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And whereas certain Treaties and Conventions, and a Declaration, together with certain explanatory and additional Articles, still subsisting full in force, were made between His late Majesty King George the Third, and His Catholic Majesty the King of Spain, His Most Faithful Majesty the King of Portugal, and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands respectively, for preventing Traffic in Slaves, of the Tenor and Effect following ; videlicet,
IN the Name of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity: His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal having, by the Tenth Article of the Treaty of Alliance concluded at Rio de Janeiro on the 19 th February 1810, declared His Determination to co-operate with His Britannic Majesty in the Cause of Humanity and Justice, by adopting the most efficacious Means for bringing about a gradual Abolition of the Slave Trade ; and His Royal Highness, in pursuance of His said Declaration, and desiring to effectuate, in concert with His Britannic Majesty and the other Powers of Europe who have been induced to assist in this benevolent Object, an immediate Abolition of the said Traffic upon the Parts of the Coast of Africa which are situated to the Northward of the Line; His Britannic Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, equally animated by a sincere Desire to accelerate the Moment when the Blessings of peaceful Industry and an innocent Commerce may be encouraged throughout this extensive Portion of the Continent of Africa, by its being delivered from the Evils of the Slave Trade, have agreed to enter into a Treaty for the said Purpose, and have accordingly named as their Plenipotentiaries; viz. His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Robert Stewart Viscount Castle-reagh, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a Member of His said Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Regiment of Militia of Londonderry, His said Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and His Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna; and His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Don Pedro de Soma Holstein, Count of Palmella, a Member of His Royal Highness's Council, Commander of the Order of Christ, Captain of a Company of the Royal German Life Guard; the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Anthony de Saldanha de Gama, a Member of His Royal Highness's Council and of His Council of Finance, Commander of the Military Order of St. Benedict of Aviz; and the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Don Joachim Lobo da Silveira, a Member of His Royal Highness's Council, and Commander of the Order of Christ, His Royal Highness's Plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Vienna ; who, having mutually exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due Form, have agreed upon the following Articles:
Article I.—That from and after the Ratification of the present Treaty, and the Publication thereof, it shall not be lawful for any of the Subjects of the Crown of Portugal to purchase Slaves, or to carry on the Slave Trade, on any Part of the Coast of Africa to the Northward of the Equator, upon any Pretext, or in any Manner whatsoever: Provided nevertheless, that the said Provision shall not extend to any Ship or Ships having cleared out from the Ports of Brazil previous to the Publication of such Ratification, and provided the Voyage in which such Ship or Ships are engaged shall not be protracted beyond Six Months after such Publication as aforesaid.
Article II.—His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal hereby agrees and binds himself to adopt, in concert with His Britannic Majesty, such Measures as may best conduce to the effectual Execution of the preceding Engagement, according to its true Intent and Meaning ; and His Britannic Majesty engages, in concert with His Royal Highness, to give such Orders as may effectually prevent any Interruption being given to Portuguese Ships resorting to the actual Dominions of the Crown of Portugal, or to the Territories which are claimed in the said Treaty of Alliance, as belonging to the said Crown of Portugal, to the Southward of the Line, for the Purposes of trading in Slaves as aforesaid, during such further Period as the same may be permitted to be carried on by the Laws of Portugal, and under the Treaties subsisting between the Two Crowns.
Article III.—The Treaty of Alliance concluded at Rio de Janeiro on the Nineteenth Day of February One thousand eight hundred and ten, being founded on Circumstances of a temporary Nature, which have happily ceased to exist, the said Treaty is hereby declared to be void in all its Parts, and of no Effect; without Prejudice, however, to the ancient Treaties of Alliance; Friendship, and Guarantee; which have so long and so happily existed between the Two Crowns, and ;which are hereby renewed by the High Contracting Parties, and acknowledged to be of full Force and Effect.
Article IV.—The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves, and engage to determine by a separate Treaty, the Period at which the Trade in Slaves shall universally cease, and be prohibited through, out the entire Dominions of Portugal; the Prince Regent of Portugal hereby renewing his former Declaration and Engagement, that during the Interval which is to elapse before such general and final Abolition shall take effect, it shall not be lawful for the Subjects of Portugal to purchase or trade in Slaves upon any Parts of the Coast of Africa, except to the Southward of the Line, as specified in the Second Article of this Treaty, nor to engage in the same, or to permit their Flag to be used, except for the Purpose of supplying the Transatlantic Possessions belonging to the Crown of Portugal.
Article V.—His Britannic Majesty hereby agrees to remit, from the Date at which the Ratification mentioned in the First Article shall be promulgated, such further Payments as shall then remain due and payable upon the Loan of Six hundred thousand Pounds, made in London for the Service of Portugal in the Year One thousand eight hundred and nine, in consequence of a Convention signed on the Twenty-first Day of April of the same Year; which Convention, under the Conditions specified as aforesaid, is hereby declared to be void and of no Effect.
Article VI.—The present Treaty shall be ratified, and the Ratifications shall be exchanged at Rio de Janeiro in the Space of Five Months, or sooner if possible. In Witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have thereunto affixed the Seals of their Arms.
Done at Vienna, this Twenty-second Day of January, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifteen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| (L.S.) Castlereagh. | (L.S.) Conde de Palmella. |
| (L.S.) Antonio de Saldanha de Gama. | |
| (L.S.) B. Joaquim Lobo da Silveira. |
Additional Article.—It is agreed, that in the Event of any of the Portuguese Settlers being desirous of retiring from the Settlements of the Crown of Portugal on the Coast of Africa to the Northward of the Equator, with the Negroes bonâ fide their Domestics, to some other of the Possessions of the Crown of Portugal, the same shall not be deemed unlawful, provided it does not take place on board a Slave-trading Vessel, and provided they be furnished with proper Passports and Certificates, according to a Form to be agreed upon between the Two Governments.
The present Additional Article shall have the same Force and Effect as if it were inserted Word for Word in the Treaty signed this Day, and shall be ratified, and the Ratifications exchanged at the same Time.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have thereunto, affixed the: Seals of their Arms.
Done at, Vienna this Twenty-second Day of January in the" Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifteen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| (L.S.) Castlereagh. | (L.S.) Conde de Palmella. |
| (L.S.) Antonio de Saldanha da Gama. | |
| (L.S.) B. Joaquim Lobo da Silveira. |
HIS Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves, adhering to the Principles which they have manifested in the Declaration of the Congress of Vienna bearing Date the Eighth of February One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and being desirous to fulfil faithfully, and to their utmost Extent, the Engagements which they mutually contracted by the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and till the Period shall arrive when, according to the Tenor of the Fourth Article of the said Treaty, His Most Faithful Majesty has reserved to himself, in concert with His Britannic Majesty, to fix the Time when the Trade in Slaves shall cease entirely arid be prohibited in his Dominions; and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves, having bound himself by the Second Article of the said Treaty to adopt the Measures necessary to prevent His Subjects from all illicit Traffic in Slaves; and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland having on his Part engaged, in conjunction with His Most Faithful Majesty, to employ effectual Means to prevent Portuguese Vessels trading in Slaves, in conformity with the Laws of Portugal and the existing Treaties, from suffering any Loss or Hindrance from British Cruizers, their said Majesties have accordingly resolved to proceed to the Arrangement of a Convention for the Attainment of these Objects, and have therefore named as Plenipotentiaries ad hoc ; viz.
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Robert Stewart Viscount Castlereagh, a Member of His said Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, Colonel of the Londonderry Regiment of Militia, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and His Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves, the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord Don Pedro de Souza Holstein, Count of Palmella, Councillor of His said Majesty, Captain of the German Company of His Royal Guards, Commander of the Order of Christ, Grand Cross of the Order of Charles the Third of Spain, and his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Britannic Majesty; who, after having exchanged their respective fall-Powers, found to be in good and due Form, have agreed upon the following Articles:—
Article the First.—The Object of this Convention is, on the Part of the Two Governments, mutually to prevent their respective Subjects from carrying on an illicit Slave Trade.
The Two High Contracting Powers declare, that they consider as illicit any Traffic in Slaves carried on under the following Circumstances :
1st. Either by British Ships, and under the British Flag, or for the Account of British Subjects, by any Vessel or under, any Flag whatsoever.
2d. By Portuguese Vessels, in any of the Harbours or Roads of the Coast of Africa which are prohibited by the First Article of the Treaty of the Twenty-second January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen.
3d. Under the Portuguese or British Flag for the Account of the Subjects of any other Government.
4th. By Portuguese Vessels bound for any Port not in the Dominions of His Most Faithful Majesty.
Article the Second.—The Territories in which the Traffic in Slaves continues to be permitted, under the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, to the Subjects of His Most Faithful Majesty, are the following :
1st. The Territories possessed by the Crown of Portugal upon the Coast of Africa to the South of the Equator; that is to say, upon the Eastern Coast of Africa, the Territory laying between Cape Delgado and the Bay of Lourenço Marques; and upon the Western Coast, all that which is situated from the Eighth to the Eighteenth Degree of South Latitude.
2d. Those Territories on the Coast of Africa to the South of the Equator, over which His Most Faithful Majesty has declared that he has retained his Rights ; namely,
The Territories of Molembo and Cabinda upon the Eastern Coast of Africa, from the Fifth Degree Twelfth Minute to the Eighth Degree South Latitude.
Article the Third.—His Most Faithful Majesty engages, within the Space of Two Months after the Exchange of the Ratifications of this present Convention, to promulgate in His Capital, and in the other Parts of His Dominions, as soon as possible, a Law which shall prescribe the Punishment of any of His Subjects who may in future participate in an illicit Traffic of Slaves, and at the same Time to renew the Prohibition which already exists, to import Slaves into the Brazils under any Flag other than that of Portugal; and His, Most Faithful Majesty engages to assimilate as much as possible the Legislation of Portugal in this respect to that of Great Britain.
Article the Fourth.—Every Portuguese Vessel which shall be destined for the Slave Trade, on any Point of the African Coast where this Traffic still continues to be lawful, must be provided with a Royal Passport, conformable to the Model annexed to this present Convention, and which Model forms an integral Part of the same The Passport must be Written in the Portuguese Language, with art authentic Translation in English annexed thereto, and it must be sighed for those Vessels sailing from the Port of Bio Janeiro by the Minister of Marine; and for all other Vessels which may be intended for the said Traffic, and which may sail from any other Ports of the Brazils, or from any other of the Dominions of His Most Faithful Majesty not in Europe, the Passports must be signed by the Governor in Chief of the Captaincy to which the Port belongs ; and as to those Vessels which may proceed from the Ports of Portugal, to carry on the Traffic in Slaves, their Passports must be signed by the Secretary of the Government for the Marine Department.
Article the Fifth.—The Two High Contracting Powers, for the more complete Attainment of their Object, namely, the Prevention of all illicit Traffic in Slaves on the Part of their respective Subjects, mutually consent that the Ships of War of their Royal Navies, which shall be provided with Special Instructions for this Purpose, as herein-after is provided, may visit such Merchant Vessels of the Two Nations as may be suspected, upon reasonable Grounds, of having Slaves on board, acquired by an illicit Traffic, and in the Event only of their actually finding Slaves on board may detain and bring away such Vessels, in order that they may be brought to Trial before the Tribunals established for this Purpose, as shall herein-after be specified.
Provided always, that the Commanders of the Ships of War of the Two Royal Navies, who shall be employed on this Service, shall adhere strictly to the exact Tenor of the Instructions which they shall have received for this Purpose.
As this Article is entirely reciprocal, the Two High Contracting Parties engage mutually to make good any Losses with their respective Subjects may incur unjustly, by the arbitrary and illegal Detention of their Vessels.
It being understood that this Indemnity shall invariably be borne by the Government whose Cruizer shall have been guilty of the arbitrary Detention : Provided always, that the Visit and Detention of Slave Ships, specified in this Article, shall only be effected by those British or Portuguese Vessels which may form Part of the Two Royal Navies, and by those only of such Vessels which are provided with the Special Instructions annexed to the present Convention.
Article the Sixth.—No British or Portuguese Cruizer shall detain any Slave Ship not having Slaves actually on board ; and in order to render lawful the Detention of any Ship, whether British or Portuguese, the Slaves found on board such Vessel must have been brought there for the express Purpose of the Traffic, and those on board Portuguese Ships must have been taken from that Part of the Coast of Africa where the Slave Trade was prohibited by the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen.
Article the Seventh.—All Ships of War of the Two Nations, which shall hereafter be destined to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves, shall be furnished by their own Government with a Copy of the Instructions annexed to the present Convention, and which shall be considered as an integral Part thereof.
These Instructions shall be written in Portuguese and English and signed for the Vessels of each of the Two Powers by the Ministers of their respective Marine.
The Two High Contracting Parties reserve the Faculty of altering the said Instructions, in whole or in part, according to Circumstances ; it being however well understood, that the said Alterations cannot take place but by common Agreement, and by the Consent of the Two High Contracting Parties.
