The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-04-25
The future Of 6 American Slavery. :"


Negro slavery, so called, grew up in the New
World Just as Democratic Institutions or any
other natural order of things. The early
Spanish adventures soon found that the ma
tives of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, &c, were
not we'll adapted to the cultivation of their
plantations they were feeble, insubordinate,
and worse than all perhaps, they were in a
sense stupid-that is, they had some kind of
character of their own which rendered them
inspt, and to a certain extent incapable of ac-
curing the habitudes Of the white European
conquerers. On the contrary, the negro the
African, natural negro, is blank, on whose
nature the white man may write as he pleases,
and like the child, moreover, nature has en-
dowed him with wonderful powers Of imita-
ton, so extraordinary, indeed, that the igno-
rant anti savervite mistakes it for negro ca
pacity. The Smniards, therefore, imported
negroes from Africa to work their plantations
This importation was conducted very hui
namely The Spanish government guarded it
with every care and consideration. An equal
number of males and females, and even a GER
tain proportion Of children, were brought over,
and all are properly protected by the agents
of the Government A few years later the
Dutch and English engaged in the trade.
Queen Elizabeth formed a connection with one
Hawkins, a greater naval rufiian than even
'lord" Nelson, if that was possible. He and
the virgin queen tourished exceedingly in
this slave trade speculation, and Hawkins
himself was finally knighted, we believe, by
his royal mistress, but whether from his dex-
terity in stealing "niggerS" or some more pri-
vate personal reason history is silent. The
trade having passed into the hands of the
Dutch and English merchants of the day, it
became mere matter of commerce, and not
only the islands but the main land-the
British Provinces of the North, even frost-bt-
ten Canada-had its proportion of negroes.
The negro however, never was a slave, as
slavery has existed in history. His labor was,
and is now, the consideration, the interest, the
property involved, and his master had, and
has now, control of his person Just to that eX-
tent, and no more. 1t existed, therefore, all
over the continent. No such thing as a
"free negro1 was ever heard Of or thought of
until the colonies were about to cast off the
Britisff1omination when the British Toriesall
at once discovered we had slaves, and to be
consistent declared that we should free these
slaves. Slavery, so called, or suborlination
of negrors as we have said, grew up every
eral habitude-the common law Of the New
World. But when the colonies declared for
independence and set up Democratic sys-
TEN in form as we'll as fact-for Democracy
grew I'D naturalization free negroism was
set up BY the British writers as counterpoise,
and English policy has been directed ever
since to the propagation of this monstrous i'm
posture. English writers proclaimed the dog
F. -, hot fha ~
color, was a man like ourselves, and therefore
that he was naturally entitled to the same
rights, and the British government has labored
for seventy years, and expended five hundred
millions of money to reduce this assumption
to practice. They have done so, or as far as
such a thing can be DONE in all their Ameri-
can possessions. All the European govern
ments except Spain have done the same-the
so-called Spanish Republics have carried out
the same policy, and finally our own people
in the northern and middle States, deluded
by these British theories, have turned loose
their negroes, who, no longer cared for by
masters, are rapidly perishing. Our own wri-
tiers, subject always to British dictaton, have
admitted these theories, have admitted that
negroes were Mack white men, that social sub
ordination of these negroes was condition OF
bldNcT}, hdNC tdCllly du-
mtted that one half of our people were living
in the daily practice of a stupendous wrong
and vast overshadowing iniquity Mean
time, these negroes have rapidly increased
there are now nearly five millions in the
South. The product Of their labor has be-
come the most important agency affecting the
| fortunes of mankind the world has ever seen,
and cotton at this moment is influencing hui
al h.,
and universities in ChristendOm. The anti
slavery" theory applied-the single race dog
ma put in practice, the single article of cotton
cut off for twelve months, and the bottom
would fall out of modern civilization. Com
merce industry, politics, morality, in short
human well-being, would be more affected
than they would be or could be by the utter
| and instantaneous humiliation ofthe 'chruch,"
Of monarchy or any other institution now
in existence upon The earth.
Revolutions and radical changes in human
| affairs are brought about as much by physical
as by moral agencies. The terrible French
Revolution of 1889 was the result of the plum
der and robbery Of the people by Louis NV,
and his ancestors, vastly more than the teach
ings of Rosseau and the, HtTuy vfurz-,f+s. aT1
the world has been writing, speaking, and
even praying against American slavery' for
seventy years--all the kings and aristocrats,
the Swans and scholars, wit the entire Chris
tan Church, Protestant and Romanist, with
the Pope at its head in a word, all the moral
| forces Of modern times have been combined,
concentrated and welded for the overthrow OF
american slavery, land though until very
recently not one single human voice was up
lifted in its favor, it has steadily increased in
strength, power and permanence, and at this
moment is mightier than kings or arstocTats,
or hierarchles, or any other power or powers
upon the earth, safe and except the people. All
these moral forces, these combined, world
wide efforts to break down American slave
ry,'' have failed utterly failed, because they
warred against the natural order of things,
against the fixed and interchangeable DEGREES OF
the Eternal, against the wants of human So
ciety. The labor of the negro is essential to
human welfare; that labor is only possible
when guided and controlled by the intelligence
of the white man, and though there may be
many defects in the existing relation, this con-
dition, or this thing called negroe slavery, has
been the direct and indirect means of doing
more good to mankind than any other condi-
ton Of things known in the experience of our
race.
The stupendous combinations of moral for
ces so long arrayed against this condition
have, therefore, wasted themselves and reac-
ton has set ina reaction Of harmony and uni
ty of sentiment among ourselves, but that
must go on until production and civilization
are restored to the great tropical centre of this
continent, until those genial and fertile regions
which benifcent Creator has designed as tire
centre and source of unlimited blessings shall
be duly appreciated by his creatures.