Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-01-18
From the New orleans Times.
TUE COIOREn PEOPLE.

q
A. Various in style and multifOrm in sen
er sentiment have been the addresses mad
Il to the colored people of the South withil
the last six months. Some have beel
pr wise and some otherwise, and as tn
oil good were to a great extent eeunterbal
lt / anced bV bad, they have not served 4
ofl produce that feeling of harmony whicl
" is SO extremely desirable. The great dis
d tinctive elements of our population have
s. been thrown into unnatural, and, as i
n were, antagonistic relations, by the in
1t reference of humanitarians and politica
e busy bodies, and the Times now inter
y Venes with a sincere desire 90 set b0tI
!, races right upon the record.
t On one accomplished fact all are
o agreed: Slavery, as a peculiar institu-
Il tion,u is completely dead, and can never
5 be resuscitated. It has been for years
e such cause Of controversy, that few in
s deed, even of the most ultra OF its adj
: mirers, would consent to It's restoration.
3 Though believing that emancipation was
I [ a mistake, as injurious TO the negro as
the white man, vet, 'Once free always
I free. - has been legal and social maxim
> throughout the South, and no attempt
. will be made 10 renew the bond which
: was severed by the sword.
, That the whites and blacks are each a
] distinct, peculiar people, no man in his
senses viii pretend 10 deny. They stand
apart from each other mentally, morally
and physically; and whether as the re-
suit Of prejudice OF accident, or charac-
teristic difference, to one race was ac-
corded a position of superiority which
has always been asserted, even in cOun-
tries where no legal preferences were
given, aud the other has generally ae-
quiesceI i'm the decree without any kind
I OF protest. At present these social dis
iiuetions are far more observable
in the North than in the South,
aud it rests with the cOlored people
TO decide for themselves whether they
cultivate the friendship Of their white
neighbOrs or foster feelings Of enmity
against them. The period through which
We are now passing is rife with conse- I
quencvs of the deepest interest Ia both |
races II wise cOunseis are needed, the /.
colOred people will i'm time secure for /
themselves and p1sterlty every right I
which, under a free government, they I
should enjoy; buff tie designing dema-
gozue is To be accepted by them as .
Moses caJnbla of guiding them through .
the wilderness Of the present, tie glOries .
of " the promised land will never be
attained.
The white people both of the South
AMI North have suffered seriously because
Of having listened To the demagOgue's
serpent hiss, and now that his rule among
them has. 10 some extent, passed away,
he turns 10 the negro as q more faciie and
promising element, and tries to convert
him into a new fOOtstOOl Of political
power. Some who offer their friendship
ana counsel to the negro are doubtless
honest in their intentions but injury
rather than benefit has come of their
interference, and the negro might
Wen cry--"sa save me from my friends!"
Not to The children Of Africa is blame to
be attached for the present unhappy con
diiion of affairs. Uneducated, sur
rounded by bad advisers, and completely
unsettled ny their sudden change of
status, their ideas of the rights and priv
iIe.ges Of freedom have assumed a wild,
exaggerated form. This has been taken
advantage Of by interested parties, who Z
lei them on from one extreme 10 an
other, until they may now believe that
every white man who refuses 10 admit
them tn terms of perfect equality is an
open and decided enemy.
Having control of an independent out ,
spoken Journal, and feeling our full ac
countlbiiity to a generous public who
have extended to Us an unprecedented {
measure OF support, We feel il incumbent
on rs to tender ouradvice TO both planter !
and labOrcr, under existing crcum- /
stances. Of their own accord we feel as
surCd that most of our planters would do
RIstice to the freedmen, but If any doubts
should exist as 10 the good faith of the !
planters, the strong assurance Of the
United States Government is pledged as
a guaranty of protection to the freed
mems rights. The planters will not be
permitted to wrong the negroes. But
while the white man should discard all
improper prtjudices against the negro,
the latter must Toe taught the difference
between liberty and license. He must
know that the true secret Of indepen
deucr is labor, and that he who obtains
a living without some kind OF useful toll
a fraud upon society.
The Government, through its special
officer, has signitiad its desire that every
negro in Louisiana should make labor
contract for the whole of the approach
ing year. If he fails to do so, he disap-
points the hopes Of his best friends, and
proves recreant TO his highest interests ,
II the freedmen accept their new situa-
ti0u with the same confidence and trust
that the white people Of the
South accept theirs, community Of
interest will be established between
them, and each will become !
necessary 20 the other, hut II, on the
contrary, perverse, distrustfUl feeling
be- exhibited, existing antipathies Will in
crease till they become fatal in their con-
TO the best interests of all con-
cerned. Merit IS the true test of man
hood, and happiness the great object of
existence. Whatever a man merits ne
is likely 10 secure, and happiness can be
more ettrctually secured i'm an humble
than ia high position. The privilege
OF voting is sought by some of the col
oged people, as if that would prove a
pauacea fOrall Jheirills. Can they not see
every day the most mlserably degraded I
of white men who have the privilege Of !
voting, and can they not learn from this /
fact That the elective franchise can, of I
itself, neither secure prosperity nor re-
spect! Politics is ths worst business that !
any man, either black or white, can fol- :
low; and if the freedmen take our adj S
vice, they will repudiate it altogether
Ia labor there * nothing degrading; let
that he the lever on which the negro de- I
Ponds 70 raise himself up from "the {
prison of his low estate.s