Without saying a word, Manuel stood up before his accusers, upon this strange charge of "contrary to law."

As he looked upon his accusers, he said, "What have I done to suffer a murderer's fate? Am I to be sold as a slave, because of the visitation of God? I have done no murder! No!—nor have I stolen in your land! and why did these men decoy me into"—

"Silence! silence! You are in the sheriff's office," said Dunn, pointing his finger at his nose. "You can't come your John Bull nigger in South Carolina."

This brought the sheriff's clerk to the door that led into the passage. "Dunn, I have warned you about these things several times; the public are getting wind of them; they'll bring this office into disrepute yet. You ought to know what effect the association of officials with these 'corner-shop keepers' is already having in the community," said he.

"How the divil do ye know what yer talking about; sure it's his honor's bisniss, and not yours at all, at all," said Dunn, addressing himself to Mr. Kanapeaux, and then looking at Mr. Grimshaw.

"Mr. Kanapeaux, you must not interfere with the officers and their duty; attend to your business, and get, your book ready to register this nigger-boy," said Grimshaw.

"Well, now, my good fellow," continued Grimshaw, "I dislike this business very much; it don't pay me enough for all the bother I have with it. 'Tis just a little filtering of fees, which makes the duty of my office exceedingly annoying. But we must respect the law. We do these things to protect our institutions and make them as light as possible. I might give you a great deal of trouble; I have the power, but I make it a point to consider men in your case, and we'll make you so comfortable that you won't think of being imprisoned. You must understand that it is 'contrary to law' to come among our niggers in this way; it gives them fanciful ideas. There's such an infernal imperfect state of things as these abolitionists are getting every thing into, behooves us to watch the communications which are going on between, designing people and our slaves. We are a hospitable people—the world knows that—and have a religious respect for our laws, which we enforce without respect to persons. We'd like to let you go about the city, but then it's 'contrary to law.' Make up your mind, my good fellow, that you are among humane people, who will seek to benefit you among men of your class. Make yourself happy—and look upon me as a friend, and you will never be deceived. I control the jail, and my prisoners are as much attached to me as they would be to a father."

"It must be humanity that puts these symbols of ignominy upon my hands," said Manuel; "that confines me in a dungeon lest I should breathe a word of liberty to ears that know it only as a fable."

Nobody had asked him to sit down, and, feeling the effect of his sickness and fatigue, he turned around as if to look for something to rest against. "You must not sit down,—take off your hat!" said Grimshaw.

The poor fellow made an effort, but could not effect it with the fetters on his hands; at which, Dunn stepped up, and snatching it from his head, flung it upon the floor. "You should learn manners, my good fellow," said Grimshaw, "when you come into a sheriff's office. It's a place of importance, and people always pay respect to it when they come into it; a few months in Charleston would make you as polite as our niggers."

"Had you not better take the irons off the poor fellow's hands?—he looks as if he was tired out," said Mr. Kanapeaux, the clerk, who again came to the door and looked upon Manuel with an air of pity. The words of sympathy touched his feelings deeply; it was a simple word in his favour, so different from what he had met since he left the vessel, that he felt a kind friend had spoken in his behalf, and he gave way to his feeling in a gush of tears.

"Good suggestion, Mr. Kanapeaux!" said Grimshaw. "Better take 'em off, Mr. Dunn; I don't think he'll give you any more difficulty. He seems like a 'likely fellow,' and knows, if he cuts up any nigger rascality in Charleston, he'll be snapped up. Now, my good fellow, put on your best-natured countenance, and stand as straight as a ramrod. Mr. Kanapeaux, get your book ready to register him," continued Grimshaw.

Manuel now stood up under a slide, and his height and general features were noted in the following manner, in order to appease that sovereign dignity of South Carolina law, which has so many strange devices to show its importance:—"Contrary to Law." Violation of the Act of 1821, as amended, &c. &c. Manuel Pereira vs. State of South Carolina, Steward on board British Brig Janson, Captain Thompson. Entered 24th March, 1852.

Height, 5 feet 8 1/2 inches.

Complexion, light olive, (bright.)

Features, sharp and aquiline.

[Hair and eyes, dark and straight; the former inclined to curl.]

General remarks:—Age, twenty-nine; Portuguese by birth; speaks rather broken, but politely; is intelligent, well formed, and good looking. Fees to Sheriff:

To arrest, $2—Registry, $2 - $4 00 To Recog. $1.31—Constable. $1 - $2.31 To Commitment and discharge, $1.00

$7.31

Jail fees to be added when discharged.

After these remarks were duly entered, and Mr. Grimshaw read another lecture to him on the importance of South Carolina law, and the kindness he would receive at his hands if he made himself con-tented, he was told that he could go and be committed. The poor fellow had stood up until he was nearly exhausted; yet, it was not enough to gratify the feelings of that miserable miscreant, Dunn. Scarcely had he left the sheriff's office, or passed two squares from the court-house, before he entered another Dutch grog-shop, a little more respectable in appearance-but not in character. They entered by a side door, which led into a back apartment provided with a table and two wooden settees. As Dunn entered, he was recognised by two negro-fellows, who were playing dominoes at the table. They arose and ran through the front store, into the street, as if some evil spirit had descended among them. The Dutchman sprang for the dominoes, and quickly thrust them into a tin measure which he secreted under the counter.

"Ah! Drydez!" said Dunn; "you vagabond, you; up to the old tricks again? Ye Dutchmen are worse than the divil! It's meself'll make ye put a five for that. Come, fork it over straight, and don't be muttering yer Dutch lingo!"

"Vat zue drink mit me dis morning? Misser Dunz' te best fellow vat comez in my shop," said Drydez.

"Ah! stop yer botheration, and don't be comin' yer Dutch logger over an Irishman! put down the five dollars, and we'll take the drinks presently; meself and me friend here'll drink yer health," said Dunn, pointing to Manuel, who shook his head as much as to decline. The Dutchman now opened his drawer, and rolling a bill up in his fingers, passed it as if unobserved into the hands of Dunn.

"Now, Drydez," said Dunn, "if ye want to do the clean thing, put a couple of brandy smashes-none of your d—d Dutch cut-throat brandy-the best old stuff. Come, me old chuck, (turning to Manuel and pulling him by the Whiskers,) cheer up, another good stiff'ner will put you on your taps again. South Carolina's a great State, and a man what can't be happy in Charleston, ought to be put through by daylight by the abolitionists."

The Dutchman soon prepared the smashes, and supplying them with straws, put them upon the table, and seated chairs close at hand. "Excuse me!" said Manuel, "I've drunk enough already, and should like to lie down. I am unwell, and feel the effect of what I have already taken. I am too feeble. Pray tell me how far the prison is from here, and I will go myself."

"Go, is it?—the divil a go ye'll go from this until ye drink the smash. None of yer Portugee independence here. We larn niggers the politeness of gintlemen in Charleston, me buck!" and seizing him by the collar, dragged him to the table, then grasping the tumbler with the other hand, he held it before his face. "Do you see that? and, bedad, ye'll drink it, and not be foolin', or I'd put the contents in your phiz," said he.

Manuel took the glass, while the Dutchman stood chuckling over the very nice piece of fun, and the spice of Mr. Dunn's wit, as he called it. "Vat zu make him vat'e no vants too? You doz make me laugh so ven zu comes 'ere, I likes to kilt myself," said Drydez.

A bright mulatto-fellow was now seen in the front store, making quizzical signs to the Dutchman; who understanding its signification, lost no time in slipping into his pocket a tumbler nearly half full of brandy and water; and stepping behind the division door, passed it slily to the mulatto, who equally as slily passed it down his throat; and putting a piece of money into the Dutchman's hand, stepped up to the counter, as if to wait for his change. "All right!" said the Dutchman, looking around at his shelves, and then again under the counter.

"No so!" said the mulatto; "I want fourpence; you done' dat befor' several times; I wants my money."

"Get out of my store, or I'll kick you out," said the Dutchman, and catching up a big club, ran from behind the counter and commenced belaboring the negro over the head in a most unmerciful manner. At this, the mulatto retreated into the lane, and with a volley of the vilest epithets, dared the Dutchman to come out, and he would whip him.

Dunn ran to the scene, and ordered the negro to be off, and not use such language to a white man, that it was "contrary to law," and he would take him to the workhouse.

