, 1862-08-02
& he q rihmmG.
SATURDAY AUGUST, 2, 1862.
TIE EXPERIMENT III SOUTH
CAROLINA,

1ah t.AfEh1MEhI LIZ 6OU1H
CAROLINA.
What Shall be Done with the Freed
| Blacks2
a great national question ia being solved,
ard BY happy conjunction Of clrcuu1 stances,
OF the soil OF the very State which was fore.
most In precipitating this solution Of vexed
question upon the present age What shall
oe done With the blacks. What are their ca.
pacities for elevation. What promise do the
race give as to the results OF voluntary labor :
ibis gives great Importance to every careful
aud reliable statement Of facts from Gen.
Hunters command.
Some little light is thrown UPON the matter
IN letter from Mr.. ]. NJ. dcKtu to Mr.
stephen Cotwen. 8fr. McKim first discusses
the black man's pluck. Slavery is unmsnlv.
II saps the virtue Of Its victims But man te
lighting aItmal The native African lives in
continued war. Here, he prefers the tolls Of
peace, but he has, when occasion REQUIRED.
shown an aptitude for fighting. Proof of this
is 1ound In the annals Of the Revolution and
OF the Ear Of 1872.
lie negroes take readily to trade, and not
cnly supply commodities to the whites and
The shipping, but purchase fesly also in re-
TURF. He mentions three accounts, a1nount-
ing to S2 GOO in the aggregate, which has been
returned to relief committees at the North
1of articles sent down to these colored people,
these iaefs suggest an enlargement Of the
| market for Northern manufactures, The
siaEc consumes bnt mere tr tle in manufar.
! 1nfed goods. Aside from his food, the cost
Il Maintaining him is hardly ten dollars q
| year, on the average. Mr.. McKim estimates
1t at much lower figure. If these men are
! ice and are laborers, their wants increase and
they must have many more goods than thev
now consume.
The subject Of climate has naturally A.
tracted attention. Ar. McKim discusses
this at some length, and reaches very favor
able conclusion. We quote his 1anguage.
Tie f4vorite theory Of Charleston sayans ia
'Sthe southern climate is ,atal to unacclinated
Wh1te people; they cannot bear the SUI. in
day time Nor breathe the air at night without
immediate danger to 1ife." Ths inttrtuce
they desire to be drawn from tnis ASSERTION is.
That cotton, rice and sugar eau ONLY Dc ra1s,d
successfully at the South by black slave labor.
NOW. whatever may be LIE truth on the gen-
eIal subjects Of climate and slavery, the TACT
OF this argument i rs lame as its logic. Our
soldiers Oh Hilton Head, rcputedlY one of the
least hea1thful Of the Islands, toll in the su a
by day and stand guard Al night; aud yet up
to tins time they appear to be as healthy as
fhe same nuulbsr OF men in similar service in
other parts OF the field. White carpenters
I'm The North, vino have been working for
the government there. say that they can bear
exposure TO the weather as well and even bel
tsr tlan the colored carpenters working alunp
side Of them. They can stand the sui nearly
as well, and the rain aud sudden Changes a
great deal better.
After detailing his own personal experience,
Mr. AIckinl says:
I am aware that ssone swallow does not
nsake 4 summer" nor one summer prove thu
truth of theory; but when an indivduaps
experience is backed up by that OF wnol.
booy-as is mine by thnr of the teacher aud
superintendents- fact is furnished o; impor-
tant signitcance; and the presumption is
iaised trait If one-half Of the pro-slayerv eli
matte theory rests upon false data, as has been
shown, tue othcr hall may moi be much III ire
f1nl1y supported.
That there will be sickness-epidemlc sick
ress-in some eases fatal sicknt:s, in these
Islands, this summer, is more tnan PROBABLE,
But that this disease will be- more yirul4nt, or
more "ldelv-spread, Than the epidenics OF
o1her LOW lands-as, for instance, the valleys
III 1he West, or the Al auto slopes ut tie
Eust--ls q matter in regard to which 1aucs
may be said on both sides. AS SIT of ,yaiusS
tie heat of the sun at PORT Royal, it must be
remembered there is tue refreshing sea breeze;
and as counteEl:tiye Of the mia5 N ia in tnt
air, there il the salt with which the atsnos phere
Is Ut al times more or less impc.gnAted
at the end OF three months from this time,
The teachers and Others will BE- a1le TO tell
more about the climate OF South Csro;iaa than
can be learned from any other source.
To the evils OF the climate may be added
the general nature Of Southern therapeutics,
which are fully up to the bes: stand ards of tn.
old fashioned 'heroie' practice, and which
are calculated to be ailiee Of the clm ate rather
than 10 modify its effect.
AS to the much mootcd point whether free
blacks will w~rk, Mr. McKim submits some
testimony from eaperintedents. One saws
They {the blacks work on with degree OF
confidence aCd Industry that has surprised
me. Though We came On TO the ground LIZ Ar-
~ Two mouths later than the date wneu they
We have planted more than half the ground
that was planted last year, including q 1uura
larger breadth Of corn. The genGralty ex-
pressed feeling is one Of content Lhey are
Wiling to endure q certain anonHt OF pr1yA-
tlon tur the cake Of being their I'm ms :ers.
do lot believe there is apo sner race ia the |
world TO docite or so easily managed. 1 an |
confident ttat no IriEhman could Be induced
to perform the amount OF labor they have ac-
compHshed this year with 80 little definite
pronl'se OF payment They work We'll and
willingly WhtneTcr they see clearly they are
to profit BY their labor. Il is TO b. regretted
that go large portion OF their Hork rnis
year has been upon d common field, where |
there was not felt that individual interest
II! lch alone can sim daN labor to its beSt
r suits. This gang system is relic of Ihe |
old slave system. and it must be abandoned
when the people come to work for regular
wages.
Another writes:-
Our experiment here has fully satisfied ne
OF two things; first, that the negroes will do
az much Work II the condition OF freemen,
aid Under jadicious System Of day WAGES.
o. they formerly did under tue stimulus OF
tie lash; secondly, that there is no nsed of
providing Tor the emigration of any Consider
able portion Of them, as they would prefer t,
stay where they are, and as their services will
oc required on the places where they have
been accustomed to LABOR.
The time mas arrived, it seems to Us, for
the government to take some definite steps
in tie matter. If the sta1ns OF these blacks
IS nov that Of Freshmen, let US know it begoad
doubt, and then We can work for thtir H.
prnvtmrnt and elevation, bo1h physically and
morally, with much better heart than Ee do
NOW, when tue future seems so uucertain. !
iAey are declared TO be Tree, my pl IN
would b. to pay them wayes for their work,
and It qulre them to purchase all they need IN
the may OF tood and clorhing, abolishing fh.
F1tsen1 s5sFcm Of allowances aud IT ,tui1le, Of
Lard tor private cultivation Z would have au
account kept Of their hnurs Of wo7k, precisely
US Is done in our workshops in the No .th, The
pay to be graduated according to the amouat
OF Wo1k dore. LII Shis way they would soon
ltarn to appreciate the ad:Auta yes Of industry,
aud would soon acquire the thrifty habits Of
The improvement in their physical conai.
tlon .: Luz inst secured, woald make proy.-
sion Tor their education By establishing schools
IN convenient Localities, with coupeteut
teachers, to be paid in part at lest, aud wnollg
by and BY, BY u Tux on tho patents. 1t would
not take a long time, think, TO make tn:
entire population eeltsupporting, aud to
enable the more thrifty Of tnsn to accumulate
something in advsnce Of their immediate
wants.
1ron.clad Frfgates--Heuding their