Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-01-19
TILE SLAEEsTRApE,


have been served upon several planters in Gcor-
gia, suspected of having purchased portions Of
the recently landed cargo.of the yacht Wander
cr. These gentlemen are to appear at Savan-
nah, as witnesses on the;frial of the crew of the
SLAYER. We hope that The affair will be rigidly
investigated, and that alls sthose who may prove
to be directly engaged .m the landing Of the
Africans may meet withithe punishment due
their infraction of the law. We canddy CON-
fcss that wien the revival of the African slave
trade was first asitatcd, Ne were ind>poscd to
condemn the measure with the severity to which
we now believe the scheme to be justly entitled.
Smarting under sense8f% Northern injustice,
and viewing with mournHl feelings the unequal
struggle between bandAl of Southern heroes
and the hordes Of Northern marauders upon the
plains of Kansas, wewesat first disposed to
give favorable consideHion to any scheme
that promised a relief fsstn the numerical in
feriority under which we labor in .ontcnding
with the frcesoil hosts: s:SSincc then, mature
and careful consideration0f the subject has con-
vinced us that the revival of the African slaTe
trade would be death-blow to the vital inter-
ests of.kle South. We oppose it upon grounds
of humanity as well as policy Not the humani-
ty that causes the hyPecritical tears Of the
Beechers and Summers ofst the North. Not the
humanity that causes thetendcr hearts of very
many of Our Southern citizens to consider slave
ry temporary and NECESSARY evil. But upon
motives of humanity, that We derive from a
careful consideration Of the very foundation Of
the proposed tIatfic; from q knowledge of the
means that must necessarily lie employed, in
obtaining the negroes tlat are TO b, imported
to our shores. There IRE few of our readers
that have not had occasion to view with n pity
ing eye the inevitable separa ion of the lave,
mother and son, nay, even the husband and
vile. Happily, such events are Of rare occur
renee, but are still occasionally to be Lcwa:le,l.
1t ii unc Of the glories and tie blessings OF our
system OF labor, that these sunlrrngs Of the
bonds of natural aftectioif garc less frequent in
the South than perhaps III any other portion Of
the globe. For one slave family that is thus
rude;y dismembered, hundreds of the poorer
classes of the North are forced by bitter neces-
sites to separate and gu:Drth singly to combat
the demon Of hunger and nakedness. Family
separation is gricyous filing, even when re-
strained by the kindeSt and wscst laws that
ever protected the labordr. But what would
our readers think Of the destruction of whole
town by its ncigrbors in; order tuscll Il remnant
Of its inhabitants? Whst would they think Of
t1e aiiiancc W lurec cOunIlcS Oh our Statc, LOT
tue purpose Of warning iton and conqucring y
iou-th county for the saMot gain. And yet it
is by bloodslled, and 1iret6nd rapinc, that the
slave ships of Africa are Is be filled. The aIo-
risines Of the Guinea Cuat are not class cirili-
zcd and already in scr1nlde. They arc not
aware Of the blessings cQasrie ed upon tLeir un
fortunate race wliSri !.aliifa tic slases Of supe
rior order Of beings. They are aware that the
white sailors on the coast will pay u large SUN
for every sound African. And So each chief is
at all times ready to march upon his neighbor,
to burn and destroy, 10 encounter the desperate
resistance of the infuriGted brutal fellow-nesro;
to kill hundreds in the cndeavor to capture a
dozen; anu all Cor the purpose Of furnishing a
cargo for the slave ship. That it would be bet
ter if every African had a Southern master; we
all admit better for him in this world and the
next. But that it is justfiable to encourage the
murder OF one hundred Africans in the endea1or
to bring dozen of them under masters care,
Is MI absurd and inLulnan idra The advocates
Of the slave trade contend that to bring cargo
Of Africans from Congo is precisely the same as
to bring the same number from Virginia. And
yet in bringing negroes from Virginia we trans
fer them from the hands Of one kind master to
those Of another, while in the other case we Gil
courage the destruction of three human beings
for the gain Of the services OF one. One is ra.
tionaI, wise, humane and legal barter; the other
is murder.
We are not willing to encourage Lloodshed,
even among british sayaaes, for the aggrandize-
ment OF u lew ship-owncrs. We are not willing
that those cruelties that we have enumerated
should be carried on in the name Of tie South,
and for the ostensible benefit Of Southern inter
eSts In the name Of Southern civilization and
enlightenment We protest against the slave
trade and its concomitant horrors In the name
of fuurishing, prosperous, and all powerful
Southern confederucy OF States, we dcnounce a
scheme that is fraught with every mischief that
can weaken natou.-Montsomcry Advertiser.