Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-03-30
DAILY NATIONAL ERA.

State, which relieves their wants when neces-
sary, without making slaves Of them.
8 But other things being equal without any
reference to institutions, we might naturally
expect more physical suffering in the truculent
attitudes Of the North than the genial chimes
OF the South. The census enables us to verify
this presumption. The whole number OF ma
tive paupers at public charge on tho lst Of
June, 1850, was
In the free States, -. 24,SO2
In the slave States, . .. l2,14
In other words, in summer, when the two
sections are on an equal footing as to genial
weather, the free States have fewer paupers
receiving public support than the slave States;
for while the free population Of the latter
scarcely exceeds one fourth Of the whole free
population Of the country, their paupers at
public charge on the lst Of June, 1850, were
little less than one-third Of the whole number,
This fact then, not only shows the influence Of
rigorous climate in producing physical suf-
fering, but that aOhen the operation Of this cause
as Suspended, there is a greater number Of pau
pers ut public expense in the slave States, than
in the free!
This conclusion is reached also by instituting
other comparisons. Take, for instance, the three
States Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and compare
them with Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri
They do not differ much in soil or natural
advantages; and they are all agricultural. The
chief difference between them lies in the char
acter of their irsttntions-0ne class being slave
States the other FREQ. Now, the Census shows
that the number Of paupers relieved in the
year 1850, at public expense, in the three slave
States was as Ito 654 of the whole free popu-
lation while in the three free States it was as
to l,l13 Of the whole free population.
Again-taking Florida, Alabama, Louisiana,
Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas those South
ern States, which are comparatively exempt
from a rigorous climate and extremes Of tenn
perature, we find that the whole number of
paupers in them, in the year 1852, was but
9OI, or in 1,444of the free population; while
the rest Of the slave States contained 1850
paupers, OF in 335. Docs the Herald pretend
to say that the social system in Mississippi,
Arkansas, and Texas, is higher and more bene-
fcent than that Of Virginia, South Carolina,
and Maryland?
We can now understand, at once, tho unfair
ness Of the Herald in comparing the six New
England States exposed to terribly severe and
protracted winters with six Southern States,
where the winters are short and comparatively
mild. The random assertion which closes the
foregoing extract, g that the same advantage
will appear to the South. in the comparative
returns Of the idiotic, the deaf and dumb, the
blind, and insane" is equally untenable By
referring to tho Census 1t will be found that
the proportions Of mutes and Of blind in the two
sections are the Same that Of the insane there
is slight disproportion against the free States,
while Of the idiotic there is a more decided dis
proportion against the slave States. Thus the
proportion Of insane in the free States in 1850
was as in 1898; in the slave States, as in
1909; Of idiotic, in the free States, as in
1904; in the slave States, as in 1907. 1t
will never do for tho supporters Of Slavery to
appeal to any trustworthy statistics to show its
superiority over free labor institutions. Sup
posc the Herald try again; or, should its cour-
age fail, perhaps Senator Butler, who in late
speech in the Senate made quite free, if not
iudicious, use Of statistics, would like to insti-
tute some comparisons.