xt79gh9b601p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt79gh9b601p/data/mets.xml Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903. 1851  books b923264c579l2009 English N/A : N/A Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Slavery --United States --Controversial literature --1851. Slavery --Kentucky. Speech of C. M. Clay, at Lexington, Ky. August 1, 1851. text Speech of C. M. Clay, at Lexington, Ky. August 1, 1851. 1851 2009 true xt79gh9b601p section xt79gh9b601p 
  
  
SPEECH OF C. I. CLAY,
AT LEXINGTON, KY. 1851. D E L I V E R E D A U G U S T 1,

C ITIZENS O F F A Y E T T E :     I p resent myself before y ou, a candidate for the office o f Governor of Kentucky. I c ome, n ot as my rivals Messrs. D I X O N a nd P O W E L L , b acked by g reat political parties. I stand against the r uling c lass in the State and N A i     t h e w ealth,   the social ban,   the press   and the p u l p i t .     T m V i are great odds. Y e t standing here on the basis of T ruth, J u s tice, a nd Liberty, as humble in popularity and a bility, as the least appreciative of my friends or enemies would have me. I do not shrink f rom the duties which every citizen of a republic owes to his country. N o m an knows better than I the deep r ooted prejudices, which have b een studiously planted in the minds of this people, from the beginning a gainst me personally, and the cause which I advocate. Of this I do n ot complain. H e who would change the organic laws of a State, o ught to be prepared to meet h atred, calumny, and violence: for such h as been the fate of Patriots in all times and in all countries. I pass a ll p ersonal misrepresentations, in silence: if I cannot live them down, v ain i s the attempt to speak them down. O bjections which have been made against the party w ith w hom I h ave the honor to act, I deem worthy of notice. I t is urged that the question of slavery and emancipation has been once c onsidered, and decided against us, by the p eople of Kentucky; a nd t herefore it is " f a c t i o u s , " again, to reopen it. N ow this objection, if true, has but l ittle w eight, coming from D e m ocrats, who have been defeated for twenty years or more in this State: y et now we find them arrayed once m ore under their banners! So does i t come w ith e qually bad grace from the W h i g s ; who have been i n the n ation, r elatively about in the same position, as the Democrats have b een in the State. T he objection when stripped of its casuistry, means simply that we a re in a minority. N o w when so many men, even of first distinction, are ready to float w ith the popular tide into office, I regard it as a subject of pride, that we stand firm i n the advocacy of what we c onceive l ies at the basis of a l l prosperity and safety to the State. B ut the allegation is untrue. The question of emancipation never h as been f airly d iscussed b efore, or decided upon by, the p eople of this S tate. T he forty men   who met i n Frankfort in 184G, all slave-holders, but s till p rofessing to ropresent all parties in the State, interested

  
[

2

]

