ADDRESS
TO THE
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
TOGETHER WITH THE
PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS
OF THE
PRO-SLAVERY CONVENTION
OF MISSOURI,
HELD AT LEXINGTON,
JULY, 1855.
ST. LOUIS, MO.
PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN OFFICE.
1855.
ADDRESS.
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
We have been appointed by a Convention of citizens of Missouri,mainly representing that portion of the State lying contiguousto the Territory of Kansas, to lay before you somesuggestions, upon a topic which vitally concerns our State, andwhich, it is believed, may to a serious extent affect the generalwelfare of our country.
We propose to discharge this duty by a concise and candid expositionof facts, touching our condition, and its bearing uponKansas, accompanied with such reflections as the facts naturallysuggest.
That portion of Missouri which borders on Kansas contains,as nearly as can now be ascertained, a population of fifty thousandslaves, and their estimated value, at the prices prevailinghere, is about twenty-five millions of dollars. As the wholeState contains but about one hundred thousand slaves, it will beseen that one-half of the entire slave population of Missouri islocated in the eighteen counties bordering on Kansas, the greaterportion of which is separated from that Territory by no naturalboundary, and is within a day's ride of the line. This partof our State is distinguished by an uniform fertility of soil, atemperate and healthful climate, and a population progressingrapidly in all the elements that constitute a prosperous community.Agriculture is in a most flourishing condition, and thetowns and villages which have sprung up, indicate a steady progresstowards wealth, refinement and commercial importance. Norhave the higher interests of education, religion and science, beenneglected; but common schools, and respectable institutions of ahigher grade, and churches of every Christian denomination, arefound in every county. The great staple of this district is hemp,although tobacco, and corn, and wheat are also largely produced.The culture of hemp has been found profitable,—more so thancotton in the South; and this fact, with the additional ones, that[pg 4]almost every foot of land within the counties alluded to, is wonderfullyadapted by nature to its production, in greater quantities,and finer qualities, and at smaller cost, than in any other Statein the Union, and that the climate is such as to permit the growersof this article to reside on their estates, will readily explainand account for the unexampled growth of the country. Alreadyit constitutes the most densely populated portion of our State,and its remarkable fertility of soil, and general salubrity of climate,with the facilities for outlet furnished by a noble river,running through its midst, and two great railroads, destined soonto traverse its upper and lower border, will render it at no distantperiod, if left undisturbed, as desirable and flourishing a districtas can be found in the Mississippi Valley.
An idea has to some extent prevailed abroad, that Missouricontained but a very small slave population, and that the permanenceof this institution here was threatened by the existence ofat least a respectable minority of her citizens, ready and anxiousto abolish it, and that only a slight external pressure was necessaryto accomplish this purpose. We regret that this opinion hasto some extent received countenance from the