided by the labourers themselves[8].”
[8] Parl. Paper, 1842, p. 120. Extract from Report of Committee on Emigration.
TRINIDAD.
“By Mr. Latrobe’s Report in 1839, it appears there were 35 Day and Evening Schools, and 14 Sunday, of all denominations; whereas, by the Return of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Established Church alone has now 28 Schools, and it is calculated that the present number in all is not less than from 50 to 60. As regards Churches and Chapels, there are no less than 18 connected with the Established Church, 11 Roman-catholic, 4 Wesleyan, and 1 Presbyterian, together 34, for a population of from 50,000 to 60,000 souls; this would give a School for every 1,000 souls, and a Church for every 2,000.
“In the Colonial Estimate for this year, there is a provision of 1,660l. for the Established Church, and for the Roman-catholic 3,236l., as fixed expenditure, besides 5,865l. towards building Churches, and 1,937l. towards Education.”
“The soil of Trinidad is a rich marl that requires no manuring whatever, and of such soil there are fully one million of acres in brushwood and forest. Were there only a sufficiency of labour every British market might be amply supplied with Sugar from this one Island; hence, Foreign Sugars would be excluded, and the Slave Trade, as it refers to Great Britain at least, would be practically discouraged.
“In Trinidad too, Christian Ministers can live and labour with far less risk of health and loss of time. Government is also extremely willing to give half the amount required for the erection of Chapels, School-houses, Teachers’ Salaries, &c. in any part of the Island where we may have even a small Society of Emigrants.
“It is therefore my deliberate conviction that the people would gain an accession to their religious privileges by quitting any part of Western Africa for the Island of Trinidad.
“But again I think that the worldly circumstances of the Emigrants would be considerably advanced. The labourers may very easily earn half a dollar per day on their arrival here, and in a couple of weeks, that is, as soon as they fully understand the nature of the work, the able-bodied may make a dollar. A house and garden are given to every labourer. On these particulars Mr. David and the labourers who have returned with him will be able to satisfy you[9].”
[9] Extract from Letter addressed by Rev. J. Blackwell, Wesleyan Minister in Trinidad, to Wesleyan Ministers at Sierra Leone.
Now after looking at such a picture, drawn from the most unsuspected sources, we cannot doubt that, whether for the homeless Negro just rescued from the hold of a Slave Ship, or for the ignorant and uncivilised African who comes down to our Settlements to pick up a small pittance by the hardest labour, and to return with it to his barbarous home, it would be of the highest advantage, it would be the greatest blessing, to make such an exchange. But how is it with the Liberated African of Sierra Leone, who has been enjoying perhaps for years the fostering care of the British Government? Now to that Government, beyond his rescue from the Slave Ship, and emancipation from future Slavery, and a temporary sustenance, and his being placed within the reach of Missionary efforts, to which it has not contributed, the Liberated African cannot fairly be said to owe much. To the invaluable exertions of the Church Missionary Society more especially, and also to a considerable extent, as in all our African Settlements, to the Wesleyan body, the highest praise is due. The former expend nearly 7,000l., the latter nearly 2,000l. annually upon the Religious Instruction of the Colony. By their efforts nearly one-fifth of the whole population, a most unusually high proportion in any country, are at school, and the effects are visible in considerable intellectual, moral, and religious improvement,—very considerable under the peculiar circumstances of such a Colony. But a few ill-supported Schools and one Chaplain is all that has been contributed by the Government to the religious and moral improvement of those of whom she has undertaken the protection, and their social improvement has been unattempted. No Model Farm has been established, no instruction in Agriculture has been afforded. The rate of wages, when any are earned, which is chiefly by a few in the neighbourhood of the towns, is 4d. to 7d. a day, and with this and a little cultivation a sufficient subsistence, though nothing more, is gained. The extent of good soil is limited; the inhabitants wander out of the Colony for the subsistence which they cannot find within it. There is little industry, there are small facilities for trade, as the Colony itself produces little to export save a little arrow-root and ginger, and the River which it commands is only navigable for 30 or 40 miles to any useful purpose, and supplies no article but timber and camwood. With such a climate, therefore, and thus circumstanced, the Colony can never invite the residence of planters or of merchants of considerable capital, or become a favourite with officers, either civil or military, of a higher order. What elements of prosperity, therefore, can it have? The Government has not done much, but under any circumstances the Colony must be an artificial creation. The Government ought to have established a Model Farm, or in some way communicated agricultural knowledge; and we would recommend that it should be attempted even now. But, after all, what is that to the magnificent Model Farms which would surround the African in the West Indies?
