The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1865-11-28
From the Lewisburg Chronicle.
Status Of the Negro.


gro was then sold, not because he was a
negro, but because he was man, whose
services could be turned to profitable ac-
count" In the early days of Scriptnral
defence of slavery, it was the favorite ar
gument that they were the race cursed Of
God, and because they were of such race
they should be slaves, e., because be
was a negro. In the progress of the ar
gumentatlVe contest for forty years, none
but the pro slavery advocates ofthe North
have adhered to that position. None but
those who were educated in pro-slavery
schools and pro-slavery theology kept
chewing that old cud. In fact. so far as
[ remember the progress of the argument
that doctrine retained its place only among
theologians and in the rural Districts
But the intelligent men of the South had
long abandoned it. "In all social systems
there must be a class to do the mean du-
ties, to perform the drudgery oflife. That
is, class requiring but low order of
intellect and but little skill. Fortunately
for the South, she found race adapted
to that purpose and called them slaves
We are old fashioned at the South ye. it
is word discarded now by ears polite
will not characterize that class at the north
with that term ; but you have it it is
eternal" Vide Hammond's mudsill
speech They took the broad ground, land
the only one which they themselves ad-
mitted to be tolerable, that slavery was
right but without distietion of color, for
the infusion of white blood to such de-
gree as to make tie race undistinguish.
able, and in fact the intermixture of the
races to auy degree whatever, and the pos.
tive facts of highly educated negroes,
forced them on to that ground. They
said they owned the labor, the North
hired it, "but the whole class of hirellng
manual laborers and operatives are essen
TALLY slaves. lib.
I only call attention to this progress
and change of basis in the argument upon
the dead institution, in the hope that it
may Clamp of experience, vide Pat. Hen
- guide US in the deliberation that is
upon US. The radicals are laundering
away for equal rights and negro suffrage,
as they did years ago for emancipation land
hey point to the fact of its accomplish
nent as evidence of the justice of their
cause. But Immediate. unconditional
emancipation seemed impossible, by reason
If vested rights and the danger of the Sc
'urity Of society. The Republican ground
hat of restriction, was the only place on
which all good and conservative men could
stand. 1t resulted, as we have SEEN
rebellion, and its suppression, carrying
with it Ihe institution, and God provided
for the protection and education of the
negro in the military power.
Negro slavery is abolished. What is
to be bis status? The radicals claim for
him equal rights and electoral suffragc..-I
They are wrong again, just as they were
wrong in demanding his immediate and
unconditional emancipation, without first
providing f0r his protection and education
and this is illustrated III the fact that
Johu Brown was hung, but the armies of
the United States were successful. To
grant him equal rights and suffrago-that
is the negro as negro--is to fall into the
same error as John Brown did. The
true priuciple is to give equal righte
without distinction of color-and as slave
ry could only be defended or attacked on
this ground e, men may be enslaved
without distinction of color-so equal
rights and electoral suffrage can be gran
ted only "without distinction of color"
and to be logical you must destroy dis
tlnctlon between races--the law you make
for the negro must be ons and the same
for the white man. Admitting that ma
ny negroes are intelligent and of "a full
mental capacity to exercise suffrage other
opponents say that the majority are not
This is true. 1t is so and no one deny
it. So are thousands of white men. Can
then white man, utterly ignorant, exer-
else the right of suffrage any more intellI-