In obedience to your Lordship's Instruction, to combine a spirit of conciliation and harmony with the due discharge of our official duties, and with the most cordial disposition to fulfill that injunction, we forebore to make any exception, and the Oaths were accordingly taken by all the Members of the Commission; but, on separate consultation, at repeated opportunities, we have concurred in the propriety of notifying to your Lordship the absence of a Royal Commission from His Catholick Majesty, in order that immediate proceedings might be taken to supply the deficiency, if your Lordship should think that necessary. We have, &c. THOMAS GREGORY. EDWARD FITZGERALD. Viscount Castlereagh, K. G. P.S. A Copy of the printed Memoranda, which were drawn up with a view to afford us assistance in the technical part of our conduct, as His Majesty's Commissary Judge and Commissioner of Arbitration, have been, agreeably to your Lordship's directions, communicated to the Commissioners of His Catholick Majesty; and they agree to adopt with us the Regulations therein stated. No. 13.-His Majesty's Commissioners and Registrar to Viscount Castlereagh.-(Received 23d October.) MY LORD, Sierra Leone, 24th July, 1819. WE feel it a particular obligation of duty to convey to your Lordship in the strongest manner, our acknowledgments for the respect shewn to the Mixed Commission for this Settlement and its objects, by His Excellency Governor Mac Carthy, and also for his hospitality and personal attention to all the Members of the Commission. We have, &c. Viscount Castlereagh, K. G. THOMAS GREGORY. EDWARD FITZGERALD. No. 14.-His Majesty's Commissary Judge to Viscount Castlereagh.— (Received 8th October.) MY LORD, Sierra Leone, 23d August, 1819. I HAVE now to inform your Lordship, that Captain Kelly, of His Majesty's Ship Pheasant, brought into this Port, on the evening of the 19th instant, a small Portuguese Schooner, called the Nova Felicidade, Antonio Ioaquin, Master, which Vessel Captain Kelly captured on the 30th of July, in Latitude 2 deg. 23 min. North, with 71 Slaves on board and that Captain Strong, of His Majesty's Ship Morgiana, brought in the next day the Spanish Schooner the Nuestra Senora de Regla, commanded by Santiago Mazana, which Vessel Captain Strong captured in Latitude 4 deg. 43 min. North, on the 13th instant, with only 1 Slave on board. As to Captain Kelly's Prize, the Portuguese Schooner, the Nova Felicidade, there not being any Commissioners yet come forward from Rio de Janeiro, on the part of His Most Faithful Majesty, that Vessel cannot at present be brought to adjudication; and the case must therefore remain in the same state as those Vessels captured by Commodore Sir George Collier, to which subject I alluded in my last Dispatch of the 21st of June. And as to the Case of the Nuestra Senora de Regla, captured by Captain Strong, that must also stand over for the present, owing to the melancholy state of health to which Don Francisco Le Fer, the Spanish Commissary Judge, is now in: that Gentleman, I am sorry to observe, has been at the point of death; and is still in a most precarious situation, occasioned by the Fever of the Country, In my last Dispatch, I had the honour to state to your Lordship, that the printed Memorandum of Regulations, intended for the use of the Mixed Commission, and which I was directed to submit to the consideration of the Gentlemen of the Spanish Commission, had been accordingly laid before them, and approved of by them, as it was intimated to me by Don Franciso Le Fer, the Spanish Commissary Judge. The unfortunate illness of this Gentleman having in some measure, brought forward Mr. Camps, the Commissioner of Arbitration, who has hitherto declined appearing as a Member of the Mixed Commission, to take any part in discussing questions relative to that Commission; this Gentleman now objects to the Regulations, in so much as neither himself or his Colleague have received directions from their own Court to adopt them as the guide of their proceedings. Conceiving it, therefore, my duty to state this circumstance to your Lordship, I, at the same time, humbly suggest the expediency of the Regulations in question being sent to them officially by their own Court, with orders to adhere to them, as forming the model of the proceedings of the Mixed Commission Court: I also humbly beg leave to suggest the expediency of similar Orders being sent from His Most Faithful Majesty to the Commissioners on the part of Portugal; as also from His Majesty the King of The Netherlands, to the Members of the Mixed Commission, who may be sent hither from that Country. In consequence of the application of Captain Kelly whose Letter I have the honour of inclosing, I immediately procured Governor Mac Carthy's sanction to have the Slaves landed, and they are now under His Excellency's protection. I have, &c. Viscount Castlereagh, K. G. THOMAS GREGORY. SIR, (Inclosure.)