The national era. [volume], March 15, 1860, Page 42, Image 2

About The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
^V ?9 " %
I For tfee Nauonai Era.
I RIGHT OF SLAVE PROPERTY.
I la the number of the National Era for Feb
I ruary 16th jou did me the favor to insert a
I communication, with the same heading as tht
I present. In that article, I endeavored to shoe
I that the abstract question of the right of human
I property, is the true, radical, underlying quesI
tion which divides the advocates and opponent*
I of slavery?the real issue between the greai
P contending parties in the Union at the present
I day; and on the solution of which, depends
I the ultimate resnlt of the unlimited extension,
I or the total abolition or close restriction of
I slavery; and I expressed a desire that this
B question, so fundamentally important, should
I receive more devoted attention than it has done,
| and be more subjected to the ablest discussion
of statesmen.
1 have seen no notice of this subject since,
and, in consideration of its vast importance,
am anzions that it should not pass away disregarded
; and as the opposing parties on this
question emphatically assert, on the one side,
that slavery is clearly right, and, on the other,
that it is clearly wrong, without any intimation
respectively of the grounds of these opinions,
there is reason to suspect that the radical basis
of the question has not been thoroughly investi
gated on either bide; and in defect of an ablei
hand, which I regret, I deem it incumbent on
me to enter the question myself; and trust that
firom the same motives, you will give my re
marks the same publicity.
The most extreme opponents of slavery de
nounce it simply on the ground of instinctive
judgment; to them, slavery is self-evideutlj
wrong in itself, as robbery, theft, or murder, are
wrong; but, as to the slaveholder, the retention
of his slave property is as self evidently right
and innocent as that of his other property. One
of these alleged instincts evidently neutralizes
the other; and as the masses of people, in all
j I ? countries, do not profess any such instinctive
Inceptions on one side or the other, but thought
essly adopt the prevailing sentiments of their
lands, this doctrine of original tuition must be
dismissed from the question as untenable.
Assuming that the authority for the acquisi
tion and possession of any property consists
sufficiently in the absence of any reasons
against it, the slaveholder asks the question:
" Why have I not the same right to hold mj
black man or woman as property, as I have mv
horse, ox, or dog? You cannot show that I
have authority for any property, except the
general consent of mankind that I should so
hold it in their case ; and have I not this consent
in regard to my slave?" - If we admit
that this general consent is the only ground for
k j the right of property, the question is a fair one,
and the answer is ready. The right of property,
founded on general consent, can only be main
iuuuru wuiic iruav cunovui in pncu , u, iucu, a
justification at all, it could only be so in past
ages, when slavery was a prevalent practice;
but can have no force in the present age, when,
in most civilized countries, it is disclaimed and
denounced. On this ground, the alleged right
of slavery has ceased, and the still continued
general consent to other property evinces a
decisive distinction between such property and
that claimed for slaves.
Rejecting, however, the doctrine of general
consent, as full authority for any property, as
untenable, the question still recurs, Why has
not slave property the same authority as any
S other property, whatever that may be? To determine
this, we must go into the origin of ali
property. I lay it down as an axiom, that the
original right of property is in creation; and
that therelore the Creator of the universe is
the sole original proprietor of all the objects in
that universe, animate as well as inanimate;
and, consequently, that no created being can
have any property in any such objects, unless
it can be shown to be derived from him. Now.
what is the intimation that the Creator gives to
any being, of Any of his granted rights ? It is
by so creating that being that he is subjected
to certain necessities or desires, by placing before
him the objects adapted to gratify those
desires, and by giving the power by which those
objects may be so applied. The brute crops the
grass or seizes his prey because he feels the
necessity and the power to do so ; in like manJner.
man uukesitatingly applies all the gifts of
nature to his existence, use, or welfare, merely
ib view* of his inclinations and his powers.
From these intimations, he doubts not his authority
from the Creator, any more than if this
authority was written in letters of light on the
heavens.
The perceiving and reasoning man finds the
name authoniy for the subjection of such brutes
which brutes cannot do for want of both desire
and power; but the right thus acquired is
always exclusive, and he learns that he cannot
claim or exercise it in regard to any object thus
previously and legitimately appropriated by
another ; be can claim nothing as a right which
v violates the right of another. A man has neI
cossities or desires for in any operations to
which brutes are not competent; he finds in
bimself Soth mental and corporeal powers
adapted to those operations; and he hence
derives authority for property in those powers?
that is, property in himself. But we have said
all property is exclusive; the right of property
therefore a man has in his own powers cannot
"be invaded by another man, and the alleged
right of enslavement of man is thns overthrown,
Another ground for the right of slavery as it
) exists in this country demands our notice. Il
is, that the kings in Africa have always been in
i the practice of putting to death their, captivee
taken in war, and have deemed it <;uite right
to do so ; but the slave trader stepping in and
) offering to purchase, they enslave their captives
for the purpose of sale, being a mitigation ol
w the entcoce of death?the right to kill giving,
a fortiori, the right to enslave. This right is
thus transferred to the slave trader, and per
petuated, through all the posterity, by generation,
of the enslaved raau. The force of this
argument depends entirely on the supposed
rigBt to kill captives taken iu war, which may
|! be good in Africa; but can it be so now in any
Christian land? Will any American slavebolder
now assert that it is right to put to death
> a prisoner of war who is unarmed and unresist
' ing? I presume not; but if the right to kill
is given up, there is, on this ground, no basis
left for the right to enslave. This course of ar
gument must be abandoned.
In default of establishing the right of prop
rty in man from nature or reason, recourse is
had to the Scriptures of Divine revelation
which, of course, if explicit, will be admitted to
be sufficient authority from the Creator. The
earliest intimation of the right of property from
ithis authority is found in Genesis, (chapter ix,
3,) where the grant of living animals for food,
when the life is gone, is expressly made; and
this ri^bt of destruction for that purpose must,
m fortiori, include that of control for service 01
other purposes ; but this is never understood as
comprising a similar right over human beings,
which, on the contrary, is as fullv disallowed
in the succeeding verses, where t he shedding
of hnmaa blood is expressly forbidden. Bui
tka altntkaldcr rtill rvnintt; tn varinna noQ.arroc
is the Mosaic code, where slavery is authorized^
ad sven joined, which is undeniable.
