CHAPTER I.

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A REVIEW OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN;

OR,

AN ESSAY ON SLAVERY,

BY A. WOODWARD, M.D.

CINCINNATI:

PUBLISHED BY APPLEGATE & CO.

1853

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853,

BY A. WOODWARD, M.D.,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States,

for the District of Indiana.

PREFACE.

For the last two years a "still small voice" has constantly whispered

to me, in private and in public, at home and abroad, saying, _write!_

It was in vain that I strove to quiet this inward monitor by pleading

incapacity, poverty, want of time, &c.; he heeded not my excuses. I

inquired what would become of my dependant family, should I relinquish

the practice of my profession and engage in other pursuits? He

answered, "Put thy trust in the Lord, and _write!_" I yielded not to

his monitions, but continued with unabated ardor the practice of my

profession, until the latter part of autumn, 1852, when I was suddenly

prostrated by disease, and forced to desist from the practice of

medicine. I then commenced as soon as I was able, the preparation of a

work, which I contemplated bringing before the public at some future

period, provided I should live. In accordance with the plan of the

proposed work, an essay on African slavery was to close the volume.

After I had finished about a hundred pages manuscript, in order, the

question of African slavery in the United States suddenly thrust

itself upon my mind with such force, that I found it somewhat

difficult to investigate any other subject. My mind at the time was

enervated by disease, and by no means well disciplined. Hence I could

not control it. For this reason, I at once concluded to draw up a

skeleton or outline of my essay on slavery; after which I contemplated

resuming my work in regular order. It was about this time that my

health rapidly declined, and I became so feeble that I could not sit

at my table more than one or two hours in twenty-four. In this

condition, by a slow process, I finished from chapter i, to the close

of chapter xiii. The Introduction was written afterwards, to supply

some obvious defects in that portion of the work alluded to.

None need tell me that there are defects and imperfections in the

work. I am well aware of the fact, but could not remedy them without

re-writing the whole, and that was impracticable under the

circumstances. Critics need not trouble themselves about its defects

as a literary production, as I lay no claim to merit on that ground.

Having been actively engaged in the practice of an arduous and

perplexing profession for the last twenty-five years, I am aware that

my qualifications for authorship must be somewhat defective. I was

moreover forced to write, when my corporeal system was exhausted, and

my mental powers oppressed by a complication of diseases. There are

not many, I conceive, who will find any difficulty in clearly

comprehending the ideas I intended to convey; if so, my object is

accomplished.

The work was written under disadvantageous circumstances; but such as

it is, I cast it out on the great sea of public opinion to abide its

fate. If good is accomplished thereby, I shall rejoice; but if it is

destined to sink into oblivion, I shall console myself with the

reflection that I had no other object in writing, but the correction

of error and the welfare of my fellow creatures. I may err, but I

appeal to "the searcher of all hearts" for the purity of my motives

and intentions. Whatever may be the effects of this work on the public

mind; light and truth were my aim, and the best interests of my fellow

beings, my sole object.

I appear before the public with reluctance, and am exceedingly

mortified that it has fallen to my lot to treat any portion of my

fellow citizens with severity; but I am nevertheless prepared to meet

the sneers and frowns of those implicated. I shall offer no apology

for the harsh language which will be occasionally found in this

volume; as a desperate disease requires an active remedy. If I could,

however, have re-written the work, I would have changed, in some

places, the phraseology. I have brought many and serious charges

against the abolition faction in the United States, but those who are

not guilty of the charges alleged, need not feel aggrieved thereby. My

remarks, for the most part refer to what is called _ultra-abolitionism_.

It is probable that I have occasionally quoted the language of others,

without marking the same as a quotation. If so, it was not

intentional. I could not, in doubtful cases, refer to writers whose

ideas I may have used, on account of ill health. In quoting from the

Bible I relied almost entirely on my own memory; but I presume I am

generally correct.

I have now finished a task--by no means a pleasant one--and I have

done it with a trembling hand, for the subject is a delicate one--a

subject of intense interest, under the existing circumstances, to

every American citizen. To me, the signs of the times appear to be

ominous--to forebode evil! I sometimes fear that our political sun has

passed the zenith--lowering clouds intercept his rays, and at times

obscure his former brightness, majesty and glory. The ship of State is

tossed by furious winds, and threatened by boisterous waves--rocks and

quicksands are on the right and left--an awful wreck awaits her, and

can only be averted by vigilance, prudence, caution and circumspection

on the part of her crew.

GREENCASTLE, IND., May, 1853.

Transcriber's Note: The CONTENTS are printed at the end of this book.

REVIEW OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN;

OR

AN ESSAY ON SLAVERY.

INTRODUCTION.

SECTION I.

Since the following chapters were prepared for the press, my attention

was directed by a friend, to a letter published in a Northern paper,

which detailed some shocking things, that the writer had seen and

heard in the South; and also some severe strictures on the institution

of domestic slavery in the Southern States, &c.

I have in the following work, related an anecdote of a young lawyer,

who being asked how he could stand up before the court, and with

unblushing audacity state falsehoods; he very promptly answered, "I

was well paid; I received a large fee, and could therefore afford to

lie." I infer from the class of letters referred to, that the writers

are generally "well paid" for their services.

It has long been a practice of abolition editors in the Northern

States, when they were likely to run short of matter, to employ some

worthy brother, to travel South, and manufacture articles for their

papers. Many of those articles are falsehoods; and most of them, if

not all, are exaggerations.

No man who will consent to go south, and perform this dirty work, is

capable of writing truth. And moreover, many of the letters published

in abolition papers, purporting to have been written from some part of

the South, were concocted by editors and others at home; the writers

never having traveled fifty miles from their native villages. But some

of them do travel South and write letters; and it is of but little

consequence what they see, or what they hear; they have engaged to

write letters, and letters they must write: letters too, of a certain

character; and if they fail to find material in the South, it then

devolves on them to manufacture it.

They have engaged to furnish food for the depraved appetites of a

certain class of readers in the North; and furnish it they must, by

some means. They truly, are an unlucky set of fellows, for I never yet

heard of one of them, who was so fortunate as to find anything good or

praiseworthy among Southern people. This is very strange indeed! They

travel South with an understanding on the part of their employer, and

with an intention on their part, to misrepresent the South, and to

excite prejudice in Northern minds. How devoid of patriotism, truth

and justice. The mischief done by these misrepresentations is

inconceivable. If every abolitionist North of Mason and Dixon's line,

were separately and individually asked, from whence he derived his

opinions and prejudices in relation to Southern men, and Southern

slavery, nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand would

answer, that they had learned all that they knew about slavery and

slaveholders from the publication of abolitionists: not one in a

thousand among them having ever seen a southern slave or his master.

"Truth is stranger than fiction;" and it is also becoming more rare.

No wonder people are misled, when the country is flooded with

abolition papers and Uncle Tom's Cabin. No one can read such

publications without being misled by them, unless he is, or has been,

a resident of a slave State. It is thus that materials are furnished

for abolition papers and such publications as Uncle Tom's Cabin; and

it is thus that the public mind is poisoned, public morals vitiated,

and honest but ignorant men led to say and do many things, which must,

sooner or later, result in deplorable consequences, unless something

can be brought to bear on the public mind that will counteract the

evil. The writer hopes, through the blessing of God, that the

following pages will prove an efficient antidote.

Southern people have their faults; they err in many things: and far be

it from me, under such circumstances, to become their apologist. It is

not as a defender of the South I appear before the public, but in

defense of my country, North and South. We are all brethren; we are

all citizens of the same heaven-favored country; and how residents of

one part of it can spend their lives in vilifying, traducing, and

misrepresenting those of another portion of it, is, to me,

unaccountable. It is strange, indeed! I entreat my countrymen to

reflect soberly on these things; and in the name of all that is sacred

I entreat you, my abolition friends, to pause a while, in your mad

career, and review the whole ground. It may be that some of you may

yet see the error of your course. I cannot give you all up. I trust in

God that you are not all given over to "hardness of heart and

reprobacy of mind." A word to the reader. Pass on--hear me

through--never mind my harsh expressions and uncouth language. Truth

is not very palatable, to any of us, at all times. Crack the nut; it

may be that you will find a kernel within that will reward you for

your trouble.

False impressions have been made, and continue to be made by the

writers alluded to above; sectional hatred is engendered, North and

South; and if this incessant warfare continues, it will, at no very

distant day, produce a dissolution of this Union. This result is

inevitable if the present state of things continues. Has the agitation

and discussion of the question of African slavery, in the free States,

resulted in any good, or is it ever likely to result in any? I flatter

myself that I have clearly shown, in the following pages, that

hitherto its consequences have been evil and only evil, and that

nothing but evil can grow out of it in future. I think that I have

adduced historical facts which clearly and indisputably prove that

northern agitation has served but to rivet the chains of slavery; that

it has retarded emancipation; that it has augmented the evils and

hardships of slavery; that it has inflicted injury on both masters and

servants; that it has engendered sectional hatred which endangers the

peace, prosperity, and perpetuity of the Union. Why, then, will

abolitionists persist in a course so inconsistent; so contrary to

reason; so opposed to truth, righteousness, and justice? They need not

tell me that slavery is an evil; that slavery is a curse; that slavery

is a hardship, and that it ought to be extinguished. I admit it; but

this is not the question. On this head I have no controversy with

them. The question is, whether their course of procedure is ever

likely to remove or mitigate the evils of slavery. Are we prepared, in

our efforts to remove the evils of slavery, to incur the risk of

subjecting ourselves to calamities infinitely worse that African

slavery itself? Or rather, is there the remotest probability,

supposing the plans and schemes of abolitionists should be carried

out, the Union dissolved, and the country plunged into civil war, that

slavery would thereby be abolished in the southern States?

These are the questions at issue between the abolition party and the

writer; and these are among the prominent questions discussed in the

following pages. It is true that I have hastily glanced at slavery in

all its bearings, but it was the fell spirit of abolitionism which

first attracted my attention, and induced me to investigate the

subject. It was its revolutionary designs and tendencies, its contempt

of all law, human and Divine, that first impressed my mind with the

necessity of prompt and efficient action on the part of the friends of

our country. It was the unparalleled circulation of Uncle Tom's Cabin

that aroused my fears, and excited in my mind apprehensions of danger.

If such productions as Uncle Tom's Cabin are to give tone to public

sentiment in the North, then assuredly are we in danger. Should Mrs.

Stowe's vile aspersion of southern character, and her loose, reckless

and wicked misrepresentations of the institution of slavery in the

southern States ever become accredited in the northern section of the

Union I fear the consequence. I sometimes survey the condition of my

country with consternation and dismay, and tremble in prospect of what

may yet occur. History records the rise and fall of nations. We read

of revolutions, butcheries, and blood. We have flattered ourselves

that our beloved country for ages to come, and probably forever, is

destined to escape these calamities. But, O God! how mortifying the

reflection that there are now, in our midst, religious fanatics and

political demagogues, who for a little paltry gain or notoriety would

plunge us into all these evils!

I have repeatedly, in the following pages charged the abolition

faction with revolutionary designs and tendencies. Some may doubt the

truth and justice of the charge; but I beg such persons to recollect

that abolition writers and orators have, times without number, avowed

an intention to overthrow this government; but it matters not what

their avowed designs and intentions are, for their lawless and

seditious course leads directly to that result. If they ever succeed

in carrying out their plans and schemes we know that revolution and

disunion will be the consequence. It was remarked by Mr.

Frelinghuysen, of New York, on a certain occasion, that "abolitionists

are seeking to destroy our happy Union." Chancellor Walworth says,

"They are contemplating a violation of the rights of property secured

by the Constitution, and pursuing measures which must lead to civil

war."

