liberated slaves loose among bondsmen; it was there-. fore thought expedient to provide a port on the African coast, where they might be landed at once, and without danger. But for the erection of a court competent to decide the prize questions in Africa, a Commission must issue from the Admiralty at home. That Commission must be directed. to some individual; it could not be general, and some person must have been selected for the situation before this step could have been taken. But a delay arose in framing the judicial charter, and Mr. Thorp's departure was retarded by that delay. But it was to be remembered, that a constitution was actually to be formed for the colony, and though the formation of constitutions had been of late years a very easy performance, he (Mr. Stephen) had found the constitution of this colony enough to occupy him seriously for some months. The plan was then to have undergone a revision by the Lord Chancellor, and it was not possible that more expedition could have been rightly used. When the estimates of the colony were fully before the House, it would be seen that they were moderate and reasonable. The colony, in even the most vulgar view of commercial advantage, was important; even overlooking all the great topics connected with the subject, the object of having a a settlement in the heart of Africa, as the nucleus of civilization. Was it to be said, that when we could make no more use of Africa as the theatre of a barbarous trade, we were to treat that immense and unhappy country with scorn and contempt? Mr. Stephen, after some eloquent remarks on the conduct which ought to be pursued to wipe off the stain of the Slave Trade, concluded by expressing his wish for full inquiry.

Mr. Whitbread was glad to find that the honourable gentleman (Mr. Stephen) had retained nothing of the little irritations that so often arose in debate; he was glad to accept his compliments, and begged leave to say that he had no idea of throwing out any reflection on the original patrons of the settlement.

Mr. Fuller could see no better reason than that given by a member in the course of the debate, for refusing the grant. The House had been told, that out of fifteen hundred men sent to the colony, but twelve were alive in the course of three years. He was glad that an honourable member (his friend there) brought on the question. As to the Slave Trade, he would only say, that whoever carried a measure that made

his (Mr. Fuller's) estate in the West Indies a third worse than it was, ought to have first paid him for it.

Mr. Wilberforce must remind the House, that the mortality spoken of occurred before the establishment of the Sierra Leone colony. Some persons, with the best intentions, had collected the blacks who were wandering about the streets and lanes of London, and sent them to Africa. There was a want of proper precaution in some of the arrangements, and a great mortality followed: but it was absurd to speak of it to the extent that had been alleged. Many of the blacks had probably left the settlement, and gone to other - parts of the country. It was to be remembered, that colonies were hard to be founded; our American colonies had laboured under extreme difficulties: but if there had been no other use in the colony of Sierra Leone, it at least gave the country a more accurate idea of what the Slave Trade was. It shewed us the debasement and the misery brought on by that trade; it shewed us hundreds of miles desolated by the wars of the Slave Trade. The colony had suffered the greatest inconveniencies from the hostility of the slave dealers, and the Slave Trade was the bitterest enemy of the establishment at Sierra Leone. A late honourable friend of his (we presume Mr. Pitt) had these ideas strongly in his mind. He was fully bent on assisting Africa, and had intended to apply to Parliament for a considerable sum of money for the express purpose. There were now 830 persons educating in the colony; this alone made it of great importance. Honourable members, and particularly the member for Sussex (Mr. Fuller) might remember, that when it was the custom to give a yearly grant of 12,000l. for the support of our African trade, there was no murmuring; but now, when it was to remunerate that most ill-used country, their voices were all raised against the grant.

Sir John Cox Hippisley stated, that in the spring of the year 1788, he had been at Sierra Leone, where he had touched in an East-India ship, and found the insalubrity of the climate such, that of 1700 persons who had been sent there in the preceding year, only one remained, all the rest having died there, with the exception of about twelve, who took refuge in an island in the river: and one fourth of the crew of the vessel perished there during a stay of two months.

Mr. Wilberforce, in explanation, stated, that the original

colonists had not been sent out by the Company, and that they consisted of Lascars as well as of American blacks.

Mr. H. Thornton wished the honourable gentleman (Mr. Dent) to put off the motion which he had intimated his intention to make, till after the holidays; because arrivals might in the mean time be expected, which would furnish the House with fresh information upon the subject. He agreed that there might have been some excess of expenditure, and that it was necessary to pay every possible attention to economy; but he was disposed to give his support to this vote, because he would not consent to create any ground of doubt as to the continuance of this colony. With respect to the nature of the climate, he would confess that it had not proved as salubrious as they had been at first inclined to suppose, but it was not so unhealthy as represented by the honourable Baronet. It was a fact that the Maroons and Nova Scotia blacks increased their numbers there. With respect to the appointment of the chief justice, that was a government question. When the abolition took place, it was unquestionably desirable, that there should be on the coast somewhere, a tribunal for the condemnation of vessels violating the abolition law. He had himself doubts, whether professional men could be induced to go out to that station; but if any such person should go out, be thought 1500l. a year not too large an income. On that ground be should vote for the motion, though, if the person to fill the duties of the office were not to be a legal person, he should not be inclined to agree to it.

