SELECT COM MITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. Appeudix, ~ 0 4. forts on tbe Gold Coast sUlTendered to tbe resident merchants to be managed by a Council GOLD COAST. e lected from amongst themselves, with the assistance of a limited grant of money from Par- liament, having been negotiated with the colonial department, and the rules drawn up by myself, with the approbation of the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, r am enabled to state that it was understood tbat, although in order to render an Act of Parliament unne- eessal'Y, the President and Members of Council were to receive their commission s as magis- trates from the authorities at Sierra Leone, the new establishment was to be considered altogether separate from that Government, and not subject in any way to its control. The correctness of' th is statement will appear both from the rules themselves, and from the fact, t hat until the proclamation of Sir J ohn J eremie was pub lished, no interference whatever has been attempted by the Sierra Leone Government with ~he Gold Ooast. The comlllittee have received their grant immediately from the treasury, their accounts have been rendered direct to tbe Secretary of State for tbe Colonial Department, and their correspondence, and that of "the Council (when necessary), carried on with the same department, without the intervention in any case of the authorities at Sierra Leone. r am perfectly aware that Her Majesty's Government may at any time alter or annul the present system, but I trust that your correspondence will have already convinced them, not only of tbe inexpediency, but of the serious danger to the peace of the country, the safety of tbe forts themselves, and of the lives and property of the British subj ects resident under their protection, of permitting the interference of a distant local government, ignorant alike of the manners, customs and prejudices of the natives, and even of the authority and powers of the Pre.ident and Council on the Goj~ Coast. Having still an interest in the \velfar. of tbe Gold Coast settlements, I am desirous of submitting to your consideration tbe propriety of your addressing Lord Stanley at this time, now that a new governor of Sierra Leone is about to proceed to tbat colony, requesting his lordship, so long as it w ay be detennined to maintain the present arrangements, to consider the propriety of the governors of Sierra Leone bein g instructed not to exercise any inter- ference with the settlements on the Gold Coast witbout the direction and sanction of the colonial department. I have, &c. To J oseph Reid, E sq. (signed) Geo. Bames. W . lVI. Hutton, Esq_ J. G. Nicholls, Esq. CA.) RULES for cond ucting the Affairs of Cape Coast Castle and Accra, and securing the Appointment of fit and proper Persons for the Charge and Management of those Forts. H,s Majesty's Government baving come to tbe detennination of withdrawing the public establishment and garrisons f1'om the forts of Oape Coast Castle and Accra, and delivering them over to the British mercbants residing tbere, under an arrangement that the manage- ment of the forts shall be chiefly regulated by us, or our successors, as a committee, and that five of th e said merchants sball be empowered to form thelD selves into a Council of government according to such rules and restrictions as we or the committee for ~he time being may, witb the sanctiol\. of' his Maj eRty's Government, prescribe, the followmg have receIved the approbation of his Majesty's Government, and are to be observed. 1. The President and Council who have been already elected at Cape Coast Castle, to continue in office until the 1st J uly 1829. 2. On the 24th June, or if that shall happen on a Sunday, on tbe follo,ving day, in the year 1829, and each succeeding year, the British resident merchants at Cape Coast Castle and Accra to meet and elect live persons to be the Oouncil in the follo\ving year ; but no person to vote who shall not have com pleted one year's residence on the coast. 3. The B l'j tisb residen t merchants at Accra to be allowed to vote in the election of members of Council by proxy. 4. The committee to transmit, for the approbation of his Majesty's Government, the names of those merchants wbo have resided not less than twelve montbs at Cape Ooast Castle or Accra, and who are in their opinion fit persons to be appointed magistrates and members of Council ; in order that commissions as magistrates may be granted to them. 5. The members of Council to be chosen from the persons whose name~ have been so tran~­ rui tted and approved of by his Majesty's Government, and who are to enter upon therr offi ce on the 1st of July in each year, and to be cOIDyetent to act immediately upon their election ; but their names, as well as that of the President, are to he forthwith commuDlcated to the committee, and by them to his Majesty's Govemment. . . 6. The Counci l, within three days after their election, to choose a P reSIdent, upon whom the executive department shall more particularly devolve. 7 . Any dispute arising at the election upon the right of "oting, or any otber matter, to be settled by the existing P resident and Council, with a right, if therr deCISIOn should be obj ected to, of apr.eal to the committee III London ; but the decIsIon of the CouncIl to be deemed valid untIl a cont rary deCISIOn on such appeal to the commIttee shall be receIved. 8. Any vacancy which maY ,occurin tbe Council to be filled by election in the mauner before mentioned, tbree weeks pubhc noltce of the day of electlOn haVlng been gIven . o. The Council to meet the PreSIdent for the despatch of busmess once m every month, 55 1. U2 on APPENDLX TO REPORT FROM THE .-\:ppendix, NO.4. on a fixed day, and on extraordinary occasions whenever summoned by him, or whenever. a meeting shall be called for by at least three members of the Council. ' GOLD COAST. 10. The President to vote in Council, and to decide the question under consideration in cases where the votes are equal. Papers presented 11. Any question decided by the casting vote of the President to be specially noted, and by tm, Colonial the ol'igmal motion, with any amendments made upon it, entered in the minutes. Department. 12. Neither the President nor any member of Council to vote in any matter in difference between himself and any other person or persons, or,in any case in ,which his own conduct or personal interest is in question. IS. In every case of complaint to the PresIdent m Council upon whICh they may be unable or unwilling to decide, the tull partICulars thereof to he transmItted to the com- mittee in London, by the first convenient opportumty (If desired oy the party complaining), witi) the President's report thereon, and a copy thereof given to the complainallt, in order that he may at the same time t ransmit his observations upon it, a copy of such observa- tions being first delivered by him to the Council. 14. The number of acting magistrates to be limited to five, and vacancies in that number to be filled up by the President and Gouncll from those gentlemen who, agreeably to Rule No.4, ha;ye received their commissions. 15. The President and Council to transmit to the committee every six months the names of any additional merchants who may have completed a residence of 12 months, and who are in their opinion fit persons to be appointed magistrates and members of Council, in order that if the committee should concur in the same opinion, the names OF such merchants may be submitted for the approbation of his Majesty's Government, that they may receive their commissions as magistrates. 16. A report of the state of the country, the forts, trade, &c. signed in the same manner, t? be transmittedhalf-yearly. 17. The estabhshments at Cape Coast Castle and Accra, and the pay and allowances to .the persons composing the same, to he as stated in the annexed list. IS. 'Fhe general principle of the establishment being voluntary service, the members of Council and other British residents are to act wit~out pecuniary reward in their several offices for the defence of the forts and preservation of order and good government, on which depend their o,yn personal safety and commercial prosperity. ' 19. The secretary is restricted /Tom trading, in order that his time be devoted entirely to the public service. 20. The captain of the guard is to perform the duties of captain and adjutant, attending personall:y to all the minutire of the t,oops in which the lieutenants receiving no pay, and having their own concerns to attend to, can afford him little assistance beyond that which may result from the portion of attendance necessary to qualify themselves for their offices. lIe is also to pelform the duty of engineer or surveyor of the repairs of the Castle, and deliver to the President and Council, fol' the pU"Pose of heing transmitted to the committee, regular monthly returns, in duplicate, of the state and pay of the troops. 21. The sUl'geon is to send similar returns of the casualties and health of the troops; he ~s also to superintend the schools, and make returns of the number of children eduGatl~d, and of ,he state of the school establishment. ' 22. The secretary is to be the accountant, deputy warehouse keeper, and general assistant to the President. 23. Copies of the accounts of expenditure to be transmitted to the committee half-yearly, in dupliGate, by every convenient opportunity, and of the proceedings in Council, also in duplicate; the said accounts and minutes to be signed by the President. one member of the Council and the Secretary. 24. A copy of the inventory of ordnance, ordnance stores, furniture, &c. at Cape Coast and Accra, the original of which has been already transmitted to his Majesty's Government, to be sigped by tbe President and Council, and delivered by them to their successors every year, from whom they shan take a receipt for the several artioles in the said inventory. 25. A copy of tbe said inventory to be sent home to the committee; and any alterations which may take place in it to be notified to them annually. 26. Fifty men, in addition to the regul~r troops, are to be ]"ovided by the resident merchants and traders, in such manner and in such proportion as t le President and Council may direct, to be trained and exercised as a militia, so as to qualify them to ass ist in the defence of the forts when re9,uired. 27. All appointments at Cape Coast Castle to he made hy tlie President and Council, except when it may be required to send from this country a captain of the guard, surgeon, or secretary to the Council; in which case the appointments to those stations are to be made by the committee, 28 . The President and Council to be empowered to suspend or dismiss any officer in their service for misconduct, incompetency 01' neglect of duty. 29. All judicial proceedings, both at Cape Coast Castle and Accra, to be conducted pub- licly, and in t'he presence of not less than two magistrates. 30 , Apartments to be provided in the Castle for the captain of the guard, surgeon, secre- tary, and the persons in subordinate commands of the troops. 31. The President and Council may also allot apartments to other British residents, upon theil' engaging to keep them i'n repair. - 32. The fort of Acc'ra to be a dependency on Cape Coast Castle, under the management of the resident merchants; the officer to command the fort to be appointed by the President and SELECT OOMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AF RICA . 'and .Coun~il, to wbom he shall be accountable for t he due application of the moneys issued Appendix, NO.4. to hIm, wIth a rIght of appeal to the commIttee, m all cases of dIspute WIth the President · and Council. GOLD COAST. · .33. The salaries of President, captain oftbe guard , su rgeon, and secretary, to be paid by bIlls drawn by them respectively upon the committee, each bill to be marked with tbe Papers present~d signature of the secretary, as having been entered in the public accounts, and those drawn by the CoJoqial by the three last to be countersigned by the P residenl. Department. 34. The remainder oCtbe grant to be applied by the committee to the purchase, ship- ment and insurance of goods, for the pay of the troops and other necessary objects. 35. The passage-money of the officers sent from home to be paid by the committee. • 36. The existing regulations established by the instrum ent by which the forts were trans- ferred rto the merchants by Major Ricketts, dated the 25th June last, or so many of them as the President and Council may deem necessary for the security of the persons and pro- perty of the inhabitants, and the preservation of order and good government in the place, to be contmued under the direction of the magistrates. 37. The com mittee to be responsible to Government for the due application by them oi the moneys voted by Parliament for bhe support of the forts. (signed) George Barnes. J. G. Nioholls, Sec' . .Rob . BTown. London, 31 December 1828. M . Forster. (Approved) George Murray , Dowlling-street, January 1829. No.2. Gentlemen, Br.itish Accra, 11 August 1841. My last despatch, dated from Cape Coast Castle, will have made you aware of tbe arrival · a t the forts of the Niger expedition, and of the necessity of my accompanying it to this place, to complete the various supplies required by Captain Trotter. The same letter will also have accounted to you for the non-transmission ofuhe accounts and returns due on the 1st ultimo, in consequence of the time of the secretary and myself having been fully occupied in attend- ing to the requisitions of the Niger expedItion. Since my arrival here I have received your despatch to the President and Council, dated 7th June, accompanied by copies of a correspondence which had taken place betwixt you and the Secretar~ of State, on the subject of domestic slavery and the system ofpawlls as existing in these settlements; a correspondence occasioned by a communication addressed to the Secretary of State by the late Sir J ohn J eremie, enclosing copies of a correspondence that had passed betwixt his Excellency and Captain Tucker, whereof copies are also before me. Having already full y eutered into the subject-matter of these communications in my letter to Lord John Russell (of which a copy has been transmitted to you), it is not necessary (or me, in the present stage of the discussion, again to go into the case, which has, moreover, been very fairly and ably stated by yourselves in your letter to Mr. Vernon Smith, of the 7th of June. . I may, however, be permitted to remark upon the danger of actiug rashly, as in case of Sir John Jeremie's proclamation, upon such vague information as that contained in Captain TlIcker's letter to his Excellency of the 3d of M arcb. The case, as stated by Captain Tucker, was obviously of so serious and grave a nature as to call for careful investigation before taking any decided steps in tbe matter. That officer, at the period alluded to in his letter, was employed in an official inspection of the forts and establishments of this govern- ment, but had no instructions to inquire into its internal policy or the condition of the country generally; 'whatever information, therefore, he procured respecting the points dis- cussed in his letter must have been acquired in the course of casual and loose conversation, and was, as was to have been expected, extremely incorrect. It might be inferred from his letter, that" I having the management of the aflitirs of the late Mr. Hanson, who had died possessed of 500 01' 600 domestic slaves, was about t-o make' an inventory of them ,' for the purpo,e, doubtless of disposing of them, as I would of any property." Notll ing can he more incorrect than this statement,-nothing more unfair than the inference that must neces- sarily be drawn from it. The late Mr. Hanson certainly possessed, as was well known to the home authorities, since they frequently employed and paid Mr. Hanson for their services, some 300 domestic slaves (not 500 or 600, but the number is of no consequence), and no law ever came into operation in the settlements depriving him of these people. But it is utterly incorrC'ct to say that I ever intended, or expressed any intention, of taking an inven- tory of them, or of treating them as property in any way whatever. I think I am, and have proved myself to be, as hostile to the slave trade, and to the condition of slavery, as any officer in Her Majesty's service; but I cannot shut my eyes to th~ dan~~rol1~, tl~e _l'~jn(:ms consequences which must ensue to the extensive country now rapidly l'lsmg III clvIlIsatlOn and commercial value, under the protection and influence of this government) by any rash attempt to overturn the very f('undation of its society; and I am certain that no wise and prudent man, no true philanthropist, ,"vonld hastily and rashly endeavoUl' to force upon a people a state of societr for which they are as yet whoJl y unprepared, and which would inevitably plunge them mto a worse condltlOp. of barbarIsm than that from wInch they are now so happily emerging. In conclusion, I cannot bnt express my deep regret chat, although 55 ' . u 3 Her APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.4' Her Majesty's Government have taken every possible means to acquire. accurate information respecting these settlements, by the appointment of a specIal commISSIoner, yet l11elT good GOLD COAST. intentions have been in a great measure frustrated by the unfortu.nate illness which rendered it impossible for Dr. Madden to make himself personally acquamted wIth the colony gene- Papers presented rally. The officiall'eplies given to his queries will, no doubt, supply a conSiderable body of by tbe Colonial accurate information; hut it will lose much of its value from his havmg been unable to Deparlmenl. verify it by personal investigation. The country generally remams tranqUIl. I have, &c. (signed) GeO'l'ge M ac/ean, President. -No. 26.- No. 26. COpy of a LETTER from tbe Committee of Merchants to J. Stephen, Esq. Sir, Watling-street, 22 Nov. 1841. VI' E beg' to enclose you, and which we request may be submitted to Lord Stanley, extract of a letter from the President and Council at Cape Coast Castle, dated 9th September last; at that time it was intended that the African princes should retulU in the following month to Coo massie, accompanied by ~wo Wesleyan missionaries who were proceeding to that capital with presents for the kiug of Ashantees. Furtller, we beg to transmit copies of a corre- spondence between Captain Maclean and Mr. Brodie Cruickshank (the latter being in charge of Anuamaboe fort) on the subject of foreign vessels visiting the British settlements with the alleged purpose of lawful trade, but which are suspected of being ultimately intended to carry slaves off'the coast, though no " fittings" or fact appears that would justify detention or seizure of such vessels. The President and Council are very desirous of receiving some specific instructions for their guidance under such circumstances, and we shall be happy to be favoured with Lord Stanley's opinion and directions upon the subj ect. The garden alluded to by Mr. Maclean is a portion of the property that helonged to the late African Company, and which was ceded to the Crown when the settlements were sur- rendered to ti,e Government in 1822 by Act of Parliament. 