if he chooses, surrender the offending slave to the legal authorities; but supposing that he does, the punishment is the same; he is simply whipped and sent back to his master.  The crime may be theft, destruction of property, assault and battery; it matters but little what, if we except murder, rape and arson, the punishment is whipping; whether inflicted by the master or the legal authorities.  Thus, we see, that the punishment of slaves is much more lenient, than the punishment of free white men for similar crimes.  Hence, slaves escape punishment under circumstances, and for crimes, for which white men would be severely punished.  Slaves are viewed, for certain reasons, to some extent, as irresponsible beings.  “Oh! he is a poor negro, and knows no better,” is an expression common in the South.  The crimes of free negroes in the slave States, unless they are of the most flagrant kind, are seldom punished.  I have known repeated instances, where stolen goods were found in their possession, and they were suffered to escape unpunished; no one appearing willing to enforce the law against them.  On the contrary, their crimes were winked at and tolerated, for the reason that they were considered a poor, unfortunate, depraved and ignorant class.

Transportation of slaves from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, to the extreme Southern States, as a punishment for crime, is not an unfrequent occurrence.  I believe that in most cases, where families have been separated, it has been in consequence of vile conduct on the part of slaves.  Much of the selling of negroes to traders—­the parting of wives and husbands, parents and children, which we hear and read of in Northern publications, had its origin in crime on the part of the slaves.  They are frequently transported for crimes which would hang a white man; or otherwise confine him in the penitentiary for a series of years, or for life time.  Negroes are frequently whipped and then transported to the extreme Southern States for murder; and that too, under circumstances, where the crime is one of a very aggravated character; for premeditated murder—­murder committed with malice prepense.  But in the eyes of abolitionists, it is dreadful to whip a slave for so small an offense; and yet they would stand by, and with exquisite pleasure see a white man hanged for the same crime.  Kind souls! what a pity that white men could not come in for a share of their sympathies; but they have none for them; it is all for the woolly heads.  But really, I should like to know what becomes of their sympathies, when some poor free negro is taken sick in their midst, and starves, and dies, and rots in his filth!  Ah! don’t touch my purse.  No, by no means!  We all know that it won’t do to touch your purses.  Your sympathies never leak out in that way.  You are too shrewd for that.  Fie!  Fie! it is all wind, and it costs you but little to blow it out.