The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-06-12

be property which is so taken. Suppose, in
war an English privateer should capture Bra
| lillian slave ship, the property on board would
| be lawful prize, and belong to the captor. But
would the slaves be property Certainly, If the
| law of nations so decides But, no. The domi-
Gil of the captured ship Immediately becomes
English, and all that the law of nations does is
to transfer the dominion Of the ship to its English
captor, and by its agency Brazilian slaves become
British subjects and freemen.
So far from the modern law of nations au-
thorizing, or even giving color to, domestic Sla-
very, its fundamental principle, of the equality
of nations, as based upon the natural equality Of
man, is directly hostile to it, Says Vattei:
"Since naturally equal, and perfect equality
prevails their rights and obligations, as equally pro-
ceedins from composed of men, and con-
sdered as so many free persons living together IN the
of nature, are naturally equals and inherit from
nature the same obligations and rights"
And yet a nation may not prevent the internal
wrongs of other communities; for, says our au-
thor:
nation then, is mistress Of her own actions, 80 long
as they DO not affect the proper AND perfect rights OF
other nation II she makes an Ill use OF her lib
ery, she is guilty of breach Of duty; but other nations
are bound 10 scquesce n her conduct since they have
no right 10 dictate 10 her"
Again:
SIT is therefore necessary many occasions that ma
tons should suffer certain things TO be done, though IN
heir own nature just and condemnable because they
cannot oppose them by open force without violating the
liberty of some particular State" &c
But i8is confusion of ideas to say that men
have a right to do thing because foreign nations
may not prevent it, and legal absurdity to trace
title to property to such forbearance. True there
was a time when Slavery had something to do
with the law of nations when the rules of inter-
course between States at war, permitted the
slaughter of captves-men, women, and children;
and when their enslavement was forbearance.
We hence find Grotius exceedingly learned in
calculating the inhuman customs of the ancients,
and correctly tracing the right-pardon the word
to enslave captives to the rules of intercourse be-
tween nations. Gentlemen admit that this law
has made some progress. The next step will be
to depart from neutrality to place the slave
trader where he belongs-beside the common pi-
rate.
Not from the CiuiI Law.
Neither is the civil law the source of our slave
code. Slavery had produced in the Roman En-
pire its legitimate results. 1t had driven out in
dustry, barbarized the people, exhausted the soil,
and cured itself by involving both master and
slave in common subsection. The new systems
which, in the thick darkness, laid the foundations
of modern civilization, contained as much of
Christianity and Freedom as the darkness could
comprehend They certainly were purged of
chattel Slavery, as its legal foundation had been
i'm, that prisoners of war might be slain or en-
shaved. Nor have learned that any State whose
Jurisprudence was founded upon the civil law,
gave laws to any of the English colonies.
Not from Moslem Lac.
But some suppose the coonsts adopted the
Mohammedan slave code. The Spaniards, after
expelling the Moors, are said to have initiated, to
some extent, their practice of slaveholding; and,
judging from the similarity in the jnstifcations
of Slavery by some Of our religious teachers and
the Islam doctors, there is some speciousness in
the superstition. The spirit of the following ex-
tract from the journal of Mohammedan traveller
vOrable consideration OF those divines who have
shown such zeal in canonzing oppression.
After detailing the horrors of the slave hunts
in Africa, the author adds:
"Only the very strong the very fortunate reach as
far as Egypt 1 have seen Jeabo leave Wadai with a
have been deprived of still greater numbers by heat and
thirst whilst others again. out of single flock find
one wanting. Ali this depends OH the will of the Most
High.
soar holy law permits the sale and expectation of
slaves but on the express condition that we should act
with the fear of God before eyes which sentiment
indeed, should be the guide of all actions The
by which Slavery is justified these: God has
commanded his prophet the prophet of Islam
the divine law call them to believe in the
God and to employ The force of consran nbe.
levers 10 embrace the true faith According the divine
word ITSELF is the legitimate and holy bring
under the yoke OF religion the infdel
feel the of sam and their power Inundated and
their families led away into Slavery they will desire
into the right order their
and gOodsn-IfareLs Of Shisk Mohdn1ed, Arab
chant PIP. 297-S
Islam servitude is entitled to the higher con-
sderation of those who believe that God has
made of one blood all nations of men," as it is
not at all sectional exclusive in its character.
All, whether European or African, can find shell
ter in its fold from the sin and dangers of unbe-
lief; and when onece in it would he wrong Of
course to endanger backsiding by emancipation
But for two considerations, l might suppose
that colonial Slavery originated in Moslem law.
First: the only intercourse between the colonies
and the Mohammedan States was through those
whom fortune threw into the hands of the corsar,
and, being themselves fugitives from Slavery, we
do not learn that the few who escaped desired to
bring the laws with them. Second while Moor |
ish and American Slavery agree in general, they
differ in one important particular. By Moslem
law, SLAVE cO bears issue 10 her master TO
be transferable, and tie issue as tree-(See Lyons
Northern Africa, p. 2s9.) The striking contrast
between the two systems in this respect, will |
appear, when we consider that obstacle is |
thrown in the way of the advancement to any
station of the offspring of the Turk or Saracen
and his slave; while in America, the father and
owner of bastard slave families is permitted to
send them to the auction block; and though the
of its duties is considered public
indecency, and a fraud upon the slave system.
But is from African Law
But there is country blest with the institu-
ton " from the remotest antiquity, and whose
slave laws must commend it to the afFectionate
regard of all propagandists. In Western and
Central Africa, slaveholding is the true "corner
stone" Shareholders are the only arstocracy; and
slaveholding ideas have so thoroughly taken pos
session, of the people, efectually to shut out all
antagonist "isms" The disturbances of Adolf |
tionsm, Free-Soilism, and Republicanism, are not
permitted to disturb the reign of free-oveism bar
barism, and terrorism. Soon after the settlement
of the earlier colonies, trade was opened with |
this country, principally to procure aborers; and
Hawkins and his successors industriously fbl- |
lowed the methods OF obtaining them long sane |
toned and sanctifed by African law. These
methods were either purchase, or when more
convenient the slave hunt-for by settled law all |
seized in the hunt were presumed to be slaves, |
and twas found somewhat difficult to rebut that |
presumption; and such was their success. that
soon the banks of the Jameses, the Ashleys. and |
the Hudsons, were we'll stocked with captiyes |
from the Guinea coasts. But the inquiry natu- |
rally arises, BY what law were these men COM
PEELED to labor after their Importation? No statu-
tory slave code was adopted and no customs |
could have existed long enough to have the force
vi i'" anu YET tHcy were nelu unQer customs
regulations similar to those which are now called
law. These customs, to have been legal, must |
have been ancient or immemorial and having no |
antiquity at home, they must have been natural |
lied from abroad. They could not have come
from the mother country, for none there existed
and while she gave the colonies the common law.
she gave no other. They could not have been
derived from the civil law, for political inter-
course was held between countries adopting it
and the colonies and that part of the civil law
adopted in Europe was purged of those customs.
They could not have sprung from Islamsm, from