Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Miscellaneous Writings on Slavery
No allusion has been made in the following pages to certain popular objections to the Colonization Society; nor have any cases of individual cruelty been cited, to illustrate the evils of slavery. It is proper that the reasons for this departure from the ordinary mode of discussing these two subjects should be given, that they may not be misunderstood.
The objections I have omitted to notice, are, the mortality to which the emigrants are exposed in consequence of the climate of Liberia; the demoralizing traffic which the colonists have carried on with the natives, in rum and military stores; and the improvident application of the funds of the Society, which has rendered it bankrupt.
These objections, serious as they are in themselves, are not inseparable from the system of Colonization. Another, and more salubrious site, may be selected; the traffic complained of, may be discontinued; and the fiscal affairs of the Society may be managed with prudence and economy. But there arc inherent evils in the system, and it is important that the public attention should not be diverted from these evils, by the contemplation of others which are only accidental.
So, also, it is important, that the sinfulness of slavery should not be merged in that of its unauthorized abuses. Many contend for the lawfulness of slavery who readily admit the sinfulness of insulated cases of cruelty. It has, therefore, been my object to show that, admitting the slaves to be treated as a prudent farmer treats his cattle, - that they have enough to eat, are sheltered from the inclemency of the weather, and are not subjected to a greater degree of severity than is necessary to extort from them a due amount of labor, - American slavery is, nevertheless, a heinous sin, and, like every other sin, ought to be immediately abandoned.
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