BURDENS OF SLAVERY ON THE FREE.

The Presidency.

Of the fourteen presidential terms, now expired since the formation of the government, eleven have been filled by slaveholders, one by a “Northern man with Southern principles,” and only two by Northern men. The present incumbent is a slaveholder, sworn fully to do his utmost to uphold, and even extend the abomination; and most terribly he is fulfilling his vow, in the surrender of free territory in Oregon, and in a war of conquest for slavery in Mexico, at a cost of millions of dollars and thousands of lives. By holding the Presidency, slavery controls the cabinet, the diplomacy, the army, and the navy of the country. The power that controls the Presidency controls the nation. No Northern President has been allowed to serve more than one term.

The Vice Presidency.

The President exercises much of his power by and with the Senate. The Vice President is, ex-officio, President of the Senate. As such, he has the casting vote in all questions before that body. For the last twenty years, with one exception, he has been a slaveholder. From the adoption of the Constitution up to June 1842, there were 76 elections, in the Senate, of President pro. tem. Of these the slave States had 60 and the free States 16. Most of the 16 were in the earlier periods of the government. Mr. Southard was elected in 1842. Previous to that, no Northern man had received the appointment for thirty years! so careful were the slaveholders to watch their interests by securing the casting vote.

Senate.

For a long series of years the Senate has been equally divided between the free and the slave States. In this condition of it, it was a great point with the slaveholders to secure the casting vote of the Vice Presidency, and right carefully have they done it. This vote is of less importance now, since, by the admission of Texas, the balance of power is broken up, and “The Valley of Rascals,” on any tie vote, now rules the Senate and the nation.

Department of State.

The Office of Secretary of State is the most important of any, perhaps, in the cabinet of the President. As it is the duty of this officer to direct the correspondence with foreign courts, instruct our foreign ministers, negotiate treaties, &c.; his station is second only, in importance, to that of the Presidency itself. Of the 15, who had filled this office up to 1845, the slave States have had 10; the free States 5. The whole number of officers in this department at Washington, in 1846, is 86. Of these Virginia has 6 and the District of Columbia 45.

The War Department.

In 1846, there are, at Washington, 98 officers in this department. Of these, the District of Columbia has 49—exactly one half, and Virginia and Maryland have the balance.

The free States generally have furnished the seamen and the soldiers; the men to do the fighting and endure the hard knocks, but slavery has taken care to furnish Southern men for officers. Thus, of 1054 naval officers, New England has only 172; of the 68 commanders, New England has only 11; of the 328 lieutenants, New England has only 59; of the 562 midshipmen, New England has only 82; and New England owns nearly half the tonnage of the country. Of all the officers in the navy in 1844, whether in service or waiting orders, Pennsylvania, with a free population more than double that of Virginia, had but 177, while Virginia had 224. In 1842, under Mr. Upshur, of 191 naval appointments, the slave States had 117; the free States only 73.

Post Office.

The greatest opposition to cheap postage is from the South. The reason is obvious. As multitudes of their Post-routes do not pay for themselves, they must be paid for, through a system of high postage, by the North, or be given up. Thus in 1842, the deficit in the Post Office department from the slave States was $571,000, while the excess over the expenditures in the free States was $600,000. This went of course to make up the deficiency of the South. So that in 1842 alone the North paid all its own postage, and $571,000 of postage for the South. Nor was this all. The whole number of miles of mail transportation for 1842, was 34,835,991, at an expense of $3,087,796. Of these miles, the mail was carried 20,331,461, at a cost of $1,508,413, in the free States; and 14,504,530 miles, at a cost of $1,579,383 in the slave States; that is, it cost $70,970 more to carry the mail in the slave States than in the free, while it ran 5,826,931 miles less. Under the new system, from official returns, presenting a comparative view of the postage received at forty-two offices, North and South, during the third quarter of 1844 and 1845, it appears that while the falling off at the offices in the free States has not been one third, that at the offices in the slave States has been more than one half.

Civil, Diplomatic and Consular Agencies.

That most of the “spoils” of office, in these departments go to the slaveholders is well known. The following is the Diplomatic Agency of 1846.

Full Ministers. To Great Britain, Louis McLane; France, William R. King; Spain, Romulus M. Saunders; Turkey, Dabney S. Carr; Mexico, John Slidell; Brazil, Henry A. Wise;—all from slave States; and Russia, R. I. Ingersoll from Connecticut.

