Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-12-23
THE DAILY TIMES
Virginia State Agricultural Society.

ADDRESS OF MIR. EDMUND RUFFIN.
Upon the effects of Domestic slavery ON Social
Manners, Habits aud Welfare Of the ssi :
cultural Population Of the Southern States.
and in comparison with the Slavery of
Glass TO Class existing i'm the Northern
states.
CoNcLUDED.1
This Is the general condition to which oori
cultural society and manners must tend. nre
tending and have already reached, to great ex-
tent, in the older non -savehoding States This
is the condition from which we are snyed. md
immeasurabIy exalted, by the subsection and
slavery of an inferior Z he superior race
here is free. In the so-called tree countries.
tho far areater number of the superior race ia
in effect Spsaved, and thereby degraded TO a con-
dition suitable only for race made inferior bv
nature. There exists slavery or the subsection
OF man to man, in every country under the sun
except. perhaps the most barbarous and IGNORANT
In these Southern States we have the slavery of
Individual to individual, and of naturally infe-
rior to naturally superior race; which, Of ALL is
the condition best for both masters and slaves
In the so-caled free countries, in addition to the
sometimes most oppressive rule of a despotic and
grinding government--or it may be under free
constitutional government, there is the slavery
OF class to class, OF the starving aborers to the
paying employers. Hunger and cold are the
most exacting OF all ask-masters. The victims
of hunger and cold are always, and of necessity,
slaves to their wants, and through them, to those
who only can supply their wants. The great ar
gument urged by English and Northern advo-
Gates for the abolition of our system of slavery,
(while totally regardless of their own) is that
hired labor Is cheaper than slave labor
And this is unquestionably true, as to both Old
England and New England, and all other coun-
tries where the formerly existing domestic save-
ny has been abolished, because land only be-
cause, it had ceased to be the most profitable to
the shareholders. Whenever continued severa
suffering from hunger aud cold, and the number
OF the sufferers compel the destitute class to
compete eagerly with each other in lowering the
wages OF their labor to obtain bread, then the
payment for such labor of so-called free men
necessarily becomes cheaper than would be the
support OF domestic slave. Of course, if do
inestic slavery then remained in that country. the
owners of slaves would hnsten to get rid of them,
and TO employ instead the cheaper aborers fur
nlshed, and tasked and driven by hunger and cold.
lhus, and for these reasons acted our English
ancestors, when manumitting their white slaves.
Thus, and still better for their own interest did
our Northern brethren. For when convinced that
domestic slavery was too costly in their wintry
region, they first sold their negro slaves to the
South, and while thereafter avoiding their costly
use, they continued, as long as permitted by
law, to steal new supplies from Africa to sell the
Southern States. In the former. Southern de-
mand tor Africans still existed, and the African
slave trade was open by law; or if it were safe
and profitable to Violate the new prohbitory law,
enough of our Northern brethren would be now
as ready as everto supply the demand. And if
their access to the coast of Africa was prevented,
they would be as willing IF safe and proftable,)
to supply all the South with slaves, by kidnap-
ping the subject Of their now desired a,ly, tho
negro emperor of Hayti.
Nearly all of.the rnaoy vessels which have
been engaged in the African slave trade, ia yio-
ation OF the prohibitury laws of the United
States were htted out tor that purpose from Nor
thern ports and by Northern capital, and were
manned by Northern crews. This trade, since
being prohibited and made piracy byour laws,
has been carried to supply slaves to Cuba
and Brazil, with Incompatible moro inbumaniry
and cruelty than attended the formerly egalized
and regulated traffic. From time to time we have
seen announced the detection of several vessels
or persons engaged 10 this new atrocious business
OF torture and murder In the sea voyage; and le-
gal proceedings have often been commenced
against the supposed offenders in the Northern
cities to which they respectively belong. But ia
not one such case have | ever heard Of the con-
vlction followed by due punishment of any of
these worst OF criminals, and when such detec-
lions OF these acts oflegal piracy are announced
IN Northern newspapers, it is usually done 10 as
few words as would serve for any other CONNER
cial occurrence, of innocent or legal character.
Yet, besides the ilegality of the trade, auy one
such voyage, made by the order and funds Of
merchants OF Nothern city, would furnish more
true iacts OF suffering, crime and horror, than
could possibly occur among all the slaves in tho
southern States In the same length of tme.-
No furious popular and phianthropc indigna-
ton has been aroused against these detected
plrates-nelther the crews and their commanders
r fp t1SfS yH<N.v a.
real traders torturers and murderers, The great
gain OF the trade seems to as veil Of excuse
for its deep iniquty. D'Wolf, who was alleged
and believed to have been one of the great slave
trading capitalists of Rhode Island while the
trade was yet legal,) was not therefore the less
lending man of that State, is evident from his
having been subsequently, elected by Its egisla-
ture to the Senate of the United States If any
such African slave trader had lived in the South
ern States all his wealth would not have lifted
him to respectable position, and he could not
have obtained the lowest office, from either peo-
pie or government, as readily as did his compeer
Of Rhode Island attain the highest official sta
ton, and suppose the highest estimation, In
slavery hating and pharisaical New England
There are still other kinds of slavery be-
sides those produced by force or by want aud
suffering. General ignorance leads to the corrup-
tlon OF people, and of subsection of mind to
mind. And this kind of slavery as it is in effect.
tending to the most awful political aud national
evils is already growing rapidly in the So called
free Northern States. ills in their circumstances
of the land cultivated end owned by an unen-
liglitened and still deteriorating country popula-
tion-of large cities, in Which, with few mon Of
highest intellectual powers, or popular Influence,
there is collected an enormously predomiuating
number OF Ignorant needy, and unprincipled
men-when very large proportion of the popu-
luton of these cities is composed of newly ar
rived foreigners, often vicious and turbulent and
necessarily unacquainted with the principles Of
free government, and unused to freedom ia any
torm-I say, it is certain, in such circumstances
as these, that the body of the people will be d.
rected, governed, and in effect enslayed by few