Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-08-06
From The National n. S. Standard.
The Brazilian Slaves.

We mentioned last week the case Of three
slaves, taken from the Brazilian barque Lem
branca, by writ of hadeas corpus, before Judge
DAILY. The men, till Saturday last, WIRE
held in the custody of the Sheriff, while the
woman was permitted, 10 accordance with
her own wishes, to return to her mistress, the
Captains wife ;-the few persons who had
interested themselves in this case deeming
that their duty was lone in regard to her,
when she was assured that a strong presump-
ton existed that she was a free woman here.
Such a presumption, however, in regard to
all three Of the slaves his Honor, Judge Da-
", was careful on Saturday to correct, so far
as it depended upon him. 1t will, at least,
excite some surprise, if no deeper feeling
throughout the North, when it is known that
he renanded the slaves into the custody of
the Captain of the Lembranca!
TO what particular qualification, or to tho
want of what one in the Judge, we are to as
cribe this decision, We are at a loss 10 know.
Some are charitable enough TO impute it to
his ignorance. 1t appeared to such good pco-
pie, while the case was pending, that his
Honour did not at all understand what it WAS
about. To his unofficial eyes, there doubt
less appeared before him two niggers, whom
he heartily wished back in Rio. But TO his
official sight, there were two men and a writ
of ka6eas corpus before a court of the sove-
reign State of New York, and their disposal,
AS fate would have it, depended upon him.
The official vision, whether from weakness,
or some worse cause, seems TO have been lost
in the unofficial, and the men were disposed
Of as Brazilian niggers, and not as men whose
" shackles fell" if they wore any, the mo-
ment their feet pressed our soil.
To suppose such a decision given through
Ignorance, is TO impute 10 his Honor a want
of knowledge Of the very first principles of
law, of which we should heretofore have
hardly dared to suspect the wooden image Of
Justice that stands upon the top of her tenn
Pile or it is to believe him destitute of a
smaller modicum of information than is usu-
ally supposed to belong even 10 the tip-staves
who stand at the doors of the Courtroom
And if such imputation be true, it would GER
tainly be a great saving OF the ~money-the
only thing, now. a-days, thought worth sa-
vig-of the people, if her ladyship from the
top of the City Hall were brought down and
installed in the Judges seat, and questions
of right and wrong left TO the decision of the
uneducated common sense of the constable
at the door. If we want nothing but a SOL
emn mockery of Justice in our Courts. its
image, with bandage and subsequently,
the b%andage- will answer the purpose, and
some much less onerous contrivance than our
present system should be invented, to an
nounce the decisions of the blind Goddess.
In the present case, a very simple question
only needs ad judication. The writ Of babe
as corpus set forth that certain persons were
retained as slaves on board the barque Lem
branca by her captain. In the return TO the
writ, Captain Da Costa declared that the
aid 80. 49, h1n-l ,ho nn
branea, and his slaves under the laws of Bra
iii, and that he rightfclly held them as such
in New York by virtue of the treaty between
Brazil and the United States, which gave
reciprocal protection to the persons and pro-
perry of the citizens of the two Govern.
ments.
No very abstruse question of law, it seem:
10 US, is involved here. The Captain eX'
pressly admitted that he held these men a;
his slaves, and that he brought them to thi;
State. A statute Of the State expressly in
terdicts Slavery within its borders. The
principle of common law, which denies IL
any man the right of property In another, /:
fully recognized. Involuntary servitude, 9th
er than for crime, cannot, then, exist in New
York, except by the Constitution Of the Uni
ted States, which is paramount to State law
But that instrument directly ~enforces no ser
ritude in any State of the Union, except II
she permission to Shareholders TO capture flu
fitives. Brazil is not a State of this Uniol
@-however deserving she may be of it-an,
the exception cannot therefore be made in he
favor. The slaves of the Lembranca, more
over, were not fugitives and even if, in thi
matter, Brazil could be put upon the sam
footing with the slave States of the Unior
the Captain brought the slaves here of hi
Owl accord, and the Supreme Court of Mas
sachusetts has decided that a slave is free b
virtue of the laws CT a free State, if brougt
into such State by the master himself.
any view of the case, then, the slaves Of tn
Lembranca were freemen. and should hay
been so declared by an upright and INTEL
gent Judge, the moment they were brougl
within the limits Of the State.
Or TO state the argument still more brief
Slavery is contrary to natural right, and mu
exist, where il exists at all, by virtue of poi
tive statute-law. There is no statute in tn
State, permitting the existence of SLAYER,
but the contrary. There can, then, be I
Slavery here, and every man upon this SO
is a freeman.
The counsel of the Captain of the Ler
branca, Mr.. Percy, saw plainly enough Il
difficulties in the way of his client. T
would not have risked his professional rep
aation upon SO ridiculous a plea, as that
man could come into this State from any pa
of the world, bringing his slaves with hir
and hold them here. He therefore fell bat
upon the treaty between the United Stat
and Brazil, and rested his case upon tn
clause insuring protection to property al
persons. That clause, however, has not
WOrd upon the subject OF slave-Property.-
Not a particle of evidence was produced
Court to show that property in human beini
was intended to be protected by the Treat
and there is no evidence to show it in Il
Treaty itself. In this respect it differs in
wise from a treaty that might be framed wi
England or France, or any other power
Now is a Judge here in New York to adm