The Colonization herald and general register

              '
Colonisation
tmlb
AND GENERAL REGISTER.
CONDUCTED  BY   THE   PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIZATION  SOCIETY
WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM.
Vol. I.—NEW SERIES.
PIIILADELPIIIA,  WEDNESDAY, JULY   18,   1838
I\0.   2*>-
CELEBRATION
Ofthe 62d Anniversary of American Independence,
on Temperance Principles.
The friends of Temperance and members of the dif¬
ferent societies and associations, assembled agreeably
to previous notice at Washington Square, and were
formed in procession under the direction of Chief Mar¬
shall, Dr. G. VV. BURGIN, and his aids and assistants.
They presented a long and imposing array, and pro¬
ceeded by the route previously announced, to the capa¬
cious stores of Joseph Hemphill, Esq. Broad street
above Arch. It was then found that in consequence of
the unexpectedly large number in the ranks, a sufficient
number of cars could not be procured to convey the
whole to the ground—after a short rest, the procession
was again formed and proceeded to Lemon Hill. The
services on the ground vvere commenced (under the'
direction of Thomas Robiisson, Esq. President of the
day,) by a prayer from the Rev. J. Marsh; after
which, the Declaration of Independence was read by
G. L. Ashmead, Esq., which he prefaced by some appro¬
priate remarks. Addresses were then delivered by the
Hon. C. J. Ingersoll, Rev. G. B. Ide, Hon. Judge Con¬
rad, and the Rev. T. P. Hunt; thus affording the friends
ofthe cause the gratification of witnessing eloquence,
learning, talents and experience of the lawyer, the
clergyman and the judge, united in bearing testimony
to the good it has already accomplished, and in enforc-!
ing its strong claims upon the support of the philanthro¬
pist, the patriot, and the christian. The exercises from ;
the stand were closed by a prayer from the Rev. S.
Siegfried. After a short recess the party sat down to
a dinner, provided by experienced and skilful caterers.
After the first course, the presidenl announced the fol¬
lowing
REGULAR   SENTIMENTS.
1 The Day—Sacred to " Virtue, Liberty and Inde¬
pendence."
2 The Cause of Temperance—Fidelity, patience,
perseverance, the means of securing its ultimate tri¬
umph.
3 Our Country—The asylum ofthe oppressed from
every Land. May it be the first to hail the deliver¬
ance of its entire population from the slavery of Intem¬
perance.
• 4 Our rulers, and all in authority—-May they ever
possess honest hearts and clear head?, and be " a ter¬
ror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well."
5 The memory of Washington, the father of his
country.
6 The departed Statesmen and Heroes of the Revo¬
lutionary War—A noble band—may their sons never
dishonour the fame ofthe sires-
7 The surviving few who aided to achieve our lib¬
erty—Mild be the evening of their days—their rest,
eternal.
8 The Rechabiles— The first society known to have
been formed upon the principles of total abstinence
from intoxicating drinks. Thnir pledge, " We will
drink no wine," Divinely sanctioned. Their memory
will last while time endures.     _ , ..
_f     f tillltsstf,    jiiu>.MlNU»t;if>,    jtif.-nit,    anu    t/u.__
States that have abolished, in whole or in part, the
traffic in liquid poisons. May their noble example be
speedily followed by their sister States.
10 The laws authorizing the traffic in ardent spir¬
its—May this disgrace to our statute books be speedily
expunged.
11 The friends of Temperance throughout the
world.
12 Education— The greatest national blessing that
can be conferred upon our youth. .
13 The American Fair—Their influence unbound¬
ed—their charms resistless.
The president presented the following communica¬
tion.
Philadelphia, July 2, 1838-
Col. Thos. Robinson, President, &c.
My dear Sir,—I regret that the health of my family
and circumstances not under my control, obliges me
to leave the city to-day, and will prevent my being
with you on the 4th inst. My heart is with you. The
day you celebrate is a sacred day—may it be a day
of glorious independence to every one who meets with
you—may they all boldly and resolutely declare war
against alcohol and all That intoxiaates; and may the
Spartan band who unite with you, pledge themselves
under the banner of cold water, and achieve for them¬
selves, their families, and their descendants, (if possi¬
ble) more real and substantial happiness, than those did
who so gloriously fought and bled lor the beloved coun¬
try in which it is our happy lot to dwell. Please ac¬
cept the following sentiment.
