The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-05-24
A Virginia Governor on slavery.

MESSAGE OF GOVERNOR PEIRPOINT.
The following is the Message OF Governor
Pcirpont, of Virginia:
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER. May 10, 1862.
| To the Senate aad House of Delegates of Viz :
gina:
| GENTLEMEN lit becomes my duty to COM
mnnicate to you the fact that two slaves have
| been condemned during the present year
| one to be hung, the other to be transported :
one in kanawha county, the other in Acco-
| mae The one in Kanawha county was to
! have been hang on the 18Th of pri! last.
| have postponed the day Of his execution until
the Goth Of June.
The law, as it stands, gives the Executive
of the States power only to commute the
punishment from death to transportation
beyond the limits Of the United States,
| requiring the sheriff to sell the convict to the
highest bidder. who shall give bond and
security that the convict shall not return to
the Stare. | intend to commute his sentence
| to transportation.
The one condemned in Accomac county
| fixes his sentence to transportation. The
court in each case, finds the present value of
the slaves to be six hundred dollars, which it
is made the DUTY Of the court to certify to
! the executive of the State. and the Auditor
t" pay ont of the public treasury.
| Perhaps | should not have called these
facts to the attention Of the Legislature but
for the fact that the Legislature has not made
any provision for paying claims of this char
| actrr.
But, gentlemen, as this case now comes up,
| | deem it my duty to submit YOU my views
on this subject, AS it is novel one to me-
| Why should the owner of a slave who COM
mits crime deemed Of suilicien. gravity. by
| the law, to Suhrcl the slave to transportation
| or death, be paid the value Of the slave out
OF the public treasury Of the State?
| ] have examined the Jewish. the Grccian
and Roman laws on the subject of capital
crimes committed by slaves; also, the laws
of all the States Of the United States in which
slavery exists, and find no similar provisions
made for their payment as those made by the
| laws of Virginia. | have looked into the
common law, and | find whore d vicious
animal which is recognised as property. does
an injury, the animal doing the injury is
liable TO DC destroyed without compensation
| to The owner but the owner is also liable for
| HHuascs tor knowingly permitting the vlcious
| property to run at large. | have asked men
| learned in the law, who owned slaves, to
| assign me good reason. according to the
| principles of the common law, Scripture
moral science or common policy, why masters
| or their representatives, owning slaves who
where adjndgcd guilty of crimes By the law
| paid for them! No answer has even been
| given me, except that if the master was no,
paid he had str9ng temptation to screen the
| slave from the punishment due his crime by
| sending him To another State and selling him.
rather than lose HIM by death or TRANSPORTS
| ton.
| This reason does great Injustice to the
master, for it is claimed that the cxistance
"f slavery produces higher civilization,
more exalted state of society. where the
| employed and employer are identical in inter
est. feeling and affection, instead of the
antagouism existing between such parties, by
contract, where money to make and save is
the Object; and, Furthermore is inhunlan and
against every princip'r of justice. The mas
| TER owns ms slave. He is dictator. guardian
and absolute director over him. and requires
| submission, allegiance and obedience to his
commands. The brains and ability that Justify
such ownership of ignorance and crcatrs'such
| dependence, should defend, protect and Shield
it when prosecuted for capital offence
| precisely as a parent should defend his minor
| son, who has the same legal right to his ser
vice that the master has to the service of
of his slave Yet whoever claimed the right
or advanced the idea that a parent should be
| Unidentified for such loss when his sons life
IS forfeited for crime. The inequality of So
| clal position between the son and slave does
not lessen the force OF the argument, because
| the lower degree Of Intelligence, social posi-
ton and ability to procnre the aids necessary
to a fair trial, the more imperative is the
| demand for the interest and aid from another
| The justice Of this law Of paying the master
! for Il slave condemned for crime to death or
transportation. is totally and perfectly indie
feasible The master has the physical, moral,
intellectual and religious training of the slave
| All laws are made to give him the largest
| power over him, and il he fail to make him a
| good and obedient and law-abding creature
OF him, it is the misfortune of the MASTER
If, by his neglect, the slave grows up vicious
and commits crimes i, is no reason why tens
OF thousands of poor laboring men in the State
should contribute of their hard earnings to
pay rich master for his slave that by his
own neglect in moral training has become
vicious, and committed a crime worthy of
death or transportation.
In the case of the slave in Kanawha county
the master is rich the man killed leaves a
| poor family. The wife and children arc left
without support, deprived of it by the slave
| yet, though the master is rich. by lazy he is
to be paid $500 for his slave, while the family,
deprived of all support, Is left unprovided
for. This case is, perhaps, the history Of
thousands of cases that have occurred in the
State The whole system of paying for con-
'iCt slaves mas Deen revolving IN my mind
ever since | had judgement to comprehend IT,
In the last twenty years there have been
above 5000, 900 appropriated by the Lagisla-
| ture to pay for convict slaves. From $50 900
to 10000 have been annually Appropriated
| think it is time the whole thing was stopped
and would recommend that You not only do not
make any appropriation to pay for those that
are already condemned, but that you repeal
the law which allows compensation for con-
demned slaves. Large numbers of slavehol-
drrs have engaged in the rebellion now in
progress. They are passing resolutions to
burn their crops. They taking their
horses and mules to be used in the rebel army
They are not providing the means OF suhsst-
! ence for their slaves during the coming year,
by planting crops the present season. Insn-
bordination may arise among the slaves in
the different parts Of the State. They may
commit varioAs crimes Tor which thousands
of them, during the coming year, may be
condemned to be hung or transported, and in
this way an insupportabe debt may be forced
on the State.
respectfully suggest, gentlemen, that yon
repeal the law above REFER, d to.
+. II. PIERroINT.