The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-12-30

say. On what grounds does hb rest his deiinct
Of the slave system' He ssys that slavery by
keeping the black man in bousage, ssves dis
tinction to the white man; That where tbe black
man is enslaved and thas degraded, tie white
man, by force Of contrast. Is elevated. In other
words. that slavery, by making property Of one
class Of men. and thereby booming II to hope
less degradation exalts all Other classes. The
poor white man is therefore thought more Of in
the slave than in the free States.
Does this seem peculiar position for one to
assumed II nevertheless, Is not unfrequently
And, first. we would say that the exaltation
of one man by the degradation Of another man
seems to us very suspicious. We never could
understand how man becomes better by ma
king his neighbor worse. And, secondly, Il
seems to us that to elevate one man by making
property Of another man is a very predetermined
mode of ennobling and exalliEg mankind. The
great evil of society. from whir.h all social ine-
qualities and wrongs proceed, Is that the value
of manhood has been lost sight Of. Man has
been. and is, made secondary TO other things
property. and class, and rank The great, the
pre- ssing need Of society is a recognition Of the
sscredness Of manhood. When that recogni.
ton is made. then and not ill then, will the
poor man have his rightful position In society.
Does slavery recognise the sacredness of man
hood Just the reverse. II makes property o.
man, and thus exslts property above man, ana
perpetuates and aggravates thousand fold III,
evils by which society is curasd. Say you, 4
only makes property of black men' That mat
ters not Slavery makes property Of man, de
MES the sacredness of manhood, worships, dei
fees property, and thus doOms the man who ha
no property, the poor man, to everlasting socia
degradation.
"The poor white man thought more Of In tn
slave than in the free States.'
Let facts answer. How will you Judge o
the degree Of estimation in which the poor mai
is held2 Not by demagogical harangues an
political cant, but BY the means provided for tn
intellectual and moral improvement of the poor
knowledge is power. and distinction, an,
wealth. Where then have the poor the bes
opportunities for acquiring knowledge Wher
have they and their children the best edaca
tional privileges1 In the free or in the slav
Statesl In Massachusetts,, with its population
Of 737 ,699, its J, 1862 common schools, and 4, a.
white persons over twenty years of age, unabl
10 read and write-or in North Carolina viii
its population Of 753,4I9, its 632 common
schools, and sc, COS white persons over the az
of twenty unable to read ami writer In New
York with its 2,42s ,92l inhabitants, its 10 SO
common schools, and its 44si52 white person
over the age Of twenty unable 10 read an
write-or in Virginia with its population o
,239, 797, its SOL common schools, and its So,
7s7 white persons over twenty unable to rea
and write1
These are very significant facts. They wei
demand earnest consideration, for they shoy
very plainly the estimstion in which the poo
are held in the free and slave States respective
ly. IL is a very peculiar kind Of esteem for III
poor, which, while fiattering them, denies o
them and their children the privileges of edu
cation; but such is the esteem which SLAYER
cherishes for the poor; peculiar, indeed, but il
entire accordance with other features of the ne
culiar institution.