The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-05-16
BRITISH SLAVERY.

BRITISH SLAVERY.
From the EdinJug Ne,Us of March Oh
There are certain capitalists in this corrtr-
VINO must leel highly amused at the public indir.
nation and adherence occasionally manifested q,
the subject OF American Slavery, well KNOWING
lnaI teIe is III the very midst of us slavery even
more hideous and sickening Probably the worst
ana most heartrending feature of Transatlantic
bondage is the sale and consequent separation of
the individual members of families; tearing tbe
wife from the husband, the child from the narent
and brothers from sisters, never more to maa}
again on earth. This implies terrible heart.apnnv
TO the poor victims, and the more so that barrinr
ms ensiaVed condition, the negro slave of Aaerica
Is IN general better off than the British bopdsman
The negro generally is not oyerworked i vii
ted and cared for and families frequently GROW nm
amidst all the comforts and endearments of com
paratlVely happy home, from which even the con-
solations OF our blessed religion are not excluded
IL Is In the incidents of American Slavery that
It's more revolving features are to be found A
klnd master dies, and his slaves are disnersed hv
saie; or, IL may be that some masters are not so
hinu as others, while some again NAV be crua
and oppressive. But one great saferuard of tho
negro, even with the worst master is that which
we consider his greatest msfortu ne IL is becansa
MS oody Is the property of his master that he is
protected from the fearful atrocities to which the
9rltlsh slave is exposed. The body of the negro
means so many hard dollars, and any depreciation
IN the live commodity means loss of capital as
wen DIS OF present return from labor. 1t is thus
the pecunlary interest of even the worst slaveown
er In America to treat his slaves we'll In tbis
country the slave employer has no such interest
ana the poor slave no such protection On the
contrary, 1t Is the British masters interest and
practice to wear out the human machine os opirI
ly as possible, by taking out of it the ornatasf
Possloie amount OF work at the lowest possible
remuneration. because he knows we'll the pnor
Worn-out mechanism of bone and muscle will be
Immediately replaced by others at no cost TO him
sell. Are we exaggerating? Our readers will be
apIe 10 Judge presently. The atrocities We are
now to bring under their notice were recently dis
cloSed IN evidence before commissioner appoint
ed by the Queen to inquire into their existence
lney are at this moment in full operation and
VIII continue to be until hu rauity stems for
ward to rescue the victims of foul lust, and If
pohucal economy. The scene of these atrocities
Is III the Oleachlng and dyeing works throuphout
,he country: 1t is suggestive of ghastly pun,
but OF horrible reality, for the poor victims soon
blanch and die under their inhuman treatment :
~" VIII tehueI mothers feel what will affection
ate fathers think, when they are told that multi
tudes OF children, from the age of nine wears and
upwards are obliged to work daily from Is to 20
hours out OF the "a; that that period Of labor is
I "isIn cAteeueu' some OF the victims male and fe-
maze, NOT over IL years of age, giving evidence
that they have worked % hours out of tie "a Win
only suHcient interval to swallow a hasty meal
then to sleep on Choking box at balcpast five
In the morning for not quite two hours then half
an hour for breakfast, and again at work ono
poy stated that he once worked three dams and
hree nights, sleeping only at meal times. and cat
ing ms meals while standing at work And this.
