"
"I saw," said Mr. North, "in a recent paper, that a slave in Washington
County, N.C., was hanged by the sheriff in the presence of three
thousand spectators, for the murder of a white man, whom he shot with a
pistol because he suspected him of undue familiarity with the wife of
the black man. Poor fellow! no doubt he swung for it because he was a
slave. He must let his marriage rights be invaded by the whites, and
bear it in silence, or die."
Said I, "What a perfect specimen of Northern anti-slavery feeling and
logic have we in what you now say. If a man, on suspicion of you, takes
the law into his hands and shoots you with a pistol, does he not deserve
to die? He does, if he is a white man; perhaps, if he be a slave, that
excuses him! Even where a man is known to be guilty of the crime
referred to, and the husband shoots him, he is apt to have a narrow
escape from being punished. As to bearing such violations of one's
rights in silence under intimidation, there is no more power in
intimidation to save a villain at the South from disgrace and abhorrence
in his community, than at the North."
"But he can evade prosecution under the statute," said Mr.
Pages:
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207