[Inclosure.- Translation.]

COURT JOURNAL.

General collection of jurisprudence.

Supplement, Slavery. Volume First, Slaves. Numbers 40.

First. In 1848, upon the advent of the Republic, one of the first acts of the Provisional Government was to institute a commission ordered to prepare the act of emancipation of the slaves in the colonies of the French Republic, March 4, 1848.

Second. A short time afterward the decree of April 27, 1848, was rendered, which abolished slavery in all the French colonies and possessions.

Third. Article 8 of this decree accorded a delay of three years to all French citizens established in foreign countries to set free or alienate the slaves belonging to them. A law of February 11, 1851, fixed the delay at ten years.

Fifth. Later the article 6 of the constitution of November 4, 1848, proclaimed that slavery could not exist upon any French soil.

Sixth. At last the terms of article 4 of the Senate of May 3, 1854, were: 'Slavery can never by re-established in the French colonies."

However, in proclaiming the freedom of slaves the decree of April 27, 1848, granted that an indemnity should be accorded to planters and the "National Assembly" should arrange the quota (article 5). This was the object of the law of April 30, 1849.

The indemnity has been accorded.

Therefore the Provisional Government has, by two energetical acts, resolutely decided the question of the emancipation of the slaves. The first is the emancipation in the short time of two months. This is article 1 of the decree of April 27, 1848.

The Second is explained in article 8 of the same decree.

This article reads as follows:

In future, even in foreign countries, it is forbidden to any Frenchman to possess, purchase, or sell slaves, and to participate, directly or indirectly, in any traffic or emolument of that kind; any infraction of these provisions will entail the loss of French citizenship.

Nevertheless those Frenchmen who find themselves affected by these probilitions at the time of the promulgation of the present decree will be allowed a delay of three years to conform to it. Those who shall become possessors of slaves in foreign countries, by heritage, gift, or marriage must, under the same penalty, either free or alienate them within the same period, calculating from the day when their possession will have commenced.

Law modifying paragraph 2 of article 8, decree of April 22, 1848, relative to proprietors of slaves. (Bull. Official, Numbers 5627. May 28, 1858. Promulgated June 5.)

Article 1 paragraph 2, of article 8 of the decree of April 27, 1848, is modified as follows:

The present article is not applicable to proprietors of slaves whose possession is anterior to the decree of April 27, 1848, whether resulting from succession, donation during life, or testamentary, or from matrimonial agreement.

[NOVEMBER 14, 1862. - For Butler to Stanton, transmitting order of sequestration (General Orders, Numbers 91, Department of the Gulf, November 9, 1862), see Series I, Vol. XV, p. 592.]