Legislation on the slave trade
Legislation on the slave trade


Royal NavySlave trade legislation ► Acts of Parliament

46° Georgii III. Cap. CXIX.

An Act to prohibit for Two Years after the Conclusion of the present Session of Parliament, any Ships to clear out from any Port of Great Britain, for the Coast of Africa, for the Purpose of taking on board Negroes, unless such Ships shall have been previously employed in the African Trade, or contracted for, for that Purpose

[21st July 1806.]

After 1st Aug. 1806, no Vessel, unless employed in Slave carrying Trade before that Time, (or contracted for before June 10.) shall clear out from Great Britain to carry Slaves from the Coast of Africa. 'WHEREAS it is expedient that Ships, not hitherto employed in carrying Slaves from the Coast of Africa or contracted for to be employed in such Trade, should not be permitted to be cleared out from Great Britain for such Purpose;' May it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That, from and after the First Day of August One thousand eight hundred and six, no Ship or Vessel shall be permitted to clear out from any Port in Great Britain for the Coast of Africa, for the Purpose of shipping or carrying Slaves from the Coast of Africa, unless such Ship or Vessel shall have been, before the said First Day of August, employed in the said Trade by the same Owner or Owners, or shall have been contracted for before the Tenth Day of June One thousand eight hundred and six, for the Purpose of being employed in the said Trade; and the proper Officers of Customs clearing out any Ship or Vessel after the said First Day of August from any Port in Great Britain, for the Purpose of shipping and carrying Slaves from Africa, shall certify that such Ship or Vessel had been so employed or contracted for, and such Certificate shall be annexed to the Clearance.
Collector, &c. of Customs at Port of Clearance may require Proof of the Vessel having been so employed, &c. II. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Collector or Comptroller of any Port from which any Ship or Vessel shall be about to clear out for such Trade, to require Proof on the Oath of the Master, or some one or more of the Owners of such Ship or Vessel (which Oath such Collector and Comptroller is hereby empowered to administer) that such Ship or Vessel has, before the said Day, been employed in the said Trade by the same Owner or Owners, or shall have been contracted for before the Tenth Day of June One thousand eight hundred and six.
Such Contracts shall be proved before Commissioners to be appointed by the Treasury, and their Certificate produced to Collector of Customs. III. And be it further enacted, That no Ship or Vessel shall be deemed or allowed by any Collector or Comptroller to have been contracted for as aforesaid, unless the Owner or Owners of the said Ship or Vessel shal1, on or before the said First Day of August, have made Proof on Oath, to the Satisfaction of Commissioners to be named by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, and which Commissioners the said Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury are hereby authorized and required to appoint (and which Oath the said Commissioners are hereby empowered to administer) that such Ship or Vessel was actually and bonâ fide before the said Tenth Day of June contracted for, for the Purpose of carrying Slaves from the Coast of Africa, and unless a Certificate of such Proof having been made under the Hands and Seals of the said Commissioners, shall be produced to the said Collector or Comptroller.
Penalty on Owners of Vessels not duly cleared out carrying Slaves, 50 l. per Slave. IV. And be it further enacted, That the Owners of every Ship or Vessel not being so cleared out, and having such Certificate of Clearance as aforesaid, in which any Slave shall be shipped or carried from the Coast of Africa, contrary to the Provisions of this Act, shall forfeit for every Slave so carried the Sum of Fifty Pounds, to be recovered as any like Penalty may be recovered under any of the Acts of Parliament or Laws for the Regulation of the African Slave Trade.
Treasury on Oath made before Aug. 1, 1806, may grant Licence to Persons to contract for and employ Ships in lieu of Ships captured or condemned. V. 'And Whereas since the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and six, some Vessels employed in the said Trade may either have been captured by the Enemy, or condemned as unfit for the Voyage: And Whereas in some Cases Contracts for Vessels in the Place of those so captured or condemned may not have been made before the Tenth Day of June One thousand eight hundred and six: And Whereas Persons engaged in the African Trade, and having Goods remaining on the Coast, or Debts due to them from thence, which, up to the present Time, they have considered as good and recoverable, may be unable to recover their said Property, for want of Vessels to transport it:' Be it therefore enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, upon sufficient Proof of the said Premises, made to them on Oath before the First Day of August One thousand eight hundred and six, to grant Licence to such Persons to contract for and employ such Ship or Ships as they shall make appear to be necessary for securing or bringing away the said Debts or Effects, either by the Purchase of Slaves or otherwise, so as that the Ship or Ships to be contracted for, under such Licence, shall in no Case exceed in Tonnage the Ships captured or condemned, in the Place of which they shall be applied for, and shall be liable to all the Regulations by Law established respecting the carrying of Slaves from Africa.
Penalty of Perjury on false Oaths. VI. And be it farther enacted, That if any Person, upon any such Examination on Oath, shall wilfully and corruptly give false Evidence, or shall wilfully and corruptly swear any Matter or Thing which shall be false or untrue, every such Person so offending, and being thereof duly convicted, shall be and is hereby declared to be subject and liable to such Pains and Penalties, as by any Law now in being Persons convicted of wilful and corrupt Perjury are subject and liable to.
Continuance of Act. VII. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall be and continue in force for the Term of Two Years, and no longer, from and after the Conclusion of the present Session of Parliament.


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