The southern press., 1851-04-30
BY A soUTEERNER.

| Will SLAVES. lhc icuuhi o. sIeiu Thai suppiantou
Roman institutions changeithe form of slavery,
but brought with it neither liberty or equality.
France and the Northern Sites of our Union
have alone fully and fairly trieathe experiment
ola social organization founded upon universal
liberty and equality ofrights. England has only
Appropriated to this condition in her commercial
and manufacturing cities. The examples Of
small communities in Europe are lot fit expo
nents of the working ofthe system In France
and in our Northern States the. experiment has
already failed, if we are to form our opinions
from the discomfort of the masses, or to believe
| the evidence of the socialists communists, anti
renters, and thousand other agraran sects
that have arisen in these countries, and threaten
to subvert the whole social fabric Theleaders
of these sects, at least in France, comprise With
| in their ranks the greater number of the most
cultivated and profound minds in the nation,
who have made government their study. Add
to the evidence Of these social philosophers,
who, watching closely the working of the syn
tenn, have proclaimed to the world its total fail
ure, the condition Of tho working classes, and
we have conclusive proof that liberty and equal
| ity have not conduced to enhance the comfort or
the happiness of the people. Crime and pau
perism have increased Riots, trades unions,
strikes for higher wages, discomfort breaking ont
| into revolution, are things of daily occurrence,
and show that the poor see and feel quite as
clearly as the philosophers, that their condition
if far worse under the new than under the old
| order of things. Radicalism and chartism in
England owe their birth to the free and equal
| institutions of her commercial and manufacture
ing districts, and are little heard of in the quiet
farming districts, where remnants of feudalism
A. 4 a.. l.. A.. 4
and in the laws ofentai and primogeniture
So much for experiment. We will now en-
deavor to treat the subject theoretically, and to
show that the system is on its face selfdestruc-
tive and impracticabe. When we look to the
vegetable, animal and human kingdoms, we dis
cover in them all constant conflict, war, or
race of competition, the result Of which is, that
the weaker or less healthy genera, species and
individuals are continually displaced and exter-
minated by the strorger and more hardy. 1t is
means BY which some contend nature is per-
fecting her own work. We however witness
the war, but do not see the improvement. AL
though from the earliest date of recorded histo-
nv, one race of plants has been eating out and
taking the place of another, the stronger or
more cunning animals been destroying the fee
bier, and man exterminating and supplanting his
fellow, still the plants, the animals and the men
of to-day seem not at all superior, even in those
qualities of strength and hardihood to which
they owe their continued existence, to those of
thousands of years ago. To this propensity of
the, strong to Cypress and destroy the weak gov
eminent owes its existence; SO strongis this pro-
pensity, and so destructive to human existence,
that man has never yet been found so savage as
to be without government Forgetful of this
important fact which is the origin of all govern
ments, the political economists and the advo-
Gates of liberty and equality propose to enhance
the well being of man by trammelling his con.
duct as little as possible, and encouraging what
they call FREE COMPETITION. Now free compe-
tition is but another name for liberty and equal.
ty, and we must acquire precise and accurate no.
tons about it, in order to ascertain how free in
situations will work. tbs then that war or con
conflict to which nature impels her creatures,
and which government was intended to restrict
II is true, it is that war somewhat modified and
restricted, for the warmest friends of freedom
would have some government The question
is, whether the proposed restrictions are sufi
Gent to neutralize the selfdestructive tcnden-
cies which nature impresses on society. We
proceed to show that the war Of, the wits, OF
mind with mind, which fres competition of liber.
ty and equality beget and encourage, is quite as
oppressive, cruel and exterminating, as the war
of the sword, Of theft, robbery, and murder
which il forbids II is only substituting strength
Of mind for strength of body. Men are told il
is their duty TO compete, 10 endeavor 10 get
ahead Of and supplant their fellow men, BY the |
exercise Of all the intellectual and moral strength
with which nature and education have endowed |
them. Might makes right" is the order of
creation, and this law of nature, so far as men,
tai might is concerned, is restored by liberty to
man. The struggle to better ones condition,
TO pull others down or supplant them Is the |
great organic law Of free society. All men be- |
ing equal, all aspire TO the highest honors and |
the largest possessions. Good men and bad i
men teach their children one and the same les
son" Go ahead, push your wayin the world"
In such society, virtue, If virtue there be, loses
all her lovliness because Of her selfish aims.
None but the selfish virtues are encouraged. be.
cause none other aids man in the race of free
competition. Good men and bad men have the
same end in view, are in pursuit Of the same OBJ.
ect: self.promotion, selfelevation. The good
man is prudent cautious, and cunning of fence
he knows well the arts Cthe virtues IL YOU
pease) which will advance bis fortunes and en-.
able him to depress and supplant others; he
bides his time, takes advantage Of the foles,
the improvidence and vices Of others, and makes
his fortune out Of the misfortunes Of his fellow
men. The bad man Is rash, hasty, and unskiIl.
full. He is equally selfish, but not half 80 cum
ming. Selfshness Is almost the only motive of
human conduct with good and bad in free socie-
ty, where every man Is taught that he may
change ard better his condition. A vulgar
adge, "Every man for himself and devil take
the hindmost," is the moral which liberty and
free competition inculcate. Now, there are no
more honors and wealth in proportion 10 mum.
bers, In this generation, than in the one which
preceded il population fully keeps pace with
the means Of subsistence; hence those who bet
ter their condition or rise 10 higher places in DO.
ciety, do so generally by pulling down others or
pushing them from their places Where men Of
strong minds, Of strong wills, and Of great self
control, come into FREQ competition with the |.
weak and improvident, the latter soon become
the inmates Of jails and penitentiaries.
The statistics Of France, England and Amer.
ca, show that pauperism and cri ne advance pari
passiu with liberty and equality. How can .,
be otherwise, when all society is combined to
Cypress the poor and weak minded The rich
man, however good he NAV be, EMPLOYS the