East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1864-06-15

When the revolutionary war broke
out the New England colonies held
about twenty thousand slaves nearly
one-f fourth Of whom were in the colo
ny of Massachusetts,. Her people not
only raised slaves and traded in them
as they say fit, but they actually i'm
ported negroes from Africa. and on
the return of a voyage, the cargo was
sometimes advertised and sold at aucr
ton. Slavery survived the war, but
began to decline soon after. The de-
cline was not owing to any legal pro-
hibitions, nor to any convictions of its
sinfulness but it was gradually given
up because it was found to he unprof-
table. The sagacious Yankee, who
scrupulously weighs everything in the
scale of interest, finally became con-
vinced that negro slavery was not
profitable in New England, and for
that reason, and for no other, it was
given up. Many inconveniences and
perplexities were found to attach to
the institution. The owner was re-
quired to support his slave in sickness
and during the helpless periods of in
fancy and age; and by statute the
slave had legal claim upon the es
tate of his master for support, even
after the master had freed the slave.
The negro was generally careless
and slothiul; he was IN eye servant,
and needed constant watching. His
animal instincts were strong an his
intellect dull; he could not readily be
taught to perform any skillful me-
chanical operation. He must be con-
tinually cared for, but could not be
received into close intimacy. Besides
the climate of New England was OBJ
viously too cold for the genuine Afri-
can. These, and perhaps other rea-
sons, led intelligent men finally to
abandon the perplexing and profitless
institution. Under such circumstan-
ces no legal enactments were required
to abolish slavery. 1t fingered, aud
finally died a natural death, not on
account of its imputed sinfulness, but
because it could not be made profita-
BILE.
Whatever sins the Puritans may
have been guilty of, it is certain they
were not Of a negative character. No
heresies crept in upon them unnoticed.
In morals and religion they were the
most fastidious of all people. Ever
jealous and watchful, they rebuked,
promptly and severely, everything
which threatened to disturb any of
their cherished institutions; so that
it is evident that if slavery had not
received their heaIty approval, it nev-
81 would have been adopted by them.
This peculiar institution existed in
New England during the greater pc
riod of two centuries, yet during all
that period it met with no serious re-
Dukes from any quarter. It's decline
and tall, as already stated, wero not
owing to any legal prohibitions, for
these were never made until the whole
institution had been gwen up as
worthless nor was its overthrow
brought about by any pulpit denunci-
ations, for tho great body of the cler-
gy had no misg,vings upon the sub
ject. Search the history of the New
England clergy for hundred and
fifty years from the landing of the
pilgrims, and not solitary prominent
abolitionist can be found among them
all. 1t seems to have been reserved
to such modern WORTHLESS as Phillips,
Garrison, Hale, Sumner and others,
to discover the alarming wickedness
of their Puritan fathers, and to make
a bold attempt to contravene princi-
pies established by the Almighty.