"Why, massa, I knows what 'em respect white men what be gemmen like yersef, but dat Dutchman stand da'h a'n't no gentlem', he done gone tieffe my money seven time; an' I whip him sure-jus' lef' him come out here. I doesn't care for true, and God saw me, I be whip at the wukhouse next minute. He tief, an' lie, an 'e cheat me." The Dutchman stood at the door with the big stick in his hand-the negro in the middle of the lane with his fists in a pugilistic attitude, daring and threatening, while the limping Dunn stood by the side of the Dutchman, acting as a mediator. Manuel, taking advantage of the opportunity, emptied his tumbler down a large opening in the floor.

It is a notorious fact in Charleston, that although the negro, whether he be a black or white one, is held in abject obedience to the white man proper, no matter what his grade may be, yet such is the covetous and condescending character of these groggery keepers, that they become courteous to the negro and submit to an equality of sociability. The negro, taking advantage of this familiarity, will use the most insulting and abusive language to this class of Dutchmen, who, either through cowardice, or fear of losing their trade, never resent it. We may say, in the language of Dunn, when he was asked if negroes had such liberties with white men in Charleston, "A nigger knows a Dutch shopkeeper better than he knows himself-a nigger dare not speak that way to anybody else."

The Dutchman gets a double profit from the negro, and with it diffuses a double vice among them, for which they have to suffer the severest penalty. It is strictly "contrary to law" to purchase any thing from a negro without a ticket to sell it, from his master. But how is this regarded? Why, the shopkeeper foregoes the ticket, encourages the warehouse negro to steal, and purchases his stealings indiscriminately, at about one-half their value. We might enumerate fifty different modes practised by "good" legal voting citizens—totally regardless of the law—and exerting an influence upon the negro tenfold more direful than that which could possibly arise from the conversation of a few respectable men belonging to a friendly nation.

Dunn, after driving the mulatto man from the door and upbraiding the Dutchman for his cowardice, returned to the table, and patting Manuel upon the back, drank the balance of his smash, saying, "Come, me good fellow, we must do the thing up brown, now; we've got the Dutchman nailed on his own hook. We must have another horn; it's just the stuff in our climate; the 'Old Jug's' close by, and they'll be makin' a parson of you when you get there. We've had a right jolly time; and ye can't wet your whistle when ye're fernint the gates."

"I don't ask such favors, and will drink no more," said Manuel.

"Fill her up, Drydez! fill her up! two more smashes-best brandy and no mistake. You must drink another, my old chuck-we'll bring the pious notions out o' ye in Charleston," said Dunn, turning around to Manuel.

The Dutchman filled the glasses, and Dunn, laying his big hickory stick upon the counter, took one in each hand, and going directly to Manuel, "There, take it, and drink her off-no humbugging; yer mother niver gave such milk as that," said he.

"Excuse me, sir; I positively will not!" said Manuel, and no sooner had he lisped the words, than Dunn threw the whole contents in his face. Enraged at such outrageous conduct, the poor fellow could stand it no longer, and fetched him a blow that levelled him upon the floor.

The Dutchman ran to the assistance of Dunn, and succeeded in relieving him from his unenviable situation. Not satisfied, however, they succeeded, after a hard struggle, in getting him upon the floor, when the Dutchman-after calling the assistance of a miserable negro, held him down while Dunn beat him with his stick. His cries of "Murder" and "Help" resounded throughout the neighbourhood, and notwithstanding they attempted to gag him, brought several persons to the spot. Among them was a well-known master builder, in Charleston-a very muscular and a very humane man. The rascality of Dunn was no new thing to him, for he had had practical demonstrations of it upon his own negroes,—who had been enticed into the "corner shops" for the double purpose of the Dutchmen getting their money, and the officers getting hush-money from the owner.

The moment he saw Dunn, he exclaimed, "Ah! you vagabond!" and springing with the nimbleness of a cat, struck the Dutchman a blow that sent him measuring his length, into a corner among a lot of empty boxes; then seizing Dunn by the collar, he shook him like a puppy, and brought him a slap with his open hand that double-dyed his red face, and brought a stream of claret from his nose; while the miserable nigger, who had been struggling to hold Manuel down, let go his hold, and ran as if his life was in danger. The scene was disgusting in the extreme. Manuel arose, with his face cut in several places, his clothes bedaubed with filth from the floor, and his neck and shirt-bosom covered with blood; while the aghast features of Dunn, with his red, matted hair, and his glaring, vicious eyes, bespattered with the combined blood of his victim and his own nasal organ, gave him the most fiendish look imaginable.

The gentleman, after reprimanding the Dutchman for keeping up these miserable practices, which were disgracing the community, and bringing suffering, starvation, and death upon the slaves, turned to Dunn, and addressed him. "You are a pretty officer of the law! A villain upon the highway-a disgrace to your color, and a stain upon those who retain you in office. A man who has violated the peace and every principle of honest duty, a man who every day merits the worst criminal punishment, kept in the favor of the municipal department, to pollute its very name. If there is a spark of honesty left in the police department, I will use my influence to stop your conduct. The gallows will be your doom yet. You must not think because you are leagued in the same traffic."

Dunn kept one of the worst and most notorious drinking-shops in Charleston, but, to reconcile his office with that strict requirement which never allowed any thing "contrary to law" in Charleston, he made his wife a "free trader." This special set of South Carolina may in effect be classed among its many singular laws. It has an exceedingly accommodating effect among bankrupt husbands, and acts as a masked battery for innumerable sins in a business or official line. It so happens, once in a while, that one of the "fair free dealers" gets into limbo through the force of some ruthless creditor; and the "Prison Bounds Act," being very delicate in its bearings, frequently taxes the gallantry of the chivalrous gentlemen of the Charleston bar that you are to go unpunished. And you, Drydez," said he, turning to the Dutchman, "I shall enter you upon the information docket, as soon as I go down into the city."

"Zeu may tu vat zeu plas mit me-te mayor bees my friend, an' he knowz vot me ams. Yuz sees zel no bronty, no zin! Vot yu to mit de fine, ah?" * * *

"I'd like to see you do that same agin Mr.—. It wouldn't be savin' yerself a pace-warrant, and another for assault and battery! Sure magistrate Gyles is a first-rate friend of me own, and he'd not suffer me imposed on. The d—d nigger was obstinate and wouldn't go to jail," said Dunn in a cowardly, whimpering manner.

"Oh yez, me heard mit 'im swore, vat he no go to zale!" rejoined the Dutchman anxiously.

"Tell me none of your lies," said he; "you are both the biggest rascals in town, and carry on your concerted villany as boldly as if you had the control of the city in your hands." Manuel was trembling under the emotions of grief and revenge. His Portuguese blood would have revenged itself at the poniard's point, but fortunately he had left it in his chest. He saw that he had a friend at his hand, and with the earnestness of a child, resigned himself to his charge.

In a few minutes quiet was produced, and the gentleman expressing a desire to know how the trouble originated, inquired of Manuel how it was brought about. But no sooner had he commenced his story, than he was interrupted by Dunn asserting his right, according to the laws of South Carolina, to make his declaration, which could not be refuted by the negro's statement, or even testimony at law; and in another moment jumped up, and taking Manuel by the collar, commanded him to come along to jail; and turning to the gentleman, dared him to interfere with his duty.

"I know how you take people to jail, very well. I'll now see that you perform that duty properly, and not torture prisoners from place to place before you get there. You inflict a worse punishment in taking poor, helpless people to jail, than they suffer after they get there!" said he; and immediately joined Manuel and walked to the jail with him.



CHAPTER XII. THE OLD JAIL.



THERE are three institutions in Charleston-either of which would be a stain upon the name of civilization-standing as emblems of the time-established notions of a people, and their cherished love for the ancestral relics of a gone-by age. Nothing could point with more unerring aim than these sombre monuments do, to the distance behind the age that marks the thoughts and actions of the Charlestonians. They are the poor-house, hospital, and jail; but as the latter only pertains to our present subject, we prefer to speak of it alone, and leave the others for another occasion. The workhouse may be said to form an exception-that being a new building, recently erected upon a European plan. It is very spacious, with an extravagant exterior, surmounted by lofty semi-Gothic watch-towers, similar to the old castles upon the Rhine. So great was the opposition to building this magnificent temple of a workhouse, and so inconsistent, beyond the progress of the age, was it viewed by the "manifest ancestry," that it caused the mayor his defeat at the following hustings. "Young Charleston" was rebuked for its daring progress, and the building is marked by the singular cognomen of "Hutchinson's Folly." What is somewhat singular, this magnificent building is exclusively for negroes. One fact will show how progressive has been the science of law to govern the negro, while those to which the white man is subjected are such as good old England conferred upon them some centuries ago. For felonious and burglarious offences, a white man is confined in the common jail; then dragged to the market-place, stripped, and whipped, that the negroes may laugh "and go see buckra catch it;" while a negro is sent to the workhouse, confined in his cell for a length of time, and then whipped according to modern science,—but nobody sees it except by special permission. Thus the negro has the advantage of science and privacy.

