Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-09-09


| existed with US and Il 10 be followed By
| death, il would he punished cspitaly. We are
told of certain Vedus Polio. who, in the presence
Of Augustus, would have given slave as food TO his
| fish, for having broken glass. With The Romans
ihei egusr method Of taking the evidence Of their
slaves under torture. Here II has been thought
| better never to resort to their evidence. When
| master was murdered, all his slaves, in the same
| house, or within hearing, were condemned 10
| death'--Here punishment falls on the guilty only.
| and precise proof 10 required against him az
| against a freeman. Yet nofacihsiandtng these
| aud other Encouraging circunst0nces among Ms
| Romans, hetr sla,es uere often hesr raresi ar
! hsts. They excelled too in science, insomuch
| as to be usually employed tutors to their mas
ters' children. Epictetus, Terence, and Pbaedruss
were slaves. But they were of the race Of whites.
Ii not their condition then, but nature which has
produced the distinction. Whether further OBJ
servation will will mol verify the conjecture, that
0ature has been less bountiful to them in the
Gowment Of the headI belive that in those Of the
heart she will be found to have done them justice.
advance il therefore a suspicion ouly, that
the blacks, Whether originally distincf race, or
made distinct by time and eireanstanees, are infer.
or 10 the whies sn The endotoments both Of body and
mind. RS not against experience TO nPposs, that
different species Of The same genus, or Udrtefes o the
same species may possess different qualifications.
Will not lover OF natural history then, who
views the gradalions in all the races Of animals with
those in the department ofman distinct as nature
has formed them This unfortunate difference of
colour and perhaps fJacutty is poiceyi obstacle
TO Me emancipation Of these people Many Of their
advocates, hiie they uish to rindieate the liberty Of
human nature, are anxiots also TO preserve It's dtgns-
~ and beauty.
The sentiments entertained by Mr.. Jefferson, ia
relation to the moral condition the negro held 10
society, it is not probable were materially changed
between the period in which his Notes on Virgin.
ia were written, and the time be addressed the
note TO Mr.. Holmes; and it is certain that the Sage
Of Monticello never did esteem the negro as free
moral agent, entitled to the rights and mmunities
of white men, and which white men so fully enjsy.
Through the whole course of his life, Mr.. Jefer-
son manifested no particular disposition to melio.
rate the condition fthe Southern slave, and even
at the moment he took leave Of the world, he
adopted measures to descend his slaves to his poster.
ity.
Whoever will take the trouble to read the ex.
tract we have made from his writings, will be sat.
sed that he did not at that period Of his life, CON
slider the negro much above the rank of the com.
brute of creaon-at any rate it is most certain
that he ever regarded the negro slave as a being
sacity, and hence he argued that he was At for no
other condition than that of slavery. By course
ofspeculative reasoning, which will be found in the
preceding extract, the reader will perceive how
justly we have come to this conclusion, and will we
trust, coincide with our opinions-not Mr.. Jefsr-
| sons.
1t is not at all singular that Mr.. jefferson
| should nd fha courso nursuaA nv NJ uolcnoa
that he should justify him in advocating tho
| nal curse Of domestic slavery. How much then
is the letter Of Jefferson to Mr.. Holme. worth! Or
take it in its most liberal and benevolent represen-
tation-plsce upon it the broadest constructions
does it 60 any further than to prove, what no man
ever doubted, that John Holmes of Maine adyoca.
ted domestic slavery, aud that Thomas jefferson ap-
| plauded him!
The letters of Col. Richard M. Johnson, and tho
Hon. Jesse Thomas, amount precisely to the same
thing, and We cannot too sincerely regret that being
accidentally laid aside, ars not allowed the
pleasure of copying them.s
The Letters of the latter gentlemen are render
ed exceedingly curious by the circumstances that
Mr.. Holmes has thought proper to produce theru
"s e'i"ehSes VI H'S hoe uuSocdtou DOmestlc
Slavery.
As we cannot publish them, we shall merely OBJ
serve, that they nothing but letters from these
gentlemen. approving of his conduct in the Missou-
ri Affair, and are perfectly calculated to make good
the charges which have been made, and we are sat-
isfsd, that whoever peruses them, will be sbund.
antly convinced that Mr. Holmes has been the un.
blushns advocate Of Domestic Slavery.
We have already spent more time, and occupied
more space than We originally intended, and we
shall not much longer detain the reader or impose
upon ourselves the dsagrseabls task Of investiga-
ting his official conduct.
We believe that We have convicted him out of hi
own mouth, and here we leave him to the compunc.
tons Of his own conscience humbly hoping and pray.
ing, that in whatever dilemma he may hereafter be
involved, he will not be so ndiscreet to offer his
antagonist materials for bis CONVICTION and con-
demnation. His department throughout the whole
ofhis affair has appeared to US to be very extraor.
dinary and we must in csndor declare, he has dis.
played" more Of the bragsart and les Of the schoI.
ar'and man ofsense, than we expected he would be.
tray. To h, manner Of conducting controversy we
take exceptions, and shall be content il he
ges his affairs, in that manner which he may esteem