Chapter XIV: Part 14

10437. Have you any thing further to state upon the subject?--There are several things I have marked; for instance, such as this, “You are not bound to suppose that a man will make a bad use of that which he purchases.” If I wished to put my statement upon that footing, I should have done with it in a moment, for I knew nothing of the use they were put to. I bought goods, but as to what use was made of them I knew nothing whatever. But that is not the position which I wish to assume. It is said here that we sent goods or vessels to Pedro Blanco. To that I say, that we never sent either goods or vessels to Pedro Blanco. In answer to Question 5474 it is said by Mr. Macaulay, “I stated ‘that it appears that it is a regular thing sending vessels to him, that is to Mr. Zulueta; if they come to England to him he sends them to Cadiz, and they get out again to the Havannah and come again into the trade.’ My answer was intended to describe only the course of that particular transaction and not to apply to any other case.” I never received a single vessel from the coast of Africa at any time, nor any body for us.

10438. Mr. _Forster_.] Then that statement is entirely untrue?--Totally, from beginning to end; we never did so, and nobody for us; and nobody to our knowledge, or with our connivance; I deny it in the most distinct manner. In answer to Question 5487, Mr. Macaulay is asked, “Have you any thing further to say with regard to the connexion of Zulueta with the slave trade?” The answer is, “I would refer to his connexion with the Gollupchik, which was lately captured. In that case it appeared that the vessel went out direct to the Gallinas from London.” That is the same vessel as the Augusta, which I have already explained; it formerly bore the name of Gollupchik.

10439. _Chairman._] Have you been concerned in the purchase of vessels frequently for Pedro Martinez or Pedro Blanco?--We have sometimes bought such vessels here as we could resell at the Havannah, such as the Arrogante, which we have bought.

10440. Upon orders?--Partly on orders, and sometimes on our own account on speculation.

10441. Mr. _Wood_.] For what particular trade were they calculated when they reached the Havannah?--I think for the same trade which they were calculated for when they were sold here.

10442. For the conveyance of merchandise?--As well as any thing else. They were sold here publicly.

10443. Mr. _Forster_.] If it was legal for them to be sold here, you considered that it was legal for you to buy them?--I never had any doubt of the legality of buying here, or of selling them again afterwards.

10444. Mr. _Wood_.] But the questions appertaining to the carrying on of the slave trade do not confine themselves within strictly legal grounds, but they have other more important considerations attaching to them?--As to that point, there may be a difference of opinion; I would be very sorry indeed, for the sake of catching the approval of other persons, to make a disclaimer of any particular set of opinions whatever; but I believe the only point with which the Committee have to do, is the legal point. As to the moral point, it seems to me, that I am to judge of that; upon that point, I think I have stated quite enough, having stated distinctly that I never had any connexion, nor derived any profit from the slave trade whatever.

10445. Sir _T. D. Acland_.] You have stated in your letter, that your principle is, that of “not wishing to derive profit or advantage from the sufferings of humanity, whether avoidable or unavoidable,” and you have acted upon that principle?--That is the principle upon which we have acted.

10446. And you do not find that acting upon that principle has interfered with the fair success of your commerce?--I do not think it would; if it would, we should not care much about that, because we are in a position which is well known to many persons here, as well as to persons abroad. In 5495, Mr. Macaulay is asked, “What evidence have we that Zulueta knew that in dealing with Pedro Blanco, the goods he sold would be used for the barter of slaves.” I have said, that I had nothing to do with him; I never sold any goods to Pedro Blanco. The answer here is, “Any body engaged in the Spanish trade would be aware that Pedro Blanco was the largest slave trader in the world.” It may be so, that he is the largest in the world; but I can only say that the largest is very little, if that is the case, for I have spoken of 22,000_l._ as being the amount of the bills we have paid for him, which I have here (_producing the same_), to the order of several houses established in Sierra Leone, for goods, I suppose bought for him, amounting to about 22,100_l._ I only mention this with reference to the notoriety of his being such a large slave dealer, that it was impossible to shut your eyes to it. Then with respect to what is said in answer 5502, I only wish to remark upon this, that what I have answered already I believe applies to this. It is said, “I think that a man who viewed the slave trade in a proper light, would have considered it improper to be so engaged.” I have observed already upon that, that the propriety or impropriety of our conduct is a different thing from the question whether we have been legally or illegally engaged, although the question with which I am now concerned is a general disclaimer of any participation in the slave trade.

