424 A. D. 1797. 



ing to the people of England, Ireland, Wales, and Berwick upon 

 Tweed, it was now thought expedient, that the veflels belonging to 

 friendly countries (hould be allowed, under certain reflridions, to im- 

 port into, and export from, the Britilh territories in India, any goods 

 permitted by the directors of the Eaft-India company, who are required 

 to frame a fet of regulations for the trade of friendly foreigners, fuch 

 as may be mofl conducive to the profperity of the Britifli pofTeffions 

 in India, and at the fame time confident with the treaties with foreign 

 nations, and with the ads of parliament for regulatirxg the trade of 

 India, [c. 117] 



It being found, that the provifions, contained in the former ads 

 for the reception, or ftowage, of the negroes onboard Having vefTels, 

 was not fufficient for their comfortable accomodation, it was now en- 

 aded, that every vefi"el in the flave trade Ihould have the full perpen- 

 dicular height of at lead four feet one inch between the upper furface 

 of the lower deck and the under furface of the upper deck : and that 

 fmgle-decked vefl^els fliould have a temporary deck laid in the hold, to 

 be continued as long as the flaves fliould remain onboard, [c. riSJ 



As there is no prohibition of a platform in this ad, it is confequently 

 allowed in veflels having only four feet one inch between their decks, 

 which, deduding the thicknefs of the platform, allows not quite two 

 feet of perpendicular height for the flaves, and confiderably lefs for 

 thofe who are laid on the parts of the platform under the beams ; fo 

 that only the children could vary their pofition fo far as to fit up. It 

 appears from this ad, that there were adually fome vefl^els in the flave 

 trade with even lefs than four feet one inch between their decks ; and 

 Sir William Young faw one at S'. Vincent's with only three feet and a 

 half in the year 1791. [Eckvard's Hiji. of the Wejl Indies, V. \\\, p. 252, 



8^° ed.'\ A preceding ad of this feflion for "regulating the flave trade 



was merely the annual renovation of the former ones. 



The ad, 5 Geo. II, c. 7, was fo far repealed, that negro flaves are 

 no longer liable to be feized and fold for the debts of their proprietors. 



\c. 119] 



The houfe of commons having requefted the kmg to order an im- 

 mediate fupply of copper coinage *, the provifions of former ads relat- 

 ing to copper money were made applicable to the new copper money. 

 The pradice of importing counterfeits of foreign coins, and particu- 

 larly of French Louis-d'ors and Spanifli dollars, having much increafed 



* On the ^'' of February 1797 the governor of part of what would te wanted : but he faid no- 

 the bank of England (n(.t the worit judge of fuch thing of any want of copper. Whatever reafi 



ons 



matters) reprefentcd to tiie chancellor of the ex- it may be alleged that the bank might, at that 



chequer the great dillrefs and inconvenience, which critical juncture, have for widiing to poffefs a large 



the bank, the bankers, and the public, fuffcred quantity of filvcr money, it is certain, that the 



from the want of a frefh coinage of filver, and re- general inconvenience from the want of fdver coin 



quelled him to take fome early meafurcs for a re- was infinitely greater than from that of copper, 

 drefs thereof by a new coinage of at lead fome 



