The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America Part 53

~1860, July 11. Great Britain: Proposed Co-operation.~

Lord John Russell suggested for the suppression of the trade:--

"1st. A systematic plan of cruising on the coast of Cuba by the vessels of Great Britain, Spain, and the United States.

"2d. Laws of registration and inspection in the Island of Cuba, by which the employment of slaves, imported contrary to law, might be detected by the Spanish authorities.

"3d. A plan of emigration from China, regulated by the agents of European nations, in conjunction with the Chinese authorities."

President Buchanan refused to co-operate on this plan. _House Exec.

Doc._, 36 Cong. 2 sess. IV. No. 7, pp. 441-3, 446-8.

~1860, Dec. 3. President Buchanan's Message.~

"It is with great satisfaction I communicate the fact that since the date of my last annual message not a single slave has been imported into the United States in violation of the laws prohibiting the African slave trade. This statement is founded upon a thorough examination and investigation of the subject. Indeed, the spirit which prevailed some time since among a portion of our fellow-citizens in favor of this trade seems to have entirely subsided." _Senate Exec. Doc._, 36 Cong. 2 sess.

I. No. 1, p. 24.

~1860, Dec. 12. Congress (House): Proposition to Amend Const.i.tution.~

Mr. John Cochrane's resolution:--

"The migration or importation of slaves into the United States or any of the Territories thereof, from any foreign country, is hereby prohibited." _House Journal_, 36 Cong. 2 sess. pp. 61-2; _Congressional Globe_, 36 Cong. 2 sess. p. 77.

~1860, Dec. 24. Congress (Senate): Bill on Slave-Trade.~

"Mr. Wilson asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave to bring in a bill (Senate, No. 529) for the more effectual suppression of the slave trade." Read twice, and referred to Committee on the Judiciary; not mentioned again. _Senate Journal_, 36 Cong. 2 sess. p. 62; _Congressional Globe_, 36 Cong. 2 sess. p. 182.

~1861, Jan. 7. Congress (House): Proposition to Amend Const.i.tution.~

Mr. Etheridge's resolution:--

-- 5. "The migration or importation of persons held to service or labor for life, or a term of years, into any of the States, or the Territories belonging to the United States, is perpetually prohibited; and Congress shall pa.s.s all laws necessary to make said prohibition effective."

_Congressional Globe_, 36 Cong. 2 sess. p. 279.

~1861, Jan. 23. Congress (House): Proposition to Amend Const.i.tution.~

Resolution of Mr. Morris of Pennsylvania:--"Neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature shall make any law respecting slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime; but Congress may pa.s.s laws for the suppression of the African slave trade, and the rendition of fugitives from service or labor in the States." Mr. Morris asked to have it printed, that he might at the proper time move it as an amendment to the report of the select committee of thirty-three. It was ordered to be printed. _Ibid._, p. 527.

~1861, Feb. 1. Congress (House): Proposition to Amend Const.i.tution.~

Resolution of Mr. Kellogg of Illinois:--

-- 16. "The migration or importation of persons held to service or involuntary servitude into any State, Territory, or place within the United States, from any place or country beyond the limits of the United States or Territories thereof, is forever prohibited." Considered Feb.

27, 1861, and lost. _Ibid._, pp. 690, 1243, 1259-60.

~1861, Feb. 8. Confederate States of America: Importation Prohibited.~

Const.i.tution for the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, Article I. Section 7:--

"1. The importation of African negroes from any foreign country other than the slave-holding States of the United States, is hereby forbidden; and Congress are required to pa.s.s such laws as shall effectually prevent the same.

"2. The Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of this Confederacy." March 11, 1861, this article was placed in the permanent Const.i.tution. The first line was changed so as to read "negroes of the African race." _C.S.A.

Statutes at Large, 1861-2_, pp. 3, 15.

~1861, Feb. 9. Confederate States of America: Statutory Prohibition.~

"_Be it enacted by the Confederate States of America in Congress a.s.sembled_, That all the laws of the United States of America in force and in use in the Confederate States of America on the first day of November last, and not inconsistent with the Const.i.tution of the Confederate States, be and the same are hereby continued in force until altered or repealed by the Congress." _Ibid._, p. 27.

~1861, Feb. 19. United States Statute: Appropriation.~

To supply deficiencies in the fund hitherto appropriated to carry out the Act of March 3, 1819, and subsequent acts, $900,000. _Statutes at Large_, XII. 132.

~1861, March 2. United States Statute: Appropriation.~

To carry out the Act of March 3, 1819, and subsequent acts, and to provide compensation for district attorneys and marshals, $900,000.

_Ibid._, XII. 218-9.

~1861, Dec. 3. President Lincoln's Message.~

"The execution of the laws for the suppression of the African slave trade has been confided to the Department of the Interior. It is a subject of gratulation that the efforts which have been made for the suppression of this inhuman traffic have been recently attended with unusual success. Five vessels being fitted out for the slave trade have been seized and condemned. Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade, and one person in equipping a vessel as a slaver, have been convicted and subjected to the penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain, taken with a cargo of Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted of the highest grade of offence under our laws, the punishment of which is death." _Senate Exec. Doc._, 37 Cong. 2 sess. I. No. 1, p. 13.

~1862, Jan. 27. Congress (Senate): Bill on Slave-Trade.~

"Agreeably to notice Mr. Wilson, of Ma.s.sachusetts, asked and obtained leave to bring in a bill (Senate, No. 173), for the more effectual suppression of the slave trade." Read twice, and referred to Committee on the Judiciary; Feb. 11, 1863, reported adversely, and postponed indefinitely. _Senate Journal_, 37 Cong. 2 sess. p. 143; 37 Cong. 3 sess. pp. 231-2.

~1862, March 14. United States Statute: Appropriation.~

For compensation to United States marshals, district attorneys, etc., for services in the suppression of the slave-trade, so much of the appropriation of March 2, 1861, as may be expedient and proper, not exceeding in all $10,000. _Statutes at Large_, XII. 368-9.

~1862, March 25. United States Statute: Prize Law.~

"An Act to facilitate Judicial Proceedings in Adjudications upon Captured Property, and for the better Administration of the Law of Prize." Applied to captures under the slave-trade law. _Ibid._, XII.

374-5; _Congressional Globe_, 37 Cong. 2 sess., Appendix, pp. 346-7.