Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-11-13

Il -
OF persons who, thus protected by captain.
| general, have ensayed hundreds Of emancipa.
| dos and made enormous fortunes.
But, let us look into the cnodition Of the
enaaacipddo, or, as they should properly be
called, English African slaves in Cuba. They
are treated merely rs the rest Of slaves They
are carried to the plantations, and are fed.
clothed, worked and punished precisely as other
saves-nay, their condition is far worse than
that of the genuine slave. The latter has the
privilege of purchasing his freedom, not so
the e,ndncipado, over whom his pretended mas.
ter has no such power which lies only in the
hands OF the government-too deeply inierestt d
in his periodical sales to do him justice.
Ills. lot becomes more miserable than the
slave, for whoever purchases his time cannot
| regard HIM as permanent servant as very
often, even before interpolation Of the stipulated
term for which he is sold, and a. the caprice of
the captain-general, he is dragged away and
resold for another period to some less scrupu
ous and more intriguing master. The enamel
pddo cannot hold out that stimulus toward the
master which is necessary to interest HIM in
his well being and comfort as that which be.
longs TO him, and constitutes and forms a part
OF his fortune. lie is devoid of those relations
and family ties which are necessarily cherished
between master and slave; and should his mis-.
fortune take him to the hands of one destitute
OF every p. ncipal Of humanity, rs is often the
case, he becomes mere victim of his masters
cupidity, and is actually worked to death, and
treated with such wanton cruelty as even to
sicken the heardened heart Of his barbarousex .
ecutioner.
Nor do the ofsprings Of the female enamel
pado fare any better. Even in early childhood
they are sometimes separated from their pa
rents, as the government has no consideration
whatever for their feelings, and tears asunder
the most sacred ties of nature. Thus husband
ana Wlfe, child and parent, are most inhumanly
dragged from each other, to perish under the
cruel lash of an unfeeling master who takes
no other interest in them than to extort the
largest possible amount Of work in the quickest
time, unmindful of his vampirism, in sucking
the blood of life out of the exhausted frame Of
the emancipado, whose loss effects no material
change IN the diminution of his fortune.
Such IS the condition of the enQncipndo in
Cuba, unless, per chance, he falls into the hands
OF more humane Cuban families, for these gen.
orally treat them with kindness; and there are
instances, which can be proved, where Cubans
have endeavored to obtain the freedom Of
eaad1,cipddos whose term had long expired. and
the government refused it.
These are the principal facts and most promi.
nent features of the treatment given to the eman-
cipado in Cuba, which the British government
can certainly not be ignorant Of Will it stand
a comparison with the stipulations set forth in
document Y. OF the aforementioned treaty?
But there is another clause Of that treaty unob
served by both the English and Spanish gov
ernments.
All the emancipados existing in Cuba have
been introduced by British cruisers, whilst ar
/ tiaIa cano,,H IF fha
such slaves " shall be delipered ore,. to the oor.
e,7ament cfthe cruiser chich made the capt,tre"
Why, then, are they taken to Cuba? Certainly
not with the humane object of ameliorating their
condition, nor with the philanthropic view of d.
minlshing slavery on the American continent,
for a government like that Of Great Britain,
so astute and assiduous in all its undertakings
cannot forget that Spain compromised itself to
observe the treaty stipulations which expressly
guarantees the emaHcipador good treatment,
" the most complete emancipation and "pre-
servation of his freedom whereas she has re-
duced them to the most abiect and miserable
state Of slavery, and instead of instructing them
in the dogmas OF the Catholic religion, and in
tlising moral principles in them, and teaching
them trade, by which, at the expiration Of
their term of servitude they may become useful
mechanics, she has only taught them how to be
oi"NCo, hiu HAS given UHGm no Ouner notion OF
religion and morals than to be humble and
Submissive slaves.
Let the English philanthropist view the sad
picture of his own workings, and contemplate
those unfortunate beings in their state of
deep detection, mitigate their pain and sorrows
IN the blissful ignorance of that freedom insur.
ed to them by one of the most sacred compacts
ever held between two. civilized nations. Let
them view the poor, unprotected English Afi.
can slave consoling himself with the thought
that after he is stolen from his native shores in
Africa by band of the vilest set of pirates,
under the protection Of the flag Of an European
government, he is resold by a captain-general
in the midst of a civilized nation, governed by
laws and subject to the fulfilment Of the most
solemn treaties
The last stroke ofthis series oftranseressions
may not, perhaps, be so well known The goy
eminent of Great Britain has, for a long time.
endeayored to procure from that of Spain the
fulillment of its treaties in regard to the libe
ration of emancipados, with what success 1t has
already been shown. But, lately fearing the
revolutionary ideas OF the Cubans, and the ten
denotes of annexation to the United States, and,
perhaps, the failure Of the tripartite treaty
caused the cabinet of Madrid to acceed to the
remonstrances Of Great Britain, and liberate
the emancipados in Cuba; to that effect, it issued
an order to General Canedo, the present cap,
tain-general of Cuba, which he refused to obey
because, as he said, the number Of emancipados
is SO great that public security would be ieop.
ardized by their sudden liberation.
Il may be that this unexpected bar to British
philanthrophy on the American continent has
produced that abortion of English diplomacy
OF Africanizing Cuba. If so, the SEQUEL will
show that this new scheme will meet with no
better success than did her philanthropic views
of ameliorating the condition of slavery.
A,CUBAN.
WASHINGTON, Nop. 3, 1853.