He

has attempted to impugn the character of individuals of that committee. must be fully aware that it is necessary that such insinuations should be changed into proof, before the evidence of such a committee should be considered as of no authority. The Attorney-general of Jamaica, an individual respecting whom the hon. and learned gentleman has used very strong language, but whose character, I believe, stands as high as that of any man, strongly and urgently insisted on the necessity of the measure of removing these aliens from the country, founding his justification of that opinion upon the evidence presented before the Secret Committee, and of which evidence, as I have already explained, the House are in entire ignorance.

his having had a conversation with me upon this subject, in which conversation, he was told, in the most unequivocal manner, that the merits of this case did not rest on the papers which had been laid on the table of the House, but that there was other evidence on which the case mainly did rest, which the noble lord, at the head of the Colonial Department, could not, consistently with his official duties, with reference to the circumstances under which this evidence was transmitted to him, consent to lay upon the table of the House; and my hon. and learned friend will remember, that, so far from protesting against all investigation of the subject, a distinct intimation was conveyed to him, that there would be no objection in principle to the appointment of a Secret Committee, for the purpose of examining all the circumstances of this very complicated case, and of considering what course it might be most expedient to adopt. The House will therefore at once perceive that, not being relieved from the necessity of submitting an imperfect case on the defence side of this question, I am called, under circumstances of extreme disadvantage, to meet the hon. and learned gentleman, who has stated such an infinite variety of matter, with the utmost expressed confidence of his own accuracy, and in the contradiction of which, I am precluded from availing myself of that main part of the case, which, of necessity, has not yet been brought under the cognizance of the House.

The evidence in this case, as it appears in the papers published, is unquestionably of a contradictory nature and character: but this evidence does not extend to the merits of the case. I should have no hesitation in admitting, that if it be proved that the facts of the case have been in any degree intentionally falsified, with the view of establishing the alienage of the parties, or still more for the purpose of proving them, though innocent, guilty of a treasonable conspiracy, the most serious injustice has been done towards them; but, I can have no difficulty, even as at present circumstanced, in supplying the arguments that appear to me to be conclusive in defence of the conduct of the duke of Manchester. In officially directing the deportation of these parties under the Alien act, he was supported by the unanimous opinion of his council and of the Secret Committee of the House of Assembly.

The hon. and learned gentleman

With respect to the alienage of the parties, it is true that they had sued out a writ of habeas corpus, and that, upon the affidavits presented on one side and on the other, they had been discharged under that writ: but still, notwithstanding the tendency of the evidence upon that occasion justified the decision in favour of their English birth, if it can be shown that that evidence was false, and if the fact be that they were aliens, no violation of law has taken place in directing their removal, notwithstanding the previous decision of a court of justice: for that court of justice could only decide on the evidence before them; and if it should ultimately be shewn, that additional evidence, of an unimpeachable nature, has been subsequently produced before the Secret Committee, substantiating their alienage, the Governor in council would not necessarily be bound by the opinion of the court of justice, founded on evidence less perfect and comprehensive. But, under any circumstances, the duke of Manchester was called upon to act upon such unanimous recommendation. He could derive from no source, any reason to influence him to a contrary course, and, though officially responsible for an act of executive authority, even if the proof of alienage were insufficient, he would be morally absolved from indiscretion in the decision which he had made.

The hon. and learned gentleman, in the beginning of his speech, spoke strongly with respect to the condition of the free coloured people of Jamaica. This is not the opportunity for discussing, in the abstract, the subject of the privileges withheld from that class;-but, although the

culpated, in the most grave and serious manner, the character of an individual, Mr. Hector Mitchell, who unquestionably took a prominent part in these transactions, which he was called upon in his public duty to take. Of that gentleman I have no personal knowledge, but all that I have heard of him is in favour of his character and of his honour, and would not permit me to suppose that the hon. and learned gentleman can be justified in his accusations against him. If Mr. Hector Mitchell were really guilty of the atrocities laid to his charge, by the hon. and learned gentleman, God forbid that I should say one word in his justification, but, to believe he was so guilty, would be to believe that all the persons whose duty it was to watch over the administration of justice in Jamaica, had neglected their duty in a most extraordinary and culpable manner. It is on these grounds that I think I have a right to call upon the House to suspend their judgment with respect to the conduct and character of this gentleman, until he himself has been furnished with the opportunity of defence. The hon. and learned gentlemanlaid great stress upon the petitioners having obtained their "Privilege Papers," as a fact which shewed that their birth in the island of Jamaica could never have been a matter of doubt. I have the authority of the Attorney-general of Jamaica, in disproof of this inference, who distinctly states, that privilege papers are granted without difficulty to parties, without any necessity of proof as to their having been born in the island, and who cites the acknowledged practice of the corporation of the city of Kingston, and their authority for the explanation in confirmation of this statement. It would appear, that after the passing of the Privilege act, from the general desire to render its operation as extensive as possible, the corporation have been in the habit of granting certificates without any inquiry into the places of birth of the persons applying for them, and very frequently to persons who were known to be aliens.

