The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-05-26

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a free negro How, then. can you Judge Of
the negro race. when on see them despised
and contemncd oy educated classes--reviled
and looked down upon as az, in ierior The
nesr, race has, naturally. some Of the finest
qualities They are naturally gentle, gen.
erous, humane, and very grateful for kind
ness. They are as brave and as fearless as
any other Of the race Of human beings; but
the blessings Of education are kept from
them, and they are Judged Of, not as they
would be with proper cultivation. but as
they are rendered ,by cruel and debasing op-
preston, 1t is as old as the days Of Homer,
who truly. asserts that the day. which sees q
man slave takes away half his worth =
Slavery actually brutalizes human beings.
1t is about sixty years ago when one OF
the Shieks, not far south Of Fez. in Morocco.
who was in the habit Of accumulating white
slaves. upon being strongly demonstrated
with by a European nower, gave for his re
ply that, by his own experience. he found
it quite manifest than white men were Of an
inferior race. intended by nature for slaves;
and he produced his own hrutalized white
slaves to- illustrate the tr,lth Of his asser-
tion. And o case Of an Amercan, with a
historic name-John Adams--isr quite "a
miliar. Some twenty-five years ago-not
more e--John Adams was the sole survivor
of an American crew wrecked on the At
rican coast. He was taken into the interi.
or as the slave Of an Arab chief. He was
only for three years slave. and the Eng
lish and American Cpnsals having been in.
formed of q white mans slavery, c'aimed
him and obtained his liberation In the
short space of three years he had become
completely brutalized; he had completely
forgotten the English language, without
having acquired the native tongue. He
spoke kind of gabble, as unintellectual a.
the dialects ofmost your negro slaves, and
manv months elapsed before he recovered
his former habits and ideas. r. r9 E.ge elgi.
1t is also. curious fact, as connected
with America, that the children Of the An
glo Saxon race, and Of other Europeans
born in America, were for many years con.
sidered as degraded and inferior class.-
Indeed It was admitted. as il it was an Ak.
ION. that the native. born American was in
nothing equal to his European progen,tor;
and so far from the fact being disputed.
many philosophlc dissertations were pub
lished en1eavoring to account for the al.
LACED debaSement The only doubt was
about the cause Of it. Nobody dares to
say 80 now, and nobody thinks it. Let it
then he recollected that you have nev,r
seen the negro educated. An English trav.
eller through Brazil, som few years ago
mentions having known negro who was
a priest, AMI who was learned pious and
exemplary man in his Sacard,tal functions.
We have been lately infor ned OF TWO ne
groes being educated at the Propaganda
and ordained priests-both having distin-
guishei themselves in their sc entific and
theological coursa. The French oapers say
that one of them celebrated mass. and de
livered short hut able sermon bef,re Louis
lilippe. 1t il believed they have gone
ont with the Right Rev. DR.. Baron on the
African Mission. lNe<v ara NefET =
We repeat. therefore tha., to Judge prop
erlyof the negro, you should see him e1u
Gated and treated with the respect due to
fellow creatnre -uninsulted bv the filthy
aristocracv of the skin, and 1intarnishei to
connected with the state Of Slavery.
We next refer to your declaration that
the two races. viz. the back an Whit,
cannot exist on equal terms under your
Government and your InstitutinnS. This
is an extraordinary assertion to be made at
the present day You allu'le, indeed, to
Antigua and Barmqdasy But we will take
you to where the exp .ri'nent has been sue
cessfuly made upon large scale-namely,
to J,maica,
phere the two races are on perfect
equality in point Of law The law does not
recognize the slightest distinction between
the races. You have borrowed the far
greater part Of your ad iress from the cant
phraseology which the West Indian slave
owners, and especially those of Jamaica
made use Of bef,re Emancipation. They
used to assert. syou do now. that shali-.
ton meant destruction; that to give freedom
to the negro would be to pronounce the as
sassination Of the whites; that e negro,
as soon as frse. would massacre their for.
msr owners, and. destroy thsir wives and
families. In short. your. prQphesiese Of the
destructive effects If emancipation are but
faint and foolish echoes Of the proDhetic
apprebensions Of the British slaveowners
Phey might; perhaps, have believed their
own asserti01s, because the emancipation,
Of the negroes was then an nntried expert
ment. But you-vou are deprived Of any
excuse for the reasss:tion Qfa dispr0yed
caiu.nny.I sst,;sa saad led E=sfIf' e9f So
The emancipation has taken plaee--the
compensation given, by England was NO:
given to the negroes. who were the only
persons that desired compensation Il was
given to the so called ''owners." II was
an additional vrong-an sd.litional cause
oe irritation TO the negroes; but, gracious
HeayeM how nobly did that good and kind
" race. the negroes faIsify the cslurn oious
ahnr csN ~r II l. 4
there one single murder conseq uent on the
emancipation? Was there ons riot---one
tumult -even one assault? Was there one
single white person injured, either IN per-
son or propertyf Was there any property
spoiled or laid wastes The praR3vtion ofI
negroes in Jamaica to white Pen is as 800
to SO, or 80 per cent. Yet tn most per-
sect tranquility has folloyed the ensno,pa
ton The criminal courts ars almost IN
employed; nine-tenths Of the jail.c are en-
ty and open; universal tranquility rcigns,
Although the landed proprietors have made |
u 9 Of the harshest landlord power to ex,ct |
the hardest terms by way ~ rent from the |
negro, and have also endSavored to ext0rt |
from him the largest possible quantity of
labor, for the sup ,llest wages. yet the kind |
" negro race have not retaliated by one |
single act of violence or vengeance; the
two races eS;st together, upon equal terms,
under the British Qovern.nent, and under |
British Institutions aes,-gs. .1,a
Or shall you say that the British qoy.
srnlnsnt and British Institutions are pref
srable to yourss The vain aud vaporing
spirit of mistaken Repub.ioanism VII not
permit you to avow the British superiority.
You are bouad. however, reluctantly. to
admit that superiority, or else to admit
the Elsity Of your own assertions. Moth |