i n the convention movement,   declared that so far as they were concerned, the then relations of slavery should not be disturbed. A n d a gain w hen the legislature met i n the winter of that year, a resolution w as passed that slavery ought not to be discussed. T he same position was taken by nearly the whole W h i g and D e m ocratic press. B y such weight of authority against us, the emancipation c onvention which met in Frankfort i n 1849, was induced to d efer m aking the battle upon the merits of their cause; and only contended f or what is called "the o pen c lause" in the Constitution. So that the q uestion of emancipation might be, as suggested by our opponents, decided seperately from a l l other influences, upon its merits. A n d such w as the position taken by the orators upon the stump, and urged everywhere i n private conversation. N o w when the Constitution is formed, and carried into execution,    w hen parties are narrowed down to the same platform   so nearly, that t he matter of contest b etween W h i g and Democrat seems to be, whether there is really any difference in principles   when the public mind is c alm a nd ready for just conclusions   and we at last come f orward and u rge emancipation upon just and constitutional grounds   these same m en, who all along were saying the time had not yet c ome, n ow c ^mor t hat t he time has passed   it is too late   the question has b een d ecided a gainst us! N o ! w ith t he slave-holders, the time has not, and never w i l l come f or the consideration of emancipation! I f left to them, they would, l ike S heridan w ith h is creditors, put it off t ill t he day aftei j u d g m e n t ! W e , then friends of emancipation and v ital r epublicanism must j udge f or ourselves, of the time, and means of throwing off this i nstitution, w hich " w r o n g s " the slave, and threatens our own liberty. W e are a l l e quals   we were born free   and while we allow to our opponents a l l t he privileges which we claim for ourselves   we a vow o ur purpose to y ield to others, none, w hich we w i l l n ot fearlessly demand. I c are nothing for party names, so that they designate principles.    T he W h i g s are called "bank federalists,"   the Democrats " locofocos." W e c all o urselves "Emancipationists," " L i b e r t y and Union m e n . " O u r enemies c all u s " A b o l i t i o n i s t s . " A l l we ask is the understanding of our v iews upon them   we are w illing to stand, or to f a l l ! T here are i n the State of Kentuck}', in round numbers, ten hundred t housand p eople. O f these two hunderd thousand are African slaves. Y o u a l l know what slaves are. B y the laws of all the slave States, t hey can neither acquire nor hold property, in their own right, " b y the s weat of the f ace" or by gift, or devise, or inheritance. To them is denied t he family relation. They know not the name of parent or c h i l d     h usband or wife   sister or brother   they are not secured in " life, l i b erty, o r property, or the pursuit of happiness." In a word they are s ubject i n all these, to the w ill of their masters, in mind and in person, b eing as goods a nd chattels, or beasts of the held ! I n t his 19th century amidst a civilized and christian p eople, I s hall n ot discuss the moral r elation of such an institution as t his! I a ppeal to reason; which is monstrous jargon, if this be j u s t ! To every u nsullied c onscience; w hich is quick as a flash of light in revulsion, w hen self is thus threatened ! To the works of nature   when by sea

  
[

3

]

a nd s hore, each mute and l iving t hing, of minutest insignificance, has a llotted i t by Providence, an independent sphere of action and happiness,   that not alone of all animated existences, is the p oor A frican m erged in the w ill a nd happiness of others ! A bove a ll, u pon that ever to be held sacred and glorious saying, " D o u nto others as you would have others do unto y o u . " I rest the question of the moral relation of slavery. To reason, to conscience, to nature, to God, I w ill n ot add the p oor w eight of my ideas of the right. I a m n ot here as a moralist, but a politician; or if I may aspire to the h igher t itle, a s tatesman; and as a statesman, I have discussed, and s till propose to discuss this subject. N ext i n order are the owners of these two hundred thousand slaves. I n 1 845, they were from the Auditor's b ooks a scertained to be about t hirty one thousand: say, since then increased to t hirty t hree and a t hird t housand. The actual owners of slaves then in this State are o nly one i n every twenty four, including men, women and children of t he white race. B u t allow, which is l iberal, t wo persons more to each a ctual s lave-holder, for those interested i n these slaves, as heirs, or expectants by gift or devise, and we have only one hundred thousand p ersros ! Take the two hundred thousand slaves and the one hundred t housand masters from the ten hundred thousand, and you have remaining s even hundred thousand persons   seven out of eight of every man, w oman and child of the white races i n this Commonwealth,   "the p eop l e , " i n the language of politicians,   who have no interest i n the ownership of these slaves. O n t he contrary, their every interest, social, moral, intellectual and p hysical, are warred upon by the existence of slavery among t h e m .     A n d i f I s hall s ucceed in proving that fact   then, where is the republican w ho is not compelled to go w ith m e in the overthrow of slavery?    F or the theory of our i nstitutions i s, that the government is formed for t he benefit   to promote the happiness, prosperity and safety, of the g reat majority of the governed   -and that when it fails of these aims, t hen i t's not only the right, but the highest duty of the p eople to relay t he foundations of the same, for the accomplishment of these great ends. T here is no middle ground   no escape. I f I am right, even the s lave-holders are bound to go w ith m e for emancipation, or to stand, i n r epudiation of the avowals of our fathers, and all republicanism, i n favor of the Divine right of K i n g s     o f Despotism ! I lay down the b road proposition that labor is the subject of first consideration in the f ormation of the constitution and laws of a State. Labor is that which d istinguishes m an from all other animals. The beasts have reason and s peech in an inferior d egree, b ut man only is a laborer. A n d whilst o ther animals come i nto l ife, i n early infancy protected, housed, and f ed, by an all bountiful Deity, man only for long years, is utterly dependent for f ood, s helter, and clothing, upon the labor of those who precede h i m . A n d so far from regarding labor as a curse, I see i n it above a ll t hings the favoritism of God. Animals are clothed w ith b ut a s ingle vestment; their residences or retreats are fixed: their food i s eternally the same. B u t there is no l imit to the variety, in comfort, and t aste, of the human dress. O u r dwellings rise from the cabin to the p alace, in'structure and ornaments; whilst our f ood, i n variety and del-

