DECREASE OF SLAVES IN MISSOURI.––A late number of the St. Louis Christian Advocate, in referring to the change that is constantly going on in Missouri as regards the relative proportion between the white and colored population, says that scarcely a week passes away without witnessing the emigration of hundreds of slaves to the South.
One of the causes set down for this emigration, or driving, rather, of slaves to the South, is a general conviction that white labor is more profitable in Missouri than slave labor.
Another cause mentioned by the Advocate, for the decrease of slaves, is the insecurity of that species of property. The stampedes of slaves are of frequently occurrence. The St. Louis papers are filled with advertisements of runaway slaves, with accompanying rewards for their recovery.
The Advocate points to the deep, firm, settled, and absolute conviction that Missouri is speedily destined to be a free State, as the most potent cause of the rapid decrease of slaves.
"Domestic Summary - Decrease of Slaves in Missouri," Washington (DC) National Era, February 24, 1859, p. 3