Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-01-01

80
gags 70 recoenire and respect in all futnre
time IL Independence and rights of the
said fres serritory as par. of the republic
of Honduras.
@The writer of the following article
taken from the New York Post and whose
name is signed thereto, formerly W as Editor
of the Georsigs,.-SayaHpah, Ga. IN 1859,
he published ! Snsvel, sour Worfd." book
Illustrative of Southern Life. es--
A Magnificent Slave PeN,-HoW
they Suppress Slave Insurrec-
tions in South Carolina, by a For
mer Citizen of Charleston.
To the Editor of the Evening Post:
In the outskirts of he city # Charleston
to the West, there rises building of gigap-
tic proportions, which viewed from a dis
tance. the stranger nigh, mistake for cas-
tie. 1t covers more than an acre of ground,
is built Of brick and stone, and coated with
brown mortar, which in tie clear atmos-
phere adds singular boldness to its out.
lines. In form square, its righ, castellated
walls, its suspicious looking poriholss, its
turrets and watch towers and well towers on
a nearer view, give out strong evidence Of
its being fert-in other words, a means to
arming the fears Of the community. Its
position, however, at once divesis you Of the
dea that it was built as a means bf defend
;,cv ho ;t,r from, fho ,,Io oe
from without. We will tel! you readers, that
it is neither fort nor castle; it is simply
the "Charleston house, municipal
slave-pen- grand and imposing without,
and full! of bleeding hearts within. 1t was
built by the city at an enormous expesse.-
The design was suggested by one-kedgre
Hutchison, a gentleman of fine taste, who
had travelled much in Europe. where he con-
ceived the plan of fashioning this municipal
slave-pen after a celebrated castle on the
Rhine. Mr.. Hutchison, being several times
elscted Mayor of the City of Charleston, in
sugurated one of his terms by introducing a
propose: to build this magnificent institu.
ton, the policy Of which was, at that time,
considered too extrava CANT to be taken irto
serious consideration. This gave rise to a
stong opposition. The question bscame
one ofparties. young Charleston" went
for it; "Old Charleston" opposed it. The
necessity of such building was agreed upon
var ious grounds, one of which was, that it
would supply place of refuge as well de-
fence for the Inhabitants of the city. in event
OF an iasurrection among the slaves
"Young Charleston" in time trumphed, and
this castellated s!ave-pen-we can call it by
no more appropriate names-was the result g.
Having viewed it from without. let US ls ok
within. You enter at the east front, through
a massive Gothic door OF gate, and find
yourself in spacious vsstbule, with broad
stairs leading to the right and LETT
Facing you in the vestibule, and inser'e
into the wall, are marble tablets, on which
is inscribed, in hold lettering, the names OF
the architect and designer, the date of the
lying OF the corner stone, and sundry other
things appertaining to the building. Hav-
ing satisfied your curiosity over the inscrIp-
tions, you proceed through narrow passages,
passing through the "Punishment Room"
ON one side, and the apartment OF some of
officers on e other, and find yourself look
ing into hallow square, surrounded by
two or three tiers of galleries.
There is a barrack-like appearance abou,
these galleries, while the air OF gloom that
pervades all, excite strange foncies in ones
mind. Returning to the vestibule you can
ascend the broad stairs to the first galley
round which yuu may walk, looking into
the squares upon the various apartments
appropriated to the officers, &c. &c
Around these galleries are rows of small
cells, about four feet six inches wide, seven
feet long and as many high. in them slaves
are confined. The "workhouse" answers
q double purpose; these convicted of crimes
to which the slave laws make them smen-
able, are sent here for punishment; slaves
Tor sale are sent here for safe keeping, and
for this their owners are charged seventeen
cents a day, which includes their food-a
peck of corn-grits per week. Slave "bro-
kers." US we'll as dealers, passing through
Charleston with their coffles, find this con.
venient place to deposit their merchandise.
Safety and economy, two desirable objects
are here nicely combined. The cells are
without beds, and during the chilly autumn
nights much suffering to the human being
thus confined is a natural result. One
warm blanket is conside ed sufficient COW
ering an1 YOU not unfrequently see in the
papers a notice fr,m the "~ork-house
keepers" to owners to provide blankets for
their slaves, or i: will be done by the insti-
tuition and charged to them. This is strong
ly suggestive oithe suffering to which these
poor mortals are subjected, Under former
regime, in the days of the sold work-house," )"
it was customary TO set slaves confined for
crimes 10 werk at breaking stones. For this
purpose they were supplied with sharp-point-
ed hammers, with handles about four feet
long these hammers. during an attempt at
insurection, some what &C celebrated as being
headed by the "By N icholas," were turned
10 instruments of warfare, they were used
with great effect, and made a weapon by
which the police were twice repulsed. In
one of these;the mayor had his arm broken.
Since that time the labo: of breaking stones
has been suspended. 1t NAV here be well
to add that the people of Charleston live in
continual fear of an uprising of the slaves,
and keep in existence he most complete
preparations for meeti g such an event.
Having walked round the galleries, look
ed into the narpw pens that line their sides.
and glanced at the area where dealers in
slave merchandise exhibit their wares to
purchasers, we will descend the stairs, turn
short to the right, and enter a small dark
room abtut sixteen feet square. We are
in the Punishment Room" Here inge-
nuity would seem to have exhausted itself
in devising instruments of torture. We say
iorture-for when man is reduced to mer-
chaRdise submission must follow; and when
every other means fail to produce it, torture
is restored to. In many instances the mast
er, in sending his slave to be punished at
tho ,ro,L h,u-s s,oL, rothor 70 ovcifa