New-York tribune., 1886-11-11
A SLAVE-TRADER'S LETTERS.
REMINrsc sNCEs OF SOUTHERN CHIvALRY.
COMMERCIAL VENTURES OF oSr or THx GEORGIA
fAMaRa


has curious article entitled "A Slave-Traders
etter- Boox.n 1t purports TO contain extracts
from letter-book which once belonged to e. A. L.
Lamar of Savannah a cousia of the present Sec
r,arv of the Interior The writer of the letters
ach,eved IN the three years preceding the war the
necnhar distinction Of advocating in the most
| nract,caI way the feopeuing OF the African slave
trade His name, tho chronicIer states. Will DO
speclally remembered in connection with the yacht
Wanderer, which he 6ttod out fur traffic with the
barracoons of the African seacoasf-a sort OF COM
merce whicn had fallen into such neglect that the
civilized world had put upon 1T the brand OF 'pl-
raryD Though a Southern gentleman OF the most
approved type, Mr. Lamar appears 10 have
possessed Just enough of the Yankee spirit
Of enterprise and thrift to render him hu-
man: for he was always ready to buy and SELL and
s,ood decidedly in favor of Government contracts
Tn tbe halcyon DAYS of Franklin Pierce, it was a
fa vor;e scheme of the South revolutonize Cuba
nv means of "fibuster" EXCURSIONS fIom the Cot
,on STATES. aud il was tondy hoped that the island
would soon he annexed to tho United StaIcs, for
the extension of slavery. General John A. Omit
man had such an excursion on hand IN 1852 and
C. A. l.. Lamar was too active and patriotic
a citizen not to take stock In It, his
first ad venture in the African siavo-trade was not
snccessfaL The captain ne sent Out-so the letters
sayfell very far short of bis moral and commercial
duty. The following brief letter shows the way IN
which Mr. Lamar paid the officers OF his slave ships,
and that one of them at least, was GENT:
SAVANNAH. February 2 1853.
N G TRowBHIDeE e'q- or THkoooGf JOHNSTON esq., New
DIAN sia: This win handed by Captain William
.ss S'S bark I A. Raw ms 70 Africa lie Gent
and ma, STSuSs s sn0T M and
n 5 0of o S%ao 9at the may
s o pl hone To 70 hsr. % a % be no but
thai thr will Immediately 10 sea- and return with
full car = in ninety days
For the next two or three years Mr. Lamar evil
IDENTIFY conducted the African slave-trade In the
American Cotton States with great public spirit
and Tor all 1t was worth His letters mention
three vessels which he kopt busy the vioIssi-
tudes of tho traffic would allow. These were
the E. A. Rawnns the Richard Cobden.
aud tho Wauderer He contemplated an
extension of bis lines so magnificent
as 10 defy the waole unappreciative world
He appl,rd TO the Treasury Department for n clear
ance fer one o. his slave ships. declaring on the
manifest that the intention was to 90 to the Coast
of Af lea for a cargo OF apprentices and to return
elmer to the United States or 20 Cuba with them.
When the application was refused he wrote TO Mr
secretary Cobo Of Georgia IN the following strain:
Your objection form of the application. as inyoy
ing Ig matter Of ,eeai rgh the question is simply
Has legal right 10 land African emigAntS
Srtu lily imitte he tght to emgran,s
sware are Of a single State where these comcrs would
oonon Sn then s' acas Sea the force an
Upon The return OF the ship to the United states the
legality Of The voyage could have ben tested IN, n
the federal courts Yon lave cosen 's , sous % ,sa, b
Il you weud sraut the vessel 10 % te sSa o. an A @
the gsIy.o the The courts OF the United stte.
a.ce for the same vessel smsr VOYAGE is not
anenabe 70 the obecon urged against the other "a and a. am am
in nlDurs vi
South whether she has rights In the Union OF not
The slave trader received from an under-officia a
letter dlsclaiming any intention of wonnding his
feelings but Was convinced, as he wrote to Mr.
Spratt tbot CObbs chance for the Presidency was
gone The Waudsrar was seized IN 1853 and he
was rendered very unhappy and plunged into
humorous embarrassments. legal and otherwise.
For instance he writes to Iheodore johnson:
am a.onshod at what Governor Phniz has written @ mo
and The Sn :" s ne nS s al y
bead and sss Ss ss s% az sm %s. %
$ a5y one s worse ihn shall NOT only
men least part of the advances have AVE
can be done but my attorneys say is bad showing
A day or two later. the energetic speculator IN
Africans sent this word to Mr.. irowbridge:
Don't sell any Of the for Onything but money.
wou not give damn for all the notes a @ have @ been sen.
tons Keep negroes they Os sold for cash and
win send them West
As the New-York press denounced the slave
traders operations. he corresponded with Mr..
Greeley and Mr. Raymond, upbraidrng them for
their structures. Mr.. Greeley generously offered
him the columns of The TRIBUNE IN which to de-
fend his commercial ventures Mr. Raymond, how
ever tantalIzed hIm with several letters OF quite
dupIex and uncertain structure. Thereupon Mr.
Lamar wrote Mr. Raymond this brief epistle which
is copied upslde-down IN his letter-book-probably
in unspeakable coDtempG Of so irresponsible
creature AZ a New-York editor
received yours OF the 4th this morning You have
taken the usna fslnge o. VIC % shi cnp w fnr % vonr %
meridian OF friends induced me to believe ta,
offended But for this and the prsvou, impression had
with you. When moet have determined upon my
There are other interesting letters of this remark
able series But these selections cover the merits
of the case" 1t Is well. perhaps, to add more
which shows that the irrepressible s!ave-trader
persisted III his vocation until within fow months
OF secession and civil war.
DEAR LUcIus: wrote some time during the winter
requesting to telegraph me when Raymond OF The Neo
him You nsve replied and therefore feel some hest
through the THIS morning. and beng
so1y % he % sH Hd IN mas s the M oSa. SG Of s to TO-
the 5 NAME % 'Rd - and with the request that you
name he INTENDED IN any way to reflect on me BY
and telegraph 9 and viii there %ss, the a
poIntinenL not In ai and the damned Government has
not the power to put and keep me there am own
Office. and home night and like
fghtng-cock Al the expense the Governments for noti
at the beginning that unless he furnished
us would with him. dissolve all
that might exist between He submitted the
same judges and they told him supply /
whip the Government time they make the issue unless
additional Attend THIS. Act
docsivey. II
viii DC a very from the had with
dore Moore against whom had feeling n any
hestaDcy acting accordance with
my friend. JACK Jones He win do the neediu truly
&C. O. A. L. LAMAR
The chronicler closes the extracts from this re-
markable correspoa dence with these judicious re-
marks: "rhAse letters show how rapidly we have
been making history since the last Of them was
written. 10 the youth of the present generation
the society of hich they a natural product
is practically as dead as the civilization Of the