Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-04-14

perry VIII iearfully diminish its value The rich ybc
can turn ther possessions into money, any sacrifice
WIN uesert the devoted reg Capital will flow from
instead of TO, her territory Who will make invest
ments IN country whose soil is shaken by an earth.
| quake, over which fearful cloud ever lowers? The
insecurity OF life will drive the tmd and those who have
OBJECTS OF affection from her borders. Families will
emiSrate as from land of famine The dread of in.
snrrection will paralyze every mind and harrow every
bosom. The poisoned cup, the midnight torch, the
bloody KNIFE, will haunt the tortured Imagination What
man can gaze upon wife, sister and daughter, with
OUT shuddering at conseque too horrible men,
tIon And all these things dreadful in imagi.
nation, may be quickly realized-May did we say nay
they are certain, inevitable if the fell spirit of Abolition.
ism De not met and laid at the threshold The inamma.
tory appeals, the ncendiary publications. the malignant
emissares OF this dark fanatcsm, preparing,
ring, invoking servile Instruction They hem your
ooNers, they penetrate secretly into your territory
even at the risk OF martyrdon they indoctrnate
rupt and infame your servants, the inmates of your
very chambers Even from distant Florida, far cut
off from all direct communications we have accounts
OF doings, which would be Incredible they not
amply vouched for; and which we prefer now to
draw the veil Think of Mississippi, terrified to frenzy
by conspiracy of gamblers and slaves; of Charleston
hardly saved from the desoaton of fire and sword of
the horrors committed by handful of revolted
| negroes IN Southampton! No the dangers of SER
vile war are not imaginary. The Roman history records
ten such wars among people the most military the
best disciplined of ancient modern times; people
whose country vast camp. Livy mentions
six; the sixth that of Eunus the Syrian In gene
raj, the slaves from Syria alert, elegant and in
dustrious, and they employed in the great houses
for the service of the table and similar duties Syria
also furnished, mmics, dancers and magcians; Ernrs
presented himself in the place where the slaves
| employed chained, prophet who in commune
cation with the Gods He appealed evidence of the no.
illness of his MISSION to the towers of the Syrian Ven
which adorned his head and concealng in his mou .
walnut filled with burning sulphur, he seemed to
breathe light flames which amazed the beholders. The
Southampton instruction was not the first which had
its prophet. This prodigy drew to him at once two
thousand parzans; these broke the gates of the err
gasuia or warehouses; of the slaves, and Eunus soon
counted IN army of sixty thousand From such
small beginnings do the most formidable insurrec-
tons arise The war was long and bloody The
slaves forced the camp of four prEtors at last they
shut themselves up in the city of Emma, defended
themselves there with courage, and persisted,
" all, BY famine, pcstiience, the sword This war
took place in Sicily. Scarcely was this populous
and hourishing province relieved from the dreadful
shock which deprived her of sixty thousand labor
ers when a second revolt broke out A shepherd
slave, Attention By name, assassinated his master,
raised the slaves the plantation, and in short time
the Syrian Attention, like his predecessor forced two
pretoran camps but these slaves perisled as had Pc
rished those of Eunus, by famine
The revolt Of Sparacus still more terrible,
and the historian speaks Of it with the most painful
humiliation. certain l4entulus Batiatus, Of Capua,
followed, profession, the training of slaves as
gladators. He had hundred pair, whom he kept
Shut up, and whom he intended to pit against each
other, even unto DEATH althoug they had committed
no crime These slaves, nearly all Gauls, Germans,
or Franks resolved to escape and flee. They elected
three chiefs, among whom Spartacus. Their plot
having been discovered the half of them only succeed
ed in fighting their way out armed with knives, sPts
and other implements of the kitchen. They were
scarcely out of Capua, when they met some wagons
belonging TO their master, which Transporting,
into the adjoining towns arms destined for combat
Of gladiaors, of which they took possession. Some
troops having tried force them back, beaten
and dsarmed and the ugltves proftted by tins VIC
tory to exchange the of gladiaors, which were
deemed infamous, for those of Roman soldiers, which
were the Of freemen. Spartacus achieved sue
cesson of victories He defeated after the other,
five armies, Pretorian or Consular AT last Crassus
was charged with the war; and Lucullus called from
Thrace and Pompcy from Spain, to aid him. There
was moment, when il thought that Sparacus
was about march against Rome and the great repub-
lie terrified by revoed slave, recalled with shudder
ing the days of Hannibal. He held out, roaming
like wild beast through the country more than three
years devastating it with fire and sword, and was at
last defeated and killed only in consequence OF the
detection separation of two. of his lieutenants-
Six thousand Of his followers cruclfed on both
sides of the road which led from Capua to Rome.
