The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1858-04-02
The LabOrers Of the Free States
Slaves!

Mr.. Hammond, of South Carolina, made q
speech in the Senate of the United States on
the S,h Of March, from which We make the
followin,, extracts This, says the Republic.
newspaper printed at Washington. is the
theory Of the Southern aristocraey, who con.
troll the Government. control the Democratic
party, and mean to control all the territories
OF the Union. And what is stranger still,
they enjoy this control now, and can expect
to enjoy it hereafter. only by the aid Of the
votes Of laboring men at the North. whom
they stigma,ize as "drudgs'." "m"d.siLls,"
and "ehiis slarss."
"In all social systems there must be a class
to do the mean duties, to perform the drudg.
cry of lie. That is, a class requiring but q
los order Of intellect and but little skill. Its
requisites are vgor, docility. fidelity. Such
class you must have, or you would not have
that other class which leads progress, refine
ment, and civilization. II constitutes the
very mud.sills Of society and Of political gov
eminent; and you might as we'll attempt to
build house in the air. as to build either the
one or the other, except on the mud.sills.-
Fortunately for the South, she found race
adapted to that purpose to her hand--a race
inferior to herself. but eminently qualified. in
temper. in vigor, in docility, in capacity to
stand the climate, to answer all her purposes.
We use them for the purpose. and call them
slaves. We are old-tashioned nj the South
vet: IL is word discarded now by ears polite
but will not characterize that class ut the
North with that term; but you have 10; 1t is
there it is everywhere; II Is eternal.
The Senator from New York said Yesterday
that the whole world had abolished slavery.
Az, the name, but not the thing; and oil the
rowers of the earth cannot abolish IL. Tod
only can do IL when he repeats the yfdt, "the
poor We always have with you;" for the man
who lives by daily labor. and scarcely lives at
that. and who hos 70 Pas cut his labor In the
market, and take the best he can get for it;
in short. your whole class of manual labor
ers and operatives, as you call them, are
slaves. The difference between US is, that
our slaves are hired Tor life, and well COM
pensated; there Is no starvation, no begging,
no want of employment. among our people,
and not too much employment either. Your
are hired by the day. not cared for, and scanti.
ly compensated, which may be proved in the
most deplorable manner, At any hour. in any
street In any your tuNns-
you meet more begRers in one day, in any
single street in the city Of New York, than
you would meet in lifetime in the whole
South. Our slaves are black. of another. in
ferior race. The status in which We have
placed them is an elevation. They are ele-
waited from the condition In which God hIst
created them. by being made our slaves.-
None OF that race on the whole face OF the |
globe can DO compared with the slaves Of the |
South. and they know Il. They are happy,
content, anaspiring. and utterly incapable.
from intellectual degradation. ever to give W |
any trouble by their aspirations.
Your slaves are white. Of your own race
you are brothers Of one blood. They are
your equals in natural endowment ofintellec',
and they iesl CALLED by their degradation.
Our slaves do not vote. We give them no
political power. Yours do vote. and being
the majority, they are the dePosiiories OF all
your political power. II they knew the tre.
mendous secret, that the baliot.box Is strong.
or than an army with bayonets. and could
combine, where would you be Your socie-
~ would be reconstructed. your Government
reconstructed. your property divided, not a.
they have mistakenly attempted to initiate
such proceedings by meeting in parks, with
arms IN their HANDS, but by the quiet process
OF the oallot-box. You have been making
W" upon US to our very hsarths.ones. How