-B. M. Kelly, Esq. to Thomas Gregory, Esq. H. M. S. Pheasant, Sierra Leone, 20th August, 1819. THE great inclemency of the weather, added to the present exposed state of the unfortunate Slaves on board the Portuguese Schooner Nova Felicidade, detained by me, and now lying in this River, rendering it absolutely necessary for the preservation of their health, and perhaps their lives, that they should be immediately removed to a place of greater shelter and comfort, I have to request you will be pleased to give some directions for that purpose. Thomas Gregory, Esq. I am, &c. B. M. KELLY, Commander. No. 15.-Viscount Castlereagh to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 18th November, 1819. I HAVE duly received your Dispatches to the 23d August, and have laid the same before The Prince Regent. I send to you herewith the Copy of a Letter addressed to me by the Count de Palmella, the Portuguese Envoy at this Court, under date of the 29th October, 1819, and of my answer to the Count, dated this day, respecting the non-arrival of the Portuguese Commissioners at Sierra Leone, and the consequent proposition of the Count de Palmella, that you should proceed to the judgment of the Portuguese Vessel the Nora Felicidade; and I am to convey to you the Instructions of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, that you proceed to the judgment of that Vessel, without waiting for the arrival of the Portuguese Commissioner, according to the tenor of this Correspondence. I am, &c. His Majesty's Commissioners. CASTLEREAGH. (Inclosure 1.)-Count de Palmella to Viscount Castlereagh. MY LORD, Londres, ce 29 Octobre, 1819. J'ai reçu la Lettre que Votre Excellence m'a fait l'honneur de m'adresser en date du 25 courant, dans la quelle, après vous être reféré à l'extrait (qui accompagnait votre Lettre) du rapport reçu d'un des Commissaires Britanniques à Sierra Leone, relativement au Navire Portugais, Nova Felicidade, que le Batiment de guerre de Sa Majesté Britannique y a amené, et qui, faute de Commissaires de la part de Sa Majesté Très Fidelle n'a pas pu être jugé, votre Excellence me recommande de représenter à ma Cour lés inconvéniens qui résultent du retard de l'arrivée des susdits Commissaires Portugais à Sierra Leone, et la nécessité d'en presser le départ, àfin de remédier, le plutôt possible, à ces mêmes inconvéniens. En réponse, je dois vous assurer, My Lord, que mon Gouvernement ne mérite aucunement d'être blamé du retard dont vous semblez l'accuser dans votre Lettre. Malgré toute sa sollicitude, il n'a pas pu trouver des Personnes capables qui aient voulu accepter la place de Commissaire à Sierra Leone; et c'est ce qui l'a obligé, à la fin, de m'autoriser à les choisir d'entre les individus Portugais établis à Londres, si je le pouvais, ou de transmettre cette même autorisation à Messieurs les Gouverneurs du Royaume de Portugal. Voilà aussi ce que j'ai du faire, et je me flatte, à l'heure qu'il est, que Leurs Excellences auront trouvées des Personnes capables, qui aient voulu accepter le susdit emploi de Commissaires à Sierra Leone, et qu'elles ne tarderont pas à se rendre à leur destination. En attendant, permettez moi de vous proposer, My Lord, de faire appliquer au cas actuel du navire Nova Felicidade cette partie de P'Art. XIV du Réglement pour les Commissions Mixtes, qui regarde cette établie à Sierra Leone, où il est dit " que dans le cas de mort d'un ou de plusieurs des Commissaires, ceux qui leur survivront, seront autorisés à juger les batimens dont les cas seront portés par devant cette Commission, bien entendu cependant qu'il restera aux parties interessées la faculté d'appeler de ce jugement par devant la Commission Mixte établie à Rio de Janeiro. En faisant cette proposition, je prie votre Excellence de la regarder comme une nouvelle preuve du désir constant qui anime le Gouvernement de Sa Majesté Très Fidelle, de voir remplies complettement, et aussi promptement que possible, les Stipulations de la Convention Additionnelle du 28 Juillet, 1817. Viscount Castlereagh, K. G. J'ai honneur d'être, etc. LE COMTE DE PALMELLA. (Inclosure 2.)