46 



FARMERS' REGISTER— AGRICULTURAL REVIEW. 



the remainder in a jjolilica-cconomical light, because 

 they live on the game ofilic forest, which becomes more 

 abundant as soon as the consumers diminish. Pastoral 

 nations, for a like reason, are rarely injured by emigra- 

 tion, for they live on cattle, and the cattle live on the 

 spontaneous produce of the earth, and when a colony is 

 sent off, the remainder will generally be benefitted, since 

 the consumption is relieved while the production is not 

 diminished. And this satisfactorily explains the diffi- 

 culty which has so mucli puzzled histonaiis : — how the 

 North of Europe, which Gibbon, Blume, and Robertson, 

 all maintain was in a pastoral state, and not nearly so 

 thickly settled as at present, should nevertheless have 

 been able for several centuries to furnish those terrible 

 swarms of barbarians, who ' gathering fresh darkness 

 and terror' as they rolled on upon the South, at length, 

 with their congregated multitudes, ' obscured the sun 

 of Italy, and sunk the Roman world in night ' This 

 example of the barbarians in the North of Europe, 

 sending so many hundreds of thousands of emigrants 

 to the South, is a beautiful illustration of the capacity 

 of population to counteract the effects of emigration in 

 all those cases where the spring of population is not 

 weakened. As soon as new swarms left the country, 

 tlie means of subsistence were more ample for the re- 

 sidue ; the vigor of population soon supplied the defi- 

 ciency ; and then another swarm went forth and reliev- 

 ed agahi the national hive. Our purchase and deporta- 

 tion of slaves would produce a similar effect on our 

 blacks, but it would be entirely at the expense of both 

 the numbers and wealth of the whites, and would be 

 therefore one of the most bligluing curses that could 

 scathe the land. Ireland, at present, is suffering heavy 

 afiiictions from an overcrowded population ; but her go- 

 vernment could not relievcherby sendingoffthe paupers, 

 and for the simple reason that it would require an ex- 

 pense on the part of Ireland which would produce as 

 great or even greater abstraction of caj)ital than of un- 

 productive mouths, and would moreover give more 

 vigor to the sjDring of population. If other nations 

 would incur the expense for her, then perhaps there 

 might be for her a temporary benefit; but in a sliort 

 time such a stimulus would be given to population, as 

 would counteract all the vain efforts of man, and in the 

 end, leave her in a worse condition than before. We 

 doubt whether England, France, and Germany, by a 

 steady concentration of all their financial resources upon 

 the deportation and comfortable settlcnyjnt and sujiport 

 of the superabundant population of Ireland, would, at 

 the expiration of fifty j'ears, be found to have lessened 

 the numbers by one single individual. The effect would 

 merely be, to pledge the resources of these three nations 

 to the support of the Irish pojuikuion, and to substitute 

 the procreation of Irislimen, for that of Englishmen, 

 Frenchmen, and Germans, and as soon as this support 

 was withdrawn, the very habits which had been gene- 

 rated by it in Ireland, would be its greatest curse. The 

 only effectual means of relieving Ireland, will be to 

 raise the standard of comfort in that country, and to ar- 

 rest the population by the preventive checks which 

 would lessen the marriages. Until this be done in seme 

 way or other, Ireland is doomed to suffer the heavy 

 penalty. 



