Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-08-27

Of five Justiee-, 90 that we have no record " tho onsnces
committed BY this class OF population. Il may be affirmed
generally, that the trials for tho small offences are unusual.
aud ,hcse Tor murder. arson, &c. very rare.
Slavery 10 much misundentaod in Europe and in hs
Northern States Of the union. Like other insttu,ioos, IL
varies sccording to the local circumstances whore ia exists.
In the West Indies, in Leuisians. in Mississippi. wherever
the staple cultivated 10 very profitable and the climate un-
healthy. aesenteei'm and m~ansssmen, BY agents must to
a great degree exist. The profits Of sugar or cotton will
enable tho proprietor TO reside elsewhere than on his own
estate, 10 travel, and to leave to others the dunes which he
should perform himself. The owner may, under this state
OF things, know nothing Of his slaves; aud provided the es-
scntial requisites Of humanity and Of interest be complied
with. he may feel totally Indifferent towards them. He may
only calculate whether the products Of cotton. or sugar, or
rice, in a given locality. will compensate Tor The mortality
amongst the operatives employed. lie may put bales and
h~ogsheads and terces against typhoid and sgue and elc-
phanuasis. But the culture OF an Improbable staple,
IN the Piedmont portion OF Virginia, require. tho most
rigid attention on the part OF the proprietor TO the
application Of his labor. Il requires that upon the same
plantation should be produced the absolute necessa-
ries and the staple which must procure tho comforts
and luxuies OF society. The planter cannot afford
to delegate TO an agent tho performance Of the i'm
portant duty Of suPerintendence. He cannot often afford
to lose his own labor and that of his own family; and thus
you Ind the planter with his sons laboring la the field with
the slaves, tina, he may economic. And this is natural
The uniform quality Of the lands. and tho culture Of crops
which require neither large force nor large capital, favor
subdivision into many small farms. The planter, who has
by a lie OF care and hard labor, purchased and raised eight
or ten slaves. can only afford To give To a married son or
daughter a plough boy to help the ono. or u nurse to attend
tho child OF the other. IL results from this condition Of
e1'Ate s"ai " interest nu o " humanity en-
sure the Kind treatment OF the slave. Daily association
enables the owner to instruct the slave in the operations Of
the iarm, to govern without severity. and interests the slave
IN the production which he feels is for his comfort and for
that OF his family as well as for that Of his master. Cruel.
" to slaves Is as impoliuc as it is unpopular. The charac.
tor OF asiave is as well known IN his neishborhood as that
Of MS master; and II n master should reeklessly beat bs
slaves, OF should over-wcrk them, or fail to Civ. them suf.
hcient clothing or food, popular contempt would eorrecti IL
IN a manner the mos, etiectual. Thus, under the co.opera.
non OF interest aud duty, tho treatment of the slave is a,
favored As that u field lsborers elsewhere and hundreds
OF negro men, and thousands Of women, may be shown.
who have never had a stripe since their childhood. But
those who have derived their ideas of slavery from o,her
days and other countries, have fixed in their Imagination the
incident and stupid African. They do not reflect that time
and successive generations have produced a corresponding
improvement in them. The slsve is now a meehanic-a
Judieious culnvaior OF the sofia husband father of n
iamiiy-a member of a Christian church. He differs ss
much from the slave Of Wilberiorce,o Of Clarkson, of Tap
pan or OF Birney, as the respectable and intelligent per.on.
engaged IN the factories OF Lowell, does from the serf of
Russia or the ldiouc operative IN the IN lis Of Manchester.
From the relation described TO exist among the slavehol.
ders and uon-slaveholdes, II may well be imagined Their.
Is no jealousy between them. The possession Of slaves i.
no oadse OF superior consequence, and no i'm ,utation Of in
ter'orlty results from not owning them. The white man
aud his slave labor together; he who has slaves exchanges
labor win him who has none. The objection that labor is
ai'repuisble amongst us can only be reiuied by observation.
hat II may DO elsewhere we undertake net 10 saw: but
there is no community In which the man who labors re.
ceiSes more confidence, and can obtain more credit, upon
the mere guarantee Of his industry and steadiness. 1t must
also occur that where they are so much intermixed with the
white population, no combination could he formed threat
enins the safety OF the community. There IL nothing
which slaves dread so much as sale or transportation; there
Is no check so powerful upon their immortality.
Tho statistics Of religion we cannot give. II NAV be
obtained rom better informed aud authentic sources. We
may be permitted to affirm that all the religious persusuons
are established and prosper amongst us-that churches and
cleEeymen nbOund-and that there seems as much activity
and ierNor IN religion as exists elsewhere; that there is no
horse racing, or cock fighting. Gaming and intem5erance
are not tolerated as social vices. Education cannot be re-
duced TO estimate; aud the intelligence of the people may
be only appreciated by mixing with them.
The object OF the foregoing disquisition upon slavery,
as II cxists, Is TO show to the immigrant that he may safely
and advantageously come amongst us; that he may enjoy
cheap lsnds, good climate, stability OF laws. social order,
religious priSheees-in tine, n catalogue of advantages.
which may challenge alike contradiction and comparison;
and thsthe may hold slaves without crime, or dispense
with their labor without impntaion. We have described
our country, that they may come themselves. as prudent
men, and verify by examination, the truth OF the descnp
ton. We have said nothing OF the ancient honors Of the
Siate-nothing OF he present political influence and dis
iine'ion Of her s'ns-nothing Of the natural wonders which
rscis. the beauty Of her skies. We have confined our
selves to a description of one district Of her solicit others
take up and describe for foreign iniormauon her seaboard,
her valley, her west-and she may be enriched by trans
fusion of the wealth and enterprise of other countries.
She will be appreciated, because she will be known.
This letter hiss been addressed to yourself as to une
whose reputation is a guarantee that its afirmations are
entitled 10 credence; and it is the hope of the writer that
the influence which has so long been given TO the Gene
raj Government, may be, with a patriotism. which party
cannot impeach, devoted TO the great cause OF restoring the
prosperity OF your native State.