  
[

1

]

i caoy, is only bounded by the wide reach of the human m ind, i n its h old u pon science, and the development of the resources of the s oil. L abor t hen is an eternal and beniiicent law of our being. U p o n it's h onor, depends its efficiency; and upon both, depends the numbers, t he prosperity, and happiness, of c ivilized s ociety. W h e n then you p lant s lavery i n a State, you do that t hing w hich tends most powerful in c onstitutional l aw, to dishonor labor, and render it inefficient. Before a m an w ill s erve another, w ith n o inducement but the fear of punishment, the s pirit o f self respect must be utterly extinguished   he must be degraded below the beasts. A n d the slave has ever been regarded as the basest of men; and the o bject n ot only of contempt, but hatred; b ecause i n yielding up his own liberty, he subtracts so much strength f rom the mass of men, and to that extent endangers the liberty of a l l o thers! A n d by a necessary association of ideas, whatever the slave t ouches, has imparted to it something of his own dishonor! I appeal to the experience of men   to those who have been in the free and i n t he slave States. Here all those offices w hich slaves, in greatest n u m ber, and most h abitually, p erform, are avoided, as far as possible by the mass of whites, who are compelled to labor. A n d i n k ind i f not i n d egree, at whatever remove from the slaves' labor is s till l o o k e d j ^ o n w ith d isgust; and idleness is regarded as a b adge o f social elevation. J ohn Q uincy Adams said he regarded the profession of the law no m ore honorable than the business of shoe-making. I n the eye of reason, the shoe-blacker is as honorable as the shoe-maker; and if A d a m s be right, as honorable as the lawyer. It is slavery, and slavery only i n i ts myriad forms, which degrades the laborer! W h e n I e dited the True American in this city, I found the wives and d aughters, of the s mall shop k eepers, mechanics and others, who had n o slaves, up before the r ising s un   sweeping out their entries   the s teps   and pavements   and bringing water from the pumps, before t he t ide of slaves was yet poured into the streets to wound their sentiments of social equality. Master workmen t ell m e that the best j ourneymen leave the State as soon as they are married ! I n the free States o n the contrary the wife, and daughter, and lover go up-headed to the d ischarge of domestic duties   made more lovely in the e yes o f a l l , by t he conscious glow of duty performed. The slave-holders and r ich a void l abor entirely. They are idlers by profession, and drones upon s ociety; whilst at a distance, all classes imitate them. Idleness is the m other of r uin to the state, and destitution to i ndividuals. T here are no promises in the book o f nature or Kevelation for the i dler. I ts c areer is deformity in person, stupidity in intellect, depravity in morals. I ts e nd is poverty and deatli ! Not less than twenty persons of all a ges, sexes a nd colors have come to violent ends i n this State, in three months i n a p opulation of one m illion ! S uch a terrible result is the b est c ommentary u pon slavery and its v itiating effects ! I n t he N orth, e very grade i n wealth, from the highest to the lowest, h ave suitable employment for their children. I n manufactures, i n agriculture, a nd commerce, as w ell as in the learned profession, there is r oom for a l l : and only the man of business is honored. H ere the e vil o f dishonored labor is not confined to us the non-slaveholding c lass, but reaches masters also. The son and daughter can-

