The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1860-08-24
First OF August.


The anniversary Of emancipation In tho
British West Indies was celebrated in vari-
Gus places. In Massachusetts, the principal
meetings were at New Bedford and Arlington.
The latter was held in the beautiful grove In
that town, under the auspices Of the Mara.
chusetts Anti-slavery Society, but was at
tended by Others, who desired 10 Join in com.
memonting 30 momentous an event as tho
redemption Of eight hundred thousand hu.
man beings from the condition Of chattels to
that of frccmen. sp&chu were made by
Rev. NJ. d. Conway, late Of Washington
City, Hon. Charles G. Davis Of Plymouth.
Hon. N. II. Whiting of Mashfeld, Hon. F.
W. Bird Of Walpolc, and Others. Letters
wcro received from Hon. Charles Sumner,
Hon. @. F. Adamr, John A. Andrew. Esq.,
and Mr.. Garrison. Most Of these wc end In
the Boston Atlas and Bcc. They chiefly TO
late to the working Of emancipation In tho
FREQ colonies, where, Il has been said, thee cx.
pertinent has proved failure. wecan only
give glimpse Of some Of tho main points
presented. .p
Mr.. Sumner maintains that oil testimony,
whether from official documents, or from trav.
ellers, shows, beyond question, that in all
these Islands tho condition Of the negro has
been improved by emancipation. As might
well bc presumed, this improvement is most
strongly manifest in those who have bccn
born In freedom. Even Jamaica, which is
most commonly referred 70 By y-croakcrs as II.
lustrating . failure, is not excepted in Mr..
Summers general view Of results. And lis
opinion Is fortified by recent assurances mado
to him by two different governors Of tho ISL
and.
The views offered by Mr.. Adams In hisle
ter are SO forcible and pertinent that VIC ask
attention to q liberal extract:
e West India emancipation Il
grayely pronounced failure. have heard
Il 50 described on tho floor OF the House Of
Representatives. The only reason given Is
that the British islands do not produce 30
many pounds Of sugar and coffee as they did
when they could force them out Of the bones
and muscles of slaves.
II was Sismondi, I think, who Ent pro.
tested against the fallacy Of all British writ
crs on political economy who measure the
happiness Of people by the gross amount Of
their material products. A far greater ques-.
ton must always bc, Who Is oycrworkcd3
Who suffer wronsfnlly? Who Is deprived
of his hard earnings for tho benefit Of his
neighbor? Who looks up to the Gag Of his
country and sees in 1t no shelter for himself,
his wife, or his little ones? These questions
will b. boldly answered now In tho British
West Indies. II any cases could be pointed
out in tolerable numbers, we should havo
been very sure 10 have heard Of them. But
oil that we do hear Is about the absence of
coffee and sugar. Now mankind may by pos
sibility be tolerably well OF and yet DO en-.
tirely without coffee and sugar. But how
can they be happy without security Tor their
right to seek happincss in their own wayf
Yet they tell us that, bccause cofIeo and
sugar fail, there Is no good in emancipation.
II by reason OF this failure II could DO shown
that there was misery and famine In tho land,
that starvation was In fair way 70 turn tho
garden into wilderness, should be ready
70 concede something to the argument. But
I hear OF no such thing as that. Ionly bear
that the pcople decline 10 work more than
enough 10 give them an easy subsistcncc.-
Content with little under genial cline they
nrefer ipdolence to labor. And in this rcs-
pect wherein do they differ from their former
masters, tho plsntenf Did you ever hear Of
any of these who liked 10 work. To bc suro
Ucy were never content 10 1.-Two on little, but
they always preferred that what they did
live on should 'be got from tho labor Of somo
other persons than themselves. Tho present
complaint u briefly that this process cannot
be carried on beyond tho will Of tho laboeur.
Perhaps those may sympathlss with Il who
deplore tho los of sugar and oo6ec. Formy
part, sympathi.e moro with tho gain Of
Idlencs 10 tho laborcr, II Il be his pleasure
TO bc idle, and no suffering follow from Il 10
himsclf or his family. Nobody admircs In
dustry moro than do, but u must DO Of that
sort which Is not wrung from tho unwilling
by force and without compensation.
Mr.. Andrews letter Il bold and manly
ono. Hs regards the question Of cnancipa-
ton In our own country q not, In any prop
er sense, sectional ono. but rsthsr - a6ect-
ing tho rights Of tho laboring man ercry
whore. Ho II persuaded that chad tho the