A very interesting letter in Friday's Times shows the vast
importance of leaving to our commanders a full personal discretion, instead of fettering them by a bad rule in this difficult matter. "A Captain who has served ten years on the East Coast of Africa" warmly argues for that discretion, and declares that in two cases in which very ill-used slaves braved great perils to get on board his ship, rather than give the slaves up be would have "resigned his commission ;" but he says, "there are times when we should grant an asylum to escaped slaves, and there are times when it would be injudicious and ridi- culous to do so. If an officer is fit to command one of her Majesty's ships, he is fit to discriminate as to when he should and when he should not do so ; the Circular, therefore, was a mistake, and draws a hard-and-fast line where none can or should be drawn." Precisely so. So long as no great policy is pursued in conjunction with other naval States on the subject of slavery, the discretion should be left to our commanders to pro- tect fugitives who seem to deserve special protection, without hampering themselves by assuring an asylum in an English ship- of-war to every slave who may be discontented with his lot. What we maintain is, that a British commander has a perfect right to refuse to give up any refugee, from a law England dis- approves, on board his ship, though he must take the conse- quences, of course, if he is ordered away as a result. And sometimes, at least, he should exercise that right, even thougl the consequences referred to should ensue.
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