HAMMOND is one among the very few authors who have taken the correct view of Slavery;* but as he did not design to embrace a full view of the . subject, the publication of the following work is still deemed important and necessary. The author of this work has been cheered and assisted in his labors, by several distinguished scientific and literary gentlemen, who kindly condescended to furnish facts, hints, and suggestions, which have been of much service in the prepara. tion of the work.† *The author takes the liberty of quoting from a letter to himself, from Governor HAMMOND, the following sentence: "This idea, that Slavery is so necessary to the. performance of the drudgery so essential for the sustenance of man, and the advance of civilization, is undoubtedly the fundamental ground on which the reason of the institution rests." The following is an extract from a long and highly interesting letter, from Chancellor QUITMAN, of Mississippi, to the author. "Dear Sir: "MONMOUTH, October 3, 1845. "Since the receipt of your letter on the subject of your contemplated work, I have been so much indisposed that I have been obliged to throw aside all business. I am now convalescent, but matters of pressing business have accumulated so much upon my hands that I fear it will be out of my power to throw together some thoughts on the subject of Slavery, which have occasionally The author cannot hope that his work will es. cape the scathing ordeal of criticism, nor does he believe that it is free from imperfections; but at the same time, he must be allowed to state his conviction, that the work embodies many interesting facts and details, which cannot fail to prove beneficial in the present state of the public mind, on the subject of Slavery. Some new ideas have been presented, which have not been met with in the works of others; arisen in my own mind, or to furnish you with some miscellaneous collections on that subject which are among my papers some where. I was formerly in the habit of noting down, at least references to documents connected with this interesting subject. For the last five years that I have been wholly engrossed in the pursuit of my profession, I have not only neglected this, but all my papers on general and philosophical subjects have become deranged, and I could not send you any thing interesting without undergoing the labor which I am now incapable of; that of arranging my numerous papers. I sent to you by last m til, the October number of the Southern Quarterly Review. I will also refer you to Professor Dow's able essays on this subject some years since. Dr. Cartwright his promised me to furnish you with his letters to Dr. Winaus, and with some anatomical views on the Negro race. The statistics of St. Domingo, since the Revolution would be valuable. I recollect the result, that their exports have never reached what they were while Negro Slavery existed in the Island. Those especially, that require annual labor, as sugar &c., have almost entirely ceased. The coffee tree which does not require removal, alone has furnished almost their entire support, and even that has and old ideas have been presented in a form to > be easily comprehended by every reader. Harsh epithets have been avoided, and the decision of the subject has been placed upon the ground of reason alone. It was not deemed necessary to appeal to the passions in order to obtain a favorable verdict on this subject, as the intrinsic merits of the subject itself, when fairly presented, were thought fully sufficient to convince every candid inquirer after truth. diminished. It is a remarkable fact that for many centuries, the arts and sciencies existed in high perfection on the borders of the Negro race, among the ancient Egyptians, the Saracens, and even the Ethiopians, yet they never penetrated the dark gloom of central and Southern Africa. There is no similar phenomenon in the history of the world. It is said that the Negro not only differs from other races in the size of the facial angle, but still more in the conformation of the thigh joint. A physician of New-Orleans, I forget his name, has published some essays upon the physiology of the Negro race. He holds that the Mulatto is shorter lived than the Negro or white man; the Quadroon still shorter; and that a mixed race of the two would soon physically degenerate and perish away. I will not however thus hastily add more upon a subject which deserves more thought." INDEX. CHAPTER I.-Slavery among the Jews, - CHAPTER II.-Slavery viewed in the CHAPTER III. — The African Race: their inferiority, and fitness for the condition of as it exists in the Southern States of CHAPTER VI.-The Benefits of Slave- ry, continued: the Master, etc. PAGE. |