Rare Book Monthly
Slavery in the United States <br> Chapter 9
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"7. 'Their treatment when sick.' My negroes go or are carried, as soon as they are attacked, to a spacious and well-ventilated hospital, near the mansion-house. They are there received by an attentive nurse, who has an assortment of medicine, additional bedclothing, and the command of as much light food as she may require, either from the table or the store-room of the proprietor. Wine, sago, rice, and other little comforts appertaining to such an establishment, are always kept on hand. The condition of the sick is much better than that of the poor whites or free coloured people in the neighbourhood.
"8. 'Their rewards and punishments.' I occasionally bestow little gratuities for good conduct, and particularly after harvest; and hardly ever refuse a favour asked by those who faithfully perform their duty. Vicious and idle servants are punished with stripes, moderately inflicted; to which, in the case of theft, is added privation of meat, a severe punishment to those who are never suffered to be without it on any other account. From my limited observation, I think that servants to the North work much harder than our slaves. I was educated at a college in one of the free states, and, on my return to Virginia, was struck with the contrast. I was astonished at the number of idle domestics, and actually worried my mother, much to my contrition since, to reduce the establishment. I say to my contrition, because, after eighteen years residence in the good old Dominion, I find myself surrounded by a troop of servants about as numerous as that against which I formerly so loudly exclaimed. While on this subject it may not be amiss to state a case of manumission, which occurred about three years since. My nearest neighbour, a man of immense wealth, owned a favourite servant, a fine fellow, with polished manners and excellent disposition, who reads and writes, and is thoroughly versed in the duties of a butler and housekeeper, in the performance of which he was trusted without limit. This man was, on the death of his master, emancipated, with a legacy of $6,000, besides about $2,000 more which he had been permitted to accumulate, and had deposited with his master, who had given him credit for it. The use that this man, apparently so well qualified for freedom, and who has had an opportunity of traveling and of judging for himself, makes of his money and his time, is somewhat remarkable. In consequence of his exemplary conduct, he has been permitted to reside in the state, and for very moderate wages occupies the same situation he did in the old establishment; and will probably continue to occupy it as long as he lives. He has no children of his own, but has put a little girl, a relation of his, to school. Except in this instance, and in the purchase of a few plain articles of furniture, his freedom and his money seem not much to have benefited him. A servant of mine, who is intimate with him, thinks he is not as happy as he was before his liberation. Several other servants were freed at the same time, with smaller legacies, but I do not know what has become of them.
"I do not regard negro slavery, however mitigated, as a Utopian system, and have not intended so to delineate it. But it exists, and the difficulty of removing it is felt and acknowledged by all save the fanatics, who, like ‘fools, rush in where angels dare not tread.' It is pleasing to know that its burdens are not too heavy to be borne. That the treatment of slaves in this state is humane, and even indulgent, may be inferred from the fact of their rapid increase and great longevity.
I believe that, constituted as they are, morally and physically, they are as happy as any peasantry in the world; and I venture to affirm, as the result of my reading and inquiry, that in no country are the labourers so liberally and invariably supplied with bread and meat as are the negro slaves of the United States. However great the dearth of provisions, famine never reaches them.
"P. S.—It might have been stated above, that on this estate there are about 160 blacks. With the exception of infants, there has been in eighteen months but one death that I remember, that of a man fully 65 years of age. The bill for medical attendance from the second day of last November, comprising upwards of a year, is less than forty dollars."
"SIR,—Some eight or ten days ago, I received a letter from Mr. ***** of Richmond, asking me to assist him in furnishing you with information respecting the condition of our slaves in this part of Virginia, and enclosing an extract from your letter to him, stating the points on which you most desired precise information. I was at that time holding one of my courts, and my circuit is not yet over. In consequence of this, I have had very little time to turn my attention to the subject, and I fear that what I am about to say will very feebly aid you in the patriotic task you have undertaken, of endeavouring to allay the feelings engendered at the North by the falsehoods of the abolitionists. Indeed, so pressed am I for time, that I would, as Mr. ***** suggests (in the event of my court interfering with the task), obtain the assistance of some intelligent neighbour, if I could find one willing to undertake it. But, having failed in this endeavour, and feeling deeply the importance of giving a true picture of the Southern slave to the Northern abolitionist, which can only be done by comparing the accounts you may receive from different quarters, I proceed to answer your inquiries as fully as my engagements permit, premising that my remarks as to the condition of the slaves apply exclusively to their treatment and condition in the Valley of Virginia, which is, as you know, a grain-growing portion of the state. The cotton and tobacco portion of it might exhibit some variety in this picture. I have lived in all, but confine myself to the place of my present residence.
"I am not certain that I understand the scope of the first inquiry, 'The laws for the government of the master and the slave in Virginia.' Properly speaking, there are no laws affecting this relation. Both are under the protection of the law to a certain extent. The master would be punished for any mayhem or felony committed on the slave, but it has been decided that no prosecution will lie against him, even for excessive beating, not amounting to mayhem or felony. It has never been found necessary to enact laws for the government of the master in his treatment of the slave, for reasons that will appear hereafter.
"We have many laws respecting slaves, controlling them in certain particulars. Thus, they are not allowed to keep or carry military weapons— nor to leave home without a written permission— nor to assemble at any meeting-house or other place in the night, under pretence of religious worship—nor at any school, for the purpose of being taught to read or write—nor to trade and go at large as freemen—nor to hire themselves out—nor to preach or exhort. Some of the penalties for a violation of these laws are imposed upon the master, for permitting his slave to do certain acts; in other cases the slave is liable to be taken before a justice of the peace, and punished by stripes, never exceeding thirty-nine.
