New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-01-30

Tie Washington Star, in reference 10 some obser-
vations Of ours on the degraded condition Of the
Poor Whites of the Southern States, puts the fol-
lowing question:
aThe theory is that the existence Of Slavery in
community degrsdes free labor therein Now, through
out the savehoding States Others are more en-
pbstic enemies Of AbOitiOnsts and Aboitionsm than
our wolkingmen in all calings. Far more free to do
and fav a. they please than those who live by the en-
pOymeDt of the capital OF others at the Noh not an
AbohtioDst is to be found among them IL they are
degraded why il il that they do not show somet,ing
like restiveness under their condition. Why do they,
tie freest most independent and seiwed aborers on
the face Of the globe, who have been hvng SINCE ihe
formation Of the Government IN this alleged degraoed
cOndtion hate and despise AboftIonlsm with nnaniny
and heaniness, such a. was never before exniDed on
any other subject by any other people IN our country
Here il nut to crack.
This is nut which may be cracked, aud all the
milk in it poured out in d saucer, without any of
the difficulty which The Star appears to anticipate
Unfortunately the great bulk Of the poor whites
of the South are altogether too ignorant to have
any precise idea Of the extent of their own degra-
daton, and still less of the causes of it, and of the
means Of its removal. We showed in recent
article that fifth part of the adult white popula-
ton of Virginia are unable to read and that three
ffths or more Of those between the ages of five
and twenty are growing up without any school
education. How can such an unfortunate people
be expected to have any just ideas of the social
causes that produce, among other evils, all this
Ignorance, when even intelligent slavehOlders-
when educated men, lawyers, statesmen and
clergymen-yes, even editors, who ought to be the
eve Of the communicative so totally blinded by
the fog that surrounds them as to be unable to see,
even with all the pains that The TRIBUNE takes
to point it out the true of the tagging behind
of the South
If the poor whites were o. cOntented with their
condition and as ignorant of their degradation as
The Star represents, that would only 90 to prove
the hopeless depth of it, but we apprehend that
in giving this representation of the case, The Star
is only treating the poor white population as the
shareholders are accustomed to treat the slaves,
whom it is very usual to represent as sleek and fat,
and contented with their lot, and, indeed, as the
happiest people in the world; and there is proba-
by lust about az much truth in one of these dec
larations as in the other No doubt both blacks
and whites may be found at the South so sunk
not to know their own degradation Such de-
lusions are very common, and not by any means
confined to the poor whites. The shareholders,
if we are to accept their own account of them
selves, are the most honorable, fair, humane and
Christan.like of men. Many STAKEHOLDER will
tell you so who has just executed bill OF sale OF
his own children, or Aogged a young woman by
way of dispOsng her to submit to his wishes. AS
a general thing, however, we satisfied that the
mass of the poor whites are no better satisfied
than the slaves with the social position which they
occupy-unable to educate their children, hope
less of rising, and degraded by the very labor by
which they earn their bread.
The enmity of the poor whites, and especially
of that most degraded class of them the inhabitants
Of villages and towns, to Abolitionists and aboli
tionism is very easily explained. Degraded as
they are, they still have the consolation Of seeing
beneath them class and a large class, still more
degraded at least in the eye of the law. What
consolation to that pride so innate in the human
heart, and one of the mainspriDgs of human action,
for the most worthless, idle, pauper vagabond of
white man. still to be able to sit himself down, as
standing in the social scale, far, very far above
the great mass Of the laboring population, and in
many parts Of the Slave States above the majority
of the whole population! The poor whites are able
to see that the abolition of Slavery would deprive
them ofthis advantage; that if Slavery were abol-
shed capacity and industry would then become
the test, and that in order to keep in
advance of the negro population, it would
be necessary to surpass them in labor intelligence,
usefulness, and productive skill. They see
plainly enough what they would lose; they are not
able to see what they might gain. Never having
known state of society different from that in
which they live, they have no means of conceving
of the advantages which Freedom gives to the i'll
telligent and Industrious abOrer, and their slave
holding neighbOrs make it point to do their best
to prevent anybody from giving them the needed
information.
In every state of society the ignorant are led by
the nose by the betterinformed. At the South the
shareholders lead the poor whites by the nose, fill
their ears with raw-head and bloody-bOne stories
about the Abolitonists, and spirit them on to all
sorts Of outrages sgainst those whom they are
taught to regard as their greatest enemies
II is very easy to preserve unanimity and
heartiness" among people who cannot read and
who are not permitted to hear. 1t is well known
that in every country and every age, the most de-
graded and the most ignorant have been the most
opposed to needed reforms especially if those re-
forms were to begin with asking q sacrifice of
them.
q