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

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ties of the slave trade. We have all wept at
the fate of the African, torn from has coun-
try-seyered from his kindred, and doomed
to pine, in hopeless bondage, far from the
objects of all his affections. These were the
enornitIes that prompted the splendid elo-
quence Of Fox-that stimulated the efforts OF
Sharp, Wilberlorce and Clarkson; and which
have aroused the svmpathIes of every gene
rous bosom in Christendom. But IS there
any resemblance between such horrors and
the circumstances that surround our slaves?
This is their home-their birth place-the
only country they ever knew-the spot which
habit, if not affection, has rendered dear
70 them That they are happy, Is evident
from the rapid increase oftheir numbers. In
the West Indies, owing no doubt to severity
OF usage, they are constantly diminishing
Let them remain here then They are hap
pier than they would be in any other situa
ton. They are happier than their fathers
were, and might be happier still, II lnceudia-
ry fanatics would let them alone, and cease
TO persuade them that they are miserable,
Their condition might then be greatly ameli-
GRATED, and their mental instruction would
no longer be Incompatible with the peace of
society, ~ofhcious and f~ruitless interference
may do much harm, but cannot do good
u genuine BuIdiifiUIiSt SiOutu tCoSO W
intermediate, when 1T is obvious that he only
Injuries the object he seeks to benefit.
But it is urged with yehemence that our
interests require the removal of slavery. l
confess, sir, if their be any consideration
which calls for it, this, to my mind, carries
with it the most weight. And yet /. is GER
tain, that whatever evils may flow from sia-
very 1T would now be a far greaterevil to abo-
lish it. The sombre pictures which have
been drawn of the Commonwealth are IN a
great measure imaginary and so lar as they
are true, the causes have been mistaken.
We have been told that agriculture is Ian
gushing from the thriltless and ~unproductIve
character of slave labor. ! cannot speak IN
detail oil the operations OF agriculture. but |
can refer you to interesting results as exhibit
ted by the tabular records Of our exports.
The population of the states north OF Mason
and Dixon's line, is 1867 ,693 souls. The
population of the states south of that line, IS
7,2S8,7l4 souis-During the year 1929, the
domestic exports north of this line, amounted
in value 10 s34 ,961 .907, and the like exports
south of it amounted to S37 ,396 ,764. From
which il appears that the products Of the re-
speetive divisions were about in the ratio OF
their population. Again, the population OF
the United States is II, $50 ,l54 souls. The
population of Virginia, Georgia, Alabama.
North and South Carolina-which are the
chief slave holding states, is 3,S56,9io souls,
or about one fourth of the whole. The do
nestle exports of the United States in 1877,
amounted in value TO S5S.92l ,691. The do
nestle products exported from the five states
above mentioned, during the same period "a
mounted to slS,S74,953, or about one third
of the exports of the Union-with a popula-
lion - q ma Cu,.tI tlo.. ..aI,oee annal
TO one third. Again, the population Of Penn
sylvania is ] SAT ,673 souls OF Virginia
is l,21l,272 souls. The domestic products
exported from the former in 1927, amounted
TO So, 1891 ,296, while those from the latter a
mounted to s4,646,137. What do these re-
suits prove but that the production of the
slave states is greater, in proportion TO popu-
%lation, than that of the non slave holding
states? And such is doubtless the fact. The
people Of this State, white and black, labor
as advantageously, and produce as much, as
any equal number of whites, elsewhere.
Why then is Virginia poor and in debit Not
sir, because she has nothing for market, but
because she is delrauded iii the sale oil her
produce and the purchase Of her supplies
from abroad The course which commerce
has taken, from causes which il is nnnecessa-
nv here to examine, is disastrous, in the ex-
treme, to Virginia, as well as the other south
ern states. During the year 1929, the i'm
portations to the north of Mason and Dix
on's line amounted to S60,000l SOL, while
those TO the south of ii were Only sl4,4So,'
566-and yet the products exported from
the latter division during the same period, as
already stated, exceeded those from the for
mer, by nearly three millions of dollars.
Here lies the greatest of all our misfortunes.
The northern states import all the goods and
we of the south buy our supplies from them,
They act both as merchants and carriers,
and in that combined character, eDgross the
whole commercial profit. 1t is this annual
tribute to the north, superaded to enormous
duties on imports, that keeps the south poor;
and it is this same tribute which makes the
north rich and builds up those splendid man
sions and cities of whom we have heard so
much in this debate.
Again, it is said that slavery retards the
increase of white population, and for proof
of the position we are referred to the compa-
r~atively rapid growth Of the western states,
which is aseribed to the non existence OF sla-
very in them. But it must be manifest to
the most casual observer, that this cIrcum-
stance is owing 10 totally different causes.
The Tide of emigration is flowing in one IN
broken current to the west. The quantity
Of public lands thrown into market-the
cheapness and fertility Of The sol-the ease
with which a subsistence may be there OBJ
tanned, are objects which have attracted I'M
mense crowds fron every direction. The
drain has been chiefly supplied by the Allan