Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-12-21

sssssaassz2i 49, No. -
s. 81, 49, l....
RICHMOND. TUESDAY. DEC. 81, 1871
| CASE OF THE CREOLE.
I'VE shall lay before our readers on Thursday IRON
1.-THE New Orleans prints the long "Potest oil the OH
GERS and crew OF the American Brig Creole, oount
from Richmond TO New Orleans whose cargo oil slaves
munied on The 9TH Of Now ISL, oil the Hole IN the
Wall-murdered a passenger, wounded The captain
and others, and put into Nassau N. r, where The au
llores confined nineteen of the munsers, and forc'
bly, liberated nearly all the slaves" IL calculated to
rouse up the public feelings, and the reader may form
some conception of the character OF the document,
when the ~ Orleans Advertiser asks, +" What Aneri-
can can read il without feeling his throat swell with IN
dignation at the atrccious conduct of Her Britannia
Maiestys Governor OF attthe Bahamas,-What IS then
the first duty of our Government To demand per-
emptorily Of Great Britain redress for the wrongs thus
committed against citizens and reparaton Tor the
great destruction Of American property board TIE
Creole"
We also lay before readers, the Essay of &. r.
(why not strip him OF his inccg. al once, and name,
Conway Robinson, Esq, as its an,horD
This late affair Of the Creole las revived the inte-
rest taken by the country in this negotiation between
our Government and that of Great Britain, in relation
10 the cases Of the Comet the Encomium, and the
paper to a review Of the Correspondence which took
place between our Minister at the Court Of ST. James
(Mr Stevenson and the British Secretary Of State for
Foreign Affairs lord Pamerson,) III relation 10 those
cases.
We beg leave 10 remind our readers, from the
respondencc which was laid before Congress III so,
and published IN the Journals Of Congress, that ihs
was one OF the first subjects which engaged Dir. Ste
venson's attention on his arrival in London. Within
three weeks after he had laid his credentials before
Lord Pamerston he addressed 10 him the longest and
Of the abest papers, which have appeared on tins
OCCASION The paper vas prepared by hmself--at the
instance Of very brief instruction from the Secretary
Of State.
To enable the reader 10 have clear conception Of
the principles involved in the negotiation It viii be
necessary to give brief narrative Of each OF those
cases.
The Comet is the first in order of time. She sailed
from the District Of Columbia III the latter part OF
1880, bound for n Orleans, having on board among
other things number Of slaves She was stranded on
one of the false Keys OF the bahama island, opposite
the coast of Florida The persons on board, Incln-
ding the negroes taken BY the wreckers against
the remonstrancc Of the captain, and owners into Mas
sau, (tlc port into which the Creole was taken
where the negroes seized by the local authorities
The Of the Encomium is almost in every par.
iicuar the same. Ii occurred in 1884. In tins case
the negroes seized did belong ordinary negro
trader but the property Of highly respectable
gentleman of y. Carolina formerly the President Of
the Senate of that State, VINO was einiSrating Win
them 10 the Southwest
The Enterprise sailed in 1885, from the District for
Charleston, South Carolina and forced, unavoid
nblv By stress of weather into Port Hamiton Bermu
da island where the negroes were seized and detained
by the local authorities The owners Of the slaves
after seeking in van for their surrender by the local
applied 10 the Government Tor redress
After pro,racted negotiation, the applications made in
the cases of the Comet and EncomIum were success
full; but in the Of the Enterprise, II was other
wise-the Government agreeing 10 compensate The
claimants in the two first cases. upon the ground that
they occurred before the act for the abolition OF slavery
in the West Indies, and refusing 10 compensate those
IN the last, because IL occurred afterwards.
In Mr. Forsyths instructions 10 Mr.. Stevenson OF
goth March, 1897 lie makes the following statement Of
The grounds upon which the British Ministry placed
their decision: "The rule laid down by Lord Palmer
is that those claimants must be considered entitled
10 compensation, who were lawfully in possession OF
their slaves within the British territory and who were
disturbed III their legal possession OF those slaves, Ivy
runclionaries of the British Government. lie then
proceeds 10 state that the othe slaves board
The Enterprise, never were law fully in possession OF
those slaves within the British territory, slavery having,
before her arrival in Bermuda, been abolished through
the British Empire and he asserts the doctrine that
when men who have been held in slavery are brought
INTO country where the condition Of slavery IS I'M
known and forbidden, they are necessarily, and by the
very nature Of things, placed at once IN The situation
of aliens, who have al all times from their birth, been
free In the conclusion of his note, he declares that
slavery being now abolished lhroug hout the British En-
pre there can be- no well founded claim for compensa
ton in respect 10 slaves wo under any circumstances
man como into The British Colonies HIS lordshp at the
time admits, that if ship containing irrational
animals, nanimate things, were driven by stress OF
weather. into foreign port the owner OF that cargo
could not be deprived of his property by the operation
of any particular law which might be IN existence IN
that port and he allows that it would be highly unjust
that the should be stripped of what belongs 10
him through the forcble application OF the municipal
law Of State To chch he had not voluntarily submitted
himself" To reconcile these conflicting doctrines, his
Lordship maintains, that since the act OF 1893 tor
abolishing slavery The West Indies, property in
slaves exist in The British empire nndtr any cir
cumstances Aud he undertakes 10 fory the un,cnable
distinction taken between slaves and other property,
by in sisting that The slaves third party 10 the
transaction; that they have, as persons, the right TO
claim the protection Of British laws, and that the Br.
fish authorities who should refuse them that protection
would commit wrong and be liable in damages
All Of these fallacies Of the British Minister
posed in the correspondence with distinguished ability
and we recommend such as have taste tor diplomatic
writing to read the dispatch Of Mr. Forsyth Of the 9th
of March, 1877 Ii is admitted, that sthc municipal
laws OF any country, not involving violation OF the
laws Of nations, may rghfuy control the persons and
property OF the natives of other States who by r0iun-
tary entering within the limits Of such country, place
themselves under its jurisdiction; but it is utterly de-
Med that the municipal laws have any controlling au-
horty over aliens who are forced within their reach,
when such laws conflict in any respect with those
higher obligations which regulate the intercourse OF
nations 1t is shown, that if it be illegal TO deprive
native of foreign State of his property by the
law of the territory into which he had been driven
by necessity, the question Of property is not de-
ternined by the municipal law to which The claim
ant has never voluntarily submitted himself; but
that it ID determined, under the law of nations by
the laws of the country TO which he belongs, and
where he acquired the right of property This is
clearly the doctrine Of the law of nations, that 1t
matter of surprise that the British Ministry, even
under the influence of dark fanalicsm should
risk contradiction Of it. Until this correspondence,
it was considered By all juriss, admitted prnci
pie Of the Law Of nations, that vessel the high
seas time Of peace, engaged in lawful voyage, is
under the JciuSirc Jurisdiction of the State which
she belongs and that such vessel should be forced by
stress of weather, or other unavoidable cause, into
port of a friendly power, she would lose Of her
rights; but the contrary she and her cargo aud per-
sons on board, with their property and all the rights