Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-10-23

A Slave Insurrectiou In New York City,
The Battle Of the Territories.
d. 7. Valentine, in bis history Of New
York city, gives an account Of slave insur-
rection in l74l, designated at tile time as the
"diabolical plot OF the black seed Of Cain to
destroy this city and set themselves up as It's
rulers will be borne in mind that sla-
very existed in all the colonies, and that the
foreign slave trade was carried on. Mr. VAL
eatine remarks, "the imaginadons Of the citi
Eens of New York had long been in the Gus
tom Of indulging in apprehensions Of rising
Of the slaves aud other colored people in this
city against the whites Some evidences Of
an attempt OF this kind were furnished in
l7l2, az which period several negroes were
executed on the charge of insurrection.' In
the investigations of l74l, several fires &C
curing in a short time, suspicion was hxed
upon Eve Spanish negroes, formerly sailors
on a Spanish ship which had been taken as
prize aud brought into New York, when these
sailors were convicted, condemned and sold
into slavery among the inhabitants. While
Investigations and trials were proceeding ma
ny people in the general CONSERVATION re-
moved with their effects from the city. Sew
eral negroes were in jail on suspicion, many
Of whom in the height Of terror proposed to
MAKE revelations accusing others in the hope
Of thus speedily procuring their release. Du-
ring the progress Of this affair, l54 negroes
were committed to prison OF whom, from the
llth OF May to the goth OF August, "A were
burnt at the stake, IS hanged, II transported
and the rest pard0ned OF discharged for the
want OF proof There were also 20 white
persons committed of whom were execu-
ted, one Of the four being Catholic priest
The place Of execution of the negroes was on
an island in "Fresh Water Pond, quite out
Of the city, a little in the rear of where is
now the City Hall, and Of Chambers street
The population Of the city was $4,000 Of
whom oue-sixth were slaves.
Mr.. Valentine publishes the census Of the
city in 1908, giving the names of "heads Of
families thus, Smith William (alderman, one
male, one female, twonegroes four negresses,
six negro children. "TenEyck Derrick, three
males, one female, two children, twelve ne
groes, one nagreSS;' but generally slavehOld-
ing families had but tone negro" or zone ne
gress,' or tone negro child. The whole
number Of tamihes in the city was 7S6 Of
whom 800 held slaves-about 40 per cen'.-
The number Of slaves wss 74S, Of whom 207
were negro children. The population at five
souls 10 a family would be about 1000 Of
which about one-ffth were slaves.
Statistical census writers tell rs that the
child is now born who may see 10000, 900 OF
slaves IN the United States. What a reaping
whirlwind of instruction would be gathered
from such broad cast sowing, the terrible
apprehension" being more terrible if pos
sible on plantation than in city The horrors
Of an actual orsuspected slave instruction are
beyond the power ofdescriptiOu- same aw-
ful forebOdings is their terrible and uniform
testimony from generation 10 generation,
more heart killing than the approach of an
invading enemy or the stealthy step 'of the
pesillence that walketh in darkness. -
The record made OF the whites in New
York City as to their apprehension of a.
slave insurrection' from I7l2 TO l74l, is but
the record for all slave sections from l74l
down to the en- masse, armed, night patrol of
Texas, in 1850. And yet in the conflict now
waging-the Battle Of the Territories, the
slave democracy claims that the area for these
terrific instructions shall be enlarged by vir
tue Of the protection Of property by the COnsti-
tuition The law of nations, OF civilized ma
tons, does not recognize property in man,
and the few instances of such nations not
accordant with this law are but the ex-
eeption to a general rlle.
The last Congress of the Confederation and
the first Congress of the Constitution stamped
all the "territOry, the national domain, with
the indelible seal of Freedom from SiagTy
JOreUer. On this question every State in
both Of these Congresses voted, unanimously,
Ave. Surrounded by such august sentinels,
with the banner of Freedom first untUrled on
the Western Continent and stained all over
with the blood Of victory-in such circum- |
st lces and from such a maternity was the /
C, Institution born. Can the child, on this /
early, irrepealable law Of freedom Of all the |
national territory be taught to utter a Ian
guage not its mother tongue p
p