The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-01-23
E6m und kirke on the Southern
Whites.

The author "A,nong the Pines" whose
appearance rs q le 2turer in the principal
Western cities, during the presen. season,
has attracted unusual attention and net
lecture on The Social and POlitica! Char
acteristics of the Southern Whtes,' before
the Jersey City Literary Association, at the
new Tabernacle. last evening. Mr.. skirke'
has graceful delivery, his style is pure
and easy, and his lecture is characterized
by that blending of humorous and pathetic
which have made his books so popular
He was heard by the large audience OF la
dies and gentle assembled on the occasion
with marked interest, accompanied by fire.
quent expressions Of pleasure and applause.
Passing over the trading, gambling, and
clerical classes Of Southern whites who, all
told, number less than million, the spea-
ker confined his attention to the three lead
ing classes: The 'Mean Whites;" the small
farmers or Yeomen, and the large planters
or "Chivalry"-givingt their characteristics
and their relations TO each other ana to the
future Of the Union.
II was difficult, he said, to estimate the
number Of the first class-the mean whites
but il was supposed to be about million.
In the mountain districts OF Virginia, Up
per Georgia, Alabama. and Mississippi,
and on the sand-hills of North Carolina
and the barrens of Tennessee, these people
herd together in sparse communities, and
CLEAN sorry subsistence from hunting,
fishing, and poaching; but elsewhere thro'-
out the South, they hover around the bor-
ders OF large plantations, and quarter them
selves upon the "chivalry," stealing the
deer from their forests and the hams from
their snnoke-shops; but they are tolerated
by the planters for the zoe, 600 votes they
give to Slavery. They are far below the
slaves in morals and civilization. They are
ndolent, shittless, thieving, lying; given
70 whisky-drinking, snuff-dipping, clay
eating, incest, and all manner Of social
vices. Not one in thousand of them can
read, and not one in 10000 can write, and
the speaker had met many who had never
seen Dook or a newspaper, and some who
had never heard of Bible, or a spelling
book. Some Of his anecdotes, illustrating
the pecullarities Of this class were most
amusing, and showed in vivid colOrs. the
eiiects OF Slavery in crushing out all traces
OF manly character. These people were an
essential ou.-growth of the slave system !:
ior Slavery, which makes the slave the
planters blacksmith, and wheelripht and
carpenter, and artizan of all work. shuts
every avenue Of honest toll upon the poor
white man. and drives him to the barren
sand hills to starve and die.
Mr.. Kirke spoke IN high terms of the
great middle class OF small farmers. and
gave some statistics, and made some state
ments in regard to them, which were new
and striking, and if true land they no
doubt are, FOR no one who has read his
BOOKS can question this gentleman's $
knowledge Of the South must be mighty
inuuence in determining the future Of the
rebellious States,
mis- class the speaker believed to be the
Tue nope Of the South and the Union. One
great result Of War would be to elevate
Them, and TO emancipate them from the
control Of the ''Chivalry,' and thus make
mem men the real political South of the future.
ttney numbered fully five millions, consti-
ttuong, contrary to the popular notion,
SswSo-snirds Of the white population of the
Pave Pave States. This statement the lecturer
aIed a1Iraned By the census OF 1850, which
.,LoMeo that one million and nineteen
srd ssnrousand white males, above the age Of
nlAen, then performed outdoor or agri-
SeI.urai s labor IN the South. The returns
tI tE[ leoo We're incomplete, but at that time
GH sue number OF males of this class above
nl.een must have been at least Zoo, 900,
anu, anu lney would represent population of
we o,VOV,0OO. These men are brave, in
ous1rious, and loyal 10 liberty; but igno-
al! and prejudiced, and the blind dupes