Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-05

ties Of the people have responded to their
impatienoe and the South has, to appear
ance, accepted this condition of things, and
bas prepared itself for war upon the idea that
the success of the Government is the aboli-
ton Of slavery.
Before rational men are required to come
up to the full extent of this issue, it is meet
that the question be answered. What is to
be done with the negro2 If there were moth
ing in the future economical condition Of
the South, slavery being abolished, to
awaken the inquiry, there is that in the fate
of the colored race itself, and its probable in
fuence upon the country and the people
North as we'll as South, that should lead us
to look into the future, and endeavor to seek
a rational solution of the problem, before we
enter upon so momentous an experiment.
With large class of those who talk upon
the subject, the abolition of slavery is treated
as identical with the annihilstion Of the
negro; in other words, their minds seem in
capable to take in the fact that after slavery
is abolished the five millions of negroes will
remain. With such it is useless to reason.
But there are others who admit that the
question, what is to be done with the negroes
after their relations with their masters have
been dissolved 2 is of real Importance. These
have, in general, various theories upon the
subject, which, being founded upon very in
adequate conception Of the character Of the
elements, are absurd, some in one direction
and some in another.
Some are of the opinion that the slaves
may be instantly, by the act of abolition,
transformed into the same number of free
lsborers, and Southern society and Southern
agriculture relieved from the "black curse of
slavery 90 on as heretofore. The less they
know of the character of the African the
more fully are they convinced Of the correct
ness of their theory, which it is difficult to
combat, because of the large amount ofignor-
ance which it is necessary to remove before
the work of conviction can begin. When
we hear gentlemen iterating that "God hath
made of one blood all the nations of the
earth" and insisting that nothing but COM
mon schools and preaching are necessary to
turn the African into an Anglo. Saxon, we
may as we'll set him down as incorrigible.
A plan of more recent origin proposes to
| devote the money which this war will cost
to the purchase of the negroes, and their
| transportation to some other cline, where
! they may work out destiny of their own
This plan offers no answer to the question
Will the masters be willing to sell; and will
it not require war to compel them to par
with their property ?-or to the question
Will the negroes be willing to emigrate
Omitting these trivial things, however-toc
small to engage the attention of the philan
thropist-there is question of finance
which, to those who have taste for sucl
branches of human learning, might be littl
perplexing.
Five millions of negroes at the curren
rates would cost pretty sum of money ant
even if the Government could steal goodl,
portion of them, the price of the balance ant
the cost OF transportation would be hand
some item. 1t would require the entire nav
of the United States on the peace establish
ment to carry off to the coast of Africa tn
ualincrease, to say nothing of the origins
stock. There would then be the cost of thei
board in the new country; for common hu
manity would not allow US to permit then
to starve, as the consequence of our philan
T ,hroplc efforts in their behalf: and we ma,
bear in mind that we have now-or hac
quite recently-a body of a few hundred, il
lodgings, and annually "eating their head
Off" at Liberia, sent there under the patron
age of Mr.. buchanan.
We have no space here to present half tn
elements of this theory; but these are a fey
of them, and we may refer to the subjec
again. =