FRANCE. ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE FRENCH COLONIES.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 244, 30 September 1848, Page 3

FRANCE. ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE FRENCH COLONIES.

The following drcree has just been published : — It " The Provisional Government, considering thßt slavery it un aitem^t agaiiibt the dignity ol man ; that by deitroying the freedom of man it 6Uppre«ei tlie natural principles or right urnl duty j tint it is a fl»grant yiolation of (he Republican dogma of liberty, equality, aud fraternity ; that w\d§ effective weaiury

follow c'osely tbe proclamation already made of the principle of abolition, dcploiable disorders may aiise in the colonies, decreei — " Article I. Slavery shall be entirely abolished in all the colonies and poss< scions of France, at the end of two months after the promulgation of this present decree on each of them. From the promulgation of this present decree in the colonies, all corporal punishment, all sales of non-libcrulcd persons, shall be abulutely interdicted. " 2. The system of engigements for periods of time, established at Senegal, is suppressed. " Governors or commissaries general of the Republic, are charged with applying the measures suitable for ensuring emancipation at Martinique Guadeloupe, and its dependencies, the inland of Reunion, Guyana, Senegal, and the other French settlements on .heweitern coast of Afiica, the Island of Mayottc, and its dependencies, and A'geria. "4. All ilaves condemned to afflictive or correctional punishments for acts which, if imputed to freemen, would not Imve b°en visited wi'h the^e punishments, a c pauloned. All individuals transported as an administr.rive measure are recalled. 5. " The National Assembly shall fix the indemnities to be granted to lh» colonists. •'6. The colonies, purifi'd from slavery, and the possessions in the Indies, shall be represented iv the National Assembly. 11 7. The principle that the soil of France emancipates the slave who touches it is applied to the colonies and possessions of the Republic. " 8. In future every Frenchman, even when in a foreign country, it iutei dieted from possessing, purchasing, or selling slaves, Bnd from participating, directly or indirectly, in any traffic or dealing of this nature. Eveiy infraction of these provisions sin II involve the losi of the quality of a French citizen. Nevertheless, Frenchmen who shall find themselves afftcted by the c provisions th ill be allowed three years to c inform to them, from (he time of the promulgation of this decree. Those who may become possessors of •laves by inheritance, gift, or marriage, shall, under tie same penalty, emancipate or alien.ite them within the same delay, Irom the d<jy on winch their possesbion <-hall have, commenced. '9. The Minister ot the Marine and the Colonies and the Minister of War are each, so far as concerns him, (barged with the execution of this jnescntdeciee. Done at Pans, in the council of government, this 27th oi April."