The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1862-07-25
slave Stealing---FRcts from the
feueun.


Census.
If we credit the assertions Of the rebel
papers in the South, and certain class
Of papers in the North, we must believe
that n large portion of the Northern peo-
pie are engaged in stealing slaves, who
run away from their masters. and we
must charge the loss Of slaves who run
away from their masters, to the efforts Of
anti-slavery people Of the North. All
Intelligent and candid Slaye-ot0nerS know that
this is not the fact, and that the loss to
slaye-owners from runaways is a trining
per centAge, and that in nine cases out Of
ten-perhaps much larger proportion
slaves run away of their own accord
without being tempered with by anti
slavery emissaries. II is usual, we
know, for rebel demagogues, and their
northern sympathizers, TO speak Of the
loss Of slaves as enormous and an in
tolerable burden 10 the Slave States,
but this statement is most etlectually
answered by the following extract from
the census Report for 1860 The Super
intendent says:
That the complaint of insecurity 10
slave property, by the escape of this
class Of persons into the free States, and
their recovery impeded, whereby its va
lue has been lessened, is the result of
misapprehension, is evident, not only from
the small number who have been lost to
their owners, but from the fact that up
to the present time The number Of escapes had
been gradually diminishing to such an extent
Hat the Wiole annual loss to the Southern
States from this cause bears less proportion 10
tie emolnt Of capital inUolved than The daily
UariGiioRs sOltiol, in ordinary times, occur IN
Me ftctHati0n Of State on Government Secu-
rites, IA tie city Of Men York alone.
The highest estimate of the annual
loss of Kentucky, which has always
suffered more than any other slave State
in,this respect, was Governor MAaoFFIN's,
who limited as plainly as he dared that
Kentucky should join the Southern Con.
federacy because she lost 100000 an
uually, on a capital of S17500O,000l
the value ofher slaves-or about one fif-
teenth of one per cent To hear some
people talk, one might believe that slave
owners were the most plundered and i'm
posed upon of all persons in society, and
yet when we come to investigate
the matter how really insignificant
their losses have been. And after care
full observation for many years
we assert that the great majority of
slaves who runaway from their masters,
leave from one or more of the following
csuses: ill-treatment by their masters,
or overseers, aversion TO work fear of
punishment for some real Or supposed Of
fence or from a natural fondness for
adventure, and rowing habits. We know
q slaye'who has been fugitive for the last
eight or ten years, and has been in Jail
in every Southern State from Virginia
TO Louisiana and yet he has never at
ltmpltu W HNN AuNo iAbe b'e'V' w
have poor opinion Of negro stealing
and negro thieves, for they are the pests
of all communities and practically the
enemies Of the slaves but this eternal
brawling against miserably insignih-
cant number Of people, in a certain class
of journals which speak Of these fanat-
les, as if they were formidable body
in the Free States, has become intolera-
bly, disgusting, as well as most mischiev-
GUS in its effects on the minds Of ignor-
ant and weak people in the South An
editor who will GIL his paper With sasl:
absurd calumnies is not a whit too hon
est to steal slave, and would do SO in a
moment if he could pocket few dollars
byit Such persons are responsible for
much Of this deplorablo sectional en-
nifty.