The southern press., 1850-11-05

"ou'u ioioiu ~. Dut Where TWO classes are inter-
mingled IN the same community, one materially
better than the other the former ought to rule and
must rule, or the government will be bad The
sensual and ignorant incapable of liberty or of
sef-goyernment, and certainly unfit TO rule others
And this is Jefferson's opinion. In one Of his
letters TO John Adams, the true arstocracy, the
arstocracy of virtue and talent are admitted To
have the divine right to rule and hence Jefferson
says ne is in favor of an elective republic, because
he thinks this right is better secured by popular
vote than by any other system.
| The Declaration Of Independence is moreover
to be construed by ycontemporaneous events When
II was made, the African race in this country oc-
cupied the same position that it now does. Yet
that race was not invited to take part in that mea-
sure, or in its consequences.
The writer Of Justice" says that ''the patriots
and statesmen of our revolution, I" "Washington,
Henry, Jefferson, Jay, and Franklin, "regarded
slavery as curse to the country and desired its
removal. :" He adds: "But while with great
unanimity they condemned the system as an evil
to society in all its effects, POLITICAL social, eco
nomical, and moral, they with equal unanimity
refused TO condemn the conduct of shareholders as
necessarily and in all cases involving wrong" He
then observes that these views have also been
those of the great body fthe American people |;
and that they have lately been assailed twith vo-
ence" from two opposite quarters-the Abolition
lists, who denounce all shareholders as criminal
and "sect of zealots for slavery" who regard it
as a blessing. OF this latter sect, he says Mr..
Calhoun is the head, and myself disciple. y.
Wei, it may, be skillful or it may be only tricky
for an advocate of emancipationin in Kentucky, who
borrows nearly all his arguments from Abolition
lists, to set out in discussion with the pretence
| that he is defending the views OF Washington,
Henry, Jefferson, Jay, and Franklin, against the
Abolilonists as well as the zealots Of slavery.
Why, he learned to claim the authority Of Wash
ington, Jefferson, and the others from the Aboli-
tionsts. But, when, after asserting on preence
OF their authority that African slavery SIS an evil
to society, in a its effects, POLITICAL social, eco
nomcal, and moral, " "1"Justice" gives us the
same authority for refusing to condemn The conduct
ing lpro,ig," we left in doubt whether to con-
slider him as half deserving his own cause, or half
deriding while half excusing the conduct of slave
holders. The story that Washington, Jefferson,
and Henry, ell shareholders to the last day of their
lives could or did in defence of themselves onlu re-
fuse to condemn the conduct of shareholders as
necessarily and in all cases involving wrong, is in
| trnsically absurd. Neither Of them ever sunk so
low in self-respect, or the worlds respect, as to
make for his fence what amounts to a confes :
sion Of guilt, and IN a manner of style so awk-
ward as to be stupid. For if African slavery were
an evil to society in all its effects, POLITICAL social,
economical, and moral, even the name and fame
Of those great men could not rescue their memory
from the reproach of guilt and stupidity, and their
conduct from the imputation Z" of necessarily in
yolving wrong 1t would appear that they had
persisted to their latest DAYS in the continual per-
petration Of wrong, with the conviction that was
tending to make them poor, weak, wicked, and
dishonorable. ,g
"The patriots and statesmen Of our revolution -
thought slavery, an evil, as they considered war,
luxury, ignorance and avarice evils. Jefferson
thought slavery a curse-and he thought great
cities ulcers on the body polite and social. ]
have agreed with him that slavery is an evil and
that great cities are great evils. "Justice," who
agrees with him in one Of these views and denies
the other, gravely quotes Jefferson against me.
John Adams thought that American slavery was
an evil, but said that the people engaged in the
fisheries of Massachusetts were as miserable as
slaves. | have doubt that many of the great
men who achieved our revolution as well as those
of France, in 1889, held opinions far too sanguine
of human progress and of the efficacy of free gov
ernment in achieving that progress. The no.
ton was then quite prevalent as well as phosoph-
ical that the miseries and even the vices of man
were the result Of despotic government, instead of
the latter being the result OF them. 1t was thought
that, under such government as that of the United
States and Of the French Republic, the age of rea-
son, ofright. and of happiness had come. Jefer-
son was t,n an enthusiastic believer i'm this no.
ton. So was Franklin, who even thought that,
under the new impulse philosophy had received
great and indefinite longevity was attainable by
tlss human race. 1t was in this age of enthusi
asm that these men spoke Of the abolition of sa
very us Of all other social evils, and contemplated
legislation as the adequate and appropriate RENE
dy. But none of them devised a method of
abolishing slavery in which he had enough conf
dence to recommend it to the public. was told
by the late Professor Potter, Of Baltimore, about
eleven years ago, tn Madison once submitted to
him plan of emancipation that permitted the
| blacks to remain in this country. And Madison
| intended to propose ard advocate it. But DR..
Potter told him it would result in the extermina-
| ton of the black race for he was satisfied from
! his practice in Philadelphia and Baltimore that tn e
ernancpated blacks would resort to such cities to
live, and would perish by idleness, vice. sickness
and starvation, and Madison, it seems, relin-
quished his intention.
| The Quakers Of the South abolished slavery
And they are perhaps the only people who ever
made an equal sacrifice Of pecunary interest to re-
ligious conviction. 1t was not, however, until the
Quakers had made ample and stringent provision
against the other evils of civilized life that they re-
nounced slavery. They had repudiated war, they
had suppressed luxury, they had by the rigor oe
their discipline, banished the vices. No super
fluffy of dress of diet, Of dwelling, tolerated
by then1-nor music, painting, sculpture, or
amusement. They almost prescribed poetry; they
did prescribe generally works of fiction and imag-
nation. And after having done all this they abol-
ished slavery among themselves; not seeking its
abolition by law, or desiring to compel others who
were unwilling. In the Quaker system, slavery
or domestic service was supernuity as well as ain
| anomaly. Let those VINO rely on the authority of
the Quakers, follow their example, and, qf er sup
i pressing the other evils Of life, abolish slavery
But let no man who proposes to retain the luxu-
res Of civilization, the elegance, the refinement,
the fashions, the spendor, the inequality-let no
such man imagine he is following the example oil
the Quakers or fancy that he is sincere, or that he
will be successful in destroying slavery by eman-
cipating the blacks. He will merely exterminate
theslatter and throw the burden Of servitude on a
portion of our own race to whom it will be more
CALLING and oppressive than to those on whom it
| now rests. @s.. t. - F..
| do not, however, think that the results of
emancipation by the Quakers have been at all
equal to- their expectations. ! don't think the
Quakers themselves have been improved by that
measure. Many of them have resorted to COM
merce and to cities, have adopted domestic servi-
tude, have become luxurious, and the society has
degenerated and divided. The negroes they eman.
cipated where are they' Does any man believe
that they are as numerous, as prosperous, or as
happy as they would have been under Quaker
masters, ,. ..... .... .s
Whilst, however, do not concur with Jeffer-
son or the Quakers, in the plans by which slavery
can be abolished, whilst | do not think IL can be
do,,e b,,f he urf of he laur /