(Translation.) Sub Enclosure 2, in No. 55. Señor J. B. da Fonseca Alvares Pereira to the Solicitor-General of the Crown. In compliance with your Excellency's Official Letter of the 17th of December last, an application was made from this Department on the 20th of the same month to the General Administration of Police of the District of Lisbon, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary informations respecting the place of residence of Mattheus de Souza Louro and Antonio Jozé Affonso, suspected of Slave-trading in the ship "Victoria." In answer to the said application, I have received an official communication, the Copy of which I lay before your Excellency, according to which it seems difficult to obtain the required information unless the characteristic signs are stated, as to their employment, native country, &c. Under these circumstances, therefore, the impossibility still remains for proceeding against these individuals as it was determined upon. Consequently I shall wait for your Excellency's further determination on the subject. May God preserve your Excellency, &c. (Signed) JOAO BARBOZA DE FONSECA ALVARES PEREIRA. To His Excellency the Solicitor-General of the Crown. &c. A true Copy. &c. &c. Adjutant in the Crown Solicitor's Office, In order to enable me to comply with the request made in your official letter of the 20th of December last, respecting Mattheus de Souza Louro and Antonio José Affonso, it is necessary you would be pleased to send me a list of the characteristic signs, such as employment, native country, and last place of residence of these individuals; as it would be difficult to obtain the information requested by you on the subject without it. May God preserve, &c. (Extract.) MY LORD, Lord Howard de Walden to Viscount Palmerston. 'Lisbon, Februry 3, 1840. (Received February 11.) I HAVE the honour to enclose a Pamphlet which has been published by the Viscount de Sá da Bandeira, on the subject of the Bill passed by Parliament for the suppression of the Slave Trade under the Portuguese flag. The Viscount caused copies of this work to be distributed on Saturday among the Deputies of the Cortes, when a friend of his, Signor Celestino Soares, one of the Anti-English Party, moved at once, previous to its having been read by any one to whom it was there delivered, that it should be printed in English and French. This motion was referred to the Diplomatic Commission. This Pamphlet is couched in very strong terms, very hostile to Her Majesty's Government, indeed to England generally, on the subject of the Slave Trade. (Signed) &c. I have, &c., HOWARD DE WALDEN. Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. &c. &c. No. 57. Viscount Palmerston to Lord Howard de Walden. Foreign Office, February 20, 1840. [CIRCULAR sending the Papal Brief against Slave Trade.] MY LORD, No. 58. Viscount Palmerston to Lord Howard de Walden. Foreign Office, February 22, 1840. I HERE WITH transmit to your Lordship, for your information, Copies of two communications which I have received from Her Majesty's Consul at the Cape Verds, respecting the state of the Slave Trade connected with those islands. I leave to your Lordship's discretion to make such use of these Papers as you may think expedient, in your communications with the Portuguese Government. ALTHOUGH I had been informed privately, that a leading member of the Opposition contemplated taking notice of my Confidential Note to the Viscount de Sá da Bandeira, of the 19th of May, which had been published by the Baron de Sabroza, in a note addressed to me by him (while he had suppressed my reply), I yet considered the assertions of the Baron so evidently groundless, that I looked with the most perfect confidence to my official correspondence, as quite adequate for every purpose of refutation, and of justification of my conduct with my own countrymen. I was not, however, prepared, I confess, for the totally opposite line of attack which has been lately made in either House of Parliament in an entirely different sense to that in which attacks had been made on me in this country. I had been accustomed in this country to the unremitting hostility and abuse of the Slave-trading faction, for an uncompromising character in my negotiations with the Viscount de Sá da Bandeira: for this reason, my official correspondence does not, perhaps, at once present, as clearly and concisely, all the explanations with reference to such an opposite view, so totally unexpected by me, as it would otherwise have done, but which, though late, I think it my duty to offer to your Lordship. Your Lordship has seen, by my Despatch of the 12th May, 1838, that I had already broken off negotiations with the "Viscount de Sá" (under the conviction of the spirit in which he was negotiating); and that it was only on the assurances conveyed to me in the private note from His Excellency, which I reported to your Lordship at the time, that I was induced to resume them, but in doing which, I must acknowledge, I was partly influenced by over-caution, for the purpose of guarding