The union of these States is based on what has been called the slavery

compromise; and the Union would have never taken place, had not the

right to hold slave property been secured to the slave states, by a

provision in the Federal Constitution. Had not the free states

relinquished all right to interfere with slavery in the slave states,

no union of the slave and free states could ever have taken place. The

right to hold slave property, and to manage, control, and dispose of

that property in their own way, and at their own discretion, was

secured to the slave states by a solemn contract between the slave and

non-slaveholding states, and that contract binds every individual in

this nation, North and South. Slave property then, is held under the

protection of the supreme law of the nation, and any citizen invading

the rights of the South, is guilty of a civil trespass. Hence, all

interference with slavery by northern men, is a violation of the

spirit, if not of the letter of that constitutional compact, which

binds these states together. Any attempt by northern men, either

direct or indirect, to dispossess the South of her slave property, or

in any way to endanger or injuriously to affect their interests

therein, is a violation of the supreme law of the nation. It is an act

of bad faith--of gross injustice, and none but bigoted corrupt

fanatics, and low political demagogues, would be guilty of so base an

act.

It is clear then, that the slave states never will yield to the

requisitions of abolitionists, and should that faction ever become the

dominant party in the free states, dissolution of the Union will be a

necessary consequence _Intelligent men_, who will persist in a course

of conduct so unjust, so illegal, with a perfect knowledge of the

probable consequences; are to all intents and purposes, as truly

traitors to their country, as was Benedict Arnold; and as such, they

should be viewed and treated. Mark my words, reader, I say,

_intelligent men_, for nine out of every ten among those who have been

seduced into the abolition net, are objects of pity, and not of

contempt or indignation. Poor souls, they are ignorant; it is, I

suppose, their misfortune and not their fault.

In order that I may be clearly understood, I will reiterate tho

foregoing argument. Before the adoption of the Federal constitution,

the states were to a great extent sovereign and independent, and of

course were in a condition to settle terms on which to form a more

perfect union. The North and the South, otherwise, the slave-holding

and the non-slaveholding states met in convention to settle those

_terms_. The North in convention conceded to the South the right to

hold slave property; and the sole right of making all laws necessary

for the regulation of slavery. It was thus, we see, by a solemn

contract or agreement, that the South acquired exclusive right to

control domestic slavery within her borders. What right then, have the

citizens of free states, to intermeddle with it? They have none, as

long as the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The

union of these states is based on that instrument, and whenever we

cease faithfully to observe its provisions, the Union must necessarily

cease to exist. All interference then on the part of the North,

endangering the rights or injuriously affecting the interests of the

South in slave property, is a violation of the supreme law of the

nation. I need not say more; the argument must be clear to every one;

and I think the duty of all concerned equally clear.

Ralfe, referring to the adoption of the Federal Constitution, says,

"It was no easy task to reconcile the local interests and discordant

prepossessions of different sections of the United States, but it was

accomplished by acts of concession." Madison says, "Mutual deference

and concession were absolutely necessary," and that the Southern

States never would have entered the Union, without concession as to

slave property. And Governor Randolph informs us, "That the Southern

States conceived their property in slaves to be secured by this

arrangement?"

We are also informed by Patrick Henry, Chief Justice Tiglman,

Chancellor Kent, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Justice Shaw, Chief

Justice Parker, Edward Everett and others, that no union of these

states ever could have taken place, had not the right to hold slave

property, and the sole right to control that property been conceded to

the southern States. And, Edward Everett, moreover, tells us that the

northern States "deemed it a point of the highest policy, to enter

with the slave states into the present Union." The reader will

observe, that a majority of the authorities referred to, are northern

men of the highest distinction.

I remarked in the preceding pages, that whoever invades the rights of

the South in her slave property, violates the law of the land, and is

guilty of a civil trespass; and I will now prove from the sacred

record, that in opposing the civil laws of their country, they violate

the laws of God, and consequently are guilty of a moral trespass. The

primitive church of Christ was, under all circumstances, and at all

times, subordinate to the civil authorities. They never stopped to

inquire whether the laws were good or bad, just or unjust; their

business was to obey the laws and not to find fault with them.

Christ and his apostles enjoined on their followers unreserved

obedience and submission to the civil authorities. I need not here

quote the language of our Saviour; it must be familiar to every Bible

reader. I will, however, quote the remarks of St. Paul and St. Peter,

on this topic. The former says, "Let every soul be subject to the

higher powers." "Whosoever therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth

the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves

damnation." He instructs Bishop Titus to put his flock "in mind to be

subject to principalities and powers, and to obey magistrates, to be

ready to every good work." "To speak evil of no man, to be no

brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness unto all men." St. Peter says,

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of men for the Lord's sake;

whether to the king as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that

are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers." There is neither

precept nor precedent in the Bible, which will countenance opposition

to the laws of our country. No, not one word in the sacred volume,

that can be thus construed. Opposition and resistance to the civil

authorities, is one of the many corruptions winch have crept into the

church of Christ. Men "have become wise above what is written;" and

truly as our Saviour said unto the ancient scribes and pharisees,

"they shall receive the greater damnation."

What a marked contrast between Christ and his apostles, and the

apostles of modern reform, _alias_ abolitionists. How dare they

professing Christianity to fly in the face of the laws of their

country? How dare they resist the execution of those laws? How dares

Mrs. Stowe inculcate disobedience and open resistance to her country's

laws? Great God! shall our country ever be freed from the dark and

damnable deeds of religious fanatics? Shall our country ever be freed

from the curse of curses, religious ultraism, bigotry, and delusion?

Let those who profess to be the followers of the meek and lowly

Jesus--those who profess to take the Bible as their guide, cease from

their unwarrantable and seditious opposition to the laws of their

country; or otherwise let them renounce the Bible, lay aside their

Christian garb, and appear before us in their true colors, that we may

know who they are, what they are, whom they serve, and under what

standard they are fighting. Throw off your masks, gentlemen; don't try

to deceive us any longer; some of us understand you, and we intend to

expose you, and hold you up to the public gaze, as long as the good

Lord will vouchsafe to us health and strength sufficient to sit in our

seats, and hold a pen in our hands. Your conduct is a reproach to the

Christian name, a stigma on the Christian character.

SECTION II.

There are nearly four millions of slaves in the United States; and the

question now presents itself to every free born American citizen; what

are we to do with them? The abolition party demand their immediate

emancipation. Is it practicable, safe, or proper? What would be the

consequences? What would be the consequence of turning loose upon

ourselves four millions of human beings, to prowl about like wild

beasts without restraint, or control, and commit depredations on the

white population? Four millions of human beings without property or

character, and utterly devoid of all sense of honor and shame, or any

other restraining motive or influence whatever! And they too, under

the ban of a prejudice, as firm, as fixed as the laws which govern the

material universe. In that event, is it not probable; is it not almost

certain, that there would be either a general massacre of the slaves,

or otherwise that the white population would be forced to abandon the

soil? Will any one pretend to deny that either entire extinction of

the African race would be likely to result from universal

emancipation, supposing the manumitted slaves should remain in our

midst, or that otherwise the consequences would be disastrous to the

white population? None, I presume. What then shall we do? The slaves

are among us; they must be governed and provided for, and is it not

our duty in making provisions for them, to act with reference to the

general welfare of all concerned--white and black? Is there an

intelligent man in this nation, who has reflected on the subject, that

really believes that the condition of the African race in the United

States, would be bettered or improved in any respect, by immediate

emancipation? I have clearly shown in the following pages that it

would not. Facts prove the contrary. Yes, stubborn undeniable facts,

that none but a knave or a fool will gainsay. We know that

improvidence, idleness, vagrancy, and crime, are the fruits of

emancipation; not only in the United States, but also in the West

Indies. We have already stated on good English authority, (Lord

Brougham), that the West India free negroes, are rapidly retrograding

into their original barbarism and brutality; and the London Times

quite recently asserted, that the British emancipation experiment was

a failure; that the negro would not work; that his freedom was little

better than that of a brute; that the island was going to the dogs,

and the negroes would have to be removed, &c. Have we any reason to

believe, that a different result would follow emancipation in the

United States? No, we have none, for it is a notorious fact, that free

negroes are everywhere idle and vicious in this country, and that

crime among them is ten-fold more common than it is among Southern

slaves.

We hear a great deal about emancipation--the freedom of the African

race--free negroes, &c. It is all sheer nonsense. Strictly speaking,

there is not a free negro in the limits of the United States! There

never has been, and there never will be. The white and the black races

have never co-existed under the same government, on equal footing, and

never can. Their liberty is only nominal! "It is all a lie and a

cheat!" Is the negro free any where in the Northern States? No, he is

not. There is no sympathy between the two races. Northern people

loathe and despise free negroes. They cannot bear the sight or smell

of them. The negro then is not free anywhere in the Northern States.

Not only the prejudices, but also the laws of the free states proclaim

it impossible: and the prejudices of the whites against the African

race is stronger in the free states, than it is in the slave states.

Every free state in this Union is disposed to cast them off as a

nuisance. They cannot bear their presence. Their very color renders

them odious; and this aversion to the African race, is daily becoming

stronger and stronger in every free state in this union. Nothing can

counteract it--nothing can overcome it. It is in the very nature of

things impossible. No, no! Negro novels piled mountain high in every

street and alley, in every city and village in this Union, will

accomplish nothing for the poor despised African. "Can the Ethiopian

change his skin, or the leopard his spots," then may ye who are

accustomed to loathe, shun, and cast off the African race, receive

them to your kind embraces.

It is true that abolitionists affect to have a great deal of sympathy

for them while they are slaves in the South, but they have none for

the ignorant, degraded, half starved, ill clad, free negroes in the

North. No wonder, for their Southern sympathy costs them nothing, but

Northern sympathy might empty their purses. Show me the abolitionist

who is willing to meet the free negro on terms of equality. No man can

point to one--no, not one. The African is neglected, scorned, and

trodden under foot every where; by abolitionists and every one else.

This prejudice is invincible, irremediable. The poor African is

hopelessly and irretrievably doomed to scorn, contempt and degradation

while in the midst of the white race. Is the African allowed the

ordinary privileges of the white man any where in all the liberty

loving North? Show me the spot! Where is it? Show me the state--show

me the neighborhood--the man--the woman among all the white race in

all the North, who is willing to allow the despised African, the

ordinary privileges of white men. Ah! you cannot do it. Shame! shame!

Hold! cease,--for God's sake cease your hypocritical cant about

Southern slavery. No! no! there is not a state in all this union where

they enjoy the privileges of white men. There is not--there never has

been--and there never will be! They are no where equal parties in an

action at law. They are no where credible witnesses against white men.

They are no where allowed the right of suffrage; or if the law allows

it, they are not suffered to avail themselves of it. They are no where

admitted as judge, juror, or counsellor. They are no where eligible to

any office of profit, trust, or honor. Their children are no where

admitted into the same school-room with the whites. They are no where

protected, encouraged, and rewarded in all the North. They are victims

of injustice, scorned and despised in every free state in this

confederacy. And abolitionists are as far from making equals of them,

or associating with them, as any one else.

The city of Baltimore presents the largest and most intelligent mass

of free negroes found in the United States. These in an appeal to the

citizens of Baltimore, and through them to the people of the United

States, say, "we reside among you, and yet are strangers,--natives,

yet not citizens--surrounded by the freest people and the most

republican institutions in the world, and yet we enjoy none of the

immunities of freedom. As long as we remain among you, we shall be a

distinct race--an extraneous mass of men irrecoverably excluded from

your institutions. Though we are not slaves--_we are not free_."

Judge Blackford, speaking of free negroes, says, "They are of no

service here, (in the free states,) to the community or themselves.

