Page:The African Slave Trade (Clark).djvu/44

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THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.

an unwritten history of the superstitions and cruelties of Africa, known only to the unfortunate sufferers, and to God, " whose justice can not always sleep."

But we need not be understood as arguing that all the evils existing in Africa are caused by the slave trade. Heathenism has done its work there, as well as in other benighted nations, and slavery existed among the people long before the slave trade was opened. In some parts of the continent it is in a mild form; in others it is as severe as in some of our Southern States. The privileges of the masters to abuse their slaves, without redress, are very similar in both countries.[1]

But it is the opinion of missionaries who have labored in Africa, that the misery of the people has

  1. "The master may, at his discretion, inflict any species of punishment upon the person of his slave." — Stroud., p. 35.

    Even for the murder of a slave, the murderer, in several States, is subject only to a fine; and if the slave die under moderate correction, the master is fully acquitted! A law was passed to this effect, in North Carolina, in 1798. It closes thus: "Provided always, this act shall not extend to a person killing a slave outlawed, &c., or to any slave in the act of resistance to his lawful owner, or to any slave dying under moderate correction."

    "A slave is one who is in the power of his master to whom he belongs. The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, and his labor. He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire any thing but what belongs to his master." — Civil Code of Louisiana

    "The condition of slaves in this country is analogous to that of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and not that of the feudal times. They are generally considered not as persons but as things. They can be sold or transferred, as goods or personal estate; they are held to be pro nullis, pro mortuis. By the civil law, slaves could not take property by descent or purchase; and I apprehend this to be the law of this country." — Dess. Rep. IV. 266. South Carolina.