We need hardly add more to prove that it would be well for the African, in every point of view, to find himself a Free Labourer in the free British West India Colonies, enjoying there, as he would, higher advantages of every kind, than have fallen to the lot of the Negro race in any other portion of the globe.
We pass the question, though not absolutely to be lost sight of, that, in Sierra Leone, the newly liberated African is a burden to the British Government as well as to himself; and that, in the West Indies, not only would his own condition be improved, but he would become a source of wealth and prosperity to the Empire. But we must not omit the advantage to Africa, of the probable return to her soil of many of her own sons, enriched with civil and religious knowledge, and bringing back with them wealth, and the means of wealth and civilisation; “that reflux of the West upon the East, in moderate numbers, and managed with caution,” in the words of Sir John Jeremie, “to which we must look for the civilisation of the East.”
But Your Committee had next to consider, whether, in achieving this object, any danger existed of creating a real, or plausible suspicion of a real, Slave Trade under another name.—Under proper regulations, they think there is not. A free passage may be offered to the African already settled within the colony, and to the Free Settler or other Native, who shall have remained long enough in the Colony to give the authorities sufficient time to ascertain the circumstances under which he came, and to assure themselves that they were entirely free from all suspicion of fraud or force. To such as thus leave their homes, a free passage back at the end of a certain period, say three or four years, might be promised, with full permission to them to return at any time at their own expense. To the homeless African, newly liberated, the option should be given of settling at once in the West Indies, if he please, with permission to return hereafter at his own cost, or of removing from Sierra Leone, or of remaining in it on the first adjudication, if he undertake for his own maintenance, or can find friends or relations who will undertake it for him.
With regard to the Kroomen, however desirable they may be as labourers, and however advantageous the object may be to themselves, we are not prepared in the first instance to recommend other facilities for emigration than those which we have suggested to be offered to other Natives who might desire to make use of a British Settlement as a point of departure[10]. If they should desire, as it appears that it is not improbable they may, to make a Migration across the Atlantic, with their habits they will find no difficulty in making their way, for the purpose, to Sierra Leone, where some hundreds or even thousands of their brethren habitually reside, some of whom have already emigrated to Guiana, and seem to be as active in the field, as we have long found them to be on the sea, and to be well pleased with the experiment.
[10] On this point, however, we beg to refer to the important evidence of Capt. Denman, who thinks that on account of the peculiar character of the Kroomen, emigration, with common precaution, might be conducted from their coast without risk of abuse. See [Q. 6995], et preced.
If it should hereafter be thought desirable to form any Settlement on the Kroo Coast, however small, it might facilitate arrangements similar to those which we have recommended for the other Settlements. Or they might possibly hereafter be embarked from the Coast itself under the superintendence of a man-of-war. (See Capt. Denman.)
The same door might be opened, under the same precautions, from the Gambia; but with regard to the Gold Coast, the supply of labour there not appearing to be more than necessary for the wants of the country, we would not recommend any peculiar facilities to be afforded.
The expense of the Emigration would of course be defrayed by the Colony to which each successive band of Emigrants was directed.
