The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-03-03

=, Arni.s sftAs Slaves.
The proposition to arm several hum
dred thousand Of the Southern slaves
for the rebel armies has bssn debated in
the rebel Senate BY only one vote. 1t had
previously been passed afarmstivsly in
the House. The slavs arming policy. If
adopted by the South. IL not Likely to DO
of much military Importance; for, IS
fighting soldiers, the negroes - Q class
do not amount to much, although very
much has been claimed for them in the
North from their susceptibility to in
struction in the routine Of tactics and
discipline. For offensive or even de-
fensive purposes they can add but little
to the war power. and 1t 10 this fact, and
not the assumed one Of unwillingness to
make soldiers of slaves, that has hither-
to prevented the organization OF col
ored branch of tho military service by
the Southern leaders.
The objects which the advocates OF
the measure hope to attain are, hrst, to
create diversion of the exodus North
of the slaves, by creating In the South a
land of as brilliant promise as that OF
the Abolition paradise to which they
have been invited The gain, however,
in this respect, we fail to see. The ne
groes who have trooped to the North, and
for whose liberation the lives OF thou
sands of our Northern sons have been
sacrificed uselessly and inhumanly, have
been to our Government simply stumb-
ling block, and to our people grinding
expense. Better for the South, q thou.
sand times, would it be to allow the Abo-
lition policy to have full swing The
enthusiastic, fanatical negro-worshippers
have already brought ont of slavery into
freedom" so many blacks that they have
suddenly lost much of their ideal SYM
pathv for smoke-color, and in sOnse
ouence, when the contrabands discover
AS they are rapidly doing-that enlist
ment in the army and starvation are the
only avenues open to the promised "fe-
lefty" they will very naturally sigh for
the Jolly scenes of the old plantation.
A diversion is not needed, therefore, for
the magnitude of the elephant captured
bv the Abolition party must very short
IL bring about mosl powerful reaction
among the colored element.
The second object, and the one which
must constitute the governing reason, is
the securing of foreign sympathy, which
ha, only been refused to the Southern
cause because of the adherence of the
Southern leaders to the institution OF
slavery. Herein consists the strong
point. If the South should decree gen.
eral emancipation, the anti-slavery sen.
timrnt OF Europe would be appeassd; our
Government would bo placed before the
world as warning for purposes Of subju-
cation alone of people whose sole OBJ
irrt i'm resistance is declared to secure
the right of selfgoverument; and it
would soon become apparent that
where the worlds sympathies tend ma
trrial aid will not be long in following.
Bat the South has not come to this de-
termination yet 1t may answer, to Il
certain extent, useful purpose to the
rebel cause, if it can be shown to the
world that the negro slave will fight for
his master. 1t may even secure sympa-
pathy enough to pave the way to recog
uitiom or ntcrference-amicable OF 9th
when it is known that two or
three hundred thousand slaves have
been made soldiers by the shareholders,
with a guarantee of freedom as the guer-
don of success.
Ii will be impossible, however, for the
rebel leaders to institute this contsm-
plated change and keep it within prear-
ranged limits. Once started, general
freedom 10 the black race must be the
inevitable consequence, and SO it will be
understood abroad. Perhaps, indeed,
such may be the intention, for it would
he poor craftsmanship that should de-
cree general emancipation in single act
and without deliberate preparation to
realize for their cause the full benefits of
the measure Whatever the recent &C
ton of the rebel Congress betokens, it
cannot he construed as indicating IA
yorablc termination to US of the Adolf
tion scheme of armipg the blacks. 1t
would not, indeed, be wonderful that the
persistent labors of the AbOlitionists in
stirring up slave instruction, and in
arming servants against their masters,
should result i'll some signal misfortune
or disaster to our Government. If dis
astcr comes, We shall know who started
the negro arming policy, and, conse-
Qucntly, know exactly who to hold re-
Sponsiblc.