The voice of freedom. [volume], April 27, 1839, Image 1

About The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848

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ALLEN & POLAND, Publishers.
Published under the sanction of the Vermont Anti-Slavery Society ,
CHAUNCET L. KNAPP, Editor.
VOLUME I.
mONTPELIER, -TEKMOarT, A PR Hi 27, IS39.
NUMBER 17,
THE YOIC
Letter of Hon. W. K. Rnnney,
' Townshend, Feb. 15, 1839.
Dear Sir: Accent mv thanks for your favor
of the 11th of Jan. soliciting my attendance at the
anniversary meeting of the Vermont Anti-Slavery
Society, to be held at Middlebury on the 20th
jnst.
'Till very lately I have entertained the pleas
Ing expectaion of meeting the friends of humani
ty and of equal rights on that occasion, and in be
ing able to take some little part in devising rneaS'
ures to effect the great and philanthropic objects of
this association. But recent ill health and bad
traveling will probably disappoint those expecta
tions.
You very truly remark, " we are engaged in a
great work." If the liberation of the descendants
of Jacob from the yoke of oppression in Egypt
was aided by divine and miraculous interposition,
surely an effort to confer the blessings of freedom
on three millions of enslaved human beings, in this
age of enlightened policy, and in this land of boast
ed liberty, may be justly denominated both ' great1
and good. It is a work in which the patriot, the
statesman, and the christian can co-operate, and
with absolute certainty of success. The same God
who frpwned with signal judgments on Egyptian
oppression, yet lives, and his attributes of justice
and mercy ace in no sense diminished. It was fitly
said that the Almighty possessed no attribute that
can be enlisted on the side of the slave-holder in
this contest, and that by a southern man, well ac
quainted with " southern institutions." We con
tend not in our own strength, nor with blood
stained weapons but relying on infinite power,
we place our dependance lor victory in arguments
unanswerable, in reason undethroned and in- the
gospel unperverted.
If our fathers of '76 were justified in resisting
with the sword British oppression, how much more
are their children in attempting to expunge, through
moral suasion, so disgraceful a stain upon our na
tional escutcheon as " American slavery ?" If du
ty demands sacrifices at our hands in behalf of
perishing pagans on far distant shores, how much
more imperious the claim of our colored brethren
in the South " to come over and help us ?"
If liberty, a blood-bought treasure, is a boon
worth the purchase-money, let it be shared equal
ly by every American-born citizen ! and let every
exotic, transplanted by the hand of violence, re
ceive of the richness of our soil and the salubrity
of our clime, equally with our native plants. And
if our laws punish as piracy, traffic in human bone
and muscle upon the high seas, how can the same
article be used as merchandize with impunity upon
our shores ? shores pronounced sacred to freedom,
and consecrated, even, by the blood of heroes, states
men and patriots, who unsheathed the sword, throw
ing away the scabbard, in defence of the declara
tion, "That all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien
able rights, and that among these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness." Was there ever so
great a contradiction in theory and practice before ?
Can any other portion of the world present so cu
rious an anomaly ? A boasted nation of freemen,
an asylum for the oppressed, a government of the
people, and yet, every fifth man, woman and child
a slave ! to whom is denied by law the light of
science, the consolations of religion, the rights of
men ! reduced to the lowest possible degree of
degradation and suffering to gratify the avaricious
propensities of fallen man! Truly mayitbe said,
the United States are a by-word and a reproach
among the nations of the earth. And thisis not all :
' a government of the people,' and yet a government
deaf to all entreaty on this subject, the voice of
petition stifled, the cries of the oppressed are un
heeded, and the shackles of unrequited servitude
would be rendered perpetual, even by the repre
sentatives of the free states ! and jiot only so but
the subject refused discussion, the privilege of
speech and the freedom of the press restrained, and
the advocates of the rights of man, the defenders
of the principles of our declaration of independence
are insulted and abused as insurrectionists, fanat
ics, dis-unionists and murderers ! And why ? Be
cause we would interfere, say they, with the pe
culiar institutions of the South ! We interfere
with no' institutions that ire founded in justice and
promote the best interests of man, but of injustice
and oppression, avarice and cruelty, ignorance and,
vice, robbery and lewdness, in whatever shape,
or connexion, we are the uncompromising ene-
miquity and bare-iaced inconsistencies as nccom-
pany slavery in all its length and breadth,
Wishing you a pleasant and prosperous meeting,
and glorious results to the cause, I close by sub-
the following sentiment:
To be silent, is to be accessory.
