5082. Up to what period did this questionable trade between Sierra Leone and Gallinas continue?--It continued as long as I was connected with the colony, that is, to the 31st of December, 1839; but we always looked with suspicion upon any merchant there that was connected with that place. 5083. Is it within your knowledge that up to that time the slave dealers, by themselves, or their agents, were in the habit of frequenting Sierra Leone, and making purchases there for the supply of Gallinas?--They generally made their purchases, I believe, through some merchant resident at Sierra Leone; one in particular; they generally had one merchant at a time, I believe, who was employed by them. 5084. _Chairman._] Making purchases of prize goods?--Yes, and sometimes of vessels; a vessel that might be put up to auction there he would bid for, and have it sent down to Gallinas; and I have no doubt goods also. 5085. Was he a white merchant, or a black, who was so employed?--He was a white merchant, an English merchant. 5086. Who was he?--The name is mentioned in the Parliamentary Papers, as being connected with the purchase of a slave vessel, Mr. Kidd; and it is mentioned in connection with that of Mr. Zulueta, of London. 5087. Can you refer to the passage?--It appears at the 38th page of the class (B.) of the papers on the subject of the slave trade, presented to Parliament 1839-40. Zulueta, the gentleman in London to whom the vessel was sent, and who sold her again to her former Spanish owner, is a name well known on the coast in connexion with the slave trade; any man ought to have been careful of being connected with such a person as that. I have seen the same vessels over and over again in the slave trade; you can detect them when you get accustomed to the form and build of the vessels. 5088. Mr. _Forster_.] Were not those vessels sold to the best bidder?--Yes. 5089. Do not you think that the fault was with those who sold them originally, and not those who bought them?--No; you are not bound to suppose that a man will make a bad use of that which he purchases. 5090. Mr. _W. Patten_.] Are those vessels generally bought by the same person?--Mr. Kidd purchased vessels only during the latter part of the time I was there, for he was not in the colony when I first went there; he was looked upon as the person employed by the Gallinas slave dealers to transact their business at Sierra Leone. 5091. _Chairman._] To purchase vessels and goods?--Yes. 5092. Mr. _W. Patten_.] Is Mr. Kidd the person you alluded to just now, who generally purchased the vessels at auction?--No, they were generally purchased by various people; he purchased a few of them. 5093. Mr. _Forster_.] Would Mr. Zulueta, if he had entered the auction-room, have been at liberty to bid for the purchase of that vessel?--Certainly; by the treaty it is required that the goods seized shall be exposed to public auction for the benefit of the two governments.