'We ape, &c. (signed) Joseph Reid. W. M. Hutton. JlIo. Geo. NicltOlls. Enclosures in No. 26. Gentlemen, Cape Coast Castle, 9 September 1841. h: my letter to you of the II th of June, I mentioned the fact of a number of vessels under the Portuguese and Brazilian fl ags having lately appeared on the coast, and the diffi- culty \vhich I felt about allowing them to trade at our ports, as it might tum out that they were directly or indirectly connected with the slave trade, notwithstauding the apparent correctness of their papers, and that they were not provided with any of the t/ fittings" enumerated in the treaties. Upon this subject I have lately had some con espondence with the commandant of Anna- maboe which I think it my duty to forward to you, as it will show you very clearly the difficult situation in which I am placed with regard to these vessels. One of these vessels may anchor here, and if after the most rigorous examination I find every thing correct, I am bound, strictly speaking, to permit her to open trade, otherwise I commit an injustice towards her and the merchants of the place; yet the same vessel (as has happened in similar instances) may be afterwards captured and condemned upon information and documentary evidence obtained from other vessels connected with the traffic, and blame attached to me for baving permitted bel' to trade here. Of late, therefore, I have been compelled to prohibit trade with such vessels in almost every instanee. Perhaps you will think it advisable to forward copies of the correspondence in question to the Colonial Office? You are probably aware that, when the African Company existed, they possessed a small plantation, known by tbe name of the" Company's Garden," situated about five miles mIami from Cape Coast. This farm, of course, became the property of the Crown when the company's possessions we.l'e transferred to the Government in 1822. As, on my assuming the government here, I could not afford to cultivate this garden, I permitted it, sOllie five or six years ago, to be occupied by Mr. Swanzy, of this place. He gradually acquired a great deal of the land adjacent, and formed the whole into a farm of a consI- derable extent. Finding it expedient, lately, to dispose of this farm, an offer was made to him for the purchase of it by the Wesleyan missionaries; but a sale could not, of course, be effected, in consequence of the peculiar cillcumstances attending the piece of ground in question. It is doubtless quite true, that Mr. Swauzy knew all along that he only occupied the "Govemment Garden" by sufferailce, but having expended a great deal of money on the place, and buill a house upon it, he naturaUy feels it a hardship that he cannot transfer the SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. the fruits of his labour and expenditure. It is equaIly obvious, however, that I could not Appendix, NO.4. permit an alienation of a portion of the Crown property without the direct sanction of the Government, obtained through you . - GOLD COAst. There appears to me three modes in which the affair may be arranged . The first mode is, for the Government to pay Mr. Swanzy his price (£. 500) for the whole plantation, and Papers pre!>ented carry it on as a model farm; and this by fa" tbe best plan; provided funds are allowed for by the Colonial the purpose. In tbe second place, Mr. Swanzy might be called upon to pay a moderate Department. sum foJ' the Government ground; 01', thirdly, a fi'ee grant may be made of it to him . I beg leave to req uest your directions on this point. I bave &c. (signed) George Maclean, The African Committee, &c. &c. President. Sir, Annamaboe Fort, 21 May 184l. I HAVE the honour to inform you, that the Brazilian schooner Nova Fortuna, Francesco J. de Roche, master, has anchored in these roads tbis day. She is fitted out from Bahia, and is Jaden with roll tobacco, which the master wishes to dispose of here for gold dust. As she 110s not caIled at Cape Coast, I am doubtful whether I ought to allow the captain to trade here, and therefore beg to refer to yon for instructions. I am, &c. To Captain Maclean, (signed) Brodie Cruickshank, Governor, &c. &c. &c. Cape Coast Castle. Commandant. Sir. Cape Coast Castle, 22 May 1841- I BEG leave to acknowledge the receipt of y.our letter of yesterday's date, acquainting me with the arrival at Annamaboe of the B raz,ilian schooner Nova Fortuna, having on board a cargo of roll tobacco, which. the master wishes to sell for gold dust; and requesting instruc~ lions as to the propriety of allowing the said vessel to carryon trade at your port. In reply, I beg leave to refer you to my proclamation, dated on the 15th December 1839, wherein all persons in this colony are interdicted from trading with any vessels which there is reasonable ground to suspect of being directly or indirectly connected with the slave trade. In the present case, therefore, it will behove you to ascertain by a strict examination, not only of the vessel's papers, but of the vessel itself, that she is in no respect connected with, or about to be employed in, tbe slave trade, before allowing trade to be opened with her. Should she have any slave equipments on board, it will be your duty to detain her. In order to enable you to form a correct judgment on the points, I berewitb forward a copy of the Consolidated Slave Trade Act (5 Geo.4, cap. 113). It may be regarded as some malter of suspicion against the Nova Fortuna, that she did not touch at this port, on her way to leeward, where she mig~t have been more fully and regularly examined, and received regular permission (if found suspicione major) to trade at all the ports of this colony. I am, &c. B. Cruickshank, E sq. M. C. (signed) George Mac/.e£Ln, Commandant, &c. &c. &c. President. Sir, Annamaboe Fort, 28 June 184l. I HAVE the honour to inform you that tbe Dores, a small schooner of 25 tons burtben, under Portuguese colours, and commanded by a Portuguese, named Matthos, anchored here late on Friday nio-ht. He landed on Saturday with bis papers, which show that he sailed from Bahia in May with a cargo of roll tobacco and aquadente. As far as I am capable of j udging, his papers, which have been made at Bahia by the Portuguese consul, are in tbe regular form; but as there is a strong suspicion of all vessels coming from Brazil, I have judged it proper not to allow the captain to open trade here. I understand he has gone to Apam, and have in consequence written to iYIr. Hughes at TantuDl to keep a strict look out upon his proceedings; and if he has any reason to think be is either directly or indirectly prosecuting the slave tracie, to give immediate notice to you and Mr. Topp at Accra. As some roll tobacco was procured from the last Brazilian vessel wbich anchored in the roads of Apam by merchants here) by means of Dutch agents, and as I have some reason to suspect that the saOle system may be adopted in this case, I beg that you will inform me if I am justified III selzlllg any roll tobacco wlllcb may be landed here, anel whIch I , can trace as having come from the schooner now at Apam. A few canoe loads WhlCh arrived some t inl.e ago, and was a1leged t? have been got at Apam in this manner, .w~re a.:lIowed to ~nter here on paying the regular Import duty of one-half per cent; but as It IS eVIdent that they 55 1. u 4 must APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.4. must be bought by the merchants, it may be considered an infringement of restriction placed upon British subjects, of not trading with suspicious vessels. GOLD COAST. I request that you will give me your opinion and orders upon this subject for my guidance. Papers presented I have, &c. by the Colonial Captain Maclean, &c. &'c. &c. (signed) Brodie Cruickshank. Department. Sir, . Cape (Joast Castle, 29 June 1841. I BEG to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterdays date, acquainting me with the facts of a small Portuguese schooner, named the Dores, having anchored in AnnamabQe roadstead of her papers baving appeared in all respects regular; of your having nevertheless suspected from her size and nature of her cargo (roll tobacco and aquadente) that sbe might be connected wi~h the slave trade, and therefore prohibited her from trading at Annamaboe; and, finally, of her having proceeded to the Dutch settlement of Apam, where it was possible she might open trade with the merchants and traders of Annamaboe; and requesting me to instruct you as to whether you may legally seIZe any roll tobacco or other merchan- dize which you may be able to prove to have been purchased from the said vessel. . In reply, I beg leave to acquamt you, that I hIghly approve of your proceedings with regard to the vessel in question, and that you will be fully warranted in seizioo- any mer- ehandise which may be conveyed in canoes from her to Annamaboe. It is, how~ver, a-s you suggest, very probable that no British subjects will venture directly to purchase goods from th,s vessel, but that the latler WIll III the first mstance be purchased by Dutch subjects landed at Aram, and thereafter resold to any British trader requiring them. In the latte; case, I have great difficulty in direoting tne seizure of such goods; for, as it would be exceedingly dIfficult if not impossible to obtain legal proof of their having been landed from the Dares, or from any suspected vessel, the seizure of them would amount to a total pro- hibition te the commercial, in~rc(imrse carried on betwixt us and t~e neighbouring Dutch settlements; the merchandIse Itself not being contraband, 1 fear that lt would be altogether illegal to prohibit its transit from one part of the coast to another, unless the clearest and most distinct proof could be obtamed of its having been landed from a vessel not permitted to trade at British ports. It hemg, however, our duty to adopt every means in our powell, short of those absolutely illegal, to discourage and prevent all communication, however indirect, with suspected vessels, ) 'OU will do well to call the attention anew of the merchants in your district to my proclamatIOn of the 15th December 1839, aud to assure them that the ~aw will be rigorously ellfor~ed against any Briti,sh, subjects who may ~e. found ~ontraver.iDg It. In the event of your bemg able to procure dlstmct proof of any Bntlsh subject carryiug on trade, even though it may be through Dutl'h agency, with the Dores or any suspected vessel, you will forthwith report the same to me. . I h •.v e, &c. Brodie Cruickshank, Esq. M. C. (signed) George Maclean, P. Commandant, &..c. Annamaboe. EXTRAC~ of a LETTER from the President and Council, dated Cape Coast Castle, 9 September 1841. WJ1'B reference to the subject-matter of your letter of the 7th June, namely, the exist- ence of domestic slavery and of the pawning system in these settlements, we are. not aware that we can add any thing to the very full statements which are contained in the President's letters to Lord John Russell, of the 13th April, and to you of the 1 lth ultimo, as well as in the merchants' resolutions of the 24th of March. In the sentiments expressed in these documents we generally concur ; but while we have conscientiously deprecated, and still do deprecate, any rash and ill-adv ised course of action in tbis matter, the !~sults of which, we feel assured, would prove ruinous to the best interests of the 5ettlements, ~nd to the cause of civilisation generally thl'ou~bout the country, 'we beg at the same time to assure you, and we trust you will cOllvey tIllS assur~nce to .He!' ~Iajesty's ~?vernm~nt, that we shall at all times be most ready, both in o~-r: offiCial and l.!ldlVldual capaCIties, to gl~e effect to any rational, just and well-advised measures whic~ may be suo'gested !o,r fOfwal'dmg ~he great objects ·we all have at heart, nam ely, the amehoratLOl1 of the CO~dltlOn of the native population and the advancement of civilisation. It is intended that W llliam Quantamissah and J obn Ansah sball proceed to Coomassie next month, accompanied by the Reverend Messrs. Freeman and Brooking, vVE's]eyan missionaries. The country remains in a tranquil state, and 0ur communications with the interior con- tinue open and safe. -No. 27.- No.2;. COPY of a LETTER from J. Stephen, E sq. to the Secretary to tMTreasury. Sir, Downing--street, 17 July 1841. WITH reference to the correspondence which has passed I'el~tive to the question of resuming the government of the forts on the Gold Coast, I am directed by Lord John _ Russell SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. \ 53 Russell to transmit to you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the T l'ea!;UfY the accompanying copies of a despatch, and of its enclosures, which have been received fmin' No. '2 8 the Goveronor of Sierra Leone, repmting the practices which have been discovered to exist on ~ 11[ 8. rcl1. the ,Gold Coast, of holdin g pe:son~ in slavery, ~nd of. taking persons in pawn, togetb ("l' winh ~ copies of a despatch and of Jts enclosure, Whl~h have been received from Mr. P resident 13 . Maclean, and of an instruction which his Lord ship has addres,.d to that officer relati ng to the ab II pril, p . practic~s ,in question;. and I am tecome sensible of the impossibili ty of car- rying on t~e Government without some form of crimi?al punishment, and the best is adopted which the Imperfect nature of the present form admIts of. The success of the. systern must be allowed hy all who have witnessed the extraordinary peace .. nd quietness throughout • the country, in and adj oining the B ritish possessions. ] n regard to domestic sl:J.ves, I believe, I may venture to assert nohe are in possession of British subjects (properly so call ed) with one or two exceptions, for the natives who li"e near 55 t • X the 154 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appe"dix, NO.5. the forts, and who own numbers, cannot be considered as ouch, as the Government have, in more than one instance, vel'ified, by sending out instructions to the local authorities on the GOLD COAST. coast, to the effect that their jurisdiction did not extend beyond the walls of the respective . ' forts. Should any attempt be made, in the present state of the community, to emancipate Affairs of lbe Goll~ the domestic slaves of the natives without a fair comp>ensatlOn, I am convinced theY '\\ould Coast. all remove into the interior of the country, or into the neighb~)Uring territories of the Dutch and Danes, where they will run no risk of being interfered Wlth. . In the fomlOr event they wil'l become the bitter enemies of the English, the alarm would even spread amongst the Ashantees and adjoining states, and a feeling universally engen- dered hostile to the British name throughout the country; whereas the feeling at this moment is that of veneration and respect, which it is necessary to preserve in order to maintain that moral and political influence so essential to the altamment of those objects of civilisation and humanity which it is the grand aim of this country to accomplish. Should the experi- ment be tried, at wh"t point is it to stop? Those acquainted with the country, know that at the lowest calculation two-thirds of the natIve populatIOn are in a state of hereditary bondage throughout its whole extent, and it appears to me, from my knowledge of the country and the people, that any attempt to grapple suddenly, and by violent methods, with 1'0 giganti,c a ~a?~'ic, ,could on~y end in throwmg HIe 'Y~ole country into confusion, and greatly retard Its CIVIlIsatIOn and Improvement, th~'oug11 whIch only snch a system can be ,I abolished. On the s'ubJect of vessels beanng foreIgn fl ags; anchonng at the dIfferent forts on the coast. it can onl y be observed, that these being free ports, none coming to them with the fla'" of a friendly power, can fairly be prevented 'from ctoin.,. so; and as they only go to these piaces for legal traffic, it is quite impossible for the authorities to distinguish those who rr.ay intend to end their voyage in an Illegal manner. However, no vessels bearing the Spanish, Portuguese, or Brazil flags, have been permitted 'to anchor at the forts for some time past, which prohibition has III many cases been considered a !,reat hardship by the BrItish merchants resldent ~here, for the BraZIlian and Portuguese ships brang roll tobacco (an indispensable article for the commerce of the country), which they exchange for pahn oil, ivory, ground nuts, and gold dust; the consequence bas bee~ they have gone a few miles to the westward 01' eastward, and anchored ",t the Dutch or Danish forls, and supplied the merchants of those nations with the article so much required by the English, and which the latter have been deprived of the opportunity of supplying- themselves with, of course to the great benefit of the foreifl'n trade, while it is attended mth no advantage whatever in pro- moting the extinction of the slave trade; indeed rather the reveFse, as every measure which throws difficulties in the way of legitimate commerce has a tendency to promote the slave trade. I have,&c. W. M. Hutton, Esq. (signed) J. Bannerman. LIST OF PAPERS. 1. Extract of a Letter from Mr. President Maclean to the Committee, dated Crayen Hotel, Cmven-street, London, 16 December 1837 - p. 155 2. Extract o~ a Letter to Sir George Grey, dated Sun-court, 23 March 1838 - p. 155 3. Letter from Mr. President Topl' and Mr. James Swallzy to Messrs. Reid & Co., dated Cape Coast Castle, 8 May 18;)S - - - - - - - - p. 156 4. Resolutions at a meeting of Coullcil, held 12 March 1839, at Cape Coast Castle p. 1M 5. Letter flom Mr. PreSIdent Maclean to the CommIttee., dated Cape Coast Castle, 17 June 1839 - - - - - - - - - - p. 157 6. Resolutions at a Meeting of Council, held 24 December 1839, at Cape Coast C."t1e, p. 158 7. Letter from Mr. President Maclean to Lord John Russell, dated Cape Coast Castle, 27 January 1840 - p. 158 8. Letter ITom Mr. President Maclean to Lieutenant Burslem, dated Cape Coast Castle, 2 April 1840 - - p. la8 9. Report of Mr. President Maclean, at a Meeting of Council, held the 13th of April 1840, at Cape Coast Castle - - - - - - - - - - p. 159 10. Extract of a Letter from the President and Counoil to the Committee, dated Cape Coast Castle, 17 April 1840 - - - - - - - - - - p. 159 11. Extract ofa Letter frOID Mr. President Maclean to the Committee, daled British Accra, 12 October 1840 - p. 160 12. Extract of a Lenter fmm the President and Council to the Committee, dated Cape Coast Castle, 15 December 1840 - - - - - - - - p. 160 13. Extract of a Letter from Mr. President Maclean to the Committee, dated British Accra, 9 January 1841 _ - - _ _ - _ , _ _ - - p.160 14. Resolutions passed at a Meeting of Council, held at Cape Coast Castle, 10 Fe- bruary 184.1 - - p. 161 1~. Correspondence SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST . COAST OF AFRICA. 1'55 15. Correspondence between Captain Tucker and the Governor of Sierra Leone, on the Appemlix, NO. 5. subject of Domestic Slavery, &c. - - - c - - - - p. 161 16. Extract of a Letter from Mr. President Maclean to J. G. Nicholls, Esq., dated British GOLD COAST. Accra, 22 March 1841 - p. 161 17. List of Prisoners at Cape Coast Castle, on 22d of March 1841 _ p. 162 ~::;;~s of the Gold 18. Correspondence, &c., from Mr. President Maclean and others, from March, April and May 1841 p. 168 19. ReS()lutions passed at a Meeting of Council, held at Cape Coast Castle, 11 May 1841 . ~ HI 20. Letter from Mr. President Maolean and Mr. Brodie Cruiksllank, dated Annamaboe FOI't,l1 June 1841 p . 172 21. Correspondence WI,h Captain Maclean and Mt. Crtukshank, from 2 1st May to 29th June 18~1 - - - - - - - - ~ - - p. 172 22. Letter from Mr. President Maclean to the Committee, dated British Accra, 11 August 1841 - p. 172 23. Extract of a Letter from the President and Counci l to the Committee, dated Cape Coast Castle, 9 September 1841 - p. 172 24. Letter from iVI r. Plesldent Maclean to the COO1tUlttee, dated Cape Coast Castle, 17 January 1842 - - _ - - - - - - - p. 172 25. Extract of a Letter from the President and Council, dated bape Coast Castle, 19 March 1841 - p. 174 26. Extract of a Letter /i'om the President, dated British Accra, 22 March 1841 - p. 1'74 27. Extra ct of a Letter from the President, dated British Accra, 11 August 1841 - p. 174 - No. 1.