[133] Referring particularly to the case of the slaver "Plattsburg." Cf. _House Reports_, 17 Cong. 1 sess. II. No. 92, p. 10. [134] _House Reports_, 17 Cong. 1 sess. II. No. 92, p. 2. The President had in his message spoken in exhilarating tones of the success of the government in suppressing the trade. The House Committee appointed in pursuance of this passage made the above report. Their conclusions are confirmed by British reports: _Parliamentary Papers_, 1822, Vol. XXII., _Slave Trade_, Further Papers, III. p. 44. So, too, in 1823, Ashmun, the African agent, reports that thousands of slaves are being abducted. [135] Ayres to the Secretary of the Navy, Feb. 24, 1823; reprinted in _Friends' View of the African Slave-Trade_ (1824), p. 31. [136] _House Reports_, 17 Cong. 1 sess. II. No. 92, pp. 5-6. The slavers were the "Ramirez," "Endymion," "Esperanza," "Plattsburg," "Science," "Alexander," "Eugene," "Mathilde," "Daphne," "Eliza," and "La Pensee." In these 573 Africans were taken. The naval officers were greatly handicapped by the size of the ships, etc. (cf. _Friends' View_, etc., pp. 33-41). They nevertheless acted with great zeal. [137] _Parliamentary Papers_, 1821, Vol. XXIII., _Slave Trade_, Further Papers, A, p. 76. The names and description of a dozen or more American slavers are given: _Ibid._, pp. 18-21. [138] _House Reports_, 17 Cong. 1 sess. II. No. 92, pp. 15-20. [139] _House Doc._, 18 Cong. 1 sess. VI. No. 119, p. 13. [140] _Parliamentary Papers_, 1823, Vol. XVIII., _Slave Trade_, Further Papers, A, pp. 10-11. [141] _Opinions of Attorneys-General_, V. 717. [142] R.W. Habersham to the Secretary of the Navy, August, 1821; reprinted in _Friends' View_, etc., p. 47. [143] _Ibid._, p. 42. [144] _Ibid._, p. 43. [145] Cf. above, pp. 126-7. [146] _Friends' View_, etc., p. 42. [147] A few accounts of captures here and there would make the matter less suspicious; these, however, do not occur. How large this suspected illicit traffic was, it is of course impossible to say; there is no reason why it may not have reached many hundreds per year. [148] Cf. editorial in _Niles's Register_, XXII. 114. Cf. also the following instances of pardons:-- PRESIDENT JEFFERSON: March 1, 1808, Phillip M. Topham, convicted for "carrying on an illegal slave-trade" (pardoned twice). _Pardons and Remissions_, I. 146, 148-9. PRESIDENT MADISON: July 29, 1809, fifteen vessels arrived at New Orleans from Cuba, with 666 white persons and 683 negroes. Every penalty incurred under the Act of 1807 was remitted. (Note: "Several other pardons of this nature were granted.") _Ibid._, I. 179. Nov. 8, 1809, John Hopkins and Lewis Le Roy, convicted for importing a slave. _Ibid._, I. 184-5.