“I inclose a copy of the formal entry of this vessel, ‘The Jasper,’ at the port of Sierra Leone, from which you will observe that her cargo was shipped at the Havana; and that in the manifest are shooks and heads of water-casks, and that she had on board three passengers: these passengers were _Spaniards_. The Jasper staid a short time at Sierra Leone, disposed of some trifles of her cargo for cash, and left for Monrovia. On proceeding a few days afterwards in the Centaur (the flag-ship) to that place, I found that she had disposed of more of her cargo there, also for cash, and was reported to have proceeded to the leeward coast; and I learned from the best authority, that of the passengers, one was recognized as being a Spanish slave-dealer who had been expelled from Tradetown, in 1849, by President Roberts, and that the others were a Spanish merchant, captain and supercargo; and that the American captain had spoken of his position as being very indefinite. “On the second subject, my view of the present state of the slave-trade on the south coast: It is formed on my own observations of the line of coast from Cape St. Paul’s to this port, and from the reports which I have received from the captains of the divisions, and the commanders of the cruisers under my orders, as well as from other well-informed persons on whom I can rely, that it has never been in a more depressed state, a state almost amounting to suppression; and that this arises from the active exertions of Her Majesty’s squadron on both sides of the Atlantic, and the cordial co-operation which has been established between the cruisers of Great Britain and the United States on this coast, to carry out the intention of the Washington treaty; and latterly from the new measures of the Brazilian government. “Factories have been broken up at Lagos, in the Congo, and at Ambriz; although of this I need hardly speak, because your own observation during the past year must satisfy you of the present state of depression there. “The commencement of last year was marked by an unusual number of captures by Her Majesty’s cruisers, both in the bights and on the south coast, and also by those by the cruisers of the United States. This year, the capture of only one vessel equipped in the bights, and one with slaves (a transferred Sardinian), on the south coast, have been reported to me--a striking proof of my view. “The desperate measures also adopted by the slave-dealers in the last few months to get rid of their slaves by the employment of small vessels, formerly engaged in the legal and coasting trade, as marked by the capture of several (named) slavers, prove the difficulty to which they have been driven. “The barracoons, however, along the whole line of coast, are still reported to me to contain a great number of slaves, to ship whom, I have little doubt further attempts will be made.