It not necessary to enter the question
whether these precepts were divinely author
? ised, or originating only in the policy of th<
ismaikable legislator who announced them
la either ease, they were imperative authority
to the people of Israel, to whom they wen
given; bat are they so to Christians of the
present day? It is pertinent to remark here
that no express or verbal divine law or revtla
tion, credited as true, can be found for any peo
pie upon earth, except the Israelites, until the
advent of Chriat; and hence we infer that the
code of the Old Testament as given to them
aad for them, exclusively; and the qucstior
now ocean, was this code transferred, as au
thoritj, to the heathens embracing Christianity
wheee descendants we are ? I know that tfci:
is the opinion of many, but inconsistently; foi
this code authorizes war, polygamy and con
csbinage, sacrifices, ceremonial observan es
end capital executions for inferior crimes
which no Christian considers obligatory on o:
even lawful for him now. If the Altaic codi
dose act sanction these obsolete practices a
this day, bow can it be cited tfr authority foi
iwupsity in man ? Bat this d&de, so far froti
! being transferred, is expres1 )yirepudiated, botf
by Christ in his sermon onj^e mount, and by St
I^aal in is Epistles, y are not u under tht
[Jewish] law, bot on6ef grace." Every " con
vary ordinancer Chas taken " out of the
way, it cross." Authority foi
property {mm that source has vanished
It is stiM OMMgnded, that as slavery existed
ia the time querist and his Apostles, and they
did iot it, they mast be considered a*
auclMtti'V- They did not undertake to regu
V u>* th^^Kds of the he.athens in heathenism ;
I r-./t tF^PCwy existed in the church is doubt
I J^l Aar be admitted, however; but was it
not reproved? not, indeed, in direct terms,
but the avowed purpose to " preach deliverance
to 'the captives," the injunction to " call no
man master on earth," to H do unto others as
1 we would they should do unto us," and other
' passages in conformity, all indicate a levelling
' doctrine of human equality, and individual re1
sponsibility to God, totally opposed to the absolute
subjection of one human being to another
1 as property for life. Again, the desire to hold
c men as property, to irresistible subjection and
compelled service, unquestionably arises from.
1 avarice?the lust of gain and of accumulation;*
[ and there is no sentiment more frequently and
more emphatically denounced by Christ. In conj.
demuing the root of the evil, he thus of course
condemns the evil itself, and cannot, in consist1
encjf be said to sanction it.
1 We have thus seen that the claim to the right
of property in man, at least as it is urged in
these States, cannot be substantiated, either
1 by instinctive intuition, by general consent, by
divine intimations in nature or the necessities
1 of condition, by the "alleged rights of captors
1 in war, by the departed authority of the Old 1
' Testament, or the silence of the New; and it ]
1 is believed that these are all the grounds which
1 have ever been claimed for it. It is thus de1
prived of ail positive authority ; and if, then,
in face of those representations of the spirit of 1
the Gospel, which are decidedly opposed to I
' that claim, it should still be insisted that it is
> left a question of uncertainty or indifference, it
should be repudiated as wroug, from its invariable
and inevitable tendency to inhumanity,
oppression, impoverishment, and demoraliza!
tion. J. P. 13.
r m
I For the National Era. i
' SOUTHERN "TRAITORS" OF THE 1
OLDEN TIME.
, Although the readers of the Era may imag1
ine (judging from the recent pro-slavery fanatii
cism of Governor Wise and his associates) that
Virginia Governors were always of that character,
I take pleasure iu informing therh that
such has not always been the case, but that
one, at least, was an abolitionist, and an officer
1 of an abolition society.
A mAnj*ut vxnnaKi ikn A knl ilmn Cnn
iX iUVUgOb bUV pO^/OID VI kUC UUViUiVIt V/VU
ventiou, which met for many years, I find a list
of the officers and members of the " Virginia
Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery,
and Relief of Free Negroes, and others unlawfully
held in Bondage, and other Hamane
Purposes," for the year 1797. As Vice President,
we find " Gen. James Wood, Governor of
Virginia." As Vice President, he signs the 1
credentials of the delegates, and the next year (
' the address from the society is signed by him.
This address opens thus: " The proceedings of
the last Convention have been received, and
attended to by our society in a manner which 1
' was conceived most likely to carry into effect i
the objects therein recommended for promoting
1 the righteous cause that hath been espoused by ,
us ; and we trust neither your nor our labors
' have been in vain. There appears to be an 1
extensive field open in this State for labor, and 1
the funds of the society are too small, and in- t
sullicicnt to accomplish in a proper manner the \
purposes of their institution." They further
say: "We have been induced to submit to .
your consideration, whether it would not be ad- J
visable, under such circumstances, to make 1
some regulations whereby those societies which <
are composed of numerous members, and full- j
handed, * * * may have it in their power,
in a regular manner, to help the weak, and '
contribute, in a more general and extensive '
degree, to the promotion of those important
objects." j
Only think of it, a Virginia Governor apply- j
ing to the Northern abolitionists for funds to
carry on their work in Virginia. Is it not 1
almost enough to induce the " Wise men " of ^
our day to root out the bones of this former c
Governor, and hang them up near Charlestown, s
as the bones of a traitor that aided in bringing j
about a state of things resulting in John
Brown's riid ?
The nudress to the Convention of 1800 i
speaks of the advantages produced by the Con- j
vt ntions " combining the views and operations ^
of the friends of emancipation throughout the
I'nited States." In this address they also (
speak of their scanty funds. The address of
1801, signed by "James Wood, President,"
opens thus: " It is a consolation to us, amidst
the many dangers and difficulties with which
we are surrounded, to observe that firm and 1
perr 'ring disposition, manifested in the ad- *
dress of the last Convention to the different ]
' * flic great and benevolent objects whl^/'gUV^f
( j existence to our institutions." After express- '
mg uitir nrra persmwsion max, n is ii JUSl antl
righteous cause in which we have embarked,
' [and] are determined to continue their efforts
so long as any good may result therefrom,''
they again ask assistance from their Northern
friends ; and I might here say that aid tcax
granted. The address concludes thus: "Under
n persuasion that the day is fast approaching
wherein the light of freedom will be universally
diffused through this land, we feel an ardent
desire, to unite with you in every laudable efr
fort to hasten its approach; and may that Being
who rules the destinies of the universe, give us
] strength, courage, and wisdom, to perform those
things only that shall appear just in his sight."
I think this makes out a clear case of" treaf
son" against this "ancient" Governor; and it
becomes the citizens of the " ancient Commonwealth"
to have his character indicted, that his
name may be handed down to posterity, branded
with treason. But this treason did not die
/mt with Governor Wood and his co-associates;
P for in 1828, the Virginia Convention for the
abolition of slavery say, in their address of that
' year: " Never was there a subject which has
more, manifest claims on our compassion, benevolence,
and humanity, than that of African
degradation ; for in this case, we behold human
nature stripped of every consoling prospect,
and man put upon a par with the brute creation.
mat such deprivation is incompatible with
the designs of an over-ruling Providence, is not
1 only evident in itself, but convicting to every 1
rational and reflecting mind, we trust will be 1
admitted by all who have any claims to virtue, 1
1 moral if;/, and religion. * * * We believe |
there are many in this ancient domain, (Virginia,)
who would earnestly engage in the task
of restoring the faHen and degraded sons of '
1 Africa to their long lost freedom and happi- s
' uess, iccre it not for the scoffingt of those pre- |
judiced and interested persons, ichose avarice j
obscures the sunshine of reason and benevolence, .
and whose nicest sensibilities are checked by a
mere shadow ; the fear of losing their popu- 1
I Uirity. 1
" But, notwithstanding the impediments we t
' are destined to meet, we hope to pursue thejxith |
of duty with a steady and determined step, till
the cause in which we have engaged shall have
1 ripened into maturity?
I will conclude this article by quoting from t
the communication from a Virginia society in f
182(i: " It is the wish of the members of these
' societies (in Virginia) that something effective
' sbonld be done; bnt there has been no plan as ^
yet devised, by which this great work (general
1 emancipation) can speedily be brought to con- 1
~ summation. * * * It is certain that ?
