Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-12-14
.CongrcssIonnI snlll nlary.

No business was transacted IN the
House beyond the organization, and read
ing the Presidents Message. In the Sen.
ate, even before the Message was read, Ma
son, of Va, gave notice that he would, on
Tuesday, call up the case Of the Spanish
schooner Armistead. Messrs. Seward,
Fessenden aud others, objected that this
claim should be singled out, and Mr..
Seward called for vote on the subject.
The vote stood-yeas "a, nays 19.
This is the way the Democracy want
to stop the agitation of the slavery ques-
ton. This Armistead case is one in
which the Democracy feel deep and abb
ding interest. Some twenty years ago,
when Van Buren was President, pirat-
ical ship, named the Armistead, and owned
6y Spaniards, brought load of negroes
from Africa to Cuba, and while going
from one port in the Island to another,
the negroes on board. under the lead of
one who was prince in his own country,
rose upon the crew and killed them all
but the pilot and captain, and then ordered
them 10 steer for the coast of Africa.
The Chief could tell the direction they
were sailing, by daylight, and compelled
them to go in the right direction, but at
night, the pilot would turn about toward
the United States. In this way they wan
dered for nearly month, and at last were
driven into port in Connecticut
AS soon as their landing was known,
the President ordered them to be sent back
to Cuba as slaves, but some of the friends
of humanity had them brought before the
Courts on a writ of haJeaS cOrpaS, and the
case was finally got into the Supreme Court
of the United States. This Court, al
though controlled by Shareholders, was not
then so thoroughly debased as it has since
become, and after about a years contest,
in which the venerable John Quincy Ad-
ans volunteered as counsel for the negroes,
the Court decided that the negroes were
free-had been kidnapped from their homes
and country-that the ship was, by the
laws of the United States and all civilized
countries, pirate ship--that the negroes
had right to Kill their captors if they
that neither the Spanish Gov
ernment, nor their pretended captors, had
any right to the negroes, &c. This was
the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States. Under it, the negroes, AZ
in number, were educated in this country,
and, accompanied by missionaries, re-
turned to their own tribes, far in the inte-
rior of Africa, where ilourishing mission
has since been maintained.
Such is very brief statement Of the
celebrated Amistead case. And now, as
il to insult the moral sentiment of the
world, the Democracy pay these pirates.
out of the public treasury of the United
States, the price Of these negroes with in
terest. The purpose is simply to override
the solemn decision of the Court, and aus
place the Government of the
U. S. before the world as the protector Of
the slave-trade. A bill for this purpose
has been before Congress every session
for many years. but never could obtain
the necessary vote 70 pass it. 1t is
thought, however, that the Democratic
Members of Congress from the free States,
are now SO thoroughly demoralized that it
can be accomplished And we think it
can. What say the Democracy of Meigs
County to their party paying pirates for ne
groes declared by the Supreme Court to be
free, and who would have been perfectly
justi6able in killing their captors? Such
is Democracy, and such are the means
by which they stop agitationl