against the possible imputation of personal considerations of my own, viz., my anxiety to return to England, being cast upon me as the main spring of my proceedings. It was after this renewal of my negotiations with the Viscount de Sá that I received your Lordship's Despatch of the 12th of May, transmitting to me a Copy of a Resolution of the House of Commons, to the effect that a humble address should be presented to Her Majesty, "Representing to Her Majesty that the Slave Trade still continues with great intensity, and that it has even been aggravated in all its horrors; that one of the most probable means of abolishing that traffic would be a general declaration of all the Christian Powers; that the Slave Trade is Piracy, and ought to be punished as such ;" and in which was further expressed, "The deep concern of the House of Commons at learning that Portugal has not yet fulfilled the engagements which she has taken towards Great Britain, by concluding with Great Britain an adequate Treaty for the suppression of the Slave Trade." Your Lordship, in another despatch of the same date, laid stress upon the moral effect which would be produced upon public opinion in Portugal, by branding the Slave Trade with the name of Piracy. It was on the 18th instant that I communicated the Resolution of the House of Commons to the Viscount de Sá da Bandeira, and had a long discussion with him on the piracy question. I had another interview with him on the following day, as is reported in my Despatch of the 20th of May. It was at that interview that, on finding him peremptory in refusing to admit of an article in the Treaty, declaring Slave Trade to be Piracy at once, I thought it would be acting more in conformity with the spirit of my instructions, and the Resolution of the House of Commons, transmitted to me by your Lordship, if I were to endeavour to elicit a pledge as to future co-operation, in exact conformity with the expression of the Resolution of the House of Commons, than to abandon the question entirely on his refusing to accede to the proposed article. When I left the Viscount de Sá, on Saturday afternoon, I told him I should make the official proposition in writing as to the Piracy article; that, if he would not consent, I trusted he would make as strong a declaration as possible, in the sense of the Resolution of the House of Commons; and I flattered myself I had succeeded in propitiating him sufficiently to obtain his acquiescence in the general expression of the House of Commons. On Saturday-night, therefore, I wrote the Official Note, which bears the date of the 20th (having been copied out, signed by me, and sent in that day), transmitting to the Viscount two projects of Articles, declaring Slave Trade Piracy, in order, as stated to your Lordship in my Despatch of the 20th of May, to force him to record officially, in writing, the grounds of his refusal to consent to make Slave Trade Piracy by Treaty. At the same time I wrote a private and confidential Note to him, containing the heads of such a declaration as, if his objection to the Piracy article, on full consideration of the two projects therewith submitted to him, remained insurmountable, I thought he would have adopted, and which I gave in such a shape, knowing that he never drew up any official paper himself; that he had only to make an extract, as instructions to the clerk, whom he had always employed in papers and correspondence connected with the Slave Trade business. The result was, that although the Viscount de Sá did not at once adopt the declaration to the full extent as suggested by me, in bona fide conformity with his assurances to me, yet he did subsequently make (in his Note, dated the 22nd May, only delivered to Mr. Jerningham on the 28th,) such a declaration as removed all pretext of opposition, on ground of principle at least, to the demands of Her Majesty's Government, and would render a fuller concession to the true intent of the Resolution of the House of Commons, on the part of any future minister, comparatively easy. The subsequent assertion of the Viscount de Sá, in his pamphlet, that he did comply with my demands on this head, and his own substitution of the word "agreements" (ajustos) for "conventions," and the suppression of the qualified condition of the sanction of the parties interested, has indeed since given the said declaration a stronger interpretation than would have been borne by the mere wording of it. The idea of obtaining from the Portuguese Government such a declaration was entirely suggested by the Resolution of the House of Commons; and I am still at a loss to comprehend how I should better have conformed to the wish of that honourable House, expressed unanimously, if I had, on receiving the refusal of the Viscount de Sá to admit of an article in the Treaty declaring Slave Trade Piracy, neglected the opportunity still open to me of furthering, to the best of my power, the object they had in view, as pointed out to me in your Lordship's Despatch, and if I had adopted the alternative of at once breaking