The Portland daily press., 1862-09-29
COMMUNICATIONS.
For the Press.


EDrToRs OF THE PREss:-Perhaps man
who has reached nearly three score years, and
never sought an Office, and very seldom at
tended a caucus, will not be thought qualified
to write an article suitable for political paper
But have few thoughts which are at your
service, if you choose to give them place in
the Press.
1t seems to me very unfortunate, to say the
least, at time like this, when the destiny of
the nation hangs trembling in the balance, that
the public mind is so far under the influence
of the old partizan war cries, of fifteen or twen-
ty years since, as to prevent unanimity of feel
ing and action. Men of ordinary intelligence
and candor, are less likely to see the sophstry
of an argument that falls in with their political
sympathies. Plausible falsehoods have been
. reiterated so often for mere partizan purposes,
that many have come to regard them as estab-
lished truths, admitting of no denial.
The question of slave emancipation, has been
sharply debated for the last TWENTY-FIVE or
J thirty years; and has now come upon the
country in new form. Various assertions
have been made, pro and con, in reference to
to emancipation per sc has been that the slaves,
ifset free, would "fiock to the North" and, fol-
lowing as consequence of this, many other
objections which need not now name For
one, 1 should feel serious objection to such
migration Of negroes to the North, but have
long been satisfied that no such result would
follow, but the reverse. / will state a few
q hao Co.,
opinion, instead of meeting assertion with as
sertion. 1t is true that thousands of slaves
have run for the North, even to Canada, with
in the last forty years, but it has been because
they were not, and could not be, emancipated
at the South. Does any one suppose these ne
groes would have gone to Canada if they could
have been free at the. South? Or does any one
doubt that large proportion of them would
go back If they could be free?
Again. Let us compare the first census of
100 with that of 1850, II have not at hand
that OF lS60,) and see which way emancipated
slaves have gone. If we take the three slave
States OF Delaware, Maryland and Virginia,
where many more have been emancipated than
In States farther South, and where they could.
If disposed, easily migrate to the North, we
find that in 1880 there were, in round num-
bers, 14,000 free negroes. In go years, up to
1850, they had increasedt to LAT 900, an increase
OF ten fold, while in the same period the whites
had not doubled. Compare with these three
Northern States nearly equal in the number of
whites in 100, Massachusetts,, Rhode Island
and Connecticut At that time there were
about $1,000 negroes in these States, few of
them slaves since made Free In the same sixty
years they have increased to about 20O0O.only
about one quarter, many fold less than the nat
ural increase. The case then, stands thus the
increase of free negroes in those slave States
has been forty times greater in proportion
than in the free States. Those tens Of thous-
ands of free negroes might have 'focked to
the North If they had been disposed How
ever great my objections to migration of ne
groes to the North, consider the surest way
to prevent it is to have them emancpated at
the South. 1t is only because they are not
emancipated and have no hope of it, that they
run Tor the North. The emancipated remain
In reference to the other original States-the
free negroes in the other New England States
have increased in about the same proportion
with those mentioned, i. e., by one quarter
In New York they have not doubled. while
, the whites have increased tenfold. Pennsylva-
mia, with warmer climate, has more than any
other free State, and they have increased in
about the same proportion as the whites. In
the Carolinas and Georgia their increase has
been about fve-fold. Were it not for increas-
ing the length of my article, could suggest
other reasons for believing the emancipated
slaves would never be disposed to come North;
but ! consider the foregoing sufficient, es-
pecially as there Is not shadow of reason
to the contrary; nothing buta naked assertion
That the staces have shown a disposition to run
to the North, even to Canada, is very true -
but the timid souls who are afraid we shall be
overrun with negroes in the event of emanci-
patton, seem to suppose it is simply because
all negroes want to leave the land of their
birth, the sunny South, and find colder cliu-
ate; and that, if free, they would do so at
once. should suppose it had never occurred
to them that what the slave wants is freedom.
and not the cold Of Canada or Maine. but
freedom in spite of the cold On no other
ground can they infer that the emancpated
slaves would ~Aock IN tho Month !,