Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-05-16

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,l
Washington, Nav. 7, 1861 (

washington, May, Z, 1901
The Secretary of State has carefully read the
letters Of Hon. VIM. Marvin, Capt. Hunt, and
Lieut.. Morton, sent or submitted to him by
Brig. General Totten, and has further required
Of Capt. Meigs an account of the transaction re.
ferred to In these papers.
1t appears, from the information thus obtain.
ed, that certain Shareholders at Key West, in
the State OF Florida, long time ago, hired the
public agents OF the Government number OF
slaves at very remunerative prices, to be en-
ployed as laborers in the Notifications OF the
United States, for term of twelve years yet
unexpired. Of these, certain number, not, 1t
Is believed, exceeding twenty, were employed in
the fortihcation at Tortugas, when Col Brown
arrived there, and having need Of their help in
reinforcing and supplying Fort Pickens, he took
them TO Pensacola, and employe ed them there In
landing stores from the Atlantic and the Illinois
at Fort Pickens
1t is not complained in the papers before me
that the masters are not paid, or TO be paid, for
the labor Of the slaves, and, on the contrary,
Capt, Melgs distinctly understands that the
luarter-master Is to pay the wages to the mas
tiers OF the slaves at Key West, as heretofore.
IL is not pretended that the Quarter. master has
violated, or inten0s to violate. the contract Of
hire In any way. 1t must be entirely inmate
rial 70 the master whether the slaves work at
the Tortugas, or whether they work at Fort
Pickens; both the places are situated in the
state OF Florida; they are alike safe under the
government in both cases, and should the con.
tractbe broken by the public agents. the Presi-
dent will take care to see that due redress lie al.
iorded. l am not able TO understand that
there is anything wrong or ceDsurable in this
matter.
some OF the letters say that the masters of the
slaves hired them as laborers at Jefferson, and
would not have consented, II asked, TO their be.
ing sent or carried to Fort Pickens. That spe-
cial point is not sustained by any proof. On
the other hand, the contract was made years
ago, and for years To come, and though it is
assumed they were hired to labor at Key West,
they were nevertheless actually found laboriDg
at the Tortugas, without any objection on the
part of the masters.
II is not at all probable that the government,
when hiring men TO work at it's Notifications in
one part OF the State stipulated that they should
not be employed on another within the same
State.
1t is said in another letter that the transaction
is likely to be represented throughout the south.
ern States as negro stealng-as a disregard by
the government officers OF the rights of masters
AS the commencement of course OF interfer-
SASS VIZ" eio'ery ieaulDB 10 lt5 aOOnuOn-as
the employment Of slaves by the government in
acts OF hostility against the masters--as forcing
negro slaves to make war upod the whites, &C.;
and II they should be placed under the FIRE of
guns without their consent, or the consent of
their masters, IL might be represented as in
human.
These are very strained conceits. The papers
show that the colored men went from the one
port to the other voluntarily and cbeerfuliy.-
They can in no case be exposed to FIRE except
from the citizens Of the State Of Florida, in an
act Of direct and unlawful war against the United
States. Even their return OF that fire could not
be an act Of hostility against their masters, un.
less those masters themselves should be found
voluntarily there In arms against, not only their
own slaves, but against the government and the
whole people Of the United States-a crime
which it Is MOTTO belsupposed they will commit.
Again, 1t is not to be presumed that the slaves
will be compelled to become combatants at all,
except in case where military necessity would
justify making any persons found in the fort be.
come combatants. Ii is not easy to see that
the negro slaves have any greater right than the
free white persons 20 exemptions from the haz-
ards necessary for the public safety in a time OF
civil war.