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Show 46 m~sroTtsl'lt: But there arc1 cases when force and terror cannot he employed, or fail to .answer the pnr~~sc, and where stratagem is ncccssanly resorted to: 1 he most co.mmon of these cases, are the detectiOn and prevention of theft and the recovery of runaways. Upon' these occa~ions, t.hc most res~cctahle and religious masters do not hes1tate to desccud to every petty art of fraud and falsehood. '!'hey have lmed sp1cs and informers among the slaves; they blac~wn thc1r own faces, and lurk in disgnisc t~bou~ the cahms, peeping through the cracks, and .llstenm.g at the doors. '!'hey lure the fugitives back mto the1r power, by the most ample promises of pardon, wh1ch they break w1th as little hesitation as they make them. Not uncommonly they attempt to take advantage of the superstitions ignorance of the slaves, and prctc~1d to r:wgJCal and supernatural powers, in hopes of fnghtenmg the culprit into confession. They exult over the S11cccss of these fraudulent arts· and in all transactiOns w1th their slaves, their total ~vant of respect for their own word has given ample occasion for the proverb common among the unprivileged class, wluch dcscnbcs white men as "mighty uncertain." . Of the three principal means above enumc.ratcd, and briefly explained, upon which the sustentatiOn of the slave-master's empire depends, it is evident tha~ ~he first involves the second; for the surcs~ \Vay of stnkmg a deep terror into the heart is, to pnmsh ev.cry trans~ gression with a stern and unrelenting seventy. . It accordingly happens that those who act upon !Ius plan not only have the least trouble npon thmr plantations, but arc often comparatively popular, sot? speak, with their servants. 'rhe certainty of pumsl~m~nl greatly diminishes the necessity of its frequent mfliCtion. 11he slaves know exactly what to expect; how far they can go; and what is the limit th~r cannot safely transgress. If the rule is an iron one, It IS never~ thelcss steady and sure. It docs not partake of that uncertainty, which besides being a dangerous tcn~pta· tion, is in itself one of the greatest of evils. Slaves TN Al\mTUCA. 47 are like other men; and in general, they far prefer to take a pnmshment, and have 1t over, to being perpetually scolded, threatened, cursed and stormed at, even though there may be hope that the storm will end in words, a~d pass over without raining hlows. .But th1s r~gu~ar an~ .systematic discipline, resembling the despotic preCISIOn of a well drilled army is to be found only upon a very few plantations. Most masters and most oyerse~rs arc too negligent, or too good humored for thctr bus mess, or else arc ignorant of the real nature, and only sure support of the authority they exercise. 'rhey overlook some offences because they do not want the trouble of punishment; some they permit to go unnotiCed, becanse they hate to floO' a woman, or a child; some allowances they make 0for the petulance of old age, or the hot temper of youth. But every liberty that goes unpunished is made a pretence for yet greater lib~rties; the ~laves, always eager and ~vatch.ful to regam any part1cle of freedom, perceive In ~n mstant, and with unerring sagacity, every indicat~ on of weaJi::ness, or want of vigor on the part of thCir master; they artfully break, now this link and now that, fron~ their chains; till at length, begir:ning to feel somethmg of the spirit of liberty their "insolence," to use. the master's phrase, heco~cs intolerable, and wakmg from his dream of indulgence and good nature, thell' despot IS obliged to vindicate his authonty, and to repress the. licentiousness of !Jis slaves, by a sudden outbreak of. vwlencc and cruelty, which, ~Jowevcr he mayexcuse 1t by the plea of necessity, he d~nnot thmk of, ~n h1s sober moments, without some ISagreeable feelmgs of self-condemnation tio'!'hus it is that the greater part of Soutl~ern plan ta-ns arc the scenes of a constant strugO'le · idleness encr?achments, a passive resistance np~n 'one side~ negdhgencc and yielding first, then passion violenc~ an cruelty upon the other. ' |