The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-04-24
Compensation for Slaves,

In answering question, the Chicago
Tribune revives some interesting passages
of history. 1t shows that President Lin
coin made repeated efforts during the
war to bring about gradual emancipa.
ton, accompanied by Government COM
pcnsation to the owners of slaves for the
loss of their property. A year after his
inauguration he recommended the pas-
sage of resolution declaring that 1.-THE
United States ought to cooperate with
any State which may adopt gradual abol.
ishment of slavery, giving to such State
pccuniary aid, to be used by such State
IN It's discretion, to compensate for the
Inconvenience, public and private, pro-
duced by such change of system" lie
said that the initiation of such G policy
would end the war itself by extinguish-
ing the cause and motive of the war.
The resolution WAS approved by both
branches of Congress, but the South. ut
that time, was on the full tide Of success
and paid no attention to the action of
the Federal Government. Her people
were then fully persuaded that they
would be able to build up separate ne-
ton, and preserve the system of slavery
unimpaired. In April, 1862, the Presi-
dent gave his assent TO n bill abolishinr
slavery in the District Of Columbia, and
appropriating million Of dollars for the
compensation Of the owners Of slaves. A
few mouths later Mr.. Lincoln, seeing
that nothing could be done with the
purely Southern States, endeavorcd 10
get the border States Of Maryland, Mis-
souri, and Kentucky to consent to eradu-
al emancipation, accompanied by Gov
ernment compensation, not exceeding
three hundred dollar per slave. Dut
the people Of those Commonwealths
could not SEQ that this peculiar institu.
tion" was doomed and would not accept
three hundred dollars for property then
worth perhaps a thousand. They de-
clined the proposition, and in the end
had to submit to immediate emanci-
patton without any compensation. 1t is
little singular that the Southern States
which seeded from tie Union because
they believed their slave property was in
danger, and that the Southern people
who waged long and bloody war in
order to set up Confcdcracy in which
slavery should be secure and who reject
ed an offer OF gradual emancipation, ac-
companled by compensation with scorn.
should in the end witness the confisca.
ton OF OIL their immense slave property
with scarceiy pang o. regret. Less
than twenty years ago the Southern pco-
pie were prepared to stake, and did stake,
everything is defense of slavery, yet to-
day there is not one in a thousand who
woulc not object 10 return to the old
system. They can see now that slavery
was curse instead of blessing, and
they are glad that it has been forever
abolished. 1t is curious to note that Mr..
Lincoln's first scheme contemplated the
deportation of slaves as rapidly as they
were emancipated and their colonization
IN some tropical climate. Up to the
time of his assassination he never dream.
cd of making them citizens and voters
or of seeing ignorant negroes fresh from
bondage governing sovereign States and
sitting in the highest councils of the
Nation Chronicle and Constitutional
ist.