The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-09-29

all laws human and divine at defiance, in Or
der to crafty the passions of avarice. lust, and
revenge? Yet the defenders of Slavery are
forced upon the preposterous assumption that
the worst of mankind are better than the laws
under which they live and will not abuse the
tyrannical power which is conferred upon
them.
Still the defenders of Slavery are doing much
good. They deny the allegations of the Abo-
litionists, and thereby condemn the practices of
which they deny the existence. This reduces
the question to an issue Of fact, and the South
ern people, arethe best jury that could be en-
pannelled to try ia jury of the vicinage.
Formerly it was maintained--it is now in
many places-that negroes are such degraded
beings that they are incapable of suffering in
consequence of a severance Of family ties; that
it is their nature to herd together like brutes,
and no injury is done them by selling them
away from their wives and children. 1t was
asserted, in like manner, that they were inca
pable of moral and intellectual improvement,
and that efforts to improve them only serve to
render them discOntented and dsobedent 1t
is a great concession which the champions of
Slavery have made in surrendering these re-
voting positions. They now admit the negro
within the pale of civilizatiOn-admit that they
have rights, and that the masters have high
moral and Christian obligations to perform to-
wards their dependents. Here is standard
set up by the South ITSELF aud every departure
from it--every instance of cruelty, of the denial
of education, Of families separated-is con-
demned by themselves, and they are left with
out shadow of excuse. The Southern read
ers of the apologies and defences of Slavery
will thus be set to thinking as efectually by
those works as by Uncle Toms Cabin itself,
and perhaps under circumstances more favor
able to just judgment in the matter for,
vile reading the latter their prejudices will
all the while be stimulated to resist the intru-
sion of unwelcome truth into the mind, from a
foreign, and, as they believe, unfriendly source
while, on the other hand, in perusng the re-
plies to Uncle Tom, every ingenious and intel
lgent mind will not fail to contrast his own ex-
perence with the assertions of the author; and
the reflection will be natural and inevitable,
that a system which can only be defended by
palpable falsehoods and suppressions Of fact
cannot be founded in justice and truth.
Such is the present state of the Slavery ques-
ton. 1t has now twice the vitality in the North
that it ever had before and the appearance of
Uncle Tom has preached discussion in the |
South on scale and with promise of re.
suits, which could not have been dreamed of
three years ago. One of the old parties has |
struck upon the rock of truth, and made a |
complete shipwreck; while the other, by the
collision, has been crippled almost beyond the
hope of again Fighting" There are but two
bases of parties in this country, viz: Freedom
on the one hand, and Slavery on the other
All other issues are mere side Issues insgnif.
cant and transient; and all divisions and sub
divisions of parties-as Hunkers, Progressives,
Hards, Softs Wings or Democratsspare really |
more affected by their relative position to Sla-
very than by any of the pretended local causes
Of antagonism. The day cannot be distant
when the subdivisions of party will be again
fused into two great parties-one in favor of,
and the other against, Emancipation or what
would be more desirable, and not improbable,
the great parties themselves will only differ as
to the best means of putting an end to Slavery.