Your friend and coadjutor in the
cause of universal emancipation,
W. R. RANNEY.
J. A. Allen, Sec. Vt. A. S. Society.
mitting
1 of right, to the decision of the Public, of the CV
iltzea World. In the lace ot ttie worm can you
now back out, and refuse to abide the issue, which
you have yourselves provoked ? Is this the chiv
airy of the South ? Well then acknowledge, that
you are bankrupt, and that your credit depends en
tirely upon the unrequited labor of those you hold
in bondage
How absurd to talk of compensating slaveholder
for their slaves, when they have already paid thei
masters three or four times what they ever paid
for thein.
How true it is that slavery lives by fraud, and
oppression, and violence. All tne property ol the
South would not pay the just demand of those, who
have borne the heat and burden of the day. Let
the South pay for the unrequired labor, on which
she has lived and rioted, and every planter would
be reduced to beggary. The masters have not
and cannot live without the slave, but the slave
can live without the master.
In view of the above statement we see how
i .i .i.i . . i
Jews, who stated that the Effvntians owed their nsciess is tne cry, mat slaves cannot take care ol
fathers for man wears' services, and that thev themselves' When slaves thcy have earne(l
- i . . .i . . .
were willing to submit to his decision, provided enouSn 10 suPPort uieir masters and themselves.
r n...u .i .i !.,
the E-vntian prince would do the same. Alex- r0Ulu mey 1,01 00 as mucn' 11 uiey were lree
ander then called the nrince. and stated that, as
I fill. 1 11
he claimed remuneration from the Jews, it anoear- Allure 18 " slavery, as wen as in
1 .. - mr i n ' i , i i ,
ed to be just that he should engage to pay them Jus"ce' ine lomiy Pmmer acflmres wealin. and
their iust demands, nrovided the balance" should lives upon the unrequited labor of others. He and
be in their fovor. To this the nrince assented. his family are dependent on the earnings of their
Anneal was then made to the writings of Moses. servants- The wealth they hoard up, justly be
An estimate was made of the nrls horrowprl. lonSs t0 their servants' and they have kcPl il from
tl, u.. .,:i t .1-- : i .1.-
The Inhnr of ttin Tsrnolltoc wo th r.lplil "-:. nfiui uiu muiiMou aim me
" ..........,.,-. ..uw v...... UlUU.ll.V J!
For the Voice of Freedom.
Mr. Knapp:
Somewhere I have seen an historical anecdote
of the following import : When Alexander the
Great had extended his conquests over Egypt, a
prince of that country stated that many years be
fore, the Jews borrowed of his ancestors raiment,
and gold, and jewels, which they had never re
turned ; he therefore requested Alexander to com
pel the Jews to pay the debt. Alexander said he
would inquire into the business, and would see
that justice was done. He then inquired of the
and the king was ready to declare the result, and
require the Prince to pay over the balance to the
Jews. But the Prince was cone, had fled for his
life. The case was now altered, and he. who de
manded justice from others, was now unwilling
to render justice to others. He was willing to
fleece his neighbor, but not to pay him for his hard
labor.
Mr. Clay, in his speech, has made a demand
in the name of slaveholders for compensation from
abolitionists for three millions of slaves, which he
estimates at 1,200,000,000 dollars, which he thinks
abolitionists ought to pay to the slaveholders, if
the slaves are set free. Now if Mr. Clay and his
slaveholding friends will consent to meet the ques
tion as fairly as the Egyptian Prince did, I will
engage for the abolitionists that they will join is
sue with him, and abide the result. Has Mr. Clay
magnanimity enough to meet us on this equitable
plantation belong to the slaves. The drone lives
on the honey, which the working bee has collect
ed. And yet he is an honorable man.