Under these circumstances, Sir, I cannot consent to concur in any censure, direct or implied, upon the conduct of the duke of Manchester, which upon grounds so limited as those which are now before the House, it may be attempted to pass upon him. If the proposition of a Secret Committee which was made to the hon. and learned gentleman had been acceded to,

there would have been no necessity for that suspension of judgment, for which, under existing circumstances, I think I have a right to call on the part of this House. I shall therefore not think it necessary to detain them any longer, and leave it to the House, without hesitation, to decide, whether the statement of the hon. and learned member has established any thing like criminality against the duke of Manchester and the government of Jamaica.

Mr. Scarlett said, that he should be very unwilling to support the motion, if he conceived that it implied any blame on the duke of Manchester; but this was not either the intended object or the necessary result of his hon. and learned friend's proposal. It appeared probable to him, however, that the duke of Manchester had been misled in this transaction, either by an incorrect statement of facts, or by the persons whose duty it was to advise him; and he understood the arguments of his hon. and learned friend to apply rather to those individuals than to the duke personally, who could not be supposed to be actuated by any thing but a desire to do justice in the administration of the trust reposed in him.

The honourable under Secretary for the colonies had alluded to certain documents not before the House; from which he alleged, it would appear, that the transportation of the individuals in question was fully justified by evidence and information obtained subsequently to their being discharged by the Supreme Court, but that it was not expedient at present to submit these documents to the House. This was certainly a sufficient ground for suspending any final judgment upon the conduct of any of the parties to the transaction; but not, in his opinion, a sufficient ground to resist further inquiry. He was bound for the present to suppose, upon the statement of the hon. gentleman, that the documents in his possession, upon the face of them, warranted that statement. But, he could not help observing, that there were some circumstances in the papers and the evidence now produced to the House, which tended to throw a strong suspicion on the source from which his Grace had derived the additional testimony contained in the documents which were for the present withheld.

He had done, upon the present occasion, what he very seldom did with regard to

the voluminous papers upon the table of that House he had read attentively the affidavits on both sides, exhibited in the Supreme Court, upon the discussion of the habeas corpus. He had been induced the more particularly to do so, because a near relation of his own-to whose learning, capacity, and integrity, he was glad of this opportunity of bearing testimony-was the presiding judge in that court. He would undertake, by a very few observations upon these affidavits, to satisfy the House, that the Court could not have done otherwise than discharge the prisoners; and would, at the same time, point out the circumstances in the evidence which had left a strong impression on his mind against the integrity of the parties who had originally caused the petitioners to be imprisoned, and from whom, probably, the subsequent information in the unproduced documents had been derived. Previous to the application for the habeas corpus, it appeared, by the papers on the table, that some proceeding had taken place, probably for the information of the governor, upon the question of Lecesne's place of birth. In these proceedings, the strongest evidence against him was contained in an affidavit of his half-sister, Lucille Lecesne, who swore that he was born at Port-au-Prince. This affidavit was made the ninth day of October, 1823. Now, the rule to shew cause why a habeas corpus should not issue, was granted on the 17th of the same month. In support of which were produced, amongst others, the affidavits of four persons, Harvey, Charlotte Lecesne, Rose Mandrew, and Wilson; sworn the eleventh of October, for the purpose of proving that Lucille Lecesne the half sister, both before and after she had made her affidavit of the 9th, had stated her perfect knowledge that her brother was born in Kingston, that she had on the seventh declared her intention to make an affidavit to that effect on his behalf, but that on the ninth and tenth, she had refused; alleging, that she had been prevailed on by three white persons to swear against him, and particularly by the persuasions of a Mr. Villegraine; who told her, that if her brother was shipped off, as he would be in consequence of her affidavit, she would become intitled to one half of her father's property; and threatened, besides, if she did not make this affidavit, that she should herself be imprisoned and put into irons. Now, although the Court

had, in the first instance, granted only a rule to show cause, and thereby given a full opportunity, both to this woman and to Mr. Villegraine, to contradict these four affidavits, yet no affidavit was produced by either of them to deny or explain the very serious matters alleged against them. And this was the more remarkable, because it appeared that Villegraine was a white man, that he had made an affidavit against Lecesne, swearing very concisely that he was born at Port-au-Prince, but without any circumstances, and leaving it. doubtful whether he swore to his own knowledge or by information. The House must see, that these grave imputations upon the principal witnesses on one side of the question, remaining unrefuted after a full opportunity for refutation from the 17th to the 25th day of October, when the habeas corpus was finally granted, could not fail to have a decisive influence upon the judgment of the Court, even if the remaining part of the evidence had been more doubtful than it appeared to be. There were, undoubtedly, contradictions; but the preponderance, independently of the circumstances he had mentioned, was greatly in favour of the petitioners' claim to be native subjects.