Article the Eighth.—In order to bring to Adjudication, with the least Delay and Inconvenience, the Vessels which may be detained for having been engaged in an illicit Traffic of Slaves, there shall be established, within the Space of a Year at furthest from the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention, Two Mixed Commissions, formed of an equal Number of Individuals of the Two Nations, named for this Purpose by their respective Sovereigns.
These Commissions shall reside, one in a Possession belonging to His Britannic Majesty, the other within the Territories of His Most Faithful Majesty ; and the Two Governments, at the Period of the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention, shall declare, each for its own Dominions, in what Places the Commissions shall respectively reside. Each of the Two High Contracting Parties reserving to itself the Right of changing at its Pleasure the Place of Residence of the Commission held within its own Dominions ; provided, however, that one of the Two Commissions shall always be held upon the Coast of Africa, and the other in the Brazils.
These Commissions shall judge the Causes submitted to them without Appeal, and according to the Regulations and Instructions annexed to the present Convention, of which they shall be considered as an integral Part.
Article the Ninth.—His Britannic Majesty, in conformity with the Stipulations of the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, engages to grant, in the Manner hereafter explained, sufficient Indemnification to all the Proprietors of Portuguese Vessels and Cargoes captured by British Cruizers between the First of June One thousand eight hundred and fourteen, and the Period at which the Two Commissions pointed out in Article VIII. of the present Convention, shall assemble at their respective Posts.
The Two High Contracting Parties agree, that all Claims of the Nature herein-before mentioned shall be received and liquidated by a Mixed Commission, to be held at London, and which shall consist of an equal Number of the Individuals of the Two Nations, named by their respective Sovereigns, and upon the same Principles stipulated by the Eighth Article of this Additional Convention, and by the other Acts which form an integral Part of the same. The aforesaid Commissions shall commence their Functions Six Months after the Ratification of the present Convention, or sooner if possible.
The Two High Contracting Parties have agreed, that the Proprietors of Vessels captured by the British Cruizers cannot claim Compensation for a larger Number of Slaves than that which, according to the existing Laws of Portugal, they were permitted to transport according to the Rate of Tonnage of the captured Vessel.
The Two High Contracting Parties are equally agreed, that every Portuguese Vessel captured with Slaves on board for the Traffic, which shall be proved to have been embarked within the Territories of the Coast of Africa situated to the North of Cape Palmas, and not belonging to the Crown of Portugal, as well as all Portuguese Vessels captured with Slaves on board for the Traffic Six Months after the Exchange of the Ratification of the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and on which it can be proved, that the aforesaid Slaves were embarked in the Roadsteads of the Coast of Africa situated to the North of the Equator, shall not be entitled to claim any Indemnification.
Article the Tenth.—His Britannic Majesty engages to pay within the Space, of a Year at farthest from the Decision of each Case, to the Individual having a just Claim to the same, the Sums which shall be granted to them by the Commissions named in the preceding Articles.
Article the Eleventh.—His Britannic Majesty formally engages to pay the Three hundred thousand Pounds Sterling of Indemnification, stipulated by the Convention of the Twenty-first of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, in favour of the Proprietors of Portuguese Vessels captured by British Cruizers up to the Period of the First of June One thousand eight hundred and fourteen, in the Manner following; viz.
The First Payment of One hundred and fifty thousand Pounds Sterling Six Months after the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention, and the remaining One hundred and fifty thousand Pounds Sterling, as well as the Interest at Five per Cent, due upon the total Sum from the Day of the Exchange of the Ratifications of the Convention of the Twenty-first of January One thousand eight hundred arid fifteen, shall be paid Nine Months after the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Convention. The Interest due shall be payable up to the Day of the last Payment. All the aforesaid Payments shall be made in London to the Minister of His Most Faithful Majesty at the Court of His Britannic Majesty, or to the Persons whom His Most Faithful Majesty shall think proper to authorize for that Purpose.
Article the Twelfth.—The Acts or Instruments annexed to this Additional Convention, and which form an integral Part thereof, are as follow:
No. 1. Form of Passport for the Portuguese Merchant Ships destined for the lawful Traffic in Slaves,
No. 2. Instructions for the Ships of War of both Nations destined to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves.
No. 3. Regulation for the Mixed Commissions which are to hold their Sittings on the Coast of Africa, at the Brazils, and in London.
Article the Thirteenth.—The present Convention shall be ratified, and the Ratifications thereof exchanged at Rio Janeiro, within the Space of Four Months at furthest, dating from the Day of its Signature.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have thereunto affixed the Seal of their Arms.
Done at London, the Twenty-eighth Day of July in the Year of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| (L.S.) Castlereagh.. | (L.S.) The Count of Palmella.. |
[Signed as above, by the proper Portuguese Authorities.]
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| Castlereagh.. | The Count of Palmella.. |
Article I.—Every British or Portuguese Ship of War shall, in Conformity with Article V. of the Additional Convention of this Date, have a Right to visit the Merchant Ships of either of the Two Powers actually engaged or suspected to be engaged in the Slave Trade ; and should any Slaves be found on board according to the Tenor of the Sixth Article of the aforesaid Additional Convention,—and as to what regards the Portuguese Vessels, should there be ground to suspect that the said Slaves have been embarked on a Part of the Coast of Africa where the Traffic in Slaves can no longer be legally carried on, in consequence of the Stipulations in force between the Two High Powers, in these Cases alone the Commander of the said Ship of War may detain them ; and having detained them, he is to bring them as soon as possible for Judgment before that of the Two Mixed Commissions appointed by the Eighth Article of the Additional Convention of this Date, which shall be the nearest, or which the Commander of the capturing Ship shall, upon his own Responsibility, think he can soonest reach from the Spot where the Slave Ship shall have been
Ships on board of which no Slaves shall be found intended for Purposes of Traffic, shall not be detained on any Account or Pretence whatever.
Negro Servants or Sailors that may be found on board the said Vessels, cannot, in any Case, be deemed a sufficient Cause for Detention.
Article II.—No Merchantman or Slave Ship can, on any Account or Pretence whatever, be visited or detained whilst in the Port or Roadstead belonging to either of the Two High Contracting Powers, or within Cannon-shot of the Batteries on Shore. But in case suspicious Vessels should be found so circumstanced, proper Representations may be addressed to the Authorities of the Country, requesting them to take effectual Measures for preventing such Abuses.
Article III.—The High Contracting Powers having in view the immense Extent of the Shores of Africa to the North of the Equator along which this Commerce continues prohibited, and the Facility thereby afforded for illicit Traffic on Points where either the total Absence or at least the Distance of lawful Authorities bar ready Access to those Authorities, in order to prevent it, have agreed, for the more readily attaining the salutary End which they propose, to grant, and they do actually grant to each other the Power, without prejudice to the Rights of Sovereignty, to visit and detain, as if on the High Seas, any Vessel having Slaves on board, even within Cannon-shot of the Shore of their respective Territories on the Continent of Africa to the North of the Equator, in case of there being no Local Authorities to whom Recourse might be had, as has been stated in the preceding Article. In such Cases, Vessels so visited may be brought before the Mixed Commissions, in the Form prescribed in the first Article of the preceding Instructions.
Article IV.—No Portuguese Merchantman or Slave Ship shall, on any Pretence whatever, be detained, which shall be found any where near the Land, or on the High Seas, South of the Equator, unless after a Chace that shall have commenced North of the Equator.
Article V.—Portuguese Vessels furnished with a regular Passport, having Slaves on board, shipped at those Parts of the Coast of Africa where the Trade is permitted to Portuguese Subjects, and which shall afterwards be found North of the Equator, shall not be detained by the Ships of War of the Two Nations, though furnished with the present Instructions, provided the same can account for their Course, either in conformity with the Practice of the Portuguese Navigation, by steering some Degrees to the Northward in search of fair Winds, or for other legitimate Causes, such as the Dangers of the Seas duly proved ; or lastly, in the Case of their Passports proving that they were bound for a Portuguese Port not within the Continent of Africa: Provided always, that with regard to all Slave Ships detained to the North of the Equator, the Proof of the Legality of the Voyage is to be furnished by the Vessel so detained. On the other Hand, with respect to Slave Ships detained to the South of the Equator, in conformity with the Stipulations of the preceding Article, the Proof of the Illegality of the Voyage is to be exhibited by the Captor.
It is in like Manner stipulated, that the Number of Slaves found on board a Slave Ship by the Cruizers, even should the Number not agree with that contained in their Passport, shall not be a sufficient Reason to justify the Detention of the Ship ; but the Captain and the Proprietor shall be denounced in the Portuguese Tribunals in the Brazils, in order to their being punished according to the Laws of the Country.
Article VI.—Every Portuguese Vessel intended to be employed in the legal Traffic in Slaves, in conformity with the Principles laid down in the Additional Convention of this Date, shall be commanded by a Native Portuguese, and Two-thirds at least of the Crew shall likewise be Portuguese : Provided always, that its Portuguese or Foreign Construction shall in no wise affect its Nationality, and that the Negro Sailors shall always be reckoned as Portuguese, provided they belong, as Slaves, to Subjects of the Crown of Portugal, or that they have been enfranchised in the Dominions of His Most Faithful Majesty.
Article VII.—Whenever a Ship of War shall meet a Merchant Vessel liable to be searched, it shall be done in the most mild Manner, and with every Attention which is due between allied and friendly Nations ; and in no case shall the Search be made by an Officer holding a Rank inferior to that of Lieutenant in the Navy.
Article VIII.—The Ships of War which may detain the Slave Ships, in pursuance of the Principles laid down in the present Instructions, shall leave on board all the Cargo of Negroes untouched, as well as the Captain and a Part at least of the Crew of the above-mentioned Slave Ship; the Captain shall draw up in Writing an authentic Declaration, which shall exhibit the State in which he found the detained Ship, and the Changes which may have taken place in it; he shall deliver to the Captain of the Slave Ship a signed Certificate of the Papers seized on board the said Vessel, as well as of the Number of Slaves found on board at the Moment of Detention.
The Negroes shall not be disembarked till after the Vessels which contain them shall be arrived at the Place where the Legality of the Capture is to be tried by One of the Two Mixed Commissions, in order that in the Event of their not being adjudged legal Prize, the Loss of the Proprietors may be more easily repaired. If, however, urgent Motives, deduced from the Length of the Voyage, the State of Health of the Negroes, or other Causes, required that they should be disembarked entirely, or in part, before the Vessels could arrive at the Place of Residence of One of the said Commissions, the Commander of the capturing Ship may take on himself the Responsibility of such Disembarkation, provided that the Necessity be stated in a Certificate in proper Form.
Article IX.—No Conveyance of Slaves from one Port of the Brazils to another, or from the Continent or Islands of Africa to the Possessions of Portugal out of America, shall take place as Objects of Commerce, except in Ships provided with Passports from the Portuguese Government ad hoc.
Done at London, the Twenty-eighth Day of July, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| Castlereagh.. (L.S.) | (L.S.) The Count of Palmella.. (L.S.) |
Article I.—The Mixed Commissions to be established by the Additional Convention of this Date, upon the Coast of Africa and in the Brazils, are appointed to decide upon the Legality of the Detention of such Slave Vessels as the Cruizers of both Nations shall detain, in pursuance of this same Convention, for carrying on an illicit Commerce in Slaves.
The above-mentioned Commissions shall judge, without Appeal, according, to the Letter and Spirit of the Treaty of the Twenty-second of January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the Additional Convention to the said Treaty, signed at London, on this Twenty-eighth Day of July One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
The Commissions shall give Sentence as summarily as possible, and they are required to decide (as far as they shall find it practicable) within the Space of Twenty Days, to be dated from that on which every detained Vessel shall have been brought into the Port where they shall reside, First, upon the Legality of the Capture ; Second, in the Case in which the captured Vessel shall have been liberated, as to the Indemnification which she is to receive.
And it is hereby provided, that in all Cases the final Sentence shall not be delayed on the account of the Absence of Witnesses, or for want of other Proofs, beyond the Period of Two Months, except upon the Application of any of the Parties interested, when, upon their giving satisfactory Security to charge themselves with the Ex-pence and Risks of the Delay, the Commissioners may, at their Discretion, grant an additional Delay, not exceeding Four Months.
Article II.—Each of the above-mentioned Mixed Commissions, which are to reside on the Coast of Africa, and in the Brazils, shall be composed in the following Manner :
The Two High Contracting Parties shall each of them name a Commissary Judge, and a Commission of Arbitration, who shall be authorized to hear and to decide, without Appeal, all Cases of Capture of Slave Vessels which, in pursuance of the Stipulation of the Additional Convention of this Date, may be laid before them. All the essential Parts of the Proceedings carried on before these Mixed Commissions shall be written down in the Language of the Country in which the Commission may reside.
The Commissary Judges and the Commissioners of Arbitration: shall make Oath, in Presence of the Principal Magistrate of the Place in which the Commission may reside, to judge fairly and faithfully, to have no Preference, either for the Claimants or the Captors, and to act, in all their Decisions, in pursuance of the Stipulations of the Treaty of the Twenty-second January One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the Additional Convention of the said Treaty.