10447. You agree with Mr. Macaulay’s opinion, “That a man who viewed the slave trade in a proper light, would have considered it improper to be so engaged”?--I do not know whether my opinions would agree with Mr. Macaulay’s upon this subject, but I think that a man who in any way tried to elude the laws of his country, would be acting against his conscience in the highest degree; that is my impression of it, and that is what I mean to say; and with regard to the slave trade, I mean to carry out that which I have stated in my letter, that I look upon it as an evil, and I would wish to add nothing to that evil in any way, but to diminish what I could of it. As to the moral criminality of all the parties, I suppose that depends upon other considerations. Then in the Evidence of Captain Hill, in answer to question 7161, it is stated here, “the Custom-house officers in Liverpool may be totally ignorant of the trade carried on at the Gallinas, and also totally ignorant of the trade carried on by Pedro Martinez & Co. at the Havannah.” All our shipments have been made through the Custom-house, giving the destinations of the vessels and every thing, and what we did was illegal; we should consider ourselves not justly treated altogether, in being allowed to do that which we say we are going to do, and then after it is done being told it is illegal, although before it is done we have the very sanction of the parties to do it, because we have no concern in it beyond the shipment, and the shipment is publicly made. In answer to Question 7165, it is said, “I have never met a vessel belonging to Messrs. Zulueta & Co. on the coast of Africa.” Of course, we never had one, and therefore he never could meet with one. Then in answer to Question 7958*, Mr. Hill states that he found a letter, dated London, 20th of August 1840, stating, “We cannot exceed 500_l._ for the vessel in question, such as described in your letter; if you cannot therefore succeed at those limits, we must give up the purchase.” But he says, “there is a note to the letter, which says, ‘According to our Liverpool mode, note, you will go on shore to the Salthouse Dock.’” Now I have been looking at our letter-book, and I am quite willing to suppose that the person who has stated this might not wish, of course, to state any thing that was incorrect; but this is altogether unintelligible to me. The Salthouse Dock is well known to every person acquainted with Liverpool; it is one of the docks in which vessels go and unload, and that is all. Our house might say that our custom was to send our vessels there; we generally do; but I do not understand this at all.

10448. _Chairman._ You do not understand what bearing it has upon the question?--I think the words must be badly copied; there is no such thing in our letter-book as it appears here; it is quite unintelligible to me.

10449. Sir _T. D. Acland_.] Is the other part of the letter correct, which is stated as bearing date the 26th of September 1840?--Yes.

10450. Have you referred to your own copy of the letter?--Yes, and it is not in our copy; but I can conceive our saying to the captain of the vessel, go into the Salthouse Dock, because we generally send our vessels there.

10451. Had you ever employed Jennings before?--Jennings had had charge of vessels before, chartered by Martinez, and hence the connexion between Martinez and Jennings. There are some captains in all trades, that make a great deal of difficulty about every thing, and others that do not; of course, merchants like to deal with those that do not, more than those that do.

10452. _Chairman._] It would appear from Question 5087, that your name is supposed to have been mentioned in a Parliamentary Paper, as connected with a slave trade transaction. Will you refer to page 38, in Class B. Paper of 1839 and 1840, which is the place referred to in the answer, and see if there is any trace of your name in that transaction?--I do not find my own name there; I only find an allusion at the bottom to the name of Pedro Martinez, but in a manner in no way connected with me, and stating a circumstance which I never knew. In Question 7965*, it is stated, “The Augusta had touched at Cadiz on her way out from England?” The answer is, “Yes, and landed part of her cargo at Cadiz, although it was consigned to be delivered at Gallinas.” Now Captain Hill, who has given this answer, must have known why she touched at Cadiz, and why she discharged part of her cargo, for it must be in the log-book of the vessel. It was because she was nearly wrecked in her passage; she put into Cadiz in distress, and there she landed a part of her cargo, which was tobacco which was rotten, and sold for the benefit of the underwriters. Now that has not been stated here, but I think Captain Hill must have known it, because it is in the log-book of the vessel which he took.

