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Vol. II L
Statesville, N. O., Friday, January 20, 1860.
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THE IKE DELL
mtn)
From the Southern Fielid apd Fireside.
A Dream of Locust Dell.
A PRI7.K POEM. I
By Mrs. Julia Xj. Kryes.
'hat nj'll of fncliantrr.pnt U that which enthralls me,
When (winding tVe myMth-al maoies of dreams ?
What apirit in that wliieh alluringly calls me.
And ljndme awny, over jnoitnitains and streams?
J co from afar a rlcli Mvfdvipp unfuldinR
A btifit gruvta hike Plo ijing Mow
'Tie my pi n Lwuat D"11 once moire I'm beholding,
As on w ings of w 'phvr, theiti, floating. I go.
:
I have renched it npiin, and. the misty reflection
Of cliidhood o'er power me with pleasure and pain ;
The' minings, they w-ein but n dim recollection :
Of oict.hing I've lost, tluit I ciihno't regain.
1 wand'-r alone in this Letlienn existence.
1 wei Bill inv tears fall like 1hW oh the grass;
I nvt white mansion, ri -t tmw in tie- distance;
I touch my own pit Ut.-li. niijj.jjiiterin;;. I pass.
Eo lightly and. cautiously trending. I enter
The hall where my voice in its (infancy rung
I pinne for a moment, when rniriiiij: the centre,
And lit for the sound of some we lcoming tongue.
Ti e q'liiering m loiil.'-.'iins and nlindows are falling.
Like ghastly il!nfviis. iil.imr the d.irk floor.
Ml,v mlile!ity.'t!:u-".-is that vision appalline ?
Why fliiotn my wil.l heart ii i ne'er tlnobbed bef ,re?
T ei'cujtlie i hiuntiei . I now tmrini wi! li ng :
No fntfther the tn.msi.m 1 wir.li to explore;
1 fifl a rjtiiine dampness tic utm'.linr- filling
The C(M;witid is rttsh'ti witliifi the 1 mil door.
"Oh! wfterr are the loved ones? di. where have they wan
d - ! '
Wliv "rniiil-t thr dear lionii'Hteivl th.u hired to the hlnst '
"l'v ns tl in. while weak, faintini; .witlinnKiii-h I pon ler'd
Th;it ineinoiy appean d with itisci'.ll of the past.
The Bpilit of x'.lltlllHT Still did 11 it fol-.l'ie me ;
Airii'm i on win.'" of the zephyr 1 Hew.
The r io np'riil- lu-eath o! tie- iiiorn did mt wake me ;
trended the l::livrinlli of I i i 1 1 r anew.
.aw In' a I :ir gitti'iiin; f.untuih. a flow-r
-1 n it- host i)n. a 'Ifp of the ervlfiliiie spray; i
.1 s'oepeil I nt. tlie.st'II of h, in.- m'liiical power
Preve iti-d my tnUiii'.' the. l.His.m aw-iy.'
. I witch (1 the l.rieh't p,enrj-dr"p ; !ii "lowlv flistMel-d
The l,loh of tlu'V.e seeni. ,1 lihe till" of the sky ;
T miiv a new W .ild in tli" etle r nd-d
It. gr-.v.-nnd it lakes 1 .cn!4 faintly e.py.
A'liidcl i-terin; tree- :i whit- in.iii-'"'ti Wiii-irl-atn'na
Two 4:"'er'd t'.e' tlH i- I" i' nth the -oft 1ndc:
The pea l-drop h:- tiiM' ii I wake 1mm my dreaming.
To sc the Ion ' shiidfws tin- -Hlili-am- h ive mi.le.
(Ih ! I knew 'tis th?' iihsent l'v - -st-eii in mv lp:nc'
Viil'o iniinsi-iiK "in- Saviotir pi -"pared il e ai- ; o i
I.ove'n i-il:iiiee. slill o'" -t led r clii Id they are k 'epin-;
V heiil pii-a the dark valley. VII no Iki nlotj".
son which broke out. on her territory.
Washington could have done no
more than this, crown him with the
halo of ppety as you will.
r Virginia a sovereign State, has main
tained her authority. John Brown is
dead. Proven cuiltv'of treason, con-
demned for atrocious murders, he has
atoned for these crimes on the scaffold.
