22] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



time that the person to whom 

 they succeeded was still more 

 faithless, and he was glad to see 

 him where he was. Under all 

 these circumstances, he thought 

 some explanation was due from 

 the noble lord as to what he 

 trusted to, and he hoped that he 

 would be able to give them some 

 satisfactory answer on the subject. 

 Lord Castlereagh could not help 

 thinking that the language of the 

 hon. gentleman, if a sincere well- 

 wisher to the cause of the aboli- 

 tion, was not calculated to pro- 

 mote that object ; for if any thing 

 was more likely than another to 

 discourage the French government 

 from making exertions in the 

 cause of the abolition, it was 

 precisely such language as he 

 had held. This he (the noble 

 lord) could say; that no engage- 

 ment could have recorded in 

 more explicit and comprehensive 

 terms the abolition of the slave 

 trade on the part of France. To 

 his certain knowledge, the French 

 governmenthadimmediately acted 

 on the treaty, and sent dispatches 

 to the different ports for the pur- 

 pose of securing its execution. 

 He could state also, that he knew 

 the governor of the island of 

 Bourbon had actually been dis- 

 placed by the French government 

 for allowing the crime of slave- 

 dealing in that colony. And he 

 could also say, that whenever any 

 information had been received by 

 him respecting any traffic in slaves 

 on the part of French subjects, 

 he had transmitted it regularly to 

 the French government, and that 

 they had never received it other- 

 wise than with every appearance 

 of the most anxious desire to act 

 Vijion it. 



After some other members had 

 spoken on the subject, the com- 

 mittee divided : Ayes 56; Noes 4. 



On the 11th of February, the 

 House having resolved itself into 

 a Committee of Supply, Lord 

 Castlereagh said, that after the 

 full discussion which this subject 

 had undergone, he felt it quite 

 unnecessary to make any further 

 observations, now tliat he moved, 

 in the terms of the treaty, that a 

 sum not exceeding 400,000/. be 

 granted to his majesty, for the 

 purpose of carrying into execu- 

 tion the treaty with the Spanish 

 government for the abolition of 

 the slave trade. 



Mr. LiptcUon said, that it was 

 with regret he rose to offer any 

 observations calculated to disturb 

 the unanimity which the object 

 of the treaty so justly obtained ; 

 but he took the opportunity, 

 from instructions that he had re- 

 ceived, to ask the noble lord a 

 few questions materially connect- 

 ed ,vith our commercial intercourse 

 with Spain. And he must say, 

 from what he was taught to 

 believe, that this country was, 

 as to those relations, in a state 

 rather remote from a cordial 

 amity with that power. The 

 British merchants were not mere- 

 ly treated with severity, but with 

 a caprice the most destructive to 

 the continuance of a commercial 

 intercourse. In the export of 

 cotton goods we were met by a 

 total prohibition. Woollens and 

 linens, wliich were staples of this 

 country, were also prohibited. 

 The duties on iron were 110 per 

 cent upon their actual value. If 

 he was I'ightly instructed, we 

 were not only treated with rigour, 

 but that ngour was exercised 



without 