Charges. Austria, William A. Stiles; Holland, Auguste Davezac; Belgium, Thomas G. Glenson; The two Sicilies, William H. Polk; Sardinia, Robert Wickliffe; Portugal, Abraham Rencher; Venezuela, Benjamin G. Shields; Buenos Ayres, George Harris; Chili, William Crump, all from the slave states, and from the free States only Denmark, William W. Irwin; Sweden, H. W. Ellsworth; Central America, B. W. Bidlack; and Peru, A. G. Jewett.

Thus, of the seven full ministers six are from the slave States; and of the thirteen Charges, nine are from the same; and the four given to Northern men are among the most insignificant governments in the world. And this favoritism of the South has been the policy for years. The civil and consular agencies are dispensed with a like injustice to the free States. The following, prepared by Prof. Cleveland, gives the number of persons employed in 1845, in these several agencies, from a few States, with their salaries, and the number of free white inhabitants in the same.

Free States. Free Pop. Persons Salaries Slave States Free Pop. Persons Salaries

New York, 2,378,890 37 $ 63,250 Virginia, 740,968 114 $200,395

Pennsylvania, 1,676,115 90 123,790 Maryland, 318,204 133 170,305

Massachusetts, 729,030 43 86,215 Dist. Colum., 30,657 99 77,455

Ohio, 1,502,122 6 4,400 Kentucky, 590,253 7 34,150

Presidential Electors.

During the twenty years, ending in 1832, there were six presidential elections. In these, the South cast 608 electoral votes, but only 41 of them for Northern candidates. During the twenty years, ending in 1835, there were five presidential elections, in which the South cast 515 electoral votes, only 11 of which were for Northern candidates.

In the presidential election of 1844, thirteen free States had 161 electors, and gave 1,890,884 votes—one elector to 11,739 votes; while twelve slave States had 105 electors and gave 798,848 votes—one elector to 6,608 votes. In other terms; six slave State votes counted as much in choice of President and Vice President as eleven free State votes. In the same election, Michigan had 5 electors and gave 56,222 votes, or one elector to 11,244 votes; while Louisiana had 6 electors and gave 26,865 votes, or one elector to 4,447 votes—that is, four slaveholding Louisiana votes were equal to eleven free Michigan votes.

Federal Representation.

The present number of the House of Representatives, including Texas is 228. Of these 21 represent slave property. In fixing the ratio of representation, after the last census, the House adopted that of 50,179. This would have given a House of 306 members, and the free States a majority of 68. But a small majority is more easily managed than a large. The Senate rejected that ratio and sent back the bill with the ratio of 70,680. This reduced the House to 223 and brought down the majority of the free States to the more manageable number of 47. The effect of the odd number, 680, was to deprive the four great States of the north, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, of one member each, with no corresponding disadvantage to any slave State. Of this proceeding, even the correspondent of the New York Herald said,—“The Senate apportionment has robbed the North of at least one quarter of its practical influence in the Union, when regarded in its full extent; and the members of the free States who voted for it, have thus surrendered the rights of their constituents, and violated their trusts.”

The House of Representatives.

The Speaker of the House has the appointment of all committees, and of course exerts an immense influence in this, as well as other ways, in the legislation of the country. During 31 of the 34 years, from 1811 to 1845, the speakers were all slaveholders.

Judiciary.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the court of highest appeal in the nation. Its decision on all questions coming before it is final. Of the 30 judges of this court, the slave States have had 17; the free States 13. The circuits and salaries are still more unequal and unjust. Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, with 42 representatives in Congress, and a free population of over three millions, constitute but one circuit; while Alabama and Louisiana, with but 11 representatives and a free population of but half a million, constitute another. So of other circuits. Louisiana, with a free population of 183,959, has one judge at a salary of $3,000; Ohio, with a population of 1,519,461, more than eight times as great as that of Louisiana, has only one judge, at a salary of $1,000: that is, with eight times as many people to do business for, he receives one-third as much pay. Arkansas, with a free population of 77,639, has one judge at a salary of $2,000; New Hampshire, with a population of 284,573, has but one judge, at a salary of $1,000. Mississippi, with a free population of 180,440, has one judge, at a salary of $2,500; Indiana, with a population of 685,863, has but one judge, at a salary of $1,000—that is, two-fifths as much pay for doing more than three times the work!

Surplus Revenue.

