Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-08-31
THE NEGRO NORTH AND SOUTH.

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THE NEGRO NORTH AND SOUTH.
Either the opponents of slavery willfully mis-
understand the position of its advocates, or
else fanaticism has so far perverted the judg-
ment and corrupted the heart that they are
unable to see truth when fairly presented. Be
cause among the three million slaves of the
South there are those who, allured by the false
hoods Of abolitionists, are willing to change
their condition for the untried benefits of
northern freedom, it is gravely argued that the
whole system of servitude is Ubiquitous and
Such a deduction is unworthy any
intelligent man. There is no condition in
which man can be placed, under which he does
not chafe and fret and long for change. 1t is
only the prudent philosopher who would rather
bear the ills he has than fly to others that he
knows not Of Manis ever restless, impatient,
and DESTROYS of change, even in his most pros
porous condition. So far then from being
matter of surprise that an ignorant negro
should be easily Influenced by the dazzling
misrepresentation of an intruding fanatic, it
is only surprising, and strong argument in
favor of the system, that so few are induced to
withdraw themselves from the control of
master for the promised blessings of freedom
and prosperity. Such desertion can surely not
be considered any more proof of the hard.
ships of their previous condition, than the vol
untary expatriation of any citizen from the
country of his birth
The only fair mode Of testing the question
is to compare the condition of the slave
at the South with the condition of the free
negro, and we are willing to rest the ques-
ton there. Experience of more than two CEN
turtles has taught us that the two races cannot
live in condition Of perfect equality. They
must exist either in the relation of slaves to the
white man, or what is worse, in the anomalous
position of freemen in name, but subordinate
in all else to the superior race. This being the
case the true philanthropist must inquire into
the comparative advantage to be derived from
these two conditions by the African, and in do
ing SO, as in all other questions of political
economy, he must appeal to facts rather than
to theory-to substantial truth rather than TO
sentimental philanthropy. Statistics furnish
Us with the proof that crime, pauperism and
misery are tenfold more frequent with the
deluded negro who suffers from his stinted
share Of freedom at the North, than among
the slaves in the Southern States r
1t is admitted by most writers on population
that the surest test of prosperity among a peo-
pie is the natural increase Of their numbers.
Nature here as elsewhere has kindly provided
that he who is miserable himself shall not be-
come the prolific source Of sharers in his misery;
while those who are prosperous and happy,
shall be rendered more so by transmitting
their condition to a numerous offspring Now
assuming this as true, and we feel assured that
no one will deny il, We have an easy mode Of
testing the comparative prosperity Of the Afri
can race, in these two, its only possible con.
ditions. BY reference TO the census Of 1850,
We find the following remarkable state OF
things in regard to the increase Of the negro
population. In the decade between 1880 and
1910, the increase Of the free negro popula.
ton in the United States was t,centy per cent,
while the increase Of the slave population was
t,oenty-tiree per cent. In the subsequent de.
cade between the years 1910 and 1850, the in
crease Of the free negroes was ttoelre per cent,
and the increase Of the slaves t,centy-nine per
cent Thus while in these two decades the
ratio of increase Of the free negro was dimin.
ished eight per cent, the ratio Of increase Of
the slaves was increased SIR per cent. Now
significant as this statement appears, it is even
still more so, when we consider the fact that
the increase of the slaves, since the abolition
Of the African slave trade has been purely ma.
tural, while the increase Of the free negro
population has been enhanced by liberal
emancipation, and by unreclaimed fugitives
from the southern States. These causes not
only add largely to the free negro population,
but obviously diminish to the same extent the
number Of the slaves. Without the accessions
made to the free negroes by emancipation and
fugidves, it is highly probable chat that popu-
lation would have actually diminished during
the two decades to which we have alluded.
But two objections can he urged TO the con-
clusiveness Of this statement, the first Of which
does not deserve more than passing notice.
1t has been urged by the Abolitionists, and il
is more proof Of their ingenuity than Of their
love of truth, that the free negro population
has been diminished by the fact that, SO soon
as by amalgamation they attain certain pro
portion Of Caucasian blood, they are ranked
among the whites. Such cases are, however, o.
such rare occurrence that they cannot be admit
ted as an element into the calculation. But it il
still further urged that the dimisution ofthc free
negroes is The result Of colonization. This
too, is unworthy OF grave consideration, be.
cause il is a well known fact thst the action Of
the Colonization Society has been such thar !,
has confined its benevolence principally TO newly
liberated slaves, to the almost entire exclusion
Of the free negro population. Be this as il