- EXTRACT of a LETTER from Mr. President :Macleall, to the Gold Coast Committee, &c. dated 16th December 1837. flide Appendix, No.4, Enclosure in No. 23, page 144, commencing with the words " I now proceed," to the end of the Letter. , -NO. 2.- EXTRACT of a LETTER to Sir George Grey; dated Sun Court, March 23, 1838. WEare desirous of referring Lord Glenelg to the records of the Admiralty, in order that the report made of the state and condition of the African es tablishments by Her Majesty's naval officers on that station, may be examined into, which we make no doubt will show that they have been as efficiently and respectably upheld as possible; and when it is consi- dered that with the means at our disposal we have to support Cape Coast Castle (Phipp's Tower and King William's Tower, keeps of the Castle), with a lighthouse on the latter, Accra Fort, and occasional repairs to Annamaboe and Forts, we trust that tbe additional 500 I. per annum we are now asking, wi ll not be refused, mo,re especially as from what has lately occuned to our D utch neigh hours, it is important that we should always be prepared to meet any acts of aggression that may arise out of late events. The increasing commerce of the country, and the more general intercQufS.e with the inte- rior of the country, presents every prospect of a grad ually extending field for the disposal of British manufactures, and worthy of the best attention of Government as the most whole- some means of putting down the slave trade by disposing the natives to legitimate commerce it being a trnde carried on by barter] almost the only one now remaining to England, and which consequently demands increased protection to the merchants and traders engaged th.erein. ' Ye beg Lord Glenelg to feel assured that upon the grant heing renewed to 4,000 I., we do not liesitate to engage that every exertion shall I;>e made to support the establishments in a most effic ient manner at that annual sum) with stores of every description) ammunition) &'c., ordnance on ly excepte . APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE A ppenc.lix, NO.5. -No.3.- GOLD COAST. (Extract.) Affairs of tbe Gold Gentlemen, Cape Coast Castle, 8 May 1838. Coast. By this opportunity we have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches transmitted to us by Her Majesty's ship Lynx, by the Eliza Ann, and by the Jack. We have also received duplicates of those on board the Napoleon, but neither that vessel nor tllt African"has as yeti'eached us.; .. .. ,. .. I We have been much annoyed at that part of your despatches which contains directions to us to cease in future charging the one-half per cent. on goods landed here; no more equitable mode of assessment, nor a plan more easily pULin execution for the purpose intended, could have been devised. Kr.owing well the inutility of all remonstrance, that charge, as well as the two dollars for the Fort 'William _Lighthouse, has been discontinued. The abolition of the latter cbarge, a charge allowed in almost every other part of the world, appears so ,idicuJoua, that we shall not say a word further on that subject. We would merely beg, however, with all due respect, to remark, that we consider the abolition, in the manner now done, of the local regulations of a government constituted in the anoma- Ions manner this one is, and holding its influence ,and power by so frail a tenure, far from judicious. These regulations were abolished at once by the representations of Olle person, and without any inquiry being made either as to their justice or purport. By this mode of procedure the influence of tbe government here is much weakened in the eyes of the . nations, in so far a." the representations of trading captains and others lead them. to infer that they a re able at any time to disannul the acts of -this government. - Sir,- here, where it may be said we are allowed to exist on opinion solely, where our physical force is merely adequate for our protection, where, within the walls of our forts, and where the authority that we possess throughout a widely-extended district of country is founded on our moral influence, and on the supposition that the government here will at all times ~ave the assist- ance and support of Her Majesty's Government at home, where necessary, the greatest care ought to be used tbat none of the local regulations of that government should, without the most cogent reasons and strictest necessity, be annulled or interfered with; or if they be so, that it be done in such a way as not to throw discredit on that government. Were this a colony with a military force adequate at any time to compel the obedience of those living under it, the case would be widely different; but as it is constituted, and as late events upon the coast have shown , if you once destroy the supposed infallibility of the European governments ou the coast in the minds of the natives, the resident merchants and all theil" property are at any moment at the mercy (to the shame of philanthropic England be it spoken) of people who are as yet semi-barbarians. 'Ve sincerely hope, and have every confidence that our hopes will not be disappointed, that no exertion will be wanting on your part to urge upon Her Majesty's Government, the almost absolute necessity that exists for the Parliamentary grant being increased . .. * ... * *' * ,., :f Although our influence upon the coast is at present paramount among the natives, yet from the manner in w11ich our establishments are kept up. and the energy and an..'{iety dis. ... played by the other European Governments' in wishing to extend the influence oftheir esta- blishments, ours, as you yourselves appear to be aware, must proportionally sink. Government ought to cQllsider well before they give up this coast, and allow it gradually to. fall in.to the hand. of another power. It may be unhealthy, and many a valuable life may have been saCI;ficed on it, but so likewise have several of our other tropical posse$sions been previous to the introduction of civilisation and the cultivation of the country. The returns in YOlll' own hands, from Cape Coast Castle and Accra, which returns do not embrace by any means the whole of the trade of the coast, will attest the amount of that trade; and surely, considering the large sums expended by Britain ou her other colonies, which do not paY' themselves better, .Parliament will not grudge 4,000 l. where the interests of so large a trade are at stake, where there is an outlet for so much British capital and for the employment of ao much British shipping. But if the calls of self-interest are of no avail, let at least the calls of humani.ty have an influence with our government. Since England has once put her band to tlie plough in abolishing the nefarious slave traffic, let her not no.w draw back, and alloW' those forts to fall to decay, by means of which, even in their present disabled state, we will ven- ture, without any boasting, to assert, that there is no distnct on the Western Coast of Africa more effectually protected against the resumption of that traffic than that part ove,· which their influence extends. Our astonishment was truly excited when we read that part of your despatches whiCh rererred to the meeting to he held in the public hall of the castle, upon the ahival of Admiral Ell iot. If, after being informed or the nature of the country, and the degree of respect, which in consequence of cur physical weakness, we consider ourselves bound to entertain towards Ollr Go,'el'nol' in the eyes of the natives, he shu1.11d still insist on the native chiefs being assembled, and their opinion of Mr. Maclean's government asked; we sball afford no hindrance to his doing so, although we consider it by \to means either complimentary to. Mr, Maclean or those who were associated in the government with him,. Upon, the whole we entcrt~in very great doubts indeed of the prudence of the measure; as stated iu a former part of tins letter, the natives are as yet little better than semi-barbariaus, bound by no ties of religion, or of honour, proverbial for their terg iversation and disinclination to speak the truth, and yet these are the people who are to be asked their opinion of the government of a gentleman who has received such testimonials from the Euro.pean residents and merchants on tbe SELECT COMM ITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. 157 the coast. The first subj ect referred to in the despatch, shows how the natives are accus- Appendix, NO.5. tomed only to view a thing in one light, that is, as either really good or really bad; with them there 1S no medium. We sincerely trust they may view this investigation; but we fear GOLD COAST. that notwithstanding all the explanation which may be given to them, they will be apt to consider it in 110 other light than that of a condemnation. Aftairs of the Gold Coast. We are informed by Mr. Hanson that he has already replied to your letter, by an oppor- tunity which occurred per E ngland from Accra. We are pleased to find that you have seen proper to.aiter your determination with regard to his ~alal'y bills, and also to increase at our recommendation the sum allowed for the maintenance of that garrij;on, as we felt perfectly convioced ,that some increase was necessary. An account of the sales of provisions is herewith furnished, which we hope will prove satisfactory; as you wi ll perceive, some of those in store previous to 1834 were under tlhe ' necessity of being sold for almost nothing, being com pletely damaged. The rebel chief " Bontyn," about six months ago, began apparently to take measures for leaving Akim and proceedino. to Coom-assie, in terms of the agreement entered into with him two years ago. About 0 250 of his people, principally the womeu and children of his attendants, were lately dispatched for the purpose of preceding him t.o Caom-assie. They arrived there in safety, and remained for some time, but on a sudden were seized with a panic and immediately left Coom-assie. No dopbt they had heard some surmises ofthe want of sincerity on the part of the king towards Bontyn, which had caused this sensation among them, and we have good reason to-think tbere is some truth in these surmises. Since that time Bontyn has not moved, but he has again sent up a number of his people; but they, we have j ust heard, have retreated in the same manner. The king has since sent down to tell us not to be astonished should we find that he bas attacked Bontyn very soon. Tbis, however, we have deprecated by every argument in our pOW~I:; for should he put this. threat into execution, it is not difficult to see what will be the issue, Bontyn, when attacked, will fall back ot! Accra, to which place he is at present nearest, and we will then eithel'" have to give him up or aSsume the position of enemies to the king of Ashantee. Mediation" we fear, wlll be out of the question. We trust, however, we may be able by negotiation to avert what might embroil the whole country again in a most calamitous war, for the variollS tribes would immediately range themselves on one or other of the sides of the contending pal'ties. Upon the arrival of the Dutch expedition, we ,shall, in consouance with the orders of the Hight honourable the Seoretary of State for tbe Colonies, observe tbe strictest neutrality. Should the person in command request our advice as to the mode of procedure he should adopt to punish the Ashantees, we shall be most wil!ing to g-ive it to him. The country is perfectly tranquil at prevent. Annunilee, the chief of Eastern Wassaw, is at present in Cape Coast for the purpose of making a (inal settleruent of the lo ng-pending dispute between the ohiefs of Eastern and Westem Wassaw. We herewith forward duplicate of our despatches by the courier, along with the quarterly. -accounts for Cape Coast Castle and Accra, and tbe other periodical returns up to tha 31st March. We have, &.c. (signed) William Topp, President. James Swam!!, M. C. Messrs. R eid, II utton, and Nicholls, The Committee for managing the affairs of the Gold COaRt, London. -No. 4.- Cape Coast Castle. AT a Meeting of Council held on the l~th day of November 1839. Vide Appendix No. 1, page 6, Enclosure in Dr. jj{adden's Instrudions. -No. 5. - COpy of a LETTER from Captain MacieGn, President of the Council of Magistrates of Capl> Coast Castle, to the Committee of Merchants for Superint~ndillg the Affairs of the Gold Coast, dated 17 June 1039. J7ide Appendix No.4, Enclosure in No.3, page 127. X3 APPENDIX TO REPORT FI10M THE Appendix, NO.5. -No. G.- GOLD COAST. Cape Coast Castle, 24 December 1839. Affairs' of tbe Gold Coast. A T a Meeting of Council held this day; present, George Maclean, Esquire, President. James Swanzy, Esquire, I Members. Thomas Hutton, Esqulfe,f The President stated that he bad summoned the present speci.l meeting in consequence of a murder tb.t had been recently committed at the village of " Effitu," the perpetrator of which had been secured, and brougbt into the c.stle. The President further stated that he h.d instituted a preliminary examination into the case, from which it appeared th.t the accused bad deliberately sbot his victim in the market-place of Effitu, without any other caus~ th.n his (the accused) having had some difference with the father of the deceased. The Council thereupon resolved that the President and James Swanzy, esquire, be appointed to be present .t the trial of the .ccused before the native chiefs, in order to see that the same be fairly conducted; and recommend the postponement of the trial for some considerable space of time, in order tbat tbe inflamed passions of all parties concerned may have time to cool. Adjourned. Gem'ge Maclean, President. James Swanzy, IVL C. -No. 7.- COpy of a DESPATCH from Captain lYlaclean, President of the Council of Magistrates of Cape Coast Castl ,to Lord John Russell, dated Cape Coast Castle, 27 January 1840. Vide Appendix No.1, page 5, Dr. llfadden's Instructions. -No.8.- Sir, Cape Coast Castle, 2 April 1840. , IN repl)' to your application tbat I should give you my opinion and advice, as to whether the British brig Guiana, at present detained by you in these roads has rendered herself liable to sei.,ur,e and condemnation under the 5 Geo. 4, c. 113, or whether in fact yon would be justified in allowing her to proceed on her voyage, I heg le.ve to , state, that baving care- fully examined the variau::; eapers found in the vessel, and interrogated the master, officer, and crew belonging to .her,, 1 am clearly of opinion tbat you would not be justified in allow- ina the Guiana to proceed to her ports of destination. "it appears from the document placed in my bands, that the Guiana sailed from the port of Liverpool ill the month of Octoher last, bound to Bahia, with freight; that having dis- charged her outward cargo at Bahia, she was chartered by parties in that port, well known to be connected with the African slave trade, for the purpose of carrying across to tbis coast a cargo of goods: it further appears from the manifest and invoice of the cargo, that the goods put on board, are such as are especially adapted for tlte slave, trade, and some of them unadapted for any other descnptlOn of traffic: from the charter-party mstructlOns given to tbe master, it also appears that the vesse1 was to call at Elmina, for the purpose of pur- chasin~ three canoes, and procuring canoomen, an almost indubitable proof of the real purpose of the charterers anci their agents at Ehnina: also the supercargo ",.'as to purchase by barter such articles of mercuandise as might complete the assortment required in the leeward slave markets : fUlther, that the vessel's ports of discharge were to have been Aguae and Onim, 01' Lagos, two of the most notorious slave factori es on the coast, and finally that the sealed lehers found on board are addressed to notorious Spanish and Portuguese slave dealers resident on the coast. it further appears fran) the statement of several of the crew, more particularly the second officer, and Metcalf, seaman, that tbe vessel was an object of suspicion in the port of Bahia, and that the legality 01' illegality of the voyage was a subject of discussion on - board the vessel previous to her starting; that in point of fact almost all the original crew refused to proceed on such a voyage, and that SOlll~ of those now on board were taken out of a J',aol fot· the ,purpose <>f being shipped; it appears also that the wages of those who ~rem a.~ed were l"Rlsed. The amount of freight guaranteed by the charter-I;>arty, too, a~pears exorb itant, and altogether disproportioned to the length of the voyage, beUlg 0,000 mllreas, equal at '16 pence sterling per milrea, to 1,350 I. , With these facts ,before him, llO person at all acquainted with the slave ccast, and With the parties connected with the slav.e trade, can doubt for a moment that the cargo now on board the Guiana was destuled for the sale purpose of purch.sing slaves; that the canoes were SELECT COMMl'ITEE ON WEST COAST OF, AFRICA, were intended for embarking those slaves, ana that the slaves themselves were intended to Appendix, No, 5, be embark ed on board of another vessel, which It appears ITom SOlne of the letters and from the evidence of the supercargo himself, was to follow the Guiana a few ,~eeks GOLD COAST, later. Under all these circumstances, I certainly do think, that as a commapder of a vessel A Ifairs of tbe Gold e.rnl'loyed for the prevention of tbe slave trad e, yo u would not be justified in permitting the Coast . ..) GUlana t.o proceed on her voyage; though I am not prepared to say at the same time, that the Court of Vice-.admiralty will decree the legal evidence strong enough to warrant the vessel's condemnation. But I am c learly of oplnion that und'er all the circumstances of the case your conduct in detaining the vessel will be approved of, and that you will be pro- tected i!, this dQty by your superiors, I may also state that if you release tlJe Guiana in these roads, I will fcel it my duty to place a prize crew on board of her, and to send her to Sierra Le011e for adjudication. If tile British flag be allowed to protect property so evidently intended for tne purpose of purchas- mg a slave cargo as in this case, the conseq uences may be easily foreseen. British ship- o';ners, t~mpted by high rates of freight, will readily employ thei r vessels in a trade attended With no n sk, and then the provisions of nhe last treaty Wltl, S pain, and of the Act for tHe suppression of the slave trade, passed in tne l ast Session of Parliament will be effectually evaded and rendered inoperative. It will also be said, and with mucn apparent justice, tbat while 'English cruisers capture Without hesitation, S panish, Portuguese, and Brazilian vessels, under precisely similar cir- cumstances to thosE' of the Guiaf.la,-they aM instructed to spal,e those belonging to their own co untry, or are afraid to act against-them. • I have, &c. (signed) George }Viae/eall, President, Lieutenant-commander Burslem, R. N. H. M, Brigantine, Viper, -No,9,- Cape Coast Castle, 12 A,pril 1840, AT a Meeting of Council held this day, present , George Maclean, Esquire, President; James Swanzy, Esquire, Member.; The President reported that tbe trial of" Ekkeny Coffee," accused of murder at" Effitn, " had taken place as directed by the Council's minute of the 24tb Decembe r last; that the crime had been fully proved against the accused, both by witnesses a.nd his own confession; that there having been no alleviating circumstances in the case, the prisoner had been una- nimously found guilty and condemned to suffer death, and that he had accordingly been executed on the 10th instant, he (the President) having taken care that the execution was catried into effect without any unnecessary cruelty, and with all possible solemnity, The accounts for the preceding month were then laid OQ the table, examined and passed, Adjourned. Geor.ge ll!aclean, .President. J ames Swanzy, M. C. - No. 10,- EXTRA mr of a LETTER from the President and Council, dated Caye Coast Castle, 17~h April 1840, Gentlf'men, WE beo- leave to ackno\V]ed~e the receipt, by the schooner U Jersey Tar," of your letter of the 26th of February, w\~h Its accompanying documents, wllerein y~)U annou.nc~ to us that it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to seud out a speCial commlSSIOner to examine minutely into the state of our establishme~ts, with a vi~w to limit, i~ pos~ible, our e:;..:penditure. We have perused the contents of tIns. despatch wl~h muc~ satl~factlOn, con- vinced as we are, that the IDOl'e thoroughly our finanCial economy IS exammed mto, the more entil'ely will Her Majesty's Govel'nment become satisfied that t be small sum granted to us by Parliament is faithfully and judiciously applied, and that an mcreased grant IS Impera- tively necessary. . . . . ..... . ' IV e trust, however, that Her IVIaJesty's CommlssIOner Will not hunt IllS mqumes to the merely financial concerns of the local government, but that he will ext~nd th~rn much further. We are of opinion that these inquiries ought to embrace the followmg pomts :- 1st. The actual value of the entire colony bere, to the. mother country, in a merely com- mercial point of view, as compared with the cost of its est~blishments. . . . 