Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-08-25
For The EnlnUti
no. "
40. " ,,,,,.
IN TIFF NECESSITY OF REMOVING OR thp III
INC TO SLAVERY THE FREE NEGROES or W.


COMMONWEALTH.
It.r.tnnrs we have only "sSnn.'t the 'rre Lila, ~
,oruatinIl Ia be HI evil, and upon liia' a'J ,o.a
~. have advocated their removal, and proPo s,,nn.
sur.s Tor s accomplishment Although tis oS;,,sd
ton ia based upon the almost unversany .s nro
fact that they are an evil in our midst ye' ,,rn,s
nose 10 prorc them such by an array OF o. ~ the
aud statistics that We hope will be satsiar.o 1rsurd
verest sksp,ic upon the subject. we mr., becaus.
this order in The arrangement OF our su ,hs reaso,.s
il seemed TO us proper and logical thar ne .,r tse
and arguments Tor law should follow tno hnrid no
in order to induce its passage-tiin luz We pro.
presented and then its Decefs.,y 49, ,o,roes IN
pose, then, in considering the esl 20 and sdysn
compare and contrast the disadVan'"S ,ha s,ats in
tn,-s of their presence and absence w no ,;n ,ba
order that We may balance The WV "AN
prrpOndersnce. :, r ,,-.etsst narutuda.
NOV 'en =, ,; dgrad.d and unfortunate class "i
nonna THAR preserce is an element Oh ulscon, ;,
=, npr ola va noulation and their inhaenee proho'su
uf insnbordips,ion. In all alarms VI hsu', e.'y S
moyemept. their agency has aiE" o.o $500; ;,,sIi
ss the origin and the cause une'i e"pe''. -. in
49, nd snnerior ylainy in all such cases, nave W.
s,imuaied and guided the blind inslhc anu
dui intellect, of the slave. Thus do they .eopa'a,Is
the security Of our hresldes; aau ,stre =. nro
oa, 90, I'D sndauyer their lives by persuadlns the'h
r. s;r and fruilless efforts OF rebellion. Inc aoo,,
TO-, ar,y at the North regard the Tree negroes at ne
Snu,h "a allies aud auxlares LOT inc acco'hplsnme
Ill, air
", 80 corr.suoudence and communications been as
yoad bs,ween abo!itionsts and free negroes wnicr
sIarlv indicated the use that the former lu'enueu
.L;ny of the latter in their anti. slavery movements
The abolition leaders regard our iree oaeks ID
d through which TO pour the pernicious tide OF thelr
dns and nhuman sentiments into the bosom nf our
sl.v nopulaon for the purpose OF kndling the
dscord and servile strife only ultimately 10 oe queneh
ed in the blood Of their unhappy ana aeluueu ve.o
ILL., and ndulent fur good but restless and industrious
cn, eyi tb. free negro dwells among U.S. hating tne
r.cs thai has given him freedom, but withheld 'ne
privileges of social and political equality. lie ony
restraiiIed by his present weakness from reVengps
himself to greater extent on society," Tor lie Hro.s
and oppression which be cohcei'es ORC Pe'pe'
npon hun. 4. ~ .,.vs no
mutation does not stop here. A community OF rogues
thieves it by nature they encourage
villaiDy on every farmers plantation deuolaIcus
his slaves and ipstigatng them to the invasion VI s
corn crib aud TO the robbery OF his piIs seep ahu
poultry yard. They act the part OF lraaeis iTi ~.
slaves and the monopolists OF al mo- VIZ ,aao
and free negroes employ the latter as hercah.iie
poents to conduct their business reia''ons WIN .ne
slaves of adjacent plantations. ieFyihg contributor
from every source, save mat ot nones!y' oo goa
crrs ara free negroes with their tram OF attendant
svIs Tint localities where they are numerous, are
shnnn.d and avoided. No prosperous farming opera
tions can be carried on near bem and In their negh
borhood land depreclates i'll value, ana can only Dc
aid ~.
