The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1863-06-26
Justice 90 the Bincks-'tbS iu-
tcrcst Of the Nation.

At the present time che great question
for this nation to solve is not whether
the Union shall be preserved for the
is to be finished, for the war will end
when rebellion ccusCs nor is il any
question about constitutional rights or
natural liberties, ,--hut Il is the old, the
tircsome, the heretofore ill-answcrcd
question OF the position aud treatment of
the black race. The answer given To
this question will be the touchstonc Of
American principles, pnd the prorhccy OF
national prosperity OF decline. We have
tried one way &C treating them that Of
slavery, has plaiulY been a wrong one,
md has resulted in national corruption,
dishonur, and suffering. Slavery is very
near IT, end The Pr clumutiun of the
first of Jauuary, 1864, IL NOT n dead letter.
Il is work ing like yeast to lcnVcn the
whole lump of the Southern social sys-
TEN. Already rs we lcurn, upon unqucs-
tiorahlc authority, in the heart ui the
blacklist Stats. ot Mississippi, Alabama,
aud Georgia, the slaves are NO longer
concerned to work. Nor is the prorla.
nation a hc,--" to keep the word OF
promise to the ear, and brcnk Il 10 our
hope" 10 is Co be- maintained urc riding
10 its spirit, aud to it, full intention,
with tho whole force of the government.
aud the entire support Of the nation.
/ 4 he new policy that il inuuguru,cd com.
mt nds itself daily more aud more, no less
| to the intelligence than 10 the conscience
I of the people. The cnlisting Of negroes
in North and South Carolina, in Lou
isiano, nd in the W,s,crn Slave States,
the enrolment of black volunteers in
| Massachusetts, Kansas, and other free
Stat $ the employment pf free men en
abandoned or coniiscnted plantations un-
der governmental authority and inspcc-
ton, are evidences of the practical opc-
ration Of Emancipation, and of the sin-
ccriy of the administration aud Of the
people in the work of freedom.
But although all these und other facts
afford evidence of the destruction of la
very, aud of the establishment of n 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 Of war, or
I any emergency oi transient circumsiru-
ccs, but should be founded on principles
Of universal application and of eternal
force. The nutiOn,--that is, the indvid.
uals who compose the nation - must
learn to treat the blacks on the simplest
principle OF even justice. They ure to be-
| treated neither with hurshhcss nor with
soltncss not us Il sCryilc class. not as
natural interiors, not as degraded race,
but simply ns men. The milton, il II
would secure its own prosperity rnd hap.
/ pincss, must conquer the prejudice, which
/ has led, and, il INDUCED, will lead to
outrageous and caamitUus injustice. We
| put in 10 plea for compression aud kind
ness to a hong suffering, deeply wron gcd,
I and blamelcss race. II is not on any
ground of pity or of compensation that
| we rest our claim Tor The blacks, but we
| claim justice for them us their sight and
/ therefore us the only rule Of treatment
which will not Cndaugcr aud cnlccDlc the
/ life OF the nation itself, aud Expose il 10
| inevitable penalties. Sell interest on
our part, on the pnrt Of the white race,
requires justice TO the blacks. Their
work is to be pud for like the work oI
other men, il they do Il lul! days work, -
| full wages, not half wages Ure their cue.
/ i they are idle let them suffer the consc-
quences. The system of apprenticeship,
or of forced labor, is To be applied To
them, no more than to white mcn,-thut
is, il is to be applied only when there is
danger of their becoming u burd, Oh the
community, and then they deserve pay
for their forced labor IN the same propor-
ton MS white mcn would rccevc IL.
There is no binding ourselves to the
fact that, whether we like il or not, the
blacks are part of this patio' for wCul or
for voc. II they are treated iurly, like
mon, with equal, democratic justice, they
will us u luce soon leurn to tJkc care Oi
themselves, aud soon raisc themselves
from lh@ depths Of slavery 10 honest in
dependence More than this they will
become class Of immense importance to
the country, both us produc crs and con-
sumcrs. They will form a luboring clnss
of lrcemen such as no other nation pos.
sesscs, aud their rise rom bondage into
the enjoyment of freedom and justict ,
will involve u constant aud steady in
crease in the sources Of national pros
perity, security and power.
The same free and equal justic that
each one of us demands TO; himself, is de-
munded by the negro. He has us good II
right To il Us we have. Ii is the duty OF
! every man who loves his county, who
believes in th he inalienable rights Of man
and who would serve God, 10 help him TO
secure il.