Fiat Justitia Ruat Coelum. swear to God to subject youself to the Constitution of the state of Coahuila and Texas and the general laws of the state and nation which you have adopt acres, and his choice of any unlocated land, on his paying the following fees, viz: To the Emprendedor for the admission and attending to the business of the colonist, $50; Stamp paper title $12; Commissioners fees, $15; Surveying, $49; Government fees payable in 4, 5 and 6 years, $34; making $159. A widow with children is entitled to the same as a married man; and a single man, and a single woman with parents, on paying $105,50 for 1111 acres, and on marriage of a man, he can draw 3333 more; but no man can get more than a league, unless by a special act of the government. In Austin's upper colony, North Americans are excluded, but it is expected the present congress will repeal that odious law. for the introduction of similar and still more important experiments within our own borders. This is the grand desideratum at the present moment. It would furnish the strongest appeals to the hearted," if married, is entitled to a league, or 4444 and conscience of every philanthropist, by a practical refutation, before their own eyes, of the doctrines prolongated from the throne of hereditary despotism, (and believed by hundreds of thousands of our citizens,) that necessity requires the promulgation of the barbarous system in this republic. It would-as the same thing has done in England-produce an effect upon the public mind, even beyond the power of conception, and rouse the nation en masse. We should soon witness such an array of moral effort-such celerity of movement-such energy of action-among the advocates of reform, as the imagination cannot now portray. The pulpit, the forum, the hall of science, and the press, would teem with sermons, orations, disquisitions, and publications. The As you say in your article, no title can be perirre-fected until after six years residence in the country; persons purchasing of those who have taken up lands, and are actual residents in the country, take an instrument called in Texas a title-bond, promising to give the purchaser a title when the vender receives his from government. Although the emigrant is not obliged to reside on the land taken out by him, yet he must in six years build a habitation and make some improvements, or his land will be forfeited. Hundreds have been imposed on by purchasing scrip from those who pretend to have grants from government, and have lost their money. No foreigner can hold lands in Texas; he must be an actual resident, and if a man of character, he can claim as above stated. I will add that Texas is settled principally by North Americans, and a convention is now sitting at St. Phillip de Austin, for the purpose of organizing a State Government. From information I have received from S. Williams, at the Land Of fice, Texas contains from 25 to 30,000 inhabitants, 5,000 of whom are native Mexicans. 'vox populi vox dei" would usher forth the vocable mandate, through the potent medium of the ballot box, that "slavery shall exist no longer." The horrible fabric would be speedily razed to its foundations; and the victims of its demoniac enclosures would "stand redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled, by the irresistable" influence of popular indignation and Divine Justice. Having now stated my views and sentiments, upon the subject to which I invited the notice of the Convention, as frankly and generally, yet compendiously, as the nature of the case will admit, it remains for me to say, that I am at present engaged in making further investigations relative thereto; and should it be agreeable to your body to receive more information, connected therewith, I will hold myself in readiness to communicate it, should any thing of importance come into my possession, at a future period. In conclusion, I hope to be excused, for troubling the Convention with this communication; and praying for the blessing of Heaven upon your important philanthropic efforts. I subscribe myself, your sincere friend and well wisher. From the Louisiana Advertiser. IMPORTANT TO EMIGRANTS TO TEXAS. "Caveat Emptor!" We received the subjoined letter from a most respectable source-from an American who is a citizen of the Mexican Union. It may save many unsuspecting persons from disappointment and loss. The gentlemen showed us one of the patents, nicely engraved, numbered, issued, and sold in New York (city) in 1830, for 25 leagues of land in Texas. It proved a bubble of course; and he has just forwarded the elegant script, but worthless scrip to the purchaser. SIR, I have observed an article in your paper respecting Texas. I feel it my duty to give you farther information respecting that interesting country, that those who design to emigrate thither may not be imposed on by sharpers. In the first place, I would advise no man to purchase any land in Texas unless through the medium of a confidential friend, without first seeing the land himself. According to the colonization laws of Texas every settler, on taking the following oath, viz. "You Austin's colony from 8 to 9,000. The manners and customs are similar to those in the western part of the United States. The laws for the col||lection of debts contracted by residents of Texas are severe; debts can be collected