2dly. Th e value of the colo~y as ~ meaD~ of exten?ltlg the .blesslI~gs. o~ rehglOn ~nd civilisation among the large and mcreasmg nahve popuJabo;n contal?ed wlth1l11ts b~undanes, and the progress which has been made, by our ex<:rtiOus, ID 'WOl'~l~g out those lmportant objects, since the lo~al gover~ment was placed on Its present footIng. . As also a companson betWIxt the present. actual state of the colony, as a means of extend- ing civilisation and commerce throughout, not only l\shantee and its dependencies, ~ut t,he 55 J • x 4 llltenOr 160 APPE~DIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.5· interior of Africa to all indefinite extent, provided the local goV'ernment had sufficient means at its disposal. GOLD COAST. And lastly, the actual services which have been rendered by the government of the . country, in totally suppressing within the last ten yeaFS, the slave trade throughout an ex- AffaIrs of the Gold tCllsive line of coast. Coast. . Tbe report ought also to contain a statement of the certain consequences, as well as the probable results:- 1st. Ofa diminution of our present very inadequate parliamentary grant· 2d. Of a continuance of oUr present establishment and parliamentary gr~nt, and 3rd. Of an mcrea.ed grant bemg allowed to the local goV'ernmeot, in order to their beino- able to render the establishments more efficient, and to work out more effectually the great obj ects above adverted to. . I t would greatly enhance the value of tbe Commissioner's report were a gentleman selected for the duty who had known the condition of the colony ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago, and who would, therefor~, be enabled to form a Judgment of the wonderful improvement which has been effected !n the moral and social coud,tlOn of the native population of late years, as well as of the mcreased value of the colony in a commercial point of view. We shan of course afford every possible facility to the Commissioner in the prosecution of his inquiries here, and the President will accompany him to the several out-forts to insul'e his receiving similar faci li ties and assistance in conducting his inquiries there. ' -No. ]1.- EXTRACT of a LETTER from the President of the Council, dated British Accra, 12 October 1840. SOON after my return to this station from the short cruise which the state of my health rendered it necessary for me to take, I had the misfortune to suffer a violent attack of inflammation of the eyes, or purulent ophthalmia, which has caused my detention here up to this time, I am now rapidly recovering, and hope to be able to proceed to Cape Coast Castle in the course of a few days. You will have been already made aware that Captain Tucker, the senior naval officer on this station, has been commissioned to inspect and report upon every British fort and settle- ment on the Gold Coast. I have arranged with Captaiu Tucker that the inspection shall commence about three weeks hence. I expect that it will occ upy a month or six weeks. Sbould another Commissioner subseqllently arrive, I shall of course he fully prepared for him. Yours, &c. (signed) George Maclean, Presidellt. -No. 12.- EXTRACT of ~ LETTER from the President and COllncil, dated Cape Coast Castle, 16 December 1840. OOMMANDER TUCKER, of Her Majesty's sloop "Wolverine/' commanding Her Majesty's sq.uadron on this station, is at present here, on a special tour of inspection of the various forts '1nd British settlements on the Gold Coast. His instructions limit his inquiries to the possibility of hmiting the expenses of our establishments to the usual annual gTant of 3,5001., and to the expediency or otherwise of again taking more formal posses- sion of what are called the abandoned forts and settlements. We cannot but regret that the scope of his inquiry should have been thus limited, and that his attention should not have been directed to the great changes that have taken place in the state of the settlements as a colony during the last 10 years, and to the new Important commerclal and agncultural interests which have sprung up, and demand protection, and, of course, extended means. We trust that the special commissioner, whom you mention as baving been lately appointed by the Colonial Office, will be instructed to direct his attention peculiarly to tho~e points. The President wi ll leave this to-morrow to accompany Captain Tucker to each of tbe settlements, commencing with A ppolani •. -No, 13. - EXTRACT of a LETTER from Mr. President Maclean, dated British Accra, 9 J .nuary 1841. I BRG leave to acquaint you that I arrived her.c a few days ago, after having completed, in conjunction with Captain Tucker. R. No, an inspection of every British ~ettlement, from Appolonia to this place. Captain Tucker's veport will, I should think',reach England in a.bout three months hence, when it w"ill, I pl1esumc, if approved of, ue 1I110lcdlal.ely acted upon by Her Majesty's Government. SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. - No. 14. - Appendix, No. 11-. 10 February 1841. GOLD COAST. Affairs of the Gold AT a Meeting of Council, held at Cape Coast Castle, this day; CClast. Present : George Maclean, Esquire, -Fresident. James Swanzy, Esquire; and} Members. F· Swan1iY, EsqUlre, _ _ _ I The President laid on the table a communication which he had received from Surgeon Cobbold, wberein be requests leave of absence, on the plea of urgent private affairs reqUlring his presence in England. - - - . The Council having taken the same into consideration, it was unanimously resolved to comply with Mr. Cobbold's application, on the understanding that after his departure he should only receive half salary up to the date of his arrival in England, and the secretary was instructed to write to Mr. Cobbold to tbat effect. Mr. Swanzy tben stated to tbe Couucil that during the President's late absence at Accra, it had become his duty to investi!@te two eases of murder, which bad occUlTed in tbe neighbourbood of Cape Coast, aboun8 montbs ago. There appeared to be no doubt of tbe guilt of tbe accused parties. Tbe first murder had been commltted by the head man ' and male inhabitants of a small village named Aggeryfosah . Tbe second murder by four Mousce fishermen, who, for a bribe of four ackies, drowned a person who it was supposed was about to give ll).formation of tbe first murder. Mr. Swanzy further reported that another case of murder had been investigated by him, where a native of Abrak had wilfully killed his own brother ; this man had not demed his guilt. It was tbereupon resolved tbat the four Mousce fishermen, being Dutch subj ects, should be given over to tbe Dutch authorities, to be dealt with as their case migbt require, and that the President and Mr. Swanzy should be deputed to inquire strictly, in conjunction with tbe native chiefs and elders, into the other cases of murder, and to act as migbt appear to them expedient. The accounts for the preceding month were then examined and passed. Adjourned. George Macleall, President. - No. 15.- CO'RRESPO NDENCE hetween Captain Tucker and the Governor of Sierra Leone, on the Subject of Domestic Slavery, &c. Vide Appendix No.4, Enclosutes in No. 20, pp. 140, 141. -No. 16.- EXTRACT ofa LETTER from Mr. President .NCaa/ean, dated British Accra, 22 March 1841. THE hurry and turmoil in which I have been kept for the last month, and the necessity of my coming down here two days ago to look out for a man-of-war for Dr. Madden, will prevent my replying to your several letters by the "General Brock," as I could wish to do. My official letter will explain to you that Dr. Madden was attacked by fever before he had been 10 days on shore, which has confined him ever since. I have laid everything as bare to him as the most determined inquirer could wish. He found fault with nothing but the system of confinin~ peopl~ without previously s~ntencing them to so:ne definite period of imprisonment, and tor keepmg debtors too long 10 confinement. A httle- knowledge of the country and people would soon convince him of the necessity, for the sake of justice, of our system ; and I tbink he is pretty well satisfied that we are anything but rigorous in our administration of Jushce. 55!. y 162 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.5. GOLD COAST. , .. No. 17. - Affairs of the Gold LIST of PRISON ERS confined in the Gaol of Cape Coast Castle on the 22d of March 1841, Coast. with a detailed Statement showing the length of each Person's Imprisonment, and the Circumstances under which each was confined. I flow long Names ot: Prisoners. Confined. No. CAUSES OF IMPRISONMENT. (D£BJ'ORS.) Months. Days. 1. Attah QUOW - - 42 - - - the causes of this man's len"thened impri- sonment were, the lodging by diierent creditors of consecutive detainers against him. The de- taining creditors on the 22d March 1841, were Mr. Henry Smith, merchant, and the representa- tives of the late Mr. Hutchinson, merchant; the , amount of claims against him was 50 I. This man's detention was also prolonged by his obsti- natel y refusing to make any kind of compromise with his creditors. (He has since been re- leased). 2. \ Mensah - - - 30 - - - confined at the suit of Mr. W. Topp and Mr. Spinks, merchants, whose united eJaims amount to 141. 3. Asam - - - 30 - - - confined at the instance of various creditors, fresh detainers having been lodged against him, several times, wben about to be released. The detaining creditor on the 22d March was U Amoah," a cabboceer, for a debt of 9/. I5s., and some expenses to which he had been put by the prisoner. (Released.) 4. Addeybie - - 28 - - - this person swindled Elizabeth Parker out of goods to the amount of 114/., the whole 0 whICh he squandered or secreted. There was reason to believe that he only waited for his re- lease to enjoy such of his plunder as he had not previousl y speut. 6. Quow Affadoo - 18 - - - this prisoner was confined both as a criminal and debtor; he had a lad apprenticed to him as goldsmith. and this lad he took with him into the interior (the country of Awyn), and sold into slavery. He' ",Iso owed 9-1. 10 s. to Peter Brown. B. Eccotie - - - 18 - - - this man having contracted a debt of 9/. with Richard Brace, of Dixcove, absconded, leaving his wife and child without the means of support; having, after an .b.ence of eight years, been captured in one o( the Danish settlements, ·he was Imprisoned. both for the debt and for the desertion of his wife. This man asserted, on his examination bJ Dr. Madden, that Brace had been anthon.e by the President to take posses- sion of his wife and child. and had actually done so. Both of these asseltions were utterly false, and were afterwards proved to be so 7. Taviah - - - 18 - - - this man had been employed as a confidential , servant (gold taker). by MI'. Spinks, of Cape Coast. Taking advantage of his situation, he collected various debts due to Mr. Spinks without any , authority, and applied the money to his own pur-poses. He owed also about 20 t. to Mr. Bartels, merchant of Elmina, as well as a debt to Mr. Spinks. He ought to have been inserted as a criminal, and not as a debtor. 8. Quashie Benyacoon- 18 - - - this person \Va. confined not only for debt, but for having collected debts in the name of his former master (James Ennis) without authority, and misapplied the money. SELECT COMMI'FTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. 163 How long Appendix, NO.5. N ames of Prisoners. Confined. No. ( DEBTORS.) C,\ USES OF IMPRISONMENT. GOLD COAST. l\1[ooths. Days. Affairs of the Gold -- Coast. 9. Andee - - - 14 - - - - - confined at the instance of Mr. J . Thomp- son, for a debt; of 1 8 1. lO s. This man having been allowed a certain time wherein to make payment, absconded, leaving his bail answer- able for ,him. 10. Quow Appewoh - 13 - - - - confined for a debt of 10 I., due to Confoo - Quathie. This man had been allowed to be at large for several months after tbe date of his apprehension, to enable him to make an ar- rangement for the payment of his creditors, but he had tak en no steps in the matter. 11. Quamina - - - 11 - - - - confined at the instance of J. Colecraft (himself insolvent), for a debt of 51. 15 s. This person had made away with money intrusted - to him. 12. Assafooah - - 10 - - - - confined at tbe instance of Clara Grant, for a debt of 50 I., and of Mr. Barnes, for a deht of 601. due for goods, of which he (the prisoner) could give no account. 13. Cudjoe Ampim - 12 - - - - confined at the instance of Henry Smith, for a debt of 30 I. 5 s. 14. Coffee Sawn - - 10 - - - - confin ed at tbe instance of Mr. Stanley, for a debt of 4 1. I5 s., and of Bosumchie, for a - . debt of 3 1. 15 s. 15. Cudjoe Pye - - 10 - - . - imprisoned at tbe instance of Abbah Manoo for a <;Iebt of 41., he baving absconded wben summoned to appear. 16. Quashie Bosumchie - 10 - ~ - -' confined at the instance of Mr. W . E. Stanley, for a debt of 251. 58. 17. Coffee Sobbin - - 9 - - - - imprisoned for a debt of 20 I. 55. d,ue to Ednah Battah. 18. Quabina Acquce - 11 3 - - confined at the instance of Awoossie, for a debt of 4 I. 7 s. 6 d., due for money squandered by the debtor. 19. Quabino E nfeatcheah 8 - - - - imprisoned at the instance of Mr. Simons, of Elmina, for a debt of 41. 55. 20. Aatchie - - - 7 15 - - confined at the instance of Elizabeth Swan- zy, for a debt of 1 81. 2 s. 6 d. This man had endeavoured by fraudulent means to relieve himselffrom a portion of the sum justly due _bybim. 21. Quamina Q'uansba - 7 15 confined for a debt of 61., due to Advasie. 22. Quacoe Arful - - 6 1 - - confined at the instance of Quamino Ya- boah and several other creditors, for petty debts amounting to upwards of 121., fraudu- lently contracted. 2:J. Coffee Sarkey - - 5 - - - - confined at the instance of Quagin, for a debt of 61. 155., embezzled while in his em- ployment. 24. John Hooper - - 2 4 - - confined at the suit of J. J obuson, for a debt of 61. 16s. 3d. 25. Quabina Enkatsiah - 1 14 - - imprisoned at the instanc'! of Messrs. Cob- bold and Clouston, for debts of 81. ~7 s. 6 d. and 31. lOs. 26. Quamina Adjnmaccon 1 14 - - imprisoned at the snit of Mensah, of Dix- cove, for a debt of 321. 5 s. 2 7 . Cndjoe Boarful - 4 - - - - confined at the instance of Mr. Clonston, for a debt of 91. 15s. 28. Quow Daddie - - 1 14 - - confined at the suit of Attah Yan, for a debt of 11. 15 s., embezzled. 2 9. Quabina AssoClll - 3 - -" - - confined at tbe suit of J. Johnson Can in- solvent) for a debt of 51. 55. 30. Cudjoe Eccrah - 6 - - - - confined at the snit of Robert Oakum, for embe'LZling 11. lOs. (co1ltinued) 551. Y 2 APPENDIX TO REl'OR'l' FROM THE Appendix, NO.5. Ho\', {l0AST. No. Names of Prisoners. Jong Confined. G~LD CAUSES OF IMPRISONMENT. (DEBTORS.) • ACjlU4'~ .of t!l~ ~old Months. Day,. oael. . 3 _ . - -. This man 01lght to appear ",mong tlle list of criminals; he was employed by a person named A bacan to collect debts, and :I1e not only embezzled the money so collected, but Ileat one of the debtors with great cruelty • 32. G:offee Affadoo 3 ..; - confined at the instance of J. de Graft, for i a deht of 20 t. as. 33. Quow Enchery 10 ~ - confined at the instance of Effuah Botey, for a debt of 24/. as. ! ., .t ~ I tI ,I .. 34. Cudjoe I!'akie - 4 ~ - imprisoned at the suit of Quacoe Taviah, for a debt of 9/. lOs. i . .. 3a. John Johnson - 4 -1- This man owes a great number of persons i debts, to the amount of upwards of 1,000 I. He · bad been empl0yed to collect debts due to him for the benefit of his creditors, but was con- 'feted of embezzling the money so collected ~nd then imprisoned. l 36. Kakassie 4 ~ - owes 271. as. to E. Swanzy, and 91. 12s. od. ( to Quan Sofee, for goods, of which he refuses tp give any account. 37. Quabina Effoom 4 £. 12. a s. to Mr. Jackson. 38. Accudgoe 3 _. _ -. owes Ganebah, a poor woman in Cape ([:oast,2/. _ 39. Quacoe Sam - 1 qwes a debt of 91. 5s. to Jobn Hooper. 40. Hendrick, Ingman - 2 1 - owes Thomas Jones 4/. 15s., procured by an act of swindling. There are various other claims against him. 41. John Colecraft- 4 - - owes Thomas Hutton 2081., J, F. Park 71 I.; Henry Smith 16 I. 42. Quashie Aibeah 2 owes Mr. Stanley 91. 12s. 6d. 43. Quashie Edoo - · - - owes Amaah, Aggery, and N eizer, debts amounting to 20 I. 12 s. 6 d. 44. Abrabah Aotchie 14 o,wes 16/. 5s. to a chief in tlie interior. 4a. Adjuah K;orelltchua - - - , - owes to two individuals named ~mah and Ecoom 2 I. 10 s. 46. Adjuah Aberammab 7 - ' - confined at the instance of James Thom- sbn, as being security for another party, and on the point of absconding. The liabiliny dis- ]luted by the prisoner and the case not· yet decided. 47. Ab mabah Afaoabah - -: - owes Thomas Hughes and M. G. Hutton 181. 1.0 $. 46. Effuatah - - - confined at the instance of Serjeant-Inajor Bart, for neglect of duty as a servant of his. [The last four cases in the course of being CRIMINALS: heard.] 1. John Halm 27 - . - - convicted of'having broken open a package belonging to the surgeon of tlie "Pylades" · sloop of, war, in: Surgeon Cobbald's quarters, lind having stolen therefrom $. 29l, ~der aggravated circumstances; sentence, two years and a haH illlprisonment. 2. Ashun Coffee - 21 - , ~ - this !'lan was convicted of having, at Pope, sold his master's son (a mulatto lad o( 14 I years of age) to the master of a Brazilian slave vessel for 10 rolls of tobacco and six jars of , rum. Sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and labolir. SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST O F AFRICA. 165 BolV long Appendix, N", 5. Names of P ri.!>oIlCI'3. Confined. No. (CnuuNA Ls.) CAUSES OF IMPRISO!'..MENlf. ·GOLD CQ)AS:]l. Month~. Days. Affairs df the Gold Coast. 