May all the fiery elements and burning heats con¬
tained in alcohol, be turned into the condenser of the
Lacomotive, and speed men to true happiness and not
to an early grave.
With great respect and esteem,
I remain your ob't servant,
M. Newkirk.
volunteer   sentiments.
By Thomas Robinson, President of the day—Mat¬
thew Carey, Esq.—May he long be spared to be a
blessing to the rising generation.
Mr. Carey rose and gave the Pennsylvania Temper-
auce Society, believed to have been the first Temper¬
ance Society formed in the United States. Mr. Carey
added, " it was, and as long as he should live would
continue to be, a source of gratification to him, that he
had been associated with a dozen or twenty indivi¬
duals in the formation and original organization of that
society in 1827, when the cause was far from popular,
and generally considered visionary and impracticable, j
Of that society he had the honor of being president for
aix or seven years."
By C. J. Ingersoll, Esq.—May the Temperance
cause never sutler from an in.
By D. VVillburn—The total abstinence pledge—A
Declaration of Independence that should be signed by
every American.
By W. Sloanaker—The memory of the late Roberts
Vaux,
By Joseph Weaver, Jr.—The Temperance Reform.
—Promotion of man's best interests—its claims upon
the good and wise are imperious.
By James L. Van Dyke—The Hon. Judge Conrad.—
The polished gentleman, the philosophical lawyer and i
impartial judge.
By G. W. Reed—The Fair—Their influence un-1
•inded—may they soon turn it to the reformation of
present wine bibbing system.
.   r C. J. Boulter—Temperance—When cold water
*s l beverage, reason returns to her seat. " The
ie*sir reason and the flow of soul," is as much enjoy¬
ed unvr the co](j water SyStem, as it can be by intoxi-
By Preston Yarnall—The Fair Sex—They are al- penetrated furtively into the world, and which was at
ways ready to unite with us in a good cause. With \ first scarcely distinguishable amidst the ordinary abuses
such, "companions in arms" we have nothing to fear of power: it originated with an individual whose name
for the triumph of our principles. j history has not preserved;   it was wafted like some
By John Cook—Paul reasoned before the kings of, accursed germ upon a portion of the soil, but it after-
the earth on three great points—the second was tern-.' wards nurtured itself, grew without effort, and spreads
perance. j naturally with the society to which it belongs.    I need
By D. W. Sheaff—May the tree of temperance shade scarcely add that this calamity is slavery. Christian-
creation, and dispel the scorching heat of inebria-' ity suppressed slavery, but the Christians of the six-
tjon. | teenth century re-established  t—as an exception, in-
The following vvere received from the pupils of the deed, to their social system, and restricted to one of"
Blind Asylum. ' j the races of mankind; but He wound this inflicted
By James Buchanan—May the citizens of the Uni- ] upon humanity, though less extensive, was at the same
ted Slates be content to drink that pure ale which was time rendered far more difficult of cure,
given to Adam, and   discard  the use of alcohol fori     It is important to make an accurate distinction be-
ever. ! tween slaveiy itself, and its consequences.    The un-
ByJ. B. Martindale—Cold Water—As tho effect j mediate evils which are produced by slavery were very
ofthe element is to enliven the mental as well asphy- l nearly the same in antiquity as they are amongst the
sical powers, may the genial influence of your efforts | moderns; but the consequences of these evils were
soon pervade the whole community. " ! different.    The slave, amongst the ancients, belonged
By W. H. Churchman—Temperance—As this is one ! to the same race as his master, and he was often the
of a great species of moral, mental and physical im-j superior of the two in education* and instruction,
provement, for which all philanthropists should labor ' Freedom was the only distinction between them; and
when freedom was conferred, they were easily con-
i founded  together.    The ancients, then, had a  very
! simple means of avoiding slavery and its evil conse-
Iquences, which was that of affranchisement; and they
' succeeded as soon as they apopted this measure gene-
i rally.    Not but, in ancient states, the vestiges of ser¬
vitude subsisted, for some time after servitude itself
I was abolished.    There is a natural prejudice which
i prompts men to despise whomsoever has been their in-
jferior, long after he is become their equal; and the
I real inequality which is produced by fortune or by law,
is always succeeded by an ima_rinary inequality which
) is implanted in the manners of the people.    Neverthe-
' less, this secondary consequence of slavery was limited
to a certain term amongst the ancients; for the freed¬
man bore so entire a resemblance to those born free,
that it soon became impossible to distinguish him from
amongst them.
