bare earth for the floor, and less than six feet
in height, and " it is no uncommon thing for
two and three, and sometimes for four fami-
lies, to live and sleep together in one of these
rooms, without any division or separation
whatever for the different families or sexes.
There are very few cellars where at least two
families do not herd together in this manner."
And on these miserable sleeping places, the
father, mother, sons and daughters crowd to-
gether in a state of filthy indecency, and
much worse off than the horses in an o rdinary
stable.
But, sir, enough of this sickening scene,
Let him who is disposed to pour out such
floods of tears over the condition of the negro
slave of the South, read the book of Mr. Kay,
and then honestly compare his condition with
that described by our author.
Sir, the consideration at last, that deter-
mines and will ever determine the question of
the existence of slavery, is the consideration
of interest, if you show me a people whose
interest it is to have slavery, I will show you
ft people that maintains slavery, and will
maintain it so long as that interest exists—
and the reverse is also true. You may talk
about "moral rights," "letting the bond-
man go free," "to do unto others as you
would that they should do unto you," " the
year of jubilee," &c., &c., but the question,
at last, is the question of interest. If you
cannot get labor cheaper than in the form of
slavery, you will have slavery; and if it is
cheaper and more profitable to sell the slaves
and pocket the money, and hire the labor,
that will be done.
We have had a practical illustration of that
in this country. In 1776, every State in tile
Union—except, perhaps, Massachusetts—was
slaveholding, but finding it more profitable,
in their cold latitudes, to sell the slaves,
pocket the money, and hire labor, (so that
when one died there was no pecuniary loss to
the employer, and if one was sick, he could
be turned off to get well or die, as the case
might be,) and. they have done so, until
slavery has moved Southward, and Mason
and Dixon's line is its Northern boundary.
Now, sir, I would like to have some of these
gentlemen who are so sensitive about the ex-
istence of slavery, and whose moral sensibili-
ties are so exceedingly tender, that it is "a
great stumbling block in the way of their
religion "—I would like to have them explain
to me, where is the difference in principle be-
tween holding the thing itself and holding
the equivalent of that thing in money? If
any mortal man can explain the difference in
principle between holding a slave, and selling
that slave to some one else, and putting the
proceeds of said sale in your pocket, I should
be very glad to hear it. And that is just the
case with the Yankee nation. They kid-
napped or bought the negroes on the African
coast, they brought them here, kept them |
here, so long as it was profitable to keep
them, and when greater profit could be real-
ized by a sale of them, then they sold them
to the South, and now have the money thus
obtained invested in banks, ships and manu-
factories, all engaged in the acquisition of
greater gain, by working up and transporting
the cotton, tobacco and rice, and other products
of slave labor, and whilst their pious souls are
thus engaged at home, they are intent upon
stealing our negroes that they have sold to us.
And notwithstanding their hatred of slavery
and slaveholders, did anybody ever hear of a
Northern manufacturer refusing to sell goods
to the South, or of a refusal to secure a debt
by taking a mortgage upon slaves, or of the
loss of a debt by an unwillingness to fore-
close said mortgage. No, sir; it is an ab-
surdity to talk about such a thing. The
Yankee north and the Yankee here, is for the
abolition of slavery, when be has no slave of
his own to lose, and when it becomes his in-
terest to do so.
it is a dangerous experiment at all times
to change a well established, well understood
order of things. All sudden convulsions are
dangerous and are to be dreaded, I know
that the gentleman from Baltimore (Mr.
Stirling,) in the discussion of another subject,
a few days ago, said that it is in great con-
vulsions that the spirit of liberty springs for-
ward, and that great results ensue from these
sudden emergencies. But I say that in all
the violent convulsions that have shaken na-
tions, although liberty may have survived
and triumphed at last, yet it has been "as it
were through death," and all experience
proves that the well-trodden, well-understood
path to which we are accustomed, is the
safest and best. The gentleman ( Mr. Daniel)
says that this Convention speaks the senti-
ments and the wish of the people of the State.
Sir, it does no such thing; it is an idle
mockery; it is an insult to call the last farce
an election. This Convention does not rep-
resent the people of the State, and we have
had no fair election in this State for the past
three years. Take away your Federal can-
non and armies and military satraps, and let
the people vote, fully and freely, and if then
they choose to abolish slavery, I am content,
for I acknowledge their right to do so. But
even then you cannot rightfully take private
property without compensation. To talk about
this Convention being an exponent of the
sentiment of the State, is an insult added to
outrage. Why, sir, look at the city of Balti-
more, sending the delegation now sitting in
this Convention, by a vote, less than one-
third of the ordinary, usual average vote,
and so in almost every county. Sir, the
wonder is that under the system of bullying,
and threats, and proclamations, and armed
interference, the wonder is that any one op-
posing the views and wishes of the adminis-
tration at Washington, finds a place here. I |
