The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1860-02-09

Z
negro continues to be human, and to have hu-
man feelings, viii be an inheritance Of blood.
When the ancient Egyptisns saw the He
brews, their slaves, increasing among them,
their King said, Behold, they of the children
Of Israel viii be moore ard mightier than we
Let us deal wisely with them, lest they mul.
tiply, and it come to pass that, when there
falleth cut any war, they join our enemies,
and fight against us. And he spake to the
Hebrew midwiyes, that, whenever . Hebrew
woman bore son, they should kill him." and
in that way prevent them from multiplying.
There wss certainly much cruelty and wicked
ness in this; but there was, at the same time,
much cunning in it. 1t was at the least, a
pretty cure way 10 prevent the Hebrew slaves
from increasing to sneh an extent as to be-
come dangerous to the Egyptians, their mas
ters. Nobody would Justify the Egyptians in
attempting to prevent, in the way they did,
the Hebrews from multiplying; but at the same
time, nobody can fail to see that their fears, on
account of their multiplying, were well found
ed. There was not only danger that when they
became more and mightier than the Egyptians,
they would, in case Of war, join their enemies,
and fight against them, but that they would rise
up themselves, and murder their masters. Our
Southern shareholders do not have the wise
foresigns of the Egyptians. They see their ne
gro slaves increasing at q rate that cannot but
be alarming to every sane man and yet, in
stead of taking any steps to prevent the IN
crease, they are clamorous TO hasten 1t, by inn
porting more negroes from Africa. If it is
true that Heaven is about 10 destroy those whom
it makes mad, one cannot contemplate the con-
duct of our Southern friends in this respect
without sad forebodings.
The Southern politicians, if their bullying
speeches are an index of their thoughts,
seem ready to 60 TO war with the North and
all the rest of the civilized world, on account
of slavery. Governor Wise is reported to
have said lately, in public speech, that he
was ready to overrun the North, aud to in
wade Canada, to chastise the British for har.
boring runaway slaves. Would it not be
well for those valorous Southrons to reflect, as
Pharaoh did, whether there is not danger of
their slaves, in case of war, joining their enc
mics, and fighting against their masters
Would it not, at least, be prudent for his Gov
ernorship to ask himself whether, when he is
on his foray to the Northern States and Cana
da, there will not be danger of the slaves rising
up and spreading FIRE and blood through the
South? Leaving the Northern States out of
view, if the Governor of Virginia should in
wade British territory, is anybody who knows
anything about Great Britain silly enough to
think that it would not return the compliment
by invading Virginia? What would his ex-
Excellency think, if England should send a
fleet of war steamers into the Chesapeake, and
land few black regiments among the first
famihes2" Possibly our Southern friends have
overlooked the fact, that Great Britain keeps
constantly large, well. disciplined, welLequip
ped army of "blacks," within few hours
sail of our shores-an army which, if it was
to land in our Southern States, the great mass
of fho olo hafl nd AL.
erers. If they have overlooked this fact, would
it not be well for them to post themselves up in
regard to it, before they indulge much in boast
ings like that of Governor Wiser
But the South is going to dissolve the Union
if the North does not let it have its own way in
regard to slavery. Southern editors and South
ern members of Congress talk about the disso-
luton of the Union, as if they thought that all
that was necessary to bring it about, was for
them to speak the word. But if they try the
thing, they will find themselves terribly mis-
taken. 1t is not the nature of great nations to
be dissolved by word. The world has never
seen such a thing happen, and it never will
Nothing in the world dies without struggle
The death struggle of everything is common
surate with its strength. The death struggle of
a mighty nation has never done less than make
the world tremble; and our nation is not going
10 De an eXcepJiOn In JnlS respect. o talk
about dissolving the Union peaceably, is to talk
like big babies. The thing is impossible. The
very quarrelsomeness and rancor that makes
dissolution necessary will immutably prevent it
from taking place peaceably.
Now, let a war take place between the North
and the South to dissolve the Union, it will be
a war about slavery. 1t will be so viewed by
the people of both sections; it will be so viewed
by the black slaves Of the South, as well as by
the white freemen. In such war, which side
will the black slaves of the South take? Will
they take the side of their oppressors and en-
slavers, or of those whom they will believe to be
their deliverers? If John Browns foray threw
the South into such paroxysm of terror, what
would an invasion by Northern army do?
But it would not be an invasion at a single
point that the South would have to guard
against in case of war between it and the
North it would have to guard its whole line,
from the Atlantic to the Rio Grande, both
against systematic invasions and predatory in
cursions; it would have to build Chinese wall
along it all the way, to keep its slaves from
running off, and even that would not do it.
But the adage says, a barking dog does not
bite. No man who is given to much talking is
ever good at fighting. A coward DULLES and
threatens a brave man, without noise or buster,
strikes. This is the teaching both of philoso-
ply and experience. And in view of it, and of
the continual batamy and Dragging of our
Southern friends, there is not much need for us
to fret about the safety of the Union. #x#