It is impossible for a man to stand up
on the verge of eternity, into which he
must be launched bv a violent death,
without filling every good heart with
and orphan children cried alond for
the parents that John Brown had so
ruthlessly murdered.- This, picture
you have forgotten to place sid6 by
side with the other ; but we who love
our! countrymen have sympathy for
the innocent a3 well as pity for the
guilty.
You complain that his trial was hur
ried, that the jury sat only forty min
utes, and that all Jhe proceedings were
indecorously urged forward ; but were
-T7
Your letter closes with an appeal to ! in their native country, and, according until ifter the prescribed date, the lavCHion to slavery in the s tronpes terms,
our republic, calling it the sister of the ' to their usages, sold into slavery. This would have been inoperative, I . and faithful to his principles, after
French ripublic. How little you know
of the great land you compliment and
revile in the same breath. Liberty
with us subjects' herself to the laws
which she has inspired, and he who
revolts against those laws sins against
her and the whole people whom she
protects. She sprang another Miner
va from the minds of patriot states
men, modestly clad, serene and beau-
thev so swift as the rifle balls that shot 1 tiful ; she presides over our republic,
grief and compassion. But when he j down unarmed men in the streets at : and has so far protected it from an
Harper s erry r Were they so ruth- arcny or oppression,
less as John Brown's midnight descent It is that our republic may have no
upon a sleeping village in Kansas, sisterhood with those of France that
where husbands and sons were dragged such insurrections as you denominate
out of their beds, and shot down with- "a sacred duty" are , met with the
in hearing of their wives and mothers? .whole force of our lavrs. "Were they
I3 this the man whom you speak of ' permitted to obtain a foothold in the
as "pious, austere, animated with the : land, our Republic might indeed be-
WrnW
iuitons.
is brave, when, his path of blood has
been lighted by the lurid -torch of fa
naticism or insanity, such minds as
yours, affluent, earnest, and poetical
may be expected to clothe his crimes
in wh'te garments, and forgetting the
murderer in the brave man, sing pteans
to the martyr of a vivid imagination
only.
I am of a sex and of a nature to
whom these feelings are kindred. I
cannot think of old John Brown upon
tie scaffold without a shudder through
all my being. I cannot think . of a
man made ;n the, image of God, suffer-
lnjran ignonvniou-iMcatn without. inrius
of pain. But I find it impossible to
fix my mind on the scaffold of this old
miin. It goes hack to his victims at
Harper's Ferry to the women made
widows by the outbreak of a single
Tiiorn'11 to the orphans who had
never wronged him so cruelly bereav
ed by his crime. I see the two sons
who blindly followed his lead, fall
!ii:ii'tyrs to h's rebellious spirit.
I look beyond all this,far away in
to the beautiful .South, and instead of
an uM matron the gallows, I see thou
sands of my own country women, gen
tle, go il ami lovely, given up a prey
to w'ld insurrection Lsee those mur
d'Tons pike-", manufactured with such
cruel forethought, piercing their bo
soms 1 see proud, strong men strug
gling "against" the brute strength of I
their own household servants. This j the slaveholding jurors, and the whole
picture strikes my compassion dumb, population of Virginia ponder on it
nd 1 can only cover mv face and pray j well they are watched they are not.
(Jdd to hav mere.- on the old man's alone in the world."
oul ' ' They have pondered on it well, and
John Brown was tried, "condemned, j the execution of John Brown has ta-
tint fxecuti l as a traitor a guaru or 1 ken place.
old puritan spirit, inspired by the
spirit of the Gospel ;" while you call
his companions "sacred martyrs ?"
This, sir, is the blasphemy of a
highly-wrought imagination excuse
me saying not original with you ; for
wilder and more irreligious men than
I trust you are have gone to .greater
lengths, and blasphemed 5more elo
quently than this. They have pro
nounced John Brown's gallows holier
than the cross, and held up his rebel
lion as a rebuke to the unfinished mis
sion of the Savior.
"At this moment," you say, "Amer
ica attracts the attention of the Avhole
world."
Not at this moment only, but ever
since she became a free nation this
has been a truth. To all the kingly
governments of Europe she has always
been a contrast and an irritation a
subject for criticism, and, whenever an
opportunity for blame aro-e, of denun
ciation. It is not strange that, then,
a rebellion in pnrt fostered :n Europe
should call forth bitter remarks there.
