uch support incurred. One of the ablest
lawyers of the State, Benjamin Hardin, made the statement that "if it
were not for supporting my slaves, I would never go near a
courthouse."[282]

Rev. Stuart Robinson, speaking before the Kentucky Colonization
Society in 1849, gave another viewpoint of the economic value of the
slave. "The increase of slaves in Kentucky," said he, "has hardly
reached three thousand annually for eighteen years past. The increase
since 1840 has been 27,653--the increase for the year just closed
2,921. In twenty-six counties, embracing one fourth of the slave
population--some of them the largest slave-holding counties--there has
been an actual decrease in the last year of 881 slaves. In twelve
other counties the increase has been only twenty-three. There are ten
counties in the State, which contain one third of all the slave
population of Kentucky; in these ten counties, the increase of slaves
for five years past has been 2,728--an increase of less than one per
cent per annum. Nor is this slow increase of slavery to be attributed
to any stagnation or decline of public prosperity, for in the meantime
the state has been growing in population and wealth as heretofore.
During these five years the taxable property of the Commonwealth has
increased in value more than seventy-six millions. Now this decrease
of slaves while the other property of the commonwealth is increasing
must arise from one of three causes--and in either case the inference
is the same as to the fate of slavery in Kentucky. (1) Is it because
the climate is unhealthy to the African? If so then African labor
cannot continue. (2) Is it owing to emigration? Then something is
wrong in the system of labor, that causes the emigration of our
people--for no finer soil--no more desirable residence can be found in
the world. (3) Or is it owing to the domestic slave trade? Then for
some reason slave labor is less profitable here than elsewhere, and
must soon be given up."[283]

These figures quoted by the speaker on the slave population for year
by year are available in the auditor's tax books for the years 1840 to
1859:[284]

1840 164,817
1841 168,853
1842 171,035
1843 176,107
1844 178,837
1845 182,742
1846 185,582
1847 189,549
1848 192,470
1849 195,110
1850 196,847
1851 196,336
1852 200,867
1853