The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-05-03
ESTABLISHEDl

be administered in the interest of slavery, b
rather in aympathy with freedom, and they vii
have accomplished in great part the desires
result None know better than the advocates o
the slave system how entire is its dependeDc
for vitality upon the public opinion Of the com
manity where it exists. And none feel NOR
| keenly the 6rst breath Of moral condemnation
thAt comes from the governing class. &
affirm, therefore, that il is only necessary b
give body and form TO the public will Of Missouri
Ito utter the deliberate verdict Of our gfeal
State against the longer continuance Of SLAYER,
within its confnes, and the hours will be feS
position cite the fact that within the last tws
| years, in presence of the bare discussion Of thu
| subject Of emancipation. in view Of the uncer
tain tenure of that species Of property, and con
quent upon troubled and conflicting state O,
society, the number of slaves in Missouri bst
been reduced one half. And this he's not cost
the State Treasury single dollar of outlay. But
If the halt, Why not two thisds-why not the
whole! The process is the same. The mere sms
fae'0n that there acas freedom on the air, has snadl
lh,s no longer congenial hosae for slose labor
Let the question then of emancipation be agita-
ted freely. The nonslaveholding community
owes thus much to itself. Let its merits be
brought to light in every town and county. Let
its influence DO shown upon industrial wealth,
social elevation, public prosperity, manners,
morals, religion, patriotism, in short upon what
soever slavery has blighted. Let the landed
learn they would be richer, and double the
yearly gain from their cultivated farms if they
would liberate their slaves forthwith and en-
ploy free labor instead Let the landless know
what it is that deprives them of homests ads and
holds it degradation to work. Let none remain
who either from fear or ignorance or remoteness
are not familiar with every vulnerable point In
the slave system, and in the broad light of such
discussion there need be no fear but that the end
will come quickly. Like all other great reforms
that spring from the popular heart this too must
depend in great measure upon incessant aeita-
ton. lido not hesitate to confess myself an "agta
tor ~ this behalf, and intend to continue an 40
itaor il life be spared me- until Missouri takes hsr
stand amid the free States of ute great West. And
it matters really very little through what pro-
cess of balloting or demonstrating or census
taking the determination of the people of MIS-,
souri, to have done with slavery, and put it out
amongst them, shall be made manifest-only 50
that it be made manifest, SO that it be felt and
seen, and known by all that such is the verdict
and even enough in the mysterious providence
OF God, the insncersst OF political trimmers be
used to signal the fact, the end will have been
accomplished just as WELL When that is shown
the number of slaves that will become the SUBJ
Ject Of the Constitutional clauses of elnancipa.
ton will be few indeed. Turn against slavery
Tor its overthrow the same weapons that have
been used so successfully to build it up-the
appliances of public sentiment and the discouu-
tenance of ordinary legislation. Shareholders
finding it no longer reputable, as it has never
been profitable, to maintain such system will
seek of themselves for a delverance from its de-
pressing Influence. Many will be glad to obey
thoro o{ brr III Al.
ten speak, and liberate their slaves by individual
action. Others may perhaps remove with them to
places where the inst tuition still obtains, while
few will clamor for the full price from goven-
ment of chattles that have ceased to be of any
value. 1t has been thus in Pennsylvania, in
New York, in every State that has accomplished
the extinction of slavery, and the process that
has been SO effectual there is the truest method
Of application here When the vestiges of the
institution shall come to be cleared away by
statutes of freedom. have no doubt that lib
erality to shareholders will be the order of the
day: but in the meanwhile and frst of all it is
our duty TO strike dozen that fictitious public opin
ION, that ,nanufdctuya morality, and that false
foo,shp Of its pooer 'c'ich has gpen pale and per.
manence to slavery in the past and ,cialom ,csich
cannot endure for an hour in the tiaure. Do this
and the idol will tumble down from its pedestal,
exposing the poor jugglery by which it has been
so long palmed off on human credulity as of di.
vine origin.
Believing as do that the more thoroughly
this subject of emancipation is discussed the
more visible will become its practicabity, and
the switer its progress from the very fact Of agi-
tation, it will not be amisc if enter my total dis.
sent from so mach Of that programme set forth in
the NeW Era as makes tie erpat,idtion of the
blacks condition precedent 10 their emancipation,
A nf iUofi I of
to enforce so extreme penalty when proposing
to cancel great public evil. And as a caprice
of mere State craft, cannot but think that the
proposed removal, If insisted on and its adop
ton made preliminary to all other action, soiN
do more to retard and esbarrdss the cause of eap-
cipatn Man any action its enemies could take 1t
would involve an outlay far beyond the means
of our State, and it is idle to expect pecunary
aid from the General & ernment in that behalf,
for if compulsory the Federal power will never
cooperate in such scheme, however willing to
aid emancipation in itself, or migration when
voluntary. Indeed, if proper policy be pur-
sued in relieving this State from the reproach
and ruin of slavery the change of condition will
be sufficiently gradual to avoid these evils cppre-
hended by some were an immediate universal
liberation OF the blacks to take place. More.
over, action and reaction should be equal, and
If so many, many thousands of as kdue thus lono
borne NTH their presence here as Slaves surely Others
can endure their abiding as freeoaen for the term
that may i'll them to Uie duties of neso life. To
a voluntary colonization impelled by motives
such as brought the Pilgrims to these shores,
no objection could be made, on the contrary it
would receive support and assistance in many
unexpected quarters; but tie argument that as.
s,nes all Slaves unfit to dueN here ,aen liberated,
thai enforces enpdtriation before freedom is essen
tally pro slavery argument. 1t calls 10 oues-
tion the prop-iety as well as the right of eman.
cpation at all, whether by individual or State,
ard draws its chief strength from alleged thrift.
lessness, immortality aud tendency to merge
with the white race--allegations utterly at va
rance with the well known facts Where is the
evidence OF such proneness to vice and crime
on their part. Your pcntentiaries and prisons
show freed blacks in them, and those chiefly for
offences against the slave code, whilst the aver.
sion in which intermarriage between the races is
held is sufficient evidence of it's rarity and sufi-
cient guarantee against its prevalence. Nor are
their numbers such as should frighten us into
harsh dealing. find in late authority that
| there were in 1861 more than. (6O, ,OOO) eighty
thousand freed blacks in the State Of MARYLAND.
| Virginia contained fifty-seven thousand five
hundred, Pennsylvania ffty-six thousand and
| upwards and New York about forty nine or fifty
thousand, In Missouri at the present time,
there are not more than fifty thousand blacks
both free and slave but Missouri is twice as
large as Maryland, and fully equal in extent, re
source and capacity for the support Of popula
| ton to either of the States named
Furthermore it is fact susceptible of the clear
est proof that not in one of those States, have III
predictions, so lightly uttered in regard to the fire.
blacks, 6efanea them as a class. Add to this, tht
presumption which all things conspire to justify
that upon the consumation of any act Of free
dom in this State 50 far from having fifty thous
and slaves to hberste, there would in all humas
probability, exclusive Of the post natl. be les
than twenty thousand, and think We may dis
miss any apprehension as to injury resulting, Of
| like to result from the stay Of such Ms remain
and that We need not lead the question Of ema'.ei
patton ,ciM conditions precedent only calculated
| en,bardss its achievement. a...
But after all there is higher ground from
which we should view such questions. Let q
| be solicitous chiefly OF doing the right in thi
| grave matter of liberating downtrodden race
and trust that God will 80 order all its conse
ouences that tbey shall rebound in benefits like