What a vortex must slavery be ? At a moderate
calculation the slave labor, in this enlightened land,
cannot be worth less than 110 millions of dollars
a year. All this goes to support and fatten slave
ry. And the slave states are actually sinking in
character, and in their relative wealth and politi
cal importance.
" Behold, the hire of the laborers, which have
reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back
by fraud, crieth ; and the cries of them which have
reaped, are entered into the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth." -James 5:4. KIAH BAYLEY.
From the Hampshire Gazette.
Mr. Clay's Speech.
I was glad to see in your paper Mr. Clay's
speech on the slavery question. The Orator of
the wpst. himself n slave hnlHnr nnrl Procirlont nf
ground ? or does his sense of justice all look one lhe Colonization Society, must be supposed capable
i -tT . 1 I 1 ' r 7 . .1 . -.1 f .1 . . . 1 r .
way s vve put mm anu nis menus 10 me inai. oi giving me strong arguments, H any there are,
We invite them to a settlement. Let the accounts against abolishing slavery and the slave trade by
u r -l . j tc u i i i . , i acuon oi congress, in mose cases m wnicn uon-
be liquidated. If the balance be against abolition- . , f . , ' .. T , , , . '
rrrpc i nslrnn in nn it l linn- lanro tn t.rti-ir hvi.fl..
etc ... ...ill if 1T fMo.T ...111 Vll.Trt I 1 1 1- . . J J
.. ..... . j pu-'icu ...I.. v,.ujf ... ""5 examine nis leaainsr positions.
himself to pay the balance, should it appear against The Constitution gives Congress power to leg
slaveholders. On these terms we cheevfullv meet 'slate in all cases whatsoever, lor the District of
J I... 1VT.. -!! .1. 1
the honorable Senator from Kentucky. He has
stated his demand. We file in our account
He says there are three millions of slaves. We
mies; and whatever we would disapprove in an
individual, we disapprobate jn communities, how
ever numerous or dignified, It is no mitigation
pf an offence, that many are engaged in it, or that
it has long been practised. " Though hand join in
hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished," is both
reason and scripture.
Although " vengoance belongeth unto the Lord,"
yet the most humble and obscure have a duty to
perform in this matter; and "if these hold their
peace, even the stones would cry out " at such gross
will suppose, that one million are children and
invalids, who can earn nothing ; and for them we
make no charge. One million we will consider
Columbia. Still Mr. Clay thinks it cannot legis
late on the subject of slavery, because he thinks,
Maryland and Virginia did not expect it would,
when the district was ceded. Legislation would
be a breach of faith. At best the faith is merely
implied. And the doctrine of southern politicians
is, the Constitution must not be construed. Obey it,
say they, to the letter. What says Mr. Clay to
Mr. Clay ought to read the sentiments of Black-
stone, Mansfield, and Brougham, those great
masters of the English law, and whose commenta
ries and decisions form a great part of the coin
mon law of our own country. He would learn
from them, that laws conflicting with the eternal
unu immuiauic principles ol justice are no laws,
and entitled to no respect. This question of prop
el ly, uy ine way, is the line ol division between
the abolitionists arid coloniationists. The one
society declares the slaves to be the bona fide prop
erty ol the master. The other lakes the high and
noble ground, that every man is owner of his own
iimDs, his own powers ot body and mind. Tin
whole christian and civilized world is fast yield
ed assent to the latter doctrine. Tln'3 doctrine
will ere long break the chains of every slave.
ine mere colonizing a few thousand fre
people in twenty years, while one and a half
million are born or brought slaves into our country,
is found too trivial and feeble a project to distract
much longer the counsels and efforts of the friends
of humanity.
