The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4American Anti-Slavery Society
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The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4
American Anti-Slavery Society
Antislavery movements -- United States -- Periodicals; Slavery -- United States -- Periodicals
"The people of Alabama _export_ what they raise, and _import_ nearly
all they consume." But it seems quite unnecessary to prove, what all
persons of much intelligence well know, that the states mentioned
export the larger part of what they raise, and import the larger part
of what they consume. Now more than _one million of slaves_ are held
in those states, and parts of states, where provisions are mainly
imported, and consequently they are "_doomed to scarcity and hunger_."]
Now let us make some estimate of the proportion which the slaves,
included in the foregoing _nine classes_, sustain to the whole number,
and then of the proportion affected by the operation of the _seven_
causes just enumerated.
It would be nearly impossible to form an estimate of the proportion of
the slaves included in a number of these classes, such as the old, the
worn out, the incurably diseased, maimed and deformed, idiots, feeble
infants, incorrigible slaves, &c. More or less of this description are
to be found on all the considerable plantations, and often, many on
the same plantation; though we have no accurate data for an estimate,
the proportion cannot be less than one in twenty-five of the whole
number of slaves, which would give a total of more than _one hundred
thousand_. Of some of the remaining classes we have data for a pretty
accurate estimate.
1st. _Lunatics_.--Various estimates have been made, founded upon the
data procured by actual investigation, prosecuted under the direction
of the Legislatures of different States; but the returns have been so
imperfect and erroneous, that little reliance can be placed upon them.
The Legislature of New Hampshire recently ordered investigations to be
made in every town in the state, and the number of insane persons to
be reported. A committee of the legislature, who had the subject in
charge say, in their report--"From many towns no returns have been
received, from others the accounts are erroneous, there being cases
_known to the committee_ which escaped the notice of the 'selectmen.'
The actual number of insane persons is therefore much larger than
appears by the documents submitted to the committee." The Medical
Society of Connecticut appointed a committee of their number, composed
of some of the most eminent physicians in the state, to ascertain and
report the whole number of insane persons in that state. The committee
say, in their report, "The number of towns from which returns have
been received is seventy, and the cases of insanity which have been
noticed in them are five hundred and ten." The committee add, "fifty
more towns remain to be heard from, and if insanity should be found
equally prevalent in them, the entire number will scarcely fall short
of _one thousand_ in the state." This investigation was made in 1821,
when the population of the state was less than two hundred and eighty
thousand. If the estimate of the Medical Society be correct, the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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