The national Republican., 1862-10-11
WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH THF
NEGRO.

WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH THF.
NEGRO.
We have already discussed this question at
some length 10 our columns But it is ques.
tiop Of so much interest, and so profoundly
s.irs the public mind al this time, tha. its fur.
Their consider alton by us may not be deemed
out Of place or ill-timed.
There are many philsnthropic and earnes,
men who believe that the negro must be trans
ported from cur soil in order TO rise; that there
are and can be no proper opportunities afforded
him TO rise in this country, because Of bis nat
ural inferiority, and because the American peo
pie will never consent that the negro shall be
placed upon an equality with the white race
He must therefore, be colonized for bis owp SAX
and for ours. The fsllacy OF this argument II
patent and cannot be maintained In the light Of
Christianity and civilization, aud all the real
facts and experience belonging to the case show
it to he unsound.
We are free TO admit, for the sake of the az
gumsnt, that the negro in this country, who has
been reared iu slavery, is ignorant to a large
extent, lacks capacity, is not sslfrelisnt, and
needs therefore the guidance of the white man
insall his undertakings. Bat it does not follow
from these circumstances, in which we find the
negro race, that they must be sent cut Of the
country, any more than it follows that every
other weak minded person Of other races who
are not seif.reliant, should be colonized.
G,,h n rronouition in ita onnlination IN the
feeble and incapacitated Of other races would
be rejected at once as moBstrous and absurd.
What would be thought OF the proposition to
collect together all the fseble-mipded, incapa-
cited shiftle,s, longing people Of other races and
send them off to some other country, under the
plea that they can't rise here:
There is no sense in the argument, based
upon such an idea, whether in its application
it be applied to the colored race, or any other
race.
We have millions of broad acres of land il
this country, that must be cultivated, and wher
this rebellion is over, who arc to do the labor,
Of raising cotton. sugar, rice, DC, &c, In the
South; if not the negro:
The idea Of sending him out of the country
because we no longer enslave him. ia neither
wise nor economical. 1t is no part Of prudence
nor Of craftsmanship.
Why no! employ the negro aud pay him fol-
HE labor as other laborers are paid? Why no,
give Aim a chance for himself? Must we al
way drive him to his uursquited toll under the
lash or, ceasipg to do this spurn him from our
midst, and do the work of raising cotton our
selves, because, forsootb, the negro cannot be
endured except az slave" Why not let him
have his home, with bis wife and children, as
his own, with solid, substantial pay for bic
daily toll and trust that this will do az much,
at least, TO develop his industrial qualities OF
brain and hand, as the slsve.drivsI /. whip and
the stipted fare which slavery doles out to
him
IT, say tha, al entire race, upder these cir
cumstances, will not work. will not take care
OF themselves, IL to libel human nature itself
With free opportunities for development, there
is no race, however degraded, that will not ad
vance, that will not present nj ny examples Of
greatness, that will not, even in mass, make
uP"ui" W pcnhSbCt
mental, physical, and moral life. All history
shows this.
But it is contended by many that the negro,
unless under compulsio6S such as slavery in
poses, will not work We don't believe II. We
have seen nothing among this people anywhere
that confirms this declaration. On the contra.
ry, 1t is abundantly reiuted everywhere that
there is found any considerable number of col.
ored people.
But wha is considered the final and sencing
Tgum7nt In this dscu ssi0n, is this, tbe whites
will nev"r tolerate negro equality in ibis coun
try. No white man will submit to the degra
dation Of aboring beside the egro. This ar
gument ia the outgrowih of slavery itself, and
will pass away with 1t.
Whether the negro shall have equal poiti.
cal rights and social advantages with the whites
are questiOns which 1t is not our purpose to dis
cuss in this connection. But whether he shall
be permitted to labor and be paid Tor his abol
and remain in the land Of his birth, are ques
tions that do not admit Of doubt. They ar,
settled as his indefeasible right and we ar,
confident of both the righteousness and justc
of this privilege as the black mans birthright
We desire to bs fully understood in this mat
ter, and we ray, therefore, that we do not oh
ject to the colonization of the colored people o
this country with their consent, but never upoI
the grounds that they cant stay here, have no
q right to stay here, and cannot ris0 here W.
repudiate most emphatlcally all such ideas, aud
never will consent to deIer to that wicked pre-
jadics which is determined to sxpariste thu
colored man from the soil whereon he was
bora.
Tnsss arc our views, adopted after much re
h.niInn and ua ahAIl dafanl md slucldaLe them