.IV1423 ; i \ \ ] ■ ; ; I I ■ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0DDD174^Eflb ^^^^' .J ^i^. »• A'fr^ '^^i.*' ^'isffi^^^'. '^^^-^ 3^ c«"** "*C V\ e friends made an effort to obtain her liberation. They invoked the assistance of the Governor of this Commonwealth. A correspondence ensued between His Excellency and the Governor of North Carolina ; copies of which were oifered for the inspection of your Committee. Soon af- terwards, by permission of the authorities of North Caro- lina, "Mary Smith" returned to Boston. But it turned out, that this was not the Mary Smith, whom our worthy Governor, and other excellent individuals of Boston, had taken so unwearied pains to redeem irom slavery. It was another woman of the same name, who was also a native of Massachusetts, and had been seized in North Carolina as a runaway slave. The Mary Smith has not 14 DELIVERANCE OF CITIZENS, &c. [Majch, yet been heard of. If alive, she is now, in all probability, wearing the chains of slavery. About a year and a half since, several citizens of dif- ferent free states were rescued from slavery, at New Orleans, by the direct personal efforts of an acquaintance of the undersigned. The benevolent individual alluded to is Jacob Barker, Esq., a name not unknown to the commercial world. Mr. Barker is a resident of New Orleans. A statement of the cases in reference is con- tained in a letter addressed by him to the Hon. Samuel H. Jenks, of Nantucket. The following is a copy of that letter, which, though it contains remarks not neces- sary to the statement itself, is deemed by the undersigned worthy of a place in this report. " New Orleans, Aug. 19th, 1837. "Dear Sir: Will you advise blacks visiting this section of the country from your quarter, to provide themselves with a certificate of their freedom from the Governor of the state to which they belong. " The laws of Louisiana presume all blacks to be slaves, and when found at large are presumed to be runaways, and as such are arrested and placed in the chain-gang, to work on the roads. Custom-house protections are not considered as proof of freedom. "But for the necessity of having such men as sailors, laborers, fire- men, cooks, and stewards, on board our ships and steamboats, I would advise them not to come here on any consideration whatever. Their exclusion would be so very detrimental to the commerce of the United- States, and particularly of New Orleans, that some other remedy must be provided, if possible. It is strange the authorities are not influ- enced by the interest of this city, purely commercial, to pursue a more liberal course. "As far as my observation extends, those of the lower or third Muni- cipality are the most rigid ; and if they do not alter their course, all vessels having blacks on board, should avoid landing there, and pro- ceed to the upper part of the city. This can be done without incon- venience or expense, and would so materially affect the prosperity of the lower Municipality, that they would be induced to examine whether or not they could safely change their course. 1839.] HOUSE— No. 38. 15 " Free people of color suffer very much by the improper interference of the abolition fanatics of the North. Their interference makes mas- ters much more rigid with their slaves, and the authorities much more severe in relation to free persons of color, than they otherwise would be. Those abolitionists are mistaken about the condition of the slaves in Louisiana: they are better fed and clad, more healthy and moral than the blacks at the North, and in general appear happy and in good spirits — the abstract question of slavery being settled by the Constitu- tion, is not debateable. " A free man belonging to Baltimore by the name of Ephraim Larkin, who came here cook of the William Tell, was arrested and thrown into prison a few weeks since, and sent in chains to work on the road. I heard of it, and with difficulty found him; and after the most diligent and active exertions, got him released — in effecting which 1 travelled in the heat of the day, thermometer ranging in the shade from 94 to 100, more than twenty times to and from prison, the place of his labor, and the different courts, a distance of near three miles from my residence ; and after I had established his freedom had to pay for his arrest, main- tenance, and the advertising him as a runaway slave, $29.89, as per copy of bill herewith — the allowance for work not equalling the ex- penses, the amount augments with every day of confinement. " I cannot believe the laws of Louisiana require these expenses from free people of color. They apply only to slaves : as when a black person is arrested, if not claimed as a slave or proved to be free in two years, he is sold as a slave ; hence it follows that those free men who are arrested, being without money to pay such expenses, become slaves by the operation of the laws of Louisiana, as expounded by the aU'^ thorities of the third Municipality. " In pursuing the cook of the William Tell, I found three other free men confined in the same prison, one belonged also to Baltimore, by the name of Leaven Dogerty : he was also released on my paying $28.00 expenses ; one was a descendant of the Indians who once in- habited Nantucket — -his name is Eral Lonnon, the grandson of Sarah Tashmy, who with Peter Micha and Joshua Chicken were the only three Indians I remember to have lived at Nantucket during my boy- hood. Peter Micha then saved my life : he was, on a warm summer's day, sitting in the shade of Barney Bunker's mill, in approaching which my horse fell and rolled on me, so that I could neither move nor call for help : when the old Indian sprang from his seat, swung his staff and shouted until he caused the horse to release me — and I am very 16 DELIVERANCE OF CITIZENS, &c. [March, happy to have had an opportunity to render a service to one of the few that remain of his tribe, before they become extinct. Lonnon had been six weeks in prison ; he was released without difficulty on my paying $20.38 expenses, and no one seemed tb know why he had been confined or arrested, as the law does not presume persons of mixed blood to be slaves. But for the others, I had great difficulty in pro- curing what was considered competent witnesses to prove them free. No complaint of improper conduct had been made against either of them. At one time, the Recorder said the witness must be white, at another, that one respectable witness was insufficient, at another, that a person who had been (improperly) confined and released was not a competent witness, &-c. fcc. Lonnon has been employed in the South Sea fishery from Nantucket and New Bedford, nearly all his life ; has sailed on those voyages in the ships Eagle, Maryland, Gideon, Triton, and Samuel. He was born at Marshpee, Plymouth [Barnstable] coun- ty, Massachusetts, and prefers to encounter the leviathan of the deep, rather than the turn-keys of New Orleans. " The other was born in St. Johns, Nova Scotia, and bears the name of William Smith, a seaman by profession, and from his own story I was persuaded that he was free. I therefore reported his case to Mr. Crawford, the British consul, who, with his accustomed prompt- ness and humanity, applied for Smith's release, which was granted on the payment of like expenses. " Immediately after these men were released, two others were arrest- ed. They attempted to escape, and being pursued, ran for the river in the vain hope of being able to swim across the Mississippi, a dis- tance of a mile, with a current of four knots — one soon gave out and made for a boat which had been despatched for their recovery, and was saved ; the other being a better swimmer continued on until much exhausted, then also made for the boat — it was too late; he sank be- fore the boat could reach him, and was drowned. They claimed to be free men. Whether they were or not, I have not been able to as- certain. " On Sunday last I was called to the prison of the Municipality in which I reside, to serve on an inquest on the body of a drowned man. There I saw one other free man confined, by the name of Henry Tier, a yellow man, born in New York, and formerly in my employ. He had been confined as a supposed runaway, near six months, without a particle of testimony ; although from his color, the laws of Louisiana presume him to be free. I applied immediately for his release, which 1839.] ' HOUSE— No. 38. 17 was promptly granted; at first, expenses similar to those exacted in the third Municipality, were required; but on my demonstrating to the Recorder that the law imposed no such burthen on free men, he was released without any charge whatever. How free men can obtain sat- isfaction for having been thus wrongfully imprisoned and made to work in chains on the highway, is not for me to decide. I apprehend no satisfaction can be had without more active friends, willing to espouse their cause, than can be found in this quarter. Therefore I repeat, that no person of color should come here without a certificate of freedom from the governor of the state to which he belongs. " Very respectfully, your assured friend, "JACOB BARKER,." " N. B. Since writing the preceding, I have procured the release of another free man from the prison of the third Municipality, on the payment of §39.6.5, as per bill, copy herewith. His name is William Lockman, he was born in New Jersey, of free parents, and resides at Philadelphia. A greater sum was required, which was reduced by the allowance of his maintenance (written labor) while at work on the road, which the law requires the Municipality to pay ; but it had not before been so expounded in the third Municipality. I hope to get it back in the case of the other three. The allowance for labor in ad- dition to their maintenance is twenty-five cents per day ; but they re- quire these illiterate men to advance the whole before they can leave the prison, and then to take a certificate for their labor and go for it to another department — to collect which, is ten times more trouble than the money when received is worth. While these free men, with- out having committed any fault, were compelled to work in chains on the roads in the burning sun for 25 cents per day, and pay in advance 18 3-4 cents per day for maintenance, doctor's, and other bills, and not able to work half their time, I paid others working on ship board, in sight, two dollars per day. " J. B." Here were six men, known to be free born American citizens, Jirrcslefl, imprisoned, and doomed, like felons, to work in " t!ie chain-^ang ;" and two others, wiio claimed to be freemen, attempting to escape a similar doom by 18 DELIVERANCE OF CITIZENS, &c. [March, swimming the Mississippi, and one of them perishing in the attempt. And these men, be it remembered, against none of whom had any crime been alleged, would all have been, as probably the one who escaped drowning was, sold into slavery, but for the noble generousness of an individual, who had incidentally become acquainted with their condition. During the last winter, a gentleman, now a member of this House, passed some time at New Orleans. As he was one day walking the streets of that city, he chanced to fall in with a "chain-gang ;" that is, with a collection of colored persons at work in chains on the public road. In the person of one of this " gang," he instantly re- cognized an old and a valued acquaintance. It was a freeman, who had been several years in that gentleman's employment. On inquiry, it was found, that he had, not long since, arrived in that city from the North, on board of a schooner ; that, happening to be absent, though but a short distance from the vessel, one evening, as the eight o'clock gun was fired, he was arrested, while hast- ening on board, as a runaway slave ; that he had en- deavored in vain to get information of his situation to his captain ; that the vessel had sailed ; and that consequent- ly there seemed no other hope for him, but to toil in " the chain gang," during the residue of a twelvemonth, and then to be sold as a slave for life. The liberation of this unfortunate man was not effected without con- siderable difficulty and painstaking on the part of the gentleman effecting it. It was by the merest accident, that he escaped being sold as a slave. A case similar to those just adverted to, as occurrino; at New Orleans, occurred, a few months since, in Virginia. It has been given to the public through the columns of a 1839.] HOUSE—No. 38. 19 New York paper, the Columbia County Republican, in the form of the follovvin gnarrative : " To THE Public. — It seems due to the inhabitants of Hudson and its vicinity, who so liberally came forward to redeem one of their own citizens from impending slavery, to have a correct statement of the affair and its result laid before them. " It seems that Jeremiah H. Winney, of Athens, N. Y., received a letter from the jailer of Surrey county, Virginia, stating that a black man who called himself Prince Matice, had been committed to his cus- tody as a runaway slave, and if not proved to be free, would be sold as a slave, for his jail fees and sundry other expenses, enumerated iu said letter, and amounting at that time to a considerable sum, which was daily accumulating. " Prince Matice it seems was born at Schoharie, in this State, and lived several years with Elizabeth Copely, of Harpersfield, a sister of Jeremiah H. Winney's ; that he afterwards removed to Athens, and sailed one season in the sloop William Henry, belonging to Alexander Shaw ; that the season following he went in one of the Hudson barges. He afterwards shipped for the West Indies, and from thence to France and back. On arriving in the West Indies on his return voyage, he was taken sick and left in a Hospital, the captain promising to pay him his wages when he returned to Philadelphia, which he expected would be about the commencement of the year 1838. On his recovey. Prince took shipping for a southern port, and while travelling by land was seized as above stated, and informed us through the jailor that he was willing to pledge his coming wages, if he ever received them, to any one who would go on and release him. " After procuring the necessary legal documents, it was deemed best to make the following application : " ' To William L. Marcy, Governor of the State of New York, the following case is respectfully submitted : " ' From the accompanying documents it appears that Prince Ma- tice, a free colored citizen of this State, formerly of Harpersfield, Del- aware county, and late of this place, is imprisoned in the State of Virginia for no crime, and is likely to be sold for a slave. " 'This community conceive there is no obligation on them to raise the money demanded as jail fees for this individual, when justice re- 20 DELIVERANCE OF CITIZENS, &c. [March, quires that the sufferer should himself be remunerated, and are not inclined to accept his pledge to refund hereafter his hard earnings for that purpose. " ' The trouble and expense of going on for him would be great, and such is the state of things South, that possibly Northern men might not be able to effect his release with safety to themselves. The Governor is respectfully solicited to apply for his release as a citizen of this State, not charged with any crime, from the proper authority in Virginia. " 'R. McKINSTRY, 31ai/or of Hudson. " 'N. B. The bearer, Charles Marriot, intends presenting the above petition, who will be able to give further information on the subject. " 'R. McK. " ' Hudson, 5th mo. 23d, 1838.' *' The above was carried to the lodgings of the Governor in Albany, but he had just left for the frontier, on account of the troubles in Canada, and it did not reach him. " Jeremiah II. Winney having offered to go on to Virginia to iden- tify P. Matice, if furnished with the means, fSO were raised by vol- untary subscription, and paid to him for that purpose. He appears to have faithfully fulfilled his embassy. His testimony given before the Court then sitting in Surrey Court House, was favorably received, the jailer's fees were reduced, and Prince Matice liberated. Prince has since returned, and called on some of the subscribers in Hudson and Athens, to thank them for their generous and successful efforts to save him from slavery. " A number of the citizens of Harpersfield, much to their credit, sent on official evidence, with offers of their services on this occasion. " This subject calls for serious consideration. Cases of a similar kind are of but too frequent occurrence. Favorable circumstances only enabled this individual to escape at the cost of this community of 880. And yet, the civil authorities of Virginia, so far from exceed- ing the law, acted with great liberality, and gave us every facility the case afforded. And these our citizens, though entitled by the Consti- tution to all the rights and privileges of citizens in each of ihe states, if they travel South are liable to be seized and sold into slavery. Is there no remedy for this ? If there be not, then indeed are we reducftd 1839.] HOUSE— No. 38. 21 to the sad alternative that would have awaited us had they been cap- tured formerly by the Algerines, viz. to have provided funds for their redemption, or abandon them to hopeless and perpetual servitude. " C. M. " 1st Month, 1839." The following advertisement is extracted from a Mis- sissij)pi paper of December last : " $50 Reward. — -Ran away from the subscriber, on Thursday last, a negro man named Isaac, 22 years old, about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches high, dark complexion, well made, full face, speaks quick, and very correctly for a negro; wore off a blue frock cloth coat, cassimere roundabout and cloth pantaloons. He was originally from New York and no doubt will attempt to pass himself as free. I will give the above reward for his apprehension and delivery or confinement so that I ob' tain him, if taken out of the State, or f30 if taken within the State. " Memphis, Dec. 28 -tf Jno. Simpson." A New York paper of the 9th ult. declares, that the " negro man'" referred to in this advertisement is a citizen of that state ; that his name is Isaac Wright; that he was sold as a slave at New Orleans from on board a steamboat, on which he had shipped as a fireman ; that information of this fact having been received by his friends in New York, one of them resolved on attempting his de- liverance, and for that purpose proceeded to Mississippi ; that by the aid of a colored person in the vicinity of his confinement, he succeeded in finding the man who had been thus robbed of his liberty ,* and that they were both, at the date of the paper in question, on their way back to the city of New York. And in the Baltimore papers of the early part of the last month, an advertisetnent appeared, stating, that a col- ored man named John Thomas, who affirmed himself to be free, and to have been born and brought up in Boston 4 22 DELIVERANCE OF CITIZENS, &c. [March. had been conimitled to jail in that city as a rnnawaj slave; and that if he was not speedily claimed by his owner, he would be sold for the payment of charges. Whether this person is, or is not, a freeman, the im- dersiiined has no means of knowins. The foregoing are a few of the almost innumerable ca- ses of oppression known to have occurred under the oper- ation of that class of the laws of slave-holding states, from which extracts have been given in this report. Extracts from those of the other class, to which reference was made will now be given — -beginning with Georgia. — •' All ships or vessels coming into any port of this State by sea, from any port or place in any other state, or any foreign coun- try, having on board any free negro or free person of color, employed as a steward, mariner, or in any other capacity, or as a passenger, shall be subject to quarantine for the space of forty days." " If any free negro or person of color, so coming in the said ship or vessel, shall come on shore, or have any communication with any per- son of color residing in this state, while the said ship or vessel shall be riding at quarantine as aforesaid, such negro or person of color shall be immediately apprehended, and committed to the common jail of the county where he shall be apprehended, &/C. &-c., there to remain until the said ship or vessel shall be actually departing from the waters of this state, or shall be hauled off from the wharf and ready to proceed to sea, or until he or she shall be otherwise discharged by law." — Laws of Georgia, 1829, pp. 168-69. See also Prince's Digest of Laws of Georgia, pp. 802—3; and the Laws of North Caj^olina, 1830, Chap. 30. " Any person who shall remove or carry, or cause to be removed or carried away out of this state, or any county thereof, any slave, being the property of another person, without the consent of the owner, or other person having authority to give such consent, and without any in- tention or design on the part of the offender, to sell or otherwipe appro- priate the said slave to his own use, or to deprive the owner of his pro- perty in said slave, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished 1839.] HOUSE— No. 38. 23 by fine, or imprisonment in the common jail of the county, or both, at the discretion of the court." — Prince's Digest of the Laws of Georgia, p. 656. South Carolina. — " From and after the passing this act, it shall not be lawful for any free negro or person of color to migrate into this state, or be brought or introduced into its limits under any pretext whatever, by land or by water, &c. 6ic. " It shall not be lawful for any free negro or person of color to come into this state on board of any vessel as a cook, steward, or mariner, or any other employment on board of such vessel ; and in case any ves- sel shall arrive in any port or harbor of this state, from any other state or foreign port, having on board any free negro or person of color, em- ployed on board such vessel as a cook, steward, or mariner, or in any other employment, it shall be the duty of the sheriff of the district in which such port or harbor is situated, immediately on the arrival of such vessel, to apprehend such free negro or person of color so arriving contrary to this act, and to confine him closely in jail until such ves- sel shall be hauled off from the wharf, and ready to proceed to sea ; and that when said vessel is ready to sail, the captain of the said vessel shall be bound to carry away the said free negro or person of color, and to pay the expenses of his detention ; and in case such captain shall re- fuse or neglect to pay the said expenses, and to carry away the said free negro or person of color, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of one thou- sand dollars, and be liable to be indicted therefor, and also to suffer imprisonment for any term or time not exceeding six months." — Laws of South Carolina, 1823, C/^-o ^«. cT •N