"Let the judges of Charlestown and
A Canital Union letter.
To .YtcTon Hi : :
Sih YoTir letter to the London
S t a r h a s. foiiml its whjv into th- Amer
ican -bress, for which lit was doubtless
inten led. If ardnit enthusiasm could
win rtustire from her strict course,
vouri might had some effect upon the
destiny of John Brown. But all elo
quence of genius cannot take the black
ness from treason, or the crimson stain
from miirder. Tt requires something
more than an outburst of the. fine poe-
try to turn- crime into patriotism
someNiinfr more than lliinetuOUS (le-
r m
Pnunc
come 'sister to those of France, and
perish as they did.
Had the insurrection at Harper s
Ferry succeeded, the scenes of anarchy
which left France lying like an unnat- i
ural monster satiated with the blood
of her own children might have been
repeated here. But Ave are not yet
prepared to see innocent babes shot
down in battallions, or fair girls com
pelled to drink blood frothing from a
yet warm human heart, in order to re
deem their fathers from the hatchet.
We are not prepared to see our pas
tors slaughtered at the foot of their
own altars, or hear coarse songs thun
dering through the solemn arches of
our temples. It is to save our coun
try from consanguity with republics
sounded on atrocities like these, that
our laws crush rebellion when it first
crests itself. j
Rest, sir, upon your knees before
the star-spangled banner. While our:
pulpits are turned into political forums,
and their ministers preach rap;ne and
bloodshed, the foot of our flag-staff is,
perhaps, the most sacred place for de
votion that we have to offer you.
There, certainly, a pure spirit should
inspire your prayers, xes, kneel rev
policy was approved, and practiced by
tne colonies ior more inan a century.
At the date of the declaration of our
national independence this system of
involuntary servitude, or slavery, had
become engrafted on the institutions
of all the colonies. I use the term all
the colonies advisedly, for, although
an impression has very generally pre
vailed that slavery never existed in
some of the New England States, the
fact is otherwise, as may be . seen by
reference to the census tables. Accord
ing to the census of 1790, there were
158 slaves in New Hampshire and 17
in Vermont, and the official returns of
1830 show that there were slaves at
that time in every New England State
except Vermont.
At the commencement of our nation
al existence, therefore, .a compound
system of labor partly free and partly
sla ve pervaded the whole Confedera
cy, r
This system continued in all the
States until tlte drudgery of subduing
the primevaj forests, and clearing the
country for cultivation and comforta
ble habitation, had been accomplished.
Then the citizens of the Northern and
Middle States besa" to turn their at
tention to other'branches of industry,
and the discovery was soon made that
while negro labor may be profitably
employed infpursuits which require
mere physical strength, it cannot com
pete successfully with white labor in
those avocations in which skill, ingen
uity, and intellect constitute impor
tant elements. Experience also de
monstrated at an "early day that the
negro race weref physically unfitted to
endure the rigors of a Northern cli
mate. These considerations led to a
general conviction in the Northern col
onies that hegro labor was unprofita
ble, and induced them to adopt meas
ures to rid themselves of the incum
brance of an unproductive population.
And hereit may be instructive to
in
Itirequires no great sagacity to selong and untiring efforts, he succeed
that ihe whole object and tendency offed in excluding it from the North
their legislation was, as I havej already western, Territory by the ordinance of
stated, not the emancipation of slaves 1787. v !
but their removal iq other States. . Ijg In 1788George Mason, who bad
amounted, simply.to a notice to thJ'been a member of the Convention which
owner to sell his female slaves beforfraraed the-Constitution of the United
a given dav, under nenaltv of forfeit 3 States, in his letter tfyibeXegislaturo
g her increase. The practical effectiffef Virginia explaining bis reasons! for
YViiimuiuiiig ins ni;uiiiui u liuiu iuat tu-
strumcnt, assigned, as one of them,
its failure to place an immediate inter
diction the African slave trade. 1
I allude to these facts in no spirit
of unkindness to either section, bu for
the purpose of showing that neither
section has been governed in its poli
cy by the high principles of ' benevo-
were such as might have been reason
ably anticipated, f The - owners of thf
females took especial care to sell therff
bouthward before the laws took effects
and in this way tin; unprofitable slave
were transferred t6 the South, wherf
the climate was more propitious an,
the productions better adaptedto the?
