The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-07-15
NEW SERIES-NO. 554

ago. Virginia mas no such stock left Patrick
Henry and he sprung from the same soil. Sir,
virginia Is peopling the whole South and West.
| Every great man south of this is a Virginian
by birth The ungrateful sons ran off. NY
wife wanted me to settle in Nashville, but not
[ love Virginia too well. And if this Union
was separated, could fight against Virginia?
No, oh no, never! But this cursed American
system is running us. 1t is depopulating old
Virginia 1t is making you rich and us poor.
Hitherto (says Mr.. Brooks) had been too
much interes ted in he'Open hearted and lively
conversation Ofmy Virginian, even. to interrupt
him. believe his conversation thus far en-
bodies the pith of Virginian politics and Viz
gn,a philosophy. His argument on secession
Is the best that can be given, for the best rea-
son ever given is, that if Virginia is oppressed
by the nation she can secede but then arises
the Interior question: whether peaceably or by
Tevolutlon. As conversation was here tagging,
l l determined e to apply the spur, - Have you
ever been to tue North ~ I asked
Yes, was in Philadelphia, and it broke
my heart when compared Pennsylvania with
OLD Virginia. J saw their beautiful farm-hOuses
and their beautiful villages, and the fiourishing
| manufactures, and / almost wept tor old Vir-
ginia. The American system is running us aud
enrlching her at our expense. You know how
prosperous we were in the old revolution, be-
fore we entered into partnership, and YOU see
| how poor we are now
=" But is there no other cause ?" interrupt
| ed. did not like to tell him that slavery was
the root OF all the mischief and that when
one half worked without a stmulous, and the
other half lived on their earnings, the country
| must be poor. Where | came from [ con-
| tlDued, they have ut this moment March LIZ
| perhaps two feet of snow, but summers sky
| is now over our heads, Vegetation is SPRING
| ing up; the wheat is green. The early frost
ky,t 10 10,
mer ripens yours See what a climate you
| have; see what soil, if you would but cult
Vate lit you would but manure it, which
by the way, you seldom or never do. We buy
| even corn of you. for we cannot raise enough
for ourselves Our soil is rocky, and our skv
is unpropitious. See the cargoes of flour and
| corn you are daily discharging northward.
See your tobacco manufactures. We grow all
| these with exceeding difficulty. We have no
| rice, no cotton. no sugar. Tell we what we
| can export. Do you not wonder that we live
at all ? Ana yet I tell YOU that among our
rocks, and on our coast there is not city nor
! q village that does not seem more tourishing
| than the best have seen in Virginia
How the ID do you live?" exlaimed NV
Vlrginlan, IN perfect establishment. 1.-TWO
| feet of snow now !" Yes. added and on the
| I'd of March, see by the newspapers, that our
harbOr was frOzeu over with ice which only
happens in extremely cold weather. 1.-TWO
feet OF snow" he muttered again. as he saw
the green grass around him; when went on
to Say that every man with us must have some
visible occupation that all men but the pro-
feSsiOnal men worked, and that they had to la
hor hard for livelihood in their way that we
had few or no race-horses and that our jock
eyS were among the most suspicious of our
population that no farmer thought it disrep-
utabe to drive his own wagon to market, and
that work was honorable and by no means dis
honorable; that we were as industrious as
hod bard
work to get along; that failing on the land,
we tried our luck on the ocean, and that our
fisheries and our West India trade gave US O.
| living when the land would not that these
| falling we were obliged to emigrate unless we
could turn our water falls and steam power to
account. l told him that what made Yankees
| more inventive than the rest of their country
men, was the necessity of being so, not
| that they had in reality more inventive ge-
MUS; but their inventions, as he would see
by going into the Patent Office at Washington,
were probably three to one in comparison
with other sections Of the Union. told him
also, that the reason of bis seeing so many
Yankees abroad in the cities of the Union
and elsewhere, was because they could not
live at home. L told him again, that if we
had the soil, the climate and the rivers of
Virginia the wilderness would soon blossom
like the rose.
''And why" he inquired. Because we
have no slaves, answered, and because all
work, and work not for others, but for them.
selves" "Oh, It's your American system" was
the reply I'VE will soon Guido you in this.
We will establish manufactures and as labor
with US is cheaper than it is with you, we can
sell cheaper, and shall thus have possession of
the market. Slaves can labor in manufactures.
The experiment has been tried and has proved
successful" Il do not doubt it," was my
answer Provision is also cheaper. Fuel
is cheaper. 1t costs less to support labor
ior n-Vlrglnia, if she strangles her race
horses, Keeps her boys out of taverns, quits
the study OF metaphysics, and adopts q more
liberal system of politics, will be again the
good old dominion that you Justly feel so
proud Of
Our conversation was broken OFT here, much
to my regret | was interested in it. and have
given it IS correctly as can remember.
EFgICr OF SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH.
Duripo his Journey in the Southern States it was
Mr. Blocks habit to write Occa iOnally, besides his
letters editorial ar les to MS journal In Portland.
The following from his hand appeared during the
month of April 1883:
80 far as slavery is concerned il is the in. crest
Of the North thatthe south should hold slaves to all
eternity ii the North cOnsuts her own Interests,
recklt ss of humanity philanthropy and patriotism.
30 louy as the South are slavehO ding population,
80 long the south, notwithstanding Heaven has
blessed her with the richest of soil, and the best of
climates must be poorer less prosperous, and less
f1ourishing than the North II il f ct susceptib
of denomination, and confirmed by observation and
cxperien that, tariff or tariff free trade or no
free trade, white voluntary abor is worth more than
b ack involuntary labor white labor stimulated by
ambition, emulation and self interest is worth more
than black labor slimulated-by what?- the
fowns OF the master, the tab of the overseer-by
fear and nothing else. But the involuntary working
man consumes much of the products of the earla
as the voluntary working man. and yet brings not
half as much into existence. Who among us does
not then that II is the interest of the North tn
have the South savcholding people? Cupidty and
avarce and meanness all point thai way Give the
South with the climate the free labor of the North
she with her rocks and her i, e, must yield, The
South must become more prosperous The people
hust come richer. The country must become bet
ter populated, for it is law of our nature that what
we do for ourselves we do with better heart than
what We do for others. No them peope. then,
have no interest in hberating the slaves of the