All this of course cannot be secured from abuse without the strictest superintendence of some Government authority; which we believe, dealing as it would do only with British Settlements, would be substantially effective. But we would earnestly recommend, that it should rather be undertaken altogether by the Government itself. In that way only can perfect security be given and felt against the abuses which might arise from the competition of the Agents of rival Colonies; in that way only can perfect confidence be given, whether to the African himself, or to the public opinion of England and the civilised world, that nothing shall be done which shall even bring suspicion upon a reputation, of which we are justly jealous, of which we can still be proud, and which it is of the highest importance that we should sustain. But under these sanctions, whether we look to the effect of the prosperity of our Free Colonies in discouraging the Slave Trade, or to the advantage of placing the African in that position where he will be most likely to raise himself in the moral and social scale, and to react beneficially upon the destinies of his Mother Country[11], Your Committee cannot but strongly urge upon Parliament not only not to prohibit the Emigration of Free Blacks from our African Settlements to our West India Colonies, but to encourage and promote it by the authority of Government, under the sanctions and regulations above suggested, or such other as further consideration may supply.
[11] To prove that this expectation is not altogether even now unsupported by facts, we beg to quote a passage from a letter in the Appendix, from Messrs. Anderson & Co.: “Demerara, 30 April, 1842. The Superior is off to day for Sierra Leone; 68 people have gone in her, including children, and with the exception of three or four, who are old soldiers, the whole of them are people who came seven or eight years ago from the Bahamas, (liberated Africans?) and they return to their native country with a good deal of money; three of them have not less than 5,000 dollars each.”
As we have said before, the way in which this question is disposed of will affect materially other questions connected with the internal administration of the Colony.
If Emigration should go on to any great extent from the settled Population of Sierra Leone, which we believe it might without in any way injuring the condition of the Colony, but rather the reverse, (for the rate of Wages would probably rise, and it appears that it is not the successful and thriving who are inclined to go), it will probably be possible to dispense with some of the Establishment which is now requisite for watching over the interests of the Liberated Africans. If, on adjudication, they are mostly located in the West Indies, the much-discussed question of the best means of disposing of them, of the necessity of maintaining them, as now, for six months, or the expediency of leaving them at once to their own resources and the charity of their countrymen; the question of the best means of disposing of the Children, and the ever-new devices of successive Governors for escaping from the inevitable evils of apprenticing them to persons on whose character no dependence can be placed, will be got rid of; and the British Government will be relieved from the necessity of attempting to overcome the obstacles which nature seems herself to have interposed at Sierra Leone, in the way of ensuring a prosperous condition to the objects of its humane care.
We now come to the question which has of late excited so much interest and feeling, that of the facilities which British Commerce is charged with having furnished to the Slave Trade, and to the extent and nature of the connexion which exists between them; a question which must be considered dispassionately and soberly, rather with a view to what is best for the object upon the whole, and to what is practicable, than to what might at first appear to be desirable, and what might be perhaps a partial good, producing possibly, in other ways, a greater evil. Now, in the first place, it is fair to state that we have no evidence, or reason to believe, that any British Merchant concerned in the trade with the West Coast of Africa, either owns or equips any vessel engaged in the Slave Trade, or has any share in the risks or profits of any Slave Trade venture. The charge is this, and it must be admitted, that whether by selling condemned Slave Vessels back to Slave Dealers, which is the rarer case, or, which is the more common, by selling to Slave Dealers lawful goods, which are afterwards employed in barter for Slaves (whether circuitously by sale to Merchants in Cuba and Brazil, or directly on the Coast of Africa), the British Merchant and Manufacturer does, in common with the Merchants of other nations, furnish very considerable facilities for the Slave Trade.
It must further be admitted, that owing to the equipment article in our recent Treaties, which has prevented the actual Slaver from hovering on the Coast in safety, a large portion of the goods necessary for the Slave Trade is driven into Vessels innocent in their apparent character, but subserving the purposes of the Slaver; and that, in consequence, a somewhat larger portion of this kind of traffic may possibly now pass directly from the English or other Merchant to the Coast of Africa, than heretofore, when those supplies went round by Cuba and Brazil in the Slavers themselves, without risk of capture.
