New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-06-22


stopped rhoI, with Hr. Csss, VS. should leave tha'
venerable gentleman himself to reply to IT, ffee'y
ccpfessrg that tie whole Of bis course on 1his
question hss been such, thst We could not coz
icieH.iousiy Undertake his defense. But 1t is no.
uerty tie character aud booor OF NJ. Ca's,
sld tbo Government for witch lie speaks,
that ne London T,wtS thus ventures
to a-sin...hte 10 its Dan. the people OF the
Untsd State are assumed 10 be as great byPocrt9s
as Mr.. Cass and III, London Times ard, 10 spite
Of iteir ays deiouncipe the Slave-Trsde as piracy
Ia be ~ ifeciS nlili # uot anxious to Afford u
kat traffic tie cover snd protection OF the Amer-
car nsg. If such really re the Gaze, The London
7imtS s perfectly rght in arg1ipg thai, so tar as
the suppression of tie African Slave Trade ia con-
cerrsd, tee British have already accomplished all
that .s possible. They have sncceeded IN dislo1s-
irg tie slsve-tradcrs fom the nee Of every nag IN
the world except that Of the United States. 10
deprive them of the cover and protection of thai!
fag il spite q the secret wishes not merely OF the
Government but If the people of the United STATES
TO The contrarJ is certainly aQuixotic undertaking.
Undoubtedly the British Government have been
induced to perseye:e iu their s.tempts to prevent
The fsiEe assumption Of the American flag by
Spanish ard Portuguese slave-tr.ders. under the
iGea that tie American Government hsd no par
TALLY for having the American flag thus used. Mr..
Casss professions Of Iiety for the suppression OF
the Save Trade have no doubt encouraged them in
this policy and probably the course of future ne
gotot;ons vii lead them to put the sincerity of these
professions TO the test.
II the American Government is really goig to
assume as against Great Bctan and al her
protrscted ard costly efforts for tie suppression of
the Slave RsGe, ire championship OF thst traffic,
then certainly ought to repeal ct once, at least,
ali our laws 10y which citizens Of the United States
are forbidden to engage in the supply Of fcresa
countries with slaves from the African coast. Ii
cur Government regards the sopply of Cuba, fIr
instance with slaves from Africa as a business go
respectable ard useful that those engaged in it
shall be allowed the free of the American
Gag surely It is unjust to citizens not to
allow them the same cover and protection which
We so freely give to sll sorts of foreign adj
vent1rers. The course adopted at present gives to
acyentuIers Of other nations protection from the
American flag which we do rot concede to our own
citizens An American ship engaged in trans-
poi tifg slaves to Cuba would not only under our
existing laws &c liable to forfeiture, but the Ameri
can citizens found on board might be tried
for their lives. The American flag, so far
from projecting them in this busCess might be the
very occasion Of bringing them int, trouble. Un-
der the doctrine the subject of vsiration set up
az Washington. while any foreign adVenturer who
might choose to hoist the American flag would be
fully projected by 20 doing from aoy question on
the part of any cruiser not American, the fact
that the flag vas falsely assumed, aud that the
slave-trader was in fact not American, would at
the same time protec. him from being brought to
account under our American laws. The position
assumed at Washington has, in fact, all the appear
ance Of direct AID special intervention on the
part of cur Government for enabling foreigners to
carry on under our flag traffic for which they can
not use their own flags, and in which, while We
thus project foreigners in it, we prohibit our own
citizens from engaging. This is Qu1otic inter
yention on the part OF cur Government for the
special benefit Of foreign slave traders, in which
wo doubt very much whether the Administration
viii Grd Itself supported by the nstion.