tolerated since the abolition of that trade by Parliament; and I should have thought that it would have occurred to you, that such a distinction would have been not only in direct repugnance to the principles upon which the slave-trade was abolished, but that it would likewise have been inconsistent with every consideration which was due to the ancient colonies of the British crown.

The chief incidents recorded in the papers before us are the following:When the French settlements on Madagascar capitulated to a British force in 1810, an account was taken of the slaves, the property of the settlers, amounting to 863; the object of which account was not only to ensure them to the proprietors, but to prevent the latter from adding to their number. When it was determined to remove the British troops from Madagascar, the French settlers, apprehensive of the consequences of being left to the mercy of the natives, by whom they were hated, demanded permission to remove with their property and effects to Mauritius and Bourbon. This permission was eventually given by Governor Farquhar, who took precautions to prevent its abuse, by its being made the cover of a fraudulent introduction of slaves into the two islands. Among other precautions, the Governor appointed an agent to proceed to Tamatave, in Madagascar, in order to watch the embarkation of the licensed slaves. It would appear, however, that the slave-traders did avail themselves of this opportunity to introduce new slaves into the colony; for Capt. Lynne, of his Majesty's sloop of war Eclipse, seized one vessel containing 145 slaves as contraband, though duly licensed by the agent; and he writes thus to the Admiralty:*

The shameful abuse of the indulgence granted by Government to the inhabitants of this island and Bourbon, is such, that it is high time it should be checked; a list was given of 863 slaves at Tamatave, as private property at the time of the capitulation of that colony; whereas I am fully convinced not half that number were in their possession, and I have now certain information of 880 having been introduced into the two islands; notwithstanding which, Mr. Deller, who is styled the accredited agent of Government, writes word that there are 347 slaves still remaining to be sent from Tamatave.

A second incident worthy of remark is strongly indicative of the refractory disposition of the subordinate authorities in these colonies, on the subject of the slave-trade: the prompt step taken by the Governor, upon this occasion, deserves commendation.

A case of slave-traffic in Bourbon, then a dependency of the Mauritius, having come before the criminal court of the former island, in 1813, the judges dismissed the offenders, who were liable to prosecution under the Slave Felony Act, and sentenced the Government to pay the costs of the trial, upon the following frivolous grounds; namely, that the island surrendered under a capitulation guaranteeing the maintenance of its laws and usages; that the slave-trade was a recognized usage, to forbid which a prohibitory law was necessary; that an English act, prohibiting the slave-trade, was inserted in the Gazette of Mauritius, which publication did not apply to Bourbon, the latter colony being distinct from the former in what relates to the administration of justice; that the act, though subsequently inserted in the Bourbon paper, had not the legal signatures affixed to it; that, consequently, the prohibition of the slave-trade not being legally known in Bourbon until subsequently to the scizure, the tribunals could not consider the law to have been infringed upon by slave-trading on the part of the colonists!

Papers, &c. p. 23.

The

The Governor conceived that the proof which this decision afforded of "the partiality, injustice or corruption of the judges," authorized him to suspend them from the exercise of their functions, as guilty of " prevarications:" a procedure which received the approbation of the Government at home, notwithstanding a very elaborate and ingenious defence which these French judges made, in a memorial addressed to the Prince Regent.'

