The Nevada Democrat., 1858-02-17
Revival OF the slave Trade.


the traffic was fast dying out. But two new
competitors have entered the field, the French
aud the Americans, and all Of these parties are
R0w bidding against each other on the coast OF
Africa, making the trade comparatively un-
profitable, owing to the fabulous prices offered
| to the chiefs who hunt them down. In word,
the demand exceeds the supply.
The American share Of the traffic is, as usual,
the most lucrative, because carried on in the
swiftsst vessels-but it is the most demOralizing
TO those engaged in it, because in violation OF
all Law aud principal natural and divine, and
because it has to be carried on with greater
recklessness of the lives Of its victims, and in
wolves larger number Of murders in order to
| escape capture.
The French government has taken the initis-
| tive, and done its share openly All the free
| negroes on the French West India plantations
will not perferm more than half the work which
they used to do thirty years ago as slaves. Of
course twice as many hands are therefore needed
to revive their plantations from the decay into
which they have fallen. On this account, the
French government have contracted for the de-
! livery of twenty thousand negroes from Africa
on their West India Islands They call them
emigrauts; but this is mere blind. They are
regularly hunted down in the interior Of Africa
Is slaves, and sold as suoh to the contractors
who bid for them against the Portuguese and
| Spanish slave traders.
| The British government has therefore remind
ed the French Emperor that this was infringing
upon the treaties solemuly made by the French
aud other European powers 10 put dewn this
| traffic To this the Emperor has replied that
he has not forgotten those treaties, aud wishes
to act up to their spirit and letter, and that he
only seeks free emigrants, and will endeavor TO
see that the treaty shall be fulfilled most faith
fully. la fact it Is quite evident that Lords
Palmerston and Clarendon feel not a little
ashamed Of the conduct Of their ally, aud even
want to put his course into such shape before
himself and the world as to shame him out OF
it.
Napoleon has found out that the emancipa-
ton scheme broached by England has been o
complete failure Statistics show this The
London Times has opened its eyes to it. The
more sensible part of the English nation are
doing the same. The scheme was tried under
every advantage, and tried by all the nations
Of Europe who had slave possessions aud il
has produced the same ruinous result to ALL
1t must have resulted from some ruinOus defect
in the system itself In those West Indias,
there were troops to keep order, and to enforce
the impartial administration Of law and justice.
Education WAS tried and the Missionaries had
almost every negro under their instructions
or in their churches. Yet il has failed utterly,
Napoleon sees this and takes his own way Of
remcdying it, utterly regardless Of the spirit Of
treaties.
Ga the other hand, all the American attempts
in this direction, that have been tried, have
been as remarkably successful IS the European
plans have been unfortunate. Our country
was the first to take measures to put down the
African slave trade and if any slaves ever are
or have been landed on our shores from Africa,
in defiance of the law, we are not aware OF it.
The slave ships from this country prefer rather
to denstionalize themselves when caught than
submit TO the severity of our laws.
Up to the time OF the Revolution slavery was
permitted in all the colonies, both North aud
South, yet now the whole North and Northwest
has, without any extraneous help, thrown off
the whole Of this incubus, aud their prosperity,
so far from being retarded, is promoted by it
intellectually. All the statistics on which states
men must rely, show that our free States have
advanced and developed. above the Others
more rapidly even than the British Indias have
declined under free labor.
Two great secrets have caused the difference
Of results. First. American emancipation was
not by the interference or dictation Of a foreign
government dealing with the subject abstracty
and by coercion. But it was the spontaneous
dev-lopement of our own free will, carried out
by the States Themselves, that effected it vol
untarlly, and in sHch ways as they saw best.
This was our chief cause Of success. Each
State must regulate its own methods Of curing
its own evils. What did the British Parliament,
three thousand miles off, know of the interior
workings of the system? They seem to have
forgotten. until reminded . few years ago by
that quaint writer Carlyle, that "it was neces-
sary to incite within the negroes themselves,
those civilized wants and desires which impel
free men to work. before they can be successful
ly set free.'
Hence, the other great secret which has caus-
ed our emancipation schemes to work success
fully. and those Of Great Britain to fail is that
the change in the one case was so sudden, and
in the other gradual. What would seven years
have been for an apprenticeship OF this kind
1t needed q generation at least. Progressive
liberty in proportion to other progress geing
beforehand, and preparing the way is the only
means by which any men can be made truly
free. An act Of the Legislature cannot set the
mind Of any man free. nor his body either fer
leng together, unless be is prepared within. II
this were possible, il would be no blessing to
to him or the world. Who would wish to
see a razor in the hand Of a mailman yet
such is liberty to the unprineipled and unprs-
pared.
The French see the mistake they have made,
but they do not see the remedy. They would
reverse the wheel Of nature, and deing this,
will kill instead Of curing. II will snap the
! cable in shutting down the breaks Revolu-
tions never move backward. The only course
now for the French is 10 Improve The LaborerS they
! have. by such indictments a. will render them
Industrious aud certainly not to bring over still
more barbara races to make the average OF
civilization lower. and to increase the number
Of mouths to be fed out of the ground. The re-
opening Of the slave trade will be the curse and
ruin Of any PhiIddelphiG Ledger.
TRK HAWAIIAN LLGTsLATURE-This body oon-
sists Of two Houses The Upper House is COM
posed of mobiles appointed by the king, and the
Lower House of members elected by the people,
Ia the Lower House there cannot be less than