A in erica's mis FoTt a lie ', OT j\ pTactiea\ view cF slavery . 85fe. Glass. iAiLi Book— ^ A 5^', ^ AMERICA'S MISFOKTUNE; i^/ A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. BY AN AMERICAN. A BUFFALO: THOMAS & LATHROPS' STEAM PRESSES, 1850. ^ AMERICA'S MISFORTUNE; >f OB, A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVEEY. Slavery is the most serious subject that has ever disturbed the peace of our country. The South has been wedded to the institution for centuries ; and they who attack it should be actuated by love and guided by prudence. When the husband sees the wife of his bosom stricken with a dangerous disease, he suffers no harsh measures to be taken, but everything is done with the greatest caution. The union of the I^orth and the South is most intimate, and most essential to their mutual welfare. Their soldiers fought side by side in the struggle which gave us our national being ; their statesmen have often strengthened each other's hands in our national councils ; the names of Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Calhoun, and Webster, will go down to posterity on one national tablet. Long cherished friends and children of the same mother, scattered over the hills and valleys of the North and the plains of the South, are j^raying for the peace and perpetuity of that union which is dear to them ; and those prayers, which none can douht will be heard in heaven, should not be disregarded. And yet we believe that every lover of his coun- try and his race should labor kindly, candidly, and patiently, for the removal of what is generally consid- ered a great national evil ; constantly bearing in mind that almost miraculous intervention is required to over- throw institutions interwoven with the very framework of society. In treating of American slavery, the curse pro- nounced upon Canaan, and so often adduced in de- fense of the system, claims our attention at the outset. We will consider the cause of the curse, and the curse itself. The crime which drew from the lips of ISToah the language, " Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren," was in the sight of heaven a most heinous one. There are few sins more severely denounced in the Bible than filial disrespect. The parent, it has been truly said, is God's vicegerent upon earth for the gov- ernment of the child ; and when the latter forgets his obligation to them, of whose flesh and blood he is par- taker, his doom is almost irretrievably sealed. " The eye that mocketh at his fother, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it" — which lait guage, though it is figurative, is awfully expressive. " Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may A PE ACTIO AL VIEW OF SLA.VEEY. 5 be long ii23on the land wliicli the Lord thj God giveth thee." Premature death is the penalty of disobedience. That judgment, for so flagrant a crime, should be visited iiiyon a branch of Ham's posterity forever, seems by no means improbable. The results of good and bad conduct are often exhib- ited almost side by side in the Scriptures, that by the contrast the beauty of the one and the deformity of the other may be the more apparent. God said unto Abraham, "I will be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee." Why ? For his faith. The curse upon Canaan, and the blessing upon Abra- ham, are placed so near each other that each is ren- dered especially impressive. As a reward of his piety, Abraham was to have the honor of being the natural ancestor of his Saviour. A great honor ! but it fell on a good man. l^o instance of equal steadfastness of faith is elsewhere recorded in all God's word. On the other hand, few crimes therein recorded are as revolting as that of Ham, and it could proceed only from a heart of the deepest depravity. The Bible declares in general, that the " iniquity of the fathers " shall be visited " upon the children to the third and fourth generation," but the consequences, either of great wickedness or remarkable piety, are not li mited to the fourth generation. " Therefore, the sword shall not depart from thine house," was the language addressed to one who, in the hour of temptation, had abused the power with which he was invested, for a wicked purpose. '' Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall 6 not want a man to stand before me forever," was the reward of one who had exercised a steady, judicious, and pious self-control. It is sometimes objected, that the j^unisnment of Ham's sin would not be denounced upon his youngest son. But it is by no means certain that Canaan was the youngest son of Ham, from the place which his name occupies among his brethren. If we read carefully the tenth chapter of Genesis, we shall see that Japheth was the elder son of jSToah, while in the ninth chapter his name is placed last. The name of Jacob is often placed before that of Esau, where they appear in the same connexion. Other cases similar are found in the Bible. When a son was to be highly distinguished, his name was often placed first, whether the eldest or not. Hence it is not improbable that Canaan was the eldest son of Ham, and his name may have been placed last, in consequence of his degradation. As regards the curse itself, the connexion plainly implies that it was to be perpetual. If we were to construe the verse contain- ing it, and the two succeeding, literally^ we should entirely destroy the sense, as w^e should make Shem and Jaj)heth the hrethren of Canaan. '' A servant of servants shall he be ;" a servant of the lowest grade. This degradation would seem to imply physical, men- tal, and moral inferiority. If he who is doomed to servitude is not physically weaker than his oppressor, he endures a mere voluntary subjection ; if he is not mentally weaker, he will either outwit the master, or by his appeals for relief enlist the sympathies of his A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 7 fellow-men, and in one way or the other effect a re- lease; if he is not morally weaker, he will prodnce an awe upon his lord, the effects of which it will be im- possible to resist. But, generally, they who are weak in one of these points, are in the others also. "What we have thus far said proves nothing as to who are the descendants of Canaan. But it is generally be- lieved, if we mistake not, by biblical scholars and his- torians, that while the children of Japheth settled the countries nearest to the original home of man, and the children of Shem penetrated the east, and founded the Chinese Empire, the descendants of Ham went south and peopled Africa. Whether they are correct or not, we believe that the characteristics which the curse pronounced upon Canaan would seem to imply, are essentially those of the African or negro race. The colored reader, we trust, will bear with us ; for w^hile we deeply commiserate his unfortunate condition, we can not forbear to express our honest convictions ; at the same time we gladly admit that his race have given instances of virtue and moral worth, well worthy the imitation of their more favored white brethren. "Wlierever the colored man is seen in motion, whether in the field, the shop, or the street, his movements are usually more slow and languid than those of the white man ; he seems to have less strength of nerve and muscle, and less power of endurance. Diseases, as is generally known, especially those which prevail among children, are peculiarly fatal to this race. The skin, which is nature's great shield for the system, is thin- ner upon the colored race, as they themselves assert, 8 AifERicA's misfortune; or, than upon all others. That the African, although pos- sessing greater power of imitation, has less strength of intellect than the other races, no one can douht who has had an opportunity for observation. As regards moral inferiority, although it may be owing in a measure to ignorance, the judicial records of communities, composed of both white and colored people, show the proportion of crime to population to be largely against the latter. It may be argued, that long continued degradation in our country is the cause of this general inferiority which is exhibited. But the inferiority throughout the world is apparent. The physical appearance of the negro is the same in all countries; climate has very little effect upon his color or features. The full-blooded negro has the same black skin, curly hair, thick lips, and flat nose, wherever he is found. That these characteristics were not origin- ally the effect of the African climate, must be admitted by every person of candor and intelligence. Some be- lieve that the color of the African is the mark set upon Cain ; but as the family of Koah were, after the flood, the sole inhabitants of the earth, we doubt if this the- ory can be sustained. On the other hand, it is a sig- nificant fact, that the literal meaning of the word Ham is hlacJc. That the mental and moral inferiority of the colored man is not the result of oppression by the white race, must be apparent to every one who knows the barbarous state of the race in Africa. If these things are so, we see not how their inferior rank among the nations can be accounted for, otherwise than as a special divine judgment. If the race are A rEACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 9 lower in the scale of being than the other races, we must admit thai: thev were assigned this position by the moral Governor of the universe, who does all tilings in accordance with the dictates of infinite wisdom and benevolence, and nothing but for reasons which are sufficient and often apparent. The ancient Egyptians are sometimes cited as illus- trating the genius of the colored man ; but the careful student of history will learn tliat, though hrovon or svMrthy^ tliey were not a black race. A distinguished modern traveler informs us, that, upon the relics of their monuments, the negroid represented as the slave. The inferiority of the African race is virtually ac- knowledged by themselves. "VYherever they dwell among the other races, they seem generally possessed of an innate consciousness that they are surrounded by superior beings. Their language and bearing alike in- dicate this. The more intelligent and worthy, at times, express a willingness to submit to the allotments of Providence, and enforce this duty upon their brethren. Is there any other race possessing the characteristics, and holding the rank, implied in the language, "A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren?" AVe believe not. If, therefore, the African race have the characteris- tics of the curse, and there is no other race having them ; if they are in a state of subjection in accord- ance with its spirit, and there is no other race in such a state, we see not how the conclusion can be avoided, that they are the recipients of' the curse of the ancient patriarch, who spoke as he was moved by his Maker; 1* 10 America's misfoetune; oe, and we regard their degradation as a consequence of sin, as natural, and as necessary, and as apparent, as the punishments inflicted upon the rebellious Jews, and other nations, ancient and modern, at the hand of those whom God raised up as the executors of his wrath, and who in turn proved the truth of that scrip- ture which declares that " the way of the transgressor is hard.'^ "We believe that American slavery will result in the highest good of the African race. The enslavement of a portion of the race in this country has given them a larger opportunity to acquire the blessings of civili- zation and Christianity, than without it could ever have been afforded them by missionary labor upon their own continent. The slave witnesses our system of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, education, gov- ernment, and religion ; and he returns to the land of his fathers to give his brethren there the benefit of that knowledge, which, though so dearly bought by him, is yet invaluable. That the influence of the small colonies of emanci- pated slaves upon the coast of Africa is already ap- parent in that country, none will deny who are acquainted with the facts. Some will, perhaps, say, that by this argument it would be praiseworthy to steal a large portion of the race from their homes in Africa, and enslave them in enlightened. Christian America. But we do not deem such a course neces- sary for the improvement of the whole race. The salo of Joseph by his brethren to the Ishmaelites, and the se- vere discipline through which he passed, were the means A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 11 of raising him to his high elevation in Egypt, by which he became a great blessing to his kindred; and the liistory of the Indians of our comitry shows that a sin- gle captive, after receiving an education in a Christian famiW, has sometimes been the means of good to almost an entire tribe. We believe that, bad as is slavery, and numerous and great as are its abuses, and bad as may be the motives of some by whom it is sustained, the conclu- sion can not be avoided, that it has been a benevolent system ; not benevolent on the part of those who in- troduced it into our country, but in the mind of Him " who seeth not as man seeth," and who causes " even the wrath of man to praise Ilim." The operation of God's laws is the same with the African race as with all other races. Scarcely a race or an individual has ever existed, without being com- pelled to feel sensibly the disciplining hand of a bene- ficent Creator. War, pestilence, and famine, have been the scourges of the nations ; and personal and domestic afflictions none have ever been able to avoid. These calamities are never sent upon nations or in- dividuals, till God sees them absolutely essential to their highest welfare ; and they are seldom sent with- out ajpijarent good results. Hence, we have no reason to suppose, that any especial tem2:>orary disadvantage to which the African race, or a portion of it, may be subjected, will not ultimately be seen to have been beneficial. But if any slaveholder quiets his con- science with the thought that he may wantonly op- press the descendants of the guilty Ham, he has great 12 America's misfortune; ok, reason to fear tbe wrath of Ilim wliohas declared that he will " break in pieces the oppressor." Some eminent divines in our country deem it neces- sary, for the full accomplishment of God's purposes, that American slavery should continue till the millen- nium. While we have the fullest confidence in their integrity, we doubt if there is sufficient reason for this belief. They would free the system from its abuses, which we believe would be vastly more difficult than its entire extinction, and less in accordance with the ordinary methods of God's providence. That the col- ored race will suffer disadvantage to the end of time, we do not doubt, but American slavery can not be con- sidered essential to it. We have alluded to the abuses of slavery. "Oh, massa ! for mercy's sake, begin at the other end," was the language of a slave who was suffering a lingering and painful death. His master was a sister's son of one of the early presidents of the United States. This man and his brother owned plantations near each other, and both brothers were present at the scene al- luded to. This slave had often been guilty of running away, from which, seemingly, no punishment could deter him ; and at last the patience of the master was exhausted. It was night, a rousing fire was put on, and all the slaves upon the plantation were assembled to see the offender punished. The unfortunate victim was stretched upon a table, and the master began the work of execution. Commencing with his feet, he chopped them off with a large axe provided for the purpose, and committed them to the flames, warning A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 13 the other slaves of the dreadful consequences of run- ning away; and thus lie proceeded deliberately to sever and burn the limbs from his body, stopping often to make such remarks as he deemed suitable to tlie occasion, till he had completed his work. The poor slave saw that his time had come, and all that he could do was to beg in vain that his head might be taken, and his sufferings terminated with the next stroke. We believe that such tragedies are rare ; but the fact that this cruel death was inflicted upon a fellow- being, by a man of high connexion, shows that where there is no human law to interfere, the bad passions of some men have very little restraint ; and in such cases, the life or the excruciating death of the slave is a question of but very little importance. There are few crimes of which the slave can be guilty as heinous, in the view of the master, as running away, and but few as severely punished ; and it is doubtless a knowl- ed;ht efforts were about being made to smuggle goods across the" river from the American shore. The night was a very dark and stormy one, late in autumn, but he at once went to the discharge of his duty. They proceeded up the river to the place where it was supposed the goods would be landed ; but after waiting a long time to no purpose, they started for their homes, and when near the ferry, a little below the Falls, their attention was arrested by a light upon the American shore. This light pro- ceeded from a boat, which soon launched forth into the foaming waters ; and believing this to contain the con- traband goods, the officer concealed himself near the landing place, and awaited its approach. It was manned, apparently, by two men, and as it landed, A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 15 and one stepped out, tlie officer suddenly stepped in, at which the boat shot forth asrain into the ano^ry cur- rent. It was a fearful moment for them, there being a fatal whirlpool but a mile or two below, and nothing .in the boat in the shape of an oar. After much search, however, a single piece of plank was discovered, with which they alternately