PROCEED 33. On arriving at the Port of Adjudication, the Officer in INGS AT THE charge is to make himself acquainted with the course of proJUDICATION. ceeding in the Court before which the vessel is to be tried. PORT OF AD In all cases it will be necessary for him to make an affidavit verifying the papers brought into Court, and to annex the papers thereto. If any should have been destroyed or concealed, the particulars are to be stated in that affidavit. In cases of capture under Treaty, the Instructions thereon must be referred to for the forms of documents, and course of proceedings at the Port of Adjudication. In other cases the affidavit as to ship's papers should be drawn up in the form standing as an Appendix to this Section, unless there should be a different form prescribed by the Court before which the vessel is adjudicated. 34. If, upon any occasion of capture, there are not any papers found on board, an affidavit to that effect will be the ground of the proceedings. 35. On delivering over the vessel to the person authorized by the Court to receive her, the Officer in charge is to produce the Inventory drawn up by himself and the Master; and he is to request that a receipt may be given for all the articles contained in the Inventory, excepting of course where any deficiencies may appear; and where this is the case, he will report the cause thereof to the Court, and to his Commander, on his return to the ship. 36. The Officer sent in charge will give his best assistance in every way, where called upon, to the Court, for the due adjudication of the case of the vessel and her cargo, if any; and, upon judgment being given, will immediately report in writing to the Officer, under whom he is serving, his proceedings, and the judgment of the Court, and will send a duplicate of that report to the Admiralty, by the first opportunity. Given under our hands, this 12th day of June, 1844. By command of their Lordships, SIDNEY HERBERT. LEGITIMATE SECTION 2nd. Instructions for Commanders of such of Her Majesty's Ships and By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High 1. You are to use every endeavour to encourage legitimate COMMERCE. Commerce, and to protect all British subjects carrying on innocent traffic in the interior, or on the coast. INFORMA 2. You will take every proper opportunity of obtaining COLLECTED. information on the state of the several native tribes and settle- TION TO BE ments in the neighbourhood of your station; particularly as respects the Slave Trade in all its branches, and the legitimate commerce of all kinds carried on in those settlements; the connexion which exists between the legal trade and the Traffic in Slaves; the situation and number of Slave factories; the amount and description of the native produce capable of being cultivated for exportation; and the kinds of European manufactures desired by the natives: you will include in your subjects for enquiry, information on the personal character of the chiefs; the habits and pursuits of the people; the nature of the Government; the power and resources of the country: and the navigation of the coast and of the rivers, together with the facility of landing. you 3. You will make a half-yearly report to the Senior Officer, in which you will communicate all the information which may be able to collect on all the points above mentioned, as well as any other particulars likely to be useful in suppressing Slave Trade, or extending lawful commerce, and promoting friendly intercourse between the natives and British subjects. But in the case of any matter of immediate importance coming to your knowledge, you are to report it with as little delay as possible. 4. You are not on any account to engage in any negotiation NEGOTIAwith the native chiefs, without the express authority of the TION. Senior Officer. 5. In all intercourse with the natives, you will endeavour to INTERconciliate their good-will by kindness and by forbearance, and COURSE WITH will take care that Her Majesty's Officers, seamen, and marines THE NAshall uniformly pursue a similar conduct. You will impress upon the natives the earnest desire of Great Britain for the improvement of their condition, and will very clearly point out to them the distinction between the export of Slaves which Great Britain is determined to put an end to, and the system of Domestic Slavery with which she claims no right to interfere. TIVES. VITY. 6. You will not, without special orders from the Senior BRITISH Officer on the station, be justified in using force on shore, ex- SUBJECTS cepting for the purpose of rescuing British subjects, or British IN CAPTIliberated Africans from Slavery, in cases where force is indispensably necessary for that purpose, and where it is not practicable to make reference to the Senior Officer for instructions; but you are not to adopt any coercive measures, unless you are satisfied that the force under your orders is adequate to effect the object without exposing those sent on the service to great risk and danger; and you must strictly confine the employment of force to the liberation of the persons so detained. 7. In all cases, however, vessels or boats of native Africans NATIVE CARRYING FOREIGN TRADE. BOATS found in waters not within the recognized jurisdiction of a CARON foreign civilized State, and actually engaged in carrying Slaves, SLAVE for the export traffic, are to be stopped, and Slaves in them intended for the traffic, are to be taken to a British colony to be liberated; but the native crews belonging to such vessels or boats are not to be subjected to any ill-treatment, and are to be permitted to proceed with their vessels or boats and other property, whither they please. Given under our hands, this 12th day of June, 1844. G. COCKBURN, AUTHORITY. OFFENCES SECTION 3rd. Instructions for Commanders of Her Majesty's Ships and Vessels, By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High 1. THE Act of the 5th of Geo. IV., cap. 113, and the Act of the 6th and 7th Victoria, cap. 98, are the Statutes by which you will be governed in respect to Slave Trade carried on by British vessels, or by Foreign vessels in British waters. 