94] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



Sir H. Paruell's luiiendment was 

 put and negatived. Tlie House 

 tlien resolved itself into a com- 

 mittee, ^yhen Sir W. Burroughs 

 proposed to limit the diuation of 

 the bill to six weeks after the 

 meeting of the next session of 

 Parliament ; which was nega- 

 tived, and the duration was fixed 

 at or.e year. 



It does not appear that any 

 further proceedings took place 

 during the passage of this bill 

 through either of the Houses. 



FOREIGN SLAVE TRADE. 



On July 9th, Mr. Wilberforce 

 rose to bring forward a motion, 

 the object of which was to give 

 weiglit to the executive power in 

 its negotiations with foreign coim- 

 tries. He lamented to say, that 

 among those powers which had 

 declared their intention of al)o- 

 lishing the Slave Trade, there 

 were no appearances of being dis- 

 posed to carry the purpose into 

 effect ; and that the subjects of 

 some of the powers were even 

 engaged in carrying on this odious 

 traffic. He was sorry to be 

 obliged to state, that under the 

 flag of America tliis trade was in 

 some measure practised ; that at 

 Goree and Senegal it was vigo- 

 rously pursued ; that a charge had 

 been brought in one instance 

 against Holland ; but that the 

 great evil in which all others 

 sunk into insignificance, was the 

 trade now carried on for slaves by 

 Portugal and Spain. The latter 

 power seemed as if they almost 

 intended to ridicule our efforts for 

 tlie amelioration of the state of 

 Africa. Wl\en we had particu- 

 larly chosen a part of the coast 

 for our efforts in introducing ci- 

 vilization, the Spaniards for tlieir 



pui'posea fixed upon tlie very same 

 spot ; and in consequence, great 

 numbers of natives of Spain, or 

 others who sailed luider the Spa- 

 nish flag, now frequented that 

 quarter. In places where schools 

 had been established, and efforts 

 had been made to induce the 

 chieftains to supply their wants 

 by peaceful industry and legiti- 

 mate commerce, the Spaniards 

 now came to persuade them to 

 return to their old habits by sell- 

 ing their subjects, or making war 

 upon their neighbours. Ships are 

 crowded be\ ond all precedent. As 

 the persons engaged in this illicit 

 traffic were apprehensive of being 

 taken, they constructed vessels 

 not calculated for stowage, but 

 for quick sailing, whence the mi- 

 series of these unhappy beings 

 were increased. In an instance 

 it had been stated, that of 540 

 negroes embarked, 340 had died. 

 Of the slaves procured by the 

 Spaniards, the greater part were 

 sent to the Havannah. By a paper 

 which had been obtained by the 

 Cortes, it appeared that there had 

 been imported into that colony in 

 eleven years, from 1799 to 1811, 

 about 110,000, or 10,000 per 

 year ; and in the three last years 

 the importation was much greater. 

 The Spanish and Portuguese flags 

 formed also a cover for the illicit 

 tiaders of other nations. It had 

 been decided by high authority to 

 be law, that though Portuguese 

 vessels might be found trading 

 for slaves in parts which they 

 had renoimced the right to trade 

 to, they could not be made a 

 prize unless they had intruded 

 vipon our possessions. Tlie ships 

 of Spain, when questioned, often 

 defended themselves, or antici- 

 pated attack by aggression. They 



hadj 



