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Show 232 THE MISSOURI QUESTION. omit to mention my own feelin(J's on a former occurrence. vVhcn I fir t came to CCJngrcss, iL \Vas with minglccl cmo~ tions of horror and snrprisc that I snw citizens from the non- lavcholcling lalcs, as they arc cn.llcd-ycs, aud both branches of om· National Lcgislalnrc- riding in a coac.:h n.nd four, with a while servant scaLed before, managing the r 'ins, anolhcr standing behind the coach, antl both of thc:c while . crvant in livery. Is this, snid I to myself', the clc<rradccl condition of Lhe citizen, on whose voiec the libcr-o tics of n, nation may dcpencl Y I conlu not reconcile it with my ideas of freedom; becansc, in the Stale \vhcrc I received my first impres ions, slaves alone were servile. .All white men there arc on an C<inality, and CYery citizen feels his independence. 'V c have no clas:c, -no patrieian or plc~ bcin.n rank Ilone:ty aud honor form all the di tinclions that are felt or known. Wllalcvcr may be the condition of a ciLizen with us, you m11st treat him as an cqnnl 'l'his, I find, is not so in every part of the non~slavcholcling SLn.tes, c, pecially in your populous cities, where ranks and distinctions, the precursors of aristocracy, already begin to exi t. 'l'hcy whose business it is to perform menial offices in other SLates, arc as servile as our slaves in the V\ ·est. Where is the great difference betwixt the condition o1 him who keeps your stable, who blacks your boots, who holds your stirrups, or mounts behind your coach when you ride, ancl the slave who obeys the command of his master ? There may be a nominal difference; but it would be difficult to describe 1Ls reality. In the one case it is called voluntary, becan. e it is irupo ed by its own necessity, aud in the other involun tary, because imposed by the will of another. 'Vbatcver difference there may be in the principle, the effects upon society are the same. The condition, in some respects, is in favor of the slave. lie is supplied with food and clothing; and in the hom· of sickness he finds relief. No anxious cares in relation to age and infirmity, iuvadc his breast. He 'l'llE Ml:::i~0 1J lU QCE ~·ll'lO~ . 233 fears no duns: careless of the pressn re of the times, he drcac1s not the coercion of payment, nor feel the cruelty of that code which confine the white servant in prison, because the iron hand of poverty has wrested from him lhe means of snpport for his family. rrhough . lavery . till must be confc eel a bitter t1ranght., yet where the stamp of nature marks the <1istincliou, aud whoa the mind, from early habit, is moulded to the concliLion, the slave oft en finds less bitternc. s in the cnp of life than mosl while servants. What is the condition of many, who arc continually saluting our cars with cries of want, even in this city ? :Men, women, boys, girls, from infancy to old age, craving relief from every pa. scngcr. .Arc they slaves? No. Among the slaves arc no beggars; no vagrants ; none idle for want of employ, or crying for want of bread. Bvery condition of life has its evils; and most cvilR have some palliative; thongh perhaps none less than those of white menials. Yet, sir, none arc more lavish of their censures a<rninst slavery than those l01·dlings wiLh livery servants of tbcir own com plcxion. For my own part, I have hitherto been fortunate in my public course, in having retained the confidence of my fellow citizens. I have not only trinmphcd over the most troubled clements-! have even braved the storm produced by the famous compensation law; but I never could stand having white servants dressed in livery. No, sir, when the honest laborer, the mechanic, however poor, or whatever his employment, vi:its my house, it matters not what company is there, he must sit with me at my board, and recci vc the same treatment as the most distingui bed gue. t; because in him I recognize a fellow citizen and an equal. The condition of the slave is but litllc understood by those who arc not the eye-witnesses of his treatment. His sufferings are greatly aggravated in their apprehension. The general character of the slaveholding community can |