' something more must be done, or the object t
' will never be abtained." ,
They recommend " That it be enjoined on
them, (ministers.) as a duty they owe to God, '
' to treat the subject of slavery as a crime that 1
' deserves his (O'enTs) wrath." The third recom- <
mendation is as follows : " Let resolutions be i
passed by all anti slavery societies, to vote for
| such candidates for office only as are friendly
! to emancipation; such a course would have a '
' material effect on the politics of our country, '
1 particularly in slaveholding States." i
And, lastly, it is recommended to appoint " a ,
' missionary to travel into different parts of the |
i ' nited States, deliver discourses, point out the
evils and disadvantages of slavery, and to form 1
and organize abolition societies.''''
' ThPfiUk OTfraMa * -1 * ti +
piu?c uic ciisvence or " ia^
natical traitors'' in the slave States in former 1
times, and there is reason to believe that there i
exists a sentiment equally as " fanatical" with ,
many Southerners in our time, deterred, perr
haps, in its expression, as stated in the address 1
1 ol 1828, " the scofhngs of the prejudiced," 1
1 or from u tear of losing popularity. <
[ | Franklin. j
A Series of Horrors.? Cincinnati, March 1
i 7.?Last night, Patrick McHugh cut hia wife's
r throat, killing her instantly; Johu Miller was
. fatally stabbed in a street affray, and A. H.
1 Bayard fell suddenly dead in the street. i
r On Sunday, a daughter of John Stratton, liv- (
i ing on Montgomery tarn pike, was bnrued to ,
death.
, This morning the hat and cap store of L. I
Isaacs A Co. was damaged by fire to the extent j
; of $1,500.
I I??
THE N
To Avvmrmms-?Banlr.er* men will find it fraatljr to
their advantage to advertlae in the Brm.
Mcun. Pettinfill * Co., S. B. Nilea, and Joy, Com, A
Co., are oar anthorized advertising tgesu for Boaton
New York, and Philadelphia.
The following gentlemen are accredited afentr fox the
Brm -. O W. Llfht, Boaton, Man ; J. A. IntA, Batem
Man ; Thomaa Wheeler, Cincinnati, Ohio; L. T. Park,
Vount Union, Ohio; Joeeph Hughes, Philadelphia, Pa.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1860.
MP* AU letters for the National Era most
be addressed to Mrs. M. L. Bailkt, National
Era, Washington, D. C.
A CARD.
It Is my painful duty to announce to the
friends and Kuhscrihflrs of the Kalijynji] Era
that its publication mast be suspended for the
present.
Since the paper passed into my hands last
May, I have faithfully expended npon it all the
money received from subscribers, using no part
thereof even for the support of my family.
From the kind and encouraging letters received
trom subscribers, I had hoped that there would
be no great decrease in the list for at least one
year. In this hope I have been disappointed.
In the early part of the present session of Congress,
I received assurances from my friends of
aid, by which I hoped to carry on the paper
until it could be transferred to other and abler
hands. My expectations, through no lack
however of generous effort on the part of my
friends, have not been realized, and as the paper
with its present subscription list does not
snpport itself, it must go down unless its friends
determine otherwise. I have endeavored to
preserve the integrity of the paper, and have
done all in my power to make it useful. No
one can be more fully aware than I am of my
nnfitness for a task which has devolved upon
me through no act or will of mine, but which I
have accepted as a part of my duty to one
whose labors and responsibilities I have always
Bhared.
I am not only willing, but most anxious, to
continue the paper until it can be permanently
established. If the Republican party is to
remain the same, there is no reason why the
National Era should not continue to be what
it has been for the last thirteen years, the representative
of freedom at the oational capital.
I shall most cheerfully concur in whatever
measures may be determined upon by antislavery
Republicans to preserve the existence
md promote the efficiency of the Era, but in
the mean time it must be suspended. With
;he paper issued next week, the publication
will cease until the first of May, at which time,
t the necessary arrangements have been made,
t will be resumed. Should all efforts for its
lontinnation fail, it is my hope and purpose to
"ulfil my obligations to subscribers who have
mid iu advance, by supplying with some other
Republican paper the numbers still dne.
My only hope for the existence of the Era is
n its old friends and patrons who have stood
>y it for so many years. It would seem strange,
f, at the very opening of the campaign which
re hope will result in the triumph of our principles,
the paper which was first in the field,
ind always foremost in the fight, should fail for
ack of support.
In the interval between now and the first of
May, I shall hold all the moneys paid by subicriber8
from this date subject to their order,
;o be returned to them should the paper go
lown. Margaret L. Bailey.
PASSAGE OF TlfE HOMESTEAD BILL.
"3? s*
One of the most important and valuable
iieasures which has for many years occupied
he attention of Congress, passed the House of
Representatives on Monday^b^ "ues^haf yny
>erson who is the head of a family, or who has
irrived at the age of 21 years, and is a citizen
>f the United States, or who shall have filed his
ntention to beeome such, shall be entitled to
inter free of cost 160 acres of the public lands
ipon which said person may have jiled a preoption
claim, or which may at the time the
ipplication is made be subject to pre-emption
it $1.25 or less per acre, or 80 acres at $2.50
jer acre. No certificate is to be iriven or
- O"
patent issued until the expiration of live years
"rom the date of the entry, and on the payment
if $10. The rights secured by the actual
icttler issue to the heirs and devisees. The
ands thus acquired in no case to become liable
o the satisfaction of any debts contracted prior
jo the issuing of the patent.
This measure, so important to the free laboring
class of the country, was adopted by a
itrictly sectional vote. We believe that nearly
;verv Southern member present voted against
t, and that every Northern member, of whatever
shade of politics, except Mr. Montgomery,
if Pennsylvania, voted for it. The Northern
Democrats did not dare go before their
constituents with their names recorded against
his eminently popular bill. The Southern
members were, with one or two exceptions,
equally constrained by their allegiance to slavery
to 'vote against it. One or two of the
Southern Opposition may have had objections
to the bill, based on its donation of land to foreigners
before naturalization; but the Southern
Democracy were actuated solely by the contideration
that free homesteads will tend to
people the Western States and Territories with
free white laborers who own no slaves. They
lave no scruple in voting the public lands, by
millions of acres at a time, to railroad corpora.ions,
especially where they are interested in
hem; but they have a horror of giving lands
:o the people. Like the patricians of old
tlome, they would reserve the public domain
exclusively for their own class, and denounce
is agrarians all who favor an equal division
imong the people.
Kidnapper Caught. ? From the Chester
bounty (Pa.) Timejr, we learn that the kidnapr.
?.< r ??i .
j.njt; ui urc urpiura m hum, vicinity nas oecome
i frequent occurrence. The vile wretches avail
.hemselves of the excited feeling in the South
tg&inst all Northern men, and against free people
of color, to perpetrate these outrages. It is
lext to impossible to secure the liberty of a
colored man who is once decoyed or spirited
tcross the line into slave territory. We are
^ratified to perceive that one of the villains,
tamed Hull, has been caught, and it may be
loped that he will spend the rest of his days in
i penitentiary. Kidnapping a freeman, and
jelling him into slavery, is a crime scarcely inferior
in grade to murder, and should be visited
with condign punishment.
