The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 246
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the Christian. To bring the "African to the plantation" was to
save him, said Stuart. "Of course, the opening of the slave trade is
abhorrent to the pious feelings of the Boston abolitionist, to him
the lowest half-baboon Negro in Africa is infinitely" better off
"than it is possible for a slave to be among the white folks 'down
South.' " However, the "learned fools" of New England, wrote
Stuart, "do not know what they are talking about; the whole con-
tinent of South Texas is going to waste for want of white intellects
and Negro laborers." The Negro, insisted the editor, could never
realize a better status than that which he could achieve under a
mild system of slavery; in this state he could accomplish the most
good for himself, as well as for his superior fellow, the white man,
and thus he could assure that his posterity would live perma-
nently in a Christian land. Stuart called the attention of Texans
to a recent editorial in the London Times, which had questioned
whether or not the British government's policy of trying to re-
strain the African slave trade was not an impossible policy to
pursue because of the enormous profits which were being made
in the traffic. One slaver, reported the Times, had netted a profit
of 37,000 on three trips. "Why not admit these facts," demanded
Stuart, and accept the certainty "that products of slave labor sus-
tain the commerce of the world, civilization, and Christianity?
When England gets to where she needs more cheap sugar and
cotton for the spinners of Britain," argued the editor, "then, in-
deed, will the people of England sing out 'more niggers We must
eat and be clothed!' "4
Willard Richardson of the Galveston News endorsed the Civil-
ian's position in a vigorous editorial. He pointed out that Eng-
land's attempt to control the traffic had only compounded the
cruelty of the trade. He cited the opinion of one slaver-captain
who had stated that in the "nine cargoes of slaves he had run, his
shrinkage" had averaged more than o30 per cent; the only solution
was to legalize and then regulate the traffic.'
A few days later, E. H. Cushing, editor of the Houston Tele-
graph, pointed to the fact that, although Texas was at that time
producing less than one-half million bales of cotton per year, the
4Galveston Civilian, June 20, 1857.
-Galveston News, June 20, 1857.246
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/271/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.