From such appeal two things must ensue. First, the slaves will be encouraged in loyalty; and, secondly, the masters will be discouraged in disloyalty. Slave labor, which is the mainspring and nursery of Rebel supplies, without which the Rebellion must starve, will be disorganized, while a panic spreads among slave-masters absent from their homes. The most audacious Rebels will lose their audacity, and, instead of hurrying forward to deal parricidal blows at their country, will hurry backward to defend their own firesides. The Rebellion will lose its power. It will be hamstrung. That such a panic would ensue is attested by the confession of the South Carolina delegation in the old Continental Congress, as appears by its Secret Journal, under date of 29th March, 1779, that this State was “_unable_ to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent insurrections among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them to the enemy.”[128] It is attested, also, by the concurring testimony of Southern men in other days, especially in those remarkable words of John Randolph: “The night-bell never tolls for fire in Richmond that the frightened mother does not hug her infant the more closely to her bosom, not knowing what may have happened.”[129] It is attested also by the actual condition of things when John Brown entered Virginia, as pictured in familiar words:-- “He captured Harper’s Ferry With his nineteen men so few, And he frightened Old Virginny Till she trembled through and through.” Asserting the efficacy of this appeal, I ground myself on no visionary theories or vain hopes, but on the nature of man and authentic history. To doubt its efficacy is to doubt that man is man, with a constant desire for liberty as for life, and it is also to doubt the unquestionable instances in our own history where this desire has been displayed by African slaves. That a government exposed to the assaults of a merciless barbarian foe should so long reject this irresistible alliance is among questions to excite the astonishment of future ages. * * * * * What, then, are the reasons alleged against this appeal? They all resolve themselves into objections of fact. The President, by his Proclamation, has already answered them practically; but I will take them up in detail.