battled against a seemingly speedy and inevitable death, without considering wdie- ther their relation was that of friends or foes. At length, after great exertion, they succeeded in reaching the shore ; and the reader can, periiaps, imagine what were the feelings of the officer when he learned that his comrade was the fugitive of whom he had read in the early part of the evening. He preferred to brave with his wife the darkness of the night and the dan- gers of the river, lashed into fury by the storm, rather than risk another day on soil where they might be claimed as slaves. Fugitives have repeatedly told the writer that it was their settled determination, when they left the South, never to be taken alive ; and he has every reason to l)dieve that they were sincere. A tale of severe afflic- tion, while on his journey northward, is sometimes told by the fugitive. A few years since, a slave — we know not whether black or white, for he might have been either color — with his wife bade adieu to slavery, to seek a free home in the North. The journey was long, and the labors were too severe for woman's strength. In one of the forests of Maryland, the sorrowing husband alone wit- nessed the dying struggles of his companion. Far from il6 America's MiSFORTrNE ; or, I any human eye, with his own hands he buried her, and none knew his grief till he arrived in a land of free- dom, and published his story as another illustration of the miseries of the slave. I The desire of the colored man, although free, to live among white people, is not a matter of surprise ; for, being accustomed to look to them for protection while in slavery, he naturally distrusts his ability to provide for himself; and beside this, it is characteristic of hu- man nature to desire intercourse with superiors. In some neighborhoods at the I^orth, composed entirely of fugitives, they have been found in a state bordering upon starvation, althougli upon as rich a soil as could be desired. We have spoken of the severity vvMth which the cap- tured fugitive is liable to be punished ; but there are many other crimes (if such they may be called) of which slaves are guilty that are punished with death. Any case which the master deems one of aggravated insubordination, he may punish with death, at his dis- cretion. The state of society at the South is such that this seems almost necessary ; for, as the slaves so greatly outnumber the free population, if a rebellious spirit on their part is not crushed at once, tlie commu- nity are in imminent peril, while waiting the formali- ties of law. Excessive cruelty to the slave, on the part of the master, is forbidden, but any action at law must be at the instigation of a white person, for in none of the slave States is the slave known in law as a man — he can not be even a witness against a white person. If the law could be strictly enforced, the slave A PK ACTIO AL VIEW OF SLA. VERY. 17 would be much less liable to abase, but this is not to be expected of any law, the execution of which is left to man ; and were it to be, in consequence of the arbitrary power which the slaveholder continually finds it necessary to exercise, the line between clem- ency and cruelty must be ver}^ broad. It is sometimes said that a bad man at the South will abuse his slaves, as a cruel man at the Korth will abuse his cattle ; and doubtless this is true, as regards the fact that they are both exceptions, but w^e believe -that there are few who will deny that cruelty to a human being is a crime of much deeper dye in the sight of Jehovah, than cruelty to a brute. The cruelties practiced, not generally and by the more worthy class of slaveholders, but occasion- ally and by the unfeeling, are so well known that we need not mention them ; we believe that the perpetra- tors are, almost without exception, men having but little regard for God or man, and but little knowledge of human nature, which invariably teaches that kind- ness is the best policy. We believe that there has been a wrong impression at the Xorth with regard to the extent to which the slaves of our country are ill-treated, extreme cases hav- ing been taken as the general rule. That they are sometimes scantily fed and clothed and poorly shel- tered, and otherwise brutally treated when well, and neglected when sick, even at this day, after all the efforts that have been put forth in their behalf, it would be idle to deny, but we have the best of evi- dence — that of the slaves themselves — that the mass are not cruelly treated. Remarkable cases of cruelty 18 America's misfortune; or, find place in the pa2:)ers, and these are often so com- mented upon that a tree which is indeed unsightly is judged by the very worst specimens of its fruit. The writer has within the last year visited personally hun- dreds of fugitives in Canada, and talked with many of them freely in regard to the treatment which they re- ceived while in slavery, and their motives for leaving their masters ; and their almost unanimous testimony was, that they were well treated and kindly cared for by their masters. The only exception that now occurs to us is the case of an old fugitive whom we recently met, who at one period in his early life was owned by an uncle of Washington ; but having passed into other hands, for many years he received severe abuse from liis master, for having dared to make known his disre- gard of his domestic obligations. Some spoke of their masters with much feeling. " Call me not master, for ' One is your master who is in heaven,' " was the lan- guage which one fugitive stated was often addressed to him and his fellow slaves b}^ their owner. The love of liberty, which is rarely extinguished in the breast of any human being but with life, w^as the fugitive's great motive for leaving his Southern home, to which he was strongly attached. The fact that fugitives from whom, if any, we should expect complaint of ill-treat- ment, make little such complaint, would seem to prove beyond a doubt that the slaves generally are kindly treated. Yet the system must inevitably bear the re- proach of everything of which it is the cause. The practice of dis' 'arding. in any degree, the rights or feelings of anj of our fellow-men, hardens the heart A PKACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 19 and brutalizes society. We liave given one instance of barbaritj^, and it may not be amiss to give another which, occurs to us, before leaving the subject. In the winter of 1846, in the State of Missouri, a most atrocious crime was committed, apparently with- out any provocation. Suspicion was at once fixed upon a yellow boy living in the neighborhood, and he was seized, and without conviction burned at the stake by the enraged populace. If he was guilty, most would say that he richly deserved death, but this fact was beyond the knowledge of his executioners. But whether guilty or not, no candid j^erson will say that punishment so hasty and barbarous was not disgrace- ful to those who inflicted it; and yet in sorrow we must acknowledge that in our Southern States the mob too often assume the right to be the executors of the law. Two other cases similar to this have occurred in the South within the last year. What other Chris- tian nation would tolerate the burnino: of human beinfrs at the stake ? The sundering of the ties of nature is another evil of slavery. The family relation is the basis of society ; it was instituted before any other upon earth, in the garden of Eden — the cradle of our race. The family is tlie world's nursery, and is as indispensable to the community as the strong wall to the safety of the ten- der plant which it surrounds. A mother's love is the only guarantee for the protection of her child during its infancy ; and everywhere conjugal, filial, and fra- ternal love are demanded by the w;w^ker and more defenseless. These affections are ofterrpianifested in 20 America's misfortune; ok, a manner whicli is strikingly beautiful ; but they are never more beautiful than necessary, so v/isely and graciously has our Creator everywhere mingled the useful with the agreeable. Most of our readers have heard the touching song, founded upon the fact that a mother among the moun- tains of one of our Northern States, upon a cold and stormy winter's night, divested herself of a portion of her own necessary clothing to protect her babe, who was found in the morning still alive, while the mother herself had perished. We have heard of the prince whose devoted wife with her own lips drew the poison from a wound which he had received, saving his life at the risk of her own. We have read of the daughter whose mother's distress led her to present herself before a dentist, who had offered a liberal price for sound teeth, to part with a portion of her own frame for the rel ief of her parent. Such instances of affection, though striking, are not incredible ; for this devotion to those whom we love is characteristic of our race. The same law, indeed, governs the brute creation. The young of every animal flies to the mother for refuge at the approach of danger, and there alone feels safe ; and the mother herself often surrenders her life to shield her young from harm. And so, too, in the vegetable world, the weak, like a helpless child, clings to the strong for support. The rich, nutritious grain, is guarded by a strong husk, without which it would wither and perish. The vine lovingly twines itself around tlie oak, and by its aid rises toward heaven. American slavery ignores to a lamentable extent A rRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 2l this law of God's a])pointmeiit. The wife is taken from her husband and carried he knows not whither, while each is compelled to stifle those almost omnipo- tent afiections which our Creator has implanted in every human breast, and which no violence can ever completely crush." The affection of parent and child is ruthlessly disregarded, and each is compelled to suffer a life-long martyrdom to a cupidity of which pagan Rome was never guilty. The brother and sister, whose lives dawned nearly together, and who seemed formed for each other's happiness, are sepa- rated almost from the cradle. The separation of fami- lies, it is true, is not common in all the slave States, but in some it is painfully frequent. We are glad to know, however, that in most of them the laws at present forbid taking children of a very tender age from the mother, and that the aversion to parting those whom nature has so closely united, is steadily increasing. The selling of a human being is at best a most re- volting transaction ; and although w^e may become so accustomed to it as to regard it lightly, it is not so with our Maker. Who gave the slaveholder his title to that with which he parts for money ? Is the title of our Creator to his rational creatures transferable? Will the slaveholder argue that long possession is a sufficient title, when our forefathers deemed them- selves justified in taking the inanimate soil from the ■^ During the past winiter, a slave woman in Baltimore, on being told of the death of her husband, who had recently been taken from her, swooned, and died in six hours. 9Q Indian, who liad occupied it for many centuries, and were doubtless correct in their views ? In questions of right and wrong, long established usages and cus- toms are of but little account, "We declare the African slave trade to be j)ii'acy, and if we would consistently free ourselves from the charge of being a nation of land pirates, we must point out the difference in prin- ciple between robbing a man of himself on the coast of Africa and doing the same on tlie continent of America; and if we fail to do this, of what doom do we declare ourselves worthy from the court of heaven? * The licensed prostitution which slavery has entailed upon the Southern community, and which has scarcely a parallel in the annals of Christian nations, is^ a theme which we w^ould gladly pass over did not duty forbid. The separation of the slave husband and wife is not the end of their misery; they are generally compelled to regard themselves as freed from the marriage rela- tion ; and as the slave is in some cases forced to change his position many times during life, it is deplorable to see how much like a brute he will at length become. A humane person can not at first view such degradation with calmness. But in many cases the master can not * An almost incredible wantonness is sometimes manifested in selling slaves. A Southern member of Congress once said to some members from the North, as they were preparing to leave for their homes : " You are going home with money in your pocket, while I go in debt ; when I arrive there, I shall select from my slaves a boy worth three hundred dollars, send him to the market, and thus raise the money to pay my bills here." His appetites and lusts had consumed a fellow being. A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 23 be said to do more than compel the slave to follow his own loathsome examjile, the highest and holiest feel- ings of human beings often becoming subject to him, whom his Creator designed to be a protector of the weak and the innocent. ISTothing but the strong arm of the law is sufficient, in the most highly favored com- munities, to give a tolerable security to virtue ; and where society is so constituted that this barrier can not bo interposed, and brute passion is inflamed by the love of money, man becomes debased at a fearfully rapid rate. The evil to which we allude pertains not to families merely ; it vitiates the noblest race on the globe. Any alliance, whether by marriage or other- wise, of the white and negro races, is a manifest injury to the former, and highly repugnant to those instincts which our Creator has pjiaced in every human breast. There are few social evils that have been visited with severer judgments than family alliances with inferior races or neighbors. Our Creator has plainly declared his disapprobation of these, both by word and deed. In the early history of the world, when the sons of God were united to the fair but idolatrous daughters of men, the earth became so corrupt that nothing but a flood could purify it. The Jews were expressly for- bidden to intermarry with the heathen round about them. The slaveholder mav sin as^ainst the marriage rela- tion — the holiest and most necessary of all earthly relations — by an unnatural marriage with one of in- ferior race, or by refusing to regard his obligation to a wife who is his equal, and whom alone he has promisecf 2i America's misfortune; or, to love and protect during life. It is well known tliat in some of the extreme Southern States the marriage of white men to Creole women is not uncommon ; and the offspring are in many cases treated by the father, as slaves. We believe, however, that most of the slaves of fair complexion are not the offspring of marriage. "Tliank God! one more is free," was the language of an editor on our northern frontier, after noticing in feeling terms the escape to Canada of a young lady of much beauty, formerlj^ a slave. This person the writer saw and conversed with, and consequently knows of what he is writing. She had just arrived in a town of nearly three thousand inhabitants, and we hazard nothing in saying that scarcely a lady in the place could lay claim to more native beauty. We remarked this at first sight, although entirely ignorant of her history, or even that she was a fugitive ; and although with colored people, we did not suspect that there was a drop of negro blood in her veins. Her hair was rich in its color and texture ; her eyes were of a deep blue, searching and intelligent ; and her features generally were fair and regular. Upon asking her how she liked Canada, she replied that it was a safer place for colored people, and for that reason she had come there, as it was not safe for her to remain in the States. This was the first intimation tliat she was a fugitive, and it seemed to us that the term "colored" came with strange propriety from such a source. She had form- erly been a slave in Kentucky, and had escaped nearly a year previous to a seminary in Ohio, where she was A PKACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 2S pursuing her studies ; but as searcli was made for her, she was compelled to flee to Canada, in doing which slie narrowly escaped capture. In the same room with, this person was a woman as black as is often seen, who with a manifest feeling of pitv and respect could not forbear the remark, "She don't look as though she ought to be in danger, does she?" This was not in a heathen land, where men w^orship wood and stone, and make women a beast of burden ; it was not far back in the dark, ages, before chivahy had raised woman, from her long night of misery and degradation ; it was in the middle of the nineteenth century, in a Christian land, considered by its people the most highly favored land upon the globe — a land priding itself upon its re- gard for female delicacy and the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race. It was from such a land that a lady, beautiful in person and gentle in manners, was compelled, bid- ding adieu to her studies, to flee for protection to that government whose wickedness in taxing us in revolutionary times we thundered in the ears of the world. It was in the United States of America ; but lest the pagan and the savage should exult in their happiness and declare that civilization and Christian- ity are a curse, w^e will tell them that there is no other Cltristian land upon earth where such a scene could bo enacted. Could an artist have seen this lady, in- telligent and refined, and possessing beauty which a queen might covet, he might have drawn a picture of her in her flight, which would have done the subject approximate justice, but we can not, and shall not 26 America's misfortune; ok, attempt it. We wish that every lady in our country could have been with us, and, if we mistake not, many would have turned away with moistened cheeks. We wish that the parents of our country could have been with us, for none so well as they can appreciate the suf- ferings of the helpless daughter. "We wish that every humane and uneasy slaveholder could have been with us to behold another illustration of the enormities which he indirectly sanctions. We wish that every philanthropist could have been with us to gather fresh inspiration for his labors. We wish that every Amer- ican Christian could have been with us, and we believe that their prayers could not after have ascended to the throne of grace without remembrance of the slave. The sight of suffering, it is true, thrills us vastly more than the mere relation of it, and we labor under a dis- advantage in presenting this case to our readers; but we make no apology for dwelling so long upon what we can never forget, and we should neglect a most sacred duty if we did not publish it to the nation and the world. We would eagerl}^, though in sorrow, pro- claim it with our own voice in the ears of every man, woman, and child in America. This may seem to some a trivial matter ; but when vl foreign government deprives one of our citizens of any of his rights we loudly denounce the injustice, is it a less wrong when perpetrated by ourselves against defenseless, unoffend- ing it'<9/72<2?i .