Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-07-30

Inc MlbtCuu nopuOhchn conservative J slave
ry and all its belongings loyal journal need well
be; yet it thus forcby rebukes Mr. Stantons COL
Fys order that blacks shall not be accepted As subst
tutes for whites under the draft:
BLACK SuBsTiTUTEs.-It was supposed before the
recent strange decision of the War Department, that
person drafted might substitute man Of any color The
conscrpton law applies to all free whites and blacks with
out dstnction why, therefore, any distinction should be
made when tie gu sOn Of substitution up not
easily comprehended The given by the Provost Mar
sha General j. no reason whatever negroes have
less pay and less bounty WE'LL then the Government
by substituting bl ok for white The reason
assigned by the Provost Marsha reason in favor Of
such substtutons and not aganst them Further should
DO considered that many Of these substitutes II received
would be slaves emaDcpated upon condition Of service
Thus the OF omancp patton would be promoted Look
cd at in point OF view it would that these subt
tuols ought to DO aored and how they be refused
minds"
The New York Independent, a political paper
Of the Congregational Church, argues as follows
OH the subject:
:" It to high time that the Government should
now cease its customary insults negroes Iu Phladr
phia, where tho draft peaceaby going on an official
order proca ms that black man cannot be accepted
substitute for white. Would the Government accept
white man 10 place OF black III the Government takes
uce.sant pains to drawa line Of distinction between whites
and blacks IL strange that rioters in New York should
draw the amc line more plainly in blood The Govern
meut oe insults to lrshmen though they turn
out to DO rioters Why then. should it put an odieus
mark upon the peAceablo blacks Z"
The use which the ultra Democratic press makes
Of this regulation, which disparages negro in the
estimate Of military equivalents" may be read
in such comments as the following from the Chi
cago Times:
Another recent decsi by the War Department un-
der the conscnpon law s that negro will not be accept
cd a. substitute for white The terms of the de-
c'sion are that negro IA not considered military equ-
yalent for white man This will be bad to New
E0gsnd where they have made great preparations for
providing negroes subt turs And it sounds strangely
upon the heels OF the by Adutant General
Thomas after bis Mississippi experience at
10 all equal to WIFI sodlers and in some
respects superior And it 10 strange commentary upon
the gene al abol ton doctrns Of negro equality What
better Is than the muchabused bred Scott decision
sort of equivalent s be- ia the ethics Of tho Admusra
ton for the white man The civil equivalent while he is
not the military equivalent? Doubtless, 1t would, how
ever be gratifying if the Admin strat0n would officially
determines the precise value it sets the negro Would
two negroes be military equivalent for one white IN, Z"
We do not think that any Of these objections
against the regulation very forcble, except per-
haps that of the Mi souri, Republican when it
argues that the lower rate at which black soldiers
arc paid for their services is no sufficient reason
why they should not be held as "military equiva-
Tents" for white men, provided they are otherwise
equally acceptable. If the Government gets IN
equally good soldier and at the same time saves
money by substituting ablack man for white man
in the ranks, it is, other considerations being
cluded, only an additional reason for making as
many of such combinations as possible That the
services of the negro as soldier are held by the
War Department to be in truth equally valuable
with those of white men may be inferred from the
fact that Mr.. Whiting, the Solicitor Of the War
Department, has announced, in letter we pub
lished yesterday, that there to be no
why such citizens should not, when volunteering
to serve the country be placed on the same footing
with other soldiers regards their pay and bounty"
Accordingly, he adds, tina. the attention of Con-
gress will be directed to this subject, and from the
generous manner in which they have treated the
soldiers heretofore, it cannot be doubted that they
will honor themselves by doing full justice to those
of every color who rally round the Union flag in
time of public danger"
After Congress shall lave thus raised the wages
of negro soldiers they will doubtless be held and
considered " military equivalents" Of white men,
but not before if Mr.. Stanton sustans the present
decision Of the Provost Marshal General Their
services must not only be aoorM much as
those Of white men, but they must actually cost
as much before different regulation is estab-
lished. AS long as the Government can save
money by the operation this source of accessions to
the negro regiments must be cut of. Whatever
may be said in defence Of this prescription on
other grounds (such the alleged average inferi-
ority of negroes to white men, for most purposes,
including that Of scdiering,) it is evident that
nothing can be said in its behalf, either logically
or economically, il the negro is so far the equal Of
the white man for the purposes Of soldier that
the next Congress will be called, as Mr.. Whiting
says, to equalize the pay Of black aud white troops
10 this view we clearly incline to the opinion hat
the Tribune and Independent have the best Of the
argument confirmed they are by such econ
sentative" journals as the St. Louis Republican
and Chicago Times.
1t wi be seen from an oHioi | statement Of the
Secretary Of War, which is elsewhere found 10 to-
days Inttlligencer, that "colored troops will be
credited to the State the same a, any other tro ps
and Col VIM. Birney, the Inspector Of colorcd
troops" in Baltimore, expresses the opinion, in n
letter addressed to the Mayor of that city, that if
the citizens of Blltimore acting tLr,uph the Civ