New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-23

know not how many men, whites from Charleston,
under date of Aug 6, most doleful and distressing
letter, denour cling the police of that city and e1.
posing peculiar species of Inconvenience to which
the unhappy inhabitants are subjected, the bare
mention Of which is enough to move the feelings
and excite the compassion Of even the most har-
dened Aboliionist.
After complaining that two-thirds Of the police
are Dutch and Iri.h "Anctber great evil, says
this eIcusab'y indignant gentleman, is that if
"one goes out after 10 o'clock at night, he runs
/" the risk of being stopped By any Of thess police
men for pass. He may have ladies with him.
" and yet be suspected Of being a runaway negro
" uhieh is narrowing in the extreme" We should
think it was What can be imagined more annoy
iDg and disgustir to high-bred Carolinian than
to be mistaken for negro by vulgar Dutchman
or IrisbmAn, who probably has not been long
enough familiar with Southern society TO be able
to distiI guish the gentleman from the slaye1 And
especially when one is walking with ladies, and nat
urally feels little particular about the figure he
makes in the public eye There cannot be the least
doubt that such cOntretemps must be narrowing
I" in the extreme
The inconven fence, however, does not fall alto
gether on the public. As the letterwrter says, the
police Themselves are having sad time Of it. They
really cannot discriminate between people, espe-
cially in the hight. They make awkward mistakes,
and get punished accordingly for their unlucky,
though innocent want of tact. "Last week, the
correspondent states, " one Of the corps was dis
charged for stopping and asking certsin gentle
man (passipg through the street at night for his
ticket, ni.takiDg him for a negro. The gentle
"the Chief and the result was the policeman was
L" discharged at once. think the policeman de-
served it; but still, was he not justified in seeing
" every suspicious person going on bis beat, and
finding out, if possible, what would be the in
truder's design, ard not take time to see If the
" man was white or backi"
There is much force in this attempt to Justify
the policeman, or at least to paliate his conduct.
If the gentlemen from Charleston cannot at first
sight be distinguished from their slaves it is their
n isfortune and not the policemans fault. Ii is
clearly his duty to stop all suspicious characters,
to comprehend all vagrom men," And if the
peculiar institutions Of Charleston require that
portion Of her population must not walk the
streets after 10 O'Clock, unless they have their
with them it is to be expected that some
trouble will arise from the enforcement of the
rule. In all countries the passport system causes
most innocent. Its justification is the security it
gives to despotism, and for the sake Of that secu
rity the people of Charleston should cheerfully
submit to its occasional inconvenience.
The correspondent Of The National Police
Gazette, We are sorry to say, does not suggest any
remedy for these evils. Nay, he pronounces them
be ond remedy, and thinks that instead Of dimin-
isbiDg they will rapidly increase. The trouble is
the slaves are growing white. They are becom-
Jog bleached so fast that by the color you can
hardly tell slave from free man. "If the morals
80 of the city continue as at present, in century
- there will be no negroes here. At present you
" will seeyellOw girls in this city that cannot be
% told from white women. When it becomes
:" general Slavery is but in name, for being white
" they are lees submissive and of less value
% Among my own slaves there are ten females who
8. have fifteen children and but two of the number
50 are black. would wish to know what was the
% cause of this change Of color. l think some of
50 the sergeants on the police could solve this
81 problem. They are at least in actual value three
q thousand dollars out Of my pocket for not being
50 q shade darker"
Positively, this is q shocking state of things.
The time will come when there will be absolutely
no negroes in Charleston. And, already, such is
The presunptuous insolence Of the slaves in apipg
their masters, or such is the rate at which the mas
'ers have become Africsnized, that an unsophisti.
GATED lrishman or Dutchman is already unable to
tell one from another by peronal appearance, man
ters, or demeanor. When color goes, all is gone.
The beautiful and harmonious order Of Southern
'ociety will give way to disgusting hotch potch
such az prevails in the Free States and in Europe.
nd then the dreadful loss Of property that will
ensue! Here is one gentleman already out of pocket
So 600 by the bleaching of only Is pcaninnies It's
really terrible. A remedy must be found The
only corrective that occurs to US at present i one
which was tried BY the ancient Romans, We believe
with some degree Of success. They, too, ike our
friends of South Carolins, were 8 good deal both
cred by the difficulty Of distinguishing slaves from
Ireemen, and to obvate the difficulty, they pre-
'cribed to their bondmen peculiar costume by
v hich they could be identified. IL We remember
rightly, they went with their heads uncovered Let
Us suggest this as distinguishing mark to the
perpleIed Charlestonians. Prohibit to Sambo and
% Dinsh, the use Of hat, cap or bonnet
which, in so genial climate will be no hardship
md they will not be mistaken for gentlemen or
aides nor you for runaway slaves.