Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1859-02-11
Arc We an Independent People.

ubs NAV seem to many persons an unnecessary inter
ooatory for it very certain that have all the ee-
Tnents and all the material forms OF separate and in
pnandent national existence. But does not indepen-
Jonce in reality embrace something beside all this?-
noes it not or should it not include mental as well as
material independence Should not truly indepen-
dent people have its intellectual character its
modes of thought its opinions and mental habudes
opnarate and Independent of others And can nation
or people who borrow bow to the opinions of Others
who takes its thoughts, as the child from the parent
from the old societies and elder natOnaeS of EurOpe
as we are the habit of doing really deserve to be con
sderrd Independent or to constitute independent
ito"
The writers of Europe, and especially those of Eng
land say to US that is wrong, indeed crime to i'm
Dort negroes from Africa and straightway enact
law making it piracy and worthy of death, though our
immediate ancestors committed this by Wholesale
and in total Inconsistencies Of its damnable atrocty -
We do not act from notions OF expectancy forbid the
introduction of Africans into our own territories because
we already have a suficiency Of this population. On
the contrary it suitiDg the interests Of the caprces of
our British mentors to consider the removal Of negroes
from their African gavagery into the open sunlight Of
Christian civilization something peculiarly criminal
and infamous we accept their assumptions at once with
out question: and proceed to act accordingly Hence
Spanish slave ship its way to Cuba is captured
bv one of our national vessels and carried into Charles
ton where the cargo is taken in charge by Federal
officials and after considerable expense is incurred
,
which for consideration, undertakes the humane }"
work of sending these negroes back TO African savager
Certainly no man whose brains not hopeessy dsor-
dered on this subject can doubt will deny that four
millions of southern negroes nmeaSuraby better off
morally and physically, than any similar number in AZ
rca that existed in Africa and therefore it IN
avodably follows that great cruelty and inhumanity
have been inflicted these negroes thus thrust back in
to the gloom and misery of heathensm.
But the cruelty does not stop even here The Presi-
dent bargains to educate them and to support them
year or so in Africahat is to unfit them for the ex-
igences OF their native savage life and render them
the helpless victims of the first prowng band of their
cOuntrymen that happen to meet them should they
escape this to perish from sheer ncapacity to contend
with the vicssitudes of the savage condition. The
probabilities are, that rendered feeble and helpless by
the cruel kindness Of government these poor
lures will wander about the coast until sndtched up b.
the slave traders, they again put the voya
to Cuba and all this trouble, and expense and touoo
ery and humanity " will be than wasted. If
they had been introduced into Territory there
might be some slight mitigation, perhaps Of this folly
but 60 out OF way to NEEDLE with neghbors
of Cuba and take their negroes from them because the
Britishers assure it is humane to do So and bar
gain with the Coonizationsts to thrust them back into
savagery and then to " educate them and unfit them
Tor savage ile and thus leave them to fall again into
the hands of the traders and probably to reach Cuba
after ALL and all this at very considerable expense to
the treasury, makes up a of deusOnOf utter I'M
reason and abec submission to the opinions of others
certainly rarely witnessed among independent nations.
N. 7. Day Book.