Jasper Banner, Volume 2, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1855 — The Slave Trade in New York. [ARTICLE]

The Slave Trade in New York.

I-nwhi Hu?'Eviiru't'lfct.

It has often been s»it| that the slave Trade was still carrieiT bn fr'orii Neiw York; but, qs thqsehOg^ft^jl^A o * a vague and.general character,.it has attracted; little arc. beginning to get-light on the mattqr. There w now-lying in the Tombs, in city, a nian who has bet?w tried and ibtind guilty‘of lif s hi«’Chgaged in ths slary, 4rh(by ■ - -This it) S<wl tn he the first conviction eveii,oiitabi.<yl|jnder the law by which it. ivas made' jiiracy. .The testimony'in the case a.ud,<thptign hp .proteitH against his condemnation on- ibe groun'l that he is a foreigner, 'and not ♦lucnable to the laws of ilio United States, he doea not deny the fact ol in He s'peake 4>i\it freely,.^d.iwhtf.es.-with uncon<cealt'd .-equitation the particulars of his wild and des.p.eradc,career. We have chanced to see and-talk with this noted’ captain in bis prison. What he told us Was riQ| .couuniink. cated in eoniidenceidbrdie ueeer sa\b us before, an<UditLnot,<khow. who we Twctc. He spt)kc to U 3 as aircptirc etranger. All qw? conwriiation nag the oFTiiS

AYemadc no attempt to gamhh <iou> todraw out’the Bccrutijis* tory pf hulife. He told his own story —notihkd £t ifes<ion,'<but rather waUithe -freedom and;! pride of an olti soldier relating his battles. Nor did he intiidate n wish that what he said should he kept private, indeed, he had boasted -to others of his. deeds .mi the African coast.. His,disclosures, therefore, are of the*e are so turions as tp ‘ be u’orth making kpoM’p., . Whether he tells tho truth the world must judges . It is not very probable, that a man would make up a story .which implicated him in a capital crime. Besides/.his account 4s-e<msiste»fi«ivkh-ife«elf;it*agFee»-wth what »>' fftSbWd on the trial, and with the Canity -book. We bcliev e, therefore, th athe ■

"A’cw York,” says Captain Smith, ■*‘ig the chief port iufhd wuricHor the ' »*WSl il W i^»hS6te*Jl4 «® ,h ' li tho-WesFi Indios aiid ijouth-Ameri-KsMaasiSE; from Ph ilmleip liias;more from? Bahit /IWiMpb Tbif ,My vessel was Moulton?' I«goi MOW® • o !LH M ‘ aomany year year lucre were probably thirty-five. •

,tfereJ#sge ( down to ,v 4 .ftfl s ? 4>at. foe It WhWfllVjbw.f^r•.fce>P?W» th* .vessels,.or pnohM : pf thea cargoes. l 1( ad rather not have American pwmys; J prefer PE .nput,,itttftw<.hw|es J<now jjdl about•&» r They..|cnow me. ■ see* rwe ■«ftu out ov4W* *¥ith-tr back a passenger.— Th ey ponetime*; 4^.»J Qbptain, whef.c hj ypur [.With a, ahrog ] Tliey kßa>v,.what become of her. When a cargo of slaves i$ the veeecl is.often destroyed,.not to be a witness against her officers and crew.” ‘dint how do you manage to gfet away without exciting suspicion?” . , ‘ Whyj you see, vve keen cjose, and get everything nlward, and do not ask our paperst until we ore jusbready Tb t|m hojiLse, and fake out. papers for Rio dnnciroj f St He Lena, Cape de Verdc or don’t matter lyhere—and iaatanily clear." . T - “Hut if you were 7 iseazed at_ the moment, coudd the -oittccrs tell, by sE’arching the ship; that she tfas a sfaveF?”^ I .!' a Illi l ' iiPOHPm LhAV IITII-sSt 4ll>*TYPPli QCimPthing frrim- sTferngbueh an almghty Gre;v.’ dfcly lUtle : b?ig carried but two hQndtbd toAs; adH could be manned by*' four:' men: ■* Bdf I 1 had fourteen before the mast. Tire nffirtent' of loading port'te thb But we don’t lose’time. A steamer is kept ready, and we get under way itiirriediatqiyv two or three slavers leave at once. Wo steam 'down the bay, and over the Ha?, and then the bcean is before us, and we set- our course -for. any -quarter we please.’* •■■. ‘‘ButiVlmh-you reach the African eemstf-fye -you not in great danger frdrrt British ships-bfAvar?” J.