  
[

5

]

n ot by them be put to work along side of the degraded slave; who is o f course an unfit associate. The professions are f ull t o starvation.    T he c onsequence i s, sons a nd daughters are brought up i n idleness and e ffiminacy; mind, b ody, a nd estate, go to wreck! Thus slavery l ike t he fabled shirt of Nessus, which was expected to bring pleasure and c omfort i n the use, but maddens its unhappy possessor at last. U nfortunately for the laborers, the evils of slavery are not confined to mere sentiments or association of ideas, but they come h ome to every o ne, whether i n the field or i n the work-shop, and r uin h im by the c ompetition of unpaid w ages ! T his is proved by the retardation or expulsion of the whites i n a l l slave-states. B y the census of the United S tates, t he whole population doubles i n about every twenty-five years. T ake the previous censuses of the p eople of Kentucky and you w i l l find t hat we ought i n 1851 to have had two millions, instead of eigh h u n dred thousand whites. O u r sister State of Ohio, of about the same a rea of l a n d     w i t h longer winters   less fertile s oil, a nd mineral w ealth,   although o ur junior by many years   has her two millions of p eople. Slavery then has expelled one m illion p eople f rom the State ! I do not now consider the amoimt of human suffering, which this c urse has caused ! F o r if happiness depends mostly, not upon absolute, b ut relative, wealth   and the man is happiest, who is steadily i m proving h is condition   who can estimate the misery of the m illion o f p eople, continually decreasing in means, t ill at last, they see their h omes p ass into the hands of strangers,' and themselves driven into e xile   a p unishment i n a l l governments deemed sufficient for the g reatest of crimes '. I choose to regard it merely as a matter of dollars a nd c ents   and as labor is the admited source of all wealth, we have l ost one half of our productive p ower   one m illion of laborers have g one, one remains. I f we regard man as a productive machine simply, t he white valued no higher than the slave, at an average of three h u n dred dollars,   we have lost a possibly productive power or capital of t hree hundred m illion of dollars ! This is not a l l , we have placed two h undred t housand A f r i c a n slaves in the place of the same number of w hite f reemen. N o w our fathers of the south when the Federal C o n stitution w as formed contended, no doubt t ruly, t hat the slave was only h alf as productive as the white, and that therefore i n taxation, two s laves ought to be counted as but one white. T his i s g ood a uthority at least against our opponents. I n the substitution of slaves for freemen, then, we have placed one hundred thousand p aupers i n the State; for whilst as machines they are fed, clothed a nd s heltered, at the same cost as whites, only producing half as much     i t i s as if one hundred thousand, were supported out of the aggregate w ealth, f rom the b one a nd sinew, and the sweat of the face, of the g reat mass of laborers, black and white! A n d every two slaves i m ported into the State, (for the slave holders subject us to that a lso) a nd e very two born, impose an additional pauper upon u s ! A g a i n , these e migrants have taken out more or less of the money of the country,    s ay three hundred dollars each,   and we have lost three hundred m i l lions m ore of the actual accumulated capital of the country   as much as a l l the balance of the wealth real and personal, as shown by the census !

  
[

6

]

