The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-05 00:00:00

BAD NEWS FOR AMERICAN EMIGRANTS.

The Preslon Chronicle gives the following as an extract
from a letter received a few days ago by a person in this town,
from Pittsburgh, in North America. It gives a very gloomy
account of the state of affairs in that district. The writer
emigrated from Preston a short time ago, and does not ap-
pear to gratulate himself much on his change of country :
" Pittsburg, April 16th, 1840.
" DEAR SIR,—I take the present opportunity of writing
some particulars respecting America. I have travelled in it
something like two thousand miles, so I know a little about
it. 1 know this, that any man that gets twenty shillings a-
week ought to stay in England. There are thousands here
now working for about two shillings a-day, and there are
great complaints of the times, which they say is owing to the
banks. In Pittsburg two-thirds of the works are stopped;
and as to the cotton manufacture is not worth any man's
while to work at it, as I have seen and talked with scores of
spinners, carders, and weaving masters. At the place I
worketrat when I first came, there were seven spinners, two
carders, and one weaving master, dressing castings, and
striking for the blacksmiths, and there are several others that
are come over, who have gone back quite disappointed.—
You will say this is an unfavourable account; but I speak as
I find. Where they pay four or five shillings a-day in store
pay, you have to sell a ten dollar's order for six or seven
dollars, as I have done when I wanted any money. lam
now out of work, and have been for the last two months
past, and am low enough at present I can assure you. I have
been to Cincinnatti and Wheling the last places, and I am
about to go to Buffola. My reason for writing you at the
present is to, prevent any of my acquaintances from getting
fixed in the same way that I am. Your's, &c.,

THOMAS SUMNER.
To Mr. Geldart Dobson, Spinner, Preston.

RELIGIO.N AND SLAVERY IN THE

UNITED STATES.

The following examples will serve to show the manner in
which even religious persons treat their slaves in the United
States :

1. A baptist minister in Laurens district, South Carolina,
whipped a slave to death whom he suspected of having stolen
60 dollars. The slave was in the prime of life, and had been
purchased a few weeks before for 800 dollars. A few days
after the murder the minister's wife found the dollars in a
place whither she herself had moved them, not knowing it,
as the money was wrapped in a thick envelope. The daughter
of the murderer proved that her father after the flogging gave
the slave water, of which he drank freely. The judge on the
trial told the jury that if they thought drinking the water had
caused the slave's death they would acquit the prisoner, and
the jury brought in a verdict of " not guilty." M
2. John 'Cue, a presbyterian minister, tied his slaves
up and flogged them frequently on the Lord's day, and then
went to the meeting-house and preached the gospel ; and on
returning from his sacredotal duties he scourged them again.
3. Mrs. Pence, of Virginia, always flogged her slaves on
Sunday mornings, because she said they could get well
enough by Monday to resume their labour, and this woman
was a communicant of a chapel.
4. Dr. Stoughton, of Philadelphia, said that he could tell
the doings of one Baptist Minister by his prayers at the
meeting-house. If he had flogged none of his slaves on the
Sunday his words were cold and heartless; if he had flogged
a man he would pray with life, but if he had flogged a female
slave, and determined on his return to flog her again, " oh !
how he would pray."
5. The Rev. Mr. Lewis married a woman who had slaves.
He intended to move into another part of the country which
the slaves disliked, and one, attempting to run away, was
shot by the rev. divine.
6. A planter said to another that all the religion of the
slaves was hypocrisy. This was denied by another owner of
some slaves, who said he had one who, he thought, would
die rather than deny his religion. This led to a bet, and the
slave in question was flogged to death, but would not deny
his religion.
7. In another case a slave had been sold to purchase the
cups and plates for the communion.
These cases, stated as briefly as possible, will suffice to show
what state of religion is in the Southern States of America.

beingsto p there
uciorendfla
TEETOTALISM.—At Salem, United States, a house took
fire the other day, and not a drop of water could be had to
fgnrra ttiboen ,t
eient 0 consequence
were
rethtehewnhhooleldionfg ita
festival.
—Arnerican paper.
VERACITY 01, W • ITNE
SSES.—With what indifference and
effrontery parties frequently volunteer evidence on oath,' at
sessions and assizes, must have struck
any frequenter of
courts of justice. This is the more apparent where witnesses
are brought to swear an alibi, or to speak to the character of
prisoners—often their own comrades.' We were struck with
an instance of this at the s • essions here, yesterday week.
Several persons were called
to speak relative to a *r ci cum-
stance that occurred on the thirty-first of October, the day,
as our readers are aware, preceding the election
councillors. These two dates were used veryglibly
bytown-
parties in the witness box ; they swore positivel to tledays, the
as they, according to their evidence, took notice regularlyo
the day of the month, and really seemed indignant at their
chronological knowledge being questioned. Upon cross-
examination, one of these worthies called the third succeed-
ing day the thirty-fourth of October, and did know the name
of the preceding or following month. The other appeared to
have forgotten the day; for, on being close questioned by
counsel, he called the date the twenty-first of October, and
the day preceding the county election ! Though both swore
to the circumstance of the election, neither had seen any
stir; neither knew where the elections were held ; and both
confessed that they knew not the meaning of the word
" councillors." (f course such evidence served not their
friends, the prisoners being found guilty. Were witnesses
fully aware of the punishment to which they are liable for
false evidence, either for or against their neighbour, we think
we should not see so many exhibitions like those to which
we have alluded.—Preston Chronicle.