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Show 150 THE CONTRAST. as justice to desist from the support of slavery, nnd henceforth to labor i;l the good old cause, of emancipation ? We had great pleasure in relating our story of the West Indies, to a political rival of thine, for whom I have a great personal estrem-1 menn John C .. Calhoun. lie llstcncd With the greatest attention to the narrattve, and after I h[ld brought 1t 00 a close, admitted his belief not only m the accuracy of the relation itself, but in that of the five points partly p ecuniaTy, and partly physical and moral, on which it furn ished such mnple evidences of the favorable working of freedom. He then fixed h.is eagle eye upon me, and cross-questioned me respecting the political state of Jamaica. This process wns followed up by a rapid, declamatory argument, in which he endeavored to shew that the emm1cipation of the blacks in the West Indies, was safe to the white inhabitants, only because it was guarded by the strong arm of Great Britain- tl1at the two races are so distinct and opposite, that \vithout the intervention of such a power, they could not be expected to live together in peace, in the capacity of free-men-tl1at where the blacks preponderate in numbers, the whites would be overwhelmed-that where the numbers are even, ther~ would arise interminable violence and strifethat in America therefore, the politi~al objections to the abolition of slavery, are not to be surmounted. Such I believe was the substance of his argument, which was listened to with great apparent delight, by several of his allies from the south, who were present on the occasion. To hear the eloquent argumentation of our friend, was indeed a great pleasure to ourselves. I said it was a treat to me to hear J. C. Calhoun reason, and that I would not attempt to reply to him- at m1y rate not without previous reflection. At the smne time I ventured to observe, first that political influence, when obtained in connection with the acquisition of property, is in its nature safe; m1d secondly, that the principles of the Gospel of Christ, were the adequate remedy for all prejudices of race, cast, or color. Since that time, I have often reflected on the Senator's argu· ment, and my own mind is well satisfied of its essential fallacy. 'l'fH: CONTRAST. 151 First with regard to Jamaica, the strong arm of the British Government, was indeed considered necessary for the protection of the whites, during slavery, when the planters m1d their families were on the e,lge of a volcano which might m1y day explode; and notwithstanding that protection, I believe it may truly be smd, that an explosion must long since have taken place, had it not been Jor the unrivalled patience and forbear. ance of the negro race. But now, under freedom, the volcano is extinguished ; the planters and their families are in perfect safety ; the protecting arm of the third party is no longer requisite, and to a great extent, it has already, been withdrawn. We were thoroughly satisfied, in all the islllllds which we visited, that the few troops remaining in them, were, in a political point of view, utterly needless, and might be withdrawn to a man, with entire impunity-and this I believe is the general opinion of the plm1tcrs themselves. In the mem1 time, we did not find that nny inconvenience is arising, from the constitutional diiTercnces of the two races. Certainly there is no antipathy of the blacks towards the whites, but rather the feelings of respect, deference, and affection ; and on the other hand, the prejudice of the whites against the blacks, is greatly on the decline. Although there is very little intermarriage between them, the distinctions of color arc already forgotten to a degree which we could not have anticipated. All are now on one political level; and the influence of each individual, whether black, brown, or white, is left to depend, as it ought to do, on its legitimate grounds-namely, property, talent, education, nnd character. As the negroes make progress in these elements of influence, their political power will of course increase ; but that power will be conservative, m1d not destructive. That the position of things which I have now described, as ex1stmg m the West Indies, is one of harmlessness lUld safety, ~annat reasonably be denied. Experience has already proved It to be so, to a considerable extent. Nor can I perceive a single sound reason, why it should be otherwise, were it tried in the slave states of your own union. |