The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1858-10-15
As for the Aims Houses and Charitable

WAS little room lett for the lricnllrss nero
, | was told by an intelligent member Of one
OF th"~" associations, that during the winter
OF sc they had twenty applications for their
relief when there was hut one dollar in the
treasury: and more than one hundred np
rI'chn,s for place 10 sleep in, when there
WAS but one bed to give. The old negro
; told me- that the white man always had
SOME friend who n,crcc'ic,i for him, and the
! negro wa> Sent away to take care OF himself
as he best could. Hence the misery nnl
crime in this beautiful city Of the Key Stone
Safe.
In New lo'k, after visiting all the fash,
lonali: places, seeing high lie in all its TN
sci, ami gorgeous display, | determined to
see where the free negro dwci', and how he
Jared with Lis broih"r, the white man, rs h.
is told 10y IL. Ward l;rcchcr. aud Theodore
Parker. ct ri omne ye"us. did not tiul
him living i'll any OF the fashionable avcnuc,
orStrcc,> "fthis m. .hty emporium Of wra!;l
l Il! not find the negro dwelling, except in
il very few Instances, i'll the cross streets.
wllcl" even dwcil the middle CLASSES. III
found him in any Of these streets, it was
either IN the @arrct, or the kitchen rs mcni-
ais "t,hc lowest grade. lie was never seen
occupying any otlhcsc houses rs the owner;
hut found him located and ,!omicilc.l in
N ! around the FIRE Poiais! Onc cf the
greatest dcnS Of vice aud Immortality, and
SINKS "fpollul;on known in any city in the
Union 1t has been called the gate to hell
had heard and read n,.cll about this place.
and determined to see who lived there. and
,yIu a,
IShmcnt found Mrcc fn"rths Of the inhaL-
ltants negroes, and thc balance OF the popu-
aiion was made ny oi the cii<rourmgs o.
creation. i" stand on the poiut and listen
Tor o;c hour, vou would Imagine Yourself
III i"hHcm0niHA2, and not IN the heart of :,
ciy lr"'eSsing to follow tic teachings OF.
Christianity. licrc vou see all the shades
and complexion Of the human familv-,he
Chinese. Ma'av, Mongolau, European. and
conspicuous above all, the African ar.l his
hyb!r'!>. Here are spoken AL the different
tongues known to the human family since
the destruction OF the Tower Of Balcl.-
From this I'ofmt springs al the notorious
ring LEADERS i'll crime and vice. and here
rr'gnS poverty, misery and crime. Although
Was told that the place has been muc! i'm
proved within the las, five years. compared
t" what it WIS, vrt from what snw a.:h
heard OF the social and moral conlLi>n Of
It's inhabitants, it is bio, and stain upon the
philanthropy o! the people of New Yo,k.
Here II. Wand Hc:chcr AMI Harriet Stowe,
and Their co "Giut"rs, should be made TO
i!vc and Labor as missionaries, the balance
O! their lives, in order 10 atone for the lies
and STARTERS they have uttered against the
slave and his master. From this place they
should he trying to run the poor tree negro,
instead Of trying to run the happy slave,
from his master. Here is the spot of all
others where these rose @atcr rhilantiro-
PistS and Kansas shrckcrs, should spend
their money, instead Of supporting clni.rant
aid societies, and buying rifles for Kausas.
remained in this region in Il disguised
dress, for about six hours, coHvc!siug freely
with lLe negroes aud the white people, AMI
III visiting their houses, holes aud dcnS, and
il"n What saw and heard cxp,c>scl bv
;hrSc people, their wrctchcdncs>, poverty
and vice is beyond description. The poor
l'cc negro dread, the appIoach Of winter rs
You wo"!d Il rc>tilcnrc; AMI frequently to
drown their n;>ery through the long winter
nights, these miserable creatures resort TO
the rum bottle anl make themselves inscn-
sib!e to hunger AMI cold by the drugscd AMI
pn:sonouS stuff. Here arc ,.ralntncd into one
hndlng from three to four hundred human
beings; and s"m"tilncs fifty and sixty men,
women and children, negroes aud whites,
sleep i'll one room. The Old Brewery was
known to hold twelve hunlrel souls in one
night. Here is the only spot in all my
travels, inc!u1ing upper and lower Cana,a,
where | found the negro on a perfect level
with the white man, but such lcrel! IL
hundred degrees. in moral and social hap
pincss, below the slave of the South. /
have yet 10 see the master who would let
such immortality, vice and filth exist Oh his
plantation, as il to be found in and around
the five points Of New Yo:k. The flee ne.
grocs OF Charleston and Columbia arc een-
tlcmen, III comparison with these poor crea-
lures. There the one is respectful and
obedient TO the white man, here they are
insolent aud impudeni; being made so. by
having such associates as Greeley, Beecher,.
Stowe, and the like. Here the mass OF the
whites are against the free negro. They
have no sympathy for him, no warm at
tachment springs from an unadulterated
fountain. l can say with clear conviction
that there isa deadly hatred existing between
the negro and white laborers of the North,
and precious little sympathy from the middle
and higher classes. They exprnd all their
sympathy and money in behalf Of the con-
tented slaves of the South, instead of giving
their attention to suffering humanity at
home.
1t is true that there are individual cases
among the free negroes at the North, where
man and his family, by being thrifty,
have been able to buy comfortable home
and live well. saw some of these negroes,
but they are few compared with the thous-
ands that are stepped in poverty and crime.
These negro loving phiantbropists will
point you to Fred. Douglas the orator, and
Morris the lawyer, as shining lights among
the negroes. True these are lights, but they
stand amidst three hundred thousand free
negroes in almost utter darkness, whilst
there's go much orofsssed light around
them.
In Boston Ihave not found near SO many
free negroes as in Philadelphia and New
York; but their condition is but little bet
ter than in Philadelphia. Here I found