New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-03-14
SLAVERY. NoRrH AND SOUTH.

Inc bamtrgf0n N. Y Co""e7eto' t0
Gently gave most appalling picture OF the
Low wages, restitution and misery Of large
portion Of the Laboring Poer Of the Free
States. and called our attention thereto as
bearing Oh the character Of Southern Slavery
We responded, admitting the substantial truth
of The Commerc,als picture, (the like Of which
bad frequently been presented in The Tribsne,)
and begged our Southern friend to 90 on with
his exposures and reprehensions of Northern
Social evils. assuring him that no offense was
or would be taken thereat, st least by or sort
Of folks this way. On the contrary, we are
heartily obliged to him therefor, and wish be
would induce our Southern brethren to send
any number of lecturers to traverse the Free
States and speak from place TO place in fear
less exposure of the wrongs and woes of Pow
erty among u.s. Such addresses would inevi-
tably stir up little excitement among those
who profit by the abuses they sought to ex-
pose, would be met BY complaints Of exaggera-
ton, and by requests that the agitators would
mind their own business and let alone mat
ters they did not understand but they would
nevertheless do great good, and would neither
be put down BY riots nor sienced by threats
of dissolviDg the Union.
The Commercial returns TO the charge as fol-
lows:
"Ts Tribune speaks boldly in regsrd to the wrongs
md s1Jfpr in 10 md
others 20 do the same.
But these accounts OF want degradation, vice sni
crime in the Free States al while the recitals
Of the wrongs and suferngs OF the slave are mostly
false No party denies the horrible state Of Affairs in
Eew.York and other places In the Free State and
one can deny that the moral and religious people
among whom thee evils exist cannot will not reform
the vicious or feed the starving.
We beg leave TO assure our contemporary
that the horrible state of affairs in New-York
and other places" is denied by our conserva-
tives as heartily and honestly as he denies the
general fidelity Of the picture of Slavery
drawn in Uncle Toms Cabin" Well-sala-
ried, well-fed and Con most subjects) tolerably
intelligent clergmen have preached a good
many sermons in our City, thanking God that
here every one who seeks work can get it aud
be well paid for it, so that no one can suffer but
those who deserve to The Duke Of yelling
ton, when England contained more than One
Million able-bodied paupers, and he was living
in luxury on 100000 year ground out OF the
marrow Of those paupers, declared in the
House of Lords that every man who really
tried was sure to do well in England And
there are thousands to-day in this very City
who believe that there is no misery, no want
here, but such as has its cause in the vices or
Incidence of the sufferers.
Whether the moral and religious people =
of the Free States do or do not discharge their
whole duty to their destitute and miserable
neighbors, is q question whereon diverse opin.
ions prevail, and which need not here be de-
cided. 1t is very clear that these have no
power to make drunkards, lOafers and vaga-
bonds independent and comfortable unless they
can cure them Of their vices. But il is one
thing for the Rich to fail in charity or symps-
thy for the Poor and quite another thing for
.L~ D;~h ILL tho pe.- -. .I0~s.nd dollars
per head and pocket the proceeds. The same
spirit may be manifested in either case, but the
conduct il incites is quite different
The Commercial continues:
But what sort Of philanthropy and Christianity IL
Il that would reduce the weLelOthed welLfed and mo
rally instructed slaves OF the South the level OF thst
sink Of moral deprayity and bodily suffering in which
the free population of Newlork, Of the loves. class
wGllow and genderi
"There are between eleven and twelve hundred col
ored members Of the Church 10 which attached
in this town and they mostly slaves and are well
behaved and orderly, and make better appearance in
their Sunday costume than most OF the mediocre wor
shippers in Northern congregations The elbehAyei
and orderly Slaves are not confined 20 the class hsve
nsmed. Other Churches have large numbers OF them
and there many who do not belong TO any of the
Churches that always appear in good case-some of
them figure after the fashion OF your Broadway dan
dies"
But why, neighbor should your Slaves,
if emancipated all sink to the level of our
lowest class Of free population Do you
think so meaDly Of the eleven or twelve hun.
dred members of your own Church as to be.
iieve they would sink into the lowest depths of
iudolence, drunkenness and debauchery if it
were not for the preventing grace of Slavery,
We cannot think 30 meanly of them nor Of
their religion. For We are confident quite as
large proportion Of our Black as cfour White
population are Christians, and we don't think
the Christian virtues of our Black Christians
would suffer by the most rigorous comparison
with those of our White ones. What is the
reason that the Blacks of Wilmington are so
much worse than those of New. York
But hear again The Commercial:
And what would be the condition Of our society
here, all these people were free The Tri6Has tells
that the chief obstacle in the way Of reform Is the
thoughhesnes the idle and vicious habits OF the neey
aInepg the New-iofkers Well-Northern history ad-
onishes Us that such would be the condition OF our
Slaves len 70 themselves have no warrant thar
the SOuthern Slave would be much better OF thanthe
Northern freeman IN condition they could not
be-we must al adIai; that
No, but We don't admit any such thing