. THE >v^ APPEAL RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FEIENDS PENHSYLVANIA, KEff JERSEY, BEIAWAEE, ETC., TO THEIR FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES ON BEHALF OF THE COLOURED RACES. PHILADELPHIA : FRIENDS' BOOK-STORE, No. 304 ARCn STREET, 18 5 8. r?/- /b At a Yearly 3Ieetinc/ of Friends of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, ^-c, held in Philadelpliia hy adjourn- ments from the l^th to the 22d of the Fourth month, inclu- sive, 1858 — An Appeal to the citizens of the United States on lehalf of the Coloured Races having been prepared hy the 3Ieeting for Sufferings, it ivas read and united with, and directed to he signed hy the ClerJc on behalf of the Yearly Meeting, and an edition to be published sufficiently large for extensive distribution. Extracted from the Minutes. WILLIAM EVANS, Clerk to the fleeting this year. //) ty c/ -^ /-r / (2) THE APPEAL OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, TO THEIR FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, ON BEHALF OP THE COLOURED RACES. In contemplating the present condition and future prospects of our beloved country, the conviction has been forcibly brought before us, that, whatever elements of outward prosperity and greatness a nation may possess, it is only by an observance of the obligations of morality and religion that its real interests and highest welfare can be promoted, and established upon a secure basis. The sovereign Euler of the Universe is a Being of perfect justice and beneficence, as well as of unlimited power. He controls the destiny of governments and of individuals, and can set up or pull down at his pleasure ; and all the policy and strength of man is utterly incapable of resisting the course of his Almighty Providence. It is one of the fixed laws of his moral government, attested by experience and by Holy Scripture, that wicked- ness and oppression are, sooner or later, followed by his just judgments. The annals of those that have preceded us furnish abundant evidence that national sins have ever incurred national calamities ; and that a course of iniquity and violence, however prosperous for a time, has eventually terminated in disgrace and ruin. History abounds with instances of governments which have risen to a height of power and influence that seemed almost (3) 4 TIIEAPPEALOFTnE irresistible; and arrogantly presuming on the strength of their position, and trusting to their skill and management, have sought to aggrandize themselves by encroaching upon the rights of others, until at length, in the righteous retribution of Him who has declared, " Vengeance is mine — I will repay" — the measure they have meted to others has been returned upon themselves, unlooked- for calamities have befallen, they have sunk into moral and political degradation, and their very existence has been blotted out from the earth. The account of the Jews, as related in the Bible and confirmed by profane writers, shows that their happiness and prosperity, as well as their security from the aggres- sions of hostile nations, were in proportion to their obe- dience to the Divine hiw; continued violations of which brought upon them fearful calamities, and ended in the destruction of their government, and their dispersion, as a despised people, among other nations. If we turn to the history of Eome, Greece, or Babylon, as well as other kingdoms, ancient and modern, the same just retribution is written in characters too plain to be mistaken or controverted. These fearful manifestations of Divine justice are de- signed as beacons to succeeding generations. The ^lost High changes not. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. His attributes are neither altered nor sus- pended to suit the varying schemes, or the fluctuating opinions of men or governments, but are ever acting, with perfect harmony and certainty, to bring about his purposes. Though he is forbearing and compassionate, and may wait long with the disobedient, ere he causes them to reap the reward of their doings, yet the Holy Scriptures assure us, that He will by no means clear the guilty, nor suffer the impenitently wicked to go unpunished. However improbable, in the day of outward prosperity, a reverse may appear ; however it may seem to us, for a RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 5 time, that God regardeth uot tlio iniquity of the oppressor, nor listeneth to the groaning of the down-trodden, it is unalterably certain that the day of recompense will sooner or later arrive. Of his infinite mercy he allows to nations, as well as to individuals, a period in which they may repent of theii iniquity — may cease to do evil and learn to do well, and thereby avert the awful consequences of their sins. But this day of mercy does not last forever. It is possible to disregard and outlive it ; and of such a condition it is divinely declared, "Because I have called and ye refused — I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded ; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof ; I also w^ill laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear cometh: when your fear cometh as a desolation and your destruction as a whirlwind — and distress and anguish overtake." Such has been the course of the moral government of the Almighty in past ages, and both reason and revelation confirm the conclu- sion that such it will be for all time to come. "With these views deeply impressed on our minds, our attention has been directed to the course pursued by the people and government of these United States toward the coloured races. — It is not our purpose to speak particu- larly of the wrongs and cruelties practised upon the abo- riginal inhabitants of our country. It will hardly be de- nied by any one acquainted with the subject, that a vast amount of injustice and other wickedness has been per- petrated in the intercourse of the whites with the Indians, for which a heavy load of responsibility rests upon the nation. These feeble and defenceless remnants of the tribes who once possessed the soil upon which we have grown rich, have strong claims on our sympathy and Christian liberality; and every principle of religion and humanity dictates, that in their weakness and destitution they should be treated with kindness and generosity. 6 THEAPPEALOFTHE Our present business is more especially witli the condi- tion of the descendants of Africa. AVe wish to approach the subject with that charity and forbearance which the gospel enjoins between man and his brother man. AVe disclaim all sectional views, — all party or political mo- tives, and any undue interference with supposed rights of property and local regulations. It is, as we believe, under the constraining influence of that love which seeks the welfare of both masters and slaves, and desires the happiness and prosperity of our beloved country, that we make our earnest and solemn appeal on this momentous subject. That there are conscientious men, who treat their slaves with humanity, and see in part, and perhaps deplore, the evils of the system in which they are involved, we do not doubt, and we sympathize with them in their trials and difficulties respecting it. But it is equally cer- tain that there are others whose course is the reverse of this. Our business, however, is not with individuals or with particular cases; it is with slaveiy as a legalized institution in some of the United States. "We are aware that diiference of education, of position in life, and of associations, produces a powerful effect in moulding the sentiments of men, and that interest, in a greater or less degree, influences all, and modifies in their view the force even of the strongest arguments. But there are certain great principles of moral right, revealed by the Iloly Spirit in the heart, and laid down in the scriptures of Truth for the government of all, which no exercise of charity can suspend, no prejudice of education annul ; nor can any combination of circum- stances absolve us from the obligation to observe them. To these principles, in connexion with the subject before us, we wish calmly and kindly to invite the dispassionate attention of our readers. At an early period, the Religious Society of Friends was coustvaiucd by a sense of Christian duty to clear itself of RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 7 the traffic in mankind. Under the enlightening influ- ences of the Spirit of Truth they saw tliat it was totally irreconcileable with the precepts of Christ and his apos- tles ; that the subjects of it were the victims of wars, fomented in Africa by the manstealer, for the love of gain ; and that the suiFerings they endured on the passage to America were repugnant to humanity. Being faithful in this particular, they were soon led to consider the origin and nature of the servitude to which the stolen Africans and their descendants