The Feliciana Democrat. (Clinton, La.) 1855-186?, 1857-01-03


must sink beneath contempt in the estimation
of the honest, truth loving people of this great
and mighty nation. The democratic party
will survive oil such baseless attacks, and will
grow in the love and confidence Of the Amer
can people, as time and truth shall prove the
utter falsty of such malignant SANDER as is
put forth by the American Organ" and dis.
seminated by the American Patriot.
EXEMPTION or SLAVE PROPERTY
FROM SALE FOR DEBT.
There is no measure which has been received
with more appreciation in the South, than the
proposition to exempt portion fncgro prop
cry from sale for debt under execution,
With bnt q single exception, (thc Hunts
vile, Ala, Democrat the Southern journals
have appreciated and advocated the measure.
The Democrat, disclaimng decided hostility"
to the proposition, Suggests objections" as it
says, with q view Of "cliciting discussion Of n
measure Of great public Importance" That
paper asks "if it will not offer an inducemcnt
to fraudulent debtors to buy slaves to avoid
the payment of their Just dcbts?' TO this it
may be replied that there is no law, however
wise and Just, which may not be abused and
made to snbscrvc, in some measure, the base
intentions of men, A law excmpting slaves to
n given amount in value, from sale for debt, is
at once public notification to all men of their
rights and responsibilities; they are advised in
advance of making contracts upon what they
have to rely as security for debt and protcc.
ton against wrong.
Casting aside as utterly unworthy of ser
ous thought all minor objections the para
mount consideration is. nil strengthen ANIL
for'ify The institution mhich cons,,iutcs Mr bo.s
Of ME sosiol ond po'itici orgonisat;on Of the
Souih? Will it strengthen this institution
prosperity. and which in all the Iofticr and no.
bier qualities Of man, has placed her far in ad,
vance of the free States, and given her high.
or order of civilization and intelligence All
other considerations are subordinate to this.
While we are fortifying slavery against as
sNutS from without, orr lawmakers should not
forget to strengthen it within.
No surer method of cfrrctng this, is its DIFF
fusion MS widely as possible. Our laws should
be so framed as to render the ownership OF
slaves desirablc--so framed as to make it the
interest of every Southern man to own slave
This interest is created when he is assured that
whatever misfortuncs press upon him, if he
possesses slave property given portion Of it
is secure from the iron clutches Of the sheriff
The institution would then be cherished by
every man. (for who would not hoard his earn.
ings with the care of miscr, until they were
sufficient to purchase a slaye2) as u prop upon
which he could confidently lean in all the mll.
tntions of fortune and the vicissitudcs of life
The poor man would behold in it the certain
means of educating his children, and preparing
them to perform well their parts in the drama Of
life. And he would behold in it the support
of his family even against the rude demand of
the hard-heartcd creditor if deprived of his
protecting arm.
1t is the duty of our lawmakers to so cgis-
late as to diminish as much as possible the
disproportion Of the number of Shareholders and
nOn-slaveholders 1t is an argument of the
abolitionists ttat great disproportion exists;
and that, therefore, the South has within her
self the elements of her own weakness.
This argument is fallacious in the assump.
ton that the interest of the non.sayehodcr
does not demand the perpctuity of the nstu
ton, and that he would not be injured by its
destruction. Slavery is interviewer by thou
sand cords in the framework of Southern So
ciety, and every interest is intimately and i'm
movably connected with it. But the enemies
of the South act upon this absurdity-and de-
rive encouragement from it in the prosecution
Of their schemes against the South. We have
now before us map which is being circulated
in the Northern States, purporting to portray
the territorial dimensions, the population, &c,
of the free and slave States; and this very ar
gument is addressed to the deluded and fanat-
cal people, whose bad passions it is designed to
arouse. Let them be deprived of this appeal
and of the encouragement it gives them, by
wholesoment it gives them by wholesome legs-
lation at theSouth.
We thing there is but little doubt that some
such measure as is suggested in this article, will
be adopted at the present session of the Mis-
slsslppl Legislature. -Dlississippinm.
"MY NAMES HAYNES. '-Everybod remem-
bers the story told of Virginian who was rid.
ing through the Old Dominion during the
election canvass of 1904, when party spirit
was running so high Jefferson was the Dem
! Z.