The Surplus Revenue, distributed by the Act of 1836, amounted to 37,468,859 dollars. The slaveholders managed to have it distributed, not, as it should have been, on the basis of free population, but that of federal representation. Thereby the South, with a free population of 3,823,289, received $16,058,082,85, while the North, with a free population of 7,008,451, received but $21,410,777,12. So that for each inhabitant of the free North, there was received but $3,06; while for each free person in the South, there was received $4,20; or $1,14 more for each free person in the South, than for each free person in the North. The South, by this operation alone, received for her slave representation in Congress, $4,358,549!

Revolutionary War.

In this war,—New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,—seven States—furnished 172,436 troops and were paid for services, $61,971,167. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia—six States—furnished 59,335 troops, and received $52,438,130. In other terms, the Northern States furnished about three times the number of troops and received less than one fifth more pay. In particular States the inequality was far greater.

The War of 1812.

The Slaveholders envied the commercial prosperity of the North, and, to crush it, decreed the war of 1812, under the pretence of defending “free trade and sailor’s rights;” and one hundred and thirty-seven millions of dollars were wasted in its prosecution, and $200,000,000 more were lost on sea and land by Northern merchants and farmers, and then, leaving “free trade and sailor’s rights” where they were before, they made peace, and demanded a National Bank and Protective Tariff. And in the prosecution of the war, says Alvan Stewart, Esq, (Address to Abolitionists Aug. 1846)—“The South placed Major General Smyth at Buffalo, a slaveholding lawyer of Virginia; Major General Winder, a slaveholding lawyer of Maryland, at Forty Mile Creek, on the side of Lake Ontario; Major General Wilkinson, a Louisiana slaveholder, at the Cedars and Rapids of the St. Lawrence; and Major General Wade Hampton, the great sugar boiler of Louisiana, and the largest slaveholder in the United States, (having over 5000 crushed human beings bowing to this monster and tyrant), was located at Burlington, Vermont, four slaveholding Generals with their four armies, were stretched out on our northern frontier, not to take Canada, but to prevent its being taken, by the men of New England and New York, in 1812, '13 and '14; lest we should make some six or eight free States from Canada, if conquered. This was treason against Northern interests, blood and honor. This horrid revelation could have been proved by General John Armstrong, then Secretary of War, after he and Mr. Madison quarreled.”

Florida, Florida War, Removal of the Indians.

While Florida was in possession of Spain it furnished an asylum for slaves escaping from the contiguous States. It was therefore bought, at the dictation of the slaveholders, at an expense of $5,000,000. For the same purpose, and at the same dictation the late Florida War was waged, and the native Indian exiled. Of this, the Hon. J. R. Giddings, 1845, said,—“They (the army) captured 460 negroes, who were adjudged slaves by staff officers of the army, to whom the duty was assigned, and who delivered them over to interminable bondage. [See House Doc. 52, 3d Sess. 27th Congress.] We have no means by which we can determine the number of lives sacrificed in that war; but it may be safely asserted, that the capture of each slave cost the lives of two white men, and at least $80,000 in cash, the most of which was drawn from the pockets of the people of the free States. The whole expense of the war is estimated at $40,000,000. The moral guilt incurred, and the sacrifice of national character cannot be estimated. Perhaps I ought to add, on the authority of Gen. Jessup, that bloodhounds were also purchased to act as auxiliaries to our army, and that bloodhounds, and soldiers, and officers, marched together under the star-spangled banner, in pursuit of the panting fugitives who had fled from Southern oppression. [House Doc. 125, 3d Sess. 25th Congress.] And blood hounds, and soldiers, and officers were paid for from the avails of Northern industry; while our people were not permitted to petition their servants to be relieved from such degradation.” One R. Fitzpatrick was employed to get the blood hounds. He obtained thirty-three, and the cost, including expenses of bringing to Florida, was $5000. The removal of the Indians from the several slave States was merely to make room for slavery; and it has cost at least $50,000,000, and of all these millions the North has had to pay the largest share.

Texas and the Mexican War.

Everybody knows that Texas was annexed and that the war is waged to extend and strengthen Slavery. The cost of these measures is yet to be ascertained. There is little doubt that it will exceed rather than fall short of one hundred millions.

Bank, Tariff, Southern Bankruptcy, &c.

The South originated the Bank and the Tariff. When they ceased to work for its interests, the South abolished both. The sums filched from the North by these changes of national polity and by Southern bankrupts, seem almost incredible. $27,000,000, of the capital of the United States Bank was sunk at the South. $500,000,000, it is estimated, would not more than meet the losses of the North, in sixty years, from Southern bankruptcy. In fine, there is no end to these burdens—this side-wise plunder of the free, by those whose entire life is a wholesale plunder of the Slave. How long will freemen bear it?