The jail is a sombre-looking building, with every mark of antiquity standing boldly outlined upon its exterior. It is surrounded by a high brick wall, and its windows are grated with double rows of bars, sufficiently strong for a modern penitentiary. Altogether, its dark, gloomy appearance strikes those who approach it, with the thought and association of some ancient cruelty. You enter through an iron-barred door, and on both sides of a narrow portal leading to the right are four small cells and a filthy-looking kitchen, resembling an old-fashioned smoke-house. These cells are the debtors'; and as we were passing out, after visiting a friend, a lame "molatto-fellow" with scarcely rags to cover his nakedness, and filthy beyond description, stood at what was called the kitchen door. "That poor dejected object," said our friend, "is the cook. He is in for misdemeanor-one of the peculiar shades of it, for which a nigger is honored with the jail." "It seems, then, that cooking is a punishment in Charleston, and the negro is undergoing the penalty," said we. "Yes!" said our friend; "but the poor fellow has a sovereign consolation, which few niggers in Charleston can boast of-and none of the prisoners here have-he can get enough to eat."

The poor fellow held out his hand as we passed him, and said, "Massa, gin poor Abe a piece o' 'bacca'?" We freely gave him all in our possession.

On the left side, after passing the main iron door, are the jailer's apartments. Passing through another iron door, you ascend a narrow, crooked stairs and reach the second story; here are some eight or nine miserable cells-some large and some small-badly ventilated, and entirely destitute of any kind of furniture: and if they are badly ventilated for summer, they are equally badly provided with means to warm them in winter. In one of these rooms were nine or ten persons, when we visited it; and such was the morbid stench escaping from it, that we were compelled to put our handkerchiefs to our faces. This floor is appropriated for such crimes as assault and battery; assault and battery, with intent to kill; refractory seamen; deserters; violating the statutes; suspicion of arson and murder; witnesses; all sorts of crimes, varying from the debtor to the positive murderer, burglar, and felon. We should have enumerated, among the rest, all stewards, (colored,) whether foreign or domestic, who are committed on that singular charge, "contrary to law." And it should have been added, even though cast away upon our "hospitable shores." Among all these different shades of criminals, there must be some very bad men. And we could recount three who were pointed out to us, as very dangerous men, yet were allowed the favor of this floor and its associations. One was an Irish sailor, who was sentenced to three years and nine months' imprisonment by the United States court, for revolt and a desperate attempt to murder the captain of a ship; the next was a German, a soldier in the United States army, sentenced to one year and eight months' imprisonment for killing his comrade; and the third was an English sailor, who killed a woman-but as she happened to be of doubtful character, the presiding judge of the sessions sentenced him to a light imprisonment, which the Governor very condescendingly pardoned after a few weeks.

The two former acted as attendants, or deputy jailers; with the exception of turning the key, which privilege the jailer reserved for himself exclusively. The principle may seem a strange one, that places men confined upon such grave charges in a superior position over prisoners; and may be questionable with regard to the discipline itself.

From this floor, another iron door opened, and a winding passage led into the third and upper story, where a third iron door opened into a vestibule, on the right and left of which were grated doors secured with heavy bolts and bars. These opened into narrow portals with dark, gloomy cells on each side. In the floor of each of these cells was a large iron ring-bolt, doubtless intended to chain refractory prisoners to; but we were informed that such prisoners were kept in close stone cells, in the yard, which were commonly occupied by negroes and those condemned to capital punishment. The ominous name of this third story was "Mount Rascal," intended, no doubt, as significant of the class of prisoners it contained. It is said that genius is never idle: the floor of these cells bore some evidence of the fact in a variety of very fine specimens of carving and flourish work, done with a knife. Among them was a well-executed crucifix; with the Redeemer, on Calvary-an emblem of hope, showing how the man marked the weary moments of his durance. We spoke with many of the prisoners, and heard their different stories, some of which were really painful. Their crimes were variously stated, from that of murder, arson, and picking pockets, down to the felon who had stolen a pair of shoes to cover his feet; one had stolen a pair of pantaloons, and a little boy had stolen a few door-keys. Three boys were undergoing their sentence for murder. A man of genteel appearance, who had been sentenced to three years imprisonment, and to receive two hundred and twenty lashes in the market, at different periods, complained bitterly of the injustice of his case. Some had been flogged in the market, and were awaiting their time to be flogged again and discharged; and others were confined on suspicion, and had been kept in this close durance for more than six months, awaiting trial. We noticed that this worst of injustice, "the law's delay," was felt worse by those confined on the suspicion of some paltry theft, who, even were they found guilty by a jury, would not have been subjected to more than one week imprisonment. Yet such was the adherence to that ancient system of English criminal jurisprudence, that it was almost impossible for the most innocent person to get a hearing, except at the regular sessions, "which sit seldom, and with large intervals between." There is indeed a city court in Charleston, somewhat more modern in its jurisprudence than the sessions. It has its city sheriff, and its city officers, and holds its terms more frequently. Thus is Charleston doubly provided with sheriffs and officials. Both aspire to a distinct jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. Prisoners seem mere shuttlecocks between the sheriffs, with a decided advantage in favor of the county sheriff, who is autocrat in rei over the jail; and any criminal who has the good fortune to get a hearing before the city judge, may consider himself under special obligation to the county sheriff for the favor.

We noticed these cells were much cleaner than those below, yet there was a fetid smell escaping from them. This we found arose from the tubs being allowed to stand in the rooms, where the criminals were closely confined, for twenty-four hours, which, with the action of the damp, heated atmosphere of that climate, was of itself enough to breed contagion. We spoke of the want of ventilation and the noxious fumes that seemed almost pestilential, but they seemed to have become habituated to it, and told us that the rooms on the south side were lighter and more comfortable. Many of them spoke cheerfully, and endeavored to restrain their feelings, but the furrows upon their haggard countenances needed no tongue to utter its tale.

Hunger was the great grievance of which they complained; and if their stories were true—and we afterward had strong proofs that they were—there was a wanton disregard of common humanity, and an abuse of power the most reprehensible. The allowance per day was a loaf of bad bread, weighing about nine ounces, and a pint of thin, repulsive soup, so nauseous that only the most necessitated appetite could be forced to receive it, merely to sustain animal life. This was served in a dirty-looking tin pan, without even a spoon to serve it. One man told us that he had subsisted on bread and water for nearly five weeks-that he had lain down to sleep in the afternoon and dreamed that he was devouring some wholesome nourishment to stay the cravings of his appetite, and awoke to grieve that it was but a dream. In this manner his appetite was doubly aggravated, yet he could get nothing to appease its wants until the next morning. To add to this cruelty, we found two men in close confinement, the most emaciated and abject specimens of humanity we have ever beheld. We asked ourselves, "Lord God! was it to be that humanity should descend so low?" The first was a forlorn, dejected-looking creature, with a downcast countenance, containing little of the human to mark his features. His face was covered with hair, and so completely matted with dirt and made fiendish by the tufts of coarse hair that hung over his forehead, that a thrill of horror invaded our feelings. He had no shoes on his feet; and a pair of ragged pantaloons, and the shreds of a striped shirt without sleeves, secured around the waist with a string, made his only clothing. In truth, he had scarce enough on to cover his nakedness, and that so filthy and swarming with vermin, that he kept his shoulders and hands busily employed; while his skin was so incrusted with dirt as to leave no trace of its original complexion. In this manner he was kept closely confined, and was more like a wild beast who saw none but his keepers when they came to throw him his feed. Whether he was kept in this manner for his dark deeds or to cover the shame of those who speculated upon his misery, we leave to the judgment of the reader.

We asked this poor mortal what he had done to merit such a punishment? He held his head down, and motioned his fevered lips. "Speak out!" said we, "perhaps we can get you out." "I had no shoes, and I took a pair of boots from the gentleman I worked with," said he in a low, murmuring tone,

"Gracious, man!" said we, "a pair of boots! and is that all you are here for?"

"Yes, sir! he lives on the wharf, is very wealthy, and is a good man: 't wasn't his fault, because he tried to get me out if I'd pay for the boots, but they wouldn't let him."

"And how long have you been thus confined?" said we.

"Better than five months-but it's because there a'n't room up stairs. They've been promising me some clothes for a long time, but they don't come," he continued.

"And how much longer have you to stop in this condition?"

