The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-07-23
THE DAILY UNION.

laborer to the west On the contrary, that was in
itself positive good The evil was wholly in the
condition TO which he wus there consigned.
Abolish slavery and place common pre-
cautionary regulations on the transport OF African
aborers aud at once you confer the greatest bless
ing on them, by introducing them to civilization,
employment, and means of support. Had this sub
ect been rightly understood in 1906, neither our colo
nsts nor the government, nor the phsnthropists Of
the day, would have adopted the course they did
Ii was against the interests and objects OF all 70
maintain slavery and abolish the slave-trade II
would have secured the best interests and objects Of
all parties 10 haze abolished slavery, and so regulated
tphai had before been Stare trade that constant cur
rent Of emigration might hare been kept up from The
eastern 10 the ce,tsrn continent Had such policy
been adopted, there is every reason 10 belspe that no
Inconvenience could hare been experienced from
the toat Of labor n our colonies; aud there is further
every believe that by this time slavery IL
self would have been abolished everywhere.
What object would either Brazil or Spain
have had in maintaining slavery, if there had been
an abundance 0fJrse taboras?"
Why none, of course; but it is just upon the as
sumption that "had such policy been adopted"
there would have been this abundance of free la
borers,n that we feel compelled to differ with our
respected contemporary.
II seems to be taken for granted that the slave
trade might in 1906 have been converted, at the will
OF this country, into "a current OF free emigration
ifOHi tHC eastern 10 the NcpttIH COutiHcHt We
| cannot conceive ho,o such conversion could have
been effected; nor, supposing 1t to have been done,
can we believe that any precautionary regulations,
common or uncommon, within our power to enforce,
could have prevented an immediate return to the
old system.
The idea of substituting, for the plan which has
been adopted conventions to ameliorate the cond-
ton of the existing of saves--to establish and
regulate, on unquestionable principles, the free emf
grafton of Africans to any country, and to secure
their freedom after being landed, !" is not new one;
nor is the government Of 1906 liable TO the charge
OF want of due consideration as seems to be sup
posed. As early as 1880, or theseabouts, Mr. Burke
drew up code of "rrgulations" exactly of the de-
scnption now deemed so desirable. He was not,
nor any of the leading men of that day, blind
to the difficulties inseparable from an attempt for
chilly to put down the save-trade, while slavery it.
self was permitted to continue In q letter address,
ed to Mr. Dundao, in 1892, on the occasion of his
presenting his regulations" for the consideration OF
the Pitt ministry, he says: 81 conceived that the
true origin Of The trade not IN the place Il ,cas begun
al, bat at the place Of its final destination therefore
was, and still am of opinion, that the whole work
ought to be taken together and that gradual aboli
lion Of staeers In The Vest Indies ought 10 go hand in
hand Nth anything chch should be done Nth regard
10 It's supply from the coast Of .afica."
Why, then, it may be asked, were these views not
acted upon' Undoubtedly, because the course they
dictated was found, on further consideration, to be
ished the trade, saw its origin Gas contemporary
aptly expresses t) in the relative economical con-
ditlon of Africa and America" He saw, too, that
there were "reasons and objects far too strong for
the Africans removal, in one character another,
TO the opposite continent, for any laws or efforts of
ours to prevent it altogether" But there some
thing he did not seeor if he saw did not sufficiently
allow for that the remopdt Of The africans in numbers
sufficient 10 supply The demand for their labor could only
De effected IN one character Nor, would appear is
this truth even yet sufficiently appreciated. Yet the
facts point TO II significantly enough. For ages,
the black have been driven or dragged from
their native country to work for the whites; but
they have never shown any disposition To go abroad
voluntarily for that purpose. Both their native
character and their condition at home, are, and al
ways have been, decidedly opposed to emigration
in any shape. They dislike labor, and care very
little for its fruits. Nature has supplied them al
home with all they want, at the cost ofvery slight
exertion; and, next to low order of animal enjoy
ment there is nothing they like 80 well as mere in
action. The result, and its bearing on the present
question, is obvious. The native African could
never be induced TO leave his country voluntarily to
work on the coffee and sugar plantations of the
West by any offer the planter could afford to
make; could his habits be afterwards so changed
as 10 make his labor available to any useful pur-
pose, without the application of degree of compul-
sion quite inconsistent with freedom, or with the
continuance of "a current Of free immigration, >"
were it ever established.
With this view Of the matter, we cannot, of
course, agree that in "the relative economical condi-
ton Of Africa and America" las stated by the Econ
oni lies the rhoie "secret OF the nipussibility
suppress the slave-trade by force An essential
part OF the cfew to the "secret' has been omitted
To take parallel case. There is, in the relative
economical condition Of England and America
need on the part Of the manufacturers the raw cot
ton of the latter at least urgent in its nature
that which impels the West India planter to resort
IN fr,co for 1ahn tl,a A
ling TO supply u.s. to the utmost extent of our wants.
for fair price; and are strong enough to resist US
If we attempt to obtain the cotton by force. The
African laborer can only be obtained by force. He
has what the cotton has not--a will of his owns and
that is naturally and very strongly opposed to the
strong enough to make the Africans voluntary emf
grants; but we can easily prevail upon them to kid
nap and sell each other. This is portion Of the
.secret."
1t seems always TO be forgotten in these discus
sons that by far the greater part of the cruelty and
carnage Of the present system ia inflicted, not by
European American, butby African. Ii may be
said that we, by furnishing the stimulus, incur the
guilt. Be it So But we told that the demands
of The West for labor must be supplied; and if the
negro must be forced to leave his country il is clear
thai his countrymen must be the first agents en-.
ployed
The proposal ''to regulate" the transmission of
the slave from the coast and his treatment in the
country to which he is transmitted, touches, there
fore, but portion Of the evil, and that, compara-
lively, a small one. Sir t. Powell Buxton, 10 whose
authority all parties seem willing to DEFER estimates
that for every 700 negroes living the end of the
year from their deportatlon and therefore available
for the planter l450 are starved, drowned, or other
wise murdered. But of this appalling number he
supposes that more than two-thirds are sacrificed
before the embarkaton on the coast takes pace-be-
fore "thc horrors of the middle passage" are en-
countered; and consequently before any ''regula-
tons" of ours could come into play. Here, again,
we see something Of the effect of the peculiar native
character and condition of the negro. He is not
only unable to appreciate the BLESSINGS" of social
advancement to be won by emigration, but may be
moved, by much lower motives, to enslavc his fel-
low counrymen, and inaict upon them by far the
greater part of the immense amount of suffering
necessary to the accomplishment of the planters
purposes.
But even admitting that the trade could be
changed, and placed under regulations in the man
ner supposed; 1t appears to us that armed force
would still be necessary where it is now stationed,
not only to prevent the awless defer Of the regu-
ations" from driving those who might respect them