(Inclosure 1.)-Vessels reported sent from the Havana in 1849, to be engaged in the Slave Trade.-[8.] (Inclosure 2.)-Vessels sailed in 1850, reported for Slave Trade.—[6.] (Inclosure 3.)-Vessels reported to have arrived in 1850, with Slaves, to the Havana.-[7.] CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. No. 44.-Viscount Palmerston to Her Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, May 15, 1850. I HAVE to desire that in future, whenever any well-founded information respecting the movements of slave-vessels may come to your knowledge, you will immediately communicate the same to the senior officer of Her Majesty's ships which may be at or in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, as well as to the Commander-inchief of Her Majesty's Naval Forces on the Cape of Good Hope Station. Her Majesty's Commissioners. I am, &c. PALMERSTON. No. 50.-Viscount Palmerston to Her Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, November 30, 1850. I HEREWITH transmit to you, for your information, 2 copies of a Protocol of conference held at this office, on the 19th instant, between myself and the Portuguese Chargé d'Affaires at this Court, renewing for the period of 3 years, the permission which was granted to Her Majesty's ships by the Protocol of conference of the 12th of August, 1847,* to enter the bays, ports, creeks, rivers, and other places within the Portuguese dominions on the East Coast of Africa, where no Portuguese authorities are established, in order to prevent Slave Trade from being carried on at such places. I transmit to you likewise a copy of a communication which I have caused to be addressed to the Admiralty upon this subject. Her Majesty's Commissioners. I am, &c. PALMERSTON. (Inclosure 1.)—Protocol of a Conference held at the Foreign Office, between the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and of Portugal, for the purpose of renewing for 3 years the permission granted to British ships of war to enter rivers and creeks within the Portuquese dominions on the East Coast of Africa, for the purpose of preventing the Slave Trade.-November 19, 1850. WHEREAS by the Protocol of a conference between the Ple * Vol. XXXVI. VISTO que pelo Protocollo de uma Conferencia entre os PleniPage 589. nipotentiaries of Great Britain and of Portugal, held at the Foreign Office on the 12th of August, 1847, the Government of Her Most Faithful Majesty consented to grant, for the pe, riod of 3 years from that date, permission for Her Britannic Majesty's ships employed in suppressing the Slave Trade, to enter the bays, ports, creeks, rivers, and other places within the dominions of the Crown of Portugal on the east coast of Africa, where no Portuguese authorities are established, and to prevent the Slave Trade from being carzied on in such places: And whereas the period for which such permission was granted as aforesaid has expired; The Plenipotentiary of Great Britain requested that such permission may be renewed; and the Plenipotentiary of Portugal declared that the Government of Her Most Faithful Majesty, with the desire to fulfil and carry out to the utmost of its power the obligations contracted by the Treaty signed at Lisbon on the 3rd of July, 1842, between Great Britain and Portugal, for the suppression of the Slave Trade, consents to grant the permission requested on the part of the British Government, for a fresh period of 3 years, commencing from this date, under the conditions laid down in the Protocol of the 12th of August, 1847, above referred to. And as this permission is for potenciarios de Portugal e da Graa Bretanha, que teve logar no Ministerio dos Negocios Es trangeiros em 12 de Agosto de 1847, o Governo de Sua Magestade Fidelissima consentiu em concedor, pelo periodo de 3 annos desde aquella data permissão para os navios de Sua Magestade Britannica empregados na suppres são do Trafico de Escravos, entrarem pas bahias, portos, enseadas, rios, e outros logares do dominio da Corôa de Portugal na costa oriental de Africa, onde não se achão estabelecidas auctoridades Portuguezas, e poderem obstar a que o Trafico de Escravos continue nesses logares: E visto que o periodo pelo qual essa permissão foi concedida, como acima dito, expirou : O Plenipotenciario da Graa Bretanha requereu que se renovasse essa permissão; e o Plenipotenciario de Portugal declarou que o Governo de Sua Magestade Fidelissima, desejoso de preencher e cumprir, com quanto esteja ao seu alcance, as obrigaçoens contrahidas pelo Tratado assinado em Lisboa em 3 de Julho de 1842, entre Portugal e a Graa Bretanha, para a suppressão do Trafico de Escravos, consente em conceder a permissão requerida por parte do Governo Britannico por um novo periodo de 3 annos começando da data deste, sob as condiçoens fixadas no Protocollo de 12 de Agosto de 1847, acima referido. E como esta permissão é para * Vol. XXX. Page 527. Her Britannic Majesty's ships rivers, and other places. every (L.S.) PALMERSTON. (L.S.) THE CHEVALIER DE RIBEIRO. os navios de Sua Magestade Britannica empregados na suppressão do Trafico entrarem nas bahias, portos, enseadas, rios, e outros logares do dominio da Coroa de Portugal na costa oriental de Africa, onde ora não se achão estabelecidas auctoridades Portuguezas, e poderem obstar a que o Trafico de Escravos continue nesses logares, fica entendido e concordado pelo Governo Britannico, que a dita permissão cessará para todos os seus effeitos relativamente a qualquer das ditas bahias, portos, enseadas, rios, e outros logares, ou a todos elles, logo, e á medida que, auctoridade Portugueza se estabeleça em qualquer das ditas bahias, portos, enseadas, rios, e outros logares, ou em todos elles. (L.S.) M. J. RIBEIRO. (L.S.) PALMERSTON. (Inclosure 2.)