HAVANNAH. No. 63.-Mr. Secretary Canning to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, February 24, 1824. I HAVE to desire, that you will use your endeavours to collect and transmit to me, for the information of His Majesty's Government, the best statements which it may be in your power to obtain, as to the practice respecting the Manumission and free labour of Slaves, which is described, in the enclosed Memorandum, to exist in the Island of Cuba. I am, &c. His Majesty's Commissioners. GEORGE CANNING. (Enclosure.)—Memorandum relative to Slaves in the Island of Cuba. It is stated, that in the Island of Cuba there exists the following System in favour of Slaves. That Slaves are generally appraised at 400 dollars; that a Slave paying down the fourth part of his value, or 100 dollars, immediately acquires the right to be coartados, that is, that he can work out, paying his Master three reals de vellon, or bits, a day, until he can make a further deposit ; or if the Master requires his service, he can oblige the man to work for him, paying the Slave one real; thus a deposit of 200 dollars gives the Slave a right to two reals daily, of 300 to three reals, and thus to completion of the payment of the whole sum in which he had been appraised. The dollar is worth only eight reals or bits No. 64.-His Majesty's Comm's. to Mr. Secy. Canning.—( Rec. Mar. 20.) I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatches of the 6th and 17th November, 1823;* and I shall not fail to pay all due attention to the Instructions therein contained, in any Case on which occasion may arise for their application. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. T. KILBEE. No. 65.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.-(Rec. May 14.) * See Class B, Session 1824, Nos. 9 and 11. having previously touched at Matanzas; and on the 21st the French Brig Agile, also in Ballast, arrived from St. Thomas on the Coast of Africa. Conceiving both these to be suspicious Cases, I took an opportunity of mentioning them to the Governor. I stated to His Excellency, that it was of peculiar importance at the present moment that they should undergo a strict investigation, as, if they were allowed to escape with impunity, little doubt could be entertained that the French would speedily renew the illicit Slave Trade, which it was notorious they had carried on to a great extent with this Island, previous to the late rupture between France and Spain. His Excellency replied that these Cases had not escaped his observation, and that upon inquiry he had been informed that the Victor had been sent here without a cargo, for the purpose of being sold :— with respect to the Agile, he admitted that to be a suspicious Case, but said that the Captain of the Port had reported to him that her Papers were correct, and that no circumstance had come to light, which could justify a well-grounded presumption that she had been engaged in illicit Slave Trade. His Excellency promised to give orders that all French Vessels which should hereafter arrive under similar circumstances should undergo a strict examination. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. T. KILBEE. No. 66.—Mr. Secretary Canning to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, June 19, 1824. I HEREWITH transmit to you, for your information, Six Copies of Papers marked A. and B. relative to the Slave Trade, which have been presented to both Houses of Parliament, by His Majesty's Command, in the course of the present Session. His Majesty's Commissioners. I am, &c. GEORGE CANNING. No. 67.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secretary Canning.-(Rec. June 21.) This Vessel has been the subject of very general conversation here for some time, in consequence of a report in circulation that she had been captured by a British Ship of War. Her arrival, therefore, caused considerable sensation and very general satisfaction among the friends of illicit Slave Trade. The very evening of the day upon which the Orestes arrived, I waited upon the Captain General, and apprized him of all the circumstances of the Case that had reached my knowledge, dwelling particularly upon the notoriety of her having been engaged in the Slave Trade, and of the Report which had been in circulation, of her Capture by an English Cruiser;—and, I added, that unless some Proceedings were instituted by the Government in this most notorious Case, I was much afraid that the illicit Slave Trade carried on with this Island would considerably increase, as little or no apprehension could henceforward be entertained by those engaged in it, of the infliction of any punishment by their own Government for their open violation of Law and Treaty. The Captain General replied, that, in all the Cases to which I had called his attention, he had uniformly directed the Captain of the Port to inform him whether any suspicious circumstances had come to light, from which a proof could be afforded, that the Vessels had been engaged in the Slave Trade; but that the latter had always reported, that the Ship's Papers were correct,—that no gratings or implements, such as are usually used in Slave Ships, had been found on board; and that the Captains and Crews, to a man, declared that they had been engaged in lawful Commerce on the Coast of Africa.-His Excellency did not profess to be satisfied with these assertions, but he expressed his conviction, that the undertaking a prosecution without bringing it to a successful conclusion (of which, in the present state of things, little hope could be entertained) would unavoidably tend to the increase of the evil of which I complained. He promised, however, to inquire into the Case. Upon a subsequent occasion, His Excellency informed me that the same Report had been made to him respecting the Orestes, as upon all the other Cases which I had submitted to his attention. I regret to have to inform you that, on the 14th Instant, the Brig Conquistador, Don Nicholas Escala, Master, and the Schooners Nicanor and Ninfa Habanera, Don Domingo Acue and Don Francisco Loureiro, Masters, sailed from hence for the Coast of Africa. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. T. KILBEE. No. 68.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.-(Rec. June 25.) I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt on the 9th instant of your Circular Despatch of the 31st of January, addressed to Mr. Jameson and myself, in which you have been pleased to notify to us certain arrangements respecting the computation of the period of Service, after which a Pension may eventually be granted to us, and the portion of Salary to be granted to us during the period we are absent from our Posts,-and directing us to be precise in stating the periods of our departure from and return to our Post; which directions shall be punctually obeyed. I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. T. KILBEE. No. 69.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.—( Rec. June 25.) In the conversation which I had with the Captain General respecting these Vessels, I received from his Excellency the same answer I have so frequently reported to you to have received, in precisely similar I have the honour to be, &c. The Right Hon. George Canning. cases. H. T. KILBEE. No. 70.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.—(Rec. July 3.) (Extract.) Havannah, May 29, 1824. I LATELY became acquainted in private society with Mr. Randal, an American Gentleman, who arrived here about a month ago from The United States. In the course of conversation, Mr. Randal informed me that he had been apprized by his Government, that British Commissioners, under the Slave Trade Treaty with Spain, were resident here; that he had been directed to enter into communication with them, to offer his assistance and co-operation for the attainment of the great object both Governments had in view, namely, the suppression of illicit Slave Trade; and to request any information that could be given him respecting American Citizens, or Vessels engaged in that Traffic. In my reply, I explained generally to Mr. Randal the nature of the illicit Slave Trade carried on with this Island. I expressed my regret that no exertions, in the power of His Majesty's Commissioners to make, could check it, and that I feared, therefore, his assistance and co-operation under present circumstances could be of no avail. L'informed Mr. Randal that I believed the American Flag had not been employed in carrying on this Traffic, with the Island of Cuba at least, for many years; but that, if public report was to be credited, some American Citizens, established here and at Matanzas, were engaged in it, under the Flag of France or Spain. The Right Hon. George Canning. H. T. KILBEE. No. 71.-H. T. Kilbee, Esq. to Mr. Secy. Canning.-(Rec. August 5.) THREE Spanish Vessels have lately arrived here under suspicious circumstances, namely, the Brig Vengador, and the Schooners Chatica and Indomable. The two first were reported, in the List of Arrivals daily published, to have come from Sisal; but it is observable that they both sailed from hence for the Coast of Africa towards the close of last year: and it is generally suspected, indeed I may say it is notorious, that they have now come direct from that Coast, with Cargoes of Negroes, which have been landed previous to their entrance into this Port, and of course that they have not been at their alleged Port of clearance. One Vessel, the Brig Orestes, a notorious Slave Trader, sailed for the Coast of Africa on the 13th Instant. I yesterday took an opportunity of conversing with the Captain General upon the subject of the great increase of the illicit Slave Trade carried on with this Island of late. I apprized him that the persons engaged in that Traffic have again ventured to expose Negroes for sale in the Barracones or Depôts formerly used for that purpose, which they had likewise done during the government of General Kindelan. I mentioned that all apprehension of the Law upon this subject being put into execution appeared to be at an end; and that it was well known that transactions for the sale of the illegally imported Negroes were carried on with almost the same publicity as before the Abolition: I particularly called his attention to the case of the Vessels mentioned in a former part of this Despatch, which were publicly announced as having cleared out from Sisal, when it was matter of notoriety that they had arrived direct from the Coast of Africa with Negroes; this circumstance affording too much reason to fear that there had been, if not connivance, at least remissness, on the part of the Officer whose duty it was to examine the Papers of Vessels entering this Port, and to report the Place of their departure; and I concluded by stating, that there were at this moment several Vessels fitting out in this Harbour for the Slave Trade on the African Coast, and that there was no difficulty whatever in obtaining the money necessary for embarking in that Traffic, shares for such speculations being greedily sought after, so great was the profit and so little the risk arising from adventures of this description. The Captain General, in his reply, did not deny the facts stated by me, but lamented that he had not the means of preventing the evil complained of. He again expressed his conviction that any legal Proceedings which should be instituted under the present circumstances, and without having the most complete proof of the commission of the offence, would be not only nugatory, but detrimental to the |