The greatest difficulty in antiquity was that of al¬
tering the manners; and, as far as we are concerned,
the real obstacles begin where those of the ancients
left off. This arises from the circumstance that,
amongst the moderns, tbe abstract and tiansient fact
of slavery is fatally united to the physical and perma¬
nent fact of color. The tradition of slavery dishonors
the race, and the peculiarity of the race perpetuates
the tradition ofslavery. No African has ever volun¬
tarily emigrated to the shores ofthe New World;
whence it must be inferred, that all the blacks who are
now to be found in that hemisphere are either slaves
or freedmen. Thus the negro transmits the eternal
mark of his ignominy to all his descendants; and al¬
though the law may abolish slavery, God alone can ob¬
literate the traces of its existence.
The modern slave differs from his master not only
in his condition, but in his origin. You may set the
negro free, but you cannot make him otherwise than
an alien to the European. Nor is this all; we scarcely
acknowledge the common *>aj_ures of mankind in this
-hildnf.dAhacpmf.nt _iha~'"'ttivt)i? nan iirought amongst
rus. His physiognomy is to our eyes hideous, his un¬
derstanding weak, his tastes low; and we are almost
inclined to look upon him a6 a being intermediate be¬
tween man and the brutos.f The modei ns, then, after
they have abolished slavery, have three prejudices to
contend against, which are less easy to attack, and far
less easy to conquer, than the mere fact of servitude:
the prejudice ofthe master, the prejudice of the race,
and the prejudice of color.
It is difficult for us, who have had the good fortune
to be born amongst men like ourselves by nature, and
equal to ourselves by law, to conceive the irrecon¬
cilable differences which separate the negro from the
European in America. But we may derive some faint
notion of them from analogy. France was formerly a
country in which numerous distinctions of rank exist¬
ed,' that had been created by the legislation. Nothing
can be more fictitious than a purely legal inferiority;
nothing more contrary to the instinct of mankind than
these permanent divisions which had been established
between beings evidently similar. Nevertheless these
divisions subsisted for ages; they still subsist in many
places; and on all sides they have left imnginary ves¬
tiges, which time alone can efface. If it he so difficult
to root out an inequality which solely originates in the
law, how are those distinctions to be destroyed which
seem to be based upon the immutable laws of Nature
herself! When I remember the extreme difficulty
with which aristocratic bodies, of whatever nature
they may be, are commingled with the mass of the
people; and the exceeding care which they take to
preserve the ideal boundaries of their caste inviolate,
I despair of seeing an aristocracy disappear which is
founded upon visible and indelible signs. Those who
hope that the Europeans will ever mix with the ne¬
groes, appear to me to delude themselves; and I am
not led to any such conclusion by my own reason, or
by the evidence of facts.
Hitherto, wherever the whites have been the most
i powerful, they have maintained the blacks in a subor¬
dinate or a servile position;   wherever the negroes
have been strongest, they have destroyed the whites;
I such  has been the only retribution  which has ever
taken place between the two races.
I see that in a certain portion ofthe territory ofthe
i United States at the present day, the legal barrier
which separated the two races is lending to fall away,
but not that which exists in the manners of the coun¬
try ; slavery recedes, but the prejudice to which it has
given birth remains stationary. Whosoever has in¬
habited the United States must have perceived, that in
those parts ofthe Union in which the negroes are no
longer slaves, they have in nowise drawn nearer to
the whites. On the contrary, the prejudice ofthe race
appears to be stronger in the states which have abol¬
ished slavery, than in those where it still exists; and
no where is it so intolerant as in those states where
servitude has never been known.
It is true, that in the north ofthe Union, marriages
I may be legally contracted between negroes and w hites,
  j but public opinion would stigmatize a man who should
From De Tocqueville's Democracy in America.    I connect himself with a negress as infamous, and it
SITUATION OF THE BLACK POPULATION wou'd be &**& l0 ,meet J"'1'1 a, sin?le i"stnnce of
IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DANGERS *uch ,a uni0Q- The electoral franchise has been con-
WITH   WHICH   ITS  PRESENCE THREAT-, te!"re? "P°n  lh.e negroes in almoat all the states in
—long may it flourish.
By. J. B. Martindale—Epitaph on a Drunkard—
Here lies entombed within this marble vault,
One, who 'twas said, had but a single fault;
Tho' this one fault, within itself combined
The numerous faults of ev'ry other kind.
