Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-10-02
VOLUM ME XIII, NO. 226.


] From the Chicago Postl
The Constitution Of the State Of Illinois pro
Vides that the Legislature shall enact laws t
prevent negroes from coming into the State
The Legislature, acting on that authority, ha
enacted strong prOhibitOry laws, and provide,
severe penalties against their violation Th
people of this State, at the election in Jan'
last, by more than two third vote adopted
provision of the Constitution declaring that ne
grOes should not be allowed to eom5 to thi
State.
At this time there are some six hundred negro
women aud children at Cairo and it is said that
there are fifteen hundred more to arrive there
within day. Secretary Stanton has ordered
that the provost marshal at Cairo shall hand
these negroes over to such persons who viii take
them and provide for them That is, whoever
will take negro woman and provide for her
wants, clOthe her, feed her, etc, shall have the
use of her labor. The question Of authority
at once arises. Can Secretary Stanton over
ride the Constitution and laws of IIliuoiH
These negroes are not prisoners Of war, they are
not engaged in the service Of the government.
| They are unfortunate creatures who, 10 addition
/ TO their other vicissitudas are now 10 a state Of
destitusion. Their destitution appeals to the
I humanity OF every one, and we trust that the
/ kind and charitable will, without delay, send
them clothing and an abundance Of the neces-
saries Of life
/ Who are theyl They are STYLED in the dis
/ patch "cOntrabands,n general term applied to
all slaves escaping from slavery These negroes
are women and children, where are th5iT hUs-
/ bands and brOthsTsl Are they IN the service Of
| the government, or are they serving their mas
ters in the rebel seTvice7 Have these negroes
ever been slaves and if so where have they bean
captured, cOn6sca.sd or emsncipatedl These
/ questions may not seem inappropriate when
tew tacts are considered.
There are a little over halt a million Of free
negroes in the United States, Of which more
! than half reside in the siavehodng States
These free negroes are to the people Of the South
the most Objectionable population, and we be
/ leve that the laws of several OF those States
/ prohibit their coming into them They would
gladly drive these negroes away, but there IS no
/ place to send them to. These negroes, psrticu-
4 lArly at this juueture, are viewed with extreme
suspicion, and are locked upon as ten fold more
l dangerous than the slaves. We have no doubt
| but that ali the free negro men at the South
have been impressed into the rebel service in
I some capacity. This course accOmplishes two
purposes. It prevents intercourse between
slaves and free negroes during the absence Of
the white males, and it also gives to the service
so much actual labor. Every free negrs en-
plOyed leaves a slave at home to work for his
owner.
Provisions and clothing are very high at the
South. Money is scarce the cause IN which
| those States are engaged swallows up the whole
earnings and capital of the people. The sup
port Of two hundred thousand helpless women
aud chldren-all Of the hated aud despised free
negro class, is a heavy burden upon people
already impoverished by long and disastrous
war. Tney will gladly give them to any S-ats
/ that wants th7m. They viii gladly send them
to any point in the Northern States, where they
will be permitted to land. In time Of peace they
woul chaeIfuIly let all their free negroes come
to Illinois if Illinois would take them, and now,
while they are at war, and when they have not
the means to support them, theYewill most read
ily furnish this State wish anysnumber OF that
population.
To the rebel States these two OF three hundred
thousand free negro women and children are so
many psupers, aud eaehsone they can induce to
90 North, or induce the North to receive. IS SO
much relief given directly to the Eebeis. IL is
nothing more nor less than trsnser Of the.
paupers of the rebel States to the Nortfisfn So
/ J. the North prepared 20 make their ss
home for the refuse Of the population Of tAa rabel
States Is Illinois prepared to reeeive ten or
| fifteen thousand free negro women and children
/ from Tennessee and Arkansas
The quest3ass whether these negroes at Cairo
/ have been "a negroes. II they have, then
/ their shipmehs 70 this State is an outrage II
/ they have been slaves, and are fugItives, It
beho0ves the people Of the North to take imme-
diate steps respecting the mode in which, if they
are to be allowed to remain in this State, they
are to support themselves Where are the maiesl
Where are their natural protectors and support!
If they are in the employment OF the Federal
government they are receiving wages, and that
wages should be devoted to the support Of these
women and children.
The Unite States nor the local authorities are
able to support the wives and children Of the
white men who are serving in the army and
engaged in putting down the rebellion. Are
/ they willing to support these free negro women
/ and children-wives and children Of men en-
gagged in the rebel service These are ques-
/ tions which must soon be answered practically
if these negroes are to be brought to the North
| They cannot be allowed to stsTve, and yet who
is to support them 1t is all very well to invite
/ the negro to freedom, but it is cruel to do 80
unless It is the intention to feed and clOthe, and
otherwise provide for him.
| The question Of conflict between the laws Of
/ Illinois and the order of Secretary Stanton IS
I one out of which there may be some troubles 1t
is question upon which the people of this State
have deep feeling.
| We do not wish to be understood as obJecang
in the slightest manner to any measures to afford
/ immediate and generous relief to these unioTtu-
nate people Anything that can be done TO
relieve their suffering and destituuOn shoIld be
done promptly and literally. Humanity de-
mands it. Bat We think before this thing goes
much further, there should be some steps taken
to prevent the South relieving itself by throw
ing its pauper population on the North to sup
Dort