The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1860-05-18
SLAVE LABOR 1NecHARLRsToNa,.s 4,

l. The editor of the Rome New YarlD ScisinsE
Eiaa letter, TO his paper;ifome eharlestoa, gissss
tthe following impre ressions;of the system of sla.,
very as exhibited IN theeonditiono Of the slasssS
in'that city: - -
The city of Charlestoi. has population of
some co. 900 inhabitants; what proportion of
tue nbove'is is colored I-have not the3neaps az
Fhhnd TO accurately determine; but Judging
freni number that is net daifyin the streets
are of the Black race. Tie most of the colored
population though not ALL are slaves. I4learn
that a,number are free and own slaves them.
selves. ,This may seem strange tomany NORTH
ern people-especiallyt to that class who cannot
understand, nor appreciate that system of labor
kuownsas slaveia6ot, in other words owning
the services of another insted Of Hiring, them
1.haye seen nothing of slaverysas as it exists
upon the plantations & and but little of course
as itprevails in the city; but from my obser-
vations whi!sthere, am, more fully conf rmed
in previous belief, that the free States fail en-
tirsy to understand the System, as well as the
views and feelings of The slave owners, but
more particularly Of the 2slayes, themselves
Tint there are some slaves who are Edtscontcn.
ted and dissatisfi ed, l. have no manner Of doubt
but that a large majority ate perfectly content
andSwould never seriously think Of running
away, and neuer of rcbeiling If not inci.eI
thereto by Abolition emissaries, / have just as
little doubt. The system Of Slavery is looked
upon here, both by the owners aud the slaves
themselv es, as we at the North do Of any 6usis
ness transaction II is like the apprentice syss
tenn at the North. where the master does not.
consider he is committing crime to take an
indenturcd apprentice for a <ferm Of years
say from. tile time he is ten until he is twenty.
ore nor doesthe bound apprentice consider he \
is 'disgraced or dsmeaned because he is thus
bound out. At the North young man or wo-
man can be thus bound out to another by his
father, mother, or guardian until such appren.
tice is twentysone, aud the person thus having
the apprentice has just much control over
him and his aeryfces. as the slnve owner has
oyershs slave; the one can be fluggetl or other
wieepunislied for indolenceand misbehavior, in
;the one case just as much as the .other; in fact
the apprentice is just as much the slave Of his
master as the slave here is to- his; if the one
runs away he can be seized and taken back and
compelled to serve out his term the one for term
'of, years, the other, it is true for life.
lis the name of slavery that has so mauy4
horrnrsSini il, to MANY we'll meaning people at
the North. ITO all appearances the slava is Just
as contented and happy here ns the apprentice
is at the" North. He looks upon his LOT AS one
fixed andappf0priate tohim. and the most of
them become elniost much attached to their
masters and the,masters to their slaves, as pa.
rents oschildren, and vice versa there is far
more friendship between them than between
the apprentices and their masters ut tile North.
write this not asian aPologist or defender OF.
slavery. but the result Of the impressions made
upon me from what haveseen.