The state journal. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1883-1885, 1884-01-05

| great States Of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
Michigan and Wisconsin, now occupy
the region. In making this transfer the
| Legislature of Virginia inserted in the
| ordinance the following: provided,
That slavery, or involuntary scrvitude,
| except as penalty for crime, whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted,
shall be forever prohibited. This shows
he views of the people of Virginia on
that subject at that time.
! The compromises of the Constitution
were first, that providing for the surren-
der of fugitive slaves escaping from one
State into another; and so little was then
thought of slavery as an institution TO be
protected, that South Carolina delegate
protested against the system being Tecog-
nized in the Constitution, and on his mo-
ton the word slave" was changed 10
''person owing service or labor and
master, to ''persOn to whom such service
or labor is due"
The second, was the provision That
Congress should not prohibit the slave
trade until 1903; and here, too, the word
slave was stricken out and the sentence
made to read, Congress shall not pro.
hibit the immigration or importation be-
:
may desire to receive.
The demand for the Fugitive slave sec
TIN was not made by the South any more
than by the Nor,h, and that putting off
the prohibition of the slave trade was in.
serted exclusively a the demand of
Northern members, W 10 represented the
slave importers interests.
| have said these compromises were tIe
Of
were. Had the faces of the majority of
the delegates been set against yielding
any conviction on the subject of sla Tery
(of course we cannot sayth 1t they would
have undertaken by the National author
lty to declare the abolition of slavery in
the States, for that would have defeated
the vital principle of the system, viz: the
sovereignty of the States in all affairs Of
purely local INTEREST,", the clause pro-
viding for the rendition Of escaped slaves
would have been rejected by large ma
jOrity, and the postpOnement Of the pro
hibitiOn Of the slave trade would have
been rejected with equal unanimity. It
is probable that all the States would have
accepted the Constitution without these
provisions; but as the great men who
we're framing it, Jefferson and Madison,
Of Virginia, and others like them of all
the States, felt so strongly the absolute
necessity Of binding the States together
in permanent Union, to secure them
against the intrigues Of their enemies,
that they We're unwilling to take any
risks, and feeling that in the prevailing
sentiment in all the States on the subject
of slavery that its existence would only
be for few years, they yielded to the |
few who demanded the compromises |
without much fear Of the consequences |
of those concessions.
Nevertheless, an influence was already |
being developed, but had yet attracted |
no attention, which was destined to |
change the whole position Of the whole |
country on the question of slavery,
change the habits of thought Of the PEG |
pie, destroy over one half of its territory |
all love for the doctrines of the rights OF |
man. which had grown to be the inspirl-
ton of the founders of the Government, |
and entail undreamed- of evils Of discord |
se6ition, political decentralization, and fl |
nally fragrant treason and war.
The Atlantic coast, south Of Hampton
Roads, was a vast area Of low, flat lands |
Of immense fertility, which could easily |
be oveIflowed, and which became, at an .
early date, the seat Of rice culture while |
the uplands, which stretched away west |
to the foot hills Of the mountains at an
elevation above the fats or rice lands Of
only a few feet, were discovered
to be peculiarly adapted to the growth
of the cotton plant.
The rice culture had been the chief pur-
suit, the population of the Carolinas be
ing almost entirely engaged in it, and, Of
course, mainly confined to the coast re-
gion. This will account for the small
Of white settlers in those colo
MES, and the large proportion of slaves.
The rice planting being peculiarly un-
because of much Of the work
having to be done in the water, and the
dreadfully malarial character Of the eli
mate, in that low, wet region, voluntary
labor could not be hired. Therefore the
negro was purchased and condemned to
work and live there, while the masters
lived in the towns or on the uplands.
Owing to the cost of separating the
seeds from the cotton by any process
then known, the cost Of the staple pre-
pared for use was so great that it could
not be brought into general use.
But all this was to be changed. In
1892 young man named Whitney, the
son Of d flrmerof Westborough, WOrces
ter county, Massachusetts, having com
pleted his studies, entered into an en-
gagement with Georgia planter, as a
private teacher in his family. On his ar
rival at his destination he found that his
place had been filled, and he was adrift
among strange people On board the
vessel by which he had sailed to Slvan-
nah, however, had been the widow of
General Nathaniel Greene, whose &C.
quaintance he had made on the passage,
who on learning of his unfortunate situa-
ton, generously invited him to make her
house his home, while he was preparing
himself for admission to the bar, Whit
ney had peculiar bent in the direction
of mechanics and gave his leisure to the
continuance of mechanical curiosities,
and soon became noted for his ingenuity.
One day party of gentlemen were
visiting Mrs. Greene, and their converse
ton ran into the discussion of the agri-
cultural prospects of the region, and one
of them expressed regret that there was
no way Of cleansing cotton from the seed
except by hand, and remarked that until
should devise some machine to
do it, it was in vain to attempt the raising
of cotton for market.
Gentlemen" remarked Mrs. Greene;
state your difficulty to my young friend
Whitney. Ifanybody can do what you
want it will be he" And she conducted
them to Whitney's room, and introducing
them, left them with him. The result of
their conversation was, that Whitney laid
aside his reading and devoted himself to
the continuance of a machine to clean cot
ton; and in less than year, he produced
the cotton gin, and showed it TO his
friends, cleaning with one man in a day,
more cotton than a thousand men
could clean by hand. Without tell
ing Of Whitney's STRUGGLES to reap