in half the time that they can be in the state of New York. The staple products of Texas are Cotton, Sugar, neat Cattle and Hogs. Texas contains every variety of soil. The climate is mild, and in the upper country they are free from mosquitoes, and other troublesome insects. The face of the country is gently waving, and the water good. About two thirds of the soil is rich prairies. The country is probably settling faster than any other porYours truly, tion of the Globe. A CITIZEN OF TEXAS. ANTI-SLAVERY MEETING IN LONDON. The following account of a great Anti-Slavery meeting, in London, on the first day of April last, is extracted from the New York Observer; and no person can read without emotions of the most conflicting character-exultation at the glorious triumph which must shortly be resounded over the death of British colonial slavery and humiliation at the scorn and contempt which all other nations feel towards us for our canting hypocrisy, and audacious crime of manstealing. Well may British Christians pour out their tremendous rebukes for our guilt-and their 'indignant expressions,' respecting our insulting mockery, and the Fiat Justitia Ruat Cœlum. enormities of slavery! May it be instantly 'frown- || cruelties are extensively practiced every day on ed from the face of the earth'!-Liberator. LONDON, April 6, 1833. I did not believe, nor even dream, till I attended a special meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society at Exeter Hall, that the extinction of slavery in all parts of the British empire was so near. But before the meeting had closed, when there was an occasional allusion to the slavery of the United States, and in one instance a tremendous rebuke for the apathy of our citizens on the great subject, as well as their inconsistency, my mortification was extreme; I could not endure the gaze of many eyes, which I knew were turned upon me, and I dropped my head and looked upon the floor for relief; wished myself away, out of sight and out of mind; and yet I would not have failed to be there for any thing. It was a great treat-a feast of fat things' to those who have any sympathy for the oppressed. It was half past 12 when I arrived, and the meeting was in progress. As I landed on the platform I met the eye of a friend, who beckoned, and gave me a standing position, squeezed among the crowd by himself. To my great surprise I found not only the platform, but the immense hall literally crammed. Mr. Buxton, M. P. and the leading advocate of slaves,-Dr. Lushington only being his equal in this kind of notoriety, was in the middle of a speech. Mr. Buxton is a sort of a giant in stature, nei. ther handsome nor graceful. He is an awkward speaker too, but he is a matter of fact man; and that in such a cause makes eloquence. He was dealing out facts in bundles, and some new facts. The sympathies of the great assembly were very high, and their cordial reception of the important things was occasionally boisterous. Mr. Buxton produced a new pamphlet, just published by an Englishman, whose business had led him to Jamaica, in 1832, and who had spent six weeks upon a plantation there. He went out with prejudices in favour of slave-holders; but the atrocities he witnessed in the barbarous treatment of slaves, and the information he obtained, had compelled his better feelings to disclose what he knew, on his return to England. Mr. Buxton began to read some of the statements; but they were insufferable; the audience could not endure them. No more! no more! no more!' was the universal clamor through the hall. "Where can the pamphlet be had? Who is the publisher?' was the next cry. 'Hatchard, Piccadilly,' was the answer by Mr. Buxton; and he laid the pamphlet on the table, and proceeded to comments, and to other considerations. It is a sublime sight to see such an assembly, the representatives of an empire, sympathizing so deeply and so powerfully for the oppressions of fellow beings. An old man, who stood near me, of about seventy years, well dressed, with a cocked hat upon his head, was so much affected by these statements, that he sat down, and wept like a child. His whole frame was so agitated, that he required the particular and anxious attentions of a young man, that appeared to be his son. our own soil. The heart of man revolts from the picture, weeping as much for the shame of those who inflict the sufferings, as for the agony of those who endure them. And all this to demonstrate the same unaltered course, since the late great excitement at Jamaica. Two separate committees of the House of Commons have been engaged for several months past in taking evidence on the subject of African slavery in the colonies, and infant slavery in the factories of Great Britain; and the developements of these examinations have roused the public mind on both topics, and urged the sentiments of the whole community to a crisis. You need not be surprised, if within six months it shall be announced to the world, that slavery is abolished from all the colonies of the British empire!