The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-23 00:00:00

A White Man Selling his Sons.

Sumner and his followers may prate as loudly as they
please about the barbarism of slavery, and Mrs Stowe may
rack imagination to create a monster like the brutal Legree,
but we had an exhibition in this tcwn during the exami-
nation of those recently conscripted, which, for inhuman
and brutal barbarism, we defy any slave market in the world
to match. A father, who had already sold one minor son
as a substitute to the human shamble, where he fell a victim,
appeared in our town on last Monday, dragging at his heels
two half-grown, ill-shaped boys. They were all the sons
ho had, and he had contracted to sell them both as substi-
tutes. They had been bargained for by loyal men. The
smaller one, almost a mere child, was prospectively the pro-
perty of a loud-mouthed and pestilent Abolitionist—a large
beast of a man, whe stood 611 2in in his stockings, and
weighed over 2001 b. This intensely loyal and patriotic
fellow, when his own son, a sturdy well-grown young man,
enlisted, followed him to Chambersburg, and brought him
back home on the plea that he was a minor, and had enlisted
without his father's consent. Yet he is always full of war,
and eager for fighting, so long as it is at the expense of the
blood of some one else than himself or his family. Being
drafted, however, and wishing to lessen the probability of
such a misfortune befalling him speedily again, and impelled
at the same time to save a little money, he had bargained
with a brutal father to pay a less sum than 300do1s for the
body, the bones, the blood, nay more, the life of a child.
We defy the whole South to turnish an instance of such a
disgusting " dicker" in human flesh, or, from among all the
professional slave dealers who have disgraced its soil, such
a pair of monsters as these, There was no veil of pretended
loyalty or stimulated patriotism to conceal the naked hide-
ousness of this transaction. The father was actuated solely
by a sordid desire for gain. The purchaser was moved by
the white-livered cowardice that forbade his risking his
own worthless carcass in a war for the prosecution of which
he howls daily, and by the mean selfishness of his nature
which prompted him to make a cheap bid when bartering
for a human victim. A plot had been made up by the par-
ties to the disgusting transaction by which they hoped to
deceive the board. The boys ware made to lie as to their
ages, and represented themselves as older than they really
were. So immature and youthful, however, was the appear-
ance of the little wretches that the board refused to believe
the statements made to them, even though the father him.
self lied as to their ages in order that he might be enabled
to effect a sale of his offspring. They were both rejected for
this reason, as entirely too young for the service. The
overgrown human brute, who had expeci,ed to save himself
in this way, sorrowfully and reluctantly paid over his money
to save his cowardly carcase for a time and the wretched
father, after reeling about our streets for a day or so in
drunkenness, went home, much disappointed, no doubt, in
being baulked in the sale of his sons. There is no colouring
about this stiry, no fictitious glossing. It is true, just as
we tell it, and known to be so to the very letter by many
who will read this statement. We need make no comment,
We have seen no negroes sold on the block to the highest
bidder, but that only involved a change of service, Here