They live in a country, the favorite abode of liberty, without the

enjoyment of her rights."

Dr. Miller says, "if liberated and left among the whites, they would

be a constant source of corruption, annoyance and danger. They could

never be trusted as faithful citizens."

There is at last no sympathy between the two races, except in the

slave states. There, for the most part, we find kind feelings and

strong attachments between the slaves and the families in which they

reside. I must, however, refer the reader to other parts of this

volume for additional remarks on the subjects discussed in the

preceding pages,--more particularly to chapters, 4, 5, 6, 7. But I

would ask, in the name of all that is sacred, what advantage, what

benefit under these circumstances is conferred on the Southern slaves

by emancipation? I know from personal observation, that Southern

slaves are better fed, better clothed, and better housed than are free

negroes, either North or South; in short, they are better paid for

their labor. The South is the only part of the United States, where

ministers of the gospel are successful in Christianizing the African

race--the only part of the United States where there is anything like

good order, good morals, or Christianity among them. The only place at

last, on this continent, where the African is cared for and provided

for, and where there is any thing like sympathy, kindness or

fellow-feeling between the two races.

It would be well for the people of the United States to inquire into

the origin of this slavery agitation. It is of foreign origin! It was

our old enemy England, that first sowed broadcast the seeds of

dissension in our midst. Abolitionism in this country first originated

in, and has been sustained by, foreign interference, and religious

fanaticism. It is the last hope of European monarchies to destroy our

republic. The fact is notorious, and is susceptible of proof, that the

abolition excitement was first set on foot in this country by British

influence. There has been a constant effort in England, to array the

North against the South. "We have the best of reasons for believing,

that her original object was the severance of this Union." One English

journal says, "The people of England will never rest, till slavery is

terminated in the United States;" and another says, "Slavery can only

be reached through the Federal Constitution." That is, slavery can

only be reached, by destroying our present form of government, and

dissolving our Union. The English are well aware, that they cannot

reach slavery in this country, except by dissolving our Union and

involving us in civil war; in which war, of course, they expect to

take an active part. In the name of God, are we prepared for all this?

Have we ever counted the cost? I hope I shall be pardoned for using

strong language, when I allude to this subject. It is enough. Who that

loves his country, can keep cool, while reflecting on these things? Is

it not almost enough to make a Christian swear? No my friends we will

not swear about it; but I entreat you to keep your eyes upon that old

rascal, John Bull. He needs watching, and his Northern allies in the

United States, are as vile scamps as he is.

I might quote from English journals, and English statesmen, to show

what her feelings, views, and intentions have been in relation to this

country; but I forbear at present. We know that her unwarrantable

interference with the civil institutions of our country, did not

originate in any sympathy that she felt for the oppressed African in

our midst. The idea is ridiculous. The whole history of the English

government proves the contrary. Talk about the English government

sympathizing with the oppressed of other nations. It is nonsense--a

ridiculous inconsistency. No part of the English government can be

pointed out, in which there is not worse slavery in some form or

other, than there is in the United States:--yes, worse, far worse,

than negro-slavery in the Southern States. What says Southy, the

English poet, of the great mass of the English poor? He says that

"they are deprived, in childhood, of all instruction, and enjoyment.

They grow up without decency--without comfort--without hope--without

morals, and without shame." The North British Review expressed similar

sentiments. If I am correctly informed, negro slavery, itself, is not

extinct in the British dominions. I am aware that they call it an

apprenticeship, but it is slavery notwithstanding. Yes, it is

involuntary slavery and nothing else. But yet she would have us

believe that she feels an intense interest in African slavery, in the

United States. How does it happen that she is so interested about

slavery among us, but is deaf to the cry of her own enslaved and

starving millions, in British India, and other parts of her dominions?

It is said that in 1838, five hundred thousand perished of famine, in

a single district, in British India; and that too within the reach of

English granaries locked up, and guarded by a military force! This is

a fair sample of English benevolence; _alias_, English cupidity. And

what says Allison the English historian of wretched Ireland? Her

history and her sufferings are familiar to every one. He avows the

opinion, in his History of Europe, "that it would be a real blessing

to its inhabitants, in lieu of the destitution of freedom, to obtain

the protection of slavery." And Murray the English traveler says of

the slaves of the United States, "if they could forget that they are

slaves, their condition is decidedly better than the great mass of

European laborers." And what said Dr. Durbin a few years ago of the

British nation? He told us that "the mass of the people were slaves,

and the few were masters without the responsibility of masters." He

proceeds to tell us, that the condition of the slaves of the United

States, is in every respect better than millions in Ireland and

England. This is the testimony of a distinguished minister of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, (North,) whom, nobody will suspect of any

undue partiality for Southern slave-holders. When we look at the

"degradation, the slavery, the exile, the hunger, the toil, the filth

and the nakedness," of the English poor, we are astonished at the

brazen impudence of that cruel, godless, and hypocritical nation! Nor

are we less surprised, when we think of the ungodly crew of fools and

fanatics in the United States, who are leagued with that monster

England to overthrow their own government! I have said, and I boldly

reiterate the assertion, that slavery exists in every part of the

British dominions, in a form far worse than negro slavery in the

United States! And I am able to corroborate the truth of the remark,

by a volume of the most reliable testimony; and much of that might be

drawn from the admissions of English Journals, and English statesmen.

I will quote a few more English authorities, and dismiss the subject.

The British Asiatic Journal says, "the whole of Hindostan, with the

adjacent possessions, is one magnificent plantation, peopled by more

than one hundred millions of slaves, belonging to a company of

gentlemen in England, whose power is far more unlimited than any

Southern planter over his slaves in the United States." And the same

authority tells us, "that in Malabar, the islands of Ceylon, St.

Helena and other places, the English government is a notorious

slave-factor--a regular jobber in the purchase and sale of slaves; and

that this system is carried on and perpetuated by the purses and

bayonet of the English government." Dr. Bowering affirms of the

British subjects in India, "that the entire population of that empire

_are_ subjected to the most degrading servitude--a deeper degradation

than any produced by American slavery." The same writer declares "that

a regular system of kidnapping is carried on by the English." The Duke

of Wellington remarked in the House of Lords, that "slavery does exist

in India--domestic slavery in particular." Sir Robert Peel made the

charge and offered the evidence, "that British merchants are even now

deeply and extensively engaged in the slave trade;" and that the

English government was, at the time he spoke, "engaged in a new system

of English negro slavery, by the forcible capture of negroes in

Africa, &c." We are told by the London Times of Feb. 20, 1853, "that

British slavery is ten thousand times worse than negro slavery of the

United States," and that the condition of those, whom he denominated

British slaves, "is a scandal and a reproach, not only to the

government, but to the owners of every description of property in

England." This is strong language, and the reader will please

recollect, that it is the testimony of a leading English Journal, so

late as February, 1853.

Here is an array of English testimony that cannot fail to convince

every one that slavery exists to the present moment in the English

dominions, in a form far more aggravated than African slavery in the

United States. How is it then, that she has been, and is to the

present time, making ceaseless and untiring efforts to exaggerate the

sufferings and the disabilities of the African race in our midst,

while there is so much suffering and oppression among her own

subjects? Is it not an, extraordinary circumstance, that a nation who

has expended so much blood and treasure in invading the rights of

others--a nation that to the present hour tolerates and legalizes

slavery in its worst possible forms--or rather, in every possible

form; should affect so much solicitude about its extinction in a

foreign government? In view of all these facts, is it not a

humiliating circumstance; or rather, is it not an outrageous insult to

the American people, that Madam Stowe, after having basely

caricatured, slandered and misrepresented her own country, to flatter

and please the English people, and their Northern allies in the United

States; should with her ill-gotten gains fly across the ocean, to join

the slanderers, denunciators and libelers of our beloved country? The

world can't produce another instance of such insulting, arrogant,

bare-faced knavery and hypocrisy! A thousand reflections force

themselves on my mind, and had I a voice as seven-fold thunder, and

could I congregate around me in one solid phalanx, every man, woman

and child, on the North American portion of this continent; I would

warn them of their danger. I would direct their attention to the

history of nations wrecked, torn to pieces, and almost obliterated

from the face of the earth by internal feuds and dissentions--by envy,

jealousy and hatred; and that not unfrequently instigated by foreign

powers. I would point to the catalogue of crimes--the commotions, the

dissentions, the tumults, the strife--the envy, the jealousy, the

hatred--the wars, the butcheries and bloodsheds, that have been

incited by visionary, bigoted, fanatical religionists. I would

inculcate the fear and love of God; the love of our country, and the

love of our neighbor as paramount virtues; and meekness, gentleness

and patience, as Christian graces of the first importance; and

resignation to the will of God, and obedience and submission to civil

authorities, as the duty of all good citizens. And to the ladies I

would say, return home ladies, and love your husbands, nurse your

babies, attend to your household affairs; and recollect, that nothing

adorns your sex so much, as the ornament of a meek, a quiet spirit. I

would also advise you to read your Bibles and other good books, and

never again to read or write another novel. And, dear ladies, if you

have hitherto worn either bloomers or breeches, lay them aside. I must

return from this digression to the subject under discussion.

SECTION III.

It was said a few years ago, that one of the nobility of England

openly declared, that the sovereigns of Europe had determined upon the

destruction of the government of the United States; and that they

expected to accomplish their infamous designs by involving us in

"discord, disunion, anarchy and civil war." He is reported moreover to

have said, that they expected to accomplish this, by flooding our

country with their vicious refuse pauper population, and by agitating

the subject of slavery among us. Unfortunately for us, England in her

nefarious designs upon our country, has always found too many allies,

aiders and abettors, in our midst. I will not say, that Mrs. Stowe had

designs upon the liberties of her country, when she wrote Uncle Tom's

Cabin; but this I will say, that in writing that book, she performed

an acceptable service for the enemies of her country, for which it

seems, from recent demonstrations, they are profoundly thankful. Be it

as it may, she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin; the work was republished in

England, and we are credibly informed, that it has almost supplanted

the Bible in that country. Travelers tell us, that nothing else is

talked about throughout the British dominions. They received it, I

suppose, as a revelation from heaven--revelation of higher authority

than the Bible, for the reason, that it is of more recent origin.

Well, she is invited to England by the nation _en masse_; and if the

Saviour of the world should perchance make his advent into the British

Isles, on the day that she lands in that country, I think it highly

probable, that he would be forced a second time to _take lodgings in a

manger_. He might wander through the country unnoticed and unknown,

while the whole nation were draggling after Mrs. Stowe's petticoat. He

might again be forced to exclaim, "the foxes have holes, and the birds

of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his

head" to rest. No Marthas and Marys would be found in that reprobate

country, to minister to him. If so, they would be found among the

"lowly," and we understand that they have no part or lot in Mrs.

Stowe's visit. No! no! she has made money enough by her "_life among

the lowly_" and now she is preparing to take her stand among the

aristocracy of England.