peculiar capacities for labor. W
This view of the effects of these law
is strongly fortified by facts derivefj
trom the census tables. We I have nff
.1 . . r . . ii'i
auinenne means joi ascertaining nii
number of slaves in any of the Statef
prior to 1790, and we cannot there?
fore institute all the inquiries whic
we might desire, but we do know tha, j
the policy of removal, miscalled eman
cpuion, was auorptea Dejween n 10
and 1790, and was; in full operation a j
the latter date. A reference
census of 1790 shows that the
number of free negroes in the n;n;
Northern States ((including Maine) t
Ience to which they sometimes lay
claim. The history of the world ,will
prove that, while individuals may be
and often are influenced by the nobler
impulses of our nature, communities
are controlled by their interest; The
Northern and Southern divisions of
the Union constitute no exception to
thissrule. This fact should teach us
a lesson of'naturah charity and forbearance.
to th The fact .having been established
who 'hat negro labor is indispensable- for
thecultivation of cotton, and that white
labor can be economically substituted
for it in the production of the cereals,
that date was but 27.109. The fae
that the number of free negroes iifj live stock, and things that are grown in
those States was W small tn 1790 ii the Northern and Middle States, there
very persuasive, at least to prove th i I has been a uniform tendency of the
under this much lauded system of lei; labor of the country to adjust itself
islation freedom accrued tq a verf
step
B
ed th
in a je
Brow
have
j"d
Ut o
spre;
1
is 1)11
who
Aim can citizens- stood around the
i-aff'old: t-ad at heart, but steady in
their devot;on to the laws. The leg
islature of the great Commonwealth
s at; deliberately,-' after.- his sentence,
and pronounced it iust. The Federal
1 -
Union, in which thirty mil
ions of souls
atioos to check the solemn foot
of justice.
lore this tiirre voiVAvj.1.1 have learn-
at Virginia has; vindicated the
ty of her lawsjj and that John
h ami his unhappy confederates
passeL.tfT a higher tribunal for
ineiit. You will leariu arsi, that
I nearly thirty miillions of people,
lin" over a great continent, there
t a handful of men and women
lave received the news of this ex
ecution with disapproval. .North and
South' the groat body; of our p.iople
acquiesce in the fate jof John Brown,
as an inevitable necessity a. solemn
obligation to the laws. Like you, we
inav feel compassion ffor the mart who
was brave even in his crimes ; but he
was:i great criminal, and so perished.
God have mercy upon his soul !
T ie impulses of humanity which
prompted your letter meet with sym
pathy from every true heart. But no
outburst of compassion, no denuncia
tion from abroad, is likely to influence
ii people who have, learned to govern
their passions while they protect their
rights. .
When, in the ardor of your fancy,
Washington stood before you immor
tal 'vtth heavenly greatness your in
telltfct should have gone a step far
ther, and informed itself more correct
ive rrcrardin? the Constitution, to es
tablish which he gaye the best years
of a glorious life. You would have
learjnt-d that ea.ch State of this Union
is sovereign in itself.
To establish the distant sovereign
ty of these States and link them in
one beautiful confederation, conces
sions were made and obligations of for
bearance were entered upon to which
the sacred honor of our Revolutionary
fathers was pledged; not for them
selves alone, but for their children and
chi Idred's children. These obligations
make slavery with us a forbidden sub
jeci. -
TjVashington himself was born in a
slate-holding State lived and died
the master of slaves. Neither 011 the
I battle field, the floor of Congress nor
I in the Presidential chair, did he sug
1 gesp the possibility of revolt against
i the solemn compact made in the Con-
i stitution
Jlad treason like that of Old John
f Brb wn, broken ofit in this time, he
! 1 - .
i Avonia unaoutatedly have done what
James Luehanan is doing now. Main
j taiiiing bis august position as the chief
of a great confederation, our Presi
dent respects the rights of a sovereign
State, oyer whose internal laws he has
no authority, and leaves to her courts
the punishment or pardoq of the troa-
throb', stood by in solemnjdlence while
the treason of this man was expiated.