were reduced after being landed on our shores ; and, testing it by the simple precepts of the gospel, they found it wholly at variance with them. Undeterred by pecuniary loss or other inconveniences, and patiently labouring in love to convince the judgments of those members who did not at once accord with these views, they eventually liberated all their negroes ; so that for a long period there has not been a slave held as such by an acknowledged member of the Society. Having thus cleared themselves of these evils, and tasted the reward of doing justly, they were drawn in Christian love to plead with their fellow-citizens who yet held slaves, and to labour in a meek and gentle spirit, to bring others to that sense of mercy and of justice, to which the Lord in his goodness had brought them. Hence, they have often felt it their duty to open their mouths for the dumb, and to plead the cause of those who have few or none to help them. The people of these United States profess to be Chris- tians — to believe in the gospel of Christ, and to acknow- ledge and receive the Holy Scriptures as a law given from heaven. In this precious volume we are taught that God is the Creator of all men — that He made of one blood all the families of the earth ; and that He is the gracious and beneficent Father of them all. That all are partakers of the same fallen nature ; all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; all have need of the 8 TnEAPPEALOFTHE pardon and forgiveness which are oiFered to us, in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that all must render an account of their deeds at his judgment seat. The gospel is declared to be glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. That boundless love and mercy In which the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world embraces the whole human race without respect of persons. Jesus Christ died for all ; and the grace of God which bringeth salvation has appeared unto all men without distinction of nation, tongue, colour or country. Whatever other differences may exist, these common mercies and common characteristics surely constitute all men brethren — children of one universal Parent — objects of the same love and mercy — and participants of Ilia bounty, to which we owe all we possess, and from which are derived all the advantages which one enjoys over another. Every principle of religion and morality, every feeling of gratitude, added to the sense of common de- pendence upon the same Father, binds us to the exercise of kindness, of sympathy, and of love, towards all our fellow-creatures. Among the countless multitudes of immortal beings who people his earth, there is not one so poor, so weak, or so despised, as to be beneath his regard and care. J^ot a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice : and if the Omnipotent One condescends to behold the falling even of the least of his animal creation, how much more will He not overlook the sufterings or the wrongs of a being created in his own image and for a purpose of his own glory. "For the oppression of the poor, lor the sigh- ing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord ; I will set him in safety from him that putfeth at him." Xonc arc so powerful that He cannot punish them — none so high as to be beyond the reach of his righteoua judgments. There is no precept more frequently and earnestly en- RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 9 joined in the New Testament, tlian that of loving one another. The first and great commandment is to love God with the whole heart ; and the second is like unto it, viz.: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Our Saviour makes it the test of being his: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Again : "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour — therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law" — and if any man say he loves God, and doth not love his brother, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. The gospel rule goes even further than this. Its requi- sitions are not complied with by merely loving our neigh- bour, and those who do not oppose our interest or our pleasure. The Christian Lawgiver saj's : " Love your enemies — do good to them that hate you — bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven." Let any man candidly and deliberately consider these texts, and then seriously ask himself, Am I loving my neighbour as I love myself, by holding him, and his posterity after him, in involuntary servitude — compel- ling them to labour all their lives for my benefit, with no other remuneration but shelter and a scanty pittance of food and clothing ? Is this working no ill to my neigh- bour ? Am I fulfilling the divine law of love, and acting under its benign and heavenly influence, by thus holding in perpetual and unconditional bondage, with all its de- grading and corrupting accompaniments, my brother and my sister — children of the same Almighty Father, crea- ted in his image, and, equally with myself, the objects of his merciful regard, and of that salvation which was purchased for them and for me by the same Saviour's blood? Is there a man living who could appear before his Maker and answer these questions in the afiirrnative? 10 THEAPPEALOFTHE "We believe not. The contradiction is too great, too manifest, not to cany conviction into every heart. Take another precept. Our Lord Jesus Christ says : " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye also even so unto them." Would the holder and worker of slaves like to exchange his own lot for their hard and continuous toil — their scanty food and clothing, and often comfortless shelter ; their degraded condition ; the ignorance, literary and religious, in which he keeps them; the severe whippings they frequently receive ; the sepa- ration from wife and children, and of these from each other ; and the privation of liberty and the pursuit and enjoyment of happiness in his own way ? Would he voluntarily exchange places with his negroes, and put his soul in their soul's stead ? We need not pause for a reply. Were their lots so exchanged, can he appeal to the Searcher of hearts, and deliberately say that he now treats his slaves as he would wish to be treated, were he in their place ? Here is a close test, a comprehensive criterion. But, if Christ be true — if, as He declares, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away" — is it not the true standard by which to try the case ? Do we flatter ourselves that the strictness of the rule will be relaxed to accommodate us, because we are masters? Let us remember that God is no respecter of persons. His law is the same for high and low, and we cannot elude its force. " He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin," and "the wages of sin is death." If we duly appreciate the rich blessings of the gospel of Christ ; the value of that message which He delivered to the world, and of the salvation which He oilers for its acceptance ; the influence of his love will prompt us, under the guidance of the Divine light, to spread tho knowledge of them among our fellow-men, and to invitt all to embrace these glorious privileges. Could we then RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 11 be instrumental in keeping any in ignorance of any part of the means provided for making kno\vn tliat message and those blessings ? Could we purposely deprive them of the privilege and comfort of reading the Hol}^ Scrip- tures, which were written by inspiration of God, for their and our learning, and are profitable for doctrine, for re- proof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works ; and are able to make wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus ? American slavery systematically and by law prohibits teaching the slave to read ; and thus, in great measure, cuts off millions of our fellow-beings from the opportunity of deriving from the Scriptures the consolations, the warn- ings, the reproofs and instruction they contain. Must not that compassionate Being who provided these invaluable records for the use of black as well as white, view with just displeasure the wilful withholding from his children of the advantages He thus designed for them; and do not those incur a fearful load of responsibility who support the institution which is the instrument of so great a wrong ? Slavery exposes females to the uncontrolled and irre- sponsible power of licentious men, in whose hands they are helpless. Let any man who has daughters growing up around him, bound to him by the tenderest ties of parental and filial love, seriously contemplate this mon- strous evil, and then say whether a system that produces, tolerates, and even protects such a state of things, is not a curse to the earth. The divine command respecting the ordinance of mar- riage is, "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." Slavery