We have purposely dwet with some detail upon
these historical facts because wish all of read
ers to know from what insignificant beginnings ser
vile war may spring, and how horrible are its progress
and its termination None of these undertakings were
successful, nor ever will be in civilized country But
this appravates the sin of those uncalcuating fren
zied fanatics, who preparing even worse evils tor
the poor slave than for the master. Things may come
such PITCH that general massacre OF the inferior
race NAV prove the dreadful but only alternative OF an
aronzed community. If ever slaves could have et-
ected their permanent emanc patton by revolt, 1T was
in Rome where they not only exceedingly nume-
rous but possessed Of intelligence, education and
wealth The first idea of conspirat'on against the
Roman power to appeal to the slaves. 1t entered
into the plot of Catline-SeTrtttd cIctantnr. The
continual wars of Rome had exhausted the free popu
ation and given fearful preponderance to the slaves
Seneca tells that discussion having taken place IN
the Senate on the sumptuary laws, and having been
proposed to compel all the slaves to 4 uniform
dress it was objected that it would be dangerous to
rive to the slaves this facility of counting their num-
bers Speaking of the tenth serve war, Iacitus OBJ
serves that "Men saw, with terror vast multitude OF
slaves increasing beyond all proportion, while the mum.
Der of free born citizens visbly on the decline.
Yet all these hopeless efforts ecoed upon their au-
thors Still the horrors inflicted by such attempts
not be exaggerated We will not essay TO draw the
picture The bare apprehension, as we observed be-
fore is sufficiently appalling. "When the bell tolls IN
Richmond why does the mother press her infant closer
TO her BOSOM "Et LrepdG matres pressere ad Pectora
natos" The Roman historian has given concise but
thrilling sketch Of the panic produced IN Rome by the
idea of servle war. "euIbus reous permota cVitas'
atoue immutata facies urbs erat ex summa etia, at
que lasciya, que duturna ques pepererat, repentc
omnis tristta invasit. Festinare, trepdare neque
loco neoue homn cuquam salts credere: neque bel
Inn gerere, neque pacem habere: suo qusque metu,
peric1la metri. Ad hoe, mulieres, quibus pro rep.
mapnudine belli tmor insotus incesserat, alictare
sese manus supplies ad cnum tendere; mstrer par
vos beros; rogari; omnia pavere; superba aque de-
liciis amssis, sbi patrnque, dlfhdere
These things agtatcd the whole State and altered the
face of the CITY sudden gloom succeeded TO the ex-
utnp ioy which long tranquility had diused Uni
versal panic seized upon the peoples all confidence in
man was destroyed, and place promised security
they thought not of the means of preparing for war or
securing peace; every one measured the impending
dancer by his own fears The women, to whom, from
the greatness of the Republic the fear of war was unu-
sua gave themselves up affection and despair they
raised their duplicating hands to Heaven; they Ia
mented in agony the fate of their tender offspring they
mnlored. every Thin 6lle ,teurrrs, they abandoned
themselves to utter dstrus of their country and OF
themselves
Rut there is another danger scarcely less to be apPre