Now it is plainly for the interest of the “owners” of these slaves, or of those who have the charge of them, to treat than cruelly, to overwork, under-feed, half-clothe, half-shelter, poison, or kill outright, the aged, the broken down, the incurably diseased, idiots, feeble infants, most of the blind, some deaf and dumb, &c.  It is besides a part of the slave-holder’s creed, that it is for his interest to treat with terrible severity, all runaways and the incorrigibly stubborn, thievish, lazy, &c.; also for those who hire slaves, to overwork them; also for overseers to overwork the slaves under them, when their own wages are increased by it.

We have thus shown that it would be “for the interest,” of masters and overseers to treat with habitual cruelty more than one million of the slaves in the United States.  But this is not all; as we have said already, it is for the interest of overseers generally, whether their wages are proportioned to the crop or not, to overwork the slaves; we need not repeat the reasons.

Neither is it necessary to re-state the arguments, going to show that it is for the interest of slaveholders, who cultivate the great southern staples, especially cotton, and the sugarcane, to overwork periodically all their slaves, and habitually the majority of them, when the demand for those staples creates high prices, as has been the case with cotton for many years, with little exception.  Instead of entering into a labored estimate to get at the proportion of the slaves, affected by the operation of these and the other causes enumerated, we may say, that they operate directly on the “field hands,” employed in raising the southern staples, and indirectly upon all classes of the slaves.

Finally, the conclude this head by turning the objector’s negative proposition into an affirmative one, and state formally what has been already proved.

It is for the interest of shareholders, upon their own principles, and by their own showing, TO TREAT CRUELLY the great body of their slaves.

Objection VI.—­THE FACT THAT THE SLAVES MULTIPLY SO RAPIDLY PROVES THAT THEY ARE NOT INHUMANELY TREATED, BUT ARE IN A COMFORTABLE CONDITION

To this we reply in brief, 1st.  It has been already shown under a previous head, that, in considerable sections of the slave states, especially in the South West, the births among slaves are fewer than the deaths, which would exhibit a fearful decrease of the slave population in those sections, if the deficiency were not made up by the slave trade from the upper country.

2d.  The fact that all children born of slave mothers, whether their fathers are whites or free colored persons, are included in the census with the slaves, and further that all children born of white mothers, whose fathers are mulattos or blacks, are also included in the census with colored persons and almost invariably with slaves, shows that it is impossible to ascertain with any accuracy, what is the actual increase of the slaves alone.