We have had from time to time all sorts of _isms_ and _schisms_ in

this world; and Yankee ingenuity has furnished us, withal, with a

great variety of _notions_ and _notable things_; among which, wooden

nutmegs, wooden bacon hams, horn gun flints and wooden seeds of

different kinds, are not the least remarkable. We certainly have had

_isms_ enough to indulge the whims and caprices, and to suit the

peculiar predilections, prejudices and prepossessions of all

concerned; but it appears from present indications, that we are about

to have a new _ism_ forced upon us, whether we will or no. I allude to

Uncle _Tomism_, which I beg leave to call _Tomism_, as it will sound

rather more euphonious. It is rumored that this new _sect_, viz., the

Tomites, have spread with great rapidity through the New England

States within the past year; and it is moreover reported, that they

have many adherents in other parts of the Union. It must have been the

rapid spread of Mormonism that first suggested the idea to Mrs. Stowe,

the founder of this sect; for like Jo. Smith, she has furnished her

adherents with a novel for their Bible; and it is said that a Key to

its mysteries is forthcoming. In order that nothing should be wanting

for their enlightenment, edification and comfort, a distinguished D.D.

of a neighboring city, has furnished them with an elaborate

Commentary. The Key and Commentary I have not seen, but their Bible,

viz., Uncle Tom's Cabin, I have read. However popular _Tomism_ may be

in America, it is said to be more so in England. It appears that this

_Woolyism, alias, Tomism_, has spread with unparalleled rapidity

throughout, the British domains, and Mrs. Stowe has hastened to that

country to instruct them in the doctrines and mysteries of this New

Revelation. I would suggest to the English nation, that they suffer

Mrs. Stowe to make her debut on the lord chancellor's _woolsack_.

Black wool, of course, would be most appropriate on this occasion, and

withal, most significant of her mission.

However the English nation may shed their crocodile tears over the

woes and wrongs of the African race in our country; we know that they

are a nation of murderers, thieves and robbers. Their religion is

little else, but legalized hypocrisy. Justice and humanity never yet

found a place in their moral code. It looks well in them to talk about

oppression in other lands; but so it is the world over. Men as vile as

crime can make them, will arrogate to themselves the right to judge

and censure others. The history of England for centuries past, is but

a record of crime--of wars, butcheries and bloodshed--rapine,

injustice, oppression and inhumanity. But she will talk about negro

slavery in the United States notwithstanding--and of liberty, and

justice, and truth, and righteousness, and the rights of man! "Thou

hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye."

Perhaps, my English friends, while Mrs. Stowe is in your midst, you

had as well suffer her to look around among your "lowly." Perchance

she might find material for another novel. Ah! that would be cruel

indeed. Well, it would--but then it might turn out a good speculation

"among the lowly;" and a Yankee is always ready for that. Well,

seriously, my good friends across the water, you had better not trust

this lady too far. We are aware that when you invited her to your

country, it was no part of your design, that she should spend any

portion of her time among your servants. Well, then, I would advise

you as a friend, not to trust Yankee cupidity too far. Watch the lady

well, otherwise she might yet make a little money by a "life" among

your "lowly."

But the English nation have had another object in view, in fanning

this flame of discord among us, by keeping up the slavery agitation.

It was to conceal their own dark and damnable deeds. It is the

universal practice of those who are guilty of criminal acts, to bring

railing accusations against others, in order to divert public

attention from themselves. So it has been with England. She has grown

rich by injustice and oppression. Hence, her attempt to divert the

attention of the world from herself to her rival, the United States.

We know that it is a common occurrence for persons to attempt to

conceal their own crimes, by directing attention to the crimes of

others--to justify themselves, by making the impression, that others

are just as bad as they are. It has often brought to mind an

altercation I once witnessed between a couple of boys. One remarked to

the other, that he was a thief. "I don't care," (replied the little

urchin,) "if I am a _tief_; you are a tief too." So it has been with

old mother England, she knew well, that she was a "_tief_" but she did

not care, provided she could make it appear that her daughter, the

United States, was a "_tief_" too.

I will now dismiss John Bull and return to Mrs. Stowe and her

abolition coadjutors in general--one and all. I am heartily sick and

tired of this whole abolition clap-trap, catch-penny business. I

cannot express my views on the subject better than in the language of

Graham's Magazine. Alluding to Uncle Tom's Cabin, and other kindred

publications, he very justly remarks, "that they are all together

speculations in patriotism--a question of dollars and cents, not of

slavery or liberty. Many persons who are urging on this negro crusade

into the domain of letters, have palms with an infernal itch for gold.

They would fire the whole republic, if they could but take the gems

and precious stones from the ashes. They care nothing for principle,

honor or right, &c." No, they care nothing about negro slavery, or

negro oppression. Money is their sole object in all these

publications. Sympathy for the poor benighted African, has no agency

whatever in the matter. The object is to make money out of the woolly

heads, and after that is accomplished they have no farther use for

them. The same motives prompt them to write books on slavery--negro

oppression and the negroes woes, that induce the cotton grower and the

sugar planter to work slaves on their farms. Money is as truly the

object of the former, as it is of the latter. And facts prove that the

cotton growers and sugar planters, have more sympathy for the African

race, than Northern abolitionists.

SECTION IV.

How mortifying the reflection, that such a work as Uncle Tom's Cabin,

should have become so popular in England and America. As an American,

we can but view it with shame and regret. Where is the Bible? Where

are Shakespeare and Milton, and Addison and Johnson? And where are our

own immortal poets and prose writers? Who reads the chaste and

beautiful writings of Washington Irvin? What has become of our well

written and instructive histories and biographies? Why is it that a

filthy negro novel is found in every body's hand? Uncle Tom's Cabin!

What is it? What can be expected from it? Will it improve the manners,

the morals, or the literary tastes of our country-men, and fair

country-women? No! Never! Its very touch is contaminating. Filth,

pollution, and mental degradation, follow in the train of this class

of writers. In what consists the merit of Uncle Tom's Cabin? It is

hard to tell. Look at its dark design--its injustice--its falsehoods!

Its vulgarisms, negroisms, localisms, and common place slang! Its

tendency to pervert public taste, and corrupt public morals. How

remarkable that a work of its character, should have been so much read

and admired! We may boast of our intelligence and virtue to our hearts

content, the reception of this work is a sad commentary on the age in

which we live. We may boast of our religion; it is little else at

last, but self-righteous phariseism! We throw around ourselves

religion as a cloak; the more effectually to conceal our dark designs!

Yes, verily, while we stab an erring, or unerring brother in the dark!

We are all prostrate before the god of mammon, and there are but few

of us, who would not sell our Saviour for less than thirty pieces of

silver! Professedly we are Christians, but practically we are

infidels! The Bible is no longer our guide. The fact is, we know but

little about it, and care less! We profess to believe that it is the

word of God; and yet it is laid aside for any impure negro novel, or

other filthy tale, that may chance to fall in our way? Uncle Tom's

Cabin has been read more within the past year, than the Bible had been

for the last ten years, immediately preceding its appearance!

Thousands of Christians have gloated over its pages with rapture and

delight, from the rising till the setting sun, for days and nights in

succession, who had not during their lives read a dozen chapters in

the Bible! We will now remove the veil and look within. Its high time

that the motives which prompt us to action were exposed to public

gaze. Let us then take a peep at the "inward man."

A portion of our fellow citizens in another part of this Union, had,

by no fault or agency of their own, become involved in the evils and

calamities of slavery. We turned our eyes in that direction, and

looked on the dark pictures. We felt that we were great sinners.

Guilt pressed heavily upon us. "The sorrows of death compassed us:

and the pains of hell got hold upon us;" and we "found trouble and

sorrow." The anguish of our guilt was insupportable. We were in deep

distress, and we longed for some thing to soothe and ease our troubled

minds: but we did not, with the Psalmist, call upon the Lord to

"deliver us." No! By no means, for we thought if we could find worse

sinners than ourselves, it would afford us some relief.

Twas thus we sought, but sought in vain

A panacea for all our pain!

Are there not those more vile than we--

If baser mortal man can be!

We looked around--and looked again,

And searched the world--but searched in vain;

For more depraved--more vile than we

Sure there were none--none could there be!

Alas our souls are steeped in sin!

Though clean without--impure within--

As sepulchers adorned with paint

A devil within--without a saint!

Our condition was pitiable indeed. We said among ourselves, "What now

shall we do?" "Where! O! Where shall we find worse sinners than

ourselves?" Our woe-begone looks betrayed the secret workings and

intentions of our hearts; We again went forth in search of those more

wicked than ourselves; but we were destined to disappointment, for we

sought in vain,--they were hard to find. They were neither here--nor

there--nor any where to be found in all the land of the living! Worse

sinners than ourselves could not be found upon this terrestial

globe--among all the degenerate sons and daughters of Adam. When we

had well nigh given up in despair, we again directed our eyes to the

dark picture of African slavery. "Oh!" said we, to ourselves, "how it

would soothe and tranquilize our troubled consciences, if we could but

find worse sinners than ourselves." "We know that we are vile and

depraved, but are not those slaveholders, a little worse than we are?"

Anxiously and intensely we gazed on, but we were disappointed! The

picture was dark, _to be sure_; but we failed to observe all that we

expected! We then called for glasses that magnified a thousand fold,

and again, and again, we surveyed the dark picture! Ah! we saw

something at last! What was it? Well, we either saw something, or,

otherwise, we thought we saw something. Chagrin and despair seized

upon us, and we exclaimed in the bitter agonies of our souls,

"merciful God, are we sinners above all sinners--are there none, so

vile as we are?" "But stop--hold on," (said we), "we are not done with

negrodom yet--we cannot let those rascally slaveholders off so

lightly--we will yet make it appear, that they are more wicked than

ourselves--or, at all events, we will not give them up yet." It was

but seldom that we troubled the good old Bible, but as we were in a

difficulty, we decided at once to consult her--perchance she might

talk about right on the subject of slavery. After a long search we

found the old book; brushed off the dust and opened it. Well, now, we

felt quite certain, that the Bible would tell us, that we were better

Christians than slaveholders; for we had already succeeded in

persuading ourselves, that we were not quite so bad as we imagined at

the outset; and we moreover thought, that we got a glimpse of some

thing dreadful about these Southern folks, but hardly knew what it

was. We then proceeded to examine the Bible. "Where is it," (said we),

"that the Bible denounces these slaveholders, as the chief of

sinners?" "Well, we don't know, but we think it says something

dreadful about them; but we don't know where it is, or what it is."

We searched, but searched in vain; almost ready to abuse the good

Boob, because it refused to abuse slaveholders. We then soliloquized

in the following words. "We don't like these slaveholders--never

did--nor did our fathers before us. Our fathers told us that they were

bad men--that they were guilty of many horrible things; and that they

were not good Christians, like the people out here North." We were,

nevertheless, still oppressed by a load of guilt, and felt the

insupportable gnawings of a guilty conscience. We had oppressed the

poor and robbed the widow and orphans! We had defrauded our neighbor

and slandered our brother! We had lied to both God and man! "Can it be

possible," (said we to ourselves), "that there are human beings

living, who have been guilty of more abominable crimes?" "What is more

odious?" "What could be more detestable?" "What could render a human

being more obnoxious to eternal vengeance?" We were in this deplorable

condition, when we first set about trying to deceive ourselves. We

pondered the matter well, and could devise no means, that in our

judgment, would be so likely to bring relief to our troubled minds, as

to find that there were others who were as bad, or probably a little

worse than ourselves. We flattered ourselves, that while we were

talking about the sins of others, we might forget our own; and at

length be able to persuade ourselves that we were Christians. But it

was all of no avail. Our consciences said "nay"--the Bible said "nay."

It was at this critical moment, that Uncle Tom's Cabin came to our

relief, and it settled the difficulty. It proved to our satisfaction,

that these Southern people were infinitely worse than ourselves. We

now found but little difficulty in persuading ourselves that we were

really Christians. We then had Southern men just where we had long

been trying to place them. We had nothing then to do, but to compare

ourselves with them; and the result of the whole matter was, Mrs.

Stowe had made them out so much worse than ourselves, that we were

forced to the conclusion, that we were good Christians at last.

