New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-01-23
THE DAILY CRESCENT.
MONDAY MORNING. JANUARY Is, 1854
CUBAN .4FRIC.a.N1z.a TYoJv.

against us, in the Island of Cuba, has, eVuehtlS'
for its whole real foundation, the fact that, at
the instance Of the English Government (as
Lord Howden has distinctly ADMITTEDLY the new
Captain General, the Marquis of Pezuela, is,
under orders from home, enforcing the hereto
fore neglected laws, by which, within certain
term, each Emaneipado CHAT is, each negro
rescued from slavery became entitled to his
freedom The number Of such captured Afri-
cans, now illegally detained in bondage on the
island, is variously stated, by the alatnists
themselves, at from 5000 to 1000: SO that here
is, plainly, after all, Che entire magnitude Of
this perilous Authorization
Such is the danger of this fatal movement
And NOW, what is the offense It is not that
Spain should have laws, in the island for she
has long had them, without our thinking Of
complaining. For how could we complain that
she should liberate captured slaves We our
selves do the same Still less could we COM
plain that she did not liberate them without any
apprenticeship. For he who, among ourselves,
liberates his slaves may take his own time for
it, and, by his will, give them freedom only af-
ter ten years. In like manner, our States that
have abolished slavery have all done it, not IN
stantly, but prospeetiyely. Surely what we al
low at home, among our own States, We cannot
disallow abroad, to nations Independent OF us;
still less can we complain Of their doing what
the very laws Of our States permit their pri-
yate citizens to do We did not dispute, we could
not qainsay England's right to abolish slavery
in her colonies; nor to do it in the way Of first
establishing ten years Apprenticeship, and
- l. IA ~,
mainder of the term and declaring all her slaves
free at once We did not object, we could not
object for every nation has right to consult
her own good or what she considers SO, even
though it may be to the prejudice Of others. 1t
is only when she does it not so much for her own
good as your harm, that you have right to
complain and only when what she does is de-
structive to you that you can claim to stop her.
In the first case, you have right to complain
of her intentions: in the second, you have a
right to prevent her act, no matter what the in
tentions. In the present case, we can object to
neither the acts nor the intentions Of Spain !:
first, because she is merely putting in execution
her own laws, Of long standing, Of which we
never complained; secondly, because she is
using right for what she thinks her own good
and little for our prejudice; thirdly, because
Britain and France and Mexico have done much
worse, without our complaining. But, fourthly
and more than oil, we could not really, with
the slightest show Of justice or Of sense, object
to Spain's doing, in her own colonies, what every
State in this Union may do for herself, without
being questioned for it by anybody. Who has
ever pretended to question the right OF Delaware
or Maryland or Virginia or Kentucky, to eman-
cipate when they like and as they like 1t can
not be pretended that any serious step towards
Emancipation, by either of the two last, would
not much more affect the interests or existence
of Slaye-institutions among us, than would any
like steps taken in Cuba: then how is it posi-
BILE the Federal Government should up q
right against foreign State, to which it cannot
pretend against one of cur owns
This, NOV, is the unquestionable state Of facts,
Nothing more can be alleged. The little further
that can be pretended and is assumed by the
alar1nists is but suspicion without proof; and
such suspicious authorize no acts Here, they
are met by respectable denial; and therefore
fall, as less proved than the contradiction. But
what if they were proved and England could be
shewn to be instigating Spain to even Abolition
in Cuba ? Surely Spain has the same right to
abolish slavery as Virginia had, in 1890, when
she came SO near doing it. Would the latter
have lost that right. if it had pleased kentucky
to advise its exercise Ridiculous
Here, then, is the inevitable position which
this Government must occupy, if President
Pierce or Congress should be indiscreet enough
to do as Governor Hebert would have them do
that is, take some positive measure to prevent
what they suspect. Now, that measure, in or
der to be positive, must be eficient--that is to
say decisive Will remonstrance or protest be !
Clearly not Spain will no more listen to it than
one Of our own States would do, if it designed the
same measure. What other measure can we
adopt, more persuasive or compulsiye' We see
none for there is none which must not fail to
convince, as an argument, when met by the ex-
ample of what has been done and may be done,
by our own States and there is none that must
not fail to compel: because, if the argument be
already against US, q resort to force will put
us still further in the wrong.
So much for the general aspect and grounds
of right, in this matter We present them in all
their reality, 1T is our duty to do 80. For be-
fore any thing comes upon US, or we rush upon
it, it becomes the true politician to show it
markedly as it is; and not merely to dress it up
falsely, to please the public eye.
We have not yet, however, disclosed our whole
thoughts but merely confined ourselves to what
was known or movable, at the time of Governor
Hebert's Message. There are yet other posi-
bilities, in the future, which it would be nnwise
not to consider.
No matter what the design or who the movers,
it is clear that the stoppage of the slave,supply
to Cuba (where the annual destruction of slaves
is far beyond their natural increased must bring
about the substitution Of an equal supply of APP
prentices, Coolies, Chinese, or the like At first,
they will import Coolies or Chinese: but it will
soon be found that not enough of these are at
dainable; and after eight or ten years, they
WILL come down to importing negroes again, not
as slaves but apprentices. Several new ele-
ments Of population will thus be introduced, all
barbarous and bad, but not enslaved. What is
to ensue to Cuba, from all this, nobody can
foresee. If she persists long in importing other
than Africans, she will retain her present ones
as slaves and take more care to preserve them,
But II she soon returns to importing Africans,
she will nave to begin to emaneipate her slaves,
as soon as the ten-years' term of her first large