SIR, No. 18.-Henry Chamberlain, Esq. to Mr. Secretary Canning. Rio de Janeiro, February 20, 1823. I HAVE the honour to transmit you the inclosed Returns, which I have received from Mr. Consul Pennell, of the number of Slaves imported into Bahia during the year 1822. The first Vessel on the List is openly stated to have come from the Gold Coast. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. CHAMBERLAIN. (Inclosure.)-A Return of the Number of Slaves imported into W. PENNELL. No. 19. Mr. Secretary Canning to E. M. Ward, Esq. SIR, Foreign Office, March 21, 1823. IN reference to the Communications on which you have been instructed to address the Government of His Most Faithful Majesty, respecting the Traffick in Slaves, carried on at the Portuguese Settlement of Princes Island; I now furnish you with a Copy of a Despatch, dated the 10th of September, 1822, from His Majesty's Commissioners at Sierra Leone, and of its Inclosure, stating the Case of the San José Xalaça, captured in the attempt to supply the Market of Princes Is land with Slaves. Slaves are thence distributed with impunity to other Parts of the Portuguese Dominions, in evasion of the restrictive Provisions of the Treaty between Great Britain and Portugal. You will, in communicating the purport of these Papers to the Portuguese Government, urge them to send out Orders, which, by providing for the severe punishment of the Offenders, shall be effectual in deterring them from these nefarious practices. I am, &c. E. M. Ward, Esq. GEORGE CANNING, No. 20.-E. M. Ward, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.-(Rec. April 15.) Lisbon, March 25, 1823. (Extract.) I HAVE NOW the honour to send home the Two Additional Articles to the Slave Trade Convention between Great Britain and Portugal, of the 28th of July, 1817, which, in virtue of the Full Powers with which His Majesty was graciously pleased to invest me, I have negociated and signed with the Plenipotentiary named on the part of His Most Faithful Majesty. The small deviations which you will remark in them from the original Drafts forwarded to me for my instruction, will not, I trust, be disapproved by The King. They were admitted by me as unimportant in comparison with the delay which my opposing them might occasion. I took upon myself to add the words "of either sex" when speaking of Slave or Slaves, on account of the ambiguity which might arise from the use of the Portuguese word "Escravo." The Right Hon. George Canning. E. M. WARD. No. 21.-E. M. Ward, Esq. to J. Planta, jun. Esq.—(Rec. April 26.) I HAVE the honour herewith to forward the Answer which the Portuguese Secretary of State returned, to the Representation founded on Mr. Canning's Despatch of September 30, which I addressed to him. I have the honour to be, &c. Joseph Planta, jun. Esq. E. M. WARD. (Inclosure.)-Signor Pinheiro Ferreira to E. M. Ward, Esq. (Translation.) Lisbon, November 26, 1822. THE Undersigned, &c. having received the Two Notes addressed to him by Mr. Ward, &c. dated the 31st ultimo, and 3d instant, relative to the abuses committed in the Traffick of Slaves by the Portuguese Ships Conde de Villa Flor, Desengano, and Toninha; Abuses in which even some of the Constituted Authorities appear to have participated, proceeded, in consequence of the Orders of His Majesty, before whom the said Notes were immediately laid, to such inquiries, by means of Persons actually residing in this City, as might better enable the Undersigned to answer Mr. Ward concerning the facts therein set forth. These preliminary steps not being, however, sufficient to obtain the desired information, Orders have been issued for a more circumstantial investigation in the very Places where the facts were committed; whilst the most positive injunctions have been given, not only to the Publick Authorities, but also to all Portuguese Subjects established in those Parts, to obey, with the most scrupulous exactness, the Treaties existing between the Two Crowns, as far as each is concerned. In the mean time the Undersigned can assure Mr. Ward, for the information of his Government, that His Most Faithful Majesty will not suffer even the most insignificant of the Stipulations agreed upon between the Two Crowns to be infringed with impunity, being assured that this is the only means for insuring a continuance of the good faith and harmony happily subsisting between them, and which the Portuguese Government considers as the strongest guarantee of the prosperity of these Kingdoms. The Undersigned seizes, &c. SILVESTRE PINHEIRO FERREIRA. E. M. Ward, Esq. No. 22.-Mr. Secretary Canning to E. M. Ward, Esq. (Extract.) Foreign Office, April 17, 1823. His Majesty has seen with satisfaction that you have concluded and signed with the Portuguese Government the Two Additional Articles to the Slave Trade Treaty of the 28th of July, 1817. His Majesty's Ratifications of these Articles will be forthwith prepared and transmitted to you, to be exchanged against those of The King of Portugal; and I have to signify to you His Majesty's gracious approbation of your conduct in this transaction. E. M. Ward, Esq. GEORGE CANNING. No. 23.-E. M. Ward, Esq. to Mr. Scy. Canning-(Rec. May 11.) Lisbon, May 2, 1823. (Extract.) I AM happy to find that the alterations from the original Draft of the Slave Trade Articles, which were agreed to by me, have received His Majesty's most gracious approbation; for the honour conferred upon me, by the signification of which, through you, in your Despatch of the 17th of April, I feel duly grateful. The Cortes having separated without approving them, The King's Ratification cannot yet be given: however, they are summoned extraordinarily for the 15th of this month. The Right H n. George Canning. E. M. WARD. No. 24.