be 1t observed, was the experience oF rnonr, o,La
children well as adults The foreman of nna
establishment stated that in what are called 0tha
ciamplng-rooms, young boys and girls are made
to work from lG to Is hours a dav, with the thor-
mOmeter ranging from 100 to $50 degrees tha
neat Delng sometimes even greater 10 realize
such horrible atrocity one has only to know thar
that heat IS Just thirty degrees above the heat n
an Indian summer. One medical gentleman. in
pfder To test the effect of this heat unon himsar
tl,
into one OF the rooms where the heat was only 40
degrees, and in half minute the perspration, or
rather the hot water, poured from his body and
drenched the floor around him After remaininU
mere LOT 10 minutes, the heat of his body was 100
degrees, while his pulse beat l26 times in a min
ute. lie then went into another of the rooms
Where the heat was l3O degrees and after remain
ing there another quarter of an hour the rate Of
MS pulse increased. And This, be it remembered
In neat ~ degrees less than poor young children
are often forced to endure for hours together
mere are also what are cahed the "stoyes'' where
females, and females only, are made to work some
times Tor twenty-tour hours. They come out il
need scarcely be said dripping with their clothes
literally drenched. girl OF fourteen states she
mas worked two days and two nights with four
hours sleep the first night and none at all tine
next. And all this fearful toll must be UNDERGONE
standing. The limbs become swollen and the
soles OF the feet become flesh. Meals are
@ swallowed while continuing at work. Children
ana adults tall asleep standing to their work.
Little children are kept awake by the foreman
shoutlng or rapping large board on the table
making loud report that used to startIe them;
anu tne witness proceeds 81 could keep them
awake then Tor an hour, or more than that perbans
by Jraghtening them" And this is in Christian Eng
ahu hat relief to those little ones to obey that
sweet call, "Suffer little children to come unto
me- When the blanched cheek, the nodding head
the rapid pulse, the swollen limbs and BLEEDING
ieet VIII be exchanged for the brightness and re
pose OF the angels in heaven That change soon
comes, TOR exhaustion and consumption soon do
tneir fearful work. Is it surprising that young
girls should fly from this toll to the more sliurinC
scenes of vice and infamy? The one is lust as soul
killing as the other. Education and religion exist
not for these victims. Their life is a horrible
warfare against the commonest needs of nature
ihe very brutes are better treated and more cared
iOr than they are To overwOrk or i'll treat hors.
Is Is a crime, and justly punished by a humane law
10 XIII helpless women and children with impunitv
Is part OF our ordinary work aday life. Men amass
"eaith, keep up elegant establishments and rear
up families in all the comforts of a luxurious home
on the profits of this system of murder BUTT
may be said that the poor victims NAV leave their
employment. That is true, but the alternative is
between 1T and beggary, and the victims naturally
prefer the former Here are two questions nut to
Mr.. Crook, NJ. p. for Bolton with his answers
taken from the Parliamentary Blue-book. and bay
my reference to families working for days and
nights IN succession without UNDRESSING "Do tba
employers o6tige children to work in that manner ?
certainly. If a child were taken of the overwork
would that involve the discharge of the parents
from the bleach works? Yes" 1t is unnecessary
to comment upon this. The secret of the masters
power of compulson is here sufficiently but fear
fully exposed. Mr.. Crook, to his lasting honor,
has laid bill before Parliament to destroy this in
famous system, by putting bleaching and dyeng
works under the restrictions and regulations OF the
Factory Acts. We glad to say that the bill
has passed the second reading, by majority of lS7
members, 50 mary 80 members, however bav
ing been found to vote against it.. One of tbesn
Mr.. Turner, the member for Manchester and who
moved the rejection of the bill, urged the usuaI
heartess reasons why there should be no interfnr
ence between the masters and their slaves II
was important branch of national industry. ar
ders came in Unexpectedly and must be executed
while, unlike factories, the works could not be
stopped at any time and taken up at the point
where left off. And these were actually advances
as reasons why the British House of Commons
should sanction the nefarious system pursued in
such works. Mr.. Roebuck eoquentlv denounced
it. referring to the evidence of which we have Civ
en- samples, and he did not exaggerate when he
characterized the condition of the white slave in
England as being "the life of the damned" HUI
manity shudders at the picture, but afraid
1t Is only one phase of the WIDESPREAD suffering
that exists in this Christian land Attention, how
ever, Is now being reused to such abuses, and in
this particular case an eloquent appeal has been
made by many ladies, distinguished both for their
rank and their humane exertions in the cause of
suffering humanity; among them being the Mar
chioness of Londonderry and the Countess of
Shaftesbury. All honor to such noble women
who truly Gods messengers and workers in His
own righteous cause