UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

declared
Hon.
" statedthe
speechbefore the Colonization Society.He now
believed that the births among the slaves in that
quarter were not equalto the deaths ; and that,of
memorandum made at the time by
ney, with which he has kindlyfurnished us.
KEY TO UNCLE TOM S CABIN. 41
"
"Sept.16,1834. H. Clay,in a conversation
at his own house on the subjectof slavery, the use of the whip. I was anxious to see him ;
informed me that Hon. Horsey"
Outerbridge
formerly
and trusted that some discovery had been made
a senator in Congressfrom the State of favorable to humanity. I asked him how he was
Delaware,and the owner of a sugar plantation in able to dispense with corporalpunishment. He
"
Louisiana to him that his overseer replied to me, with a very determined look, ' The
worked his hands so closelythat one of the women slaves know that the work must be done, and that
brought forth a child whilst engagedin the labors it is better to do it without punishmentthan with
of the field.
it.' In other words, the certainty and dread of
" Also that, a few years since,he was at a chastisement were so impressed on them that they
brick-yard in the environs of New Orleans, in never incurred it.
which one hundred hands
"
were employed; among
I then found that the slaves on this wellmanagedestate
decreased in number. I asked the
them were from twenty to thirtyyoung women, in
the primeof life. He was told by the proprietor cause. He replied, with perfectfrankness and
that there had not been a child born among
them
for the last two or three years, althoughthey allhad estate.' In other words, they were not equal to
husbands."
the work of the plantation, and yetwere made to
The late Mr. Samuel Blackwell,a highly-drespected citizen of JerseyCity,opposite the "
it,though with the certainty of abridging life.
city On this plantation the huts were uncommonly
of New York, and a member of the Presbyterianconvenient. There was an unusual ah- of neatness.
church,visited many of the sugar plantations in
A superficial observer would have called
Louisiana a few years since ; and having,for the slaves happy. Yet they were living under a
many years, been the owner of an extensive and
sugar severe,
were over-worked
refineryin England,and subsequently in this to a degree that shortened "
life." Channing on
country, he had not onlyevery facility afforded Slavery,page 162, firstedition.
him by the planters for personalinspection of all
of the
f)arts process of sugar-making, but received A friend of the the Rev. Mr.
writer"
rom them the mosiv unreserved communications
Barrows, now officiating as teacher of
as to their management of their slaves. Mr. B.,
after his return, frequentlymade the
Hebrew in Andover
following
Theological
statement to gentlemen of his in conversation with
"
acquaintance:
Seminary
following,
" That the plantersgenerally declared to him her :
"
That,while at New Orleans, some
that theywere obliged so to overwork their slaves, time since,he
during the was invitedby
sugar-making season (from a planter to
eightto
ten weeks), as to use them tip
in seven or
visithis estate,as he considered it to be a
eight
years. For,said they,after the process is commenced,
model one. He found good dwellings for
it must be pushed,without cessation, the slaves, abundant provision distributedto
night and day; and we cannot afford to keep a
them, all cruel punishmentsuperseded by
sufficientnumber of slaves to do the extra work at
the time of sugar-making, as we could rational and reasonable not profitably
ones, and half a day
employ them the rest of the year." every week allowed to the negroes to cultivate
Dr. Demming, a gentleman of highrespectability,
their own Provisionwas grounds.
also
residing in Ashland,Richland County,Ohio, made for their moral and religious instruction.
stated to Professor Wright,of New York city,
Mr. Barrows then asked the
"
That,duringa recent tour at the South,while
planter,
"
ascendingthe Ohio river,on the steamboat Fame,
Do you consider your estate a fairspecimen'?"
he had an opportunity of conversing with a Mr.
The gentlemanreplied, "There
Dickinson,a resident of Pittsburg, in company are two systemspursuedamong us. One
with a number of cotton-planters and slave-dealers
from Louisiana,Alabama and
is țo make all we can out of a
negro
Mississippi.
in a
Mr. Dickinson stated as a fact țhat the sugarplantersupon
the sugar-coastin Louisiana had
ascertained that,as it was usually necessary to
employ about twice the amount of labor during the
boiling
season that was requiredduringthe season
of raising,
day and night,duringthe boilingseason, accomplish
statement was substantially admitted
by the
slave-holders then on board."
The followingtestimonyof Rev. Dr. Channing,
course, the slavepopulation, independentof immigration
of Boston, who resided some time in Virginia,
from the slave-selling states,was not sustaining
shows that the over-working of slaves țo such an
itself.
extent as to abridgelife,and cause a decrease of
Among other factsstated by Mr. Claywas the population, is not confined to the far South and
following, which we
copy verbatim from the original
South-west.
Mr. Bir-
" I heard of an estate managed by an individual
who was considered as singularlysuccessful,
and who was able to govern the slaves without
pursues the opposite system. His boys are
they could,by excessive
hard worked and
driving,
scantily fed ; and I have
had them come to me, and get down on their
the whole labor ivith one set of hands. By knees to begme to buy them."
pursuing this plan,theycould afford to sacrifice a
Mr. Barrows
set of hands once in seven years ! He furtherstated
says he subsequently
that this horrible system was now practisedto a
by this plantation, and
considerable extent ! The correctness of this
ease,
'
The gang is not largeenough
subduingdiscipline,
for the
few years, and then supply his placewith
another ; and the other is țo treat him as I
do. My neighbor on the next plantation
dejected
passed
that the woe-struck,
aspect of itslaborers fullyconfirmed