^ In ancient times, if tradition be true, the abduction of one woman from her home and country caused a mighty city to be ten years besieged, and at last Troy A PEACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 27 lay in ruins ; in our clay women of acknowledged worth are enslaved in our own midst with impunity. Will seas of benevolence wash from the page of our history one such crime as that above recorded ? What good deed can we do which shall balance the wrongs we are inflicting upon those whom religion and the dictates of common humanity alike bid us protect? The above was not a solitary case of the kind which came under our notice, nor is white slavery confined to one sex. We met with a family of four who escaped from slavery, by traveling two as the family of the master and the other two as servants. Three of the four would have been pronounced by a stranger active, intelligent white people. We saw few youths in Can- ada of more promise than the son, a boy of fourteen. It is a fact, as striking as it is lamentable, that at many public gatherings of fugitives the complexion of a large proportion is so light that at a little distance it is diffi- cult to determine to which race they belong. The Anglo-Saxon slavery of our country has no parallel in tlie world's history. We boast of being a Christian people, and yet make merchandise of our sisters fairer than ourselves — the noblest of all God's earthly gifts to man — whose lack of physical strength is more than supplied by excess of affection. I have said that we do it, for the whole country, not a particular section of it, must by the world be held responsible for the exist- ence of slavery. The facts above stated are not excep- tions to as great a degree as many may suppose; but we have ch'jscu to state simply what came within our knowledge. 28 America's misfortune; or, One of the most powerful arguments adduced against slavery is, that it forbids the slave a religious educa- tion, thus making heathens of immortal beings in our I midst ; and there is truth in the charge. It is a lament- able fact, that in many portions of the South the slave is not permitted to read the Bible — a privilege which should be enjoyed by every person of sufficient age in Christian America. It is true, it is not absolutely essential to the salva- tion of a slave that he be able to read the Bible him- self, and we can readily see that even a Christian slaveholder may deem it his duty to deny his slave the requisite education, although we consider him in a great error. He argues that the slave who can read the Bible can read any other print in the language, and that he will inevitably read others, and those which will make his condition seem much worse rela- tively than is really the case. This reasoning, though correct, we believe to be insufficient. It is possible for any one by abusing his knowledge to niake it a curse. The corrupt literature with which our country is flooded, is the ruin of many who read it ; and if education becomes an occasion of evil to the more favored, we can not wonder if it does to the less. We fear, however, that the argument noticed above will not bear the scrutiny of the judgment-day ; for if a curse is pronounced upon him who takes away from God's word a7iy jpart^ what shall he receive who with- holds the whole? Slaveholders are sometimes heard to say, that if they can be convinced that there is any- thin": in the relation of master and slave inconsistent A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 29 with the spirit of the Gospel, or that their slaves would in any respect be better off by receiving their freedom, they will free them at once. But does not every slaveholder by his example aid in sustaining slavery, with all its abuses ? and will not the blood of that slave who has died in ignorance of a Saviour, at the last day, be required of the slavehold- ino; Christian? We are fflad to know tliat at the present da}^ many slaves are permitted and even taught to read the Bible, and that the number of these is con- stantly increasing. Sabbath schools for their especial benefit in some parts of the South are not uncommon ; and there seems a growing desire for the religious web fare of the slave, on the part of the Christian master and mistress, who not unfrequently themselves act as teachers, as feeling their responsibility for the salva- tion of those whom providence has committed to their care. In many of the Southern States the public worship of God is also required by the master, who frequently assigns seats to the slaves in the same house with himself It is well known, too, that the skives frequently meet by themselves for religious exercises, both upon the Sabbath and other days. It is true that great caution is necessary in granting these privileges ; for, if we mistake not, the laws of the Southern States generally forbid meetings com- posed entirely of colored persons, and the mastei-s who tolerate these meetings must of course be held respon- sible f )r the consequences. There is no community in wliich tliere are not some desperate characters; and wJj.ere many feel with reason that they are unjustly so America's misfoetune; oe, oppressed, it would not be strange if in their assem- blies measures destructive of the public safety should be concocted. Dangerous insurrections to rid themselves of a yoke which it seems necessary for them to bear, till removed by violence, have been planned by slaves at their pro- fessedly religious meetings. " Think of the love of Jesus," was the language which a slaveholder once overheard from the lips of his pious slave. This slave had often, after the labors of the day, gone to a swamp, some distance from his liome, to attend a meeting holden by the neighboring slaves. The master was not well pleased with his so frequent attendance upon these meetings, but as he was remarkable for his faithfulness and honesty, he never actually forbade him. One night he resolved to follow him, and did so, remaining concealed a short distance from the place of meeting, and near enough to hear all that was said. It would seem that a plan for an insurrection had for some time been under con- sideration, and the slave alluded to was the only one to strenuously oppose it. One after another expressed his feelings, all dwelling upon the blessings of free- dom, and the necessity of slaying without reserve tlieir natural enemies, (their masters,) in order to procure it. As the wickedness of their white oppressors was de- picted in glowing colors, the faithful negro alone lifted up his voice in opposition to their counsels, reminding them of the love of a Saviour for even the greatest sinners ; and this simple argument prevailed. The insurrection was abandoned, and the humble slave A PRACTICAL VIEW OF BLAVEKY. 31 was doubtless the preserver of many lives. What were the feelings of the master as he returned to his home we know not, but he never after objected to the slave's attending the meetings in the swamp. This incident shows that, degraded as the slaves of the South may be, religion bears its fruit in their midst. It should be a source of sorrow to every Christian in our land that piety is not more nurtured, where its growth is often so lovely ; and it should cause not only sorrow but shame that the Bible is there withheld. The pious slave has often been a means of much, good to his master. "Cuff, will you pray forme?" was once the request of a slaveholder. This slave slept in a room near his master's, and often annoyed him by his prayers. lie was forbidden this practice, and threatened with punishment if he persisted ; but he continued to pray as before, and in consequence received a flogging. " You may whip me, massa, but I must pray," was his only reply. The next night he prayed again, and again he was flogged. The third night he prayed as usual, but this time the heart of the master was touched, and he became the humble suppliant. "Why, massa," he replied, as the broken spirit besought his prayers, '' I have been praying for vou all the time." Who would not delicjht to wear the crown wliich that slave shall receive from his Saviour at the last day ? American slavery differs materially from all other systems, ancient or modern. The slavery of the Bible is often adduced in its support ; and as far as slavery in the abstract is concerned, the numerous allusions to ?,2 America's misfortune; or, }t, the duties enjoined upon masters and servants, the exliortation to Christians to " remember those in bonds as bound with them," and especially the course of Paul with Philemon, show that it was sanctioned both under the old dispensation and the new. The Jews, God's peculiar people, were both en- slaved and permitted to enslave the heathen round about them ; and we have not the slightest intimation that Christ disapproved of the relation existing between the master and the slave while He was upon earth. The slavery of our country may be considered analagous to that of the Bible, inasmuch as it is in both cases, we believe, the result of moral obliquity. Yet the one differs as widely from the other as the rushing torrent from the gentle rill. Jewish slavery was mitigated by stated seasons of jubilee, at which " every yoke was broken, and the oppressed went free;" and we have every reason to believe that in general the system was free from many of those abuses wdiich render American slavery so odious in the sight of heaven, and of all man- kind ; that the separation of families, the oft-repeated sale of the slave from master to master, and from one part of the land to another, the physical torture, and the putting to death at mere caprice, were unknown. These, in the eyes of the IS'orth, and of the whole world, are prominent features of American slavery ; and they who attempt to justify it by the Bible, do it at the peril either of their intelligence or their hon- estj^, as it seems to us ; and we believe that no candid person, after a careful examination of the facts, can avoid the same conclusion. And yet it is not strange A PKACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVEKY. 33 that the defenders of American slavery resort to the Bible, for there are verj'^ few who do not feel its sanc- tion in the course they are pursuing of the greatest con- sequence, however much they may at times discard the idea that it is a revelation from God. The fact that the votaries of any system can plausibly argue its inno- cence or justice from the Bible, proves nothing in its justification ; it may be right, and there is an equal probability that it is wrong. There are few vices, how- ever disgusting or polluting, in the j^ractice of which men will not resort to the Bible for shelter. The drunkard tells us that Paul advised Timothy " to take a little wine for his stomach's sake," while he well knows, or ought to know, tliat the Bible declares that "no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." The Sabbath-breaker, while pursuing his worldly busi- ness upon the Lord's day, although unable to conceal his sense of-^iiit^- will cite to us the passage in which a man is authorized to '* lift his sheep from the pit." The polygamist and the debauchee will refer us to Abraham and Solomon, regardless of the numerous and strong denunciations of Scripture against fornica- tion, and the repeated instances of its punishment. And in like manner may the thief adduce the exam- ple of Christ, who plucked corn to appease his hunger; and the gambler the casting of lots in the case of Jonah, in both which cases the preservation of life was the motive. The practice of fleeing to the Bible for absolution from guilt, as in ancient times the fugi- tive from justice sought safety by laying hold upon the horns of the altar, is a most weak and dangerous 34 AMERICA'S misfortune; or, one. It is weak, because it is attempting toliide from that God Avhose wrath is sure to overtake the guiltj^ ; and it is dangerous, because it perverts God's truth, and leads to a continually increasing license in sin. We doubt not that there are many in our country who defend American slavery upon Scripture grounds with comparative innocence, never having carefully compared it with Bible slavery, and observed the striking dissimilarity ; but it is a subject well worthy the attention of all, and especially of every Christian. "What was true of ancient Jewish slavery, we believe was true of all the ancient systems, as regards freedom from many of the abuses of our system. The Greeks had several grades of society, the lowest of which was the slave. Insolvent debtors and captives taken in war were liable to this degradation. But though serving heathen masters, their lives were in a great measure sacred, and not trifled with by individuals with impunity; nor were they continually suffering painful separations. Rome, too, had numerous slaves conquered by her arms in battle. A long line of prisoners often followed the victorious general to the Eternal City, " that sat upon her seven hills, and from her throne of beauty ruled the world." JSTot unfrequently, it is true, a violent death pre- vented a long life of servitude in a distant province ; but the captive had never before him the prospect of being the victim of a system of oppression continually sundering the strongest and tenderest ties upon earth. The Greek and Roman slaves, whom the result of a battle had reduced to this state, had not the humili- A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 35 ating reflections of the American slave, for it was an adverse fate, and not merely the cupidity of a foreign nation to which tliey owed their subjection. They were not haunted by the thought that either they or their ancestors were stolen from their homes, and bound with chains never to be broken ; they fougJd^ and their enemies ivon. If we turn from ancient to modern slavery, our system, we believe, will gain nothing. The autocrat of Russia has slaves, numbered by millions, whom he may compel, even to the last man, to spend their lives in military service for his personal aggrandizement. Their jDroperty is his prop- erty ; their energies are his energies ; their wills his will ; their consciences his conscience ; their lives his lives : he thinks and they act. The Russian nobility, too, have their millions of vassals, but of course with less power over them. The Russian serf is, and ever has been, a slave in his own home. He is never sold from field to field to fill the cofiers of his owner ; he is sold only with the land which he tills, and though he and his family may be regarded as mere appendages, they are, except in case of war, fixed appendages. He lives where his fathers lived, and dies where they died. There are slaves in the Brazilian mines, but when the slave enters them it is usually for life, with little prospect of more intolerable circumstances, or any change of masters or companions. Africa has a vast number of slaves, more degraded by far than our own, yet it is not slavery which makes them so, for this is perhaps the most favorable condition for these sunken, S6 America's misforttjne; oe, wretched masses, as it is doubtless the most eiFectual restraint which can be imposed upon their well known barbarous propensities. Possessed of a most fertile soil, their indolence seems proportionate ; and the more laborious way of obtaining their sustenance from the culture of the earth, is greatly discarded by those who have the physical strength to compel their weaker but more industrious neighbors to share with them, human life being of little account. In such a country slavery seems almost indispensable to the existence of society, and it differs almost as widely, in point of utility^ from American slavery as the healthful government of the parent from absolute despotism. The one serves as the life-blood of community, while the other merely aggrandizes him who possesses arbitrary power. Tiie caste system of India may be regarded as a species of slavery, for all but the highest caste feel a crushing weight. The feudal system of the middle ages, many traces of which remain in Europe to the j)resent day, was also a system of vassalage. There is no community on earth in which slavery, in some of its phases, is not visible. The man of no- ble blood looks down upon his common neighbor, feeling that his presence should inspire profound re- spect. He may be a man of the kindest feelings, but he knows little of the struggles produced by the sup- ple bow in the breast of him who wields it. The man of wealth rules with a golden sceptre his poor depend- ants, not because he is better, mentally or mora-lly, for the beggar may yet draw the lightnings from their path, or move kings and lords by his eloquence ; and A PRACTICAL TIEW OF SLAYEET. 