There shall be attached to each Commission a Secretary or Registrar, appointed by the Sovereign of the Country in which the Commission may reside, who shall register all its Acts, and who, previous to his taking charge of his Post, shall make Oath, in Presence of at least One of the Commissary Judges, to conduct himself with Respect for their Authority, and to act with Fidelity in all the Affairs which may belong to his Charge.
Article III.—The Form of Process shall be as follows :
The Commissary Judges of the Two Nations shall, in the first Place, proceed to the Examination of the Papers of the Vessel, and to receive the Depositions on Oath of the Captain, and of Two or Three, at least, of the principal Individuals on board of the detained Vessel, as well as the Declaration on Oath of the Captor, should it appear necessary, in order to be able to judge and to pronounce if the said Vessel has been justly detained or not, according to the Stipulations of the Additional Convention of this Date, and in order that, according to this Judgment, it may be condemned or liberated: And in the Event of the Two Commissary Judges not agreeing on the Sentence they ought to pronounce, whether as to the Legality of the Detention or the Indemnification to be allowed, or on any other Question which might result from the Stipulations of the Convention of this Date, — they shall draw by Lot the Name of One of the Two Commissioners of Arbitration, who, after having considered the Documents of the Process, shall consult with the above-mentioned Commissary Judges on the Case in question, and the final Sentence shall be pronounced conformably to the Opinion of the Majority of the above-mentioned Commissary Judges, and of the above-mentioned Commissioner of Arbitration.
Article IV.—As often as the Cargo of Slaves found on board of a Portuguese Slave Ship shall have been embarked on any Point whatever of the Coast of Africa where the Slave Trade continues lawful to the Subjects of the Crown of Portugal, such Slave Ship shall not be detained on Pretext that the above-mentioned Slaves-have been brought originally by Land from any other Part whatever of the Continent.
Article V.—In the authenticated Declaration which the Captor shall make before the Commission, as well as in the Certificate of the Papers seized, which shall be delivered to the Captain of the captured Vessel at the Time of the Detention, the above-mentioned Captor shall be bound to declare his Name, the Name of his Vessel, as well as the Latitude and Longitude of the Place where the Detention shall have taken place, and the Number of Slaves found living on board of the Slave Ship at the Time of the Detention.
Article VI.—As soon as Sentence shall have been passed, the detained Vessel, if liberated, and what remains of the Cargo, shall be restored to the Proprietors, who may before the same Commission claim a Valuation of the Damages which they may have a Right to demand; the Captor himself, and in his Default his Government, shall remain responsible for the above-mentioned Damages. The Two High Contracting Parties bind themselves to defray, within the Term of a Year from the Date of the Sentence, the Indemnifications which may be granted by the above-named Commission, it being understood that these Indemnifications shall be at the Expence of the Power of which the Captor shall be a Subject.
Article VII.—In case of the Condemnation of a Vessel for an-unlawful Voyage, she shall be declared lawful Prize, as well as her Cargo, of whatever Description it may be, with the Exception of the Slaves who may be on board as Objects of Commerce; and the said Vessel, as well as her Cargo, shall be sold by public Sale, for the Profit of the Two Governments ; and as to the Slaves, they shall receive from the Mixed Commission a Certificate of Emancipation,-and shall be delivered over to the Government on whose Territory the Commission which shall have so judged them shall be established, to be employed as Servants or free Labourers. Each of the Two Governments bind itself to guarantee the Liberty of such Portion of these Individuals as shall be respectively consigned to it.
Article VIII.—Every Claim for Compensation of Losses occasioned to Ships suspected of carrying on illicit Trade in Slaves, not condemned as lawful Prize by the Mixed Commissions, shall be also heard and judged by the above-named Commissions, in the Form provided by the Third Article of the present Regulation; and in all Cases wherein Restitution shall be so decreed, the Commission shall award to the Claimant or Claimants, or his or their lawful Attorney or Attornies, for his or their Use, a just and complete Indemnification :—First, for all Costs of Suit, and for all Losses and Damages which the Claimant or Claimants may have actually sustained by such Capture and Detention; that is to say, in case of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified; First, for the Ship, her Tackle, Apparel, and Stores 5 Secondly, for all Freight due and payable; Thirdly, for the Value of the Cargo of Merchandize, if any ; Fourthly, for the Slaves on board at the Time of Detention, according to the Computed Value of such Slaves at the Place of Destination ; deducting therefrom the usual fair average Mortality for the unexpired Period of the regular Voyage ; deducting also for all Charges and Expences payable upon the Sale of such Cargoes, including Commission of Sale when payable at such Port; and, Fifthly, for all other regular Charges in Cases of total Loss; and in all other Cases not of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified,—First, for all special Damages and Expences occasioned to the Ship by the Detention, and for Loss of Freight when due or payable ; Secondly, a Demurrage when due, according to the Schedule annexed to the present Article ; Thirdly, a daily Allowance for the Subsistence of Slaves, of One Shilling, or One hundred and eighty Reis for each Person, without Distinction of Sex or Age, for so many Days as it shall appear to the Commission that the Voyage has been or may be delayed by reason of such Detention ; as, likewise, Fourthly, for any Deterioration of Cargo or Slaves; Fifthly, for any Diminution in the Value of the Cargo or Slaves, proceeding from an increased Mortality beyond the average Amount of the Voyage, or from Sickness occasioned by Detention ;—this Value to be ascertained by their computed Price at the Place of Destination, as in the above Case of total Loss ; Sixthly, an Allowance of Five per Cent, on the Amount of Capital employed in the Purchase and Maintenance of Cargo, for the Period of Delay occasioned by the Detention; and, Seventhly, for all Premium of Insurance on additional Risks.
The Claimant or Claimants shall likewise be entitled to Interest at the Rate of Five per Cent. per Annum on the Sum awarded, until paid by the Government to which the capturing Ship belongs; the whole Amount of such Indemnifications being calculated in the Money of the Country to which the captured Ship belongs, and to be liquidated at Exchange Current at the Time of Award, excepting the Sum for the Subsistence of Slaves, which shall be paid at Par, as above stipulated.
The Two High Contracting Parties wishing to avoid, as much as possible, every Species of Fraud in the Execution of the Additional Convention of this Date, have agreed, that if it should be proved in a Manner evident to the Conviction of the Judges of the Two Nations, and; without having recourse to the Decision of a Commissioner of Arbitration, that the Captor has been led into Error by a voluntary and reprehensible Fault on the Part of the Captain of the detained Ship; in that Case only, the detained Ship shall not have the Right of receiving, during the Days of her Detention, the Demurrage stipulated by the present
Schedule of Demurrage or daily Allowance
| For a Vessel of 100 Tons to 120 inclusive | £5 | } per Diem, |
| 121 Tons to 150 inclusive | 6 | |
| 151 Tons to 170 inclusive | 8 | |
| 171 Tons to 200 inclusive | 10 | |
| 201 Tons to 220 inclusive | 11 | |
| 221 Tons to 250 inclusive | 12 | |
| 251 Tons to 270 inclusive | 14 | |
| 271 Tons to 300 inclusive | 15 | |
| and so in proportion. | ||
Article IX.—When the Proprietors of a Ship suspected of carrying oil an illicit Trade in Slaves, released in consequence of a Sentence of One of the Mixed Commissions (or in the Case, as above mentioned, of total Loss), shall claim Indemnification for the Loss of Slaves which he may have suffered, he shall in no Case be entitled to claim for more than the Number of Slaves which his Vessel was by the Portuguese Laws authorized to carry, which Number shall always be declared in his Passport.
Article X.—The Mixed Commission established in London by the Article Xlth of the Convention of this Date, shall hear and determine all Claims for Portuguese Ships and Cargoes captured by British Cruizers on account of the unlawful trading in Slaves, since the First of June One thousand eight hundred and fourteen, till the Period when the Convention of this Date is to be in complete Execution, awarding to them, conformably to the Article IXth of the Additional Convention of this Date, a just and complete Compensation, upon the Basis laid down in the preceding Article, either for total Loss, or for Losses and Damages sustained by the Owners and Proprietors of the said Ships and Cargoes. The said Commission established in London shall be composed and proceed exactly upon the same Basis determined in the Articles 1, 2 and 3, of the present Regulations for the Commissions established on the Coast of Africa and the Brazils.
Article XI.—It shall not be permitted to any of the Commissary Judges, nor to the Arbitrators, nor to the Secretary of any of the Mixed Commissions, to demand or receive, from any one of the Parties concerned in the Sentences which they shall pronounce, any Emolument, under any Pretext whatsoever, for the Performance of the Duties which are imposed upon them by the present Regulation.
Article XII.—When the Parties interested shall imagine they have cause to complain of any evident Injustice on the Part of the Mixed Commissions, they may represent it to their respective Governments, who reserve to themselves the Right of mutual Correspondence for removing, when they think fit, the Individuals who may compose these Commissions.
Article XIII.—In the Case of a Vessel detained unjustly, under Pretence of the Stipulations of the Additional Convention of this Date, and in which the Captor should neither be authorized by the Tenor of the above-mentioned Convention, nor of the Instructions annexed to it, the Government to, which the detained Vessel may belong shall be entitled to demand Reparation; and in such Case, the Government to which the Captor may belong binds itself to cause the Subject of Complaint to be fully examined, and to inflict upon the Captor, if he be found to have deserved it, a Punishment proportioned to the Transgression which may have been committed.
Article XIV.—The Two High Contracting Parties have agreed, that in the Event of the Death of One or more of the Commissioners, Judges, and Arbitrators, composing the above-mentioned Mixed Commissions, their Posts shall be supplied, ad interim, in the following Manner ; on the Part of the British Government, the Vacancies shall be filled successively in the Commission which shall sit within the Possessions of His Britannic Majesty, by the Governor or Lieutenant Governor resident in that Colony, by the principal Magistrate of the Place, and by the Secretary ; and in the Brazils by the British Consul and Vice Consul resident in the City in which the Mixed Commission may be established.
On the Part of Portugal, the Vacancies shall be supplied, in the Brazils, by such Persons as the Captain General of the Province shall name for that Purpose ; and, considering the Difficulty which the Portuguese Government would feel, in naming fit Persons to fill the Post, which might become vacant in the Commission established in the British Possessions, it is agreed, that in case of the Death of the Portuguese Commissioners, Judge, or Arbitrators in those Possessions, the remaining Individuals of the above-mentioned Commission shall be equally authorized to proceed to the Judgment of such Slave Ships as may be brought before them, and to the Execution of their Sentence. In this Case alone, however, the Parties interested shall have the Right of appealing from the Sentence, if they think fit, to the Commission resident in the Brazils; and the Government to which the Captor shall belong shall be bound fully to defray the Indemnification which shall be due to them, if the Appeal be judged in favour of the Claimants ; it being well understood, that the Ship and Cargo shall remain during this Appeal in the Place of Residence of the first Commission before whom they may have been conducted.
The High Contracting Parties have agreed to supply, as soon as possible, every Vacancy that may arise in the above-mentioned Commissions, from Death or any other Contingency. And in case that the Vacancy of each of the Portuguese Commissioners residing in the British Possessions be not supplied at the End of Six Months, the Vessels which are taken there to be judged, after the Expiration of that Time, shall no longer have the Right of Appeal herein-before stipulated.
Done at London the Twenty-eighth Day of July, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| Castlereagh. (L.S.) | The Count of Palmella. (L.S.) |
Separate Article,—As soon as the total Abolition of the Slave Trade for the Subjects of the Crown of Portugal shall have taken place, the Two High Contracting Parties hereby agree, by common Consent, to adapt to that State of Circumstances, the Stipulations of the Additional Convention concluded at London the Twenty-eighth of July last; but in default of such Alterations, the Additional Convention of that Date shall remain in force until the Expiration of Fifteen Years from the Day on which the general Abolition of the Slave Trade shall so take place on the Part of the Portuguese Government.
The present Separate Article shall have the same Force and Validity as if it were inserted, Word for Word, in the Additional Convention aforesaid. It shall be ratified, and the Ratifications shall be exchanged as soon as possible.
In Witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have thereunto affixed the Seals of their Arms.
Done at London, this Eleventh Day of September, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| (L.S.) Castlereagh. | (L.S.) The Count of Palmella. |
Whereas a Convention, having for its Object the Prevention of the illicit Traffic in Slaves, was concluded between His Britannic Majesty and His Most Faithful Majesty, and signed at London on the 28th of July 1817:—
And whereas by the Second Article of that Convention, the Traffic in Slaves was declared still to be permitted to Portuguese Subjects, only within certain Territories therein
And whereas the Territories of Molembo and Cabinda are described by that Article to be on the Eastern Coast of Africa ; and whereas this Description is evidently a verbal Mistake, the said Territories of Molembo and Cabinda lying in fact upon the Western and not upon the Eastern Coast of Africa :—
It is hereby declared by the undersigned, that the Word " Eastern," in that Part of the Second Article above alluded to, shall be held to be annulled, and the Word " Western " to stand in its Place ; and the latter Part of the Article in question shall accordingly be held to run thus :—
" The Territories of Molembo and Cabinda upon the Western Coast " of Africa, from the Fifth Degree Twelve Minutes to the Eighth " Degree South Latitude."
