The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1841-03-09
For The CaIedonian.
THE AMIsTAD Sc.

ed EXCEPT on a point relating TO the ADMISSION W
evidence 1 proceed TO show, what Mr. Il. has ro'
done, ,ha, he is entirely correct in the assertion
thai il dis ofthe deepest Importance TO The SCUM
erp States"
/. The first reason shail offer is that the men
Of the Southern States, practical slave he'deis'
| who POSSESS the power and control the destInes o
that important section Of our country, sustain pre-
csely the same relation 10 The slaves as sa'd hulz
and Menlez To Jnqua and his associates when lhe
! latter were forced on board the Amistad ~ ms
be true all will admit the deep interest which eve
nv slave holder has in The discussion OF ms case
| for # the principles, on which my lights depend,
and the fuutluatop, on which rests my cfam I"
whatever possess, are drawn into discussion III u
suit to bich my neghbor is party, It IS 'mP"ss1-
bic thu, | should feel anxiety in the progress
and decision Of his case
This identity, in the first place, rests upon me
authority Of Gone Of the first iTtellects OF The
Son,h," so acknowledged by the editor OF the
Globe when introducing him 10 his readers. Ihro
she whole Of his "brief review, he calls the Airl
cans OF the Amslad siaues, except when he raises
the question OF property lie says" the question
is should The negroes be considered property"
s''The Spanish minister claimed them az property.
I.'rhc fact is that property in has existed in
|
state ofman, ,chich is aoar. War, conquest and
force has produced slavery aud ii is state necessity
and the eternal laws OF sell preservation, that wall
ever letSdefend it, The comics, is between IN
dividual or domestic savery& political savery-the
for mer systet is sustained 10y iorce and is manly in
all altributes--the latter is sustained by force aud
fraud combined and is full OF hypocrisy, cum
ming and heartlessness. must first make
Il C,o, h,,T, oil I'M,
man beings in society equal and Jree--you may
change The form [of saveryl but destiny will iorev
er preserve the substance" flhese views are cor
rect and Notwithstanding the snguarity Of a
slave huldei s openly avowIng them,l insist upon
il, they are) then The identity OF the two cases is
| perfectly obvious
! But in point of fact, when these1 Aft leans were
put on board The Spanish vessel, they real
| ly slaves; ;hat is, (Which understand 10 be- the
true de6nronl human beings dtprioed Of all PER =.
sonal freedom, as any OF those called siaucs in The
Southern States, in Turkey, Egypt, or elsewhere.
Mr.. T, says, and no one disputes that fact, they
"were in the possession of the two Spaniards'' snd
thence infers they only siaUeS but property
Possession pyima facta violence Of property and
Of slaves, except such have fnrteed their free
dom by crime, is the only evi dence, which the
ture Of the admits. The evidence which
Judge Harrington Is said TO have required, bill Of
sale from the real owners, lias never been and
er be produced. Admit that Ruiz aud Montez
purchased the Africans the night before they were
| embarked ola fellow, who month before stole
them; that the purchasers knew they were free By
| the laws OF Spain and therefore that tho seller
could convey title, except what naked aud
torlious possession conferred; how much better is
the ti:le Of Mr. +. the persons of those whom he
calls his slaves? There may be- great many
links in the chain Of Mr. F's title, but the fist,
in all other well as in thar Of The negroes
Of the Amstad, is nothing more Than naked pos
session. obtained by force. The truth is, the
ZION of u de jare, rgh,fu property in n fellow
man, guItlcss Of crime, is absurd ii is npu-
dent.
g. The identity of Jinqua and his associates
when embarked and the slaves Of the Southern
States is inferred from the fact hat they all
men, pei sons, or human beings, that the former
deprived of their liberty illegally and iocibly,
which is Of the essential facts of the case ad-
mied by the record, that the latter are in the
same condition in fact and not charged with
having forfeited their freedom by their crimes
That the former opposed force foce and thus re-
gained their liberty is admitted ard enlightened
tribunal can condemn them for so doing; iflhe lat
acting simply in self defence, they must be pro-
bounced cqnah lyguii,iess. This has actually been
done by the thousands, who have achieved their
| freedom by flight to Canada. Inspiration tells us
that God "haih made Of one blood all nations Of
men to dwell all the face OF the earth"
Though
"F'or,une IN men hath some small difference made
Yet The author OF their existence has given them an
equality rights. His law is violated and his
dispeasure incurred, whenever and wherever these
rights are violated Thus ''slavory is sustained
as asserted by Mr.. r. rot ny laws either human or
divine; but in violation OF Them that is''by force"
! II then the slaves of the southern States
and have not forfeited their freedom by the com
mission of crime, they retained in bondage I'm
justly, "by force, and their character and
diton, and rights aud duties are identical in NOR
al point Of view, with those of The Africans when
! forced on board the Amisiesd.
The subject will be further Illustrated in my
mex, paper. by considering the assertion some times