The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-10-20

have gone to Jail OF been sent abroad for in
science; thinking they were entitled to thei
liberty, they have rebelied, and have beef
sent TO Jail and probably punished witt
stripes and rendered liable TO be hung
Look at the scenes witnessed up the coun
Try here on divers occasions. and thinl
hat few months ago a similar seen,
occurred in the counties toward the Greer
liver county. | believe that these scene
occurred through the agitation OF Ibis ques
ZION, the consequent delusion Of the slaves
and their mistaken belief that they were II
be free. Therefore, think the question
ought 10 be tied up in the constitution ST
hat We may hear nothing Of slavery O
40 slavery in future. Let il be settled
question as to the opinion Of the countr,
whether slaves shall be brought here or no
or whether they shall have their freedom or
any condition, in future, other than the viii
Of the owner.
ffer from the proposition reported BY
the committee. know it is not properly
before US, bu, | believe thai in COMMITTEE
OF the Whole We are in committee of the
whole world and at liberty to discuss al,
most everything. One Of the propositions
Of the committee is that the slavery cues
Jon is 10 be thrown altogether into the lie.
gislature, and another is in regard to free
negroes. Now | do not understand that
under the Constitution Of the United States
We have any power over those negroes al
ready free. They are quasi citizens Of
this Commonwealth, Of this country, enjoy.
ing privileges recognized by the Constltu-
lion of the United States, and we have no
power to compel them, after they have OBJ
tanned their freedom, TO leave the Common
wealth. That question has rlready been
passed upOn,indirectly under law in Del.
aware providing for getting rid Of their free
negroes and their transportation to Liberia.
The proposition OF the committee relative
to those liberated hereafter by the free will
Of the owner of Them is that laws shall be
passed compelling them TO leave the Com.
monweallh. think the provision should
be that they ought not to be free until they
90 leave The State. would go further and
say that if they came back here, or even
their descendants came back here, though |
should regret il very mech, that we should
impose the penalty on them OF being sold
into bondage, and that the proceeds should
go into the public treasury. | wish TO make
the prohibition against free negroes as strin.
gent and extended in its operation as is posi-
bic wish ia this matter to 60 to the
verge Of our power under the federal con.
stitution. believe that il there is a curse
alike to the white and black race, il is in
having free negroes where there are vicious
white men. They have none Of the mo-
tives to raise themselves up and attain
higher state Of morals and education that a
white man has, and, shut out from office
and all the privileges of political life, they
necessarily become degraded race. They
are made use Of by vicious, wicked white
men for purposes where the negro cannot
be a witness against them. The white man
can 90 and whisper in the free negro's ears,
corrupt his morals, and induce him to steal,
and yet he cannot be a witness against him,
although be receives what he gets from the
negro and profits by It. You cannot show
me one free negro out Of fifty that is in
equal condition, morally or physically, with
him who has master that treats him we'll.
| shall, therefore, at the proper time, move
to amend the proposition Of the committee
on the subject, for ! do not think it gives
US the proper security against an increase
Of the free negro population.
There is about sixty-one millions Of dol
lars worth OF slave property in Kentucky,
which produces less then three per cent.
profit on the capital invested, or about half
as much as the moneyed capital would
yield. But suppose the net profit to be
three per cent. it is proposition that is
susceptible Of demonstration, that it IS not
our interest to increase this slave property.
have made little calculation which
will submit to the committee, and believe
if there be any error in it, il will be found
on the side Of making slave labor more
valuable than il really is, and by that cal
culation I cannot make the profit to be
more than three per cent. There are about
two hundred thousand slaves in Kentucky
OF these, about three-fomths are superanua.
ted, sick, women in a condition not profts-
BILE for labor, and infants unable TO work,
who yield no net profit. Show me the
man who has forty or fifty slaves upon his
estate, and if there are ten out Of that num-
Der who are valuable and available it is as
much as you can expect. But my calcu-
lation allows you to have three fourths that
are barely able to maintain themselves, to
pay for their own clothing, fuel, house
room, and doctors bills. Is there any gen.
tleman here, who has a large number Of
slaves, who will say that they are more
profitable than that? do not believe there
10 ono Well, then, we have one-fourth
left. This leaves fifty thousand lsbores,
and | put the value OF their labor at sixty
dollars each per annum. This will pro-
duce three millions Of dollars annually.
But from this you must deduct at least
twenty dollars per head for raiment, food,
houseroom, and Doctors bills, and that
amounts 10 a million OF dollars. Is this
deduction too little? Is there any individu.
al here who will say that grown, work.
ing negro does not cost his master, leaving
out Of the question what he steals from him
and sells at the nearest towns there any
one that will say that an average expense
of twenty dollars for this class Of slaves ]:
too small an estimate? This, then, will
make a million of dollars. and there will
he only profit Of two millions left You