422
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
and six ~onths after the publication of this constitution, the intro- duction of Slaves shall not be permitted under any pretext. The constitution was published in may 1827. Since then the legisla- tur~ has passed a law guaranteeing contracts, (not contrary to the laws of this state) made in :foreign countries, so as to permit fam- ilies to bring the necessary and indispensable house servants and labourers. This provision will be highly useful to the country without the least danger of doing any harm for no one will be willing to risk a large capital in negroes under contracts with them, for they are free on their arrival here, and can only be held to labour by contracts, as servants are all over this nation, and in other free countries. In the commencement of this settlement, I was in favour of the limited admission of sl!1,ves- My reasons were, the difficulty of pro- curing hands in the beginning for the necessary purposes of farming, and the necessity of holding out inducements that slaves might be brought, in order to give the settlement a start, and to draw emigra- tion, a truly difficult thing to do at that time. It was an up-hill business to get a settlement under way by any means, in the midst of an entire wilderness infested with hostile indians. The reasons for a partial toleration of this evil, have now ceased, and the true pros- perity and happiness of Texas require; that an everlasting bar should be interposed to the farther introduction of slaves. Those already in the country, are to be slaves for life, unless purchased by govern- ment, and freed in that way. This is just-for the law permitted their introduction. Their descendants are, of course, free- Meas- ures have been taken to exclude free nearoes and ~fullatoes, not in- dented servants; so that there is no da~ger o-f being crowded with that class, which is probably a worse nuisance than slaves. I cannot believe that any reflecting man, either in Texas or out of it, can seriously wish that slavery should be entailed upon this country.- To those who do not reflect, I would say, "take your pen-put down the nwnber of slaves now in the slave states-calculate their increase for eighty years at the known ratio of augmentation- Cal- culate the extent of country to which they are, and must be confined, and its capacity to support human beings- Then calculate the number of white population and their increase-deduct from said increase, the emigration of whites to other countries; (no such deduc- tion can be made from the increase of blacks, for they cannot emi-. grate,) compare the two sums, and then suppose that you will be alive at the period above mentioned, that you have a long-cherished and beloved wife, a number ~f daughters, grand daughters, and great grand daughters;-would no fears for their fate, a horrible fat.e; intrude themselves upon your pillow, and overcloud the evening of your life 1 "-
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