37 he may have a purity of character upon which angels do not look nnmoved ; but while he is poor and ob- scure he is a slave. The educated man possesses an acknowledged superiority over the ignorant. The man of high moral worth is regarded with deference by the vicious. But in all these cases, they who bow feel that they to whom they bow have, by their 230sition, some claim to distinction. The man of native or acquired eminence may do much to elevate his race, and his elevation may serve as a diamond to reflect tlie light which shines up from a pure and benevolent heart. But the slave in our Southern States feels that the system beneath which he groans is the offspring of crime ; that his master's position, having no founda- tion in justice, is an assumed one, rendering it more intolerable to him, and to every lover of humanity, than his own. There are everywhere numerous man- ifestations of subjection to a power within the man himself. The miser who starves in the midst of his treasures, and hugs them even in the agonies of death, or the man who barters affection, or happiness, or conscience, for gold, is a slave to avarice. The un- scrupulous politician is a slave to the love of dis- tinction. Ambition has countless numbers of vassals. The debauchee is a slave to lust, and the drunkard to an insatiable appetite. In like manner a man may be a servant to the noblest desires of which human na- ture is susceptible. The scholar yields to a thirst fur knowledge, the professional man to his profession, and the martyr at the stake to an unsullied conscience. But all these kinds of servitude, being voluntary, are 88 America's misfortune; opw, destitute of that which withers the heart of the negro slave in America. The frequent assertion that the condition of the slave at the South is not more intolerable than that of the poor laborer at the North, deserves attention. As re- gards physical comfort, there ma}^ not be a wide dif- ference, but in the spiritual suifering there can be no comparison. There is no law at the North to fetter the highest aspirations of the poorest individual. He may rise, ordinarily, if he will, and there is ever a powerful motive. He has an interest in the welfare of the nation of which he is a constituent part; in its civil aifairs, for every law that is enacted has a bear- ing upon himself, either direct, or by his connection with society ; in its intellectual and moral advancement, for his character is formed in a great measure by so- ciety around him, and he can do little to improve that society but by personal improvement. He feels also that coming generations have claims upon him which maynot be disregarded ; for his domestic hearth is so securely guarded that no man may with impunity invade the peace and sanctity of his family, to tear from him the companion whom he loves, or the chil- dren whom God has committed to his care. Far different is it with the slave at the South. Looking back, he sees that for generations his kind have dragged out their miserable lives upon the same soil, and before him is nothing but thick gloom and hopeless interminable bondage. The feeling that as a social, intellectual, and religious being, he is trodden to the earth, oppresses him by day, and harasses him A PKACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 39 by night. He knows that he is human, and yet he i'eels that he is degraded nearly to a level with the brute. lie is, doubtless, sometimes conscious that his race have been placed deservedly and inevitably at a disadvantage ; his color is sufficient to teach him this ; but it is difficult for him to see that American slavery is necessarily any part of that disadvantage. That this slavery will result in the highest good of his race is, we believe, seldom within the ken of his vision. He has little motive or opportunity to rise ; hence what wonder that the man seems to become a brute, and the brute a machine ? We are sometimes pointed to the British peasantry, and told to behold misery akin to that of the Ameri- can slave. But despite poverty, ignorance, and his little children pale and dwarfed with their unreason- able and almost incessant toils, the pauper in Eng- land or Ireland rejoices that perpetual degradation is not an absolute necessity, and hope whispers to him that his darling child may yet tread the paths of honor and usefulness. That champion of temperance, whose fame is world-wide — almost, if not quite, the greatest of living orators — is the son of an English peasant. We have hitherto dwelt in a good measure upon the influence of slavery upon the colored man. Its other effects upon our country demand notice. We doubt not that the slaveholder is generally an affectionate husband, a tender parent, a valuable citizen, and often a worthy member of the church. His estate, not unfrequently, has been hereditary for generations, and he regards such possessions with a 40 America's misfoettjne ; on, feeling akin to reverence. The abuses of slavery he con- siders as not necessary, but incidental, to a system which may be not only harmless, but productive of good. In other latitudes he sees abuse of animals, unkind treat- ment of domestics, oppression of tenants, ruinous con finement of operatives in manufactories, contempt for the poor, fraternal q^uarrels, filial hatred, and parental cruelty. These crimes, and all the others to which de- praved man is prone, he knows are too common, and will be till the day of the millennium. He knows that human nature in all ages and countries has been the same, as when the favored but sometimes erring Psalmist de- clared, "there is none that doeth good, no not one." He feels grateful for the consciousness that his servants love him, some of them almost as a father. No cruel overseer, no bloody lash, no harsh language, are known by his servants ; to him they look as their natural protector, for his comfort they will willingly suffer; their master's family is their family, his wealth their w^ealth, and his honor their honor; death or dire ne- cessity alone separate families on his estate. And 3''et w^e believe that a contented slaveholder is rarely found. He must at times awake to the horrors of the system, and shudder at the thought that he is in any way connected with it. But his position seems to have been forced upon him. He had no share in bringing the colored man from the land of his birth, or in framing that constitution which recognizes prop- erty in man, while he has a family dependent upon him, w^ith no other income than slave labor. Sad thoughts, doubtless, fill his mind when he returns A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 41 from a ]N!"orthern tour, where lie has witnessed more enterprise, more intelligence, pm'er morals, and more ' general happiness. Tlie influence of slaverj^ upon the financial interests of our country claims attention. It is doubtless true that in any community the valuation of property is low, in proportion to the standard of morals ; hence, whatever vitiates a community impoverishes it. But we believe it plain, that in addition to this, slavery has a direct exhausting tendency. The slave has very little motive to do his field task in that manner which will be most beneficial to the soil ; for whether it is so performed or not he is equally sure of a living, and this he knows is all he will receive at best ; and even if the motive existed, the unphilosophical nature of the colored man generally renders it impossible for him to pursue the best course in the various branches of agriculture. Hence it is not strange that experi- ence should prove that soils upon which slave labor is employed, after a time become exhausted. In some places in the Xorthern slaveholding States, slavery is dying out, because the soil will not support it ; and the slaves are taken to new fields in the far South. The soil of the State of Virginia is by nature almost unsurpassed in fertility ; but slavery has nearly worn out its surface, and slaveholders prefer to leave it, as many have done, rather than attempt to resuscitate it by improved culture. And doubtless this is the wiser course for them ; for if they were to make trial of the oiher, with their limited practical knowledge of agri- culture, there would be 2;reat danger of failure. This 42 America's misfortune; or, practice of impoverishing the State, by even tempora- rily exhausting its soil, is a most reprehensible one in every point of view. If he who causes two blades of grass to grow where there was but one, is a public benefactor, he who lessens in any degree the pro- ductiveness of the earth, does mankind a manifest injury. He abuses a gift that God has put into his hands, and for which He will hold him strictly accountable; and a community doing this is a na- tional incubus. ISTorthern farmers and European emio^rants — diverted from the "West, where their en- terprise might do much to develop the hidden re- sources of our country — are seeking the deserted, slave-worn soil of the older slave States, and, by their vigorous efforts, restoring its fertility. But beside ex- hausting the soil, slavery is a hindrance to enterprise. Land proprietors, who are not laborers usually, fail to develop their manufacturing and commercial resources ; for the very act of performing labor of any kind, not only quickens discernment as to the best method of performing it, but it gives in all cases the ability and the inclination to perform an increased amount, thus widening the scope of action. Excellent manufac- turing facilities in the South, except those which have chanced to attract the attention of the Korthern capi- talist, remain in a great measure unimproved. Other internal improvements, especially railroads, which have done so much to develop the resources of the ^orth, are comparatively few. The slaveholder living at his ease is to a great degree indiiferent to his pecuniary interests, or those A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 43 of community, beyond the supply of Lis own wants. Hence finance suffers from sloth, and the national hive is encumbered with a class which in the apiary are intolerable. As regards the employment of paid and unpaid servants, we believe that the pecuniary advantages of the former course to the employer have been so fully demonstrated that the subject does not here demand discussion. Slavery being thus financially a consumer^ rather than a producer, not only the South, but the whole country, suffers loss in consequence. But we believe that the system is not less joolitically a consumer. It is, doubtless, bad policy for any government to attach to itself a cumbrous mass, weighing down its wheels, and never aiding to push them forward, except in the descent to ruin. The disfranchisement of a laro^e class in any country creates such an incumbrance. They must be governed, while they have nothing to do with the administration of the government. The slaves of Greece and Rome only made the downfall of those nations more terrible, much as they had augmented the national pride; and if the United States were to be attacked by a powerful foe, our slave population would be a most dangerous element, and a source of continual apprehension. It is no easy task to fight for freedom, much less for oppressors. But slavery, beside being financially and politically a consumer, hinders the development of our national power. As a necessar}^ consequence, the "masterly inactivity" which prevails among the higher classes u at tlie South, produces physical debility and enerva- tion of character. Nothing but severe struggling can give strength, although there are few who will volun- tarily endure hardship ; and there is great danger, that in a community where manual labor is highly unpopular, proper physical exercise and even neces- sary recreation will be neglected. Public opinion is powerful, and an individual highly sensitive to it will often adhere to rules and customs which he has strong fears are not right, instead of using his influence, as he might, perhaps, effectually, to alter or remove them. We believe that we do the Southern gentleman no injustice when we say that he is almost proverbially delicate and effeminate ; and that, though Southern climates are debilitating, his weakness is to be attributed in no small measure to the existence of a sj^stem which places manual labor almost entirely beyond his reach. The weaker sex, also, are made still more weak ; and doubtless the stricken parent or husband often follows the object of his affections to the grave without fully realizing that a mistaken kindness, in suffering the neglect of her physical education, has sent her there. Man is at best a frail being, and that he should be made artificially more so is a deeply humiliating thought, especially when we consider that the mind inevitably suffers with the body. The mental debility which characterizes every com- munity in which such a sj'stem of slavery as our own exists, is a serious evil. Setting aside physical weakness, other causes render this a necessity. The A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 45 ignorance of the enslaved cripples the mental energies of all who come within the sphere of its influence ; for, however wide the difference, man invariably sympa- thizes with and becomes assimilated to those by whom he is sm-rounded. The common school system for the education of the masses, enjoyed by the North, is little known in the South ; and the lamentable consequence is, that in some of their States many of the adult wliite popula- tion can neither read nor write. We believe that the mutual exchange of residences, by the Southern stu- dent and the Northern teacher, beside doing much to strengthen the bonds of our Union, is destined to aid greatly in dispelling this dark cloud which now settles upon the Southern horizon ; but we doubt if anything but the sun of freedom will be sufficient for its entire removal. A few years before his death. General Jackson was riding with a friend among the rural towns of one of the New England States, and both were much pleased with the indications of enterprise, intelligence, and good morals, which everywhere met their view. The Gen- eral was asked to what all this was to be attributed, and his well-known answer is worthy the remembrance of all : " To the church yonder, and the school-house beside it." The General, as our readers are aware, was a resident of the South, and well qualified to judge of the value of the literary and religious privi- leges enjoyed by the North. While we mourn over the state of vital Christianity in the Southern church, as indicated by the small 46 America's misfortune; or, amount of their contributions for religious purposes, we are compelled to go still farther, and acknowledge that it is doubtful whether the code of morals in our Southern States has a parallel in any Christian coun- try on the globe Some years since, the son of an eminent professional gentleman — the latter an acquaintance of the writer's family — having completed his collegiate course, left his home in 'New England, and engaged in teaching in one of the Southern States. lie soon became popu- lar, gained friends, and married. This teacher had one day punished a pupil, at which a near relativo being greatly enraged, visited him in his room, and gave vent to his anger by inflicting a cowhiding. The friends of the teacher urged upon him the necessity of retaliation, and he obeyed their wishes. A few days afterward, he met the offending gentleman in the street, and upon presenting a pistol, the other fired, but without effect, and was immediately shot dead by the teacher — the first to display a deadly weapon. No arrest was made, and at the funeral the officiating clergyman remarked, "You must not call thi^ mur- der, for, sad as is the fact, the transaction is sanc- tioned by the customs of our society." This case, though by no means an anomaly in the history of the South, is sufficient to teach us that no one, in a com- munity where the lives of an inferior class are trifled with, is safe. Our w^hole country suffers in conse- quence of the barbarity which slavery engenders. A few years since, a citizen of Massachusetts, having been convicted in a Southern State of aiding slaves to A PKACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 47 escape from their masters, was sentenced to receive a large brand in his hand, beside standing an hour in the pillorj, and other punishment. And whoever is apprehended in a slave State, in thus obeying the more generous impulses of his nature, has but a faint hope \)f a reasonable degree of judicial clemency. We are well aware that the South are not unmind- ful of these serious evils of which slavery is the source. There are, doubtless, numerous reasons why many who feel deeply upon this subject have never spoken boldly their real sentiments. Some, probably, can not suffi- ciently overcome tlie love of their property to advocate measures which would deprive them of most that they possess ; some have not sufficient moral courage to utter that which would render them unpopular ; and man}^, without doubt, fear to do anything which shall endanger the peace of society, dreading the conse- quences to community of making known to the slaves their abhorrence of the system. But some do speak and act. The following extract from a late Kentucky paper is worthy of notice : " It has been proposed to us by several gentlemen, who own slaves in Kentuck}', that they (the slaveholders) hold a convention at Frank- fort to adopt some plan for the abolition of slavery, and that we so announce it; and that the Hon. W. J. L , of P county, a slaveholder, be appointed by the friends of the convention as one in this