10453. _Chairman._] And the log-book he must have read?--I should think so; because if he has not done that he has done nothing. All I mean to say is that it is, an _ex parte_ statement.

10454. Sir _T. D. Acland_.] It was not intended when she left England, that she should put into Cadiz?--Most certainly not; all the facts of the case show that she went there because she was obliged. I have not seen the log-book, but it must be there; because in the log-book the captain is bound to enter those things, and whoever captured the vessel must have seen the log-book of course. In answer to Question 7967*, it is said, “Messrs. Zulueta must be aware that it is contrary to law to act as agents or otherwise for the shipment of goods that are to be employed in the slave trade; they were bound to do nothing illegal; they are merchants residing in England, and they must conform themselves to the laws of England, and they cannot by the laws of England plead ignorance of those laws.” Now I and my partners are British subjects, and therefore we are bound by the law, and we must obey the law; and I say that to endeavour to elude the law is criminal in my estimation of things. In the answer to Question 7970*, it is stated, “I have endeavoured to be particular in making it appear that this vessel was chartered to a place where there were no constituted authorities.” I think that in the Gallinas there are constituted authorities. It is the first time that I ever heard that it is illegal for any merchant to ship goods for any places without ascertaining beforehand whether there are constituted authorities there. I believe that if they like to send goods to any place, they may do it; and as to the fact of there being constituted authorities in the place or not, I do not see what that has to do with the question; besides, there have been such things as treaties made with persons at the Gallinas, so that there must be some constituted authorities there. But I do not know why I should be called upon to know whether there are constituted authorities at the port or not. Then it is stated, in answer to Question 7971*, “As far as I am able to give my own opinion, I believe that Messrs. Zulueta were perfectly criminal, at least they had a knowledge of what they were doing. I think I am borne out in that by the secrecy they have endeavoured to pursue in putting in a false owner.” I have answered all that before. I state again, that all the secrecy and mystery of the thing lies in supposing other things different from what appear. Then it is said, “In fact there can be no want of evidence to show that Messrs. Zulueta had for a length of time been agents to slave dealers.” Mr. Blanco and Mr. Martinez may have been engaged, as I have stated, in slave operations; and I have stated that we conducted their general business here.

10455. Mr. _Forster_.] Is not Pedro Blanco a partner in a commercial house at the Havannah who are general merchants?--Yes, I have stated that before.

10456. Captain _Fitzroy_.] Have you ever discounted any bill drawn by Pedro Blanco on Pedro Martinez &. Co. for goods delivered for them on the African coast at the Gallinas?--I have accepted bills drawn by Pedro Blanco and others from the Gallinas upon our house, and paid them to the order of several houses in Sierra Leone and houses in London. I have paid them in money that I had in my hands resulting from the general transactions of business, which I have explained. But discounting would be this, if I had paid those acceptances before they were due, and received some consideration for them; that I never did, but I might have done it in the case of these bills.

10457. Were those bills negociated through your hands in payment of goods delivered at the Gallinas?--No; they were drawn generally with the advice attached to them, saying, I have drawn a thousand pounds upon you for account of Blanco and Carvalho, or Blanco &, Co., at the Havannah.