3. A'rko - - - 18 - - - convicted of having intrigued with various chiefs of Ashanteo, for the purpose of rekindling ,the war betwixt th3-t country and the British, and the native tribes living under Britisll pro- - tection. This prisoper was further convicted of ha..ving received bribes from A~hantee chiefs, I with a view to. his betraying.. into. the- power I I of the latter the ~tc AssillS," who are living unde!, I British drotection. _ The peace of the country I rendere this man's imprisonment necessary, but after [2 months' imprisonment his releas e was 'ordered, on his finding security for his future conduct. 4. Quaw Dooah - - 112 ,~ _J - this man was banished to A ppolonia i n , ,- lil26, he having committed a murder, whic h I-' cpuM not at that period be fully proved against ,. . him, Ion account of the then dIsturbed state a f the country; He returned from his banishment contrary to the sentence pronounced against him, and is imprisoned for 18 months. 5 . Woossoo Ansah - 20 - --- ' this prisoner was captured when very young by the King of Dinkara, at the battle of Dodowah. The boy, bein~ of a good family i8 the interior, was well and indly brought up I,.by the chief into whose hands be had fallen, hut his conduct was most ungrateful. 0n growing up he committed adultery with the wives of several of tbe Dinkara captains, and the chief had great difficulty in protecting him from their violence. Atlength he committed adultery with the wife of the chief himself, , and fhe whole trib.e demanded that he should be put to death. H e was saved from this fate by tbe President, and has been detained in tbe Gastle, for his own safety, as well as a punish- ment for his conduct. ;{ --- -these two men having a claim against a per-6. Quasbic Abaca -, 11 son in the'interion, seized him and treated him 7. Quow Mensah - - 11 with so much cruelty that their victim died. Sentenced to hard labojlr for three years. 8. J ohn Carr - - 11 - - - tbis man, a militia soldier, had been or.dered I to convey a murderer to Cape Coast Castle from the interior; on the way the culprit, by means of a bribe, prevailed on Carr to allow him to escape. One year's imprisonment, and hard labour. 9. Robert Oakum - 18 ~ - - this person having been in attendance upou Clara Grant (tbe mother of four orphan chil- dren) at the time of her decease, abused his trustJ by stripping the remains of the deceased of a quantity of gold, and by further breaking open the repositories in the house and abstract- ing gold to a great amount, which deceased was well known to possess. Of tbe gold so plundered only a small quantity had been reco- vered, namely, a box containing about $ 6. The remainder was secreted by prisoner, and remains undiscovered. 10. Cudjoe Bray - - 6 13 - - .convicted of having "panyarred," that is, forcibly seized upon, the wife of a man named Edooabatan and conveyed her to a distance, on pretext of anotber party owing him a debt. Sentenced to }5 months' imprisonment. It. Quamina Prah - - - convicted of breaking into the warehouse of - - - } Mr. Cobbold, and stealing tberefrom a quan-12. Arbum 6 20{ tity of merchandise. Sentenced to 12 months' 13. Yan - - - imprisonment, and hard labour. ( cOl/til/ued) 55 . y 3 166 APPEND IX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.5. How long Names or Pri.ur.en. Confined. GOLD COAST. No. (CnuIINAL8.) ----- CAUSES OP IMPRISONMENT. AWni,. of tho Gold Momll, . Do.y •. C01.l8t. - - eil'ht of these men were conv icted of having 14. Quashie Sassah committed murder, by cutting to pieces a man 16. Ottoo Aquah - with knives and cutlasses, and secreting the rc- 10. Quabina Bondee mains in the j ungle; subsequently, suspecting an 17. Quumina Anoom accompl'ice of having an intention of revealing the 10 . Quamin .. E.sadoo crime, they hired the other four prisoners (canoe- 10. Quansah - men) to seize him, attach heavy weights to him, 20. Quacoe Quay - 0 and having taken him to sea during the night, to 21 . Quacoe Assoman murder him , by throwing him into the sea. These 22. Quaw Mensah - men (excepting the four canoe-men, who, being 23. Quashie Bosumchie - Dutch subjects, and having drowned their victim 24. Quaw Abbadoo in Dutch waters, were ordered to be given up to 26. the Dutch authorities) were sentenced by the Auancoe - European and native authorities to work in chains for ten years. 26. Quow Crampah 6 22 - - convicted of murdering Anderfoo, and sen- tenced to ten years' labour m chains. 27 . Quashie Assan - - - fled to the Castle from a' chief in the interior, complaining of bad usa~e, and ordered to be retained ns a labourer in t e fort. 20. Quow Dauqua- 5 - - convi.cted of breaking into the store of Mr. Clouston, and stealing therefrom silver plate. Sentenced to work in chains for twelve month •. - - it having been reported that the inhabitants of a village, named Amanpey, in Wassaw, had been sacrificing human beings on the death of one of the chiefs, a party was sent to capture the 20. Weradoo - - } 2 tuilty parties. The prisoners, one of whom had 30. Quabina "Veeroeoon - cen a principal, and the others accessal'ies to the 31. Quacoe Yow - crime, were apprehended and brought down. They were detained in the hope that the other guilty parties would be al80 apprehended, and the whole tried together. 32. John Davis 20 - - convicted of robbery, under very aggL'avated cil:cumstances, and sentenced to two years' im- pl'lsonment. 33. Quamine Bocro 15 - - convicted of having incited, and been ring- leader in a riot at the town of Djuguaw, and of having assaulted and wounded the chief of that town. ~eotenced to six months' imprisonment. - - convicted of having, contrary to the law and treaty with the Kinr, of Ashantee, cursed and "4. Coffee Ammah =} -( insulted the latter; w 10 was prevailed upon, with 36. Yow Imoe 4 difficulty, to spare their lives, and to ",ive them up for puuishment to this Government. §entenced to one year's imprisonment. 30. Quamina Menah. 3 - - convicted of having procured forged sum- monses, and gone through the country in the character of a constable, and thereby extorted monel from various persons. Sentenced to six mont lS' imprisonment, and to make good the money extorted from the ~eol'l e. 37. Acquishce 14 - - convicted of having 0 tamed money by fraud from various persons in the country. Sentenced to four months' imprisonment. . 30. Coffee Ingoo - 14 __ this prisoner was employed by the King of Appolonia to cross over to the Dutch territory oC AXlLn, for the purpose of assassinating a person living there, and was cabtul'ed and seut hel'e by the Dutch governor. T is case requires further investigation. a9. Quashie Asnah 21 __ convicted of having manufactured base metal to resemble gold, and of ho.ving passed the samo. Sentenced to two years' imprisonment. NQtt'.- SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. 167 Note.-The foregoing return contains a correct list of the prisoners confined in the gaols of Appendix, NO.5. Cape Coast Castle, on the 23d March last, with their respective terms of imprisonment. On that day Mr. Commissioner Madden requested the magistrates (the President being then GOLD COAST. absent for a few days on the public se."ice) to meet him in the hall of bhe castle, for the pur- pose of inquiring into the cases of these prisoners, when the circumstances under which each Affairs of the Gold prisoner was confi ned, as given in the preceding abstract of" causes of imprisonment," were Coast. fully proved in his presence. At the close of the inquiry, D octor Madden addressed the magistrates and others present, and stated that an unfavourable impression had certainly been created on his mind, from the fact of so great a number of priioners being confined in the castle, but tbat the result of his examination that day had entirely removed that unfa- vourable impression. The President, however, having been absent at the time, and having had no suosequent opportunity, on account of Dr. Madden' s leaving the coast immediately afterwards, of offering to him some needful explanations, deems it necessary to make a few brief observations on the return given above. And first, with respect to the number of the prisoners. Although the number of prisoners confined in tbe gaols at Cape Coast Castle at tbe period in question was, owing to various c ircumstances, unusually large as compared with other periods, yet when it is stated, and taken into consideration that the population whence these prisoners are taken, exceeds 250,000 souls, and that a great majority of this popUlation are still in a semi-barbarous state, it is presumed that the number, so far from being considered large, will be looked upon as wonderfu lly small. It must also be borne in mind that the return includes botb debtors and criminals. The average number of-prisotfers of aU kinds confined in Cape Coast Castle at one time, during the last three years, has been about 65. Secondly, with respect to the right of jurisdiction exercised by the local authorities over so great an extent of country and population, and the expediency of exercising that juris- diction. It is presumed that the forts and settlements on tbe Gold Coast, are supported and main- tained first, for their very considerable and increasi ng value in a commp.rcial point of view; and secondly, for the very peculiar facilities which are afforded through them of extending the blessings of civilisation and Christianity not only to tbe very large extent of country more irrmediateIy under the control of the forts, but to Ashantee and the interior of Africa; but both of these important objects would be utterly thrown away were this government to withdraw the e-,.,:;ercise of a jurisdiction which it has so long yielded with so much advantage both to the settlements and the nati ve population. , The blessings secu red to the latter by its exercise have been incalculable, and can only be appreciated by those who knew what the country once was, and wbat itllOW is. It is deeply to be lamented that the severe illness under which D r. Madden suffered during almost tbe entire period of his residence here, precluded the possibility of his directing his attention to this most important branch of inquiry. Anyone acquainted with the country, however, must be well aware that the most numerous and disastrous consequences both to the settle- ments and to the natives themselves, would immediately result from the authorities ceasing to exercise their wonted jurisdiction. It is unnecessary to enlarge further upon this head here, the subject having been already treated of fully by the President in his letter to the African Committee, of the 30tb November 1836, and in his despatch to Lord John Rus- sell, of the 13th of April last ; but he may be permitted to mention one striking fact in proof of the correctness of the judgment which he has expressed on the matter. About a week before Dr. Madden's departure, a report became current among the native population o-enerally, tbat he (Dr. Madden), was empowered, and intended to couse the whole of tbe prisoners to be released. In consequence of this report, the native creditors of the iroprisoRed debtors, and those ago-rieved by the criminal prisoners, provided themselves witb iron shackles anu other means of re~traint, and on the very day, on which the prisoners were examine~ befo~e Dr. lVladden a Dumber of them were assembled in the town, near the castle, ready to seIze thelr victims so soon as they should be released, and British jurisdiction th~reby declared to be at an end. There is no exaggeration in saying, that if this last course had been pursued, two-thirds of the released prisonefs \yould, in a few weeks. have been sold into slavery in the iuterior, where they would have been purchased chiefly that they migbtbe sacrificed, and not a few of the remainder would have been put to death shortly after thelf removal from the vici ni~y of tb~ castle. .. . . Thirdly With regard to the periods of time for which the pflSoners are severally confined. To a: st/anger perusing the above return, or to a casual visitor such as Dr. Madden, it might appear that the terms of confinement of some of the prisoners in tbe list, particularly the debtors, had been unreasonably and uDwarrantably protracted; such, however, IS ne:v~r the case in t.his colony, it being equally the interest and the anxious wish of the authontles ~o have as few prisoners in custody, and for as short periods, as possible. Of those debt?rs, In the above list, whose length of imprisonment is noted as exceeding ten months, the maJonty wera swindlers as well as debtors, and were suspected , with good re~son m~reover (a~ h~s since appeared), ,of having secreted tl:e produce tve tha case in your hands, as the proper channel for presentation to the Colonial-office, earnestly soliciting your strenuous endeavours to obtain the obj,ect of our prayer, either in the form we have suggested, or any other which may afford us equal protection, without, throwing too decided an advantage into the hands of our neighbours and strong opponents, the Dutch and Danes. We have, &c. (signed) J . Jackson. G.Hutton. James Swanzy, Wm . Cobbold. W, Topp. Henry Ba1'Jles . -Mant. Samuel Bannerman. F. Swanzy. Wm. Ed. Gedge. J. Clouston. J. Bannerman. W. E. Stanley. John MU1'1nure. James Thomson. J. H. Hallson. H .Smit!,. Geo. Smith. J.l'opp. -No. 19.- Cape Coast Castle, 11 May 1841. AT a Meeting of Conncil held this day: present, 9'eorge Maclean, Esquire, President. Joh~ Jackson, Esquire, 1 Members. WIlham Topp, EsqUlre,f THE President reported tbat Mr. Swanzy and himself had most fully and patiently illTestigated the charges of murder against the people of Aggeryfooah village, and also against the Abrah man, when their guilt was not only proved but confessed to by the accnsed themselves. It appeared that the Aggeryfooah murder had been committed by the whole of the people of the vil1age conj ointly; under the superstitious idea that their victim was a " devil," or sorcerer. After discussing the matter at great length, the Council finally resolved to save the criminals from pnnishment of deatb, to which by the laws of their country they had subjected themselves; but as example to others, to mark their sense of the dreadful nature of thc crimes committed, they (the Council) recommended that their lives should be spared only on condition of their labouring as convicts for the space of 10 years. The accounts were thereafter examined, and passed, and the Council adj ourned. (signed) George lIfaciean, President. J. Jackson, M. C. W. Topp, M. C. 551. Z 2 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, No.5. GOLD COAST. -No. 20.- Affairs of the Gold COPY.of a LETTER from Mr. President MacieaTl! and Mr. Brodie Cruickshank to the Const. 00mmittee of Merchants for Superiutending the Affairs of the Gold Coast, dated Ana- inaboe Fort, 11 June 1841. , Vide Appendix No.4, Enclosure in No. 24, page 146. 'IT. -No. 2'1 : - COPIEs of CORRESPONDENCE with Captain Maclean and Mr. Cruickshank, 21st May to the 29th J U11e 1841. . Vide Appendix NO.4, Enclosures in No. 26, pages 161,162. - Ne.22. - COpy of a LETTER from Captain ];[aciean, President of Council at Cape Coast Castle, to the Committee, dated 11 August 1841. Vide Appendix No. 4, Enclosure 2 in, No. 25, page 149. -No. 23. - EXTRACT of a LETTER from the President and Council, dated Cape Coast Castle, . 9 September 1841. WITH reference to the subject,matter of your letter of the 7th of June, namely, the existence of domestic slavery, and of the pawning system, in these settlements, we are not aware that we can add anything to the very full statements which are contained in the Pre- sident's letters to Lord John Russell of tbe 13th of April, and to you of the 11th ult., as well as in the merchants, resolutions of the 24th of March. In the sentiments expressed in these documents we generally concur. But while we have conscientiously deprecated, and still do deprecate, any rash and ill-advised course of action in this matter, the results of wbich we feel a.sured wQuld prove ruinous to the best interests of these settlements, and to the course of civilisation generally throughout the country, we beg at the same time to assure you, and we trust you will convey this assurance to Her Majesty's GovernI\lent, that we shall at all times be most ready, both in our official al\d individual capacities, to give effect to anr rational, just, and individual measures which may be suggested for forwarding the great objects which we have all at heart, namely, the amelioration of the condition of the native population, and the advancement of civilisation. We perceive with much satisf~ction that you are aoout to bestow your most serious con- .sideratoon upon the contents of the l etters addressed to yourselves and to the President by the merchants generally, on the subject of foreign vessels being permitted to trade at our ports on the same terms as those under our own flag. You are aware from the President's letter which accompanied those documents, that copies of them were handed to Captain Tucker and Dr: Madden. - No. 24.