St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-12-25
From the Boston Daily Morning Herald.
The Revival Of the Slave Trade.

lie Revival OF the slave lraue.
The Richmond Inquirer of the 2sth
ult, contains an able review of the
late message of Governor Adams of
South Carolina, to the Legislature of
that State. The Governor of the Pal
metto State, the hot bed of the politi-
cal theories and extreme views upon
slavery, advocates the revival of the
slave trade, and lest his proposition
should fright the souls of fearful abo-
litionists, we will give our readers a
synopsis of the remarks of the lnqui-
rer on the subject, which may be con-
sidered a fair exposition of the senti-
ment Of the South.
The Richmond Inquirer is strong
pro-slavery journal, and in an article
upon the craftsmanship of South Car
DINA, it proposes that certain num-
Der of slaves be exempted from exc
cution for debt. This would manifest
ly strengthen the institution, for if the
small proprietors-poor men--could
each own one or two slaves, they
would have direct pecuniary inter
est in maintaing slavery But the In
quirer proves that Governor Adams
theory upon the revival of the slave
trade is wrong, and impolitic. The
Governor propounds these PROPOSE.
tons:
LIST. That the supply of cotton is gradually
growing unequal to the demand I'd. That
| this relative diminution is not the result OF
want of land, but of deficiency of labor. Sd.
| That this constantly increasing deficiency will
| stimulate the production of cotton in other
countries, and so destroy our monopoly OF the
| staple. 4th. That slave labor is valuable only
in the production of cotton, and must become
| burden upon the South whenever we lose the
monopoly of supply. 9th. That then the
South will be driven to abolish slavery.
To this the Inquirer replies that
there is no danger that cotton will cv
err BE in such extraordinary demand
that it's growth in other countries viii
be stimulated to such degree that g
large surplus will ever be produced
and the Southern States lose the mo
nopoly of supply F; that England and
France have been taxing their ingenu
ity and the resources of their philoso
ply for years to discover a substitute
for American cotton that at present
a large portion of the slave labor OF
the slaves of the South are employed
in other branches of industry, and this
surplus of slave labor would be APP
piled to the production of cotton whc,
the demand becomes very extraordi
nary, and that the natural increase o
slaves will be equal to the progressive
exigcncies of the cotton cultivation.
| After having thus disposed of Gov
ernor Adams argument for the neces
sity of the slave trade, the Inquire
proceeds to demonstrate the folly c
agitating the subject, as follows:
And here we encounter the obvious and il
contestible fact that the revival of the Africa
slave trade as legal commerce, is a polite;
impossibility. Our own laws condemn I'll
traffic, and there is no chance of their rcpea
The laws of the civilized world dcnounce til
scvcrcst penalties of piracy against it; and the
in any event, arc beyond the range of our cor
troll. Is there anything in the tone of publ
opinion in this or any other country, whic
warrants the idea that we may procure the re
establishment of the slave trade as legitmat
! branch CT commerce! Is the thing possible
Certainly this inquiry touches the most essen
tial point of the controversy, and yet Govcrno
Adams entirely ignores it,
1t being apparent from the mere statemen
of the proposition that the revival of the slav
trade is Il moral impossibility, there is no ncc
of any further discussion of the subject. Tn
States Of the South are not yet prepared to de
| fly the public opinion and to provoke the posi-
tive hostility of the foremost powers of Chris
tendon; and as the attempt to reopen tn
traffic in African negroes would incvitabl
draw thispenalty upon us, we may rest upon tn
conclusion that the policy is impracticable an
will never be subjected to the test Of expert
ment.
But we have word in illustration Of Il,
| impropricty and folly Of even discussing til
revival of the slave trade, as an object
Southern ambition and enterprise. Can an
. man. fail to observe how much of stimulus an
! strength the mere agitation of the scheme i'm
, parts to the anti-slavery sentiment of tn
} North ?--how much of odium and resentmel
it novokes against the aggressive spirit {
slavery propagandism to what extent
impairs the moral security of the South, an
so injuriously affects the stability of its inst
tutions? 1t is idle to deny that slavery is con
demncd by the public opinion of the world
The States of the South are cut off from tn
sympathies of the most despotic; as well a
the most popular governments of Europe
Whether from honest conviction, or the sug
gcstions of hypocrisy, they all join in tn
clamor against us. Even Spain, in whose do
minions slavery exists, affects a sort of mora
antagonism to the South. Is it the policy o
the South still further to embarrass it, position
still more scornfully to defy the opinion Of TIN
world-to inflame the zeal and multiply the
number of its enemies! And all, too, in pur
suit of an impracticsblc enterprise and al
equivocl advantage? If not, then let us sto]
this talk about reviying the African slave
trade.
Messrs. b. +. Nossor & Co. of Floyd, adver
tise in this weeks Intclligencer that they hav,
recently put in operation at that place, TIN
largest Steam Saw Mill in Northern Iowa. Ii
connection with the mill are machines for saw