cause of religion; and will ask them, if they can deceive themselves into a belief that the course which they have adopted, is calculated to promote that cause. Do they not know that it must divide the Christian church into two bodies, those approving, and those opposing, the legal institutions of the South; that these parties must regard each other with feelings of no Christian character; and that the house, thus divided against itself, is in danger of falling? Are they not aware, that by thus interfering with the politics of the country, they not only expose themselves to dangerous political errors from their ignorance and inexperience, but that they are exciting against themselves and against the clergy in general, a wide-spread and popular feeling of distrust, suspicion, prejudice, and aversion? Do they not know that they, by their present course, assume the awful responsibility of endangering the cause of religion itself; of exciting even against its holy and beneficent influence, that prejudice which is and must be attached to an intermeddling, ambitious, and selfish priesthood, whatever political course they may pursue; and which, when that course endangers the rights of the people, and the honour and union of the country, cannot but be intense and general? How can they answer these questions to themselves? How can they answer them to the great Master, whose holy name they have thus abused-whose holy cause they have thus betrayed and injured? The prudent, the pious will shrink and tremble, before they incur a responsibility so fearful. They will hesitate before they throw by the shepherd's crook, to grasp the weapon which must be reddened in the blood of our brethren; and ponder deeply and solemnly, before they sanction those who thus dangerously pervert the religion of Him who came into the world "not to destroy, but to fulfil."

CHAPTER XXIV.

Ability of the South to hold its Slaves-Increase of Slaves-Slaves contented--Impossibility of successful insurrection—Security of the South, &c. &c.

In extenuation of their lawless encroachments on the rights of the South, the abolitionists plead the great dangers which must arise from the existence. of slavery. This danger, if it exists at all, menaces only the inhabitants of the South. Now they are neither destitute of mental nor physical resources to foresee or meet the alleged danger. They are fully capable of the task of caring for themselves; and the thankless interference of the abolitionists is equally ill-timed, pragmatical, and unnecessary. The South wants no protection, and, least of all, the protection of the abolitionists. Their charity is altogether obtrusive; and it would be well if, in their discursive and knight-errant benevolence, they would seek other subjects for the exercise of their virtues.

These raven counsellors calculate the increase of the slaves, and come to the conclusion that they are gaining gradually upon the whites; that their power will be thus regularly increased, until at length, in future times, they may outnumber the whites, and fall upon and massacre them. They, therefore, appear to think that it is more prudent that the slaves should be excited to this massacre at once; that the "question should be met," and that the throats des

tined to be cut should be operated upon without any unnecessary delay.

These views are, at least, in character with the abolitionists. But we would suggest to them the propriety of allowing posterity to take care of itself. We have quite as much on our hands as we can manage properly; and as posterity will be, in all probability, quite as wise and capable as we are, it may be well to direct our time and attention to the care of those more immediately within the scope of our sympathies and duty.

Cool-headed and reflecting men cannot but regard the ill-omened predictions of the abolitionists, on this head, with scorn. Slavery has existed thus far without any of the unfavourable results which terrify these nervous patriots. Every age has had its croakers, men who see visions, and dream dreams; who foresee for futurity evils and calamities which futurity never realizes, and which only serve to excite the imaginations of those who can be terrified by the phantoms thus idly conjured up. We have no right to expect an exemption from these prophets of evil. Their raven voices will be heard even under the brightest sky; and, though time may venture to belie their predictions, nothing will quiet their croaking. It may be well, however, to examine the basis of their apprehensions.

In answer to the oft-repeated objection, that the increase of the slaves of this country is proportionally greater than that of the whites, we venture to oppose a direct denial of the statement. The following extract from Mr. Walsh will correct all errors on this point. "Our census of 1810 teaches that, according to the ratio of increase for the twenty years preceding, the number of years required for the duplication of the whites was 22.48; and that required for the slaves, as I have mentioned, 25.99.

The whites increased from 1790 to 1810, 85.26 per cent; the slaves 70.75. The mere natural increase is not, however, shown exactly by this calculation. We should deduct the annual addition made to the numbers of both from without, which would probably leave the proportion the same. The whole number of slaves in 1810 was 1,191,364; and of free people of colour, 186,466. Together they did not equal one fourth of the white population, which was 5,862,092; nor make but little more than one sixth of the whole. At present, (1819,) the proportion must be still less, as the ratio of increase for the white population is undoubtedly greater." The views of Mr. Walsh have been confirmed by subsequent experience; and the fears of those who dwell, with trembling emphasis, upon the increase of the slaves, demonstrated to be groundless and idle.*

"We have no fears on this score; even if it were true, the danger would not be very great. With the increase of the blacks, we can afford to enlarge the police; and we will venture to say, that with the hundredth man at our disposal, and faithful to us, we would keep down insurrection in any large country on the face of the globe. But the speakers in the Virginia legislature, in our humble opinion, made most unwarrantable inferences from the census returns. They took a period between 1790 and 1830, and judged exclusively from the aggregate results of that whole time. Mr. Brown pointed out their fallacy, and showed that there was but a small portion of the period in which the blacks had rapidly gained on the whites (in Virginia,) but during the residue they were most rapidly losing their high relative increase, and would, perhaps in 1840, exhibit an augmentation less than the whites. But let us go a little back. In 1740, the slaves in South Carolina, says Marshall, were three times the whites: the danger from them was greater then than it ever has been since, or ever will be again. There was an insurrection in that year, which was put down with the utmost ease, although instigated and aided by the Spaniards. The slaves in Virginia, at the same period, were much more numerous than the whites. Now suppose some of those peepers into futu

The progressive increase of the two races has been referred to as a source of danger. If the whites increase, the blacks also multiply, and will in time, it is urged, constitute so large a mass, that it will be impossible to hold them in subjection. The facts do not bear out the theory. A million can more easily hold a million in subjection, than a thousand can a thousand. The reason is obvious-concert and union are required to overturn an established government; and the greater the number, the more difficult is this of attainment. In a community of one hundred, a police of one man would be wholly incapable of controlling the ninety-nine; but in a community of one million, a band of ten thousand troops would be found amply sufficient for that purpose.

No one, who has examined this subject dispassionately, can entertain any serious doubts of the ability of the whites of the South to hold their slaves in subjection. There has been no instance of a successful insurrection of negro slaves. Even at St. Domingo, the revolt commenced with the free mulattoes, who had been educated and disciplined in France; who were nearly equal in number to the whites; and who were encouraged by the French government; and, notwithstanding all this, it would

rity could have been present; would they not have predicted the speedy arrival of the time when the blacks, running ahead of the whites in numbers, would have destroyed their security? In 1763, the black population of Virginia was 100,000, and the white 70,000. In South Carolina the blacks were 90,000, and the whites 40,000. Comparing them with the returns of 1740, our prophets, could they have lived so long, might have found some consolation in the greater increase of the whites. Again, when we see in 1830, that the blacks in both states have fallen in numbers below the whites, our prophets, were they alive, might truly be pronounced false."Professor Dew.