-that within that period, the day of universal emancipation, in these limits, shall be fixed! And shall it be, that the British nation shall have done itself this honour, at a time when no one can see the end of slavery in the United States of America! I blushed-and blushed again, when I saw that such was likely to be the fact; and I can never cease to be ashamed! Ever since I have been in Great Britain, I have had more and more occasion to observe, that the virtue of this community on this subject is far in advance of the same feeling in my own country. And yet, there is the specific Declaration of the rights of man, staring upon us, and I had almost said, insulting the world, in the original charter, which asserted our independence! It is, at least, and so far, a mockery! I do not speak from the enthusiasm of the moment and of such a meeting; it was evidently the deliberate and firm conviction of all present, that the time had come for the emancipation of slaves throughout the British Colonies of the western world. The meeting was most respectable. Lord Suffield, who has been chairman of the committee of investigation for the House of Commons, was also chairman of this meeting; and there was a most respectable representation from both Houses of Parliament on the platform, many of whom took a part in the discussions. Take the whole assembly, a better representative of public opinion could not have been collected. Earl Fitzwilliam, lately succeeding to his father in the House of Lords, and to an immense estate, made a most decided and eloquent speech. His son, Lord Milton, M. P. emulated his father's example Lord Morpeth, M. P. was eloquent as an angel's tongue, and sustained by the loudest and most decided ap. plause I have ever heard in a like assembly. The Rev. Mr. Cunningham, author of "The Velvet Cushion,' Churchman, and the Rev. Mr. Burnett, Independant, were both characteristically eloquent and well sustained. The speakers were numerous and highly animated, and although it was five o'clock before the meeting closed, no one thought of being tired. The tide of public opinion might be seen, in this assembly, rolling onward with irresistable flood, never to ebb, till it shall have washed away the stain of slavery from the British name. It was a perfect demonstration of triumph; and no ministry of the crown can stand, that will not attend to the beating of this pulse, And yet all this appeared to be only a sober narrative of the common every-day routine of cruelties, inseparable from such a system of sla- Dr. Lushington was there. He is not an easy very as exists in the West India Islands; and, in-speaker; but he is an energetic one. I had a side deed almost wherever it is found. If the recent view of him, while he was addressing the audience, accounts of James Stuart, of slavery in our own and I can never forget the impression he made most Southern States are to be credited, the same upon me, when he delivered one of his most in Fiat Justitia Ruat Cœlum. amount to be fixed by a magistrate with reference to the actual cost of the legal provision. 8th. That every apprenticed labourer be bound to pay a portion, to be fixed, of his wages, half yearly, to an officer to be appointed by his Ma dignant expressions respecting the enormities of The following plan for the abolition of slavery in the British colonies appears to have been devised by the ministry. If adopted, it will ultimately put an end to slavery in the islands. But we do not believe it will receive the sanction of parliament; and we are sure it will not satisfy the nation. Something more speedy--more simple and efficacious, less complicated and difficult of execution, is demanded by the people of England. We have many objections to the plan proposed, but|| have not room now to go into particulars. Besides, it may not be necessary, being assured that it will not be adopted without modifications, which will change its character. But if nothing better could be obtained, we should rejoice to see any plan adopted which would abolish the present system even prospectively. On reading the proposed plan || to an intelligent coloured man, he observed, "It seems hard, even for good men to do complete justice to coloured people-much harder than to any other class of mankind." Who can doubt the force and truth of the remark? I. That every slave, upon the passing of this act, should be at liberty to claim, before the protector of slaves, custos of the parish, or such other officer as shall be named by his Majesty for that purpose, to be registered as an apprenticed laborer. II. That the terms of such apprenticeship should be 1st. That the power of corporal punishment should be altogether taken from the master, and transferred to the magistrate. 2d. That in consideration of food and clothing, and such allowances as are now made by law to the slave, the labourer should work for his master three-fourths of his time, leaving it to be settled by contract whether three-fourths of the week or of each day. 3d. That the labourer should have a right to claim employment of his master for the remaining one fourth of his time, according to a fixed scale of wages. 4th. That during such one fourth of his time, the labourer should be at liberty to employ himself elsewhere. 5th. That the master should fix a price upon the labourer at the time of his apprenticeship. 