State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1831-1836, 1836-03-08

battle of Bennington answer What voice
is heard on the plains of Lexington and
Concord - from the heights of Bunker Hill?
INDEPENDENCE NOW-INDEPEN-
DENCE FOREVERp Tell me, ye whose
blood was freely shed to make your chill
dren free would he not have been deem
ed traitor, or a mailman, who would have
maintained in view of your suffcrings,
perils and oppression, that the mother coun-
try ought to be compensated, if she should
cease to tread upon your necks and spill
your blood? Your reply would be in the
conclusive language of an eminent patriot
Slavery is Il crime, and crime is not a
marketable commodity, to be bought and
sold Never was the duty ofcompensating
oppressors urged, but in the case of the
oppressors of the colored race--the most
flagtious despots who have ever sought TO
brutaize mankind. If one of these mon
sters tells me, he has gwen one thousand
dollars for his slave, that he may hold him
in bondage my reply is this-JeSuS Christ
has giuen his lite for that SLAVE, that he may
byin, h,3 into The glorious liberty Of the sons
/ If God! | will give you an anccdote,
which puts this matter of compensation in
clear light At one of the great anti
slavery meetings in Manchester, England,
Just IA the audience were about to dispense,
an eccentric but excellent Baptist clergy
man, who was standing in one of the aislcs,
rushed forward to the platform, and cried
out vehemently--' STOP, my friends, I've
something to say TO you. It's about COM
penSGtiOn. Now, suppose thief had been
stealing the goods of his neighbors for days
and weeks and mOnths--and suppose he
had filled his house with them-and sup
pose at last the sheriff should find him out
= and suppose he should go TO the house,
and begin to pull the stolen goods out into
the street-and suppose the neighbors who
bad been plundered should cluster around,
and one woman should excluim, "that's my
crade!" and another should say, "That's
my frying pam" and so all the articles
should be designated by the lawful owners
Suppose the thief should reply, 81 know
that's your cradle and that's your frying pan
and i know that | have used and abused
them without your leave; but if you take
them from me, you must give me compen-
sation !" What, my friends, would the
sheriff say to the thief? Why, this: ayes,
you villain, you shall have compensation
you need not be uneasy OH that score; that's
just what 1--WE intend to give you, and you
shall get it at Botany Bay" This simple
! illustration of plain case electrified the
vast assembly, anG elected thunders of APP
| plause. And yet how much greater is the
crime of using and abusing, and defrauding
the bodies and minds Of the slaves, with
out thier leave, than stealing and maltrea;-
! ing household furniture!
You remember how clamorous were the
West India Shareholders for compensation,
when they found that England would no
longer tolerate the bloody system ofslavery
in any part of her dominions. This claim
upon the mother country was made, in |
full view of the fact, that during period !
Of thirty years, she had added $50 millions /
(sterling) TO her debt in support of the colo |
MES that $4,000 British subjects had, dur |
ing the same space of time been sacrificed
to the climate to guard the slave system
and that the slave population was diminish |
ing by thousands, annually, in consequence |
Of the cruelty of their masters!
In July, 1888, | attended an anti-slavery |
meeting held in Exeter Hall, London, at
which were present some of the most dis
tinguished advocates of emancipation. In
the course Of its proceedings, the meeting
was interrupted by MIR LEGGINs, a person |
connected with the West Indies, who con
tended that emancipation would certainly
Iuin the planters, because it would be i'm |
possible to pay The slaves GlG0,000 a week I
for their labor, las all that sum would be |
required for that purpoSe,) whereas there
were not more than $4,000 in the whole !
of the colonies. Mr. O'OoNNELL instantly !
rose and said He (Nlr Leggins) had an
nounced an awful fact, that the colonsts
could not pay wages TO the slaves-that it
would cost them GlG0,000 week. THAT
,caS this but rObbing the Slaues Of fl60,000
,Ueek? robbing them of labor worth that
sum? But he told them another fact,
which he (Mr O'ConnelD was rcjoiced to
hear, as it showed that it was inconsistent
with the providence of an all great and Just
God, that yillany should prosper; he told
them that this villany, was of the most
hcggaring description-ior though the vii
lains got 100000 a week for nothing, yet
they had not 100000 in money! lie turn
ed TO the West Indian, and asked him how
( he dared to rob the negro of ElG00O0,
when instead of benefit, it was only produce
tive of beggary? How frighttul this appear
ed on the face oft! This Gl60,000 week
made GS,320,000 year!
You can imagine the effect of retort
like this. Remember that we have three
times as many slaves as there were i'll the
British colonies; of course, according to
this calculation the Southern planters are
! pllndering their slaves of $2,133,333 Il
week, or Sll0933333 year and yet they
want compensation, should they be compel
led 10 be honest men.
One other fact and l have done. The
New York Journal of Commerce contains
letter from a correspondent at Antigua,
who says, "a clergyman remarked TO me,
that it was pretty generally conceded, that
the $l00,0O0,O0O granted as a compensation
10 the Shareholders here, tUaS equivalent 10 a
free gW; THE VALUE OF PROPERTY NOT
BEING DIMINISHED, BUT EVEN RIsING.'--
! l. .aE c.Il