No. 4.-Mr. Secretary Canning to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 26th February, 1827. In reference to your Despatches on the subject of the Activo and Perpetuo Defensor; and, in particular, to the point of the landing of Slaves during adjudication; I send to you, for your information and guidance, the Copies of a Correspondence which has passed upon this subject between the Colonial Department and this Office.

From this Correspondence you will perceive, 1st, that Slaves brought into Sierra Leone for adjudication, under the Commission of which you are Members, do not, pending such adjudication, become free, in virtue of their landing on a British Possession, or of being put on board of a Government Vessel, inasmuch as their temporary character of Slaves is recognized by the Acts of Parliament providing for their adjudication under that character.

2dly. You will perceive that such Slaves may, on account of sickness or other sufficient cause, be lawfully disembarked and put on shore, pending adjudication, but that being so landed, the Slaves must be kept and detained in their character of Slaves, until Sentence be pronounced whether they shall be restored or not.

3dly. You will perceive that the Governor of Sierra Leone has been instructed to lend any assistance which you may require, in order to abridge the injurious confinement of the Slaves, on board of the Vessels in which they are brought to Sierra Leone.

His Majesty's Commissioners.

I am, &c.

GEORGE CANNING.

(Enclosure 1. A.)-R. W. Hay, Esq. to Joseph Planta, Jun. Esq. SIR, Downing Street, 14th February, 1827. I HAVE received the Earl Bathurst's directions to transmit to you, enclosed, for the consideration of Mr. Secretary Canning, a Copy of a Despatch, with its Enclosures, from the late Acting Governor of Sierra Leone, representing the propriety of adopting measures for averting the injurious consequences which arise to the Slaves who are carried to Sierra Leone for adjudication, from their confinement on board of the Vessels in which they are taken, pending the proceedings before the Courts of Mixed Commission.

I am further directed to enclose, for Mr. Secretary Canning's consideration, a Copy of a Report, which Earl Bathurst has considered it necessary to require from His Majesty's Law Officers, on the question as to the legality of disembarking Slaves who may be under process of adjudication; and as it is the opinion of His Majesty's Law Officers that Slaves so circumstanced may, under the Convention of the 28th of July, 1817, with Portugal, be lawfully disembarked at Sierra Leone, if sickness or other sufficient cause should so require, his Lordship proposes to instruct the Governor of Sierra Leone to communicate the

opinion of His Majesty's Law Officers to the Commissioners of the Courts of Mixed Commission established there, and to intimate to them, that, upon their requisition, he is instructed to lend any assistance which the Commissioners may require, with a view of abridging the injurious confinement of the Slaves on board of the Vessels in which they are brought to Sierra Leone.

Joseph Planta, Jun. Esq.

I am, &c.

R. W. HAY.

(Enclosure 1. B.)—Acting Governor Macauley to Earl Bathurst. MY LORD, Sierra Leone, 9th July, 1826. HAVING been informed that disease and death were making dreadful ravages amongst the Slaves confined on board some Vessels in this Harbour, waiting adjudication in the Courts of Mixed Commission, and exposed to all the inclemency of this season of the Year, I thought it my duty to draw the attention of the British Commissioners to the 52d Sec. of the 5th Geo. 4. cap. 113, by which it is enacted, "that when any Slaves, or persons treated, dealt with, carried, kept or detained as Slaves, shall be captured or seized as Prize of War, or as forfeited or liable to forfeiture to His Majesty, or otherwise proceeded against in and by virtue of any Law, and brought to adjudication in the High Court of Admiralty, or in any Court of Vice-Admiralty, or in any Court of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations, or elsewhere within His Majesty's Dominions, which is or may be authorized to hold jurisdiction; in such cases it shall be lawful for the Person or Persons claiming any right or property in, or the possession of such Slaves, and he is hereby required to put such Slaves on shore."

I accordingly addressed a Letter to them, requesting to know whether they considered this Section to apply to their Courts, and having in the interim had a personal interview with the Commissioners, I received from them an answer, stating, that they did not consider Slaves under adjudication in their Courts, subject to these Regulations. The delay in one case, as your Lordship will perceive, has been attended with loss of life to 73 out of 199 human beings, and the wretched survivors are in a state which leaves little hope that they will escape the same fate, 7 of them having died the night they were landed.

I therefore take the liberty of bringing this subject under your Lordship's consideration, that your Lordship may be enabled, if you see fit, to ascertain whether the construction put by the British Commissioners on this Section of the Act is correct; and if it is, I would humbly submit to your Lordship the necessity of some more efficient Regulations by which this horrible waste of human life may be prevented for the future. I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Earl Bathurst, K.G.

K. MACAULEY,

Acting Governor

(Enclosure 1. C.)-J. Reffell, Esq. to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Secretary's Office, Sierra Leone, June 29, 1826. By command of his Honour, the Acting Governor, I have the honour to enclose, for your information, Copy of a Letter addressed to me by the Prize-Master of the Slave Brig, Perpetuo Defensor, and to draw your attention to the following Extract from the 5th Geo. 4. cap. 113, Section 32, eleven lines, commencing, "and be it further enacted," and ending, “such Slaves on shore," and to request to know whether you consider the said recited Extract to be applicable to the Court of British and Portuguese Mixed Commission; and if so, to express his Honour's desire that you will be pleased to give the necessary instructions for carrying the same into effect. J. T. Williams, Esq.

D. M. Hamilton, Esq.

I have, &c.

