Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1856-03-24
An English womans opinion of Slavery in the
United States.

An English woman's opinion of Slavery in the
United States.
from Miss Muuay's Book Of Travels In America
Miss Murray spent some days at Mr.. Hamilton
Cooper's plantation on the Altamaha Georgia.
Thence she writes:
happy attached negro population surrounds
this abode; never saw servants in any old Eng
lish family more comfortable. more devoted
it is quite relief to see anything so pa,rlarchal
after the apparently uncomfortable relations Of
masters and servants in the Northern States.
should much prefer being IA "slaye'' here, to n
grumbling, saucy "help" there. We left the river
about quarter of mile from the house ,nnd came
up Il narrow canal, between rice plantations al
most to the door; passed two or three large fiat
boats, laden with ricc and Mr.. Cooper took me
to secithe tbrcshiDg machine which was al work in
a barn; the women putting in the rice just ms we
do our grain; they were more comfortably dressed
than our peasantry. and looking happier; other
wise Except the compile xions) the scene much
of the same kind as that at II threshing barn in
England.
There are from three TO four hundred negroes
on this estate. Mr.. aud Mrs. Cooper have no
white servants their family consists OF six sons
and two daughters. ] should not like to inhubt
n lonely part of ireland, or even Scotland, sur
rounded only by three hundred Celts. | believe
there is not II soldier or policeman nearer than
Savannah, distance OF sixty miles. Surely this
population. When think of the misery an'
bnrbarisn of the prasaniry of kintail, aud other
parts Of Scotland quitting aside TINT Of lrelond)
and look at the people here, it IS hardly possible
not to blush at The recollection OF all the hard
words have heard applied TO tho saye-holder
of the South. Why,the very pig sites of the
groes are better thuu some Collie novels | have
Mr. Cooper tells me he once tried the capabi.
In,
by giving them the cultivation Of fifty acres for
them scyes;the first season under direction the
plantation cleared fifteen hundred dollars, which
he took care to give them in silver, hoping TINT
would excite their industry; left to their own man
ugemcnt, the crop lcssened to one half and the
third season they let the bind run to waste 50
that it was useless To permit them to retain IT.
Yet thes" very same people will labor readily
and pleasantly under good superintendent. =
Such is their feeling towards their mas
Ter, that IN some cases where freshets hayo put
the crops IN danger they have worked freely Tor
eighteen hours out of the twenty four, for three
weeks. 10 save them-Inore than they would have
done for themselves in such case. The thanks
of Mr.. Cooper aud few little presents, make
them quite happy; they are devoted servants, and
miserable free people. This fact is impossible
to state too often or too decidedly.
These favorable views Of slavery were strength
ed by ohervatons in other slave States.
find that the term 'snve" Is rarely made use
o! IN the South. The blacks called cur SER
wants. ar more commonly "our people" We
must remember that when slaves are 10 be dis
posed of. people in the country do not suppose
that they ARE literally buving men, but services,
aud what we hear Of are the abuses not the laws
ef the system. Should master i'll tren; n slave,
the law protects the latter, and | am inclined to
behr,e cases of such treatment are rare. II
slare violates the law, Judge sends to his mas
ter. and says: This is your servant; if you do
not punish him, must" OF course the Gu prt
much prefers to be corrected by his own master,
by whom all extenuating circumstances are un.
derstood and allowed for; and he is usually left
in his hands.
As TO the separation Of families, | see great
pains are taken to avoid that evil. believe that
1t hardly occurs more frequently than i'll Eng
land from other causes; aud imagine that II law
might he enacted to make it less easy here. So
IN tins case, rs in that of every other social IA
buse, the governing power should regulate, but
not wholly forbid. the result would be the
encouragement; of twenty evils where there
on before.
1t is curious to note how fully; at the close
OF her Southern tour, Miss Murray adopts the
Southern line of argument in defence OF slavery.
Sa'urddB May l9.-Thi. afternoon go on by
rai'rond TO Indianapolis | have now taken leave
OF the Southern States but must make some
isvlllr and Cincinnati are places in which | be
heve, Mrs. Stowe once resided; and | quote an
! opinion she advances in her last work which
! proves her entire ignorance of negro constitution
| and habits. She asserts that Canada is the best
locality't deveope the energies Of the black
race Before saying this it would have been
well if she had studied the condition of the free
negroes in Canada. The very climate itself is
utterly unsuited to them.
Mrs. Stowe quotes, as mistaken and absurd
the sensible remarks in BoswrlPs Life of johns son
respecting negro slavery, which must rec quote
as wise and true: so abolish n status which in
| all ages God has sanctioned and man has contn.
ued, would not only be rohhing numerous class
of our fellow subjects. but it would he extreme
cruelty to the African sayages,a portion of whom
1t saves from worse bondage in their own coun.
try aud introduces into much happier state of
lf"; especially when their passage to tie West
indies and their treatment there is humanelv
regulated. TO abolish the trade would be TO
! shut the gates of mercy on mankind" And |
mast add this: the opinions have heard from in
ielGcnt slaves coincide with those here quoted
Because some slave manacles we're seen by
Clarkson in Liverpool shop he decided at once
upon the lnhumanity of sluvery-so says Mrs
| St"we. Iyrannica men and women IN Great
Britain have actually starved apprentices To
death-is apprenticeship therefore murder! |
trust no EngIshwoman can be found willing to
bring such an accusation against her people
| Let Us Imagine two brothers in this country
engage IN ira lr: one buys n plantation. with
two hundred negroes TO raise cotton. on Che Mis-
siSsipp the other sets up mill to spin cotton.
at Cincinnati. Trade is bad with the elder: he
must raise or buy corn and clothes to feed
and cothe his lahortrs. Trade is tight with the
other: he dismi-ses his olkpeople. who NAV
.starve or perish, and there is no law which
| can make him respons hle for their sufferings-
Will ppppiuI nj,