Now an opinion has prevailed, and that in very influential quarters, and it runs through Dr. Madden’s Report, that at least such direct dealing is illegal, and punishable under the Statute of the 5 Geo. IV, c. 5; and if not so already, the same parties would urge on Parliament to make it so by new enactment; and some even would extend it to all connexion, however indirect, in which a guilty knowledge of the destination of the goods or of the Vessel could be presumed. Now this view of the Act is not unnatural, owing to the general and comprehensive nature of its language, and to the desire which must naturally exist to understand it in as comprehensive a sense as possible for the obstruction of so odious and detestable a traffic as the Slave Trade. But looking closely at the language of the Act itself, and to the interpretation put upon it by the Law Officers of the Crown, as alluded to by the Under Secretary of the Colonies, in his letter to Dr. Madden, April 1842, and to the opinion of the Attorney General in the case inserted in the Evidence, we cannot affirm it to be illegal now, and we shall presently state to The House why, however reluctantly we may come to the conclusion, we are not prepared to recommend that it should be made so.
Now in the first place, it is difficult to consider or to make that illegal, which is and has been done at Sierra Leone for years, by a Court of Judicature, (in doing so, acting under Treaties and under the sanction of an Act of Parliament, namely,) selling publicly, and to the highest bidder, Prize Vessels and Prize Goods condemned for Slave Dealing, indiscriminately, and without precaution or restriction, to persons of all descriptions, including Slave Dealers themselves, and which, in regard to vessels at least, had been practised in that Colony by persons of high character and station unreproved. But if it should be made illegal hereafter to sell a Vessel to a party concerned in the traffic in Slaves, the next question, and one that a Legislative body must consider, is, in what manner shall such a prohibition be enforced? A bond that the Vessel shall not be disposed of to a Slave Dealer has been proposed; but how shall the Vessel be prevented from passing very shortly from hand to hand till it reaches an unlawful owner? and is it not unwise for the Law to attempt that which it has so little means of effectually enforcing? There seems no remedy for this, which at Sierra Leone, in the heart of the Slave Trade, and where the Vessel is often sold for half its value, is an evil substantially as well as in feeling, but that of extending the provisions of those Treaties which direct that a Slave Vessel shall be broken up, not sold, and altering our own Municipal Law to the same effect.
But in regard to goods and merchandise, should the Committee advise The House to make such dealing illegal? Now all the witnesses, even those who advocate this view most strongly, admit that legitimate trade, by which is meant the exchange of merchandise for produce, is most beneficial to Africa, and co-operates materially with the cruizer in his operations, whether directly by the assistance and information with which the British trader supplies him, or indirectly by diminishing the necessity of a trade in Slaves, as the means of procuring European or other goods; they admit that nothing therefore would be more injurious to the interests of Africa, than to interfere materially with the operations of lawful commerce. It appears, moreover, that in every place on the Coast North of the Line, (to which limits our inquiries have mainly been confined,) with the exception of perhaps two or three points, a lawful trade of more or less extent is or has been carried on contemporaneously with, and often, nay generally, by the same persons as, the Slave Trade: they have told us that the same goods, such as cottons, rum, tobacco, guns and gunpowder, are employed in both trades; and that, although those employed in the Slave Trade are often of an inferior description, yet that quality alone will not furnish the means of distinguishing between one and the other, and that, practically, there are no means of making such a distinction; they have told us that any restriction on traffic which they would recommend, must therefore be confined to places or persons solely or principally concerned in the Slave Trade, and that the law should not attempt to interfere with any other. The question still remains, how this is to be carried out?
With regard to those places, where the Slave Trade has been extinguished, no difficulty will arise; but with regard to those places, not few in number nor of slight importance, where, as in Bissao now, and as it has been and may be again, in the Brass and Bonny Rivers, the most important marts for lawful trade upon the Coast of Africa, a trade in produce and slaves is carried on together and by the same persons; or where, as in Whydah and Popo, a trade in produce has been gradually growing up and gaining upon the Slave Trade in proportion as the enterprise of the British merchant pushes on the one and the vigilance of the British cruizer checks and cripples the other, how should the Legislature deal with them? Shall they be lawful or unlawful ports or persons? What is to legalise the traffic in such cases? What proportion, or what positive amount, of lawful traffic? But, indeed, how is the lawful traffic to spring up at all under such circumstances of exclusion?
