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Good Treatment Of Slaves

Good Treatment Of Slaves image
Parent Issue
Day
22
Month
August
Year
1846
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Some weeks sincc vo noliccd in tbc Coldwatcr Sontinnl an article attcmjiting to show tbat Southern Slaves wc re "well treated" because itwas ihc interept oflhe 7nastcrs to treat them well. In illustration of this, the writcr compared tho condilion of the sláVo to tbat of the horsc, and asked, witii grékt siniplicity, whethcr it iá not most decidedly for the interest of the owncr to take good care of lus horse and provide for him abundantly? Well, wliat is the fact in the case? Are all horses well treated? Are not somc shamofdlly abused from drunken, passionate and hard masters'? Are thcy not somctimes turned out to die of hunger when old? Are they ncver unrcasonably rode or driven, or worked? But leaving all cornparisons, consider the actual condition of the slave.The argument declares that the interest of the master preserves the slaves from ill treatment : and fairly implics that the slavc will receive thal treatment wliich thé interest of his master may demand. - Taking this as the standard of actual treatment, sec to what results it would lead. The reader can íind the whole subject treated at large in "Slavery as it is." 1. It is the interest of tli'c masiers that old and irarn nul slaves should die as quick a possiWc. It would be economical to shorten their duys by direct mcans, or to let thcin die of neglect. 2. In reference to the maimcd and incurably discascd, it would be cheaper for the master to buy poisonthan medicine. 3. The same is true of all that are a tax on the master, ar? the blind, lunatics and idiots. It is the interest of the master that their days be as few as possibic. 4. .The same is true of the datf and dumb, and persons grcatly deformed, who could not earn their living. 5. Fecblc infante. In somc sections it is the interest of the master tö let them die, as he can buy slaves cheaper than hc can raisc them. 6. Incorregible, slaves. Therc are sofaio sluveö that liavcthe love of Libertyo strong that thcy are ungoveraable by iny ordinary mcans. It is the interest )f the master (at least he thinks so) to reat such slavcs with great severity - to :ut iron collais upon tliem, and chains, ind to erop, brand, disfigurc and torture hem in every conceivablc way by which ihcy can strike terror into the other slavcs. 7. ScKóPftíndiffáys. It is the interest of the masler, when they are caught, to make examples of them. 8. lt is the interest of those who liiro sla ver, lo get all the work out of them thoy can. The nurnber of hired slaves is estima'cd at half a million. 9. On many estatcs the wages of overRoers are proportioned to . the crops they raise. 'J'his, of course, operates as a premium Hor hard driving, as the greater the erop, the greater the wnges of the overscer. -10. Planters not u ïfrequently lei with each other on the crops they will raise. it is then their interest to ovenvork thcir hands for the sake of winning the bet. 11. Asudden risc in the market which muy bc of short continuance, may induce a master to drive his slaves to the uttermost to secure the highest price by earlv marketing his products.12. So when cotton and silgar are high icrmanently, the master can mako moey by workirig aportion of his hands othatthoy will dic in a fcw years. - riiis was the caso in 1B34 '35 and '36, -hen the average price of cotton was 17 ;cnts n pound. 13. It is the interest of the master to ,vork his slaves severely at the most pres. ing seasono of the ycaiv The sugar ;iands in Lonisiana are often workcd, at sertain times night and day. These iactsshow that it is the interest of theSlaveholders to tkeat cruki.ly a largc portion of their shivc?.