The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1850-03-09


.br IS Uar'a. f.si ~ Ina.p received TIC re-
olu'ion, rurpef;iuy 20 have been u'pptcA hr .hc
"neohnu's and mul.iIcturegs' Of Dover y H.
In declaring that system Of white slavery e,..
ls'cd at the North far more olious than the 1laci
slavery at the South, din mean to express
the opinion tha; mechanics and manufacturers
were slaves, on the contrary, | mean, that they
were masters. ! alluded TO the opcratjves--to
the day labcrers, class who are subjected Ia
a horid tyranny, compared with which the cond
uon OF the Southern slave il happy indeed.
made the statement upon New England author
ty. lrepeat, now, what | said in my place in the
Senate, and shsll continue so to DO until it is re
tuted by something more reliable than senseles.
resolutions, adopted by the very men most inter
cstcd in suppresSing the truth.
fyou will answer the following interrogatores
it will be something more to the purpose than un,
meaning euIogIcs upon the moral aud intelcctu.
al culture Of your laborers -
|. What is the daily pay Of a laborer, Of each
class, in n New England factory ani at what age
ale children taken from their parents to put to
work.
.. Is it not true that one manufacturer will no.;
employ labuycr dismissed by another
g. How many hours each dav do they actually
wolki
l.
when SICK or pay for medical attendance
o. How many annually pass from the factory
to the poor house
6. Do you allow any one to visit factory girl
without written permission from a male over,
seer
T. Who taies care Of the operative when old
age or intirmity comes upon hlm
In addition to the foregoing answGr--What Is
the kind and quantity Of food they consumed
aud shall need nothing more to prove my asser-
ton.
alluded to the Northern laborers in spirit of
commisscration, and meant nothing harsh or un-
kind to them, There is nothing which would
not gladly attempt to alleviate their condition
spoke Of their taskmasters with scorn, and alluded
10 the hypocrisy which makes their whole exist.
ence n lie, as thought it deserved
MIR, Hale, whom you endorse, expressed the o.
pnon that no man would like to tell the opera.
tycs in New England village that they were
slaves, Possibly not. Certainly should not, for
any offensive purpose; but it, by so ding, could
rouse them to sedse Of the injustice and fraud
which are practiscd upon thcm-if | could devise
mode Of redressing their grievanccs--it would
require something more terrible than either his or
your anger TO stop my speech Wherever the
sons or the daughters Of toll are To be found. my
calculating. selfish tyrant who feeds upon them
no matter whether he ab,les in palace or facto
ry JERE CLEMENS.
WAsnISoroS, January Goth, 1850
/ lion. Jeremiah Clemens, L. S. SESur--Fron
the tone of your letter, addressed to me through
the New York Herald, OF Jan. 3lst | think yol
have very erroneous view of the character %
the meeting which adopted, and instructed me t,
forward to YOU, the resolutions to which YOU refer
That meeting was called hy working men, "dav
hborers," those who WELD the slcdgc and dircc
the shuttle, without counsel. or order, except thc
own injured feelings 1t was composed of til,
operatives, both male and female, who perform
the different processes IN the formation Of the cot
ton fabric, from the coarseSt muslin, to the delica',
and beautiful prints, that adorn not only them
solves but which they furnish to your wives anJ
daughters of the South,
Who are these female operatives whom yuu dc
grade by comparing with southern slayesi They
are the daughters of our New England farmers
mechanics, merchants, lawyers, doctors and min
istcrs, who arc too independent and conscientious
tn sit down in Incidence, needless of the wants o
those around them; and they often make il tn,
means Of acquiring those advantages of education
and those various accomplishments which tit them
,o occupy, md they sometimes actually do, the
highest stations in socictv, l. myself am "day
aborcr" For the last twenty years with my
own hands, have earned the comforts have en-
loved, and thank God, that through the freedom
which porvndcs every nook and corner Of our
free States they have been neither few nor small
! You propose to me number Of interrcystorc,