Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

very moment when their real interests are identified with those of the species itself, and the great cause of humanity and justice. This view of the subject, we confess, appears wholly subordinate in our eyes; but, secondary though it be, we allude to it merely to show that there is ground of interest, as well as principle, to bear out those who contend for an immediate and powerful effort to induce our allies to give up the guilty commerce of Africa.

It is however necessary here to remark, that although a considerable part of the Spanish and Portuguese slave-trade is carried on by the subjects, and with the capital of those countries, especially of the latter; and though the whole, or nearly the whole of it, be for the supply of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies; yet, in many instances, British subjects and capital, and in still more, the subjects and capital of the United States, are concerned, under the colour of the foreign flags. The high risks now attendant on such speculations, must prevent British subjects from embarking in them; and accordingly, the directors express their confident expectation, that the slave-trade felony act, when carried into effect on the coast, will take away this branch of the traffic. In America, however, the temptations of profit held out by the trade, have still to struggle only with the risks of capture, condemnation and penalties; the laws of the United States not yet regarding it as a crime. We cannot but think, that a proposition to adopt our law upon this subject would be favourably received in congress; and if it were acceded to, and a law passed declaring slave trading felony, then it is plain that English and Americans could no longer venture to continue the crime; for our cruizers would see the law executed, by detaining for trial all persons of either nation found implicated. A large amount of what is now carried on for the Spanish and Portuguese colonies would thus be destroyed-and the English abolition rendered more effectual. The remainder would consist entirely of that which is bona fide driven by Spar nish and Portuguese subjects and capital.

Before leaving this topic, we shall give a specimen of the frauds of this trade, not merely to gratify the reader's curiosity, but in the hope that it may meet the eye of some of our cruizers, and convey hints to their vigilance and zeal in detecting and repressing the traffic. It is in the case of the brig Amelia, alias The Agent, condemned at Sierra Leone. The following is the letter of instructions found on board of her, from the joint owner at Charleston to the acting partner who sailed in her. The whole concern being American, this letter will show how it was disguised.

The voyage on which we have jointly embarked, and which is now left to your discretion, is of a very delicate nature, and requires the greatest prudence and discretion. In order to qualify the agent to bring a cargo from the coast, it will be necessary to put her under Portuguese colours; this, with the assistance of Messrs. Sealy, Roach, and Toole, of Bahia, for whom I enclose you a letter of introduction, you will easily be able to effect. They will procure for you some honest Portuguese merchant, who, for a small sum, shall undertake all that is necessary for owners to do. A captain of colour, one officer, and part of the crew, in compliance with the laws, must be Portuguese; but the Portuguese captain, at the same time that he must be instructed by the pretended owner, to appear for him on all occasions in protecting the ship and property, must also be instructed not to interfere with the navigation of the ship, except at your request; and he must be put entirely under your orders. As you shall have to grant a bill of sale for the brig, when she is apparently sold, you must be very cautious to take a counter bill of sale; and again, as collateral security, a bottomry bond on the vessel for 10,000 dollars, with a power of attorney from the sham owner to you, to sell and dispose of her in any manner you shall think proper. I would wish you, besides, to take a very strong declaration in writing, witnessed by Sealy, Roach, and Toole, that the sale made by you is merely fictitious; that the cargo and her earnings are bonâ fide your property; which declaration must be couched so as to be a perfect quit-claim from him and his heirs for ever. The next thing I have to recommend to you, is to conduct this business with every possible caution and secrecy, and to prevent as much as possible the knowledge of it to reach either our consul or ambassador, as they might perhaps write home on the subject, and even any of the American captains who may happen to be there at the same time with you. You must therefore appear very cool and indifferent in the business, to let nothing transpire of your future plan, and act as if you were only thinking of returning home. After you have made your brig a Portuguese, you will have to take in a cargo fit for the coast, and proceed there with every possible despatch. I enclose you a memorandum of the articles which I think will answer best for the trade, to which memorandum I have added a few observations to regulate you for the articles that you could not find, and which might be replaced by others. To this list, however, I do not wish by any means to confine you; I leave it, on the contrary, to you to improve it or curtail it, according to the information which you will be able to collect, as that trade is much followed at Bahia. Negroes are often very plenty there; and if they can be bought at from eighty dollars to one hundred dollars, I would just as well end the voyage there, and give up the trip to Africa.'—

It now remains for me to direct how you are to do with your people after you have sold the brig. The very first thing is to discharge all the people, paying their wages, and making the best terms possible with them in writing; as by the laws of the country the owner is obliged to find them a passage home and wages till they arrive. It

is very essential that none of your people, except those who are to stay with you, should have the least suspicion of your future plan: I would recommend, therefore, that before you enter on any of your transactions, you would see these people out of the country, that they cannot come and talk here of what you have done. I would rather lose some little time, nor would I mind some little expense, to get rid of them cleverly. The ship's log-book should afterwards be kept in Portuguese: no English writing, touching the voyage, should be on board: the fewer entries in the log-book the better, to be done under your eyes. She should have no colours but Portuguese on board; your present flag thrown away when the brig is sold; and all the papers sent back (under cover) to me: your register, however, you had better bring back yourself.

'Wishing you a prosperous voyage.' p. 36.-39.

