New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-12-29


chanan Democracy.
Some time ago there was considerable discussions
of the propensity of slaves to commit suicide. il
being urged that such cases Of telo de So were nu.
merous and the fact also being vehemently denied.
Statistics opposite to the question were, however.
necessarily unsatisfactory; partly because IN eco
tons where such cases would be most numerous
there are no newspapers to chronicle them; but
principally we suspect, because, rs the suicide Of
the slave would be prma jaeie evidence of extreme
or long continued cruelty ending in sheer despair
it is for the interest of the stakeholder to conceal
the occurrence, which, in thiny settled parts Of the
country, it must be easy to do. When piece OF
this particular description Of goods sees 6t to
change its relation to the world so far as to be
goods no longer and is 90 fixed in this determine
ton as to step out of the world altogether, tho
theories of Calhoun Of Kansas, and OF other Like
worthless, receive - severe and fatal blow. Fen =
however much an act so terrible as that of selde
structiou NAV Indicate mind diseased at all sveag
| il indicates mind. We do not read in any natxs1
history that horses however overworked, or oxen
however goaded, have ever taken arsenic or jumped
into the water, or blown out their brains with gun
powder. The tendency Of the institution W se.
courage suicide iii there be such, would prove th
negro to be human being broken and PROSTATE
| and in ruins, but every possible deduction would
leave him human being still, and therefore, such
instances of suicide do occur, there is adouble rea-
son for hushng them up. They not only show that
the serye relations not one ofsuch pure and serene
felicity as it has been represented to be; but they
show that in the negro mind are elements Of sensi
tiyeness. of pride and of frmness, which in white
man are usually considered to be highly ornamental.
4 especially when he exclams with dramatic EN-
basis, "Gve me liberty or give me death =
Now and then, however, we hear OF q case o.
slave suicide, and such one is described by me
Georgetown correspondent Of The Washi"gses
Star. He informs us that on Tuesday last "a val
:" liable slave boy, about II years of age, belonging
"to Mr.. Lewis Kingla, butcher" not having the
fear Of the man Of ceavers before his eyes, with
OUT DIS masters knowledge or consent did DELHI
ersteiy purchase quantity Of arsenic, and, upon
bis own prescription, administered the same TO
himself internally, the best possible medicine for
his complaint. Az the butcher discovered
the preparation of this act of eccentricty by his
property, he naturally sent for the doctors aud tho
stOmsch.pumps and the sntidotes 1t was no joke
at all. A valuable boy with quantity of arsenic
in his interior diminshes in value with painful
rapidity; and unless the poison can be extracted
from him, he must soon be Of no value at ali. So
the Georgetown doctors worked with q will to
save $1,000 for the unfortunate owner; but in
vain. The boy was obstinate; he utterly refused
to become convsescent; capped the climax of his
hardened villainy by giving up the ghost; and is
not, at this moment, worth two cents to anybody,
to say nothing of the confoundedy long bills which
the doctors will be sure to send ill., and which tho
bereaved butcher will have to pagan act which :.
will be analogous to that of discharging debt for
dead hOrse-the most unpleasant peeuniary pro-
cess in the world. Perhaps the boy was AFRAID 70
get well. Perhaps he trembled at the prospect Oh
the severe retrbutiOn which would fall upon MN
for the liberty which he had taken with stomach
which. although for good and sufficient reasons III
trusted to his custody, was the private property OF
,notber-s kind of balment in fact, for the safety
{ which he was responsible. Bot it is evident
that the boy had the butcher rather at dsadvan-
tsge and that now it is quite impossible to torture
hin for his tort.
The letter writer aforesaid is exceedingly mug
nant that any chemist should sell arsenic 10 oiack
boy, and pronounces the act ga hagrant violation
"of good faith between man and man meaning
between white man and white man. lie seems I"
be much more impressed with the wrong which this
carelesness did to the MASTER than with that which
it did to the slaves and he loudly calls upon Congress
forthwith to pass law forbiddng apothecaries to
sell arsenic to the black boys Of the District Oh
Columbia. But we are not disposed to be severe
in our censure Of the poor chemist lie nad I'M 4.
doubtedly, from observation, become impressed
with the Iovelness of the servle relation; and pray
how could he for moment suppose that this happy
negro youth, in the possession Of every luxury anu
treated by his master in strictly patrarchai man
uer. could be DESTROYS Of leaving world tor MN
full of raptureg If poor, miserable, hungry ana
ragged white man had come into his shop and asked
for arsenic instead Of delivering the desired drug
be would have handed the applicant over 70 'na