Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1832-05-24
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MAgrlNsBURG. MAY "a, 1881.

,f MIR. Browns most effective argument, VIZ:
the immense value of our slaves, and the to-
tJ ruin their loss would bring upon US, It viii
save much trouble in reviewing the remain
40. NJ What he calls the financial views Of
,ha s.biect.n Some Of bis remarks however
s,,kes as as too important TO be passed over
nTbs nresent value Of any kind OF property"
rhe says.1 "depends upon the extent to which
q can be augmented within a given PERIOD"
oarow their owner the benefit OF the M
crease, and ir eighty years, the capital stock
will not only he undininlshed, but be dou-
sled, and be actually worth two hundred mil
lions Aye Mr. B. and there lies the
rub. 1t is exactly this terrible power oil IN
crease, and the certainty, that in less than
haIf the so years, our slave population viii
he doubled: that our 100000 slaves, worth
one million oldoilars, will be GAO 900,
that occasions all our anxiety. But Will they
necessarily be worth two hundred millions'
Shon!d the southern markets be closed to thus
oopulatiou las within no very long Perlod
I ,bey surely must,9 their power OF inJurlng US
will indeed be doubled, but reversing the lar
famed fable of the Sybil's books, their value
will he diminished as their numbers multi
o,y But think upon. it fellow-citizens. In
.for,y years near a million OF slaves held by
Oh Owners of the soil in Virginia, and obltg
cd to be supported out Of its products' aye
and they too, good sturdy fellows VINO WIN
not be sta, we'd: let who may want they wa
he fed. Their support must become a charge
nnon our lands, incidentally more oppres-
sive than the poor rates of England, al 'he
surplus of their labor must ~ 20 their sup
port. without the possibility OF deriving pro-
fit from their sale, and thus having restored
the capital invested in rearing them. lbe4r
numbers will indeed be doubled, but their va
lue, how w~oefully short of duplication. What
then must become of the whites who owning
no lands, depend alone upon their labor for
1 support? Fortunately for them, no door is
4 closed TO their emigration, if they can beg
tDclE way III sUutC OAAC1 Iubu, al bhu euh
escape most surely will, whilst the slaves will
he confined to our own borders, aud thus
leave this fair commonwealth, what our heart
sickens to anticipate. And even the land
owners, and especially those Of the smaller
class, SO many of whom now oppose them
selves to us, what will be their fate? They
will find the times become harder every
year; as less surplus can be spared for sale,
money will he growing scarcer continually,
their lands will sink in %valae, which for a
time they win be persuaded to ascribe to the
tariff or some other temporary cause. To
take so much less for their property than they
have been accustomed TO consider its value,
will be too great a sacrifice, they will hold on
a little longer determined to seize the first
opportunity of selling at o fair price, which
never occurs until they Gnd at last, that their
lands are indeed deprecated to a great and
incalcuiabie extent" and themselves "reduc-
ed to beggary and want.n Does 1.-the pre-
sent value of this property depend on the ex-
tent to which ii may be augmented within a
I given period?" Then it should now take
I largely from the hundred millions at which
MI. b. at present values it But we proceed
10 another part of the speech.
ssIt is said our slaves are disatfected and
rebellious- that our lives are in peril, and
that some immediate precautions are heces-
sary, to insure the public safety. The dan
ger is represented as being imminent, and
we are urged to act al once, even during the
present general assembly. And yet the IA
vorite measure offered for adoption, is not to
have any visible effect for a quarter of a cen
fury. We are by this act to make a public
confession Of our fears-to acknowledge the
sense of security is gone,-to announce to
the slave, that the principles Of natural jus
tice entitle him to his freedom-that reasons
of expediency demand it, and he shall be
fee-and yet in the face of these fatal ad
missions, not a solitary slave is to be liberia
Ted from bondage, or sent out of this common
wealth for thirty years. Sir, The ingenuity
of man, if exerted for the purpose could moi
devise a more efficient mode Of producing
discomfort among our slaves, and thus en-
daogering the peace of the community >