‘tOh,jU<3, wp- don’t care for the.Englisb.^(juad;oo.. We ran up tho Ame'rican come aboard, all do is so show our Ameri,cao papers, and they have no right to search Us. So they growd and go bfl’again.” ' -‘“Thafmay do very well when you arc gQing in empty. But suppose you arc corning out with a cargo of slaws " “Even then we can get along well enobgh, if the niggers wall keep quiet. \Ve put them ftll beltnv deck and nail down our hatches,and then present our papers, The ofliccrs have tio right to go below.. The only danger in-this-case is, that they will stay '■Ow-board t»6' Iong: • They* often suspect' the tVflth; hndliang about for art hour or tivo. t By this time the niggers are stilled,'and'begin to make a tfSSI&L. iJXene'xlre^^d.thing r iii ; ou.tj and

f snppdsx? you are punfebed?’M? .’^;.s«4f- • "■’ ,) ' “O'hr x nbpiwe .generally get off.— You tiee.as wc pre Ameripaus,thqy rp.ust-htihg'.nis tn an American port to be fried. ‘Blit if they ran'theship into they got a yjound a hdail-fijir-ilvety sliWeV Sp theyjgehenylly prefer tplet g°, and get their prize- money.” u Hdnfmanvvdhves poulcfyort chfry on yoflr• ‘ “ Weiook on board 6G4; might have stowed' away SOD. she had been going to life Brazils we should have taken that number. .. She would carry 759 with- pleasure. ' The boys and women we kept on the upper deck. Bat all' the strong Tm;; -those giant Africans that might make us put below on the slave Cb ‘ in M PUt °” rs .‘iieVjir; tlijcw’.Vwould die. We let thcen move About.”* '* ;i - ;Wy4k them •fed! that we. are masfrrs? 1 Then ‘yyp; lighten up.for the re.-t of-the voyage.” idafliu.-- before <ywe we gb below in the morning. Then .them overboard.” f -t‘‘W brig ©oust $13,000 to fit 4ier j out completely. My last cargo to 1

(tobaetfa* wrth Saao,QQ©;ko wat-peized by the Jute CwpflMM’Gen, £ez'ftlfe Ho did «mwc fodbi-eak;’ «p th<- sl;ne trade thaif any one else.--bnA remtioH ißitjfl&ceybc would hayp ufoppedflt ukogetfieru Butudw is back again, and bn a$ flouwhiagms-QKgl.’bu i ( But 1 thougbiConcha was the fcneat enemy of the 4lave trade?? < “So he is—in words. lie: talks a '-Ffom time immemorjAl.Alfo planter’s estate hps been sacred, '.-.But Pezuela respected nothing.l He seized the negroes wherever he could fintl Ahern, pven on the By this he ipeurred the enmity of the planters; and ■he would probably have.{been •assassinated, if he had not been recailedi=»k. u ‘‘Did you evcrihavofighfo;with the English ships? ’ ! ‘A ee; once a ship of w’ar chased two of us; We knocked tho sticks oMt x)fher<. .We didn’tstnp to Hookafter the dead, Atanother tonre I wascapturcd. It-was in adehd caith, and there waa no chanceto-get AWay. When I saw-that we wdrfo gono,i 1 went below”, hud stove every oark bf water but one, The other ship was shorftj-too. - tSo u’e had both, to put ifr to the land to get water. Th4y put on board of Us a lieutenant and and, as we drew.to .wardsland, ho had to make, awe pilot, threatening: ai-the same time,' to shoot me if I ran her oA shorfo I took the helm, And ran her into an inlet. No sooner had we on" the bank, the barracoons of the slave factors. They all knew me, and boats put off from the shore. The lieutenant hafted them in English, and told them to keep ofl; At foe same timed hailedllrem in Spafirsh, and told iheiiitlib vessel was a prize. That night itfatey came ofl’m force mid recaptured herd ■ Wc put tho liedtenahd his men unto a boat, and sent them adrift, while I weut dOwh the coast, and took-nra-cargo of slaves, and carried them safely across the oedaa.?’; -.’lC .v ■ r id'' .tT ■4» W ( hyy edptian, this • must b e exciting business.”’ '> ■ ■ F »’> -- His eyes flashed 'fire replied: “It’s splendid. It mokes a mtfn jump-’ to think of it! To be cutting away at sod rateofeleven knots an hour, with aship in chase; hnd ing right’awhy from ’he!” :: “ !! That instant we saw in the prisoner the rover-of the seas, again standing on his deck, with the hngh hull of a ship of Avar looming- above foe horizon. f, Bu't how did you get caught at last?”’’;.' : ;■.' ~t A

