confined to the immediate sphere of their exertion; the spirit of Christianity is silently working its way; and, unseen by the world, in many cases perhaps unknown to themselves, they are made the messen

THIS Society's Twentieth Report states, first, the progress which may have been made, whether in law or public opinion, on the general question of the Slave Trade; next, the state of the Slave Trade, as now actually carried on; and lastly, some particulars respecting the colony of Sierra Leone, and European intercourse with the interior of Africa.

Under the first of these heads it must be borne in mind, that Portugal and the Brazils are the only states which still regard the Slave Trade as legal; being bound, how ever, by treaty, that their subjects shall carry it on under certain restrictions. The Netherlands, Spain, and France, and every other civilized kingdom, have placed it without the protection of the law. In their case, therefore, it is only necessary to ascertain that the laws which are respectively passed to carry into execution this common principle are adequate for their purpose,andalso faithfully administered. The details, as respects the actual state of the law in the various nations above-mentioned, will not well admit of abridgment. The general complexion is painful; some of the cabinets acting as if they considered themselves as having been entrapped into stipulations of humanity, which they would now willingly violate, so far as their political connexion with Great Britain allows them to do so with impunity. But the wisdom and firmness of the British authorities, at home and abroad, has so far counteracted this tendency, that in various instances there have been progressive advances towards a better state of the law on this important question. The Netherlands government has adopted better regulations than those of either Spain or France

for the effectual suppression of the trade; and some important improvements in this respect have been lately added. The law of France unfortunately remains hitherto in the same imperfect state as before; but the subject seems at last to have a chance of being forced upon the attention of the government, by the expostulations of our ministers and the resolute investigations of enlightened individuals in France. Petitions signed by the most eminent merchants, and other distinguished individuals, have been presented from Paris, from Havre (once itself tainted with this trade), from Cette, Montpelier, Caen, and from Marseilles; and public feeling has been so far awakened, that a more rapid progress may perhaps now be looked for. The Baron de Stael obtained at Nantz, specimens of the irons used in their slave-ships; upon laying which before the dauphin, his royal highness promised that every measure adapted for the suppression of the Slave Trade shall have his support.

The States of Spanish America, the most interested in the traffic of slaves, have been justly held up by Mr. Canning, as reproaching the ancient monarchy of France by their eagerness to disown and prohibit it. One of the first acts of the Constituent Assembly of Guatimala was the abolition of slavery: and by the thirteenth article of their Constitution, "every man in the Republic is free; and no one who takes refuge under its laws can be a slave: nor shall any one be accounted a citizen who carries on the Slave Trade."-One hundred slaves from the Honduras escaped thither, on hearing of this law; and, though demanded back by our superintend

ant, were, on the same principles by which the slaves of the Perle were brought up recently from Cornwall by habeas corpus and liberated, allowed the shelter of the law which had proclaimed them free.

In our own colonies the legislators of Antigua have requested the cooperation of the other islands in resisting the freedom of such slaves as have been in England but have since returned to the West Indies. Surely the effect of the emancipation thus conferred is not local or temporary only: it can neither be lost by change of place, nor worn out by lapse of time. The case, under the instructions of Lord Bathurst, was to be tried in the Vice-Admiralty Court of Antigua, and to be reheard, if necessary, in this country upon appeal.

In passing from the state of the law to the condition of the trade it self, the Directors are under the painful necessity of stating, that much remains in promise and upon paper only. The co-operation of the king of the Netherlands in the measures necessary for its suppression, relieves that government from any such imputation; but Surinam, nevertheless, appears to be a considerable mart for slaves.

The Portuguese and Brazilian Slave-Trade is not only carried on as extensively as ever, but without any regard to those restrictions, either as to place or tonnage, to the observance of which Portugal is bound by treaty. The Spanish trade has been also carried on with the same indifference to treaties, and the same carelessness of concealment. Commodore Bullen states, that all the Spanish vessels boarded by his squadron were armed and manned for piracy, as well as slaving; and that they fire at, and attempt to plunder, nearly every vessel they fall in with. But the most painful article of this long catalogue of crimes, is the fearful share of this infamous and prohibit ed traffic which is retained by the subjects of the king of France.