tells the master he may sunder man and wife whenever he pleases — may sell them far away from each other; and, if he keep either, compel that one to marry again, and thus violate another of the divine laws. 12 THEAPPEALOFTIIE The cliildren of a slave, dear to him perhaps as his own flesh, and for whose welfare and happiness he may be anxiously solicitous, can be torn from him at the plea- sure of an arbitrary master, sold to distant and, to him, unknown parts, perhaps to a hard-hearted driver, who extorts from his victims by the lash the utmost amount of toil of which their enfeebled and lacerated limbs are capable ; and the bereaved parent has scarcely the poor satisfaction of pouring his complaint into some sympa- thizing bosom, or of learning by hearsay the future lot of his child. The coloured man has his social affections, his domestic ties. There may be, and doubtless there are, differences among them, as among white men, in these respects ; but facts prove that the race possess those tender emotions in no inconsiderable degree. What anguish must wring the heart of a fond parent whose children are hopelessly and helplessly doomed to such outrages, and to whose violated natural rights and moral feelings even the forms of law give no adequate protection or redress ! ! that, as men, as Christians, as well-wishers of our common country, A\e could be brouglit fully to appreciate, and to feel, the mag- nitude, the enormity, of these evils; and, putting our- selves into the position of the poor negroes, could sympa- thize with them as our fellow-creatures — as husbands and wives, as fathers and mothers, as brothers and sisters. Slavery entrusts the master with despotic power over the person, the time, the will, of the negro. He may in- flict cruel and torturing punishment, just so as he does not take his life or wantonly maim him — he may deprive him of all that makes existence pleasant, and he has no redress — none to remedy his wrongs or to listen to his complaint. Man is created a free agent. The divine law by which he is to be governed is written in his heart by the Spirit of Truth and in the Iloly Scriptures. Good and evil are RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 16 set before him with their inevitable consequences of hap- piness or misery, and he is called to choose the good and refuse the evil, but with liberty to make his election. The institution of slavery interferes with this liberty, and makes ihe will of the master absolute over the actions of the slave, and paramount to the law of God. The master may, and in many instances does, compel the slave to do things which the divine law forbids, and to leave unperformed duties which it commands, and thus exalts his own autho- rity above that of the Almighty himself. Let ns seriously ponder this in all the vastness of its consequences for time and for eternity, and say whether a system which thus sets one man above his Maker, while it degrades another so far below the condition in which the Creator placed him, is not at variance with the whole scope of Christianity, and deeply injurious to both master and slave ! Is it any wonder that the moral sense of other civilized nations turns with disgust and abhorrence from an insti- tution fraught with these evils, and which inflicts on its victims such grievous wrongs ? We would affectionately and earnestly entreat our fellow-citizens everj^'here to contemplate them — to give up their minds to the delibe- rate consideration of the hardships and the privations of the negro, and to let their sympathies flow unrestrained for his degraded and oppressed condition. "We believe those who do so will not fail to see that Christianity and Slavery are irreconcileable — that the meek, loving, self-sacrificing spirit of the Redeemer of men, who declared that we ought to love one another as He loved us, which was even to laying down his life for our sakes, is totally adverse to the wrongs and cruelties of the system, and that there is cause to apprehend it will eventually bring upon our beloved country the measure of His just retribution who declared, "Shall I not visit for these things ? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" ' 14 THEAPPEALOFTHE How deeply, then, is it to be lamented tliat so many amongst us view with indiflerence and unconcern this alarming subject; while others, from pecuniary or political motives, cling to the system, and are seeking to extend its area, and thus widen and augment the evil which threat- ens to overthrow the peace and prosperity of the nation, and even the government itself. We turn with Christian interest and sympathy to the condition of the free black people within the jurisdiction of our government. They labor under many and great disabilities, for which no better reason can be assigned than that there is power to impose them ; and they have to contend against un- just prejudices, continually operating to their disadvan- tage, and repressing their efforts for improvement. That many of them possess but little thrift, and are not very strict in their observance of the moral law, will not be denied. But when we consider the ignorance and degra- dation into which their ancestors and themselves were forced by the whites, and in which they have generally been kept, what other result could reasonably have been anticipated? Under the same neglect and pernicious treatment, would not the whites have exhibited equal degradation? and is it just to hold the negro answerable for the consequences of our own want of care to imbue his mind with right principles and train him to correct practices ? Does not a part at least of the responsibility rest upon, their more favored white brethren for a failure to perform what seems no less than a Christian duty ? "While thou- sands of dollars are annually expended, and many persons are devoting their lives in endeavoring to improve the condition of nations afar off, how few arc found willing to give their time or means to instructing and elevating the thousands of free colored people who live in our midst, and how very little is actually done to meliorate their RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 15 social, civil, or moral condition, and to raise them from the depressed state into which they have been driven. It is cheering to see that, with proper culture and encourage* ment, many of them exhibit a capacity for improvement, and an energy and perseverance in attaining it, which are highly creditable. There are not a few instances in which they have reached a considerable degree of intel- lectual development ; have made commendable progress in literature and science, and by a course of industry, honesty, and sobriety, have attained a comfortable com- petency and established a good reputation as worthy and useful citizens. We lament to see, nevertheless, that the unchristian prejudice against colour is still operating most unjustly against them ; that in several of the States severe laws are proposed or enacted, the object of which is still further to rob them of their rights as citizens, and even to deprive them of a home in the land of their birth. Laws so oppressive, and unjust in their nature, we appre- hend are an offence against the Most High, and clearly inconsistent with the fundamental principles of our republican constitution ; and we feel bound to protest against them. The great ends of good government are to afford protec- tion to the weak, security to the defenceless, an asylum to the oppressed, and to promote the welfare and happiness of all the governed. Such were the objects in view with the founders of our Republic. But how widely different is the course of oppression and disfranchisement pursued, by many of their professed admirers, towards the free peo- ple of colour. Justice loudly demands for them the full enjoyment of their natural and civil rights ; and Chris- tian benevolence prompts the exercise of sympathy and kindness in their difficulties and privations, and the adoption of proper means to repair the disadvantages and injuries which the whites have entailed upon them. 16 THEAPPEALOFTHE If we think their presence amongst us is inconvenient and injurious — if we vievv^ them as a race not congenial with our own, and as foreign to our soil and social institutions, let us bear in mind that they did not volun- tarily intrude themselves among us; that our ancestors dragged them here, against their will, to advance selfish interests ; and, since that period, millions of them have labored and suifered to increase the wealth and ministei to the ease and enjoyment of the white man; and that, if birth within our borders, if toil and tears, the waste of sinew and muscle, and of life itself, in long and unrewarded labor, can purchase a valid title to home and country, the coloured man can claim them here with the most equitable right. It was