Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-04-16

braska afford any inducement to the employ
ment of slave labor there do not profess to
have any precise or accurate information ON
the subject, nor has its aptitude or inaptitude
for slavery entered into my consideration of
this question. Still my impressions are very
decided that Kansas affords but little induce.
ment for the employment of this kind of labor,
and Nebraska none at all. The history Of this
country for the last century shows that the pro-
gress Of this institution is steadily towards the
south The New England States, New York,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, at one time all
tolerated slavery. In Illinois and Indiana
slaves were held, diminishing every decade,
until they finally disappeared in 1910. No
yestige of that institution is now to be seen in
any Of those States. 1t is absurd to attribute
this result to any predominant sentiment of hui
mainly or philanthropy. Tine disclosed the
fact that slave labor was not profitable in those
States, and it was discontinued. Look further
at the results exhibited by the census returns.
The whole population of the northern tier of
slave States-Delaware, Maryland, District Of
Columbia, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri-in
1880, was 2,603,389.. In 1910 it was 1896, lab,
and in 1850 it was 3,832,430. In these same
States the slave population, by the census Of
1880, was 77l,756; in 1870, it was 7s6,52l;
and in 1850 it was 9,S59-showing that,
while the population of those border States
during the twenty years between 1880 and 1850
had increased 1,229,04l, the number Of slaves
had increased only l08,lo3, and exhibiting
the striking fact that, whilst the slave popula-
ton has remained nearly stationary, the white
population has increased more than a mil
lion. This has resulted from no deficiency
OF births, nor from any want OF those cor forts
which stimulate the natural increase of human
population, but from the greater attractions
which the soil, climate, and productions of the
more southern States hold out for that kind of
labor, and to its greater security there, and free
dom from the annoyance of abolition emissa
RES If Missouri, which is in the same latitude
with Virginia, seems to be an exception to this
rule, it is so in appearance only. That State
was settled before Florida or Texas were added
to our Republic, when slave labor was cheap,
and when no other portion of our territory was
open to the southern emigrant, possessing the
same advantages for purely agricultural pur-
suits.
But, sir, it may be that slavery will seek its
expansion in Kansas and Nebraska and If so,
who here has the right to complain? It will
be their own act-the act of the people Of these
Territories-and they surely are competent to
determine for themselves whether their social
dHu pOiiliVdi COuultiuu VIII NC uOSI duVduCeu
by its liberation or exclusion. They will not
be without the most ample experience to guide
them to proper conclusion; and it is rank
arrogance and folly for this government to seek
to control them upon point upon which their
own interests and instincts can far more safely
instruct them, than they can be by the gratui-
tous advice of those who will never partake of
the good or evil of their institutions.
Sir, much obloquy has been cast upon the
distinguished senator from Illinois for his
agency in bringing forward this great measure
For one, take this occasion to say that /
honor him for it; and when the passion and
excitement Of the hour have passed away, the
country will do justice to the purity Of his mo.
tives, and to the wisdom and sagacity of his act
Distinguished as he has been throughout his
whole public career for enlarged, liberal, and
comprehensive views, this act places him upon
the highest pedestal of national craftsmanship
The principles of this bill belong neither to the
north nor to the south, but to the whole country
They are promulgated with no view to advance
the interests of any one section, but to promote
the peace and tranquility Of all. They embody
the vital spirit of the Constitution; they reflect
the recorded wisdom Of the sages Of the revo-
luton. They are the principles of justice, Of
equality, of free government, of popular SOW
ereignty, Of perpetual union; every departure
from which has filed the country with commo-
ton, and left behind it the scars Of faternal
strife.