Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1858-01-28
EthnoIogical and Political View Of
the Negro Races.
AN ADDRESS
| Concluded. |
Delivered btfore the Robertson association ct
Nashville, December 3lst, 1857,
BY j. LITTON BOST!CK, ESQ.

NQSiUdUe. lteccflDtf OlSt, lCOt
BY j. LITTON BOST.CK, ESQ.
Concluded.]
This vast family Of human being
| has never furnished the world wit
one civilized patton, nay, it has no
produced one man whose name is re
corded in the Book of Time. From
the period at which this people wer.
first known to Europeans, down t
the present. when not under the
control of the white man, they have
been sarages OF The lowest order
aud in all negro-land there is not 8
monumen. which points through the
dim ages Of the past to a higher
state of civilization. The ancient
Egyptians and other nations on the
southern shores of the Mediterran-
can have sometimes been referred to
as contradicting this position and
proving that the negro race IS capa.
bic of a high degree Of civilization.
The undoubted scientific attain
ments Of the ancient Egyptians, the
vast ruins still extant of cities that
equalled il they did not surpass in
size and magnificence all those ol
modern times, their paintings and
sculpture, and lastly those sublime
monuments Of mans power and his
folly--the Pyramids of the Nile
have been pointed to as an evidence
that The Negro was at one time "the
foremost man 10 all this world" The
arguments would be good but for
one fatal objection. which is simply
that the ancient Egyptians did not
belong to the Negro race. There
were several distinct races 10 Egypt
as there are in the United States,
A large part Of the population
we're slaves, some Of whom were
Negroes held in bondage precisely as
they are al the present day. On
the monumeAis and tomhs, which
are covered with paintings and sculp-
ture, presenting every class of this
peculiar people as they appeared in
their daily occupations,there are rep.
reservations of Negroes as perfect in
form, feature, and color, as an artist
could make them atthis timeand in al
most every instance they are branded
with some badge ofslavery,oft chain
ed in gangs or standing alone with
ropes tightly drawn around their
necks. The Egyptian proper. how.
ever, had no resemblance whatever
to the Negro, but belonged to the
Caucasian Tspe and could not have
differed greatly in appearance from
the ancient Jews.
The testimony on this point is am
pie and places the matter beyond
dispute. The Old Testament furn-
ishes very strong negative evidence
Of the fact. The Jews were in Egypt
some two hundred years, and after
their emancipation and establishment
Of a government 10 Palestine, they
had Frequent commercial inter
course aud intermarriages with the
Egyptians, yet in the record Of these
events the Bible does not contain
one word indicating any great diff.
ference in the appearance Of the peo-
pie, oil the contrary many circum-
stances are mentioned which go to
prove them similar in form, color and
feature. Thus Joseph's own broth
ers, when they came to purchase
corn, supposed that be was an Egyp'
tian. and Moses was afterwards ad-
opted By one Of Phataoh's daughters
and brought up as member Of the
royal family; aud when he had fled
from Justice TO the land OF Alidlan'
the seven daughters Of Jethro, whom
he bad CALAMITY protected from the
rudeness of the shepherds, described
him to their father as an Egyptian
These Israelites could never have
been mistaken for Negroes. But
the positive proof on this point is
most abundant. The tofnbs and
monuments of Egypt, those vasl
cities of.the dead, are filed With many
citizens With long straight hair thai
had defied the ravages Of time, ano
are decorated with paintings ane
figures, portraits Of kings, mobiles and
commons, in such profusion that W
soc this ancient people as they ap
. a 4 nj 4