The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-03-17
THE SLAVE TRADE.

A Charleston correspondent of the Southern
Citizen, says:
"Of the slaves imported by the Wanderer
some are said to have been taken into Edgefeld
district, and thence distributed to other sections
of the State. If so, they were taken there by
men of high character and above the filthy
lucre of the thing The men in other sections
of the State, who have received them, have done
so, not for the reason that they were slaves, but
that they were Africans. In that district three
primary meetings have been called by the re
sistants. The first was failure. The second
at Beach Island, was attended by sixteen per
sons, eight of whom were in favor of resolutions
censurlng the Importation FIVE were in favor OF
resolutions approving it, and three were not in
favor of any resolutions at ALL The third near
the centre of the district, was held a week ago
and was attended by about one hundred per.
sons, very small majority of whom opposed
the measure, while the more Jealous minority
declared unqualified approval, and from previ
osls INDICATIONS it is not improbable that another
and still larger meeting will be held, and that,
extending thence, this form of discussion will
overspread the State. When fairly started. every
popular motive will extend the movement: and
1t is by no means certain, therefore, that its
widening waves will not break up all the politi.
cal network of the country.
g 1t is manifestly the policy of the Govern
rlent te stint this feeling OF its provender, and
so emaciate it but this it cannot do without
evils equally to be dreaded. The slaves were
landed in Georgia, and to the solidity of the
laws i'll suppression of the trade they must be
referred. Bills, therefore, have been found in
both the State and Federal courts against the
parties reported to have introduced them.
These must be tried, and that will feed the
feeling. Ifacquitted, it will inspire courage. If
convicted, sympathy. So, also, with the poor
prisoners of the Echo. They are still in dan
geons, and that, after they We're spared by the
grand jury, is a source of feeling They must
come again before the court in April Thence
again will go this story to the country Even
those who would respect the law themselves.
are unwilling to enforce it against foreigners.
The fate of the ketch Brothers is undecided.
The JULIA Dean has been BROUGHT into Norfolk.
and SO the Government IS under the fatal ne
cessity Of ministering to an excitement. which
it has the strongest possible interest in allay.
ing. PfBdenee W9Hld aietate the plQpriety Of
Withdrawing tron the treaty to maintain a
squadron on the coast of Africa, and so avoid
the odium of furnishing any but those who come
within the limits of our jurisdiction, but it has
been merciful dispensation of heneeceus
Providence, that power which ought to be'stbl
vefieq pas meyer had the prudence to preceiye
the pressure OF opposing PRINCIPLES, and it Is 10
be presumed, therefore, that the power of our
present Government will also be pressed, with
fatal persistency, to final issue.
OF the fate of the persons at Savannah. roth
ing YEP can pc determined Captain Cnrrie
has n9f yet been arrested fox trial there, for the
reason, ] suppose, that he is already under
bonds for trial here; but the men of the expedi-
ton are in prison, and it is not certain that
they will not suffer-"
From the Coahoma Citizen, printed at Friar's
Point Mississippi, We expact out of very able
article:
Capital is in fact working out in the South
with extraordinary rapidity those social oondi-
tons that in Europe have arrayed class against
class The distinction rich and poor our
society can work with, just up to the point where
the rich, standing out as one class the poor con-
clude they themselves are in fact not members
but tools of an oligarchy The social forces
tending to these results ought to be restrained
by timely legislation The high price of negro
labor is one of the forms in which the operation
of these forces becomes most palpable. With
negroes rating from 81 500 to $4,000, few of the
struggling poor of the South can enroll them
ulation, then, are increasing under conditions
that exclude them from any personal concern in
our labor system. The attractive forces of capital
go on, on the other hand in aggregating around
it the few negroes that yet remain, the anchor
of Southern institutions, in the hands of the
great mass Of our smaller shareholders. One
by one, the slaves find their way daily from the
poor master of enc State to the rich master of
that State, or of one more westwardly One
slave-aggregation is seen thus to take place by
destroying, perhaps, even dozen shareholders.
Let Slavery be in the hands Of few, let the
ownership of slaves grow up into a distinction
sufficiently marked to make a class, let this
monopoly bear the usual consequences of mo-
nopoly, high prices for negro service, and our
word on it that the great body of our white oil
garchy thus excluded from the benefits of their
system will rise up as one man to crush it some
fine day, like grass under their heels"
ave want two negro apprentices ourself-
the man over the way wants two negro appren-
tees the lady next door wants at least two negro
apprentices, and the old gentleman Just passing,
who already has fifty slaves, says he wants fifty
apprentices also. Now, we should be greatly
obliged to any one who will tell us, all this being
so, why, if Louis Napoleon, who has nothing to
teach his apprentices, imports $4,000 of them,
we, who have tirst-rate opportunity of teach
ing them to work a printing press, to break
wood, make fires, and thousand other useful
handicratts, should not import two? The only
reason we ourself know of is, that our Legisla-
ture has not yet incorporated company for
importing them on our account"
The Ne,O York Express makes the following