The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-04-08
NUMBER AZ.

Pictc III iout view Engldno states. anu has
3 made great progress in all, before IL had
: commenced in New Jersey, and when its
: progress in New York was inconsiderable.
, Alter remarking the general tendency Of its
! progress from North TO South. in those
States which at present are designated an
7 free, We would naturally look with some
' curiosity at the returns Of the frontier slave
States. in order 10 see whether the move
ment still continues in Southern direction.
or Is altogether arrested in It's course by the
different character Of the Southern popula
ton. We are not long kept in suspense
upon this subject. The frontier fortIesses OF
slavery are clearly composed Of Delaware.
Maryland, the District OF Columbia. Viz
ginia and North Carolina upon the East
ern border, and Of Missouri and kentucky
upon the West If we are correct in fxins
upon public opinion a. The immediate cause
OF the decline Of slavery. we would natural
ly suppose that the institution would give
way in the North first, and that the resis-
lance would be more stubborn as the revo-
luton progressed Southwark. The climate
ofthe North was never Propitious to Afncsn
slavery. Born under the burning sun OF the
Tropics, and capable Of enduring heat
under which the white man dies, the negro
recoils from the North as from natural
enemy, and turns TO the South as to MS nalu-
raj home. So strong is this instructive ten
dency OF his race. that all positive laws
which seek TO eounteract il, will. in all
probability, ultimately give way to the great
natural law, which slowly impels him in
that direction. When the institution is,
therefore. attacked along its whole line. the
weaker portions will first Weld TO the enc
my, and the stronger parts will make more
stubborn resistance. When coast of 900
miles is slowly worn away by the breakers
OF thousand years, il is the softer strata OF
elays. Of shoal and Of sand. which ara first
deyoured by the allwasting element. and
hollowd out in the shape Of bays and spsci-
Gus harbors. while the harder rocks stand
hrm against the encroaching waves. and in
the form Of abrupt and frowning promonto-
RES. continue for centuries TO point out the
original line Of coast upon which the war Of
the breakers commenced. The institution
was always sickly in Massachusetts, and
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
And when the breath Of public opinion
breathed upon it throughout the world. j,
withered al once in the far North, snd died
without struggle. A feeble resistance wss
made in The Southern tier OF the New Eng
land States-Connecticu and Rhode Is
land-and a somewhat obstinate stand was
made in New York and New Jersey Bm
all in vain. 1t slowly receded South OF
Mason and Dixon's line. and entrenchsi
itself in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
where a southern sun, and the manners OF
the people promised il long abiding place
II there be any truth or reality IN the
principles which we have advanced, slavery
ought TO decline in Delaware FIRST, then in
Maryland, then III Columbia, afterwards in
Virginia, and last Of all in North Carolina.
upon the Eastern frontier; while upon the
West. it should decay more rapidly in Mis-
sour than kentucky; and Kentucky should
precsde Tennessee in It's tendency 10 eman-
cipation- Whether the result is an scci-
dent, or whether L proceeds from deep
seated, all pervading and permanent cause.
We shall not stop to enquire; but certainly
the returns OF the census since 1890 exhibit
relative decline Of slavery in the frontier
States, bearing a singular conformity, in
point Of time, to their geographical expo
sure 10 a Northern influence. Ia all OF the
States which We have mentioned, except
tennessee, great change in this institution
is distinctly perceptble, and is stronger or
weaker. earlier or later, in remarkable &C
cordance with the latitude Of the State. and
its general exposure to a revolutionary move
ment, beginning in the distant Northeast
and slowly extending Southwark and West
ward. A careful examination OF the re-
turns also discloses that this great movement
passes through two distinct stages. and thai
the first stage invariably precedes and Is as
invariably followed BY the last. When
slavary is strong and vigorous in State.
when the whitening blight from the North
has hot vet affected il. the black race almost
invariably increase more rapidly than the
white. The first symptom Of decline IS
only comparative. This natural. or at least
this original order Of things. is reversed, and
the white population begins to gam upon
the negroes. This continues for a greater
or less period, according to circumstances.
generally about twenty years, when the last
stage is ushered in, and the slave race be
gins to decrease in number. The ratio OF
decrease is generally accelerated from year
to year, until Time or Legislative act Of
emancipation shalt finally close the drama.
As early as 1890. Delaware had already
passed through the first stage Of relative de-
cline, and was entering upon the last stage
of positive decline. The following table
correctly represents the decline Of slavery in
that State since 1890:
f7S iso. Isio rsD. IsoO. 1870
No. oi slaves $50 s,lS All sos 3ss a,sn
Maryland comes next in geographical
order, and she is twenty years behind Della
ware and twenty years ahead Of Virginia.
in the great movement which we are en-
deavoring to illustrate. Maryland enters
upon the first stage OF relative decrease in
1900, and in 1920 she enters upon the SEC
ond and last stage Of positive decrease;
while Virginia enters upOn the first stage in
1920, and upon the last in 1910. il is
certainly somewhat remarkable that the
same interval should separate these two
States both in the first and last stages Of de-
cline, and it tends to prove a regularity too
marked to be attributed to accident. Here
is view Of the relative strength OF the
whites and negroes in Maryland since 1890