The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1862-02-06
Can EmamcipaIed Slaves Take Care Oh
Themselves.


Can EmamcipnIed Slaves Take Care q
Themselves.
The following experience of Mr. McDonough
a slveholder, who resided neaC New-Orle an s
will 90 far 10 answer the above question. l
is abridged from a statement published by M r
| Nc Donough, in The Cincinnati Gazette, Nj arc h
l843 DIR. John G. Palfrey, formerly membe
of Congress, and author of very valuable His
tory of New England, made use of it in a pam
phlet he pub iished in vIndication OF free labor
| Dr. Palfrey, whose father was STAKEHOLDER il
New Orleans, was acquainted with Mr.. NcDo
nough, and had c1uversed with him concerning
the experim ent here described.
Mr.. McDonough, finding that his slave
worked for themselves on Sunday, for want 0
time on other days, proposed give them Sat
urday afternoon to work for themselves,
they would keep The Sabbath. He was sool
struck with The amount OF labor they Performed
during the half day they had TO themselves
and with the sums OF Nancy they G0ntrlyed Il
derive from il. 1t occurred to him that it would
be a good plan gradually TO sell them the re
| naming days Ui the week, ON condition of theil
! payi q hiu ain sums ont OF their wages, Al
! appointed periods. so tar as appears, the plan
| was suggested solely by financial policy, uniu-
! huenced by any conviction OF the wrongtunt SIS
ct taking her peoples wages. He called togeth-
er his slaves, eighty in number, and proposed
to them TO work for him on Saturday afternoon,
at small wages, instead of working for them
selves He advised Them to draw upon these
wages as little as possible, and leave the re-
maju,er in his hands to buy the whole of Sat
urday for themselves. That the terms he Of
fered were pretty hard, is evident from the fact
that he told them he calculated It would take
them seUen gears TO buy one dug. But he re-
minded them that the trsL part Of the process
,,;44 ,a,1lf far Arh, fhnJ hod ha
whole of Saturday to work for wages, they
could in less time buy Friday for themselves ;
and the facility would go On Increasing with
every day of the week tAey succeeded in pur-
chasing. lie told them that according to the
terms lie could offer, aud the calculations he
had made, it would take them about fifteen gears
to buy their entire freedom.
Undismayed by the tediousness OF the pro-
cess the slaves seized his offer with Gag erness.
They went to work so zealously, that they
bought the whole of Saturday III less than six
wears Friday in four years Thursday in two
wears and a quarter; Wednesday III fifteen
months; Tuesday in one year. Monday III SIX
months
In fourteen ears and half, they mad pur-
chased their freedom, beside working Tor their
master on the days that still legally belonged
TO him. 1t would have been done sooner,
but during tie later years they expended more
than they had formerly done for comforts and
cony eniences for their families The labor OF
their little boys and girls also had not MADE up
the sum required for them by their master SO
there was balance due on their account, which
rhev worked five additional months to pay.
Mr.. McDouough, describing his experiment,
says:
"Tbev had always been well disposed aud Or
DERBY, but, from the day made the proposition
a great change took place. IN them, Aseda'enesS'
Il care. AN economy, anu Industry took posses
siou OF them, to which there APPEARED to be no
bounds but their physical strength. Ihey be-
came temperate, moral, aud religious, setting
Am example that was observed aud admired by
ALL They performed for me- more labor, ana
better labor, than slaves usually perform, and,
i'm addition to that, earned money enough TO
buy themselves From the time the eXpen-
ment began 10 its completion beside paying
TOR themselves, they gained me money enough
10 enable me to buy gang Of aiaves, nearly
t,oice their number, AT The prices III Carolina
and Virginia. This | state from exact accounts
kept by me, which l am ready TO attest 10, III
the most solemn manner, at amy time
The steadhesS and industry of these slaves
attracted attention in the neighDorhood, and
also III the adjacent city of NeW-OrleanS, where
twenty or thirty cf them were let out 10 work
under the supelIntendence Oi d head DHckjay-
er named jim,
The public were not informed of the sumU-
Ius which prompted these slaves to such unuau-
al activity and diligence. Pcthaps Mr. McDo-
nough did not consider it prudent TO nave much
talk about it. Such experiments prove TOO m"ch
they interfere with the established policy OF
slaveholding society, and consequently are gen
orally viewed with disapprob' iom, sometimes
mauifests itself in incouyenlent ways Among
those whose attention was attracted by these.
slaves was q Sir. Parker OF New Orleans.
"What kind OF people are thee OF toufs !
said he 10 Mr. McDouough. Il never saw such
people" They are building q house next door
10 me, where can have my eye on them from.
morn,ng i!i might, and hey are always at work
Do T. ii me where they live
They live On the opposite side Of the river,
where do replied Mr. McDonough, and
when they are employed in hew-Orieans, they
q oss the lIveI every morning and might.
why Sir, | am an early riser" said Mr
Parker am usually up before day. But CIV
erv morning they wake me with their slhg"S
and the noise Of their trowels They WORK as
long as they can see TO lay brick ahd after
that, they carry up bricks and NOR ar tor an
hour or Two, SO as to be ahead OF ihelr WORK
the next morning. They never 1oas up ana
down those immensely long .dders, live stores
bioh; they run up and down ali day, If there
was A white ogerseer driving hem, whip IN
hand. | could understand it. But there is no
body over them, and / never saw, you at the
bnliding That Jim mnsI b. great man, Slr,
| should like 20 own him.
He had previously made successive offers Tor
jim. and finally offered $4,000, which was re-
fused.
Mi McDonough says:
"Mr Parker was Tot aware OF the stimulus
that was acting apan The hearf OF each ana eY-
erv one of them lie lid not know that 1t was
the whole body If them that moved together as
one mind that it was not mererely tie great
ness of the head man, as he supposed"
In order 9ulv to estimate the power OF the
motive which stimulated these slaves, the rea-
der must bear in mind tie hard terms their mas
4er made with them, and the long years they
were working, with hope deferred. Added 10
this, was the fact that freedom was coupled
with the penalty Of Punishment from home ana
friends. Shareholders do not like the presence
of emancpated slaves around them; 1t makes
other slaves uneasy. Consequently, when they
mad worked out their freedom, they were oohg
ed 70 90 to Liberia. Negroes are remarkaoie
! ,or strong local attachments; and powerful ~
deed must be the motives either OF feaI or nope
that can induce them to leave the scenes 70
which they have been long accustomed
! Yet with all these drawbacks theiI SOUS
were filed with gratitude 70 ne man VINO mao
granted them the boon OF iIeedom thCugn ne
/ had made by the JhiIH"S1lO" g. -
none ,,G l. which r:ghtfull, belonged Ia them On
the sth Of June, 1912, they all sailed for Lbe
tia. Their last words, when they parted with
| INT Med nough' other slaves, were: As you.
hope to meet US 10 Heaven, take good care OF
our beloved MASTER
/ In the Island Of Jamaica, The emanciPated
slaves had to contend with difficulties OF all
sorts. Their masters were very deeply III
debt at the time Of emancipation, they were
reluctant to give up their old habits despot-
ism, they paid their laborors the lowest posi-
BILE wages, and charged them the Ilghest posi-
BILE rents. The wages OF emahclpateo saves
we,a from "A to "a cents a day, out Of which
i tbzv boarded themselves; yet in four years
they bonobt land and erected building, for
Which thew paid 1928, $50. During that short