the first of the Ships, the "Nova Sorte," by Four Copies of Certifi cates, countersigned by the Commissary Judge and by myself; and having been measured it was found to have nearly the number of Tons certified for the payment of the contributions for the Faroes. Since the number of Negroes which a Ship is permitted to load is regulated according to its bulk, the usage which I have just had the honour to mention to your Excellency, if not put a stop to by a subsequent investigation, is subversive of the benevolent intentions of Brazil towards humanity, and tends to evade the stipulations of the Treaty with Great Britain. The acknowledged liberal ideas of the Brazilian Government on this subject, leave no room to doubt that, on the knowledge of the facts, announced in this Letter and the accompanying Documents, it will take immediate measures to prevent the evil complained of. .I avail myself, &c. H. E. The Commr. De Carvalho e Mello. (Enclosure B.) .H. CHAMBERLAIN. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT of the Tonnage and number of Slaves allowed to be taken on board, according to the admeasurement of the Arsenal; and the bona fide Tonnage for payment of Light Dues, with the number of Slaves that ought to be allowed to be received on board according to this admeasurement; also distinguishing the difference in both Cases. No. 45.-Mr. Consul-General Chamberlain to Mr. Secretary Canning.— SIR, (Rec. June 17.) Rio de Janeiro, March 31, 1824. I HAVE the honour to transmit for your information, Copies of Returns received from Mr. Vice Consul Follett, of the number of Slaves imported into, and exported from Bahia, during the year 1823. As the Zefiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, which was boarded in the month of September off Whydah, by His Majesty's Ship, Driver, has put into Bahia with a cargo of Slaves, instead of returning here; I have this day written to Mr. Vice Consul Follett a Letter, of which I take the liberty to send a Copy enclosed. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. CHAMBERLAIN. (Enclosure 1.)-RETURN of the number of Slaves imported into Bahia from 1st January to 31st December, 1823. *The Ship Belizario was bound to Rio de Janeiro, but the Blacks rose and killed the Master and part of the Crew. The Frigate "Constitution" met her at Sea and brought her into this Port. + This is the Vessel to which Enclosure No.3, sent herewith, relates. H. C. (Enclosure 2.)-RETURN of the number of Slaves exported from Bahia, from 1st January to the 31st December 1823. WM. FOLLETT, Vice Consul. * This Vessel arrived at Rio de Janeiro direct from Bahia. (Enclosure 3.)-Mr. Consul Gen. Chamberlain to Mr. Vice-Consul Follett, SIR, Rio de Janeiro, March 31, 1824. I PERCEIVE by your last Return of Slaves imported into Bahia that the Brazilian Brig, Zephiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, had arrived from Molembo, on the 13th December, with a cargo of 299 Negroes. A Brazilian Brig called the Zephiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, was boarded on the 3d September by the Boats of His Majesty's Ship, Driver, near a Place called Whydah, considerably to the North of the Line; the Master of which stated that he had sailed from Rio de Janeiro in July, and gave as a reason for his being found on that Coast, that the Ship had been driven from her intended Port by contrary winds. The Zephiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, appears by the Diario do Governo to have sailed, in fact, from hence on the 11th July last, with a Royal Licence to trade to Molembo; and as she has not returned to this Port, and was found, as before mentioned, on the 3d of September, so far to the North of the Line, there is sufficient reason for suspecting that she has been engaged in the illicit Trade. I have therefore to request, that you will take the trouble to ascertain, by any means in your power, where the Zephiro which arrived at Bahia on the 13th December, was on the 3d September, and where she actually procured her cargo. And should there turn out to be sufficient reason for so doing, to take such further measures as may ensure a regular official enquiry into the Case: making the facts known to His Majesty's Government and to me. I have the honour to be, &c. Wm. Follett, Esq. H. CHAMBERLAIN. No. 46. Mr. Vice-Consul Follett to Mr. Seey. Canning.-(Rec.July19.) SUSPICION having been excited that the Brazilian Slave Brig, Zephiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, which arrived in this harbour on the 13th December last, with a cargo of 299 Negroes, had been engaged in the illicit Slave Trade, in consequence, as appears by the enclosed Copy of a Letter received from His Majesty's Consul General, of a Vessel of the same name having been boarded by the Boats of His Majesty's Ship Driver, considerably to the Northward of the Line; I deemed it right to apprize His Excellency the President of this Province of the circumstances of the Case, and to request him to direct an investigation thereof to be made. I have the honour to enclose a Copy of my Letter, and of His Excellency's reply, which states that His Excellency had issued orders for a rigid examination of this affair,—the result of which has been that the Brig Zephiro was obliged to put into Ajudà, a Port to the Northward of the Line, for provisions, and afterwards proceeded to Molembo, (a Port about thirty miles to the South of the Equator) from whence the Slaves in question were brought. I have the honour to be, &c. "The Right Hon. George Canning. WM. FOLLETT. (Enclosure A.)