Some witnesses have argued, that this question of degree need not be defined but may be left to be solved by the practical sense of a jury. By what jury? In England or at Sierra Leone? Under what uncertainties and obstructions would the most scrupulous trader deal with the Coast of Africa, if, for the misinterpretation of such instructions, as the nature of such a case will admit, by a supercargo, his vessel and goods are liable to be brought some hundreds or thousands of miles out of their course, to have the question decided by a jury, whether some person or some factory dealt with was principally or not engaged in the Slave Trade, it being unlawful if principally, lawful if partially, in some unknown and varying proportion, so engaged.
The question for the Legislature to consider is, whether it is worth while to do all this, to infuse so much risk and uncertainty into a trade which it wishes to encourage, which it looks to as one of the main instruments for the civilisation of Africa, for the sake of interfering with so small a proportion of the facilities which commerce, permitted at all with Africa, under her present circumstances, must of necessity afford more or less to the Trade in Slaves. For unless all other countries can be persuaded to take the same view, it must indeed be a small proportion, and little indeed will have been done towards the object; an obstruction will merely have been raised for such length of time as may be required for conveying the same goods from England or from foreign countries through other channels. It would be merely a transfer, and a transfer to parties less friendly to the object, and less under control. We have had ample evidence, that foreign vessels already carry on this trade to a considerable extent; nor is there any right by existing treaty with foreign nations, nor can it be expected, that we should obtain it, to interrupt foreign vessels engaged in such a traffic. But indeed, how would it be carried out? The right of search, in any shape, is one, as we know by experience, that requires the greatest delicacy in carrying out with the ships of friendly nations. But what kind of search must that be, which would seek to ascertain, on board of an apparently innocent vessel, innocent in her build and in her equipment, and freighted with innocent goods, whether the destination of such goods was not made unlawful by some document hidden in the most obscure recesses of the vessel? How prolonged, how minute, consequently how irritating at all times, how vexatious, if unsuccessful; how likely to be unsuccessful, if not guided by more obvious indications; how likely consequently to lead to disputes and collisions among nations, most injurious, if not fatal to that harmonious co-operation for the common object which is so absolutely essential to success. It must not be lost sight of how large a share of these evils must be inflicted on those who are engaged in our own lawful commerce, if such a search be applied to them.
Now if we were bound by a rigid principle to do this, these arguments must be rejected, as not affecting a case of conscience; but in this case we are not trying the value of a rigid principle. The principle would be intelligible which dictated the absolute interdiction of all commerce with every place from which a single Slave was exported; or, further still, with every place from which a Slave Trade was carried on, such as Cuba and Brazil; or if it dictated a prohibition to send goods where there was a probability that they might be exchanged for Slaves. But this arbitrary and uncertain limitation, so little capable of being referred to strict principle, and yet so injurious to lawful commerce, can only rest on the ground of its expediency, of its tendency to attain or promote the object; must submit to be tried by that test, and so tried will be found wanting. It is no doubt galling to a zealous and gallant officer, engaged in the service of his country and humanity in watching anxiously a well-known slaver’s haunt, to see foreign vessels, still more vessels bearing his own country’s flag, passing inwards and supplying those goods, though innocent in themselves, which are the medium of an atrocious traffic; it is not surprising that under such circumstances that feeling should have arisen which appears in Dr. Madden’s Report, and in the Evidence of several, especially the naval, Witnesses. It is a feeling natural and honourable in itself; and we hope that the English merchant, animated as he is by the same feelings of horror for the Slave Trade, will endeavour to extend the influence of those feelings through the whole circle of his transactions. But we cannot recommend that a provision so difficult to be carried out, so vexatious and yet so ineffectual for its object, should be made the subject of Legislation.