CHRIST. OBSERV. APP.

Mr. Canning officially declares, in writing to our ambassador at Paris; "Scarcely an arrival takes place from Africa, without bringing with it accounts that slave-trade undertakings, covered by the flag and carried on by the subjects of France, are in activity from north to south, and from west to east, throughout the whole coast of that vast peninsula; and in the African islands, the West Indies, and elsewhere, French subjects are continually heard of as fitting out vessels for the Slave Trade. In the very ports of France herself, these undertakings form the entire and almost public concern of companies of her mer chants. One of these ports, that of Nantz, seems to be entirely devoted to it; and is thus pointed out to the marked attention of the French government. Your Excellency and your predecessor have repeatedly given to the French minister the particulars of these equipments, from their earliest state to the time at which they leave that port for their ultimate destination; but still these proceedings go forward with unabated vigour, and, as it appears, with perfect impunity. The French laws on this subject are neither efficient in themselves, even in the heart of her dominions; nor can it be believed that they are acted upon with integrity. You will submit these statements to the government of France; and you will express a hope, that his most Christian majesty will not longer permit, on the part of his subjects, a traffic which has been abandoned, as disgraceful, by every other power of the civilized world."

The details on this subject are deeply afflicting. We quote only the following short specimens: The Orphée of Nantz, being the same vessel which was boarded by the Maidstone, June 1824, in the Bonny, after eleven hours' chase, was brought to by the Maidstone in five days from the Calabar. She had lost two slaves, and had 698 on board, whom it appears she af5 M

terwards landed safely on the south side of Cuba. Commodore Bullen writes: "The state in which my lieutenant found the miserable objects of this brutal traffic is truly revolting to the feelings of human nature: the whole of the men (550 in number) were heavily chained in couples, some round the ancles and arms, and many by the necks; the whole of whom he set at liberty, and suffered them, during the search, to inhale the fresh air. The confined and putrid air issuing from the slavedeck, a height of scarcely three feet, was so strong as almost to deter my lieutenant from exploring it; but, considering it his imperative duty, and my orders being to search every part of her as minutely as possible, that I might be the better enabled to particularise every circumstance respecting her, he did so, and found her as before described. My instructions positively forbidding my interference with French vessels, other than as before mentioned, it was with feelings of reluctant regret I allowed the master to triumph in his villany, by suffering him to proceed on his execrable and inhuman voyage." In September 1825, there were, "in the Bonny alone, 2007 tons of shipping, 293 persons, and 35 guns, under the flag of the French nation, employed in the speculation of human flesh. Lieutenant Griffin and other officers were shewn by them round their slavedecks, whilst they exulted in their savage trade, and in the knowledge that we could not interfere with them." The Paris Petition states, "that it is established, by authentic documents, that the slave captains throw into the sea every year about three thousand Negroes, men, women, and children; of whom more than half are thus sacrificed whilst yet alive, either to escape from the visit of cruisers, or because, worn down by their sufferings, they could not be sold to an advantage."

The Baron de Stael, who visited Nantz with a view to obtain accurate information on the subject,