We may remark in passing, that Mr. Toole, one of the house to whose care this honest gentleman is consigned, and who is to aid his undertaking, and help him to evade the American laws, is American vice-consul at Bahia!-we ought to say was; for of course he must have been removed, upon these particulars coming out. Our readers may be desirous of following the adventure, of which they here see the beginning. It had a most tragical termination. After following the preceding instructions, and getting himself completely furnished with Portuguese captain, crew, papers, and flag, the owner and real captain arrived at Angola, and took in a lading of two hundred and seventy-five slaves; that is to say, packed those miserable beings, chained and ironed, into a space where they could not turn themselves; and, by the most cruel discipline, was bringing them over for infinitely worse miseries in the Brazils, when they rose upon him and his crew, got possession of the ship after a stout resistance, in which many negroes were killed, and put their oppressors, (with a degree of unmerited humanity highly honourable to the poor Africans) into a boat, with sails and provisions. Unable to navigate the ship, however, their provisions ran short, and the greater part of them perished of hunger. When they were taken and carried into Sierra Leone, their wretchedness surpassed all description; but, by kind treatment, the survivors were restored, and a piece of ground has been given them, where they are building a village, and living in comfort and freedom. The following is the deposition of one of the crew.

• Ned Brown-Declares he is a native of Cabenda, and was put on board the brig Amelia, as a slave, by Prince Conzee, his father. It is the custom of his country, for a man, when in want of money, &c. if he has three or four children, to sell one or more of them, and keep the others. His father sold him and his sister together: his sister is now here. When he went on board the brig, he found a man,

named Jack White, a slave of the captain's, who had come from Charleston in the brig. Heard that White, when in America, had stolen some articles, for which his master had to pay. His master had given him a severe flogging for this; and also flogged him several times, when at Cabenda, for drunkenness and fighting. White took off his clothes and showed the slaves his back, saying, 'See how my master has flogged me: when he has taken you to white man's country, he will flog you the same.' When the brig got to sea, White urged the slaves to rise.

One morning a noise was heard forward. The captain called upon me on hearing the noise, and asked what was the matter? I said I did not know. The captain then went upon deck, with the mate and the rest of the people: they had only three muskets, and a pair of pistols belonging to the captain. It was rather dark, and the slaves kept crying out, 'Jack, Jack!' The captain then spoke to the mate, and told him to keep an eye upon Jack, and shoot him. The slaves then came to the barricado with large pieces of wood; and Jack White attempted to break the barricado with a large hammer. The mate saw him, and shot him through the jaw: the ball cut away his tongue; and when he fell down, he seized hold of the cable with his teeth, and died in that posture. I was told that Jack White opened the hatches, and let the slaves upon deck: they were not in irons, having been let out some days before. The captain soon after went down below, and ordered the boat to be lowered down from the stern, which was done. None of the sailors were killed: nine of them, and the captain, went into the boat; and I opened the cabin windows, and handed them two baskets of bread, a piece of ham, nine bottles of porter, nine bottles of wine, and two jars of water. I wanted to go with him, but the captain would not let me, saying, You are a black man; the slaves will not kill you; and you see I have a small boat and too many people in her.' They then hoisted two sails in the boat, and went away. Three of the Portuguese sailors ran into the women's room; and the boatswain, a mulatto man, ran up to the top of the mast. When the boat was gone, the slaves found them, and wanted to kill them; when I advised them not to do so; for if you kill them, where will you take the vessel? you do not know how to make sail.' They then consented to spare their lives, on condition of their taking care of the vessel. A great number of the slaves were killed, about thirty, before the captain ran away. They were four months at sea before they came to Cape Mount: for the greatest part of the time they had nothing to eat but a very little farina, (i. e. cassada dried and ground to flour) and water to drink. A very great number of the slaves (principally boys and girls) died of hunger.' p. 39, 40.

After noticing the successful pains which have been bestowed by the British naval force on the African station, to the northward of Cape Palmas, where, but for Bissao, not any remains of the slave-trade would be found, and mentioning that a similar force has recently been despatched to the southward of that point, with every prospect of similar success, the directors pro

ceed to the subject of the enormities committed in some of the West India islands. Into this part of the subject we need not enter at large; having, since the last report, had an opportunity of discussing it fully. We may remark, however, that scarce an arrival takes place from the West Indies, without bringing additional proofs of the absolute necessity of vigilant attention on the part of government to the due execution of the laws respecting slaves. Nor does there seem any real cure for the great evils which now deform our colonial system, except the one which we formerly took the liberty to point out-a strict attention to the choice of persons who shall fill colonial offices. A rule ought most rigidly to be laid down against ever naming to any of those important stations any person having West India property. However pure a man's motives and dispositions may be at first, he cannot avoid being more or less infected with the spirit or interests of the body to which he himself belongs. If he is a planter, and a master of slaves, how can he avoid leaning towards the master and the planter, in a question where the esprit du corps is so highly excited? We speak not here merely of instances in which men filling great public stations have grossly misconducted themselves, and sought the gratification of their own views by the abandonment of their highest duties. Instances of this sort we know full well there have been:-and we fervently hope the delinquents may be brought to justice. But we allude also to the various occasions on which a far lighter degree of guilt-the effects of a prejudice not quite inexcusable in favour of a class to which a man belongs-may yet produce the worst consequences. It is our humble, but very decided opinion, that no planter should ever be appointed either governor, commander, judge, or revenue officer in the islands. The only chance that the laws have of being fairly enforced, is from the efforts of functionaries, counteracted, as they always must be, by the body of the colonial society.-Chuse them from that body; and this chance utterly fails.

We now come to the most interesting part of this report, a branch of the labours of the institution, which, we rejoice to say, becomes more and more promising daily,—the improvement of the continent of Africa by direct means, and, as preparatory to these, the extending our knowledge of it. The present report is peculiarly attractive in this respect, and promises speedily a yet more considerable contribution of information. For dwelling with more than ordinary delight on this department of the subject, we may find some excuse in the circumstance, that it recals to our recollection the commencement of our labours ten years ago, when we began our series of articles upon topics connected with Africa, by following the adventurous and unfortuVOL. I. New Series.

B

« AnteriorContinuar »