Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-04-07
THE NEGRO, BOND AND FREE.

r,.,. u,iob us announced last winter, that CERTAIN
ns,nu;,,sd negroes bad applied to the Legislature ~ per
,nission 70 lake masters, has excited the greatest as'oh'Sn'
.non the aboli,ionists. They cannot uccoun; fer II
aoy supposition consistent with 'heir pecu''at op'u'
,ons as TO the siofulness OF slaVeholding. we must .
odd another item to their troubles. The same hing has &C.
cu,red before the last winter, and since that time we nave
become cognizlnt of two other Instances OF more feeeh'
date, where similar applications 10 their "hlte he's'oo's
have been made by manumitted negres.
The only explanation of this Circumstance, which mas
been attempted at the North, is unworthy Of cfeo'' a"a ="
sustained by fact. 1t has been alleged lhat te conu"lo" "
the free negro, who is compelled 10 remain IN q slave ''a'e'
Is a pi,iable and in toIeraLle subsection to severe and oppres'
sive laws and customs. This is not go. It's granted that
the free negro does occupy an inferior position cnd one 'ha'
cannot consist with happiness. In Inc nature OIL 'hlnes ms
mus, be, and it Is no less true of every State in The Union
than Il is of Virginia. But it must be borne in mind, that
however AFFECT the s,ats Of the free negro at the South no
Is not oppressed as the same class are at tho NORM. now
eve. Southern society may doom him to degradation he Is
in q better situation than he would be among the %hypocrill-
cal fanatics of New York and other Northern SIatea.
= If this were not so. why do these negroes prefer slavery
10 a residence In some Northern Stale! The alternative
with them, was mol q degraded position In q Southern com
munity, but q home in some OF tho free States. ar a homo
with a Southern master-and they chose the latter. Ihat
rhey made @ wise choice, will DO doubted by no man. VINO
will contrast the happiness OF our slaves with the wretched.
ne.s and poverty of the free negroes in the Northern States
of this Union. Moro than that: we do not believe there is
this day in Virginia a free negro who would not initiate
their example, if the same alternative was forced upon him,
md he was truly informed as to the condition OF the free
negroes In the other States Of this confedeEacy.
Once for all, let us vindicate Virginia from the nspersion
of severity towards the free negroes within her borders. The
history of her legislation vita respect TO them is The beat
refuta,ion of this SANDER. She has repeatedly refused TO do
what several of the free States have done: expel. the free ne.
eroes by forco of law; and 80 far as she could safely do 30,
has conferred upon them all the privileges accorded TO citi-
1,ns of the commonwealth. II her Legislature has
no, conferred upon them The privilege OF voting, ii
has been consistent because il has always been held
10 VireinIs, that they were Incompetent 10 discharge
The duties of cilizeus. Aud even in this they have not
been alone; but have been followed by all the free States, go
far as we know. But the law protects the free negro in the
enjoyment of his properly, and shields him from the hand o.
lawless violence.
How then, it may be asked, do you account for the desire
expressed by manumitted negroes, TO put themselves again
into bondage. Tho answer Is az hand: These negroes are
strongly alta ched to the coil, and as the law provides that
msnumittedn negroes shall be sent out Of the State, and as
,hey know by experience that slavery is not an evil thing to
Them, and as they know by observation, that the condition
Of tho free negro is inferior in respect 70 that Of the negro
with a master, they yield to their local attachments, instead
Of being governed by thai instinct FOR freedom which the
aboIitionis.s assure us. is inherent in every human BOSOM
Tais Is a plain AMI simple solution Of the diih ;al;y, aud we
commend it TO all honest snti.slavery men. They are fight,
log shadows when they 60 TO battle against the evils OF
slavery. They are making themselves ridiculous BY their
mad crusade against an institution Heaven ordained and
sanctioned, and should they succeed In securing the emanci'
patton Of all the African slaves in the South, would only
heap misery upon those they seek 10 serve. The Southern
slave Is q con,ented aud, compared with the FREQ negro North
or South, q happy being. His daily recurring wants are met
and the bread of life i, within his reach. Labor and toll are
more his 10, than they are the portion OF other mor.ais, and
,vha,s no Internal %intermeddIer in,erfcres, the slave lives
and dies upon the plantation where he was born, w''honta
moments dissa tisfacii or discomfort.