Mr. Clay declares the abolitionists to be friends
of amalgamation ; although he says he has heard
01 none 01 mem lurnisning in their own persons
or lamilies examples ot intermarriage.' When he
said this, he was addressing the Vice President of
tne U. &. and rresident ot the feenate, a slave hold
er, the acknowledged paramour of a black woman,
and the lather of colored children.
The orator with great resignation says, leave
slavery to Providence. The same Providence
which has preserved us from suffering any evils
irom tne system, will preserve our posterity.
Why notleave the Bank, the Tarrif, the Sub Treas
ury system, and the North Eastern Boundary to
trovidence? 1 here is such a thins: as tempting
as well as trusting 1 rovidence.
In closing, Mr Clay, as many others do, declares
himselt no friend of slavery.' 1 Ins comes with
a bad grace from the holder, I will not say owner
ot nlty slaves, and the founder of the slave system
in the new but great state of Missouri. When he
fought with Randolph, he avowed himself an en
emy ot dueling. In a public address, which Mr.
Clay delivered some eight years since before the
Colonization Society of Kentucky, speaking of the
free people of color, he said, ' of all classes of our
population, the most vicious and contamina
ted themselves, they extend their vices to all
around them.' Speaking of them in another part
of the same address as on their way to Africa, he
says, 'everyone of them is a missionary, carrying
with him credentials in the holy cause of Civiliza
tion, Religion, and Free Institutions.'
So foolishly and so contradictorily, w ill even
great men write and speak, when advocating a
bad cause.
A WHIG.
females, who earn only fifty dollars a year, and the act of the Congress of 1776, who, appealing to
will allow twenty dollars for food and clothing, Heaven, declared atl men born jrce and eqval and
which is undoubtedly a very large allowance.
lhere will then be one million able bodied men entitled to? And how did Mr. Clay redeem that
able to earn two hundred dollars in many cases, pledge, wnen, m t&au, he, then speaker in Con
We will put them at one hundred dollars each for ;ress car;l by management a bill establishing
the year, and will also allow twenty dollars a year rp, p,:,.: n
J ' J J 1 he Constitution gives Congress power to reg-
lor board ana clothing. And we will only cnarge uiate commerce between the States. Mr. Clay
for forty years service: whereas many of them says Congress has no power from the Constitution
lmvo 0rtrn,l fifw nr fi,vHr vanrQ Onn mllLn nt to abolish the commerce in slaves between the
ww . -- v I fV--W Vl. u ....... v.. v..
30 dollars a year equal to thirty millions ; 30,000,-
000 multiplied by 40 equal to 1,200,000,000, the
amount of female labor for forty years. Interest
on this for half the time, twenty years say, 1,410,
000,000 2,640,000,000, a large sum to be ex-
States. Surely the wise and learned framers of
the Constitution made strange use of the King's
Jiinglish, if Henry Clay is to be their interpreter.
Mr. Clay next speaks of the cruelty of one
State blaming the institutions of another, especial
ly of "holding them up to the scorn, contempt,
and detestation of the whole civilized world," and
traded from the bones, and sinews, and sweat, and says it has no more right to do it than one nation
blood of females in 40 years. Une million of males to ao it to anotner. .uoes ne remember that in
irn.i 1.1.. . L r . i . .t.i
at 80 dollars beside board, &e. will be 60,000,000. e oesougru congress 10 ia,e part wun tne
. . ,r. -ii 1 r. nnn nnn t oppressed and enslaved Greeks against their op-
This multiplied by 40 will be 3,200,000,000. In- " ths Turkf and U)at he en ke ; nQ
terest on this sum for 20 years 3,846,000,000. measured terms of the meanness and cruelty of
Amount of male labor for 40 years and interest lurkish slavery W hat ii the now enfranchised
7,040,000,000. The whole amount of labor 9,-
6S0,000,000. From this deduct Mr. Clay's de
mand, 1,200,000,000, and there remains 8,480,-
000,000 balance against Mr. Clay, & Co., and in
favor of abolitionists. This sum divided among
children of Leonidas should send over to our west
ern vyorld their, sympathy for a race groaning
under tar worse than lurkish slavery?
