ABSTRACT
In the State of Illinois the price of labour is far above what may be re garded as its natural standard; for the wages of one day will support the labourer for several days. The causes of this are, the plenty and cheap ness of land and provision, and the scarcity of labourers. A man readily earns enough money to purchase a small farm, and naturally prefers the condition of a farmer to that of a day labourer. From this cause it arises that more land than can be tilled by the farmer and his children is an in cumbrance, or at least useless to him. The owner of large tracts may find it difficult to procure free labourers; and to him, in this state of affairs, the labour of Slaves may possibly be cheaper than that of Free Men. But the prosperity of this individual does not necessarily increase that of the State. The real value of labour is the same in this as in all other cases;
9 The Injurious Effects of Slave Labour: An Impartial Appeal to the Rea son, Justice, and Patriotism of the People of Illinois . . . (London, 1824), 8-9.
