Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1860-02-24


Ban1shmeat OF Free Negroes.
Mr.. EbIToR:-Tbe subject of the expatria-
don of the free persons of color from The State.
is attracting the attention of the public mind,
and deserves Consideration, at least by our
law makers, involving. as it does, the rights
and destinies of portion sui generis, Of our
population, for gun ad pauea respieiuat, de facil
| jsadicant
THIS unfortunate class of our population
has long existed in perhaps every State in the
| Union. At the formation of the Federal
| Government they composed portion of the
| population Of each State, rs the census of 1870
shows. They inherited their freedom AID ORR
| gin from the civil ard common law. They
| then numbered only IS, 461. promiscuously
settled through the original thirteen States
| Their increase for the first decade of our ma
tional existence was s2.05 per cent, and about
| .93 per cent. greater than that of the FREEDOM
| mate race. This doubtless was owing to the
manunissions in The Northern States, all OF
| which were at that time slave States, except
Massachusetts,. Mr.. Ramsey, in his history
OF Tennessee. puts dow their number in this
| State, in 1886, at the adoption of the first
constitution, at 973. That constitution guar
antied to them the same privileges and rights
that they enjoyed under the constitution Of
| North Carolina, and which they continued to
| exercise for period of forty years, until
| the change in our organic law, and the adop-
ton OF the present constitution Of Tennessee
| This constitution did not alter or abridge
those rights, except in the elective franchise
of which they have been Invested.
The census of the second d, cade shows that
this population had but slightly increased 10
| Tennessee, numbering at lis close 1877,
about one TO every 235 of the other popula-
lion. During the four succeeding decades.
their increase per cent was less than one-hakf
| of that Of either of the other two classes
| Their increase per cent from 1910 to 1850
was 10 per cent, while that of the slaves was
| 1881 per cent, and that Of the whites SO %
per cent. From this it will be seen that their
per cent of increase is retrograding, and il
let alone, even to enjoy their present homes
aud families, must ultimately compose but a
mere handful of our population.
They compose in this State .06 per cent on
" of the entire population. They have long,
it is true, been the object of commiseration.
suspicion. and perhaps, alarm, in some of the
States and from their supposed deteriatorial
influence on the slave population, emancipa-
ton is now forbidden, except upon condition.
This state of things it was that gave rise t"
the organization Of the American Colonial
tinn Society in 1916. The object and inten-
ton of that organization was TO promote
and execute plan for colonizing. with th' ir
consent,) the free cOlored people residing in
our country, either in Africa or such other
place as Congress shall deem expedieni."
Those distinguished and saGacious statesmen
who planned and organic j that society,
seemed to differ widely in opinion from our
more modern statesmen. They did not even
attempt to COLOMBO them without their con-
sent. much less to force them aud their pos
terity into ob-equiOus ssryitude. If our wise
aud philanthropic statesmen who founded tie
American Colonization Society, and placed
at its head the most distinguished statesman
of the age, believed it unjust, and ubiquitous,
to colonize tue fee colortd population of
their time, without their consent, what
should we think now of the equity, not only
to expatriate them without their consent. but
upon their refusal to give it, to cOntiscate
their properly, dennde them OF their rights
and liberties, and force them into involunta-
~ servitudc. subject to be sold upon the first
reverse of fortune, for the payment of their
masters debts, and thus exile and separate
them from their families, that they had
learned. from human interest aud habit, to
love aud appreciate.
Where is the necessity of all this, admitting
(Which do not) the constitutional right or
authority? Does the public voice demand it
Are their property jeopardized aud their per-
sons annoyed by this unfortunate people, that
legislation is essential to their humiliation
From The census report of 1851, it appears
that the free persons of color in Tennessee
were 6.4I0, and the slaves 239.460. aud that
of the whites 763l54 The two latter num-
bcrng together l.0O2.6l4 from shs we ar
rive at the comparative or relative value of
the former and two latter, which is only .06
per cent, or fraction over ! of per cent.
Then there can certainly be no urgent neces-
sity to expalriate population so comparative
" insignificant. Ought not the magnitude
of the evil to be great, to denudc a popula-
ton of their homes and liberties upon
doubtful constitutional act2 Should not the
of our ancestoral statesmen, neither during
the IS years OF Federal existence, nor the
preceding 81 years under Colonial authority.
have afforded us any evidence that they pos
sesSed authority or the power of repatriation,
except for crime. But, upon the contrary,
they afforded them the right of trial by jury,
the benefit of habeas corpus, in common with
the predominant race. So scrupulous were
they, that even the colonization society was
formed to colonize them by their consent.
These free persons Of color hold their free
dom either by the civil. common law, or 10y
statute, which is but a relaxation of former
probibitory law. Several of the Colonies
prohibited, long before the Declaration of In
dependence, the emancipation of slaves.
Judge Reese said the act Of emancipation
was concurrent act by the owner of the
slave and the government. The owner has a
property in the slave. the other the control
over his social condition. The act OF eman-
cipation. therefore, envOlves the consent and
act of the master aud the consent of the gov
ernment. Mccullough VS.. Fanny Moore, 9
Yer. sos. II must foTtioTi require the like
consent of each to dissolve il. The maxim
Qaaeibef ooao's,io p0Ttissin5e contra danatOrza an
terpreta'.da est, must apply to the state in this
case. -.-...--.. &C. -r--s--
IL Is true that the free,lom Tins conferred