- Gent1emen, Cape Coast Castle, 17 January 1842. HA VING learned, from sources upon which I can rely, that .Mr. Commissioner Madden's Report to the Colonial Office respecting these settlements is unfavom'able as regards the admllllstration of affairs by the local authorities, and deeming it extremely probable that the Goven.ment will apply to you for explanations on, various points more particularly touched upon III that Report, I embrace the present opportunity of fo!"vardmg to you some documents which may. I think, aid you materially in your communications. with the Colonial Office. I hav SELECT COMMITTEE O~ WEST COAST OF AFRICA. '73 I have in former communications so fully discussed the subject of " domestic slavery . among the natives," that It,s unnecessary for me to advert to It at present. Next to this Appendix, NO.5· important point, Dr. Madden's Report, I understand, complains of the manner in which justice GOLD COAST. is administered here, and founds his remarks upon the fact of his having found upwards of 90 prisoners confined in the gaols of Cape Coast Castle. I am not a little surprised at Dr. Affairs of the Gold Madden making this a subject of animadversion, masmuch as he publicly expressed quite Coast. a contrary opimon here: however, to set the question at rest, 01', at least, to place it in its true light, I have drawn up a return of the prisoners alluded to by Dr. Madden, which will fu lly enable you to appreciate the justice or injustice of his remarks. This paper, with a few observations annexed, I now beg leave to enclose. Dr. Madden, I beli eve, next mentions, in terms of strong reprobation, tbe fact of the mercbants of this colony having been permitted by me to trade witb vessels afterwards engaged in tbe slave trade. Nothing can be more unjust, nothing more unfounded, tban such a charge. Previously to the late treaty with Spain, you are aware that not even cruisers em ployed in tbe suppression of the slave trade, far less this government, had any power to interfere with any vessels not actually having siayes on board. or engaged in the purcbase of them ; but when this treaty was concluded, and the subsequent Act of 1839, applying the provisions oflhat treaty to otber nations, passed, was any notice issued, any in- structIOns on the subj ect given, to this government ? None whatever. We mayor may not have had a vague knowledge of so me such treaty and Act of Parliament having passed, but no definite information upon which we could have dared to act. And was I not the first to draw att~ntion to the subj ect, and.!9 request express instructions respecting it, in a separate and partICular despatch, addressed. to yourselves? To prove that such was the case, I enclose a copy of my letter to you dated 17th of June 1839. When, in reply, r was made acquainted with the sentiments and wishes of the Government, and when, by the Marquis of Nonnanby's and Lord John Russell's despatches of the August 1839, and the 3d and 24th October 1839, my attention was especially directed to tbe case of Mr. ----, did I not take immediate and decided steps to prevent the possibility of suspected vessels trading at any of our ports on this coast? To prove this, I enclose copies of my proclama- tion of 15th December 1839. And have any suspected vessels, in point of fact, ever traded at any of our ports since I issued that proclamation? To my knowledge, not one. Of this Dr. :Madden must have been well .ware;because r furnished him with a list of . ll Spanish, Brazilian, and Portuguese vessels that had visi ted this colony during the previous 10 years, and the last on the list bad been here in the montb of June 1839. In truth, so far from having shown any len iency or favour to vessels of whom a shadow of suspicion could be entertained, I fear I may have sometimes acted ultra vires, and beyond the law in this rno.tter. As a proof that I haye sllOwn no backwardness to proceed against suspected vessels, I beg to forward a copy of a letter addressed by me to Lieutenant Burslem, of H. 1\'1. sc1100ner "Viper," when that officer brought in here the U Guiana" (now the U John Forster," and when, but for me, tbat vessel would not have been detained . In short, while in my communications to the Government, I have candidly stated (for neither I nor anyone here were conscious of having lIeglected any duty, or done any wrong) how the matter actually stood before the alteration of the law, and before I was made acquainted with that alteration, I defy anyone to state with truth, that any vessels, of which suspicion could be reasonably entertained, have ever been encouraged, or even tolerated here. There is a minor point on whicb, I am told, it is possible that Dr. Madden may llOVe >!nimadverted, though 1 scarcely think he can have formed any accusation on g-rounds so absurd, as I am assured that the matter was fully explained to him (during my absence) on the single day which he devoted to his" inquiry" when here. I allude to the younger sol- diers and recruits receiving only 20s. per month, though the stated pay of the garrison is 265. each. This matter was formerly fully stated and exp lained to yourselves. It is quite true that when a recruit is enlisted, he is so at the monthly pay of 20 s., and by a reference to fonner pay lists, you will find that the 5 s. is placed in the column of stoppages and cre- dited to t11e public. I earl y found this a beneficial practice, because the prospect of increased pay was an encouragement to the recruit to behave well, and the fear of losing the 55. was an inducement to the older soldiers to conduct themselves well. Besides, the recruit's services were not actually worth more, as compared with those of their older comrades. More lately, when additional soldiers were actually required by our increased commerce, I have had a few (six, eight, or ten) recruits not in list (our number being limited by the Regulations) who have been paid from the surplus saved from the others. Tbe names of these recruits are appended in Our books to the lists. By this plan, no injustice is done to anyone, and much good is effected. I only allude to this matter in order that you may be prepared to explain it, should Dr. Mddden have thougbt it worth while to animadvert upon it. J am not aware that there are any other points on which it is probable that the Colonial Secretary \I ill call for e"planation. I have, &c. (signed) George jldacleon, President. The African Oommittee. 55!. Z 3 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, NO.5. -No. 25.- GOLD COAST. EXTRACT of a LET'fER from the President and Council, dated Cape Coast Castle, Aftairs of the Gold 19 March 1841. Coast. DR. MADDEN, Her Majesty's Commissioner of Inquiry, arrived here on the 19th ul- timo, at which time the President was at Accra, upon public business.. He, however, lost DO time in repairing to head-quarters, and proceeded to afford Dr. Madden every facility for the prosecution of his inquiries. The latter had mtended to visit Accra, and had accom- panied the President for that purpose as far as Annamaboe, when he was nnfortunately attacked by the fever ofehe country, and obliged to return to Cape Coast. Under this fever he has been snffering ever since, but we are happy to say that he is now convalescent, and rapidly regaining strengtb. He intends proceeding to Sierra Leone by the first man-of-war that can he spared for the purpose of conveying him there. His knowledge of the country will necessarily have been much more limited than we could have wished, but we trust that his report will be beneficial to the colony. -No. 26.- EXTRAOT of a LETTER from the President, dated British Accra, 22 March 1841. AFTER closing the President and Council's letter of the 16th instant, 1 was induced to visit the station, chiefly for the purpose of procuring for Dr. Madden (who has become exceedingly anxious to proceed to Sierra Leone) a man-of-war; my stay here, however, will not exceed a few hours . -No. 27.- EXTRACT of a LETTER from the President, dated British Accra, 11 August 1841. I N conclusion, I cannot but express my deep regret, that alth9ugh Her Majesty's Government have taken every possible means to acquire accurate information respecting these settlements, by the appointment of a special commissioner, yet their good intentions have been in a great measure frustrated by the unfortunate illness, which rendered it impos- sible for Dr. Madden to make himself personally acquainted with the ,,-olony generally. The official replies given to his queries will no · doubt supply a considerable body of accurate information, but it will lose much of its value from his having been unable to verity it by personal investigation . - Appendix. No.6.- Appendix, No.6. ACT to enforce certaill Regulations to be observed all Importing and Exporting Commodities into and out of the British Possessions and Settlements on the Gold Coast. Anno Decimo Georgii IV. Regis; Anno Primo Henrico Johannis Ricketts Administrationis. AT a Council held the Twenty-fifth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand Eight hundred and Twenty-nine. Preamble. WHEREAS it is necessary that Regulations should be established with respect to all goods and commodities which may hereaftel' be impOlted into, and exported out of the British Settlements and Possessions on the Gold Coast: On be avoided. Upon the question of selling goods to masters of vessels afterwards engaged in the slave trade, it is recommended that the authorities on the Gold Coast be empowered to demand and re~aln, if uecessary, the papers of all foreign vessels anchoring in the road of Cape Coast, and who are suspected of being intended to carry off a cargo of slaves; to search them strictly, and seize them if circumstances warrant tbeir being detained; and further, to interdict goods being sold by a resident merchant if the slightest suspicion attaches to the vessel. It would tend very much to check the sale of goods if a vessel of war, colonial craft, or steamer, manned by Kroomen (officers excepted), be constantly employed in cruising up and down tlle Gold Coast from Cape Appolonia to Cape St. Paul's. This will tend very much to check slave vessels ii'om approaching the forts: at the same time, due consideration must be ;;iven whether tbis plan may not be the means of throwing all the foreign trade into the hands of our neighbours the Dutcb, and afford great facility of introducmg goods purchased from any slave dealer into Cape Coast Town by land or by canoe. The question of Judicial Courts must have the most serious consideration. This subject has been brought occasionally to the notice of the Colonial Department by the African Com- mittee, but the inadequacy 01 their funds prevented its being entertained. During the period of the occupation of the forts by Her Majesty's Government, from 1821 to 1828, no Court was established, and the system which bad continued for 70 years was pursued. It is highly requisite that defined authority should be given to the 'President and Council, also to the Magistracy, in order tbat a Petty Sessions and Appeal, with a Court of Requests, might form part thereof. Much unnecessary responsibility attaches to the person administer- · ing the government, \V ho can at all times demand the ad vice of the Council; and all offences committed by natives have been generally adjudicated in the Public Haa of Cape Coast Castle, before the Pynins and Cabboceers of the town, with the Fort hngUIst alway,s III attendance. This anomalous state of things cannot continue, . and ~be Afncan . Com~llttee have long felt that some definite measures may be adopted, which Will afford sabsfactlOn to ail parties. . , SELECT COMMITTEE ON ""VEST COAST OF AFRICA. I i? - Appendix, No. 8. - REPORT OF HER MAJESTY'S COMMISSIONER ON THE STATE OF THE Appendix, No. S. BRITISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA. GAMBIA. Commissio l'l er's Report. GAM B I A. C ON TEN T S. Page Page Seulement, Populatioll) Forts, nod Garrison - 171 Bu\::\ma - - 190 TIl(! GO\'crnment, Administration of J ustice - 182 Nunez - - 191 Prison - 183 Nature of our Relations with N::\tive Chiefs of ad- P ublic Buildings - 18S joining Countries - - - - - 191 I m}lort~ ('Iud Exports - 183 Fugiti,'e Sk.ves in Bri tish Settlements - 193 Expenditure and Re\'enue - 185 Ditto; improper restoration of - 194 Soil, Cultinltion, nnd Produce - 185 Ditto; suicide of - - 194 Schools and Missions - 186 1lhe Native Settl ers - - 194- Libemted Africc.m. - - 187 The .Mandingoes - 194 S]{we-Trnding Factories in the vicinity of the The Foulahs - 195 G;Jmbin - _ - 188 The Jnloffs - 195 Biss:loS - - 190 Slavery - 196 APPENDIX CAl. No. P age No. P age 1. Repo rt on the Locality of St. 1\'1 ary's - 197 7. Ff~lmHch Compact [or Purchase of Land a_t _ :2. Memornndum 011 the Trade and Public ,V orks of the Seltlelnent - - 198 8. General Comparative M eteorological Tahle - 20:} 3. Return ofImporlS - 199 9. Register of Thermometer at M CCarthy's Is- 4. Ditto uf Exports - 200 land _ 20,., 5. Letter respecting Imports and Exports - 200 10 Brler NotIce of I slands 10 the "lcillity of 6. Liberoted Africans; Declaration of Master of V{estern Coast of Africa - - _ 206 Trnnsport - 201 11. Sln"e '~'nr at Bnrsansang _ 207 APPENDIX (E). No. . Page No. Page 1. On Forts nnd Settlements; toLieut.-GovernOl· 5. On Merchandize for Slaye Trade; to Colcnial Huntley - - - - - - - 208 Secretary - - - - - - 214 '2. On Trade aod Nnvigation, and Relati ons wilh 6. On Merchandize for Slave Trude; lO Lieul.- Native Chiefs; lO Lieut.-Goveroor Huntley 210 Governor - 214 3. On Judicial Esw.blishment, &c~&c.; to Lieut.- 7. On Slave Trade; to Lieut.-Governor - - 216 Governor Huntley - - 211 8. On Schools ,wet Missions; to Rev. Mr. Fox .218 4. On EmancipaledNegroes; to Lieut.-Governor 9. On Clim:ne, I-Ienlth, &c.; to Dr. Robertson - 221 IIundey - - 212 SETTLEMENT, POPULATION, FORTS, AND GARRISON. page 3 orig. THE advantages of this noble river for carrying' on trade with the natives in the interior of Africa were well known to our merchants upwards of 220 years ago . . In 1618 a company was formed in England for the purpose of establishing a trade on the l'lver GambIa. The countries 011 the Upper Gambia were said to be rich in gold; and even at this early period Timbuctoo was considered the El Dorado of this part of the world. We need hardly wonder at Columbus dying in the belief of Cuba being a portion of the continent of Asia, bordering on J apan, when we find the rivers Seneo'al and Gambia, described by their explorers, with one excp.ption, as branches of the J~liba, or Niger, from the period of the expedition of the first British voyager, Thompson, in 161 8, up to the time of Park in 1795. Thompson proceeded up the Gambia to Kassan, where he left the gre"ter number of tbe persons who accompanied him from England, and went some distance higher up; but on bis return he f0und his people slaughtered by the P ortuguese, and by the survivors of his party who had remained with them; Thompson him~elf was soon after assassinated. Another vessel was sent out by the company to form an establishment, and the climate effected, in this instance, what the deadly animosity of the Portuguese to the British had accomplished on the former one. A new mercantile expedition was next sent out in 1620 5.51. A A under .. APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, No.8. under the direction of Richard Jobson; he proceeded past the Falls of Barraconda, and as high as Tenda, and procured some gold and ivory 10 exchange for his merchandize; bllt GAMBIA. the adventure did not answer the expectations of the company. About 40 years later, anotber _e xpedition was undertaken by a merchant of the name of Commissioner's Vermuyden; hIs great search was after gold. By collectmg the earth Impregnated with Report. this metal and carefully washing it, he states that he obtamed 12 pounds, which was the result of 20 days' labour. The next e'pedition was that under Captain Stibbs, who was sent out in 1723 by the AfrIcan Company, the Duke of Chandos, Its dlrectoT, havmg hIs Imaglllabon filled with golden visions of Africa which have not vet been realized. At this time the settlement and factory of the Bri tish was on the small island of St. J ames's, about 17 miles from St. Mary's. Captain Stibbs got about 60 miles above the Falls of Barraconda, and finding the difficulties of navigatmn too great for his canoes, and, in point of tFade being entirely dIsappointed, he returned. He was treated by the writers of the day as an ignorant and presumptuou" man, because he expressed some doubts of the Gambia or the Senegal being branches of the NIger. In 1724 the company had two factories, one on James's Island, and anothef at Joar, about 100 miles distant from St. J ames's Island. From the work of Moore, the company's chief factor, at this period the trade in slaves would appear to have beeu the staple t.-pended on the government house. D uring the last 15 years, between tbe new buildings on M'Carthy Island, and those at Bathurst repaired or reconstructed, it is probable that a sum equal to the former has been e:\.-pended; and had these works been originally done under the direction of a civil engineer in tbe government employ, in all probability one-half the expense might have been spared, and more permanent buildings have been erected. The barracks are the best constructed of the public buildings in Bathurst, but the hospital is in so dilapidated a state as to render it unfit for the habitation of either sick or sound. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. The total Imports into the settlement In 1836 amounted to - £.114,772 1837 ditto - 99,763 1 838 ditto - 105,625 1839 ditto - 153,903 1840 ditto - 105,397 The total value of Exports In 1836 amounted to - £.147,732 1837 ditto - 1 38,226 1838 ditto - 129,498 1839 ditto - 162,789 1840 ditto - 124,669 55 • AA 4 There ' Appendix, No.8. I S4 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE GAMBIA. There is an import duty of three per cent. on all goods, British and foreign, imported into this settlement; an extra farthing a pound on tobacco, and 6 d. a gallon on rum. Commissioner's The quantity of shipping employed in the Gambia trade in the above five years was Hepolit. 66,492 tons, 1,276 vessels, and 10,067 men. page 11 orig. In Park's time, 1795, the trade of this river was only able to support two or three ship., and the imports IVere under 20,000 I. The shipping averaged 12,500 tons a year in 1839; 239 merchant vessels entered the Gambia, the tonnage of which amounted to 12,407 tons. There are about 40 vessels belonging to Bathurst, and built there by native workmen, chiefly J aloffs. These vessels are mostly schooners, from 5 to 60 tons; but I saw vessels on the stocks of much larooer tonnage. The number of calloes and boats are about 200. " Less than one-half of the above-named exports are to Gre",t Britain. There is a considerable trade springing up in ground nuts, with this country and the United States, during the last six years. It now reaches in value about 15,0001. a year. In 1836, the value of ground nuts exported was only 8381. ; in 1837 it reached 8,0531.; in 1839 to 8,2641.; and in 1840 to 15,2091. The increase in the exports of this commodity is very remarkable, and shows what the commerce of Africa is capable of l>ecoming. The decrease in the export of gold from the Gambia is no less remarkable; by the Colo- nial Secretary's Return in 1836, it amounted to 5,0101., and in 1840 only to 1,2891. The gold which comes from Bondou, Kartha, Manding, and the mines of Brooko and Bam- barra, is considered the purest; the distance of these places from the Gambia varies from 5 to 25 days. In 1823, the Commissioners of Inquiry state in their Report, the export of gold from the Gambia amounted to 9,9121. sterling; but on the authority of Mr. Forster, a merchant of the Gambia, quoted in the same Report, "In 1822 and 1823 the exports of gold amounted to ",bout 1 5,000 I. and ivory 5,000 I. annually;" so that the exports of the former are now reduced to about one-twelfth part of the amount exported, according to Mr. Forster, in 1822-23 . The trade in ivory has likewise decreased, and is likely to continue to decrease; in 1836 the value of the ivory exported was 70,0551. and in 1840 it had fallen to 4,759 I. But the most extraord inary decrease of all is in the recent exports of gum f!"Om this settle- ment; in 1836 it amounted to 20,8091., in 1837 to 15,0771., in 1838 to 2 1,7551., in 1839 to 25,114/., and in 1840 it rell to 1,6361., and in this year, 1841, the merchants have not ventured to send a single vessel to Portend ie, where the gum trade is carried aD. • * * * • • * * * * It is to be borne in mind that of the sum set down as the amount of the value of the goods and produce exported from the Gambia, namely, for 1840, 124,6691., the value of the products grown in the settlement is confined to a very small portion of the inconsider- ble exports of two articles enumerated in the list, those of rice and corn, and a small quantity of ground nuts; all the rest are the products of countries which do not belong to us, with the exception of the very large item in the export lists, for the last five years, of goods principally British manufactures, exported from the Gambia to the neighbouring countrIes. These goods are exported to Bissaos, the Cassamanza, the Pongas, and the N UlJez, and are sold and disposed of at the slave-trade factories of these notorious haunts of theirs. These exports of British manufactures, which swell the amount so considerably of the export lists of the Gambia, and are calculated to lead people to form a very erroneous con- clusion as to the nature and extent of the legal trade of that settlement, ",mounted In 1836 to - - £.44,865 1837 to - 45,221 1838 to - 38,283 1839 to - 57,980 1840 to - 31,750 It must be remembered that when these exports of British fabrics from the Gambia so suddenly increased in the year 1 8 :~6, the new Spanish treaty, with the equipment clause, -z-,a-g-e""'I"2:-on""'·"'g-.