off the negotiations. I think I may justly claim, as regards the expression of the wish of the House of Commons to obtain a general declaration of Christian Powers, denouncing Slave Trade Piracy, the merit of having advanced this object to a considerable extent; inasmuch as, if other Governments would have gone the same lengths, there would have remained but little comparative difficulty in carrying into full effect the principle thus admitted. But I must frankly add, that if I had not received your Lordship's Despatch, transmitting to me the Resolution of the House of Commons, I should not have attempted to have obtained any such declaration, as the idea would not have occurred to me. As what passed between myself and the Viscount de Sá at the period in question, viz., that of my leaving Lisbon in May, 1838, has been worked up into matter of gross misrepresentation, in order to justify the Viscount de Sá's proceedings, I take the liberty of referring your Lordship to my Despatch of the 1st December, 1838, in the end of which I gave an account of a conversation with the Viscount de Sá on that very subject, and the correctness of which has not been questioned by him in the long, laboured, and minute analysis which he has made in his pamphlet of all the official correspondence, which can by the most forced misinterpretation be construed in his favour. MY LORD, No. 60. Lord Howard de Walden to Viscount Palmerston. Lisbon, February 13, 1840. I HAVE the honour herewith to enclose a Copy of a Note I have received from the Count de Villa Real, on the subject of the Spanish Slave-vessel " lante," which had last year obtained Portuguese Papers at Lisbon, under the name Vigiof "Bragança," and which had subsequently, when proceeding on its Slave-trading enterprise, been captured by Her Majesty's cruiser "Termagant." Your Lordship will observe, with satisfaction, that Count de Villa Real has taken measures to investigate the case. It remains, however, to be seen whether His Excellency will be able to carry into effect his intention of punishing those who have been implicated in this disgraceful transaction. The late decision of the Tribunals, in liberating the "Virginia," Portuguese Slaver (captured, as announced to the world by the Baron Sabroza, having on board the proofs of her Slave-Trade character), renders this extremely doubtful. (Signed) &c. The Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B. &c. &c. I have, &c. MY LORD, Enclosure in No. 60. The Count de Villa Real to Lord Howard de Walden. Palace of the Necessidades, February 10, 1840. In answer to your Lordship's Official Communication of the 17th January last, respecting the capture of the brig "Bragança," Manoel do Nascimento Moreira, master, made by Her Britannic Majesty's brig "Termagant," in the latitude of 5° 53′ N., and longitude 57° S., owing to her being implicated in the Slave Trade, as well as of the said vessel having been fictitiously sold in this city, and obtaining a Portuguese register from the Portuguese authorities; I have the honour to inform your Lordship that, on the 8th instant, I have directed the translation of the said communication from your Lordship, together with the documents thereto annexed, to be forwarded to the Department of Justice, in order that judicial proceedings may be commenced against the party concerned in this odious business; having also written an Official Letter to the Minister of Marine, and to the Vice-Consul at Corunna, where, it appears, the real owner of the vessel exists, in order to obtain informations on the subject, and to deliberate on the measures to be adopted according to justice. (Signed) I avail, &c. CONDE DE VILLA REAL. MY LORD, No. 61. Lord Howard de Walden to Viscount Palmerston. Lisbon, February 13, 1840. WITH reference to my Despatch, marked Slave Trade, of the 24th January; in which I reported to your Lordship the capture of the Spanish vessel "Ensaiador,' at the Island of Brava, on suspicion of being destined for the Slave Trade, I have the honour to state that this vessel, on being claimed by the Spanish Chargè d'Affaires, as having been seized illegally by the Portuguese authorities, has been given up by the Portuguese Government to the Spanish Government. She is about to be sent to Cadiz, to be duly tried by the Spanish tribunals, upon the evidence and papers which had been transmitted to Lisbon. The Spanish Chargé d'Affaires informs me, that he does not think the case against the "Ensaiador" is a clear one. MY LORD, Lord Howard de Walden to Viscount Palmerston. Lisbon, February 13, 1840. (Received February 24.) I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's Despatch, marked "Slave Trade," of the 1st instant, transmitting a copy of a note addressed by your Lordship to the Baron de Moncorvo, relative to the proceedings of Captain Elliot of Her Majesty's ship "Columbine," towards the piratical Slave-vessels Neptuno" and "Angerona." in the river Zaire. For some days past rumours have been current in Lisbon, of letters having been received from Angola, corrobo |