persuns removing from free negro localities ON ac
count of the insecurity OF property, The danger OF
uceudiaries, and the various anuoyances and pes;s
that proceed from proximity to this abandoned and
vicious population
We have considered above only few OF their evils
70 society and individuals. To the Commonwealth
of Virginia as government, they are burden and
heavy one in the way Of prosecutions Tor their
crimes They people peniientiary and our lais.-
nv IS nifv tnv N
his court without having free negro cases to dispose
of and the Judge of every circuit in the State can
testify to the appalling record of their crimes Let
a few statistics here be read at ID estimated by
Gov Giles that up to 1929, crimes among the free
blacks were more than three times as numerous ne
among the whites. From the reports of the superin-
,endent of the penentiary, 1t appears that from o3l
to 1910, inclusive, crime among free negroes was hve
time as great as among whites in proportion to mum
bers and from 1911 to 1850, inclusive, nearly nine
times as great that during the first period OF ten
years the free negroes, in numbers only oneEtteenM
of the white population committed more than one,
Third as many crimes, ana that during me seconu
period of ten years. being 0ac.s'rteenM OF the white
population. they committed nearly 0nc'haJ as many
crimes. How significant are these facts OF the char
acter Of the population, of their progressive deterlo
ration, their rapidly increasing degradation -
What a fearful record is here presented. and
how knowingly it appeals for Immediate action,
and We. we do nothing. Search the criminal
records of all nations and all times and you
will find nothing like il, even in approximation
Why is legislative action wanting to remove the evil
and abste the nuieance, when 5 1000 free negroes
commit 0Hctnii many crimes as J0OOO. tneariy
one million) whites do! And the spectacle becomes
still more strikingly alarming when we reflect that
as they increase in numbers, land during the last
sixty wears. their proportional increase has been three
times as great that Of the whites, and five times as
great az that of the slaves the change in their char
scer aud condition will BE-. As It has been hitherto,
steadily for the worse. From 1900 to 1881, 1t is
| ,,nl ft,aB hair rritna
one to crimes among the whites; now they are nearly
| as eleven to one. We may confidently expect that
for the future our population incresses aud with
it the difficulty oil Substituting this idle and degraded
class will become greater curse to socety and more
miserable themselves. Will il not be charity TO re-
move or make slaves OF them Here they can never
improve but fCn, their very nature and theinature
of the circumstances al present surrounding them,
must continually deteriorate and become more worth.
| lass and abandoned What arguments for their re-
sdence in the State can be adduced strong as those
for their REMOVAL what evils can result from their
removal great those OF their presence and resi-
dence! But j. has been objected by some that the
removal of free negro population by Transports.
ton by reduction to slavery, would deprive us oi
Representative in Congress. This is not So and
and the objection is worthless and invalid as we shall
| show. The Federal Representative number in Vir.
ginia is l3l $40. OF this the ratio of representation
is 93702 Now by the census of 1850 the number Of
free uegroes in the State was "a 333. We will say
that from 1850 to 1857 they have increased to $4,000
Ii will be seen tina: If all of them could be removed
in day. whereas the plan proposed contemplafes
their gradual remova) we should still lack 81 7C2 Of
losing representative in Congress. by diminished
population But suppose we had to lose Congress.
IMAM to get rid Of free negroes. would not the gain
| more than compensate for the loss7 We can stand
the les, Of Representative in Congress better than
we can endure the curse of our free black popula.
| ton.
1t is said that Western Virginia, not being sufferer
from free negroes. aud feeling but little interest in the
|
the burden when legislative action isiuvoked. At this
| point we quote an extract from Mr.. Rutherfoords
| speech, in 1858:
lis it true, though. that our Western friends hive
no interest in this subject except in lite bearing upon
| the general Interests Of the Statel They deceive
themselves il they suppose 80. Sixty years ago the
humber of free negroes and Indians in Eastern Vir.
ginis was only 1876. II is now 1886. Sixty years
| ago the number in Western Virginia was bat 500. II
is SUI. During this period the whole free black
population of the State has increased three times
rapidly the whites and nearly five times as rapidly
as the slaves. While the number has been smaller,
the proportional increase OF the free negroes has
| been much greater in Western than in Eastern Vir.
GINA. In Eastern Virginia il has been 8S per cent
in Western Virginia it has been IT'S per cent; about
$50 per cent in the Valley district; and in the Trans
Allegheny region much as 8, l0. Sixty years ago,
| when there were not l2,UO0 free negroes in Eastern
Virginia the evil was felt almost as lightly in the
East as is now felt in the West. Should not the
West BIZ admonished, then, that what has since been
the progress of the evil with US, may, in the future,
be its progress with them1 Au exhausted soil aud a
hostile population OH the hand, cheap and fertile
lands ON the other will continue to invite them to
emigrate across the mountains; and sixty years
hence, If do not arrest the mischief while eau,
you may suffer from it more in the West than
| do in the East"
| Bat surely present want Of interest or selfish
consideration will prevent the people Of Western
Virginia from aiding OF the East in this matter -
They surely have more sympathy with the four hun
a.. Al
than with the forty five thousand free negross dwell.
luz, as an evil aud q curse, among them! The blue
tops of the mountains do not constitute geographi.
cal line separating the sympathies charity and aif-c.
are identified No; this question Of our free negro
| population affects the rho!e Of the Old Dominion
As the pbyeicaI, animal frame is affected throughout
its whole system and to it's CENTRE by ulcer on its
| ho3,