His name was Sandy—Be it known to all,
A faithful servant of prince Jllcohol:
Who, for his great devotion to tbe bowl,
Lost first his body, and at last his soul.
Reader, beware, oh ! pause a while and think,
Before you ofthe dreadful poison drink;
Vou now may shun a hated drunkard's grave,
Your wife and children all from ruin save.
But if this warning fail to reach your heart,
Remember I have done a brother's part;
And should your portion endless ruin be,
You are to blame, the fault is not in me.
The exercises ofthe day were agreeably diversified
wilh music, both vocal and instrumental from the Ger¬
man Band, and the volunteer choir in attendance.
SECOND ANNIVERSARY
Of the Ladies' Baptist Colonization Society, on the
fourth of July, 1838.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Prayer.—Hymn I.—Ethiopia.
While on the distant Hindoo shore
Messiah's cross is reared—
While Pagan votaries bow no more,
With idol-blood besmeared—
While Palestine again doth hear
The Gospel's joyful sound,
While Islam recreants disappear
From Calvary's holy ground—
Say, shall not Afric's fated land	
"i» un news nrtrmr- _.- li—*-*	
Say, shall not Ethiopia's band
Enjoy the promised rest!
Ye Heralds of a Saviour's love,
To Afric's region fly;
Oh ! haste and let compassion move
For millions doomed to die !
Blest Jesus! who for these hast bled,
Wilt thou the captive free?
And Ethiopia too shall spread
Her ransomed hands to thee.       Tappan.
Annual Report.—Address.—Hymn II.
"Give us room, that we may dwell,"
Afric's children cry aloud:
See their numbers—how they swell!
How they gather like a cloud !
Oh, how bright their morning seems!
*        Brighter, from so dark a night:
Afric is like one that dreams,
Filled with wonder and delight.
Lo! thy sun goes down no more,
God himself will be thy light:
They who caused thee grief before,
Haste to chase away thy night.
Afric, now arise and shine !
Lo! thy light from Heaven is come!
These that crowd from far are thine;
Give thy sons and daughters room.
Address.—Hymn HI.
Hark ! o'er the land a trumpet-voice,
Whose loud awakening call
Bids hearts, once wrapped in gloom, rejoice,
As misery's fetters fall.
That voice shall peal from deep to deep,
From echoing shore to shore,
Till Afric's down-trod sons shall weep,
And toil, and groan no more.
It is a blessed thing to break
Dark slavery's cankering chain,
And bid the long-dimmed eye awake
To freedom's light again.
But oh ! thrice blessed from the soul
Its fetters to unbind,
And o'er its wakened vision roll
The glorious light of mind.
It shall be done!  for lofty hearts
To that high task have bent,
Whose holy zeal, till life departs,
Shall burn with that intent.
It shall be done ! for even now >.
The deed hath won success,
And God benignant stoops below
To succor and to bless. Sigourney.
ENS THE WHITES.
The Indians will perish in the same isolated condi-
catin_r
-nks.
By Jar-8 Dainty—The Rev. T. P. Hunt—The un-
Comprisin_i-'.)ei;ny of the licence system.
By John anart—Liberty—-May her name be dear
a°i e^e,ry Afhrican citizen—the bulwarks of King
Alcohol totter ,1(_ rail, and his name be no more known
in the annals of\merican history.
which slavery has been abolished; but if they come
forward to vole, their lives are in danger.    If oppress-
, .  ,    , , , _.   ,      ed, they may bring an action at law, but they will
tion in which they have lived; but the destiny of the find none but whites amongst their judges; and al-
Negroes is in some measure interwoven with that of though lhe ,      H   gerve ag • proiudice re-
the Europeans. These two races are attached to each pu|ses tliem from that ()ffice xta-M, schools do not
other without intermingling; and they are alike un-   receive lhe chi]d ofthe black and of the European. In
able entirely to separate or to combine.    The most   r
formidable of all the ills which threaten the future ex- . It is well known that gevera, of the most dis,in ished
istence of the Union, arises from the presence of a authors ofantiquity, and amongst them _Esop and Terence,
black population upon its territory; and in contem- were or had been slaves. Slaves were not always taken
plating the causes ofthe present embarrassments or of fr0m baibarous nations, and the chances of war reduced
the future dangers of the United States, the observer   highly civilized men to servitude.
is invariably led to consider this as a primary fact. -( To induce the whites to abandon the opinion they
The permanent evils to which mankind is aubjected have conceived of the moral and intellectual inferiority of
are usually produced by the vehement or the increas- j their former slaves, the negroes must change; but as long
I ing efforts of men; but there is one calamity which as this opinion subsists, to change is impossible.
the theatres, gold cannot procure a seat for the servile
race beside ther former masters; in the hospitals they
lie apart; and although they are allowed to invoke the
same Divinity as the whites, it must be at a different
altar, and in their own churches, with their own clergy.
