Frederick Marryat – The Complete Collection

Chapter 55

It is not, however, impossible that the abolition party in the Eastern and Northern states may be gradually checked by the citizens of those very states. Their zeal may be as warm as ever; but public opinion will compel them, at the risk of their lives, to hold their tongues. This possibility can, however, only arise from the Northern and Eastern states becoming manufacturing states, as they are most anxious to be. Should this happen, the raw cotton grown by slave labour will employ the looms of Massachusetts; and then, as the Quarterly Review very correctly observes, "by a cycle of commercial benefits, the Northern and Eastern states will feel that there is some material compensation for the moral turpitude of the system of slavery."

The slave proprietors in these states are as well aware as any political economist can be, that slavery is a loss instead of a gain, and that no state can arrive at that degree of prosperity under a state of slavery which it would under free labour. The case is simple. In free labour, where there is competition, you exact the greatest possible returns for the least possible expenditure; a man is worked as a machine; he is paid for what he produces, and nothing more. By slave labour, you receive the least possible return for the greatest possible expense, for the slave is better fed and clothed than the freeman, and does as little work as he can. The slave-holders in the eastern states are well aware of this, and are as anxious to be rid of slavery as are the abolitionists; but the time is not yet come, nor will it come until the country shall have so filled up as to render white labour attainable. Such, indeed, are not the expectations expressed in the language of the representatives of their states when in congress; but, it must be remembered, that this is a question which has convulsed the Union, and that, not only from a feeling of pride, added to indignation at the interference, but from if feeling of the necessity of not yielding up one tittle upon this question, the language of determined resistance is in congress invariably resorted to. But these gentlemen have one opinion for congress, and another for their private table; in the first, they stand up unflinchingly for their slave rights; in the other, they reason calmly, and admit what they could not admit in public. There is no labour in the eastern states, excepting that of the rice plantations in South Carolina, which cannot be performed by white men; indeed, a large proportion of the cotton in the Carolinas is now raised by a free white population. In the grazing portion of these states, white labour would be substituted advantageously, could white labour be procured at any reasonable price.

The time will come, and I do not think it very distant, say perhaps twenty or thirty years, when, provided America receives no check, and these states are not injudiciously interfered with, that Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, (and, eventually, but probably somewhat later, Tennessee and South Carolina) will, of their own accord, enrol themselves among the free states. As a proof that in the eastern slave states the n***o is not held in such contempt, or justice toward him so much disregarded, I extract the following from an American work:--

"An instance of the force of law in the southern states for the protection of the slave has just occurred, in the failure of a petition to his excellency, PM Butler, governor of South Carolina, for the pardon of Nazareth Allen, a white person, convicted of the murder of a slave, and sentenced to be hung. The following is part of the answer of the governor to the petitioners:--

"`The laws of South Carolina make no distinction in cases of deliberate murder, whether committed on a black man or a white man; neither can I. I am not a law-maker, but the executive officer of the laws already made; and I must not act on a distinction which the legislature might have made, but has not thought fit to make.'

"That the crime of which the prisoner stands convicted was committed against one of an inferior grade in society, is a reason for being especially cautious in intercepting the just severity of the law. This class of our population are subjected to us as well for their protection as our advantage. Our rights, in regard to them, are not more imperative than their duties; and the institutions, which for wise and necessary ends have rendered them peculiarly dependent, at least pledge the law to be to them peculiarly a friend and a protector.

"The prayer of the petition is not granted.

"Pierce M Butler."

In the western states, comprehending Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama, the n*****s are, with the exception perhaps of the two latter States, in a worse condition than they ever were in the West India islands. This may be easily imagined, when the character of the white people who inhabit the larger portion of these states is considered a class of people, the majority of whom are without feelings of honour, reckless in their habits, intemperate, unprincipled, and lawless, many of them having fled from the eastern states, as fraudulent bankrupts, swindlers, or committers of other crimes, which have subjected them to the penitentiaries--miscreants defying the climate, so that they can defy the laws. Still this representation of the character of the people inhabiting these states must, from the chaotic state of society in America, be received with many exceptions. In the city of New Orleans, for instance, and in Natchez and its vicinity, and also among the planters, there are many most honourable exceptions. I have said the majority: for we must look to the mass -- the exceptions do but prove the rule. It is evident that slaves, under such masters, can have but little chance of good treatment, and stories are told of them at which humanity shudders.

It appears, then, that the slaves, with the rest of the population of America, are working their way west , and the question may now be asked:--Allowing that slavery will be soon abolished in the eastern states, what prospect is there of its ultimate abolition and total extinction in America?

I can see no prospect of exchanging slave labour for free in the western states, as, with the exception of Missouri, I do not think it possible that white labour could be substituted, the extreme heat and unhealthiness of the climate being a bar to any such attempt. The cultivation of the land must be carried on by a n***o population, if it is to be carried on at all. The question, therefore, to be considered is, whether these states are to be inhabited and cultivated by a free or a slave n***o population. It must be remembered, that not one-twentieth part of the land in the southern states is under cultivation; every year, as the slates are brought in from the east, the number of acres taken into cultivation increases. Not double or triple the number of the slaves at present in America would be sufficient for the cultivation of the whole of these vast territories. Every year the cotton crops increase, and at the same time the price of cotton has not materially lowered; as an everywhere increasing population takes off the whole supply, this will probably continue to be the case for many years, since it must be remembered, that, independently of the increasing population increasing the demand, cotton, from its comparative cheapness, continually usurps the place of some other raw material; this, of course, adds to the consumption. In various manufactures, cotton has already taken the place of linen and fur; but there must eventually be a limit to consumption: and this is certain, that as soon as the supply is so great as to exceed the demand, the price will be lowered by the competition; and, as soon as the price is by competition so lowered as to render the cost and keeping of the slave greater than the income returned by his labour, then, and not till then, is there any chance of slavery being abolished in the western states of America. See Note 4.

