The daily bulletin. [volume] (Winchester, Tenn) 1862-1863, 1862-12-05
IH1 DAILY BULLETIN
Y. Z. HELMS, Ed
HI GElY MORNING, DEC. 5.
Free Negroes. or Not2 No 2.

joe, We suggested That Congress ought
20 take control Of the question. But,
It may be asked, why have the Conted.
crate government to remand tho "free
negro" into slavery? Why not leave
it TO the several States? Because the
measure ought to be national. Each
State should share alike in its financial
benefit. The C~onfoderacy needs the
immense revenue which would be real.
lied Gom the reclamation of this prop.
crty. Because the measure should be
uniform. Itlclt to the individual States
this could not be attained. Neither
uniformity ofplan, or time, would mark
the introduction Of the law. Because,
finally, the most liberal views and lar,
gost craftsmanship shoald preside over
the Legislative deliberations in settling
the details Of the plan OF reclamation,
to guard the law against every reason.
able possibility Of inhicting injury in.
stead Of its intended good, upon tho
passive party to it, and their posterity,
It, would not do to take the ~institu-
ton Of slavery, the laws controlling it,
i'll any of the States, as u model for the
nationalized system to Hc inauguratcd
in demanding the free blacks into ser.
vitude. They have acquired eltain
privileges, in their state Of relcasemcnt,
which, being simply just in themselves,
and not inconsistent with enlightened
vio"s Of slavery, or in any way incom.
patiblo with the interests of the mas.
ter, wisely considered, should be per.
petuated. Amorg'tEese privileges we
enumerate, the marriage relation, not
only sanctioned but rigidIy enforced by
law. This should be carefully respect.
ed. No cause but crime should scpa.
rate the black man from his wife. The
relation OF parent and child, tn is, too
should De 50 guarded 10y the law, that
mothers should not be separated from
their young children, In Brazil the
slave chooses his own master, and can.
rot be sold, if we are rightly informed,
except this privilege is respected. Sure
) a less liberal and ENLIGHTENED prin.
ciplo should not obtain, in this particu.
lar, in our proposed n~ationalizod sys.
TEN Of slavery. Tho black parent
should not only have the right to choose
his own master, when he is to be sold,
but the master of his children, also, up
to eighteen years, whom they would be
capable Of choosing for themselves.
Another privilege (Which perhaps in
all tho States has been by custom toll.
Grated, if not directly sanctioned by
law,l the so-called free negroes have
had, has been that Of having schools
where they were able to have u negro
teacher and learning to read. This is
as much as the negro needs or is capa-
bic of acquiring. Tho remanded slave
ought to have it.. 1t void put the
owners Of them to a little temporary
Inconvenience to be required, by the
remandatory law under which they
should hold this class of servants, to
have those, say under fifteen or un.
der twelve, when rcmanded and sold,
and the posterity of all of them; taught
to read. But the inconvenience would
be greatly ovorbalahccd by the perma-
ncnt good. We speak here only with
reference to free negroes remanded into
slavery, as proposed. Some may OBJ
ject to this part Of our proposition. 1t
may strike them as inexpedient. We