New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-07-19
s1AoK-B1RD1Ne BY STEAM.

The Administration is going into backblrdlDg
operations on the coast Of Africa extensively, and for
the first time the United States is support squad
ron of steam slavecatchers that station to which
four fine steamers and two of the best sailing soops-
of.war in the service have been detailed-the whole
force amounting to sixty-nine guns, and manned by
eighty six officers and fifteen hundred and fifty men
gallant officers and gallant men, no doubt, to die
gallant deaths in the floating hospitals which their
gallant ships will become in the gallant service in
those miserable latitudes-the star.spangled BAN
ner hanging limp and nerveless, as if ashamed of
itself, in the listless and masmbearng atmosphere,
while the bulls rot in the foul and pestenta waters
of the lagoons of the Congo coast where they lie to
catch the shaving pirates" who have stolen forth
from Boston or New York, Cuba and Brazil, to
turn an honest penny" in transacting the business
Of Transportation between the slave owners of Africa
and America.
The flagship, the steam frigate San Jacinto, with
an armament of thirteen heavy guns and compile
ment of four hundred men and twenty officers is
about to SAIL if she has not already and her consorts
will follow 80 soon as ready for Doubtless they
will achieve profit and reputation. Now the Ameri
can navy is not exceedingly and numerically power
full in the sine qua matter of ships as our read
ers will perhaps remember, we have taken occasion
to remark several and sundry times heretofore but
the Administration does not to be aware of this
when it detaches SO strong proportion Of it to do
this useless service the coast OF Africa and sac
riice valuable lives in its prosecution. 1t has all the
means Of learning, but does not seem cognizant of
the necessities which exist for the presence of ships
Of war on several and important stations. Several
hostile nations with whom we are in commercial re-
ot,o IF @6,N j;farro
mean, where our mercantile marine swafms and where
our interests are most important and in that sea,
unless others have passed through the gates of the
Pillars of Hercules very recently, the United States
has but one man.ofwar to keep sharp eye to
windard for the protection of American citizens in
person and property.
On the long reach of Pacific coast where an Ameri-
can citizen feels about safe and comfortable as an
unprotected Daniel in den of lions, and where it is
quasi lawful to plumber abuse and murder them at the
will of the greaser popnase and authorities the flag OF
their country seldom exerts the potent wtchery of
its presence for their benefit men.ofwar sporting
it being in the proportion of one to every two thous
and miles Of coast and ten million square miles OF
ocean. The Government can cheerfully suffer this
neglect and abuse, but 1t cannot think for a moment
of neglecting the suggestngs of a fanatical sent
mentality, but must put its available naval force on
the coast of Africa, dsregardng the appeals of cit
zens who subjected to every outrage on the Pacific
coast. This course peases England too, and that is
q paramount consideration. a.
We should not be surprised if consequence oil
putting strong steam force on the coast of Africa
should be the appearance in those vexed waters OIL
some particularly swift nonaton steamers especially
designed for unlawful cruising and calculated tic
" show clean pair of heels" to anything with
screw or paddle arrangements bearing nationa
flag.