, 1859-12-17
Slavery in st. Louts..Its Decline In
Ten YenTB,
From tie Missouri Dem3c.at1

LffoU &ae MA3ouE Uen1c14t1
4 gang Of ffty.one negroes, mostly females,
!eit a alavc.yard on Sixth street yesterday,
bound South. They were ali in a healthy cou.
dition. and were collected from various couu-
ties of the State. The erent prompted some
inquiry Into the progress Of slavery in this city
aud county, and we ind that as local institu-
tion it is growing comparatiselT ''sma!i By d.
grees and beautifully less"
Our readers wilt remember the table of tax
able property in this county, which nc publish
ed on Tuesday morning. It gave the aggereyate
number Ut slaves for 1863 at 5.C16. valued Mt
$l,USs, $40. The number is a small increase Gu
lastyears return, but considering the depot that
is made Of this city for the sale Of negroes, who
in their transit fran the interior to tho Sou,b
are concentrated here from time to time, the iu-
crease is no. at all alarmiug to tbs friends Of
free labor.
10 show The matter in its true light, it is onIy
Necessary to state that seven yesra ago, thete
were tise hundred more slaves ia The county af
St. Lo.is than there rro to-day. We fiud fiom
our abatement Of taxable property in 1851, hat
the total number Of slayes was 4,l1O. that vear.
asajnst c,6l6 in 1859. Their value ia 1859 was
Sl,160, ,s33, against the valuation in 1859 Of 21,-
05s,sa0. The number fuctuated more or less
IN Intervening yearF. as in 1857, when there
were nearly i've hundred less than in 1851. lad
in 1854 over one hundred more than in 1858,
The main fact, however, is apparent, that
Slavery is decreasing surely and rapidly in the
city and county. Il has none Of tie elements
which impel the great industrial interests
manufactures, mills, stores, building, popula-
tion, and everything ese calculated 10 advance
a State or city multiply every day; but slavery
atckers and declines- It is practically abolish
ing itself.
Ten years ago the slave property il St. Louis
represented about one-twenteth of the enlire
taxable property, real md personal, Of the
county. To-day. it represents less than one
ninetieth! In 1849 there were $3.50 slaves.
valued at 81 ,aoo, 500, and the total valuation Of
property ut sliat time was fraction less than
10000, ,0o0-so that slave property was in the
proportion Of one to twenty compared with
other property, while this year the aggregate
value Of real and personal property is oTer $751;
GOO 900, or as ninety to one.
These statistics are taken from figures On file
in the records Of the county. They mar be re-
lied upon as facts to prove the certain absorption
Of the interests Of siave owners in tho more re-
liable and substantial interests which belong to
them as manufacturers, merchants and real
estate owners. 4 few years hence the value of
slaye properly will be q very insignificant item
in the millions upon our tax list. md in the
ordination Of the future it is certain to disap-
pear altogether. TIE progress of white labor
is running out that Of the siave, aud no human
agency eau that progress now arrest There
ere only two or three slave pens for the e.
change aud sale of this class Of property in the
city; whercas few years ago the signs Of
"negroes for sale" were met with in almost
every block in the business quarters