Читать книгу Benjamin Drew. The Refugee. Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada онлайн

24 страница из 90

What is more, after several episodes in which some fugitive slaves were almost kidnapped with an eye to be extradited towards the United States, it became obvious that the British and the American governments needed to agree on a treaty to cover, if not to resolve, the conflicting issue of extradition. Indeed, this was not by any means a minor concern. The condition of African American slaves was exploited by the United States, and therefore the country made a greater effort to solve the situation of Blacks in the North. In this context, the conflict between Americans and Canadians got even more serious when, profiting from the chaos and lack of legislation, white criminals started to use the frontier as a shelter. The American government wished to benefit from this gap in the law and took this propitious chance to negotiate on the legality or illegality of the frontier hoping to include fugitive slaves, though “the British hoped it would not” (Winks 171). Canadian abolitionists were particularly sensitive to this factual peril since most cases were thought to arise upon their own soil. Again, this was nothing but a proof of the vulnerability of Black people in Canada and also another instance of how they tried with all their might to show their loyalty and to hope for respect. The political argument got heated and even known Black personalities took part in it, thus showing their involvement in institutional affairs between the two countries. In fact, three noted Blacks, including the well-known Peter Gallego,⁹ asked Thomas Rolph¹⁰ to send a petition to Queen Victoria through Lord Durham – who became famous as a Governor that inquired into the causes of rebellion to ask that fugitive slaves receive special protection under a possible forthcoming treaty. Needless to say, the petition was ignored. Rolph deplored Durham’s criminal negligence and argued that extradition should be placed beyond the control of caprice or expedience. The three petitioners then suggested that no Black person purposely claimed as a fugitive should ever be surrendered or delivered and that they might as well be tried for any alleged crime in Upper Canada. However, abolitionists in the United States as well as the Colonial Office in Canada still pressed to agree upon a clear and limited treaty of extradition that could equally deal with outstanding issues of law-breaking and with penalties such as desertion, mutiny or revolt. Definitely, the way in which the Colonial Office in Canada and the abolitionists were taking good care of the escapees despite the distrustful atmosphere of the settlers spurred fugitive slaves to flee from the United States and travel to Canada and to the West.