Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-07-24

1880 1880
1910 AZ 854
1850 1896
Similar results are observable in other States,
and demonstrate, by the by, that the North did
notabolish Slavery BY running their slaves off
South.
Having corrected the blundors or mis-state-
ments contained in the article from the Free
Pres, and set the facts fairly before the reader
we now come to the question at the head of
this article, viz:
What becomes Of the Free Colored People
It cannot be denied that the ratio of their
increase has fallen far below that Of the whites
or the slaves In the earlier years Of the Re-
public it was greater than that Of any other
class in consequence of emancipations; gradu-
ally the supply from that source was stopped,
and their increase was about equal to that of
the whites. At length it fell below, not only
the whites but the slaves; and now it is little
more than one-third the ratio Of the other
classes, with downward tendency.
1t has been argued, from this state Of things,
that Slavery is the only condition in which the
negro thriyes, and that to liberate him is to
annihilate him. This is the philosophy of the
friends Of Slavery and the example of the De-
troit Free Press shows that Northern men are
in some instances disposed to give it counte-
nance We dissent entirely from this gloomy
philosophy, and proceed to set forth reasons for
believing that it has no foundation to rest on,
but the unjust prejudces which have been en-
gendered in the atmosphere of Slavery. We
also propose to answer the question with which
our article is headed, by pointing out the
whereabouts of the missing free colored people.
In the first place, if it were true that the
tyranny Of law and custom in this country has
tended to impoverish and depress the free col
ored people, the fact is by no means sttribu-
table to the race but TO the tyranny. They
are not only prescribed by law, North and
South, but the weight of prejudice against
them more imperiously than law has assigned
them an inferior station, and denied them the
privilege of pursuing the most honorable occu-
pations. In the slave States, the Shareholders
look upon them with suspicion, and nothing
but necessity could induce them to give en-
ployment to the despised race. We understand
that within few years the demand for labor
has been 80 great in some sections as to over
come prejudice, and there has been conse-
quent improvement in the condition Of the free
colored population. In the free States, strong
prejudices exist among the white laboring class
against the colored people, and they are often
denied employment on this account These
depressing circumstances doubtless have oper-
ated injuriously upon them, and prevented as
rapid increase as would otherwise have taken
plnce. But they are insufficient TO account for
the great falling off in the ratio Of increase,
and in some Of the States tho actual diminution
Of their numbers This decrease is most con-
fpicuous in the opposite extremes Of the Union.
New England and New York show an actual
falling of. The Middle, Western, and South
ern States, except Louisiana, exhibit more or
less gain. The latter, however, shows the re-
markable and sudden falling of, in the last ten
years, of thirty-one per cent. Up to ls4o, the
free colored population Of Louisiana had grown
rapidly, showing dccennial increase Of from
thirty-eight to sixty per cent. The sudden de-
CLEMSON is the moro remarkable from tho fact
that Louisiana is the only Southern State
whose laws affecting this class of the popula-
ton are tipctured with the least grain Of bu.
mainly. In Louisiana, free colored persons are
allowed to testify in their courts Of Justice; and
the municipal authorities Of New Orleans,
where they reside for the most part, makes
provision for the education Of their children.
Is it not most singular that under such crcum-
stances they show declension amounting to
nearly one.third Of their numbers, while in
Virginia, in spite Of tho most rigorous and in.
human laws they hove increased eight per
cent?
In New England and New York, also, the
people of color are regarded with more favor
than anywhere else in the Union, and yet they
have actually declined in numbers in ten years
In Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and other free
States, on the other hand, where they meet
with less favor, their numbers are on the in
crease
Those who maintain that Slavery is tho only
proper condition Of the negro, and who insist
that freedom is destructive Of his existence
may argue, from the state Of facts to which we
have called attention, that the cruel persecution
and prescription TO which the free people Of
color are subject in the Middle and Southern
States, are the sanse Of their increase, while
the humanity with which they are regarded
in New England and Louisiana is fatal to
their existencel
But we viii undertake to assign more "a
tional and probable cause for this anomalous
state Of things, and which will explain the