by a traffic outraging all the natural and civil rights of man, reeking with the perpetration of crimes and cruelties among the darkest that blot the history of human kind, that slavery was introduced into our coun- try. The unhallowed commerce was found to be profit- able ; and there were those degraded enough to pursue it from sordid love of gold, regardless of all the miseries it inflicted. Slavery is at once the nurse and the nourish- ment of the Slave trade. Wherever it exists, there is a market for its victims ; and where there is a remunerating demand, there will be a supply, despite of laws and of morals. The system has, therefore, not only its own evils to condemn it, but the not less atrocious wickedness and barbarity which arc connected with the traific it creates and supports. "We are persuaded that it is not necessary to enter upon any argument to prove the iniquity of the African Slave trade. It is an evil so terrible, attended in every succes- sive stage of its progress by such complicated guilt and misery, by consequences so afflicting to humanity, and so repugnant to every precept of morality', that the govern- ment of the ITuited States, in common with nearly every RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 17 other which professes the Christian religion, has branded it as infamous, and affixed the severest penalties to a par- ticipation in it. Of all nations, our own was the first to prohibit the traffic, to affix to it the stigma of piracy, and to award to its perpetrators the awful penalty of death. Yet how humiliating, how afflicting is the fact, tliat there is the clearest evidence, not only remote but recent, and almost continually forcing itself upon public notice, that American capital and American citizens are now actively engaged in carrying it on ; and that vessels built and equipped in tlie United States, sent out from our ports, and in which our merchants have a direct or collateral interest, are constantly employed in its prosecution. Whatever information the United States government may have received from its official agents respecting the complicity of American citizens in the traffic, several years have elapsed since it has published anything mate- rial, touching the subject. It is a fact, that the flag of the nation which makes a greater boast of liberty than any other, is most frequently employed for the protection of this illicit commerce ; and yet scarcely any public no- tice is taken of it by those in authority. In a despatch forwarded to the Secretary of State, in 1844, by Henry A. "Wise, then Minister of the United States at the court of Brazil, where he had abundant opportunity of becoming acquainted with the details of the Slave trade, and the manner in which our citizens made themselves parties to it, he speaks of numerous American vessels being engaged in it, and shows that the immunity from detection and punishment, furnished by the flag of the United States, is the grand security of the traffic. Information of the same character, accompanied with authentic cases of the em- ployment of American vessels and crews in the business, and of instances of shocking excesses committed by them, was transmitted as recently as 1850, by David Todd, who 2 18 TnEAPPEALOFTHE succeeded Henry A. Wise. He entreated that our govern- ment would interpose its authority to prevent more effec- tually the use of its flag for this nefarious purpose, and of the vessels and capital of our citizens, in buying and transporting the kidnapped sons and daughters of Africa.* The official documents furnished to the British govern- ment by its officers on the coast of Africa and in Cuba, up to the year 1857, prove, in the most conclusive man- ner, that the state of things depicted by H. A. Wise and D. Todd still continues ; and that American vessels and capital are as deeply implicated in the trade as ever. It would swell this Appeal too much to recite the numerous cases given, and we shall confine ourselves to one or two, which may be taken as examples of the whole. In a despatch from George Jackson and Edmund Ga- briel, English Commissioners at Loanda, Africa, dated "March 28th, 1854," addressed to Lord Clarendon, they state : " The United States Brig Perry came into this harbor two days ago, and we have received from Lieute- nant Page [one of her officers] the following confirmation of the intelligence contained in our despatch of the 17th inst., viz.: — " On the 10th inst., about noon, the Perry being abreast of Congo, descried a vessel a long distance out at sea standing in for the land. Lieutenant Page immediately ran up the blue ensign, on seeing which the stranger hoisted American colours. Lieutenant Page then deter- mined not to have the appearance of giving chase, but by the help of his night glass he never lost sight of the ves- sel, and manoeuvred with so much tact, that, when morn- ing broke, he found himself within a few miles of her. lie immediately sent his boats in pursuit, and eventually captured her; her captain declaring that he would not allow any but an American boat to board her ; but seeing they were officers of the United States ISTavy, he at once * See Appendix, A. RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 19 acknowledged tlmt he was making for the land, to ship a cargo of slaves, from 600 to 800, who w^ere looking out for him. His slave-deck, water, and provisions, were all on board. She proved to be a brig, the Glamorgan, of two hundred tons, from Isew York, chartered by a Por- tuguese, now a resident in that city. The Glamorgan sailed from New York on the 6th of October, 1853, and landed her cargo in January, partly in the Congo, and partly at Ambriz (Africa). The master of her was a native of Bremen, but a naturalized American. The mate w^as either an American or an Englishman by birth, believed to be the latter. " The Glamorgan had been several times visited by Her Majesty's cruisers, and then, as at the moment of her capture, her papers. Lieutenant Page declares, "were perfectly regular. If she had not been deceived by the manoeuvres of the Perry, she might have escaped with the greatest ease, her sailing qualities being far superior to those of that brig, or probably of any cruiser on the coast." In a letter from B. Campbell, British Consul at Lagos, Africa, dated "January 6th, 1856," to Lord Clarendon, it is stated that the English ship-of-war "Hecate" chased a suspicious brigantine in the Bight of Benin, which, not being able to escape, ran ashore, and proved to be a slaver named " Chatsworth," of New York. In another letter, dated "Feb. 1st, 1856," the consul says, "I regret to have to report to your lordship that there is an active renewal of the slave trade at Whydah and the neighbouring ports. , of New York, has two vessels under the American flag, the barque 'Hermitage' and schooner 'David Mitchell,' hovering about the slave ports. The latter, I am w^ell informed, will take away slaves, if an opportunity offers." In a letter from J. G. C. L. Newnham, English consul at Monrovia, dated " September 10th, 1855," is the fol- 20 THEAPPEALOFTHE lowing, viz., " On the 19tli of last month (August) came to anchor, in this port of entry, an American vessel of suspicious appearance, the 'Alexander Mitchell,' from IS'ew York, whose owner has been engaged in the slave trade." In another letter, dated "December 3, 1855," he says, " I have learnt that the Alexander Mitchell, the vessel I made mention of to you in my despatch of September 10th, 1855, has recently shipped 500 slaves, a little below Cape Palmas." In a letter from the English consul at Eio Janeiro to Lord Clarendon, dated "February 8th, 1856," he states that the "Mary E. Smith," of Boston, was seized by the Brazilian war-schooner "Olinda," off the port of St. Ma- theos, in Brazil, where the captain was endeavouring to land his cargo. She had about 380 slaves on board. He says, "At the time the Mary E. Smith was seized by the Bra- zilians she had the United States ensign flying, and her American papers were found to be in order. Her captain and part of her crew are Americans, and part Portuguese." Consul Morgan, of Baliia, says, " I never heard of, or saw, a more distressing case of slave trading than the *Mary E. Smith' has ofiered. With a capacity of only 122 tons, 500 human beings were crammed into her on the coast of Africa, of whom 133 had died previous to her capture, and subsequently, until her arrival in this port, 67 expired from exhaustion, consequent on starva- tion and disease, their bodies being eaten into by vermin. Of the remainder landed, 76 have been buried ; and of the survivors, 100 arc in the hospital, suffering, from the disease contracted on board. Such is the deplorable result of this inhuman traffic. "I regret to add that, from the investigations made on board by the cliief of police, /(;2oaiQ rice, which she forced from her own to her baby's mouth. A fiheet was given to cover her; she wrapped her baby in it, and pressed it to her heart with that look of maternal love which God has given to the dark as well as to the pale-faced race. On board the schooner, tlie )naster and guard were with the remaining negroes in a perilous state ; the former passed tlie night in the forecastle and bowsprit, drenclied by the spray of the heavy rollers. "At dawn, on the 19th, the wind and surf had increased; the sliip liid driven closer to the beach ; numbers of armed people were col- lected; a signal for assistance was made; the captain went with all tlio APPENDIX. 