Out of all those thirty millions not
one hundred thousand carl be found to
join with you in condemning the exe
cution of John Brown, while every
good heart among them must sympa
thize in the pity for his fate, which
mingles so eloquently wjth your de
nunciations.! Some theife may be nay, certain
ly are whoj would add bitterness to
your words, and wing them, like poi
soned arrows, far and wide, if they
had the power. But these arc the
very men and women who: instigated
hi crime, who urged him on to revolt,
and shrunk away into safe places when
the gloom of his deeds settled around
him men and women wdio make mo
ney by incendiary books, sermons, and
lectures and wkile they incite crimes
which coin gold for themselves, have
no courage to meet the danger when
it arises. But thousands and tens of
thousands share your pity for the old
man guilty and mad as a he was
while they put your demonstrations
aside with calm forbearance, feeling
how little knowledge you possess on a
subject which agitates you so deeply.
But if the great mass of my country- j
men join in your pity dor the unhappy '
man, it is not because they condemn
his execution or sympathyze with his
revolt. Probably ventyyiine millions
and nine hundred thousand of our peo
ple look upon execution as a full and
solemn atonement for crimes in which
they have no sympathy. Our coun
try is now divided into three political
parties, none of which will endorse
this rebellion or condemn the course
justice has taken. When you call up
on the v eueral Union to interpose its
authority against the laws of Virginia,
there is not a schoolboy : tnrougnout
the land for to all such our Consti
tution is a text book who would not;
smile at your idea that the general
government has any right to interfere
with the legal acts of an independent
Commonwealth, or that the majority
of a single State would interfere, if it
had the power.' r
Yoftr picture of John Brown's trial
is a painful one. It must be a hard
heart which does not swell with com
nassion as it presents itself; "Upon
a wretched pallet, with six half gap- I
ing wounds, scarcely conscious ot sur
rounding sounds, bathing his mattress
with bood, andwith the ghostly pre
senceiof his two dead sons forever be
fore b)im." Thus you place the un-
hannv man before the world, lorget-
tin that those ghastly wounds are but
tueevidence of a more ghastly crime
the fearful witnesses by which the
guilt was confirmed.
t ic indoor"" n terrible nicture vou
A. V Oj A I1UVV.UJ M ww - - - . f - -
have drawn, but the streets of Har
per's Ferry had one more terrible still
There, innocent men, all unconscious
of danger, were shot down like wild
animals. There widows, newly be
reaved, knelt moaning over their dead,
If the whole American Republic
were responsible for his death, as you
say it is it would simply be responsi
ble for a most painful duty, solemnly
performed ; and received with mourn
ing resignation even-by the most mer
ciful, because of its imperative neces
sity. Justice demanded the life of
rthis man, for he had taken human life
- necessity demanded it, for he was
the spirit and soul of a treason that
threatened,the foundations of our na
tionality that would forever have
been plotting more bloodshed so long
as lived on earth.
You call the execution of Brown a
"brotherhood of blood' ryou say that
"the fasces of our splendid republic
will be bound together by the running
noose that hangs from the gibbet."
If this were true if any brother
hood of blood is connected with this
painful event, it rests neither with the
"whole" American republic nor with
the State of Virginia: but its red
track may be found across the foam
of the Atlantic, linking Exeter Hall
with the sensation pulpits on this side
of tile ocean. The weight of John
Brown's blood lies with England and
the 'Confederates of England who have
by 'their teachings, their money and
crafty sympathy, led the old man on
to death. What but this "hand' of
blood" did the people of England ex
pect when they gathered penny con
tributions throughout the length and
breadth of their land, in order to urge
this incendiary spirit forward in Amer
ica,,? Penny contributions as if Lib
erty were a Tyrant or a Pauper, to be
intimidated or bribed , by their infa
mous copper. ' ,
What was this contribution intend
ed for ? An insult, or a fund for "in
cendiary uses ? If sent to the United
States for-the purpose of, inciting in
surrection, or in any way opposing our
laws, then that money has been the
price of John Brown's blood, and was
the first strand of the halter that hung
from his gallows.
What did the people of Scotland ex
pect when they rent the American
flag in twain, and hung it, tattered
and quivering beneath the dignity, o
ver the head of an American woman,
who smiled benignly under the insult,
and received alms after it was offered?
Out of such acts and such insults, the
halter of John Brown was woven ; to
such insidious encouragement the old
man owes his death. i
Was there an English man or wo
man living who supposed that a great
nation would allow the treason thus
instigated on a foreign soil to ripen in
her bosom, ana tan to punisn it witn
all the force of her just laws ?