6th. That the wages to be paid by the master should bear such a proportion to the price fixed by him, that for the whole of his spare time, if given to the master, the negroe should receive I-12th of his price annually: and in proportion for each lesser term. 7th. That every negro, on becoming an apprentice, shall be entitled to a money-payment weekly, in lieu of food or clothing, should he prefer it; the 9th. That in default of such payment, the master to be liable, and, in return, may exact an equivalent amount of labour without payment in the succeeding half year. 10th. That every apprenticed negro, on payment of the price fixed by his master, or such portion of it as may from time to time remain due, be absolutely free. 11th. That every such apprentice may borrow the sum so required, and bind himself, by contract before a magistrate, for a limited period, as an apprenticed labourer to the lender. III. That a loan to the amount of 15,000,0001. sterling, be granted to the proprietors of West Indian estates and slaves, on such security as may be approved by commissioners appointed by the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury. different colonies, in a ratio compounded of the IV. That such loan be distributed among the number of slaves, and the amount of exports. V. That the half yearly payments hereinbefore authorised to be made by the apprenticed negroes to be taken in liquidation of so much of the debt contracted by the planter to the public. VI. That all children who at the time of the passing of this act shall be under the age of six years be free, and be maintained by their respective parents. VII. That in failure of such maintenance, they be deemed apprentices to the master of the parents, (without receiving wages,) the males till the age of 24, the females to the age of 20, at which periods respectively they and their children, if any, shall be absolutely free. VIII. That this act shall not prevent his Majesty from assenting to such acts as may be passed by the Colonial Legislatures for the promotion ble to all classes of the community. of industry or the prevention of vagrancy, applica IX. That upon the recommendation of the local legislatures, his Majesty will be prepared to recommend to Parliament, out of the revenues of this country, to grant such aid as may be deemed necessary for the due support of the administration of justice, of an efficient police establishment, and of a general system of religious and moral education. From the Louisville, Ky. Herald. PROSPECTS OF THE SLAVE STATES. My attention was forcibly arrested by some able remarks upon this momentous question by one of your correspondents on the 21st and 22nd inst. He seems to be master of the question, and I only regret that he did not say something of our own state. Happily, the time has come, when mild and candid discussion of this distressing question is permitted, nay, invited by the public sentiment. The writer, while strongly painting the past, the present, and future, fortunes of the slavestates, tells us, that 'Maryland, Virginia, the two Carolinas have become negro raising states, that they will remain such, so long as there is a demand from the cotton and sugar states-that when that demand stops, which must happen in a few Fiat Justitia Ruat Colum. years, from excessive numbers, from the fears of the whites,' that then, the remaining slaves will be a dead weight, useless and dangerous at home, commanding no price abroad. Of course, the inference which he would have us to draw is, that now is the time for those to make common cause with the Colonization Society, or take some other vigorous measures to rid themselves of this curse, before it has eaten out the life and strength of the whites, completely exhausted the land, and finished that work of ruin which is already so far matured. In short, slavery, in those states has been demonstrated to the conviction of the most blind and obstinate, to be unnecessary, unsuited to the climate and productions-that the introduction of free white labour can alone save them from utter decay, seems to be settled beyond dispute. evil in the face, and before it is too late, to drive it from the heart of the political body. Though blessed with a fruitful soil, with many natural advantages, yet they see and acknowledge that their lands have every year been growing poorer, that estates lessen in value every generation, that they are slowly, but certainly sinking in political importance, that if some remedy is not soon devised, the epitaph must be written upon the tomb of their vanished wealth and prosperity, 'the glory has departed.' They begin seriously to learn the great lesson which Providence has been teaching to the nations in ancient and modern times, that slavery must infallibly bring down social and political destruction, when long continued. Look at the Republics of Greece-one of the most powerful agents in distracting and overturning them was the frightful excess of slaves over freemen. So it was with Rome. Look at the West Indies, at some of the Provinces of South AmeriWhen first explored and settled, they seemto realize the pictures of Paradise. What are they now? Let the testimony of travellers, let impartial history, answer the question. ca. So it always has been, so it must continue, while the laws of our nature remain unaltered. Slavery is a forced, unnatural, diseased state, and that no safe, permanent, prosperity or improvement can exist where it dwells, is a fact, amply proved by the history of other nations, and we must add, by our own. Now, if this reasoning be sound, does it not apply with full force to