Read it through once

If slave labor had been profitable in the North, Northern men would have remained in possession of their slaves to the present day. No one, I suppose, doubts it, and it is a good and sufficient reason why they should be a little more modest in their denunciation of their Southern brethren. Slavery is perpetuated by selfishness. Northern men, to say the least, are as selfish as Southern men; and it would require nothing, but a change of location, to make them as oppressive task-masters. Where there is most selfishness, there we will find most oppression; provided, that surrounding circumstances are favorable. Most men, in this world, consult their own pecuniary interests. If they are enhanced by African slavery, African slaves they will have, provided they can get them; but if they cannot get African slaves, they will make slaves of unfortunate and ignorant individuals of their own color. It is the same dominant principle the world over. The Northern man with his leagues of land, surrounded by ignorant, indigent and impoverished families, is virtually a slaveholder. He gets all their labor, and what do they receive in return? A bare subsistence. Southern slaves get that. These tenants spend their lives in laboring for their landlords, and receive in return, barely a sufficiency of coarse food and coarse clothing, to keep soul and body together through a protracted and miserable existence; the condition of many of them being worse than that of a majority of Southern slaves. Most of operatives who live on their daily wages, do nothing more than earn their victuals and clothes, and slaves are generally as well clothed, and better fed than they are. It is clear to my mind, that a majority of slaves are better compensated for their labor, than the poorer class of people, North or South. I base this conclusion on the fact, that neither the one, nor the other, receive any thing more than their victuals and clothes, and the slave is better fed, and better clothed than the poor white man. This is neither a far-fetched conclusion, nor yet an exaggeration. It is literally true. I repeat, that the slaves of the South are generally better provided for, than the generality of the tenantry, North or South. Hence, the slave is better paid for his labor than the white man, under these circumstances, slaves are also exempt from those corroding cares, perplexities and anxieties, which embitter the lives of the poorer class of white people. He has but to finish his task, and eat and sleep; the cares of the family devolve on master and mistress. The storms of adversity, the losses and crosses incident to all families, pass over his humble hut. The poor white man has bread and meat to-day, but God only knows from whence it will come to-morrow. Not so with the slave, he knows well from whence his bread and meat is to come "for the morrow." Master is bound to make provision for him, and he feels no concern about the matter. "He takes no thought for the morrow." Well, but says one, the white man has liberty, poor as he may be. He can work to-day, and forbear to-morrow, if it suits his ease, convenience, or inclination. Very true, and the misfortune is, that he too often works to-day, and gets drunk to-morrow; or, otherwise, squanders away his time foolishly. Indigence and ignorance subject men to oppression in all countries, and under all circumstances, it matters not whether you call them slaves or freemen. There is oppression and injustice everywhere. It originates in the supreme selfishness of our natures--our self-love. It was the original design of Christianity to eradicate this principle from the human heart. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." This is the language of the author of our religion. The great apostle had direct reference to the selfishness of our hearts when he said, "the love of money is the root of all evil." While selfishness is the dominant principle of our hearts, we can neither love God, nor yet our neighbor. The Holy spirit can never enter our hearts, while this principle reigns supreme within. He has been trying to expel the monster from the hearts of the human family, for nearly two thousand years; but as yet he has accomplished his object but partially. He pleads for entrance, but too often pleads in vain. We must relinquish our self-love, before we can love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves.