Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/370

 some American citizens engaged in the slave-trade. These papers implicated a number of persons who are little suspected of ever having participated in such a diabolical traffic.

After parting company with the Martha, the Perry proceeded to Loanda, and found English, French, and Portuguese men-of-war in port. The John Adams, having exhausted her provisions, had sailed for the north coast, after having had the good fortune to capture a slaver. The British commissioner called aboard, and offered his congratulations on the capture of the Martha, remarking that she was the largest slaver that had been on the coast for many years; and the effect of sending all hands found in her to the United States, would prove a severe blow to the iniquitous traffic. The British cruisers, after the capture of a vessel, were in the practice of landing the slave-crews, except when they are British subjects, at some point on the coast. This is believed to be required by the governments with which Great Britain has formed treaties.

On boarding traders, the masters, in one or two instances, when sailing under a foreign flag, had requested the boarding-officer to search, and, after ascertaining her real character, to indorse the register. This elicited the following order to the boarding officer:

"If a vessel hoists the American flag; is of American build; has her name and place of ownership in the United States registered on her stern; or if she has but part of these indications of American nationality, you will, on boarding, ask for her papers, which papers you will examine and retain, if she excites suspicion of being a slaver, until you have searched sufficiently to satisfy yourself of her real character. Should the vessel be American, and doubts exist of her real character, you will bring her to this vessel; or, if it can be done more expeditiously, you will dispatch one of your boats, communicating such information as will enable the commander to give specific directions, or in person to visit the suspected vessel.

"If the strange vessel be a foreigner, you will, on ascertaining the fact, leave her; declining, even at the request of the captain, to search the vessel, or to indorse her character, as it must always be borne in mind that our government does not permit the detention and search of American vessels by foreign bruisers; and, consequently, is scrupulous in observing towards the vessels of other nations the same line of conduct which she exacts from foreign cruisers towards her own vessels."

On the 18th of August, the captain of an English cruiser entered Loanda with his boat, leaving the vessel outside, bringing the information that a suspected American trader was at Ambriz. The captain stated that he had boarded her, supposing she might be a Brazilian, but on ascertaining her nationality, had left her, and proceeded to Loanda for the purpose of communicating what had transpired.

On receiving this information, the commodore ordered the Perry to proceed to Ambriz and search the vessel, and in case she was suspected of being engaged in the slave-trade, to bring her to Loanda. In the meantime, a