Kentucky? That our climate is too hot for white labour, would be most absurd to assert, for we all know that black and white labourers are mingled together in every county.ed There is nothing, certainly, in our productions, to call for slave-labour; for, who does not know that hemp, tobacco, wheat and corn, which are our staples, are raised in countries, where slavery was never heard of. Kentucky, then, like Maryland and the other states mentioned, has begun to be, and will continue to be, a negro raising state; there is no preventing this tendency, it is the result of necessary causes. How many are yearly sent to the south now, I cannot say; but that the trade does exist, we all know. I myself, have seen within a month, two companies of twenty or thirty going thither. This state of things may continue, so long as a market for them remains below; but in a very few years, while they multiply so rapidly there, since the region where they are profitable is limited, since in some regions, they already far outnumber the whites, it is certain, that a complete embargo upon foreign blacks must soon be laid. At this moment, Mississippi and Louisiana have very severe laws against the bringing slaves there for sale, and the others must speedily follow her example. We know that some are smuggled in spite of the prohibition, but they must be few and the traffic must stop. Now, when this point is reached, what becomes of our slaves? They have done us grievous harm already, by hindering our growth, keeping us far behind our sister states, impoverishing our soil, corrupting our morals and manners. They do, and they must steadily increase, and unless a foreign market can be found for them, they must, like an array of locusts, after stripping|| bare the soil, prey one upon another, or turn fiercely upon the whites, who cannot supply their wants. We would not excite alarm, far less would we stir up angry feelings; but we believe that slavery in our state is unprofitable and ruinous, to say nothing of other objections; and as a question of political economy we assert, that it imposes upon us a heavy and constantly increasing tax, which must be taken off, or sooner or later beggary and decay must be our portion. It is madness to try to wink these things out of sight, it is folly to pretend to deny them. All experience and observation, the history and present condition of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, speak with a trumpet voice. The two former have already began to take measures to regenerate their sinking fortunes. The legislatures have shown a noble and patriotic purpose to look the monstrous It is true, that since Kentucky is so young a State, since the whites form so large a majority, the fatal consequences of the system are not so glaring and palpable. But the said deadly poison, though it is taken in smaller quantities, though it contends with a more robust and vigorous constitution, yet is still a poison, and must every year be spreading its ravages more widely and deeply. Why will not Kentucky rouse herself now? Why not take warning from older states, and early stop the pestilence, which has swept over them with its desolating waste? Every year's delay only aggravates the evil, and if nothing is done, when we are as old as they, the cure must be vastly more difficult, and the patient so exhausted as to be scarcely worth restoring. We have heard some rumors of a convention to amend the constitution, and hopes expressed that in that body, some measures would be taken, to rid us of slavery. O that I could make my appeal heard by every citizen, and rouse the public mind upon this mo mentous question. Look at our venerable mother, Virginia, and emulate her noble example. She, very lately, rose up in her strength, called together the combined wisdom of her citizens and reviewed and revised her constitution. She held a convention, and, we may confidently say, that she never performed an act so fitted to promote her prosperity, since she adopted the Federal Constitution." The debates on slavery then, and in the Legislature since, though not matured into any decisive measures of vast service to her, they have been the commencement of a struggle, which we hope and believe, will never cease, till the glorious result is gained, and a second, more genuine, happy independence secured. She shall yet realize the sublime fiction of rising again from her feeble state, and array herself in the garments of immortal prosperity, be. cause blessed with perfect liberty. Fiat Justitia Ruat Colum. Before concluding these extended remarks, (for when Kentucky, freed from every obstacle, relievwhose length the subject must form the apology)ed of every burden, shall advance, like a healthy let us glance at the condition of our State, and giant, with an elastic and bounding step upon the its prospects compared with those of our neigh-road to permanent, ever-growing prosperity and bours. Such a survey will show how fatal to the quietness. increase of wealth and population is our slavery. We confine ourselves to this argument, for we know the strength of such reasoning. It is, then, we maintain, against our best interests, to keep a single slave. Now, our population in 1830, was 688,844,-of this number 165,350, about one-fourth, are slaves. We know that there have been local causes, which have hindered