10458. Mr. _Wood_.] By whose orders were you desired to honour it; was it by the order of Pedro Blanco at the Gallinas?--No; by the house at the Havannah or by the house at Cadiz; sometimes the one and sometimes the other. Blanco had a house some time ago in Malaga, as a general merchant, occupied in shipping the fruits of the country and oil to the United States, &c. &c. In answer to Question 7961*, the following is stated:--“In one of these letters, dated Cadiz, 30th of November 1840, is a paragraph to the following effect: ‘In a letter, dated London, the 21st instant, which I have just received from Messrs. Zulueta & Co., merchants in London, I had the pleasure of receiving a bill drawn by you on them for 250_l._, which I this day place to their credit, waiting your advice of the same.’” There is here certainly a mistranslation of some kind, because it says that this man receives a bill upon us, and credits it to us, which is of course contradictory in the very terms of it, because if the bill was remitted to this man upon us, he would have debited it to us, and not credited it. But altogether there is some confusion about it; I suppose arising from the mistranslation of the documents, because the fact is this, the bill is one of the bills I have already mentioned, drawn from the Gallinas upon ourselves, to the order of a third party. It is a bill drawn at the Gallinas upon ourselves, on account of the credit, and therefore it could never have been received by the person in Cadiz. It must have been presented to us here, and in fact so it was; the bill is here. I wish to show that that letter is perfectly inaccurate.

10459. Sir _T. D. Acland_.] Can you give the Committee any information upon this: “The other letters,” nine of them, “were all on slave business: not a word of any innocent trade, but the whole directing how slaves were to be shipped on board various vessels.” How do you account for this vessel carrying letters upon slave business?--I account for it in this way: first of all, it is impossible for us to answer here what letters will be put on board a vessel at Cadiz; but there is very seldom any communication between Cadiz and the Gallinas; whatever letters there were must have gone by such random occasions as arose. As to the fact that whoever wrote those letters is engaged in the slave trade, the letters will speak for themselves.

10460. _Chairman._] Those letters were not prepared in the expectation of the arrival of this vessel, because this vessel was not destined to that port, and was only driven there by stress of weather?--Most certainly. I will add one circumstance in proof of that. The vessel was supposed to have been lost, from the circumstance of a boat having been found upon the coast with the name of T. Jennings upon it, and it was supposed that it was a boat belonging to the vessel; it was, in fact, a boat from the vessel, but the vessel had not been lost; therefore the vessel was quite unexpected in Cadiz by every soul. It went there from stress of weather, and nothing more. Then it is said, in answer to Question 7972*, “I think the papers are quite conclusive to the mind of any man that Zulueta was cognizant of what he was doing; but as far as it is an illegal transaction, it is not for me to judge; but the Judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Sierra Leone did think it illegal, and condemned the vessel; and moreover, the man who is put forward as captain and owner did not defend the vessel on her trial.” Now, as to the statement of his being a false owner, I have already stated that he was not. But then, again, with regard to the other part of the business, the man did not defend it, because he was prevented from defending it.

10461. How was he prevented from defending it?--He had not money to defend himself. It appears from the protest that the vessel was condemned without allowing Thomas Jennings to say any thing in her defence. I will deliver in the protest, which shows that that was the fact. (_The same was delivered in._) As to his not having money, it is said that he might have raised money upon the cargo; but there is no one can entertain any doubt as to the palpable contradiction of such a statement, because to raise money upon a cargo, which was seized, over which he had no control, is to me quite unintelligible.

10462. Mr. _Wood_.] You have spoken of some bills drawn upon your house by Pedro Blanco, and you were understood to say that they were drawn some of them, in favour of Sierra Leone houses. Can you inform the Committee the names of the houses at Sierra Leone in whose favour they were drawn?--I have no objection to do so, but I feel loath to mention names. I could have mentioned many names; we are not the only correspondents in London of Blanco and Martinez. With regard to those houses at Sierra Leone, I should be sorry to introduce names, because I know the pain I have had from mine being introduced here, but still there is no secret in the thing.

10463. You have given the committee the names of parties drawing the bills, and on whose account they were drawn, and you speak of their being drawn in favour of Sierra Leone houses; have you any objection to furnish the names of the houses in whose favour they were drawn?--I say that I have no objection, except that I should not like to introduce names unnecessarily; but the bills are in my hands, and any gentleman can look at them who chooses; they are at the disposal of any body who likes to look at them.