- which made vessels seizable for carrying goods and stores intended for this trade, had come into operation, and re'1dered other methods necessary to supply the slave-trade factories with these goods; and in 1840, when we find such a speedy falling off of these exports, namoly, from 57,980l. the preceding year, to 31,750/., ,ve have evident proof of the partic produced by Capt. Denman's proceedings in the year 1840, in destroymg the slave-trade factories, and the property found in them at Gallinas. I have already entered so fully on the subject of aiding and abetting the slave trade, on the part of British subjects established in Our settlements, that I shaU not further refer here to that topic, except to state that this illegal practice is cftlll'ied on more extensive}y at the Gambia than at any other of our settlements, and in corroboration of the fact I Will barely re~er to a paper in the Appendix, containing answers to a series of CJ.u~stions of m,Ille on tIus subject, add ressed to Mr. Ingram, the Colonial Secretary, whose wlllmgness to glve me every information I desired, and whose abil;ty to afford it, I feel happy to have the oppor- tunIty to acknowledge. To those replies I beg leave to direct particular attention. Query 1. To whom are these goods sold at Bissaos ?-Generally to the resident merchant traders, but to any other person who may be willing to buy them. 'f 2. 0 SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. 18,5 2. To what amount are they sold there?-I think from 1);,0001. to 20,0001. worth of Appendix) Ko. 8 . merchandize is sold annually at Bissaos by the British. 3. How are they usually paid for?-In produce of the country; viz. rice, beesl-wax, ~ GAMBIA. hides, ivory; sometimes in cash or pure gold. 4. Are they ever paid for by bills on the Havannah ?-I have been informed that goods· Commissioner's have been sold at Bissaos for bills on that place; I am personally aware of one instance of Report. thIS sort. 5. Are they sold unreservedly to persons engaged in ' the slave trade ?-They answer for that purpose as well as for that of legal commerce. 6. Are you aware that bills drawn on London houses are given at Bissaos by the foreign traders (engaged in the illegal traffic), in payment of British goods sold for the slave trade, such as guns) gunpowder, &c: ?-I am not personally aware that suierra Leone and the uambia, what may not be expected to happen in the course of a little time, when the rigour of the new regulations is relaxed in longer voyages, and where the control of government officers w,ll not eXist. Masses of men ~re not l!ke bales of merchandize intended for transportation li'om clime to clime, unless indeed it be intended to make merchandize of them, and then an account is opened in which eventually the merchant's profit must set off the sufferings of the people who are removed on freight. fn 1826, the Commissioners of Inquiry state in their Report, that there was at that period about 100 liberated Africans in the colony; but amongst them, it appears that there wc.re some negroes who had been convicted of crimes at Sierra Leone, and had heen trans- ported to this settlement so lately formed and so unfitted for the punishment of offenders. But when it is stated, that the only persons tried at the Quarter Sessions of 1826, at Bathurst, were of the liberated Afl'lcan ciass, it should be remembered also, that the trans- ported convicts of Sierra Leone were mixed up with them, and all negroes, in short, who wer.e not Ja loffs or Maudingoes, and who were in poverty and ignorance and crime, went under what is considered at the Gambia a term of reproach, " Liberated Africans." The custom of apprenticing the children of this class has been discontinued for the last- two years; formerly they were apprenticed till their 18th year, and the masters had the courage to complain of the shortness of the term, and to bring their application before the Commissioners of Inquiry in 1826, for a prolong'ation of the period of apprenticeship, of course entirely for the benefit of the children ;- and the Commissioner was persuaded that, with certain conditions," both parties would be benefited" by the prolongation of the term. The term, however, of five and seven years, which was subsequently adopted, was found so injurious to OJ)e of the parties, namely, the apprentices, that for the last two years the Lieutenant-governor thought it advisable to discontinue the apprenticeship system altogether. The wholesale system of marriages which I have referred to elsewhere, and which r am informed by Mr. Finden and also by Mr. Fox, formerly took place here, attended with the same scandalous results which I have already noticed, has been discontinued for some time, but its effects remain in operation. The Lieutenant-governor states in his replies on the subject, "that frequent applications for the annulmeot of their marriages are made by the liberated Africans." Mr. Fox, however, thinks there is some improvement of late observable in their social habits; but there are circumstances in the disparity of sexes not calculated to better them; pog_ 17 orig. on his authority, the males at M'Carthy's Island are 50 per cent. more than the females, and jn Batburst about 10 per cent. The circumstances, also, which bave attended t!Ie transport of the different" cargoes" of liberated Africans to M'Carthy's Island, and their location there, I have been informed on good authority, were not of a nature to inspire much confidence in our intentions towards them, 01' to encourage them to be industrious. In 1835, a large number of them were sent to this island, and disease having either preceded their departure, or broken out du ring the tedious passage up the Gambia, a con- siderable number on their arrival having no place of shelter or previous provision made for them, languished, and, in colonial parlance, " died off rapidly." It was better for them no doubt to die off here than aboard tbe slave-ship; there was less absolute suffering- and fewer horrors surrounding their dyin~ moments; but there was sickness and privations enou~h to cause it to be said that tbe liberated Africans in this settlement have" died off rapid ly." , THE SLAVE TRADING FACTORIES IN TH E VICINITY OF THE GAMDIA. THE principal rivers in which these factories are, are at the Cassamanza, Bissaos and the Nunez. Not having been at these places, the information .I received respecting them, I am SELECT COMM ITTEE ON .WEST COAST o.F AFR ICA. 189 I am chiefly indebted for to Lieutenant Hill of Her Majesty's ship Saracen, and Dr. Appendix, No, 8. Fergusson, of Sierra Leone, both of which gentlemen had recently visited those places. The trade carned on between the Gambia and the Cassamanza is very extensive. The GAMBIA. list of vessels cleared out from tbe Gambia in the year 1839 for the Cassamanza was 36 British and two f0reicrn vessels, the tonnage of which was 664 tons, while the British Commissioner's vessels that entered th~ Gambia from the CassaOlanza in the same year were 32, and the Report. tonnage 465. This river is situated about a de9'ree to the southward of the Gambia; th~ natives carry on a considerable trade in wax witt> the merchants of the latter place. The house of Forster have a small stone-house for their goods, and a resident European factor in cbarge of them, a Mr. Lloyd. The Gambia trade in bees'-wax had gradually increased from 1816 till 1826, according to Mr. Grant's statement to the Commissioners in that year, when it amounted to about 200 tons per annum. The article was then chiefly obtained from the left bank of the Gambja and in the Tendi and Wooli country. In 1840, the exports of wax fi'om the Gambia in estimated value amounted to 42,85 11. Formerly tlle exclusive trade of this river was claimed by tbe Portuguese, and appears not to have been disputed by any other person, till 1838, when the French formed an esta- blishment here, and were strongly opposed, at least so far as hy protest s and complaints on the part of the Portuguese. The new military post and factory of the French were formed high up the river, at a place called Sejeu. The ground on w~h tR", building stands having been purchased of the natives on the terms speci fied in the compact entered into with the natives, a copy of whlch will be found in the AppeudL'"{ in the original language, and also in English. The French ' were no sooner estahlished than they attempted to exclude our vessels and traders from the upper part of the river. In 1839, our trade commenced in this part of the river, ,,~th the sanction of the natives, The first vessel of ours that proceeded as far as Sejeu for trading purposes was the Eliza; and shortly after, in the same year, two other British merchant vessels, the Graut and the Highlander, were seized by the French, unmoored, and taken to a lower part of the river to prevent our trading with the natives higher up. Now it will be seen by tbeir compact with the chiefs for the purchase of the land, that the~ acquired no exclusive right whatever to the trade in any part of the river. '1 he Englisb crew and captain of the Highlander, when they found tIie French had taken possession of the vessel, abandoned her to them, and protested against their proceedings. On the compIaint.of the merchants at the Gambia, who were the owners of the High- ___" """,,,,",-._ lander, Lieutenant Hill, of Her Maj esty's ship Saracen, proceeded to the Cassamanza iu page 18 orig. the month of February 1840, and ascended the river as far as Sejeu, where the French settlement, called Tubaconda, is formed, 50 miles above. The commander of the Frencll acknowledged the aggression was made by his orders, by the directions of the governor at SenegaL On Lieutenant Hill's applyino- to the native chiefs of Sejeu, they stated tlIat they had merely sold the ground to the French on which their settlement was stationed, the quantity of laud being about300 yards by 200; on this they have erected a strong palisado of 80 fathoms diameter, with bastions and other fortifications, and they are now building the fort in masonry. The treaty for the purchase of this land is dated 3d Apri11 83S, the price of the land being 39 bars of goods a year. In this treaty I find no exclusive privilege of trade claimed 01' conceded of any kind. The chiefs expressed a strong ,desire to bave trade with the English. The Portuguese governor, in April 1837, addressed Governor Rendall at the Gambia for the assistance of a vessel of war to prevent the French from formin~ their intended esta- blishment at Sejeu. 'fhis application was of course refused, and the .Portuguese governor- in-chief of the Cape de Verde Islands and African possessions, officially communicated to our authorities at the Gambia, that since the French had set their prior rights to the trade of this part of tbe river at defiance, the English had their entire consent to trade in the Cassamanza wherever they thought proper to send their "essels. This was the state of things when the British vessels were forcibly driven from the neigh- bOUl'hood of Sejeu by the French in 1839 , On Lieutenant Hill's visit to the CassamaDza, he found the EnJ)lisb fl ag of the abandoned vessel called t he Highlander, still kept flying by order of the .i."rench authorities, and they stated they had merely taken charge of her from friendly motives towards our Government, ,,,hen the vessel was abandoned by her crew and captain . Lieutenant Hill stated, that the vessel was not moored within any part of the territory rented by the French at Sejeu. The French, on the other hand, maintained that she was moored within range of their guns at Sejeu, The French fort is about half a mile south of the native town of Sejeu} where the English vessel was trading when she was seized. How- ever, the probability is, that the vessel was moored within range of the guns of the French fort, and on this ground the French commandant justified the steps he had taken, disclaim- in~ however all int.ention to sei.ze ~e vessel, an~ Pl'opo.sing her .immediat~ restitution. rhis Pl'opoBal Lieutenant Hill dId not feel hImself JustIfied m acceptmg. He then pro- ceeded to Senegal, an~ entered iuto an arrangement with the French governor, by which it was ag-reed that the matter was to be referred to the two Governments, and there the matter now .r. ests. 3" 55 '- n n A great 190 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, No.8. . A great quautity of the goods included in the returns of the exports of the Gambia is of British manufacture, and is re-shipped at the Gambia for the Cassamanza. These goods GAMBIA. Ibre" tobacco, iron', gunpowder, rum, blue and white balfs, Manchester and Birmingham goods," and for these, the Lieutenant-gove&lOr states in his replies, that gold, bees'-wax, Commissionerrs bides, ground nuts, and ivory are received. He likewise states, in reply to my queries if Report. tBe goods are exclusively adapted for a legal trade, that these goods" are adapted for every description of trade carried on on this part of the coast;" and with respect to their being purchased for legal trade, " that the merchant sells in the best market he can find;" and with respect to the sale of goods, whether it would be considered legal or illegal to sell them to strangers, without inquiring into the PUrsUIts for which they were intended, and subsequently proved to have been purchased for sllbve-trade purposes? , the reply is, " I pre- sume legal; [know of no law obliging the merchant to inquire what a purchaser intends doing wIth the goods he purchases, ethel'Wise I apprehend the inquiry should be made of the manufacturer in Engl. . nd upon the original saTe," Te the next query, that supposing such goods were sold for the slave-trade to an agent or factor of the slave trade, and known to the seller as such, what would be the consequence? the reply was as follows: " I do not conceive that the seller would in such cases be pUllishable, unless he were to receive addi- tion.l payment on account of the future sale of the slaves." With re.pect to the proofs that would 1le requisite to sustain alrosecution in such a case, the reply is, " It must, I conceive, be shown that the seller ha an interest in the future page 19 o'J'ig. sale of the shwes, or, at least an additional price, because slaves were to be purchased with the goods so sold." With respect to my inquiry, whether it would be held a violation of the law to sell stores or provisions to a slaver, touching at this seitlement, or to assist her in refitting or repairing, even though she had no slaves on board, the reply of the Lieutenant-governor is, that" If she wI's not fitted as a slaver she would be supplied, because she could not be considered one le~any, and the merchant must sell where he can find a suitable market. Was she fitted lU opposition to the treaties, she would be seized, and of course no supply could take place/' I I am reluctant to make any comments on these opinions. I will barely ask, does the law in this country admit the plea of the purchaser of stolen goods, that he is not bound to inquire into the pursuits of the seller so far as regards the legality of his possession of them? Does the law of this country recognize the right of a vender of military stores or weapons, orofmedicinal drugs, to sell those things belonging to their trades to persons whom, they have reason to believe, want these objects for a felonious purpose? * • • * • * On these points, with great regret, I feel myself compelled to dissent from the opinions of Captain Huntley; but it was necessary to refer to this subject, to show that the slave-trade factories are supplied with goods and stores, with impunity, by the merchants "f the Gambia. BISSAOS Is the great stronghold of the Portuguese slave trade. The island of this group, on which the Portuguese fort and factory are established, is situated at the mouth of the river Jeba, about 100 miles to the south of the Gambia. This island is about five miles in length, and two in breadth; the fort is dilapidated, but of considerable size, and commands the entrance of the river. The guns are in an unserviceable state. Formerly the trade in slaves at this place was very considerable, and still is carried on to a great extent by the Portuguese, aided anci abetted, so far as the supplying of the slave- trade factories with their goods and stores, by our own traders. The Portuguese Government officers, the Governor himself, and the settlers at Bissaos, are all concerned in the interests of this trade. The Government colonial schooner Con- stitution has been even employed in carrying slaves from this place to the Cape de Verd Islands. There is a considerable trade carried on here, on the part of the merchants of tile Gambia and the Senegal, in wax, hides, and rice, and a very large portion of the produce shipped from the Gambia, and inserted among its exports, is brought from the river Jeba. THE ISLAND OF BULA"A I s situated in the same estuary, about 30 miles to the southward of Bissaos, at tile entrance of the Rio Grande. It IS claimed both by the British and Portuguese, and by the latter in right of a treaty for its. purchase ~ntered into with the natives , by Captain Beaver. Tbe Portuguese claIm a l?flor possesslOn to that of Captam Beaver s purchase, which, they say, was made by a cluef who had no rrght to sell the Island, The island, however, on account of its insalubrity, was abandoned for many years by botll, till one of the slave dealers of the Havannah, a Senor Gaetano )/ozzalim, obtamed a Royal Portuguese clia!'ter for settling this island, and in 1829. he estabhshed lumseif thel'e. DUl'mg 10 years the Island was in the hands of Nozzalllll lt was the haunt of the slave dealers. But in December 1838, Lieutenant Kellett, of Her Majesty's brig Brisk, visited SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. '91 visited the island, attacked and destroyed the factory, and carried away 119 slaves, and Appendix, No. S. subsequently carried away another batch of slaves, which their owner assyrted were his domestics, notwithstanding the fetters with which they had been manacled were found GAMBIA. amidst the ruins of the barracone. In 1840, Lieutenant Hill, of the Saracen, had an interview with the Governor of Bissaos Commissioner's on the subject of the occupation of Bulama by the Portuguese, and threatening to expel by Report. force any Portuguese subj ects he might finel on the Island . The Governor of Blssao --......,,..,,..-..,- repajred to the Cape de Verde Islands to complain to the Portuguese Governor-general of page 20 orig. the threatened dispossession of the P ortuguese, and the matter is still undecided. • * • * * * This islaud is now of little value to the Portuguese, and might become, in our possession, of importaI'l.ce, as a refittino' station for our cruizers, and a depot for coals for East Indian or cruizing steamers on this coast. The merchandize supplied to the slave factories at Bissaos by our traders is usually paid for either in money or by bills drawn by the Sparush merchants at the Havannah on London houses. 