New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1842-04-29

You form in all Countries, We said in pre-
vou. article, the great bulk Of the Population. ];
j. you who cultivate and fertlile the Earth,-who
build the Cities aud Fleets Of the World, w no
construct its Roads Caral. Railways and other
| Internal Improvements, and who create by your
Industry the means Of ile physical Happiness ard
Greatness Of Man.
You perform a mighty work on the Earth, and
it would seem, if justice done, that you should
the fertility Of the SOIL is the Of all Wealth,
and it would seem also that you should participate
largely in the enjoyment Of the Riches Of the World.
Is this sol do you stand high, and you wealthy
No, far from IL in every age and in every country,
with one or two exceptions, you have been or are
still, poor, oppressed, despsed and degraded
and by those even who live upon and great by
your Labor. In some countries you are taxed to
starvation to support in luxurious ailuencs titled
Arstocr.cy; in others you wear out your souls and
bodies in repugnant Toll TO create Products for
Commerce to speculate upon, and to support in
aliluencc an AristOcracy more rapacious STILL
that Of the Purse.
|
and down-rodden you have always been, we will
glance at your condition in different ages and
countries. Your condition has varied somewhat at
different erochs, and you have also in different ages
borne different In present Societies you
are called the LABoRIyG, or WORKING CLASSES,
and sometimes OPERATIVES.
In the Middle Ages you were SERrs,-attacbed
TO the Soil, and sold with it like mere fixtures.
This is still your condition in Russia, Poland.
Hungary and n small portion Of Germany.
In Antiquity you were SLAvEs,-thc property OF
minority Of your fellow men, and sunk to level
with beasts of burthen; you could be scourged and
your lives taken from you if the caprice of the Mas
ter willed it.
In India you are PARrAHs and other degraded
castles.
Thus in looking over the history oe the World,
we find that the great majority of the Human
Race-,hey who are engaged in producing, and
who do the labor of the World, have been at one
time Slaves, at another Serfs, at another Parahs
and ,ha, now they are the Laboring Glasses
Let ia examine briefly the condition of these |
different Classes, -commencing with the PariahS
saws the Rev. H. Caunter, "arc in a condition of
the most AFFECT degradation; the worst STATE OF
bondage would be comparative tlessedness. They |
are considered by the higher order of llindoos not
only utterly despicable in this World, but aliens
from the beattudes of another. The indignlties |
heaped upon them in consequence are rsPugnant
TO Humanity nothing can exceed the heartless
scorn with which they are every where met, The |
laws award no punishment for the murder OF
Pariah, save that of small fine. which is seldom
except in very aggravated cases
Should person of any other caste conde'cend to
speak to one Of them, he ia obliged to put his hand
before his mouth, lest the breath of being so de-
praved should faint the atmosphere which the
former breathck and thus render him impure.
These miserable outcasts are neither allowed to
sntcr temple nor admitted TO the privileges OF
any Religious communion.
:. Abandoned, and smarting under the stigma oi
unmeri,ed degradation, they frequently repair to
the junglcs, where they Conceal themselves from
the sight Of those who behold them with 'uch
iudignity and live in state OF moral desuetude,
prowling .avagely for human prey, like the beasts
Of the forests. Although they occasionally com
NIT acts Of great preda enormity, they nevertheless
more commonly submit to dreadful privatons with
the greatest fortule, frequently skulk!ng IRON the
iungles where they have lived upon the fruits oil
the forest ustil these have ceased to supply the
cravings of Nature, and seeking the banks oil the
Gangcs where under the cover OF night, and with
no eve but that of the casual passenger to behold
them they have been known TO drag on shore hui
man carcases that were floating down the stream,
and. like ,he hungry vulture, satisfy the longinss
of morbid appetite upon this unnatural pro-
vision while in a state OF the most disgusting de-
How awful to reduce any OF the members OF the
great Family of Man to such a condition How /
false and accused must be the Social Institutions
which produce such horrible results Still they /
are not denounced or condemned. Our false So /
cieties have So deadened the Sentiments and stu- !
tilted the Intelligence of Man. that his heart can
no longer feel for the Elevation, Happiness and
Dignity of his Race, or his mind conceive the pos
.ibihtv OF attaining those results.
Let VA now glance at The condition OF the Slaves
in Antiquity who were the laborng Glasses OF those
times In modern civilized countries, Slavery, With
"a few exceptions, has been abolished; but IN An
tiouitv, it was universal The Slaves were ct the
same color as the Frcemen, and were mostly prison
er. and their descendants taken in War. We will
examine their condition in the Republic of Athens,
which was So celebrated for its Statesmen, Ora
tors and Philosophers.
The majority of the Population WAS Slaves,
while only small minority was freemen. At
enc time there were -Four Hundred Thousand
Slave. to Twenty Thousand Free Citizens The
Slave wa. the personal Property OF the Master and
completely at his disposal the latter could Kill the
former by paying small hnc. The Philosophers
OF Antiquity believed that Slavery could not be
done away with, but would exist et.rnally.-
Aristotle thought that no virtue was suited to q
Slave and in his work ON Politics he avs" The
science sf the Master consists in knowing how TO
make use of his Slave He !. the Master not