J. REFFELL, Col. Sec.

(Enclosure 1. D.)-The Prize-Master of the Perpetuo Defensor to J. Reffell, Esq.

SIR,

Slave Brig Perpetuo Defensor, Sierra Leone, June 28, 1826. I HAVE received directions from Mr. Lake, the Proctor for Commodore Bullen, to give up to the Portuguese Claimants the Slaves in this Vessel, and the Susan, Colonial Brig, on their claiming them, to-morrow.

I therefore deem it my duty to acquaint you, that, from strong symptoms of discontent and anger manifested by them to-day, on some Person, on part of the Claimants, attempting to take their number in my absence, and the clamorous manner in which I was surrounded on my return, that the Susan will not be safe on my leaving her and this Vessel to-morrow.

J. Reffell, Esq.

I have, &c.

JOHN TOLLERVEY, Prize-Master.

(Enclosure 1. E.)-Affidavit of T. H. G. Honyman, Midshipman, in the Case of the La Fortunée.

BRITISH AND NETHERLAND MIXED COURT OF JUSTICE, SIERRA LEONE.

In the Case of the La Fortunée, Jean J. Gimbert, calling himself Master. PERSONALLY appeared Mr. T. H. G. Honyman, Midshipman of His Majesty's Ship Brazen, Captain George Wickens Willes, who, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists, maketh oath and saith, that he was put on board the said Schooner La Fortunée, which had been captured by the Brazen, with a cargo of Slaves, on the 17th day of May, 1826, and proceeded with all dispatch towards Sierra Leone, where she arrived on the 7th day of June following. That the Vessel being a sharp Schooner, of only 99 tons, had on board when captured, 245 Slaves, who were in a very crowded and sickly state. That every attention and care was paid to the said Slaves during their passage up, they were allowed sufficient access to the air, and were supplied with

all the comforts to be found on board; but that, notwithstanding this, 46 Slaves, viz. 34 Men, 6 Women, 1 Boy, and 5 Girls died, as is more particularly specified in the annexed Schedule. That on the arrival of the said Schooner in this Harbour, she was visited by the Medical Officer belonging to the Mixed Court of Commission, and the Slaves continued under his medical care till landed. That, from the said 7th day of June until the 17th day of July, the said Slaves remained on board the said Schooner, waiting for Adjudication, in a crowded and sickly state, much exposed to the inclemency of the present Season, during which period 73 more of the said Slaves, viz. 20 Men, 15 Women, 7 Boys, and 31 Girls died, as per annexed Schedule, making in the whole a loss of 119 by death; and that, on the said 17th day of July, the Survivors, 126 in number, were landed in a very sickly debilitated state. And Deponent further maketh oath and saith, that every possible care and attention was paid to the comfort and health of the said Slaves by the Officers and Men of the Brazen, and every exertion made to save their lives.

T. H. G. HONYMAN, Midshipman. Sworn before me this 22d day of July, 1826.

W. SMITH, Registrar.

(Enclosure 1. F.)-Schedule. Slaves on board the La Fortunée.

(Enclosure 1. G.)-His Majesty's Law Officers to Earl Bathurst. MY LORD, Doctors' Commons, 26th January, 1827. We are honoured with your Lordship's commands, signified in your Lordship's Letter of the 18th November last, communicating the substance of a Despatch received from the Officer Administering the Government of Sierra Leone, reporting that two Ships, the Perpetuo Defensor and La Fortunée, were brought into that Settlement for Adjudication, under the Convention with Portugal of the 28th of July, 1817, before the Mixed Commission established under that Convention; and your Lordship is pleased to request that we would report, for His Majesty's information, our opinion, whether Slaves brought into Sierra Leone for Adjudication under the Convention with Portugal, of the 28th July, 1817, can be lawfully disembarked and put on Shore, under the 32d Clause of the Statute 5th Geo. IV. cap. 113, or whether they can be so disembarked and put on Shore, under the Instructions annexed to that Convention, and 52d Section of the Statute, or whether there is any other provision of the Convention or the Statute, under which their disembarkation can be lawfully effected.

In obedience to your Lordship's commands, we have the honour to report, that Slaves brought into Sierra Leone for Adjudication, under the Convention with Portugal, of the 28th July, 1817, can be lawfully disembarked and put on Shore, if sickness, or other sufficient cause, should so require, under the authority, which we think must necessarily be implied from the Treaty, and the annexed Instructions, which are adopted by the 5th Geo. IV. cap. 113, and also from the 52d Clause of the Act, and other Clauses therein, the general purview of which is to carry into effect the purposes of the Treaty and Instructions. The practical result of the whole of these provisions is, that the Slaves must be kept and detained in their character of Slaves, until sentence be pronounced, whether they shall be restored or not. We would further observe, that Article 8 of the Instructions appears to us to afford the direct inference, that Slaves under such circumstances as above adverted to, may be legally disembarked and put on Shore at Sierra Leone. We have, &c.

The Right Hon. Earl Bathurst, K.G.

SIR,

CHRIST. ROBINSON.
CHS. WETHERELL.
N. C. TINDAL.

(Enclosure 2. A.)—Joseph Planta, Jun. Esq. to R. W. Hay, Esq. Foreign Office, 26th February, 1827. I HAVE received and laid before Mr. Secretary Canning your Letter of the 14th instant, upon the subject of the landing of Slaves brought to Sierra Leone for Adjudication under the Mixed Commission which is established there, pursuant to the Treaties and Acts of Parliament for the suppression of illegal Slave Trade.