The gates of Heaven are not closed against these un¬
happy beings; but their inferiority is continued to the
very confines of the other world; when the negro is
defunct, his bones are cast aside, and the distinction of
condition prevails even in the equality of death. The
negro is free, but he can share neither the rights, nor
the pleasures, nor the labor, nor the afflictions, nor the
tomb of him whose equal he has been declared to be;
and he cunnot meet him upon fair terms in life or in
death.
In the south, where slavery still exists, the negroes
are less carefully kept apart; they sometimes share
the labor and the recreations of the whites; the whites
consent to intermix with them to a certain extent, and
although the legislation treats them more harshly,tbe
habits ofthe people are more tolerant and compassion-,
ate.    In the south the master is not afraid to raise his :
slave to his own standing, because he knows that he
can in a moment reduce him to the dust at pleasure. j
In the north the white no longer distinctly perceives
the barrier which separates him from  the degraded
race, and he shuns the negro with the more pertina-1,
city, since he fears lest they should some day be con- (
founded together.
Amongst the Americans of the south, nature some-,
times re-asserts her ntrhts, and restores a transient
equality between the blacks and the whites; but in
the north, pride restrains the most imperious of human
passions. The American of the northern states vvouid
perhaps allow lhe negress to share his licentious plea¬
sures, if the laws of his country did not declare that
she may aspire to be the legitimate partnor of his bed ;
but he recoils with horror from her who might become
his wife.
Thus it is, in the United States, that the prejudice
which repels the negroes seems to increase in propor- i
tion as they are emancipated, and inequality is sane- i
tioned by the manners whilst it is effaced from the \
laws of the country. But if the relative position of,
the two races which inhabit the United States is such I
as I have described, it may be asked why the Ameri-;
cans have abolished slavery in the north ofthe Union,
Why they maintain it in the south, and why they ag- j
grovate its hardships there ?
The answer is easily given.    It is not for the good
of the negroes, but for that of the whites, that mea- j
sures  are  taken  to abolish Slavery in  the  L^nited j
States.
The first negroes were imported into Virginia about i
the year 1621.*    In America, therefore, as well as in j
the rest of the globe, slavery originated in the south.
Thence it spread from one settlement to another ; but
the number of slaves diminished towards the northern
states, and the negro population was always very lim- j
iled in New England.f
A century had scarcely elapsed since the foundation
of tbe. colonies, when the attention ofthe planters vvas
_______  by the extraordinary fact, that the provinces j
which were comparatively destitute of slaves, increased
in population, in  wealth, and in prosperity, more ra- i
pidly than those which contained the greatest number
of negroes.    In the former, however, the inhabitants
vvere obliged to cultivate tho soil  themselves, or by
hired laborers; in the latter they were furnished with
hands for which they paid no wages ; yot although la-1
bor and expense were on the one side, and ease with i
economy on the other, the former were in possession f
of the most advantageous system.    This consequence)
seemed to be the more difficult to explain, since the j
settlers, who all belonged to the European race, had
the same habits, the same civilization, the same laws, i
and their shades of difference were extremely slight.   I
Time, however, continued to advance; and the An- '
glo-Americans, spreading beyond the coasts ofthe At-'
lantic Ocean, penetrated further and further inlo the
solitudes of the west; they met with a new soil and1
an unwonted climate;   the obstacles which opposed
them were ofthe most various character; their races1
intermingled, the inhabitants ofthe south went up to-!
wards the north, those of the north descended to the !
south: but in the midst of all these causes, the samej
result recurred at every step ; and in general, the colo-!
nies in which there vvere no slaves became more popn-
ton* and more rich than those in which slavery flour-
ished.    The more progress was made, the more was
it shown that slavery, which is so cruel to the slave,
is prejudicial to the master.