It was further agreed between the undersigned, that the present Declaration shall be considered as an integral Part of the said Convention.
In Witness and in Faith of the above, the undersigned, His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and His Most Faithful Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of St. James's, have hereunto set their Hands and Seals, at London, this Third Day of April, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and nineteen.
| (L.S.) Castlereagh. |
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazils, and Algarves, wishing to remove every Obstacle to the faithful Execution of the Convention signed in London by their respective Plenipotentiaries on the Twenty-eighth of July One thousand eight hundred and seventeen, for the Purpose of preventing their Subjects from engaging in any illicit Traffic in Slaves, and seeing the Necessity of adding, to that Intent, certain Articles to the said Convention, have for this Purpose named their Plenipotentiaries; that is to say, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Edward Michael Ward Esquire, His Charge d'Affaires at the Court of Lisbon ; and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves, Joze Bazilio Rademaker Knight, professed in the Order of Christ, and Chief Clerk of the Department of State for Foreign Affairs ; who, after having exchanged their respective full Powers, found to be in good and due Form, have agreed upon the following Articles :—
Article I.—Whereas it is stated in the First Article of the Instructions intended for the British and Portuguese Ships of War employed to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves, that " Ships on board of which " no Slaves shall be found intended for the Purposes of Traffic, shall " not be detained on any Account or Pretence whatever:" And whereas it has been found by Experience, that Vessels employed in the illegal Traffic have put their Slaves momentarily on Shore, immediately prior to their being visited by Ships of War, and that such Vessels have thus found Means to evade Forfeiture, and have been enabled to pursue their unlawful Course with Impunity, contrary to the true Object and Spirit of the Convention of the Twenty-eighth of July One thousand eight hundred seventeen; the Two High Contracting Parties therefore feel it necessary to declare, and it is hereby declared by them, that if there shall be clear and undeniable Proof that a Slave or Slaves of either Sex has or have been put on board a Vessel for the Purpose of illegal Traffic in the particular Voyage on which the Vessel be captured, then and on that Account, according to the true Intent and Meaning of the Stipulations of the above-mentioned Convention, such Vessel shall be detained by the Cruizers and finally condemned by the Commissioners.
Article II.—Inasmuch as the Convention of the Twenty-eighth of July One thousand eight hundred and seventeen, does not stipulate the Mode of supplying the Absence of the Commissioners occurring from any other Cause besides that of Death, which is the only Case provided for by the Fourteenth Article of the Regulation for the Mixed Commissions annexed to the said Convention ; the Two High Contracting Parties have agreed, that in the Event of the Recal, or of the Absence on account of Illness, or any other unavoidable Cause, of any of the Commissioners, Judges, or Arbitrators, or in the Case of their Absence in consequence of Leave from their Government, which must be notified to the respective Commission, their Posts shall be supplied in the same Form and Manner as is determined for the Case of Death by the above-mentioned Fourteenth Article of the said Regulation.
These additional Articles shall have the same Force and Effect as if they were inserted Word for Word in the said Convention, and shall be considered as forming Part of the same; they shall be ratified, and the Ratifications thereof exchanged in Lisbon, within Three Months at latest after the Date of their Signature.
In Witness whereof, the undersigned, being furnished with full Powers to that Effect, have signed these Articles, and fixed thereunto the Seals of their Arms.
Done at Lisbon, this Fifteenth Day of March, in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.
| (L.S.) E.M.Ward. | |
| (L.S.) Joze Bazilio Rademaker. |
IN the Name of the Most Holy Trinity: It having been stated, in the Second additional Article of the Treaty signed at Madrid, on the Fifth Day of July of the Year One thousand eight hundred and fourteen, between His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of Spain and the Indies, that " His Catholic Majesty concurs, in the fullest Manner, " in the Sentiments of His Britannic Majesty, with respect to the " Injustice and Inhumanity of the Traffic in Slaves, and promises to " take into Consideration, with the Deliberation which the State of " his Possessions in America demands, the Means of acting in Conformity with those Sentiments; and engages, moreover, to prohibit his Subjects from carrying on the Slave Trade, for the Purpose of f supplying any Islands or Possessions, excepting those appertaining " to Spain ; and to prevent, by effectual Measures and Regulations, " the Protection of the Spanish Flag being given to Foreigners who may engage in this Traffic, whether Subjects of His Britannic Majesty, or any other State or Power."
And His Catholic Majesty, conformably to the Spirit of this Article, and to the Principles of Humanity with which he is animated, having never lost Sight of an Object so interesting to him, and being desirous of hastening the Moment of its Attainment, has resolved to cooperate with His Britannic Majesty in the Cause, of Humanity, by adopting, in concert with His said Majesty, efficacious Means for bringing about the Abolition of the Slave Trade, for effectually suppressing illicit Traffic in Slaves on the Part of their respective Subjects and for preventing Spanish Ships trading in Slaves conformably to Law and to Treaty from being molested or subjected to Losses from British Cruizers: the Two High Contracting Parties have accordingly named as their Plenipotentiaries, viz.—
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Sir Henry Wellesley, a Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and His Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to His Catholic Majesty ; and His Majesty the King of Spain and the Indies, Don Josef Garcia de Leon y Pizarro, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and distinguished Spanish Order of Charles Third, of that of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit, of Naples, of those of Saint Alexander Newsky and of Saint Anne, of Russia, and of that of the Red Eagle, of Prussia, Councillor of State, First Secretary of State and of the General Dispatch ; who having exchanged their respective full Powers, found to be in good and due Form, have agreed upon the following Articles:
Article the First.—His Catholic Majesty engages, that the Slave Trade shall be abolished throughout the entire Dominions of Spain on the Thirtieth Day of May One thousand eight hundred and twenty, and that from and after that Period it shall not be lawful for any of the Subjects of the Crown of Spain to purchase Slaves or to carry on the Slave Trade on any Part of the Coast of Africa, upon any Pretext or in any Manner whatever; provided, however, that a Term of Five Months from the said Date of the Thirtieth of May One thousand eight hundred and twenty, shall be allowed for completing the Voyages of Vessels which shall have cleared out -lawfully previously to the said Thirtieth of May.
Article the Second.—It is hereby agreed, that from and after the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, it shall not be lawful for any of the Subjects of the Crown of Spain to purchase Slaves, or to carry on the Slave Trade on any Part of the Coast of Africa to the North of the Equator, upon any Pretext or in any Manner whatever; provided, however, that a Term of Six Months, from the Date of the Exchange of the Ratifications of this Treaty, shall be allowed for completing the Voyages of Vessels which shall have cleared out from Spanish Ports for the said Coast previously to the Exchange of the said Ratifications.
Article the Third.—His Britannic Majesty engages to pay, in London, on the Twentieth of February One thousand eight hundred and eighteen, the Sum of Four hundred thousand Pounds Sterling, to such Person as His Catholic Majesty shall appoint to receive the same.
Article the Fourth.—The said Sum of Four hundred thousand Pounds Sterling is to be considered as a full Compensation for all Losses sustained by the Subjects of His Catholic Majesty engaged in this Traffic, on account of Vessels captured previously to the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, as also for the Losses which are a necessary Consequence of the Abolition of the said Traffic.
Article the Fifth.—One of the Objects of this Treaty, on the Part of the Two Governments, being mutually to prevent their respective Subjects from carrying on an illicit Slave Trade ;
The Two High Contracting Parties declare, that they consider as illicit any Traffic in Slaves carried on under the following Circumstances :
First. Either by British Ships, and under the British Flag, or for the Account of British Subjects, by any Vessel or under any Flag whatsoever.
Second. By Spanish Ships, upon any Part of the Coast of Africa North of the Equator, after the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty; provided, however, that Six Months shall be allowed for completing the Voyages of Vessels, conformably to the Tenor of the Second Article of this Treaty.
Third. Either by Spanish Ships, and under the Spanish Flag, or for the Account of Spanish Subjects by any Vessel or under any Flag whatsoever, after the Thirtieth of May One thousand eight hundred and twenty, when the Traffic in Slaves, on the Part of Spain, is to cease entirely : Provided always, that Five Months shall be allowed for the Completion of Voyages commenced in due Time, conformably to the First Article of this Treaty.
Fourth. Under the British or Spanish Flag for the Account of the Subjects of any other Government.
Fifth. By Spanish Vessels bound for any Port not in the Dominions of His Catholic Majesty.
Article the Sixth.—His Catholic Majesty will adopt, in conformity to the Spirit of this Treaty, the Measures which are best calculated to give full, and complete Effect to the laudable Objects which the High Contracting Parties have in view.
Article the Seventh.—Every Spanish Vessel which shall be destined for the Slave Trade, in any Part of the Coast of Africa where this Traffic still continues to be lawful, must be provided with a Royal Passport, conformable to the Model annexed to the present Treaty, and which Model forms an integral Part of the same. This Passport must be written in the Spanish Language, with an authentic Translation in English annexed thereto ; and it must be signed by His Catholic Majesty, and countersigned by the Minister of Marine, and also by the principal Naval Authority of the District, Station, or Port from whence the Vessel clears out, whether in Spain, or in the Colonial Possessions of His Catholic Majesty.
Article the Eighth.—It is to be understood that this Passport, for rendering lawful the Voyages of Slave Ships, is required only for the Continuation of the Traffic to the South of the Line; those Passports which are now issued, signed by the First Secretary of State of His Catholic Majesty, and in the Form prescribed by the Order of the Sixteenth of December One thousand eight hundred and sixteen, remaining in full Force for all Vessels which may have cleared out for the Coast of Africa, as well to the North as to the South of the Line, previously to the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty.
Article the Ninth.—The Two High Contracting Parties, for the more complete Attainment of the Object of preventing all illicit Traffic in Slaves on the Part of their respective Subjects, mutually consent, that the Ships of War of their Royal Navies which shall be provided with special Instructions for this Purpose, as herein-after mentioned, may visit such Merchant Vessels of the Two Nations as may be suspected, upon reasonable Grounds, of having Slaves on board acquired by an illicit Traffic, and in the Event only of their finding Slaves on board may detain and bring away such Vessels, in order that they may be brought to Trial before the Tribunals established for this Purpose, as shall herein-after be specified.
Provided always, that the Commanders of the Ships of War of the Two Royal Navies who shall be employed on this Service shall adhere strictly to the exact Tenor of the Instructions which they shall receive for this Purpose.
As this Article is entirely reciprocal, the Two High Contracting Parties engage mutually to make good any Losses which their respective Subjects may incur unjustly, by the arbitrary and illegal Detention of their Vessels.
It being understood that this Indemnity shall invariably be borne by the Government whose Cruizer shall have been guilty of the arbitrary Detention ; provided always, that the Visit and Detention of Slave Ships specified in this Article shall only be effected by those British or Spanish Vessels which may form Part of the Two Royal Navies, and by those only of such Vessels which are provided with the Special Instructions annexed to the present Treaty.
Article the Tenth,—No British or Spanish Cruizer shall detain any Slave Ship not having Slaves actually on board; and in order to render lawful the Detention of any Ship, whether British or Spanish, the Slaves found on board of such Vessel must have been brought there for the express Purpose of the Traffic, and those on board of Spanish Ships must have been taken from that Part of the Coast of Africa where the Slave Trade is prohibited, conformably to the Tenor of the present Treaty.
Article the Eleventh.—All Ships of War of the Two Nations, which shall hereafter be destined to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves, shall be furnished by their own Government with a Copy of the Instructions annexed to the present Treaty, and which shall be considered as an integral Part thereof.
These Instructions shall be written in Spanish and English, and signed, for the Vessels of each of the Two Powers, by the Minister of their respective Marine.
The Two High Contracting Parties reserve the Faculty of altering the said Instructions, in whole or in part, according to Circumstances ; it being however well understood, that the said Alterations cannot take place but by common Agreement, and by the Consent of the Two High Contracting Parties.
Article the Twelfth.—In order to bring to Adjudication, with the least Delay and Inconvenience, the vessels which may be detained for having been engaged in an illicit Traffic of Slaves, there shall be established, within the Space of a Year at furthest from the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, Two Mixed Commissions, formed of an equal Number of Individuals of the Two Nations, named for this Purpose by their respective Sovereigns.
These Commissions shall reside, one in a Possession belonging to His Britannic Majesty, the other within the Territories of His Catholic Majesty ; and the Two Governments, at the Period of the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, shall declare, each for its own Dominions, in what Places the Commissions shall respectively; reside, each of the Two High Contracting Parties reserving to itself the Right of changing at its Pleasure the Place of Residence of the Commission held within its own Dominions ; provided, however, that one of the Two Commissions shall always be held upon the Coast of Africa, and the other in one of the Colonial Possessions of His Catholic Majesty.
