The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-09-18

Will the Free Negroes be n Danger.
GUS CIassl The Main Reason Of
the ntI-EmRncIpat Exom-
hminGd.
If we are TO believe in the sincerity Of
a considerable number Of our citizenb
some Of them professedly loyal, the most
Of them disloyAl, there is reason 20 fear
that 275,00 negro men, women and chill
dren, in this State, may oyerpower and
massacre some 100000 white citizens Of
Tennessee. The opponents Of Emanci-
patton inquire with solemn counten-
ances, "What shall we do with the ne
groes If we set them frse?' These men
talk IS if they really dreaded the pos
sibility of our simple minded, ignorant
and unobtrusive negroes srbjugating
nearly four times their own number OF
white men. OF all the bug bears of the
day this is the most groundless and un-
reasonable. The yapors of hypochon-
driac, are not more trifling and absurd.
But prepOsterous as this negromA-
mia is, let uB see whether it can
not be reasoned away. The
negroes of this State are actually free
already, just as much SO as the whiton,
and we may SIS well accustom ourselves
TO look this fact in the face. The dan
ger connected with the negro pop
ulAtion in Tennessee will be seen, If
we madly attempt 10 force them back
into slavery. There probably will be
same difficulties, but certainly no seri-
Gus danger, if they are allowed to have
their freedom. The enemies Of emanci-
patton have always asserted that free ne
groes are dangerous population. Will
some one tell us how many free negroes
there must De in community to make
them dangerous There were over 1000
free blacks in this State in 1860 and we
venture the assertion that q more harm
less population could be found no where.
We are confident that we can count three
times their number Of whites, many of
them wealthy and educated men, who
have done thousand fold more mischief
to the commonwealth, politically, moral
ly, and socially. Where is the free BIZ ck
inNashville who has done as much injury
TO society as Gov. Harris, Andrew Ewing,
Sam Anderson, Dick Mccain, Frank Nc
Marry, Gen. Zollcoffer, John Bell, Wash
ingtOn Barrow, Gen. Harding, and John
Overton? What free black ever dyed
his soul in treason, or sunk himself in
infamy, like V, X. Stevenson, s. d. Nor
gan, 0. d. Elliott, and Bishop MoFerrin I
If we believed that the free blacks OF
Tennessee would ever act as basely as
these men did, we would be in favor OF
selling them into everlasting bondage.
1t seems, then, that Tennessee
has got along so quietly with over
1000 free blacks that she has hard
ly been aware Of their presence. We
know that when proposition was made
in our Legislature, few years ago. e
sell them into slavery or drive them from
the State, the venerable Judge Catron Of
the U. s. Court, and Hon. Jordan Stokes
protested eloquently and Indignantly a.
gainst the infamous bill, and defeated it
"AhP says some negro maniac, 1900
free blacks are of little consequence, but
If you were TO increase the number /,
10000 itwould be very dangerous" In.
deed The facts are against this asser.
ton. North Carolina had 10000 fire.,
blacks at the last census, and nobody
ever heard that they were dangerou.
class. Ohio had $4,000 and we don
think that our friends there are the Least
frightened about it. New York had 40,
600, and they behaved themselves sc
well, that they actually let some of then
Vote,-just as we used TO do. Virginia
the "Old Dominion" the "Mother o.
Presidents" the oracle of all the chiv.
airy, has over $4,000 on her sacred soil
and they never hurt anybody. Not (,
multiply examples, the little slave Stat
OF my Maryland" which Davis ha
been trying so hard, but in vain, to annel
to the Southern Confederacy, had 83 "a
free blacks, among 667 900 citizens, or a
bout one eight Of her entire population An,
yetwho ever heard Of the free blacks i
Maryland being source of danger
Delaware furnishes, on smalle
scale a still moro striking ex
ample of the peaceAbe disposition {
the free blacks, for in that State Oh
population stood in 1860, Al 1896 fire.
blacks 10 90,6s9 whites, he former esr
stituting almost oae-f o'g'@ Of The population
There is no lodging or evading thei
statistics; they are unanswerable. Blu
says one, how will you keep the emsr
cipAted blacks in check just as "
do all other people. We have courts, an
laws and officers; if they do not obey d
laws Of their own accord zoe viH nal
them obey. But they will stir up insGii
rectiOns. Pray, what will they mai
instruction against when the are s,
freer They will cut the throats Of Il
white people. Well at the beginning
TINS rebellion the chivalry told US thi
one southerner could whip five Yankee