Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-03-26


| 'nc practice of slavery, the qualified adnis-
SION OF 1T, under the Mosaic 1aw-the do'i-
nle reference which is made TO II III the
Dccalogue itself, the recognition OF it by
OF fIul IN sccifi, case, (he case OF onosinus')
ana The identity of the words, servant aud slave,
IN inc etymo"gcs of the Greek language, the
| original language OF the Testament, are all o'
them so many points of argument on one side
feOultcd on the other, aud powerfully rcbntted by
the fact OF mans original equality OF rights,
equality of responsibility as moral agent, and by
| the great canon of the divine law, which cnlons
upon all To pcturm to others the duties which we
exact for ourselves.
But, sir, " hchcr The slave, as the descendant OF
| Ham, suffers under primitive cursc-graduatcd
IN his intellect by Provldence for the post which
he actually occupies IN the labours of the world
! or whether lie belongs to another family of ma
tons, the family of Cush, and has sprung from an
ccstors ilustrouS III history, the reiormcrs of An
cicnt Egypt, the authors OF arts and lcarning-nay
/ OF tao very alphabet observation-disclosures OF these sup
positions be the true one, and curious and instruct
/ i've as may be- the learning by which they are
respectively maintained, they may yet he decided
ether way without in the Least affecting him as he
is known to our lawn the least affecting him
the proposed object OF practical legislation 1t is
on,y as such an object. and not because of any
speculative matter connected with his history, or
with right to his service as slave, that | in
tend to regard him now.
Tho impracticabiltv of lcgisating, in any use
full manner for tho ultimate cmancpa.io and re-
moval of the slaves of this Commonwealth, has
been assumed in the course of debate by many
gentlemen, and all attempts having that object in
view, have, i'll consequence, been denounced by
them not only unwisc, but improper and dan.
gerous. This assumption is 4 violent one. With
thousands of examples around us of what il is
possible for the human mind to accomplish when
1t is cXcrted upon other objects of interest or
pursuit, we have no reason to prc-Supposc a fail
urc to it's cNcrtOns III the before us. If il is
case of much difficulty, it is also one of more
than correspondent impOrtancc-onc which must
the energies o!thc public mind it cngrosscs TO the
last degree, the public security and rcposo. The
difficulties i'll the way OF legislation are not more
positive than are tho necessities for il; they 90
hand in hand increasing with every hour of DELAY:
and that they arc not removable by some scheme
easily prepared, and TO which, when it is prepared
exception cannot be taken, is no more than what
is true OF every other complicated subject, and
constitutes reason, not for abandonment, but for
more pains-taking perseverance,. OF all Others
the Objection to this measure, that it is dcult-thc
assumption that it is impracticablc--is made with
the worst grace by us who have Just entered upon
the threshold of its investigation; by us, who arc
employed for no other end than that of adjusting
these very difficulties they arise in the public
business, and who have received the whole consti-
tutional power of the State in the express conf
dcncc that, dcvoting our time and talents cXclu-
siVcly to the trust, we would apply it to this
any other purpose which the situation of the COM
munity might require. Had the difficulty of an
enterprise been made rule for avoiding or desert
Ing IL, Ill the ordinary undertakings OF lie,
gentlemen would have il to be in that which is
proposed for the public, should have been en-
rlchcd by none of the acquisitions of science or
art; and society, at this day, would have little to
distinguish IT from that of primitive and barba-
rous age Allow me, sir, in this come ion, to
refer to Il declaration of an illuStrious man of
another country. 1t was asked of Sir Isaac
Newton, by an admircr, who COMPOUNDED at
the splendid results of his science, how it was
possible for him to have reduced all the phcnomc-
ma of the Heavens to few elementary and easily
ineligible principles of calculation 81 never
could have done it," was the reply, "othcrwisc than
by tong, iadorio"S, and patient houghf' This
reply /" admonitOry to us, and NAV profit of il
i'll our present spccuatons We have problem
to discuss and settle, which demands these quail
ties of mental labor, and which involves an inilu-
cnce on the mass of human happiness that sinks
all the problems of mere philosophers and school
men, sublime though they be, into amusing and
comparatively unimportant abstraction. Let us
but give our minds patiently and lahoriously to
some plan of gradual emancipation and removal,
and we need not fear the result--nccd not fear but
that some ono will be devised which shall he Just
i'll its principle, and, for the most, satisfactory
in its details. Several have already been present
ed-charactcrizcd, indeed, by features of more or
less lmpcricction, but, nevertheless, in rcuution
OF the idea that any one was impracticablc and
principally rcpugnant to those who, believing that
all schemes are improper can the more easily ina
CINE that all are defective. Enough has been
prepared to shcw that the subject is practicable:
enough has not, and never will be prepared salts
ty predetermined hostility.
/ The example OF our ancestors, in this matter,
has been plead against Legislative action OH it
now. They, and they only, it has been said were
competent to undertake and perfect the proposed
| experiment on our slave population The case
OF emancipation, If ever manageable, manag &c
able by them; the difficulties which now Cypress it
were less embarrassing, and yet they were deemed
to be too ovcrpowcriTg to be grappled with. Hence
1T is argued, that the case having changed for the
worse, the imprudencc of lcgslating upon il has
becoi2c greater and that what, in this respect, was
merely unwiSo for our ancestors to attempt, would
be madness for Now, sir, besides the
double error, both i'm argument and i'm morals of
claiming a faulty example for imitaton-a slight
examination into the early circumstances Of slave
ry in this Commonwealth, will show, that the
change i'll these, which has since taken place and
upon which all legislation is denounced, is pre-
clScly the change which justiiics and requires il.
With far smaller number of negroes than VIC
have If 1t easy for forciathcrs to cman-
cipatc and deport them, it was less necessary: no
motive but that of moral duty demanded it, personal
safety was not implicated in the question; the gene
raj considerations OfcXpcdicncy which now operate
were unfclt, the fact that the negro was then more
valuable property, and less dangerous as Il
man, additional persuasive for content
ment with the policy that enslavcd him. That
schemes for his emancipation were therefore dis
couragcd is more than should have been expect
cd: that they should have been formed and pressed
as an Offering of voluntary Justice uncaled for by
private interest public necessity, would have
been more extraordinary and much more at war
with the principles of cur nature. At that dav
the sentiment of tho world generally less adj
verse to this institution of slavery than it is mt
present and the sentiment of our own country
admitted towards persons ola much greater restrict
ION upon tho principle of absolute equality than
IT does now. At that time too our Agricultural
forests to be cvcllcd-our loyands TO bc fitted
Tor culture, and the staple which for many wear