Pro-Si.avkry Outrage. ? Frederick Schaller,
a German resident of Lagrange, Missouri,
was, a few weeks ago, seized by a mob, on mere
ju?picion of aiding slaves to escape, and hanged
until senseless, and then almost flayed alive by
whipping. An American named Mattis met
with similar treatment, and a. brother of Schaller
barely escaped. 8challer solemnly declares
bis innocence, and that he has always been a
Democrat.
The Republican State Convention of Mislouri
met at St. Louis on Saturday last. It
Appointed delegates to the Chicago Convention,
and nominated Mr. Bates for the Presidency,
but not without serious opposition from
the Germans, who refuse to support any man
outside of the party.
BBBBBBg
TIONAL ERA: WASB
? THE EFFECT OF EMANCIPATION I
JAMAICA.
If the well-being of the black population
to bf fegarded as the test of the success <
emancipation in thf British West Indies, tl
friends of that eminently just and benefice)
measure have every reason to be gratified i
its workings. There has been a decline in tl
exportation of the staples of the Island, but a
immense augmentation in the domestic coi
sumption; and It is now believed that, whi
the export of coffee has dwindled from twent
five millions before emancipation, to some si
millions at the present time, the product of tl
article is nearly or qnite as great as ever. Tfa
emancipated slaves not only cultivate but coi
sume it, which they were not permitted to d
while they were held in slavery. Exportatio
has diminished five-fold, bnt domestic consum]
tion has increased ten-fold. A corresponds
of the New York Timet, writing from Kingstoi
Jamaica, ia January last, gives the folio win
interesting account of the large and growin
class of negroes who have become small pn
prietors, and ceased to hire themselves out <
the owners of the large estates. He says:
" It is an undoubted fact, that the export)
tion of coffee in Jamaica has declined froi
twenty-five and thirty million of pounds to fiv
and BIT million Knf i? ta al?n an
fact, that where one pound wm used in th
. island prior to emancipation, ten pounds ar
used now. What master would ever hav
dreamed of giving coffee to his slaves ? Whi
settler now-a-days would dream of deprivin
himself of his taste de consolationt 1 neve
yet passed a settler's emplacement, in the moui
tainous districts of Jamaica, that I did not se
coffee in cultivation ; and it is my firm convit
. tion that there is no such great discrepancy b<
, tween the amount grown now and that grow
at the time of emancipation, especially whe
the extent of exhausted coffee land is take
into account. The same statement will sppl
1 with much greater force to provisions of ever
description. It is undoubtedly true that moi
of the large coffee properties, in cnltivatio
prior to emancipation, have been abandonee
or turned to other uses. But want of capitt
1 prevails qnite as much among coffee-plantei
> as among sugar-planters. Coffee, too, Ilk
cacao, requires new land, and the clearance (
fifty acres of wood is a sort of Herculean entei
prise that, in these days, a Jamaica plantc
would not willingly face. But, whatever larg
coffee-planters may say about their profits an*
losses, it is a notorious fact that thousands an
thousands of settlers grow the delicious berr
to advantage, as any merchant engaged in th
trade will be able to testify. They come to th
towns and villages, with one, two, six, or
dozen bags, and in this way many a cargo i
made up for foreign ports. The population c
St. Elizabeth parish numbers one hundred an
nineteen persons to the square mile?considei
ably larger, it will be seen, than most of th
sugar-growing parishes. But I know of u
locality in Jamaica where labor for sugar cu
tivation is more needed than here. The se<
tiers have their own properties to look aftei
and it would be surprising indeed if they ne?
lected them, to hire themselves out as fiel
laborers at a shilling a day.''
A large portion of the population of Jamaic
have become the proprietors of small farmi
and are rapidly accumnlating around them th
comforts of civilized men. No fact could be
ter attest the capacity of the negroes to tak
care of themselves than the rapid growth c
this class. It will probably continue to iucreas
until it completely buys out the old proprietar
class of planters. As the island becomes les
valuable to England as a colony, and to th
white proprietors as a plantation, it become
more valuable to the black as a home. This i
as it should be. We rejoice at it. The We;
India Islands properly belong to the negro raci
The cruel despotism of white men carried th
blacks there for their own selfish ends, but, m
der the guidance of Providence, the despise
slave is destined to inherit the land.
In Jamaica and the other British Island;
the blacks outnumber the whites in a twent;
fold ratio, and in the rural districts the dispai
IsTtiie JociTity of the negro, that in the twent;
five years of freedom, no violent outbreak ha
occurred. On this point the writer alread
quoted, says:
" I allude to these Christmas festivities bi
cause they afforded me an opportunity to se
the people in their holiday time, when, if evei
they would be disposed to be as saucy and it
solent as I have heard them characterized,
found them nothing of the kind. The accusi
tion may be true as far as regards Kiugsto
loafers, who hang about the wharves for chanc
jobs, and follow strangers with annoying pei
sistency ; but it is no: true when applied to th
peasantry. The people are no longer servilt
though they retain, from habit, the servile ep
thet of ' Massa,' when addressing the whites
but I have ever seen then, most respectful t
their superiors, and most anxious to obligt
Individual testimony on this point might b
discredited or deemed insufficient, but there i
90 discrediting the fact that, since their freedon
no people in the world have been more peace
ful than the Creoles of Jamaica. With thei
freedom they seem to hate forgotten all ancien
grievances, and never to have entertained
thought of retribution.' The contrast in this r<
spect between the reign of freedom and thi
reign of slavery carries its own lesson and it
own warning. Twenty-five years of freedom
and not a murmur of popular discontent
Twenty-five years of slavery?I take any pt
riod?and what fears and anxieties and actus
outbreaks ! It cost the Government $800,00
to suppress the single insurrection of 1832, di
ring which six million of .dollars worth of pri
vate property were destroyed. But the out
break from which the planters then suffere<
would have been light compared to the one tha
was ready to burst over the Island when libert
appeared in the gap, and proved its salvation.
How completely does this statement refut
the idle predictions of bloodshed and revolt
tion, as the necessary consequences of emanci
pation in this country! Here we have, in th
slave States, two white men to one negro, an<
we hear men talk of the impossibility of email
cipation. In the West Indies, where there ar
twenty negroes to one white man, emancipe
tion has insured perfect peace and security fo
twenty-five years, where no peace or securit
were ever known before.
Of the safety of emancipation, the Britis
West Tndies afford a demonstration whicl
would satisfy a mathematician. On this poin
at least, there is no room for doubt. The fact
cited above, from the correspondent of th
Times, show that freedom has not made th
negroes disloyal to or jealous of the whitei
They readily and cheerfully defer to thei
former masters, and the race to which the
belong, as their superiors in knowledge, ye
without servility.
The overwhelming superiority of the blac
race in the British West Indies, and thei
adaptation to the climate, will, we have littl
doubt, in the course of time, secure them th
peaceful possession of the land, by fair purchas
from the white proprietors. This consummt
tion is eminently desirable. It is fitting an
proper that the negro race should inherit thos
tropical regions, so Boon as it vindicates its cc
pacity to govern and take (are of itself. Th
increase in the number of email proprietors i
rapidly furnishing proof of capacity for civil
zation and freedom.
