Page:The American Slave Trade (Spears).djvu/191

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THE NAVY AND THE SLAVE-TRADE
151

to “suppress” all American slavers there with the Grampus.

In 1842 came the Ashburton treaty, under which we were bound to keep on the coast of Africa a “sufficient and adequate" squadron or naval force of vessels for the "suppression" of the slave-trade. England was bound by the same words.[1]

The fact is, we never had on the coast, for any length of time worth mention, even the eighty guns which the

  1. A message of President Buchanan under date of April 21, 1858, to the Senate of the United States contains the following tables showing how each nation kept its faith :

    The following is a statement of the number of vessels and total number of guns of the British squadron on the west coast of Africa on the 1st of January of each year From 1843 to 1857, inclusive:

    Year. Vessels. Guns. Year. Vessels. Guns.
    1843 14 141 1851 26 201
    1844 14 117 1852 25 174
    1845 20 180 1853 19 117
    1846 23 245 1854 18 108
    1847 21 205 1855 12 71
    1848 21 208 1856 13 72
    1849 23 155 1857 16 84
    1850 24 154

    The following is a statement of the number of vessels and total number of guns of the United States squadron on the coast of Africa on the 1st of January of each year From 1843 to 1857, inclusive:

    Year. Vessels. Guns. Year. Vessels. Guns.
    1843 2 30 1851 6 96
    1844 4 82 1852 5 76
    1845 5 98 1853 7 136
    1846 6 82 1854 4 88
    1847 4 80 1855 3 82
    1848 5 66 1856 3 46
    1849 5 72 1857 3 46
    1850 5 76