B u t the same causes which retard population, hinder education. I n t he free States, sixteen times, have common school funds been provided b y general taxation; so as to bring education into the h ome of the p oorest citizens. A n d as a c onsequence, n ot one man, woman or c hild, ( i f y ou exclude immigrants from the slave States and foreign countries,) i n a t housand, can be found unable to read their laws and bible. B u t i n a l l t he slave States, the system of common s chools h ave failed, from the b eginning. Governor Hammond i n his m essage to the South Carolina l egislature, s ays that "education and slavery are incompatible," and t herefore as he was for slavery, he o pposed e ducation among the p eople ! It seems t he p eople of Kentucky have been ruled by the same s ort of slave-holders. Three times has a common school fund been p rovided by the people, and three times have our masters concluded that " education and slavery were incompatible," and diverted the funds to t heir o wn purposes. F irst, y ou set aside the p roceeds o f the sales of t he lands west of the Tennesee river for schools; but they w ere appropriated by the slave-holders to other purposes. A g a i n , you g ave the devidends of the State in the Commonwealth's Bank to schools; b ut again, they were diverted to other purposes. Once more, and the t hird t ime, you solemnly set aside eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, one half of the sum received f rpni the p roceeds o f the public lands o f the United States, to assist i n the education of the people; but once m ore and for the t hird t ime, the defenders of the "peculiar i nstitution" s unk t he whole sum i n physical improvements. A n d whilst N e w Y o r k e xpends three hundred thousand dollars yearly in the education of her sons a nd daughters, the great State of Kentucky has not a cent in the t reasury for the same glorious purpose. Our masters not only wasted t he money, but they burned the bonds, the evidences of the debt, i n t he streets of the capitol, as if they were cast off cholera clothes, b ringing disease and. death upon the p eople ! A n d now when the f riends of education and liberty, have aroused the public to these i n famies, and caused the legislators to restore the bonds   and when the D emocratic Convention, to their eternal honor have put it i n the Constitution t hat the s inking f und s hall be held sacred for their payment,    w e find a contest going on between the friends of education, and a s lave-holding g overnor, whether these benificent ends s hall be accomplished o r not! I n the free States the children of the r ich a nd the p oor, are educated i n the same school; and the division of farms and the density of the p opulation insure always a sufficient number of scholars, to bring down t he cost of education to the most economical rate. B u t here we not o nly lack a common school fund to lighten i ndividual e xpense, but the c o-operation and joint means of the r ich, a nd the laborers. W e are not only frequently prevented from making a school at a l l , o n account of the large farms and slave-holders, but when the slave-holders send their children to county academies, or distant cities, as they d o, in nine cases of ten, the expense i s increased to those who remain. A n d the grand result is, that, whilst in the free States nearly the whole m ass of native born citizens are educated, here, in a l l the slave States, t he cost of education is about three times as great as in the free States; a nd i n a l l the slave States of the U nion, m ore than one half of a l l the l aborers white and black, are unable to read and write!

  
[

7

]

H ere the educated are drones i n society, consuming without producing; w hilst the great mass of laborers are deprived of the aids of l etters a nd science in production. O f course we f ail i n manufactures; a nd w ithout manufactures, c ommerce also f ails. T hus whilst the south takes hold of three and one half millions of slaves, as producers only e qual to one and three quarter millions of men   the north far wiser l ays h old on the winds, the waters, and chemistry, and magnetism, and t he powers of science, and enslaves them. I estimate the power of m achinery in the free States to be equal to the labor of forty millions of m en.* The free States then have "the long end of the handspike," a nd h old us i n lasting d ependence, as simple a griculturists,   a t hird r ate stage of c ivilization. W e stand as the tribes of A s i a , t hree thousand y ears ago; and many of our most sensible farmers return to grazing, as the b est w ay of preserving lands from the r uin of slave c ultivation ! T hese disadvantages of slavery are common to the whole people.    W h a t we the non-slave holders lose, is not gained by the masters. F o r b y directing the whole power of the State to agriculture, they tend to glut all those markets, where our mules, horses, cattle, sheep, h ogs, h emp, and t obacco, g o. So that the tendency of prices is always towards the lowest profit above t he cost o f production; and frequently t he sales are under the cost, a nd the gains of many years lost i n one u nfortunate market. T hese arguments are addressed alike to a l l     b u t I stand here as the a dvocate of the non-slave holders of the country; and them I would r each in a manner more practical and of less generalization. I p ropose to show to them, how it is, that this m illion of citizens have b een expelled from the soil by inevitable and inexorable laws. I n the free States, a man upon fifty, eighty, and one hundred acres, (which l ast p erhaps is the average of all the farms i n a l l the free States,) can r aise, e ducate, and settle i n l ife; a l arge family ! W h y ? Because he h as his manufacturer and merchant set down along side of h i m . H e s ells e very thing: nothing is lost: " m a n y mickles make a m u c k i l " s ays the Scottish maxim. B u t here i n the slave States, i n c onsequence of all our markets being distant markets, Charleston, N e w Orleans, C incinnati, o r N e w Y o r k , and through them the great world, we lose a ll t he " odds a nd ends," which are saved i n the free States. B u t the m ain loss is in the main articles of production, and return consumption. F o r i nstance, the citizen of Fayette sends a pound of b eef to the city o f N e w Y o r k ; there it is sold for six cents; but three cents comes off f or cost of transportaiton   the nett p roceeds are therefore three cents a p ound. B u t the farmer l iving a long side of N e w Y o r k , sells also for six c ents; but that is the nett profit; as he has no outlay i n going to market. H e sells therefore for twice as much as we. O f course if he can l ive u pon one hundred, we must have two hundred acres. A g a i n , the a rticles w hich he gets i n exchange cost h im near one hundred per c ent less than us; or one half of our income is lost i n c onsequence of
* T h i s is the e stimate m ade a bout ten years ago of the power of machinery i u E n g l a n d . I f we take into consideration the machinery or instruments applied to a griculture the e stimate m ust be b elow the r e a l i t y !