It is the people of England, then,
with a very small party in the United,
States, who are united by this "bond
of blocw."; It reddens the vestments
of our sensation ministers, not the er
mine of our judges. The sacramenta
tables of our political;churches are en
crimsoned with it, and, the places once
sacred are overshadowed by the old
man's erirne. In these places when
you call John Brown- the champion
of Christ it may be considered meek
and holy i language : but the great
mass of our American people will turn
trom sucn impiety witn a snuaaer.
small proportion of the slaves in thf!
Northern States. Much the large,!
number were sold to the people of th j.
feouth, and the descendants 01 thosjj?
slaves, now held under the warrant')
of title given by Northern ; vender
constitute a large portion of the slay)
population of the Southern States; art
the purchase money paid for: them b
citizens of the South contributed in 'nj
small degree to build up the manufat$
tures and commerce, of the Norther?
and Middle States. ..'!. M
It is also instf uetive to observe hd y
the anti-slavery legislation of the Nor0
1 1 1. it. : . r iw-if
litis Kepi pace wnu me muiease uifiivj
growth of the great staples of the Soutti
""It was not until, the latter part $
the eighteenth century, after Hargraj
1 A , .1,1 5
ana ivrkwrignt nau mventeq tne spu
pause and contemplate the means by
event ly, and plead that the great coun- which that! object was accomplished,
try protected by its folds may fling Some of'our brethren of the North
off the poison so insidiously circulated are disposed, like certain of the Phar-
in her bosom by foreign nations. The isees of old, to thank God "that they
spirits ot our immortal statesmen win are not as Diner men are, uu w
be around you when that prayer is sume to themselves and their States
uttered; and, if you are in truth a great credit for disinterestedness and
nntriot. one heavenly voice will whis- benevolence in liberating their slaves.
per. in tones that must be changed if I am as little disposed as any other ning-jenny and tbe cotton-2gin, th;
thev do not penetrate to the depths ot man to witnnoiu irom mem xne praise conon uecame one oi ine imporiat
vonr soul "I know no' North, no to which they are justly entitled for crops of the Southern States. As laf;
South, no East, no West ; nothing but their many acknowledged virtues. 1 as 1 1 y, wnen uen.,nnckney, 01 &om$
' . . 0 I . . x. y T i 1 T 1 . T ..Si
mv country. take pleasure m bearing testimony 10 uaronna, enumerates to jonn uay iff
Kneel, kneel, I bessech you, sir, and their intelligence, integrity, industry, exports ot bouth fjarolma, cotton wf?
let this natriotic sentiment be the bur- frugality, public spirit, and general be- not included in the list. j4
den of your prayer ! Millions of souls nevolence. JLSut respect ior tne truin ine inventions 01 tne great macnin
on this side the Atlantic will swell the of history constrains me to deny their above referred to gave a vig6rou3 inf
breath, as it passes your lips, into a right to be regarded as the benetactors pulse to the culture ot cotton, and fejt
cloud of sacred insense, which the spir- ot the negro race. nas now. Decome tne mosi imporiar, t
it of Washington and the mighty ones A general impression prevails, both article ot American commerce. ?f
who ha.vfi ioin ed him. shall waft to the in the North and South, that the peo- Cotton is an article peculiarly
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feet of Jehovah and grow holier from pie ot the .Northern otates, mnuencea aaptea to negro laDor. its .culture.
the work. ANN S. STEPHENS. by a generous spirit of philanthropy, simple, and requires but little skiil.4
New York, Dec. 27, 1839. and a noble devotion to tne cause 01 it can oe proaucem prontaoiy oniy v
human liberty, voluntarily emancipa- the ftoutherj states, where tne almost
ted their slaves by legislative enact- vertical rays of the sun- and the debvr
Slave and Free Labor.