37 boats manned and armed, when the natives on the beach, led on by white men, apparently the crew of the ship, commenced firing, with tho intention of preventing the rescue of any more negroes. This con- tinued an hour before wo could clear the beach. On again boarding the wreck, she was found breaking up, with her hold full of water. Oa the tide receding, her hull was nearly dry, and there was no time to spare. The large boats were stationed to keep the beach clear with their guns ; tho cutter was anchored at the back of the surf, and, by watching the rollers, they succeeded in throwing her a rope, when the negroes were lowered and hauled through the surf, and conveyed as before to the Sappho, two hundred more being rescued ; then the wreck was set fire to, and our people withdrawn. "We were in such a state, with three hundred and eighty negroes crowding our decks; the stench was putrefying, and it was impossible to work the ship. In this state the second day closed upon us. We were forty miles from Shark's Point; the captain resolved to go in hia boat and ask for assistance. They pulled all night in the heavy rain, and at daylight, on tho 20th, fortunately met the Vesuvius, Commo- dore Wise, with whom the captain returned. Commodore Wise took tho negroes on board the Vesuvius, to be sent to Sierra Leone in the Alector prize. " I have given you the history of one of the many American ships employed in the slave trade ; six, I think, have been taken. We seized the Panchita thirty miles up the coast, and sent her to New York ; we do not know whether the American government will condemn her." c. In offering a resolution to the Senate of the United States, inquiring into the expediency of adopting measures to prevent the use of the Ame- rican flag for protecting persons engaged in the African Slave Trade, John M. Clayton, Senator from the State of Delaware, said : — " Since the year 1852, the Slave Trade has fearfully increased in tho Island of Cuba. Thousands of African negroes have been brought from the coast of Africa during the last sixteen months, and smuggled into this island, and the fact has attracted the attention of good men through- out the civilized world. No portion of this Union is believed to be more decidedly opposed to this inhuman traiSc than the southern portion of it, where, although men are deeply interested in the preservation of their own peculiar institution, the abhorrence of these outrages on humanity by the African Slave Trade exists as strongly as it does in any other portion of the world, and I think I am fully justified in saying that the men of the South will go as far in putting down this inhuman trafiic in human flesh as any others. Southern honour stands pledged to that effect, and the brightest jewel in the chaplet of the South is her honour. 88 APPENDIX. ^ye are all, then, equally interested to inquire wliat has been the cause of the recent extraordinary success of the Slave Trade in the Island of Cuba? It is with regret that I am compelled to admit the fact that a great majority of these slaves have been imported from the coasts of Africa in vessels of American build, and that these vessels, navigated by crews of American sailors, and commanded by American captains, have participated in that trade to an alarming extent, and in a manner which I will now proceed to explain : " The owner of an American ship, desiring to sell her for a slaver, sends her with a cargo to Havana. She arrives there with the understanding that she is to be sold and employed in the Slave Trade. Some wealthy individual or joint stock company, tempted by the prospect of enormous profits, advances money enough to purchase the vessel, and fit her out for an adventure to the coast of Africa. By the laws of the United States it is necessary for her new owner to procure for her a new regis- ter upon her return to this country, and within three days after she has arrived at a port here. She is generally purchased in the name of the captain who sails with her to Havana, and who undertakes with his employers to navigate her under the American flag, and with an Ame- rican crew, to some port on the African coast at or south of Elephant Bay, for enormous profits, proportioned to the risk he incurs, but seldom falling short of five thousaud or six thousand dollars. It was not the ori- ginal intention that she should return to the United States, but her com- mander, on his arrival at Havana, deposits her papers with the Ameri- can Consul, and obtains, in lieu of them, for the vessel, a Consular cer- tificate, called a Consular sea-letter. With such a certificate, or, as it is said, sometimes with the original sea-letter, with which he sailed from the United States, the captain embarks with the very crew with which he sailed from the United States, under the American flag, bound for Gallinas, or Cabinda, or some other port on the coast of Africa where slaves can be best procured. He takes with him another captain and another crew as passengers, to cover his design, composed generally of Portuguese or Spaniards, with the addition, perhaps, of a few Americaa or English desperadoes, and his cargo is generally composed of farina, beans, casks of water, and aguadente, sweetmeats, and boards seem- ingly cast without care on the top of the water-casks, but, in reality, all fitted and prepared to make a slave-deck to stow away the slaves on their return from Africa to the Island of Cuba, for which purpose this slave-deck, it is said, can be constructed by the crew in loss than an hour. "On the voyage from Havana to the coast of Africa, if overhauled by an English cruiser, he points to his American flag and sliows his Ame- rican papers; and when he arrives at his port of destination, in pursu- ance of a previous arrangement between those concerned in the Trade at Cuba and their agents on tiie coast of Africa, the American colours are lowered, the American captain and tlic American crew leave the vessel and go on shore, or on board another vessel waiting there to bring them back to Cuba, and the new captain and crew, who sailed in tlio slaver as passengers, then take charge of the vessel. If an English or APPENDIX. 39 American cruiser bo in sight, they receive timely information by signals from the land, and thus avoiding capture, the vessel lays to within sight of the barracoons, or slave-pens, Avithont taking in sails, but merely lowering her topsails, until her human freight is, by the immense barges or boats prepared for the purpose on shore, put on board the vessel. Thus, frequently, 900 or 1000 slaves are shipped aboard a vessel, and she is off on her return voyage to Cuba, eluding all pursuit, in loss than one hour after she entered the port. Such an adventure is commonly achieved in the night, but it is also sometimes performed in broad day- light. I remember that, while engaged professionally in the trial of an indictment in the Circuit Court of the United States, for such a violation of the Acts of Congress, a sailor, and a very intelligent witness, swore that he had frequently seen a vessel run into the harbour of Cabinda, send down her topsails on the caps, and clear out, with 900 slaves on board, in half an hour "Before I leave the subject of the resolution, it may be well to remark that American ships are always sought for in Havana for the Slave Trade, and command a higher price when purchased or cliartered to be used as slavers than the vessels of any other nation. Hence it is that our countrymen are more deeply implicated as participating in this trafEc than either Englishmen or Frenchmen. We have acquired a degree of skill in the construction of ships unequalled by any other nation " It is not merely the superiority of the American vessel, but the supe- rior character of the American captains for skill, intrepidity, and daring in these hazardous enterprises, that causes them to be employed at higher prices than could be obtained by others." D. Extract from the "Keio York Herald" of 7tJi month, 14, 1856. The Slave Trade. — Fittixg out Vessels in the Port of New York. — Mr. Secretary Marcy has laid before the Senate a report in answer to a resolution in reference to the fitting out of vessels in the ports of the United States, for the purpose of being engaged in the