part of the State to draw up a proposition for its gradual abolition." In some of the Korthern slave States, men dissatis- fied with the system arp going still farther, and making 48 amekica's misfortune; or, eftorts to organize parties, who shall go to territories where slavery has not yet gained firm footing, and strengthen the hands of those who are there endeavor- ino; to establish free institutions. We believe that if that portion of the slaveholders who desire to be rid of the evil would express their views calmly, but fearlessly, upon every proj)er occasion^ and labor to effect the needed reform in public sentiment npon a subject of such vital interest to the South, as if they themselves were in the place of the oppressed, they would " not labor in vain, nor spend their strength for naught." The late aggressions of slavery must not be over- looked. We will select but a very few instances, and the first of these is the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 — a law equally unjust to the Southern slave and the ]N^orthern freeman. It is to be regretted that the sud- den removal of Mr. Webster from the Senate, while the subject was before Congress, prevented his presenting the bill which he had drafted. This bill required more care in the seizure and trial of the fugitive, and the great weight of ability and influence which he pos- sessed would alone have done much toward securing its passage. We do not say that such a law was de- sirable, except as the least of two evils. This law, placing as it does the freedom of the colored man in the power of an inadequate tribunal and an incompe- tent number of witnesses, is an especial wrong to him ; for in any part of the United States, if at any moment he is unable to j)roduce free papers, there is but a step between him and slavery. We will not, however, A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 49 dwell upon this much agitated subject, but consider the law in its other bearings. It was perhaps a neces- sary provision in the Constitution of the United States that the slave should not be free by going from his master to a free State ; otherwise citizens of the free States would have had the power to liberate slaves almost at their own option, thus virtually annulling the laws of the slave States in direct violation of the letter and spirit of the above named document, which gives no power to interfere with the laws of a sister State. But the Constitution does not define the tribu- nal before which the alleged fugitive shall be ar- raigned, nor the number of witnesses requisite to substantiate the claim, leaving these matters, like many others of a domestic nature, to be decided in each State by the people of the State ; and we believe that tlie action of Congress, in determining these points, and requiring the Northern citizen to aid in the capture of the fugitive was a palpable usurpation. This law is ]:)eculiarly repugnant to the North, inasmuch as it com- pels tliem actively to aid in sustaining a system which tliey believe to be unjust. They are no longer allowed the limits granted tliem by the Constitution, but are forced to do the bidding of their sister States. The Constitution requires nu aid from the North in reclaim- iuir fu^^itive slaves, but merely their surrender. In a free country, where law is the public sentiment, an enactment doing violence to the feelings of those upon whom it was intended to be binding, is powerless as the grasp of an infant; and the law in question we believe to be much of this character. At the time of 60 America's misfortune; or, its enactment, eminent and considerate gentlemen of the South predicted that a law so ultra would injure rather than benefit them ; and we believe that their predictions have been verified, for instead of increas- ing, it lessens the security of slave property ; and, like every law which regards not justice and human- ity, proves the rack for the torture of its authors. The jSTorth have been greatly aroused by its injustice, and we doubt if any law of our country, since the time of the Revolution, has been violated by organized force with greater impunity ; men, as is well known, having risen in bands for the rescue of fugitives, and often so strongly sustained by the sympathies of their fellow-citizens that there were none to bring them to trial for their misdemeanor. If we mistake not, this law has created a symj^athy w^ith the fugitive which could hardly have been produced in any other way; so gen- eral is it that at present in most of the Northern States a fugitive is rarely hindered in his progress ; and the large numbers who are constantly arriving in Canada show that they are not backward in improving their opportunity. The feeling against this law is steadily increasing. In the metropolis of Xew England, where there has probably been more excitement upon this subject than in any other city, after the capture of a fugitive in their midst, in 1S54, (if w^e mistake not,) a large number of prominent citizens petitioned for the repeal of the law, who at first strongly supported it. And in another Northern city, recently, a slaveliokler in pursuit of a fugitive, unable to procure the services of an attorney, A PE ACTIO AL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 61 was comj)elled to return to his Southern home alone. It may be a question whether duty requires any in the ^orth to induce the slave to leave his master without his consent, as it has, at least, the appearance of unwarrantable interference with the laws of the South ; but if the Constitution is to be our guide, no one disregards any of the obligations of a good citizen, who, seeing the fugitive in a free State, gives him food, or clothing, or shelter, or otherwise aids him in his northward progress. Hence, an eminent Northern divine, strongly conservative upon slavery, has said : " If a fugitive wishing shelter for a night were to call upon me, I would point him to my barn, and tell him that if he could there be safe it should be at his ser- vice ; and if called upon by an officer, I would bid him search the premises for himself." This was the lan- guage of one having no sympathy with abolitionists, and we believe that he spoke the sentiments of a very large class, who are lovers not only of law, but also of justice. As regards the question so much agitated within the xast few years, whether the laws of God or man should nave precedence, it might be establishing a rule liable to serious abuse to say that where they conflict, the latter are null and void, if the conscience of the indi- vidual were to be the guide. Saul, of Tarsus, " verily thought he was doing God service" while persecuting the Church ; and so, doubtless, have many since his time, while propagating false religions. The great number of fanatics and errorists of the present day, who in various ways are disturbing the peace of 52 America's misfoktune; oe, society, are doubtless many of them sincere. To give every man the liberty to set aside such human laws as he might deem contrary to the Bible, would lead directly to anarchy. But where, as in the present case, a community decide almost unanimously that a law is unrighteous, we believe their judgment worthy of respect, and they who have forced the law upon the country can have no ground of surprise or complaint if it is not observed. We are well aware that the inclination to run away greatly depreciates the value of the slave, and that the law of 1850 was intended as a restraint upon it ; but the event has proved that a stringent enactment can not change the current of the human will. The horrid practice of kidnapping the JSTorthern free- man is, we trust, but little indulged in at the present day ; but we know of nothing more nearly resembling it than the seizure of a fugitive under this law. We alluded above to the late aggressions of slavery ; but ever since its introduction into the country, its spirit may be said to have been continually aggressive. Commencing in one of the Southern colonies, it spread throughout the whole, North as well as South. It is but a few years since we read of the death of a colored woman, in one of the JSTew England States, formerly a slave in the same State, and never legally free. A few similar cases, in which the parties were still living, were brought to light by the last census. But slavery has for many years been confined mainly to the South. It w^as owing, we believe, more to the fact that the colored man can not endure the cold of the E'orthern A PEACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 63 winter without great inconvenience, tlian to any other, that slavery was abolished at the North ; for we have yet to learn that human nature varies essentially in the different sections of our country. It is doubtless a great blessing to the North to be rid of slaverj^ ; but when they consider that when the Constitution was adopted the Northern delegates were more lenient to it than the Southern, it becomes them to be cautious, lest they judge others for that of which they also might be guilty, if their soil and climate were similar. But while slavery has been abolished in many of the States, and in others it exists only in a mitigated form, it has been continually spreading over new soil in the South ; so that it is doubtful whether it has ever had a firmer hold upon our country, as regards extent of territory, than at present. Slavery seems governed more by circumstances than by law, for, where these are favorable, it is often found existinsr without the sanction of anv enactment. Al- though j^^'ohihited in California, at the time of her admission into the Union, slaveholders have been con- tinually going there with their slaves, and holding them unmolested. At first, an enactment of the State Legislature required the few slaves that had already been introduced to be removed within a fixed period: at its expiration, however, the number had rather in- creased than decreased, and the time for their removal was extended ; and it is to be feared that hereafter slavery will there be a growing system. Till the establishment of the Missouri Compromise line in 1820, Mason's and Dixon's line — which wo 54: America's misfortune; oe, believe did not extend west of the Mississippi — for many years separated the domain of freedom from that of slavery ; but the Compromise line has not been as effectual, and the late comjjletiori of the repeal of this compromise, and the admission of slavery into the territories of Kansas and ISTebraska, have caused an excitement which has few parallels in the history of our country. This subject demands careful notice. Much as the event is to be deplored, we believe that the annulling process was commenced long ago, and ly the North. Although there was no actual stipula- tion that the Korth should not interfere with slavery in territories south of the line of this compromise, yet non-interference must have been tacitly understood by the South as a part of the compact virtually binding upon the E'orth. But the JSTorth have either put a different construction upon this compact, or willfully violated it, having repeatedly made attempts to ex- clude slavery from Southern territories, by action of Congress, as in the case of New Mexico. and i Uta h. It is universally admitted that when one party to a contract has violated any of its conditions it is no longer binding upon the other : hence, we believe that the Missouri Compromise was virtually repealed years before the organization of the Kansas and Nebraska territories, and that the South only pursued a course at that time to which they had been tempted by the previous action of the North. It is, doubtless, in all cases, a weak and dangerous policy to make any compromise with that which in its nature or tendency is evil. It is unsafe for the drunk- A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 55 ard, the thief, or the profime man, to attempt to reform gradually ; and he who does it will almost surely fail. The Bible, which should be the foundation of all legis- lation in Christian countries, by implication strongly condemns any concession to evil. In speaking of mur- der, God says, ''Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of the murderer," forbidding any deviation from the strict rule of justice ; and the whole tenor of the Bible is to the same eifect. The Missouri Compromise, being a compact between right and wrong, contained in itself a most powerful element of self-destruction ; and hence none can won- der at its fate. It may be said that it was better, in the peculiar circumstances, to compromise than to leave a vast field at the ^orth forever open to slavery; and so it might at the moment seem to short-sighted man. We are too apt to fear that the Almighty will not avenge his own honor, and that it is necessary, by ex- treme measures, to take the work almost entirely into our own hands ; but the result usually shows us our foll}^ AYe believe that most will agree that freedom has probably lost, rather than gained, by the Missouri Compromise. It is doubtful, indeed, whether any ad- vantage has been derived from it. It has not excluded slavery from any territory congenial to it; nor has it silenced agitation in regard to others, for in nearly or quite every case of territorial organization the slavery question has been debated with more or less animosity; and in the last contest slavery has come off victorious. But the fact that the South were free from obligation 56 AJkiERicA's misfortune; oe to the I'Tortli to observe this compact, does not for a moment justify them in violating the dictates of hu- manity and the law of God ; and for every such act individuals and communities will be held strictly ac- countable when human tribunals shall be no longer in existence. The agreement of the South to the Mis- souri Compromise was an acknowledgment on their part that slavery oiujlit not to extend farther Korth than the line therein established ; and what was wrong thirty-five years since can not have a different char- acter at present. The ultra partizans of slavery, by their late efforts to extend the system in the North, have not only aroused indignation there, but they have disregarded the will of a large number in their own midst, as is constantly becoming more and more ap- parent ; and some who openly condemn their course are able and prominent men, not entirely controlled by selfish motives. The disposition of the South to extend slavery had led us. in some instances, to acquire territory at the expense, if we mistake not, of the na- tional honor. At present Cuba is the great desire of the slavery propagandists, — we do not say of the South in general — for we do not believe it — but of that por- tion who have not probably fully weighed the evils of their favorite institution, and their ISTorthern coad- jutors, who are hardly aware how great a stigma they are bringing upon our nation. The anxiety to obtain Cuba is, we fear, causing those who are endeavoring to effect its annexation to advocate measures which they would condemn, if resorted to by the statesmen of any other Christian nation. We refer to the threatening A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 57 process. "The time lias come," say thej, "when the interests of a large portion of our country demand its annexation. The valley of the Mississippi is not safe while Cuba remains in her present position ; the shipping of this vast region, which passes near her shores, is in constant danger ; and in one way or an- other the island must be acquired." This is the sub- stance of the language used. But wherein the danger to our commerce consists, they do not tell us. The in- habitants of Cuba are not pirates, nor are they disposed to molest American vessels passing them peaceably ; and we believe that the danger alluded to is mainly, if not entirely, imaginary. No grievance, other than of a most trivial nature, is cited upon which to base their complaints. And if outrages had been perpe- trated, the cession of the island to those injured would seem to be rather a novel mode of adjusting interna- tional difficulties. We know of no instance in which a Christian nation has sought the acquisition of an island of marauders, which was an object of terror, to secure itself from injury. The true course in such a case would seem to be to present the case to the home government ; and, if disregarded, to resort to armed defense. An aggressive spirit, especially where the acquisi- tion of territory is the great motive, is a most danger- ous one, as is fully proved by the history of ancient nations. Rome conquered, and grasped, and enslaved, till her name was a terror to the world ; and awfully were the nations avenged when the mighty Nortliern powers laid her in ruins. But dangerous as is such a 3* 58 America's misfortune; or, policy, we believe that it would be vastly better for those who are bo anxious for the acquisition of Cuba, to avow their real motives, as they would thus at least gain a reputation for honesty ; and the belief which some of them cherish in the justice of slavery would do more to palliate their course than a long array of specious arguments, destitute of any real foundation. An Eastern traveler relates, that, resting one warm day under the shade of a tree, his attention was drawn to a pair of birds, who were bearing leaves to their nest above, which contained their young brood. The parents had been warned of the approach of a serpent, which soon reached the nest, darted his tongue against the leaves, and fell back dead. To the infant birds, their shield was harmless ; to him it was death. There is a possibility that the propagandists of slavery will in their eagerness, by trampling upon justice, approach the poisoned leaves. The wounded lion makes one desperate plunge, and is still in death ; and perhaps the friends of freedom will soon rejoice that the late attempts