  
[

8

]

t he distance of our articles of consumption. If then the free farmer c an live upon one hundred acres, we must have four h u n d r e d ! Anyone can well see then, that, if we must have four times as much land to live here, as there, we must of necessity emigrate. B u t a h ome m arket can afford manures: and high price, and personal supervision, encourage " h i g h f a r m i n g , " and the lands are continually improving.    F reedom gives education, education gives science i n cultivation, and i ncreased product   more leisure   more science,   and more population. B u t i n the slave State the "shinning system" prevails   large farms are necessary in c onsequence of distance of markets   large farms cannot undergo the manuring system; the v irgin s oil of centuries exhausted i n deposite, are worn out i n slovenly, ignorant cultivation. I n V i r ginia a nd M a r y l a n d , a nd N o r t h C arolina, w ere g ood p lains, and fertile s lopes, but slaves have turned them into barrenness. The whites e migrated   drove out the w ild beasts and Indians   cleared the forest; b ut once m ore the tide of slaves follows on; the result is the same.    B arrenness f ollows i n the wake of the slave. The broom s edge, t he m ullen, a nd the b riar, p ursue ever in their footsteps! A r e not those, w ho have desolated Judea and A s i a M inor, a nd turned her cities and f ertile v ales into the abodes of w ild b easts   where "the fox looks out at the window, and the long grass grows upon the w a l l s ! "     a s c riminal i n the e yes of Nature's God, as they who stoned the prophets, and r ejected h i m , who taught justice, mercy, and love ! I n the midst of these depressing causes, the laborer finds yet greater oppression; the direct competition of capital. I n the free States, w hen the capitalist has one or two hundred acres he wants no more l and. H e says to his neighbor, who is educated i n the common school, i ndustrious, a nd moral, I have a thousand, or five thousand dollars, t ake it and invest it i n manufactures or commerce; divide a portion of t he profits w ith y ourself, for your personal supervision, and the other p ortion w ith me for my capital. Thus capital and labor are friends, a nd b uild u p each other. A n d the whole mass of society is moving u p to independence and wealth. B u t here the slave-holding capitalist is the worst enemy of the laborer. H e cannot invest his money i n m achinery, or commerce,: he gives no employment to white labor.    H e comes t hen into the land market, where only the whites can h ope to l ive, a nd he invests his money at no matter what price. The c onsequence i s that land has not only a real value, and price, but a ficticious o r fancy value. The estimate of the most intelligent is that the lands i n the slave States do not any thing l ike a verage three per cent on their cost. I f the laborer then bids for the land on credit, he gives six per cent upon the investment; of course it is a losing business; and at last h e is compelled to s ell o ut; and the land falls into the hands of the capitalist ! T hus we find in almost every county, one, two, and as high as fifteen a nd t wenty farms, once o ccupied by intelligent whites families, n ow i n the possession of the master and slaves. The census of 1850 s hows i n many counties not only the loss of the whole increase, which i s one hundred per cent in twenty five years, but an absolute d ecrease since 1840in population! T he towns are subject to the same laws of depression as the country: a ud neither in the field or the workshop, is there any escape f rom