Happily in this great work we need not despair. The measures lately adopted have done much. The evidence of all the Naval Officers as well as Commanders of Merchant Ships, concurs in stating, that North of the Line, over a coast of many thousand miles, the Slave Trade, with the exception of a few points in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone and the Gambia, is virtually extinct. And the continuance of these measures, well guarded and considered in all their details, as well as extended, together with such as we have recommended in different parts of our Report, give fair ground for hoping for ultimate success. Under this head we would venture to recommend that none but the swiftest vessels should be employed; that some of the best Prizes should be converted to the purposes of the service; that Steamers should be engaged in watching the intricacies of Islands, and the mouths of Rivers; that the system of paying by Head-money, so unjust to gallant men[12], or, perhaps, by Bounty at all, should be reconsidered, and possibly replaced by higher pay and the prospect of promotion. Encouragement and ample protection, at the same time, should be given to lawful trade in every shape[13]; and the Settlements which we hold, or which we may form, upon the coast, should be kept open indifferently to all nations as to ourselves, that they may see, and be compelled to acknowledge, that in all we are attempting for Africa, we are only endeavouring to provide a feast of which all may equally partake; and seeking, as the reward of our exertions, no advantage to ourselves save that which may fairly fall to our lot from a proportionate share of a more abundant table, spread out for the common benefit of all.
[12] As an instance of the injustice of this system, we beg to refer to a case cited by Captain Denman ([Q. 7099]), in which it appears that the capture of two vessels, of the aggregate capacity of 80 tons, which would have held 700 slaves, was remunerated with no more than 576l., because they were empty; while that of a single vessel, of little more than half that tonnage, brought in 1,654l., because she was full. Thus the least laborious and dangerous, as well as the least effective service, receives the highest reward.
[13] Perhaps one or two vessels might have this specific duty assigned to them, apart from the general operations of the Cruizers connected with the Slave Trade.
IN THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
Regina v. Zulueta.
Counsel for the Prosecution.
MR. SERJEANT BOMPAS.
MR. SERJEANT TALFOURD.
MR. PAYNE.
Counsel for the Defence.
MR. FITZ-ROY KELLY.
MR. CLARKSON.
MR. BODKIN.
Attorney for the Prosecution.
SIR GEORGE STEPHEN.
Attornies for the Defence.
E. J. & H. S. LAWFORD.
PROCEEDINGS
INSTITUTED AGAINST
PEDRO DE ZULUETA, JUN., ESQ.
From the moment I left the Committee of the House of Commons, on the 23d of July, 1842, I never again heard of this matter until Wednesday the 23d of August, 1843.
On that day, between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, I was sitting at my desk in the private room of Zulueta & Co.’s office, 22, Moorgate Street, in the City of London, when a clerk came into the room to announce that a gentleman of the name of Scoble wished to see me. “Do you know him? He says that he is not known to you.” Upon this I went out into the clerks’ office and found the individual, thus calling himself, standing outside the counter. I asked him his business, and he replied that he did not call upon his own business. He asked me, in a pointed and distinct manner, if my name was Pedro de Zulueta, which of course I instantly acknowledged. “I do not call on my own business, but to introduce a person who wishes to speak with you. Shall he see you here, or at your house?” “I should like to know first who he is; what is his name?” “You do not know him, his name is Brown.” “I do not recollect any person of that name,” I replied. “He is below, if you like to see him.” The first impression on my mind was that the whole was some ridiculous mystery about some great trifle, and I thought I could not dispose of it better or more quickly than by seeing the man, so suiting the action to the word, I said, “I will go and see who he is,” and opened the door which leads from the office into the landing-place at the top of the stairs. No sooner was I outside the door than the individual, calling himself Scoble, addressed me in a tone different from the insinuating manner in which he had done before—not rude, but solemn—“The fact is, Sir, that a true bill has been found by the Grand Jury against you for felony, and there is an officer below to take you into custody. I did not like to state this before the clerks.”
