Read it through once

Much has been said, and much has been written about the harsh and cruel treatment of Southern slaves; but there is a vast deal of error and misconception among those unacquainted with the facts, and too much misrepresentation among those, who are, or ought to be better informed. The Southern slave is not amenable to the civil laws for his conduct, except in a qualified sense, and under certain circumstances. He is accountable to his master, and his master is amenable to the civil laws. If suit is instituted for damages, in consequence of depredations committed by a slave, it is brought against the master, and not against the slave. Hence, when a slave is guilty of a misdemeanor, the authority to punish is vested in the master, and not in the legal authorities. I do not pretend to say, that this is the exact letter of the law, but this I know, by common consent, is the practice in the South. The right to punish being vested in the master, he inflicts the punishment in his own way, and to some extent, at his own discretion. The master is judge, juror, and executioner. Whipping is the ordinary punishment inflicted on slaves for crime. Whether it is the punishment most likely to deter them from the commission of it, I know not; but I think it is probable, that under the circumstances, they can find no punishment better adapted to the proposed object. Be it as it may; custom has decided that it shall be the punishment of the slave. Theft is the most common crime among slaves, and for this they are whipped by their masters, and no further notice is taken of the crime. A slave is simply whipped for an offense, which would imprison a white man for several months, and then confine him in the State penitentiary for several years. The master may, 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.