Extract from an Address by Hon. men ts." If their legislation had been itating influences of the .climate refj-
A. H. II. Stuart, before the Agricul- such as is generally supposed, it might der it impossible fbrthe white race ip
tural Society of Virginia, at Richmond, well be questioned how far it would es- perform the labor necessary to tillaxtf
October 28, 1859. tablish their just claim to any high de- secure the crop. The physical pefeg-
"I proceed now to the consideration gree of merit in a moral point of view; liarities of the negro, on the othff
of the second topic to which I propose because, as. I have already stated, it hand, fit him admirably for the worB.
to invite yur attention, viz: the rela- had become manifest, before any such Created with a system of pores ai
tion of agriculture to the labor of the laws were adopted, that the slaves of glands adapted to the tropical dimag
country. the Northern States were a burden of his native country, he thrives arffl
In treating this branch of my sub- rather than a benefit. The policy of grows strong under the sultry heat ff
)ect I do not propose to limit my od- those states nn gut, tnereiore, oe iaiuj me ptaimug oLnies, who wmu u.
servations to the labor which ts direct- attributed rather to a disposition to ria the most athletic ot tne oaucasi$p
ly employed in agricultural pursuits, themselvesof an ignorant, improvident, race to sink into hopeless prostration.
but to present a brief review of its re- and unprofitable population than to a When cotton became an important
lations to the whole system of Araeri- desire to do justice to a "down-trod- crop in the South it opened a wifie
can labor, in all its departments ; and den" race. field for negro labor and created a Iar.
in this connexion I desire to make f But what are the facts of the case t demand for negro laborers. Ihe opp-
some remarks on the two systems of la- My professional duty ha3 led me to in- site condition of things in the Aor,
bor, free and slave, which-exist in the vestigate the legislation ot some tour ern States, where it hiia been ascy
two great geographical divisions of our or five of the Northern States on the tained by actual experiment that ijt
Confederacy; and to inquire whether it subject ot slavery ; and 1 have yet to gro labor couia not De prontauiy esi
according to this standard. Slave la
bor is rapidly concentrating itself in
the planting States ; while free labor
-is fast taking possession of the grain-
growing, and grazing States. .
Planting and .negro labor have a
natural affinity which, legislate as wo
may, will eventually assert its power.
Labor, like every other commodity,
will seek tne nest market, it win go
where it will command the highest
price. This great principle of politi
cal economy withdrew slave labortrom
the wheat "and rye fields of the North,
and it is this principle which is now
drainingthe slave population irom tne
border or provision StatesJto the plant
ing States.
- The high prices ot the products-ou
Southern plantations enhances the val
ue of slaves, and they are being rap
idly sold to the planters. The inter
est on the prices they now command
in market is almost equal to the annu
al value of their labor when employed
in farming the farmer finds it to his
interest to sell them. 1
he operation of this cause will be
felt more sensibly every day. The
acquisition of Tetas and the reclama
tion of the swamp lands of the South
ern States, by enlarging the area of
the cotton and sugar region, has tend
ed greatly to enhance the price of ne
groes, and to withdraw them from
Virginia and the border States. Should 1
additional territory be acquired in that '
quarter the exportation of slaves; will
be accelerated, and at no distant day.
it may become the pecuniary interest
of Virginia to follow the lead of the
Northern States, and send her slaves
to the South. Every thing seems to
indicate a steady advance in the price
of Negroes. The demand for cotton
is constantly increasing, and the fail-
ure of attempts to produce it elsewhere
has shown that the world must be de
pendant on the United States for its
supply. By a wise provision oC na
ture, every country has the capacity
to produce the food necessary for its
population. The price of food must,
therefore, be regulated and restrained
by the general production of the world.