The efficacy of this instance of wholesome severity was soon seen in the conduct of the tribunals towards a further instance of slave-trading in Bourbon, in June 1814 although we perceive no ground for the opinion delivered by Governor Farquhar in the same year, that "the current of popular feeling in this island was decidedly against the slave-trade; and that the inhabitants have almost universally begun, not only to enter cordially into the considerations of humanity and justice which triumphed in its abolition, but to regard the advantages resulting from an increased care and attention to their present stock of slaves as parmount to any that could be derived from foreign acquisition." "* The conduct of the inhabitants of this colony, subsequent to its tranfer to France, clearly demonstrates that, whatever might be the reasons for the aforegoing opinion, it was erroneous. Almost immediately after the cession of the colony to its former masters, the year following the date of the aforegoing opinion, a trade in slaves had commenced between Bourbon and Madagascar ; and Capt. Curran, of the Tyne, seized, in 1816, two vessels, one under French and the other under British colours, with 201 slaves on board, in the port of Tamatave, bound for Mauritius and Bourbon. Governor Farquhar observes,† on this occasion, that "there is reason to believe that vessels under the cover of the French flag (from Bourbon) are more engaged in this trade than any other nation in these seas, from an opinion that they are not subject to the jurisdiction of his Majesty's courts." The removal of this false opinion by the decisions in those courts was not, however, attended with the effect of checking the trade; for next year six vessels were seized and condemned in the Vice-Admiralty Court at the Mauritius for this offence. The number of condemnations between October 1814 and December 1816 was fourteen.‡

It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the number of vessels seized and condemned, in not a single instance was any individual prosecuted under the Slave Felony Act: the loss of their property was the whole amount of the punishment inflicted upon the miscreants. Some, it appears, escaped from the vessel before they were in custody of the officers of justice; others contrived to break prison; and others, when brought to trial, were discharged by the grand jury, or acquitted by the petit jury. This circumstance is the more to be regretted, since the chief judge of the colony states it as his opinion,§ that in all the cases of condemnation, a prosecution properly conducted before an English jury, with the advantage of the police and prisons in England for seizing and securing the culprits, must have terminated in the conviction of every one connected with those vessels, whose employment in them subjected him to the penalties of the Felony Bill."

66

In the year 1814 the Government adopted the only effectual remedy against the introduction of negroes into the Mauritius, by establishing a registry of slaves. This excellent measure, however, owing to causes which are not apparent, in our opinion at least, from the correspondence which passed upon this subject, was from the first almost inoperative. Its absolute inutility as a check upon the introduction of new slaves may be conceived from the repre

sentation

Papers, &c. p. 89.

+ Ibid., p. 105,

Ibid., p. 116.

Ibid., p. 131.

sentation of Mr. Amyot, the registrar of colonial slaves in England, who states that he was unable to comply with an order of the House of Commons last year, for a return of the slave population of Mauritius, owing to the imperfect and irregular manner in which the slave registry was prepared. That gentleman observes :

Since the passing of the Order in Council which established a slave registry in the Mauritius, there have been three periodical registrations, viz. in the year 1815, 1818 (sic), and 1822. The returns for 1815 have been in my possession from the time of the establishment of my office. Those for 1819, after a long and unaccountable delay, of which I had occasion very frequently to complain, in my letters to you and Mr. Goulburn, did not arrive till December 1823. As to the returns for 1822, they have not yet (in May 1825) been received, though it appears from the enclosures of Governor Farquhar's despatch of the 7th November 1822 (printed by order of the House of Commons, among the slave population in the following year) that a considerable progress had then been made in them.

From the foregoing statement you will observe, that I can only comply with the requisition of the House of Commons as far as regards the returns for 1815 and 1819. Even this, however, cannot be done so as to furnish any comparison whatever of the slave population at the respective periods. The registration of 1815 includes 5,761 separate returns, comprizing a total of 85,423 slaves; while that for 1819 (which is attested by the registrar as containing all which had been registered) only gives 2,088 returns, and 20,948 slaves; although it appears from the printed despatch of the Governor, before referred to, that the slave population in that year exceeded 80,000.

Additional evidence to the same effect is found in the despatch of Sir G. L. Cole, the present governor of the Mauritius, dated 28th July last, who states that every day convinces him more and more of the absolute nullity of the existing slave registration.

The official document last quoted contains an Order in Council, dated January 30, 1826, repealing the former order for registration, and prescribing a new set of rules and directions for the returns of slaves, and the keeping of the records in the office of the registrar; the details of which appear extremely well calculated for the object.

