Mr. Lister to Dr. Kirk Date. 1876. July 28 Received.[ SUBJECT. Scheme for introduction of liberated slaves into Cape Colony. For opinion on Dr. Kirk to the Earl of Derby June 21 Aug. 3 Proceedings on trial of Page 463 Dr. Kirk to the Earl of Derby Nov. 13 Dec. 11 Slaves taken from Sir J. Pauncefote to Dr. Kirk | Dec. 20 dhow under French Seizure of caravan by 467 467 472 472 474 SIR, BRAZIL. No. 2.-The Earl of Derby to Mr. Mathew. Foreign Office, July 21, 1876. I TRANSMIT to you herewith a copy of a despatch and of its inclosures from Her Majesty's Minister at Washington,* calling attention to the proceedings of the United States' Steam-ship Company, whose vessels run from New York to Rio de Janeiro, touching at intermediate ports, in transporting slaves from one Brazilian port to an other. It appears from Mr. Vanorden's statement that although the United States' Post Office contract with the Company in question to carry the United States' mails, the vessels employed are British steamers and carry the British flag; and on this understanding, therefore, I have to request that you will call the attention of the United States' Steam-ship Company to the circumstances referred to by Sir Edward Thornton, and point out to them the serious consequences to which they may render themselves liable by allowing slaves to be conveyed on board their vessels. You will remind them that Her Majesty's cruizers are entitled to search British vessels, and that, in the event of slaves being found on board, whether those slaves are being conveyed for sale or merely as consignments, the vessel may be detained on suspicion of being engaged in Slave Traffic, and sent for adjudication before a British Vice-Admiralty Court. G. B. Mathew, Esq. I am, &c., DERBY. No. 3.-Mr. Mathew to the Earl of Derby.-(Received October 2.) MY LORD, Rio de Janeiro, September 4, 1876. UPON receipt of your Lordship's despatch of the 21st July 1 addressed a letter to Messrs. Johnstone and Co. of this city, the Agent of the British steam-ships under contract with the Post Office of the United States, for carrying mails to New York, a copy of which, and of their reply, I have the honour to inclose. The ships are the property, I believe, of Messrs. Walker of Middlesborough. * Page 424. I am unable to concur in the view taken by Messrs. Johnstone, that the notice in the public papers of slaves "á entregar" (to deliver) is incorrect, as in the one to which they call my attention, referring to the Royal Mail steam-ship Mondego, domestic servant slaves are inserted immediately after the names of their masters, and the names of free blacks are specified as such. I have no doubt, on the contrary, that all the steam-ships touching at the northern ports of Brazil have of late crept into the habit of bringing a few slaves "á entregar" each voyage. The captains may possibly have been unaware of the condition of their passengers, but the agents in the ports where they embarked must have been perfectly cognizant of the facts. I have, therefore, addressed a despatch (copy inclosed) to Her Majesty's Consuls at those ports, as well as to the agents of the Royal Mail and of other Steam-ship Companies in this capital. The sugar estates in the northern provinces have scarcely yielded any profit to their owners for several years, and this, coupled with prospective emancipation, has led many owners to purchase coffeelands further south for slave cultivation. During the last four months the average arrival of slaves from the north has exceeded 100 per week. I beg to inclose also copies of my letter to the agents of the various Steam-ship Companies. I have, &c., The Earl of Derby. GEORGE BUCKLEY MATHEW. (Inclosure 1.)-Mr. Mathew to Messrs. Johnstone and Co. GENTLEMEN, Rio de Janeiro, August 17, 1876. THE attention of Her Majesty's Government has been called to a statement made at Washington, that the steam-ships now under contract with the Government of the United States to carry the mails from Rio de Janeiro to New York, touching at intermediate ports, are in the habit of carrying slaves from one Brazilian port to another. A special instance of this has been pointed out as having occurred on the voyage of the Nellie Martin from Bahia to Rio on the 1st of March last. Her Majesty's Secretary of State having further understood that these vessels carry the English flag, and are consigned to you, has instructed me to call your immediate attention to the matter, and to point out to you the serious consequences to which you will render yourselves liable by allowing slaves to be conveyed on board your vessels. Her Majesty's cruizers are entitled to search British vessels, and in the event of slaves being found on board, whether those slaves are being conveyed for sale or merely as consignments, the vessel may be detained on suspicion of being engaged in Slave Traffic, and sent for adjudication before a Vice-Admiralty Court. I have, &c., Messrs. Johnstone and Co. GEORGE BUCKLEY MATHEW. SIR, (Inclosure 2.)