—Viscount Castlereagh to Count de Palmella. Foreign Office, 18th November, 1819. THE Undersigned has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the Count de Palmella's Note of the 29th October, 1819, expressive of the difficulties experienced by the Government of His Most Faithful Majesty in selecting proper Persons, able and willing, to undertake the duties of Portuguese Commissioners at Sierra Leone; and proposing, that, in the particular Case of the Nova Felicidade, the Adjudication should be proceeded in by the British Commissioners alone, in the absence of any on the part of His Most Faithful Majesty under an application to them of that part of the Art. XIV. of the regulation for the Mixed Commissions, which states, that in the case of the death of one or both of the Portuguese Commissioners at Sierra Leone, judgment shall be proceeded in by the remaining Individuals of the Mixed Commission there. The Undersigned has received His Royal Highness's directions to give instructions to His Majesty's Commissioners, in conformity with the above-mentioned proposition on the part of the Count de Palmella, subject, nevertheless, to the understanding, that neither the British Captors nor His Majesty's Government, shall be held to be liable to any increased expence arising out of the non-arrival of the Portuguese Commissioners. The Undersigned, &c. Count de Palmella, CASTLEREAGH. No. 16.-Viscount Castlereagh to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 30th December, 1819. I HAVE the honour to send herewith to you, for your information, the Copy of a Note, dated the 13th of October, 1819, from M. de Villanova Portugal, the Secretary of State at Rio de Janeiro, to Mr. Chamberlain, His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at that Court;* by which you will perceive the steps which the Brazilian Government have taken, in execution of the IVth and VIIth Articles of the Convention of the 28th of July, 1817, I have, &c. His Majesty's Commissioners. CASTLEREAGH. No. 17.-Viscount Castlereagh to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 30th December, 1819. I HAVE the honour to acquaint you, that advices have been received from His Majesty's Chargé des Affaires at Rio de Janeiro, bearing date the 13th of October, 1819, stating, that the Government of Brazil had caused Passports to be struck off, and Instructions to be printed, with which Vessels engaged in the Slave Trade ought to be provided, in conformity with the IVth and VIIth Articles of the Convention of the 28th July, 1817, and that all the Vessels carrying on that Trade, had in consequence begun to be cleared, as well from Rio de Janeiro as from the other Ports in Brazil, with the formalities indicated therein. Orders had likewise been sent to Mosambique, Angola, and St. Thomas's, to build Schooners and other Vessels of War, to be especially employed in preventing the illicit Traffick in Slaves, according to the Stipulations of the VIIth Article of the above-mentioned Convention. I am, &c. His Majesty's Commissioners. CASTLEREAGH. No 18.-Viscount Castlereagh to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 4th January, 1820. I HAVE the honour to furnish you, for your information, with the accompanying Copy of a Dispatch, dated the 13th of October, 1819, from His Majesty's Chargé des Affaires at Rio de Janeiro, relating to the delay of the installation of the Mixed British and Portuguese Commission at that Place, and to the Commission given by His Most Faithful Majesty to the Conde de Palmella, to select proper Persons to be His Most Faithful Majesty's Commissioners at Sierra Leone. I am, &c. His Majesty's Commissioners. CASTLEREAGH. No. 19.—Viscount Castlereagh to His Majesty's Commissioners. GENTLEMEN, Foreign Office, 18th January, 1820. In reference to your Dispatch, dated the 15th of July, 1819, on the mode of appointment of the Spanish Commissioners at Sierra Leone, See Class B. |