Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1858-01-28


American, is unknown to the gen
{ nine negro. Liberty as distin
from liceuse is an ide
which he is incapable Of compre
, hending. And here lies the star
ting point of error which leads I,
oil the false conclusions Of those mis-
I called philanthropistS, who shed thei
: tears of sympathy over the imagi
nary wrongs Of the American ne
r gro and heap curses on the heads
! of those whom they term his south
ern oppressors. They consider the
, negro endowed with all the sen,
, timents and capacities Of the white
; man, and that like a Gagged lion, be
chafes against the bars of his pri,
, son, ever sighing for freedom, OF
Prometheus like, aspiring after the
fire Of heaven, but chained to q
sfrock with vultures feeding on bis
yitals. Hence their lamentations
are loud and denunciations bitter
while the subjects of their sympathy
are the last men in the world who
can comprehend the cause Of the
noise. True, the negro may, like
a boy impatient of fathers con-
troll, sometimes fret after a greater
degree Of license, aud sigh for a
: sort Of juvenile liberty oil sliding
on the cellar doors and swinging
on the gates,'' but as TO aspirations
after true liberty, implying the d.
ties of governing and restraining
himself for which these shallow
philanthropists give him credit, it
/ is a feeling which never found q
resting place in the negro breast
In their own native land from time
immortal. the custom Of enslaving
each other has been upheld and
applauded by the whole race
Captiyes taken in war have always
been considered slaves tytheir COM
mon law, subject to be tortured
and eaten or held in future bon
dage at the will of the captors;
slaves are the circulating medium
and are the coin in which taxes
and tribute are paid, and consti-
tute the great staple OF their In
ternational commerce. Each negro
regards every other negro as a
legitimate prize which he is only
prevented from seizing at once by
want Of power. Hence they band
together and waylay the paths
along which travellers are expected,
and make forays into neighboring
tribes, as the Highland clans Of
Scotland used to do upon their Low
land fellow citizens after cattle
Among some nations of this strange
people, theft is punished by sem
tence OF perpetual slavery, and when
the ordinary course Of law fails TO
furnish good supply Of such Of
tenders, we are informed by the
ingenious Captain Canot, in his
narrative, that they adopt the fol-
lowing ingenious plan: Small bus
tempting bits Of cloth or gaudy
strings of beads are exposed in
suitable places, and witnesses are
hidden at proper distances; soon
an unwary colored gentleman finds
the treasure aud greatly rejoicing
at bis singular good luck, appro-
PIRATES it to his own use-the
witnesses step forth, and TO bis
dismay he finds himself caught in
a cunning trap set for catching
slaves-all that then remains is for
justice to pronounce sentence Of
perpetual bondage for the crime Of
larceny.
Slavery. in a word, is a ma.
tional institution in Degro-laud.-l
And the piratical SLAYER who car
ries off his human cargo to Cuba
or Brazil, does not create the trade,
but simply takes advantage of an
existing state Of things. He is
treated with the greatest respect
along the western coast of Africa
and regarded az q public benefac-
tor, because he takes of the sur
plus produce Of the country, and
furnishes in return valuable beads !
and rich gew-gaws. Without this
universal public opinion in favor Of
the traffic, it would be MS impos-
sible to load bis ship as to make
a descent on our southern shores
and carry of cargo Of Virginians.
But the barracoons or trading
posts which dot the western coast
Of Africa are supplied with slaves
from the interior freely and yoIun-