New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-27

and extentopists base their whole system on the
ground that the negroes are naturally the interiors
Of white men, and, therefore, destined BY God and
nature to be social and political interiors, and even
the slaves Of the white man.
This pretension, though lstey broached in this
country, at least to the extent Of making it the
foundation Of social and political system, is by no
means a new one. II is in fact one of the most
ancient and universal Of the Pretenslons upon
which tyranny and caste have been founded in all
countries and ages. The pretenson Of the Hintoo
Brahmins, and of the two other superior castes
which they associated with then, to be twln-born
race entitled to the eternal veneraton and socia!
subseryency Of the Sudras hsd exsctly this founda-
ton even to the extent Of color. The upper caste
were white inyaters from the North. The Su-
dras were black, aboriginal inhabitants of India
snd this seems to have been the entire foundation OF
the whole system of caste, which, though broken
through in is main principle, since many OF the
native rulers of India, within the historical period
have been Sudras, still bold the population of In
dia bound as with fetters of iron.
To take another example nearer our own times.
The ante. revolutionary French nobility claimed to
be a superior race, the descendants, heirs and
representatives of the conquering Franks, and, as
such, entitled to hold the millions of ordinary
Freedmen in q state of Illuminating subordinatlon,
and to assume to themselves the political control Of
the State.
One thing however, is very remarkable in all
these cases, leading TO serious doubts whether
after s the old Bramhins, the late French nobility
or our American shareholders of TO day do really
believe in their own arrogant dOgmas. If their SUI
periority rested on a natural basis, why such an
snxety on their part to tie up the hands of the sub
ject race, to subject them to numerous disabilities
and to PUT all sorts of obstacles i" their way why
did and do the Brahmins forbid the Sudras to read
The Vedas, and why do American shareholders
forbid the negroes to read the Biblel
Nothing is more remarkable in our Southern
slave castes, and nothing more fully proves the in.
innate and secret conviction on the part of South.
ern legislators that the black race if not kept down
by legal disabilities, possesses 70 high degree the
power of improving and elevating itself, tnan the
multiplied enactments which have no other object
except TO stand in the way Of self-improvement
and self elevation. Some movements lae'y made
in the South Carolina Legislature, and now under
consideration in that body on the subject of
negroes hiring out their own time, evince in a
strong degree the fear and dread on the part of the
laboring whites of negro competition. Two bills
have been introduced which, in addition to the ex-
istbg law against disabling slaves from hiring their
own tlme-tbat is, renting themselves OF their own
ersupon the payment ofa monthly, quarterly
ly rent-propose to prevent slaves from carrying on
mechanical pursuits and specifically provide that
no slave shall undertake mechanical sbors OF enter
into contracts, either on his own account or as
agent for his master. The ground set up in de-
fense of these bills is, that they intended to
suppress the evil of slaves going at large, exercising
all the privileges and fulfilling all the functions OF
free persons, aud living ard conducting themselves
in every way as if they were not slaves. The
Legislative Committee to whom this subject has
been referred admit that the slaves thus separating
tn. mselyes from the observation, control, dis
cipline and surveillance of their masters is very
great evil; but at the same time they assert that
even the existing law subjecting owners OF slaves
who allow them 10 hire out their own time to tine
Of $50 is hot enforced and could not be, With
out great inconvenience. So far from pro-
bbiting mechanical pursuits, they even pro-
pose TO except certain enumerated employ
mebts from the prohibition of the present
law. She South Carolina Legislature 1t must be
recorected, is composed of shareholders. 10 hold
slaves is one of the requisites for being member
of il. and, however anxious It's members msy be to
degrade the negroes and 10 keep them down, still
they must have an eye also to their own conve-
1ience AID profit. Slave labor, they say, consti-
tutes and ought 10 constitute the bulk of the labor
Of the State The domestic servants the common
laborers and porters draymeD, wagoaers cartmen,
and on the sesboard the steysdores, are mostly ns-
groe. Ii would be impossible to have this sort Of
slave labor if there must be speciI contract with
the owner for each specific job; and yet these EN-
ployments, as well as al Others, fall within the
prohibition of negroes hiring their own time. Ihe
Committee, therefore, propose that In't ad oil add
ing 10 the prohibitions OF law which the Puolc
convenience does not allow 70 be enforced, al the
above. mentioned employmebts shall be excepted
thsrefrom. They also propose TO make the EN-
ployer equally liable 10 the fine with the owner,
thus placing new obstacle in the way Of prosecu-
tons.
II has been a favorite scheme with the white
mechanics Of the South TO exclude slaves from me-
chancal employments in order TO give white work
men chance. If it were only question OF de-
pressing the negro, the Shareholders would be ready
enough TO join them, but being also question OF
dirnini shing the value Of slsvelsbor the wealthy
shareholders are no more prepared for that than
tkev are for the revival Of the African slave-trade