But this truth was most satisfactorily demonstrated
when civilization reached the banks of the Ohio.    The '
stream  which the  Indians had distinguished by the
name of Ohio, or Beautiful River, waters one of the
most maonifici nt valleys which has ever been made
the abode of man.    Undulating lands extend upon both
shores of the Ohio, whose soil affords inexhaustible j
treasures to the laborer;   on either hank the air is
wholesome and the climate mild ; and each of Ihem ,
forms the extreme frontier of a vast state: that which
ibllowa the numerous windings of the Ohio upon the
left is called Kentucky; that upon the right bears the
name of the river.    These two states only differ in a ;
single respect;  Kentucky has admitted slavery, but
the state of Ohio has prohibited the existence of slaves
within its borders.J
Thus the traveller who floats down the current of
the Ohio, to the spot where that river falls into the
Mississippi, may be said to sail between liberty and
servitude; and a transient inspection of the surround¬
ing objects will convince him as to which of the two
is most favorable to mankind.
Upon the left bank of the stream the population is
rare; from time to time one descries a troop of slaves
loitering in the half-desert fields; the primaeval forest;
recurs at every turn; society seems to be asleep, man
to be idle, and nature alone offers a scene of activity
and of life.
From the right bank, on the contrary, a confused
hum is heard which proclaims the presence of indus¬
try; the fields are covered with abundant harvests;
* See Beverley's History of Virginia. See also in Jef¬
ferson's Memoirs some curious details concerning the in¬
troduction of negroes into-Virginia, and the first act which
prohibited the importation of them in 1778.
•j- The number of slaves vvas less considerable in the
north, but the advantages resulting from slavery were not
more contested there than in the south. In 1740, the le¬
gislature ofthe state of New York declared that the direct
importation of slaves ought to be encouraged as much as
possible, and smuggling severely punished, in order not to
discourage the fair trader. (Kent's Commentaries, vol. ii.
p. 206.) Curious researches, by Belknap, ujjou slavery
in New England, are to be found in the Historical Collec¬
tion of Massachusetts, vol. iv. p. 193. It appears that ne¬
groes were introduced there in 1C30, but that the legisla¬
tion and manners of the people were opposed to slavery
from the first; see also, in the same work, the manner in
which public opinion, and afterwards the laws, filially put
an end to slavery.
. Not only is slavery prohibited in Ohio, but no free ne¬
groes are allowed to enter the territory of that state, or to
hold property in it.    See the Statutes of Ohio.
the elegance ofthe dwellings announces the taste and
activity of the laborer; and man appears to be in lhe
enjoyment of that wtalth and contentment which is
the reward of labor.*
The state of Kentucky was founded in 1775, thc
state of Ohio only twelve years later; but twelve years
are more in America .than half a century in Europe,
and, at the present day, the population of Ohio ex¬
ceeds that of Kentucky by 250,000 souls, j These op¬
posite consequences ofslavery and freedom may readily
be understood ; and they suffice to explain many of the
differences which we remark between the civilization
of antiquity and that of our own time.
Upon the left bank of the Ohio, labor is confounded
with the idea of t's~p.ery; upon the right bank it is
identified with that of prosperity and improvement; on
the one side it is degraded, on the other it is honored ;
on the former territory no white laborers can be found,
for they would be afraid of assimilating themselves to
the negroes; on the latter no one is idle, for the white
population extends its activity and its intelligence to
every kind of employment. Thus the men whose task
it is to cultivate the rich soil of Kentucky are ignorant
and lukewarm; whilst those who are active and en¬
lightened either do nothing, or pass over into the state
of Ohio, where they may work without dishonor.
