Delaware State journal and statesman., 1861-10-15


OF the Union with the slave system OF labor ex-
tending over Que. half of il, and the free.labor
system over the other half, is, in the ordinary
course Of human affairs, nn impOssibility. Sen
ator Scward, or rather Mein Herr Dieienbach in |
our Review before him, was right In saying there
is an "irrepressible conflict" between the two |
systems. They cannot long exist together in
peace and harmony there is an irrepressible
tendency in each TO exclude tue oiher; and no
possible wisdom or prudence, on the part of any
Administration, can harmoniZe their coexistence
under one aud the same Government. You must
make your election between the systems and
adopt for the whole country either the slave
system or the free.labor system; and the real
Significance of the contest in which we nre
now engaged is as to which Of these systems
shall he the American system.
However homogeneous IN rnce or character,
habits or manners, may be the people of q coun
try in the outset, they separate, and grow
gradually into two distinct peoples, with almost
entirely ideas, habits, and CUSTOMS il one half
of them in the one section adopt the slave Sys-
TEN, and the other half in the other the Free.
Labor System. We have already in the United
States Notwithstanding our common origin, our
common language, the similarity of our laws,
and our,habtual Intercourse, grown almost into
two distinct nations. Tue COnfederates are
Americans indeed for they have been born and
Il
the original American character; while in the
Free States, batting the alterations effected by
foreign immigration, that character is substan
TALLY preserved. We Of the North are the same
people that made the Revolution, won American
Independence, and established the Federal
Government. This divergence showed itself
even at the time of the Revolution aud it has
been growing greater and greater from the
| beginning of the present century and If the
/ nj urn nj American
soil, must continue to grow still greater and
greater, till the people of the two sections grow
up into two absolutely distinct aud mutually
hostile nations, no longer capable, but by the
suhjugation of the one by the other, of existing
under one and the same Government. The only
way this divergence can be checked the unity
and homoseneousHess of the whole American
people recovered and preserved, is by the
assimilation of the labor systems of the North
and the South.
We Of the North cannot and ought rot to
accept the labor system Of the South. But the
Slave States, by their unproyoked rebellion, have
| given us an opportunity of performing an act Ut
ltng-delayed justice to the negro population OF
the Union. and Of assimilating the Southern
labor system to ours This assimilation is at
the bottom Of the Southern rebellion, aud the
South has risen in arms against the Union,
chiefly for the purpose of extending her labor
system over all the Free States In doing SO,
she gives us the right, in our own elfdelenCe,
TO extend our tree-lahOr system over all the
Slave States-a right which, but for her re bel
lion, we should not have had under the Consti.
tuition.
If this prove n disadvantage to the Southern
States, owing to the peculiar character OF their
lahoring population, they have no right TO com
plain, for ii is II disadvantage they have brought
upon themselves. But this will be disadvan-
tage only as compared with us of the North ;
for il will be better for the South herself to have
her negro population free laborers than il is to
have them slaves. In counting the population
Of the South, we must count not merely her
white, bat also her black and colorud population
The moral, spiritual and material well.being of
her four millions OF black aud colored people
must be considered, as well as the moral
spiritual and material well being of her eight
millions Of whites. These black aud coloreJ
people are as much human beings whose welfare
| Is as important and as necessary to be consulted
by the Statesman, the political economist, the
moralist, and the Christian, as that of any other
portion OF her population; and what they would
gain by their emancipation should be thrown
into the balance against what might be lost by
their former owners. But even the 347, 900
slave proprietors would, in reality, lose nothing
or gain in moral more than they would lose Ia
material prosperity. We do not believe South
ern society would, in case OF emancipation,
be equal to what il would ii the whole popuation
were of the white race. The negro element
would rcmain in that society, and, wherever il
remains, il will be an inferior element; but far
less so as free, than rs ensaved. The white
population of the South must ALWAYS suffer tbis
| drawback for having collected, or submitted 10
the collection of large African population on
their soil, and they have no right to complain If
obliged to make expatiOn, us long as the world
stands, for having introduced and sustained tho
institution of negro Slavery. But aside from
the disadvantage of having its laboIing popula-
tion of IL race with which the white race will not
mlngle, the South would gain by the assimilation
Of her labor system to that of the North.
1t seems to us, then, highly important. in
every possible Wow of the case, that the Federal
Government should avail itself of the opportu-
nifty given it by the Southern Rebellion TO per.
| form this act of justice to the negro raee IN
assmiate the Labor system of the South to that
Of the North to remove great moral and
| political wrong and to wipe out the foul stain
Of Slavery, which has hitherto sullied the
otherwise bright escutcheon of our Republio =
We are no fanat OH the subject Of Slavery. as
is well-knOwn TO our readers, aud we make no
extraordinary pretensions to modern philanthro
! py but we cannot help fearing that if the
Government lets slip the present opportunity Of
| doing Justice to the negro race and of plncinq
our Republic throughout i'll harmony with
modern civilization, God who is especially the
God of the poor and the oppressed, will never
give victory TO our arms, or suffer us to succeed
in our Efforts TO suppress rebellion and restore
peace and integrity to the Union. We have too
long turned deaf car to the cry of the enslayel,
we have too long suffered our hearts TO prow
calous 10 the wrongs of the down. trodden in
our own country; we have loo long been willing
to grow rich, to erect our palaces, and gather
Injuries around us by the toll, the sweat, and
the blood Of our ensaved brethren Nav il moi
be that the cry of these brethren has already
entered the ear Of Heaven, aud that lie bns
taken up their cause, and determined that If We
refuse any longer to break their chains, to set
them free, aud to treat them as our brothers and
fellow citizens, We shall no longer exist as n
nation May it not be that, in this matter. We
have him to reckon with, aud that the frat step
toward success is, justice to the wrong,d? We
confess that we fear, aud deeply fear, if we let
slip the opportunity which the Southern Rebellion
gives us to do Justice to the slave or TO make
his cause ours, in vain shall We have gathered
our forces aud gone forth to battle. We fear
God may be using the Rebels us Instruments Of
our Observation-Disclosures themselves TO be
destroyed, when through them our own destruc- |
tiOn has been effected. We speak solemnlv and
in deep earnest for he fights al terrible odds
who has the infinite and just God against him.
II may he that an all-wise Providence has
sui,eioi tu's IVpehiuh lur the very purpose OF
giving us an opportunity of emancipating
without destroying, but as a means Of
preserving, the Union, the men, women and
children now held in bondage, and of redeemine
onr past oilenses. If 20, most fearful will be
His Judgments upon u.s. If we neglect the oppor-
tunity, and fail to avail ourselves of the right.
Now is our day of grace. This opportunity
neglected. our day Of grace may be over, and
our Republic follow tho fate Of all others, md
became n hisainP and n hV-Wnrd in nil tho oarth
Which may God in His infinite mercy avert
BRUTAL MunDER.-A man named O'Connell.
resiling in n plnce known ms the mOll Rnnl,nrr . |