New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-03-21
SECESSION ARITHMETIC.

The "irrepressibe conflict rears its horrid
front already in the Southern Congress. In a
debate, reported in our columns yesterday, upon
o resolution Of member to inquire into the
cxpedicncy Of imposing al I'D vaorem duty on
the importation Of negroes, il vas suggested By
the Chair that the subject was one 20 be dis
cusscd only il secret session. Mr. Rhett Of
South Carolina went further than the Chairman,
as he gave the reasons why the discussion should
be suppressed. 1t was exceedingly improper"
IL was exceedingly improper lest the discussion
should ALLEVIATE, eTasperate, or in soue way
" disturb the minds" OF the Border Slave States
now in vaciatng condition, undetermined
whether thoy shall go 10 tue right hand or to
tho left, turn their faces Northward or South
ward. Respect 10 these frontier States, v
says Mr.. Rhett, &" should prevent us
from acting on the subject nO,e." Alas !!
for these border brethren if only q "nOr," if
only merely temporary expediency, stand be-
tween them and tho inevitable conclusion TO which
the people Of tho c. s. must como when il sbal
cease to be exceedingly improper" TO discuss
the question in IFS whole length and breadth. As
if indeed il we're possible 10 coniiue the discus
sion TO any Secret Session AS if indeed any
ao,c or then, any time present or time to come,
could limit its consideration The question
which every individual stakeholder, whether he
be border brother, or brother of the c. s.,
considers, reflects upon, broods over, discusses,
and "cusses" in the "secTet session OF HIS
own commuuings. til time past, time present,
and time 10 come is filed ouly with the gigantic
presence Of niger e. " niger - niger |"
The "irrcpressble conflict in the Southern
States assumes ut this moment an arithmetcai
formula, and lie conflicting elements are a. two
is to ten. A. tao cannot be made ten, nor ten
be made two. 80 the conflict becomes Us iTrecon-
cilable rs il is irrepressble. Why should one
pay al 900 ior IN animal deterOreted, probably,
in The rearing when better creature from The
original stock can be had for $500 Such is tie
shape in which the question presents itself in
those States where they do not raise but only
consume the raw blsck material; while IN the
Slaye.brecdi1g States, where they keep the stock
chiefly 10 breed from for export, AID where their
main dependence is the "Tigintial crop Of MIG
gers" or the return every twenty years OF profit
on actual outlay, the question il; How can sc, who
can only make living out of niggers at
II eco a head hope 20 compete in an open mar.
ket, where prime field hands can BE- lad Tor
5000 The questions are vital on beth aides.
In report made a few years since to some
Agricultural Society ia Misslssipp, il was shown
most conclus.vcly By fact, aud hsnes that seven
years was about the limit Of the lie of gang
Of negroes when the utmost profit could bo
gained from their labor, and that 1t was for the
interest Of The planter to use up the old stock
in that period, and supply its place with ire'h
importation from the Atlantic States, rather than
to prolong their lives BY mitigating the severity
of their toll, aud depend upon their natural III
crease for . future supply OF labor. Now, sup
posing planter TO employ one hundred hand',
his outlay, every se'en years, must be, ut Zoo
each, hundred lhOusanJ io.0rs; whereas, were
they only 5000 each, there would be saving cl
eighty thousand dollars, or about eleven thousand
four hundred dollars year in the purchase Of mere
labor. No man il his senses cur disregard such
figures as thc.e. Bat this il not all. Tbs
seyen.year.' theory necessarily involves the dis
csrding of the female element, a., lur mere brute
force, the labor OF men is The most profitable;
and when tie labor is Of that character that i
make. m end of tAs slave in seven years, snd
the natural increase is not desired. then wives
and mothers arc . dead loss 20 en- accurately
calcuIsble percentage. Now, It is wcll-known
fact that the .aye-trader brings from Africa, for
the most part, ihe single article Of malc negro
IN tie yi.or Of its youth; while from the Allan
&c States he NUT take, 50 10 spoak, ~ assorted
cargo; there must be certain proportion oil
woman and child TO the negro man. And this
difference between The two trades il one that
can't be got over. lt is ea.y TO regulate steal
ing, bat not 30 oasy to regulate breeding. Tho
trader who steals his negroes takes only the
young men; but re who depends upon the more
regular market where slaves are raiGcd fox OK.
port, must take tho bad with the good-a proper
tionablc percentage Of women end children with tho
more profitable cox and age. For The breeder VINO
never sold anything bat lis young male negroes
would act about as wisely as farmer who should
never sen anything but the heiiers Of bis herd,
and should keep oil the rest Tho domestic article,
therefore, is not only 400 per cent higher than
tho foreign product, but it ia mixed with use
less alloy of woman and child, which cannot be
got rid of; It is beside deteriOrated BY certain
vices Of civilization, such as desire, and even
necessity, for clothing, dwellings, cooked food
aud other iudu!gences, for which the savage
cares nothing, and which cost money. The DIFF
ference thus between the slave stolen on lie
coast Of Congo and the slave raised on The shOTns
Of the Chesapeake, is even much greater, when