No. 10.-Commodore Sir G. R. Collier to J. W. Croker, Esq. (Extract.) Island of Fernandɔ Po, 16th April, 1821. THE Boats of the Ship under the command of Lieutenant Marsh, with Lieutenants Knight and Graham, were dispatched up the River Old Calabar to reconnoitre the anchorage off Duke's Town. The result of this examination has been the detention of 2 SlaveVessels under the Portuguese Flag; the one a Schooner, named the Constantia, of 73 tons, belonging to Senor Caetano, Raimundo de Novaes and others, of Princes Island, having on board the great number of 250 Slaves. The Master of her has declared on his oath, that he was from Cabinda, South of the Line, and that, having missed the Island of Princes, where he was bound with his Slaves, he had put into the Old Calabar River for the purpose of obtaining supplies of provisions for his Slaves, but without having been able to obtain them. It is somewhat curious that he has a log corresponding with this assertion, the fabrication of which it is unnecessary to prove, and I only mention the circumstance to shew the little value the illicit Slavers affix to any sacred obligation. The crowded state of this Vessel exceeds even those I have before seen, and although it is clearly substantiated that many of these unfortunate Beings had not been more than 24 hours on board the Constantia (and that some of those had been kidnapped by the Portuguese Master,) when captured by His Majesty's Boats, yet death had already commenced his career, and one Slave-woman was found nearly buried amongst the living, and before reaching the Ship, a male Slave died also, in my firm belief, from the cruelly crowded state of the Slaveroom, which, not only from its close and confined state, and the natural effluvia arising from various causes, was offensive in the highest degree, but was still further increased from the accidental circumstances of the Capture taking place before she had cleared the River, and the day on which the Sun was vertical, and season when tornadoes of rain were frequent. As I feel it an imperative duty to remove all the male Slaves from the Constantia, before dispatching her for Sierra Leone, I shall do so, leaving only a few to fulfil certain duties; by this meaus, accommodation may in some degree be afforded for the female Slaves, amounting, as I understand, to 77 (for the crowded state of this Vessel has prevented the possibility of ascertaining the exact number correctly,) and in order that their Lordships may see the necessity which existed, I shall be excused for stating below the actual dimensions of this Vessel, and the proportions of space allotted for so many human Beings; at the same time, it is proper to observe, that the after part of the upper deck and forecastle must be occupied by the Crew, while the main deck has the Boat, the caboose for cooking, as also the yams for the Slaves' provender, with water casks at each side of the gangway. I am in consequence obliged to remove almost every Portuguese to the Tartar; indeed nothing but the distressed state I am in, from the number of sick Slaves and Foreigners I have now on board, and the opportunity afforded by the Thistle giving them convoy and protection, would permit me to send the Constantia for adjudication, as she is scarcely trustworthy by herself, and least of all to perform such a voyage as one from the extremity of this Bight to Sierra Leone, and at this season of the year. The other detained Vessel is the Gavido from Pernambuco for Cabinda, (furnished with a Royal Pass to carry Slaves,) but interdicted from trading North of the Line, though St. Thomas's is introduced into the License, which, if it means the Island, has certainly been the result of trick or connivance. The log-book of this Vessel, which appears to have been kept correctly, indicates her having been at Cabinda, which I am disposed to believe, because the Master states he carried Soldiers from Pernambuco, and the Royal Pass allows her to proceed, and to receive on board at Cabinda (being to the South of the Line) 357 Slaves. From the Coast of Africa she proceeds to St. Thomas's Island, thence to Princes Island, and from thence to Old Calabar, for the purpose of taking on board (as the Master states) palm oil. The Gavido had arrived a few days previous to our Boats, and I understand did not intend to take a crowded Cargo. She had commenced paying some of her port dues, and had in consequence began slaving the day previous to her detention; and that this was the Master's object, the within Letter from the Native Chief, will be a satisfactory proof, as 3 Slaves, independent