of slavery to strengthen itself in our country were but its dying throes. Whether this shall be the case or not, it be- comes every American patriot to labor earnestly that its grave may not, through any want of candor or proper forbearance, be made by hands stained with blood. The growth of anti-slavery feeling in the ]^orth has been rapid, it having scarcely manifested itself till within the last twenty years. Its beginnings were feeble and inauspicious. In the writer's native village — A PE ACTIO AL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 59 one of the most quiet in New England — when the first series of anti-slavery lectures was delivered, tin horns and stale eggs were brought freely into requisition ; and many prominent and peace-loving citizens seemed to believe that the new doctrine was akin to sedition. In an adjoining town, not far from this time, an acad- emy to which colored pupils had been admitted, was drawn to quite a distance from its foundation by the oxen of the neighboring farmers, and the school was thus violently broken up. A similar feeling generally pervaded the North. The pioneers in the anti-slavery, movement were, doubtless, generally actuated by the most worthy mo- tives, if one might judge from their zeal, and the time and money which they freely spent. It is true that many were ultra, but this can not be wondered at, when we consider that they had very incorrect no- tions of slavery. The enormities of the system were proclaimed long and loudly by men gifted with the ability to speak or write forcibly, but not thoroughly acquainted with their subject. The consequence was, that many men, sensible in other matters, were led to believe that the cruelties, which were so much dwelt upon, were common and necessary to slavery; that whipping, scanty fare, and family separations, were the rule, and cases of clemency exceptions. It could hardly have been expected that men thus instigated would keep within the bounds of prudence. From the main body, the more ultra abolitionists were in a few years separated, when it was found 60 America's misfortune; or, whither they were leading. It is hardly necessary to say that this party is very small, and increasing slow- ly, if at all. A party professing to believe the Amer- ican church a nuisance, and the Constitution of the United States "a covenant with death and an agree- ment with hell," can hope for but little favor in our country. They have in their ranks men of great abil- ity, and high attainments as scholars and orators^; and while we differ from them as to mode, we doubt not that generally they are deeply interested in the welfare of the slave. Their career is a striking illustration of the truth, that however devoid of reason a creed may be, it will find adherents. But occasionally individ- uals belonging to this party have given proof of their insincerity. A few years since, a man of very good standing in a town near Boston, avowed the belief that it was right for white and colored persons to intermarry, and that he would have no objection to it in the case of his own daughter. The latter, although not yet arrived at maturity, and much beloved by her parents, soon put his sincerity to the test. A colored man, with whom she had formed some acquaintance, besought her to elope, and marry him, and she consented. The father, upon learning what she had done, took a more rational view of the subject, and determined at once to free her from so unnatural a union. The result was that she was placed in an asylum, upon a plea of insanity. The more rational portion of those termed aholi- Umiists, althoujrh in favor of immediate emancipation, A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 61 on most points differ widely from the above class : we believe, however, that the adoption of their plans would not be practicable, if it were desirable. In the excess of their good will toward the slave, they seem to forget, in a great measure, the position of his mas- ter. They forget that in most cases his ancestors were slaveholders^, and that he has imbibed almost a rever- ence for the institution from the same source from which in infancy he drew his daily life; they forget that the teacher who gave bent to his young mind, and the pastor whom he deemed almost infallible, taught him that slavery was a great blessing to the colored race, and almost indispensable to the Southern community ; and they seem especially to forget that he has never, like themselves, lived where he could behold the blessings of freedom. They seem to be- lieve that he ought, as soon as the wickedness of slavery is brought to his notice, to view the subject in the same light with themselves. It must be evident to every one who will give the matter careful consideration, that to require the slave- holder to give up all his slaves at once, and without any remuneration, would in many cases subject him to 2:reat embarrassment. It is said that the freed slaves would generally remain with their former masters, and labor as hired servants ; but there could be no assur- ance of this. They would, we believe, be continually anxious to seek elsewhere that independence which it is doubtful if they can ever attain on this continent, but which to them may continually seem almost within their grasp. If the North were to open her arms to 62 tLem, they would doubtless flee in great numbers to her embrace, to dwell with those who have so loudly and earnestly proclaimed their sympathy. The prospect of reducing his family to want, would, in his opinion, in most cases, at least, justify the slaveholder in refusing to give up his slaves, even if he could see that their good required it ; for there are few who do not feel under greater obligation to their families than to all beside upon earth. But the slaveholder does not be- lieve, nor can he be made to believe, that the condition of the slaves, generally, would be improved by their receiving unconditional freedom in a mass, and with no preparation for it. The condition of the free col- ored population of our country renders this impossible. Hence, whether considering his own interests, or those of his slaves, the slaveholder must, almost inevitably, be opposed to immediate general emancipation. And if this be so, the scheme is impracticable, for with our present Constitution there can be no compulsion in this matter. We think it equally doubtful whether immediate emancipation is desirable. In all countries, many years of experience are required before children are permitted to be free from tlie restraint of parents ; their own safety renders this course indispensable. And in all civilized communities provision is made for those who are in any way incapacitated to take care of themselves, to prevent self-destruction. Liberty, like every other choice gift from heaven, is liable to abuse, and when abused is a most fruitful source of evil. Restraint is required both for discipline A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 63 and instruction. The slaves of our country are, to a most lamentable degree, intellectually and socially in- fants. At the South, generally, humiliating as is the fact, the law has been a barrier between them and education. In some States, formerly, he who taught a slave to read did it at the peril of his life. We believe that there has within the last few years been a marked change in the Southern feeling upon this point, although comparatively little has as yet been effected. To every prudent person the policy of giving three millions of slaves their freedom at once, must seem to involve a great risk of their own well-being. The parent, whose child is compelled to go forth into the world before arriving at full maturity^ feels a deep apprehension for his welfare. The slave, it is true, has more physical strength than the child, but mis- guided or uncontrolled power is in all cases a detri- ment to its possessor. An affrighted horse, running without restraint through our streets, not unfrequently pursues his course till by some obstruction he is sud- denly killed, or prostrated upon the earth. An un- caged bird Hies till all knowledge of its locality is lost, and return is impossible. A blind man, groping his way in the dark upon a strange road, falls in the ditch. The ill success, which we shall see hereafter has often attended the efforts of the colored man in Canada, proves that these illustrations are not unfair. It requires little argument to show that the interests of the North would not be promoted by immediate emancipation. Great as are the disadvantages to the free States of being sensibly within the influence of 64 slavery, and of being compelled to share the support and the odium, they by no means desire to abolish one evil at the risk of a greater. Society at the North could not fail to be more or less injured by the admis- sion of the colored element ; for there is no part of th( ISTorth to which the colored man would not find his way, if restraint were removed. We believe that there are very few who will dispute us when we say that a policy, whose legitimate and inevitable tendency would be to greatly increase amalgamation, with all its attendant evils, can never meet with general favor at the Xorth. There are, however, very few in the free States who are not anxious that the abolition of slavery may be accomplished as speedily as is consistent with the highest interests of the country ; and a very large majority would gladly see the work commenced at once. But the nature of the evil, and the most efiec- tual remedy, have never been sufficiently considered ; for zeal, unaccompanied by discretion, can be of but little value. The odium which was formerly attached to sympathy for the slave has almost entirelj^ passed away ; and he who now defends slavery at the I^orth is nearly or quite as unpopular as was he who, at the commencement of the anti-slavery agitation, spoke against it; and we believe that this movement has effected not a little in loosing its hold upon the country. The sympathies of the educated and influential generally, not less than of the masses, are enlisted in behalf of the oppressed. One of the most distinguished of American writers, in A PEACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 65 a late lecture before a literary association, uses lan- gnag-e to the following effect: "Let every man put his hand to the work, and labor till slavery in our country shall be extinct. Let each contribute accord- ing to his ability. Let the merchant and the banker aid by giving of their money. Let the man of talent and education aid with the tongue or the pen ; for of what value is the talent of our country if it may not be used for the removal of this mighty evil ? " This language is well worthy of regard, but had it been used by the same author thus publicly twenty years since, ignominy and contempt would have been the sure result. Xegro emigration to Canada is now becoming a matter of much importance. This emigration com- menced many years since ; but of the thirty-five to forty thousand fugitives now in that country, nearly two thirds have gone there since the enactment of the late Fugitive Slave Law. Many of these were not directly from slavery, but had been living in the Western States, where this law rendered them insecure. They have settled almost entirely in Upper Canada — or Canada WesU as it is now termed — and mainly in the western part of the Province, in the counties bordering upon the lakes Erie and St. Clair, and adjacent to Ohio and Michigan, their route usually lying through one of those States. They are constantly arriving, both from the free and the slave States ; and, judging from our own observation, the law alluded to has few terrors for the fugitive, who has started with the de- termination to be free or die. In some towns, the 66 America's misfortune; oe, arrivals number from twelve to twenty in a single day. The writer has recently spent nearly a year in Canada, much of the time in the midst of these fugitives ; and the nature of his business rendering it necessary to call upon a large number of their families, afforded a rare opportunity to learn their real condition and feelings. We shall state facts, and leave the reader, in a good measure, to his own conclusions. In advocating emi- gration to any country, two questions present them- selves: The first, " Will the emigrant be kindly received ? " The second, " If the}^ are not thus received, will this emigration be a benefit to them ? " That the influx of a large colored population upon a territory previously, but sparsely settled by white people, should be viewed at least with jealous?/ by the latter, is a most natural conclusion. It may be said that in this case the British Constitution makes no dis- tinction of race or color ; experience, however, teaches that what is written on paper is of little account when it is not in accordance with the natural feelings of man. The colored man in Canada at present is re- garded, not merely with jealousy, but with a strong and continually increasing aversion. In some town- ships this is so strong that if he attempts to settle he will be yery sure of being driven out by violence. The white population have felt this evil so seriously of late that they have besought the Provincial Parliament to prohibit colored emigration. Fugitives in Canada render themselves obnoxious to the white population in many w^ays. They seek the equality which nature A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLA.VERT. 67 lias denied tliem, almost everywhere: in the schools, the churches, and in general society. The mother of some bright, interesting children, on one occasion remarked to iis, in substance, '' I am obliged to send my daughters away from home to attend school, for in our own there are many colored children ; and if white and black mingle in our schools, and grow up together, they will eventually intermarry — the thought of which is almost intolerable to me." Many others made a similar complaint, and we know that there are very many beside who have the same feelings. Where it is by any means practicable, the colored children are required, although greatly in opposition to the wishes of their parents, to attend separate schools. But in many cases this is not possi- ble ; and the white population are compelled to suffer in silence. In the churches, the line has been more distinctly drawn ; and a colored person is very rarely seen in the same house of worship with white people, unless employed as sexton, or in a similar capacity. This arrangement, however, causing much dissatisfac- tion to the colored man, has not been effected without great difficulty. The slave is led to believe that if he can reach Canada, he will be on an equality with the white inhabitants, because his civil disability will there be removed ; and it is often a difficult matter to undeceive him, and teach him that privileges which were granted him in the free States will there be denied him. But society in Canada, we are compelled to say, suf- fers more from the viciousness of many of the fugitives 68 amekica's misfortune; or, than from their claims of equality. It is not a matter of sm-prise that this should manifest itself on the part of those formerly so debased. In communities where they are greatly in the minority, a large proportion of the petty thefts are committed by colored people. They seem, in many cases, almost possessed of the idea that freedom will put bread in their mouths with little exertion on their part ; and that if they can obtain a livelihood by pilfering, there is very little motive to labor for it. Beside this propensity, drunk- enness, Sabbath breaking, and petty quarrels, are not uncommon ; and a strict regard for truthfulness is little known. It is sometimes argued that the English forced our slaves upon us, and ought not now to object to receiving them within their own dominions. Setting aside the fact that ouglit is a word never as much regarded as it should be, we believe that this is not sound reasoning. If the crew of an English vessel had murdered at sea the crew of a smaller American vessel, the latter would hardly be justified, centuries afterward, in murdering a similar number of defense- less Englishmen. And we believe that our country is no more justified in forcing the colored man to seek a home in Canada ; but rather less, for many of the inhabitants of Canada who are injured by this emigra- tion are not of British birth. As regards the second question, we believe that any candid person who will examine thoroughly into the condition of the colored population of Canada, will admit that the emigration of the colored man from a A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 69 tolerable home in the South to that country involves more or less risk of his welfare. The fugitive is usually, when he arrives in Canada, disappointed in his new home ; and to any man, the crushing of long cherished hopes is an injury. In every part of the United States, white and colored meet more or less in the same church ; and, in the North, quite frequently in the same school and the same lecture room ; and when the fugitive finds that in Canada, which has been the land of his dreams, and the goal of all his aspirations, he is generally regarded as an intruder wherever he goes, a heavy cloud settles upon his pros- pects, which just now seemed so bright. The circum- stances attending the colored man's emigration to Canada render this disappointment inevitable, for he has had no opportunity for correct information relative to tlie country. The slave's idea of freedom in Can- ada is almost as vague as the Mohammedan's idea of heaven. They are alike deceived in regard to the good which they would •grasp, and alike unprepared for it. We are driven to this conclusion, after wit- nessinc: the discontent of the Canadian fusritives. A colored woman, young and active, told the