These Commissions shall judge the Causes submitted to them without Appeal, and according to the Regulation and Instructions annexed to the present Treaty, of which they shall be considered as an integral Part.
Article the Thirteenth—The Acts or Instruments annexed to this Treaty, and which form an integral Part thereof, are as follow:
No. 1. Form of Passport for the Spansih Merchant Ships destined for the lawful Traffic in Slaves.
No. 2. Instructions for the Ships of War of both Nations destined to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves.
No. 3. Regulation for the Mixed Commissions which are to hold their Sittings on the Coast of Africa, and in one of the Colonial Possessions of His Catholic Majesty.
Article the Fourteenth.—The present Treaty, consisting of Fourteen Articles, shall be ratified, and the Ratifications exchanged at Madrid, within the Space of Two Months from this Date, or sooner if possible.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have thereunto affixed the Seal of their Arms.
Done at Madrid this Twenty-third Day of September in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
|---|---|
| Henry Wellesley. (L.S.) | Jose Pizarro. (L.S.) |
| (Signed) Henry Wellesley. (L.S.) | (Signed) Jose Pizarro. (L.S.) |
Article I.—Every British or Spanish Ship of War shall, in conformity with Article IXth of the Treaty of this Date, have a Right to visit the Merchant Ships of either of the Two Powers actually engaged or suspected to be engaged in the Slave Trade ; and should any Slaves be found on board, according to the Tenor of the Xth Article of the aforesaid Treaty; and as to what regards the Spanish Vessels, should there be Ground to suspect that the said Slaves have been embarked on a Part of the Coast of Africa where the Traffic is no longer permitted, conformably to the Articles I. and II, of the Treaty of this Date ; in these Cases alone the Commander of the said Ship of War may detain them; and having detained them, he is to bring them as soon as possible, for Judgment, before that of the Two Mixed Commissions appointed by the XIIth Article of the Treaty of this Date which shall be the nearest, or which the Commander of the capturing Ship shall, upon his own Responsibility, think he can soonest reach from the Spot where the Slave Ship shall have been detained.
Ships on board of which no Slaves shall be found, intended for Purposes of Traffic, shall not be detained on any Account or Pretence whatever.
Negro Servants or Sailors that may be found on board the said Vessels cannot, in any Case, be deemed a sufficient Cause of Detention.
Article II.—No Spanish Merchantman or Slave Ship shall on any Pretence whatever be detained, which shall be found any where near the Land, or on the High Seas, South of the Equator, during the Period for which the Traffic is to remain lawful, according to the Stipulations subsisting between the High Contracting Parties, unless after a Chace that shall have commenced North of the Equator.
Article III.—Spanish Vessels, furnished with a regular Passport, having Slaves on board, shipped at those Parts of the Coast of Africa where the Trade is permitted to Spanish Subjects, and which shall, afterwards be found North of the Equator, shall not be detained by the Ships of War of the Two Nations, though furnished with the present Instructions, provided the same can account for their Course, either in conformity with the Practice of the Spanish Navigation, by steering some Degrees to the Northward in Search of fair Winds, or for other legitimate Causes, such as the Dangers of the Sea, duly proved : Provided always, that with regard to all Slave Ships detained to the North of the Equator, after the Expiration of the Term allowed, the Proof of the Legality of the Voyage is to be furnished by the Vessel so detained. On the other Hand, with respect to Slave Ships detained to the South of the Equator, in conformity with the Stipulations of the preceding Article, the Proof of the Illegality of the Voyage is to be exhibited by the Captor.
It is in like Manner stipulated, that the Number of Slaves found on board a Slave Ship by the Cruizers, even should the Number not agree with that contained in their Passports, shall not be sufficient Reason to justify the Detention of the Ship; but the Captain and Proprietor shall be denounced in the Spanish Tribunals, in order to their being punished according to the Laws of the Country.
Article IV.—Every Spanish Vessel intended to be employed in the legal Traffic in Slaves, in conformity with the Principles laid down in the Treaty of this Date, shall be commanded by a native Spaniard; and Two Thirds, at least, of the Crew shall likewise be Spaniards: Provided always, that the Spanish or Foreign Construction shall in no wise affect its Nationality, and that the Negro Sailors shall always be reckoned as Spaniards, provided they belong, as Slaves, to Subjects of the Crown of Spain, or that they have been enfranchised in the Dominions of His Catholic Majesty.
Article V.—Whenever a Ship of War shall meet a Merchantman liable to be searched, it shall be done in the most mild Manner, arid with every Attention which is due between allied and friendly Nations; and in no Case shall the Search be made by an Officer holding a Rank inferior to that of Lieutenant in the Navy of Great Britain, or of Ensign of a Ship of the Line in the Spanish Navy.
Article VI.—The Ships of War which may detain any Slave Ship, in pursuance of the Principles laid down in the present Instructions, shall leave on board all the Cargo of Negroes untouched, as well as the Captain, and a Part, at least, of the Crew of the above-mentioned Slave Ship ; the Captain shall draw up in Writing an authentic Declaration, which shall exhibit the State in which he found the detained Ship, and the Changes which may have taken place in it; he shall deliver to the Captain of the Slave Ship a signed Certificate of the Papers seized on board of the said Vessel, as well as of the Number of Slaves found on board at the Moment of Detention.
The Negroes shall not be disembarked till after the Vessels which contain them shall be arrived at the Place where the Legality of the Capture is to be tried by One of the Two Mixed Commissions, in order that, in event of their not being adjudged legal Prize, the Loss of the Proprietors may be more easily repaired. If, however, urgent Motives, deduced from the Length of the Voyage, the State of Health of the Negroes, or other Causes, required that they should be disembarked entirely, or in part, before the Vessel could arrive at the Place of Residence of one of the said Commissions, the Commander of the capturing Ship may take on himself the Responsibility of such Disembarkation, provided that the Necessity be stated in a Certificate in proper Form.
Article VII.—No Conveyance of Slaves from one Part in the Spanish Possessions to another shall take place, except in Ships provided with Passports from the Government on the Spot, ad hoc. Done at Madrid, the Twenty-third Day of September in the Fear of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (L.S.) Henry Wellesley. | (L.S.) Jose Pizarro. |
Article I.—The Mixed Commissions to be established by the Treaty of this Date, upon the Coast of Africa and in a Colonial Possession of His Catholic Majesty, are appointed to decide upon the Legality of the Detention of such Slave Vessels as the Cruizers of both Nations shall detain, in pursuance of this same Treaty, for carrying on an illicit Commerce in Slaves.
The above-mentioned Commissions shall judge, without Appeal, according to the Letter and Spirit of the Treaty of this Date.
The Commissions shall give Sentence as summarily as possible, and they are required to decide (as far as they shall find it practicable) within the Space of Twenty Days, to be dated from that on which every detained Vessel shall have been brought into the Port where they shall reside ; First, upon the Legality of the Capture ; Second, in the Case in which the captured Vessel shall have been liberated, as to the Indemnifications which she is to receive.
And it is hereby provided, that in all Cases the final Sentence shall not be delayed on account of the Absence of Witnesses, or for Want of other Proofs, beyond the Period of Two Months, except upon the Application of any of the Parties interested, when, upon their giving satisfactory Security to charge themselves with the Expence arid Risks of the Delay, the Commissioners may, at their Discretion, grant an additional Delay, not exceeding Four Months.
Article II.—Each of the above-mentioned Mixed Commissions, which are to reside on the Coast of Africa and in a Colonial Possession of His Catholic Majesty, shall be composed in the following Manner:
The Two High Contracting Parties shall each of them name a Commissary Judge and a Commissioner of Arbitration, who shall be authorized to hear and to decide, without Appeal, all Cases of Capture of Slave Vessels which, in pursuance of the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date, may be laid before them. All the essential Parts of the Proceedings carried on before these Mixed Commissions shall be written down in the legal Language of the Country in which the Commission may reside.
The Commissary Judges and the Commissioners of Arbitration shall make Oath, in Presence of the principal Magistrate of the Place in which the Commission may reside, to judge fairly and faithfully, to have no Preference either for the Claimants or the Captors,; and to act in all their Decisions in pursuance of the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date.
There shall be attached to each Commission a Secretary or Registrar appointed by the Sovereign of the Country in which the Commission may reside, who shall register all its Acts, arid who, previous to his taking charge of his Post, shall make Oath, in Presence of at least One of the Commissary Judges, to conduct himself with, Respect to their Authority, and to act with Fidelity in all the Affairs which may belong to his Charge.
Article III.—The Form of the Process shall be as follows : The Commissary Judges of the Two Nations shall, in the first Place, proceed to the Examination of the Papers of the Vessel, and to receive the Depositions on Oath of the Captain, and of Two or Three at least of the principal Individuals on board of the detained Vessel, as well as the Declaration on Oath of the Captor, should it appear necessary, in order to be able to judge and to pronounce if the said Vessel has been justly detained or not, according to the Stipulations of the Treaty or this Date, and in order that, according to this Judgment, it may be condemned or liberated. And in the Event of the Two Commissary Judges not agreeing on the Sentence they ought to pronounce, whether as to the Legality of the Detention, or the Indemnification to be allowed, or on any other Question which might result from the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date,—they shall draw by Lot the Name of One of the Two Commissioners of Arbitration, who, after having considered the Documents of the Process, shall consult with the above-mentioned Commissary Judges on the Case in question, and the final Sentence shall be pronounced conformably to the Opinion of the Majority of the above-mentioned Commissary Judges, and of the above-mentioned Commissioner of Arbitration.
Article IV.—As often as the Cargo of Slaves found on board of a Spanish Slave Ship shall have been embarked on any Point whatever of the Coast of Africa where the Slave Trade continues to be lawful, such Slave Ship shall not be detained on pretext that the above-mentioned Slaves have been brought originally by Land from any other Part whatever of the Continent.
Article V.—In the authenticated Declaration which the Captor shall make before the Commission, as well as in the Certificate or the Papers seized, which shall be delivered to the Captain of the captured Vessel at the Time of the Detention, the above-mentioned Captor shall be bound to declare his Name, the Name of his Vessel, as well as the Latitude and Longitude of the Place where the Detention shall have taken place, and the Number of Slaves found living on board of the Slave Ship at the Time of the Detention.
Article VI.—As soon as Sentence shall have been passed, the, detained Vessel, if liberated, and what remains of the Cargo, shall be restored to the Proprietors, who may before the same Commission claim a Valuation of the Damages which they may have a Right to demand; the Captor himself, and in his Default his Government, shall remain responsible for the above-mentioned Damages.
The Two High Contracting Parties bind themselves to defray, within the Term of a Year from the Date of the Sentence, the Indemnifications which may be granted by the above-named Commission, it being understood that these Indemnifications shall be at the Ex-pence of the Power of which the Captor shall be a Subject.
Article VII.—In case of the Condemnation of a Vessel for an unlawful Voyage, she shall be declared lawful Prize, as well as her Cargo, of whatever Description it may be, with the Exception of the Slaves who may be on board as Objects of Commerce; and the. said Vessel, as well as her Cargo, shall be sold by public Sale for the Profit of the Two Governments; and as to the Slaves, they shall receive from the Mixed Commission a Certificate of Emancipation, and shall be delivered over to the Government on whose Territory the Commission which shall have so judged them shall be established, to be employed as Servants or Free Labourers. Each of the Two Governments binds itself to guarantee the Liberty of these Individuals as shall be respectively consigned to it.
Article VIII.—Every Claim for Compensation of Losses occasioned to Ships suspected of carrying on an illicit Trade in Slaves, not condemned as lawful Prize by the Mixed Commission, shall also be heard and judged by the above-named Commissions, in the Form provided by the Third Article of the present Regulation ; and in all Cases, wherein Restitution shall be so decreed, the Commission shall award to the Claimant or Claimants, or his or their lawful Attorney or Attornies, for his or their Use, a just and complete Indemnification, for all Costs of Suit, and for all Losses and Damages which the Claimant or Claimants may have actually sustained by such Capture and Detention ; that is to say, In case of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified,—First, for the Ship, her Tackle, Apparel, and Stores; Secondly, for all Freight due and payable ; Thirdly, for the Value of the Value of the Cargo of Merchandize, if any; Fourthly, for the Slaves on board at the Time of Detention, according to the computed Value of such Slaves at the Place of Destination, deducting therefrom the usual fair average Mortality for the unexpired Period of the regular Voyage; deducting also for all Charges and Expences payable upon the Sale of such Cargoes, including Commission of Sale ; and, Fifthly, for all other regular Charges in such Cases of total Loss : And in all other Cases not of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified,—First, from all special Damages and Expences occasioned to the Ship by the Detention, and for Loss of Freight when due or payable ; Secondly, a Demurrage, when due, according to the Schedule annexed to the present Article; Thirdly, a daily Allowance for the Subsistence of Slaves, of One Shilling, or Four Reals and Half de Vor, for each Person, without Distinction of Sex or Age, for so many Days as it shall appear to the Commission that the Voyage has been or may be delayed by reason of such Detention ; as likewise, Fourthly, for any Deterioration of Cargo or Slaves; Fifthly, for any Diminution in the Value of the Cargo of Slaves, proceeding from an increased Mortality beyond the average Amount of the Voyage, or from Sickness occasioned by Detention ; this Value to be ascertained by their computed Price at the Place of Destination, as in the above Case of total Loss ; Sixthly, an Allowance of Five per Cent, on the Amount of the Capital employed in the Purchase and Maintenance of Cargo, for the Period of Delay occasioned by the Detention ; and, Seventhly, for all Premium of Insurance on additional Risks.