our progress; but, making a liberal allowance for these, enough remains to be set down to the account of slavery, as destructive of our prosperity. During the last forty years, our population has increased ten-fold, only,-while that of Ohio has advanced three hundred fold-Indiana in only twenty years-half this time-has gained more than sixty-fold, Illinois, in the same period, has gained thirteen-fold-yet Tennessee, in thirty years, has increased but sixty-fold, and Missouri, in twenty years, has gained but seven-fold. Can any candid reflecting man in the face of such facts as these, for a moment doubt, that the great essential cause, why we are so far behind others, in the race of prosperity, is our slavery? Can any other possible explanation be imagined? Our history displays another fact, yet more gloomy, that the blacks increase in a greater ratio, than the whites. THE RICHMOND WHIG-" GAG LAWS." For some two years past, we were in hopes that the "Richmond Whig" had honestly taken up the cause of emancipation, and would contribute its extensive influence towards the promotion of that important object, in Virginia. But, of late, its tergiversations are too palpable, longer to deceive us; and we are again compelled to rank it with those who are merely striving for a fleeting popularity, without regarding the great and fundamental principles of universal justice and universal liberty. It would now seem that the only idea the editor of the Whig entertains, relative to the practical abolition of slavery, is the transportation of the coloured race to Africa!!! Having put down one slave insurrection, he is perfectly content to join hands with the advocates of slavery, and wait for another. That he may continue on the popular side, he must keep in with the African Coloniza tion Society; and, of course, every thing connect In 1800, the increase of the whole population for || ed with the melioration of the condition of the ten years, was 147,282-that of slaves 30,914|| "African race," must be denounced, and scouted, in 1810, in 1820, in 1830, 185,552 147,806 124,527 37,217 as visionary and impracticable, unless sanctioned 40,171 We would earnestly ask, will our citizens consent that this ruinous suicidal condition shall con 44,618 by that institution. Wishing to be viewed as among the boldest, in reprobating the measures of the "abolitionists," he speaks without the least. reserve, and considers it a "pity that every mother's son of them could not be gagged!"' Furious and frenzied, as he thus shows himself to be, we tell him that his foolish violence is poorly calculated to effect his wishes. "Gag-laws" were talked of, by the self-created aristocrats of this country, some twenty-five or thirty years ago; but the in lies taught the upstarts a useful lesson, and they will teach them another. They put them down once, and THEY WILL DO IT AGAIN. tinue? Are they prepared, in defiance of every warning, blindly to go on as they have done, and tread that downward road to poverty and weakness, from which the older States are desperately struggling to escape? Shall we see acted over again the scene of slow, but certain decay, which are spread over the once blooming and fertile hills and plains of Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas? Shall the time come when one of our Statesmen shall in his place in Congress draw such a mourn-dependent yeomanry of our native hills and valful picture of our prospects as was sketched by Mr. Randolph, three years ago, of his own proud State? If we would avert this awful catastrophe, there is but one course left us. We must promptly call a convention-we must arouse and enlight What this profound logician advances, to prove en the public mind-we must collect and spread the impracticability of colonizing in the Mexican the facts of our history, and with one heart, band ourselves together to banish from our borders, a country, is the mere raving of a political lunatic. great and growing political evil; more formidable The wildest "zealot" in our ranks reasons less than an invading army-more destructive than incoherently. It is evident that he knows little famine or pestilence-more paralyzing than wide- about the Texas country. It was fashionable for spread bankruptcy. Yes,-for the ravages of war may soon be repaired, the ranks of population, our slavite presses, until lately, to revile and abuse thinned, may be renewed, the powers of nature the coloured republicans of Hayti. Now, every may quickly diffuse smiling plenty among a one, who has the least regard for character and starving people. But what cure shall be found veracity, is cautious in what he says against them. for a poison which has come to ravage the political And the time is, perhaps, not far distant, when body, to palsy its lifeblood, to brutify the manners and morals, to spread decay and beggary through we shall be constrained to admit, that in consisevery vein and artery! I hope that eager inquiry, tency of political profession and practice,—in a that manly discussion may excite the attention, firm and rational advocacy of the genuine princiwhile the sympathies call forth the efforts of our citizens to take some early steps for the cure of ples of civil liberty-the Mexicans stand, confessso formidable an evil. May the time soon come" edly, our superiors. More on this subject anon. |