The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-08-16
"THE FAILURE OF FREE SOCIETY"

We demonstrated, last week, from history,
that the condition of the poor of England has
greatly improved in modern times, as they
have become freer from the restraints OF teudal
bondage. We now propose briefly to consider
Slavery as the remedy proposed by the Rich-
mond Enquirer and its correspondent, MIR.
Fitzhugh, for the ills of Poverty and Freedom.
Mr.. Fitzhugh adopts, from some sapient Eng
lish theorist, the following, which the author
claims as grand discovery in political science.
1t is due to Mr.. Fitzhugh to say, that, in adopt
ing the view of the English writer, he at the
same time lays claim to half the merit of the
discovery.
"Baffled in every search for remedy at,
home, / determined to search foreign nations,
and, having carefully journeyed through Eu-
rope, sought successfully the East and West,
until had traversed the civilized countries OF
the world. 1t was in the remote regions of the
East and West that found clue to my dis
covery / here found mankind as multitudinous
as at home, but much more happy. Starva-
ton, except in cases of general famine, was
unknown: and, on the contrary, l heard the
sounds of revelry and dancing, of mirth and
leisure, amongst the lowest classes. How diff
ferent to the everlasting toll of the superior
Englishman. 'These, then,' l said, are the
concomitants of bondagen Having thus struck
out the idea, 1 followed it up with logical severi-
ty, and enunciated the truth that Slarery and
content, and liberty and discomfort, are natural
results of each other. Applying this, then, to
the toil-worn, halffed, pauperized population of
England, found that the only way to per-
manently and efficiently remedy the compli-
Gated evils would be, to ENSLAVE the ,chole
ofhe people Of England aoho haze not property.
"Of course expect a shout of execration
and contempt at such a bold proposition; but,
as have already said, / seek only to gain the
hearing, at first, of the impartial and original
thinker. That / am dsinterested will at once
be allowed, when | declare | do not seek to be
one of the enslaved. But let us proceed to ex-
anime how this mighty benefit would manifest
ITSELF The first great advantage would be,
that the lower classes of society would be
placed on an equality with the domestic
animals, and, by becoming property, become
valuable and valued. At present there can be
no doubt that horse that is worth fifty pounds
is much more cared for than a man who is
worth nothing. We have lately seen case
where woman was allowed to expire in par
turition, because no more than eight shillings
was allowed for the midwifes fee; whereas,
when famous racing mare foaled, ten guineas
were not thought too great a sum to secure the
attendance of firstrate veterinary surgeon.
Now had the woman been slave, her offspring
would have been worth something, and, of
course, her safety secured"
The writer fails to state in what portion of
the East and West he found the condition of
the poor, in slavery, so much more happy than
that of the poor freemen in England. In
China and the East Indies, it is notorious that
the people are inexpressibly wretched. Human
life itself is esteemed as lightly as we esteem
that of beasts of burden; and, in fact, human
beings are almost the only beasts of burden
used. The wealthy, all who are able to ride,
are carried in sedan chairs by slaves or poor
laborers. Carriages, either for travel or trans
portation, are rarely used goods are carried
from place to place on the backs of the poor
Whole districts are often depopulated by fam
inc, or pestilence, which generally follows in
the footsteps of famine.
Slavery exists in all the Eastern or Asiatc
countries; but that is not the condition of the
great body of the people. Or if they are in a
species of servitude to the lords of the soil, it
is not in the same sense that Slavery exists in
this country. They are rather in the condition
of the serfs of Russia, who are compelled to
pay certain portion of their earnings to their
lords, but who must maintain themselves.
Such was also the condition of the English vii
lains The law in this country requires the
master to support his slaves in years of famine
and in times of sickness, as well as when their
labor is profitable. But this was not the case
with English villenage, and it is not now the
case with Russian and Asiatic serfdom. In a
densely peopled country, such responsibility,
on the part of the lord or master, would be an
intolerable burden, which, if persisted in,
would cause a general break down of the whole
system. True, it may continue to exist to a
limited extent, as regards domestic slaves but
the body of the laboring population, in any
deAsely peopled country, must necessarily be
responsible for its own maintenance: and real
Slavery, such as it exists in Virginia and the
South, must necessarily terminate, from this
law of political economy, in the course of a few
generations. They may turn it into serfdom-
they may adopt the feudal sytem, which, bad
and barbarous as it is, would be an advance in
Southern civilization but they cannot continue
the existing state of things beyond half cen.
fury or so. They may for ages continue the
class corresponding to the Anglo-Saxon theowes,
explained in our last, but it can only be as do
mestics; while the great body will become at
tached to the soil, and depend on themselves
for support, or else entirely free.
Virginia is larger by some thousands of
square miles than England and Wales combined.
Now, imagine that her population is increased
twelve-fold-from 1,44O,OOO to ls,OOO,O 900,
which was the population of the latter in 1851
can it be conceived as possible, that the great
body of her laborers could be held in slavery?
The laboring class of any country-that is to
say, those who depend for subsistence on wages
in the mechanic arts, in agriculture, commerce,
mines, manufactures, and the domestic service,
unaided by the profits of captal-wil consti.
tute three-fourths of the population, perhaps
larger proportion. Now, if we suppose above
fourteen millions of the people of England re.
duced to slavery, in conformity with the sug-
gestion of Mr.. Fitzhugh and his English friend,
we can imagine the condition of Virginia when
its slave population shall arrive at that point.
But to suppose this, we must suppose several
other impossibilities; as, for instance, that
such population could subsist by agriculture
alone, which is the only labor adapted to slaves.
Or, to be accommodating, we will suppose
slaves equally as competent as intelligent free
men, to carry on commerce, the mechanic arts.
and manufactures On this lattor au,x,..:4:z.