My fellow Gentlemen, on the debate of whether or not it is moral to own slaves, the answer is simple. There are many plantations in the that need tending. With the decrease in the number of , the Southern economy demands that we have access to a strong, large workforce capable of cultivating the land. Negroes have proven quite valuable to the rice industry. They are subordinate to the white man and are well suited to plantation work and manual labor. What good would it do the Negro or the white man to issue the Negro freedom now?