The Washington union., 1857-06-05
ABOLITION ENSLAvEs WHITE MEN.

We use the term enslave" for want of a better
1t is not half strong enough for our purpose; not
half strong enough to give just idea of the miseres
inflicted on the white race by liberating the black
race A half century ago Napoleon saw, and said
that liberating negroes equivalent to ensaving
white men, and congratulated some of the French
islanders that they had not liberated theirs. The
author, John Davy, from whom shall quote, is an
enthusiastic abotionist, who spent three years in
the West Indies, and wrote work entitled 'sThe
West Indies Before and Since Emancipation
He thinks the emancipation project successful !;
and of his arguments in its favor is that it keeps
up the price of sugar which otherwise would have
declined Now, this is but too true Sugar sells for
four times as much as it would have sold for but for
West India and South American emancipation; and
cotton and rice and coffee and all other slave prod
ucts the necessares of life to the poor are at killing
prices.
The freed negroes have become idle savages and
the laboring whites of Europe and America have to
do double work for half pay to obtain the necessa-
res of life. Worse than this cut off from the once
great markets of the West Indes Mexico, and South
America for the sale of the products of their skill
full industry, they lack employment and starvc by
the million The reviews and newspapers indeed,
almost the whole modern literature of England
France, and Germany Justify our assertion. The
reader will that the word "enslave' is far too
weak to express the wrong which negro abolition
has inflicted on the whites
In reading the extracts which we shall annex from
Mr. Davy, one is surprised to see how unmindfu
and regardless he is of the evils which abolition has
inflicted the poor whites in Barbadoes. He de-
scribes them privileged class before emancipa
ton, acting as useful and necessary police now
as the most miserable, soon to become the most de-
graded, of the human race; for they driven to
field labor, which he says is fatal to the white man
in the West Indies His revolving picture of the
morals of the negroes shows that they too, have lost
much in losing masters to enforce decency, morality
and industry among them
We are prepared with abundant evidence to prove
that the high prices of most of the neccssaries Of
life and the want of employment with white labor
ers in Europe and America chiefly owing to negro
emancipation; and that the abotonists starving
the whites and making savages of the liberated
slaves The facts on which we rely are however,
SO generally known, that we think no blackTcpubli
can will dispute assertions.
Our quotations are from Mr.. Davy's account of the
Island of Barbadoes:
Now had the slave trade and slavery not been abo
ished in colonies, who say, rejecting these
fluctuations, that the condition of the planters generally
would have been less disastrous than at present This
we are sure of that the cultivation Of the would
have been vastly augmented in the virgin soils of British
Guiana and Trinidad and the slave population of these
countries enormously increased, with proportional in
crease of danger of outbreak, nsuTection, and ruin
Further -productisna supply exceeding the de-
mandwoud probably have resulted, with its constant
attendant distress to the producers
Speaking of the poor laboring whites he says
% Previous to emancipation they of far inn
portance than subsequently,; then the militia, which for
long period the sole defence Of Barbados prn
cipally composed of them; then those who were not
small propretors had certain allowance of land granted
to them by the larger propretos the condition of per
forming military service according to a law to that effect
SO situated, easily supporting themselves and families
with little exertion, 1t Is not surprising that they acquired
the habits which now unfortunately distinguish them
After emancipation, the law alluded ceased to be in
force and the mtiamen ceasing to serve they were
permitted longer to retain rent free the land before
allowed them and hence with their acquired habits in
great measure their present miserable condition"
''The poor whites red legs they are conteinp
tuosly called from the red hue Of their naked legs arc
located most in the distant parts of the islandds
tant in relation to Bdgetown It's capital and chief sea
port viz in the Scotland district and in the poorer por
ton Of 81 Philips and st Lucys Now that they are