The observations of the Attorney-general of the island on this subject were somewhat singular; for he expressed his astonishment that the Court had, in their decision, not paid more attention to the affidavits of persons of the character of Mr. Mitchell, a magistrate, and of Mr. Innes, a police officer; as if it were the practice or the duty of judges to be influenced by their notions of the character of witnesses who made affidavits, instead of the facts which those affidavits contained. While this imputation against Mr. Villegraine, of having suborned a witness to commit perjury against the petitioners, remained, the hon. and learned gentleman said, he must suspect whatever came from the same source. Whatever objection there might exist to the production of the subsequent evidence as to the conspiracy, there could be no mischief whatever in publishing that-if there was any-which related to the birth of the petitioners. If that evidence was not submitted to the House, then he would say, that Lecesne and Escoffery were the most oppressed of men. They had been not only forced to quit their occupations, and to abandon the means of their subsistence, but transported from the country in which

on which the people of colour in Jamaica were now placed, had been obtained for them by great prudence and judgment in the conciliation of that feeling, and that many of the white inhabitants still retain a great portion of the doubt and hesitation with which they had assented to the privileges of the people of colour. If the least cause of alarm occurred-if the slightest suspicion were awakened of any thing like revolt or disaffection amongst the slaves-it was too easy, in the fear of so overwhelming a calamity, to confound the means of defence with the causes of danger, and to view the most innocent actions of a distrusted party as indications of conspiracy and guilt. He thought it possible, and he meant to say no more, that the petitioners might have been the victims of this apprehension, and that the ruin of the individuals upon pretexts too slight to bear examination, was the result of a prejudice against the class to which they belonged. If this were so, in his judgment, it became the more incumbent on that House to show to the free people of colour that they were not driven to seek redress for their wrongs by force, but might expect it from the wisdom and justice of the House, if denied to them by the fears or the prejudices of the whites. He therefore trusted, that, for the safety of the colony, for the honour of the House of Commons, and in justice to these two unfortunate men, the motion of his hon. and learned friend would be unanimously agreed to.

they claimed the right of nativity, after the unimpeached and unimpeachable judgment of a Court of competent jurisdiction in their favour. They had no other tribunal left to which they could appeal but the House of Commons; and he thought that House would not do its duty-would not act in its usual character of defender of the oppressed-if they did not call for the production of the evidence. But, he begged to be distinctly understood, that he did not call for the evidence, or vote for inquiry, with any object to criminate the duke of Manchester. He had, on the contrary, a decided objection to making the functions of that House subservient to the production of evidence, to be afterwards used by private parties in a court of justice. And he was willing and desirous, that the condition on which the petitioners should be allowed to seek for such redress as might result from an inquiry by that House, should be, a pledge of their forbearance to make use of any of the evidence that might be laid before the House, in support of any actions they might be advised to bring, or had already brought, against his Grace. But, when he considered the very peculiar state of society in the colonies, he thought it was impossible for the House to pay too much attention to appeals of a description like the present. The population, of which the petitioners formed a part, was of great importance to the West Indies. It was, he believed, rapidly increasing both in numbers and intelligence; and, in his opinion, was likely to form a very important security against the most dreadful of all revolutions that could affect the colonies. At the same time, it was not to be supposed that the white population could speedily be brought to view the importance of the people of mixed colour in that light. The prejudices which had, for so many generations, led them to consider the blacks as an inferior race, naturally extended to all who had a mixture of African blood in their veins.

He was far from meaning this as a reproach to the whites. He considered it as a feeling necessarily resulting from the state of society in which they found them selves, and to be treated, not with reproach or contumely, but with the greatest caution and delicacy. Whilst that feeling existed, there was a natural jealousy of any approach of the people of colour to an equality of rights with them. He had reason to believe, that the footing VOL. XIII.

Mr. Secretary Canning said, that, under all the circumstances, however he might have been disposed to prefer the course suggested by his hon. friend, the under secretary for the colonies, he should not now oppose the appointment of a select committee. The short question upon the present charge, as it applied to the conduct of the duke of Manchester, was, whether the duke had or bad not treated British subjects as aliens only could lawfully be treated that was a simple question, and one easily capable of proof, but one which certainly was neither proved nor disproved by the evidence already before the House. In one admission, however, all parties must agree; namely, that when the duke of Manchester came forward, offering to wave the privilege which his absence gave him, and submit to clear his conduct by a trial at law, he did entitle himself, so long as the question was pending, to the suspension of every thing

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