The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-01-05
THE SLAVE TRADE AT THE SOUTH.

The Montgomery Advertiser, paper known as
the organ of the Southern League and of all the
restless spirits in the southern section of the Un,oa
who oppose, everywhere, the existing order OF
things who would overthrow the Union, make war
upon Cuba under the fibuster flag, and plant
"young American institutions in all Mexico and
Central America whose principle of warfare is hos
tility to the integrity Of their government and
the ruling authorities in all other nations the
Montgomery Advertiser, we say, cannot sanction
the importation of savage, cannbal, and bestial
Africans into the bosom of southern society. We
copy from the Advertiser
We learn from private that subponas have been
served upon several planters in Georgia suspected of hay
ing purchased portions the recently landed cargo of the
yacht Wanderer These gentlemen are to appear at Sa
vannnh witnesses the trial of the crew OF the sla
YER We hope that the affair will be rigidly investigated
and that all those who may to be directly engaged
in the landing of the Africans may meet With the punish
ment duo to their infracton of the law We candidly
confess that when the revival of the African slave trade
was first aqtated, indsposed to condemn the
measure with the severity to which we now believe the
scheme to be Justly entitled Smarting unier sense OF
northern injustice, and viewing with mournul feelings
the unequal struggle between handful of southern he
and the hurdes OF northern maraudcrs upon the
plains of Kansas at first disposed to give favor
able consideration any scheme that promised relief
from the numerical inierioity under which we labor in
contendng with the free soil hosts Since then mature
and careful consideration of the subject has convinced us
that the revival of the African slave trade would be
death blow to the vital interests of the South We oppose
ii upon grounds of humanity well policy. Not the
humanity that the hypocritica tears OF the Beech
ers and Summers of the North not the humanity that
causes the tender hearts of very many OF our south
ern citizens to consider slavery temporary and ne
cessary evil but upon motives of humanity that we
derive from careful consideration of the very oun
dation of the proposed traffic from Knowledge OF
the means that must necessarily he employed ID oo
tanning the negroes that are to be deported TO our
shores There are few Of our readers that have not
had occasion TO view with plying eye the inevitable
separl alton of the slave mother and sonnay, even the
husband and wife. Happily such events are OF rare oc
currcnce, but still occasionally to be bewaed Is
the glocs and the blessings of stem OF labor
that these sunderngs of the bonds of natural affection
less frequent in the South than perhaps in any other por
ton of the globe For slave family that Is thus
rudey dismembered hundreds of the poorer classes OF
the North are forced by bitter necessities to separate and
30 forth singy to combat the demon OF hunger ana ma
kedness. Family separation is a gricvous thing, even
when restrained by the kndes and wses laws that ever
protected the nborer But what would readers think
OF the destruction of whole town Ivy its negbbcrs IN or
der To sell u remnant of its Inhabitants What would
they think of the alliance of three counties OF our State
for the purpose of warning upon and conquerng fourth
county for the sake of gain And yet il Is by hoodshed
and and rapinc that the slave ships of Africa are TO be
filed The abogines of the Guinea coast are not class
civilized and already in servitude They are not aware OF
the blessings conferred upon their unfortunate when
made slaves of superior order OF beings. They aware
that the white sailors the coast will pay large sum
for every sound African aud each chief at all times
ready march upon his neghbor to burn, and destroy
TO encounter the desperate resistance of the nfu-
rated brutal fellow negro, to kill hundreds in the en-
deayor capture Dozen and all for the purpose of fur
nishing cargo for the slave ship That il would be
better if every African had southern master all ad
nit better for him in this world and the next But that
it is ustaho to encourage the murder of one hundred
Africans in the cndeavor to bring dozen OF them under
masters care is absurd and iBhuman idea The adj
vocaes of the slave trade contend that TO bring cargo
of Africans from Congo is precisely the to bring
the same number from Virginia and yet in bringing
negroes from Virginia transfer them from the hands
of one kind to those Of another while in the
other case encourage the destruction of three human
beings for the gain OF the services of Oae is
tona wise, humane, and legal barter; the other is mur
dor.
We orenot willing to encourage bloodshcd among