of any others sold by subordinate Traders, had been bargained for, and actually delivered over to the Master on board the Gaviáo, by the Duke himself; that they had not been paid for previous to her Capture is a circumstance lamented by that Chief in a very natural way. After the Letter had been dispatched to me by the Chief, I received a verbal message from him, saying, that 2 of the 3 Slaves he had sold to the Portuguese Brig had been recovered, they having been landed from the Brig while the Boats were boarding, but that the third must be still on board; and it appears, that, owing to the circumstance occurring in the night, the Boats in mistake first boarded an English Merchant Ship laying near the Guviáo, which, creating an alarm on board that Brig, advantage was then taken of it, and having only a few Slaves on board, and a Canoe alongside, the attempt was made to get rid of them, in which, with respect to the two above-mentioned, the Portuguese certainly succeeded, and the Sailors so employed returned to the Brig when in our possession. Whether among the 8 Slaves found on board the Brig, the Slave of the Chief, Ephraim, shall be one of that number, or whether he may have been disposed of in a more secure manner, must be hereafter decided; but as a Portuguese Sailor was found in the Brig's hold, endeavouring to force a pair of trowsers upon a Slave, and this Slave had neither a name, nor could he speak or understand either Portuguese or the native language of Calabar, I am inclined to believe he is one amongst those sent from the Interior, and probably the identical Slave sold by Duke Ephraim. In this belief, at least, he was sent on board the Thistle, and the Brig Gaviáo brought down the River by the Lieutenant in command. In a conversation I have since had with the Master, he appeared ignorant of his having so many as 8 domestic Slaves on board, but, on referring to the Contre Maestro, he said they were taken on board at Princes Island. On a reference to her Role d'equipage it does appear she had 4 domestic Slaves on board on sailing from Pernambuco, whose description however, does not answer to either of the 8 mentioned, nor are there any additional number of Slaves as domestic ones certified on her Role d'equipage, which bears the proper Signature of having undergone examination at Port Antonio, Princes Island. It is therefore an almost unquestionable fact, that if a part of these Slaves were not procured in Calabar, they must have been since quitting the Coast of Brazil; and I should hope, if I am to expect reasonable justice from the Mixed Commission, that this Brig will also be considered as having not only violated her engagement, but that she has been trading in Slaves contrary to the existing Treaty. I have been more minute in this, as well as in other cases lately reported to their Lordships, because I am aware of the necessity which now exists, as I know from past experience the interest every Slaver has, in disproving the charge against his Vessel, tempts them to swear to the most evident falsehoods; and it is with concern I have remarked the most extravagant assertions have been recorded in the Mixed Court as proofs of innocence. J. W. Croker, Esq. GEORGE R. COLLIER. No. 11.-Commodore Sir George R. Collier to J. W. Croker, Esq. (Extract.) H. M. S. Tartar, Sierra Leone, 6th June, 1821. ALTHOUGH Captain Leeke was not successful in falling in with any of the Slaving-vessels employed in that Traffick between Rio Grande and the Cape de Verds, yet, as it was known the Myrmidon was on that part of the Coast, it is probable that the Slave expeditions were suspended for a time, and I am assured that the appearance of such a Vessel of War at Portendick, strengthened the respect the Moors were inclined to pay, from the proper conduct of Lieutenant Evaus of the Snapper. I cannot close this Letter without an attempt at doing justice to the zeal and perseverance manifested by Captain Leeke, on this part of the Coast between St. Ann's Shoal and Cape Palmas, for he has literally so worried the Slavers, whose haunts he knew pretty well, as to have left scarce any thing to be done. The only Foreign Vessel, French excepted, I have heard of as having been Slaving between this and Cape Palmas, was the Carlotta, the identical one I had before taken down to Cape Coast, and who had no sooner beat up again than she commenced her former Traffick; and a few days since, having near 270 of her Slaves on board, she upset in a squall off the Gallinas, and only 3 or 4 of her Crew were saved: of course the Slaves in irons had a very sorry chance. The Master and Survivors are now here, and I hope to see them. A Portuguese Brig of large dimensions had, however, sailed from St. Jago for Cacheo, in the Rio Grande, the Master boasting he had a Royal Pass to carry away 1000 domestic Slaves. I have received this information through such unquestionable authority, that though I scarcely credit the fact, yet, if corroborated, I shall feel it proper to order a particular look-out in that neighbourhood. J. W. Croker, Esq. SIR, GEORGE R. COLLIER. No. 12.