‘ The mate betrayed me. I never liked the man, ; lie iwM ; Hp had JttQ h§arij X?u.see it jtak’?® l a man of a constltutwn to engage in our busmess.- When once atHetf w’ith. & slave cargo we are in free bottoms. We belong to no country. We are under the protection of no lavvu ’'We must jlefrnd mnvselvW. Aiinatf must have a greht detiT us nerve in eucH a situation, when beds liable to be chased by ships of wa„r, or* perhaps fl nWljimsjplf sudd only in the midst of a whole fleet. The mate opce sCrvgil mp a trick for which I should have been perfectly justifiable in shouting him dead,' Wc were rUjiitiing in between theAslarids Martinique'and Dominique, when 'suddenly there ehfOut jfrom.behmd the land an English steamer- The mate thpught .it wasa.ship of war, a®d so djd I. He was frightened to death, > arm instuotly turned the vessel off her course, 'lhat waa uw very moment to bring down the enemy in chase. — I saw the danger and flew to ; the bfelm, andput her back agarn,and we passed-by in safety.” *lßut arb yuu iiot tired of this busis<?dl K.' J 1 5;.;-?.' >iit b>

“Why, I didn’t want to go out the last yoy age. I tried to get another - my 1 watated to UAy kt hotoc and get married. ‘ wr Siisrncss arc nearer. And I had to go.” But thfe notje captaiti seethed ambitious of a higher career. “What I should like Lest of all,” said he, “would be, to gp To command a merchant ship, and to go lumbering along, loaded down with fleight’-rthat I cannot bear, ft kills me. k But giuaaae a well-built «" d a long Tom m the middle, and a letrange thcocean, and I woldn’t call the President my brother!” ' ' ; v Such was the subetaace of Captain Smith’s story. We allowed him to ran

on vvhat etulf fat- slaver Ttod made <fo AVm. there [ever a more perverted {nature# Here ,isl a, man whude bohtd u wrthe-gigwn-1 |ic. character and »accent eflhiw vJliftnjes. His Courage id Jo rfoowkis rpo W®r oif es fltf weolt art J defenceless, | to hundreds of human beings into n hundred and fitltj’ fo,a> je'Y and his greatest tojhavpdpftod.the But the mopt-important reflection: ,is on tho jveaknesa and which pprjnite this trade to isjo unchcckcd. - chief pwt in fiVe .-1 ay«m a nthvtf our it trite? If so, why-arc npt these eearched qnd seized?— On whom rests,foe blafoe? f|p officers of-Government connive at the’ .Of (are they so blind as not] 4q se# what.passes under.focir eyes?. Or are they too weak orfoo iridolent , to enforce their country’s justice?