Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1841-03-11
miscellaneous.
Extracts from I" 4 Brief Rerie,O, 0 fsOme Of
the points in the L'4miStad Case"

the points in the l. 4miStdd Case"
The case of the slaves taken in The Am.
istad, from Havana, and the circumstance:
under which the district Judge decided thai
they wero not slaves either under the
Spanish law or our own, is one Of The
deepest importance to the Southern States
When we reflect upon the important, prin-
ciples that England has recently promul-
gated to the world in the case of the brig
Enterprise, and also upon The proceeding
Of The recent convention, held in London,
from different nations, on the subject ol
emancipation, connected with the mad and
reckless movements upon the same sub.
jcct in our own country, no man who is
conversant with passing events can fail 10
be deeply impressed with anxious solici-
tude for the future. Many are So absorbed
in the party contests of the day, that they
seem 10 have forgotten that they have a
country, and that she has been wounded
in her most vital interests. The day was
when movements that have taken place
at homo and abroad, within the lasl few
years, upon these great and delicate inter-
ests, would have caused the swords of
hundred thousand freemen TO tremble in
their scabLards. My present object is to
call the cool and dispassiouate attention Of
tile renccling portion o. the community to
the principles involved in the case of the
Amistad, in which an appeal is now pend
ing before the Supreme Court Of the Uni
ted States.
The facts Of the case seem to be, that
the Amislad is Spanish vessel, aud was
regularly cleared from Havana. in Cuba,
10 GrcanajalI, near Puerto Principe, au-
other Spanish port. Her papers were all
regular, and signed by the proper officers;
her cargo consisted CT merchandise aud
slaves, was duly manifested as belonging
to Don Jose Ruiz and Don Pedro Monies;
that the negroes after being al sea two or
three days, rose upon the white persons on
board that The captain, his slave, and two
seamen were killed, aud the vessel taken
possession Of by the negroes; that The two
white Spahiards, after hcing wounded,
were compelled to assis, in navigating the
vessel, the negroes intending 10 Curry her
TO the coast ofAfrica that the TWO Span
iards coulrived, by aterin. the course Of
steering at night, to keep her on the coast
of the United States; that on seeing land
off new York, they came to that coast.
On !he 26tb Of August, 1889, Lieut.. Ged-
ney, commanding the brig Washington, of
the United States Navy, seized and bro't
into the port Of New London, tho Amlstad
and cargo, and all the persons on board,
fOr v IL
the law of nations and Of the U. States,
warranted and required.
The first question that presents iselfi is,
should The negroes be considered as prop.
erty! The court below has said they
should not. Courtesy, aud the intercourse
of all civilized nations, require that the
forms and papers Of all authorized officers
in one country, shall be respected and re-
ceived in the tribunals Of another. With
out this, there mus, be perpetual confu-
sion and just ground Of complaint between
nations; and instead Of harmony and mu-
tual respect, The reverse must take place.
Wherever jurisdiction is delegated To
public officer, and confined only by his
discretion, all acts within that discretion
are to be Recognised as binding; and this
is true, whether the act be judicial, lcgis-
lative. or executive. Without This, the
code Of international law, by which the
peace and intercourse Of nations are pre-
served, would gradually fail into disuse,
and the strongest maritime power would
sweep into its exclusive Jurisdiction all ca
ses whatever. In this case, the negroes
in question were all particularly named in
the permit and clearance given to Ruiz
and Monies, who held them as property i'll
Havana, and the vessel and her port of
destiny all described and properly authen-
ticaed by tue legal officers in Cuba. These
facts are not questioned.
If there were anything wrong in this,
and against The laws Of Spain, and if the
authorized officer did not do every thing
he may have done, then that was case
for the tribunals Of Spain to decide upon,
and not ours. If the negroes were not
slaves under the Spanish law, that was an
issue TO be made up there. and decided by
their courts, aud not ours. Suppose
Spanish judge. with his arbitrary powers,
had recognised the negroes to be slaves,
by decree, and yet, under the accidental
jurisdiction of the district court Of Connec-
lieut., on collateral issues, our Judge had
looked behind that decree, and decided
they were not slaves, because the Spanish
law did not authorize them 10 be slaves,
then what would it be but exercising, in
effect appellate jurisdiction over Spanish
tribunals? The arrogance of sucL pre-
tension would inevitably, if carried out in
our decisions, destroy all national inter
course, and finally involve us in war, for
violating the law Of nations. And yet, if
our courts can look behind the legal pa
pers, properly authenticated by one class
OF officers, why can they moi, upon the
same principle, look behind the papers of
all others !! Under such principle and
precedent, schooner, with her regular
papers from the proper officers of the port
Of New Haven, might he seized upon and
condemned, under prize or admiralty
court Of foreign power, because, forsooth,
her cargo had been purchased and she had
cleared on Sunday, and they had judged
that ii was against the law Of Connecticut
to sail on Sunday, or for her cargo 10 be
purchased on that day On this subject,
the law of nations is the law of common
sense and common courtesy. However