The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1851-04-29
From the Southern Literary Messenger.
The social syslssa OF SirK'ais.
FROM SATURDAYS PAPER. ]

solors had in some ,gtee subsded and the social sys
tenn Of Virginia began 10 develop its tue features. the
fr~t thing which attracts attention rs the division oil
eiety into distact classesaasiefs and stuues IN
der The latter denomina'ion we include dspted servants
We do SO because there really lue difference
social position between the slave and the indensd
want They both stood IN The relation 10 their
ter and the indebted servant was, 10 all nens and
poses, slave during The period Of his serviude. And
the only important difference IN the condition OF these Two
classes OF in the duration OF their servitude-
the slave in almost every instance being doomed 10 ser
viuie for liie while The INDEBTED servant was only
bound for The time mentioned IN his indenlure But du
ring The period Of seyiiude their social position was IN
all important particulars the same. Mr. JEFFERSON, speak
ing oil the early population OF Virginia, says;
"Indenea servants formed considerable supply These
poor Europeans, who went 70 America 10 seule
themselves i .hty could ray ihel! passage, Twas was
at liberty therefore, 10 make an sgfreinent WIN any
person HIM such length Of tine as
they rgeed on condition that he would repay the
OF I've vessel The expenses OF their passage H. be-
Ing foreigner unable speak The language. Ihey did
know how make bargain Tor emselyes. the captaio
OF The vess.l contracted 'or hsm vim sncn persons as he
tlJG. Wrks p, 4o6
But Bancroft has described, with more minuleness the
social condition OF tins class OF the early colonial popula
ton of Virginia, and we make short extract from his
history
"Coniltions scrvude, under indeniures covenants
to his master in the relation debtor bound TO discharge
the ooss Of immlurso9 hy The enfe 2. '
sued who had been transported 10 Virginia a. antx
OF eight nus were - ~ VI
or y o. even lhree.score pounds The supply Of white
servants became regular business aud aeass OF men,
and oilers into enbu, king in America 10 land OF
.pontaneoas Peqy White y - be nspa,as
ported, aud in Virginia Iesola 10 The hshesl bidder
like nesoss they were 70 be s on nee m
colonies, where five years OF service were due was hnou
pounds while was worth twenty or twenty-five
pounds "Bancroft's Hist. U. s., roi. ], p. i75
Again:
rhe condition ofapprendced servants in Virginia diff
fered from that of aayts chiefly in the d~ano" Of Their
bondage '-Ioid l76
We thus see that the relation subsisng in Virginia
between and indened servant was during the pc
Rod of seIvude the same with that snbs's''g between
and slave and that the only material difference ~
the condition OF tue two classes was in the duration OF
their bondagethe slave, IN almost every case, being
bound TO sevude Tor life, and the ndented servant Tor
the time specified in his deed OF ndeniure. We have,
therefore, for The sake of bevy and pespcuy, classed
them together; End we now return to lie proposition
with which started. viz: that from early
period in colonial history, The reputation of Vir-
gnia divided into Two disnc, classes-nade'S
and siaUes With the relation. subssting between
these two classes all are familiar; and II Is only
necessary to remark, IN passing, that II was re-
latlon of perfect control On the one side, and OF
the absolute lord OF The slave. And this relation,
20 tar as we have been able u discover was nearly UNI
versa Almost every man who was not himself either
slave indenied servant was tue owner OF slaves or in
dented efvans-some OF many, hers al iew-each man
according 10 his MEANS oi al that tme property Viz
gnia almost always assumed The form y land and slaves
Aud between tile lord OF tnou-an an the proprietor Of
single slave there was every variety Of RraditHn as
there lie in the appoonmen OF properly in other comnu
mites. Almost every man, repeat, then, who not
himself slave or mdened servant, was The owner OF
slaves inae med servants. Such thing free tabor,
independent body Of iborer, nGl known at HAT
time In Virginia. II d comIelv 10 rely excu
sivey upon his own abors 10 support him. he abofed in
subecton 10 anolher 1t, upon he other hand he had
capital to invest however uncomfortable it might be- he
Invested IL In land and slaves Inen,d servants This
the form which labor and capital almost universally
assumed al that lime in the colony the laboer was
slave, ana The capitalist his nasier and thus the eia
ton oil master and slave became almost universal A.
all events. this relation not nearly universal
we believe il to have been, II certainly so general as
10 prevail over all other relations and constitute con-
trolling eemen, IN the social system OF The colony
The relation thus established between these Two classes
was confirmed By the tact that almost every slaveowneI
the time landed proprietor and The laborer
therefore, became ssf If the sui. Aiosl OF the colo
nis,s OF Virginia we're men OF Ango-Saxon descent and
love tor the roll IS said 10 tie Anglo Saxon passion
On the shores OF the Chesapeake and its III buares this
passion had ample Tor indulgence. Land was cheap
and large tracts could be procured at low prices Not
only 90 but. Tor The purpose OF encouraging immigration,
the government OF The colony had provided, al very
early period that each planter should receive fifty
OF land iof every person whom he should transport INTO
the plantations. Thu. The Virginia planter, BY the same
operato increased the number of his serls and enlarged
his territorial possessions The result We learn
from authentic documents that there existed in the col
ony from very early period body OF wealthy landed
propre,ors, who cultivated large tracts Of country with
African slaves or European sefs Along The banks of
James river York river and it's tributaries, The Kappa
hammock, Potomac, and other waller OF the
try, resided almost baronai state the gentry
Virginia, as they led in The language OF those
imes-a class OF men holding vast landed possessions
nvang IN extent and fertility The estates oil many oil The
English nobility, and controlling with absolute d,spotism
body oil sefts which ieuda lord OF the middle
might have epvied.
And here the question naturally suggests ITSELF WAC
were there lords OF The sci and masters OF slaves, whom
we lind III those early times sIaud rg The summit OF
society ana controlling The social and political desnies
o, The colony Our records furnish satisfactory lnfor
NATION upon This point considerable potion IN poin
OF numbers and much larger portion IN point OF wealth.
educatioh and influence, CAVALIERS and younger
branches OF noble English housrs. As was 10 BE- *.
peeied they brought With them into the colony tie feel
1nss, habits, and principles which they had been edu
Gated al home. Nolhlng had occurred a. wean them
from the mother country. The conns,s oil Virginia were
not, like the PuuaDs OF New England, iugnives from
the auspices OF The and the NOBILITY; their emigta
ton was voluntary, undertaken, for the most pa 10 re-
pair Their broken fortunes and not unfrequ.nily with
Intentions OF ultimately returning 10 the land OF cir
hvy. Ii u not wonderful therefore, thai the ectons
OF The first colonisis should have cung know they
did, Tor long time, 10 England, anu that in the wild
forests Of Vyioa they should have p,ued Tor Their
homes across The They could not dvesi them
selves OF The lea that they soiourncs here, aud
were ever looking forward to the lime when, their p
gaRe seiag over, they would return 10 their country
anu .ner inehds The consequence that society
virginia was, as lar as circumstances would admit nj
continuation OF English socieh Ffon the bepioning
decided preference Tor Eogand and her institutions man
ifesed iseii everywhere, and there was d.rosl,iop
among all Classes 10 conform the infant colony ~ tho
mo0ei OF me mGbef Country. SO strong was This mar
TALLY for Old EnRa aud loyal were m 20
her ancient institutions that they never nans,ed The