writer that she would willingly be the slave of her former mistress if she would come to that country ; her only reason for leaving her was the fear of being sold in case of her death. She acknowledged that her ideas of free- dom were vague and indistinct ; that there was a charm in the name, which in her case the reality did not war- rant. Her statements were not unlike those of many others. A very intelligent woman, nearly white, 70 America's misfortxhste ; oe, although in a colored settlement, stated that many had told her, that if they could act their own pleasure they would gladly return to slavery. At the commencement of the colored emigration to Canada, efforts, many and noble, were put forth in be- half of the fugitive. Missionaries, sustained by benev- olent individuals and societies, were stationed in diffe- rent localities, and around them were gathered the fugi- tives. These settlements seemed prosperous for a time ; but owing to the incompetency of some of their man- agers, and the unfaithfulness of others, they lost, in a great measure, the confidence of those who had for- merly supported them. And had not this been the case it is doubtful whether a similar provision could have been made for all who have now gone there. The great mass of the fugitives now in Canada are scat- tered among the white inliabitants, with very few beside themselves to take an interest in their welfare, there being but three or four settlements of the kind alluded to. These, we believe, are doing a great amount of good, being in the charge of faithful and energetic men, who have profited much by experience. Churches, school-houses, mills, and all other necessary public edifices have been erected; and the communi- ties generally are in a prosperous condition, as regards enterprise, education and morality. One of these settlements, which the writer visited, numbers one thousand persons, and is continually receiving addi- tions. The new comer at once locates himself upon a new lot and commences its improvement, receiving only advice gratis, and stipulating to pay for his land A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 71 as soon as possible. This course the superintendent judged, and we believe wisely, to be better than any other; and indeed tlie only one by which the fugitive can be raised to independence. The fact that the white and colored races are not fitted for each other's society, by no means justifies the exercise of au overbearing spirit, on the part of the former, toward the unfortunate being who has sought to improve his condition by fleeing from bondage ; for no man can disregard the golden rule, with reference to any of his brethren, without incurring the severe disj^leasure of his Maker. And yet we can not expect that this rule will be fully observed in the present sinful state of mankind; and duty to himself requires every man to act always in view of this fact, and to avoid that society which will probably be injurious to him. If the fugitive were to receive the kindest treat- ment from his white neighbor in Canada, we believe that even his presence would be a decided injury to him. 'No man can be continuall}^ in the presence of those acknowledged and felt to be superior to himself without an embarrassment more or less painful. No child can commit or repeat a lesson, or perform any difficult task, as well in the presence of older persons as in their absence. In the settlements alluded to, the colored man is in a great measin-e removed from white society; and he haswidescoj^e to develop his powers, with few, if any, to awe or oppress him; and his efforts to rise rarely fiiil of being crowned with abund- ant success. Every one who doubts whctlier it is an advantage for people of color to be iu a connnuuit}' by 72 America's misfortune; ok, themselves, should visit these settlements, and con- trast the condition of the fugitives there gathered vrith that of others around who are scattered promiscuously among white people. Slaveholders should visit them, and be made to realize that the beings whom they are holding in bondage are possessed of noble aspirations, and as really — whether to the same extent or not — capable of improvement as any other race upon the globe. The philanthropic should visit them, and, wit- nessing: the lovina: zeal and devotion there manifested by those who preside and direct, receive a new im- pulse in their efforts to alleviate human suffering. The gentleman who superintends the establishment visited was formerly a slaveholder; and his removal from a life of ease and affluence in the South to the wilds of Canada is a grateful and striking instance of heroic benevolence ; and the spirit which prompted it was not unlike that which brought our Pilgrim Fathers to a western wilderness where conscience should be unmolested. Ills settlement, and the others similar, may yet, through the agency of enemies, who are not few, experience disaster and even defeat ; for success in this world is never a measure of merit, and the best schemes are liable to failure. But if they were all to be swept away the present year, this would not anni- hilate the good wdiich has already been done, nor prove that the enterprise is not a noble one. Climate is in this case an obstacle to success, which can not be removed. The climate of the western portion of Can- ada is not a healthy one, even for the white popula- tion, for as in that section of the country, generally, A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. Y3 ague, chill fever, and other diseases of a bilious nature are very prevalent. The colored man is peculiarly sensitive to these diseases ; and in localities where it was difficult to procure medical aid, colored children have sometimes been swept away in large numbers. Beside this, in any part of Canada the climate is much colder than in most of the Southern States ; and the colored man not unfrequently suffers severely in con- sequence. But a somewhat hostile climate is not, we believe, as great an evil as slavery; and if it were practicable, it would doubtless be an advantage to the slaves of our country, generally, to be removed to Canadian settlements of the kind described above. A brief examination of African colonization is here demanded. This work, although it has attracted little notice, has, we believe, effected much good. Its be- ginnings were feeble and inauspicious. But it has been constantly enlarging the sphere of its operations and increasing the number of its friends. It may not be amiss to notice, at the outset, those objections to the system which have been urged so strenuously, and which have greatly hindered its progress. It has been said that the colored man is forced from his native country against his will, as he was originally stolen from his home in Africa ; that the climate to which he is sent is an uncongenial one ; that they are mainly the aged and infirm who are sent, the system thus strengthening slavery ; that, as slaveholders were the prime movers in this work, so they have ever been its firmest supporters ; and that, despite all efforts in 74: America's misfortune; or, this direction, the number of slaves in the country has been continually and rapidly increasing. As regards the first objection, we believe that the remark of an eminent writer, that " life is but a choice of evils," is equally true of all classes. If it is plain that a class in any country will ultimately be greatly benefitted by emigrating to a foreign land, the disad- vantages attending such removal ought surely to be overlooked. If the oppressed of Europe did not take a similar view of things, how many of them would ever seek refuge in America ? Those who have been slaves, and whose authority should be sufficient on this point, state that the slave prefers emigrating to Africa to remaining in slavery ; and it is well known that many free colored people have gone voluntarily to the land of their fathers. These facts prove that this is not a matter of compulsion. That the climate of Africa is not, with proper care, an unhealthy one for the colored emigrant from this country, is sustained by abundant evidence. One who has returned to this country, much pleased with a residence there, states that the acclimating fever is not severe, where medical advice is regarded ; and that other diseases are rare among the prudent. We regard such testimony as highly valuable, cor- roborating as it does a great amount from other sources to the same eflect. A year or two since, of four hundred sent to Liberia during the year, at its end all were alive but sixteen. The assertion that the emigrants have generally been past labor, will have little weight with those A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 75 who know that in most cases slaveholders who have given any of their slaves for this purpose have given all in their possession. The fact that slaveholders have been much inter- ested in this work ought not to render it odious. The intemperate man deeply deplores, in his sober moments, the strength of that appetite which is work- ing his ruin, and often wishes that alcoholic drinks were placed forever beyond his reach ; but will any say that this is an argument against temperance effort? At the present day, it is almost superfluous to adduce proof that a large number of slaveholders earnestly protest against the system, and are anxious to be rid of it. Fugitives assure us that they would gladly hail any plan for its abolition which would be safe and expedient; and their testimony only confirms a vast amount to the same effect, both from l^orthern travelers and the Southern press. That colonization has as yet effected little, compared with what it contemplates, is true ; and its early history is not, in this respect, unlike that of many of the noblest enterprises that have ever blessed our world. The Pil- grim Fathers toiled and suffered many years to establish a firm foundation for religious liberty in the wilds of a new continent. They had to contend with cold, hunger and sickness ; they were far from home and friends, surrounded by savage beasts, and scarcely less savage men. Where now would have been our happy New England, if, after a few brief struggles, they had yielded to despondency, and returned to lives and deaths of ignominy in the mother country? Immediate success in any enterprise is almost sure to dazzle the eyes and exhaust the energies of those engaged, before anything permanent has been effected ; and it is always regarded with more or less suspicion by the prudent. Slow progress at first is almost invariably an omen of good. The infant requires a long time, after leaving the arms of the mother, to acquire sufficient strength and skill to walk steadily and safely ; and long and patient toil is afterwards required to gain so thorough a knowl- edge of the rudiments of language that it may be read with ease. It is not because African colonization has not o^iven reasonable satisfaction to its friends that it has not accomplished more ; but it is owing mainly to the fact that the great distance of its field of operations renders it impossible to show wliat has been done. Men usually require demonstration of the good re- sults before giving any enterprise their cordial sup- port ; and we can not wonder that where this is not possible they are very sparing of their patronage. We believe that there is no place upon the globe where the colored xlmerican may be so entirely un- trammelled in every respect, or have as powerful motives to elevate himself, as in Africa. In that land there is no white race to clog his aspirations, or hinder the full development of all his powers — no stately tree in whose shade the puny plant must droop and wither — but he is surrounded by those of his own race and color, and in a condition in many respects similar to his own. The colored man has here, as motives to effort, both the improvement of himself and of the degraded around him. A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 77 Man is seldom sunk so low that he has no desire to rise. But there are cases, as in that of the American slave, where the obstacles are so numerous and so great, that all his attempts will be nearly or quite in vain. If, however, restraint is removed, he rises gradually and surely, like the eagle long confined to the earth, but still able to perceive the sun. The position occupied by our race, in this country, is a model ever present to the mind of the emancipated slave in his distant home; and although it may be beyond his attainment, it is a perpetual stimulus to excellence. Our theory is confirmed by the testimony of the immortal Ashmun, who fell a victim to his zeal in this noble work. We would by no means send the colored man to Africa till he has been more or less trained in habits of self-reliance; for this we believe indispensable to his success. [Since writing the above, we have conversed with a colonist who has returned for his family, who testifies nearly the same as the one above alluded to, in regard to climate ; also, that several of the colonists are now wealthy; that the natives when kindly treated are friendly, often giving up their children to the colonists as their own ; and that generally the emigrant has a good prospect before him, who goes provided with a small amount of means, this being an essential condi- tion to his comfort and relief from embarrassment.] As a missionary work, this is a matter of great importance. We need not pause here to dwell upon the fact that the inhabitants of Africa have, by their misery, the strongest claim upon the whole Christian 78 America's misfortune; oe, world; for it is well known that there is scarcely a place on the globe where man seems to have lost so entirely the image of his Creator. The advantages of the colonist's position over that of the ordinary mis- sionary, who is in every sense a foreigner, possessing a different mental and physical organization, different tastes, feelings and habits, will be seen at once. Tlie obstacles which are usually overcome, only after long years of patient struggling, are here removed at the outset. The colonist labors among heathen who are his brethren, and with whose abilities and character- istics he is fully acquainted. The native who meets him, bringing civilization, education, and the religion of Christ, is in a good measure prepared, without any introduction, to give him a warm reception. The story of the miseries which his benefactor has suffered in a distant land — prepared, as he is, by the traditions of his fathers, and what he has himself wit- nessed of the horrors of the slave trade, to believe as he hears — serves to unite the native African to his American brother by a bond of whose strength we can form no adequate conception. We doubt if any mis- sionary work on the globe will bear comparison with this in facility or sublimity. A long injured race are returning from a foreign land to the home of their fathers, to teach their countrymen the truths of that Gospel without which man is, at best, in a state of bondage more deplorable than any other — a Gospel which their oppressors could never entirely hide from them, and which they finally gave them freely as a parting gift, rendering the most devout gratitude due A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 79 from them to that God who, in a mysterious way, has conferred upon them a blessing infinitely greater than all their woes. The white race have most effectually debarred them- selves from missionary labor in that portion of the country where the slave trade has been carried on — or at least from successful labor — for they must ever be regarded with suspicion while the African bears in mind the injuries of his kindred. In view of this fact, there seems to be almost a necessity that the work of evangelizing Africa should be committed to the col- ored of our own country ; and we can conceive of no work which would so much ennoble them. But colonization confers blessings upon Africa, beside Christianity. Education and the arts of civilized life are here producing the most happy results. The colo- nies are also a powerful check upon the slave trade ; and, if extended, would, with little doubt, completely suppress it, as they possess facilities for protecting the coast not in the possession of any navy in the world. Sierra Leone and Liberia are both flourishing colo- nies, but the latter more especially claims our attention. This colony is now a free republic, and recognized as such by the leading powers of Europe. A fertile soil has here guaranteed subsistence ; and enterprise has given comfort and independence. Here are enjoyed the civil, literary and religious institutions of the United States ; and the world beholds what the slaves of our country may become, individually and socially, when their embarrassments arc removed. While the work of introducing Christian civilization 80 America's misfortune; or, has been carried on among the nations of the East at the point of the bayonet, this work is quiet and unob- trusive, and eminently befitting a Gospel of peace. It has proved itself vrorthy the aid of all the philan- thropic ; and this is now cheerfully given by those who at first doubted as to its success. Those who at first opposed colonization, because they desired something which should effect the abolition of slavery more speedily, can not now fail to see, if they will, that it removes a strong prop of the system, by showing that the slave readily becomes independent, when he has a fair field for the exercise of his abilities. "We believe that it is now apparent that African colonization may do much toward the removal of slavery from our country ; and, indeed, we can see no insurmountable obstacle to its accomplishing the entire work. The work must, of necessity^ be a gradual one ; for the slave requires education for his new sphere. The Colonization Society of a single State