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Page 17
Mrs. Stowe will probably learn when it is too late, that she cannot
work out the salvation of the slave population by misrepresenting
slaveholders,--by exciting sympathy in the North, and by arousing
feelings of wrath and defiance in the South. "The wrath of man worketh
not the righteousness of God." She may inculcate disobedience and open
resistance to the laws of her country; but so did not Jesus Christ; so
did not St. Paul. Go, woman, to your Bible and learn your duty to your
Creator and your fellow creatures, before you write another book.
They, (Jesus Christ and St. Paul,) enforced obedience to the ruling
authorities, "Render unto C�sar, the things that are C�sars; and let
every soul be subject to the higher powers;" is the language of Divine
Inspiration. Mrs. Stowe belongs to that faction in the North, long
known as the abolition party, and would not scruple to bring about the
emancipation of the slaves by any means, regardless of consequences.
She would not, I suppose, hesitate to force emancipation on the South,
at the point of the bayonet, regardless of the murders, rapines,
rapes--the indiscriminate butchery of unoffending women and
children--the overthrow of the Union, and the introduction of lasting
hates and civil wars, and the ultimate massacre and extinction of the
entire African race!! Great God, what atrocious crimes have been
perpetrated in the name of liberty!!! She does not, however, openly
advocate these extreme measures in her book, but there is,
nevertheless, a squinting in that direction in several places. In
inculcating resistance to the laws of her country, she is virtually
advocating a dissolution of the Union, with all its attendant
consequences, results and horrors. For whenever we cease to observe
the solemn compact that binds us together, then the Union must
necessarily be dissolved, and civil wars, with all its calamities,
must follow!! Mrs. Stowe will pardon me if I should perchance,
inferentialy saddle on her some things, that will make the vital fluid
curdle in her veins; unless she is dead to all those emotions of soul
which characterize her sex. As I find her in bad company, I am forced
in the absence of better testimony, to judge her from the company in
which I find her. The old Spanish proverb is as true as Holy Writ,
viz., "Show me the company you keep, and I will tell you who you are."
If she chooses to write novels, and bring grave charges against others
by insinuation and innuendo, in order to evade the responsibility of
defining her position clearly and openly, she will not, I hope, take
offense if I define it for her.
Mrs. Stowe asserts that there are no laws in slave States to protect
slaves, and to punish the cruel and brutal outrages of masters. That
masters can cruelly beat their slaves, and also murder them with
impunity! This is untrue--nothing could be more false. In the eye of
the law, there is no difference between the man that murders his
slave, and the man that murders his neighbor; and the laws not only
punish men for cruel and unnecessary punishment inflicted on slaves,
but there are penal statutes against the unnecessary and barbarous
abuse and destruction of horses, and other species of property. She
may tell us that the penal statutes, so far as slaves are concerned,
are a dead letter; that they are inoperative; that they have no force
or effect whatever. This also, I know to be untrue, from personal
observation. I admit that slaveholders often evade the punishment due
their crimes, and so do men everywhere. The crimes of men of wealth
and influence too often go unpunished, not only in the slave States,
but wherever the foot of man has trodden the soil. All will admit,
that as a general rule, so far as free men are concerned, the laws are
based on principles of justice and equality, and yet, the wealthy, the
influential and the powerful, in many instances, find but little
difficulty in evading the law, and perverting justice whenever they
come in contact with the indigent and ignorant. From a superiority of
knowledge, wealth and station, men derive advantages in legal
transactions as well as in everything else. It is but one of the
misfortunes incident to poverty and ignorance.
Much has been said, and much has been written about the harsh and
cruel treatment of Southern slaves; but there is a vast deal of error
and misconception among those unacquainted with the facts, and too
much misrepresentation among those, who are, or ought to be better
informed. The Southern slave is not amenable to the civil laws for his
conduct, except in a qualified sense, and under certain circumstances.
He is accountable to his master, and his master is amenable to the
civil laws. If suit is instituted for damages, in consequence of
depredations committed by a slave, it is brought against the master,
and not against the slave. Hence, when a slave is guilty of a
misdemeanor, the authority to punish is vested in the master, and not
in the legal authorities. I do not pretend to say, that this is the
exact letter of the law, but this I know, by common consent, is the
practice in the South. The right to punish being vested in the master,
he inflicts the punishment in his own way, and to some extent, at his
own discretion. The master is judge, juror, and executioner. Whipping
is the ordinary punishment inflicted on slaves for crime. Whether it
is the punishment most likely to deter them from the commission of it,
I know not; but I think it is probable, that under the circumstances,
they can find no punishment better adapted to the proposed object. Be
it as it may; custom has decided that it shall be the punishment of
the slave. Theft is the most common crime among slaves, and for this
they are whipped by their masters, and no further notice is taken of
the crime. A slave is simply whipped for an offense, which would
imprison a white man for several months, and then confine him in the
State penitentiary for several years. The master may, if he chooses,
surrender the offending slave to the legal authorities; but supposing
that he does, the punishment is the same; he is simply whipped and
sent back to his master. The crime may be theft, destruction of
property, assault and battery; it matters but little what, if we
except murder, rape and arson, the punishment is whipping; whether
inflicted by the master or the legal authorities. Thus, we see, that
the punishment of slaves is much more lenient, than the punishment of
free white men for similar crimes. Hence, slaves escape punishment
under circumstances, and for crimes, for which white men would be
severely punished. Slaves are viewed, for certain reasons, to some
extent, as irresponsible beings. "Oh! he is a poor negro, and knows no
better," is an expression common in the South. The crimes of free
negroes in the slave States, unless they are of the most flagrant
kind, are seldom punished. I have known repeated instances, where
stolen goods were found in their possession, and they were suffered to
escape unpunished; no one appearing willing to enforce the law against
them. On the contrary, their crimes were winked at and tolerated, for
the reason that they were considered a poor, unfortunate, depraved and
ignorant class.
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