"Well, they say 'at court sets in October; it's somethin' like two months off; the grand jury'll visit the jail then, and maybe they'll find a bill' against me, and I'll be tried. I dont't care if they only don't flog me in that fish-market."

"Then you have not been tried yet? Well, may God give that man peace to enjoy his bounty, who would consign a poor object like thee to such cruelty!" said we.

"I was raised in Charleston-can neither read nor write-I have no father, and my mother is crazy in the poor-house, and I work about the city for a living, when I'm out!" said he. There was food for reflection in this poor fellow's simple story, which we found to be correct, as corroborated by the jailer.

"Do you get enough to eat?" we asked.

"Oh no, indeed! I could eat twice as much-that's the worst on't: 't wouldn't be bad only for that. I git me loaf' in the mornin', and me soup at twelve, but I don't git nothin' to eat at night, and a feller's mighty hungry afore it's time to lay down," said he.

We looked around the room, and not seeing any thing to sleep upon, curiosity led us to ask him where he slept.

"The jail allows us a blanket-that's mine in the corner: I spread it at night when I wants to go to bed," he answered, quite contentedly. We left the poor wretch, for our feelings could withstand it no longer. The state of society that would thus reduce a human being, needed more pity than the calloused bones reduced to such a bed. His name was Bergen.

The other was a young Irishman, who had been dragged to jail in his shirt, pantaloons, and hat, on suspicion of having stolen seven dollars from a comrade. He had been in jail very near four months, and in regard to filth and vermin was a counterpart of the other. A death-like smell, so offensive that we stopped upon the threshold, escaped from the room as soon as the door opened, enough to destroy a common constitution, which his emaciated limbs bore the strongest evidence of.

The prisoners upon the second story were allowed the privilege of the yard during certain hours in the day, and the debtors at all hours in the day; yet, all were subjected to the same fare. In the yard were a number of very close cells, which, as we have said before, were kept for negroes, refractory criminals, and those condemned to capital punishment. These cells seemed to be held as a terror over the criminals, and well they might, for we never witnessed any thing more dismal for the tenement of man.



CHAPTER XIII. HOW IT IS.



IT is our object to show the reader how many gross abuses of power exist in Charleston, and to point him to the source. In doing this, the task becomes a delicate one, for there are so many things we could wish were not so, because we know there are many good men in the community whose feelings are enlisted in the right, but their power is not coequal; and if it were, it is checked by an opposite influence.

The more intelligent of the lower classes look upon the subject of politics in its proper light—they see the crashing effect the doctrine of nullification has upon their interests; yet, though their numbers are not few, their voice is small, and cannot sound through the channels that make popular influence. Thus all castes of society are governed by impracticable abstractions.

The jail belongs to the county—the municipal authorities have no voice in it; and the State, in its legislative benevolence, has provided thirty cents a day for the maintenance of each prisoner. This small sum, in the State of South Carolina, where provision is extremely high, may be considered as a paltry pittance; but more especially so when the magnificent pretensions of South Carolina are taken into consideration, and a comparison is made between this meagre allowance and that of other States. Even Georgia, her sister State, and one whose plain modesty is really worthy of her enterprising citizens, takes a more enlightened view of a criminal's circumstances-allows forty-four cents a day for his maintenance, and treats him as if he was really a human being. But for this disparity and the wanton neglect of humane feelings South Carolinians excuse themselves upon the ground that they have no penitentiary; nor do they believe in that system of punishment, contending that it creates an improper competition with the honest mechanic, and gives countenance to crime, because it attempts to improve criminals. The common jail is made the place of confinement, while the whipping-post and starvation supply the correctives.

The sheriff being created an absolute functionary, with unlimited powers to control the jail in all its varied functions, without either commissioners or jail-committee, what state of management may be expected? The court gives no specific direction as to the apartment or mode of confinement when sentencing a criminal; consequently, it becomes an established fact that the legislative confidence deposed in the sheriff is used as a medium of favors, to be dispensed as best suits the feelings or interests of the incumbent. Such power in the hands of an arbitrary, vindictive, or avaricious man, affords unlimited means of abuse, and without fear of exposure.

It may be inferred from what we have said that the jailer was relax in his duty. This is not the case, for we have good authority that a more kind-hearted and benevolent man never filled the office. But his power was so restricted by those in absolute control, that his office became a mere turnkey's duty, for which he was paid the pittance of five hundred dollars a year or thereabouts. Thus he discharged his duty according to the instructions of the sheriff, who, it was well known, looked upon the jail as a means of speculation; and in carrying out his purposes, he would give very benevolent instructions in words, and at the same time withhold the means of carrying them out, like the very good man who always preached but never practised.

Now, how is it? What is the regimen of this jail-prison and how is it provided? We will say nothing of that arduous duty which the jailer performs for his small sum; nor the report that the sheriff's office is worth fourteen thousand dollars a year: these things are too well established. But the law provides thirty cents a day for the prisoner's maintenance, which shall be received by the sheriff, who is to procure one pound of good bread, and one pound of good beef per day for each man. Now this provision is capable of a very elastic construction. The poor criminal is given a loaf of bad bread, costing about three cents, and a pound of meat, the most unwholesome and sickly in its appearance, costing five cents. Allowing a margin, however, and we may say the incumbent has a very nice profit of from eighteen to twenty cents per day on each prisoner. But, as no provision is made against the possibility of the criminal eating his meat raw, he is very delicately forced to an alternative which has another profitable issue for the sheriff; that of taking a pint of diluted water, very improperly called soup. Thus is carried out that ancient law of England which even she is now ashamed to own. Our feelings are naturally roused against the perpetration of such abuses upon suffering humanity. We struggle between a wish to speak well of her whose power it is to practise them, and an imperative duty that commands us to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

These things could not exist if the public mind was properly enlightened. It is unnecessary to spend many words in exposing such palpable abuses, or to trace the cause of their existence and continuance. One cause of this is the wilful blindness and silly gasconade of some of those who lead and form public opinion. With South Carolinians, nothing is done in South Carolina that is not greater than ever was done in the United States-no battles were ever fought that South Carolina did not win-no statesman was ever equal to Mr. Calhoun-no confederacy would be equal to the Southern, with South Carolina at its head-no political doctrines contain so much vital element as secession, and no society in the Union is equal to South Carolina for caste and elegance-not excepting the worthy and learned aristocracy of Boston.

A will to do as it pleases and act as it pleases, without national restraint, is the great drawback under which South Carolina sends forth her groaning tale of political distress. Let her look upon her dubious glory in its proper light-let her observe the rights of others, and found her acts in justice!—annihilate her grasping spirit, and she will find a power adequate to her own preservation. She can then show to the world that she gives encouragement to the masses, and is determined to persevere in that moderate and forbearing policy which creates its own protection, merits admiration abroad, instead of rebuke, and which needs no gorgeous military display to marshal peace at the point of the bayonet.



CHAPTER XIV. MANUEL PEREIRA COMMITTED.



IT was nearly eleven o'clock as they ascended the jail steps and rang the bell for admittance. The jailer, a stout, rough-looking man, opened the iron door, and as Manuel was about to step over the stone sill, Dunn gave him a sudden push that sent him headlong upon the floor. "Heavens! what now?" inquired the jailer with a look of astonishment, and at the next moment Dunn raised his foot to kick Manuel in the face.

"You infernal beast!" said the jailer, "you are more like a savage than a man-you are drunk now, you vagabond," and jumped in between them to save him from the effect of the blow. As he did this, the gentleman who accompanied them from the "corner-shop," as a protection against Dunn's cruelty, fetched Dunn a blow on the back of the neck that made him stagger against a door, and created such confusion as to arouse the whole jail. Turning to Manuel, he, with the assistance of the jailer, raised him from the ground and led him into the jail-office. "Mister jailer," said Dunn, "the prisoner is mine until such times as you receipt the commitment, and I demand protection from you against this man. He has committed two violent assaults upon me, when I'd be doing me duty."

"You have violated all duty, and are more like an incarnate fiend. You first decoy men into rum-shops, and then you plunder and abuse them, because you think they are black and can get no redress. You abused that man unmercifully, because you knew his evidence was not valid against you!" said the gentleman, turning to the jailer, and giving him the particulars of what he saw in the "corner-shop," and what cruelties he had seen practised by Dunn on former occasions.

The jailer looked upon Manuel with commiseration, and handed him a chair to sit down on. The poor fellow was excited and fatigued, for he had eaten nothing that day, and been treated more like a brute than a human being from the time, he left the ship until he arrived at the jail. He readily accepted the kind offer, and commenced to tell the story of his treatment.

