Now you
know that God has given our Southern friends a south country, nearer
than ours to the tropics. Out-of-door labor there is injurious to the
white people, as you know. They are not to be blamed for this. God has
not given them strength to endure exposure to the sun. Had they a
northern climate, in which the labor required by the mechanic arts could
be performed with safety and comfort, do you not suppose that they
would have the same aptitude and relish as we for handicraft? Their
children cannot be brought up to manual labor to the extent that ours
are, because the God of heaven has ordained their lot in a land less
favorable than ours to toil. His providence, making use of the sins of
men, has placed the blacks here; you and the rest of the world, who
depend upon their cotton, are willing enough to use it in its countless
forms, while you reproach your Maker, as I think, for having caused it
to be raised as he has seen fit to do."
"But Oh," said Mr. North, "free labor is more profitable than slave
labor. You well know how it affects the soil, and that the great price
of slaves will in time make the system oppressive to the masters,
especially if they are all as considerate as you say they are about
selling.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184