Bat it by no means follows that emancipt
tion in this country would be followed by th
same result. Here the preponderance is ii
favor of the whites in all the country north c
the thirty-fifth degree oflatitude, in the propoi
tion of about three to one. The climate i
adapted to the white man, and less suited t
the black. The effect of general emancipatio;
would therefore be to supersede negro labor i
these northern slave States by white labor. Tb
same result would follow in the northern part
of the Gulf States, while the southern portion
of those States would, like the West Indies
[INGTON, D. C., MARC!
S' furnish the fitting permanent abode for th?
negro race.
is If the Gulf States reject the idea of being
of made the recipients of the black race from th*
,e States north of them, onr replj is, that thej
2t hare no alternative. Whether slavery is abol
st ished or otherwise, those States are destined tc
te become the abode of millions of the Africar
,n raee, to the exclusion of any considerable nam
Q. ber of whites. The proportion of whites is
[e greater now than it will be at any future period,
j. The census shows that the slaves are increasing
x in those States more rapidly than the whites,
ie The white population, in parts of South Caro
ie lina, is on the decline. The census may prob
i. ably show a similar result in parts of Alabama,
to Mississippi, and Looisiana.
n At any rate, if this tendency fails to exhibit
p. itself this year, it will ten years hence, and
it thenceforward. For the black population is
affirwg them. It cannot go northward. As a
g mass, it must find its home in the South. The
g crop of slaves iu the older slave States will
still from year to year continue to be sent
^ South, and the demand for labor in that quarter
will be too great to refuse it. There are now
four millions of slaves in the South. In thirty
xi years the number will be eight millions, and in
e sixty years sixteen millions. The annexation
d and enslavement of all Mexico will still leave
;? in the present Gulf States, at the end of that
,e period, three times as many slavey as they now
it possess. The continuance of slavery will rather
g insure than postpone their permanent Africani:r
zation.
1 But emancipation would, in a pecuniary
point of view, work far better in this country
than in the British West Indies. Our slaves,
n from long association with white people, are
n far more civilized and intelligent than those of
n the West Indies, where few white people reside,
y Their civilization and intelligence is probably
it. in exact ratio to their associations with white
n men ; and this is ten-foid greater here than in
the British islands. The American negroes
s would doubtless, like those of Jamaica, be
e ambitious of acquiring little farms; but this
if desire would be the best possible guaranty of
r- industry and sobriety. The high price of Amerr
ican cotton would insure good wages to the
^ emancipated negroes, and these would incite
J them to labor, in order that they might buy a
y few acres, and become independent farmers,
e ?
e MR. DOUGLAS AND HIS FRIENDS.
a
a It is now manifest that Mr. Douglas stands
>f no chance for the Charleston nomination. He
^ may carry to the Convention a majority of the
e delegates, but they witl be from States which
0 will vote the Republican ticket; and such del1
egatcs will never dare to impose a candidate
t* upon the party whom the Southern Democracy
r? cordially hate. The organs of the party in the
jj South were never so violent against Mr. Douglas
as at the present moment. The intimation of a
a possibility that lie may be nominated appears
to exasperate, rather than to extinguish, the
e bitterness of opposition to him.
It would be fatal to the Democracy to nome
inate Mr. Douglas. There would be a general
,f revolt iu the South, and we doubt if an electe
oral ticket could be formed for him in the Gull
y States.
It is due to candor to say that we think Mr.
Douglas has been badly used by his party. The
hue and cry that is made about popular sovereignty,
as if it were some new heresy, is most
,t shameless. It was the recognised doctrine oi
a the party from 1848 up to the inauguration oi
^ Mr. Buchanan. General Cass first proclaimed
' it in the Nicholson letter, and the party en(j
dorsed it by nominating him at Baltimore for
the Presidency. The same doctrine was reiterated
in the platforms of the party in the Conventions
of 1852 and 1856; and it was not
abandoned until the Dred Scott decision was
^ to. ii 1 j l. ? ? ?? inaugural
address.
It is true that Mr. Douglas theu acquiesced
and chimed in with his party in apostatizing
from the faith ; but he subsequently found that
he could not retain his place in the Senate
'e without going back to the original faith, which
r, he has attempted to do in a way to please all
)- sides. He now professes to believe in popular
* sovereignty and the Dred Scott decision, ala
though the two theories are as antagonistic as
e Toryism and Radicalism. But, at any rate, he
r- shows an accommodating sDirit. and woes as
6 far South as is compatible with maiaUuuing
j' any foothold in the North. The Southern Democracy
are guilty of black iifnlitad* to Mr.
0 Douglas.
e THE CENSUS OF 1*
The New York Herald has pat furth
wild and ridiceloua estimate of the populur
tion of the country, which we have bean sur1
prised to see extensively copied. Accorda
ing to the Herald, the population of the
' Union will be, in 1860, Min round numbers,
s thirty-Jive millions, and, in all probability, it
>, may be more than that." Whatever result the
' census may show, it is quite evident, by re!j
ferring to the detailed estimates of the Herald,
0 that its editor, or whoever is responsible for the
l- article in question, is utterly ignorant of the
i- whole subject, and that he has jumped to his
conclusions, without the slightest reference to
^ well-known facts in the case.
y As an illustration of the ignorance of the
" Herald, wc will first cite his estimate for Illinois*
e which is pat down at 1,362,352 in 1860. This
i- amount is only twenty or thirty thousand greater
i- than the actual State census of 1855. It is
e about 300,000 below the mark, if we only supd
pose that the increase of population has been
i- half as fast since 1855 aa it wa.i from 1850 np
e to that period. Estimates of the population
based on the popular vote show similar results.
r raassacnusens is set down at 1,359,277, which
y is at least 100,000 too much. New York at
4,043,914, which will prove to be at least
h 200,000 over the mark. Georgia is put down
b, at 1,359,277, whereas she has just published
t, the returni of a State census, taken last year,
s showing a population of 1,024,0051 South
e Carolina is put down at 1,002,760, which is at
e least 200,000 too much. North Carolina at
i. 1,303,558 ; the census of the present year will
r fall below this amonnt by abont 250,000. Teny
nessee is placed at 1,504,0^6, which is too genit
erous by at least 300,000. To Virginia, the
Herald is most munificent. The Old Dominion,
k ia 1850, contained 1,421,661, which that jourr
nal, by some unexplained process, increases to
e 2,132,491 in I860! A State census taken last
e year showed a population short of this by about
e half a million. To California, the Herald has
t- been equally generous. The Golden State is
d set down at 1,018,589, which is only about
e 400,000 too high. Iowa is also a favorite, and
i- receives a dower of 900,000 sons and daughters,
e The census takers will scarcely find 700,000 of
s the number.
i- These evidences of the ignorance and incapacity
of the Herald editor are sufficient to
l- show his utter inability to discuss the sube
ject; and his pompons and pretentious article
n would disgrace the intelligence and accuracy of
>f the dullest cross road politician or village scribr
bier in the country.
s It is lamentable to think that a journal which
o circulates sixty thousand copies a day should be
u in the hands of men at nnm an icrnorant and ma
a arrogant as this article shows the conductors of
e the Herald to be. Bat this instance of igno8
ranee is by no means a rare one, and the only
s circumstance which distinguishes it from others
i, is its apparent freedom from any sinister bias.
a 15, I860.