It is true that in Kentucky the planters are not
obliged to pay wages to the slaves whom they employ ;
but they derive small profits from their labor, whilst
the wages paid to free workmen would be returned
with interest in the value of their services. The free
workman is paid, but he does the work quicker than
the slave; and rapidity of execution is one of the great
elements of economy. The white sells his services,
but they are only purchased at the limes at which they
may be useful; the black can claim no remuneration
for his toil, but the expense of his maintenance is per¬
petual ; he must be supported in his old age as well as
in the prime of manhood, in his profitless infancy as
well as in the productive years of youth. Payment
must equally be made in order to obtain the services
of either class of men ; the free workman receives his
wages in money ; the slave in education, in food, in
care, and in clothing. The money which a master
spends in the maintenance of his slaves, goes gradually
and in detail, so (hat it is scarcely perceived ; the sala¬
ry ofthe free workman is paid in a round sum, which
appears only to enrich the individual who receives it;
but in the end the slave has cost more than the free
servant, and his labor is less productive-^
The influence ofslavery extends still further; it af¬
fects the character of the master, and imparts a pecu¬
liar tendency to his ideas and tastes. Upon both banks
of the Ohio, the character of the inhabitants is enter¬
prising and energetic; but this vigor is very differently
exercised in the two stales. The white inhabitant of
Ohio, who is obliged to subsist by his own exertions,
regards temporal prosperity as the principal aim of his
existence; and as the country which he occupies pre¬
sents inexhaustible resources to his industry, and ever-
varying lures to his activity, his acquisitive ardor sur¬
passes the ordinary limits of human cupidity: he is
tormented by the desire of wealth, and he boldly en¬
ters upon every path which fortune opeus to him; he
becomes a sailor, pioneer, an artisan, or a laborer with
the same indifference, and he supports, with equal con¬
stancy, the fatigues and the dangers incidental to these
various professions; the resources of his intelligence
are astonishing, and bis avidity in the pursuit of gain
amounts to n species of heroism.
But the Kentnckian scorns not only labor, but all the
undertakings which labor promotes; as he lives in an
idle independence, his tastes are those of an idle man;
money loses a portion of its value in his eves* he
covets wealth much less than pleasure and excitement •
and the energy which his neighbor devotes to gain'
turns with him to a passionate love of field sports and
military exercises ; he delights in violent bodily exer¬
tion ; he is familiar with the use of arms, and is accus¬
tomed from a very early age to expose his life in single
combat. Thus slavery not only prevents the whites
from becoming opulent, but even from desinn-r to be¬
come so.
As the same causes have been continually producing
opposite effects for the last two centuries in the British
colonies of North America, they have established a
very striking difference between the commercial capa¬
city of the inhabitants of the south and those of the
north. At the present day, it is only the northern
states which are in possession of shipping, manufac¬
tures, rail-roads, and canals. This difference j8 per¬
ceptible not only in comparing lhe north with the
south, but in comparing the several southern states.
Almost all tho individuals who cairy on commercial
operations, or who endeavor to turn slave-labor to ac¬
count in the most southern districts of the Union, have
emigrated from the north. The natives of the north¬
ern states are constantly spreading over that portion of
the American territory, where they have less to fear
from competition ; they discover resources there which
escaped the notice of the inhabitants; and, as they
comply with a system which they do not approve, they
succeed in turning it to better advantage than 'those
who first founded, and who stiil maintain it.
Were I inclined to "continue this parallel, I could
easily prove that almo>t all the differences, which may
be remarked between the characters of the Americans
in the southern and in the northern states, have origi¬
nated in slavery; but this would divert me from my
subject, and my present intention is not to point out
all the consequences of servitude, but those effects
which it has produced upon the prosperity ofthe coun¬
tries which have admitted if.
The influence of slavery upon the production of
wealth must have been very imperfectly known in an-
* The activity of Ohio is not confined to individuals
but the undertakings of the state are surprisingly Kreat • a
canal has been established between Lake Erie and tl *
Ohio, by means of which the valley of the Mississippi com6
municates with the river of the north, and the EuroD i
commodities which arrive at New York may be forw 1 1
by water to New Orleans, across live hundred leagues of
continent. 5
f The exact numbers given by the census of 18*M _,-.,_ .
Kentucky, 688,844 ; Ohio, 937,679. re '
. Independently of these causes, which, wherever free
workmen abound, render their labor more productive ami
more economical than that of slaves, another
be pointed out which is peculiar to the United Sat^s "the
sugar-cane has hitherto.been cultivated with success only
upon the banks of he Mississippi, near the mouth of th..
nve.r m the Gulf of Mexico. In Louisiana the cultivation
of the sugar-cane is exceedingly lucrative; and no where
does a laborer earn so much by his work ; and, as there
is always a certain relation between the cost of production
and the value of the produce, the price of .UveTl. Ji"
high in Louisiana. But Louisiana is one of the confed?
ratestates, and slaves may be carried thither from aflparU
of the Ln.on ; tho price given for slaves in New Orleans
consequently raises the value of slaves in __ti .K .1
markets. The consequence of this is th" ?i ,K "*"
tries where the land is less productive to* ^ C,°Un"
labor is still very cenaiderabClhK; ™°!J™
advantage to the competition of free labor ^lil0aA