The stimulus afforded to sugar cultivation in the island, by the reduction of the duty on its produce in the home market, will exert a considerable influence upon the slave-system. According to a statement which has appeared in a Calcutta paper, purporting to be drawn from authentic sources, and furnished by a respectable house at the Mauritius in July last, the population of the island (exclusive of troops), in round numbers, was as follows, showing a considerable reduction in the number of the slaves since the year 1815:

Of the above number of slaves, the sugar estates then employed only 30,000; the remainder were thus engaged in the town of Port Louis, as servants and workmen, 12,000; in the interior, as workmen, servants, and employed in agriculture, 28,000.

Of the state of the sugar-culture, and the power of production in the island, the following account is given :—

There are 159 sugar estates with mills. The number of those who plant canes, however, is 406. They whose means do not admit of the erection of machinery, carry

*Correspondence relative to Registration, &c., p. 22.

their

their canes to the neighbouring mills, and pay from one-third to one-half of the produce for the manipulation of the sugar.

The exportable produce of the sugar estates this year is estimated at 18,000 tons. It is thought that, in consequence of the increased value of the sugars at home, from the reduction of the duty, many of the slaves hitherto employed for other purposes, will henceforward be applied to the culture of the cane; and that the present quantity may in a few years be doubled. Some even say tripled! It is certain that as the planters' means increase, more machinery will be employed, and a given number of slaves produce a greater result than formerly. Still much time must elapse before the Mauritius can export 36,000 tons of sugar; and although many slaves may be sent to the sugar estates in default of other equally profitable occupations, yet as no addition can be made to the number of slaves in the island by fresh importations, and as that number gradually diminishes, we doubt the possibility of our exports of sugar ever attaining to triple its estimated amount for this year, which would raise them to 54,000 tons. It may be thought that the proportion between the male and female slave population is sufficiently favourable to authorize an expectation of the births being equivalent to the mortality! This, however, does not appear to be the case, in consequence of the females slaves being principally in the towns and villages, while the bulk of the male slaves are employed at a distance on the plantations; add to this their general immora lity. The climate being healthy, their diminution in number will nevertheless be slow. The latest information respecting the state of the slave-trade in this quarter is contained in a letter from Capt. Owen, of his Majesty's ship Leven, to Sir G. L. Cole, dated August 4, 1825, which includes so many desirable details on this subject, that we shall close the present article with a copious extract from it:

*

The ports on the coast of Africa, from whence slaves are exported, are Zanzibar, Keelwa or Quiloa, Kissooharra, Lindy, Moughoo or Mongalloo, Mikindamy, Mizimbarly, and Stambosezy. The two first-named are under the authority of the Imaun of Muskat; the others were formerly dependencies on Keelwa, but at this time affecting independence. All these ports are to the northward of Cape Delgado, which is assumed in the treaties as the northern limit of Portuguese dominion, and is in 10° 42′ south. Southward of that limit, at Zoughy, which is the bay formed by the said Cape Delgado, the native chiefs also affect independence, but accept from the Portuguese nominations to confirm their authority; at least, so I have been informed by the Portuguese of Mozambique; and in this bay the trade of slaves is also carried on. The next port to the southward of Zoughy or Delgado is Oibo or Ibo, which is a Portuguese settlement; between Ibo and Mozambique there is not at this time a place to which there is any resort for slaves, nor between Mozambique and the river Angoxa or Angozha, which is also independent. To the southward of Angoxa, Quillimane, Sofala, Inhamban, and Delgado Bay, are the only places where the traffic for slaves is known.

The Imaun's authority is acknowledged for Zanzibar and Keelwa, and with him we have a treaty which should prevent any slaves being sent southward from those places, or being sold to Christians. With the Portuguese, their treaty with England is not attended to at all. Not only do their traders visit the places northward of Delgado, to search for slaves, but they permit, without reserve, foreign vessels to trade for slaves, and to collect them at Zoughy, Ibo, and Mozambique. The vessels employed at this time in that infamous traffic usually wear a French flag, and carry their slaves to Bourbon, where, by the laxity of its government, no obstacles appear to be opposed to them. To the northward of Delgado, it may be presumed that the only persons now engaged in that traffic are French adventurers, except only the Arabs, who carry it on to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, or assist the said adventurers by collecting cargoes for them.

