New-York daily tribune., 1859-12-24

Thou hat widows swsy empty and IN. arms Of tn.
thee and sudden rouSeh thee and dsrtss.. sSs SSs
cSnis s9E = isN,s 5e' ses, e. "11;Jse IIu: ie IL
ys. ED, -Ash tep. bach by .ud ssIS .oa =.
Los he have hyed in pleasure the earth ard
ss,s @ ySvI hs.ts a. IN isy Of :'0Ehsr
the appropriateness Of these texts il net apparent
will try to make Il co. by evidence drawn entirely
from S0stkern sources. The Abolitiouists are no.
sueh an ignorant set of fanatics you suppose. They
kN0V whereof they affirm. They familiar with
the laws Of The Slave States which alone sufficient
TO inspire adherence in any humane heart or reflect
ing mind not perverted BY the preudces Of educ ,sion
and custom ! might fll many letters with significant
extracts from your staiute-bOoks; bus have space
only TO glance at few, which indicate the leading
features Of the system you chersh tensciOusly.
The universal rule Of the Slave States is that the
child follows the condition Of its mother" This is
index 70 many things. Marriages between white and
eolored people forbidden BY law yet very large
number Of the slaves brown yellow. When
Lafayette visited ths country in his old age, he said
be was very much struck by the great change n the
eoored population of Virginia. that in The time Of the
Revolution nearly all the household slaves were black
but when he returned America he found very few Of
them black. The advertisements in Southern news
paperoen describe runaway slaves that "pass them
selves for hte men, Sometimes they are descnbeda
having straight light hair blue eyes, and clear CON-
plexon." Iht could not be, unless their fathers,
ersndatbers, and eatgrandfatbers had been white
men. But their mothers slaves, the law pro-
nounces item slaves subject be sold the auction
block whenever the necessities OF convenience OF their
masters nisresses require IT. The sale OF one own
children, brothers, SISTERS, has an ugly aspect -
those who are uDacCustOmed 70 IT. and, Obviously, IL
cannot have "a good moral influence that law and Gus
tom should render hcentOusness a profitable vice.
Throughout the Slave States, the testimony OF no
eooTed person. bond free, can be received against
white man. You have some laws, which, on the face
Of them, would seem to restrain inhuman men from
numbering mutlating slaves but they are rendered
nearly null by the law l have cited. Any drunken
masier, overseer, patrol, may go INTO the negro
cabins and commit what outrages he pleases, with
perfect impunity, If white person ID present WhJ
chooses to witness against him. North Carolina ant
Georgia leave a large l0op-holo for escape. even 1,
white persons are present. when murder IS committed.
A law TO punish persons for " malciousy killing
slave" has this remarkable qualification: Always
provided that this act shall not extend TO any slave
dying of moderate correction" We a. the North hnd
il difficult to understand how moderate punishment can
cause death. / have read several Of your law-books
aitentiyely and find of punshnent fer the
murder of slave, except by I'm ,s paid to the opHeT,
TO indemnify him for the loss Of his ploPertyi the
same ss If his horse cow had been killed. In the
South Carolina Reports is case where the State ln-
dicted Guy Raines for the murder OF save nalneu
of Isaac, had given him a thousand LdShes. Inc poor
creature made his escape but was caught and deiy-
cred the custody of IL unes. 70 be carried 10 tue
county Jail Because he refused to go, Ralnes gave
him five hundred ashes, and he died soon after. The
counsel for RaDes proposed that he should be allowed
to acQuit himself by his OATH The Cours decided
against it, because tghRe tfHeTses had testified; but
the Court of Appeals aerward decided that he ought
TO have been exculpaed by his oath, and he was
acquitted. Small indeed is the chance for justice to
slave when hs own color not allowed To testify,
if they see him manned or his children murderedi
when he has savehoders for Judges and Jurors whom
the murderer can excupate himself by his own oath;
and when the law provides that II Is no murder to kill
slave by moderate correction
Your laws uniformly declare that q slave shall be
deemed chatte personal in the hands OF his owner
to all intents constructions, and purposes whatso-
ever" Ths Of course, involves the right 90 sell his
children If they pgs; also, to take his vile
from him &" for any intent or purpose whatsoever.
Your laws also make IT death for him to resist white
man, however brutaly he may be treated, or however
much his family may be outraged before his eyes. III
be attempts to run away, your laws allow any man 70
Shoot him.
Byyour laws, all slaves earnings belong to his
mastei. lie can neither receive donations nor
transmit properly. ii his master allows him some
hours to ork for himself, and by great energy and
perseverance, he earns enough 10 buy ms own oohes
and siDews his master may make him pay two or
three times over, and hs has no redress Three suoh
cases have come within my own knowledge Even
written promise from HE master has no legal value,
because n slave can make no contracts
Your laws also systematically aim at keeping the
minds of the colored people IN the most aoec state OF
ignorance. If white people attempt 70 teach tnem 70
bDeF; ifthey attempt to teach each other they are
punished with from twenty thrty-nne ashes each.
il cannot be said that the AntSavery agitation pro-
duced such laws, for they date much further Dacki
many OF them when we were Provinces Ihey are
the Hfcestes OF the system which, being itself IN out
RAGE upon human nature, can be sustained only Oy
perpetual outrages.
1he next reliable source Of information Is the ad-
vertisements in Southern newspapers. In Ihe nora
Carolina (Raleigh Standard, Mr.. MloaJah KICKS al
vertses ' Runaway negro woman ana TWO
children A few dsNs before she went on L burned
hot iron on the left side OF her face tried
10 make the letter NJ" In The Matches S0krter,
MrJ p Ashford adyertsesa runaway negro giri, with
good many teeth missing, and the letter a Orahueu
on her cheek and forehead" In The LertRgfoH %
servev Ky.) Mr.. William OyerStreet adverSeS run
AWAY negro with his left eye out, scars fr0m dlrk
ON his LETT arm and much Scared with the whip
might quote from hundreds Of such advertisements,
offering rewards for runaways, dead or alive, and
describing them with 4" ears cut oil, jaws broken
+" Scared by rife.balls &c.
Another source o; information is afforded by your
FugItves from Injustice, with many OF whom L
and marks of the branding aud have listened 10
their breaking sobs while they told OF pcea-
uinnies" torn from their arms and soid
Apoher source OF information is furnished by eman.
eipeted shareholders. Sarah NJ Grimke, daughter OF
the late Judge Grmk6 OF he Supreme Court oi o0utn
CsroIna tesiIGes ss follows: 'As l left my native
Stale on account Of Slavery and deserted the nome OF
my fathers to escape the sound OF the lash ana tue
sbrieks of tortured Victims would gladly bury IN oo,
lviop the recollection OF those scenes win Wmcn
have been familiar. But this cannot be- Iney come
over nv memory like CORY specters and lmp0re me,
S,;th resistess mower ina the name of God Of mercy,
In the name of crucihed Savior IN the name OF hu-
apy for the sake of the Shareholder, as Wen as tue
slave 10 bear witness 10 the horrors OF the Sounern
prson house. She proceeds 20 describe ureauiuI ',