The Claimant or Claimants shall likewise be entitled to Interest, at the Rate of Five per Cent. per Annum on the Sum awarded, until paid by Government to which the capturing Ship belongs ; the whole Amount of such Indemnification being calculated in the Money of the Country to which the captured Ship belongs, and to be liquidated at the Exchange current at the Time of Award, excepting the Sum for the Subsistence of Slaves, which shall be Par, as above stipulated.
The Two High Contracting Parties wishing to avoid, as much as possible, every Species of Fraud in the Execution of the Treaty of this Date, have agreed, that if it should be proved, in a Manner evident to the Conviction of the Commissary Judges of the Two Nations, and without having Recourse to the Decision of a Commissioner of Arbitration, that the Captor has been led into Error by a voluntary and reprehensible Fault on the Part of the Captain of the detained Ship ; in that Case only, the detained Ship shall not have the Right of receiving, during the Days of her Detention, the Demurrage stipulated by the present Article.
Schedule of Demurrage or daily Allowance
| for a Vessel of 100 Tons to 120 inclusive, | £5 | } per Diem, |
| 121 Tons to 150 inclusive, | 6 | |
| 151 Tons to 170 inclusive, | 8 | |
| 171 Tons to 200 inclusive, | 10 | |
| 201 Tons to 220 inclusive, | 11 | |
| 221 Tons to 250 inclusive, | 12 | |
| 251 Tons to 270 inclusive, | 14 | |
| 271 Tons to 300 inclusive, | 15 | |
| and so in proportion. | ||
Article IX.—When the Proprietor of a Ship suspected of carrying on an illicit Trade in Slaves, released in consequence of a Sentence of One of the Mixed Commissions (or in the Case, as above mentioned, of total Loss), shall claim Indemnification for the Loss of Slaves which he may have suffered, he shall in no Case be entitled to claim for more than the Number of Slaves which his Vessel by the Spanish Laws was authorized to carry, which Number shall always be stated in his Passport.
Article X.—Neither the Judges, nor the Arbitrators, nor the Secretary of the Mixed Commissions, shall be permitted to demand or receive from any of the Parties concerned in the Sentences which they shall pronounce, any Emolument, under any Pretext whatsoever, for the Performance of the Duties which are imposed upon them by the present Regulation.
Article XI.—When the Parties interested shall imagine they have Cause to complain of any evident Injustice on the Part of the Mixed Commissions, they may represent it to their respective Governments, who reserve to themselves the Right of mutual Correspondence, for the Purpose of removing, when they think fit, the Individuals who may compose these Commissions.
Article XII.—In case of a Vessel being improperly detained, under Pretence of the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date, and the Captor not being enabled to justify himself, either by the Tenor of the said Treaty or of the Instructions annexed to it, the Government to which the detained Vessel may belong shall be entitled to demand Reparation ; and in such Case the Government to which the Captor may belong binds himself to cause Inquiry to be made into the Subject of the Complaint, and to inflict upon the Captor, if he be found to have deserved it, a Punishment proportioned to the Transgression which may have been committed.
Article XIII.—The Two High Contracting Parties have agreed, that in the Event of the Death of One or more of the Commissary Judges or the Commissioners of Arbitration composing the above-mentioned Mixed Commissions, their Posts shall be supplied, ad interim, in the following Manner :
On the Part of the British Government, the Vacancies shaft he filled successively in the Commission which shall sit within the Possessions of His Britannic Majesty, by the Governor or Lieutenant Governor resident in that Colony, by the principal Magistrate of the same, and by the Secretary; and in that which shall sit within the Possessions of His Catholic Majesty, it is agreed, that, in case of the Death of the British Judge or Arbitrator there, the remaining Individuals of the said Commission shall proceed equally to the Judgment of such Slave Ships as may be brought before them, and to the Execution of their Sentence. In this Case alone, however, the Parties interested shall have the Right of appealing from the Sentence, if they think fit, to the Commission resident upon the Coast of Africa ; and the Government to which the Captor shall belong shall be bound fully to make good the Compensation which shall be due to them in case the Appeal be decided in favour of the Claimants; but the Vessel and Cargo shall remain, during such Appeal, in the Place of Residence of the First Commission before which they shall have been carried.
On the Part of Spain, the Vacancies shall be supplied, in the Possession of His Catholic Majesty, by such Persons of Trust as the principal Authority of the Country shall appoint; and upon the Coast of Africa, in case of the Death of any Spanish Judge or Arbitrator, the Commission shall proceed to Judgment in the same Manner as above specified for the Commission resident in the Possessions of His Catholic Majesty, in the Event of the Death of the British Judge or Arbitrator ; an Appeal being, in this Case likewise, allowed to the Commission resident in the Possession of His Catholic Majesty ; and in general, all the Provisions of the former Case being to be applied to the present.
The High Contracting Parties have agreed to supply, as soon as possible, the Vacancies that may arise in the above-mentioned Commissions, from Death or any other Cause; and in case that the Vacancy of any of the Spanish Commissioners in the British Possessions, or of the British Commissions in the Spanish Possessions, be not supplied at the End of the Term of Seven Months for America, and of Twelve for Africa, the Vessels which shall be brought to the said Possessions respectively, shall cease to have the Right of Appeal above
Done at Madrid, the Twenty-third Day of September in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen.
| (L.S.) Henry Wellesley. | (L.S.) Jose Pizarro. |
Whereas it is stated in Article I. of the " Instructions intended for British and Spanish Ships of War employed to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves," that " Ships, on board of which no Slaves shall be found intended for Purposes of Traffic, shall not be detained on any Account or Pretence whatever:" And whereas it has been found by Experience, that Vessels employed in the illegal Traffic have put their Slaves momentarily on Shore, immediately prior to their being visited by Ships of War, and that such Vessels have thus found means to evade Forfeiture, and have been enabled to pursue their unlawful Course with Impunity, contrary to the true Object and Spirit of the Treaty above-mentioned:
The High Contracting Parties therefore feel it necessary to declare, and it is hereby declared by them, that if there shall be clear and undeniable Proof that a Slave or Slaves has or have been put on board a Vessel, for the Purpose of illegal Traffic, in the particular Voyage on which the Vessel shall be captured, then, and on that Account, according to the true Intent and Meaning of the Stipulations of the Treaty, such Vessel shall be detained by the Cruizers, and finally condemned by the
This explanatory Article shall have the same Force and Effect as if it were inserted Word for Word in the said Treaty, and shall be held to form Part of the same.
In witness whereof the undersigned, furnished with full Powers to that Effect, have hereunto signed their Names, and affixed their Seals.
Done at Madrid, the Tenth Day of December One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
| (L.S.) William A'Court. |
The High Contracting Parties hereby agree, that in the Event of the Absence, on account of Illness or of any other unavoidable Cause, of One or more of the Commissioners, Judges, and Arbitrators under the above-mentioned Treaty, or in the Case of their Absence in consequence of Leave from their Government, duly notified to the Board of Commission sitting under the said Treaty, their Posts shall be supplied in the same Manner in which, by the Article 14. of the Regulations for the Mixed Commission, those Vacancies in the Commission are to be supplied which may occur by the Death of One or more of the Commissioners aforesaid.
This Article shall have the same Force and Effect as if it had been inserted Word for Word in the above-mentioned Treaty, and shall be held to form Part of the same.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly furnished with full Powers to that Effect, have signed the present Additional Article, and have affixed thereunto the Seal of their Arms.
Done at Madrid the Tenth Day of December One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
| (L.S.) William A'Court. |
Whereas in the additional Article to the Treaty- for preventing an illegal Commerce in, Slaves, signed at Madrid the Tenth December One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, a Reference is made by a Mistake of the Copyist to the Fourteenth instead of the Thirteenth Article of the Regulations for the Mixed Commissions: We the Undersigned, fully authorized to that Effect, do hereby agree and declare, that the Reference aforesaid shall be considered as applying to the Thirteenth Article, according to the evident Intention of the High Contracting Parties.
Done at Madrid this Second Day of February One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.
| (Signed) { | (L.S.) William A'Court. |
| (L.S.) El Conde De Ofalia. |
In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity :—His Majesty the King 6f the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, animated with a mutual Desire to adopt the most effectual Measures for putting a Stop to the carrying on of the Slave Trade by their respective Subjects, and for preventing their respective Flags from being made use of as a Protection to this nefarious Traffic by the People of other Countries who may engage therein; their said Majesties have accordingly resolved to proceed to the Arrangement of a Convention for the Attainment of their Objects, and have therefore named as Plenipotentiaries, ad hoc,
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Richard Earl of Clancarty, Viscount Dunlo, Baron Kilconnel, Baron Trench of Garbally in the United Kingdom' of Great Britain and Ireland, One of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in Great Britain and also in Ireland, Member of the Committee of the First for the Affairs of Commerce and Colonies, Colonel of the Regiment of Militia of the County of Galway, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His said Majesty to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxemburgh; and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Anne William Charles Baron de Nagell d'Ampsen, Member of the Body of Nobles of the Province of Guelderland, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the-' Belgic Lion and of that of Charles the Third, Chamberlain and Minister of State holding the Department of Foreign Affairs; and Cornelius Felix Van Maanen, Commander of the Order of the Belgic Lion, and Minister of State holding the Department of Justice; who, having exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due Form, have agreed on the 'following Articles :
Article I.—The Laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland rendering; it already highly penal for the Subjects of His Britannic Majesty to carry on, or to be in any way engaged in Trade in Slaves, His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, referring to the Eighth Article of the Convention entered into with His Britannic Majesty on the Thirteenth August One thousand eight hundred and fourteen, engages in pursuance thereof, and within Eight Months from the Ratification of these Presents, or sooner if possible, to prohibit all his Subjects, in the most effectual Manner, and especially by penal Law the most formal, to take any Part whatever in the Trade of Slaves; and in the Event of the Measures already taken by the British Government, and to be taken by that of the Netherlands, being found ineffectual or insufficient, the High Contracting Parties mutually engage to adopt such further Measures, whether by legal Provision or otherwise, as may from Time to Time appear to be best calculated in the most effectual Manner to prevent all their respective Subjects from taking any Share whatever in this nefarious Traffic.
Article II.—The Two High Contracting Parties, for the more complete Attainment of the Object of preventing all Traffic in Slaves on the Part of their respective Subjects, mutually consent that the Ships of their Royal Navies, which shall be provided with special Instructions for this Purpose, as herein-after mentioned, may visit such Merchant Vessels of the Two Nations as may be suspected upon reasonable Grounds of having Slaves on board for an illicit Traffic; and in the Event only of their finding such Slaves on board, may detain and bring away such Vessels, in order that they may be brought to Trial before the Tribunals established for this Purpose, as shall herein-after be specified.
Article III.—In the Intention of explaining the Mode of Execution of the preceding Article, it is agreed,
1st. That such reciprocal Right of Visit and Detention shall not be exercised within the Mediterranean Sea, or within the Seas in Europe lying without the Straits of Gibraltar, and which lie to the Northward of the Thirty-seventh Parallel of North Latitude, and also within and to the Eastward of the Meridian of Longitude Twenty Degrees West of Greenwich.
2d. That the Names of the several Vessels furnished with such Instructions, the Force of each, and the Names of their several Commanders, shall be from Time to Time, immediately upon their Issue, communicated by the Power issuing the same to the other High Contracting Party.
3d. That the Number of Ships of each of the Royal Navies authorized to make such Visits as aforesaid, shall not exceed the Number of Twelve belonging to either of the High Contracting Parties, without the special Consent of the other High Contracting Party being first had and obtained.
4th. That if at any Time it should be deemed expedient that any Ship of the Royal Navy of either of the Two High Contracting Parties, authorized to make such Visits as aforesaid, should proceed to visit any Merchant Ship or Ships under the Flag, and proceeding under the Convoy of any Vessel or Vessels of the Royal Navy of the other High Contracting Party, that the Commanding Officer of the Ship, duty authorized and instructed to make such Visit, shall proceed to effect the same in Communication with the Commanding; Officer of the Convoy, who it is hereby agreed shall give every Facility to such Visit, and to the eventual Detainer of the Merchant Ship or Ships so visited, and in all things assist to the utmost of his Power in the due Execution of the present Convention, according to the true Intent and Meaning thereof.
