New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-09-20
TIE SLAVERY QUESTION.

II is not often, in the compass of single docu-
ment, that we find so many telling and original hits
at the uphoders Of Slavery as are contained In the
calm and unpretendng address delivered by Mr.
Weston at Washington on the l4th inst, and
recently published in our columns Their
most common and plausible fallacies some OF which
have hitherto been accepted almost without ques-
ton by the popular mind, are taken up, examined
dissected, exposed, aud put down with cool and
decisive array of facts and logic which leaves
nothing to be said in reply.
Admitting the magnitude OF the evil of Slavery
as it now exists in this country, Mr. Weston
denies that either its proportions or its nature
are such that we have no ce.but to fold
our hands and await the solution Of the problem
by the mysterious action OF Divine Providence
a pOus resignation he pointedly remarks, most
frequently taught by those who never teach or
practice it on any other subject. The evil is not
aud has not been an increasing one rc'a'ireiy 10
the means Of relief from II. The question Of the
feasibility of emancipation is to be considered not
in relation to the absolute number and value OF
the slaves but to their relative number and value
entire nation Now, it appears from the success
sye censuses of the United States that the
COG, 900 slaves who existed ct the time Of the
adoption of the Constitution were Of far greater
relative importance, numerically and pecuniary,
than the 1900 900 at present in existence. The
relative increase or The whites has been enor-
mously greater than that of the blacks, aud at
no period has it been 80 great as in the decade
between 1850 end 1860. AT this moment the
slaves constitute only about one-eighth Of our
population. In the British colonies, where the
blacks form four.ffths of tie population, they have
been freed with perfect safety to the cOmmu-
nifty, and an experience Of nearly thirty years has
shown that the whites, even where the relative
numbers Of the races are so immensely dispropOr-
pioned, have nothing to fear from emancipation.
In this country therefore, oil apprehensons on
the subject may be dismissed as idle and cow.
ardly. 1t cannot bo dangerous, argues Mr..
Weston, to free a class numbering only one
eighth of the population, and composed of race
peculiarly remarkable for mildness and dOcilty,
and for the readiness with which it submits 10
control.
1t is alleged, however, that the blacks, if
emancipated, would increase so rapidly as TO
oyerwhelm with their numbers tho white race at
no distant period, and thus Africanise the South.
ern States. Those who make this assertion are
also in the habit Of asserting as an argument
against emancipation, that the blacks cannot
thrive except in slavery, and that in state OF
freedom their numbers invariably diminish. With
out undertaking TO reconcile the contradictions
of these theorists it may be assumed as an cs.
tablished fact that if the increase Of the black
element in this country be an evil, in no way
can il 50 easily be checked as by emancipation,
for it is perfectly certain that the free blacks in
the United States do not multiply in the same
ratio as the slaves. So little is known Of the
reconcile causes which affect the progress of
population, that entirely satisfactory solution
can be given of this phenomenon. The common
explanation that the slow increase or positive
decrease of the free blacks is owing to their
miserable condition, will not answer. In the first
place, their condition is far better than ii is
commonly supposed to be by those who really
know nothing about them, and, bad as it may
be, is not nearly so bad that of many pOpula-
tons in the old world who vigorously increase
and multiply. And in the second place, it is one
of the best established facts Of social science
that the most miserable classes of population
sometimes increase most rapidly, while classes
enjoying every physical comfort rapidly decay.
The experience of centuries has shown that in
Europe children swarm in the huts Of the fisher.
man and the peasant, where their presence is
often burden, while many an opulent patrican
house has persisted for want Of heirs.
But there 10 one very obvious reason why the
slaves increase faSter than the free blacks, which
is thus plainly stated by Mr. Weston: "There
Z" are no maids aud no widows among slaves.
" From the time that the capacity to bear chill
{" dren begins with their women to the time
" when it ends, it is in full activity, and as if
:" the natural passion stimulating that function
(unrestraned as it is in tho case of tho slave
by moral or prudential considerations) was not
" sufficient for the ayarice Of masters, who see
an increase Of their wealth in an increase of
" their human stock, il is further stimulated by
g rewards and promises of rewards. From here
"to the Gulf of Mexico, this country is ono vast
breeding ground for negroes, All made so by