Winchester journal., 1863-06-19
JUSTICE TO THE BLACKS THE
INTEREST OF THE NATION.

question for this naaon to solv.
is not whether the Union shall b.
preserved, for the Union is in
dissoluble; not when the war i:
to be finished, for the war viii
end when rebellion ceases; nor Ii
it any question about constitu
tional rights or natural liberties
but it is the old, the tiresome
the heretofore Unanswered ques.
ton of the position and treatment
of the black race. che answer
given to this question will be the
touchstone OF American princi-
piles, and the prophecy OF national
prosperity or decline. We have
tried one way of treating them
that of slavery, which has plainly
been a wrong one. and has re-
suited in national corruption, dis
honor, and suffering. Slavery is
very near its end. The Procla-
nation of the first of January,
1863, is not dead letter. It is
working like yeast to leaven the
whole lump of the Southern
social system. Already as we
learn, upon unQuestionable au-
thority, in the heart of the black
est States, of Mississippi. Ala
bama, and Georgia,-the slaves
are no longer coerced to work.
Nor is the Proclamation a lie,-
"to keep the word of promise to
The ear, and break it to our hope. "
1t is to be maintained according
to its spirit, and to its full inten-
ton, with the whole force OF the
government, and the entire sup
port of the nation. The new
policy that it iIaugurated com.
mends itself daily more and more,
no less to the Intelligence than
to the conscience of the people.
The enllstIng of negroes in North
and South Carolina, in Louisiana,
and in the Western Slave States,
the enrolment of black volunteers
in Massachusetts,, Kansas, and
other tree States; the employment
OF freed men on abandoned or
contiscated plantations under
governmental authority and IN
spection, are evidences of the
practical operation Of emancipa-
ton, and OF the sincerity Of the
administration and of the people
in the work of freedom.
But although all these and
other facts afford evidences OF
the destruction of slavery, and
of the establishment of a new
policy toward the black race,
there is yet need Of something
more. The treatment OF the
blacks in the long run must be
based not on the necessities oil
war, or any emergency o'
transient circumstances, but
should be founded on principles
of universal application, and Of
eternal force. The nation-thai
is, the individuals who compose
the nation, must learn to treat
the blacks on the simplest prin-
ciple of even justice. They are
to be treated neither with harsh,
ness nor with softness; not as q
servile class, not as natural in.
feriors, not as degraded race
T but simply as men. The nation
if it would secure its own pros
perity and happiness, must con
quer the prejudice, which has led
t and, if indulged, will lead t
: outrageous and calamitous in
| Justice. We put in no plea TO
compassion and kindness to
long suffering, deeply wronged
. and blameless race. Ii is not Oh
e any ground of pity or of com
4 pensation that we rest our CLAIM
h for the blacks, but we CLAIM
d justice for them as their right an
: therefore as the only rule O
!. treatment which will not en-
II danger and enfeeble the life c
r the nation itself, and expose it t
d inevitable penalties. Self intere,
: on our part, on the part Of tn
white race, requires justice to tn
h blacks. Their work is 10 b
: paid for like the work of otht
:, men, if they do a full days wor
1t full wages, not half wages, al
lr their due. Ii they are idle Il
e them suffer the consequence =
r. The system OF apprenticeship,
e of forced labor, is to be apple
ID 10 them no more than 10 viii
" men,-that is, it is to be apple
te only when there is danger
ht their becoming a burden on II
in community, and then they deser,
~ pay for their forced labor in Il
lr same proportion as white mt
would receive it.
II There is no binding ourselv
of TO the tact that, whether we Ill
k it or not, the blacks are part
lie this nation for veal or for VIC
ch Ii they are treated fairly, lii
no, with eoual democra,