> For once, the Herald has made a candid exhi- i
bition of its incapacity to deal with a grave i
f subject. 1
WHY 18 SLAVERY UNJUST?
We present an interesting and suggestive <
> article upon this subject from a correspondent* '
i which is well worth the reader's attention. He <
goes to the bottom of the question, and under- 1
i takes to show how and why it is wrong to en- 1
slave a man. Is it not possible to state the 1
; argument against slavery or property in man i
in language so clear that no subtilty or sub- 1
terfuge can evade it, any more than a inathe- i
matical truth can be disputed ?
, In such an argument, it will not do to take t
anything but indisputable facts and axiomatic <
; principles for granted. t
Thp Hcrintnral irunmpnt in verv uood with
x ?0 ? .?J 0
i those who beliere the Scriptures, and are
t willing to &<cept their testimony in single
i ness of heart; bat they go for nothing with
1 Infidels and Pharisees, who will either deny
; or offset the Golden Rule, and other teachings
of Christ, with passages from the Old Testament,
whose literal purport is quite different.
When the advocates of slavery attempt to defend
the system by quoting the Pentateuch and
the passages from Paul's Epistles, it is then quite
conclusive to offset them with the Golden Rule
and the other declarations of Christ, cited by
onr correspondent; but when cited as an original
authirity against slavery, in an argument
addressed to men who will dispute or distort
them, they cannot be regarded as conclusive.
It is to be remarked, that those who quote
the Scriptures in favor of slavery must be held
to all the conditions and limitations of slavery
as it existed in the whole period from Moses to
Christ.
1. In the first place, the slaves held by the
Jews, in the time of Moses, were universally
white men, of the same race to which the Jews
themselves belonged. The same was true of
the slaves held by the Jews and other subjects
of the Roman Empire ia the times of Christ
and Paul. There might, now and then, have
been seen a black slave iu those regions, but
the great majority were as white as their masters.
They were either the unfortunate poor
who were sold into slavery for debt, or else
they were captives taken in war, and sold into
slavery instead of being put to death.
These are facts in regard to the slavery a
which, it is claimed, has the sanction of the
Bible; and whoever undertakes to defend African
slavery, must at the same time insist that
white slavery is at least equally justifiable. If .
there be any difference in the force of the ,
Scripture argament for the enslavement of
> white and black men, it is against the former;
for there were at least one hundred white slaveB
?
to one black one in the countries and during
the ages to which the Scriptures refer. This
much at least is certain.
I 9 TVio .TpwiuK ltiw nrnriftwl fnr ft crpnprftl
jubilee, or act of universal emancipation, every
fifty years. This was one of the conditions of
the slavery or servitude Vhich was established
or regulated by the laws of Moses. Whoever
appeals to Moses, therefore, as au authority for >
slavery, must aceept this condition. That grea1
lawgiver did not sanction perpetual slavery,
but only slavery which might last fifty years.
Whoever quotes him in behalf of a system which
has knowu no jubilee since its introduction into ,
\ this country in 1607, is guilty of distorting and y
wresting the Scriptures. g
3. Another law of Moses declared that only x
heathens should be made slaves; that* they
should be taught the law and adopted into the ,
national faith, after which they were to be free.
This mustalso be an indispensable condition
of any system of slavery for which the authority
of Moses can be quoted. The slaveholders
claim that, thev hav? >Phpiatian!?o^ ,l""- ?>?*
millions of slaves. This is one great argument
they urge in favor of the system. Grant it;
then, as good Christians and pious followers of
the law, they are lound to set them all free.
From 1C07 to 1860 is 253 years. So their fifth
jubilee would have occurred in 1857. If they
have imported any heathens sinco that period, |
and converted them to Christianity, they are
bound to set them free also; and thus, between t
these two Jewish regulations, there cannot at c
this time be more than a few hundred slaves in 8
the South, lawfully held in slavery by the laws c
of Moses.
4. The laws of Moses provided, that if a slave t
flee from his master, and go to the house of any i
neighbor, the latter must not deliver him up, a
but suffer bim to remain.
B
The Jewish law also provided, that certain v
cities should be " cities of refuge " for fugitive t
laves, from which they could not be reclaimed v
Djr tnetr matters, i nese, too, are conditions and c
qualifications which must be engrafted npon v
aoy system of slavery which relies on the au- r
thority of Moses. Paul gave it a practical ^
illustration in the case of Onesimus, who fied !
from his master Philemon} and took refuge ^
with the Apostle. What did Paul do ? He did p
not seize the fugitive and send him back, claim- t!
ing his reward, as the modern champions of 8
slavery do. But Paul retained him, educated ^
him, and at length sent him back, " not as a
servant," " but as a brother beloved." How can
any pious apologist of slavery insist upon
a fugitive slave law, in the face of this teaching
of Moses and practice of Paul? The fugitive ri
slave law must be given up, or the Bible argu- w
ment for slavery must be abandoned. f<
6. Paul says that masters must give to their 8
servants that which is "just and equal." We
know that these terms may be construed very e:
differently; but they mean something. The ^
sugar planters of Louisiana stated, in answer 81
to questions from the Hon. R. J. Walker, Sec- w
retary of the Treasury, that, they gave their t'
slaves fifteen dollars worth of fodd and fifteen h
dollars worth of olothing; in all, thirty dollars ^
per annum. This sum constitutes their wages. S
Similar statements were made by the cotton c
planters of 8outh Carolina and other States, g
At the same time, the net profits per hand, on *
the labor of the slaves, was one hundred and h
fifty dollars to four hundred dollars. Allowing *
half this profit as due to the capital invested in g
land and machinery, there would still be seventy- o
five dollars to two hundred dollars produced by g
the toil and sweat of the slave, which his Chris- ^
tian master puts in his own pocket, conscious a
that thirty dollars, in coarse food and clothing, ri
is all that the injunction of Paul, to be "just tl
and equal," requires of him. >1
We are not disposed to be dogmatical, or to 01
assume infallibility of judgment, but we incline
to the opinion that there are other features of ^
American slavery which will not bear the test n
of thifrrule laid down by Paul. Neither the o
law nor the practice of American slavery will ^
abide this test, in our humble judgment. For V
-instance, the law recognises no such relation tl
as marriage between slaves, and the practice is a
to separate those who have voluntarily formed 1
a'marriage union, and sell them thousands of
miles apart. Any slaveholder may do this j
' high-handed injustice, we were about to say, b
but we must not declaim. We therefore sim- b
ply describe it as an act which would be high- m
handed if perpetrated upon free citizens; and n
we appeal to the Christian consciences of the a
reverend advocates of slavery to pronounce
upon its morality, in the light of Paul's injunc- t
tion to be "just and equal." The same tests ?
might be applied to the act of separating children
from their parents, and to the law of ft
slavery in this country which tolerates it. We ri
ire not aware that any single passage of Scripure
can be quoted for or against it, but let it
ae tested by Paul's injunction to masters to be
"just and equal" to their servants.
