The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-12-23

IN winch originally II only
TO notice the CONFERENCE.-The pure sed"-which you
alege in your letter Of the 27th. might be that
your reference to the quotations Of tn Enburg Rewe0
beng point OF fact but reference TO the French
ment your yindicaton became necessarily dependent
upon the truthfuness Of the latter and that this
required Tor the sake OF the actors in the transaction
peremporiy denying purchase and insisting that the
parties on board were voluntary emgrantsthere could
have been such connvance you charge Tor want of
sale TO be connived at But prefer this connection,
TO go somewhat at length into the matter OF the Regina
Coli satisfied that result win be the exoneraon Of
the people the government and every individual Office
from the slightest censuie.
Ibegn by admitting that il Captain Simon urged
Obtain what emigants he wanted within the jurisdiction
OF LIBERIA and he paid beforehand for the privilege OF
doing So then France and Liberia accompces in an
attempt to revive, practically the slave trade.
The fullest account that have been able to procure OF
the details Of the transaction affects the authorities
French Marine to the Minister OF Foreign Affairs dated
June 49, 1883 published at length the Courier DIES Eats
Uns OF July IL From this II appears that on the 18th
Of October 1851 Regina Coil arrived at Cape Mount
where, Is alleged the native chief urged the captain 10
procure bis migrants and whence the two proceeded to
Monsova to arrange the preimnares Of the affair Here
the approval by the President orCaptan Smons pan
50 conclusive that determined this officer to aclu him
self OF his mission exclusively the territory OF the
public wbereupon he fastened to pay into the hands Of
the authorities of the place (do,i loales) the of
1S64 ses as passport duty for 400 free acorers which
were to be procured for MIN within forty days The colec
tor Of them then proceeded with great ease under the
eye (survelancc) OF the authorities of Liberia Qd Of
agent Of the French government. The rest OF the
statement corresponds IN the main with that quoted from
chief staff of the naval on the station
which is referred TO by the Munster Of Marine,
is not given neither has been possible to procure at this
time the official report Of Dr. Dies Bruas the Of
the massacre aud who to be the authority for the
assertion that the emigrants Americans, and
debased native Africans although the language of the
surgeon, gwen the New York Times of July 1858,
goes further than to state that 'ste free cmgrans
were embarked With the consent OF the ibean authori
ties and that two hundred well educated be
able to subscribe TO their indentures.n
To this statement there opposed the emphatic contra
dctiol Of President Benson letter Gerard R sto
Esq Consul General of Liberia IL London, under date Of
Sept ID 1858, as follows
xoa are q liberty to publish as untrue the following state
Fs 1sa The ohe 2, Cape Noun. aecOmp,0ed CAPTAIN
That the President Liberia urged Captain
Ses @ this as
Filth That the emgrsns were procured under the immea
ate Or BY the agency Of this geyenmen
of color from the United States their descendants
be- II ss ssoEs ose h
living Witnesses aud aeunaan; evidenee
cot the sonacne testimony must depend
the circumstances under which is given, the character,
motives possible bias Of the witnesses, the respective
| probabilities and the corroboratins evidence
Taking the French account hrs its apparent improba.
biies are striking; thus
II is most mprobable--the grants being supposed
be Americans--tat Captain Simon should have been
| urged to take them, when 4 IS wen known by the
friends and Gnfricnds Of colonization that the great
want of Liberia for years past has been emigrants
from america to aid in the deveoement of her resources
Capt Simon looking for-men competent 70 assert
their freedom by Just such conduct as took place board
the Regina Coli, Had the authorities urged him to take
the bondmen, scared, worn out and expaiiated,'
wandering from up the rivers" downward to the sea,
he would have laughed At them
Again is mos, improbable that passpor, money should
have been paid in advance, when II uncertain that
single emeran, would be procured-aHogesher improba'
bic indeed the face Of the admission in the quotation
Of the Edint1g Reeo that President Benson had been
menaoed once before for refusing to grant general
passport for cargo that had been already purchased
while IN the Of the Regina Cel the cargo still to
| be Obtained.
