The daily bulletin. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn) 1862-1863, 1862-12-04
The DAILY BULLETlN
". T, HELMS, Editor,
THURSDAY MORNING, DEC. 4.
Free Negroes, or Not

I ~ ~ VI wv
which como TO us across the line, indi.
cate that the abolition government at
Washington, are having 4 perplexing
time over the question Of the DISPOSE
tion Of the thousands Of negroes that
their hireIlngs have stolen from the cit
izenS of Virginia, Tennessee, and other
States of the Confedoracy.
Very recently, as their papers tell
US, the abolition government appealed
TO the abolition governor of Massachu-
sets, for domicil for five hundred ne.
gro families. But the governor is re.
ported to have declined the prolfered
accession to the blacl population of
thatState. He would none of them."
The New York World, in an editorial
commont upon the incident here allud.
cd to, says:
"Now, what is the government to do with
this contrabrand elephant? The Western
States won't have them, the Middle States
don't want them, and now Gov. Andrew
promptly declares that they shan't set foot up
on the soil of the old Bay State"
Reports of indignation meetings, us.
sembled to denounce Mr.. Lincoln's pol
icy of sending the kidnapped and es'
capped negro slaves into the western
parts of the United States, come to us
in tho papers.
Now these things go to prove that
the people of Massachusetts and Of 9TH
er parts Of the United States, are COM
ing to BIO convinced that the id>a of
"trce-negrO" is next thing to Il hum.
bug. They are satisfied that free ne.
groes are not u class Of citizens to be
desired even in their system OF white
seryitude. How much more incOmpat.
lbIe are they with our system Of negro
slavery?
We suggested in Il late article what
we thought Ought to be done with this
class of our population. Weare aware
that some mon would not only oppose
the adoption OF such a measure, but
would regard it as an act of injustice to
the "free" negro, i, the government
should remand him into slavery.
But the question seems to resolve it.
self into this simple formulas the
FREQ negro been benefited, or not, by
the laws which authorized his manu-
mission! Ifthey have been benefited,
thon the manumission laws were GOOD
things; if not, bad.
Bear in mind, the negro had no hand
in this matter. We undertook to leg.
isIats for him. He was not a party to
it. He had no voice aboutit. We said
to his mastor, You may manumit your
slave" In doing this, we by implica-
ton said; that the condition in which
m~anumission placed the negro, was bet
ter for him, than to belong 10 . master.
The presumption is, tha. the law-ma.
king power will not give permission to
the citizen to do injury to himself, or
to another who might be at his mercy.
The conduct of our hated and hating
enemies, SO plainly evinccd in the mat
ter OF the 50, called "contrabrands," and
Their unwlllingncss to have a very few
ofthem settled, even temporarily, in che
OF their commonwealths, attosts the fact
that free negroes are worthless. At q
time, if ever, when abolitionists. for
conscicnces' sake, ought TO tolerate and
even desire to have these escaped slaves
domiciled about them, we fad one of
their governors, if report be true, off.
cialIy shutting the States door upon
them.
d. 49,, ,nol nn+ :.