The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware advertiser., 1827-02-22

"ai.' ialliiiar with all tile prlvacies of our do
hiestlc me- accustomed to hear liberty extolled
as the highest and noblcst of eniovments; and
yet, hndng the bitter draught of hereditary SER
yitnde its own hopeless portion; incapable, from
its degraded condition, ofappreciatng the bless
ings OF the government under which we live, and
having little to dread from any change or convul-
SONS OF the political world-presents to our
view prospect too awful to- be contemplated
with stole Indifference The cloud is thickening
with the progress of time; and prudence adj
monishes, that, if it cannot be dissipated, it
should, # possible, be dsarmcd ofits lightning.
whether slavery is, or is not a political evil,
or whether free or slave population is most
conducive to national prosperity, can scarcely,
IN tins age and in this country, require a serious
discussion.
If slavery has, in all ages, and among all ma
tons, been considered as among the greatest Of
evils, ii liberty is always the highest wish and ul-
tlmatc aim OF the slave, how repusive must that
condition appear to an observant eve, when con-
trasted with the civil and religious freedom, by
which, in the United States, it is every where
surrounded.
But however we may colnmiserate the condi-
tlon OF those who are doomed to hereditary SER
vittlde, the zeal which this feeling excites NAV
sometimes warm without enlightcning The phi
lanthroplc mind. The slave, sunk and degraded
below the proper level ofhumanty, may find in
the letharglc inscnsibiiity resulting FROM his sit
uation, retreat from mental suffering; vet,
though bent to the yoke, he still Possesses the
stamina OF the human chaiacter--thc aspiring
tendency OF his nature, though suppressed and
concealed, is not destroyed-hs dormant pas
sons are not extinct. The TRANQUILITY which
prevails. may be suddenly ,listirbcd-fur the
sumberng volcano retains its fires, and those
who occupy lis smoking verge may themselves
| l,a 4 g =.
| The slave is not the only object that demands
our consideration. The introduction of negro
slavery into the United States was not the work
OF the present generation. The system was en-
tailed upon them by their ancestors: and Justice
| demands the admission, that evils, both moral
and political, are more easily discovered than re-
moved; and that those who arc subjected, by
the circumstances of their birth, to the hard al
Tentative, either to new model the habits which
! have grown with their years, or to maintain
system which their sober judgments cannot an
prove, are objects of sympathy with the truly
christian mind.
The .iealouses and antpatlles which the dis
| tlnction between slave-holding and non slave
| holding states has cngendered and fed, may be
safely cassed among the disastrous concomitants
OF the system; especially as they oppose stub
born obstacle to any general effort for the reno
val OF the other acknowledged evils of slavery.
Unhapply for the cause of humanity, the advo-
! cate Of the slave has been too often identified
with the antag mist Of his owner The interests
OF these opposite classes have been considered
as incompatible, and friendship for tile one AS
synonymous with enmty for the other.
TO soften or remove those antiquities, and
promote, between the inhabitants Of the differ
cni sections of our country, community of feel
ing on this momentuous subject, is an object Of
vital Importance, worthy Of the efforts of those
who seek alike the good of all. This cause,
though critical and arctious, is not desperate.
Happily the purbnd philosophy, Which taught
mankind to believe that one part of the com,nu-
nifty could rise only by the depression Of another,
has passed away with the ages that are gone, and
a more enlightened era has dawned. Man is
social being, and finds his own particular advan-
.age in the promotion ofthe general good. Party
strifcs and sectional jcalousies result from crro.
ncous and limited views of private interest; and
ofted from imperfect acquaintance with the mo-
tves by which others arc actnated. The people
of the United States are bound together by one
great federal interest; and however the nhabt-
ants of the north may disapprove and ahhor the
system OF servitude which prevails in tle south,
and however they may compassionate its victims,
there must from their common interests, as well
as common origin, always cXis, in the prejudices
and sympathes Of the former, strong prepon-
QeraHCc IN favour OF lle superior CiaSS
There is probably no subject more deeply in.
teresting to every section of the Union than ne
gro slavery, and none which has stronger claims
ON the clearcst heads and purest hearts among
us. To open way equally safe and salutary,
for the master and the slave to escape from the
evils in which they are involved, and thus to
clear ourselves from the reproach ofhaying disa-
vowed, by our practice, the noble principles on
which we assumed rank among the nations Of
the earth, is the great political problem which
this or some succeeding generation must solve.
Animated by desire to contribute towards
the attainment of this monientous object, and
supported by the encouragement of his friends,
the subscriber has concluded to offer to public
acceptance a monthly periodical journa, with the
title prefixed to this article, designed TO include
an extensive range of enquiries connected with
this subject. To combat the prcjudiccs which
this system has produced, and which have vari-
ed their shades according to the points from
which the condition has been viewed--to trace
the moral influence of slavery on those who
breathe its atmospherc-and to point out the
best means for its peaceful extinction, will be
among the prominent objects of discussion.
The work will comprise the following general
divisions.
1. Sketches of the history, ancient and mod
ern, of Afrca-of the progress of geographical!
discovery therein--of its productions, commerce,
and future prospects; and of the manners, gov
4 ~.