The first impression I received at hearing these words I cannot give any account of, but it certainly struck me as the whole thing being a trick. “What do you say, Sir?” I asked; and the assertion was repeated, adding that the charge was slave trading. Then I was still more confirmed that there was some trick in the case. I asked the policeman, who was within the house and apparently in the act of ascending the stairs, to be called up, which Mr. Scoble did, and both were shown by me into the private through the public office. My father was sitting in the next room, and when I tried to make him understand the case, seeing the policeman and Mr. Scoble, he received the same impression of the whole being a trick, which raised his indignation at the audacity, and made him address Mr. Scoble very angrily. Mr. Scoble was evidently anxious to leave the room; and the policeman, to whom he gave strict directions about what was to be done with me, having assured me that the thing was in earnest, that I must go with him, I opened the private door for Mr. Scoble, who left the office repeating his injunctions to the officer, that I must be taken directly to the station-house, where Sir George Stephen would immediately go.
We had never before heard Sir George Stephen’s name, and my father thought he might be a magistrate. He tried to ascertain from the policeman by whose authority he was acting, but we could not obtain from him any thing that we could understand. He waited until Mr. John Lawford, of the firm of Messrs. Lawford, of Drapers Hall, our solicitors, arrived, and then we proceeded to the Garlick Hill Police Station-house. There Sir George Stephen appeared: he did not know me, and asked which was Pedro de Zulueta. When my name was mentioned, I answered to it, and then he preferred the charge as will be found in the succeeding page.
Mr. Lawford spoke aside with Sir George Stephen, for the immediate and pressing question was the bail. Sir George expressed a firm determination to resist bail to any amount. Then the dreadful thought was, what was to become of my family, since it never has happened, that I have been absent without their being acquainted with all the circumstances; and I do not think I have slept one night out of my house while in town. The late hour made it quite unlikely that with opposition to the bail, and as counsel must be heard, that I could escape passing the night in Newgate. Mr. John Lawford, with the greatest kindness and feeling, expressed to me that such was his fear. My reply was, that they might do what they pleased with me, only that my wife should be seen to, for I was quite sure of the result of her hearing suddenly of such an occurrence, together with my not going home. Sir George coldly remarked, that “it must already be known at home, for he had sent there to take me, in case I had not been taken at the office.” The agony, which such a statement caused, was perceptible, and one of the officers in the room remarked, that I needed not apprehend any thing, as all the officers could do, would be to watch the house.
I was conveyed very late to the Court at the Old Bailey, where I sat until nearly nine o’clock in suspense as to what would be the result of the application for bail, and next whether the persons approved of could be found at so late an hour. It was not until late, that the former was granted; and after considerable difficulty, and the impossibility of finding one of the two bail offered, the other was accepted as sufficient by the Court, together with my own recognizance. I then went home at about half-past nine o’clock at night to my afflicted family in a condition, which, as I believe it unprecedented when all the circumstances of my case are considered, so I hope and trust may never fall again to the lot of any man who lives in that happy and undescribable feeling of habitual security, which in this country we so dearly value as the precious privilege and the certain possession of every man who has not contemplated and is not aware of a breach of the law. Thus will it have been reserved to me, in the British dominions, to experience this peculiar method of receiving a wound in the heart, which, although time and the sympathy which has been so kindly expressed may allay, I alone can know how unlikely it is that any lapse of time can altogether cure.
As I would not state a fact with any greater appearance of certainty than what I really possess, I ought to add, since I now have seen the name of Mr. John Scoble mentioned as that of the Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society, that as I never saw before or have seen since, that I am aware of, the Scoble, who acted in this to me ever memorable occasion, I cannot tell whether they are both one and the same person.
Extract from the Book kept at the Station-house on Garlick Hill, containing the Entries of Charges made on Wednesday, August 23, 1843.