"You need' not tell me,—I know too much of that man already. It has long been a mystery to me why he is retained in office."—

Here Dunn interrupted. "Sure it's yer master I'd obey and not yerself, an' I'd do what I'd plase with prisoners, and, it's his business and not yeers. If ye had yer way, sure you'd be makin' white men of every nigger that ye turned a key upon."

"Give me none of your insolence," said the jailer. "You have no authority beyond my door. Your brutal treatment to prisoners has caused me an immense deal of trouble-more than my paltry pay would induce me to stay for. Suppose you were indicted for these outrages? What would be the result?" asked the jailer.

"Sure it's meself could answer for the sheriff, without yer bothering yerself. I'd not work for yer, but for him; and he's yer master anyhow, and knows all about it. Give me the receipt, and that's all I'd ax yer. When a nigger don't mind me, I just makes him feel the delight of a hickory stick."

"Yes, if you had the shame of a man in you, you'd not make a beast of yourself with liquor, and treat these poor stewards as if they were dogs," said the jailer.

"Indeed, ye might learn a thing or two if ye was a politician like meself, and belonged to the secession party. An' if his honor the sheriff-for he's a dacent man-knew ye'd be preachin' in that shape, ye wouldn't keep the jail f'nent the morning. Be letting me out, and make much of the nigger; ye have him there."

The jailer unlocked the door and allowed him to pass out, with a pertinent rebuke. This was but a trifling affair in Dunn's ear, for he knew his master's feelings too well, and was backed by him in his most intolerable proceedings. Returning to the office, he looked at the commitment, and then again at Manuel. "This is a 'contrary to law' case, I see, Mr. Manuel; you are a likely fellow too, to come within that," said he.

"Yes. If I understand him right, he's a shipwrecked sailor, belonging to a foreign vessel that was driven in here in distress," said the man. "It's a hard law that imprisons a colored seaman who comes here voluntarily; but it seems beyond all manner of precedent to imprison a shipwrecked man like this, especially when he seems so respectable. There are no circumstances to warrant the enforcement of such a law." Thus saying, he left the jail.

Be it said of the jailer, to his honor, so far as personal kindness went, he did his utmost—brought him water to wash himself, and gave him some clean clothes. After which, he was registered upon the criminal calendar as follows:—

"March 24, 1852.—Manuel Peirire.—[Committed by] Sheriff—Sheriff. Crime—Contrary to law."

Now the jailer had done his duty, so far as his feelings were concerned; but, such were the stern requirements of the law, and his functions so restricted by Mr. Grimshaw, that he dare not make distinctions. He called Daley, one of the criminal assistants, and ordered him to show the prisoner his room.

"Here, my boy, take yer blanket," said Daley; and throwing him a coarse, filthy-looking blanket, told him to roll it up and follow him. "It's on the second floor we'll put ye, among the stewards; there's a nice lot on 'em to keep yer company, and ye'll have a jolly time, my boy." Manuel followed through the second iron door until he came to a large door secured with heavy bolts and bars, which Daley began to withdraw and unlock. "Don't be takin' it amiss; it's a right good crib, savin' the' bed, an' it's that's the worst of it. Bad luck to old Grimshaw, an' himself thinks everybody's bones be's as tuf as his own," said Daley, and threw open the heavy doors, sending forth those ominous prison sounds. "All here? Ah! yer a pretty set of lambs, as the British consul calls yees. Have ye ever a drop to spare?" At this, three or four respectable-looking black men came to the door and greeted Manuel. "Come, talk her out, for th' auld man'll be on the scent." At this, one of the confined stewards, a tall, good-looking mulatto man, ran his hand into a large opening in the wall, and drew forth a little soda-bottle filled with Monongahela whisky. Without giving reasonable time for politeness, Daley seized the bottle, and putting it to his mouth, gauged about half its contents into his homony dept, smacked his lips, wiped his mouth with his cuff, and, passing the balance back, shut and rebolted the door, after saying, "Good luck till yees, an' I wish yees a merry time." The reader may imagine what provision the State or the sheriff had made for the comfort of these poor men, one of whom was imprisoned because it was "contrary to law" to be driven into the port of Charleston in distress, and the rest, peaceable, unoffending citizens belonging to distant States and countries, and guilty of no crime, when we describe the room and regimen to which they were subjected. The room was about twenty-six feet long and ten feet wide. The brick walls were plastered and colored with some kind of blue wash, which, however, was so nearly obliterated with dirt and the damp of a southern climate, as to leave but little to show what its original color was. The walls were covered with the condensed moisture of the atmosphere, spiders hung their festooned network overhead, and cockroaches and ants, those domesticated pests of South Carolina, were running about the floor in swarms, and holding all legal rights to rations in superlative contempt. Two small apertures in the wall, about fourteen inches square, and double-barred with heavy flat iron, served to admit light and air. The reader may thus judge of its gloomy appearance, and what a miserable unhealthy cell it must have been in which to place men just arrived from sea. There was not the first vestige of furniture in the room, not; even a bench to sit upon, for the State, with its gracious hospitality, forgot that men in jail ever sit down; but it was in keeping with all other things that the State left to the control of its officials.

"Am I to be punished in this miserable place? Why, I cannot see where I'm going; and have I nothing to lay down upon but the floor, and that creeping with live creatures?" inquired Manuel of those who were already inured to the hardship.

"Nothing! nothing! Bring your mind to realize the worst, and forget the cruelty while you are suffering it; they let us out a part of the day. We are locked up to-day because one of the assistants stole my friend's liquor, and he dared to accuse him of the theft, because he was a white man," said a tall, fine-looking mulatto man by the name of James Redman, who was steward on board a Thomastown (Maine) ship, and declared that he had visited Charleston on a former occasion, and by paying five dollars to one of the officers, remained on board of the ship unmolested.

"And how long shall I have to suffer in this manner?" inquired Manuel. "Can I not have my own bed and clothing?"

"Oh, yes," said Redman; "you can have them, but if you bring them here, they'll not be worth anything when you leave; and the prisoners upon this floor are so starved and destitute, that necessity forces them to steal whatever comes in their way; and the assistants are as much implicated as the prisoners. You'll fare hard; but just do as we do in a calm, wait for the wind to blow, and pray for the best. If you say any thing, or grumble about it, the sheriff will order you locked, up on the third story, and that's worse than death itself. The first thing you do, make preparations for something to eat. We pay for it here, but don't get it; and you'd starve afore you'd eat what they give them poor white prisoners. They suffer worse than we do, only they have cleaner rooms."

"I pray for my deliverance from such a place as this."

His manners and appearance at once enlisted the respect of those present, and they immediately set to work, with all the means at hand, to make him comfortable. Joseph Jociquei, a young man who had been taken from a vessel just arrived from Rio, and was more fortunate than the rest, in having a mattrass, seeing Manuel's weak condition, immediately removed it from its place, and spreading it upon the floor, invited him to lay down. The invitation was as acceptable as it was kind on the part of Jociquei, and the poor fellow laid his weary limbs upon it, and almost simultaneously fell into a profound sleep. Manuel continued to sleep. His face and head were scarred in several places; which were dressed and covered with pieces of plaster that the jailer had supplied. His companions, for such we shall call those who were confined with him, sat around him, discussing the circumstances that brought him there, and the manner in which they could best relieve his suffering. "It's just as I was sarved," said Redman. "And I'll bet that red-headed constable, Dunn, brought him up: and abused him in all them Dutch shops. I didn't know the law, and he made me give him three dollars not to put the handcuffs upon me, and then I had to treat him in every grog-shop we came to. Yes, and the last shop we were in, he throw'd liquor in me face, cursed the Dutchman that kept the shop, kick'd me, and tried every way in the world to raise a fuss. If I hadn't know'd the law here too well, I'd whipt him sure. I have suffered the want of that three dollars since I bin here. 'Twould sarved me for coffee. We have neither coffee nor bread to-night, for we gave our allowance of bad bread to the white prisoners, but we must do something to make the poor fellow comfortable. I know the constable has kept him all day coming up, and he'll be hungry as soon as he awakes."

"Won't he receive his allowance to-day like another prisoner?" inquired Copeland, a thick-set, well made, dark-skinned negro steward, who had formerly conducted a barber shop in Fleet street, Boston, but was now attached to the schooner Oscar Jones, Kellogg, master.

