Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1852-12-15
CUBA AND THE SOUTH,

neGrOphiilSm winch has so deeply !hlectcu hcSt-
ern Europe, and the Northern States. and thus
i Spain breaks that pllslanx Of aggressive opon-
4 ion, which threatens in so many ways to disturb
I the relations of peace. Naturally, Spain is our
ally, and her interests would secure her to us n,
friend Our intercourse and trade with Cuba
] would be favored beyond that of States Hostile
to her ON the question of slavery: and Will, firm
confidence in our friendship, the South would be
counted the best safeguard for The preservation
Of the industrial institutions Of that great and
( rich colony.
Deprive Spain Of Cuba, and she has no longer
any interest in the support Of slavery. We throw
! into the ranks Of our enemies the only nation OF
Europe that now has any sympathy with our
cause, an We add to the hostility Of all by Civ
ing proof of an aggressive, grsspns spirit, blin-
ded, By the love of acquisition, to the commonest
4 laws Of right and wrong, and the plainest duties
4 of good neighborhood.
We are casting away all the advantages We,
might easily secure, through the pcsceabie pos
4 session of Cuba by Spain. Commercial rela.
4 lions are already shaken. The tendency toward.
\ social intercourse with the South, which few
wears since was manifest was now quite checked.
\ We are looked upon by the body of the Cubsn
people as enemios, watching opportunity to in.
4 wade their soil, plundcr their property, and break
M all their relations of social quiet. We over
4 hang them with IN ever threatening danger. We
4 make them feel insecure in all their possessions
The value of property must speedily feel the
effect of this state of things: and of all proper
" none will be so sensitive to the blight of this
inecs.ant dsquiet, as the property in slaves, AMI
I in the lands cultivated by them. Is it not the
height of political madness for the people of the
South to join in these ircachcrous demonStra-
tions, the first disastrous effect of which must
fall upon that institution in the preservation of
which they are so deeply interested, and the
strengthening of which is the very motive by
4 which they are urged into this most unaccounta-
bic course!
Itis certainly possible to drive Spain from The
possession Of Cuba by persisting in this course
of hostility. Spain is poor at home, and what
ever her pride might dictate, necessity would at
] last compel her to relinqui~h possession which
could no longer dcfray the cost of its defence.
The United States, or some other nation, might
4 then step into her place But for the South,
what sort of possession would il be, thus cover
ed with dearlh, and filled with anarchy, by the
process through which it had been obtainedl It's
slaves turned loose for want OF profitable en-
ployment, its rich plantations gone to waste, and
Il. white populasion sembittered against 4a by
: : sSests AAestiiitics would u 5e
nroud thing for the Sonthern people. 10 rom ~
q p.~~-- ;l1u say, this ~ our worH!
a The very course of lawless and treacllerous
j warfare which the people of the North have
4 adopted towards them, would in this case receive
their own sanction, and they would make them
a aselves party 10 the consideration of the mis-
9chievous principle, that norestraints Of law, or
akirdness, or good neighborhood are to be rcspcc.
Va o1 ,or1. h,,rdoripr manila tyhnuo
3ment and institutions are not exactly after our
4 2model. VIII they be brought to commit SO sui-
Is iaal an act Will tkey thus strip themselves n,-
sked Of their defences. in the presence Of all tho
Managers that surround them, and be themselves
he ones TO tramplc in the dirt those sacred prin-
of national law, and State Rights to which
Shev constantly appeal against the invaders Of
81 heir own peAcc!
Bat, aside from all the difficulties and dangers
hat surround the acquisition Of Cubs, whether
zbya war between Governments, or BY the covert
<5Sboson Of dangerous and ever disturbing neigh
'"rhood, and even suPposing all these objections
~ briatcd, and the acquisition allowed to bv made
3&r Without war and without cost-lhcre arc reasons
& sainst the measure strong enough to make the
Southern people pause in The pursuit
81 We do not now allude to the m.narchiral
VI tNC NOuio ICl"cI 81 Se'iiO'
hg army for the preservation Of order indispens-
3ble nor to the difference of race, which would
3ixkc i. Tho hardest ofall things to introduce our
$3otical Institutions there nor to the fact that
}} here has always been an established religion in
" ie Island, leagued with the Government, claim
be- universal obedience, and supported by tithe
ssf the produce Of all lands nor to the equally
apos;ng fact that with its pre-. emf commerce. and
ith the habits of smuggling that have grown
everywhere, Cuba must be filled with acus-
ssB Bmhouse police and 4 standing army, and thus
Ell come the mere creature Of the Federal Govern
ent and its natural ally in every aggression
* pom the Soutf-wc pass over all these wcighty
S Sn-derations, and find in the sole condition of
livery in Cuba powerful argument against its
ncXation.
The present white population of Cuba is 600,-
20; the free coored population somewhat more
$s an 100000, and the slaves about 100000. Gu
is but little larger than South Carolina, and
Is almost twice the population. 1t has grown
rough centuries under set of laws and Gus
= inns little changed. Its habits, IDEAS and whole
cial spirit, are far more fixed than those of any
s bite of.he Union. Now, one radical feature of
WI very in Cubs is the slave trade with Africa,
another is incessant emancipation, and this
Z || ough the operation of an established law
S cry slave has the right to buy his freedom, and
maximum price which the master can demand
500 Moreover, the law allows the slave to
Ec his value fixed, and then to take his own
to pay it, giving to him portion of his tSrsc
sS5 responding to the portion of his price which
has paid, Thus, all the dissatisfied, and all
ambitious, among the slaves, are in perpct-
$2; transition towards freedom, and the class of
49, colored people, which ordinarialy increases
N slowly, is in Cuba the most rapidly advan-
S}, of ALL In the last tsnyears it has Increased
per cent
che slave popnatfon IS kept up by the Afri.
eIave trade. The annexation of Cuba would
a death blow to this trade. Our laws, and
universal feeling of our people, are opposed
and If this were not enough, our Govern
is now in the hands of the Free States, and
fague with England and France for the sup
sion Of the trade.
81 Fith this suppression Of the slave trade on
side and this incessant emanci patton on the
r, what chance would Cuban slavery have of
ping from the Abolitionists of the North
the free negroes with whom it is thronged!
eover, there is an additional obstruction TO
preservation of the slave population, in its
al condition. The male population exceeds
& emale in the proportion of about 5 to 8, and
has been the case for period dating back
Re earliest census of the Island which we
seen. II is said, indeed, that such is the