CHAP. V.. Slave Trade.-Sir Arthur Pigott's Bill.-Bill for preventing the Increase of the British Slave Trade.-Resolutions against the Slave Trade in both Houses of Parliament-Act to amend the Lacs relating to Bunkrupts.Insolvent Bill.-Bill to prevent ex parte Publications in Criminal Proceedings.-Witness Declaratory Bill.-Reform of the Court of Session of Scotland Bill to explain and render more effectual the Treating Act.Stipendiary Curate's Bill.-Motion on Vaccination.-Charges against Earl St. Vincent.-Vote of Thanks to Earl St. Vincent.-Conclusion of the Affair of Judge Fox.-Charges against Marquis Wellesley by Mr. Paull.-Motions for Papers.-First Charge against Marquis Wellesley--Second,or Oude Charge-Supplementary Oude Charge-Furruckabad Charge.India Budget, and Debates thercon.--Prorogation of Parliament. No O part of the conduct of the new ministers reflected greater credit on the sincerity and consistency of their characters than the measures which they adopted, soon after they came into office, in regard to the African slave trade. After the cloquent harangues in which former ministers had indulged against that iniquitous and inhuman traffic, while the trade so reprobated in their speeches continued to thrive and increase under their protection*, and was suffered, without obstruction, to extend to countries, from which an order from them was sufficient at any time to exclude it, the friends of the abolition had at length the consolation of beholding a mi nistry, whose conduct corresponded with their professions, and whose support to this great measure was as earnest and effective, as that of former administrations had been cold and inefficient. Mr. Fox and lord Grenville were animated with an equal zeal in the cause of the abolition, and to their joint efforts it was owing, that greater progress was made during this session towards the attainment of that object, than had been done in the, many years since the question came first under the consideration of parliament. The last motion made by Mr. Fox in the house of commons was to propose a resolution, couched in the strongest language, against the African slave It must be a subject of melancholy reflection to the admirers of Mr. Pitt, to think that after all his speeches in 1790 and 1792, he permitted the British slave trade to increase from an importation of 25,000 to an importation of 57,000 negroes in two years ending 1793, by the capture of the Dutch, &c. settlements. If he had issued in 1797 the order of council 1805, above 30,000 negroes per annum would have been saved. trade; trade; and in his speech on that occasion, almost the last he delivered in that assembly, he declared, that "so fully was he impressed with the vast importance and necessity of attaining what would be the object of his motion that night, that if, during the almost forty years that he had had the honour of a seat in parlia. ment, he had been so fortunate as to accomplish that, and that only, be should think he had done enough, and could retire from public life with confort, and conscious satisfaction, that he had done his duty." Soon after the formation of the ministry, the attorney general, with the entire concurrence of the cabiDet, and in his official capacity, brought in an important bill, which passed both houses of parliament without any very formidable oppostion, and afterwards received the royal assent. This bill (46 Geo. III. cap. 52.) prohibited the exportation f slaves from the British colonies after the first of January 1807, and prohibited all subjects of this coun. ty, residing either at home or in our foreign settlements, from being in any way concerned in, or accessary to the supply of foreign countries with slaves after that period. This prohibition, intended to prevent the investment of British capital, or the employment of British vessels or seamen in the foreign slave trade, and thereby to cut off a large portion of that commerce, was guarded by various salutary regulations and well-contrived penalties. The ship and cargo of any British trader engaged in the prohibited trade, either from our colonies or from Africa, or from other places to foreign settlements, were declared to be forfeited, and a further penalty of 501. ordered to be levied for each slave. A similar forfeiture was enacted with regard to any vessel employed in supplying foreign vessels with slaves on the coast of Africa; and a penalty of 100l. was ordered to be levied from any British subject engaged in furnishing, or indirectly forwarding such a supply. A clause was also inserted for the purpose of preventing British credit or capital from being embarked in the foreign slave trade. Every method by which British subjects, or persons resident in the British dominions, might be conceived to aid the slave trade of foreign nations was anxiously enumerated. Investment of stock-loan of money-loan of vessels-becoming collector of security to such bonds, &c. were all declared unlawful, and liable to a forfeiture of double the sums advanced; and all bouds or other securities given for such unlawful loans were declared to be null and void, except in the hands of bona fide purchasers. Morcover, all insurances on such prohibited insurances were declared