[_The Witness produced the bills._]

_Sabbati, 23º die Julii, 1842._

MEMBERS PRESENT.

Sir T. D. Acland.
Mr. Aldam.
Viscount Courtenay.
Viscount Ebrington.
Captain Fitzroy.
Mr. Forster.
Mr. Milnes.
Mr. Wilson Patten.
Mr. G. W. Wood.

VISCOUNT SANDON, in the chair.

_Pedro de Zulueta_, jun. Esq. called in; and further examined.

10464. _Chairman._] The Committee understand that you have some further observations to make upon the evidence which has been given with reference to your house?--With reference to the destination of the Augusta, from Liverpool to Gallinas, and the fact of its having put into Cadiz unforeseen, and unpremeditated altogether, in consequence of stress of weather, I omitted to mention a circumstance which will put the thing beyond doubt, and it is this: an insurance was made at Lloyd’s, from Liverpool to the Gallinas, and it is well known that, of course, we should have forfeited the insurance by going to any other port except from the peril of the sea, and the British consul at Cadiz is well aware of the circumstance, because he is Lloyd’s agent there; and therefore he had to interfere in the whole proceeding; without his sanction nothing could have been done. We have called upon the underwriters upon that account, and it has been paid, and which would not have been paid without its being proved. I stated yesterday that the transactions of my house with Pedro Martinez & Co. of the Havannah, with Blanco & Carvalho of the Havannah, and with Pedro Martinez of Cadiz, had amounted in the 20 years to 100,000_l._ I was afraid of overrating the amount; but on reference to the books of the house, I find that our transactions with them in 20 years have amounted to 400,000_l._ out of which the 22,000_l._ that was mentioned is the whole amount of goods that have been shipped by their order for the coast of Africa.

10465. Can you state how much of the 22,000_l._ has accrued within any given period; is it distributed equally over the whole 20 years, or has it grown up in the last four or five years?--In the last few years it has decreased, but otherwise it is spread over the whole number of years. In such a length of time it forms to our minds a mere speck. In the last six months our transactions with the house of Pedro Martinez of Cadiz amount to already 30,000_l._, and with Pedro Martinez of the Havannah to nearly the same amount. With the house of Pedro Blanco & Co. of the Havannah, the amount has been 15,000_l._ for what has passed in the last six months, and with the houses generally at Cuba, throughout the island, it amounts to 100,000_l._ altogether, arising entirely from cargoes of sugar, and from tobacco, and remittances of bills from there in carrying on banking operations, upon which they draw again, which are negotiated in the Havannah and sent to houses in London to cash, and remittances of drafts on the Spanish treasury at the Havannah, and bills of lading of specie and bullion, and such things, from Mexico. I state these things only to show the nature of our trade, and I have been particular, because as these are large amounts I wish to show what they arise from. Another fact escaped my attention yesterday, and it is this, that Don Pedro Martinez is owner of several large vessels of 300 tons and 400 tons, which are in the trade of sugar, tobacco, and such things, with us, in England and with Cadiz.

10466. Have you bought other vessels for him than those which have been employed in the slave trade?--Yes, decidedly so; there was the Star, Captain Jennings. That vessel was sent from here to the Gallinas, precisely the same as the Augusta has been sent. She delivered her cargo; she went from thence to Cape Coast, I believe, and from there to Madeira; she received a cargo of wheat; she came back to Spain, and she was sold at Liverpool to a third party, not Martinez, or any body connected with him; in fact, she was sold for very little. The object of that vessel was just the same as the Augusta, to maintain a legal trade with Gallinas; that is, within my own knowledge.

10467. Mr. _Aldam_.] What is the description of legal trade that was carried on?--Sending out goods to be sold at those places, and to go to other ports, not to carry any cargo from there to the Havannah.