lhe speaker then calculates the value of the
slaves in dollars, and makes them nt the lowest
estimate, worth 1,200,000,000. 'He knows' he
snvs. ' There is a visionarv doo-mn. whirli hnbls
three million of slaves would give $2,826 to each that saves are not tle subject of property.' But
man, woman, and child a pretty sum to begin they are. 'That is property which the law declares
:,i to be property,' If Mr. Clay should journey some
,, , ,, r T . 1 . summer to the vvnite Mountains 01 tne uramte
The honorable gentleman from Kentucky is top s , ., , , , N Hamnahire
high minded to run away as the Egyptian Prince should so amend their constitution as to tolerate
did. He and his slaveholding friends must toe slavery, and the Legislrture of the state should by
the mark. It is. eenllemen, a debt of lienor. You aw. declare Henry Clay to be the property ot Isaac
1 tUn flr,.mr.l Wp linvf. mpt
iihvc.ii.uuc " - j esnecia v 1 Isaac s iou d buv him and nav
your call, have presented the balance sheet, and for him to some one, who sohould seize him for
find vou in debt eight billions, four hundred and that money, full as much as lie would be wortn lor
J ll TT. -1. -I. 1 1. ! .1
1 . -11- f 1 II . ft. nllnn-lnn-vnn nr B S ave. lie miglllSlgQ 10 gO DaCIl 10 U1S WII6 ana
eighty millions of dollars, alter allovMng jou your a h .
' r ' . children he left at Ashland, but he would have no
full charge for all the property you claim in your ht t0 gt ho , nnd hi mnster Jd
fellow-beings, Come forward Gentlemen and pay have a perfect right to task him severely and wear
the Balance. We have no Alexander to compel him out in a year or two, or task him more lightly
..,.. 1, n,rmon! nr rr vn .nrw la. We nnnea Jv'. "V" 'uuSi'u'"1' Bu s.'ur
yvu lu ...u, u,....., v.. 6.. declared so by aw.
then to your own nonuruoiu iuuuug3,.iu yum oo.oc man oJ hls properiy j
And who would rob a
From the Friend of Man.
Abolition in Virginia.
Our readers will remember that an anti-slavery
petition from Western Virginia was presented to
Congress, some time ago that it caused much ex
. . i .1 . i .
ciieineiu, ana mat an indignation meeting was
held in Wheeling, and violent resolutions ndonted
1 .11 . r ...
to put down the Heresy. Well ! the petitioners
u iiteir turn, nave neiu a meeting, in the same
town of Wheeling, made speeches, and adopted
resolutions, which they have published, together
wiia a letter to the Editor of the Wheeling Ga
zette. 1 hey assert their nn-ht in nc.tnn f-.riV..
. . ........ V
luoimon oi slavery m the .District of Co um . n.
repel the charge of seeking to excite an insurrec
tion, dec. &rc. Uiey deny that their petition on-
nated (as was alleged in Pennsylvania. Yet
they contend that such a circumstance would not
alter the merits of the petition, and thev are sorrv
that the people of an adjoining State should have
been described as ' miserable fanatics.'' They close
with a resolution that the proceedings of the meet
ing be signed by the Chairman and Secretaries.
and lorwarded to the several papers for publication
among which are specified the Emancinator. the
Liberator, the Pennsylvania Freeman, the Chris
tian Witness, (.Pittsburg,) and the Cincinnati Ph
lanthropist (all ultra abolition papers.) A fine
comment on the complaint that abolitionists nt the
North, have disgusted and discouraged thd friends
ot the slave at the &outh !