  
[

9

]

t he r uin of slave labor competition! There are two great data, upon w hich the growth of cities depends the number of consumers, and their p roductive and consequently consumptive capacity. For they are but t he aggregation, for convinience of society and exchange, of all those p ersons, who e xpect to give the product of their intellects or hands for t he fruits of the s oil. A h atter sells to the twenty thousand p eople of the county of Fayette, one hundred hats a year; under the free system, w hen the population s hall h ave increased to forty thousand, he w ill s ell t wo hundred hats. A t the same time his real estate advances in value as the increase of population. H e is a t hriving m echanic   he can not o nly educate his children, but set them up in the same trade w ith h i m self. The father sells to the fathers of the country, and his sons to t heir s ons   and what applies to the hatter, applies to every resident of a c ity; so that there is no l imit to the population of the city or country, u ntil s uch time as the earth s hall cease to sustain the inhabitants. A n d b y manufactories, Massachusetts, England, and some o ther countries, s ustain a higher population than their soil by agriculture c ould possibly support. Now reverse the case, let slavery be introduced a nd i mmediately as I have shown, two laws begins to prevail: the w hole population white and black begin to decrease, and the productive p ower of the black is only half that of the white. The result is t hat the hatter, who at first sold one hundred hats, in the course of these e vents, now sells but fifty; he is a decaying tradesman. Just at the t ime t hat he needs m ore money for the education and settlement of his c hildren, he has less than in early life   the profits of his trade continually d ecline, whilst his real estate declines a lso   till at last he is compelled " to p ull u p stakes" to use a common phrase, and m ove to the free States, where his consumers from the country have gone before h im! A n d t his reasoning is sustained by experience. Norfork, in V i r g i n i a , w as once t he emporium of Eastern Commerce, but slaves have driven o ut her whites; ignorance and sloth have exhausted her lands; manufactures f ail; a nd c ommerce f ails w ith t hem. Now Norfork is forgotten, a nd N ew Y o r k , and P hiladelphia a nd Boston, are great cities; and the s ails of their c ommerce w hiten every sea. The V i r g i n i a R epublican, s ays " a l ittle m ore than eighty years as;o the imports of V i r g i n i a a mounted to four millions; those of New Y o r k to nine hundred thousand; i n eighteen hundred and forty nine, the imports of V irginia w ere t wo hundred and forty t h o m a n i , and those of New Y o r k were ninety two m illions." T hat is, the difference in the race, in less than a century, a l l t he n atural a dvantages being in favor of slavery, between a free and s lave State, is about sixteen hundred times in favor of freedom ! Cities i n s lave States w ith the first tide of white population grow to a certain e xtent of magnificence; when the slaves come i n, they become s tationary   then begin.to decline. Chimneys topple off, and go unrepaired    u nderpinnings d ecay   houses go unpainted   shutters f all to pieces    l ights are broken out, and old cloths and pasted paper are substituted    a ll t hings indicate, that the city is constitutionally diseased w ith s lavery, a nd h astens to its end ! T here was a time when there wereintrenchments, where the mechanic w as secure against the machinery of the free States and the c ompetition of slave labor, in the handicrafts to be done on the s oil. B u t

  
[

io

]

n ow slaves have intruded themselves into all these, and the competition t ends continually to reduce the white mechanic to the w ages of the slave     the simplest f ood, c lothing, and shelter, without education or any of t he elegancies of l ife! P ententiary labor is remonstrated against in a l l p arts of the U nion, b y the whites, when applied to such manufactures as are carried on in the neighborhood, as utterly destroying their l ivelihood. Y e t slave labor to the seven hundred thousand free white laborers of Kentucky, is penitentiary labor; the master standing in the same r elation to the slave, th