The probability of this consummation being brought about sooner is in the expectation that the Brazils, Mexico, and particularly the independent State of Texas, will in a few years produce a crop of cotton which may considerably lower its price. At present, the United States grow nearly, if not more, than half of the cotton produced in the whole world, as the return down to 1831 will substantiate.

Cotton grown all over the world in the years 1821 and 1831; showing the increase in each country in ten years.

+=========================+===========+===========+ Ý Ý1821 lbs. Ý1831 lbs. Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝUnited States Ý180,000,000Ý385,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝBrazil Ý 32,000,000Ý 38,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝWest Indies Ý 10,000,000Ý 9,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝEgypt Ý 6,000,000Ý 18,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝRest of Africa Ý 40,000,000Ý 36,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝIndia Ý176,000.000Ý180,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝRest of Asia Ý185,000,000Ý115,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝMexico and South America,Ý 44,000,000Ý 35,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ Ýexcept Brazil Ý Ý Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝElsewhere Ý 8,000,000Ý 4,000,000Ý +-------------------------+-----------+-----------+ ÝIn the World Ý630,000,000Ý820,000,000Ý +=========================+===========+===========+

The increase of cotton grown all over the world in ten years is therefore 190,000,000 lbs. Brazil has only increased 6,000,000; Egypt has increased 12,000,000; India, 5,000,000. Africa, West indies, South America, Asia, have all fallen off; but the defalcation has been made good by the United States, which have increased their growth by 205,000,000 of lbs.

In the Southern portion of America there are millions of acres on which cotton can be successfully cultivated, particularly Texas, the soil of which is so congenial that they can produce 1,000 lb. to the 400 lb. raised by the Americans; and the quality of the Texian cotton is said to be equal to the finest sea island produce. It is to Texas particularly that we must look for this produce, as it can there be raised by white labour; [see Note] and being so produced, will, as soon as its population in creases to a certain extent, be able to under sell that which is grown in America by the labour of the slave.

Increase of cotton grown in the United States, from the year 1802 to 1831.

+=====+===========+======+===========+ ÝYearsÝlbs. ÝYears.Ýlbs. Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1802Ý 55,000,000Ý 1817Ý130.000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1803Ý 60,001,000Ý 1818Ý125,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1804Ý 65,000,000Ý 1819Ý167,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1805Ý 70,000,000Ý 1820Ý160,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1806Ý 80,000,000Ý 1821Ý180,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1807Ý 80,000,000Ý 1822Ý210,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1808Ý 75,000,003Ý 1823Ý185,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1809Ý 82,000,000Ý 1824Ý215,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1810Ý 86,000,000Ý 1825Ý256,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1811Ý 80,000,000Ý 1826Ý300,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1812Ý 75,000,006Ý 1827Ý270,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1813Ý 75,000,000Ý 1828Ý325,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1814Ý 70,000,000Ý 1829Ý365,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1815Ý100,000,000Ý 1830Ý360,000,000Ý +-----+-----------+------+-----------+ Ý 1816Ý124,000,000Ý 1831Ý385,000,000Ý +=====+===========+======+===========+

It may be asked: how is it, as Texas is so far south, that a white population can labour there? It is because Texas is a prairie country, and situated at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. A sea-breeze always blows across the whole of the country, rendering it cool, and refreshing it notwithstanding the power of the sun's rays. This breeze is apparently a continuation of the trade-winds following the course of the sun.

From circumstances, therefore, Texas, which but a few years since was hardly known as a country, becomes a state of the greatest importance to the civilised and moral world.

I am not in this chapter about to raise the question how Texas has been ravished from Mexico. Miss Martineau, with all her admiration of democracy, admits it to have been "the most high-handed theft of modern times;" and the letter of the celebrated Dr Charming to Mr Clay has laid bare to the world the whole nefarious transaction. In this letter Dr Charming points out the cause of the seizure of Texas, and the wish to enrol it among the federal states.

"Mexico, at the moment of throwing off the Spanish yoke, gave a noble testimony of her loyalty to free principles, by decreeing `That no person thereafter should be born a slave, or introduced as such into the Mexican states; that all slaves then held should receive stipulated wages, and be subject to no punishment but on trial and judgment by the magistrate.' The subsequent acts of the government fully carried out these constitutional provisions. It is matter of deep grief and humiliation, that the emigrants from this country, while boasting of superior civilisation, refused to second this honourable policy, intended to set limits to one of the greatest of social evils. Slaves come into Texas with their masters from the neighbouring states of this country. One mode of evading the laws was, to introduce slaves under formal indentures for long periods, in some cases, it is said, for ninety-nine years; but by a decree of the state legislature of Coahuila and Texas, all indentures for a longer period than ten years were annulled, and provision was made for the freedom of children during this apprenticeship. This settled, invincible purpose of Mexico to exclude slavery from her limits, created as strong a purpose to annihilate her authority in Texas. By this prohibition, Texas was virtually shut against emigration from the southern and western portions of this country; and it is well known that the eyes of the south and west had for some time been turned to this province as a new market for slaves, as a new field for slave labour, and as a vast accession of political power to the slave-holding states. That such views were prevalent we know; for, nefarious as they are, they found their way into the public prints. The project of dismembering a neighbouring republic, that slaveholders and slaves might overspread a region which had been consecrated to a free population, was discussed in newspapers as coolly as if it were a matter of obvious right and unquestionable humanity. A powerful interest was thus created for severing from Mexico her distant province."