Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-08-08
Fmplovmsnt Of Negroes IN the Army.

,v,;tar IN the Mobile AdrerrisSr Of the I'd instant
asyooatss the employment Of negroes in the army oy
wsv of eheckmating the e5emy's efforts to substitute
Ais class for service in bis ranks. He recommends the
,isin0 Of force Of so OOO to for the war and
sss that they be taken from the regions Of country
brsa,eu BY the enemy and likely to fail into his pos
ssssion He makes the following suggestion as
10 the manner Of distributing this force: u" The
s0 coo men thus raised should be distributed in the
srmv TIA. in each company OF one hundred, eighty
,houI be white men, twenty negroes, and so in that
proportion. There shouldbe general order, nHeAiog
adhered 20, that each captain Of company should SO
d,bute the negroes entrusted TO him as that one ne
gro should be assigned to every four Wn'le neD' uuue
1Aoas imms date cb1rge he should be placed cooking
e. 49,, and nsrornrg such other mental service as
h, he proper. lie should be required to attend them
ana pr,yeuted under the seyeres: punshments' from
,,,tp or o,usorting with the other negroes OF the
Company especially Al night OF course be would not
b, de,aisi for gu RI duty or any other involving Ike
responsibility
The tenor Of the article implies that TINS reeommen-
d,dop relates Ouly 10 slaves The writer strangely
oms all reference 20 iIee negro, whose duty 1t Is as
mich If lot mere 30 than that Of the slave, TO bgh'
u, The indeuenderce OF the country IN which he makes
living and finds s6cquste protection It would be the
mart Of economy as well o. justice to put this oia
first in the fed for they are, at home, eomparatvep
.ss Thew render no service as producers, while the
.l,vs, hear a, the burden of our farming operations
n constituting an element Of strength in this var
..,, Ies, important than tina: of cur soldiers in the
sd Eighty or a hundred thousand men could readily
Be rsei from the free negro population OF couatry
Tossas ,rnnpr them Issaldng FROM the casualties Of
war. would entail no Inconvenience, While the loss o.
slaves with the already eaornou5 depletion caused BY
shduc,ious al e. clpes would be seriously felt The
losses in his respect would be peculiarly Onerous upon
slsveboders in exposed dsric WLich the writer in
the Advertiser proposes to con6ne the levy OF So
OOO ANY lo,l in this connection should be proportion
ate and all thosa in the interOr vel as on the Dor
der should be made to bear share Of the risks ard
losses. The misfortune Of exposure to the dePeda-
lions of the ensny involves loss enOugSi the peculiar
neosshle, OF TIE position should not BE- made the eE-
cuse for the 1fi,ticn Of additional losses.
Could we approve lie general plan OF employing ne
roes in the army, Ne would siill MAINTAIN that the
burden Of service should first fall upon the tree negroes
Tae-e ass prob 5ly 500 900 OF this Sllss now IN the
Oonfedeaey, aad third dah o. this number could
be elsly mad, Eyaill5le. The communities in which
thsy reside wou,d suffer nothing, bu: gain mu'h, by
their abse ce and imagine thar no peculiar emearrasi-
msnt would arse in th3 mater Of exchange should any
Of than f mo The enemys hands. The Yankees have
= peculiar love FIR thu negroes, and they would have
6ne field for it, exercise by retaining this class in their
miit If the, observe the supultoas Of the cartel in
al other respects, we vii not complain
The employment OF slaves ia the army is peculiarly
. matter for SAFE action. The Confederate Consttu
ion nhibs the appropriation OF private property for
pabs use without due comp ,usaon; and the consent
of the owners OF slaves TO rheir employment n tbs
manner should first be obtained The general govern
ment is not as competent judge of the peculiar cir
oamstansss Of people embarrassed by the threatened
oocuoaon Of their homes and the puuder Of their pro-
persy BY tie enemy, as their immediate State repre-
ssuatives. A mOveinen. Of this character should by
all means originate With the respective States and be
Goa iucted und.r their auspices. II levy CT slaves
should be made for military purposes, the Safe L'gs
ltures alone arc eompeten, to make il. They are in
possession Of all the statistical information that would
enable them to FIX the proper proportions in respect to
tbsr savehodng citizens and thus to avoid the 0dum
which might result from the employment of such slaves
Oay as are found in districts likely to be occupied by
the enemy This might be regarded an unjust sc'mi-
nation aud eDgender feelings which even the side
radon of imminent danger Of loss at the hands Of the
enemy could hardly heal
II the movement q limited 10 its operations, comPen
satioa should be made extent for any losses
which the slave owner might sustain. The use of slaves
in this manner would necessarily involve the forfeiture
Of aay guarantee the owner may have in the way OF
Insurance. while the future usefulness Of such OF his
slaves Is might escape the casualties Of the war, might
be materially impaired. It would be mPoitic, in the
opinion Of many hold them as slaves after the e1Pe
renoe which they would acquire BY service in the army
Blu, as the writer in the "Ad7srsssr" says it would be
better that We ourselves should iberate 10000 slaves
for aiding in tbs defence Of country, than that the
Yankees should set couple Of millions free for their
efJrts to destroy it.
Nothing should be left undOue to fol quickly the in
famous designs Of that repusd free negrO bastard, Abe
L ncolr. Every available element of strength should
b. brought into requiston in order to ir,e ourselves
from al connection with race content &c sesve vul-
Tar tyrant who IS better fitted By intelligence and in
stnct to gOvera the grsasess Of HAyt, than people
claiming to be free and enlightened Association with
race of psdars who are not only incapable of appre
eating the conditions which make selfgOvernmens
practicable but base enough to surrender vulgar
brute the liberties which Southern conservatism and
Southern craftsmanship had long secured TO them, is
the lowest, the rcaaess aad the most degraded Of all
conditions. We should do anything and everything
consistent with honor avoid such an association and
if the employment. Of negroes will aid US ia our efforts
70 get rid of this association, les Us have them.
The Pope's Letter to Archbishop Hughes.
The letter Of Pope Plus the X % Archbishop