For example, you say 'An expedition to the moon would have been equally sensible, and no more contrary to the laws of Providence. May God forgive you for all your attempts to violate His will and His laws.' Following out the same train of thought, where would it land the whole Southern community?
"You need not reproach yourself for not interposing with a stronger power than argument and persuasion to prevent the expedition. There was nothing you or the Government could have done to prevent it. Let all the sin be on me. [am willing to assume it all."
A letter of an earlier date (July 27, 1857) tells something more about this expedition, and also gives a very good insight into the way President Buchanan's administration got on with the slave smugglers. The letter was written to Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury. It says:
"I am loath to trouble you again, but your damned sap-head of a collector refuses to do anything. . . . He detained my vessel eight days after she was ready for sea, and after she had applied for her clearance papers. Mr. Boston said she was not 'seized.' but merely 'detained' He said the department would respond to any demand I might make for damages, ete. The District Attorney and all the lawyers to whom he applied for advice told him that there was nothing to cause suspicion to attach to the vessel."
A bill for damages follows: "Eight days' detention at $150 per day, $1,200; wharfage, etc., $120; total, $1,320." It is not unlikely that the bill was paid. Then comes this frank statement:
"I did not, in my other communication, disclaim any intention of embarking in the Slave-trade, nor did