'fhe inhabitants of these islands are called Papells; the occupation of the island of Bulama or of Biss.os, and of the Isles de Loss, is desired by many who have the means of knowing the advantages of their position. With respect to the latter, the cillef commissioner at Siena Leone strongly recommends their occup.tion; but from the general appearance of these islands at the distance of a couple of miles from the sea-shore, I should not imagine there was anything in their position particularly favourable to health . - These islands were ceded to the Bntish Crown in 1818 by Dalla Mahomedu, and an annual payment made for them. Three only of these islands are of any considerable size, Tamara, Crawford's Island, and Factory Island; of these the most fertile and the largest is Tamara, five miles long and one in breadth. Crawford is about a mile long and half a mile broad; and here, in consequence of Dr. Nicholls' favourable report on the climate anel locality of this island, Sir Charles M'Carthy was induced to recommend the establishment of barracks, a house for officers, and hospital, and various other buildings for the accommodation ofliberated Africans. But the settlement had not been long formed when it was discovered that the water on tltis island was bad and brackish; that the climate was not favourable to European health, and that the mortality among the soldiers was not exceeded at any other part of the coast, and fin.ll y the establis11ment was abandoned. At Tamara the water is good, and vegetables tolerably abundant. Factory Island has good water but a sterile soil; it is foUl' miles long and about half a mile broad. The late Mr. Sarno, of Sierra Leone, resided here for 15 years, off and on; he was the only European living on the island. These islands are situated about 400 miles to the southward of the Gambia. THE NUNEZ L,ES about 300 miles to the southward of the Gambia; a vessel drawing 1 2 feet water might go up to Kakundy, a large and important town about 60 miles fmID the coast. There is a great deal of trade carried on in tills river, both legal and illegal. There are four British traders established here, and three or four French likewise. A good deal of coffee is brought down the river from the Foulah country. About 20 pounds of this coffee was sent to me as a sample of its quality; and from what I have seen of tbis article, both in the West Indies and in the East, I would say it approached nearer to the quality of the Mocha coffee than any I have seen elsewhere. In 1838-9, about 100 tons of the Nunez coRee were shipped to England in the expectation of succeeding' ill getting the Com- missioners of Customs to consent to its introduction at the low duty. In that expectation the merchants were deceived, and a stop is put to any further importations of Nnnez coffee. In the month of May last, I was informed at Sierra Leone by the newly appointed commodore of the squadron on this station, Captain Now'Se, of Her Majesty's ship Iris, that he had just returned from the Rio Pongas, where he had destroyed a slave-trade factory, the business of which is carried on by a Mrs. Lighthurn, a iVlulatto woman, married to an 'American, by whom this factory was established, and left in charge of Mrs. Lightburn. 'Vhile preparations were making for the attack on the factory, Mr. Lightburn contrived to get away all the slaves in the barraeones, with the exception of ll, who were taken by Captain Nourse and conv.eyed to Sierra Leone. It unfortunately happened that in destroying this factory an explosion of several barrels of gunpowder took place in one of page 21 orig. the bal'\'acones; and one man of the Iris was killed on the spot, and several wounded. * '* * *' * * TUE NATURE OF OUR RELATIONS WITH THE NATIVE CHIEFS 0]' ADJOINING COUNTRIES. THERE is a sentence of Vat el, which in Liberia and Cape Palmas, and formerly in some other places on this coast, it would be well to have printed in legible charaetel'S on the draft of every treaty entered into with the natives, namely, that" whosoever agrees that robbery is 5':;1. B B 4 a crime, APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, No.8. a crime, and that we are not allowed to take forcible possession of our neighbour's propert}', will acknowledge without any other proof, that no nation has a right to expel another peo- GAMBIA. ple from the country they inhabit in order to settle on it herself." Commissioner's Our relations with the native chiefs in the vicinity of our differept settlements take their Heport. coloU!' from the character of our colonial govemors, and have had till lately little to do with any fixed views of the general Government. The consequence has been, that whenever a governor died; all the arrangements he entered into with the natives died with him, or such was the instability of the power of the latter, that chief.followed chief in a succession only less rapid than one governor succeeded to another. So that it would be very difficult to say what our relations might be with any particular king in six months' time, however friendly they might appear to have been at the present period. There is a general opini0n entertained at the Gambia that our commerce is to be largely extended by opening communications with the interior, and protecting our trade high up the Gambia, by means of a military force of one kind or another. It is agreed by all that M'Carthy's Island is not well situated for trade; that it is not high enough up the ri ver to be beneficial to it. In the course of last year two treaties were entered into with the native chiefs, one witl. the King of Combo for the sovereignty of the territory of St. Mary's Cape, extendin'" about seven mIles in a south· westerly direction from Cape St. Mary's, and to the eastward as far as the Gambia, for which 1 00 dollars were paid; and one entered into, though not yet ratified, the 23d April 1 840, with the King of Cattabar, by which he places hIS territory under the protedion of the British Sovereign, in consideration, if not precisely specified, at least understood, that he is to be protected against a rapacious chief in his neighbourhood, of tile name of Kementang of Dungaseen, who is the scourge and terror of all the adjoining countr~es. The whole life of this marauder is spent in making wars on the neighbouring countnes for the sake of plunder, and he defrays the expenses of these wars by the sale of the captUl'es he makes in his attacks on the weak and defenceless tribes aboat him. In tne time o£ Lieutenant-governor Rendall he seized on a British schooner laden with goods, and plundered the vessel. The Lieutenant-governor, with a small body of troops, marched against Kementang, ana at length reached Dungaseen, his fortified town and garrison. The voyage up the Gambia to Culerin is about 255 miles, and from Culerin by land to Dungaseen IS 15 miles. But hy land the greater part of the way the distance is much' shorter. The troops had three days of land travelling before they reached Dungaseen; they left the river unprovided with water, and they had to march through a jungle in which none was to he found. They attaGked the mud walls of Dungaseen with two or three field-pieces. After expend- ing a good deal of powder and ball without seeing the face of an enemy! for Kementang WIsely kept wlthm hIS walls, the want of water and prOVISIOns, and the fatIgue the soldIers had undergone under the scorching rays of a vertical sun, compelled the commandant to retreat, which he accordingly did, with the loss of two or three pieces of brass cannon. Kementang's reputation rose from that period, and now he IS considered as a mighty warrior, whom everyone dreads, and none of his neighbours dare to attack. In April 1840 the King of Cattabar was informed that Kementang meditated an attack on his country. He demand ed assistance of our Government at the Gambia, and Captain Huntley proceeded up the Gambia with 8 0 soldiers, and from thence to Catabar with his page 22-orig. sman expedition, out Kementang, finding the Governor had arrived with troops, relinquished his intended attack, and the Lieutenant-governor took his departure from Catahar, leaving 36 men under the command of an officer, with two field-pieces, to afford protection to this country. This is the present state of our posit.ion with respect to Cattabar and Dungaseen; should Kementang choose to make war on the latter, he is capable of bringing 500 soldiers into the field, as the Lieutenant-governor thinks. III qualified, as I am well aware I am, to form an opinion on a subject of this kind, it seems to me that our force in tI at country is a.small one, without any fort or stronghold for their protection. It is said, that" where rr turbulent chief or a people make a practice of trampling justice under foot, despising and violating the rights of others whenever they find an opportunity, the interests of human society authorize aU adjoining nations to form a confederacy in order to humble and chastise the delinquent." But, aSljnstice is the basis of all society, and the sure bond of all commerce, I question, where our own rights are not injured, if we are justified in employing force, and if the law of nations can ever recommend the use of uujustIfiable means for the attamment of ali end, however laudable it may be. I say unjustifiable means, for war is said to be "that state in which we prosecute our right by force," and the employment of fO'rce is just, so far only as it is necessary for the maintenance of our own rights. While this turbulent man remains in power, it is very probahle he will never let .the countries around him rest. There will be no peace for thein, and consequently no cultlva- tion of the soil, and no field /or our efforts to civilize the people ; hut it is for these peoyle, If they find their countries ravaged by this marauder, and all peaceable means meffectua to repress his rapacity, to form a confederacy, and rid the country of such a lawless despot. 'fhe soil of some parts of the country about Cattabar, Captain Huntley thinks is superior to any on eit.her bank of the Gambia; lower down the land is elevated III some places about 200 feet above the level of the sea, the country is rich and variegated in its scenery, and SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEST COAST OF AFRICA. ' 93 u ld be a subject worth inquiry, to ascertain wha~ analogy, th~l'e may be in their respectIVe languages. They are acquainted with the meltm~ of native Iron, and the manu- facture of spear heads and otber weapons. In the kingdom of Foota J allon they are numerous and warlike, while in the neierhbourhood of the Gambia their characteristics are those of a conquered people ; they are ~ild and submissive in their manners and demeanor. The Foulahs, next to t he Mandingoes, are the most considerable of all the nations in this part of Afi'ica; their original country, now possessed by the MandiRgoes, they say was Fooladoo; they are more tawny-than .. he 1\-1andingoes, thei l' features smaller and sharper, and their hair more wiry. In the Mahommeclan, schools, the chief things taught them is to abominate k alirs or unbelievers of all kinds, but especially of their own nation. Dr. Lindoe's benevolent design for the formation of a colony of the pastoral F oolahs at .M'earthy's J sland was unfortunately found impracticable, and that design has merged mto the establishment of an institution for the education of the sons of native chiefs of the surrounding countries . The island did not afford sufficient pasturage for the cattle of the Foulahs, and few con- sequently have settled on it. The Rev. Mr. iVI'Briar, of the W esleyan mission, has made a translation of the Gospels into the l\IJandingo language ; he has likewise composed a Mandingo grammar, an ele- monhtly one ofthe Fou lall language, and a Vocabulary of F oolah words. The mission of IVII'. l\PBrial'1s predecessor, the Rev . Mr. 1\10rgan, was connected with the intended execu- tion of Dr. Lindo's plan for the formation of the Foolah colony. This people were found lIving' on sufferance in the l\1andingo country, which there is reason to believe was formerly tbeir own, in a miserable condition, subj ect to every species of oppression at the bands of the present possessors of the land. There are three tribes of this people distri- buted in the countnes between the Senegal and Sierra Leone; the Teueolars, the Foolahs, and Loubies. The countries over which they are distributed are: Foota Toro, south of the Senegal, Foota J allon, near Sierra Leone, and Foota Doo, now a J\lIandingo country adjacent to the Mandillgo territory; and these are the pastoral Foolahs of ,Vestern Africa. The Loubies are supposed by Mr. M'Brial' to be a mIxed race of the Foolahs, probably the descendants of the Leucothiopes of Ptolemy and P liny, of Asiatic origin, and the regular negro Jaloffs, whose language they speak as well as the Foolah. They are a uegenerate race, poor and squalid in their appearance, and neither cultivate the soil nor follow the pastoral habits of the other Foolahs, but live by making wooden bowls and other trifling objects, and canyon a petty traffic with the Mandi~oe3. The Teueolars are the settled Foolahs of the Mahommedan religion, who inhabit l ioota Toro and Foota J allan, and have a reputation for learning- simila~ to that of the IVlandingoes. The Mandingo lan- guage, of all the dialects of Africa, is the softest and most hannonious, as far as one unac- quainted with it can judge from its pronounciation. That of the Foolahs is completely the reverse, and yet it is said that the language of the Foolahs is far more copious, and evi- dently shows a structure that at some former period was the result of a degree of advance- lnent in knowledge that no longer exists amongst the Foolahs. The J aloffs are distributed over a vast district on the sea side, between the Senegal and tlle Gambia, between 700 and 8 00 miles in length. The kingdom of Kayor is supposed to page 26 orig. have a Jalofrpopulation of from 1 50,000 to 180,000 inhabitants, but in most places they have so intermingled with the Foulahs, that it is not easy to discriminate between their tribes. The pure unmixed and high-spirited J alofI's who have not been loner enough in our settlements to have been demi-civilized, and three parts demoralized, by turopean vices, are the finest spp..cimens of the negro race that I ha.ve seen. They differ widely from the Kroomen in their forms and features. They are far from muscular, and by no means remarkable fOl' their bodi ly vigOUl' or robustness; but in that air of natural nobility in their appearance, in the intelligence and vivacity of their looks, in the independence of their deportment, and the stateliness of their carriaere, the Ja loffs so far surpass the other natives tbat strangers are accustomed to look upon them as the gentlemen of Africa. And they scarcely differ less from the K afirs of the Cape than the Spaniards or Portuguese do from the people of lVlarocco. They are of warlike habits and generous dispositions; their dress gener.lIly consists of two long pieces of cloth, one wrapped round the body, and the other worn as a kind of toga,. or a vestment like the Bernoos of the Syrian Arabs, with an aper- ture to be slipped over the head, and which hangs loosely on the shoulders. In Bathurst they are employed chiefly as artizans, and are remarkable for their ingenuity and manual dcxterity; they work as carpenters, ship-builders, goldsmiths, and blacksmiths. Those 551. c C 2 who 196 APPENDIX TO REPORT FROM THE Appendix, ·No. 8. who work ill gold also work in iron. There is one of this trihe in Bathurst who has got some celebrIty over all the W ~stern Coast for the fineness of hIs workmanship in gold. He GMlBIA. makes rmgs, chams and ear-rll1gs, lIttle inferior to European manufacture. I found this ingenious man squatted on a mat in a corner of his dusky workshop, delicately manufac- CommisSionel"s turmg the small objects of Jewellery around him, and at the othe~ end a number of juvenile Report. and real blacksmIths hard at work at the forge and :mvIl, heatlOg and hammering huge bars of Iron. All these people, Mandmgoes, Fonlahs and J aloffs, are held in the hiO'hest estimation in the Gambia for their industrious h~bits and general good conduct and ~erve as a foil on all occasions in conversations, for the indolence arrd poverty and depravity of the poor, Idle, destitute, Ill-reputed, and shamefully neglected hberated Africans. SLAYERY. SLA VERY is said not to exist at the Gambia, but it does exist there, however, and to a con- siderable extent. A great many slaves have been iutroduced, and are still introduced into tbe settlement from Goree and Senegal, in the capacity of serva1'lts and mechanics, by French subjects who visit our settlement on the Gambia, and become settlers there. But the guilt of this violation of the law does not rest alone with the foreigners who settle in the colony. British subjects, also, by the connexions which are customary here, become involved in the interests of domestic slavery. Mulatto women from Goree who come to the Gambia with their slaves, on formiug con- neXlOllS at Bathurst, continue to possess their slaves, and become with them inmates very frequently of European houses, and these slaves serve, as I have stated, in their houses in the capacity of servants, and in some cases, in their stores, and on their wharfs,. as porters and labourers. When tbese Goree people leave the Gambia, they carry away these slaves with them. On inquiring into this subject of our authontJes, I was told, Goree women established in the Gameia were in tbe habit of holding slaves, whom they had brought with them, hut that the slaves had only to come to the Lieutenant-governor and claim their freedom, and they would no Ian O'er be compelled to "emain with their owners against their will. I inquired how many instances had occurred of their having come to the authorities to obtain their freedom, and I was informed of one .instance, in which a slave belonging to a well-known Goree woman, established in Bathurst, had come to the government-house and claimed the protection of the Lieutenant-governor, and the slave was set at liberty on the ~pot, and the owner menaced with legal proceeding's if any force or violence wa. employed to regain the services of the slave; but I did not learn that any steps had been taken by public notice, or the promulgation of any ordinance, to inform the slaves that were illegallj held in bondage in Bathurst, of their right to freedom, or page .270'I'ig. to acquaint their owners with their culpability in holding them in bondage, except In the single instance which I have mentioned. There is a strong disposition, which I have referred ta elsewhere, on the part of the settlers in our African possessions to perpetuate slavery under a different name, and to tolerate compulsory labour under the title of" task-work," or " hired service," or " specific engagement j" and a case occurred at no distant date of the illegal authority and control which is exercised o,·er these Goree negroes on the part of British subjects. * * * ~ • * * ~ Many of the J aloffs and Mandingoes also who are residents in the settlement retain their slaves on sufferance. If the negroes came before the Lieutenant-governor, and demanded their liberty, I have no doubt but their application would be successflli. But how are the slaves to know they have this privilege? We are very loth in our colonies to medale with the habits and prejudices of the natives, however opposed to humanity or favourable to superstition, when pec uniary or mercan,tlle mterests are not affected by their barbarity. I do not speak in reference to any partIcular settlement, but to a general tendency in all to succ umb, especially to the system of slavery whIch so uru- versally prevails, regarded as an evil that cannot be removed, ~nd ought n~t to be resl~ted: i beg most distinctly to state my strong apprehension of the danger which I perceIve ill some of the modes adopted for the suppression of the slave trade, of rendermg domeslIc slavery perpetual, and p,r.,dial slavery more widely extended than it ever has eXIsted here- tafore in Africa. It is not desirable to go into details on this subject, but it is very necessary to direct attention to it, and leave the means of avoiding this mischief to the brtter judgment of those who are equally interested in the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. (signed) R . R. Madden. London, 31 July 1841.