Again the fact being that there are not one hundred
male Americans ht for labor IN The neghborhood Of Cape
Mount, where the Regina Coi wen, TO load makes the
statement that hundred procured there
whom two hundred and seventy already
board when the took place. improbable in the
liable TO detection 70 take emgrarts board at Monroya
where tie population comparatively dense This impro
liability was recognized in Parliament as has been al
ready shown when quoting from tue Rerse,c.
Again, admitting that the 27l emlgrants were Amcr
cans is disparagement 10 them TO say, looking 70
read, Is grossly improbable. But the surgeon himself,
only ttey could subscribe their indcnturee
Whether these subscriptions marks only
and whether the subscribers natives Americans
ceud easily be proven By the production Of the in.
ing 10 the party who have them its pos
adds To the irobablty Of the statement either that the
cmerants could read, or that they we're other than A
cans.
Again tina, 27l coionists--A mericans-gong on board
OF their accord would have aud murdered the
crew and seized the ship passes the bounds OF reasonable
belief
And again. that nation, however feeble, the majority
OF whose people were cmanopated slaves. all Of
whose instincts and impulses must be opposed 10 slave.
ry, who bad gone to Africa to escape from IT, Should
suffer its government 70 countenance, ia any manner
form, FOR any purpose on any pretence,
al OF the slave trade or any sembiance OF the slave
trade, il not the Of the improbabtes OF the
French account OF the OF the Regina Coli II IS
admitted here, SIR that the suggestion Of your speech at
general malady 10 which the eoIorcd subject
the coast Of Africa elsewhere, IL altogether ignored
on THIS OCCASION Such sickness is certainly unknown 20
MARYLAND guvQlOluQrS Ou flp Shore IN
tie borders 81 Pennsylvania and doubt whether there
any experience on the Western border saveholdins
States that would corroborate your assertion.
And finally, tia, three hundred free men, whom
tue authorities OF Liberia had power OF compuson
whom they pretended 10 exercise none who, Cape
Mount, too far from the capital, Monrova, 10 be
within reach Of the strength existing there should permit
Themselves 10 be sent or sold laborcr 10 country
whose language their language and Tor their
turn from which they had security, : quite as i'm
probable as any other tart OF the affair OF the Regua
Coii
Ia adI,.oa the foregoing Ia, may said TIM, the
report 81 the French Minister OF Marine Of Itself adds
the tmprobab lilies 81 Of the allegations Of the Fin
burg Rer1ec aud which 10 be found repeated both
your speech Brnwe Court House your letter %
the 9Th g'iimo mean that VIII CD relates - the Amcr
oansm Of the emigrants.
The satsmeu refer to i, that y was the urgency Of
the native chief that induced Capt Simon to procure his
emrrans at Cape Mount, and that The went together
20 Nonrovia 10 the prcmnaries Of the alar
Now il Z hardly probable that the native chief expected
TO ship coonss, but most probable that lac wanted
willing. 10 sell his after the oil slave trade
fashion and went therefore with simon 70 Monroyia ad
hitting that he went AZ all 10 whether they could not
jointly obvlate objections which they knew % exist and
but for which the che would have stayed at home aud
disposed Of b. people al his pleasure
But may fairly be- asked, when discussing probabi.
tics what had the French authorities filsehoods
They had tie strongest motives matters turned out
They a nefarous crrand. and they knew IT, and
they had failed and Their failure, uaier the crcum.
stances had attracted the attention Of the civilized
world, and all eyes turned 20 france, whose
character compromised by them, But for the all.
of the captain With nearly half his shore
the massacre would probably have taken place.
and France might have gone on rcpenshn g her colo
MEG from the with other Obstacles than might
be inerposed by people too feeble to resist by force
their sovereignty their territory.
The aar 0f the Regina Cmh however, likely bring
public opinion 70 operate which not France might
be able to disregard. Tho captain Of the Regina Coil
the naval officers along with hm-ihe surgeon, too, 10
extent agents, who had blnndercd II vital
10 thf make a case and they too to
know that the case that would surely acgpt them