"Oh! no, sir," said Redman, "that's against the rules of the jail-every thing is done by rule here, even to paying for what we don't get, and starving the prisoners. A man that don't come in before eleven o'clock gets no ration until the next morning. I know, because I had a fuss with the jailer about it, the first day I was brought in; but he gin me a loaf out of his own house. The old sheriff never allows any thing done outside the rules, for he's tighter than a mantrap. 'T a'n't what ye suffers in this cell, but it's what ye don't get to eat; and if that poor feller a'n't got money, he'll wish himself alongside the caboose again 'fore he gets out." The poor fellows were driven to the extreme of providing sustenance to sustain life. They mustered their little means together, and by giving a sum to the sheriff's black boy, (a man more intelligent, gentlemanly, and generous-hearted than his master,) had a measure of coffee, sugar, and bread brought in. Necessity was the mother of invention with them, for they had procured a barrel for twenty-five cents, and made it supply the place of a table. With a few chips that were brought to them by a kind-hearted colored woman that did their washing, and bestowed many little acts of kindness, they made a fire, endured the annoyance of a dense smoke from the old fire-place, and prepared their little supper. As soon as it was upon the table, they awoke Manuel, and invited him to join in their humble fare. The poor fellow arose, and looking around the gloomy, cavern-like place, heaved a deep sigh. "It's hard to be brought to this for nothing!" said he; "and my bones are so sore that I can scarcely move. I must see the Captain and consul."

"That won't do any good; you might as well keep quiet and drink your coffee. A prisoner that says the least in this jail is best off," returned Redman.

Manuel took his bowl of coffee and a piece of bread, eating it with a good appetite, and asking what time they got breakfast. "It's the first time I was abused in a foreign country. I'm Portuguese, but a citizen of Great Britain, and got my protection.-When it won't save me, I'll never come to South Carolina again, nor sail where a flag won't protect me. When I go among Patagonians, I know what they do; but when I sail to United States or be cast away on them, I don't know what they do, because I expect good people." * * *

"Never mind, my good fellow," said Redman; "cheer up, take it as a good sailor would a storm, and in the morning you'll get a small loaf of sour bread and a bucket of water for breakfast, if you go to the pump for it. Be careful to moderate your appetite when you breakfast according to the State's rules; for you must save enough to last you during the day, and if you can keep "banyan day," as the Bluenose calls it, you're just the man for this institution, and no mistake. Come, I see you're hungry; drink another bowl of coffee, and eat plenty of bread; then you'll be all right for another good sleep."

"Yes, but I don't expect to be in here long. But tell me, do we get nothing more than a loaf? didn't the jail give us this supper?" he inquired with surprise.

"Supper, indeed!—it's against the rules for prisoners to have coffee; that's our private fixings; but you'll get a pound of bloody neck-bone, they call beef, in the morning. I have twice thrown mine to the dog, but he doesn't seem to thank me for it; so I told the cook he needn't trouble his steelyards for me again."

Redman's conversation was interrupted by a noise that seemed to be a ring of the prison bell, and an anxious expression which Manuel gave utterance to, indicated that he expected somebody would come to see him. He was not disappointed, for a few minutes after, the bolts were heard to withdraw and the heavy door swung back. There, true to his charge, was little Tommy, in his nicest blue rig, tipped off a la man-o'-war touch, with his palmetto-braid hat,—a long black ribbon displayed over the rim,—his hair combed so slick, and his little round face and red cheeks so plump and full of the sailor-boy pertness, with his blue, braided shirt-collar laid over his jacket, and set off around the neck, with a black India handkerchief, secured at the throat with the joint of a shark's backbone. He looked the very picture and pattern of a Simon-Pure salt. He had wended his way through strange streets and lanes, with a big haversack under his arm, which Daley had relieved him of at the door, and brought into the room under his arm. As soon as Manuel caught a glimpse of him, he rose and clasped the little fellow in his arms with a fond embrace. No greeting could be more affecting. Manuel exulted at seeing his little companion; but Tommy looked grieved, and asked, "But what has scarred your face so, Manuel? You didn't look that way when you left the brig. We have had a site o' folks down to see us to-day."

"Oh, that's nothing!—just a little fall I got; don't tell the Captain: it'll all be well to-morrow."

"Here, Jack, take your knapsack; did yer bring ever a drop o' liquor for the steward?" said Daley, addressing himself to Tommy, and putting the package upon the floor.

"Yes, Manuel!" said Tommy, "the Captain sent you some nice bread and ham, some oranges and raisins, and a bottle of nice claret,—for he was told by the consul that they didn't give 'em nothing to eat at the jail. And I had a tug with 'em, I tell you. I got lost once, and got a good-natured black boy to pilot me for a Victoria threepence,—but he did not like to carry the bundle to the jail, for fear of his master. Captain 'll be up first thing in the morning, if he can get away from business," said the little tar, opening the haversack and pulling out its contents to tempt the hungry appetites of those around him.

Daley very coolly took the bottle of claret by the neck, and holding it between himself and the light, took a lunar squint at it, as if doubting its contents; and then, putting it down, exclaimed, "Ah! the divil a red I'd give you for your claret. Sure, why didn't ye bring a token of good old hardware?" "Hardware! what is hardware?" inquired Manuel. "Ah! botheration to the bunch of yees—a drap of old whiskey, that 'd make the delight cum f'nent. Have ye ne'er a drap among the whole o' yees?" Receiving an answer in the negative, he turned about with a Kilkenny, "It don't signify," and toddled for the door, which he left open, to await Tommy's return. Redman knew Daley's propensity too well, and having ocular proof that he had wet t'other eye until it required more than ordinary effort to make either one stay open, he declined recognising his very significant hint.

As soon as Daley withdrew, Manuel invited his companions to partake of the Captain's present, which they did with general satisfaction.



CHAPTER XV. THE LAW'S INTRICACY.



WHILE the scenes we have described in the foregoing chapter were being performed, several very interesting ones were going through the course of performance at the consul's office and other places, which we must describe. The British Government, in its instructions to Mr. Mathew, impressed upon him the necessity of being very cautious lest he should in any manner prejudice the interests of the local institutions within his consular jurisdiction; to make no requests that were incompatible with the local laws; but to pursue a judicious course in bringing the matter of Her Majesty's subjects properly to the consideration of the legal authorities, and to point to the true grievance; and as it involved a question of right affecting the interests and liberties of her citizens, to ask the exercise of that judicial power from which it had a right to expect justice. The main object was to test the question whether this peculiar construction given to that local law which prohibits free colored men from coming within the limits of the State, was legal in its application to those who come into its ports connected with the shipping interests, pursuing an honest vocation, and intending to leave whenever their ship was ready. The consul was censured by the press in several of the slaveholding States, because he dared to bring the matter before the local legislature. We are bound to say that Consul Mathew, knowing the predominant prejudices of the Carolinians, acted wisely in so doing. First, he knew the tenacious value they put upon courtesy; secondly, the point at issue between South Carolina and the Federal Government, (and, as a learned friend in Georgia once said, "Whether South Carolina belonged to the United States, or the United States to South Carolina;") and thirdly, the right of State sovereignty, which South Carolina held to be of the first importance. To disregard the first, would have been considered an insult to the feelings of her people; and if the question had first been mooted with the Federal Government, the ire of South Carolinians would have been fired; the slur in placing her in a secondary position would have sounded the war-trumpet of Abolition encroachments, while the latter would have been considered a breach of confidence, and an unwarrantable disregard of her assertion of State rights. The Executive transmitted the documents to the Assembly, that body referred them to special committees, and the Messrs. Mazyck and McCready, reported as everybody in South Carolina expected, virtually giving the British consul a very significant invitation to keep his petitions in his pocket for the future, and his "black lambs" out of the State, or it might disturb their domesticated ideas. Thus was the right clearly reserved to themselves, and the question settled, so far as the State Legislature was concerned. The next course for Mr. Mathew was to appeal to the Judiciary, and should redress be denied, make it the medium of bringing the matter, before the Federal courts.

We cannot forbear to say, that the strenuous opposition waged against this appeal of common humanity arose from political influence, supported by a set of ultra partisans, whose theoretical restrictions, assisted by the voice of the press, catered to the war-spirit of the abstractionists.

The British consul, as the representative of his government, knowing the personal suffering to which the subjects of his country were subjected by the wretched state of the Charleston prison, and its management, sought to remove no restriction that might be necessary for protecting their dangerous institutions, but to relieve that suffering. He had pointed the authorities to the wretched state of the prison, and the inhuman regimen which existed within it; but, whether through that superlative carelessness which has become so materialized in the spirit of society—that callousness to misfortune so strongly manifested by the rich toward the industrious poor and the slaves-or, a contempt for his opinions, because he had followed out the instructions of his government, things went on in the same neglected manner and no attention was paid to them.

