Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1849-07-14
ANTI-sLAvERY BUGLE, SALEM, O.
Moral Blindness.

The power Of an evil system to blind the
minds Of lis supporters 10 the consequence.
legitimately flowing from it is provetbial, and
nowhere is it more sigrally illustrated thar
among the shareholders Of the South. Man,
of this class are so far deluded as TO den,
the existence of the most notorious facts
which demonstrate to all unprejudIced mind.
that slavery is not only a moral evil, but ont
which is in every way prejudiciaI to the in
t%crests of society. Ellwood Fisher, a leaiti
mate child Of modern pro-slavery Quakerism
has attempted, by a general assault upon al
the laws of political economy, TO prove tina
the South is a great deal better off than the
North as 10 all the substantial elements Of
prosperity and happiness and a large por.
ton Of the SHAREHOLDERS hail his demonstra.
ton OF the blessings of the peculiar %institu.
ton as a perfect God.send, admitting not Of
successful reiutation. The blindness of such
can be accounted for only by referring it 10
the influence of an evil and corrupt system.
But there 10 another class Of Shareholders,
who are not so easily convinced that the
South is the grand Ell Dorado Of the world ;
who in fact cannot deny that the North is by
far the mos: enterprisiDg and prosperous
But even these are blind to the great CAUSE
of this disparity. Thus, for example, the
Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, utterly rejects
Fishers conclusions as unsound, and jealous
ly maintains that the South has not kept pace
with the North, but has fallen far behind her
In industry and enterprise. But, at the same
time, il boldly denies that Slavery has any
thing to do with the question, and says that
"Abolilionisis and others have falsely ascri.
bed this disparity" TO that cause. II asks
lriu,nphantly how, on Mr.. Fishers princi-
Piles, it happens that the people of South Car
olina produce an average Of only $i5 a year
per head, while those of Massachusetts, by
their power-looms, their spinning-jennies,
and other machinery, create wealth equal 10
SllS per head? 1t declares "that a given
number Of ~laborers, employed in farming op-
e%rations, produce about twice as much money
in New York as in the Old Dominion.'-
And how does the Chronicle itself account
this disparity? Why, it says, that 1t is
all owing to a misdirection of capital ! Vir-
GINA raises tobacco. corn and wheat, makes
no railroads. and grows poor; while New
York raises wool, butter, and cheese, builds
ailroads and canals TO carry these products
o market, and gets rich The bad effects of
he Southern policy, says the Chronicle,
bring slavery into disreputo among supe5f-
:ial Observers ;" and il maintains, that if
The South will only use the labor of her three
Of slaves to the best practical adSahsi
she can distance all competitors" The
man who thus endeavors TO blind the South
more and more 10 the true cause Of her de
cay, claims to have lived in Western New
York, and to have represented one of the
Counties Of that State 10 her Legislature =
nay, more, TO have acted in that body as
Chairman Of the Committee on Agriculture !
hope the people of the Empire State are
duly sensible Of the loss they have sustained
in the removal of such a legislator from their
midst! How it happens that the North has
so much wiser than the South in the
mode of employing her capital, he does not
inform US. Why is it, we ask, that the line
Slavery and Freed ON is the one that
so invariably separates the wise from the
in this matter of political economy I
Tel US that, ye who maintain that slavery is
a blessing.