5th. It is further mutually agreed, that the Commanders of the Ships of the Two Royal Navies, who shall be employed on this Ser-vice, shall adhere strictly to the exact Tenor of the Instructions which they shall receive for this Purpose.
Article IV.—As the Two preceding Articles are entirely recipro-cal, the Two High Contracting Parties engage mutually to make good any Losses which their respective Subjects may incur unjustly, by the arbitrary and illegal Detention of their Vessels; it being understood that this Indemnity shall invariably be borne by the Government whose Cruizer shall have been guilty of the arbitrary Detention; and that the Visit and Detention of Ships specified in this Article, shall only be effected by those British or Netherland Vessels which may form Part of the Two Royal Navies, and by those only of such Vessels which are provided with the special Instructions annexed to the present Treaty, in pursuance of the Provisions thereof.
Article V.—No British or Netherland Cruizer shall detain any Ship . whatever not having Slaves actually on board; and in order to render lawful the Detention of any Ship, whether British or Netherland, the Slaves found on board such Vessel must have been brought there for the express Purpose of the Traffic.
Article VI—All Ships of the Royal Navies of the Two Nations, which shall hereafter be destined to prevent the Traffic in Slaves, shall be furnished by their respective Governments with a Copy of the Instructions annexed to the present Treaty, and shall be considered as an integral Part thereof.
These Instructions shall be written in the Dutch and English Languages, and signed for the Vessels of each of the Two Powers by the Minister of their respective Marine.
The Two High Contracting Parties reserve the Faculty of altering the said Instructions, in whole or in part, according to Circumstances ; it being however well understood, that the said Alterations cannot take place but by common Agreement, and by the Consent of the Two High Contracting Parties.
Article VII.—In order to bring to Adjudication, with the least Delay and Inconvenience, the Vessels which may be detained for having been engaged in a Traffic of Slaves, according to the Tenor of the Fifth Article of this Treaty, there shall be established, within the Space of a Year at furthest from the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, Two Mixed Courts of Justice, formed of an equal Number of Individuals of the Two Nations, named for this Purpose by their respective Sovereigns.
These Courts shall reside, one in a Possession belonging to His Britannic Majesty, the other within the Territories of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands; and the Two Governments, at the Period of the Exchange of the Ratifications of the present Treaty, shall declare, each for its own Dominions, in what Places the Courts shall respectively reside. Each of the Two High Contracting Parties reserving to itself the "Right of changing, at its Pleasure, the Place of Residence of the Court held within its own Dominions; provided, however, that one of the Two Courts shall always be held upon the Coast of Africa, and the other in one of the Colonial Possessions of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands.
The Courts shall judge the Causes submitted to them according to the Terms of the present Treaty, without Appeal, and according to the Regulations and Instructions annexed to the present Treaty, of which they shall be considered as an integral Part.
Article VIII.—In case the Commanding Officer of any of the Ships of the Royal Navies of Great Britain and of the Netherlands, commissioned under the Second Article of this Treaty, shall deviate in any respect from the Dispositions of the said Treaty, and shall not be enabled to justify himself, either by the Tenor of the said Treaty, or of the Instructions annexed to it, the Government which shall conceive itself to be wronged by such Conduct shall be entitled to demand Reparation ; and in such Case the Government to which the Captor may belong binds itself to cause Enquiry to be made into the Subject of the Complaint, and to inflict upon the Captor, if he be found to have deserved it, a Punishment proportioned to the Transgression which may have been committed.
Article IX.—The Acts or instruments annexed to this Treaty, and which form an integral Part thereof, are as follow :
Instructions for the Ships of the Royal Navies of both Nations destined to prevent the Traffic in Slaves.
Regulation for the Mixed Courts of Justice, which are to hold their Sittings on the Coast of Africa, and in one of the Colonial Pos-sessions of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands.
Article X.—The present Treaty, consisting of Ten Articles, shall be ratified, and the Ratifications exchanged within the Space of One Month from this Date, or sooner if possible.
In Witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and thereunto affixed the Seal of their Arms.
Done at the Hague this Fourth Day of May in the Year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
| (Signed) | |
| Clancarty. (L.S.) | |
| A. W. C. De Nagell. (L.S.) | |
| Van Maanen. (L.S.) |
Article I.—Every Ship of the Royal British or Netherland Navy, which, furnished with these Instructions, shall, in conformity with the Second Article of the Treaty of this Date, have a Right to visit the Merchant Ships of either of the Two Powers actually engaged or suspected to be engaged in the Slave Trade, may, except in the Seas exempted by the Third Article of the said Treaty, proceed to such Visit, and should any Slaves be found on board, brought there for the express Purposes of the Traffic, the Commander of the said; Ship of the Royal Navy may detain them; and; having (detained them, he is to bring them as soon as possible, for Judgment, before that of the Two Mixed Courts of Justice appointed by the Seventh Article of the Treaty of this Date, which shall be the nearest, or which the Commander of the capturing Ship shall, upon his own Responsibility, think he can soonest reach from the Spot where the Ship shall have been detained.
Ships, on board of which no Slaves shall be found intended for Purposes of Traffic, shall not be detained on any Account or Pretence whatever.
Negro Servants or Sailors that may be found on board the said Vessels cannot in any Case be deemed a sufficient Cause for Detention.
Article II.—Whenever a Ship of the Royal Navy, so commissioned, shall meet a Merchantman liable to be searched, it shall be done in the mildest Manner, and with every Attention which is due between allied and friendly Nations ; and in no case shall the Search be made by an Officer holding a Rank inferior to that of Lieutenant in the Navies of Great Britain and of the Netherlands.
Article III.—The Ships of the Royal Navies so commissioned, which may detain any Merchant Ship, in pursuance of the Tenor of the present Instructions, shall leave on board all the Cargo, as well as the Master, and a Part at least of the Crew of the above-mentioned Ship ; the Captor shall draw up in Writing an authentic Declaration, which shall exhibit the State in which he found the detained Ship, and the Changes which may have taken place in it. He shall deliver to the Master of the detained Ship a signed Certificate of the Papers seized on board the said Vessel, as well as of the Number of Slaves found on board at the Moment of Detention.
The Negroes shall not be disembarked till after the Vessels which contain them shall be arrived at the Place where the Legality of the Capture is to be tried by One of the Two Mixed Courts, in order that in the Event of their not being adjudged legal Prize, the Loss of the Proprietors may be more easily repaired. If, however, urgent Motives, deduced from the Length of the Voyage, the State of Health of the Negroes, or other Causes, required that they should be disembarked, entirely or in part, before the Vessel could arrive at the Place of Residence of One of the said Courts, the Commander of the capturing Ship may take on himself the Responsibility of such Disembarkation, provided that the Necessity be stated in a Certificate in proper Form.
Article I.—The Mixed Courts of Justice to be established by the Treaty of this Date, upon the Coast of Africa and in a Colonial Possession of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, are appointed to decide upon the Legality of the Detention of such Vessels as the Cruizers of both Nations shall detain in pursuance of this same Treaty.
The above-mentioned Courts shall judge definitively and without Appeal, according to the present Treaty.
The Proceeding shall take place as summarily as possible; the Courts are required to decide, as far as they shall find it practicable, within the Space of Twenty Days, to be dated from that on which every detained Vessel shall have been brought into the Port where they shall reside;—First, upon the Legality of the Capture;—Secondly, in the Cases in which the captured Vessel shall have been liberated, as to the Indemnification which the said Vessel is to receive.
And it is hereby provided, that in all Cases the final Sentence shall not be delayed, on account of the Absence of Witnesses or for want of other Proofs, beyond the Period of Two Months, except upon the Application of any of the Parties interested, when, upon their giving satisfactory Security to charge themselves with the Expence and Risks of the Delay, the Courts may at their Discretion grant an additional Delay, not exceeding Four Months.
Article II.—Each of the above-mentioned Mixed Courts, which are to reside on the Coast of Africa, and in a Colonial Possession of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, shall be composed in the following Manner:
The Two High Contracting Parties shall each of them name a Judge and an Arbitrator, who shall be authorized to hear and to decide, without Appeal, all Cases of Capture of Vessels which, in pursuance of the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date, shall be brought before them. All the essential Parts of the Proceedings carried on before these Mixed Courts shall be written down in the legal Language of the Country in which the Court may reside.
The Judges and the Arbitrators shall make Oath before the principal Magistrate of the Place in which the Courts may reside, to judge fairly and faithfully, to have no Preference either for the Claimants or the Captors, and to act in all their Decisions in pursuance of the Stipulations of the Treaty of this Date.
There shall be attached to each Court a Secretary or Registrar, appointed by the Sovereign of the Country in which the Court may reside, who shall register all its Acts, and who, previous to his taking charge of his Post, shall make Oath before the Court to conduct himself with respect for their Authority, and to act with Fidelity in all the Affairs which may belong to his Charge.
Article III.—The Form of the Process shall be as follows:
The Judges of the Two Nations shall, in the first Place, proceed to the Examination of the Papers of the Vessels, and to receive the Depositions of the Captain, and of Two or Three at least of the principal Individuals on board of the detained Vessel, as well as the Declaration on Oath of the Captor, should it appear necessary, in order to be able to judge and to pronounce whether the said Vessel has been justly detained or not, according to the Stipulations of the present Treaty, and in order that, according to this Judgment, it may be condemned or liberated; and in the Event of the Two Judges not agreeing in the Sentence they ought to pronounce, whether as to the Legality of the Detention, or the Indemnification to be allowed, or any other Question which might result from the Stipulations of the present Treaty, they shall draw by Lot the Name of One of the Two Arbitrators, who, having considered the Documents of the Process shall consult with the above-mentioned Judges on the, Case in Question, and the final Sentence shall be pronounced conformably to the Opinion of the Majority of the above-mentioned Judges, and of the above-mentioned Arbitrator.
Article IV.—In the authenticated Declaration, which the Captor shall make before the Court, as well as in the Certificate of the Papers seized, which shall be delivered to the Captain of the captured Vessel, at the Time of the Detention, the. above-mentioned Captor shall be bound to declare his Name, the Name of his Vessel, as well as the Latitude and Longitude of the Place where the Detention shall have taken place, and the Number of Slaves found on board of the Ship at the Time of the Detention.
Article V.—As soon as Sentence shall have been pronounced, the detained Vessel, if liberated, and the Cargo, in the State in which it shall then be found, shall be restored to the Master or the Person who represents him, who may, before the same Court, claim a Valuation of the Damages which they may have a Right to demand; the Captor himself, and in his Default, his Government, shall remain responsible for the above-mentioned Damages.
The Two High Contracting Parties bind themselves to pay, within the Term of a Year from the Date of the Sentence, the Costs and Damages which may be granted by the above-named Court, it being understood that these Costs and Damages shall be at the Expence of the Power of which the Captor shall be a Subject.
Article VI.—In case of the Condemnation of a Vessel, she shall be declared lawful Prize as well as her Cargo, of whatever Description it may be, with the Exception of the Slaves who may be on board as Objects of Commerce; and the said Vessel, as well as her Cargo, shall be sold by Public Sale, for the Profit of the Two Governments ; and as to the Slaves, they shall receive from the Mixed Court a Certificate of Emancipation, and shall be delivered over to the Government on whose Territory the Court which shall have so judged them shall be established, to be employed as Servants or free Labourers.
Each of the Two Governments binds itself to guarantee the Liberty of such Portion of these Individuals as shall be respectively consigned to it.
Article VII.—The Mixed Courts shall also take Cognizance and decide according to the Third Article of this Regulation, on all Claims for Compensation, on account of Losses occasioned to Vessels detained under Suspicion of having been engaged in the Slave Trade, but which shall not have been condemned ass legal Prize by the said Courts; and in all Cases wherein Restitution shall be decreed, the; Court shall award to the Claimant or Claimants, his or their lawful Attorney or Attornies, for his or their Use, a just and complete Indemnification for all Costs of Suit, and for all Losses and Damages which the Claimant or Claimants may have actually sustained by such Capture and Detention; that is to say, First, in case of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified,
For the Ship, her Tackle, Apparel, and Stores.
For all Freights due and payable.
For the Value of the Cargo of Merchandize, if any ; deducting for all Charges and Expences payable upon the Sale of such Cargoes, including Commission of Sale.
For all other regular Charges, in such Cases of total Loss ; and,
Secondly, in all other Cases not of total Loss, the Claimant or Claimants shall be indemnified,
For all special Damages and Expences occasioned to the Ship by the Detention, and for Loss of Freight, when due or payable.
A Demurrage when due, according to the Schedule annexed to the present Article.
For any Deterioration of the Cargo.
An Allowance of Five per Cent, on the Amount of the Capital employed in the Purchase of Cargo, for the Period of Delay occasioned by the Detention ; and,
For all Premium of Insurance on additional Risks.
