The New York herald., 1865-05-18

| or to Texas This Is the most plausible theory
that we can offer concerning this otherwise
foolhardy cruise of the rebel ram Stonewall
As soon as information reaches her that
Davis has been caught, and that the
whole game of rebellion is up, she will in
all probability return to Europe and be cold.
She is now nothing but pirate, out of the pale
Of all law, and if captured her commander
would of course be hanged. II she Is not i'm
mediately taken, then, by some Of our cruisers,
we shall probably not hear any more of the
| Stonewall at this side of the Atlantic.
| The Emancipation and FREQ Labor Qics-
tions In the South.
| One of our war correspondents in North Caro-
| lima furnishes us, from learned gentleman
| Of the late Southern slaveholding arist0cracy,
very gloomy view of their prospects under
| the new system about to be introduced among
them of universal emancipation and free labor.
This philosopher of the exploded regime OF
"the peculiar institution" is clearly Of the
opinion that the poor Southern whites are too
lazy to work, and that the negroes can only be
made to work under master. He concludes,
therefore, that the Southern planters will have
to look to the North for their laborers, and he
is about to come North himself on this mission,
by way of beginning.
But this North Carolina philosopher takes
only q superficial view Of his subject 1t Is
true that, under the Southern slavery system,
| the blacks, as rule, have done as little work
as possible, and have required the constant
vigilance of an overseer, whip in hand, to keep
them at it. But the reason for this is very OBJ
vious. The slave had so much, from day TO day
and year TO year, in food and clothing, wheth-
er his days work was more or less
| than the average Of an able-bodied field
hand. Besides, the constant danger mena-
cing him Of being sold and moved Off
| from "the old place" without moments
warning, took away from him almost every in
ducement beyond the present day, to add to the
comforts of his cabin. Nor had he any rights Of
property upon which he could rely with any
feeling of security. Hence the lazy habits and
| pilfering propensities Of the Southern blacks
under the slavery system; for why should he
labor when he could avoid it, when the result
| to him was all the same? And why, with the
reputation Of rogue, should he hesitate to steal
! o chicken, pig Oh bag of corn, if "none Of
| the white folks could spot hm?"
The poor whites of the South have also fallen
into their lazy, shiftless habits from this insti-
tuition of slavery. Why should they be de-
graded to the level Of "niggers" by working, if
they can oontrive, by fair means or by foul, to
vegetate from day TO dayf They are degraded
caste; but, taking their cue from the lordly
STAKEHOLDER, they can still boast that in the
right to work just when they choose they are
"a step above the niggers." Hence the lazi-
ness and degradation of the Southern poor
whites. Slavery has had its compensations 10
the negro; but to the Southern poor white IL
has been an unmitigated curse, though, in his
stupidity, he has been stickler for the instityi-
tion because ait keeps down the niggers."
Now, with this institution of slavery re-
moved, the Southern blacks will be encouraged
to labor with the reward Of it's profits before
them as their own, and with the knowledge that
there is no master TO support them If they neg
lect their work. The degradation, too, being
removed from labor, and dignity and honor
being impaired to il, as q test of individual
merit, to whites and blacks the poor whites Of
the South will no longer be ashamed to work
for living. The lordly planters themselves
will cease to be ashamed Of it; and for active
work they have had good training from the
necessities Of labor imposed upon them by this
terrible war; We dare say that the planters Of
the rebellious States and their families-espe-
cially their high-spirited, self-sacrifcing, but
strangely infatuated women-have done more
hard work during the last four years than in
all their lives before. II shows that where
there Is will there 10 q way; and under this
great revolution Of Southern emancipation the
way will be found for engaging Southern
whites and blacks in active industry. from the
will which the removal Of slavery will inspire.
The war, moreover, has made room for a large
infusion of Northern industry, and thus emgra.
ton will pour in, and will coon leaven the
whole lump of Southern society under the new
system Of free labor.
RrNons OF THE ESCAPE OF JEFF. DAvis-we
pablish in another column letter stating that
the American Consul al Matanzas had sent