Blue hen's chicken. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1848-1854, 1850-03-08

SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
or TmE
DELAwAREANrI-sLAvERY SOCIETY

lDELAW AkfAN ll-SLAp ER1 SOCIETY.
The labors Of the society during the past
year, have not differed materially from those OF
former years. Tracts have been distributed,
public meetings held and other means taken,
calculated to dilluse information on the subject
Of slavery, and thereby hasten emancipation in
the State.
Since The lasi report, the society has lost, In
ihs. s.drcease Of isaac II. Starr, one OF its most
valnlh,s sne.ssbssss- lis Of the -6s-i
tja the rouasry 70 take ihe name of abolition.
ist. Contemporary with Df. Rush and Warner
Alinin, we find him at that early day, among
the foremost in the ranks of slavery's po-
nents aud throughout his long and useful fife
he was the iin friend Of emancipation. and
ever gave willing hand for the promotion Of
the cause. In his will, he bequeathed the So
ciety one hundred dollars.
The principle token of progress in the S'aio,
is the altered tone OF its press. One paper ia
particular, besides opposing slavery extension
and advocating the cause Of free soil, denoun-
ces the system ilseli AS impuliiic and cruel,
and by lis manly course might well put 10
shame the serviliy " tho South Of many
Northern prints. The fact that this paper has
not only the largest circulation Of any in the
State, but has Increased its subscription list
since it took this stand, shows pretty conclu-
sively which way public opinion is tending.
OF the the three counties Of Delaware, New
Castle. the most populous and wealthy, is the
most favorable to emancipation. Kent and
Sussex have, as yet, manifested lutte else than
opposition to the measure circumstance
that speaks volumes against the system they
ara upholIng, from the fact OF their being the
greatest sufferers from its evil effects, and
hence. would Of course be the most boneflted
by emancipation. But slavery is demonlizng
in its tendency, and if persisted in, inevitably
brings upon tho hands Of its authors a food Of
calainities, not the least OF which is moral
blindness TO the cause of all their woes. A
thorough agitation ot the question Is needed.
By this means alone can the manifold workings
OF the system be brought to light, and the full
extent of lis baleiul Influences made known
Does agitation put back the cause Many
professed friends of anti-slavery assert that il
does but the assertion is a groundiess one.
It is made in the face of all history, all expe-
rience and the plainess dictates Of common
sense. What reform was ever carried without
agitation 1t argues want OF faith Ia the
cause, to fear the result Of discussion. Truth
cannot suffer from investigation; il challenges
the clasest scrutiny. Ii the cause Of anti sia-
very is the cause OF truth, its Immediate and
urgent advocacy cannot b, untinely or out OF
season.
The population of Delaware was, in 1880,
76,739; in 1910, 1905 an advance Of only
1876 In ten years. This advance was owing
entirey to the increase of New Castle county.
Kent and Sussex both went back. The slave
population Of The State was, in 1910, 2,605;
700 less than in 1880. The same rate of de-
crease would make their present number less
than 1000. For the sake OF holding this pal
try number oil human beings as clattels, Della
ware sacrifices her best interests. Where they
are, free labor cannot flourish. Where they
most abound, there poverty and decline are
most apparent. They stand directly in the
way Of our progress as State drying up its
channels Of wealth and obsiructing its prosper
ity in thousand ways. The lepopulaiion Of
Kent and Sussex is caused solely by their pres.
ence. The statistics of the last census will
prove this beyond doubt. Compare New
Castle county, containing the fewest slaves
in proportion to its population, with Sussex
county, containing the most. New Castle had
In 1870, 54l slaves--Sussex, I,G37. The num-
Der Of slaves in both counties has been sleadi-
ly decreasing since 1870, but at a much faster
rate in New Castle than in Sussex. The CEN
sus Of the two counties in 1910, gives Sussex
population Of 3,37l greater than that Of New
Castle. In 1910, New Castle was in advance
Of Sussex 6,027. The population Of tho latter
being 25,O93, that Of the former 80, 1870. Du-
ring the ten years preceding 1910, Sussex
went back 10 population 2,025 the increase of
New Castle in the same lime was 3,ii0. IL
New Castle has continued TO increase and
Sussex to decrease, in the same ratio, the pres
ent population Of the latter is about 2,300 that
Of The former 300 n difference in favor Of
New Castle oi 1900.