Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-05-14
PRINTED AkD PUBlLsHED,
DAILY,
BY SMOwDEM & TEoRNToW'
For the Phenix Gazette.
VIEWS

For the PIemN oaLcNtN'
VIEWS
OfN. Beasrosat Society Of .Aerdnd',a 10" a.
,7eEoyahing and Improving me cond"'o" y "s
People Of Color.
No. III.
OF THE CAUSES WHY SLAVE Lae"CN
THAN FREE LABouR.
From the Facts and testimonies addnCeo III
our second number, we think II is evident mat
the labour Of freemen is actually che aPer 10 Inc
emnloyer than the lahour OF slaves. ihis EVIL
dence we chose to draw principally from FACTS IN
The history Of our own country winch may come
within the knowledge of every reader, rather
than relv ~enIircly upon the experience OF other
countries, as recorded by former writers, ana
which, in every instance, goeslo prove 'he same
posltion with an Increasing weight OF evidence.
we shall, however, when we come 10 SPEAK
of the means OF preparing slaves Tor man"mis
sion and colonization, state the results on some
experiments that have been made IN o'her eoun-
tries for this purpose, and which also AFFORD ad-
di,ional confirmation Of the position advanced
by DR.. Adam Smith, in his able work or me
wealth of nations-"Ihat the work done oy
freemen, comes cheaper In the emu 'nah 'aa'
performed by slaves :,
As this position is so contrary to the usual
habns of thinking among many persons IN Inc
southern and middle States, we VIII endeaVor
70 show the principal causes why the LABOR oil
slaves is so expensive to the employer. Al
though it may seem. at first view, that the slave
costs his master no more than his 1000 ana the
coarse clothing tina, is allowed him, yet there
are other items Of expense oiten overlooked,
that are, perhaps, greater than oo'h Oh 'hese.--
The most prominent among them is, the ex-
pense of rearing children, TO replace the slave,
when he shall be worn out by labor, or released
by death. This expense Can IN no wise ne a.
yoidrd By the master; for if he purchases his
slaves, instead Of rearing them, he must pay
the expense that has been incurred oy anothef;
and when he comes TO estimate the interest on
the stock SD invested, and the value oil It's anna
al deoreciation, he will! find Il amounts TO more
than hall the hire OF a free labourer Suppose,
for instance, that a young man slave COSTS S4oo'
the interest on this sum is ga per annuhi, when
is a fair item of expense, because II could nave
been SD invested IS TO bring this interest. But
he cannot calculate upon The slave iiNlnS more
than 90 wears after he at,ainS to maturity-lhe
average term Of human life is not so tongue
must, therefore, set apart $50 per annun', ior
% years, in order To replace MIN when ne sha'i
die, or become too inhrm 10 work: in the event
of his living much beyond this period, ne must
also set apart some Of his former earnings to
maintain him in his old age; but this we VIII
no, lake into the account, though 1t Is a ialr
item of expense The clothing oil a slave, TO
keep him in tolerabie comfort, must cost, we
think, at least $50 per aDnum; but we Will say
sis for a safe calculation. Tor il the srnff Tor
clothing he made in the family, the spinners
and weavers must be supported, and 'orne oil
the materials must be bought. We VIII es'i,
innate taxes, medica al attendance, and time Ns'
BY sickness, at S. per annum. we must also
add TO the expense ofeach slave, his proportion
of the overseer's wages and main'ainance, who
is employed TO watch them, and to supply, oy
adegrading punishment, that stimules TO exer-
ton, wbic h the freeman finds in the hope OF re-
ward. As one o,erseer can watch a good many
slaves, we will estimate this expense at only
BIO per annum for each There are many oth.
err expenses, resulting from the employment Of
slaves, which we cannot "stlmate-suoh as de-
~sertiou, pi!rering, SC; bu; on retapl'ulatins
those enumerated, we shall lind that they a
mount 10 S74 per annum for each working man,
and this may be called the wages paid TO slaves,
II being exclusive of their food. We are in
formed that the ordinary wages OF ireemen,
who are employed as field labourers in The up
DER counties OF iSHhia " hoih SoO ~ Do
per annum, besides their board 1t seems, then,
tba, a slaye-labourer costs as much as a free
labourer; aud if he does hreeJourths as much
work, his employer loses BY him about Is or
$50 per annum; or, in other words, the work
done by him would cost this much less, II II
had been performed by a freeman. But we
shall generally find that shareholders employ
twice as many working hands as are employed
sby those who depend upon voluntary labour, on
farm of the same size; and that the farms OF
,hs latter are generally cultivated more judi
ciously. Even those farmers who do but little
work themselves, Can cultivate a farm OF 500
or 400 acres, with the usual proportion ofclear-
ed land, by the iabour of two freemen and an APP
nrsn,ice boy, while the STAKEHOLDER will have
=, least a or 5 men slaves, besides many women
and children, on a farm of The same size. In
this case the slave only does half The work OF
the free man, although he COSTS as much anna-
allv Nor is il surprising thai this should be
the case ga person." says Adam Smith,
uwbo can acquire no property, can have no
ao,her interest, but to eat as much, and TO la
"bor as little, as possible.-Whatever work he
ill., hsvond what is sufficient TO purchase his