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Southern Opinions Of Slavery

Southern Opinions Of Slavery image
Parent Issue
Day
1
Month
May
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

A revojution ís evidentJy ttikin pi.icc in tlic minde of Sou'hern men 011 tiie subject of Slatcrr. In proof of this we copy tlie fblïowin article from a Southern paper. Tliree years ngo such sentiment would not have been tolerated South of Mason and D:.xous line- Drt. Adv. The Knoxville (Teiinessee) Register of Febniary 15, contains the fo'.'.owiiig commu nicotion : Whüe etanding before the Cotirt house door on Monday last, ni'; attent ion was nüracted to aicene, the IVhe of which I have frcqucntly wïtnessed before, but liave never vet regnrdt& without atronor feelinar of pain and disgust, ït was tfie sale by auclio, to the highest biddn and accordmg to luw, of the slavea of a wovthy ciüzen, who sndiJcnly died sume months sinceand would iiave slirunk with abhorrence from such a dispoiition of' tlicmduring bis life.I Jim a holder myself, but T should be Borry indeed ifmy feclings of humamty wcio so bhmtod, ihat I could look upon the human bcings whose liberty is subjrcted o tny control, m tbe sanie light of which 1 hold ni y Iiorees nnd cows. They are members ofmyfamily, however Mutable may be tlio placo tbcy hold in it. They have human afiection;?, as vrarm as my own, and sooner than rudely break the ties which bind them to my household sooner than auction them oíl'and subject thcm t o the chances of falürg n'o tlio hands of ajera e! taskmaster, or a speculator in human flesb, I would set thcm as free as the winds of heaven. And yet by the laws of the land, the claves df hundreds of mon who feel prccisely as I do, are subjected to these very chanceé. - Something m regard to this matter is certain ■ ]y duo to humaniíy. Our Legislatura shbuíd put a stop to such Fccnes as tlrat to which I have alluded. Am I treading on delicate ground? No! The sensitivcnrss which exists among us with referente to elavery, is morbid, ovencrought, unnalUrcil and ridiculous. Why. ifone happens to diop asimple suggestion in company, relativo lo nmendng the condition of the slavc, men open their eyes and look as frightenetl as ihougli tley had peen a ghost; and t!ic hrxt thhig is, that sonie fellow who hardly knows he has a soul, has been cogitaling ñ his owm mind whetlier a certain citizen ehould not be tarredaml fenth - ered. Politicians are very much to blnnie for this state ofthings. Thoy iiave been riding the hobby of an:i Áboliiíonism so mucli, thnt uomeofour best men havegrown afraid to utter their honest sentiments. I have no doubt that if I had on yesterday gone f o every intcl'iyent man ir. the crowd nsembled beforc the Court líouse to wítríess tho sale, and ask each one his private opinión of íts propriety nnd humar.ity, that nine out of every ten, :f not ninety-nine out of every hundred, would have replied il was wrong. Let public sentiment then speak out. And why should it not? Are we forever to be scared by the bug-a-boo, fit only to frighten children? What slava holder is there in Knoxville, who would feel himself wroned by a law forbidding the auction of slaveB, likc cattle in the streets, to the highest bidder? Few indeed - I shonld hope not one. And how many in the State? Not many in proportion to the whole. Tennessee bears a high character abroad. Let it be maintained. Let us not refuse to be generous lest deinagoguc-j raise a hue nnd cry at our hecís. Ve can afford to ameliorate the condition of the slave, without jnjustice to any one.

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News