Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1864-12-03
mr. Lincoln. Negro E,p.r,m.nt.

p'S hoo PuououSu y CuTu iuulRUuuNil
denying the slander.
mr. LincoIn's Negro Experiment..
From the world-Copperhesd.
Tho time has come when the priucipa
and most characteristic act of Mr.. Lin
coln's Administration may be discussed moi
merely with reference to its constitutional
Ity but it's snccese. 1t is a measure which
nothing but success can vindicate for the
only plea ever urged in its defence was its
necessity. Its advocates argued that be
cause it was necessary therefore it was
constitutional. The argument was, that
tcar is constitutional, aud that cmancipa.
ton, being necessary TO the success of the
war, was constitutional also This logic,
intrinsically absurd, is put to shame by
the progress OF events A measure which,
after fall trial, has not helped forward the
war, could not have been necessary Moth
ing has been accomplished by the Emsuci.
patton proclamation which could not have
been equally accomplished without it. AS
a threat it caused no alafm TO he rebels :
as an limitation it had no percep,ible effect
on the slaves. As fact the publication
OF tie Emancipation edict was of great
service TO the rebel cause. 1t was letter
of credence from Mr.. Lincoln 10 he
Southern people in favor of the rebel lead.
ers, attestng the sagacity of their predic
tions, and establishing thc soundness of the
opinion on which they bad urged the ne
cessity OF separation When The South.
ern States seeded, their people were far
from unanimous. They gave some credit
to the solemn disclaimers Of The Il publ
can leaders when charged with abolition
Intentions The Emancipation proclama.
tion proved that The charges we:e true,
and the disclaimers hypocritical in other
words, il proved to the Southern people
that the secessionists had correctly repre-.
sented the character aud designs of the
Republican party. To the Sou,herp peo.
pie the proclamation was complete sindi.
cation of the foresight aud wisdom of Mr..
Davis and bis associates /; decisive dem
onstration that the secession movement did
not proceed on false assumption.
1t is not our purpose, however, to insist
on the service rendered by the procluma-
tion to the rebel cause. The point We
make il, that its want Of success, by prov.
ing that it was not necessary, oserturns
the only argument ever urged 10 its de-
fense. 1t was pretended that it would mr.
rest cultivation in the South aud 80 cut
off the subsistence Of the rebel armies II
was slSo pretended that, by the alarm it
would create, it would deplete the South
ern armies by compelling white men to re
turn to the plantations TO stand guard over
the negroes. None Of these consequences
have followed. The Emancipation procla.
nation neither emancipated the slaves, nor
alarmed their owners, nor arrested labor
on the plantations. nor withdrew single
white soldier from the rebel armies. Z A
measure which accomplished none Of its
proposed objects clearly was not necessary
The only thing that any body has of late
pretended to say 10 its defense. is, that Il
has added soldiers to the Union army
Even this is not true for just as many
slaves would have run away TO our lines,
and we could have made just tbe same u Sc
of them, had no proclamation been made
But the negro soldier experiment was not
less blunder than the proclamation.
Both inure to the benefit of the rebels.
The one consolidated Southern sentiment !;
the other has taught the rebels the use Of
weapon of which they can command six
or eight to oar one. TIE availability oil
the negroes for military purposes is on ex-
pertinent Of which we incurred the risk,
and the rebels will reap the advantage.
They would. of course, prefer independence
without losing their slaves but with the
Emancipation proclamation hanging over
them. they see that slavery without inde-
pendence is impossible and they are pre-
pared, whenever II 10 necessary to throw
overheard part Of the cargo TO save the
ship. If the ship sinks, the cargo will ol
course 60 down with it with LINCOLN as
President, ii the rebels lose their cause
they lose their slaves also. We have
taught them that negroes make indiffer ent
soldiers, aud they profit by the lesson. The
sentiment of attachment and fidelity
which is strong in the negro breast, The
love OF home, the recollectious Of child
hood, will cause them to 6ght better on
the Southern than on the Northern side
The Southern government offers them lheir
liberty and homestead ours, liberty and
starvation. When the South brings three
or five hundred thousand negoes into the
field, how are we 10 confront them Not
by negro soldiers for We cannot procure
them every negro put into the held by
the South will cause an additional white
man to be drafted in the North. The up
shot of Mr.. Lineoln's negro experiment
then, will be to tear from their homes hun
dreds of lhousands Of Northern citizens
who might else have pursued their peace
full vocatioBs amid the comforts OF home
aud the endearments of their families.
TRUE LovE.-True love is based on o
sound personal esteem-not on gay aud
dashing freak OF the Imagination. II is the