Slave Trade. The Secretary gave the names of six vessels sailing out of the port of New York; but we are enabled to supply, from authentic sources, the names of twenty-one vessels, eighteen of which have left this port within the last three years. There are many others which are well known to have embarked on slaving expeditions, as is admitted by a letter from Mr. Marcy to Mr. McKeon, in August, 1854 ; but as they have not returned, they are supposed to have been destroyed at sea. It appears that the usual practice is to equip vessels in this port for the apparent purposes of legitimate trade, but which carry a suffi- cient quantity of planks to erect slave-decks, a large number of water- casks and rice, and other articles of food for a cargo of negroes. Having traded between the slave ports on the coast of Africa [and Cuba], the 40 - APPENDIX. captain and cre^v abandon thoir ship and set fire to her, in order to destroy all traces of her unlawful engagement. We have laws on the statute books prohibiting the Traffic in Slaves, or the fitting out of vessels for the purpose. The following are the sections of the Act : — " No citizen, or other person, shall, for himself or others, either as master, factor, or owner, build, fit, equip, load, or otherwise prepare any vessel in any place within the United States, for the purpose of procuring any negro, mulatto, or person of colour, from any foreign country, to be transported to any place whatsoever, to be held, sold, or otherwise disposed of as a slave, or to be held to service or labour: and such vessel so built, fitted out, equipped, laden, or otherwise prepared for such purpose, her tackle, apparel, furniture and lading shall be for- feited, one moiety to the United States, and the other to the use of the prosecutor, and such vessel may be seized, prosecuted, and condemned in any court of the United States having competent jurisdiction. "Every person so building, fitting out, equipping, loading, or other- wise preparing or sending away, or causing any such act to be done, with intent to employ such vessel in such trade, or who shall in any \?ise be aiding or abetting therein, shall, on conviction, forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars, nor less than one thousand dollars, one moiety to the United States and the other to the prosecutor, and shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding seven nor less than three years." "With the immense traffic that is set on foot in our very midst, we TTOuld ask what has been done to check it? Turning to the records of the United States Courts, we find that from 1845 to 1854, there were but five cases of the violation of this law of which judicial notice has been taken, and they Avere thus disposed of: — Mansfield and DriscoU forfeited their recognizances of 5000 dollars each ; Captain Theodore Canot was held to answer in 1847, but nothing has over been done in his case since ; Captain Jefi'erson turned State's evidence ; and in tlio case of Captain D. Mathew a nolle prosequi was entered. Since 1854 there have boon thirty-two persons indicted, and thirteen tried, of whom one was con\icted and twelve acquitted ; the indictments against the other nineteen are so recent that they have not yet been tried. Captain James Smith, of the brig "Julia MouUon," was convicted of commanding tiiat vessel and conveying a cargo of slaves on the coast of Africa — tiie penalty would have been death ; but a new trial was granted, and the Government subsequently consented to a plea of guilty to a minor offence, and he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. R. E. Lascala was tried on a charge of fitting out the slaver "Jloratio," and acquitted ; Manuel Eclieveria, fitting out the " Mar)/ Jaue J'eck," acquitted; E. Valentine, fitting out the "Julia MouUon," acquitted; Gaspard M. do Cunha and eight of the crew of the "Falmouth," ac- quitted. There are still pending charges against Bazilio de Cunha Ilois, of the firm of Figaniere, Ileis & Co., for fitting out the "Aleva," Henrico APPENDIX. 41 de Costa, Joseph P. de Cunlia, Patricio de Castro, and thirteen of the crew of the "Braman," and two other parties not yet arrested. The following vessels, -with the exception of the " Laurenn," the "Biiiferfii/," and the "Catherine," sailed out of the port of New York within the past three years ; these three schooners were fitted out some few years before that period : — Class. Name. • Fate. Barque Millaudon Destroyed at sea. Brig Glamorgan Captured. Condemned at Boston. Ditto Silenus Ditto. De.'stroyed on the coast. Barque , Laurens Ditto. Condemned at Xew York. Schooner Mary Jane Peck Ditto by the Uritish. Ditto at Sierra Leone. Ditto Mary E. Smith Ditto by the Brazilians. Ditto Butterfly Ditto. Condemned in Xew York. Ditto Catherine Ditto. Ditto. Ditto Advance Ditto. Condemned at Norfolk. Ditto Julia Moulton Destroj'ed at se,%. Ditto Julia Mystic Ditto. Barque Jasper Capt'd. Acquittcdbeoauseofdcfect in libel. Ditto Chancellor Ditto. Not yet decided. Ditto , Martha Ditto. Condemned in Xew Y^ork. Schooner Falmouth Ditto. Ditto. Ditto Horatio Destroyed at sea. Ditto ,... Lady SufTolk Captured, and since in the Mexican service. Barque Republic Destroyed at sea. Schooner Altiva Ditto. Ditto N. H. Gambrill Captured. Condemned in New York. Ditto Braman Ditto, and in process of adjudication. Thus we see that though vessels have been captured and condemned, there has been but one man convicted of the offence against the statute. Why such a proportion of acquittals? If the legal construction of those laws permits the encouragement of the Slave Trade, the sooner the Act of Congress is amended the better. Extract from the "National IntelUf/encer," published in the City of Washington. The African Slave-Trade in New York Citv. — According to the "Journal of Commerce," the United States Deputy Marshall says : — This business was never prosecuted with greater energy than at present. The occasional interposition of the legal authorities exercises no apparent influence for its suppression. It is seldom that one or more vessels cannot be designated at the wharves respecting which there is evidence that she is either in or has been concerned in the Traffic ; and within the last nine months three alleged slave cases of the character referred to have been before our Courts, resulting in one instance in confiscation. The manner of conducting this trade has undergone some change within a few months which it is well to observe. Parties in Cuba de- sirous of fitting out a slaver have no difficulty in procuring agents in this city, through certain commercial houses, to negotiate for the char- ter of such a craft as may be deemed suitable for an African voyage. 42 ATPENDIX. They come here ■with the requisite nmount of funds, and effect a char- ter, with a proviso that the vessel may be purchased, if desired, when she arrives at her destination. Through the potent influence of said funds it becomes the interest of all concerned, even to the sailmaker, caulker, shipwright, and joiner, to say no more about the matter than is necessary ; and, as regards the cargo, Judge Betts has ruled that its character, as ordinarily made up, can afford no evidence justifying the vessel's detention. The vessel, therefore, departs with the United States flag at her peak, and a proper person on board provided with blank papers, the powers of attorney, &c. ; so that, if an arrangement can be effected for procu- ring a cargo of negroes, the vessel is sold at a large profit, and her late owners in New York are no longer responsible for her proceedings. Her flag will protect her from interference by foreign cruisers, -and our own are not so numerous but they can coinmonly be avoided. The ves- sel is then run to Cuba, the cargo discharged, and the vessel burnt. Humanity has been outraged, but a princely fortune has been acquired. The question is renewed with still more earnestness, " Can the fitting out of slavers here be prevented ?" There are officers in the employ of the government noted for their sagacity and long experience in connec- tion with this subject, who answer that it can, by so amending the law relating to the shipment of crews that vessels engaged in the African trade shall take none but Americans. The journal thinks this would stop the crime, as Portuguese men are the sailors. {The "Baltimore American" of 11th month, 28th, 1856, contains an article holding forth similar sentiments and statements as the above.] E. The following extracts will serve to illustrate the nature and effects of the scheme for procuring free labour from Africa, viz.: — No. 1. "The operations of the French Government to obtain supplies of labour from the west coast of Africa, commenced in the early part of the pre- sent year ; not, however, in the mischievous form which they subse- quently assumed. The earlier intentions of that Government were to obtain, if it were possible, emigrants in a state as nearly approaching to freedom as is ever enjoyed by labourers on that coast. For that purpose a screw steamer, called the Phoenix, was chartered and despatched, not by any contractors, nor under any commercial arrangement with mer- cantile houses, but by the French Government itself. This vessel hoisted the pennant of Franco, and all her proceedings were directed by respon- sible Government agents. She did not make for the old slave trading- ports and rivers of the coast, wliere legitimate commerce was gradually extirpating and rooting out the detestable traffic in human being,-), but visited the European settlements and factories scattered so usefully APPENDIX. 