-E. M. Ward, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.-(Rec. May 11.) Lisbon, May 2, 1823. SIR, I HAVE the honour to acquaint you that, in obedience to your commands, conveyed in your Despatch of the 21st of March, I addressed a Representation, of which the inclosed is a Copy, on the subject of the Portuguese Sloop, Xalaça, engaged in the illegal Traffick in Slaves on the Coast of Africa, to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, whose Answer I have likewise the honour to annex. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. E. M. WARD. (Inclosure 1.)—E. M. Ward, Esq. to Signor Pinheiro Ferreira. Lisbon, April 24, 1823. THE Undersigned, &c. has received the orders of his Government to address His Excellency, Signor Silvestre Pinheiro Ferreira, &c. in order to press upon the consideration of His Most Faithful Majesty's Government the expediency of applying some check to the malpractices carried on under the Portuguese Flag, by the illegal SlaveTraders of Princes Island. The necessity that some check should be put to the Slave Trade in that Quarter, is now rendered more evident by the Case of the Schooner-boat, San José Xalaça, an Abstract of which the Undersigned has the honour to inclose herewith. This Vessel belonged to Princes and was owned by a Relative of one of the principal Persons of the Island; the same who was engaged in the expedition of the Schooner, Conceição, that was detained and condemned in the year 1821, for a breach of the Convention. The San José Xalaça cleared out from Princes for Cabinda; but went direct for Calabar River, where she took in Thirty Slaves. The miseries attendant on this Traffick are exemplified by the present Case. It would appear that the system by which the illicit Slave Trade is pursued by the People of Princes Island, is to send small Vessels to the large Rivers in the vicinity of the Island, these Vessels being more likely to escape detection, and to be more readily supplied with Slaves to feed the Market at Princes. Such were the Vessels detained by Sir George Collier in the year 1819; such the noted Nova Felicidade; such the Conceiçao, and Defensora da Patria. Accommodation on board these Vessels there cannot be any; and when the Voyage happens to be in the least protracted, as in the Case of the Nova Felicidade, and as in the present Case, from unfavourable weather, and from the ignorance and unskilfulness of the Masters, the consequence to the Slaves must be a state of extreme suffering. Although the distance betwixt Princes and the entrance of the Calabar, be only such as may be passed in five or six days in favourable weather, the Q San José Xalaça was six weeks at sea after leaving the Calabar, and Ten Slaves perished absolutely through hunger and thirst. The British Commissioners at Sierra Leone entertain an opinion that the most effectual method of opposing the iniquitous Traffick at Princes Island, would be by adopting some mode by which convicted Slave-Dealers might be sent to a Portuguese Settlement, in order to their trial and transportation to Mozambique, the Traffickers at Princes, when brought to Sierra Leone, showing great dread of being transported to the Eastern Possessions of the Crown of Portugal in Africa. The necessity of a strict enforcement of the penalties of the Alvará prohibiting the Slave Trade to the North of the Equator, is evident; and the Undersigned hopes and trusts that the Government of His Most Faithful Majesty will send out Orders, which, by providing for the severe punishment of the Offenders, shall be effectual in deterring them from the nefarious practices complained of. Signor Silvestre Pinheiro Ferreira. He has the honour, &c. E. M. WARD: (Inclosure 2)-Signor Pinheiro Ferreira to E. M. Ward, Esq. (Translation.) Lisbon, April 26, 1823. THE Undersigned, &c. has received and laid before The King, the Note addressed to him by Mr. Ward, &c. dated the 24th instant, inclosing an Abstract of the Case of the Schooner San José Xalaça, belonging to Princes Island, and captured by the Thistle Brig of War, for Trafficking in Slaves to the North of the Equator. And the Undersigned has received Orders to signify to him the great displeasure of His Majesty at the infractions of the Convention of the 28th of July, 1817, and that the Minister of Justice has been commanded to cause Proceedings to be had against the Delinquents with all the rigour of the Laws. The Undersigned renews, &c. E. M. Ward, Esq. SIR, SILVESTRE PINHEIRO FERREIRA. No. 25.-Mr. Secretary Canning to E. M. Ward, Esq. Foreign Office, May 24, 1823. In reference to my former Instructions to you on the subject of the illegal Traffick in Slaves carried on by the Subjects of Portugal, I forward to you herewith, the Copy of a Despatch which I have received from His Majesty's Commissioners at Sierra Leone on this subject. From these Papers it appears that the Portuguese Authorities, notwithstanding the repeated Engagements of their Government to the contrary, still continue to insert in the Passports granted to Vessels Trading in Slaves, permission to call at the Cameroons, St. Thomas's, and Princes Island. This pretence of a legal commerce to the North of the Line, is in |