Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-04-20

In the Senate little Of general interest trans
pred to-day, beyond the presentation Of peti-
tions and memorials.
In the House, the resolution pending yestcr-
day was adopted, 1t continues the contract,
at increased rates, for carrying the mail, in
stages, between Montgomery and Mobile, for q
period Of four years. Mesrrs. Metcalf Pow
ell are the contractors.
SPEAKING TRUTH OF THE SOUTHERN STATES
at rarely happens that the Anti-Slavcry
prejudices of the National Era will suffer it to
speak the truth Of the Southern States. To
our shame, we confess that there is more truth
than poetry in the following paragraph:
q" Nearly all of our American shipping ia
owned in the North; the great majority Of Amer
lean sailors aud shipmasters are Northern men
the carrying trade of the South is done chiefly
upon Northern capital; the exchanges for her
exports find their way generally to Northern
ports; the profits of the trade Of course inaro
to Northern shipmasters, importers, and mer-
chants; and Northern enterprise reaps the ben
eft of the coasting trade and internal trans.
portation, by which the foreign imports reach
the slave States ''-- Richmond Va.) Enquirer.
We copy the foregoing for the purpose Of
endeavoring to correct a wrong impression.
The Enquirer says " it rarely happens that
the Anti Slavery prejndices Of the National
Era will suffer it to speak the truth Of the
Southern States
Prejudice is a pre-judgment in regard to
persons or things, anterior to sufficient &C
o,.;,to = az x,;tL tla -obarootar of tba To~,,,or
or nature of the latter. We confess, that be-
fore we had examined the nature and effects
Of Slavery, we believed it to be wrong and
mischievous The belief was the offspring Of
instinct and education, and was then a preju-
dice. But, in due time, we examined the sub.
ject with as much care and impartiality as we
could command, with no bias of selfinterest
to warp our conclusions, and the result was, our
prejndgment was sustained by reason, and, no
longer mere prejudice, became Judgment
Judgment after full investigation of oil the
facts Of the case Education reading, reason,
aud observation, have filled us with the convic-
ton, deep and Interchangeable, that Slavery is a
wrong to the slave, curse to the master, and
a source Of evil to every country that tolerates
it or is associated with it.
But, this conviction, or prejudice, as the En-
quircr terms il, does not dispose us to harsh
and indiscrimnate censure. We can see some
thing in the South beside Slavery, and other
People beside Shareholders. Our controversy
is with Slavery and its supporters, not with the
South or the Southern People-with system,
not a section; and while unoompromisingly
hostile to the system we cherish no ill-will or
prejudice against its supporters, the actual
Shareholders. Had we been brought up amid
slaveholding institutions, inherited slaves, been
trained to believe Slavery necessary evil, or
a positive good, we should in all probability
have been as earnest in their cause rs we are
now against il. This reflection excludes all
dogmatism, all denunciation of individuals
and indisposes us to sit in judgment upon indi-
vidual character.
Against shareholders as class, against the
esprit de corps which actuates them, against
the peculiar Interest they cherish, the source
of their overgrown wealth and power, and Of
the comparative poverty and weakness of the
South, We wage open and uncompromising
war.
The struggle is one between Principles and
between ACKNOWLEDGMENT the Principle of
Liberty and that Of Slavery, between the In.
terest Of the Mass and the Interest of Class.
We 90 for Liberty and the Mass, against SIa
very and Class. Reverse the positions OF the
two sections; let the North be the seat Of Sla-
very, and the South that Of Liberty, our senti-
ments would be the same
In this great contest, comparisons between
tho results Of Free and Slave institutions be.
come necessary, 30 rs to show the fundamental
superiority Of ono class over the other When
we prove that in the States where Slavery ex-
lists, population is retarded, education circum.
scribed, the growth Of manufactures, the me-
chanic arts and commerce checked, tho poorer
class Of frcemcn oppressed, the evil Of land
monopoly aggravated, wages kept down, the
average price Of land comparatively low. the
spirit of violence rampant, and unthrift every
where prevalent we mean TO charge these
consequences upon Slavery, not upon tho soil
or climate Of those States, or upon the consti-
tutional character of the People inhabiting
them. IL is not because they arc not as well
endowed by Nature as tho People OF tho free
States, or because their country is inferior in
natural capabilities, that these States have
far surpassed them in the race Of Civilization,
but because they cherish d system Of labor at
war with the laws Of Nature and tho constitu.
ton OF Man.
In Great Britain, the advocates Of the volun-
tary Principle in religious affairs are continu-
ally holding up the example Of the United
States, as illustrative Of its power and benef-
cence They produce statistics to show that
that Principle has accomplished and is accom-
plshing far more for tho religious culture Of
the masses, than the union Of Church and
State in Great Britain Nobody supposes that