Mrs. Stowe was a shrewd Yankee woman, and seeing the difficulties and

embarrassments in which we were involved, and being in need of a

little money, and knowing that we were willing to pay almost any price

for something that would flatter ourselves, and blacken the characters

of Southern people; she wrote her book. We received it with transports

of joy, and cried aloud at the top of our voices, HUZZA FOR MADAM

STOWE, _and her incomparable negro novel_; viz., Uncle Tom's Cabin, or

Life among the Lowly. And so we go, in England and America! This is a

marvelous world, and it is inhabited by a wondrous species of animals,

called man!

The conclusion of the whole matter is, abolitionism is little else at

last, but hypocritical self-righteous phariseism, and Mrs. Stowe wrote

her book to flatter their pride, indulge their whims, tickle their

fancies, and pick their pockets. I have remarked, that this is a

marvelous world, and among the many wondrous things that fall under

our observation, there is nothing more remarkable than Yankee

ingenuity! The Southern people, it is true, receive the proceeds of

the labor of the slaves, but then, they must first expend money in

raising them; feed and clothe them in health, nurse them in sickness,

and provide for them in old age. But Mrs. Stowe without contributing

anything for their support, has made more money out of them within the

last year, than any half dozen sugar planters in the State of

Louisiana! This is truly a wondrous speculation in negroes.

"But all their works they do," (says our Saviour,) "to be seen of

men." "But God shall bring every work into judgment." And if our

motives are selfish, or impure, we incur the risk of falling under the

condemnation of a just and holy God. Too many "make clean the outside

of the cup and platter, but within, they are full of extortion and

excess."

There are a class among the abolition party, whose leading object is

pecuniary gain. With them, "gain is godliness," and their pretended

godliness is all for gain. That is, all is well, if they can make

money; if not, they are off. When English emissaries are sent over to

this country, to lecture on the subject of slavery, they are well paid

for their services, either by the abolition party; or, probably, more

frequently by the English government. In our own country, the editors

of abolition papers, the writers of negro novels and other abolition

productions; together with the numerous agents and other notable

functionaries, that are employed to carry out their diabolical schemes

and machinations; are all well paid for their services. Like the young

lawyer alluded to, in the preceding pages, they receive a "_large

fee_," and can therefore "afford to _lie_." But by far the larger

portion of them are operated on by different feelings, views and

motives. I have already indicated certain motives that prompt the

abolition party to action; but there are yet others, to which I have

but incidentally alluded. Sympathy for the African race with them, is

a mere pretence, or affectation of superior sanctity and philanthropy.

Like the pharisees of old, they are always ready to thank God, that

they are not as other men. I am holier than thou, is their universal

cry to all that dissent from their peculiar views, or take exceptions

to their conduct. Bigots, fools and fanatics of every class, grade and

description, the world over, are guilty of the same; yes, I am holier

than thou, is their universal exclamation.

Every man is conscious that he ought to be a Christian, or at least a

philanthropist; and every man desires to be esteemed such. But as it

does not, in all cases, accord with the interests and inclinations;

or, is otherwise, incompatible with the beastly and sordidly corrupt

natures of a large portion of the human family, to become either

Christians or philanthropists; therefore, they can do no better than

to affect to be either one or the other, or both. Plain, simple,

old-fashioned _Bible Christianity_ is not sufficient for them. It is

too quiet--too lowly and unassuming for them. They would have us

believe, that they are brim full of humanity and benevolence--so full,

that they are constantly running over--surcharged with a

superabundance of kind, generous and sympathetic feeling for their

fellow creatures. They must, at least, make the world around them

believe that they are such. This is their object--this their aim. To

accomplish this, everything is brought into requisition--all their

energies, all their efforts are directed to this end. They wish to

deceive the world, and make the impression on the mind of mankind,

that they are a superior order of beings--better Christians--better

philanthropists--have more humanity--more benevolence, and a greater

regard for the rights of man, than mankind in general. I say their

object is to make the world believe all this. Nothing is found to

answer their purpose so well, in the accomplishment of this object, as

African slavery in the Southern States. They have talked about negro

slavery--negro oppression, and the negroe's woes, until they have

really induced some to believe that they are persons of more than

ordinary benevolence--that they are really humane, generous and just.

But it is mere affectation--it is all hypocrisy. Facts prove it.

England boasts of her philanthropy--talks about American oppression,

and at the same time makes no effort to elevate her own miserable

tenantry, whose conditions are far worse than American slaves. If she

is really philanthropic, why refuse to do any thing for her own

suffering poor throughout her vast dominions? This is proof positive,

that John Bull is an old villain; a rotten, two-faced, bigoted,

meddlesome old hypocrite. If abolitionists in the United States are

really philanthropic, why have they not made some effort to relieve

the suffering poor in their own midst; whose conditions in general,

are far worse than Southern slaves? They have work enough at home, and

it is an old and very true proverb, "that charity begins at home." It

is certainly true, that home is the place where it should begin. What

are they doing for the thousands of ignorant, ill-clad, half starved

free negroes now in their midst? Nothing for either soul or body! They

spurn them from their presence, or trample them under their feet, and

turn around and wipe their mouths, and express the deepest sympathy

for the poor slave in the Southern States; whose conditions are

incomparably better than the free negroes, North! Ah! their benevolent

souls are overflowing with sympathy for Southern slaves, who are

generally well fed, well clothed, content and happy; but the poor,

vicious, degraded and friendless free negroes, North, are left to

shift for themselves. And what are they doing for the suffering poor

of their own color? How many widows that they have defrauded, and

orphans they have robbed, will confront them at the bar of God? I

appeal to those among whom they live; to those who know them best; as

citizens, as neighbors; are they humane, generous and just? Are they

husbands to the widows; and fathers to the fatherless? Do they feed

the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick? Are they ever ready

to relieve the poor, the needy and distressed? In every city, village

and neighborhood, throughout the length and breadth of the North,

there are poor, wretched, miserable objects of charity, and here they

have an opportunity to give us practical proof of the sincerity of

their professions; and until they furnish evidence that they are what

they profess to be, we wish them to cease their hypocritical cant

about Southern slavery.

SECTION V.

Abolitionists may affect as much sanctity and philanthropy, as they

please, and pile their maledictions and execrations on the heads of

slave holders mountain high! They can call them murderers, thieves and

robbers to their hearts content! They can anathematize better men than

themselves; and denounce slavery as a curse, an evil, a hardship! They

can call slavery by what name they choose! For it matters but little

what they call it; nor what it really is; nor in what it originated;

nor yet, what perpetuates it; nor what our feelings and views may be;

for slavery exists in our midst; and has existed in our world as a

civil institution, for more than three thousand years: and when God in

his amazing condescension, unbounded benevolence, and infinite mercy

vouchsafed to us a revelation of his will; he informed us in language

clear and explicit, how we should treat it. The duties and obligations

of ministers, and churches--of masters and servants, are unfolded and

enforced in the Sacred Record; and he that errs, is without excuse.

"But men have become wise above what is written." God, alone, was

competent to decide what was best for masters and servants,

individuals, and nations. We are all the work of his hands, and it is

his prerogative to dictate to us laws for the guidance and regulation

of our conduct. Those, then, who receive the Bible as a revelation of

the will of God, and take it as their guide and counsellor; cannot

consistently do otherwise, than to treat slavery and slaveholders in

accordance with its clear and unmistakable injunctions, warnings and

admonitions, a precept or practice from the Sacred Oracles, is

practical infidelity; and I here, openly and boldly assert, that no

intelligent man, who reads and believes the Bible to be the word of

God, ever did, or ever will embrace the extreme views of the abolition

party in the United States. No! It is impossible: for they are in

direct opposition to the plainest declarations of the inspired

writers--to the whole spirit and tenor of the Sacred Volume. I care

not on whom this may fall; nor where it falls, it is true. I am well

aware, that nine tenths of mankind, neither read nor think for

themselves--particularly on subjects that relate to their duties and

obligations to their Creator, or their fellow creatures! No! They

suffer others to read and think for them; and by the by, they too

often commit their consciences, and their souls, to the keeping of

those whose object is to secure the fleece, though the devil take the

flock!

I have said that God, alone, was competent to decide what was best

under the circumstances for masters and servants, individuals and

nations. I have clearly shown in the following chapters, that as

masters and servants, and as a nation we cannot do better, than to

faithfully observe and carry out the injunctions of Holy Writ--that

the best interests of all concerned will be subserved thereby--that

there is no other safe and practicable course--that the Bible, and the

Bible alone, is a safe and sure guide in this emergency. We "may bite

and devour each other;" speculate, wrangle and contend to no purpose.

No good will ever grow out of it. I have shown that nothing is likely

to mitigate the evils of slavery--or rather, its abuses; or in any

reasonable time bring about its abolition, but a rigid adherence on

the part of masters and servants, to the duties and obligations

imposed on them in the Sacred Volume. That it is the duty of servants

to love, serve and obey their masters, and that it is the duty of

masters to enlighten the minds and elevate the characters of their

slaves--to prepare them for self government and the enjoyment of

liberty, and then to colonize them.

And I flatter myself, that I have clearly and indisputably

demonstrated, that the African race in this country, are not yet

prepared for freedom--and that they cannot enjoy freedom in our midst,

provided they were prepared for it--and consequently that the African

derives no benefit from emancipation if he remain among us. Hence, the

propriety of manumitting slaves is, to say the least, doubtful, unless

they are colonized. Every man of truth and candor, who is acquainted

with the condition of slaves and free negroes, North and South, must

admit, that the conditions of slaves is better, than that of free

negroes.

Mrs. Stowe has labored hard to prove that there are evils and abuses

in the treatment of slaves in the Southern States; but then she would

have us substitute greater evils for lesser--according to the old

proverb, "out of the frying pan into the fire." Many of the Southern

people as deeply deplore these evils, and are as fully impressed with

the necessity of removing them, as Mrs. Stowe or any one else; but

hitherto they have been unable to decide upon any plan by which these

evils could be removed--except, at least, to a very limited extent.

They knew well, that if they manumitted their slaves, it would involve

both the slaves and themselves in greater evils than African slavery

itself, as it exists in the Southern States.

I beg leave to digress for a moment from the subject under discussion.

Mrs. Stowe has told her tale about Southern slavery; and what a

wondrous story it is! Remarkable indeed! She has told of deeds, dark

and revolting! A tale of injustice and wrongs--oppression and woe! I

admit there are, and ever have been, occasional and rare instances of

acts of inhumanity and cruelty among Southern slaveholders; too

shocking for recital! But if any one will be at the trouble to spend a

few months in the Yankee States, and take for granted all that is

related to him by busy-bodies, idlers and others that have nothing

else to do but to talk about their neighbors; they will find no

difficulty in gathering up material, out of which, they could

manufacture as dark a tale as Uncle Tom's Cabin. The free negroes in

the North could furnish material for a shocking story! But, ah! it is

all a contemptibly low business; we had better quit talking about our

neighbors. There are the best of reasons why we should not give full

credence to village and neighborhood gossip, old women's stories, and

free negroes tales. What we see, feel, taste and smell, we know to be

true: and that is about all we do know. As for the remainder, it is as

the breeze which plays around us, or passes over our heads. It is

here, it is gone, and we know not from "whence it cometh, or whither

it goeth?" nor yet what pestiferous emanations might perchance float

in the current. The sooner we get rid of negro novels and village

gossip, and neighborhood slander, and busy-bodies, and idlers, and

loafers, and liars, and the whole crew, who have nothing else to do,

but to meddle with people's business, the better. God speed the day

when we shall all find better employment. But to return to the evils

of slavery.

Slavery is not an evil to those involved in it, under all

circumstances. There are circumstances, under which it may be a

blessing to the slave--and a blessing it would have proved to the

entire slave population in this country, if both masters and servants

had complied with the requisitions of the Bible. None are so much to

blame for the evils and hardships of slavery as the abolition party.