10468. There has been a good deal of evidence, in which it has been stated that no legal trade is carried on with Gallinas?--I could not say what trade there is at the Gallinas of a legal nature, but I know that those vessels would have taken nothing if there was nothing legal to take, from that place to the Havannah, or to any other place; I am aware that my answers upon this point must be deficient, because I am really very ignorant of the trade of the West Coast of Africa.

10469. Do you suppose that the vessels would be used to carry on a legal trade?--Most certainly I do; because persons find it worth while to send goods there constantly. The Committee will observe, that what the application of the goods is afterwards I cannot say, but I speak of the fact of the vessels having gone there with the intention of returning to the Havannah to bring a cargo of some description here, to pay a freight, and then to go again with the same kind of goods to Africa.

10470. _Chairman._] You have stated before, that you have cleared out for the Gallinas from Liverpool?--Yes.

10471. In carrying on operations of that kind, should you have ever thought it necessary to exercise any disguise as to what part of Africa you were clearing out for?--Not at all.

10472. You did not imagine, that in being the instrument of sending lawful goods to any part of Africa you were doing any thing which required concealment?--Nothing at all of the kind; and the proof of that is, that in the bills of entry in Liverpool any body could see our names as consignees of the vessel, and see entries made in our names of every thing.

10473. Is not there a document officially published daily in London and at Liverpool, stating the daily entries at the Custom-house of all goods shipped, with the description of the goods, and the name of the port and of the shipper?--Yes, there is.

10474. Is not this printed from time to time in the public papers?--It is in general circulation; there is hardly any merchant in Liverpool or in London who is not possessed of one. The Liverpool entries are reprinted in London, Liverpool being such an important place of business. The bill printed in London contains also Liverpool, Hull, and Bristol.

10475. So that every such transaction is perfectly notorious to every one?--Notorious to every one who chooses to read the public papers. There is another thing which escaped me till I came into the room this morning. As I have been in the business from my childhood, I know every thing that is going on in it. The Arrogante, after we sold her at the Havannah, was sent to Vera Cruz with a cargo of Spanish paper, spirits, raisins, &c. &c., such as is sent for the South American trade, for the purpose of breaking the blockade of Vera Cruz, which she did break and went in. It was asked in question 7147, whether the Augusta was equipped for the slave trade the second time; the answer was, “She was not.” I wish to state, that before any goods were put on board of her, it was our express wish and order that every thing in her that was fit for that trade should be taken down, and the vessel put in the same condition as any other merchant vessel; and we should not have loaded any thing in her if that had not been done. It is stated in the evidence that the Augusta was consigned to three notorious slave dealers; now we had never in our lives heard of the name of any one of the parties to whom she was consigned.

10476. You mean that the first time you heard their names was when the order to ship those goods was given to you?--Yes, and the circumstance of three consignees is a regular thing with distant consignments, such as South America and Africa. There is such an uncertainty attending the residence of parties in those places, that we invariably put a second and a third consignee in addition, in case the first should not be in the way.

10477. Mr. _Forster_.] Some bills were referred to in your former evidence drawn by Mr. Pedro Blanco upon your house; have you any objection to put those bills before the Committee?--Not any. And I ought to state now, as I have been looking at the bills more closely, that they are not all drawn to the orders of Sierra Leone houses, but to the orders of other Spaniards, and those people endorsed them to the Sierra Leone houses. This does not alter the case materially, but for the sake of accuracy I mention it.