-Lord Stanley of Alderley to the Secretary to the SIR, Admiralty. Foreign Office, November 23, 1850. I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to transmit to you the accompanying copies of a Protocol of Conference held at this office on the 19th instant, between his Lordship and the Portuguese Chargé d'Affaires at this Court, recording the renewal, for a further term of 3 years, to be reckoned from that day, of the consent of the Portuguese Government to permit Her Majesty's ships employed in the suppression of the Slave Trade to enter bays, ports, creeks, rivers, and other places within the dominions of the Crown of Portugal on the east coast of Africa, where no Portuguese authorities are established, in order that those ships may prevent the Slave Trade from being carried on in such places. I am to request that in laying the Protocol before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, you will move their Lordships to cause copies of it to be furnished to the Commanders of all Her Majesty's ships employed on the east coast of Africa in the sup pression of the Slave Trade, with instructions to carry it into execution. Her Majesty's officers should be cautioned to adhere strictly to the conditions laid down in the Protocol under which the Portuguese Government have granted the renewed permission above mentioned; and they should be instructed to deal with vessels which they may capture under the authority of the Protocol, in the same manner in which they are enjoined by their instructions to deal with vessels captured in places not within the jurisdiction of any civilized State. According to those instructions, vessels captured under the Treaties with Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, the Argentine Confederation, and the Republics of Uruguay, Chile, and Bolivia, are to be sent for adjudication to the proper Courts of Mixed Commission; while vessels captured under the Treaties with Austria, Prussia, and Russia, Denmark, Sardinia, Tuscany, the 2 Sicilies, the Hanse Towns, Hayti, Venezuela, and Mexico, are to be sent to the proper tribunals of their respective countries; and vessels captured under the statutes of the 5th George IV, cap. 113;* the 2nd and 3rd Victoria, cap. 73† (as amended by the 5th and 6th Victoria, cap. 91); and the 8th and 9th Victoria, cap. 122; as well as vessels captured under the Treaties with the Imaum of Muscat, and the maritime chiefs of the Persian Gulf, are to be sent to the proper British Court of Vice-Admiralty. The Secretary to the Admiralty. I have, &c. STANLEY OF ALDERLEY. No 53.-Her Majesty's Comm", to Visc. Palmerston.—(Rec. Mar. 13.) MY LORD, Cape Town, January 2, 1851. We have the honour to report to your Lordship, that according to the information which has reached us, the Slave Trade was carried on to some extent during the early part of the year 1850, but has since been checked by the presence of Commodore Wyvill and the force under his command. The system enforced by that officer, of watching the various points from which slaves can be embarked, has been so far successful, that from the month of August last, up to the time when our informant left the coast, not one vessel had taken slaves from the coast between Sofala and the Angoza river. The rivers have been visited by the boats of Her Majesty's ships; those to the northward of Cape Delgado, under the sanction of the Imaum of Muscat; and on two occasions when the progress of the boats of the Castor and Dee was opposed by firing from the shore, barracoons, which were found on landing, were burned and destroyed; † Vol. XXVII. Page 849. + Vol. XXXIV. Page 1216 Vol. XI. Page 656. while in the Angoza river, a Treaty has been concluded, whereby the chiefs have bound themselves not to carry on the Slave Trade for the future. Three vessels only have been sent in for trial before the Court of Vice-Admiralty during the early part of the year; namely, the Revoama, the Deliberaçao, and the Philantropó; all were cases of équipment, and were pronounced good prizes to Her Majesty's ship Pantaloon, Captain Parker; and the only fact which calls for remark with respect to them is, that an American, named William Anderson, was actually in command of the Deliberaçao, when she first anchored off Quillimane, under American colours, completely fitted for the Slave Trade; although, when boarded, neither papers nor colours were forthcoming. We regret that we have not been able to learn that the Portuguese authorities on the coast, with the exception always of the Governor-General Senhor do Valle, are more favourable to the suppression of the Slave Trade; and in connection with this subject we must state, that it is reported in the newspaper published at Bloemfontein, the principal town of the Orange River sovereignty, upon authority which the editor says he cannot reasonably doubt, that Potgeiter, the headman of a large party of the emigrant Boers, had destroyed certain tribes, taking captive 300 of their children, who are declared to have been sold as slaves to the Portuguese Government at Delagoa Bay. On inquiry we learn that no information upon the subject has reached the Colonial Office here; and we should, perhaps, not have thought it proper to bring it to your Lordship's notice, had not the report received some confirmation from the fact that the master of the American merchant-vessel Cassily, stated to the Commander of one of Her Majesty's ships on this station, that the Governor of Delagoa Bay had proposed to him to take a cargo of slaves on his account from Lourenço Marquez to Brazil. In conclusion, we would submit, that when it is remembered that with 5 vessels, one of which must be at Mauritius, and one at Simon's Bay, so much can be effected towards suppressing the Slave Trade, there can be little doubt but that if a force of 5 vessels were employed on this service only, the traffic would be entirely stopped; and it is perhaps more especially necessary at this time that the squadron at Commodore Wyvill's disposal should be increased, as in consequence of the Kaffir outbreak, all available vessels are necessarily withdrawn from service in the Moçambique. We have, &c. GEO. FRERE, JUN. Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. FREDERIC R. SURTEES. |