Page:Twelfth annual report of the Association for the Religious Instruction of the Negroes, in Liberty County, Georgia.djvu/17

17 to his Estate itself, and an improvement in health, character and efficiency in his people, which more than balances his outlay on their behalf. And what satisfaction can a man of liberality of feeling and of some reasonable resources take, in an old, dingy, broken down and decaying plantation? How little does such an establishment comport with the possession of means, or at any rate with ability within ones-self, to make it different? Solomon says, " There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." Prov. 11:24. The obvious meaning of the passage is, that a just and liberal return and appropriation of what we acquire, is the road to blessing and prosperity. And how frequently do we see Providence stepping in and taking away from men, the wealth which His mercy bestowed upon them, when they have failed to use it properly, especially in the way of making some suitable return to those through whose instrumentality it has been acquired? It is " mercy that rejoiceth against judgment."

A third cause, is a conviction that to attend to the physical condition and prosperity of the people is really a matter of interest.

Nothing can be more true. Health, cheerfulness of spirit, alacrity in labour, honesty of character, purity of morals and individual industry are promoted. The people have something to live for, something to hope for and something to enjoy. Their discipline and government is easier and more pleasant: their affection for their owner and their regard for one another and the general character and interest of the plantation, are increased. We behold a consequent improvement in their circumstances, and a great er elevation of character. All this advances the value of an estate. Candid men see it and acknowledge it.

The difference that we discover between estates where the physical improvement of the people is attended to, and others where it is not, is marked indeed. We discover a difference in the general health of the old and the young: in the natural increase of the people: in their dress, industry, condition of their houses and yards, attachment to their owners, fidelity in labour, honesty in con duct, interest in religion and many other particulars. —The actual expense of a plantation upon which the people are neglected, one year with another, is greater than that of a plantation upon which a different system of treatment is pursued ; for the waste is great er in labour, health and life. Indifference, carelessness, exposurs