Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-03-22

Wnlcn mas f0rbldden them 10 marry-preVehIeu
them from educating their children, or taking
decent and proper care of them, or even keep
ing them in their own family-prevented them
from having, or even going in search OF, the
wages of honest labor-prevented them from
giving help in time of need to persons yet more
wretch d than themselves and prevented them,
finally, from even serving God according to
their idea Of the acquisitions of His will
C their social condition would probably be very
much improved" And there is no manner of
doubt that the conclusion which, by the ad-
mission of our man of candor, " seems but
necessary corollary," is also the accurate and
true one, namely, that " the slaves will hail
with delight the first offer of freedom
But Immediately after this, Judge Redfeld
uses an expression which, fear, implies some
disingenuousness on his part. He says
" Brown confessed to sad disappointment in
this particular. In what particular? Never
in regard to the wish of the slaves for freedom
never in regard to their need of freedom, or to
the immense benefits that would accrue from
their deliverance from Slavery His disap-
pointment was in the treachery of a confed
crate, which rendered it necessary either to
abandon the plan or execute it prematurely
the former was not to be thought of; the haste
necessarily required by the latter left no time
for communication either with the friends be
expected from the North, or with such slaves as
were ready to join him at the time originally
proposed There is not the slightest ground
for saying that John Brown found the slaves
Indifferent to the acquisition of freedom.
But Judge Redfeld is not content with this
amount of mis-statement. Gaining hardihoOd
as he advances, he makes assertions which
startle even his Pro-Slavery ccadjutor, the Ed
itor of the Churchman's Magazine He de-
clares that g in physical comfort and social ad-
vantages," in happiness - and real welfare,
in /" intelligence" {" in vigor Of body and
mind, and in contented quiet and unaffected
comfort" they "infniteEy excel their fellows
in state Of freedom, throughout the country y!
This is moderately strong language yet it
is strange that he did not mention what is
equally true, that they all live in handsome,
four-story houses, have six months of every
year at their own disposal, and edit the Plea
yune, the LOUISVILLE Journal and the Southern
Rerie.D.
1t, if Judge Red6eld's description be true,
what awful liars the ,Obite editors of Southern
newspapers must be, who are constantly repre-
senting masters as offering rewards for runa-
way slaves, and describing those slaves as bear
ing marks Of the lash, Of branding irons, of
buck-shot and bullets, inflicted for former mis-
demeanors, and showing evidence Gf one could
believe them) of anything but contented
quiet and unaffected comfort Can the Chief
Justice explain to us why masters misrepresent
their slaves in this manner and who the 3d. 900
black people, in Canada really are, who falsely
lpretend to be runaway slaves?
However, deep may be Judge Redfeld's in
sight, to my limited apprehension his theory of
the cause of high condition of happiness and
welfare existing among the slaves is not plau-
sible one. This he says -
" Results necessarily from the superior Ca
pacity of the whites, and the fact that, in the
present relations of society at the South, the
black receives more than an equivalent for his
labor, in the wisdom, forecast, and calculation
r I,.x 10 mo 10 In
Northern man, and especially if he have imbib-
ed the slang can't of the day to any great ex-
tent But it is, in fact, just as certain, and
just as obvious, as it is that children obtain
more than any equivalent for their labor in the
protection of their parents, or that the opera
tive in q cotton MILL or wooden mill, are really
more benefited than injured by being employed
at such prices only as give them comfortable
subsistence, and at the same time make their
employers wealthy
To my Northern mind this seems neither Ger
tain, nor obvious, nor plausible. Even care
full examination of F." the slang can't of the day .
in the writings of Rev. President Lord and
South-side Adams, has failed to show me itE
correctness. do not find that the people o.
Hungary and of Italy, derived either welfare,
or happiness, or even +" contented quiet and
unaffected comfort" from the superior ca
pacity, the ,OiSdOm, forecast, and calculation Of
Metternich and, until find the children Of
Northern parents, and the operatives in North
ern factories bought and sold in the market
forbidden to learn reading and writing custom
arily disciplined with q cowhide which draws
blood at every stroke, and seizing every oppor.
tunity to escape by the underground railroad
to Canada, shall decline to accept their condi.
ton either as parallel with that of the slaves,