The Portland daily press., 1865-06-12

mary 10 orlei statement of the oestitution
and pressing needs of the freedmen OF the
South, copied from Washington letter-writer,
is this remark: 4g4sa
"The Poor Neoro.-To show that some
thing besides suffrage is necessary for the ne
gro, we quote the following" &C.
The oninaus of these few words is obvious.
They are intended to assert at least three
things.
1. That the negro has lost by his newly
acquired freedom--is worse of than in slas
cry.
2. That suffrage is something Of inferior
Importance to him. 80 $500
8. That those who are Jealous to secure to
him the right of suffrage, overlook. If they de
not wilfully ignore, his other pressing needs.
Let us briefly look at these three points.
L. The responsible freedman is worse of
than the irresponsible, passive slave. And
why Because, as slave he was provided for,
had no care, was fed, clothed and lodged by the
prudent provision OF another. Grant all this,
and what then ? Why, as slave, he was as
well off as horse, an OK, or any other work
ing ANIMAL That is all. These are fed, STALL
ed, groomed and cared for by their owner, for
his interest;-because, being thus cared for,
they will yield more profit to swell his cof-
fers! A9s alese4 q 9
1t is often a question with proprietors Of
long stage routes, and other users and whole
sale consumers Of horse flesh, which is most
profitable, to work the horses lightly, feed
them well, and thus prolong their lives and
ability to labor, or to work them up to their
full strength, keep them short, and thus use
them up in comparatively short time, and
then replace them by others to be worked up
in the same manner. Humanity aside, per-
haps it is not yet well settled question which
Of these policies, In the end, will yield the
most profit to the owner: SO that still, inhu-
man wretehes may be found who will coin
the blood and sinews of the faithful horse In
to gold In the least possible time. \ "A 4 ssA
The same question has been raised, discuss
ed and disagreed upon In the South, In rela-
tiop to the use of negroes, especially upon the
rice swamps of Carolina and the sugar planta-
tions Of Louisiana and Texas. The logic
of the Argus is, that 1t Is better to be horse
than man, because the horse Is provided fer
by his owner, while the man suffers through
inability to provide for himselft
The same general idea may be illustrated in
another way. In the Sermon on the Mount
the Saviour said to his disciples; "Behold the
fowls Of the cir, for they SOW not, neither
dothey reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
Heavenly Father feedeth themp And again !:
Consider the lilies Of the Geld, how they
grow; they toll not, neither do they spin and
yet | say unto you that even Solomon in all
his glory was not arraysd like one Of tbese.'
What should we think Of a man who should
argue that the condition and prospects and
surroundings of chicken we're superior to
those of human child because God furnishes
in the grain and insect the food for the for
mer, all prepared to meet its wants, while the
food for the latter comes only Of prudent fore
sight and careful industry ? Who that has =
soul would be converted into plant--a mere
vegetable-because Of the gorgeousneas Of
its flowers Who envies the brute in order
to escape the memorable law which requires
him to eat his bread in the swe~ser no .Sc
prepared to fad its own food, to seek it's own
shelter, to soar aloft on its newly-Hedged
wings. The Creator clothes ii with proper
covering, and meets its every want. Man
comes forth naked, helpless and without a sim
gle provision-excep in the maternal breast.
for meeting the necessities Of his abject depen-
dence, and yet, with this apparent Partially for
hfrd 4ha Cax cosI
value than many sparrows.p If the Creator
has prepared the birds' food aud the lilies
clothng it is because he has denied to them
the requisite power and intelligence to pro-
vide for themselves and In endowing man
with the requisite means to provide for bis
own wants, he has indicated the superiority
OF his condition, and the exalted character of
his endowments; and not till we are prepared
to- exchange places with the fowl or the plant,
and become mere passive instrument OF an
others will, do we expect to see in even the
fat, sleek, well-led and well-clothed slaue a
condition to be envied BY the pool, hard work
ing, poorly-clad free mdn saefs
2. Suffrage is Of inferior importance. Did
our revolutionary fathers thus argue when
they assigned as q principal reason for throw
ing off the British yoke, that while taxation
was imposed upon them representation ,oas
denieds Did Kossuth and his compatriots of
Hungary believe this doctrine when they dar-
edall and suffered all to redeem their native
land from the despotism Of the House Of Haps-
burgP Did Garibaldi thus reason in his al.
forts TO work out the Independence OF Italy P
Do men ever reason thus2 Do our Demo
cratic friends ever urge such a thought upon
the squalid denizens OF the Five Points" or
upon the halfstarved wretches in the purlieus
OF our large cities, when they. are seeking
their votes to secure desired victory at the
polls? Shame on those who thus insult pov
erty and restitution by telling them the right
to voice in their own government Is a thing
OF no account No man worthy to be trust
ed with ballot will ever reason thus; no one
morally ut to WELD political power will ever
insult the poor and unfortunate by such an in
timation. The poor man needs the ballot as
one of the chief and most potent means of
protection and elevation, and we envy not the
spirit Of that man who begrudges him this
advantage. So So So
O. Those who would secure suffrage to the
negro overlook or ignore his pressing needs.
Is TINS sou Who makes this allegation? Does
~ come rom those who are or have been Ia
boring for the benefit Of the freedmen Let
iac's- patent 70 every one whose memory
reaches back one year--ans wer. 519
The freedman. as all viii readily concede.
is ignorant and needs instruction VIZ
seifsacrifcing women left the cansor,. "a
their northern homes and went South - t;n
die up the rays of light in the darkened minds
OF the freedmen, and we're spending and be-
ing spent In tho oanaa NJ nhila nfhro-,,,