Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-10-24
WHAT ABOLITION HAS EFFECTED.


abolition has impressed itself ON modern civilization
and to greater or less extent has directed and con.
trolled human progress. 1t is time TO look around
and calculate what OF good and what Of evil it has
effected; time to test its worth by the experience of
its operations, its fruits and its prospects.
Its first great and seemingly praise worthy object
and achievement was the abolition of the African
slave trade in Europe and America. 1t was wonder
fully successful, procuring laws to punish this trade
a. piracy, in taking it out Of the hands of honest,
law. abiding men, who carried it on under the regua-
tions of law, and with an approach to humanity
The law required them to fit out their savers 80 as to
secure some degree Of comfort to the captured Atr
cans and self-ntereut induced them to heed the law
and preserve the lives and health OF their slaves, III
order to swell the profits Of their trade But despite
the laws prohibiting the traffic, the trade conn-
ued to be carried on as actively as ever. 1t was
merely transferred from the hands OF honest men TO
those of dishonest, reckless, cruel and unprinoped
men. The penalty of death for the prosecution Of
the trade induced the fitting out of savers with little
attention to provision comfort, in order to escape
suspicion and detection, and occasioned the most
cruel basty and reckless mode OF conducting the
trade. Wbsrforce and his compeers found the slave
trade in the hands of selfish, rapacious and unteeng
men. They transferred it to the hands OF WICKED
unprincpled, cruel, human monsters. Ihey touno II
An inhuman trade, and made II diabolicai one. IL
was. however natural operation, that has proceed
ed steadily and with trHing interruptions, from the
days of Joseph and his brethren to the present hour
Had they been wise, prudent and practical men,
o,j hpy wOuu
thrown more of legal regulation around this trade
not have attempted to "e1pel nature oy arreS''nH ''
This was the first great exploit Oh fo'e'""'''
philanthropy" II preached visionary ana impFac'
,o.be humanity, aud forged chains, and beGat CRIME
and groans, aud tears aud blood.
Its next darling object was 10 emnncpate the slaves
of America In this, also, it was wonderfully sue
cessfu 1t stirred up serve insurreotlon in 81. DO
mpqo, occasionsd the massacre of thousands OF Inc
bites and of tens of thousands OF the blacks YET II
achieyed the liberation of the negroes. Gradually
this once most fruitful island in the West Indies has,
under negro administration, become barren, and the
liberated negroes idle wandering pagans and saVages
Thew have lost much in losing their masters and the
civilized world more in the sugar, coffee asd other
crop, which they produced when governed by those
masters.
England followed suit to France, with like results
Now, most Of the negroes Of the West Indies are
liberated-have ceased to work and become savages
So also, in Mexico and throughout South America
e1cept Brazil, the slaves have been emancipated-
and their late owners are impoverished and degraded
In the meantime, the demand for tropical fruits, snd
the peculiar products of slave labor rapidly increased
in Europe. Sugar aud coffee and large supply of
cotton clothing became with the poor, necess
tie, Of lfe But the number Of the poor whites was
increasing and their wages consequently diminishing
as these slave products became dearer, the poor
whites had TO labor harder and longer to obtain them
and de.titution, famine and starvation we're daily oo
currepces. The sbolitionists had imposed On the
whites the shackles which they removed from the
blacks.
Practical, selfish, money.loving men took advan-
ts,s o,hscared on the old African slave trade more
actively than ever and added to 1t the far more cruel
African and Chinese Cooley apprentice trade. Now
the aboitionsts have succeeded in doubling the slave
trade in amount, and quadrupling it in cruety and,
bssides have robbed the poor white man of his uxu'
res. comforts and neceassries, forced him to labor
fourteen hours day, and consigned his tender wife
made him rotous, Disconnected rebellous and revo.
lutionary, and left him hope of the future except
in the overthrow of all government, of all property,
and of all social and religious institutions.
In our America, these abolitionsts have sown the
saeds of discord between North and South, which
had like to have grown up and ripenod into disunon
and civil, fratrcida war. They have achieved mul.
,ifarious and infinite evil but not one single good
They have brought forth multitude of hideous, un.
sub,tantial isns but no sound fruit. They have un-
settled mons minds, mems faith, mems convictions
Where their doctrines prevail, there is no healthy
public opinion to restrain RIGHTEOUSNESS of speech
and of the press, and the still greater RIGHTEOUSNESS
of the pulpit. There are no established truths no
fixed faith in morals, law, religion or government
Free niggers, free women free land, free love and
Fremont; no private property, no marriage, no
churches, no religion, no law, and no governmentare
the spectral brood with which abolition would furnish
the new world which it attempts to inaugurate.
This is a hasty and most imperfect sketch Of the
exploits of abolition-mere suggestions, which the
reader may find useful in investigating it's past hsto.
ry and present purposes.
But the world is getting sick of it, and all the signs
Of the times indicate that 1t will soon bo repudaed
and banished from society.
THE RICHMOND DEMOCRACY AGAIN IN
COUNCIL.