New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-06-12

with this undertaking The fundamental idea OF
The Times, and the only one TO which It adheres
with answering steadiness. is that gain is godh-
ness. If money is to be made by the Slave-Trade-
if its continuance tends to the increase Of the pro-
duction Of articles upon which London merchants
may make profit. why then, after all, the Slave
Trade is not so bad thing. Its suppression
undertaken by Great Britain appears TO per-
sons Of these views no better at best
than very Quixotic enterprise. So far from put
ting Any money into the British purse it draws
good deal out; and beside runs the risk Of making
enemies, and perhaps losing advantages OF COM
merce. As to the pretense, hOwever-one which
The Times has in times past delighted TO harp
upon-that the preventive operations OF Great
Britain were complete failure, and that the trade
in spite Of those operations bad largely IN
creased-tbat pretense will answer no longer The
slave trade has been brought to an end everywhere
except in Cuba and thOUghthere is some difficulty
about the precise method of procedure, it seems
likely to be attacked and to be suppressed even IN
that its last stronghold.
The charge brought forward by The Times
against the promoters of the abolition of the Slave
Trade, that they overlook the necessity Of due
supply Of labor for the cultivation of the tropics, is
not altogether just. Itwas expected that the abol-
ton Of the slave trade would be followed by change
of the practice previously universal in the West
Indies Of working the slaves to death, and that the
propretOrs would see the necessity of putting their
labOrers into condition to keep up and multiply
tloir en- in fur I
however, that the old habit-so long as the employ
ers Lad the power to do it-Of working their slaves
TO death could not so readily be put down. This
was one Of the causes that led to the abolition
Of Slavery in the British West Indies. From that
moment. the number of brths-cOntrary to what
ever happened before-begun to preponderate over
the number Of deaths and the British West Indies
are now in the way Of obtaining gradually. increas
ing supply of labor, like other civilized countries
from their own internal resources.
1t is in fact this inveterate habit Of the West
India shareholders Of working their people 10
death-an operation for which the climate, enabling
and requiring the cultivation to be carried on the
whole year, and the manufacture Of sugar, which
can be carried on all night well as all day, holds
Outtemptations to which our own shareholders are not
expOsed.-t is we say, this nyeterate habit of the
West India shareholders of working their people
to death-an operation which used to be repre-
scented as absolutely essential to the production of
sugar-that forms the greatest obstacle to supply
ing the cultvators Of the tropics with free or ap-
prenticed labor on the principle recommended by
The Times. We see no other possibility for secur-
ing the abOrers whom it is proposed to convey
thither against being treated slaves except to
make them absolutely free to choose and change
their own employers at pleasure. We have tried
both systems in this country. Previous to the
Revolution, almost all the white labOrers who came
from abroad came as ndented servants, sold to pay
their passage as is the substantial fact now with
the cody and African apprentices in the West In
dies At present we are much more largely sup
piled with labOrers absolutely free, who, to get a
chance to labor for us, are willing to pay their
passage; and this latter system is found to work
for all parties decidedly better than the other.