-Messrs. Johnstone and Co. to Mr. Mathew. Rio de Janeiro, August 18, 1876. We have to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's letter of yesterday's date, in which you inform us that the attention of Her Majesty's Government has been called to a statement made at Washington that the steamers now under contract with the Government of the United States to carry the mails between New York and Brazil are in the habit of conveying slaves from one Brazilian port to another, and you point out a special instance of this as having occurred on board the Nellie Martin from Bahia to Rio on the 1st March last. As special reference is made to our firm as representing the steamers in question, we should, in the first place, inform your Excellency that our connection with the Star Ball line of steamers, to which the Nellie Martin belongs, has always been limited to the management of the steamer's business as agents at this port, and that we have no further interest in the undertaking, nor have we any control over it beyond these limits. In the case which your Excellency brings forward, it would appear from inquiries which we have made here, that there were 11 blacks brought down from Bahia; but we are informed by our clerk, who went on board to receive the steamer's papers, that the Captain stated that they had come on board as passengers in the ordinary way, and that he did not know anything about their being slaves. We have, however written to the agents of the line at Bahia for further particulars, as the responsibility of taking the persons referred to on board rested with them, and their action is not in any way under our control. We would only add, in conclusion, that no slaves have ever been carried from this port to the north by any of the steamers of the Star Ball line, and that the expression "escravos á entregar" is often used by the newspapers here when manifestly incorrect, as your Excellency will see on reference to the passenger list of the Royal mail-steamer Mondego, in the "Jornal do Commercio" of yesterday. We have, &c., G. B. Mathew, Esq. ED. JOHNSTONE AND Co. SIR, (Inclosure 3.)—Mr. Mathew to Consul Morgan.* Rio de Janeiro, August 28, 1876. STATEMENTS having been made to Her Majesty's Government that slaves are carried from one Brazilian port to another in British steam-ships, I have received a despatch from the Earl of Derby, instructing me to point out to the parties concerned the serious consequences to which they may render themselves liable by allowing slaves to be conveyed on board their ships. I am directed to remind them that Her Majesty's cruizers are entitled to search all British vessels, and in the event of slaves being found on board, whether conveyed for sale or merely as consignments, that vessel may be detained on suspicion of being engaged in Slave Traffic, and sent for adjudication before a British ViceAdmiralty Court. I find, upon inquiry in this capital, that any cases of this nature that may have occurred have arisen from the acts of agents in the northern ports of Brazil, from which slaves are consigned-generally for sale to Rio de Janeiro; and I therefore have to request you to warn the firms interested in steam-ship agencies in your Consulate of the danger to which their ships will be exposed by any further infringement of the laws of Great Britain. John Morgan, Esq. I have, &c., GEORGE BUCKLEY MATHEW. (Inclosure 4.)-Mr. Mathew to Messrs. Norton, Megan and Youle, Messrs. E. P. Wilson and Co., and Mr. May. GENTLEMEN, Rio de Janeiro, August 29, 1876. A STATEMENT having been made to Her Majesty's Government that steam-ships under the British flag were in the habit of carrying slaves from one Brazilian port to another, I have been instructed by the Earl of Derby to point out to the parties concerned the serious consequences to which they may render themselves liable by allowing slaves to be conveyed on board their ships. I am directed to remind them that Her Majesty's cruizers are entitled to search all British vessels, and, in the event of slaves being found on board, whether conveyed for sale or merely as consignments, that the vessel may be detained on suspicion of being engaged in Slave Traffic, and sent for adjudication before a ViceAdmiralty Court. 1 I am, &c., GEORGE BUCKLEY MATHEW. No. 5.-Mr. Mathew to the Earl of Derby.-(Received November 3.) Rio de Janeiro, October 6, 1876. MY LORD, I AM happy to be enabled to state that the various lines of * Similar despatches were addressed to Mr. Walker (Pernambuco) and Mr. Green (Pará). |