—Mr. Vice-Consul Follett to The President of Bahia. SIR, Bahia, May 18, 1824. I HAVE to inform your Excellency, that on the 13th December, 1823, the Brazilian Brig, Zephiro, Joao Neri da Silva, Master, arrived in this harbour with a cargo of 299 Negroes, reported to me brought from Molembo, and also that a Brig whose name as well as that of the Master was exactly similar, was boarded on the 3d September, 1823, by the Boats of His Majesty's Ship, Driver, near a Place called Whydah, considerably to the Northward of the Line; and as there is reason to suspect that these Brigs are the same, and therefore that the cargo of Negroes imported in the above Brig, may have been received on board at some Port prohibited by Treaty, I take the liberty to request that your Excellency will so far interfere as to institute such inquiries as will best elucidate this affair, and clear away all suspicion, not only respecting the identity of these Vessels, but also respecting the Port where the Brig, Zephiro, that arrived in this harbour on the 13th of December last, with a cargo of Negroes, actually received them on board. I have the honour to be, &c. H. E. Francisco Vicente Vianna. WM. FOLLETT. (Enclosure B.)—The President of Bahia to Mr. Vice-Consul Follett. (Translation.) Palace of the Govt. of Bahia, May 28, 1824. HAVING received the Note which you addressed to me on the 18th of the present month, concerning the Brig, Zephyr, which arrived in this harbour on the 13th December of last year, representing that the said Brig had passed the Line, and anchored in the Port of Ajuda, I immediately directed the Superintendant of the Customs to examine minutely into that matter, to find out whether that Ship, in violation of the Treaties, which are now most religiously observed in this Empire of Brazil, was engaged in illicit Traffic; and I have the satisfaction in reply to your Excellency, to inform you, that after the most rigid scrutiny and examination of witnesses on the Case, I have learnt that the Brig Zephyr, just arrived, put into the aforesaid Port of Ajuda, through stress of weather and scarcity of provisions, whence, returning to Molembo, it brought the two hundred and ninety-nine Slaves; which is also made evident by the terms of the Entry and the Manifest made in the Custom House of this Place on the 15th December last. I avail myself of this opportunity, &c. The British Vice-Consul. FRANCISCO VICENTE VIANNA, P.. No. 47.-Mr. Consul Parkinson to Mr. Sey. Canning.~(Rec. Aug. 20-f (Extract.) Pernambuco, July 7, 1824. I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a translated Copy of an Edict recently promulgated by Sir Manoel Carvalho, President of this Province. JOHN PARKINSON. The Right Hon. George Canning. Enclosure.-(Translation.) Palace of the Government of Pernambuco, July 7, 1824. His Excellency The President, thinking that the Edict which I have the honour to transmit will meet with a favourable reception by the friends of liberty and humanity residing in England, directs me to transmit you the enclosed Copy. God preserve you. JOZE DA NATIVIDADE SALDANHA, Secretary. John Parkinson, Esq EDICT of the President of the Province of Pernambuco. IT being advisable, as well for the interests of humanity as those of this Province, to extinguish entirely a Commerce founded in complete opposition to the principles of natural rights, and the wisdom of the present age, I have resolved that the Slave Trade shall be suspended in this Port until the Sovereign Constituent Legislative Assembly shall finally determine the point. The Authorities whom this may concern, are directed to comply, and to carry the same into execution. MANOEL DE CARVALHO PAES D'ANDRADE, President. Palace of the Government of Pernambuco, July 3d, 1824. No. 48.-Mr. Secretary Canning to Mr. Consul-Gen. Chamberlain. SIR, Foreign Office, August 6, 1824. His Majesty's Commissioners at Sierra Leone have several times remarked, in their Despatches to me, on the mischievous effects which result from the practice of the Brazilian Authorities in giving permission to Vessels proceeding to Molembo for Slaves, to touch in their way at the Islands of Princes and St. Thomas. By this permission the Vessels obtain an excuse for being seen near the Slave Coast, to the Northward of the Equator, and the opportunity is generally taken advantage of by them for procuring their Cargo in those Parts, where, by the Laws of every Civilized Nation, the Slave Trade has been strictly forbidden. I hope that the Brazilian Government, when made aware of the evils which are produced by the form in which their Passport is drawn up, will lose no time in altering it. Henry Chamberlain, Esq. I am, &c. |