Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1845-10-06
CRoC oDILE. FEARS!

The Washngtob Union pull shes a long statement
hich is copied by eghbofol The Republican, SET
ting forth the wrriehedness Of I've laboers In HE aco-
res at Lowell. which stytd Corporation slave
pens with driver in each pen.' When Souiherner
attempts to portray the sufTefngs of the manu'ac-
,urers, in the Northern States. terms like hese II IS
obviously intended fo' political dIeci for we presume
that about "a. much reliance is iobe put in ih.r exagge
rated if net false deneatos there should be IN the
similar descriptions by the Aplllionisls Of the cruel
treat meni and suTerings of Sonihm slaves This idea
Of factories being slave pens will driver in each pen.'
indeed is borrowed from the Abolition vocabulary, in
which chains. racks, scourges, thongs, bowie knives
and rifles said be the FAM and ordinary instfu
menis of punishment used by Southeaa task masters =
And Southern sympdtLy for the operatives Of Lowell,
we take it, is about genuine Abolition sympathy for
Southern negroes We profess ourselves personally igno-
Of he condition OF the workmeu Northern factories
and canno, therefore pretend, fun individual knowledge,
To deny The accuracy Of the horrible pictures which are
ever and anon presented to contemplation by the op,
ponenis Of the tariff system. IT, however. they be
sketches from life, Instead Of mere gnen,s of the ina
ginatlon. as presume that most instances they are
we ask again, did in our last paper. why do nj
the aborers desert their oppressive task masters Are
they moi free Ii il be answered that they must work in
these factories save, then tie reply is obvious, that
#. by the legislation Of the government those factories
are destroyed starvation is the inevitable consequence
Bad therefore, IS the system may be, the alternative is
worse. But the fact Is 50. Ii the Northern bee
hive is oversocked with lab,res why do they send
forth their surplus swarms TO the unpeupled West, the
cultivation of whose virgin lands will of afford
them food and raimeni, uM freedom? Why do they
not abandon the "slave pens" and their "drvers,'
and 90 forth to redeem The wilderness If the descrp
lions given Of their c,nditlon true this they would
do, or they would deserve be- the slaves they are said
to But they gross caricatures al have scarcely
the sembance of ruth.
According TO the statement in the "Union," as copied
by The Republicans The hours of labor in the Lowell fac
tories vary from II hours "a minutes ia December, to
10 hours 3 minutes in April. We have now before us
synopsis of recent publications. entitled Lowell il
was aud as il is, by Rev. IL. A. Miles,, in which it is
stated that The average time of running The mills is IL
hours but that the average number Of hours during which
the females labor is tea and halt. Certainty il 1t be no
worse, Southern laborers, white well as black mas
tiers as we'll as servahls,-have as much right
pain as the operatives Of Lowell, and would advise
the Southern synpahlzers TO rub onion two in their
eyes, and weep, with the Aboons,s, over the .'saye>
pens" aud ''dnveIs' in their own midst
Every Impartial account have ever seen of the con
dIllon OF the population Of Lowell represents the labr
ers there TO be moral ntegent thrifty and conlen,ed
yet the writer in the Onion absurd!y declares that the
factory hands in this country more oppressed
than the dssou,e, ignorant and lamished operatives in
England How false this is, we shall take occasion,
as sum as we can lay hands upon Them to show by
extracts from the letters Of Miss Marlineau and Mr.
ocoesby both English writers, whose contrast between
the condition OF the operatives in Great Britain aud the
Unned States is broad and striking as that between
the Happy Valley of Rasselas and Tophet. And, we
just now meet with paragraph from late London pa
per, giving glimpse at Adventures in America )" by
Mr.. II. Phillips. another Engshuian who says that
he found our people generous. hinded and hosp>
table. and our institutions of the admissible and hu-
name construction, particularly The MANUFACTURERS Of
Lo,ceH Which are ~''thy Of imitation in Great Britain
or any other country in EUope."
The question recurs however, if these laborers are 50
badly on n factories giving employment TO SO many
thousands Of them, what would be their condition if
there was such diversion of labor from the already o..
verstucked avocaons The reply will vinJlcare the
wisdom oil the policy which has called them into exs-
tence.