No! none! Not the slaveholders themselves. They have incited the

slaves to deeds for which they have been cruelly punished. In

consequence of their unwarrantable interference, slaves that were,

previous to such interference, pious, contented and happy, have become

discontented, impertinent and perverse, and have been too often

cruelly punished for their dereliction of duty. Ah! well do I

recollect the time when the months of Southern clergyman were closed,

when rigid laws were enacted--when so many restrictions were thrown

around slaveholders. I then saw, and deplored the evil, and hoped, but

hoped in vain, that Northern men would desist from a procedure, so

fraught with mischief to masters and servants--so contrary to the laws

of God--so opposed to every principle of humanity, justice, truth and

righteousness. I must refer the reader to chapter three, and return to

the proposition under investigation, that slavery is not, an evil

under all circumstances.

The peculiar condition of an individual may be such, that he is fit

for nothing but a slave. He maybe physically, mentally, and morally

disqualified for any other condition or station in life. To such an

individual slavery is not necessarily an evil; but, on the contrary,

to him it may be a blessing and not a curse. He may be utterly

incapable of making provision for his own wants. Servitude may be the

only condition or station in life, in which he could be provided for,

and enjoy happiness. The disabilities of such an individual is a

misfortune; or, as it is generally termed, a curse, an evil; but the

evil consists in the incompetence of the individual, and not in that

condition or station in life, to which his incompetency subjects him.

It is, (to use common parlance), a curse, or an evil, to be

physically, mentally, and morally disqualified to enjoy the rights,

privileges and immunities of a free man; but if such be the condition

of the individual, slavery to him is a blessing. It is, at least the

only condition or station in life, adapted to his peculiar

circumstances, and the only one in which he would be likely to enjoy

happiness. I have shown in chapter eight, that African slavery

originated in the inferiority of the African race, and that their

inferiority originated in the transgression of God's laws.

Hence, the evils of slavery have their origin in its abuses. They have

resulted from the cupidity, cruelty and inhumanity of masters, and the

disobedience and perverseness of servants. Under the circumstances

that the African race became servants to the citizens of the United

States, servitude to them would have been a blessing, and not a curse,

if both masters and servants had obeyed the commands of God. I have

alluded to this elsewhere, to which I must refer the reader.

But in order to clearly comprehend the argument, we must contemplate

the African in his native state, and survey the peculiar circumstances

under which he became a slave. A large portion of the negroes that

were transported to the United States, and sold as slaves, were

captives taken in war, and if they had not been transported to the

United States, they would have been subjected to slavery in their

native country.[1] Was it not better for those poor captives to have

become the servants of intelligent and humane men, in the United

States, than to have become the slaves of barbarians of their own

race? It certainly was, for I observed while a resident of the South,

that negro overseers were the most cruel, barbarous wretches, that

ever were clothed with a little brief authority. Yes, they are the

most barbarous relentless demons, that ever flourished a rod over a

fellow being's back. Men in an ignorant, semi-savage state, when

clothed with authority, (or otherwise when they have others in their

power,) are universally cruel. Where we find most ignorance, there

will we, as a general rule, find least humanity, for I observed while

in the South, that intelligent men were seldom cruel to their slaves.

Cruel masters in the South, are generally individuals of low birth,

who, in early life, were white servants themselves; but by some lucky

turn they got hold of a little money, and purchased a few negroes.

These _mock_ lords are the most cruel masters, and the most pompous

gentlemen in all the sunny South. Such men are universally dreaded by

the African race in the South. I wish here to impress the reader's

mind with the fact, that a native semi-savage African, must

necessarily be a cruel master. We need but reflect on their ignorance,

barbarism and brutality, to satisfy ourselves of the truth of the

remark. I have alluded to the fact in Chapter 8, that one portion of

the African race have been slaves to another, ever since the earliest

dawn of history; and it is said that by far the larger portion are

slaves. It is then certain, that most of the native Africans who were

originally enslaved in the United States, would have been slaves in

their own country, if they had not been transported to this country.

Wretched as the condition of slaves may be in this country, what is

American, to African slavery? Slavery in the United States was but an

exchange of African, for American slavery. The condition of the slaves

of the South is better than the native African, formerly, or now; yes,

it is better than that of African masters, and it must be infinitely

better than the condition of African slaves. As a general rule, the

native Africans who were originally subjected to slavery in this

country; were not, as is generally supposed, deprived of their

liberties; for they were for the most part captives, or slaves, when

they were sold to the slave dealers. The reader will please recollect,

that I am not justifying the slave trade. I am simply stating facts;

and I deem it essential that these facts should be understood. Those

who wish to know what my views are on the subject of slavery, will be

under the necessity of reading this volume through.

[1] The reader will see Chapter 8; where the subject of slavery

in Africa is treated at length.

Most of the native Africans that were transported to this country,

were not only the lowest grade of barbarians, but they were the

servants of barbarians. Here, in the United States, they have enjoyed

to a considerable extent, the advantages of civilization, and so far

as religious instruction is concerned; there is not, I suppose, four

millions of human beings on earth, of what are called the lower

classes of society, white or black, who have had superior religious

advantages. I have remarked, however, at the close of chapter 11, that

in consequence of their ignorance; religious instruction had failed to

produce that decided, thorough and permanent influence, which

otherwise it might have done. But I think it probable that there are

not four millions of ignorant illiterate human beings living, on whom

the doctrines of Christianity have exerted as salutary an influence;

nor can there be found a body of ministers of the gospel in the world,

who have made so great sacrifices to Christianize the "lowly," as Mrs.

Stowe chooses to denominate them. The devotion of the Southern clergy

to the best interests of the poor African, is worthy of all praise.

Men without a tithe of their piety may calumniate and reproach them;

but there is one who seeth not as man seeth, who has taken cognizance

of their sacrifices and "labors of love." Ah! my friends, you may

deceive yourselves, and deceive one another, but of one thing you may

rest assured--you cannot deceive your God. Nor are you as successful

in deceiving your fellow creatures, as some of you probably imagine.

Some of us understand you.

SECTION VI.

Is it the duty of American slaveholders to liberate their slaves? I

feel no hesitancy in replying to this interrogatory. It would be their

duty, as Christians, to liberate their slaves, provided the condition

of the slave would be improved thereby; otherwise it is their duty to

retain them in bondage, and make that provision for them which their

circumstances require. They should make ample provision for their

physical wants--enlighten their minds; and so far as is practicable

under existing circumstances, they should elevate their characters

above that debasement and degradation, in which, ignorance, prejudice

and vice has involved them. It is clearly the duty of slaveholders to

place their slaves in that condition, which will conduce most to their

happiness here and hereafter. But if this is their object, they could

not, as a general rule, take a worse step, than to liberate them in

their present condition and turn them loose among us. Nor do I

consider the mass of the negro population in this country as yet

prepared for colonization: but I would rejoice to see all

well-disposed and intelligent negroes manumitted and colonized.

The poverty, vice and degradation of free negroes is notorious,

throughout the length and breadth of this country--North and South;

but having so frequently alluded to it, I deem it unnecessary to say

more on the subject. I will however remark, that if the entire African

population were manumitted and turned loose among us; they would be

forced to subsist almost entirely by theft, and all the county jails

and state prisons in the Union, would not contain one in a hundred of

the convicts. The fact is, such would be their depredations on the

white population, that the whites would shoot them down with as little

ceremony as they now shoot a mad dog; and their ultimate extermination

would be the inevitable consequence! I appeal to facts. It was stated

a few years ago by an able writer; that in Massachusetts the free

negroes were 1 to 74, viz., there were 74 white persons for every free

negro in the State; and yet one-sixth of all the convicts were free

negroes. That in Connecticut the free negroes were 1 to 34; and that

one-third of the convicts were free negroes. That in New York the free

negroes were 1 to 35; but that one-fourth of the convicts were free

negroes. That in New Jersey the free negroes were 1 to 13; negro

convicts one-third. That in Pennsylvania the free negroes were 1 to 34,

and that one-third of the convicts were free negroes. He moreover

stated, that one-fourth of the whole expense connected with the prison

system of the entire North was incurred by crime committed by free

negroes; and that the same was true with regard to the pauper

expenditures of the entire North. In view of these facts, we can feel

but little surprise, that Indiana and Illinois have enacted laws to

interdict the immigration of free negroes into those States.

It appears from the above named States, that in 1845, about

_one-fortieth_ of the entire population in the free States were

colored persons; and yet about _one-fourth_ of the convicts were free

negroes; but notwithstanding that the colored and the white population

are very nearly balanced in the slave States, I do not suppose that

one in a hundred of the convicts are negroes! But there is another

fact with regard to free negroes North, that is still more remarkable!

Few, comparatively, very few, are members of any branch of the

church--probably not one in twenty of the entire adult population.

But, on the contrary, in the slave States, I think it probable that at

least three-fourths of the entire adult slave population are church

members; and I presume, that near one-half of the African professors

of the Christian religion, in the slave States, are attached to the

Methodist Episcopal Church South; and strange as it may appear, it is

nevertheless true, that in the very hot-bed of abolitionism, viz., in

the extensive territory of New England, Providence, Maine, Vermont and

New Hampshire Conferences, there was not a solitary free negro in

connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church! Is not this a

remarkable fact? Here, we have a territory of vast extent; embracing

something more than a half dozen states, and containing within its

limits multiplied thousands of free negroes; and not one! No! not a

solitary free negro is found in the bosom of the Methodist Episcopal

Church! Many of them left pious and humane masters in the South, and

were withal pious themselves when they left their masters; or,

otherwise, they were stolen from good men in the South by pseudo

Christians of the North, _and taken to that free and happy land! the

land of their dear friends_, and consigned to poverty, vice,

degradation and the devil!!!

What does all this mean? How does it happen that the free blacks of the

North are so little benefitted by the Christian ministry--particularly

in those sections where a large portion of the ministers belong to the

abolition faction? How does it happen that the African population are

so little benefitted or influenced by them? Is it true, that the

negroes have discernment enough to see, that their wordy benefactors

have done nothing for either their souls or their bodies--that

conscience and religious principle have but little to do with all this

slavery agitation? It must be so! Hence, we can understand why it is,

that the African population have more confidence in a slaveholding

ministry in the South, than they have in an abolition ministry in the

North.

My engagements are such, that I shall be forced for the present to

pass over the argument mainly relied on by abolitionists of every

grade, to prove the sinfulness of American slavery; or at least, I can

give it but a cursory notice. I understand that a celebrated D.D., has

published a work, in which, he labors hard to prove the sinfulness of

American slavery from its evils. It was the design of the author of

Uncle Tom's Cabin, to prove the sinfulness of slavery from its evils;

or otherwise, its abuses. If this mode of reasoning is allowable in

one case, it is so in another, and by this mode of reasoning I can

prove the sinfulness of every institution beneath the sun, social,

civil and religions. It is in fact the argument principally relied on

by skeptics to invalidate the Christian religion. They will all point

to its abuses, or in other words, to the evils growing out of its

abuses. Every institution, social, civil and religious is subject to

abuse--may be prostituted to the worst of purposes--the institution of

Christianity not excepted. But it does not necessarily follow, because

an institution is subject to abuse--because it is prostituted to vile

purposes, that there is any thing wrong about the institution. The

evil consists in the abuse or improper use, and not in the

institution. Cupidity inhumanity, and the gratification of the animal

passions and propensities, have incited slaveholders to the worst of

crimes. But this does not prove that the holding of slaves is sinful,

_per se_, under all circumstances. I have shown in the last chapter of

this work, (Chap 13,) that men are too often prompted from selfish

motives to attach themselves to churches, and that many of them are

prostituting a Christian profession to the worst of purposes. But this

does not prove that there is anything defective or wrong about the

Christian religion. No, by no means. If clergymen descend from their

sacred vocation to dabble with politics, and a thousand other things

that a minister of Christ should not touch; or to use their

ministerial influence to accomplish the most diabolical purposes, and

thereby bring reproach on the Christian name, and a grievous curse on

the nation--then assuredly, the institution of Christianity is not to

blame for it; for its Author, both by precept and example taught the

contrary. It was but a few days ago, that a skeptic remarked to me,

"that the inconsistent conduct of professors of religion satisfied him

that there was no truth in the Bible; or at all events, that there was

something wrong about it." I must hasten to a close, as I cannot

extend my remarks on this subject.

