The native American., 1838-11-03

Although slavery is an admitted evil, yet, by
some inscrutable ordinance it would appear to
De an almost inseparable evil of the human family.
II mas existed from the earliest record of the hu-
man race and at different times among every
known nation. This is true of what may be
termed absolute slavery. But there are various,
iAueeu nlultarlous degrees of slavery. The
russian serls or the common sailors on board
briush man-o-War may affect to scorn the negro
siaVe' ana look down upon him as enduring still
lower degree OF servitude than themselves hut in
most instances the negro would regard them with
an eye rather OF commiseration than envy 'Tbe
history OF men and manners can instance No
worse or more abject degree of servtude. than
that endured by the British sailor on board man
ol-war. lie Is mere galley slave without the
constant accompaniment Of the fetters He is
kidnapped, tasked and punished at the caprice Of
his naval despot This, however, as they will
have It, IS not actual slavery, because the sailor is
not the slave of any particular individual, but
only the slave OF the king. Names cannot alter
the essence OF things. His condition carries with
all the ingredients of the worst degree of forced
and involuntary slavery. We are told that rose
by any other name would smell as sweet. So
slavery by any other name tastes as bitter. Let
1t never be forgotten, that previous to our late
war, Great Britain was guilty of the inhumanitv
and injustice of kidnapping thousands of our ma
tive born citizens from on board our own mer-
chant vessels, and forcing them into this condi-
ton OF slavery Oh board her men-of-war
What worse degree of moral degradation in
the eye of enlightened human reason, than for
iorty millions OF human beings to acknowledge
themselves the mere subjects of human being
no better than millions of themselves, and to sub
NIT to system of laws and government that dis
cards from its consideration the great paramount
interests of the many and looks only to the in
terests OF the tew--a system, which, to sustain
corrupt arstocracy and a dissolute hierarchy.
dcgrades the mass of society into mendicancy.
household drudgery, and field servtude; which
literally makes every fifth man pauper and de-
grades the other two-iifths into the actual cond-
ton OF menlal servants; which, to sustain some
hundred thousand families in luxurious Incidence.
makes paupers and servants of millions; which
suffers the property of the country to be engross-
ed and perpetuated in few families, whilst mil
lions are wanting the actual necessaries of fe
What contrast and what an immense interval
does this condition of the mass of society in Great
Britain show when compared with that of the
mass OF society in the United States, where the
interests of the many are never overlooked for the
sake of the few, where equality of laws produces
equality of property and conditions,
where the humbles men in society can look and
10 look upon the greatest but as their fellows and
equals, where, under,the bencfcent operations of
a fostering government, all have equal rights and
equal privileges, where all constitute alike equal
members of one family, having one common ia
ther, their God, and one common mother, their
country! "...
The results of the two systems of laws and
government are what we consider in this country
the difference between true freedom and actual
slavery. Whilst Englishmen tolerate such sys-
tenn of slavery upon themselves, their own kith
and kindred, it would behoove them TO be little
more tolerant of us for not suddenly and at their
dctation adopting an alien, degraded different
race of people into full brotherhood and equal
companonship with ourselves.