has, during the past two years, sent more than thirteen hundred persons to Liberia. If all the States would do as much, more than twenty thousand might thus be sent annu- ally. Could the State governments, or the general government, be made to see that the highest interests of our country demand it, large sums might annually be raised for this purpose, without imposing a heavy burden upon the people. Or, if all the inhabitants of the United States were to contribute each one dollar annually, we believe that in twenty years slavery would be nearly or quite removed. It is hardly necessary to allude to the fact that many slaveholders A PEACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 81 would gladly give up their slaves, without any compen- sation, and many others would sell theirs at greatly re- duced prices, if they were sure that their welfare would thereby be promoted. If all can not give one dollar annually, how many would gladly give much more? Who would not aid in the noblest work ever offered to Americans ? A wealthy and venerable Scotch gentle- man, not residing in this country, recently said to us, while discussing the liberation of our slaves, " Raise all the money you can by contribution for this pur- pose, and, if you have not enough, come over here and we will aid you ; and then go to Europe and they will aid you there." We believe that he spoke correctly, and that he merely expressed the feeling of many in every part of the world who pity us, and would gladly do all in their power to aid us in the removal of a great evil. We have abundant evidence that very many slave- holders are warm advocates of colonization, and this fact affords great encouragement. The following ex- tract from a letter written recently by a gentleman in an extreme Soathern State, we believe a fair exponent of a widely prevalent feeling, the latter portion show- ing that the planter is not, as is sometimes argued, dependent entirely upon the colored man for the per- formance of field labor. He says : " I have talked, in private, anti-slavery to a great many persons here, and fmd that they coincide with us — the anti-slavery party — in every article save one, and that is the mode of rem- edy. They say the government ought to buy up all the slaves, and send them off to Africa ; others say they 83 America's misfortune: ok wish there had never been any slaves in the country. In connection, allow me to state that the cotton raised and picked here by the Germans who have emigrated to this State, is worth, in this market, from three fourths to one and one fourth cents per pound more than that which is attended to by slaves, proving conclusively that slave labor is not the most profitable." We have chosen to make this work, in a great measure, a statement oi facts. If we shall be so un- fortunate as to write anything which has not its foundation in truth, we sincerely hope that it will be " as water spilled upon the ground, which can not be gathered up." We have endeavored to write, uninflu- enced by party or sectional feeling, regarding alike the welfare of the slave, the master, and the country at large. The evils of slavery are of such magnitude that no American can remain inactive without incurring guilt ; and we have felt of late, upon seeing some of the horrors of the system, a strong impulse to follow the example of one who, in ancient times, went through the streets of a large, wealthy, and refined, but cor- rupt, idolatrous, and almost abandoned city, crying, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And we should have felt nearly or quite as guilty as did Jonah, when cast overboard by the troubled mar- iners, in consequence of not fulfilling at once the mis- sion upon which he was sent, had we neglected to publish what has come to our knowledge. If any shall be induced at once to " sit in sackcloth," we shall be amply repaid for our labor. If Jefferson, as he con- templated this evil, " trembled when ho remembered A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 83 that God was just, and that His justice could forever sleep," we see not how any at the present day can remain indifferent. Is not the danger imminent ? The slave, however degraded, is still a human being ; and there is one element in his constitution which can never be entirely confined. "You may chain tho eagle's wing, No more on clouds to soar ; You may seal tlie mountain spring, That it leap to light no more ; But the mind let none dare chain — Better it cease to be. Born not to serve, but reign, God made it to be free." The feeblest intellect can not be completely crushed ; and the bloody scenes of St. Domingo remind us that a most fearful retribution may be in store for the United States. A long oppressed people there found a deliverer, in one of their own number, who led the way for them to execute summarj'- vengeance upon their defenseless oppressors ; and have we not abund- ant evidence that there are, in our own country, slaves of marked ability ? We have even greater reason for apprehension than there existed; for if the colored man and the mulatto can not be always restrained, still less can the white man. The slaves of our country, in consequence of the prohibition of the African slave trade, are gradually becoming assimilated to our own race. While other abuses may have been decreasing, this has been con- stantly increasing. It may be that some American 84: America's misfortune; or, slave, with fairer skin, and more of the Saxon fire and Saxon revenge, will yet cause the blood of fathers, mothers, and innocent babes, to flow in our streets in such streams as would have made Toussaint L. Over- ture stand aghast, while the heart of the nation quakes with sudden, sickening alarm. It has been said that "America is the last hope of the world ;" and her peculiar history, no less than her geographical posi- tion, woald seem almost to warrant the assertion. The discovery of our continent, just as education and Christianity were emerging from their long night of thraldom, affording an asylum for the victims of tyranny and persecution, was a most striking provi dence. Isabella, moved by the argument that " perhaps in that undiscovered land there are souls to be saved," pledged her jewels to aid Columbus ; and a grateful world will never forget their obligation to the one or the other. But could they have foreseen that millions of the human race would here sutler a most galling bondage, what sorrow would have filled their gener- ous bosoms ! The rich, civil, literary, and religious blessings, which have been showered upon us, impose an obligation which we may not disregard with im- punity. Slavery is a vulture gnawing at our vitals; his talons are piercing our veins. Shall we give our- selves to an unclean bird, when the lieart of the world throbs in accordance with the 23ulsations of our own breast? The slave calls upon us to break his bonds. He will not always cry before his voice will reach the A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 85 ear of " Him who sitteth in the heavens." He calls bj his misery, and the meekness with which it is borne. Did we know the whole history of the South, we should, doubtless, discover not a few instances of a disposition similar to that manifested by a faithful slave, who, having accompanied his master to Cali- fornia, where the latter died considerably in debt, worked patiently till he had paid those debts, then, gathering up his effects, he voluntarily returned to the family, and gave account of his stewardship. The slaveholder calls upon us to extricate him from his harassing and perilous condition before the wrath of heaven shall break upon his guilty head. He sees his danger; for pestilence at times rages so fearfully around him that cities are depopulated, and the dead almost literally lie unburied in the streets ; and he turns wishfully to the IN'orth, as brother turns to brother in distress. Shall we forget the example of Him who pardoned the penitent dying thief upon the cross ? " Look at our children," said an intelligent Southern gentleman not long since ; " they have negro nurses, and negro playmates; they hear negro talk, and learn the negro language and style of thought, when they should be with intelligent mothers. They learn to be tyrannical and hasty, when they should learn to be obedient. Our wives, too, can do nothing themselves. They rely wholly on servants. Alto- gether, we deserve more pity than the slave." The social and civil welfare of our country calls upon ns to abolish slavery. The system is a leaden weight upon our progress ; and if we neglect our duty, 86 ameeica's misfortune; oe, a duty so imperative, posterity can not fail to execrate our memory. Our national honor demands the abolition of slavery. The presence of three millions of slaves, whose places might be filled by the same number of intelligent free- men, can but dim most painfully the luster of any na- tion's renown. The country which gave America her slaves has washed her hands of the stain, as far as is in her power, by freeing her own ; and we alone of all the enlightened Christian nations of the earth tolerate the evil. Even Egypt is at the present moment ridding herself of this curse, by freeing all the slaves within her limits in the possession of private individuals. Every nation is under obligation to the great family of nations, of which she is a member, to maintain a character pure and inviolate, and worthy of the gen- eral imitation ; and any nation failing to do this, how- ever powerful in numbers, or extent of territory, proves herself unworthy of confidence or respect. The fol- lowing opinion of American slavery, expressed by a distinguished European, will show what is this influ- ence upon our reputation abroad. He says : " Oh, if your nation, with all the light she has in herself, would but elevate herself for one moment to the moral hight of true republican principles, and, with a noble reso- lution, cast away that curse from your future, and that stain from your escutcheon — slavery — how difterent would be the standing of America in a few years! Her brightness would efface the brightest page of mankind's history ; but with that incubus paralyzing the Union, nothing can ever be expected but convulsion at home, disresDect abroad, and a speedy decay of the A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 87 national life, dying without having come to age. Hog fonte derivcda clades. Everything which is deplor- able dates from that source. No foreign power should be permitted to meddle with the domestic aifairs of any country; but a great, enlightened, and, above all, a republican nation, should know by herself to be faithful to right — to do what is just, and to cure the cancer gnawing on her own heart. Where the diffi- culties are great, there the glory of overcoming them is the greater. Small matters may be done by small men and small nations. It is worthy of great nations to do great things. Besides, freemen should never think it hard to be just, or else sooner or later they will cease to be free." The American church calls loudly for the abolition of slavery. Feeble and depressed, like Samson shorn of his locks, she gropes in darkness, while a voice is heard continually from on high, " Oh, that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways !" Multitudes of her members are grieved that their brethren are connected with an institution for which they have so strong a repugnance. They do not feel that they would bo justified in excluding them from their communion, thereby depriving them of privileges dearly prized by every Christian ; they love the peace of those who are dear to Christ, " as the apple of His eye," too well to wound the feelings of any in the least degree, till the interests of His kingdom will no longer allow forbearance. But Christ's body upon earth are required to be " a holy church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," and whatever 88 America's misfortune; ok, defiles, wounds, or divides it, can not fail to be an abomination in the sight of its great Head. The slaveholding church member, by his position, sup- ports slavery with all its abuses, and, though he may not so regard it, thereby violates the injunction, '' Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." * The nations struggling beneath the iron hand of despotism call upon us to abolish slavery. America is styled " the land of the free ; " and our people pride themselves upon this high distinction. The old world is asked to behold a nation successfull}^ governing itself without crown or nobility. The discontented millions who are j^atiently laboring and waiting, with a faint hope that civil liberty is not forever beyond their reach, are bade to look at us and take courage. But liow must their hearts sink within them as they see that even here millions of their fellow-men are but merchandise. The nations sitting in pagan darkness call upon us to abolish slavery. The cry " Come over and helj) us ! " uttered with thrilling emphasis by our dying brethren, is wafted to our ears by every Eastern breeze ; and the American church has not been slow to answer the call. But is there not a strange, a paralyzing inconsistency, in overlooking a large class of perishing immortals at home in our efforts for the destitute abroad ? The "* By a recent statement, there are in tho United States more than 665,000 slaves owned by ministers of the Gospel and members of the different churches. A PRACTICAL VIEW OF SLAVERY. 89 patient missionary, not iinfrequentl j reminded of this bj the heathen among whom he labors, toils on, con- cealing a wound of whose cure he has no hope. We make no apology for earnestness, for at an earlier age than Hannibal swore eternal hostility to the Ro- mans, we imbibed an undying hatred of slavery ; and we believe it necessary to portray its evils so vividly to the nation that wherever we turn they may be con- tinually before us. The providence of God sent the slave to our shores; but, as has oft^n been the case with other nations, if we turn not from-our evil ways, though we are now used as the pestle, the same prov- idence will prepare for us a mortar in which* we may be ground to powder. If we would save our nation, as in ancient times when a great work was to be done, let every man " build over against his own house." Let the clergr/man earnestly, and in the spirit of his Great Master, " preach deliverance to the captive." The Christian minister is the ambassador of Him- who stands as a daysman between an offended God* and offending man ; and who shall more successftilly in- terfere when man is estranged from his brother, or more effectually protest against any evil ? That preach- ing can be of but little value which merely denounces the slaveholder, for it is the office of the Gospel not only to show the sinner his guilt, but also to point out the remedy. Let the statesman diligently apply himself to this most weighty question, that has ever interested or divided our national counsels. Aided by the counsels and prayers of the wise and good, who shall guide the 90 ship of State among the breakers if not they who hold the helm? Let those who conduct the press realize that they hold a lever of tremendous power ; and in treating this subject, seek carefully the golden mean between rashness and apathy. Let every citizen^ as he goes to the polls, seriously ask himself what duty to his brethren in bonds requires of him — whether the South can, in any other way, be as eflfectually convinced of the Northern aversion to slavery as by union against it at the ballot box. Let woman^ whose influence is more subtle than the electric fluid, and more powerful, give the unfortunate bondman a warm place in those tender sympathies which move the world. Above all, let every Christian pray with the impor- tunity of the ancient patriarch, when the Divine ven- geance was brooding over the home of his kindred, and Sodom was on the eve of destruction, that our favored but guilty land may repent -herself of this great iniquity before repentance shall be too late. Let every American who has a voice raise it earn- estly and in love against American slavery. A year or two since, a man in Niagara river, a little above the Falls, with death staring him in the face, was struggling powerfully against the rocks and the rapids. Unconscious of danger, he has floated down the stream — as placid as the features of a sleeping infant — till it is too late. His two companions have passed on to the fatal cataract, and perished. He still lingers on the drift wood, and there is hope. Thousands A PRACTICAL YIEW OF SLAVERY. 91 from tlie adjacent city, and the country around, have assembled upon the shores to show their sympathy and to rescue him if possible. The telegraph is put in requisition, and multitudes all over the country are anxious for his fate. A banner is erected in his sisrht bearing, in large characters in his own language, the in- scription "we will save you ; " and a humane Southern gentleman promises one thousand dollars to any one who will extricate him from his peril. But they can not agree fully as to means, and no effectual plan is adopted ; and finally the unfortunate man, having battled three days with hunger, fatigue, and exposure, becomes exhausted, and follows his companions to eternity. We dream of security and dwell with enthusiasm, almost with rapture, upon our high birth and our glorious destiny ; and yet as surely as the waters of our great lakes can not reach the ocean without passing over Niagara Falls, so surely are we, by tolerating slavery, floating down the same stream upon which other nations have gone to ruin. If we will not see our danger, or seeing will not believe, or, seeing and believing, still remain unmoved or undecided, who but an all-wise God can know how soon we may be past hope? "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 898 760 3