Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-02-27
NUMBER /.

lhc Tree States Is their purpose Ia nnnea +, o,,s
Understandings, and to actuate our humanity7 AMI
90 they expect to accomplish thai purpose bv boi
ding US up to the seorn, and contempt and drse.,a
uen OF the people Of the free States ana the Mol.
civilized woridf The slavery winch ex,sts amopgs.
- ~ our hhaif, NOT theirs and they have no more
lust concern with IL than they have With sisy.,, -
u exists throughout the world Wbx No, las.,. 1.
70 US, az the common Constitution Of our rn,,n,v,
mas he'll u, 70 be dealt with under The puidanr, -
Providence, as best we may or eanl
ihe next obstacle in the way Of aboGtnn a,;.as
"u' o INC TACT OF the presence The slave States ~
..''ee n'nons OF slaves. They there, dispersed
auus"os. the iand, rart and PARCEL OF our popu-
lation. They were brought into tho cosn,ry o,,s;.
nay under the authority Of the parent Cow, ban,
Whilst We were colonies, and their inportn,on o..
continued IN spite Of I'LL the remons,ranecs az an
ancestors II the question were an original o,,...
'ioh whether there being no slaves within ~.
county, we should introduce them, and incorpora,.
s'eh INTO our society, that would be totally diff
s,Vn' question. Few, iiany, OF the citizens Of the
United States aid be found to favor ,he;r ;a,r.
duction. No man in il would oppose upon ,ha,
turposition their admission with mora ,c;,.a
'esotution aud conscientious repuenance than /
should But that's no, the question. Tbe .Iav..
ate hefei no practical scheme Tor their remov.Ior
separation from us has bsen yet devised or promo.
-" anu 'he true inquiry s, what is best to be done
mat ~
ned, by the force OF circumstances and he as,,.,
state OF things, to do what we would nor do n ,ha,
state OF things did not exist. The slaves arr, hers.
una mere must remain, in some condition; and /
repeat, how are fhey to be best govcrnedl What
= best 70 he done for their happiness and our oAni
~ e slave States the alternative il. that the wh;ta
"a" mus govern The black, or the black govern the
WHITE In several of those States. tho nnp,ba, ~
The slaves is greater than TINT Of the wLi,s no,s
uon. an immediate abolition of slavery IN them.
Us these nlifa-sbohonists propose would be follow
~ ~ desperate struggle for immediate nscenda,-
cy Of the black over the white race !, ,a,h.r
y would be followed by instantaneous collisions he
tween 'hc two races, which would break gu, into a
c'N'l war TINT would end in the exterrnn,,,on a.
sunJugaton OF tho one race or the other. In .uch
an alternative, who hesitatef Is IL mot be,,a,
'of oo,h parties that the existing state of tbings
Thonid De preserved, instead Of exposing them 10
the hori'bie sties and contests which would iuevi.
'ap'y attend an immediate nbolitoni This Is our
true ground OF defence for the continued existence
% y siaVefy IN our country IL is tina, which our
Revolutionary ancestors assumed. Itis that Will,
N my opinion, forms our justification IN the eve. of
all Christendom. W. "
thlld impeachment to immediate abolition Il Ia
ee 'oonn IN the immense amount Of capital wbcbis
invested IN slave property. The total number ~
slaves IN the United States, acc ordng to the last
enumeration OF the population, wns little upward.
n q ratiss
winch It probably Is, at five per cent per apnun,
their present number would be three millions. Ths
average value OF slaves at this time is stated by per
sons well informed 10 be as high as five hundred
each. To be certainly within the mark lei y. anu
pose that II Is only four hundred dollars. The total
vaine then by that estimate, Of the slave property.
IN ae United States, is twelve hundred millions of
dollars. lhis property is difused throughout ali
classes and conditions Of society II n owned H.
widows and orphans, by the eyed and nirm IL
wen ms the sound and vigorous. Ii is the sub;ect
o. mortgages, deeds oftrust and family settlements
II has been made the basis of numerous debts con-.
tracted upon its faith and is the solo reliance II
many instances 81 creditors within aud without the
slave States, for the payment Of thc debts duo n
thenn And now il Ia rashly proposed, by snrle
nat OF legislation, to annhate this immense anonnt
OF property! 10 annihilate il without indemp;tv
and without compensation to its uwnersi Does
any considefate man believe ii to be possible 10 az
iect such an object without conyusion revolution.
and boodshedf
l know that there is a visionary dogma which
holds that negro slaves cannot be lie sub;.c, ~
property. shall not dwell long with mis- snsc,s.
tive abstraction. That Is property which, the Law
declares 10 DC property. Two hundred We ar. ole.
gsialion have sanctioned and sanctifed negro s.v..
as property. Under oil the forms Of Goyernroen,
which have existed upon this Continen, during that
long space oil tlme--under the British Government
''"t' bio ~oinHdt 1DVtfnmeut-~-tludef NIL the
State Constitutions and Governments--and under
the Federal Government itself--they have been de.
iiberatey and solcmnly recognized as the legitimate
subjects OF property. To the wild speculatious az
theorists and innoyators stands opposed the fact,
that IN an uninterrupted period of two hundred
years Duration, under every form Of human leeisla-
''on and BY all the departments Of human Govern
ment, African negro slaves have been held and rcs-
Pecied, have descended and bean transferred. :.
lawful and ind'sPutable property They were trea-
ted us property in the very British example which
IS so triumphantly appealed worthy OF our inn
itaiion. Although the West India planters had no
voice IN the united parliament Of the British IsIes,
an irresistible sense OF justice extorted from thsr
Legislature the grant OF twenty millions of pounds
sterling to compensate the coonists for their loss Of
properly
II. therefore, these uitra-a are ser;ous
y determined to pursue their scheme Of immediate
sbolltion, they should at once set about rsising n
lnnd OF twelve hundred millions of dollars To indeu-
hiiy The owners Of slave property. And the taxes
20 raise that enormous amount can only be justly a..
ssssed upon Themselves or upon the free States, IL
they can persuade them TO assent TO such an sssess-
ment for II would be mockery of all justice and
on outrage against all equity levy any portion of
me tax upon the slave States to pay fer then own
unquesioned property.
1.-THE considerations TO which / have alreadv adj
verified are not sufficient dssuade the abolionists
from further perseverance, in their designs the in
terest OF the very cause which they profess to
ought to check their Instead Of advancing.
by their efforts, that cause, they have thrown back
Tor hall century the prospect Of any species OF
emancipation Of the African race, gradual or irnme-
date, In asy the States. They have done more;
they have increased the rigors oflegslaon against
slaves in most, il not all. OF the slave States For
y years ago the question agi,aied in the State
OF Kentucky ola gradual emancipation of the slaves
wi bin its limits. BY gradual emancipation, mean
that slow but safe and cautious liberation Of slaves
which was first adopted in Pennsyl vana al the in
stance OF DR.. Franklin, in the year 1880, and, &C
eording TO which, the generation in being were TO 10
main IN slavery. but all their offs pring born after
spec'hed day were TO be free at the sge Of twenty.
eleht, and, IN the mean time were 10 receive nre-