The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-12-15

Washington, Jtfsrson. Madison, and other
whose name, are oonVcrdted IN TIE affection
Of he Southern Pcopie--ts< Debates an n
Federal and stat. Contentious Which frame
md ra.fed the Constitution of the Unite
SiGiss---thoe whtch occurred IN the first Con
gres~s rhich sdt during The 4dministrGtio
Of General WdshtngfOn-GDd extracts fro'
tie Debate ia The Tirgin,a Legislature /
1882 nth UGyiOus Letters, judicial decisions. D.
sY DANIEL Il. sooDLUE oy NORTH CAROLINA
lCoNCLUDEDl
DEBATE on EMANCIPATION, IN THE VIZ
GINA LEGISLATURE, IN 1882
Extracts from The speech Of Thos J. Randolph
Of Aibemarie.
will quote, in part, the statistics of the gen
teman from Dinwiddio whose accuracy can
not be questioned Judging the future by tn
past, in forty years the colored population il
Eastern Virginia will exceed the white 200 600
In the last forty wears, the whites in the sam,
district have increased 81 per cent, the black
1856 per cent Forty years ago. the whites ex
ceeded the colored, $4,000; the oolcred nov
exceeds the whites s 000-a net gain of thu
blacks oycr the whites, in forty years, o
1906 900 and these results too, during an ex
portati0n Of near 800 900 slaves since the year
! l7gO-now perhaps the fruitful progenitols o
| half million in other States. BY reference t
/ Document No It, on your table, you will per
/ ceive that, in the year $780, Of that part of the
population of ten years old, and under, the
/ blacks exceed the whites % per cent. over
( that age. only 3 per cent. What a change will
/ not eighteen years make Tor the worse, when
those children shall be grown what change
will not forty years, with its geometrical pro-
erosion, evolve, when they shall become fathers
and mothers and some of them grandmothers
Ii expectation ceases, some of those now within
the hearing Of my voice may 1--we to see the col
ored population of Virginia 100000 or
$500 900; children now born may live to see
them 900 600, determining their increase by
their average increase in the United States in
the last forty years
Sir il not this the case of the SaluS popuh
demonstrated to exist in the certain future
Who will be 50 hardy as 10 assert that, when
the time arrives a remedy can be applied
Who will say that 1000, 900 can be attempted
to be removed They will say to you, long
before that, " We will nos GO" Here, sir, APP
plies that wise maxim of the law, "Venienh
Occurlte morbO" meet the coming ILL.,
The gentleman has spoken Of the increase
1t is admitted but no great evil can be avert
ed no good attained, without some inconveni-
ence 1t may be questioned how far it is desi-
rabe to foster and encourage this branch of
profit IJ is q practice - and an increasing
practice in parts Of Virginia-to rear slaves for
market How can an honorable mind, a pa
triot, and lover of his country, bear to see
this ancient Dominion, rendered illustrious by
the noble devotion and patriotism of her sons
in the cause Of Liberty, converted into one
grand menagerie, where men are to be reared
for market, like oxen in the shambles? Is it
it not wOrse-than the slave trade
that trade which enlisted the labor of the good
and the wise of every creed and every cline to
abolish it The trader receives the slave--s
stranger in language, aspect and manner
from the merchant, who has brought him from
the interior. The ties of father, mother, hus-
band, and child, have all been rent in twain.
Before he receives him. his soul has become
callous.
But here sir, individuals, whom the master
has known from infancy, with whom he has
been sporting in the innocent gambols of child
hood, who has been accustomed to look to him
for protection, he tears from the mothers arms,
and sells into astrange country among strange
people, subject to cruel tisk-masters In my
opinion sir, it i'd much worse
He has compared slave property to capital
IN money. ] wish it were money sir or any
thing else than what it is. 1t il not money it
Is labor--it is the labor which produces that
Tor which money IL the representative. The
interest on money is to per cent The hire
Of male slaves is about Is per cent. upon their
value In ten years, or less, you have returned
your principal, with interest. Thus it is with
much of the one hundred millions Of property,
the loss Of which the gentleman has 30 elo-
quently depicted in running the country. he
has attempted to justify Slavery here, because
it exists in Africa. and has stated that it exists
all over the world Upon tho same principle,
he could Justify Mahometanism, with its purali-
ty of wives, petty wars for plumber, robbery,
and murder, or any other of the denominations
and enormties of savage tribes. Does Slavery
exist in any part of civilized Europe! No, sir,
IN no part of IL. America il the only civilized
Christian nation that bears the Opprobrium
In every other country, where civilization and
Christianity have existed together, they have
erased it from their codes they have blotted it
from the page of their history
The gentleman has appealed to the Christian
religion in justification of Slavery would
ask him upon what part of those pure doctrines
does he rely, to which of those sublime pre-
cepts does he advert, to sustain his position
Is it that which teaches charity, justice, and
goodwill to all or is it that which teaches
I" that ye do unto others as ycwould they should
do unto youfN
Extracts from the speech of Henry Berry 0,
JeferSon
Sir believe that no cancer on the physical
body was ever more certain steady and fata
in its progress than is this cancer on the 20
litcal body of the State of Virginia. 1t is eat
ing into her very vitals. And shall we admi
that the evil is past remedy Shall VIC act tn,
part of puny patient, suffering under tn
rayages Of fatal disease, who would say thu
remedy is too painful, the dose too nauseous
cannot bear it; who would close his eyes il
despair, and give himself up to death Nc
sir | would bear the knife and the cautery
for tho sake of health
believe it is high time that this subiec
should be discussed and considered by tn
people of Virginia. believe that the peopl
are dlcdkened on the subject but not alarmed
| believe they will consider it calmly, and dc
eide upon it correctly. Sir, have no fear,
now, for any general results from any effort
at lnsurrection, Dy this uhIortunate CLASS OF on
population kno,o that we have the power I
crush any such effort at blow know tina
any such effort on their part at this day, wi
end in the annihiiation Of all concerned IN it
and believe our greatest security now, is i
their knowledge of these things--in thei
knowledge Of their own weakness
Pass as severe laws as you will, to keep thes
unfortunate creatures in ignorance, it il vail
unless you can extinguish that spark of int
lect which God has given them. Let any ma
who advocates Slavery, examine the system
laws which we have adopted from stern n,
ccssity, it may be said) towards these ere,
lures and he may shed tear upon that =; an
would to God, sir the memory Of it might b
botted out forever. Sir, We have, as far
: possible, closed every avenue by which lgt
might enter their minds; we have only to 8
one step further to cxtaguish the capacity