Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-02-12
THE FREE NEGROES.

THE FREE NEGROES. ~
10 the Editors of the Times:
Messrs. Editors-Even if it were perfectly
practicable to remove the free negroes from the
course of policy The first and most obvious
result would be, for Virginia to lose member
of Congress at the next census for every body
who has ever read the constitution of the United
States, knows that representation in the lower
House is based upon the whole free population,
without regard to colour, and three fifShs of the
slaves Under the new apportionment Virginia has
only thirteen members of Congress, and ifthose
patriotic gentlemen, who so ardently long for
the expulsion Of the free negro, could have seen
their dreams realised a year or two ago, she
would have only twelve: just two
more than she commenced her career with under
the federal constitution sixty-iive years ago.
Virginia. at that time, was the first State in the
confederacy, in point of political power. She is
now only the fourth and barely that. New York.
Pennsylvania, and Ohio sprung from her loius,
have shot far ahead of her, and little Massachu-
sets, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois
are treading close upon her heels behind. And
yet it is proposed, by expelling the free negroes
every soul Of whom counts one in the federal
representation, to take member of Congress from
Virginia and give him away to Ohio, Or some
other free State, to increase the abolition power
in double rato-lose one and give one.
This hue and cry which has been raised against
the free negroes is all the mere can't of selfish
demagogues, who think they may safely perse-
cute class who have no votes to protect them
selves. They hope to gain popularity by pan
derlng to a base and ungenerous prejudice, which
exists in the minds of some people against this
class of persons. The proper position of the ne
gro in this country, whether bond or free, is
that of a mental and peasant. Let him be
kept down to his proper level by precedent and
polite legislation, but todo this it is tnecessa-
ry to Danish the free negro from the State. Ma
ryIand has rs, 600 free blacks within her borders,
almost equal to the number of her slaves, and
yet they have never given her any trouble. The
traveller in that State will fnd them in her no.
tells, steamboats,, in short, in every place where
smenial service is required. They make far more
tractable servants than the low Irish who come
to this country. 1t is only in the free States
where the free negroes brain has been added by
Abotionists, that he is insolent, and only there
when he is set on like bulldog upon ill-bred
Southerners, who thinking to magnify their own
Importance by fighting battles with Northern free
negroes. are generally the aggressors About one
fifth of the whole population of Delaware are
free negroes and she has only about two thousand
slaves, and yet we never hear of their causing
any difficulties in that little State.
One argument advanced in favour of the expul-
sion of he free negroes is that they corrupt the
slaves, and particularly that they make them dis
satisfied with their condition, destroy their fdel-
fo boir md cita
ton. Now the fact is. history shows that
all the attempts at insurrection in the slave States
have originated with, and been confined to, the
slaves. There is no instance, as far as I have
been able to learn, If a free negro being engaged
in any of these rebeons. This is true of the
Southampton instruction, and of the South Ca
rolina instructions. The free negro is smid
and pusianimous being. He knows that he is
suspected, and that he holds his rights by too un-
certain tenure to risk them in cause where he
would have all to lose and nothing to gain. Per-
fecty content with his own freedom, he has no
wish to place his rights and his very life in eo-
pardy, tor the sake of the slave. But apart from
all this, the fear of rebellion is the most ground
less and absurd of all fears. In South Carolina
the negroes ontnunber the whites by about l2O,-
600. More attempts have been made by the
slaves ofthat State to throw off the yoke of their
masters, than in any other, and all these attempts
have ended alike-viz: in the hanging of all con
cerned in them. When we reflect that for hun
dreds OF years the people of Europe have been so
easily Kept down by few we'll disciplined CO.
horss' we must view with contempt this morbid
negroPhob2d, which, taking possession of some
weak minds. has induced then to fear that the
negroes OF the South, ignorant, unettered and IN
armed. and kept by law, can ever Use in suc
cesstu rebellion against twice their number, of
au enlightened and highly civilized race, who
have Cvefy means of Communication umon1 +har,