Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-09-12
COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION.
AS the question of buying the slavcsis now prom
inently before the people, We copy the following
articles on the subject especially opportune


We ercjoice that This Convention is to be held,
and trust it may DO numer0nsy attended. Let
Slavery like an other great social wrong be dis.
cussed in every practicable light, and every pos
Sible mode and measure Of redress lie thorouGhlr
considered We will not sny that some measure
Of National componsstiou to shareholders may not
ultimately. and wisely, he adopted. Certainly. If
the slavcbolding class we're this day 10 make the
oiitr--'Give us the Public Lnnds, and will
abolish Siavery' or, Give Us Twenty Millions per
aunum for fifty years from the Federal Treasury,
and we will abolish Slavery tomorrow, wc shonld
lie inclined To answer Take the lands. or take the
money, and let our country lie a Republic in deed
as well as in name; bot, il the absence Of any
such prefer, we demur to the wisdom and policy
Of offer from our side, as we do TO the justice
Of the proposed compensation system, for tue fol
lowing reasons
l. II seems to ignore tho essential error and
wrong the injustice and mischief, OF slavehOl1ing,
1t tends TO confirm the Shareholders in the error
sedulously incucated by the Pro-SlaVcry journals,
that Slavery, whatever moral objections may be
urged TO it, secures great industrial pecunary aud
social advantages to the class as individuals, aud
generally. These are the elemental iaacies
whereby Slavery is this day upheld, and we fear
and dread to strengthen them. Ovetwhelm Pro-
Slavery man vita facts and arguments showing
the necessary injustice and immortality Of TIE
slavehulling system, and he turns upon you with
the question, Without Slavery, how shall the
world be supplied with Cotton, Sugag, Coffee and
Tobacco? Now we meet this question direct
| ly, by showing that Slavery oripples and bhghts
the productive capacity of any region 1t :ueea Is
clearly evinccd by the sparse population and low
price of lands in Slave as compared with Free
States. We do not, of course. maintain that the
identical individuals now growing Sugar and
Cotton would produce more Of these staples IN
Freedom than they do in Slavery any more than
tho cOngicts in our State Prisons would make our
boots shoes, files, NC, at liberty, than they DO at
present hut it is overwhelmingly demonstrable
that a free-labOr community, other things being
equal, produces more improves more, enjoys more.
than one whose labor is mainly eXt0rted from
slaves. We can provo beyond question that Nir-
ginia or any other Slave State. would be richer
stronger, more populous more progressive, ten
years hence, or Fifty years il she wore to abolish
slavery to morrow than if she were to retain it; but
! if New York to offer Virginia Fifty Millions
of Dollars to induce her to give up Slavery. how
naturally and plnusibly the Slave Press would say,
! They would not seek to bribc us TO give up our
slaves unless they felt that Slavery gave us an ad-
vantage over them = We know this would be
falIaeols but it would be very plausible fall
lacy al would aid to close the eyes and harden
the hearts Of the shareholders.
| III. Ir all discussions of grave character md
momcn' it is weN 70 keep tho moral element IN
tho rn.sGround. If Slavery he essentially rght,i.
should be left undsturhed; if wrong, those VINO
have power to abolish it cannot do so moment
too scon.-Seek FIRST the kingdom of God aud His
his righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto YOU is tho Divine rule for all eases
involving considerations Of right and wrong. II
Jonah in preaching the destruction of Nneyeh
for her abounding wiekoness, had added, And
am authorized to ofier ten dollars per head ioi
every ono of you who rcpents forthwith we don'l
believe he would have preached to such purpose
as he did. A good many siuners would have
stopped 10 hgge for iftean dolars-or even
twenty porhaps-til the season for repentance
had passed.
III The compensation plan ignores the fact
that Slavery has always taxed the Free States, and
is taxing them today. In Postage, in PubliC
Defence in the subordination of our industrio