43 along it, as also the American republic of Liberia and the Kroo coun- try, where native labour, though not absolutely free, is at all events freer than at any other part -where European authority is not established. '' Resorting to those parts of the African coast where they were in some ineasure under the observation of European offici;\ls, the agents em- ployed did not openly attempt to purchase the negroes from the chiefs or the old slave-dealers, but they offered a premium to all who could be persuaded to come aboard and accompany them. They thus succeeded in obtaining about three hundred, who, without understanding the na- ture of the contract made with them, or the full character of that part of it they were to perform, remained on board, as the vessel coasted along the country. But when in the prosecution of her voyage, the vessel called at Fernando Po, a large number, beginning to suspect that they were deceived, jumped overboard, and escaped to the shore. The plan, in this shape, was a ftiilure, and it became evident that if Africans were to be obtained for transportation, it must be by some other means. *' The scheme was consequently abandoned, and a contract was en- tered into by the imperial government with M. Regis, of Marseilles, for the transference by him of ten thousand Africans to Martinique and Guadaloupe, in consideration of twenty pounds a-head for each African. Of the selection of M. Regis for the execution of such a contract, even had it been of a guarded, and cautious, and protective kind, we will say no more than that, in the opinion of the well-informed writer of the let- ters before us, it was, notwithstanding that gentleman's experience of African commerce, in all respects a most unfortunate one. It was, how- ever, especially unfortunate in this, that M. Regis had a mercantile esta- blishment at Whydah, the port whence the slave trade was carried on by the King of Dahomey and those connected with him, and whence the dreadful commerce had extended itself to the other ports in the Bight of Benin. "At Whydah, it was at once decided this French enterprise of buying slaves for exportation to the West Indies should be chiefly carried on. No sooner did news of this resolution to carry on there a slave trade under the French flag, and protected by all the authority of the French empire, transpire at Whydah, than, as we have said, the old European slave-dealers at once abandoned lawful commerce, and, encouraged by this determination, revived on their own account the slave trade with Cuba, where the price of slaves, owing to the enormously increasing value of sugar, had greatly risen. Their operations, and the expecta- tions of French demand, brought down on the Bight a whole host, to use Consul Campbell's expressive language, of bearded, unwashed Span- iards, Portuguese, and Americans ; roused, as we have seen, the chiefs of Abeokuta and the interior to slave-hunting and kidnapping, and at once, as the correspondence before us repeats over and over again, se- riously diminished the quantity of produce collected for exportation. American slave-ship after American slave-ship appeared in the Bight, and it was announced that M. Regis had chartered four large steamers for his share in the traffic. This announcement aroused the attention 44 APPENDIX. of Consul Campbell, as.yct in ignorance of the contract, but his suspi- cions were lulled by an assurance that the vessels so chartered were intended for the postal service of the French government. The state- ment soon proved utterly untrue, for in a few weeks after it was made, a large steamer, called the Stella, appeared off AVhydah, with orders to purchase and embark twelve hundred negroes for the French Indian colonies. " The effect of this demand for a single ship, with tlie prospect of three other similar arrivals, convulsed the whole Bight of Benin. The chiefa and all their subjects deserted legitimate trade, and English merchants, entangled with a large amount of property unpaid fur in the interior, were only too happy to be able to contract their operations and ship their property as fast as possible. " But it soon appeared that M. Regis, despite his large African expe- rience, had entered into a very rash and hazardous speculation. For the twenty pounds a-head, which he was to receive, afforded him inade- quate means to compete with the slave-dealers, who had the open and unrestricted market of Cuba to supply, in the prices they respectively offered for prime first class Africans. The French contractors proposed ten pounds a-head ; their Spanish competitors instantly rose to eighteen and twenty pounds ; and, outbidding the agents of the French government, they got the first class negroes for Cuba, while nothing but the old, the weak, the infirm, and the dilapidated Africans were left for Martinique and Guadaloupe. " Most fortunately for the imperial government, the limitation of the price to be paid the French contractor in this most discreditable and very deplorable enterprise has, we learn, prevented the Stella obtaining her full complement of twelve hundred Africans in the Bight of Benin ; and that ship had at the latest dates sailed with several hundreds en board for the river Gaboon, there, it is greatly to be feared, to complete the number she can convey to the West Indies, This failure at Whydah will, we say, be a most fortunate occurrence for the French govern- ment, if it only teaches them the commercial lesson that in a trade so ■wicked and lawless, and abominable as this traffic in Africans, no gov- ernment or government contractors can compete with the remorseless and established slave-dealers, who buy in Africa to sell again in Cuba. And as, since the contract was formed, sugar has fallen twenty pounds a ton in value, let us earnestly hope that the miserable and mistaken inducement in which the contract no doubt originated, has disappeared, and that the contract itself will be at once terminated." No. 2. The evidence of those best acquainted with the natives of Western Africa distinctly states that it is impossible to obtain one thousand ^//re persons to emigrate on any terms, and that they cannot be procured in any other way than with the consent, after regular bargain and sale, of the native kings. From a letter from M. Fitzpatrick, who held an APPENDIX. 45 English judicial position on the Gold Coast for six years, wo cite a sin- gle paragraph : — " The Africans are not a migratory people. If they were free to-mor- row, and capable of understanding this contract for ten years' expatria- tion and servitude, they would much rather become slaves In their own country than enter into It. The Kroomen, though fond of earning money to take back to their own country after a short absence, and though tempted on board cruisers by pay amounting to from eight dollars to twelve dollars per month, with full rations or their money value — equal to seven dollars more per month, and employment on the element on which they are at home, will not enter into lengthened service ; and to suppose that they would be Induced, by a promise of twelve and a half franca per month, to go to a distant country for ten years, is absurd." Similar testimony Is given by M. Forster, for many years Intimately and largely connected with the trade of Western Africa. He says : — "If the slave trade Is to be revived In this new form. It may just as well be revived In Its old shape. The consequences will be quite as bad — nay, in some respects worse. A limited demand In the way proposed would bring more slaves from the interior than were wanted, and they would be starved in barracoons, while It would unsettle the minds of the people, and disturb and destroy legitimate trade as much as an unlimited traffic under the old system." The fallowing is extracted from a letter, dated "Robertsport, Liberia, Feb. 1st, 1858 " : — "The Emperor [of France], It seems. Is very anxious to have African labour In his West India provinces, and French ships have been sent to the coast of Liberia, with national officers on board, for native emi- grants. However honest or rigid they may be disposed to conduct this system. It is impossible for them to guard against the abuses arising from It, and prevent Its engendering the original slave trade. Do- mestic slavery Is an ancient Institution of the natives, from which we have nothing to fear, If no foreign Influence tampers with their passions and rekindles the spirit of war to supply this demand for labour. All captives are reduced to slavery, and they, like philosophers, submit to their fate. I visited one of these ships, and, as I knew several of the natives, I conversed with them freely. They Informed me that they were on board against their own will; that the chiefs would not send any of their free people away, but would readily furnish their slaves for sixteen dollars per head — the price formerly given by slavers ; that they were brought to the vessel In fetters ; that they were anxious to leave the vessel, and hoped that I would do what I could to secure that end. The chiefs are not particular about the name, and would just as soon have It known as the emigrant system as any other, so long as It opened a market for their captives. Our government has no objection to voluntary emigration; but. Injustice to the unprotected, It has used Its authority to prevent any deviation from this rule, which, in fact, neutralizes the whole system." 