Now, we dare assert that a large, portion of the excitement which the question has caused has arisen from personal suffering, consequent upon that wretched state of jail provisions which exists in South Carolina, and which, to say the least, is degrading to the spirit and character of a proud people. If a plea could be made, for excuse, upon the shattered finances of the State, we might tolerate something of the abuse. But this is not the case; and when its privileges become reposed in men who make suffering the means to serve their own interests, its existence becomes an outrage.

A stronger evidence of the cause of these remonstrances on the part of the British Government, is shown by the manner in which it has been submitted to in Georgia. The British consul of the port of Savannah, a gentleman whose intelligence and humane feelings are no less remarkable than Mr. Mathew's, has never had occasion to call the attention of the Executive of Georgia to the abuse of power consequent upon the imprisonment of colored seamen belonging to the ships of Great Britain in that port. The seaman was imprisoned, consequently deprived of his liberty; but there was no suffering attendant beyond the loss of liberty during the stay of the vessel; for the imprisonment itself was a nominal thing; the imprisoned was well cared for; he had good, comfortable apartments, cleanly and well ordered, away from the criminals, and plenty of good, wholesome food to eat. There was even a satisfaction in this, for the man got what he paid for, and was treated as if he were really a human being. Thus, with the exception of the restriction on the man's liberty, and that evil, which those interested in commerce would reflect upon as a tax upon the marine interests of the port to support a municipal police, because it imposes a tax and burdensome annoyance upon owners for that which they have no interest in and can derive no benefit from, the observance of the law had more penalty in mental anxiety than bodily suffering. We have sometimes been at a loss to account for the restriction, even as it existed in Georgia, and especially when we consider the character of those controlling and developing the enterprising commercial affairs of Savannah.

But we must return to South Carolina. If we view this law as a police regulation, it only gives us broader latitude. If a community has that within itself which is dangerous to its well-being, it becomes pertinent to inquire whether there is not an imperfect state of society existing, and whether this policy is not injurious to the well-being of the State. The evil, though it be a mortifying fact, we are bound to say, arises from a strange notion of caste and color, which measures sympathy according to complexion. There is no proof that can possibly be adduced, showing that colored seamen have made any infections among the slaves, or sought to increase the dangers of her peculiar institution.



CHAPTER XVI. PLEA OF JUST CONSIDERATION AND MISTAKEN CONSTANCY OF THE LAWS.



THE consul's office opened at nine o'clock,—the Captain, with his register-case and shipping papers under his arm, presented himself to Mr. Mathew, handed him his papers, and reported his condition. That gentleman immediately set about rendering every facility to relieve his immediate wants and further his business. The consul was a man of plain, unassuming manners, frank in his expressions, and strongly imbued with a sense of his rights, and the faith of his Government,—willing to take an active part in obtaining justice, and, a deadly opponent to wrong, regardless of the active hostility that surrounded him. After relating the incidents of his voyage, and the circumstances connected with Manuel's being dragged to prison,—"Can it be possible that the law is to be carried to such an extreme?" said he, giving vent to his feelings.

"Your people seem to have a strange manner of exhibiting their hospitality," said the Captain, in reply.

"That is true; but it will not do to appeal to the officials." Thus saying, the consul prepared the certificate, and putting on his hat, repaired to the jail. Here he questioned Manuel upon the circumstances of his arrest, his birthplace, and several other things. "I am not sure that I can get you out, Manuel, but I will do my best; the circumstances of your being driven in here in distress will warrant some consideration in your case; yet the feeling is not favorable, and we cannot expect much."

From thence he proceeded to the office of Mr. Grimshaw, where he met that functionary, seated in all the dignity of his office.

"Good morning, Mr. Consul. Another of your darkies in my place, this morning," said Mr. Grimshaw.

"Yes; it is upon that business I have called to see you. I think you could not have considered the condition of this man, nor his rights, or you would not have imprisoned him. Is there no way by which I can relieve him?" inquired the consul, expecting little at his hands, but venturing the effort.

"Sir! I never do any thing inconsistent with my office. The law gives me power in these cases, and I exercise it according to my judgment. It makes no exceptions for shipwrecks, and I feel that you have no right to question me in the premises. It's contrary to law to bring niggers here; and if you can show that he is a white man, there's the law; but you must await its process."

"But do you not make exceptions?" inquired the consul. "I do not wish to seek his relief by process of law; that would increase expense and delay. I have made the request as a favor; if you cannot consider it in that light, I can only say my expectations are disappointed. But how is it that the man was abused by your officers before he was committed?"

"Those are things I've nothing to do with; they are between the officers and your niggers. If they are stubborn, the officers must use force, and we have a right to iron the whole of them. Your niggers give more trouble than our own, and are a set of unruly fellows. We give 'em advantages which they don't deserve, in allowing them the yard at certain hours of the day. You Englishmen are never satisfied with any thing we do," returned Mr. Grimshaw, with indifference, appearing to satisfy himself that the law gave him the right to do what he pleased in the premises. There seemed but one idea in his head, so far as niggers were concerned, nor could any mode of reasoning arouse him: to a consideration of any extenuating circumstances. A nigger was a nigger with him, whether white or black-a creature for hog, homony, and servitude.

"I expected little and got nothing. I might have anticipated it, knowing the fees you make by imprisonment. I shall seek relief for the man through a higher tribunal, and I shall seek redress for the repeated abuses inflicted upon these men by your officers," said the consul, turning to the door.

"You can do that, sir," said Mr. Grimshaw; "but you must remember that it will require white evidence to substantiate the charge. We don't take the testimony of your niggers."

Just as the consul left the office, he met Colonel S—entering. The colonel always manifested a readiness to relieve the many cases of oppression and persecution arising from bad laws and abused official duty. He had called upon Mr. Grimshaw on the morning of the arrest, and received from him an assurance that the case would be considered, the most favorable construction given to it, and every thing done for the man that was in his power. Notwithstanding this to show how far confidence could be put in such assurances, we have only to inform the reader that he had despatched the officers an hour previously.

The colonel knew his man, and felt no hesitation at speaking his mind. Stepping up to him, "Mr. Grimshaw," said he, "how do you reconcile your statement and assurances to me this morning with your subsequent conduct?"

"That's my business. I act for the State, and not for you. Are you counsel for these niggers, that you are so anxious to set them at liberty among our slaves? You seem to have more interest in it than that interfering consul. Just let these Yankee niggers and British niggers out to-night, and we'd have another insurrection before morning; it's better to prevent than cure," said Grimshaw.

"The only insurrection would have been in your heart, for the loss of fees. If you did not intend what you said, why did you deceive me with such statements? I know the feelings of our people, as well as I do yours for caging people within that jail. Upon that, I intimated to the Captain what I thought would be the probable result, and this morning I proceeded to his vessel to reassure him, upon your statement. Imagine my mortification when he informed me that his steward had been dragged off to jail early in the morning, and that those two ruffians whom you disgrace the community with, behaved in the most outrageous manner. It is in your power to relieve this man, and I ask it as a favor, and on behalf of what I know to be the feelings of the citizens of Charleston."

"Your request, colonel," said Mr. Grimshaw, with a little more complacency, "is too much in the shape of a demand. There's no discretion left me by the State, and if you have a power superior to that, you better pay the expenses of the nigger, and take the management into your own hands. I never allow this trifling philanthropy about niggers to disturb me. I could never follow out the laws of the State and practise it; and you better not burden yourself with it, or your successors may suffer for adequate means to support themselves. Now, sir, take my advice. It's contrary to law for them niggers to come here; you know our laws cannot be violated. South Carolina has a great interest at stake in maintaining the reputation of her laws. Don't excite the nigger's anxiety, and he'll be better off in jail than he would running about among the wenches. He won't have luxuries, but we'll make him comfortable, and he must suit his habits to our way of living. We must not set a bad example before our own niggers; the whiter they are the worse they are. They struggle for their existence now, and think they're above observing our nigger laws. We want to get rid of them, and you know it," returned Grimshaw.

