Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1862-10-21
Negro Colonization.

The Rochester papers publish cores
pondence between Postmaster General Blair
and Frederick Douglas, in relation to the
question of negro colonization. A son of
Mr.. Douglas desired to join Sen. Pomeroy
party of emigrants for Central America,
and received from his father a note of in
PRODUCTION to the Senator, accompanied
however, by strong protest from Mr..
Douglas, against the general plan OF col
onlzation recommended by the President
Senator Pomeroy laid both these letters
before Mr.. Blair, who thereupon addressed
letter to Mr.. Douglas, in which he says:
"There is, in fact, no question of superb
ority or inferiority involved in the propos-
ed removal. When we say that society is
necessarily made up of superiors and infe-
riors in grades Of intellect, and according
to the ordinary classification OF employ
ments, it is manifest that no removal of
the colored race would be necessary on
that account, even if it were true that the
race was inferior to ours.
This demonstrates that the propriety of
the removal arises not from any consldera-
ton of the relative merits of the different
races, but simply from the differences be-
tween them which the Creator himself has
made; and it seems as obvious to me as it
was to the benevolent and philosophical
mind of Jefferson, that the opinion against
which YOU protest, is the necessary result
Of indelable differences thus made by the
Almighty"
Mr.. Douglas makes an elaborate reply
to Mr.. Blair, and meets the argument Civ
en- in the foregoing extract, as follows:
at is you who wish to get rid of US,
not we who wish to get rid of you. We
have readily adapted ourselves to your civ
iization, have carefully copied your man
nors snd customs. We are Americans by
birth and education, and have preference
for American Institutions, as against those
of any other country That we should
wish to remain here IS quite natural to
me, and creditable to you, and ! repeat,
| see no necessity for the separation.
But if we really wished to get away
from this great Anglo-Saxon race, the
plan now commended to the free colored
people would he unayaiIing. Indeed, no
plan of separation can permanently be
successful The white mans face is seen
and the white mans hand is felt in every
part of the habitable globe. Asia bows
10 Teutonic sway; Europe acknowledges
no other than Caucasian power; Africa is
invaded 10y the white races on all sides,
aud the Celestial Empire, locked in ua-
broken mystery for ages. now sees all her
gates opening and her walls falling down
as the white man approaches. You may
send us 10 Central America this year, and
the white man will be at our elbow the
next year. Indeed, colonies of white men
have already gone, and are still going.
do not yself care to 60 into the wa
ter to get out Of the rain. | have as
much reason TO expect that justice and
civilization will eventually do their work
upon North Americans as upon Central
and South Americans. For, After all, the
trouble is that our white fellow-country-
men have not yet reached the sublime
height Of civilization, at which each man
is contented with bis just proportion Of the
means Of comiolt aid happiness.