liberty. It depends wholly on the virtue and intelligence of
individuals, and nations, as to whether liberty or servitude will
conduce to their happiness and general welfare. We have no doubt, that
the condition of the Mexican Republic would be greatly bettered at
this time, by placing over them, a humane and politic king. Whoever is
incompetent to take care of himself, is fortunate indeed, when he
finds a competent individual, who, will perform that office for him.
Show me a nation who are so debased by vice and ignorance, that they
are incapable of self-government, and you show me a nation who ought
to be ruled by a king or an emperor. Show me an individual, who is
incompetent to provide for, and take care of himself, and you show me
an individual whose happiness would be augmented by subjecting him to
a humane man. Abolitionists, propagandists, and filibusters, would do
well to bear these facts in mind. Servitude is sometimes a grievous
calamity to the unfortunate slave, for the cruelty and brutality of
some masters, better entitle them to the appellation of demons than
men. There are, and ever have been, and ever will be such, but I am
happy to believe, that there are comparatively few such monsters among
the slaveholders at the present time. I am well aware that but few
masters, in the treatment of their slaves, have complied with the
requisitions of Divine revelation, but cruelty to slaves is by no
means common among slaveholders at the present time.

I have said that I regarded the evils of slavery as falling most
heavily on the slaveholders; in other words, on the white population.
Slavery begets idleness; idleness begets vice; and vice plunges
individuals into-wretchedness, degradation and infamy. In some of the
slave States, the slaves perform most of the labor, consequently
children are brought up in idleness. The inevitable consequence is,
that a large majority of them, long before they arrive to adult age,