Finally. If it be decided that it is "just aud
squul" to give a slave a bare subsistence, while
the fruits of his labor are worth five to tea times
as much; if to deny to the slaves the legal relation
of husband and wife, and to separate
without cause such as form voluntary unions of
love and fidelity, and tear from them their offspring,
be consistent with justice and equality,
hen we ask, what acts could be characterized
&s unjust and unequal ?
Thus much for the Scripture argument, which,
is we have said, can only be good against such
is appeal to Scripture, and defer to its auhority.
_
THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE.
The Virginia Senate by a vote of 31 to 11,
md the House of Delegates by a vote of 90
o 42, adopted the following resolutions, refilling
to appoint deputies to the Southern Dismion
Conference :
" Resolved, That the present General Assem)ly
of Virginia, recognising in our present reations
with non-slaveholding States an imperktive
necessity for decisive measures, does not
ret distrust the capacity of the Southern States,
>y a wise and firm exercise of their reserved
>owers, to protect the rights and liberties of
he people, and to preserve the Federal Union.
?or this purpose we earnestly desire the conurreut
action of the Southern States. But
he General Assembly respectfully submit, for
he consideration of South Carolina and Misissippi,
and all our sister States of the South,
hat efficient co-operation will be more safely
lad by such direct legislative action of the
everal States as may be necessary and proper,
han through the agency of any assemblage
rhich can exercise no legislative power except
o debate and advise.
" Resolved, therefore, That in the opinion of
he General Assembly it is inexpedient to ap>oint
deputies to the Conference proposed by
louth Carolina and Mississippi.
" Resolved, That the Governor of this Comnonwealth
be requested to communicate the
oregoing resolutions to the Governors of the
states of South Carolina and Mississippi, and
0 the Governors of each of the other slavelolding
States."
This Conference was a favorite project of
Governor Wise's organ, the Enquirer, and that
ournal thought that the refusal of the State to
.ccede to it would insure the inauguration of
1 "Black Republican President" in 1861.
The Examiner, the organ of Senator Hunter,
vas also in favor of the Southern disunion Conference
; but it seems that the people of Virginia
ire not to be entrapped into disunion projects
jyher fire-eating Presidential aspirants. Their
'vaulting ambition has overleaped itself" for
>nce, and|they find themselves, with their rival
orces, united in a small minority. The Oppolition
party were unanimous, and the Democ acy
divided. The Western Democrats, together
with some from the eastern slope of the
Alleghanies, joined the Opposition in defeating
ibis treasonable project.
The disunion Democratic politicians of Eastern
Virginia overrated their influence when
;hey expected to drag the western portion of
:he State, with its large non-slaveholding popuation,
into their disunion projects; and this
lisgraceful failure will deter them from threatining
disunion, in the event of the election of
iny eligible man to the Presidency by a constitutional
yiajority of the States or people.
Fhe great argument of danger to the Union,
vhich has so often brought victory to the
itandard nf the hIavc T)??irincrA?'v. mat now be
egarded as abandoned ; and henceforth the
ssues involved in the election of a President
will be tried upon their merits, without refer;nce
to the treasonable threats of a few dismionists.
Their power of evil is gone.
UNWHOLESOME DIET.
11 me ^naneston Convention shall in its wislom
nominate Mr. Douglas for the Presidency,
i majority of Southern editors and politicians
will either be compelled to bolt the nomination
>r " eat their words." As a specimen of the
regimen to which they will be subjected in the
jontingency supposed, we append the following
)ill of fare from the Memphis Avalanche:
u The mean and damnable doctrine of squater
sovereignty has now but few advocates. A
logma that tolerates the absurdity of permitting
i lew abolition vagabonds and thieves to exclude
the property of the slave owner from teritory
won by the common blood and treasure
if the nation, is so monstrous and revolting,
hat the American people are turning from it
rith unspeakable loathing and disgust. An
irdent admiration for Stephen A. Douglas, and
i confidence in his patriotism and statesmanhip,
caused many to praise and glorify his name
vhile he wa i holding to their unsuspicious lips
he deadly { oison distilled in a heart surcharged
rith all th .t is despicable. This misplaced
onfidence n Douglas, together with his spe:ious
sophistry, induced many good men to look
rith forbearance on his absurd vagary. But
iow they consider it like the veil of the terrible
iokannah, bright aud glittering and fascinaing,
but hiding beneath its treacherous folds
he hideous features of a fiend. * * * We
ave more respect for the robber who openly
iroclaims that plunder is his trade, than for
he rogue who, under the garb of friendship,
teals that which he pretends to be guarding
nd defending. Beelzebub before Judas forver."
_____
IORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STATES
AT CHARLESTON.
The Richmond Enquirer insists with good
gason that the Republican States of the North,
'hich under no circumstances will cast a vote
jr the nominees of the Charleston Convention?
hould not be permitted to manfacture plat>rms
and designate candidates for the Southrn
Democracy to support. There is a good
efcl of justice in this demand. We are quite
ure that the Republican States would not be
rilliug to admit full delegations hailing from
le Gulf States, where the utterance of Repubcau
sentiments would doom the offender to
lie penitentiary or to the gallows. If in any
outhern locality there is a decided Republian
sentiment, or if there is an opposition oranization
in the South willing to co-operate
ith the Republicans, it is fair that they should
e represented at Chicago. In like manner,
'here there is a Northern " Democratic'' oranization
sufficient to carry a State in favor
f the Charleston nominees, or even to make a
ood fight, they should be represented fully,
tut in States unmistakably Republican, we
gree with the Enquirer, that they have no
ight to impose candidates and platforms upon
le Southern party. The Richmond Enquirer
lustrates this subject by the following striking
omparison :
" lou>a and Alabama. ? To illustrate the
ecessity for a plain, unequivocal, unambigous
l&tform at the Charleston Convention, we
take the following extracts from the platforms
f principles laid down by two States, Iowa and
ilabama. The Iowa Democratic State Con
enuon aaoptea me following:
44 ' 2. Resolved, That we cordially reaffirm
lie platform heretofore adopted by the Nation1
Democratic Convention at Cincinnati in
856, as sound in theory and salutary in pracce,
and affording, when interpreted in accordnee
with the opinions of Hon. Stephen A.
hrttglas, and faithfully carried out, an amicale
solution of all the distracting troubles which
ave agitated our country in times past, and
hich now threaten to engulf it in disunion,
ivolution, and anarchy.'
44 The Alabama Democratic State Convention
d op ted the following:
44 4 7. Resolved, further, That the Territorial
>egislutures, created by the legislation of Con
reas, have no power to abolish slavery, or to
rohibit the introduction of the samel or to im
air by unfriendly legislation the security and
ill enjoyment of the same within the Territoes
; and such constitutional power (certainly
a
1 u
VOL. XIV. |
does not belong to the people of the Territories
in any capacity, before, in the exerciae of a lawful
authority, they form a Constitution prej aratory
to admission as a State into the Union; and m
their action in the exercise of such a lawful III
11 authority certainly cannot operate or take ef- J
feet before their actual admission as a State
into the Union.'