After a few words from Sir John Newport, Mr. M. Montague, Mr. Peele, and Mr. Martin, the vote was agreed to; as also a vote of a sum of 11,670l. to make good sums issued by order of the House. The House then resumed, and the report was ordered to be received to-morrow.

COMMITTEE OF WAYS AND MEANS.

The House, on the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, resolved itself into a Committee of Ways and Means, to which the estimate of the surplus of the Consolidated Fund, and of the proceeds of old naval stores, were referred.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer then rose, for purpose of submitting two votes to the Committee, which he trusted would not only meet with their concurrence, but give satis faction to every gentleman present. The first vote he had to submit was, that a sum not excceding 42,3641. be voted

as the amount of the proceeds of the sale of old naval stores, applicable to the ways and means of the present year. This sum was to be voted in this form in pursuance of an Act of last Session, which directed that the proceeds of such stores should be made the subject of separate estimate, and the sum taken last year had been consequently inserted in the distribution act. The next vote that he should have to submit to the Committee was the sum of 996,9271. 13s. 44d. as the surplus of the Consolidated Fund remaining in the Exchequer on the 5th of April, 1811. But in stating to the Committee this amount of the surplus of the Consolidated Fund over its estimated produce, he felt it necessary to recall to the recollec tion of gentlemen, the principles and grounds upon which he conceived himself justified, last Session, in taking the surplus of that fund so high as he then had done. On that occasion he had taken the amount of that surplus at a higher sum than ever was known; and certainly the produce of the fund had greatly exceeded in the preceding year, upon which his estimate had been founded, any thing that had been produced in any former year. The surplus actually produced in that year amounted to seven millions and odd hundreds. But that was the produce of an excessive year, and had arisen from circumstances which were not to be expected to recur. These circumstances might have. contributed, as they no doubt had, to swell the amount of the surplus in that year; but as they could not reasonably be calculated upon in any succeeding year, they could not be taken into consideration in framing an estimate for the present year. One of these circumstances was the receipt of 600,000l. arrears of the taxes of former years. Another was, that that year was a year of excessive import, which arose principally from the circumstances of the imports of the preceding year baving been considerably smaller. In forming his estimate for last year, however, which was excessive, he thought it safer to take the average of the two preceding years, and upon this average he felt himself justified in taking the surplus for last year at a sum not exceeding 4,400,000%. But he had to remark, that this surplus was exclusive of 970,000l. taken as the produce of the new regulation of the stampduties, which had been permanently appropriated from the Consolidated Fund to defray the interest and charges of the loan of last year. After deducting that sum so appropriated from the actual surplus in the preceding year, he had not thought he would be justified in taking his estimates of the

probable amount of the surplus for the last year higher than 4,400,000l. There remained, no doubt, a balance of two hundred and ninety, or three hundred thousand pounds above that estimate, which he hoped to have realized, but which he could not calculate upon with confidence. He had now, however, the satisfaction to inform the Committee, that the produce of the Consolidated Fund had exceeded his estimate to the amount of 1,300,000l. and upwards. There had been already voted, a sum of 357,73ĠI. as the surplus of the fund over the estimate on the 5th of January, 1811, which, with the sum he had proposed to vote in this instance, would make the actual surplus above his estimate, as he stated, above 1,350,000l. He thought it would be a satisfaction to the Committee, that he should state in a few words, this agreeable difference between the estimate and the actual produce of the fund. He felt the more pleasure in making this statement, because Gentlemen were disposed, under the circumstances in which the commerce of the country was placed, to take more gloomy views of the financial means and resources of the country than were justified by the fact; he trusted, too, that this short statement would remove any unfavourable impression upon the public mind which may have been made by such representa tions, and raise the hopes and just confidence of the public. He was persuaded, that whatever effect might have been produced by the temporary shock sustained by public credita shock which must necessarily have had some influence upon the revenue of the country-this gratifying fact would prove, that such were the solidity and stability of the sources of our revenue, that it was not a little that could retard its progress. To form an adequate idea of the actual state of the case, the Committee must refer to the proposition made by him in last Session-a proposition which had been received with doubt and watched with jealousy by the House when he brought it forward: he meant the proposition for acting upon the principle of providing for the loan without resorting to new taxes. In consequence of this proposition, the sum of 970,000/. had been taken from the surplus of the Consolidated Fund, to meet the charges of the Joan of the year. They had since gone through the year: all the expences chargeable upon the fund had been defrayed, and, over and above the 4,400,0001. estimated surplus, a sum of 1,350,0007. had been produced by the Consolidated Fund, applicable to the service of the present year. This