The simplest method of putting an entire stop to the traffic for slaves, now carried on northward of Delgado, would be for both nations, British and French, to admit of mutual *Correspondence touching the Slave-trade, pp. 4-6.

mutual right of search and seizure, modifying that right as may be judged prudent; so that, whilst the independent sovereignty of each is maintained, the object in question may be effected. Southward of Cape Delgado, the Portuguese may be called on to fulfil their treaty, an account to be rendered to his Majesty's Government of every infraction of it, for which purpose we should have consular residents at Mozambique and Ibo. We require also a consular agent, or one of his Majesty's subjects resident at Zanzibar, to observe that the treaty with the Imaun be fulfilled. These agents should none of them be considered stationary, but as having the surveillance or watch over a certain extent of the coast. For the ports between Keelwa and Zoughy, another and more determinate line of policy may be adopted, by separate conventions with the chiefs at the respective ports; and if some encouragement were given to merchants to trade with them for other objects of commerce, they would soon find exchanges for the coarse cottons of India, which is their principal demand; for very much of their demand for arms and ammunition, now much bartered with them for slaves, is for the purpose of obtaining and securing such slaves. One moveable agent would be sufficient from Keelwa to Zoughy, to see that the conventions were not broken; that is, that no slaves were sold. For the disposition of such slaves or vessels as may be seized by the Imaun's authority, some arrangement should be entered into with him, as also with the independent powers of Kissooharra, Lindy, Moughoo, and Stambosezy.

But the most material arrangement would be, that every port named, as well as that of Mombass, should be visited by a vessel of war, at least once every two months, with specific instructions as to their line of conduct; and for such Arab or African vessels as pass southward of Cape Delgado, a passport in English and Arabic should be adopted, to prevent those from being molested that trade on acknowledged principles: at present, a vessel of war cannot know whether such be the case or not, because the seamen of the country vessels are all slaves. I had adopted such a measure, which might have been rendered effectual and permanent; and unless such a method be adopted, an Arabic interpreter will be necessary to every ship of war that goes on that coast to stop the traffic in slaves. I have said nothing of Mombass, because your Excellency is acquainted already, that the people of that place are under engagement with me not to permit any traffic whatever in slaves ; and that several ships have already been seized by the officers commanding there, for a breach of that engagement, and the slaves disposed of by my orders. A similar engagement has been entered into by the Sultan of Ozy and the Chief of Brava; but the latter place is to the northward of the equinoctial line, and therefore not within the limits of this station for the ships of war, but included in the India command. For the smaller powers, between Keelwa and Zoughy, there will be no necessity for having so high a political consideration, and such vessels as may be seized there, might be disposed of in your Vice Admiralty Court.

I have never understood that there has recently existed any traffic for slaves either with the Mauritius or the Seychelles Islands; and the timidity of the French population induces me to believe that they fear to be, and will not be engaged therein under the existing laws; but neglected as the Seychelles and Amarantes are and have been (and indeed even the coast of Mauritius itself, not immediately in the vicinity of Port Louis), even since my arrival in these seas, I must observe, that the business of landing slaves on any of these points might be effected even without risk to the vessels which might transport them.

In Mauritius, and even in Mahé, the internal regulations would soon (it is probable) render the fact notorious, and the prosecutions of Government would, perhaps, render such a moral offence no worldly benefit to the parties who might engage in it; but neither the information nor the remedy are at all certain, within reasonable time, should any of her islands be chosen for an enterprize, and some there are adapted for depôts for slaves, and well situated to become so for those intended for Bourbon or other parts.