Hour 3. 50.—Pedro de Zulueta (32), 22, Moorgate Street, brought in by P. C.[14] 489, —— Tye, charged by Sir George Stephen, 17, King’s Arms Yard, Coleman Street, with Felony (Slave Trading); also with Conspiracy, a true Bill having been found against him at the C. C. Court on both of the above charges.
(signature of person charging) “George Stephen.”
[14] P. C. means Police Constable.
(From the Anti-Slavery Reporter.)
CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
Wednesday, August 23, 1843.
(Before the Recorder.)
EXTRAORDINARY AFFAIR.
The Grand Jury having, in the course of the day, returned true bills against Pedro de Zulueta the younger, of the parish of St. Mary-le-Bow, merchant, Thomas Jennings, and Thomas Bernardos, late of the same place, mariners, for felony,
Mr. Clarkson applied to his Lordship under, as he said, circumstances of a rather peculiar character. Two bills had been found against Mr. de Zulueta for felony and misdemeanor. He was a highly respectable merchant of the City of London, and he was charged with conspiring, with other persons, to fit out a ship for the purpose of trading in slaves. The proceedings before the Grand Jury were of course entirely ex parte, and no application had been made to any magistrate. The first intimation which Mr. de Zulueta had of the fact was his being taken into custody, and he knew nothing of the nature of the charge beyond what was entered in the police-sheet.
The Recorder asked, was the defendant present?
Mr. Clarkson said he was in custody, and was on his way to the Court.
The Recorder asked, what was the application which Mr. Clarkson wished to make?
Mr. Clarkson said he wanted the defendant to be allowed to give bail.
Sir G. Stephen, who, it appeared, was the solicitor for the prosecution, stated that the charge against Mr. Zulueta was founded upon the Act of the 5th of Geo. IV, which declared the offence imputed to the prisoner to be felony. In answer to the Court, he added that the charge was framed under that section of the Act which rendered the party convicted liable to the penalty of transportation for fourteen years.
The Recorder said that if the learned counsel intended to enforce his application for bail, he apprehended that it would be incumbent upon him to show more reason for such a course than the mere statement that the party had been taken by surprise.
Mr. Clarkson trusted that the circumstances he had stated would be considered sufficient by the Court. The fact of the defendant being so suddenly arrested and placed in confinement would cause the greatest distress to his family. He was prepared to put in bail to any amount.
The Recorder inquired if there was any objection to bail being taken?
Sir G. Stephen was understood to say, that in consequence of the circumstances of Mr. Zulueta, there was some doubt whether he ought to be admitted to bail.
Mr. Clarkson assured the Court that Mr. de Zulueta had not the slightest indisposition to take his trial; but, on the contrary, he had the greatest anxiety to have the matter investigated. His only wish, in applying to be admitted to bail, was to prevent the misery and inconvenience to which his family would be subjected by his being prevented from returning to them. He especially wished to save the anxiety of the female branches.
The Recorder suggested that the case should be dealt with in the ordinary manner, and that affidavits should be prepared in support of the application.
At this stage of the proceedings the prisoner entered the Court, in custody of an officer.
Mr. Clarkson, after some communication with Sir G. Stephen, addressed the Court, and said that he believed no objection would be offered to bail in the sum of 5,000l.
The Recorder said he thought that would be quite sufficient.
Mr. Clarkson said the defendant would enter into his own recognizance in 3,000l., and give two sureties in 1,000l. each.
It was then arranged that this amount of bail should be put in upon the indictment for felony; and with regard to that for misdemeanor, the defendant should give his own recognizance in 100l., and two sureties in 50l. each.
The indictment was then read. It charged the prisoner and the two other persons with having feloniously equipped and employed a certain vessel, called the Augusta, for the purpose of trading in slaves. In other counts the parties were charged with equipping the vessel for the purchase of slaves, and for the purpose of purchasing persons to be dealt with as slaves.
Mr. de Zulueta pleaded not guilty to both indictments.
He then, in default of two sureties, entered into his own recognizance in 6,000l., and one surety in 2,000l., to appear when called on.