The Claimant or Claimants shall in all Cases be entitled to Interest at the Rate of Five per Cent. per Annum on the Sum awarded, until paid by the Government to which the capturing Ship belongs ; the whole Amount of such Indemnifications being calculated in the Money of the Country to which the captured Ship belongs, and to be liquidated at the Exchange current at the Time of the Award.
The Two High Contracting Parties wishing, however, to avoid, as much as possible, every Species of Fraud in the Execution of the Treaty of this Date, have agreed that if it should be proved in a Manner evident to the Conviction of the Judges of the Two Nations, and without having recourse to the Decision of an Arbitrator, that the Captor has been led into Error by a voluntary and reprehensible Fault on the Part of the Captain of the detained Ship, in that Case only the detained Ship shall not have the Right of receiving, during the Days of her Detention, the Demurrage stipulated by the present Article.
Schedule of Demurrage or Daily Allowance for a Vessel of
| 100 Tons to 120 inclusive, | £5 | } per Diem, |
| 121 Tons to 150 inclusive, | 6 | |
| 151 Tons to 170 inclusive, | 8 | |
| 171 Tons to 200 inclusive, | 10 | |
| 201 Tons to 220 inclusive, | 11 | |
| 221 Tons to 250 inclusive, | 12 | |
| 251 ditto 270 inclusive, | 14 | |
| 271 Tons to 300 inclusive, | 15 | |
| and so in proportion. | ||
Article VIII.—Neither the Judges nor the Arbitrators, nor the Secretary of the Mixed Court, shall be permitted to demand or receive, from any of the Parties concerned in the Sentences which they shall pronounce, any Emolument, under any Pretext whatsoever, for the Performance of the Duties which are imposed upon them by the present Regulation.
Article IX.—The Two High Contracting Parties have agreed, that in the Event of the Death or legal Impeachment of One or more of the Judges or Arbitrators composing the above-mentioned Mixed Courts, their Posts shall be supplied, ad interim, in the following Manner:
On the Part of the British Government, the Vacancies shall be filled successively, in the Court which shall sit within the Possessions of His Britannic Majesty, by the Governor or Lieutenant Governor resident in that Colony; by the Principal Magistrate of the same, and by the Secretary ; and in that which shall sit within the; Possessions of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, it is agreed, that in case of the Death of the British Judge or Arbitrator there, the surviving Individuals of the said Court shall proceed equally to the Judgment of such Ships as may be brought before them, and to the Execution of their
On the Part of the Netherlands, the Vacancies shall be supplied, in the Possessions of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, successively by the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the Principal Magistrate and Secretary of Government; and upon the Coast of Africa, in case of the Death of any Netherland Judge or Arbitrator, the surviving Members of the Court shall proceed to Judgment in the same Manner as above specified for the Court resident in the Possession of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, in the Event of the Death of the British Judge or Arbitrator.
The High Contracting Parties have further agreed, that the Governor or Lieutenant Governor of the Settlement wherein either of the Mixed Courts shall sit, in the Event of a Vacancy arising either of the Judge or Arbitrator of the other High Contracting Party, shall forthwith give Notice of the same to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor of the nearest Settlement of such High Contracting Party, in order that the Loss maybe supplied at the earliest possible Period; and each of the High Contracting Parties agrees to supply definitively, as soon as possible, the Vacancies that may arise in the above mentioned Courts, from Death or any other Cause whatever.
HIS Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, having thought fit to agree upon the following Arrangements, additional to and explanatory of the Treaty concluded between their aforesaid Majesties at the Hague, on the Fourth of May One thousand eight hundred and eighteen, for the Prevention of the Trade in Slaves, have therefore named as Plenipotentiaries, ad hoc:—
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Right Honourable Richard Earl of Clancarty, Viscount Dunlo, Baron Kilconnel, Baron Trench of Garbally in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, One of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in Great Britain, and also in Ireland, Member of the Committee of the First for the Affairs of Commerce and Colonies, Colonel of the Regiment of Militia of the County of Galway, Vice Admiral of the Province of Connaught, Knight Grand Cross of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His said Majesty to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Anne William Charles Baron de Nagell d Ampsen, Member of the Body of Nobles of the Province of Guelderland, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Belgic Lion, and of that of Charles the Third, of the Legion of Honour, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, Chamberlain and Minister of State holding the Department of Foreign Affairs; who having exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due Form, have agreed on the following explanatory and additional Articles:
Article I.—Whereas it is stated in Article I. of " Instructions intended for the British and Dutch Ships of War employed to prevent the illicit Traffic in Slaves," that " Ships on board of which no Slaves shall be found intended for Purposes of Traffic, shall not be " detained on any Account or Pretence whatever:" And whereas it has been found by Experience, that Vessels employed in the illegal Traffic have unshipped their Slaves immediately prior to their being visited by Ships of War, and that such Vessels have thus found Means to evade Forfeiture, and have been enabled to pursue their Unlawful Course with Impunity, contrary to the true Object and Spirit of the Treaty above-mentioned,
The High Contracting Parties therefore feel it necessary to declare, and it is hereby declared by them, that if there shall be clear and undeniable Proof that a Slave or Slaves has or have been put on board a Vessel, for the Purpose of illegal Traffic, in the particular Voyage on which the Vessel shall be captured, then and on that account, according to the true Intent and Meaning of the Stipulations of the Treaty, such Vessel shall be detained by the Cruizers, and finally condemned by the Commissioners.
Article II.—The High Contracting Parties hereby agree that, in the Event of the Absence, on account of Illness or of any other unavoidable Cause, of One or more of the Commissioners, Judges, and Arbitrators, under the above-mentioned Treaty, or in the Case of their Absence in consequence of Leave from their Government, duly notified to the Board of Commisssioners sitting under the said Treaty, their Posts shall be supplied in the same Manner in which, by the Article IXth of the Regulations for the Mixed Commissions, those Vacancies in the Commission are to be supplied which may occur by the Death of One or more of the Commissioners aforesaid.
The explanatory and additional Articles above-mentioned shall be submitted to the Ratification of the respective Sovereigns, and shall have the same Force and Effect as if they were inserted Word for Word in the Treaty of the Fourth of May One thousand eight hundred and eighteen above-mentioned, and shall be held to form Part , of the same.
The Acts of Ratification shall be exchanged within the Space of One Month from this Date, or sooner, if possible.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Act, and thereunto affixed the Seal of their Arms.
Done at Bruxelles, this Thirty-first Day of December in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
| (L.S.) Clancarty. | (L.S.) A. W. C. de Nagell. |
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of Netherlands, having thought fit to agree upon the following further Arrangement, additional to the Treaty concluded between their aforesaid Majesties at the Hague, on the Fourth of May One thousand eight hundred and eighteen, for the Prevention of the Trade in Slaves, and also in addition to the Two explanatory and additional Articles executed by the Plenipotentiaries of their said Majesties, on the Thirty-first of December One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, have named, authorized, and directed the same Plenipotentiaries to sign in their Names an Agreement ad hoc:—
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and . Ireland, the Right Honourable Richard Earl of Clancarty, Viscount Dunlo, Baron Kilconnel, Baron Trench of Garbally in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, One of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in Great Britain, and also in Ireland, Member of the Committee of the First for the Affairs of Commerce and Colonies, Colonel of the Regiment of Militia of the County of Galway, Vice Admiral of the Province of Connaught, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His said Majesty to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Anne William Charles Baron de Nagell d' Ampsen, Member of the Body of Nobles of the Province of Guelderland, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Belgic Lion, and of that of Charles the Third, of the Legion of Honour, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, Chamberlain and Minister of State holding the Department of Foreign Affairs ; who having exchanged their full Powers, found in good and due Form, have agreed upon the following additional Article:—
And it is hereby further agreed that upon Proof being duly given before the Mixed Court, whereupon it shall appear that any Ship or Vessel subject to Examination under the Treaty, or under the explanatory or additional Articles, and detained hovering or sailing upon the Coast of Africa within One Geographic Degree of the Westward thereof, and between the Twentieth Degree of Latitude North of the Equinoctial Line, and the Twentieth Degree of Latitude to the Southward thereof, or at Anchor within any of the Rivers, Bays, or Creeks of the said Coast within the Limits above particularly specified, or at anchor at any Part within the said Limits, and which Ship or Vessel in her Outfit and Equipment shall fall within One or more of the following Designations; namely,
First—Having her Hatches fitted with open Gratings, instead of being close Hatches, as usual in Merchant Vessels.
Second—Having more Divisions or Bulk Heads in the Hold or on Deck than necessary for trading Vessels.
Third—Having on board spare Plank, either actually fitted in that Shape, or fit for readily laying a Second or Moveable Deck or Slave Deck.
Fourth—Having on board Shackles, Bolts, or Handcuffs.
Fifth—Having on. board an unreasonable Quantity of Water in Casks or in Tanks, more than sufficient for the Consumption of her , Grew Merchant Vessel.
Sixth—Having on board an unreasonable Number of Water Casks Of other Vessels for holding Water, unless the Master shall produce a Certificate from the Custom House, from the Place from which he cleared outwards, stating that a sufficient Security had been given by the Owners of such Vessel that such extra Quantify of casks or other Vessels should only be used for the Reception of Palm Oil.
Seventh—Having on board a greater Quantity of Mess Tubs or Kids than, requisite for the Use of her Crew as a Merchant Vessel.
Eighth—Having on board Two or more Copper Boilers, or even One of an unreasonable Size, larger than requisite for the Use of her Crew as a Merchant Vessel.
Ninth—Having on board an unreasonable Quantity of Rice or Farinha, (Flour of the Manioc of Brazil or Cassada), or Maize or Indian Corn, beyond any probable requisite Provision for the Use of her Crew; and such Rice, Flour, Maize or Indian Corn, not being entered on the Manifest as Part of the Cargo for Trade.
The Proof of these, or of any one or more of these several Indications, shall be considered as primâ facie Evidence of her actual Employment in the Slave Trade, and unless rebutted by satisfactory Evidence upon the Part of the Master or Owners, that such Ship or Vessel was otherwise legally employed at the Time of Detention or Capture, the Ship or Vessel shall thereupon be condemned and declared lawful Prize.
The aforesaid additional Article shall be submitted to the Ratification: of the respective Sovereigns, and shall have the same Force and .Effect as if it was inserted Word for Word in the Treaty of the Fourth of May One thousand eight hundred and eighteen above mentioned, and shall be held to form Part of the same.
The Acts of Ratification shall be exchanged within the Space of One Month from this Date, or sooner if possible.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Act, and thereunto affixed the Seal of their Arms.
Done at Bruxelles the Twenty-fifth Day of January in the Year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.
| (L.S.) Clancarty. | |
| (L.S.) A. W. C. de Nagell.. |
And whereas in and by an [58 G. 3. c. 36.] Act passed in the Fifty-eighth Year of His late Majesty George the Third, intituled An Act to carry into Execution a Treaty made between His Majesty and the King of Spain, for preventing Traffic in Slaves ; and by a certain other [58 G. 3. c. 85.] Act, passed in the said Year, intituled An Act to carry into Execution a Convention made between His Majesty and the King of Portugal, for the preventing Traffic in Slaves; and also by a certain other [59 G. 3. c. 16.] Act, passed in the Fifty-ninth Year of His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An Act to carry into Effect the Treaty with the Netherlands, relating to the Slave Trade ; and also by an [59 G. 3. c. 17.] Act passed in the said Fifty-ninth Year of His said late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An Act to amend an Act of the last Session of Parliament, for carrying into Execution a Convention made between His Majesty and the King of Portugal, for the preventing the Traffic in Slaves ; it is enacted, that it shall be lawful for His Majesty, by any Warrant under His Royal Sign Manual, countersigned by One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, to appoint such Commissary Judges and Commissioners of Arbitration, Judges and Arbitrators, as are in and by the said Treaties and Conventions, and the Regulations thereto annexed, mentioned to be appointed by His Majesty, and from Time to Time to supply any Vacancies which may arise in such Offices, by appointing other Persons thereto, and to grant Salaries to such Commissary Judges and Commissioners of Arbitration, Judges, and Arbitrators as aforesaid, not exceeding such Annual Sums as the Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland shall from Time to Time direct; and such Commissary Judges, and Commissioners of Arbitration, Judges, and Arbitrators are hereby authorized and empowered to examine and decide all such Cases of Detention, Captures, and Seizures of Vessels, and their Cargoes as aforesaid, detained, seized, taken, or captured under the said Treaties, Conventions, Instructions, and Regulations, or included therein, as are by the said Treaties, Conventions, Instructions, and Regulations, and by these Acts, made subject to their Jurisdiction ; and to proceed therein, and give such Judgments, and make such Orders therein, and to do all other Acts, Matters, and Things appertaining thereto, agreeably to the Provisions of the said Treaties, Conventions, and the Instructions and Regulations annexed thereto as aforesaid, as fully and effectually to all Intents and Purposes, as if special Powers and Authorities for that Purpose were specifically and particularly inserted and given in relation thereto in these Acts: Now be it declared and enacted, That the said Provisions as herein recited, shall continue, remain, and be in full Force and Effect.”
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