2. Sections 1 to 12, and section 43 of the 5th of Geo. IV. AGAINST THE apply to the duties which you have to perform under that STATUTES. Statute; to these sections, therefore, your attention must be parActs Geo. 4, ticularly directed. cap. 113. By the 1st section all previous Statutes relating to the Slave Trade are repealed. By the 2nd section, Slave Trade, as therein described, is prohibited. By the 3rd and subsequent sections to the 11th inclusive, particular acts of Slave Trade and their penalties are enumerated. To constitute the offence prohibited by the 7th section, it is not sufficient that the money, goods, or effects, of British subjects, be shipped or received on board, and afterwards employed in the Slave Trade, but to bring the act within the Statute as an offence, the person who ships, or the person who receives on board, the money, goods, or effects, must be conscious that they are to be so employed. The term "engaged in Slave Trade," whenever used in this present Instruction, is meant to express the committing of any of the acts prohibited by the 2nd and subsequent sections to the 11th inclusive. By the 12th section, jurisdiction is given to Vice-Admiralty Courts in cases of forfeiture and penalties under the Statute. By the 43rd section authority is given to every Officer of Her Majesty's Navy to seize vessels and Slaves, or persons dealt with as Slaves, and goods, monies, or effects subject to forfeiture under the Statute. 3. By the Act of the 6th and 7th Vict. cap. 98, all persons Act 6 & 7 holden in servitude as pledges for debt, and commonly called Vict. cap. 98. "pawns," or by what other name called or known, are to be deemed Slaves, or persons intended to be dealt with as Slaves. 4. These Statutes apply to acts done by British subjects BRITISH everywhere; but acts done by Foreigners can only be dealt with SUBJECTS as criminal under these Statutes, when such Foreigners are taken or found within British jurisdiction, or on board British vessels. AND FO- TRADE. 5. Articles of equipment for Slave Trade, although not ex- EQUIPMENT pressly described in these Statutes, will be prima facie evidence FOR SLAVE of a British vessel being engaged in Slave Trade: and the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs require a bond from the owners of all British vessels entering outwards with casks or vessels intended to contain palm oil, specifying that such casks or vessels are solely intended for palm oil, or for other purposes of lawful commerce; and a custom-house certificate will be given to the masters of vessels for which bonds may have been so entered into. 6. By these Statutes, you are authorized to search any British DETENTION. vessel met with on the high seas, in British waters, or in waters not belonging to any recognized State, if you have reason to suspect that she is engaged in the Slave Trade contrary to the Statutes; and if the suspicion is confirmed, you are authorized to detain her. But if such a vessel is found within the ports or territorial jurisdiction of a foreign State, she must not be seized, save by the permission of the Government of that State. Should such a case arise, it will be your duty to ask permission from the foreign Government, and in case the permission be granted, then to seize and send in the vessel as before mentioned; but if the permission be refused, then, so long as the vessel remains within such foreign jurisdiction, you must confine yourself to reporting the circumstances to the Senior Officer. A Foreign vessel in British waters may be seized by Her Majesty's Officers for being engaged in the Slave Trade contrary to the Statutes. TAKING IN CATION. 10 VESSELS NOT ENTITLED TO THE FLAG OF ANY STATE OR NATION. 7. When a vessel is seized under these Statutes, anywhere FOR ADJUDI- but in the British seas, she is to be taken to the nearest and most convenient Court of Vice-Admiralty for adjudication; and, with respect to proceedings at the Port of Adjudication, you are in such cases to be governed by the Instructions, Section 1st. CREW OF TAINED GENERAL VATIONS. If the vessel be taken in the British Seas, you will report the capture to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and await further instructions. 8. The Master, Supercargo, and crew of a British Slavevessel, are criminals by the Law of Great Britain, and you will be responsible for their safe custody. It will be your duty to take the proper measures for delivering the whole of them over to the Civil Power, taking care to furnish also the witnesses necessary to prove the facts. 9. Her Majesty's Officers must recollect that, while they are to use their utmost endeavours to prevent any participation in the Slave Trade by vessels subject to the Laws of Great Britain, the discretionary authority with which they are invested for this purpose must never be exercised with unnecessary severity: and that in the event of any Officer using his power in a wanton or unwarrantable manner, he will incur the serious displeasure of Her Majesty's Government, and will be liable to a prosecution by the aggrieved parties in the Civil Courts of Law; and in the event of his having detained a vessel improperly, he will be personally liable to an award of heavy damages in a Court of ViceAdmiralty. Given under our hands, this 12th day of June, 1844. W. H. GAGE. By command of their Lordships, SIDNEY HERBERT. SECTION 4th. Instructions for Commanders of Her Majesty's Ships and Vessels, By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High 1. By the Statutes of the 2nd and 3rd Victoria, cap. 73, and of the 5th and 6th Victoria, cap. 114, it is enacted, that Her Majesty's Officers may, under an Order from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, or from one of Her Majesty's |