There now lies before me a paper, containing the following remarks:

"There is, however, one admitted feature in American slavery of a

character so shameful as to justify almost anything that can be said

or imagined of the institution. Men live with their female slaves in a

state of concubinage, beget children, raise them in their families

with a perfect knowledge of their origin, and sell them or leave them

to be sold by others in case of decease or reverses." It is strange

that those who indulge in such opprobrious remarks about southern

slaveholders, do not look after their own white bastards which are

scattered over this entire country, east, west, north and south. Men

are everywhere, (with a few exceptions,) the world over, utterly

devoid of all parental affections for their illegitimate children; and

the Southern man, no doubt, has fully as much concern about his

mulatto bastards as the Northern man has about his white bastards.

What is the Southern man to do with his brood of mulatto children?

Suppose he liberates them, their condition is but little improved

thereby, unless he sends them out of the country. It is, however,

clearly his duty to educate and manumit such children; but what is the

duty of the Northern man surrounded by a score of his illegitimate

progeny? The condition of the children of the white concubines of the

North are not a whit better, than that of the colored concubines of

the South; and the Northern man who suffers his children to become the

victims of poverty and vice--to sink into the very lowest depths of

degradation!--hopelessly, irretrievably lost, is no better than the

Southern man who suffers his mulatto children to be sold. One thing is

clear; the Northerner can do much more to ameliorate the condition of

his unfortunate offspring than the Southerner; and for this reason, he

is probably the worst man of the two.

CHAPTER I.

While I was preparing the following work for the press, a friend

called on me, and with apparent solicitude, inquired, "Which side of

the question are you on, Sir?" I answered him, that I was on the side

of truth, or at least, that I wished to be found on that side. Calling

at a book-store, I purchased a work on slavery, returned immediately

to my room, and was anxiously looking over its pages; a friend tapped

at my door, "Come in, Sir; take a seat." He had scarcely seated

himself, before he inquired, "What book are you reading, Sir?" A work

on slavery, was my answer. "Which side of the question is it on?" It

was but a short time before I purchased two other volumes on the same

subject, and laid them on my table. A gentleman called on business,

and observing the books, inquired what kind of books they were? I

laughingly answered that they were novels. "Why," replied he, "I

thought you did not read novels." I remarked (in substance), that they

were novels on the subject of slavery, and that I had been for some

time engaged in an investigation of the subject, and that it had

produced in my mind a desire to consult some writers on slavery; and

it appeared, that recent writers, preferred that their views upon it,

should appear before the public in a fictitious garb. I have no doubt,

that the first inquiry of most of those into whose hands this volume

may chance to fall, will be, "_Which side of the question is it on?_"

Thus, it appears that the question of African slavery has two sides;

and that either interest, ignorance, or prejudice; or what is worse, a

vain glorious desire on the part of some to be considered the

champions of liberty, the guardians of the rights of man, has arrayed

a large portion of this nation on one side, or the other. I utterly

despair--I have no hope that my labors will meet the approbation of

ultraists, North, or South. But there is yet another class in our

country--a class of persons who are conservative in their views,

honest in their intentions, and patriotic in their feelings; who are

prepared to listen to the voice of reason, and the injunctions,

admonitions and warnings of Divine Revelation. It is to them I appeal.

Thank God, I believe that they constitute a large majority of the

nation.

I have long beheld with regret and astonishment, the efforts that have

been made by a certain class of writers, to disseminate erroneous

views in the Northern section of the United States, with regard to

Southern slavery.[2] The recent publication by Mrs. Stowe, entitled

"Uncle Tom's Cabin," is a work of that class. I have no wish to write

anything harsh or unkind; for however ill-timed, ill-advised, or

ill-judged the work may be, if her object was the alleviation of human

woe, I can but respect the motive that prompted her to write, though I

may differ with her in opinion as to the means most likely to

accomplish the proposed object. The fair authoress may have meant

well. I shall leave that, however, to the "Searcher of all hearts;"

but I frankly confess that I fear that the book will result "in evil,

and only evil." I cannot avoid here, quoting the language that she

puts in the mouth of Chloe, the wife of Uncle Tom, who is the hero of

her tale: "Wal any way, that's wrong about it somewhar, I can't jest

make out whar it is, but thar's wrong somewhar." We all admit that

there are wrongs, it is clear to every one, neither do we differ much

as to what those wrongs are, nor yet as to their causes and effects;

but unfortunately for us, we differ widely, when we undertake to

propose remedies for the evil complained of. We have all need of that

charity "which suffereth long and is kind; that thinketh no evil." It

is as unreasonable and as wicked, to treat each other unkindly,

because we differ in opinion, as it would be to treat each, other

unkindly, because there is a difference in the features of our faces,

and the expression of our countenances. The Author of our existence,

for wise purposes, made us to differ mentally, as well as physically.

The structures of our minds are different. The great Architect

_willed_ that it should be thus; why, we presume not to know, but so

it is. And then moreover, our physical training, mental, moral and

religious culture; together with climate and a variety of other

external and internal causes, have all contributed more or less in

shaping our opinions, and giving a peculiar cast to our minds. Thus it

is, that we are all looking through different glasses, and it is no

wonder that we do not all see objects just alike. Objects must

necessarily present themselves to us, in different hues and colors.

Some are so accustomed to view all objects through a microscope, that

they have no just conception of the real magnitude of any body.

Exaggeration is their _forte_--in this they excel. Their towering

minds soar above common comprehension and common sense, and their

fertile imaginations are ever ready to conjure up spectres, ghosts and

hobgoblins; or otherwise, where others see a mouse, they behold an

elephant; and to their distorted visions, a mole-hill is magnified

into a mountain. We look in vain to such writers for a plain,

unvarnished, common sense statement of facts, for sound arguments, or

logical deductions. Such authors have nothing to do with facts, or

things as they exist among us. Their imaginations are ever ready to

furnish facts, on which to base their preconceived inferences and

conclusions. They were cast in a fictitious mould, and works of

fiction they have read, until their minds can run in no other channel.

Their mental vision seizes an object, and they pursue it with an

enthusiasm that borders on insanity. Onward, and upward their flight;

blind and deaf--utterly insensible to all surrounding objects. The

object of pursuit is their "all in all;" and every thing must be

sacrificed for its attainment. In their view, there is no other object

or interest worthy of a moment's consideration in earth, or heaven.

Their religion too, is of a peculiar cast. They are frequently very

religious in their own way. In their estimation, the very essence of

piety, the sum total of all religion consists in the advancement of

some one benevolent object. Above, beneath, beyond the attainment of

this, there is no religion, no virtue. Every thing must not only be

brought into requisition, in order to its attainment; but the end must

be attained in their own way, and according to their own notions; or

otherwise it might as well be left undone. In nine eases out of ten,

though the object of pursuit is a laudable one, yet so ill-judged and

injudicious are their plans, that if carried out, they will result in

more evil than good. The plainest and most obvious declarations of the

Bible, if they contravene their favorite theories or doctrines, are to

them unmeaning twaddle; though they are always ready to press the good

book into their service, so far as they are able by forced

constructions of detached passages, to give plausibility to their own

visionary opinions and projects.

[2] I had read but a few pages of Uncle Tom's Cabin, when the

following sentences were written. Before I had passed through the

work, my opinions underwent a change as to the merit of the work

and the designs of the writer in bringing it before the public.

The present chapter contains my first reflections on the subject

of slavery, after I determined to write on the subject.

It is a dire calamity that this class of writers have taken hold of

the subject of slavery. It is a misfortune that slavery should be

presented in a fictitious garb. I fear the consequences. It portends

no good to the nation. Slavery is among us, it is a solemn reality,

and if we expect to get rid of it, we must look it full in the face;

see it as it is, and treat it as a matter of fact business. We know

that it is an evil--a deplorable evil; but what shall we do with it?

The plague is on us--about us--in our midst. Where? Oh! where, shall

we find a remedy? The great work is before us; who is competent to the

task? Statesmen as wise and patriotic as any the world ever produced,

have shrunk from the task, confounded and abashed. Where is Clay!

Where is Webster? All that was earthly of them, is no more. Long did

they grapple with the monster slavery, and by their wise councils,

through many a dark and stormy period, did they safely conduct the

ship of State. But they are gone, and shall we now confide the

interests of this great nation, to the keeping of a few sickly

sentimentalists? No, heaven forbid that we should be led blindfold to

ruin! I entreat you, my fellow countrymen, to open your eyes and look

around you, and be not deceived. Your all is at stake. Arise in your

strength and crush the monster abolitionism, that threatens your

blood-bought liberties.

Mrs. Stowe tells us that the object of her book is to awaken sympathy

for the African race. If that, and that alone was her object, she

probably had better not have written on the subject. Sympathy for the

African race is right and proper, provided that it is properly

directed; but blindfold sympathy in the North, is not likely to result

in any good to the slaves of the South. The kindest and best feelings

of the human heart, unless they are directed and controlled by

prudence and discretion, frequently result in no good to the

possessor, and too often in positive injury to the object of his

solicitude. An excess of sympathy some times dethrones the judgment.

Sympathy for the slave may prompt us to act in the right direction;

but unless judgment and justice illumine our paths, and direct our

steps, all our efforts to ameliorate his condition, will prove worse

than useless. The slaves of the South are proper objects of our

sympathy, and so are their masters, and so is every living and

sensitive being in God's creation. Everything that lives and breathes

upon the face of the earth, has demands upon our sympathies; and it

would be well for us to provide ourselves with a large stock of it;

but we should be careful in meting it out, to give every one his due.

It is a gross error in the dispensation of our sympathies, to direct

our attention solely to some one object, regardless of the wants and

rights of others.

In order to accomplish anything for the benefit of the slave, we must

have a Southern audience; to them we must speak, and for them we must

write. With them we must reason, as brother holding familiar converse

with brother. Mrs. Stowe's book is not likely to be generally read in

the South; and provided it should be, it can excite no other than

feelings of indignation and defiance in Southern minds. Hence the work

can result in no good, and may possibly, unless its baneful influence

is counteracted, originate much evil.

If we take the institution of slavery in the United States, as a

whole, and view it correctly, Uncle Tom's Cabin is a gross

misrepresentation. The book has placed the people of this country in a

false position; in a ridiculous attitude before the world. There may

be some truth in her statements--barely enough to give them

plausibility among the thoughtless, inconsiderate and uninformed; and

those whose minds are warped by prejudice. Horrid and revolting

occurrences, such as are detailed in her book, have sometimes occurred

among slaveholders, but they have been rare, and are now more rare

than formerly. They are but exceptions to general rules; why then

present them to the world under circumstances, and in a style and

manner, that will make an impression on the minds of a majority of

uninformed readers, that they are every day occurrences; that a large

portion, if not a majority of the slaveholders are involved in the

charges specified. How does such a procedure, on the part of Mrs.

Stowe, comport with the great principles of truth and justice; which

should have been her guide while writing on so grave a subject!

