The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-06-29

South Carolina Port Laws.
Debate in Parliament the imprisonment, in South
Carolina, of British Colored Seamen
In the British House of Lords, on the evening OF
the l4th-
Lord BsAUMoSr rose to move for copy
of the correspondence respecting the law OF the
State of South Carolina colored seamen arriving
in their ports. The noble lord said that, in the
year 1885, the Legislature of South Carolina mao
passed an act by which it was declared unia~iui
for any free negro, or person OF ooor 70 eher nat
State, under any pretext whatever, oy iano or
water; and under one of the sections OF that act,
the sheriff of any district was empowered to go on
board vessel arriving in the ports OF South Caro-
lima, and take away and detaln IN prison, until the
departure of the vessel, any free negro or person
of Color he might find employed among its crew
There were other sections Of the act, which pro.
yided that free negroes, or persons of color, enter
ing the State, should be liable to corporal punish
nent; and If they repeated their offence, they
should be liable to be publicly sold slaves. That
act, as il affected free negroes, and color ed per-
sons, acting as seamen, had been productive of
great Inconvenience in the management OF the
trade between South Carolina and the British
West Indies, because the West India merchants
engaged In that trade frequently employed such
persons on board their vessels. The question had
become further complicated, In consequence Of the
natural desire the part of the Government of
this country to enforce certain treaties which had
been agreed to between the two countries, by
which the European subjects of the British crown
were to receive protection and security for their
commerce. That treaty overrode any law which
might be subsequently, passed by any particular
State Of the American Union; but it did not apply
to our West India possessions
In the year 1880, however, act had been
passed by Congress TO the effect that the privileges
enjoyed by the European subjects Of the British
Grown should be extended TO the lima bitants ofthe
British West Indies. Her Majssty's Government
had the conclusion that under these circrlm
stances the STATE f Sonh Carolina could not dstain
as prisoners any portion Of the cretcs Of the cessss
Of West India merchants; and in the year 1850,
Moi hlxr y,trf at 'h.rl ssfp, had rr~hpr
their direction used his best efforts to carry out
that view of the question. Mr. Mathew bad ad-
dressed communications to the Legislature OF
South Carolina upon the subject. That Legislature
had appointed a committee to inquire into the mat
ter; and that committee had reported against any
modification ofthe law of the State, although hints
had been thrown out that II was possible that GER
tain amendments might be made in the law with
view to diminish the hardshps to which per-
sons arrested board Of trading vessels were
subjected. In the month of March, 1852, man
Of color, who had been employed in vessel
which had been driven by stress of weather into
Charleston, had been seized and Imprisoned by the
authorities of that port The British consul had
orough motion before the local court for a writ
OF haosos corpus IN that case, but the court had re-
fused to grant the writ, and the Governor bad
stated that he would have instructed the sheriff
under any circumstances not to have given up the
prisoner. The controversy which had thus been
raised had excited good deal of angry feeling in
the United States, and especially in South Carolina.
Another person of color had afterwards been
seized on board another vessel; and that case
had been taken by our consul before the Supreme
Federal Court of the United States. writ of
trespass and false imprisonment had actually been
brought against the sheriff of Charleston; but
nothing had yet come of the matter. There could
be no doubt but that the proceedings in question
had created considerable ill-will in South Carolina,
and the Governor of that State had actually de-
clared that had it not been for those proceedings
ne would have recommended modification OF the
law under which captains of vessels would merely
he rrpdf tn rom fine nor spp.
OF color in their vessels during their stay in the
ports Of that State. Now, be (Lord BeaumonD
believed that that would be as great a concession
as We could under present circums stances expect;
for the Inhabitants Of South Carolina naturally
found ii necessary to exclude free negroes from
their territory while they continued to retain the
slave system He hoped, whoever might be the
British Consul in South Carolina in future, that
instructions should be given him not to let the
subject be neglected; but that be should be request
ed to use his best endeayors to induce the Legisa-
ture of South Carolina to take the initiative in
bringing about a more desirable state OF things
than at present prevailed in reference to the ques
ton to which he had just been calling their lord.
ships attention. [Hear, hearl
The Earl of CLARENDON said that he had listened
with the utmost attention to the speech of his
BILE friend and that he felt extremely ad that the
subject with which it dealt had been brought be.
fore their lordships with so much moderation. He
believed his noble friend had in that speech truly
designated the acts which now prevailed in the
State of South Carolina. Since his noble friend
had given notice of his motion, he 1.-THE Earl Of
Clarendop) had looked over the correspondence to
which it referred. That correspondence was very
yoluminous, since it extended over a period of
thirty years IL pointed out only the great diff
hculties which this country had to contend with
in COnueXion with the subject TO which il related
but also the very considerable difficulties by which
that subject was, in other respects, surrounded.
The principal difficulties which lay in the way of
satisfactory settlement of the question was the
existence Of the treaty of commerce between this
country and the United States. By that treaty
the utmost freedom Of commercial intercourse
between the two countries had been stipulated
for and guaranteed. In addition to that treaty
there a provision which had reference 10
the particular laws Of each individual State. I'm
der that proyiso it was that South Carolina in
sisted upon the maintenance of the law in it's ex.
isting State, and he (the Earl of Clarendon) had
hesitation in saying that the question had been
referred to different gentlemen, who had acted
the law advisers of the and that the opinion
OF those gentlemen had been that, however unlustl
fable the present Law might be, The Government
Of this country had right TO demand IT'S abrogaton,
10 seek for compensation for The injuries tohich
might be inflicted upon her MGjestys subjects under
its operation. Remonstrances, however, had been
used upon the subject, and appeal had been
made to the Government Of the United States, not
only with respect to what her Majesty's ministers
considered the unconstitutional character of the
existing law bat also with regard to the spirit of
the treaty which existed between the two countries
the views of her Majesty's government upon the
subject were shared by the Government of the
q
the Supreme Court in that country had pronounced
the law unconstitutional and unjust. The same
opinion had been given in this respect by the Attor-
ney General of the United States, and distinct
representation had been made by the Government
of that country to the Legislature OF South Carolina
of the unconstitutional and severe character of the
law. That representation had been met, upon the
part of the Legislature of South Carolina, by mes
sage violent in its nature, and by resolution
angry and Defiant, that stop had been put to the
renewal of all interference in the matter upon the
part of the United State Government. The British
Minister at w ashin gOn had subsequently protested
against the law being put into operation, but he bad
been told that IF England insisted upon the GbrogG-
t,on of the lat1 the United States Government ,cold
hare other left open 10 them except 10 gice
tce of The Gbrogolton Of e treaty tchich at present
istad The British consul in South Carolina had been
instructed to bring action for false imprisonment
against the authorities in that State, in order to
test the validity of the law, but the result of the
efforts which he had made bad seemed only 10 de-
monstrate that the more exerted ourselves to
get rid of that law the determined did tbe L.
gslGire Of South Carolina appear to be 10 maintain
81 He 1.-THE Earl Of CIarendon) learned from
despatch which had been written by Sir II Bull
wer in the year 1850 that the inhabitants of the
State of Massachusetts had complained of the e1
fsfence of the la in ouesfion I'm thsv h,1 peusr