But only a limited district of country
is adapted to the production of cot
ton. It can, therefore, have but liU
tie competition in the marked and as
the demand increases more rapidly
be true, as has been asserted in varl- find a law of aay one of them by which ployed, 'naturally led both sections ; than the supply, the price ot conon,
ous quarters, and on high authoritjf, a single slave has been made free. . 1 adopt a policy which would tend ton' 'and the labor necessary to produce it,
that there is an inherent, necessari, think" I may safely challenge the pro- transfer of the slave population frii must continue to advance. iNo ' one
and continuing antagonism between duction of any such law trom the ar- the JNorthern to the southern stav.'i. can yet preoici me euei; v.lu,a u
1,0 iwn Bvcroma' h5vAS of anv co onv or State ot this in view ot these historical tacts a id extension 01 commercial rciauuiw mm
11V i M v kjyu VUI f VW w m v I
As preliminary to this . inquiry, it Confederacy. This is a bold proposi- logical deductions; from them, it is le
may be proper to giance at tne origin tion, dui 1 ueneve u 10 ue uuc. .1 ..n tu la-a-im ui" icgioiouwu i ai
oe the system of slave-labor in the Uni- as I have observed the whole system North was dictated by any sentiment
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ted istates. of .Northern legislation nas oeen aireci- 01 negropninsm.. . xi was me ousuivg
' History informs us that more than ed, not to the emancipation ol slaves, of an enlightened self-interest, andMf
a century elapsed atter the discovery but to the removal ot the siave popu- inose natural ana economic taws ii
of America before any successful effort lation beyond their limits. All their lead the adjustment of all things
was made to establish permanent sefc laws on -the subject were prospective, cording 10 tneir just relations a4i
tlements of the white race on the east- None of them, 3 far as I have been a- finities. ;
ern coast of our country. The first ble to discover, operated to conter Having thus examined the prui
colony was founded at Jamestown, in freedom on the slaves in being. They pies by which Northern policy in Ue-
1607, but for many years it had to simply provided tnat pne onspriug 01 garu to slavery was gumeu,; n is
RtriKrtrlR .urainst such discouracing dif- female slaves who should be born with- per that I should now advert to mh
Acuities that it barely maintained a in the jurisdiction of the States pass- changes which have taken place 5n
ChinaH Japan, and the East Indies is
to have on the prices of the great sta
ples of the: South. 'r
These facts lead thoughtful men to
inquire whether, at a future dayi the
line between the free and slave States
may not be more sharply and distinct
ly defined than it is at present,' and
the institution of slavery be restricted
exclusively to the planting States.
The tendency is certainly jn j that
direction at present, and a rise of
twenty per cent, on the present tt.lae
of slaves will lead to such an exodus
: HvifltflnnA A iro. hx. lairo oftAr snpfified dates nnolie. onmion at thf South on Mit! a3 has never vet been witnessed m
ureuanuua ciioituw. c iue ouvu i.i -x , i 1 - , . . ,' v , .
-D!lnma 1 a n rl nn Plirmnn f h oWi.1,1 Ka AmArl free. All who were same subiect. M & Virginia and the Ot tier grain-growing
dancers and nnvations incident to the rights
settlement and subjugation of anew contingent, and could never vest with- perity to the existence of slavery j
country prevented rapid immigration out the concurrence ot the owner 01 vvasmngton, tieuerson, jiaaisonr $ ta-
o it; and, notwithstanding the strong
inducements that were offered, m the
form of liberal grants of land, the
growth of the colonies was by no means
satisfactory to those interested. " The
number of laborers was inadequate to
the efficient settlement and cultivation
of the fertile lands. To supply this de
mand the Mother Country, about the
year 1620, resorted to the expedient
of introducing into these colonies a class
of involuntary immigrants, in the per
sons of Africans, who had been captur
ed in the wars between hostile tribes,
the female slave. There was no pro- son, Edmund Randolph, and ptuer
hibition of the removal of the females, sages of that day were deeply imbibed
If the owner thought proper to retain with anti-slavery sentiments. Je r
them in the State which had adopted son, in his first draft of the T)4ci "ra
such laws, her offspring, born after the tion of Independence, and George it&r
appointed day, became free. Freedom, son, in the preamble to the cons.tu
therefore, even to the 'after-born child- tion of Virginiaimade it one of the
ren was not the effect of legislation a- grave causes of Complaint againstjthe
lone, but of legislation and the concur
rent action of the master in retaining
the female in the State until the law
could take effect on the children.
Without the consent of the master, in
dicated by : retaining her in the State
British sovereign that he had, 4ban
inhuman use of his negative, refilled
us permission to exclude negroeiby
law from Virginia." . In his 'Notion:
Virginia, and other productions pf (his
pen, Jefferson expressed his op j si-
it is time that
hether
ad-
Iltion-
al territory adapted to the culture of
cottpn when that acquisition is to be
followed by the loss of a large portion
of her effective labor.
This brief review of the history and
progress of slavery is, I think, uffi
cierit to show that, for the last seventy-five
years, the tendency of the labor
of our country has been to adjustitself
with reference to the productions of the
different sections ; free labor having ac
quired the ascendency in all the me
chanical, commercial, and forming de
partments of industry, and Blare labor
in those connected with the production
of rice, sugar, cotton, and tobacco. -
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