The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-08-17
The Treatmen, of Black RuRiuxes.

The Government has at last made the deci-
sion Of question that was long since forced
upon it by circumstances, and which ought long
since to have been answered. General Butler,
Of Fortress Monroe, has . thousand Virginia
negroes in his possession, and be lately wrote a
letter to the Secretary of War requesting in
structions rs to what he should do with them
They are composed of men, women and children,
and are reported to be slaves who have either
run away from their masters or been abandoned
by them, and they seek safety and shelter within
the lines of our camp. & 4, g5sss = .sibal;s
In the first view of the case and under the
Constitution of the United States these are oil
human beings, and nothing more nor less. They
are black men, women and children who come
to supplicate our protection amid the actual or
apprehended horrors of civil war. 1t would
seem clear that they are to be treated like any
other human beings. The Fedora! Government
as such knows of no distinctions of race or per-
| son within its own peculiar jurisdiction. Sla-
very exists only in the States, and by virtue Of
the laws of the States. It is utterly unknown
TO the Federal power, and is recognised by the
latter, when recognised at all, as municipal
regulation only, having no existence or force
outside Of the municipal laws. No one claiming
the protection of the laws of the United States
can be regarded as a slave at all, until he has
been proved 90 by regular Judicial process.
Mr. Cameron, in his reply to General Butler,
appears to have forgotten to certain extent this
fundamental principle. He assumes through
out his letter that these blacks at Fortress Mon
| roe are slaves and then he decides, lst, That
the laws of all loyal States are to be enforce as
usual, which is perfectly proper; I'd, that "per
| sons held to service who are employed in acts
hostile to the Government shall, according to
the law of August 9th, 1861, be discharged from
| their service, witch is also perfectly proper !;
o AZ Oh IL c,~: cl,n1I Z,
to work, an account kept of their time, the
names of their masters, whether loyal or dis
loyal, put on record, and then, when peace
comes, it is intimated, Congress will provide for
the reward of their labor and "the just COM
pensation of loyal masters"
This assumes throughout that all the black
fugitiyes are slaves, though it is known that
there are many free negroes in Virginia 1t as-
sumes that they are slaves although ia does not
appear that any one has asserted claimsOf own.
erships to the greater part Of them. 1t as
sumes that they are slives, although large,
perhaps the larger part of them, say they have
therefore like other waits, or like the jetsan and
fotsana of the sea, are free. 1t does not say
what is to be done with the women, who are
| to perform only part of the labors of camps,
| or with the children, who cannot labor at ALL
| Are these, too, to be treated as slaves, and at
the end of the war sent back to their pretended
/ owners, having been tspderly cared for by the
| United States Government in the interval? MIR.
| Cameron thus proceeds upon wrong hypothesis,
| while he applies the resulting principle to only
| q part of his case.
| In our opinion. these fugitives are to be dis.
| posed of in precisely the same manner as other
i fugitives. Until they are proved to be slavee
i by judicial process they are free men. If they
arc able and willing to work ia the armies, they
should be set to work; if they are not able to
work, they are eleemosynary subjects, to be
| treated like other eleemosynary subjects but
in no case is the Government to be converted
into great STAKEHOLDER or slave factor. When
it employs black men it must account to them
as TO other persons. 1t cannot work them on
1 the account of any alleged owners, without ac
knowledging the right of property in man and
making itself party to the slave system. Loyal
owners of slaves must take Care Of their slaves
and when they run away, can recover them
Ionlyby the regular process of law. II the laws
II are suspended by the acts Of the rebels, 1t ID
4 their misfortune. They must suffer in their
II slave as they do in their other property Oul
soldiers cannot take upon themselves the char
acter of slave catchers Our camps cannot be
transformed Into great ootiies or slave-pena. Ar
4 we do not make war for the benefit Of loyal
slsve.masters, or for the benefit Of any other
special class, but for the benefit of the general
4 community, 50 must they, as class, consent
4 like other classes TO share in the burdens Of
4 war for the sake Of lie general ends.-[N. 7.
4 Eve. Post 80
ARassf or fn Hon. T. 4. r. NELsoH or TEs.
l1rssIs--W learn from the Hon. HORACE NAV.
xARD of Teunnestee, who has been in this city
4 for some days, that his colleague Hon 7. A. 4.
NRLsoE, was arrested in attempting TO make
his way north, and that he is to be tried on
charge of treason Mr. Nelson's route led him
through corner Of Virginia, where he was dis
covered and taken by party Of secessiQpistay'
Aessrs NELsON and MAYNARD have Just been
elected 70 the United States Congress, BY their
old constituents, who are still true to the Union.
Mr.. xAfHARp says the Union feeling Il warm
in Eastsrn Tennessee, and that the. people are
anxious to Eight for the preservation Of tho Gov.
eminent Re ID astonished to fnd IN anti.war
faction appsaring in the North, and TO learn
that there are here and there persons willing 70
make pescs b. cesssnting to The destruc,ion Of
the Unioa. SECESSION was rapidly sinking in
the 0Ualh before The Battle Of Manassss, The
victories Of Gen. NcCLslLAH's forces in Western
vlre1a had . vesy dishsasseBing effect q the
6ecess,onists Even nov many people IN the
South bsIisvs the Nansslas bstil9 stosiss ID the
Dsossh pspers must b sompoesd chiefly Of falsi
6casiona They have hesn lied % 20 extsava
faasIy that they have heeoms very issseduleas.
Oipcinnsti Commercial.
sssThe New Orleans True Delta incidentally i
fserts that three fourths Of the gallant men from
Ethst esty aa1 &opes Who have abandoned home
Ito march - battle Asldl N defence Of South