void and subjected to a penalty of 5001. It was likewise declared to be unlawful to assist in the outfitting of any foreign vessels sailing for Africa, and severe penalties were attached to that offence. All British vessels clearing out for the slave trade, were required to give bond not to engage directly or indirectly in the foreign slave trade. The same declaration was declared to be necessary in the case of slaves exported from one British settlement to another; and all vessels arriving in our colonies were ordered to make declaration at the nearest custom. house, accompanied with evidence from log-books, surgeon's testimony and journal, and testimony of other officers, that no slaves had been been landed contrary to the intent of the act. Such were the multi plied regulations by which this wise and humane law prevented any British subject from being accessary to the foreign slave trade. But it went a step farther, and lent its assistance to the order in council, which was issued in Mr. Pitt's last administration, for preventing the importation of slaves into the colonies conquered by our armies, during the present war. That order would, of course, only begin to operate on the vessels when they came to the conquered settlement. The power of the crown extended no further. But this act extended its whole provisions in the case of the foreign slave trade, to the supply of the conquered colonies in every stage of its progress; so that the intention of the order of council was carried into complete effect, and a stop put, with a few trivial exceptions, to the whole importation of negrocs into the extensive settlements of Dutch Guiana, St. Lucia, and Tobago. The zeal of ministers did not stop here; for soon after they brought another bill into parliament, which passed without opposition, for the purpose of preventing the increase of the British slave trade in all its branches. The object of this bill (46 Geo. III. cap. 119.) was to prohibit any vessel, under severe penalties, from being engaged in the African slave trade, which had not been actually employed in that traffic before the 1st of August 1806, or contracted for to be employed in it before the 10th of June in that year, and unless the same could be proved before commissioners to be appointed by the treasury for that purpose. This act was limited in its duration to the term of two years 3 after the conclusion of the session of parliament then sitting; but, fortu. nately, long before the expiration of that period, every provision for the limitation or regulation of this i quitous traffic was rendered unnecessary by the total, and we trust final abolition of the British slave trade on the coast of Africa, The next measure which ministers brought forward upon this subject, was the resolution formerly alluded ch to, moved by Mr. Fox in the house a of commous, with which that great statesman closed his parliamentary career. The words of the resolu tion were, "That this house con. ceiving the African slave trade to be contrary to the principles of justice, humanity, and sound policy, will, with all practicable expedition, proceed to take effectual measures for abolishing the said trade, in such manner, and at such period, as may 'be deemed advisable." The resoletion was opposed by Mr. Rose, lord Castlereagh, the two members for Liverpool, and some other persons, but on a division taking place it was carried by a majority of 114 to 15. The resolution was then sent up to the lords, and a conference demanded, "upon a matter in which the reputation of the country, for justice, humanity, and sound policy, was deeply interested." Accordingly, after this conference, the lords joined in the same resolution, on the motion of lord Grenville, by a majority of 41 to 20. The last step taken in this great work, was an address from both houses of parliament to the king, "beseeching him to take such measures as may appear most effectual for obtaining, by negociation, the concurrence and concert of foreign powers in the abolition of the slave trade, trade, and the execution of the regulations adopted for that purpose." By the operation of these measures, not only was a stop put to the future increase of the British slave trade, and a pledge given by both houses of parliament for the total abolition of that iniquitous trafic with all practicable dispatch; but a slave trade was abolished which used to carry over yearly above for ty thousand Africans, from their peaceful homes, through the multiplied horrors of the middle passage, to perpetual bondage and wretchedness in the West India plantations; and an end put to the murders, torture, and plunder, which were daily and hourly desolating the continent of Africa, for the supply of so enormous a demand for human beings. The remaining proceedings of parliament during this session (with the exception of lord Melville's trial), either related to subjects of less ge. neral interest than those we have been considering, or they were left in an incomplete state at the conclusion of the session, or they failed in attaining their objects. We shall, therefore, bestow on them a very cursory notice. A bill was brought in by the solicitor-general (sir Samuel Romilly) for removing certain