"Yes; I know it too well, for I have had too many cases to protect them from being 'run off' and sold in the New Orleans market. But when you speak of white niggers, I suppose you mean our brightest; I dispute your assertion, and point you to my proof in the many men of wealth among them now pursuing their occupations in our city. Can you set an example more praiseworthy? And notwithstanding they are imposed upon by taxes, and many of our whites take the advantage of law to withhold the payment of debts contracted with them, they make no complaint. They are subject to the same law that restricts the blackest slave. Where is the white man that would not have yielded under such inequality? No! Mr. Grimshaw, I am as true a Southerner-born and bred-as you are; but I have the interests of these men at heart, because I know they are with us, and their interests and feelings are identical with our own. They are Native Americans by birth and blood, and we have no right to dispossess them by law of what we have given them by blood. We destroy their feelings by despoiling them of their rights, and by it we weaken our own cause. Give them the same rights and privileges that we extend to that miserable class of foreigners who are spreading pestilence and death over our social institutions, and we would have nothing to fear from them, but rather find them our strongest protectors. I want to see a law taking from that class of men the power to lord it over and abuse them."

A friend, who has resided several years in Charleston, strong in his feelings of Southern rights, and whose keen observation could not fail to detect the working of different phases of the slave institution, informed us that he had conversed with a great many very intelligent and enterprising men belonging to that large class of "bright" men in Charleston, and that which appeared to pain them most was the manner they were treated by foreigners of the lowest class; that rights which they had inherited by birth and blood were taken away from them; that, being subjected to the same law which governed the most abject slave, every construction of it went to degrade them, while it gave supreme power to the most degraded white to impose upon them, and exercise his vindictive feelings toward them; that no consideration being given to circumstances, the least deviation from the police regulations made to govern negroes, was taken advantage of by the petty guardmen, who either extorted a fee to release them, or dragged them to the police-office, where their oath was nothing, even if supported by testimony of their own color; but the guardman's word was taken as positive proof. Thus the laws of South Carolina forced them to be what their feelings revolted at. And I want to see another making it a penal offence for those men holding slaves for breeding purposes. Another, which humanity calls for louder than any other, is one to regulate their food, punish these grievous cases of starvation, and make the offender suffer for withholding proper rations.

"Well-pretty well!" said Grimshaw, snapping his fingers very significantly. "You seem to enjoy the independence of your own opinion, colonel. Just prove this nigger's a white, and I'll give you a release for him, after paying the fees. You better move to Massachusetts, and preach that doctrine to William Lloyd Garrison and Abby Kelly."

"Give me none of your impudence, or your low insults. You may protect yourself from personal danger by your own consciousness that you are beneath the laws of honor; but that will not save you from what you deserve, if you repeat your language. Our moderation is our protection, while such unwise restrictions as you would enforce, fan the flame of danger to our own households," said the colonel, evidently yielding to his impulses; while Mr. Grimshaw sat trembling, and began to make a slender apology, saying that the language was forced upon him, because the colonel had overstepped the bounds of propriety in his demands.

"I'm somewhat astonished at your demand, colonel, for you don't seem to comprehend the law, and the imperative manner in which I'm bound to carry it out. Shipowners should get white stewards, if they want to avoid all this difficulty. I know the nature of the case, but we can't be accountable for storms, shipwrecks, old vessels, and all these things. I'll go and see the fellow to-morrow, and tell the jailer-he's a pattern of kindness, and that's why I got him for jailer-to give him good rations and keep his room clean," said Grimshaw, getting up and looking among some old books that lay on a dusty shelf. At length he found the one, and drawing it forth, commenced brushing the dust from it with a dust-brush, and turning his tobacco-quid. After brushing the old book for a length of time, he gave it a scientific wipe with his coat-sleeve, again sat down, and commenced turning over its pages.

"It's in here, somewhere," said he, wetting his finger and thumb at every turn.

"What's in there, pray? You don't think I've practised at the Charleston bar all my life without knowing a law which has called up so many questions?" inquired the colonel.

"Why, the act and the amendments. I believe this is the right one. I a'n't practised so long, that I reckon I've lost the run of the appendix and everything else," adding another stream of tobacco-spit to the puddle on the floor.

"That's better thought than said. Perhaps you'd better get a schoolboy to keep his finger on it," continued the colonel, laconically.

"Well, well; but I must find it and refresh your memory. Ah! here it is, and it's just as binding on me as it can be. There's no mistake about it-it's genuine South Carolina, perfectly aboveboard." Thus saying, he commenced reading to the colonel as if he was about to instruct a schoolboy in his rudiments. "Here it is-a very pretty specimen of enlightened legislation-born in the lap of freedom, cradled in a land of universal rights, and enforced by the strong arm of South Carolina."

"An Act for the better regulation and government of free negroes and persons of color, and for other purposes," &c. &c. &c., Mr. Grimshaw read; but as the two first sections are really a disgrace to the delegated powers of man, in their aim to oppress the man of color, we prefer to pass to the third section, and follow Mr. Grimshaw as he reads:—

"That if any vessel shall come into any port or harbor of this State, (South Carolina,) from any other State or foreign port, having on board any free negroes or persons of color, as cooks, stewards, or mariners, or in any other employment on board said vessel, such free negroes or persons of color shall be liable to be seized and confined in jail until said vessel shall clear out and depart from this State; and that when said vessel is ready to sail, the captain of said vessel shall be bound to carry away the said free negro or person of color, and pay the expenses of detention; and in case of his refusal or neglect to do so, he shall be liable to be indicted, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in a sum not less than one thousand dollars, and imprisoned not less than two months; and such free negroes or persons of color shall be deemed and taken as absolute slaves, and sold in conformity to the provisions of the act passed on the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and twenty aforesaid.'"

Mr. Grimshaw's coolness in the matter became so intolerable, that the colonel could stand it no longer; so, getting up while Mr. Grimshaw was reading the law, he left the office, perfectly satisfied that further endeavors at that source would be fruitless.

After Mr. Grimshaw had concluded, he looked up, perfectly amazed to find that he was enjoying the reading of the act to himself. "Had I not given it all the consideration of my power, and seen the correctness of the law, I should not have given so much importance to my opinion. But there it is, all in that section of the Act, and they can't find no convention in the world to control the Legislature of South Carolina. There's my principles, and all the Englishmen and Abolitionists in Christendom wouldn't change me. Now, I've the power, and let 'em get the nigger out of my place, if they can," said Grimshaw, shutting the book, kicking a good-sized, peaceable-looking dog that lay under the table, and deliberately taking his hat and walking into the street.

Here is an Act, bearing on its face the arrogant will of South Carolina, setting aside all constitutional rights, and denying the validity of stipulations made by the United States in her general commercial laws. She asserts her right to disregard citizenship, to make criminals of colored men, because they are colored, and to sell them for slaves to pay the expenses which she had incurred to make them such. And what is still worse, is, that the exercise of this misconceived and unjust law is so unrelentingly enforced, and so abused by those who carry it out.

During this time the consul had been unremitting in his endeavors to procure the man's release. The mayor had no power in the premises; the attorney-general was not positive in regard to the extent of his power in such a case, though he admitted the case to be an aggravated one; the judges could only recognise him as a nigger, consequently must govern their proceedings by legislative acts. Upon the whole, he found that he was wasting his time, for while they all talked sympathy, they acted tyranny. Cold, measured words about niggers, "contrary to law," constitutional rights, inviolable laws, State sovereignty and secession, the necessary police regulations to protect a peculiar institution, and their right to enforce them, everywhere greeted his ears. There was about as much in it to relieve Manuel, as there would have been had a little bird perched upon the prison-wall and warbled its song of love to him while strongly secured in his cell-more tantalizing because he could hear the notes, but not see the songster.

Notwithstanding the commendable energy of the consul, he had the satisfaction of knowing that several very improbable reports touching his course, and construing it into an interference with the institution of slavery, had been widely circulated, and were creating a feeling against him among a certain class of "fire-eating" secessionists. He was too well aware of the source from which they originated to awaken any fears, and instead of daunting his energy they only increased it, and brought to his aid the valuable services of the Hon. James L. Petigru, a gentleman of whom it is said, (notwithstanding his eminence at the bar,) that had it not been for his purity of character, his opinions in opposition to the State would have long since consigned him to a traitor's exile. The truth was-and much against Mr. Petigru's popularity in his own State-that he was a man of sound logic, practical judgment, and legal discrimination. Thus endowed with the requisite qualities of a good statesman, and pursuing a true course to create a conservative influence in the State, he failed to become popular beyond his legal sphere. Had he espoused that most popular of all doctrines in South Carolina-nullification and secession-and carried abstraction to distraction, James L. Petigru would have added another "Roman name" to that which has already passed from South Carolina's field of action.

The consul did his duty, but effected nothing; and such was the opposition manifested by the officials who were interested in the spoils of law, and politicians who could not see any thing important beyond secession, that there was no prospect of it. And, as the last resort, he appealed to the Judiciary through the "habeas corpus," the result of which we shall show in a subsequent chapter.