New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-11-02
TIE NEGROES OF HAMILTON AND
CHATHAM.

bAeksnisAs, carpesters, pasterer', sod one wheel
wright. There are txo churches smau frame
b1laipss, Baptist and Methodist, but they are
~ well supported, and neither Of them at present
- Q regular resident clergyman. Many Of the
sslsred men are reputsd b possess property, but
= not give the estimates a. am not entirely con.
h1ent Of the correctness Of my information. One
Aashpan, mulatso, who still drives bis own hack,
, worth 1t the lowest valuation from So, 900 to
11b 600. He emjgated to Hamilton IL years ago,
sted porter in store for twelve years, and then
bsagbt . hack; he has now two carriages and four
AAsses. The town, needing the lot on which bis
Aease stands for q market has lately paid him
$1,000 for il, and he is putting up larger and
better house on another lot which he owns. His
paxlor was covered with bris htcolored Brussels
arpet hair seated mahogany chairs were protected
by handsome crochet-worked anti macassars, and
&eFe was sofa, maIble-covered center table, and
piano in the room. He took three newspapers,
enc weekly and two dsilies. This man told US that
every once in 8 while colored men, dressed in the
Night Of the fashion and tricked out with rings and
shaiDs, would cal upon him, and announce them
selves % deputstons from Baltimore or Pniladel.
phia or some other city in the States, sent to in
Ssre into the condition Of their brethren in Cana
Ia "They mako me mad" continued he, "to
leok ut them, and l have often said to them, Why
% you stay there1 You will never be anything
kzs Tom or Dick or Jim, or good boys, or clever
aiG6ers. Take off these Ane clothes and gimcracks
ssme here and be mem ~
OF London, which, in a population of 1000 or
n,O0O, contains from 500 to GOO colored people,
- have little to say. The condition of the blacks
tAsro resembles that of their fellows in Hamilton
md Toronto. Pauperism and beggary are almost
uakDown among them, work is abundant, and labor
= khly rewarded. The heads Of the police de-
prtment thought that petty crime, particularly
hseepy, was more frequent among the blacks than
anoDg the inhabitants at large, though in both
places they thought it was less 80 than among the
lswef Irish. In London this however, was merely
. opinion, o. In the statistical statements of the
po6ce department the offenses committed by the
NIashs were not separately recorded. At London
. neat and well. furnished drug store is kept BY
Mai man, who 90 years ago escaped from Slavery
II Kentucky. At that time he could write little,
1km0FoHt, % NO AnuBelhSv eoiu w Pub nio noniO w
spsss. For long time be had dealt only in herbs
~ sinples, but foreign drugs were gradually
add and We found him hard at work at Little
Latin manual. mastering the bsrbarous Latin in
Which ply sisisns couch their prescriptions. The
ssadtion Of the colored people in regard to Vi 'a-
ti0 Of the law, as shown by the records Of the
Police department., is not so favorable in Hamilton
-. 20 Inn Car
CAef Constable Of Hamilton, there were l,922
sIessed OF summoned TO appear at Court in
nat place during the year 1856, and Of these 81
sSsre cOlofed people. II we put down the popala.
toe Of Hamilton in round numbers at "a, 900, the
peoportion Of arrests would be to l2A; and est
nsting the colored population at $50, the arrests
snong them would be fraction over in z. II
mist be reeollected in this connection that, from
- fact of their being almost exclusively emigrsnts
- proportion Of adults among the colered people
b greater than in the population ct large, and some
lessetion from their proportional erininahty must
obviously be made on this account.
Chatham, Canada West, the headquarters Of the
soiored people, is q struggling town containing
about 5000 inhabitants, seuated ct the head Of
ssvisasen upon the River Thames. Unlike To-
suato and Hamilton, and even London, it possesses
- hne bai6Dgs, and there is little outward sp-
vearanco Of wealth. For the frst time in my
travels the women were without hoops, and some
sorapPing lassies met, covered with huge fas
u1ceper hats, their naturally broad shoulders rem.
1esed broader BY cape; their cliDgns skirts, in.
noeeat Of starch, Brass or wbalebone, presented to
sne fresh from the city sight sufficiently strange.
Hero at last was an inversion Of the common
seaes Of thinss The principal hotel at which we
pQt up was large wooden barraek Of q building,
he entrance on level with the unpaved street,
aod shsriDs necessarily somewhat its color and
aepsAnnca 1Rside, things were more inviting;
a. rooms were clean, neat and comfortable, aud
- beds, excep. that they were stuffed with fssth
-, irreproaehable. We found the landlord, q
Asss, Jolly EpgIsbman, at the head of his own
~ tAbIe, carving round Of boiled beef big enough
- have fed the Common Council of 0 city; AMI,
~ The frst time since We had been in Canada, in
. place swsrming with negroes, the wales at
tsAls were white, and females. The town consists
Il 60 long strseS-King street-clOseiy built, in
wAieh ne stores are ali sisuated. whde the dwell.
hss, mostly surrounded BY gardens, arc scattered
sssr streets crossing and running parallel to il.
Despite its unpromisins sppesrsnce, Chatham
sssns en- active and strriDg place. 10 the town
1Asre are three ssv.n,ills, two shinsie mils two
psAash factories, two sssA and blind factories, four
lsssnins four brick yards several
tArss or four wagon factories, three cabinet ware
Assses, three bseweries and txo dsslleries. 1t Is
srcEt Of entry, and exports large amount OF ud'-
~, stssss ahingIes, bricks drain tiles and hour.
4 hSss steamboat was, when We wore there, be-