says:-"The unblushing audacity with which the Slave Trade is carried on in this place, exceeds every thing that I could have imagined from what I have read or heard on the subject. Slave-dealing is the common topic at the exchange and in the commercial clubs. They do not take even the trouble of concealing their human cargoes under the names of mules, bales, or logs. Insurance, which was at thirty-three shillings last year, is now as low as twenty-five shillings, and in great demand on the part of the assurers. The names of those engaged in the trade are a mystery to nobody. In order to secure an interest in their favour, the slave-dealers oblige most of the tradesmen whom they employ-such as sail-makers, shipchandlers, &c.-to take shares for part of their dues. The number of vessels employed by them, according to the most moderate calculation, exceeds eighty, of the average tonnage of 130. When they have any reason to suspect that one of their vessels, on her return to Nantz, will be subjected to a severe examination, letters are sent out to all the pilots on the coast, to warn her off, and send her to Antwerp. I walked down the quay, and had my attention pointed by a friend to several objects which, not being a sailor myself, might have escaped my notice. Great numbers of water-casks, the size and object of which could not be mistaken by a person who has any practice in that matter, were lying on the quay, ready for embarkation. Four vessels, of the best possible cut for sailing, were in the docks nearly finished. I went on board one of them, which had been sold on the same morning, and was to be launched in a few days. The dimensions of the hatches clearly indicated her destination at the first sight: but this is not all; the platform, two and a half feet from the deck, was already fitted up for the reception of slaves. Seven other vessels, most evidently slave ships

schooners, brigs, and a lugger

were afloat on the river: one was a new ship, not yet named; three bad their names struck out, which they generally do after every voyage; the three others were the Pauline, the Constante of Nantz, and Britonne, 106 tons. I went on board this last, which was for sale. An iron kitchen, of a size sufficient for a man-of-war, was fastened on the deck, as if to leave no doubt of this being a slave ship. She had made one successful voyage; and, though the platform had been removed, the horrid smell of the human victims could not be mistaken. The sailor who was on board as a guard seemed to suspect our intentions; and as I observed that he understood English, I thought the best way would be to ask him plainly how many slaves his schooner would hold. Upon this he hesitated, and answered, that he knew nothing about it. 'Well,' said my friend, how many? 250, do you think?' Rather more,' was his reply. But this is not all; I wanted something more positive, and I begged of my companion to get some iron shackles for me, which I could take to Paris as a corpus delicti. He said that nothing could be more easy, and walked into the first blacksmith's shop on the quay, only requesting that I should remain at a certain distance, in order not to excite suspicion. The blacksmith at first hesitated; but afterwards shewed him a loft, where shackles, handcuffs, and thumb-screws were heaped by hundreds, and bought me the horrid samples that I wanted."

The United States Slave-Trade, we are happy to learn, seems almost entirely extinct.

We have not space to relate the details in the Report, under the third topic; namely, the condition of Sierra Leone, and our intercourse with the interior of Africa; nor is it perhaps necessary, as we have so often touched upon the subject. It should always be remembered, in attempting to investigate the condition of any settlement in Africa,

or generally of Africa itself, that this condition must materially depend on the degree in which Europe has redeemed its pledge to Africa by the abolition of the Slave Trade. The English commissioners having reported their inquiries at Sierra Leone, the public may shortly expect authoritative information on the state of the liberated Africans, the most important part of the population, and on all branches of the public service. Want of capital and of leisure keeps back the progress of agriculture. The Slave Trade necessarily carries much of the native trade elsewhere; but our exports from the Gambia for 1824 were rated in value at 140,0002. The late General Turner bears strong testimony to the " rapid improvement of the colony, both in regard to its internal management, and to the security and extension of its trade."

The name and character of the colony are spreading rapidly, as is proved by the repeated messengers sent from the rulers of distant nations, and the eagerness with which they seek our friendship and alliance. The encouragements of a peaceful commerce are also bringing strangers from distant nations to the coast.

The past year has been one of very considerable expense to the society. Several cases of grievous oppression have called for the interference of the Directors. The five Africans brought accidentally into St. Ives, in Cornwall, in a French slave-ship, the Perle, the particulars of which have already appeared in our pages, especially called for their good offices, at an expense to the society of between 2001. and 300l. while, we lament to say, the whole income of the Institution during the past year has been only 5531. 15s.; a sum far short of the expenditure. In looking back to the period of the formation of this Institution, the exertions which have been made, and the results which