, 1862-04-03
The Emancipation Question fn the:
District of [o1H111hfa.


have been told all along that Maryland and
Kentucky did not care anything abonts1ayery,
and would gladly see it abolis'led, and that ii |
tie abolitonists would only be quiet, they
would free the slaves themselves Now, when |
the proposition Is madeby the President, and |
acceded to by the House, to pay them for |
their flaEes, they oppose the p1an with bit. |
terness and, pertinscity which shows that all |
their professions Oil the subject, in the past,
were sheer hypocrisy. =
Even the tardy justice to the North, Of hav-
ing the capital Of the Nation free from the foul
diesrace Of slavery, is opposed By these border |
State representatives who love slavery, as the |
President told them. =. =
Kennedy Of Maryland, Salisbury of Dela-
ware, and Davis of Kentucky, ilir1y rave in
their furious opposition. to so reasonable a |
measure.
There arc some exceedingly interesting facts
about the co1ored people in Washington,
which ought to he widely known at this time,
as in every candid mind they may dissipate
many prejndices. We take the following ez-
tracts from letter to the New York E1ening
Post, and commend them to the attention Of
our readers:
The total number Of aolored persons in the
District Of Columbia is now fourteen Thousand
three hundred and sixteen. They arc divided
as follows:
Slaves In Washington City 1744
Slaves IN washington Countys- 634
Slaves IN Georgetown. ST
Free people Of color III
Total. ..14ai8
TRoronrnoS a or FREE nIAc9s AND SLAVES:
The free blacks Of the District are dis
tributcd through the city Of Washington
proper, ! district called the Island {being that
part on the point Of land running down be-
Tween the Potomac and Anacostra riyers), the
Navy Yard vicinity, Capitol Hill, Meridian
tions Of the permanent residents are on the
Island. Here many Of them occupy small
wooden tencments, Us they do in other places
IN the District, with garden patches attached.
Here they keep their horses and hacks, used
for hire, having small barns or stables attached
to their premises These properties are their
own, generally, the products Of hard earnings,
obtained in small sums, By public and private
service. Nearly all Of them have families,
with the strongest natural attachments bind
ing them to the soil and each other.
TIE SLAVES.
Probably about 0ne.lalf the slaves ROW in
the District are brought in By non-residents,
and are retained for limited periods and for
temporary purposes.
A1arge proportion Of the slaves here are fe-
males. The reason Of this is obvious. They
are the most profitable. They allow Of an in
as the condition OF the child always follows
that Of the mother. There is less danger, on
this account, also, Of their attempting TO
escape. The sacred tie Of consanguinity is
thus used to fasten the slave.
PROPERTY OWNED BY B1Acks
The amount Of property, real and personal
estate, distributed among this population, is
shown By the official records to be atlea.t i've
hundred thousand dollars. It is believed by
persons well acquainted with the facts to be
one hundred thousand more. There is one
colored man in the District worth, in real es-
tate and persona! property, seveaty-five thou
sand dollars. This amount has all been earned
in an honorable business, which this man has
pursued for years under many difficulties Of
unjust laws. He has frequently lent his money
to white men has had mortgages on the
houses of three public men here, two Of whom
have been, and one Of whom now is, Senator
in Congress. One Of the ex-senators and
debtors is no less person than the ex-honora-
BILE John G. BrcckinTidge. The traitors Flord
and Wjgfan arc Of the number who borrowed
money from this black capitalist. It is gen
orally understood that he does not value his
lists at q very high figure
1t has been ascertained from the records
thnt in addition to the taxes they pay on their
real estate and personal property, the colored
people pay ten cents on every hundred dol
lars worth Of property for school purposes,
or to be applied to the Common School fund
for the education Of white children exclusive
"; 60 that tile negroes Of the District of Co.
1umbia are taxed to pay for the education of
the whites. The amount annually paid BY
them for this purpose is not far from six hun
dred dollars.
THEIR SCHOOLS AND PAPERS.
The children Of the blacks arc forbidden by
law to be educated in the very schools they
are thus taxed to support! They arc Obliged
to support their own schools.
magazine and weekly paper are circulated
among the blacks in this District The
monthly is printed at Baltimore, called the
Repository. It is devoted to religion, litera-
ture, science and art. It is owned and con
Quoted entirely By black men. The number
for February contafns sixteen artic1es-al1
original.
They have large and handsome weekly pa-
peralso, publishedin in Philadelphia Christ
| ian Recorder. A colored man is the editor.
| and acts also as the General Book Steward for
| the church that Owls the concern.
| There arc several corresponding editors.
| CHARACTER OF THE BLACKS
They arc docile, and haye-cren the free
| vice They resort to it, among those they be-
| liere to be their friends, habitually aud con
| stantly. Touching instances Of this kind are
| frequently occurring.
antly proved by what they have done and are
| doing. In every case where they are fairly
| compensated they acquire property.
Within my knowledge co}orcd servant
! man Of the late Daniel Webster, who was paid
reasonable wages, supported his family re-
| specially, purchased a lot Of land on the
island and erecteda neat and convenient house
| out Of his savings.
The expenditures of many large establish
ments are managed entirely and with complete
success by black men.
| EDUCATION OF TIE BLACKS.
| Though they pay to support the schools for
white children, aud though they live too fur
| apart for advantageous combinations, yet the
blacks Of the District maintain schools for
their children. These are generally kept in
the basement Of their churches, which are not
as well fitted for such purposes IS they should
be-. Some of them are damp and injurious to
health. Notwithstanding these and many 9th
CT disadvantages, they exhibit decided love
| Tor education, and acquire the rudiments with
marked success. In numerals and geography
they soon become experts In recitations,
especially Of pathetic and descriptive poems.
they are cxcel1eRt.
| SOCIAL PECCL1ARIT1Es.
! They have great number Of voluntary as
| soclatloDs, and some Of their benevolent and
literary societies are the most sreaitable
|
constantly raised in this way. Literary tastes
arc fostercd. Cemeteries, public grounds and
edihses, schools, libraries, clothing and food
for the poor are thus procured, and OBJ
jects connected with the Christian Church aud
its ministry arc permanently established.
There are at1east t1irty associations of this
kind in constant operation among the people
of color III the District Of Columbia.
| RELIGIOUS CONDITION,
i The number Of their churches, in all, is
| twelve. The average attendance at each ser.
| vice is about three hundred The cougresa-
| tlons vary considerably at different seasons of
| the year. Those who come with their en-
| ployers to the district, 50 away with them In
proportions as these employers are engaged
| on Sundays, go Will the blacks often be-
| Their appearance IL church is creditable.
Their dress is dccorous and becoming. IN
Primitive Methedists-similar il several re-
spccts to those Of the Frienis-quite extcn-
sively predominatc- Quiet, solemnity, order.
| everywhere prevail, with only such exceptions
as are always found in certain portions ofe7ery
society.
One of their churches has a neat organ, aud
some large ehoiTs. Congregational singing is
popular. One or two Of the churches pay
their pastors salaries Of i thousand dollars
year. AL these are worthy men, and render
the most efficient service. 4 more se1f-deny-
ing, pezseyeFing, labo1ious body Of men than
the colorcd ministers of the District Of Colum-
bia cannot be found In any country. Their
influence is deservedly great, and may be safe
II trusted By tho friends Of the Union and
popular government.
| ATTACHMENT TO TEE COUNTRY.
No people in the United States are more
k.ready and Willigg to ttfolI0w the fac and