In his book, "American Slavery as it is: Testimony of a thousand witnesses" William T. Weld, reserves the largest section of his book, to answer the myriad of false assurances given and demonstrated as to the necessity of kind treatment of slaves by southerners. His logic is impeccable, as well as his classical education, and knowledge of the bible, as well as well worn experience in dealing with all manner of debate retorts of those who were pro-slavery.
His answer to these questions, answered one by one in his book, are witty, smart, cutting and to the point. Not for the faint of heart, but also, nourishing to the didactic mind.
Mr. Weld answers the above question below:
So it is for the interest of the drunkard to quit his cups; for the glutton to curb his appetite; for the debauchee to bridle his lust; for the sluggard to be up betimes; for the spendthrift to be economical, and for all sinners to stop sinning. Even if it were for the interest of masters to treat their slaves well, he must be novice who thinks that a proof that the slaves are well treated. the whole history of man is a record of real interests sacrificed to present ratification. if all men's actions were consistent with their best interests, folly and sin would be words without meaning.
If the objector means that it is for the pecuniary interests of masters to treat their slaves well, and thence infers their good treatment, we reply that though the love of money is strong, yet appetite and lust, pride, anger, and revenge, the love of power and honor, are each an overmatch for it; and when either of them is roused by a sudden stimulant, the love of money is worsted in the grapple with it. look at the hourly lavish outlays of money to procure a momentary gratification for those passions and appetites,. as the desire for money is, in the main, merely a desire for the means of gratifying other desires, or rather for one of the means, it must be the servant and not the sovereign of those desires, to whose gratification its only use is to minister. but even if the love of money were the stronger human passion, who is simple enough to believe that it is all the time so powerfully excited, that no other passion or appetite can get the mastery over it? who does not know that gusts of rage, revenge, jealousy and lust drive it before them as a tempest tosses a feather?
...In respect to large classes of slaves, it is for the interest of their masters to treat them with barbarous inhumanity. (or to even hasten their death)
1. Old slaves. It would be the interest of the master to turn them out.
2. Worn out slaves. It would be economical for masters to starve or flog such to death.
3. The incurably diseased and maimed. In such cases it would be cheaper for masters to buy poison than medicine.
4. The blind, lunatics, and idiots. It would be for his interest to shorten their days.
5. The deaf and dumb, and persons greatly deformed. Many of them would be a burden, and few men carry burdens when they can throw them off.
6. Feeble infants. ...it would be for the interest of the masters, throughout that region, to have all the new-born children left to perish.
7. Incorrigible slaves. It is for the interest of the masters (at least they believe it to be) to put upon such slaves iron collars and chains, to brand and crop them; to disfigure, lacerate, starve and torture them--in a word, to inflict upon them such vengeance as shall strike terror into the other slaves.
8. Runaways. It is for the interest of the mater to make an example of him, by the greatest privations and inflictions.
9. Hired slaves. It is for the interest of those that hire such slaves, to get as much work out of them as they can.
10. Slaves under overseers whose wages are proportioned to the crop which they raise.
There are in addition, a number of conditions, which also reduce the pecuniary inducement to treat slaves "well"
1. the early market
2. changes in the market
3. high prices
4. untimely seasons
5. periodical pressure of certain kinds of labor
6. times of scarcity
7. the raising of crops for exportation
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