The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-07-29

suits which the. partial repression oil 'his
trade has suffered to spring up.
In considering these arguments we hnd
the compass of the controversy very conve'
nien,ly narrowed. 1t is no. alleged 'ha. the
position of the negro, once landed in Guiana
or Jamaica, would be otherwise than good,
or that his rights as free laborer on British
territory could not be effeclually secured.-'
All that is said is that he could not be pro-
cured on the shores of his birth without Civ
ing occasion 10 fearful wrong. AS to his
freedom, regarded in the abstract, there u
hardly room for discussion about it. With
few exceptions, the tribes about the coast
live in state Of slavery naturally and con-
starty in so far as concerns subordinalion TO
the will of master. They may not be ill
used or overworked, but they are at the
command and disposal Of a lord. AT present
they are engaged IN the manufacture and
expectation OF palm oil and other such pro-
ducts, but If demand were made tor them,
theft kings, or masters, would instantly sell
them, and then resort 10 war 10 procure 9TH
ers, who would be sold in the same way
The necessary consequence of such sys-
lem would be the revival of the slave trade
atrocities in the first stage. The horrors OF
the middle passage would, of course, have
no existence, nor would the negro have any
thing to fear when he was landed at his des-
tinaton; but The effect on Africa itself would
be ceplorable. Negroes, in short there, are
natural slaves, born so, and kept so. II no
slave market is opened, their masters are
content with reasonable service; but if they
can make better thing of it by selling them
outright they will infalliby do so, and steal
others TO keep up the supply. Such, as we
understand it, is The case OF those who, like
our correspondent, are averse TO the proposed
system of supplying our colonies with free
labor from Africa.
! Upon this reasoning we can only observe
that whereas the anticipated advantages are,
as we have shown, enormously great, the ap-
pretended evils are certainly somewhat cir
cumscribed. As regards the Negro himself,
il, is hardly possible 10 deny that under prop
er supervision he would be far better off in a
British colony than he is at home under the
rule OF master, who, as our correspondent
admits, could and would, if thwarled or Of
Tended, whip him or starve him into sub
mission, or even murder him outright
Such conditions of service would certainly
| be we'll exchanged for those under which the
Coolies of the Mauri,ius realize freedom aad
| independence. All that is dreaded is tina
these petty kings, if once they gel all oppor
luni,y of shipping their subjects in any ca
pacily whatsoever, will take 10 this trade sc
kindly as to forsake other occupations for thai
of manstealing.
We will not here inquire whether such
propensi,ies could be encountered by any
checks, but will accept the Argument on It's
own ground. Granted that demand for me-
srocs will generate intestine wars in Africa
| does not such demand exist now! Whence
come the thousands OF slaves yearly landed
| in Cuba. and the thousands who die on the
passage? And what is the effect of such an
expohation9 Clearly, this intestine war mus
be prevailing as it is, but all the other hor
rors of the slave trade too. This war, ir
short, is but part and parcel of the very
slave trade which free labor would pu
down, and the question is not whether We
should or should not run the risk OF creating
a demand for negroes on the coast of Africa
but whether, as we have never yet beer
able to extinguish such demand, we
should not attempt 10 take it in hand our
selves, with certainly of suppressing al
its denominations in every stage of the pro
ceeding but one, and with it at least {
chance of mitigating them in that stage
also.