The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-07-25
FRANCE AND ENGLAND REvIvING THE SLAVE
TRADE

astrous effects of West Indian emancipation, as
siduously engaged in introducing slavery into her
many southern colonies, under new forms and APP
peations. When she seizes African SLAYER,
instead Of restoring the captured negroes to Africa
and liberty she carries them to her colonies to
work as apprentices Now, such apprentices per-
form the same compulsory labor as a negro slave,
and are slaves in all respects during the time OF
their service At its expiration they are gene
rally worse situated than slaves, for the prime of
of life is past, and they have masters bound to
support and protect them in old age. We can hard
ly conceive condition deporable than that of
these apprentices at the expiration of their term OF
service. They have neither the thrift,
ability nor intelligence 10 return to Africa and if
they did return there would be no home country
to receive and protect them, and they would be ex-
posed to be enslaved or devoured the first coast
on which they landed Liberia and Sierra Leone ut
terly repudiate such security, and complain gen
orally even of the infusion of ordinary field
hands from America They want ut
such 'i,sus nature as Frederick Douglass and
DR.. Pennington. 1t would be interesting TO
certain how these apprentices are treated during
their term of service, and how many survive that
term. We suspect, very few because il is the in
teres of the to work them to death and the
absentee masters of the West Indies almost
cruel as the absentee landlords of Ireland and work
to death or prevent the natural increase of
their slaves although it is their interest take good
care of them. This whole apprenticeship system is
cruel as it is Inefficient In truth its inefficcncy
proceeds from it's excessive cruelty The laborers
are worked up so rapidly that it is impossible to
procure adequate supply of labor. This fact is
beyond dispute, because, although many hundred
thousands of coolies and African apprentices have
been carried to the English colonies within few
years, still the agricultural products of those colo
MES continue to diminish and the prices of cotton,
sugar and other tropical necessares of life continue
rapidly to RISE The middle passage in the cody
trade has been signalized by more horrors and cru
elites in the last six years than were ever perpe-
trated by slavery in the last three centuries
France we find is about to follow the example of
England, and import to Algeria ten thousand
hypocrisy to crime. They robbed their colonsts of
their slaves in some instances excited bloody ns,lr-
rection rendcred the lands of those colonsts value
less made idle savages of the liberated negroes cut
off much of the supply of tropical products which
have become necessaries of life in Western Europe,
diminished the market for their own commerce and
manufactures, made famine the normal condition Of
their white laborers, then turned to flbuster-
ing to retrieve their errors. France seizes upon Al
giers England dcluges Asia with blood, and hovers
with greedy talons over the coasts of America. But
LII lie mt 10
can be had in any numbers; but they feebo, and
are worked up too fast. Now, France and England,
under the delusive veil Of African immigration,
about to revive the negro slave trade. No men know
so well as Englishmen and Frenchmen that negroes
will only work from compusion, and that African free
labor is all humbug for their colonies now in
tested with nearly million. of idle free negroes.
They do not mean "to carry Goals to Newcastle"
Their immigrants, their apprentices, and their
lies all subjected to compulsory labor and compul
sorry labor is slavery. England has long since re-
newed the slave trade, under new forms. She and
France are about to revive the old African trade uny
der name.
All this is gross violation of the spirit intent,
and common-sense construction, if not of the letter,
Of the treaty of those nations with America to sup
press the slave trade. A communication from the
State Department, reported by committee Of the
Senate, leaves no doubt that the cody trade is at
tended with more cruelties and horrors than Tie AT
rican slave trade and when to this is to be added
the immigration schemes of our allies, it is high
time that should take the whole subject into seri-
consideration, and protest against these palpabe
evasions and violations of our treaty We have
slaves enough in America, and their increase is so
rapid that in less than half century their numbers
will suffice to cultivate any southern territory we
may acquire. BIT it is France and England, not we,
who will acquire southern territory if they be per-
mitted in violation of their sacred engagements and
of the laws of humanity, to supply themselves, by
fraud or favor, with unlimited amounts of slave labor
wherewith to occupy and till such territory. Be
Sides they will thereby reduce the prices of our sta
pies, cripple our commerce. arrest our prosperity,
and retard our growth. We should hold them to
the strict performance of their engagements and to
the bitter consequences of their West Indian enamel
patton folly Their himsy pretexts and evasions are
unworthy the dignity of two great nations.
Some of the Fremont editors out West appear to
be as unfortunate the Fremont preachers in the
way of getting into ugly scrapes. We copy the fol