Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1860-01-20
DELAWARE, OHIO, JANUARY 30, 1860.

States. Shall we be told that the cause of
this decline Of Virginia commerce is the
growth Of the Northern cities, which, By
means of their canals and railroads and
vast capi:al, draw off the trade from smaller
ports to themselves? And what then? The
cause assigned IS itself prior cause. We
would ask those who take this superficial view
of the matter-why should the great CONNER
cial ports be all outside of Virginia, and near
or in the Free States? Why should every
commercial Improvement, every wheel that
speeds the movements of trade, serve but to
carry away from the Slave States more and
more of their wealth for the benefit of the
great Northern cities !? The only caase that
can be assigned Is that where slavery prevails
commerce and navigation cannot flourish, and
commercial towns cannot compete with those
in the Free States. They are merely places Of
deposit for such country produce as cannot be
! carried directly to the Northern market
Here Northern and foreign ships come 10 car
ry away these products of slave labor, and
this constitutes nearly all the trade of South
ern ports.
When white family own City or one hun
dred slaves, they can, so long rs their land pro-
duces weil afford to be indolent and expensive
in their habits, for though each slave yield only
& small profit, yet each member Of the family
Las ten OF fifteen of these black work-animals
| 10 toll for his support. 1t is not until the
fields grow old ard the crops grow short, and
the negroes and the oyerseer take nearly all,
that the day of ruin can be no longer post
poned. II The family he not rery indolent and
Gerry expensive, this inevitable day may not
come before the third generation. But the
ruin OF small Shareholders is often accomplish
Ell in a single lifetime.
Sc " hen white family own five Or ten slaves
they cannot afford 10 be indolent and expen-
sive in their habits, for one black drudge can
not support one white gentleman or lady
Yet, because they are Shareholders, this family
will feel some aspirations for life Of easy gen
tility, and because field-work and kitchen-work
are negroes work the young gentlemen will
dislike to go with the negroes to the dirty field
work, and the young ladies will dislike to join
the black s.pts In any sort of household labor
Such unthrifty sentiments are the natural con-
sequence of introducing slaves among the fam
lies of country, especially negro slaves
They infallib!y grow and spread, creating
among the white families dstate for all ser
vile labor, and a desire to procure slaves whn
may take all drudgery off their hands. Thus
general industry gives way by degrees to indo-
lent relaxation, false notions of dignity and re-
iinenent, and a taste for fashionable Injuries.
Then debts siyly accumulate. The result is,
that many families are compelled by their en-
larrassnlen;s to sell of and leave the country.
Many who are unable to buy slaves leave ii
. also. because they feel degraded, and cannot
prosper where slavery exists. Citizens Of the
Valley is it not so? Is not this the chief rea-
son why yonr beautiful country does not pros
per like the Northern Valleys?
And thus, frliow-citze,is. when you have
sufired yoar country to be filled with negro
slaves inst9at-of- white fleemen; when its pop
ulation shall be as motley as Josephs coat OF
many coiors-as ring-St Streaked and speckled as
father Jacobs flock was in Patan Aram-what
W Ii the white basis of representation avail you
if yau obtain it? Whether you obtain it or
: not, East Virginia will have triun,phed, or
rather slavery will have triumphetl, and all
| Vir sini;l will have become a land of darkness
AMI of the shadow Of death
! Then, by a forbearance which has no NOR
it, and supineness which has no excuse you
will have given to your children for lheir in
heritance, this lovely land, blackcned with a
negro popuatien-thc offscourings of Eastern
Nirginia-the fag end Of siavery--the loath-
some tiregs Of that cup of denominations which
has already scllencd to death the eastern hall
of our Commonwealth. '' Behold
in the cast the doleful consequences of letting
slavery grow up to an oppressive and heart
sckcning burden upon community. Cast il
off West Virginans, while yet you have the
power for if you let it descend unbroken te
your children, it will have grown to a noun
tain of misery upon their heads.
Il appears then, that the above (which
venture to say is Just as good % treason " a:
any that can be found in my book is the sor
OF anti-3lavery in which the Governor elect o
Virginia reposes his political faith In wha
respect, then, is } ohm Sherman gr-ater trait
or than John Letcher? Ii the former is unfi
to be elected Spcoker of the House Of Repre-
slntatives, is not the latter unfit to be inaugu
rated Governor of 8 the Mother Of States
1t is to be sincerely hoped that our dear siste
Virginia, may suffer no violation of her homo
form any of the doiugs of the designing Lhch
en-. Let him be looked after.
/ Yours respectfully,
1 II. R. HELPER,
No. 43 Pine street, n. 7.