44 The Democracy of Iowa, in 1866, were
17,964 votes in the minority, while the Democracy
of Alabama were, in 1866, 18,187 in the
MAJORITY.
" The platform of the Iowa Democracy, if
adopted at Charleston, would lose Alabama, and
not yain even Iowa."'
CONGRESS?TUESDAY.
The Senate passed the bill for the reorganization
of the Court of Claims. The bill makes
the decisions of the court final.
The House passed a bill directing the Postmaster
Genera), by public advertisement, to
j invite proposals for carrying the'entire mails
between the Atlautic and Pacific hv QUA lino I
The House, after some further proceedings, ]went
into Committee of the Whole, aud agreed I
to the consular and diplomatic bill; after If
which, Mr. Love, of Georgia, replied to Mr. K
Van Wyck, and Mr. Kellogg, of Illinois, spoke |
in reference to alleged combinations between
Messrs. Douglas of the Senate and Greeley of
the Tribune. ^Bf
At a meeting of'the Republican Association Hp-'*
of this city, held on Wednesday evening, 7th M
instant, the following officers were elected for f
the ensuing year:
B. B. French, President. f
M. Buell, 1st Vice President.
J. J. Coombs, 2d Vice President.
I Lewis Clcphane, Secretary.
D. R. Goodloe, Corresponding Secretary.
William Blanchard, Treasurer.
C. D. Rickard, G. A. Hall, and A. Hunt, Directors.
The following "entlemen were elected delegates
to the Chicago Convention : B. B. French,
Lewis Clephane, G. A. Hall, and J. J. Coombs.
Alternates, James Lynch, Dr. D. Breed, James
A. Wise, and A. Duvall.
The meeting, we understand, was very spirited,
and a number of applications were received
for membership. *
SIGNS OF_THE TIMES.
Under this title, the New York Express shows .
its preference of slavery to freedom, in the following
style:
" The way in which several thousand suffering
laborers in Massachusetts aud New Hampshire
are now assailing the bosses or ' capitalists,'
is a beautiful illustration of the practice
versus the theory embodied in Senator Sew- n
ard's speech. The 'irrepressible couflict' un- {M
der the new phase of labor versus capital is
seen where Mr. Seward least expected to see it,
not in fact at the South, and in opposition to or
conflict with the North, but in New England, *_
where the Republican party and Republican
principles are in the greatest ascendency. ' Ma- m
king shirts at 6 cents a piece and binding Congross
boots at two cents a pair,' (read the wo I
men's meetiug at Newburyport,) may well awakpn
a conflict hetween capitalists and labor:
but the conflict happens to be just where Mr.
Seward would least like to see it, and not at a
time when, under new names and for new cau
ses, he is getting up new enmities between ona
section of the T'niou and the other. But there
is one view of this subject which excites
general attention, and will more and more, the
oftener it is thought of; and that is the attempt
to array class against class as well as section
against section. We have noticed this before
in the Express, and the Baltimore American,
an old Whig journal, speaks of it thus in its
last number."
Here follows a rose-colored picture of slavery f E
from the Baltimore American, which the Ex- A
press fully endorses above. It sneers at the T
system of free lakor, and jests over the " irre- I 0
pressible conflict" between the capitalist and f
free labor. We append an extract from its pro
slavery confrere of Baltimore. The American I
says: -f
" A more deliberate and wicked misnomer Q|
for the Southern States was never eoined in the XI
brain of a merciless agitator than that of'cap- I
ital States.' It is an otter perversion of the facts. A.
Slavery to capital does not and cannot exist in
the presence of domestic slavery. The two are
antipodal in every sense. How poor a capitalist
is he who is compelled by law to feed and
clothe labor, to nurse it free of charge in sick- (
ness, and to cherish it in old age, when it has
long ceased to be productive!
u On the other haud, how rich is he who employs
labor at the lowest rate, so long as it pays,
and discharges it at once and forever without a
thought or care what becomes of it the momeut
it ceases to remunerate 1 We will not
dwell on this shameless tergiversation of Seward.
Let the spectacle of the shomakers' strike
inf Lynn tell the true story. ' Capital States,'
indeed! The falsification is enormous, and
ought to be harmless because of its very monstrosity.
But the cry will be taken up by the
demagogues of the Republican party, and echoed
and re-echoed among the ignorant operatives,
until it is implicitly believed and acted
upon. And it will not be Mr. Seward's fault,
if henceforth the creed of the Northern laborer 1
shall inculcate undying hostility to the 'capital
States ' of the South as a religious obliga- ^9
tion. Thus the 'irrepressible conflict' must
go on, negro or no negro. The wickedness of
infusing this idea into the minds of uneducated
millions, who hold political power by virtue of
the republican institutions under which they
live, is without a parallel in the history of en- ^
lightened Christian statesmanship. We seriously
fear that this ' conflict' will be urged by | )
all the skill of Seward and all the violence of
his myrmidons, and that nothing will arrest if
but the general prevalence throughout the
North of that insurrection of labor which we
are now witnessing iu Massachusetts.'*
The Express, a Northern journal, is far more
illiberal and pro-slavery than many Southern
oppositionists.
Macaulay ox Si. a very.?The Hon. Charles
Sumner has furnished to the New York Tribune
an article of Macaulay's upon Slavery, which
has never before been published in this country.
The article was published in the January
number of the Edinburgh Review for 1825, as
a review of a then recent work of a Mr. Stephen,
on the condition of the West Indies. The pa- .
ternity of the article would be promptly recog- m
nised by any one .familiar with Maeaulay a im'
perial vigor and richness of style. It is not
creditable to the American publishers of Macaulay's
essays that this important one, so
peculiarly interesting to readers on this side c>t I
the Atlantic, has been omitted. V*
Telegraph Line to the Pacific.?A number
of gentlemen, representing the principal
telegraph companies of the country, are in I
Washington, in consultation with the Govern- a
ment in reference to the construction of a line /jA
to the Pacific coast.
The Republican State Convention of Ohio,
by a large majority, nominated Mr. Chase for
the Presidency. There seems to be little opposition
to him in Ohio.
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
GRACE 6REENW00D'S LITTLE PILGRIM,
only so cents a year!
Specimen copies sent free. Address. poet peid,
LEANDER K. LIPPINCOTT,
<S7 I3S South Third street, Philadelphia, Pa
HXLPIB'S IMPENDING CRISIS. I
THE remarkable book entitled u Tke Impending Cmu Vk
of tike South : How to Meet it "?a work the wide emulation
of which will have an important bearing on the
PresidetiAl Election of 1S0U, and which ia strongly recommended
by the be?t and highetl ?nti-?la very authorities I
can be had, wholesale and retail, at the Batten Offut of
the Natiouol Era, lk Tremont street. Price 81. 8ent by
mail, free of postage, for the price. Address _?
GEO. W. LIGHT, M
Hoeum Ofhrt gdmal Km. IS Tremont St.. Boston 'JP
WANTED. f
WANTED immediately, by a gentleman and hi*
daughter, boarding and lodging for several week*
Also, owoi two pleasant rooms, suitable for parlors,
furbished or unfurnished, in a pita-am and eeairal loea- '9^.
lion These having either or both will please address# r
8. W. 1., at the Post Office. ?iK