The letter to the Editor of the Wheeling Ga
zette is signed by seventeen of the petitioners
Among them is John Gilmor, Esq., who was in
vited by the County Court to resign his commis
sion as Justice of the Peace, in consequence of his
having signed the petitions. Mr. Gilmor, in a let
ter to the Court, gives his reasons for declining to
comply with their request. He maintains that
signing the petitions was not a violation of the act
for the suppression of incendiary publications. He
objects to the principle that ' a difference of opin-
'... ! 1 . 1 , ' .
ion, on a moral or political subiect, among the
members of a Court, is a sufficient cause to justify
the majority to require the minority to resign.'
And, finally, he reminds the Court that if he has
incurred the penalties of the act in ouestion, the
penalty, on conviction is fine and imprisonment,
nstead oi the penalty ot a Court s own. making,
'iz. resignation Irom office, and that, without nroof
of guilt. All the documents are in a calm, manly,
determined and dignified style. The entire pro
ceedings occupy nearly four columns of the Pitts
burgh Christian Witness,-besides three-fourths of
a column more of the Editor's comments. The
Editor believes ' the documents will furnish not
the least interesting page, in- the history of our
common country.'
raged heavens, had it struck their pinnacle and
shivered it to die foundation. By what authority
are these people chained ? That is the thundering
question, and blessed be the God of the poor slave
it is now put for the first time formally put, and.
the nation must answer it. Now slavery hold
thine own ! Now Clay and Calhoun muster fofl
the reply, for reply you must. The world haa
heard the demand and the question; and this,
question it is, that will put slavery on the death-!
rack. The authority. Why was not this put be-,
fore? Why have these people been enslaved,
chained, whipped, driven, bought, sold, used up?
Why, because there was nobody who cared to ash
the authority. Every body thought they wera
held by law, and constitution, and fate, and desti-.
ny, and nature, and all; that they were as ineviti
ably held as oxen and horses were in their beast
sphere. We have long since denied the legal aui
thority. We have declared slaveholding a viola-,
tion of the Constitution an infraction of the law
of the land ; that the slave was entitled to his lib
erty and could demand it and have it in the courts
of law. But we were " phrensical." We wero
enthusiastic. (It is rather romantic, to be sure, to
think that a man is entitled to his liberty under n
purely democratic constitution !) But now the au-.
thority is demanded by a man sane enough to go.
to Congress from Vermont. Let us see if it can
be produced. The House has laid the demand on.
the table ; on the board prepared by our little ioin-.
er Atherton, at his master's order, to lay out the
rights ot man on. Jiut the nation, the world, will
not so lay it out. They will repeat the s'ern de-
mand. We echo Mr. Slades's question. " By
what authority ?" Herald of Freedom.
Ly Gerrit Smith's Review of Clay's speesh has
just gone to press in New York city, A corres-.
ponuent says : " it will be about as long as Chant
ning's Letter. I have only read a part of it, which
is very good." That speech sounded the death-
knell of Henry Clay's political hopes. Senator
Preston said that Mr. Clay consulted him and oth-.
er gentlemen as to the propriety of delivering the
speech. The Carolinian hinted to Mr. C. that
possibly it might injure his political prospects.
Mr. C. is said to have promptly replied, " I had
rather he right than to be President .'" How dra
matically affecting! But, proud oppressor he ia
not right, nor will he be President. Mass. Ahn-
litionist.
Very Pious. A clergyman of Louisiana latelv
made the following announcement from the pul
pit: "I am requested to state, that immediately
iter service this evening there will be a race iust
back of the Church, two mile heats, for apurse of
300 two nags entered and some hopes of an
other. I trust yoif will all le there." Tm lloy Gat
iCiie.
IN
Tlniiuler-t'Inp
THE SKY OF SLAVEUY.
January 30th a company of men, women and
children in chains 30 men the women and
children about 20 were driven by the Capitol nt
Washington for the Southern slave-market insight
of many Members of both Houses of Congress, and
within sound of the flap of Universal Liberty's
striped and starred flag, that was hung out over
that kenncj of slaveholders.