"We are now prepared to exjilain how it is that so 

 many negroes have been exported from Africa by the 

 slave trade, while the gap, says Franklin, is almost im- 

 perceptible. Gen. Brodnax, in his speech, computes 

 the average number now annually sent out from Africa 

 by the operation of the slave trade, to be 100,000; and, 

 he adds, if all this can be effected against so many risks 

 and hazards, and in violation of the laws of God and 

 man, shall it be said that the whole state of Virginia 

 cannot export 6,000 to Africa in a year ? Yes, strange 

 as it may seem, this is all true ; and the simple reason 

 of the great difference is, that Africa incurs no expense, 

 but on the contrary, generally receives a full equivalent 

 for the deported slave, which augments her means of 

 subsistence, and stimulates the spring of population. — 



The slave trade which takes off 100,000 human be- 

 ings from Africa for the slave market of the West In- 

 dies and South America, has by its operation, quicken- 

 ed the procreative powers of society in Africa to such 

 an extent as not only to keep up her numbers, but to 

 furnish besides 100,000 souls for exportation. Could 

 we supjjose it possible for this slave trade to be annihi- 

 lated at a blow, repugnant and shocking as it is to eve- 

 ry feeling of humanity, it would be found that its sud- 

 den cessation would plunge the whole of Western Africa 

 for a season into the most dreadful anarchy and appalling 

 distress. It would be found that the habits of the peo- 

 ple had been formed to suit the slave trade, and accord- 

 ingly would be much too favorable to the rapid increase 

 of pojjvilation without that trade, — prisoners of war 

 would be slaughtered, infants murdered, marriages dis- 

 couraged, and swarms of redundant citizens sent forth 

 to ravage neighboring countries, and all this would 

 arise from the too lapid increase of population, for the 

 means of subsistence, caused by the sudden stojijiing of 

 the slave trade. It will be thus seen that the 100,000 

 annually sentofffrcm Al'rica, are a source of profit and 

 not of expenditure. Saddle Africa with the wbole of 

 this burthen, and we are perfectly sure that the entire 

 resources of that immense continent would not suffice to 

 purchase up, send off, and colonize 5,CC0 per annum. — 

 There is the same difference between this exportation 

 from Africa, and that proposed by the abolitionists from 

 Virginia, that there is between the agriculturist who 

 sends liis produce to a foreign state or country and re- 

 ceives back a full equivalent, and him who is condemn- 

 ed to send his abroad at his own expense, and to distri- 

 bute it gratuitously. We imagine that no one who was 

 acquainted with the condition of these two farmers 

 would wonder that one should grow wealthy, and 

 the other miserably poor. The 6,000 slaves which 

 Virginia annuallj' sends off to the South are a source of 

 wealth to Virginia ; but the 1 ,000 or 2,000 whites who 

 probably go to the West are a source of poverty ; be- 

 cause in the former case w-e have an equivalent left in 

 the place of the exported slave — in the latter we lose 

 both labor and capital without an equivalent ; and pre- 

 cisely such a result in a much more aggravated form, 

 will spring from this mad colonization scheme, should it 

 ever be carried into operation. If the governments of 

 Europe were silly enough toajopropriate their resources 

 to the purchase of our slaves, at their full marketable 

 value, ibr the purpose of deportation, they should, for 

 ought that we could do, have every one that they could 

 buy. An equivalent would thus be left for the deported 

 slave, and however much others might suffer for their 

 folly, we should escape. 



" Against most of the great difficulties attendant on 

 the, plan of emancipation above examined, it was im- 

 possible for the abolitionists entirely to close their eyes; 

 and it is really curious to pause a moment and examine 

 some of the reflections and schemes by which Virginia 

 was to be reconciled to the jJan. We have been told 

 that it would not be necessary to purchase all the slaves 

 sent away — ^that many would be surrendered by their 

 owners without an equivalent. 'There are a number 

 of slave-holders, (said one v.-ho has all the lofty feeling 

 and devoted patriotism which have hitherto so proudly 

 characterized Virginia,) at this very tim.e, I do not 

 speak from vain conjecture, but from what I know from 

 the best information, and this number would continue 

 to increase, who would voluntarily surrender their 

 slaves, if the state would provide the means of colo- 

 nizing them elsewhere. And there would be again 

 another class, I have already heard of many, while 

 they could not afford to sacrifice the entire value of 

 their slaves, Avould cheerfully compromise with the 

 state for half of their value.' In the first place, we 

 would remark that the gentleman's anticipation would 

 certainly prove delusive — the surrender of a very fev/ 

 slaves would enhance the importance and value of the 

 residixe, and make the owner much more reluctant to 

 jiRrt with them. Let any farmer in Lower Virginia ask 



