The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-08-04
The Probable Destiny of the
Blacks of America.

ING frODHDl0 D6SClDy OF Cn6
Blacks of America.
Though the political questions growing
out Of the existence of American Slave
ry will be discussed in the light of, and
ultimately disposed of according to the
laws of political precisely as
they would if such thing as humanity did
not exist in human nature: still the stu
pendous fact exists, and must for a long
time exist, that some millions of the AT.
rico American race form part OF our
population, and necessarily presents ques-
tions Of absorbing interest TO the philan.
thropist and patriot. Will the dark tide
continue to flow on, growing wider and
wider, and mingling more and more with
the European element ? or will it be
drawn off, by some process of depletion
not yet brought into practice The for
mer supposition presents prospect which
our instincts revolt at, and one,a prolonged
contemplation of which does nothing to
reconcile us with. The. latter is more
easily wished for than effected.
Slavery will in process Of time be abol-
ished in the United States,-but in what
condition will its abolition place the pres.
ent objects of it or their successors is
the question. Many astute minds have
looked long and earnestly into this dark
subject, and finally retired from it in dis.
gust, or fancied that they had discovered
valuable light, but which presented to
common minds makes the darkness still
more profound. NJ. De Toqueville,
very intelligent Frenchman, about'a quar-.
ter of a century ago, spent several years
in the stu iy of our institution, and was
able to present TIE most complete and val
liable treatise ever issued from the press
on that subject. Such was his perspicac.
ity that some of his remarks have since
proved veritable prophesies. The subject
before us was of course unavoidable,
though he approached it as though he
would be glad to avoid if possible. He
assumed, as every sensible, disinterested
man must, that the system must cease to
exist but none of the several methods
for disposing of the blacks which sugges-
ted themselves to his mind, seemed at all
satisfactory to himself, and he left the
subject not in the least illuminated.
The practical aboltionists of these years
past, who base their politics upon, and set
their rules of human intercourse by prin-
cples of abstract right, would have the
slaves manumitted at once, and uncondi.
tionally, and let society adjust itself to
this new order of things, by which the
former master would become the employ
er and the freedman the employee. We
will not quarrel with the theory, it may
be good enough, but unhappily the theo-
rists have not arbitrary power, and the
party who a one has the power to bring
about such result is not able to see the
beauty of it (; they prefer that society
should, if possible, remain M stata quo
through their lives, rather than live in a
state Of dependence upon free negroes.
AS there seems to DO no alternative we
shall let them have their choice.
In these latter days the great philan-
thropist, ELrHU BuRRIrT, has coneocted,
and is engaged in the prosecution of a
plan, by which he hopes to wipe out the
whole black race from our country. The
substance Of it is this. Let the govern.
ment buy all the slaves in one State, at
a reduced price, and ship them to Africa.
And when this is accomplished, let it do
the same thing by another State, and so
keep doing until all are disposed Of. A
consumation devoutly to be wished but
| WHICH eau never pc rcdliLcut lOT various
reasons. The government can never buy
slaves at small price, while Southern
planters are ready to pay a large price.
The Northern part of the confederacy
would never consent to, pay the slave
holders thousand million of dollars in
that kind of traffic. to say nothing of the
hundreds of millions their expectation
would require. 1t might be matter Of
doubt whether the infant republic of the
African coast could with safety receive
such deluge of ignorance and crime.
That they will never be visited with it, we
think is very certain. Mr.. Burritt is
without doubt, very great man, but his
schemes for meliorating the condition of
mankind have not found much favor with
practical u.en, and the patronage this last
has received gives it no Aattering pros