William Slnde, of Vermont, on the 12th of this
very month, February, got up and offered a reso
lution demanding by what authority these prople
were chained. A clap of thunder from a, blue
sky would not have astounded them more or
scarcely a thunder bolt, from the angry and out-
Aspect of Slavery.
In order to show the true aspect of slavery amons n,
will state distinct propositions, each supported by the evi
dence of actually existing laws.
1. Slavery is heredilary and perpetual, to the last mo
ment of the slave's earthly existence, and to all his descen
dants, to the latest pcoterily.
2. The labor of the slave is compulsory and uncompen
sated; while the kind of labor, the amount of toil, and ths
time allowed for rest, are dictated solely by the master. Na
bargain is made, no wages given. A pure despotism gov
erns the human brute; and even his covering and prov
ender, both as to quantity and qua'ity, depend entirely on
the master's discretion.
3. The slave being considered a personal chattel, may
be sold, or pledged, of leased, at the will of his master,
Ho may be exchanged for marketable commodities, or ta
ken on execution for the debts, or taxes, either of a livinn.
or a deceased master.. Sold at auction. " either individual
ly, or in lots to suit the purchaser." he mav remain With
his family, or be separated from them forever.
1. claves can ma'fe no contracts, and have no legal right
to any properly, real or personal. Their own honest earn
ings and the legacies of friends belong, in point of law, tq
their masters.
5. Neither a slave, nor free colored person, can bo a wit
ness against any while or free man, in a court of justice,
however atrocious mav have been the crimes thev have
seen him commit: but they may give testimony against a fellow-slave,
or a free colored man, even in cases aflecting
ife,
6. The slave may be punished at his master's discretion
without trial without any means of legal redress,
whether his offence be real or imaginary: and the master can,
transfer the same despotic power to any person or persons,
he may choose to appoint.
7. 4. he slaye is not allowed to resist any free ipan under
any circumstances: his only safety consists in the fact that
his owner may bring suit and recover the prico of hi
body, in case his life is ta'.en, or his limbs rendered unfit
for labor.
8. Slaves cannot redeem themselves, or obtain a chanea
of masters, tho' cruel treatment may have rendered sucl
a change necessary for their porsonal safety,
9. i he slave is entirely unprotected in his domestic re-.
lations.
10, The laws greatly obstruct the manumission of slaves,
oven where the master is willing to enfranchise them.
11. lhe operation of tho laws tend to deprive slaves of
religious instruction and consolation.
12. The whole power of the laws is exerted to keen
slaves in a state of the lowest ignorance.
13. There is in this counlrv a monstrous inequality of
aw and right. What is a trifling fault in a white man, is
considorcd highly criminal in the s'ave; the same ofl'ences(
which coat a white man a few dollars only, are punished
n the negro with death.
14. The laws operate most oppressively upon frco people)
of color, Appeal in favor af that clan of American)
called African. Mas. Child.
The West India Kxpcriment.
Among the points established by the West India Eman,
cipation, beyond the power of dispute or cavil, are the foli
owing :
1. That the act of IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION in
Antigua, was not attended with any disorder whatever.
i. that the emancipated slaves have readily, faithfully,
and efficiently worked for wages from the first.
3. lhat wherever there has been anv disturbance in tho
working of tho apprenticeship, it hus been invariably by thq
fault of the masters, or of the officers charged w ith the ci-t
edition of the f Abolition Aot."
4. That the prejudico of caste is fast disappearing in ths
emancipated islands.
5. lhat the apprenticeship was not sought for by the
ilanters as a preparation for frecilom,
I). 1 hat no such preparation was needed.
7. That the planters who havo fairly mad the '! cxper-
iment, now greatly prefer tho new pyatcm to tho old.
8. That the emancipated people aro perceptibly rising in
the Bcale of civilization, morals, and religion.
Rev. J. D. Taxton, of Virginia, who had always Hved
n the midst of slaves, and held (horn, says in his O Let j
ters on Slavery," p. 153, " Thk slavks, man, n'OMiy
ANP CHILD, ARE LONGING FOR FREEDOM,"