-Commodore Sir George R. Collier to J. W. Croker, Esq. H. M. S. Tartar, off Sierra Leone, 17th June, 1821. As I have reason to believe that the within Letter from Captain Finlaison, reporting the detention of the Emilia, Portuguese Slaver, did not accompany my Letter of the 4th of March last, or its Duplicate, I feel it proper to inclose the Copy, in order that it may be laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. I am, J. W. Croker, Esq. SIR, &c. GEORGE R. COLLIER. (Inclosure.)-Captain Finlaison to Commodore Sir G. R. Collier. H. M. S. Morgiana, Coast of Africa, 15th February, 1821. I BEG leave to acquaint you, that in returning from the Bight of Biafra, for the purpose of meeting you at Cape Coast, agreeably to the orders of Captain Kelly, of His Majesty's Ship Pheasant, being in Latitude 3 deg. 50 min. North, and Longitude 3 deg. 30 min. East; I captured, after a short chase, on the 14th instant, the Portuguese Schooner Emilia of 158 tons, having on board 396 Slaves, and, according to the information I have been able to obtain, out only 2 days from the River Lagos. From the very crowded state of her decks, and fearful of disease breaking out amongst the Negroes, I considered it my duty (notwithstanding the great inconvenience) to take 100 of them on board the Morgiana. I am, &c. Commodore Sir G. R. Collier, K.C.B. WM. FINLAISON. SIR, No. 13.-Lieutenant Knight to J. W. Croker, Esq. His Majesty's Gun-brig Snapper, Duke's Town, I BEG leave to inform you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that on the 1st of August, being off the Bar of this River for the purpose of intercepting any Slave-vessels hat might be coming out from it, I boarded an English Trade-ship hich had just come down, and that Ship having the Pilot of the River on board, I sent for him, and compel ed him to take the Snapper up, though he was very unwilling to do so. On the first night of entering the River I dispatched the Boats of the Brig, on having learned from the Master of the Ship boarded, that there were 3 Vessels of different Nations taking in Slaves from Duke Ephraim, the chief man of this part of the Country. Being much in want of wood and water, both of which can most easily be procured here, and as the Slave-trade is carried on at those Towns to a very great extent, the River being navigable to them with great ease, by means of Pilots, though they are 50 miles from the entrance, I judged, as no Ship of War was ever up at the Towns before, that the appearance of one might have some effect towards showing the Natives that it is our determination to lessen, at least, this inhuman traffick, if not in our power yet to prevent it totally. These considerations made me resolve to follow the Boats up all the way, and to take this opportunity of supplying our wants, although the rains are heavy at this time; but it is not the rainy season that is to be dreaded as the most sickly on this Coast, the foggy months that immediately follow are what ought to be most sedulously avoided; of this I speak from unquestionable authority, from numerous sources, and from some little experience, the Snapper not having a sick Man on board, but, on the contrary, every Person is in excellent health, though we have not had a dry day for several weeks. I found the Boats under Mr. Cowie, the Acting Master, and Mr. Jeazes, Master's Mate, had captured a Portuguese Schooner, named the Conceição, with 56 Slaves on board, the property of the Governor of Princes Island, who has a constant succession of Vessels carrying Slaves to that Island, where he sells them at an advanced price to such as are afraid to venture on the Coast, but can buy them under the protection of the Portuguese Flag and Batteries, and can get in a few hours to the South of the Line. The two other Vessels lying here are a Spanish Felucca and a French Brigantine, but the former.not having any Slaves actually on board was not taken possession of, and the latter only examined and found belonging to Cayenne. In order to make my Letter as short as possible, I shall merely say of the captured Vessel, that, as the Slaves |