46 APPENDIX. No. 3. We copy the following from the " London Morning Star," of March 8th, 1S57 : — " On the 20th of jSTovember last, a small steamer of three hundred and cij^litj'-thrce tons, and eighty horse power, constructed to sail with or without steam, fully armed and equipped for war, carrying a crew of thirty-two men, and displaying the French flag, might have been seen putting out from Loango, on the western coast of Africa, and creeping along shore towards Cabinda. Her name was the Stella. A small fleet of French men-of-war was awaiting her arrival at that port. It con- sisted of four vessels, namel}^ La Tourmente, La Canoniere, the cor- vette La Zelie, and La Joanne d'Arc, the whole division being under the command of M. Prote, captain of the latter vessel. The Stella had lost its captain, by name Oddo, at Loango, where it seems he had taken one hundred and twenty-three Africans on board, and the command had therefore devolved on her first mate, a native of Brittany, named Bernard. lie found no papers, no instructions, no plans, no manifest to guide his movements; but he knew that he had to go to Cabinda; that the Stella had been chartered by Messrs. Regis & Co., of Mar- seilles ; that the object of her visit to the coast was to take in 'African immigrants;' that the Imperial government had sanctioned the trans- action ; and that all he had to do was to obtain a full cargo, and con- vey the people to Guadaloupe, one of the French West India colonics. lie found the Stella short of coals, short of water, and short of provi- sions, and the small quantity on board of bad quality. The Breton, however, is proverbially determined and obstinate; and Captain Ber- nard reached Cabinda in the course of a few hours. On the uOth he took on board six hundred and nine ' immigrants,' all of them more or less sickly. On the 1st of December, the agent of the Imperial gov- ernment, Commodore Prote, came on board, and entered into ' con- tracts for service' with the ' immigrants.' Immediately after, the Stella weighed anchor for Longuebonne, towing La Canoniere; the Commo- dore having given orders that the latter was to ' protect the embarka- tion of the complement' of the Stella's cargo. At Longuebonne, and on a signal being given — a signal preconcerted between those on board and those on shore — the government agent obtained and shipped eighty- seven more 'immigrants.' On the 4th of December the StcHa left Lon- guebonne, having on board a cargo of nine hundred and fifty Africans, male and female, most of them sickly, and none older than twenty-five, but ranging from the ages of eighteen to twenty. The crew, as already stated, numbered thirty-two, making a grand total of nine hundred and ciglity-two human beings on board a steamer of tliree hundred and eight^'-three tons : though one account sets her at six hundred. "Lot our readers but bear in mind how much after-cabin passengers Buffer from the great heat of the machinery on board even the largest APPENDIX. 47 Bteamcra, and they may form a f\iint idea of the torments these nino hundred and fifty wretched Africans, crammed into the hold of the Stella, must have endured. For thirty days the Stella — -which might not inappropriately be named the ' Star of Misfortune' — pursued her weary way across the waste of waters, and nearly every alternate hour, during that ghastly voyage, the corpse of a human being was committed to the deep. On the 3d of January, of the present year, the Stella and her putrid cargo reached Basse-terre, Gaudaloupe, and landed four hun- dred and ninety-seven males, and one hundred and fifty females — the miserable remnant of the nine hundred and fifty people kidnapped from their African homes. One-third had passed to rest. Asphyxia, dysen- tery, fever, and exhaustion from fatigue and want of food, had done their office. " But all was not yet over. These six hundred and forty-seven ■wretched beings, the majority perfectly naked, a few of the females only being slightly covered, and none sufficiently so to save decency, were landed at Basse-terre, a remote point of the island of Guadaloupe. These were Captain Bernard's instructions from Commodore Prote, who appears to have been ignorant of a certain previous arrangement with the firm of Lahens, Collins & Co.,of Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadaloupe, and of a local ordinance, signed Bonfils, which designated Pointe-a-Pitre as the only authorized port for the disembarkation of ' immigrants.' No arrangements had been made at Basse-terre for the reception of what our correspondents style ' the merchandise.' The place oflered not the smallest accommodation. It was a mere quagmire, a mud-hole, and the poor unfortunates who had survived the horrors of the middle passage were now crowded together in a pen, puddling in mire and filth like cattle at a market. More than even this, the water of Basse-terre pos- sesses chemical properties notoriously fatal to persons suffering from dysentery, and no other was obtainable. The place itself, too, was the most remote from Pointe-a-Pitre, in the immediate neighbourhood of which resided the planters to whom the 'immigrants' had been allotted. Consequently, the former had to convey their * lots' across the island, in the condition in which they were, without loss of time, and in the best way they could. Some were driven over land, others were crowded on board of small coasters under the direction of the firm of MM. Mon- nerot & Fillet, of La Moule. Amongst these coasters was a small schooner called La Nouvelle Active, on board of which one hundred and five Africans were crowded — eighty-two in the hold, and twenty- three, for want of more room there, on deck. She left port at ten in the evening, but, in running down the creek called Le Canal des Saintes, she struck upon some rocks, the position of which was well known, and foundered. The eighty-two Africans in the hold were drowned. Only the twenty-three on deck escaped, with the crew. The local govern- ment at once prohibited the newspapers from publishing any account of this catastrophe, and the colony would have remained ignorant of it, had not the corpses of the victims been thrown upon the shore by the waves, to tell the ghastly tale to the terrified population. 48 APPENDIX. " The original letters, from ■which we have derived the foregoing par- ticulars, are in our possession. They are dated the 26th and 27th of January last, and are signed by several highly respectable and per- fectly trustworthy inhabitants of the colony •whence they are dated. The dreadful fact that, out of nine hundred and fifty Africans shipped from tlie West coast, only two hundred and twenty-one reached their ultimate destination on the French plantations, tells its own terrible tale. We would, however, further direct the attention of our readers to the nature of the transaction on the coast. The 'contracts,' as they are called, were entered into with the immigrants after they were safe on board the Stella ; that is, were in the power of their owners. Pre- vious arrangements had been made for obtaining them. They were packed together in the hold, not as passengers, but as slaves usually are. The majority were sickly, because the Spanish and Portuguese had outbidden the French speculators, and carried off the strong and the ' likely.' Can any doubt exist that, save in name, the expedition ■was literally a slave-trading one?" THE END. S4 •^<^ C.„ ^^^ ... .A <* • . . - o\^^;^.^^ I ^^-^K. V ^" ; ^^-^^ ^^o>^^' "^^.^^' • -^^^^^^ ^j^m-^*. "^^^J <^ y ^^ 'bV'' iV^. 5>^r ' ••• o^ '• • * * A <^ ... - .V • « "^OV^^" i9 *!.V*. %?' .♦^"V •y ^ .^*Cr e^' ^.