State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1831-1836, 1836-04-05
From Zion's Herald
SLAVERY.

SLAVERY.
Mr. EDIToR:-1t is objected to imme-
diate emancipation that the slaues are NOT
PREPARED for FREEDOM-that they
COULD NOT take care Of Themselves and
that they WOULD NOT II they could. Not
prepared for lreedom And how long
will it take Slavery to prepare them for
that precious boon! The tender nercies
of Slavery, have been at work preparing
them TO enjoy their 'inalenable rights" for
the space of tao centuries, and are they not
yet prepared? What is it that has diSgudtt-
fed them for freedom? go, Slavery to he
sure" Indeed! Slavery has disqualified
them, and the same thing is to qualify
them again it seems No wonder then
that they are so long in the process of
preparation 90 no." it is said, ''it is not
expected that Slavery can prepare them
they must be educated" And how is this
to be done? The laws of the slave-holding
States forbid their education under heavy
penalties In some of the slave-hoding
States the penalty for teaching u slave A is
Ia heavy fine or imprisonment, and for
teaching him b the penalty is death 1t is
said in the South, and pretty generally
believed in the North, that the ignorance of
the slaves is the safety of their masters
that it would not be safe to educate them
that if they knew as much as our fathers
did when they threw of the yoke of Il
little British taxation, saying "we had rath-
er die than live in slavery" they would
have their liberty if they died in the con-
test Hence, not only the word of God,
but all knowledge Of letters is withheld
from them. The less they know about
every thing, except how to work and obey
their masters, the better. The interest and
safety of the master are both intimately
connected with the ignorance of the slave.
Slavery has made him 'OhGt he is; and the
slave laws doom him forever to remain as
he is; and hence he is not prepared for
freedom and never can be, and therefore
must never be emancipated "They must
not be emancipated before they are educa-
ted, because they are not prepared for
liberty; and they must not be educated
while they remain in slavery, because the
laws forbid it; and besides, it would be
very mpolitic and unsafe" So say the
Shareholders in the South and their
apoIogists in the North. The inference is
plain-they must remain as they are 'while
wood grows and water runs"
Let them be emancipated as then ore
and then let them be educated. Men are
men, whether white or black, ignorant or
learned; and all men have certain "inalicn-
able rights" which to take or ,Cithhold from
them, except for crime, it is the highest
kind of robbery. Let not one crime be
made an excuse for another. We lave
taken from the poor slaves the "kcy of
knowledge" and this is made an argument
why we should continue to rob them of
their "inalienable rights ~ This is Ike
eXcusing the murder committed by the
drunkard, because forsooth he was intoxi-
Gated We have degraded the slave, and
now because he is degraded we take the
liberty to rob him perpetually, not of his
money, which would be comparatively
very little thing, but of his person, which
is his ALL! And it is supposed, that
inasmuch as he was stolen and carried into
bondage as soon as he was born, his "inal-
ienable rights" are outlawed-wrong by
perpetuity having become right-sin hav-
gin atoned for itself by repeiition-and so
the stakeholder is now justified in robbing
him whom he has robbed all his life long,
because he has done this so long, and
because also his skin is dark, when for
the first offence of this kind, committed
on white citizen who has enjoyed his
"rights," he would be imprisoned or put to
death! "But they could not take care of
themselves if they were free" Then free
them, and provide for them as other per-
sons are provided for who are incapable of
taking care Of themselves; or make laws
which shall constitute all persons slaves
who are incapable of taking care of them
selves, whether white or black, whether
in the North or South If it were true
that the slaves could not take care Of
it would be no argument why
they should be held as property another
y-subiect only to an irresponsible
tyrant. This argument, it will be readily
seen, would prove to much, quite too much
for Northeners! If by the objection
"could not take care of themselves" be
meant that they could not engage in learn
ed and lucrative professions, etc. etc. it is
but if it be meant that they
could not work, receive wages, and appro-
pirate their earnings for the supply of
their tim coral wants, 1t is Denied In my
next | shall endeavor to prone that the
slaves if emancipated could take care of
o. SCOTT.
JIoUisIo,, lJ,,cb IL 1909