The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-12-02

terMlned to rescue our national character
from the reproach Of liberation toward the
infamous African slave trade There has been
too much ground hitherto for the imputaton
tnat the executive and the law officers of the
government in New York have been strangely
inenicient in bringing offenders against this law
TO punishment or in preventing the fitting out
OF slavers in this port. But there is no
longer room for such reproaches. Within the
last six months there have been more than
half dozen seizures of vessels, either made at
TINS port or on the coast of Africa, and brought
IN here for condemnation. In one of those
cases-that of the SLAYER Erie, captured by the
Mohican, of the Congo river on the coast of
Africa, with cargo of some thousand slaves on
board-her master, Nathaniel Gordon, has been
convicted Of the capital offence at the present
term of the United States Circuit Court, and was
on Saturday sentenced to execution.
This was the second time for Gordon to be
tried. AT the first trial the jury disagreed After
conviction on the second trial an application
was made, on several technical grounds, for
certificate of division to enable the case to be
carried to the Supreme Court but this the
Court refused. One plea was that the Erie had
ceased to be an American vessel
form of transfer having been gone through
with at Havana. That however, is well
recognized as one of the tricks of the trade, aud
the Court declined to attach any Importance to it.
Another objection was that the proof of Cor
don's being an American citizen was incom-
plete. 1t was proved that his father-also
seafaring man-and his mother had been resi-
dents of Portland, Maine, before and since their
marriage; and although it was urged that. as his
mother used sometimes to accompany her hus-
band on foreign voyages, the prisoner might
have been born abroad, the Court held that
even that fact would not affect his American
nationality. AS to the guilt of the prisoner, the
facts admitted of no dispute. The vessel was
captured when she was one day out from the
coast, aud was taken with her living cargo to
Monrovia, in Liberia the prisoner being sent
home for trial.
This is the second capital conviction for slave
trading that has been made in this city for per
haps quarter of a century; and if the sentence
Of Gordon be carried into execution it will be,
We believe, the first time that the full penalty
of the law has been inflicted in this country on
a person guilty Of this offence. The other case
to which we allude is that of one Captain
Smith, who was convicted before Judge Nelson
about seven or eight years ago. In that case
the Judge refused to allow evidence of foreign
birth to be introduced, holding that the prisoner
was bound by his own official oath, on getting
his clearance papers from the Custom House,
in which he declared himself to be citizen of
the United States. The same Judge, however,
on a motion for new trial. reviewed his own
ruling and granted the application. Suisse
quently the prosecuting officer accepted plea
Of guilty Of the minor offence of voluntarily
serving on board Of vessel engaged in the
slave trade and the culprit was sentenced to
several years Imprisonment.
II is Il debatable question, and one that was
brought before the attention OF the jury in the
case of Gordon, whether in point Of morals, it
is any more heinous offence to convey negroes
from The Congo river to Cuba or the Southern
States, and sell them slaves than it is to con-
vey them for the same purpose from Baltimore
to New Orleans. If the negroes occupied the
status of slaves in Africa it would be really
difficult to show how the one offence is in strict
morality, greater than the other, except in
deed. that the one is statutory offence con-
demned by our laws, and the other is legalzed
transaction. Still it must be admitted that the
punishment of death is too severe penalty to
attach to what is, in this point Of view the mere
violation of a commercial law; and it is very
doubtful whether more mitigated penalty and
one more sure to be inflicted, would not be
more eflicacious in putting stop to the trade.
That. however, is consideration for Congress.
The Executive, to be sure, may intervene, and
commute the punishment to imprisonment AT
all events no efforts should be spared to put
stop to this nefarious traffic, and we are glad to
feel the conviction that, so far as the administra-
ton and its law officers here are concerned the
slave traders need expect to find no favor or
official blindness.
A FINANCIAL AND CoTToN DILEMMA-TIcKLIsH
QUESTION FOR Mr.. MEMurNGER.-T Charles
ton Mercury calls upon the cotton planters and
factors to destroy all the cotton they possess in
the regions likely to be visited by their North
ern invaders. 1t assigns two reasons for this
sage advice-frst, that it can be of no earthly