The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-09-02
From the LOudOn Examiner.

The African Htockude and the Sla We Trade
| The second report of Evidence taken be
fore the Slave Trade committee is now pub
llshed; and seldom have we seen so gener
al concurrence and weight of testimon,
TO the effect that The blockade system ha!
not prevented and nevei can either proven
or abate the slave trade. and that it has onl,
greatly increased the hdrors Of the passage
and the cruelties of tie traffic. Ii is but
another exemPliacationo of the hopelessnes.
oil the struggle with th, smuggler, with the
temptation Of an enormous profit, attended
with the shocking Circumstance that the con.
traband commodity % be packed in the
smallest compass, is human flesh.
The effects Of the blockade have been
hrst, to increase very largely the scale Of
the ventures, as some are sure to be inter.
copied. the calculation being that one cargo
out Of four or five will cover the loss of the
rest. and yield profit; secondly, that the
difficulty Of shipping the dave on the block.
AIDED coast has sabjeeied them to new suf
lerings and pripaiisas inshe depots called
barracoons, and in some instances, the ship.
ments appearing impossible, to death, 1000
having in one case been massacred by their
owner, In despair OF enbarking them, to put
an end to the cost pf their sustenance;
thirdly, an enormous augmentation Of the
mIserles OF the passage, from slowing the
unhappy creatures more closely in small
vessels and from the icaniy supply of wa,
Ter, 10 escape the leg,l evidence Of equip
ment; lastly, circuibus and longer voy age
TO avoid the cruisers. ip geometrieal proper.
non increasing the suftrings and privations
OF the voyage.
Against more slaves more sufferings and
death. both on land ind sea, what is the
set-of on the other band? In Brazil no
dlmlnution oil the supply; on the contrary,
tie significant fact Of steadily declining
prices for slaves. fallen in the market since
the blockade has been in operation, from
f15 to 940 man.
AT first the BIaziliins were alarmed at
the scheme Of the naval blockade, having
exaggerated notions of the power and capa.
bilities Of the British n,vy; but as the panic
subsided, and their adventures felt their
way, they acquired confidence, and shaped
their plans OF evasion 50 as finally to form
a complete system; AMI they now know
perfectly well that if the blockade shuts up
certain points, it opens other issues for the
tIafhc, and that the result is-no matter in
what quarter there may be interruption and
failure, and in what quarter the vent and
success-a certain and copious supply Of
slaves TO the market, he number for the
year "A being estimated at 10000. But
to bring 10000 TO thecoas of Brazil, the
calculation is that 10000 must have been
taken from the shoresof Africa, that is,
10000 mus, have peIshed at sea, not Ia
king into account another portion that may
have been destroyed bebre the shipment OF
their fellow sufferers.
A most remarkable witness is Mr.. Jose
Clife, M. d., a native Of the United States
settled in the Brazils, and for some time en-
gagged in the slave trade.
Mr.. Jose Cliffe, it seems, made large
profits by the slave trade, and when he had
sufficiently filled his pockets to afford a con-
science. he felt such a rpugnance to the
sufierings and destruction of life pertaining
to the odious traffic that he abandoned il.
Notwithstanding the hardness Of his moral.
ny, the postponement OF his humanity to
his fortunes, Mr.. Jose Clfie is a very shrewd
and not an ineloquent witness. What he
has seen he describes focibiy, and he has
witnessed scenes Of the most hideous and
sickening barbarity.
AT this moment he pnnounces the slave
trade the most lucrative one under the sun, |
and Of the counteractins exertions of our
gallant squadron he says, "They are doing
everything that men can do with the mista.
ken view which they have Of attempting 10
do an inipossibility."
MIR. Jose Clifie's account of the suffer. |
Ings Of the slaves on the passage is absolute
ly siekening.
In answer to the question whether, when
packed "like herrings in barrel" they
suffer from bruises, he states
when they are frs. put on board they
DO bmise; bat dfterlcgds they become so
emaoated, and are so light, that the bruis-
ing is very trifing."
In reply to a question put by Mr.. Glad
stone as to the way Of feeding the living
cargoes packed closely in layers, lying on
shelves, as i. were, often only sixteen or
eighteen inches deep, Mr., Jose Cliffe naive
ly answered,
IF ioere 10 speak The truth, it would
be this: the vessels are so excessively Of.
enslye that it Serving out the food is per-
naPs the greatest punishment to which you
can put any person on board. There is
'ome ha!t-'citted person whom they gener-
lilly have almost on purpose for it, to pass
he food round to them. and he is in such
hurry in doing it that those who are nearest
o one Of the hatchway, are more likely
o get double portion Of food rather than
hat he should go rowld The sides of the
cessel, ,ohich is so III ventilated that ii pro-
iuces sickening effect upon him."
The witness further explained that though |
'the halfwitted person" employed ON this |
oathsome duty should help each singly, he |
Ices not do it, because Of the excessive
filth.
"He has to get upon mass Of filth, and
almost upon mass Of living bodies at the
same time, because they roll out, and take
up everything that they can,"
The prisoners far from the hatchway fre-
luently do not get any portion Of the IA
lions.