Woodville Republican., 1902-11-01

KNOW IHu1 LII uBAaANl Jul A4NtAcA cCN-A-
try, never emancipated her slaves until
1s4s, when 100000 were set free in
the East Indies and one hundred mill
lions of dollars paid to their owners
by act of parliament? 1t is only with
in the last half century that the im-
portation Of slaves from Africa has
generally ceased. Up to that time
every civilized country bought them.
English statesmen and clergymen said
it was better to bring them away than
to have them continue in their bar
barism and cannibalism. And it was
better. l believe it was Gods Provi-
dence that they should be brought
away and placed in slavery, but the
way it was done was inhuman and bru-
tai. The horrors OF the middle passage,
as the ocean voyage was called, is the
most awful narrative l ever read, and
reminds me of Dante's 'Inferno."
About half the cargo survived and the
dead and dying were tumbled into the
sea. The owners said we can afford
to lose half and still have thousand
per cent. profit. Rev. John Newton
one of the sweetest poets who ever
wrote hymn, the author of Amazing
grace, how sweet the sound, that
saved wretch like me?" Saviour,
Visit Thy Plantation, ""Safely Through
Another Week." and many others, was
for many years deck hand on slave
ship and saw all its horrors. He be-
came converted, but soon after became
captain of a SLAYER and for four years
pursued it diligently and mitigated its
cruelty. Then he quit and went to
preaching, and says in his autobiog-
raphy that it never occurred to him
that there was anything wrong or inn
moral in the slave trade where it was
humanely conducted. The Saviour
said: "Offenses must needs come, but
woe unto them by whom they come"
In Appleton's long and exhaustive
article on slavery it is said that slavery
in some form has existed ever since
human history began. And it appears
to have been under the sanction of
Providence as far back as the days of
Noah and Abraham. The latter had a
very great household, and many serv-
ants whom he had bought with his
money. The word slave appears but
twice in the Bible. 1t is synonymous
with servant and bondsman. There
has been no time since the Christian
era that the dominant nations have
not owned slaves-sometimes the bond.
age was hard, but as a general rule
the master found it to his interest
to be kind to his slaves. AS Bob Toombs
| said in his Boston speech: ut is not
! to our interest to starve our slaves
any more than it is to starve ouI
horses and horned cattle" Shortly
after the little cargo that the Wan
derer brought were secretly scattered
around l saw some of them at work
in large garden in Columbus Ca anC
was told that they were docile anC
quickly learned to dig and to hoe, but
that it was hard to teach them to eat
cooked meat. They wanted it raw
and bloody. They were miserable lit
/ tie runts, "Guinea negroes" will
thick lips and fat noses, but they grew
up into better shape and made goot
servants and know were far bette,
off than in their native jungles, tn,
prey Of stronger tribes, and made foot
for cannibals.
No, there was no sin in slavery a
instituted in the south by our father
and forefathers, and that is why
write this letter-perhaps the last
shall ever write on this subject. Iwis
to impress it upon our boys and girl
so that they may be ready and willin
to defend their southern ancestor
from the baseless charge of sufferin
now for the sins of their fathers.
A northern friend writes: "Dopleas
let up on the negro. We up here ar
tired of him. Give us more of you
pleasant pictures of domestic life, etc
but let the negro go dead"
He does not know that the negr
and what is to become of him is
question of tremendous moment wit
us, and it must be written about. Br
/ will refrain as long as it is pruden
Just now l would like to hire man t
cuss the black rascal who came int
my back yard the other night an
stole my grindstone. For five year
I have let every darkey grind his a
who wanted to, and now can't grin
!, my own. The fact is, have no AK
! grind, for they stole that first.
BILL ARP.