Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1860-04-12
race-that they have no rights which white

race-that they have no rights which white
man is bound to respect, and that at the prop
er coincidence of circumstances their enslave
meut will be accomplished They want but q
pretext to disregard the public sentiment and
carry out their theories to their logical con-
clusions. Granting The prayers of the petit
tioners before us we would give them that pre-
text. They, no doubt, are driving their free
blacks upon US By their slew process Of en-
slaTement hoping thereby to provoke us to
initiate them, and not only refuse them admis-
sion into our State, but also to drive out those
already here. Such an act on our part would
in their opinion, justify their contemplated &C.
ton, on the plea of protecting their peculiar
institution from the dangerous surroundings of
the free blacks.
1t thus becomes serious question with US.
Shall we stutify ourselves, and give the lie to
those doctrines Of our fathers, By becoming
instrumental, to any extent whatever, in driV.
lug into slavery those unfortunate beings p
1t cannot be disguised that refusing them
freedom in the free States is to drive them in
to hopeless servtCde in the slave States. For
| bidding them egress within our borders, is
step in carrying out the great slavery pro-
gramme long since laid down for US by the
/
! \ careful and patient examination of that
| programme and the necessary steps of its pro-
gress, commencing. as Mr.. Calhoun himself in
dcated, many years back of the annexation
of Texas down through all its movements to
the present day, even including the subject be-
! fore US cannot fail TO show that il has all
| tended to these definite ends, viz The en-
| Slavement of the entire black race, and the
( cr,5 cF+ +bo I'd
absolute dominion and control of the slave
power.
we viii now briefly examine some of The
details Of the petitions before Us. We are in
formed by them that fugitive slaves are many
times retaken at the expense of mobs and the
peace aud dignity of the Commonwealth. y
We cannot see how the prohibition of free
blacks from the State can remedy that evil.
Nothing but the slave code asked for, which
would obTiate thenecessity Of returning them
or a Personal Liberty Law which shall pro
hibit bunting and taking them upon our soil,
would accomplish the object. The excitement
and sometimes mobs attendant upon the rendi
ton Of fugitive slaves, but proves that Penn
Sylvanaus to-day are not unlike the Pennsvl-
| vanians Of 1850, when they rejoiced that they
were foremost in removing the pollution OF
slavery from among them. Hence they recoiI
at returning human being to slavery.
They further say that old broken down
negroes, set free by their masters on account
| of their worthleSsneSs, seek our shores only to
become pablo charge, or prey upon individ-
ual charity If the Institution of slavery has
so degraded and unchristianized her white peo-
ple, that after wringing toll from their slaves
until they become wor thIeSS, they will drive
them abroad in a state of helplessness and
desttuton, shall we, the descendants of those
men who said they reiojced that they we're
enabled "to remove as much as possible the
sorrows Of those who had suffered in undesarved
bondage" spurn them from our doors and
thereby do them as great wrong as those of
whom We complain?
Again, they say that others still more oh.
jeciiouable commit crimes, occupy the time Of
our courts aad oil up our jals and penitentia-
ries, and thus in various ways increase the al
ready numerous burtheas of our tax payers"
Statistics do not show that blacks who have
been born and reared under the Influences of
our own institutions, with ordinary education
al advantages, are criminal beyond many other
classes Of men. If their condition of servi-
tude has driven them TO vice, then are We not
OC4ii- -!%d- NlDAS " NlAhC lIclI UdEh iukD
such unfavorable and vice-fostering condition.
Shall all that is regarded as valuable in hu.
manity be sacrificed upon the altar of dollars
and cents? While We would be glad to re-
lieve them from the bnrthens OF taxation. and
Of vicious population, we are not willing to
a5solve them from the Christian duty of being
just aud even merciful to the poorest of human
ity. Neither are We willing to disregard the
obligation We are under of treating the peo-
pie OF each State in the Confederacy Is having
rights and privilegesi 10 all. To commence the
work Of isolation proposed, is to begin freit;Hg
asander the threads which bind the States to-
gelher.
Lastly, they say, if these beings cannot be
| forbidden our soil, they ask for a slave code
IN replying to this request We call attention to
the effect of granting it, by brief compari-
son of two contiguous States.
When PENNSYLVANIA abolished slavery she
was inferior to the State of Virginia in every
| thing which constitutes a great, prosperous
and happy people The territory Of Virginia
was one third larger than that of Peunsylva-
MIA. and she more than doubled her in popula-
tioa and wealth Now their conditions are
more than reversed in everything which is re-
garded as valuable in State In 1850. the
city of Philadelphia alone almost equaIed in
wealth the entire State of Virginia, slave
property included At this day she no doubt
fully equals her This remarkable change has
not grown out of any natural advantages We
possess over heron the contrary, Virginia,
in her climate and the natural productiveness
of her soil, is superior to Pennsylvania : and
she boasts of coal and iron enough beneath
ber surface to supply the whole world. Yet.
with that boast, in 1850 the total products of
/ her manufactures, mining and mechanic arts
were but $29, ,0e0, 600, while that of PennsyL
Eania was $l55, 000, 900. This remarkable
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