Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1859-12-09
THE BOND OF OUR UNION.


Of Virginia on the 2Sth October last, con
cludes in words Of lofty patriotism. Mr..
Stuart presents the true bond of Union,
which, if preserved, will bind the Con-
federacy indissolubly for all time:
Southern labor is devoted to the produc.
ton of articles unsuited to the climate
and labor Of the free States. Its great
staples are cotton, sugar, tobacco and rice.
Of these but one, tobacco, and that to a
small extent only, can be produced north
Of the Delaware
On the other hand the labor of the
free States is directed to the cultivation of
grain and the feeding Of live stock, and
10 manufactures and commerce, and other
pursuits which are better adapted to the
habits of their people, and the qualities
and peculiarties of their soil and climate
How, then, can the labor Of one section
come into competition with that Of the
other1 Do nos the productions Of the
North find their best markets in the Soutis
Are not the slaves Of the planting States
the largest consumers of the coarse wool
ems, and cottons, and shoes, aud hats made
by the labor of the North? Do not the
planters buy a large portion Of the finer
goods, and furniture, and hardware, and
machinery, aud carriages, aud saddlery,
aud agricultural implements manufactured
at the North
And does not the South supply the
North with its cotton, aud sugar, and rice,
and tobacco, and other commodities, in
their crude condition, ready to be convcr-
ted by the labor aud skill of the North,
into the NEST valuable subjects of com
mercer How then can there be antagon-
ism between two sections OF eountry, aud
two systems of labor, whose productions,
and whose svocations are SO widely def
ferent2 Antagonism implies opposition
rivalry competition the interference
Of one with the other. But here, there is
nothing of the kind Neither produces
what the other can proftably produce--ou
the contrary, each produces precisely what
the other cannot produce, but what the
other needs. Each offers to the other
good market for what it has to sell An
exchange, mutually beneficial, takes place
between them. Both are enriched by it.
The product OF slave labor helps to pay
the wages Of the free labor of the north
aud the product of free labor helps to pay
to the owner Of slaves the expense which
he incures, and the profit wkjch he makes,
i. by his operations on his plantation. Each
section, aud each system, consequently,
contributes TO the prosperity and wealth
of the other, They are mutual beneiac
tors, Instead Of antagonists. The relations
between the two systems have become SO
intimate, and so interviewer with each
other, that they can no longer be regard.
cd as separate, independent systems, but
are, in fact, harmonious clements Of one
great system Of American labor The
truth of this proposition will be manifest
if we will turn our thoughts, for a mo-
meut, to the consequence which would en-
sue from n disturbance Of the relations,
which happily subsist between these ee-
ments.
II slavery were, by common consenA
abolished throughout the L. :, We cannot
doubt that the consequences would be
similar to those which followed cmancipa
ton in the British West India Islands
Wherever the negro is found, his nature
is the same, Their indispoSiton to labor
has become provcrbial 1t exhibits itself,
not only in their native country, aud in
tho sulry climate of the South, but also
amidst the hustle and activity of the North.
crn aud Western cities in which they con.
Cregatc They labor only under the
pressure of necessity, and only to the ex
tent which that necessity lmperatiyely re,
ouires. As soon, therefore, AS the dis.
cipline and compulsory authority of the
master was withdrawn, they would sink
into habits of idlcncss, which would leave
the plantations of the Southern States,
like those of Jamaica, desulate and un-
cultivated. They would seek precarous
subsistence, by irregular effort, and BY
depredations on the property Of those
around them. The production of the
great staples of the South wouth rapidly
diminish, aud ultimately, they would ccas,
10 be articles of export White labor
could not be substituted because eX
periencc has shown that the white rae,
cannot endure the exposure 10 the sun
aud atmosphere, which is necessary to th,
production Of cotton, tobacco, sugar an,
rice The abolition of slavery would
therefore be equivalent to the banishmcn
of those articles from the manufactures
and commerce of the country, And wha
mind can conceive, or what pen portray
the consequences to the business anC
comfort, aud happiness of the clvllizc'
world 1t would involve the destruction
of countless millions OF dollars of capita
in the South vested in lands, aud in slave
and stock and machinery necessary Il
cultivate them aud in the factories erect
ed TO work up the products of SoutherI
labor. aud to produce all the fabrics neccs
sary TO supply it, wants. II would IN
yolve the prostration of domestic trade
manufacture, and the mechanic arts-th'
stagnation of foreign eommerce-the de
rangsment Of the balance OF trade Sn'