The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-09-07
The American SLAYER.

carried into Charleston, s. c., proves ohave
been the General Putnam, built in Baltimore,
and formerly employed in the coffee trade
| between that port and Rio. She sailed from
New Orleans on the 9Th of March last, with
captain, two mates eight seamen, a cook,
steward, and one passenger. On the 9Th of
July she shipped 455 slaves at Kabenda, on
I the West Coast, not far from the Congo river.
She was Al days reaching the coast Of Cuba,
during which one hundred and forty-one of
the poor wretches died and were thrown
overheard. Although the law makes the
slave trade piracy, and affixes the penalty Of
death upon all found engaged in it, yet, not
withstanding the numerous arrests, no one
has ever been convicted under it, either in a
Northern or a Southern court. The officers
taken from the SLAYER have been carried to
Boston, but the crew were taken in the prize
to Charleston, S. c. Whether the crew will
be tried at one place and the officers at an
| other is not known. Wherever they may
be tried it is predicted they will escape
hanging.
One of the crew has written a letter to
the Charleston papers, in which he declares
the blacks on board the SLAYER were well
treated, well fed, and kept clean up to the
time of the capture of the vessel yet the
mortality was terrible.
Speaker Orr in recent speech to the
people of his Congressional District, ex-
presses the following just views upon the
proposition of n few men at the South, to
revive the slave trade. Upon the plea that
the African is benefited by being reduced
to slavery by christians, he says:
"Are we to constitute ourselves judges
of what will improve the condition Of other
nations and proceed to execute that judg-
ment against their consent ? If the argu-
ment is worth any thing for the African,
would il not apply equality to the European
or Asiatic? How many ..of the sons and
daughters of Europe and Asia would be
elevated i'm their moral and physical condi-
ton if they were transplanted, even as
slaves, to this country Could they be
numered by less than hundreds of millions
Would it be right to constitute ourselves
their judges, and then become the execu-
TONERS of Judgment to make them slaves
Away with such doctrines aud principles !
They have no foundation i'm humanity
philosophy, morality, or religion"
The Charleston NeWs, a paper that has
advocated the revival of the slave trade in
sists that the present laws shall be executed
so long rs they exist. The law requires the
President to send all Africans rescued from
captured slavers back to Africa. The Ners
says:
As the law is explicit in relation to their
disposal, it is to be hoped that every respect
will be paid to its acquisitions, and that
all false sentimentality will be laid aside
Any effort to rescue or kidnap them would
fail, as the most complete armed watch
and guard will he maintained by the FEEDER
al authorities and troops here, but such ef-
fort would subject the parties attempting it
to treatment a reasonable mob.
Ii is evident that the Government officials
here have discretion, and have simply
to perform their duty under the above act.
Proper respect should be paid alike to their
action and motives. Nor should Chris
tan humanity be shocked by the inevitable
return of these Africans to their own coun-
try, as every care will be taken of them
They cannot be permitted to be enslaved
nor would it DC eit9er. nRIGissie in the United
States as free men. They are savages, whose
condition on their return to Africa will be
materially ameliorated.
The crew of the Echo will he tried for pr
| nd of 81,
is a despicable law, 10 is TAR; and it is to be
hoped that South Carolinians will have the
moral courage and law-abiding sense to do
their duty under it. Let us rely on execu-
tive clemency to abate its harsh and terrible
exactiOns.
If the Echo had first come into the hands
of the State authorities, the crew, ship, and
negroes would have been disposed of under
the State act of 1885, which is very severe.
But now, although the vessel and Africans
are within the waters Of the State, they came
here under Federal capture and authority,
and must remain so, subject to Federal dis
posal under Federal laws, and cannot be
brought under State jurisdiction. No con-
flict of Jurisdictions can properly occur.
The Charleston Mercury says rs the cap
tured Africans were landed and passed to
Castle Pickney wharf they presented Il sad
and affecting sight, which was closely OBJ
served by all present. Many were reduced
to walking skeletons, and some evidently in
a dying condition. a few cases indicated
dropsies, and there were instances of hernia
Some also exhibit traces of other diseases,
but goodly number were apparently in
health. Many of them are very young.
When the Putnam was first boarded by
the officers the crew and officers all profcsSed
to be passengers-nonc would admit they
belonged to the crew. They belong to all
nationalities, and although there are num-
+ Der Of Americans among them, they deny
their nativity. They arc said to he a des-
peratc looking gang.
To ToBAcco CHEwERs.-Within n few
years past lin foil has come into general use