The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-24
THE NEW SLAVE TRADE.


The operations of the French Government to
obtain supplies of labor from the west coast of
Africa commenced in the early part of the
present year, not, however, in the mischievous
form which they subsequently assumed. The
carrier intentions of that Government were to
obtain, if it were possible, emigrants in a state
as nearly approaching to freedom as is ever
enjoyed by labor on that coast. For that pur
pose screw steamer, called the Pbe ak, was
chartered and despatched, not by any contract
ors, or under any commercial arrangement with
mercantile houses, but by the French Govern
ment ITSELF This vessel hoisted the pennant of
France, and all her proceedings were directed
by responsible Government agents. She did
not make for the old slavetrading ports and
rivers of the coast, where legitimate commerce
was gradually extirpating and roofing out the
detestable traffic in human beings, but visited
the European settlements and factories scat-
tered 80 usefully along it, a. also the American
Republic of Liberia and the Kroo country,
where rasive labor, though not absolutely free,
IS at all events freer than at any other part
where European authority is not established.
Objectionable as even such an enterprise
was, from the impossibility of making the Afri.
cans comprehend the full nature of the engage.
ments into which it offered them temptations
to enter, and from the perfectly illusory and
really deceptive character of the benefits which
it affected to confer, at some distant date, on
Africa, by the return of the emigrants, it did
no: directly. and openly, and unblushingly, as
sumo the form of purchasing, either immed-
ately by the Government agents, or through the
agency of the old s|ave-dealers, Africans for
expectation. 1t profered high rates of bounty
to such negroes SO could be ignorantly induced
- L. L. IL
paid, which was as much 1.-THE correspondence
given, not to chiefs who sold their subjects, or
to European merchants who traficked in Afri.
can flesh and blood, but to emigrants them
selves.
Proceeding slowly along the coast, the Pho.
nix, large vessel intended to convey 500 ne
groes to the French Antilles, in this wav pro.
cured some 300 Africans, principally at Sierra
Leone and on the Kroo coast. With this car
60, 200 short of the number the p Hnix could
have comfortably carried across he Atlantic
she called, in the prosecution Of her voyage and
enterprise, at Fernando Pc. There the Afri-
cans appear to have become doubtful and I'M
easy as to their destination and the nature of
the engagement into which they had been Sc.
duced, and, during the course of the night,
after the Phoenix dropped anchor in that Span.
ish island, many Of the Kroomen slipped over.
board, swan ashore, and took to the bush, to
escape from the boasted advantages of a six
years compulsory service on the sugar pIanta-
tions Of Martinique and Guadalupe. The cap.
tain of the ship. fearing that prolonged stay
at Fernando Pc would largely augment the
number of these escapes, and render his opera.
tons still more unsatisfactory to the French
Government, next morning got up his steam,
and the Phoenix made the best of her way to
the West Indi, g.
The attempt to procure, in the least offensive
and hurtful manner that the circumstau ces of
the case admit, African laborers for the West
Indies, was in every respect failure. The
number obtained was small, the time occupied
in procuring them was great, the cost of the
operation was far larger than the French sugar
colonies would consent to pay, the Kroomen
once deceived were not likely to be again de-
luded, and the English Government was little
likely to bear the repetition of an experiment
in the English settlement of Sierra Leone,
which the French Government never for a mo-
ment thought of trying at their own settlements
on the Senegal. The Government agents on
board the Phoenix had doubtless reported, some
months previously to this escapade at Fernando
Pc, the difficulty, or rather the impossiblity, of
obtaining any number of emigrant laborers in
this shape from the coast of Africa, notwith.
standing the high bounty offered them, the ad-
vantages pictured for their enjoyment in the
West Indies, and the promise of free return
passage, after six years. work there.
The scheme was consequently abandoned,
and a contract was entered into by the Imperial
Government with NJ Regis, of Marseillea, for
the transportation by him of 10000 Africans to
Martinique and Guadalupe, in consideration
of EGO head for each African. OF the selec.
ton of M. Regis for the execution of such a
contract, even had it been of guarded and
cautious and protective kind, we will say no
more than that, in the opinion of the we'll in
formed writer of the letters before us, it was
Notwithstanding that gentlemau's experience OF
African commerce, in all respects a most unfor
tunate one. It was, however, especially uufor
tunate in this, that NJ Regis had mercantile
establishment at Whydah, the port whence the
slave trade was carried on by the King OF
Dahomey and those connected with him, and
whence the dreadful commerce had extended
itself to the other ports in the Blight of Benin.
At Whydah, it was at once decided this
French enterprise of buying slaves for exporta.
ton to the West Indies should be chiefly carried
on. No sooner did news of this resolution to
carry on there slave trade under the French
flag, and protected by all the authority of the
French empire, trsnspire at Whydah, than, as
we have said, the old European slave dealers
at once abandoned lawful commerce, and, en-
couraged by this determination, revived on their
own account the slave trade with Cuba, where
the price of slaves, owing to the enormously in
creasing value of sugar, had greatly risen.
Their operations, and the expectation of French
demand, brought down on the Blight whole
host, to use Consul CampbelPs expressive Ian
guage, of bearded, unwashed Spaniards, Portu-
guese, and Americans, reused, as we have seen,
the chiefs of Abeokuta and the interior to slave.
hunting and kidnapping; and at once, as the
correspondence before us repeats over and over
again, seriously diminished the quantity of pro-
duce collected for expectation. American slave
ship after American slave chip appeared in
the Blight and it was announced that NJ Regis
had chartered four large steamers for his share
in the traffic.
This announcement aroused the attention of
Consul Campbell, as yet in ignorance of the
contract, but his suspicious were lulled by an
assurance that the vessels so chartered were
intended for the postal service of the French
Government The statement soon proved ut
terly untrue, for in few weeks after it was
made, large steamer, called the Stella, ap.
peared off Whydah, with orders to purchase
and embark twelve hundred negroes for the
French Indian colonies.
The effect of this demand for single ship,
with the prospect of three other similar arrivals,
convu'sed the whole Blight of Benin. The chiefs
and all their subjects deserted legitimate trade,
and English merchants, entangled with larger
amount of property unpaid for in the interior,
were only too happy to be able to contract their
operations and ship their property as fast as
possible. But it soon appeared that M. Regis,
despite his large African experience, had en-.
tered into very rash and hazardous specula.
ton for the EGO head which he was to re.
ceive afforded him inadequate means to COM
pete with the slave dealers, VINO had the open
and unrestricted market of Cuba to aupplv in