Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 06 (of 20)Sumner, Charles
History
Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 06 (of 20)
Sumner, Charles
Slavery -- United States; Speeches, addresses, etc., American
The _Post-Office_, which is the agent not only of commerce, but of
civilization, joins in the uniform testimony. According to the tables
for 1859, the postage collected in the Free States was $5,581,749,
and the expense of carrying the mails $6,945,545, leaving a deficit
of $1,363,796. In the Slave States the amount collected was only
$1,936,167, and the expense of carrying the mails $5,947,076, leaving
the enormous deficit of $4,010,909,--the difference between the two
deficits being $2,647,113. The Slave States did not pay one third of
the expense in transporting their own mails; and not a single Slave
State paid for transporting its own mails, not even the small State of
Delaware. Massachusetts, besides paying for hers, had a surplus larger
by one half than the whole amount collected in South Carolina.
According to the census of 1850, the value of _churches_ in the Free
States was $66,177,586; in the Slave States, $20,683,265.
The _voluntary charity_ contributed in 1855, for certain leading
purposes of Christian benevolence, was, in the Free States, $955,511;
for the same purposes in the Slave States, $193,885. For the Bible
cause the Free States contributed $321,365; the Slave States, $67,226.
For the Missionary cause the former contributed $502,174; and the
latter, $101,934. For the Tract Society the former contributed
$131,972; and the latter, $24,725. The amount contributed for Missions
by Massachusetts was greater than that contributed by all the Slave
States, and more than eight times that contributed by South Carolina.
Nor have the Free States been backward in charity for the benefit of
the Slave States. The records of Massachusetts show that as long ago
as 1781, at the beginning of the Government, there was a contribution
throughout the Commonwealth, under the particular direction of that
eminent patriot, Samuel Adams, for the relief of inhabitants of South
Carolina and Georgia.[49] In 1855 we were saddened by the prevalence
of yellow fever in Portsmouth, Virginia; and now, from a report of the
Relief Committee of that place, we learn that the amount of charity
contributed by the Slave States, exclusive of Virginia, the afflicted
State, was $12,182; and including Virginia, it was $33,398; while
$42,547 was contributed by the Free States.
In all this array we see the fatal influence of Slavery. But its
Barbarism is yet more conspicuous, when we consider its _Educational
Establishments_, and the unhappy results naturally ensuing from their
imperfect character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account