Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1867-02-05
WILL CONGRESS- 1NrERFBRE.

WILL CONGRESS INTERFERE.
Harriet Beecher Stowe; several years ago,
Published ''Uncle Toms Cabin" novel of
considerable dramatic power, in whict' she
slandercd the Southern people,, and pictured
tho institution of slavery in e-worst forms
in which it could be found in isolated cases;
and to support her assertions she subscquent-
1y gave to the public ''key'' which was
made up entirely of such instances Of wrongs
as tn @ annals of the whole slave-holding re-
gion for more than thirty years could furnish.
These books were read by vast numbers of
people everywhere, and did more to engcr-
der bitter hatred of Southern people in shall
low minded philanthropists Of the New Eng
land school, than all else ever written upon
the negro. Comparisons were drawn be-
tween the two sections of the Uuion, to the
great praise Of the North and, of course, to
the equally great detriment of the South
Massachusetts, was especially lauded was held
up as model monument by which the rights
of all men, black and white, were sacredly
regarded and cared for This book and its
"key' did vast deal towards bringing about
the terrible war from which We have just
emerged and as their statements were regar-
ded as greater even than gospel truths by
most of them who went into the war upon the
patriotism of abolition of slavery, they point
CT the vengeance Of that portion OF the ar
my not only in the wipiDg out of slavery, but
in all manner of insults, wrongs and outrages
to those of US who had dared to uphold '.the
peculiar institution" in defiance of the will
of the pious Puritans whose creed teaches
absolute submission to their dogmas, political
and religious-a submission which must be
forced at the point of the bayonet and at the
cxpcnse of the constitution. The smoke of
the great battle having cleared away, let us
take look at Massachusetts,, and see if there
is nothing in her laws calling for congressional
Intervention. She was the first of all the
States to establish slavery by legislative en-
actmcnt, which was done in 1G41, and only
abandoned it when it was found not to pay
in her cold climate. While slavery lasted in
';that pure community Of enlightened and
pious patriots" it was enforced with savage
cruelty unknown to any other; and the ad-
vcrtisements of slave owners were equally, il
not more repulsive than any that Mrs. Stowe
has set forth in her ''Key,' as may be seen
by the following, taken from the newspapers
Of those days. One of them offers for sale:
Every good Barbados rum, and young
negro that has had the smallpox"
Another trader offers
"Likely negro men and women, just ar
rived"
Another has
NEGRO men, new, and negro boys who
have been in the country for some time; also,
just arrived. choice parcel of negro boys
and girls"
Another:
"a likely negro man, bred in the country,
aud bred a farmcr-it for any service
Another:
GA likely negro woman, about 10 years
old and child six months OF age, to be sold
together or apart"
More marvellous is another of the following
tenor:
ga negro child, soon expected, Of good
breed, may be owned by any person inclined
to take it,
The reader may, by this time, c-claim,
Enough! enough but here is one sample
more to complete the assortment:
ITO be sold, an extraordinary likely negro
woman, II years old she can be warranted
to be strong, healthy, and good naturcd; has
no notion of freedom; has been always used
to farmers Kitchen and dairy, and is not
known to have any falling but being with
child, which is the only cause Of her being
sold"
This Immaculate State, i. is true has abol-
ished slavery, but it still retains the very
worst species of all slavcries, that of white
paupers. Regular sales, authorized by its
l1ws, are made of paupers, who are knocked
down to the lowest bidder, and the purcha>
sers have the legal right to hold them as
slaves by tenures equally as strong as those
by which we held the negro; and they ex-
pect to make and do make their miserable
profit cut of the contract by exacting labor
often not in the power of the poor creatures
to perform, and by stinting them in food to
the verge of starvation. The arm of Feder-
al power has been invoked TO destroy local
institutions far less inhuman and scandalous
Will it be invoked against the sanity enact
ments of the Immaculatcs of Massachusetts?
MORE INIQUITY.
Inc carpet-bag and ovcr>coat stealers. and