The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-20 00:00:00

NEWSPAPER
4,2 e ess, f-40 Z
• to 44
<rdCly
141 11. S

A SLAVE AUCTION 1 N al
I IPGIN.i
---
(Front the Sp eeint Correspondent' iqf tbie i'lbtxtra
News.)
My friend, having shown 71( the entrance to a
room where negroes were about' to be sold, told me
to go in alone and sit down wi ti 'a the other persons
there, and look about. I acecar dingly did so, and
put on a bold front. Being alittle before the time
fixed for the auction, I had a f.,e+ and opportunity to
look at the crowd of men abo-J t me who dealt in
human flesh, and I am b01,.,nd to say that I saw
nothing very dreadful in their appearance; they
carried neither revolvers IN u. whips. They
were not a gentlemanly-looking ; lot of men cer-
tainly, but seemed quiet, respect-E. -.hie people, such as
one might meet at a sale of boo ks or old china-in
any part of London. At length a little bustle oc-
curred at the back of the room, an d a fine-looking
coloured man was put forward. Iz walked straight
up to the block, mounted it, and put himself in
a most dignified attitude. The l] nildinZ in
which this poor creature was abeut to be sold
was built either for a mill cr a i__rranary; the
ceiling was very 'low and of great strength, im-
mense beams crossed it transversely, and the
negroe's black head stood out well against
the great white beam at the back (for the whole
interior was whitewashed) as he stood
on the block evidently making the moot of himself
with a view of getting his owner as high a price as .
possible. He was a remarkably good-looking man,
and although quite black had a finely-formed head ;
his forehead was broad and upright, and his fea-
tures were all good, there being little of the com-
mon negro type about him. I felt sure that a
sculptor would have pronounced him by far the
best-looking man in the room. A few steps. lead
to the top of the block (which is similar to those
in common use in England for mounting horses),
and upon one of these the auctioneer, or crier,
as he is called, stands, and a red-faced, impudettt,
vugar-looking individual he was in tliis
case. The crier, I believe, is not the
auctioneer, but a man employed for the sake of
volubility of tongue. To force the biddin gs.
he described the negro as of such an age, such a
height, a good farm hand, could guide-a -plough,
Aloe hors e. and mend a hoe. hut lid rugs ova i
first-rate smith. Then the biddings commenceel,
and 800 dollars were offered. This sum was mela -
tioned by the auctioneer, over and over again, Is s
fast as he could utter it until a higher bid wt s
made ; he then took up the fresh bidding and re-
peated it in the same manner, hundreds of tim(l,
raising his voice each time until he had got to t:ne
top of it. At the same time he gesticulated
violently, got himself red in the face, and be-
came breathless. A higher bidding not coming
forth, in spite of his exertions, he told the negro to
get down and walk. He then stood aside to recover
himself, and the negro paced up and down the room
to show that he was sound on his legs. Some of the
buyers stopped him during his walk and asked
him a variety of questions, as to last employ-
ment, state of his health, and so forth. Then they
turned his head to the light, and lifted the corner:;
of his eyes, to ascertain whether they were
free from indications of disease ; in the sam e
way they examined his teeth. They did 'rat
do this in a harsh or brutal manner, but just t'tie
same as a doctor might examine a patient. I slid
not observe anything like unkindness, much less
brutality, in the way in which the buyers treated
the negroes. The auctioneer had a couple of negro
attendants who waited upon the slaves to be
bought and sold, and I observed that these fellows
were much more harsh and overbearing in their
manner than their masters. The auctioneer
having recovered himself, the negro remounted.
the block, and the bidding went ern
as before, the crier raising and lowering his voice
and reiterating the bidding so rapidly that it was
almost impossible to hear what he said, work-
ing himself up to a pitch of excitement most extra-
ordinary, which was the more remarkable because
the buyers were all sitting about, smoking and
chatting to each other, as quietly as though
he were not present, and treating his excitemen'a
and oratorical exertions with the most profound ma-
tempt. At last the time arrived when he thought be
could get no more biddings. He said, "If SOU
have all done," raising his hand, in which wins a
paper. " Once, twice !" his hand did not, how-
ever, come down, for eomebcdy bid, and away,: went
his tongue like a mill, repeating the fresh 'oidding
as rapidly as before until he became exhausted.
" Once, twice, gone !" The negro was sold for
,500 dols. Another lot was then brought forward.

TILTS DAY'S ALA TiETS.
CORN EXCHANGE.
The show of English wheat in toLdaYis'market was agai'a
very limited, and in poor condition. The finest sampl as
changed hands readily, at quite Monday's currency; ' flit
in clamp parcels, sales were eft?cted with great difficulty,
and their value must be considered, in a great meturare,

n,,minal.
The arrivals of foreign wheat are large, viz., 20,080
quarters. In both red and white qualities, a fair retail
business was transacted, and no change took place in the

quotations.
Floating cargoes of grain were in limited request, at late
rat's.

The barley trade was slow, as regards all descriptions,
yet no alteration can be reported in prices.
Malt ruled dull, but not cheaper.
Beans and peas were tolerably firm in value, but the dc-.
mand for them was far from fictive.
The flour trade was somewhat inactive, owing to the
large influx of American barrels, and in some instances the
quotations were rather drooping,
ARRIVALS THIS WEER,
Wheat Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
Eng1i5h........ 330 ' 1,290 2,190 130 500
• 1,510
Foreign 20,050 , 8,910 1,950 500 sacks
13,730 brim.