7885/1874.
No. 789.
(MALTA.)
A
MY LORD,
LAW OFFICERS to FOREIGN OFFICE.
Wi are honoured with your Lordship's commands signified in Lord Tenterden's
Temple, December 16, 1872. letter of the 12th instant, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us the papers relative to an alleged traffic in slaves between the North Coast of Africa and Constantinople through Malta.
That he was more especially to draw our attention to Sir P. Francis' letters of the 19th and 26th of September, inclosed in Sir H. Elliot's Despatch of the 28th of that month, and to the remarks made on those letters by Sir C. Straubensee in his Despatch which formed the inclosure in the Colonial Office letter of the 30th ultimo, and he was to request that we would take the papers into consideration together with the others, and favour your Lordship with our opinion as to the correctness of the views of Sir P. Franois.
In obedience to your Lordship's commands, we have the honour to
Report
That in our opinion the views of Sir P. Francis, expressed in his letters of the 19th and 26th September last, are practically correct, and are not practically different from those entertained by Sir C. Straubenzee.
Sir C. Straubenzee and Sir P. Francis both agree that the buying and selling, receiving and carrying on board ship, persons known to be or to be intended to be slaves, is an offence.
The observation of Sir P. Francis that the matter rests with the police and ship agents at Malta and Stamboul shows this to be his meaning, and Sir C. Straubenzee states his understanding of the law to be precisely the same. Both agree that where the Blacks supposed to be slaves assert that their condition, whatever it may in reality be, is voluntary, the law cannot take effect, and we presume this state of things suggested to Sir P. Francis the expression," voluntary subjection" as something not identical with slavery.
Your Lordship will best appreciate the illustration of "voluntary subjection" given by Sir P. Francis in the case of a Turk travelling with his family, of whom some, at least, are in a sense slaves. But we would observe upon that the great difficulty of carrying into execution in the Levant the most rigid interpretation of Acts against a Slave Trade.
We regret to have troubled your Lordship at unusual length, but, whilst we agree with the ideas entertained by Sir C. Straubenzee, we could not, without going into some detail, report that we at the same time considered the views of Sir P. Francis to be also correct.
The Earl Granville, K.G.,
&c. &o. &c.
We have, &c.
(Signed)
J. D. COLERIDGE. G. JESSEL.
J. PARKER DEANE.
A 16278-881.
15,—5/06,
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
To Ti
Reference :-
NPMC.O. 885
11 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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