10478. You will put them in for the inspection of the Committee?--Certainly.--(_The same were delivered in._)

10479. You only hesitated in giving the names yesterday from motives of delicacy, not from any motive of concealment?--Yes, I do not wish to withhold any thing, but I am indisposed to introduce any name. I have no wish to conceal any thing whatever. I have been consulting with my partners upon this subject, and I have a request to make to the Committee. Our position is one which is certainly an unpleasant one. I think that what I have stated will have proved to the satisfaction of the Committee that we have not in any way intended to elude the law. Now our situation is this, with reference to any future transactions we have no valid reason to give our correspondents for not executing an order. The Committee will have to make their report, and several gentlemen have given their opinions as to how the law is to be altered. I, for my part, am not competent to give any advice upon the subject, but I would only wish that whatever law is made, it should be clear and distinct as to what a man might to do, and what he is not to do. The trade that we have carried on with the Gallinas, at least the shipments we have made, are perfectly unimportant to us in itself, as is evident from the amount; but at the same time, with regard to the correspondents that we have accounts with, we are placed in this dilemma, that we must refuse fulfilling their orders without giving them any valid reason, unless we should be able to say, Sir, we cannot fulfil your order because the law of this country prohibits that we should ship any goods that are liable to be applied to that purpose, to persons who may at any time have had any dealings, or are suspected of having had any dealings of that description. To us it is indifferent which way the legislation turns upon this subject, so long as we know what it is. But supposing it legal for a man to ship goods to a port, are you then to be liable to have the vessels captured, and what to us is worst of all, to be brought into a kind of notoriety as being engaged in slave dealing, which is exceedingly unpleasant to our feelings. That is a consideration which I hope the Committee will look to.

10480. You wish that the law should be made clear for your guidance, to enable you to understand what course you are to pursue with your correspondents?--Yes, in what I have to do with them. I do not mean to say that if a man ships goods knowingly to slave dealers, for the purpose of being exchanged for slaves, I do not mean to say that the law does not reach him now. My own impression is, that it might do so; at all events the morality of the thing would be very questionable; but we want something more than that; that is not enough. Here is my case, which, if true, proves that we have not done any such thing, and yet we are liable to all this unpleasantness.

10481. You want something also to plead with your correspondents, as a reason for not complying with any order they may send?--Exactly.

10482. You feel that at the present moment the law is in an unsatisfactory state, that doubts have been raised upon the subject, which as merchants you are desirous of seeing quieted by some declaration, one way or another?--I do; for instance, I may on going home find an order; and I assure the Committee that after all that has occurred, after all this unpleasantness upon the subject, I should be in an awkward position. I might have to throw up my correspondents without any valid reason, because of course goods may be shipped to them by other parties, which I should refuse to do; and they may do it legally, because they may send those goods to the Havannah or to any other such place, and then my correspondents could not say that I had any valid reason to refuse.

10483. If there were any obstruction interposed in the way of export from this country directly to the coast of Africa, you would rather desire that it should be at the English Custom-house, before the goods went out, than that it should be left in uncertainty, to be decided upon the coast of Africa?--Exactly; that is my impression. At the same time I am not stating that that would be wise or expedient, or proper, or any thing of the kind; but I say this simply because I do not wish it to be brought into question that we elude the law; not that we break it, because that would be a question before a court of justice; but before men of honour, I do not wish to be open to the imputation of eluding the law.

REPORT
FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE
ON THE
WEST COAST OF AFRICA.

_Martis, 22º die Martii, 1842._

_Ordered_, THAT a Select Committee be 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.

_Mercurii, 6º die Aprilis, 1842._

A Committee was nominated of,--

Lord Stanley.
Viscount Sandon.
Lord John Russell.
Sir Robert Harry Inglis.
Mr. E. Denison.
Mr. Forster.
Sir Thomas Acland.
Mr. Milnes.
Mr. Charles Buller.
Mr. Hutt.
Captain Fitzroy.
Earl of March.
Viscount Ebrington.
Viscount Courtenay.
Mr. George William Wood.

_Ordered_, THAT the Committee have power to send for Persons, Papers, and Records.

_Ordered_, THAT Five be the Quorum of the Committee.

_Mercurii, 11º die Maii, 1842._

_Ordered_, THAT Mr. Stuart Wortley, Mr. Evans, Mr. Wilson Patten, Mr. Aldam, Mr. William Hamilton, and Mr. Metcalfe, be added to the Committee.

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 3,500_l._
and 4,000_l._ 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.