defects of the bankrupt laws, and passed without opposition. The chief objects of this bill (46 Geo. III. cap. 135.) were to procure redress for bona fide creditors, who by the present laws were excluded from any share in the bankrupt's estate, and to prevent commissions of bankruptcy from being superseded, in certain cases, for fraudulent purposes. This bill was understood to be the commence ment of a series of beneficial re forms, projected by the same learned gentleman in that department of the law. An insolvent bill was introduced in the house of lords by lord Holland, and after violent opposition from lord Ellenborough and lord Eldon, was carried by a majority. It was objected to this bill, in particular, that it was founded on the false and inadmissible principle, that, because the prisons were at present crowded with debtors, they ought to be cleared by an act of insolvency; and such acts, in general, were reprobated as unjust and pernicious, depriving one set of men of their property, and encouraging another set to incur debts, which they had no means to pay, and might with prudence have avoided. It was answered, that, while the existing laws with regard to imprisonment for debt remained unaltered, whatever might be the objections to acts of insolvency, it was matter, not of choice, but of necessity, from time to time, to pass them. The necessity of some legislative provision to amend the existing laws respecting debtor and creditor was admitted on all sides, and by no person more explicitly, than by one of the noble lords (lord Eldon), who distinguished himself by hostility to the present bill. Leave was given to Mr. Serjeant Best to bring in a bill for preventing all interlocutory or ex parte proceedings in criminal matters, from being published in newspapers. The ground of this application was the unfair bias which such publications not unfrequently made on the minds of jurymen, before the evidence of the case came before them in their judicial capacity. But the remedy proposed proposed by the learned serjeant being very generally disapproved of by those who were most competent to judge of its effects, as tending to lessen that wholesome publicity in the proceedings of our criminal courts, which is the best check, both on judges and jurymen, the notice was, some days afterwards, withdrawn. The bill (46 Geo. III. cap. 37.) declaratory of the law with respect to a witness refusing to answer, on the ground that he might thereby subject himself to a suit for debt, arose out of the proceedings in the impeachment against lord Melville. A bill, which had passed the house of commons for indemnifying all persons required to give evidence in the impeachment of lord Melville who had served under him in the navy pay office, having been strongly objected to in the house of lords, was, after some debate, agreed to be postponed, till certain questions should be submitted to the judges, in order to arrive at a clear understanding of what was the law upon the subject. But, the judges disagreeing upon the points referred to them, though a majority of eight to four were decidedly of opinion that a witness was, generally speaking, compellable to answer a question, though his answer might subject him to a civil action, it was thought proper to pass an act declaring such to be the law; and this, after some opposition, was accordingly enacted. The judges, conformably to whose opinion the bill was passed, were the lord chief justice of the king's bench, chief baron Macdonald, judges Heath, Laurence, le Blanc, and Chambre, and barons Graham and Sutton, with whom may be classed lord chancel lor Erskine and lord Eldon. The judges of a contrary opinion were, chief justice Mansfield, baron Thomp son, and justices Rooke and Grose. A subject of no small delicacy, and of great importance to one part of the united kingdom, was brought before parliament by lord Grenville, towards the close of the present session; we allude to the proposed reform of the court of session, or su preme civil court of Scotland. It seldom happens that institutions coeval with the state, which have grown to maturity along with it, can be afterwards fundamentally changed or reformed, without producing effects different from those foreseen or intended by the innovators; and, therefore, no wise or prudent legislator will embark in such schemes of reform without the most urgent necessity, or carry them farther than necessity requires. But, if ever a case existed, where innovation was justifiable,it was on the present occasion. The courts of justice in Scotland had arrived at that state, when it was necessary to attempt a thorough reform and revision of their constitution, both on account of the magnitude of the evil that called for redress, and the opinion entertained of it by the people of that kingdom. The question for the discussion of government was not whether reform was necessary, but what sort of reform was most expedient. The number of appeals from the court of session to the house of lords occasioned a retardation of business, and caused the greatest loss and inconvenience to suitors, while it too clearly indicated, that the court from which so many appeals pro ceeded, no longer possessed the cou fidence |