Wherever man possesses power over his fellow man, throughout the

length and breadth of the habitable globe, there are occasional

instances of brutality and barbarism, too shocking for recital; and

that deeds dark, dolorous and infamous, should sometimes be

perpetrated by American slaveholders, is nothing strange. But is it

just, is it right, for her to present slaveholders in the United

States, _en masse_, to the whole civilized world, as a set of

God-forsaken, heaven-daring, hell-deserving barbarians? That Uncle

Tom's Cabin will make this impression on the minds of most of its

readers, who are uninformed as to the institution of slavery in this

country, is obvious to any one who will carefully read it. I resided

in the slave States forty-four years, and can testify that few,

comparatively very few, were guilty of separating wives and husbands,

parents and children, and that a majority--yes a very large majority

of slaves were treated kindly; and generally there existed between

slaves and their possessors kind feelings, and strong attachments. It

is this attachment of slaves to their masters, that has frequently

frustrated the evil designs set on foot by intermeddling,

philanthropic cut-throats, _alias_ abolitionists.

Mrs. Stowe will probably learn when it is too late, that she cannot

work out the salvation of the slave population by misrepresenting

slaveholders,--by exciting sympathy in the North, and by arousing

feelings of wrath and defiance in the South. "The wrath of man worketh

not the righteousness of God." She may inculcate disobedience and open

resistance to the laws of her country; but so did not Jesus Christ; so

did not St. Paul. Go, woman, to your Bible and learn your duty to your

Creator and your fellow creatures, before you write another book.

They, (Jesus Christ and St. Paul,) enforced obedience to the ruling

authorities, "Render unto Cæsar, the things that are Cæsars; and let

every soul be subject to the higher powers;" is the language of Divine

Inspiration. Mrs. Stowe belongs to that faction in the North, long

known as the abolition party, and would not scruple to bring about the

emancipation of the slaves by any means, regardless of consequences.

She would not, I suppose, hesitate to force emancipation on the South,

at the point of the bayonet, regardless of the murders, rapines,

rapes--the indiscriminate butchery of unoffending women and

children--the overthrow of the Union, and the introduction of lasting

hates and civil wars, and the ultimate massacre and extinction of the

entire African race!! Great God, what atrocious crimes have been

perpetrated in the name of liberty!!! She does not, however, openly

advocate these extreme measures in her book, but there is,

nevertheless, a squinting in that direction in several places. In

inculcating resistance to the laws of her country, she is virtually

advocating a dissolution of the Union, with all its attendant

consequences, results and horrors. For whenever we cease to observe

the solemn compact that binds us together, then the Union must

necessarily be dissolved, and civil wars, with all its calamities,

must follow!! Mrs. Stowe will pardon me if I should perchance,

inferentialy saddle on her some things, that will make the vital fluid

curdle in her veins; unless she is dead to all those emotions of soul

which characterize her sex. As I find her in bad company, I am forced

in the absence of better testimony, to judge her from the company in

which I find her. The old Spanish proverb is as true as Holy Writ,

viz., "Show me the company you keep, and I will tell you who you are."

If she chooses to write novels, and bring grave charges against others

by insinuation and innuendo, in order to evade the responsibility of

defining her position clearly and openly, she will not, I hope, take

offense if I define it for her.

Mrs. Stowe asserts that there are no laws in slave States to protect

slaves, and to punish the cruel and brutal outrages of masters. That

masters can cruelly beat their slaves, and also murder them with

impunity! This is untrue--nothing could be more false. In the eye of

the law, there is no difference between the man that murders his

slave, and the man that murders his neighbor; and the laws not only

punish men for cruel and unnecessary punishment inflicted on slaves,

but there are penal statutes against the unnecessary and barbarous

abuse and destruction of horses, and other species of property. She

may tell us that the penal statutes, so far as slaves are concerned,

are a dead letter; that they are inoperative; that they have no force

or effect whatever. This also, I know to be untrue, from personal

observation. I admit that slaveholders often evade the punishment due

their crimes, and so do men everywhere. The crimes of men of wealth

and influence too often go unpunished, not only in the slave States,

but wherever the foot of man has trodden the soil. All will admit,

that as a general rule, so far as free men are concerned, the laws are

based on principles of justice and equality, and yet, the wealthy, the

influential and the powerful, in many instances, find but little

difficulty in evading the law, and perverting justice whenever they

come in contact with the indigent and ignorant. From a superiority of

knowledge, wealth and station, men derive advantages in legal

transactions as well as in everything else. It is but one of the

misfortunes incident to poverty and ignorance.

Much has been said, and much has been written about the harsh and

cruel treatment of Southern slaves; but there is a vast deal of error

and misconception among those unacquainted with the facts, and too

much misrepresentation among those, who are, or ought to be better

informed. The Southern slave is not amenable to the civil laws for his

conduct, except in a qualified sense, and under certain circumstances.

He is accountable to his master, and his master is amenable to the

civil laws. If suit is instituted for damages, in consequence of

depredations committed by a slave, it is brought against the master,

and not against the slave. Hence, when a slave is guilty of a

misdemeanor, the authority to punish is vested in the master, and not

in the legal authorities. I do not pretend to say, that this is the

exact letter of the law, but this I know, by common consent, is the

practice in the South. The right to punish being vested in the master,

he inflicts the punishment in his own way, and to some extent, at his

own discretion. The master is judge, juror, and executioner. Whipping

is the ordinary punishment inflicted on slaves for crime. Whether it

is the punishment most likely to deter them from the commission of it,

I know not; but I think it is probable, that under the circumstances,

they can find no punishment better adapted to the proposed object. Be

it as it may; custom has decided that it shall be the punishment of

the slave. Theft is the most common crime among slaves, and for this

they are whipped by their masters, and no further notice is taken of

the crime. A slave is simply whipped for an offense, which would

imprison a white man for several months, and then confine him in the

State penitentiary for several years. The master may, if he chooses,

surrender the offending slave to the legal authorities; but supposing

that he does, the punishment is the same; he is simply whipped and

sent back to his master. The crime may be theft, destruction of

property, assault and battery; it matters but little what, if we

except murder, rape and arson, the punishment is whipping; whether

inflicted by the master or the legal authorities. Thus, we see, that

the punishment of slaves is much more lenient, than the punishment of

free white men for similar crimes. Hence, slaves escape punishment

under circumstances, and for crimes, for which white men would be

severely punished. Slaves are viewed, for certain reasons, to some

extent, as irresponsible beings. "Oh! he is a poor negro, and knows no

better," is an expression common in the South. The crimes of free

negroes in the slave States, unless they are of the most flagrant

kind, are seldom punished. I have known repeated instances, where

stolen goods were found in their possession, and they were suffered to

escape unpunished; no one appearing willing to enforce the law against

them. On the contrary, their crimes were winked at and tolerated, for

the reason that they were considered a poor, unfortunate, depraved and

ignorant class.

Transportation of slaves from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and

Kentucky, to the extreme Southern States, as a punishment for crime,

is not an unfrequent occurrence. I believe that in most cases, where

families have been separated, it has been in consequence of vile

conduct on the part of slaves. Much of the selling of negroes to

traders--the parting of wives and husbands, parents and children,

which we hear and read of in Northern publications, had its origin in

crime on the part of the slaves. They are frequently transported for

crimes which would hang a white man; or otherwise confine him in the

penitentiary for a series of years, or for life time. Negroes are

frequently whipped and then transported to the extreme Southern States

for murder; and that too, under circumstances, where the crime is one

of a very aggravated character; for premeditated murder--murder

committed with malice prepense. But in the eyes of abolitionists, it

is dreadful to whip a slave for so small an offense; and yet they

would stand by, and with exquisite pleasure see a white man hanged for

the same crime. Kind souls! what a pity that white men could not come

in for a share of their sympathies; but they have none for them; it is

all for the woolly heads. But really, I should like to know what

becomes of their sympathies, when some poor free negro is taken sick

in their midst, and starves, and dies, and rots in his filth! Ah!

don't touch my purse. No, by no means! We all know that it won't do to

touch your purses. Your sympathies never leak out in that way. You are

too shrewd for that. Fie! Fie! it is all wind, and it costs you but

little to blow it out.

Slaveholders are called murderers, because in a few rare instances, a

slave may have been worked to death; and they denounced as cruel and

oppressive task-masters, because probably one in five hundred, under

peculiar circumstances, may have been guilty of cruelty to his slaves.

The same thing occurs everywhere, the world over. And it occurs as

frequently in Yankeedom, the hot-bed of abolitionism, infidelity, and

wooden nutmegs, as anywhere else, There are more white men and white

women worked to death in the North, than there are slaves worked to

death in the South. Oh! but, says an objector, those white people are

free. Nobody forces them to work beyond their capabilities of

endurance. The objection is without foundation, for indigence and

liberty, never resided together in the same hovel or hut. Hunger and

cold are hard masters, far worse than Southern slaveholders; and the

penurious Yankee who inadequately pays the laborer, and thus suffers

him to starve or freeze to death, is morally as bad as the man who

whips his slave to death. If the latter is a murderer, so is the

former. The generality of slaves are better paid for their labor, than

the poorer classes of people North or South. They at least receive

more in return for their labor. They are better fed, better clothed,

and better housed. Most of them are happy and well provided for. Their

appearance, their health, cheerfulness and fondness for music, give

the lie to Northern representations. Masters are responsible for the

maintenance of their slaves under all circumstances; in infancy and

old age, in sickness as well as in health. But as soon, as Northern

white slaves become incapacitated for labor, they are suffered to lie

down in their filth and starve and die. Where then, are their lords

and masters, who have grown wealthy from the proceeds of their labor?

Mrs. Stowe may write about slavery to her heart's content; but has

she, or any one else, pointed out to us, any fair, open, practicable

system of emancipation? No, they have not, and until that is done,

they should be a little more modest in their denunciations of

slaveholders. Suppose the South should manumit their slaves, will the

North receive and educate them? No, by no means; and however ignorant

Mrs. Stowe may be in relation to Southern slavery, she must be well

aware of the universal prejudice in the North against free negroes. A

very large majority of the blacks in the North, are in an impoverished

and degraded condition; and there is no sympathy with them, or for

them, among Northern men. Northern prejudice is much stronger than

Southern prejudice, against these unfortunate creatures.

The whites cannot, and will not make equals of them any where. They

are at the bottom of the social ladder, and there they must and will

remain, so long as they are among the whites. They can never enjoy the

blessings of freedom in the United States. The liberty of the free

blacks is but nominal; they have no more rights and fewer comforts, as

free men, (so called), than they have as slaves in the South. White

freedom is one thing, and colored freedom is another. Most of the

Northern states treat the African worse now, than they did a half

century ago! They are in the North virtually slaves, without masters.

The half starved, ill-clad free negro will soon have no foot hold in

the North; for Irish and German laborers will supersede them; or

otherwise Northern men will legislate them out of the free states.

Pennsylvania has already taken from them the privilege of voting, and

Indiana and Illinois will not suffer them to enter their borders; and

I judge from present indications, that Ohio will soon follow the

example of her younger sisters; and moreover, I venture to predict,

that in less than twenty years from the present time; a free negro

will not be suffered to enter a free state in this Union. This

prejudice never can be removed. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin?"

If he could, then might we have hope; till then, there is none for the

poor African while he remains in the midst of the Anglo-Saxon race.

Behold the negro quarters about the larger cities in the North; think

of the riots and burning of African churches, &c., that have occurred

within the last dozen years, and tell me, where is the hope of the

African! Not in the United States. The African race in the United

States, are not yet prepared for emancipation; they must first be

educated; otherwise there is danger that they will sink into their

original barbarism. England emancipated the West India slaves, and

Lord Brougham tells us, that they are rapidly declining into

barbarism.